May 7, 2024
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It shows how out of it I was in trying to be in it, acknowledging that I was out of it to myself, and then thinking, “Okay, how do I stop being out of it? Well, I get some legitimate illogical narrative ideas” — some novel, you know?
So I decided on three writers that I might be able to option their material and get some producer, or myself as producer, and then get some writer to do a screenplay on it, and maybe make a movie.
And so the three projects were “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep,” “Naked Lunch” and a collection of Bukowski. Which, in 1975, forget it — I mean, that was nuts. Hollywood would not touch any of that, but I was looking for something commercial, and I thought that all of these things were coming.
There would be no Blade Runner if there was no Ray Bradbury. I couldn’t find Philip K. Dick. His agent didn’t even know where he was. And so I gave up.
I was walking down the street and I ran into Bradbury — he directed a play that I was going to do as an actor, so we know each other, but he yelled “hi” — and I’d forgot who he was.
So at my girlfriend Barbara Hershey’s urging — I was with her at that moment — she said, “Talk to him! That guy really wants to talk to you,” and I said “No, fuck him,” and keep walking.
But then I did, and then I realized who it was, and I thought, “Wait, he’s in that realm, maybe he knows Philip K. Dick.” I said, “You know a guy named—” “Yeah, sure — you want his phone number?”
My friend paid my rent for a year while I wrote, because it turned out we couldn’t get a writer. My friends kept on me about, well, if you can’t get a writer, then you write.”
~ Hampton Fancher
“That was the most disappointing thing to me in how this thing was played. Is that I’m on the phone with you now, after all that’s been said, and the fundamental distinction between what James is dealing with in these other cases is not actually brought to the fore. The fundamental difference is that James Franco didn’t seek to use his position to have sex with anyone. There’s not a case of that. He wasn’t using his position or status to try to solicit a sexual favor from anyone. If he had — if that were what the accusation involved — the show would not have gone on. We would have folded up shop and we would have not completed the show. Because then it would have been the same as Harvey Weinstein, or Les Moonves, or any of these cases that are fundamental to this new paradigm. Did you not notice that? Why did you not notice that? Is that not something notable to say, journalistically? Because nobody could find the voice to say it. I’m not just being rhetorical. Why is it that you and the other critics, none of you could find the voice to say, “You know, it’s not this, it’s that”? Because — let me go on and speak further to this. If you go back to the L.A. Times piece, that’s what it lacked. That’s what they were not able to deliver. The one example in the five that involved an issue of a sexual act was between James and a woman he was dating, who he was not working with. There was no professional dynamic in any capacity.
~ David Simon
I’m wondering about Serenity’s viability. Instinct is telling me it’s going to flop hard but then again I liked the show so I have hope it won’t. Then again it doesn’t have to make much to break even, does it? Figuring in foreign, tv sales, dvd, it’s $35mil budget might be able to be recouped easily if the fans(and non-Firefly science fiction fans) power it to something like a $15mil opening weekend.
History of Violence is interesting as well. It’s been proven Viggo Mortenson is no opener and Cronenberg doesn’t mean much outside of critics and genre-buffs(the latter group who probably won’t turn out for this one just because of his name, considering the plot).
How realistic are the Oscar chances for this one? Cronenberg vacillates between arty(Spider, Dead Ringers) and weird genre stuff(Naked Lunch, Existenz) so I doubt he’s made much of an impression on them over the years. The actors don’t seem to have very showy roles either…
Looking forward to…
A History Of Violence
Serenity
Domino
Shopgirl
and Wether Man
I have a bad feeling about Weather Man after all the schedule bouncing but I liked the trailer and I think Gore Verbinski is an interesting Director very mainstream but with an artful streak. I hope the film is not as bad as the buzz.
Dave, why the seeming out-and-out disdain for Serenity? You seem to be pretty annoyed that they’re spending $35 million on something that (a.) is not a guarenteed smash and (b.) by the way, might actually be quite good! I’m not a huge fan of the TV series, but Whedon knows his writing and directing stuff. You seem to be saying not only that it is not a likely hit, but that it’s a nearly *impossible* hit (even though, as Pete mentions above, it wouldn’t be too hard for it to break even).
Also, is The Weather Man really a dump? Moving from April to October doesn’t seem as bad as, say, moving from October to April.
More interesting titles than I thought this fall…
Flightplan: Always welcome to see Jodie. Will do Panic Room style broad business.
