Out of Focus

The best news to come out of the release of the “Mel Gibson Version” of The New Testament appears in today’s Daily Variety. “‘Christ’ re-begats ‘Brian'” reads the headline (subscription needed). It seems that thanks to all the hoopla surrounding Mel’s attempt to become “king of the world”, the brilliant Monty Python comedy Life of Brian is getting a rerelease. From the Variety article:

In direct response to the American uproar over Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ,” the Monty Python team is planning a 25th anniversary Stateside re-release of its comedy “Life of Brian.”

The 1979 movie, about the hapless Brian of Nazareth who spends his life (and death) being mistaken for the Messiah, will be distributed by Rainbow Releasing, which previously handled the U.S. re-release of “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.”

Plan is to open the pic at the end of April in New York and Los Angeles. Columbia TriStar, which owns the international distribution rights, may also consider a re-release in selected foreign territories.

It will be interesting to see if the current Christian-right will protest this film as they did during its original release in 1979. In their own satirical fashion, Monty Python’s film is the best possible argument against the very same fanaticism that has driven the success of Gibson’s mediocre monster movie. If you’ve never seen it, check-out the re-release. And if you miss it (for shame!), make sure to watch the Criterion DVD, which like all things from Criterion (with the exception of Armageddon is well worth the elevated purchase price.

Oh yes, and I don’t want to forget: Thank you Brian! Praised be thee.

Time to talk a little biz-i-ness. Briefly. Some of you out there, myself included, had probably hoped for a slightly better box office showing from Eternal Sunshine. The good news is that it’s sixth place finish was actually a very strong showing, especially when one takes into account a more important number if one wants to make a more balanced comparison: per-screen-average.

Now this is slightly tricky only because one could easily make the argument that had this film had more screens or that film had fewer screens, the box office would or wouldn’t have been dramatically effected. (Sure, go ahead … make sense of that, why don’t you.) And it’s a valid argument. Had Eternal Sunshine opened in as many engagements as Dawn of the Dead or The Passion, it probably would not have come close to doing that level of business. The movie marketplace can only hold so much.

Still, what the per-screen-average numbers can tell is how the supply is being filled by any of the demand. When those numbers come in, Eternal Sunshine does, in fact, beat out The Passion as it comes in second behind only Dawn among the major releases that led the overall box office figures. Here is a list of the top 5 in per-screen (not including smaller limited indie releases; those numbers can be found later today on indieWire):

1. Dawn of the Dead: 2745 screens/$9735 per screen
2. Eternal Sunshine …: 1353 screens/$6042 per screen
3. The Passion …: 3250 screens/$5974 per screen
4. Taking Lives: 2705 screens/$4236 per screen
5. Starsky & Hutch: 3185 screens/$$3262 per screen

I have no idea about Focus Features’ release plans: whether they intend to increase the screens or just stay steady, but with the kind of reviews and word-of-mouth ESOTSM (TM Lindsay) has been getting, I have a feeling it will continue with a relative strong take for several weeks. Will it be a huge blockbuster? Probably not. Will it crack $100-Mil? Probably not, but you never know. Does it deserve it? Absolutely.

It’s not quite as good as the Reuters headline Cinetrix posted this weekend, but “U’s ‘Dead’ Reckoning: With $27 mil bow, zombie remake topples ‘Christ'” leads off Variety this morning, and after finally actually seeing Mel’s medieval passion play Friday night, that was definitely the best news I’ve heard in just about three weeks.

I must admit, the “three” thing is kind of scary. I’ll bet Mel even sees this as a sign — the film tops the box office for three weeks, completing the trinity; and it’s not like most movies even hold on to the top spot that long. He’s not greedy … it’s just another sign. And all that crap. And to be fair, the damn thing still pulled in over $19 million and by this next weekend, it will have passed the $300-mil mark.

Still, there is some lovely bit of, I don’t know … something … in the fact that a remake of Dawn of the Dead took over the #1 position with over $27-million. However, I’m guessing these two films don’t really have that much of the same audience, even if Jim Caviezel probably gets more bloody and tortured than anybody in this insignificant little zombie pic.