A History of Violence: Love Cronenberg and defended him as a Canadian film maker in film school even when profs said he was an embarrasment to the countries national cinema scene. Unless, they can milk the gore/violence base of Cronenberg’s fans it will not be a very big hit though. Something kind of off-putting about the one-sheet.
Serenity: When I think of how many good scripts do not get greenlit combined with how hard this will tank…damn. Sometimes Hollywood just does it to themselves. Even the title is so obviously bad…Gives me hope that maybe I’ll see a big-screen version of Working Stiffs with Michael Keaton and Jim Belushi reprising their roles.
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang: Shane Black is back. Won’t be a mainstream hit but will be good if it has the Black formula and Kilmer doesn’t act too fey.
Corpse Bride: Hit. Big. Nightmare products still being licensed a decade later. This franchise was begging for some sort of sequel.
Two for the Money: I can’t believe it’s as bad as the American trailer looks. Could do Devil’s Advocate style Pacino money.
Good night. And, Good luck.: Pretentious. And, I’ll pass. Seriously, I’m still waiting for that big Hollywood film about the evils of Joseph Stalin’s Russia…how many million were slaughtered again, George? I would love to watch it with a James Woods running commentary however. Perhaps on the DVD, George?
Domino: Tony Scott may not have ever reached the highs of Ridley (Blade Runner, Alien, GLadiator), but he also never reached the lows (GI Jane, White Squall) Rourke alone makes it worth the watch. Love Scott. Kiera body double…not so much.
Elizabethtown: Maybe it’s a boomer thing I just don’t get. I am a film lover and Crowe just seems like such a trite self-serving filmmaker. He offers nothing in terms of visual style and his stories are rooted in a sort of who cares obsession of people who will be forgotten. His overuse of boomer rock also has become as obvious as it is cloying. Bloom and Dunst don’t help for me. Pass the bomb.
The Fog: Original was the first horror film I ever saw. Scared me. Might see this on Halloween but looks like a video rental.
Shop Girl: Martin is a true gift but this looks more like a-slight chuckle to show the audience I’m sophisticated but it’s not really that funny-kind of flick. Will not break out to the Lost in Translation crowd which is where they will aim the bullzeye.
Doom: The Rock has a real presence. The Director has a great resume as a DOP. I want to like it. Will do okay if its okay.
Saw II: Saw I and it stank. Will not do well. Film does not have the cult fan base they think. Was hoping Eli Roth’s Hostel would come out here.
Three Extremes: Will hunt it out.
The Weather Man: A flop. Lord of War with the wonderful Niccol at the helm will be the one that’s the critical if not financial hit.
The Passenger: A film school favourite. Again, probably won’t make TO but I’m glad its out there.
Paradise Now: Good to see a film like this told by people on their own terms. I will definitely see it. Any controversy will be manufactured for marketing as people are just not going to be aware of it.
Dave why do you think the producers of Serenity are ‘squeezing money from a stone’. I have heard nothing but solid geek buzz on this film, more than enough to justify the budget and likely profitability.
Nicol D I have to disagree with you completely about Cameron Crowe, the man is a genius. Almost Famous is like filmed poetry, so beautifully lyrical in it’s storytelling and in it’s visual feel, so evocative of it’s era. That film alone is more than enough to get me excited about Elizabethtown.
Kernan,
I know I stand alone on Crowe. I don’t even dislike any of his films…they just all seem so soft and trite.
Almost Famous took a very rose-coloured/romantic look at a story that I thought should have been a bit tougher to really stand out. It’s evocative of someones’s love-letter to the era, not the era itself. The Tiny Dancer singalong sequence made me want to vomit (is that too harsh a word?).
Crowe is like Mike Nicols to me. Very much a product of his era and if you can connect great, but I do not see any genius there. Just boomers longing for their past.
looking forward to: corpse bride, History of violence, Wallace and Gromit, Libertine, Three extremes, Prime, and paradise now & still must see June Bug and Thumbsucker (for Keanu Reeves)
maybe:kiss kiss bang bang, pride and prejudice (there is no D’Arcy like Firth, but I will be lured in I’m sure), Just like heaven
remain skeptical: Flightplan (Panic room was not believable, JFo picks some movies that don;t do her justice), Oliver Twist (love DIckens, but many don’t do it well), Zorro
no. SawII, proof, elizabethtown, weatherman, lord of war(if I have to watch Cage “ruminating” ever again I’ll hurt myself).
about time we got some quality coming. this summer has been rough.
For Serenity to be viable it really has to be good. Because it doesn’t have much of a core audience and the average moviegoer isn’t really into the sci fi action genre if its subpar. It could open decent but fall off like a rock down a cliff.
Serenity is going to fail because the word is that it’s from a tv show that got cancelled. That doesn’t exactly inspire the average viewer with confidence. Plus, having been one of the few people who watched at least one episode, I’m more than happy to tell anyone how much it sucked. Anyone remember Wheedon’s last take on sci-fi? That’s right, it was that suck-piece Aliens 5.
The hardcore Wheedon fans (which there appear to be a few of on this board) will see it Friday and then it will tank because no one else will go. Even if it makes $15 million the first weekend (ha!), the 75% drop the next will finish it.
And Nicol D, ITA on Crowe. I really don’t get the overwhelming praise for such a big softy.
Just wanted to point out that you said we are still waiting for a trailer for Doom, but there has been a teaser trailer out for at least 2 weeks now at IGN. Here’s the link – http://media.filmforce.ign.com/media/490/490104/vids_1.html
And I have absolutely no interest in seeing Serenity – ever.
Oliver Twist: pleasantly surprised by the trailer. this looks like an oscar contender.
The Weather Man: i liked the first trailer, and am curious.
Proof: trailer looks AWFUL. lame harvard romance.
Stay: i like the concept, i’m hoping the bad buzz isn’t true.
Corpse Bride: should be fantastic.
Elizabethtown: the trailers are doing nothing for me. i have a feeling this will disappoint.
Flightplan: i loved Panic Room and even though this is “Panic Room on a plane” I’ll be there. Foster and Sarsgaard are great.
Saw II: it will have to really move to pull something out its hat to impress. the teaser looks like its merely rehashing the first one but with no star power.
A History Of Violence: the one film i’m looking forward to most.
The Excorcism Of Emily Rose: i’m predicting this one will be a surprise smash.
Domino: could be a lot of fun it Tony Scott decides to actually add some characters to his movie rather than using a lot of flashy editing. Man On Fire was a disappointment.
Zorro II: is this really necessary?
any word on if Clint’s new movie, Flag Of Our Fathers will hit theaters in time for Oscar consideration?
is Manderlay going to go wide this fall?
I don’t think “from a TV show that got axed” is really as big a stigma anymore (was it ever?), with so many short-lived shows making money on DVD. That angle was played up in every single story on the awful Family Guy and its undeserved resurrection, and it didn’t seem to hurt ratings at all. The “average viewer” has never heard of Firefly, period; I don’t think the awareness is high enough for there to be an “axed show” effect.
I’m not saying Serenity is going to make a bunch of money, nor am I saying it comes from a great show. I’ve seen the first three episodes (just recently), and I like it enough to keep watching — it’s kind of like a less boring Star Trek — but it’s no Buffy, or X-Files, and Fox has canceled better shows (Undeclared, Futurama).
But it seems to me that if Universal quietly spent $35 million on a garden-variety sci-fi-action potboiler (which studios were doing quite routinely only a few years ago — Virus, Supernova, Event Horizon, etc), no one would really comment or care. But somehow resurrecting a cult-favorite TV show, engineered by someone who’s actually talented, seems downright offensive to some of you. There’s an aspect of “how DARE these idiots make a Firefly movie” that I really don’t understand. It sounds like y’all want it to fail, and I don’t understand why.
And “Me,” Serenity could flop as hard as Stealth or The Island or Sky Captain and — here’s the difference — turn a profit WAY quicker.
Also, I’m pretty sure Crowe isn’t a baby-boomer (or just barely is; weren’t most baby-boomers growing up in the ’50s and ’60s, not the ’70s?). Going after him because he’s not flashy visually (which is not to say his better films don’t have some wonderful images in them) seems pretty adolescent to me. Say Anything and Almost Famous earn him a huge line of credit with me.
Serenity could have been a hit, but that first trailer which played up way too much the “Firefly” linkage and depended on Joss Whedon’s name was a huge marketing blunder. Hell, it even wound up ticking off some “Firefly” fans (me included) by giving short shrift to several members of the cast. The Joss-heads will be there opening day regardless–for the movie to hit, it’s gotta reach beyond that. They should have created two marketing tracks–the main one to play up the action/adventure/sci-fi elements and a smaller one (online focused) directed toward the Whedon fans.
And Saw II will hit substantially, even if it stinks (which it probably will), because it’s the only horror movie in the market over Halloween.