As I mentioned at the end of my non-descriptive Eternal Sunshine post last week, I really wish at some point truly entertaining AND artistic films could also be the most commercial. Happily, Eternal Sunshine had a reasonably successful opening, for a release considered wide, but still on half the number of screens of the slasher films occupying the top two slots. Yet even were the screens equal, apparently more people still went to see a bloody Mel’s bloody J.C. rather than Charlie and Michel’s memory-challenged J.C.

And that is just plain unfortunate. Plenty of people have decried the anti-Semitism in Mel’s pic, and actually, I’m not even going to really address that — at least not too much. What I will say is I honestly believe that Mel consciously did not intend this film to be anti-Semitic. The reality that it is and the fact that he apparently is so blinded by his own beliefs and mindset, completely lacking the ability to comprehend why those offended by some of the things in his movie would react in such a way does not make me believe that Gibson actually intended to spread any form of Jew-hate. In fact, repeatedly throughout the movie, I would put money on specific lines as well as a variety of actions and other random moments that were included solely to deflect any accusations of anti-Semitism.

The problem with The Passion of the Christ is not that it is a particularly bad movie; it’s just a boring movie. And seriously, the one thing it shouldn’t be is boring.

Continue reading “IT’S A NEW DAWN (PLUS MEL’S PASSION: RELIGIOUS EPIC OR THE SEQUEL TO “JASON VS. FREDDY” – DISCUSS)”

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind opens today. If you’re not working, go see it now. If you are, go see it after work. And please, help this film be a commercial success and finally topple Mel.

Yesterday I mentioned some casting news about the new film Sin City from director Robert Rodriguez. Rodriguez calls his production company Troublemaker Studios, and he has always been a bit of a vanguard, making his films in his own complex (why do I want to say it’s an old castle or something … I may be making that up) in Texas, and doing just about everything (usually including editing and camerawork and often even scoring) on his own. You can almost always be sure that a Rodriguez film is actually going to be damn close to the film he intended to make.

According to today’s Variety, Rodriguez has decided to cause a little more trouble. He has resigned from the Directors Guild of America because he wants Frank Miller — the graphic novel writer responsible for the source material of Sin City — to co-direct the film, and the DGA doesn’t seem to want to grant the necessary waiver to allow this to happen. The DGA has very specific rules about there being only one credited director on a film at a time, but Variety quotes Rodriguez saying, “I didn’t want Frank to be treated as just a writer, because he is the only one who has actually been to Sin City. I am making such a literal interpretation of his book that I’d have felt weird taking directing credit without him.”

In fact, Rodriguez also says that he plans to have Quentin Tarantino direct small sections of the film as well. And it turns out, this isn’t the first time Rodriguez has turned in his DGA card. Apparently, because of the same issue, he had to resign membership in order to participate in Trantino’s omnibus Four Rooms.

Variety also says that Rodriguez charactirizes this divorce as friendly, and it seems to me he’s planning on a reconciliation when this is over. Apparently he feels that the Guild makes “it very hard to do something that is exciting and different, which is exactly how I sold this project from the beginning.”

All of this just leaves me with one question: what’s the fucking point? If someone can resign and rejoin whenever it’s advantageous, isn’t there a problem with bylaws? I’m sure there are plenty of reasons why one-film/one-director makes sense, especially from a labor standpoint, and the DGA is first and foremost a labor union, but this is a little bit ridiculous. The rules are specifically there to protect the members. If a member wants to do something for artistic reasons, why wouldn’t a waiver be created in that instance? I don’t have a problem with Rodriguez doing this; I have a problem with that fact that it needs to be done for him to make the movie he wants to make the way he wants to make it. It’s one thing if a studio or producer tries to force a co-director on a filmmaker, but when final cut is something very few directors get anyway, and often studios are often reediting and reshooting without director approval thereby changing the movie anyway, isn’t that a bit of a bigger problem than co-directors?

I’m just saying ….

I don’t know why I do this to myself, but last night I got home a little late after work at the “new” job and some let’s-be-a-team drinks, and I was really tired. But I still decided to sit through not one, but two episodes of the new WB shitcom The Help which I had on my DVR, henceforth officially called a DeVo.