The Stay screenplay has been on the Internet for quite some time now. I read it a few months ago, and it’s terrible.
I can’t wait for:
A History of Violence
Capote
Two for the Money (for Pacino)
Good Night, and Good Luck
Elizabethtown
Three Extremes
Will see:
The Woods
The Exorcism of Emily Rose
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
The Libertine
Everything Is Illuminated
Lord of War
Flightplan
Corpse Bride
Domino
North Country
The Fog
Shopgirl
The Weather Man
Prime
Stay has been floating around the industry since it was written by D Benioff. I thought it was trite.
Serenity? I’m not interested in all at the moment but times they do change.
The Weather Man just doesn’t inspire me. It has been pushed back and pushed back and thats never a good sign for a film. Just doesn’t seem to be any story there except Cage getting hit in the head with objects.
You may be right Terence. I’m hoping that it’s a good dark comedy that has been delayed because it’s a tough sell, but it might just not be good.
If its a tough sell in April it will be a tough sell in October. That is why you pay marketing dept’s and thats why you pay a star like Cage.
I think Weather Man will turn out at least interesting, even if it’s not a complete success. I can’t imagine that the talent (Cage, Davis, Caine, even Verbinski) and a decent trailer will add up to a terrible movie. It’s happened before, I know, but I’m very interested.
Highest hopes for the rest of the year:
Elizabethtown
The Squid and the Whale
Art School Confidential… if it’s still on the schedule; is it?
Munich
Domino
Corpse Bride
Serenity
V for Vendetta
Lord of War/Weather Man (Cage is great)
and Transporter 2! C’mon!!!
Cameron Crowe never disappoints. Gore Verbinski? That’s a different story.
I was disappointed with Vanilla Sky. Didn’t care for it. Not nearly as good as Abre Los Ojos.
It was much better than the foreign version. I could actually understand this one.
“Going after him because he’s not flashy visually (which is not to say his better films don’t have some wonderful images in them) seems pretty adolescent to me.”
Jesse, if you’re going to call someone adolescent, at least read the posts first. No one said flashy, we said trite.
And the dislinking of Crowe’s movies has nothing to do with being visually flashy, it has to do with conflict within the narrative, which Crowe doesn’t seem to feel is necessary. His movies are all about nice people who have almost/sort-of bad things happen to them, but everything is okay at the end becuase they’re all nice people. There’s no tension, which is why I tend to tune out during his movies.
“I don’t think “from a TV show that got axed” is really as big a stigma anymore (was it ever?), with so many short-lived shows making money on DVD. That angle was played up in every single story on the awful Family Guy and its undeserved resurrection, and it didn’t seem to hurt ratings at all.”
The difference is Cartoon Network proved there was an audience for Family Guy when they got huge ratings. Sci-Fi ran Firefly to just okay ratings. And just because something sells on DVD (where you need fewer people to buy it to make it a hit), doesn’t mean there’s a large audience base out there for it. But who knows. Maybe that’s enough to make the movie money. If so, good for them.
“There’s an aspect of “how DARE these idiots make a Firefly movie” that I really don’t understand. It sounds like y’all want it to fail, and I don’t understand why.”
Because I’ve seen Buffy, Firefly and Aliens 4 and I don’t think it’s a given that Wheedon’s all that talented, despite all the cult fans declaring it a fact. So, when he can even convince people to give him money for a tv show that failed, when there are plenty of other talented people who can’t get their films financed based on material that hasn’t already failed, it just irks me. Sorry.
I do hate the quoting. If you’re going to quote someone before you comment thats fine. But do number 2 in another post. I feel like I’m reading a novel from some people.
Josh Wheedon gets gigs because hes a good writer and actually had 2 semi hit tv shows. Which is rare. Maybe those talented people you know should trying do commercial stuff.
I am indifferent towards Whedon. Haven’t really seen too many episodes of his TV shows. But the trailer for Serenity does nothing for me. It looks like a generic sci-fi/action movie. I never saw Firefly, so I have no opinion of the show itself. I can’t say I have any desire to see the movie though.
Never really got into his tv shows. I didn’t like Buffy therefore Angel didn’t grab me. If he really did turn down X Men 3 then he has some issues.
The Weatherman was pushed back because Universal think it’s an Oscar contender and thought it would be a smart move to release it in the fall, when it would still be in the mind of Academy voters. I have two friends who have seen it and thought it was great.
Looking forward to Jarhead and Syriana — the latter’s script was a mess, but a very interesting one.