This is exactly the kind of show that depresses the hell out of me because it is impossible that it is better than other comedy series that have been unable to make it to a primetime schedule. I can’t think of one good thing to say about it. None of the writing is clever or original and the “jokes” are completely unfunny, the actors are terrible, and there is more canned laugh-track used than I remember on any show in recent memory. I couldn’t even find any pleasure in watching 80s-TV has-beens Natalie, Donna and Bud because even what they’re given to do is so ridiculously stupid. And it’s not bad in any sort of funny way; it could never actually be a guilty pleasure.

The only reason I can discern that this made it to the air is that it was created by Ron Leavitt, the man responsible for Married … With Children. But what has he dones since then? Unhappily Ever After, which was simply a bad reconception of Married, featuring a bunny puppet voiced by Bobcat Goldthwait. That was one of The WB’s first successful shows, but it never really qualified as a big hit (certainly not along the lines of the WB’s dramas), and it was on the air much longer than it deserved to be.

Luckily, the show is on Fridays so it probably won’t get a great audience. Unluckily, it continues to take up a slot on the air, and the WB continues to be desperate to develop successful sitcoms, so they may be patient with it. I think much as there are “Save This Show” campaigns, somebody should start “Cancel This Show” movements. Get this crap off our air. I find the utter stupidity of The Help to be far more offensive than anything ever said or done on the air by Howard Stern. Even the hot polish nanny doesn’t make this show watchable in the least.

American Idol? Feh. America’s Next Top Model? Whatever. The Donald? Yeah, yeah … we’re fired. We know. Those are the top competition-based reality shows out there right now where someone is trying to win a career rather than a prize. But now comes the pinnacle, the creme-de-la-creme, the contest to end all contests. Why it has not yet seen the light of day, I know not, but thank god someone finally thought to do it.

Yes, people … well, uhm … women … actually, women with long legs, breast implants and a very sturdy neck … you too can now “live the dream.” You can be a Las Vegas Showgirl by applying to Vegas Dream Show (via Cynopsis). If you want to be a nameless, faceless and probably topless performer in a really tired show wearing large plumed or fruited headdresses, not making a ton of money yet working at least two shows a day, here is the reality show for you. Not only can you potentially win a contract to be a have the “spectacular life of a Vegas showgirl,” but if you’re not the winner, you can have your humiliation for not even being able to make it as a Vegas showgirl seen by the rest of the country. So please, apply now, because I get the feeling that if they don’t get a huge response, the show may not happen, and that would be unfortunate for all of us.

Also, I’d like to put a little call out to women in major cities, especially on the coasts. You too are eligible for this show. Just because you didn’t grow up in a dust-bowl or plains state, you will not be discriminated against. For instance, if you’re a not yet successful actress living in LA, go to Vegas, and live your dream!

Oh … I can’t wait!!!

There’s been a lot of pretty interesting casting news recently. More than I usually remember happening in such a short period of time. Either that, or I’m simply paying more attention than usual. Still, from what I’ve read this morning ….

• They did it. I guess Gary Sinese is the latest actor to be lured by the opportunity to live at home (rather than long-term on a location) and the potential stability of series television because he has signed to star in the new CSI: New York series coming this Fall. That instantly (to me) makes the new show at least worth a real looksie. I like the original show, but I don’t watch it religiously. I find the Miami incarnation watchable, but nowhere near must-watchable, mostly because I’m bored with David Caruso’s little head-twist and syncopated speaking. The show’s have never been character-driven anyway, but for my money, none of them have had as talented an actor as Sinese headlining.

Jake Gyllenhaal as The Green Hornet? That’s the latest buzz according to The Hollywood Reporter. Kevin Smith is planning on making an adaptation of the classic DC Comic his next film for Miramax, and apparently Gyllenhaal is the current favorite to land the lead role. I don’t remember the Hornet comics that much, and I barely remember the 60’s Batman (the series) style show which starred Bruce Lee as sidekick Kato. I’ll put my faith in Smith, though. While I’ve liked most of his writing, I’ve never thought he was the best director. However, he is a comic expert, and he’ll probably treat this adaptation with more reverence than might even be warranted. If he likes Jake (who, in case you didn’t know, was in line to replace Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the sequel had his contract dispute back injury not been resolved), I’ll like him too.

Continue reading “CASTING ABOUT …”

OK, let me start with two things first:

1) I love, lurve, heart, worship, lust for Kate Winslet.

2) “A subtle Jim Carrey” is no longer an oxymoron. I hate it when critics in March call something “best movie of the year,” or “performance of the year,” but there is no way in or out of Hell that Carrey does not get an Oscar nomination.

I’m talking about Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind which I just saw tonight. Uncle Grambo? I am here to discuss with you, except it seems like we would probably just agree and say, “And what about … Wasn’t that amazing? And the way he did that? And this? And, so fucking fantastic.” And so-on and so-forth. (We must agree on the Dunst hotness in the bed-jumping. There’s a screenshot for you to post.)

A few weeks ago, Lindsay at Lindsayism posted the conversation she and two friends had after seeing the movie:

Ben, staring at the wall: “That movie…”
Jay, pacing: “F**king amazing. f**king AMAZING!!”
Ben: “If I had had anything to do with the making of that movie, I would be so f**king proud of myself.”
Me: “I haven’t felt this way since American Beauty.”

For me, it was Moulin Rouge. That was the last time the credits started rolling on a film that left me sitting there, mouth gaping, stunned into silence, unable to even articulate how excited I was by what I just experienced.

As we left the theatre, and my girlfriend (who loved it too) asked me what I thought, and all I could say was, “I worship that movie.” She’s used to me talking … and talking … and not stopping. Maybe raving, Usually harping on any number of things — careless writing, annoying soundtrack, bad choice of shots … whatever. But this one … it took me a while. It took me until she actually asked, “What things did you like about it? And suddenly, I started revisiting every scene, discussing every shot, thinking about every second of this magnificent example of what the joining together of two brilliant, creative, imaginative minds can create.

Continue reading “ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF A BRILLIANT MOVIE”

The Hollywood Reporter has a story today about a new musical to be directed by John Turturro and starring Christopher Walken, Mary-Louise Parker, James Gandolfini, Susan Sarandon, Mandy Moore and Kate Winslet.

Yes … I said a new musical.

I first just saw a headline, and then after coming-to, I went on to read a little more of the story. I mean, that’s a great cast, but I don’t know that I really want to listen to them all sing. Apparently, however, it’s not that kind of musical. Instead, it sounds more like Moulin Rouge minus the actual actors singing voices (and no offense to John Turturro, but also minus the brilliance of Baz Luhrmann).

The Coen Brothers are exec producing the film which is called Romance & Cigarettes, not to be confused with Jim Jarmuch’s upcoming Coffee and Cigarettes . Turturro also wrote the script which “follows a cheating blue-collar husband who is forced to choose between his sexy mistress and his put-upon wife. According to the film’s producers, Romance is ‘punctuated by lip-synched performances of popular songs” by artists including Irving Berlin, Nick Cave, Connie Francis, Engelbert Humperdinck, Tom Jones, Dusty Springfield and Bruce Springsteen.'”

That’s a fantastic group of talent to put together, but can it work without being really corny? Current audiences are obviously becoming more tolerant, once again, of characters breaking into song, as evidenced by Moulin Rouge and Chicago. But simple gimmickry is not necessarily enough to make a modern-day musical interesting, and there have been failures over the past decade, such as James L. Brooks’s I’ll Do Anything (which was made as a musical and then had all the numbers cut before release due to poor focus testing) and Woody Allen’s Everyone Says I Love You, which featured the likes of Edward Norton, Drew Barrymore and Julia Roberts getting the music in them.

I think Turturro’s previous directing efforts have been somewhat uneven. Mac was interesting at times, but certainly not earth-shattering, and it was often a bit dull. Illuminata was similarly a pleasant little film that alternated between holding my interest and giving me instant narcolepsy. It lacked cohesiveness, but at the same time, it was a step forward for Turturro as far as style. I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and hope that with what sounds like a very complex concept, he can use his quirky sensibility to bring it all together.