Me (did you choose that handle so people sound stupid writing back to you?? heh. I feel really stupid addressing someone as “Me”!), Nicol D, in addition to calling Crowe, trite also said:
“He offers nothing in terms of visual style.”
As for your other criticisms of Crowe, I can’t decide if they’re rootless or just rooted in hoary screenwriter terminology (how dare anyone make a 2.5 hour movie that isn’t about life-an-death CONFLICT!), but I think it’s the former.
I mean, there isn’t conflict in Say Anything? I forgot that Lloyd and Diane get together in the first scene and the rest of the movie is about their happy and problem-free relationship, as well as her happy and problem-free relationship with her father.
William, in Almost Famous, is caught between idolizing this rock star, and hating him for what he does to Penny, who William really cares about. Is that really not enough “conflict in the narrative”?
I have a friend who really loved Kinsey because of what the movie said, not how it said it. While that was a good movie, I’ll take the “self-obsessed” movies with funny, well-written characters any day.
Also, Me, I think you go down a complicated road when you basically say that you *should* be annoyed that Whedon got money to make Serenity, because it was based on material that “already failed,” oh and plus his name was on Alien Resurrection. Well, OK, but he also created and produced a beloved TV show that ran for 7 years, a spinoff that ran for 5, and his name was on Toy Story. So is giving him $35 mil for his movie really that unusual? A million people liking Firefly is just a stupid cult that no one should listen to, but if it were a mainstream success with a couple million hardcores, it would suddenly be acceptable as movie material? (Even if that would likely mean a jump in budget?)
Mixing and matching your opinion with “justifications” based on perceived audienced approval gets murky fast.
(Also, the “Buffy” TV series was a financial success for its backers, and the material it was based on had also already failed.)
I mean, what if one of your nameless “talented directors who can’t get financing” has a lousy movie, or a money-loser, or both, to his record? Should any future movie money be reserved for those with spotless track records??
Also, I don’t see the point in complaining about any single director getting money to make a movie, as if that $35 million for Whedon was taken directly away from another director. I mean, I don’t like Michael Bay, but I understand why producers think (or thought) $100 million+ for a Bay film is a sound investment. Yes, you could make 3 or 4 Alexander Payne movies for that amount of money, but that doesn’t mean they *won’t* be made now.
For all of those that like violent films, History of Violence is your ticket. I saw it awhile back and you will not be disappointed.
I’m a sci-fi fan, and I really don’t get the big deal about Serenity. the trailer doesn’t make me jump out of my chair.
Elizabethtown is at the top of my list.
Oh, and Good Night, and Good Luck really looks interesting. It’s shot in black and white, for one, but I’m not going to get too excited until I see a trailer.
speaking of trailers, is the one for Lord of War just the must jacked up thing you’ve ever seen?
on the face of it, there’s a lot coming out this fall that could be great or good or just entertaining…Domino, History of Violence, Syriana, Good Night. And, Good Luck, Lord of War, The Weatherman, Kiss-Kiss Bang-Bang, Two for the Money…there could be some fun times ahead at the theaters. And yes, Art School Confidential was pushed to Spring 2006.
Jesse,
“(how dare anyone make a 2.5 hour movie that isn’t about life-an-death CONFLICT!)”
I never explicitly said this but y’know…I might very well agree with it in the abstract. If Apocalypse Now can tell its story in 2 1/2 hours then why does a film like Almost Famous need to be so long?
If people are going to call Crowe a genius he should at least be producing work that is at that level.
What are some other Director’s Master Works:
Spielberg: Schindler’s List, Jaws
Scorsese: Goodfellas or Raging Bull
Kubrick: 2001, Clockwork Orange
Coppola: Godfather 1 and 2, Apocalypse Now
Capra: It’s a Wonderful Life
Ford: The Searchers
Bergman: Seventh Seal, Virgin Spring
Allen: Annie Hall, Manhattan
Lynch, Blue Velvet, Wild at Heart
If we take Almost Famous as Crowe’s defining film to date…his masterwork…does that even travel in the same stratosphere as any of the other ones I’ve mentioned? Can anyone make the argument it deserves to?
I actually like the film. It’s cute. It’s like a cuddly sweater you can put on and enjoy..it is no masterwork. The bar for master pieces has been lowered so much in the past 20 years that things that are merely good are being elevated to a level they should not be. Again, I shuddered at that Tiny Dancer sequence.
As for Say Anything…again, a wonderful film that spoke to many…but I hold John Hughes’ The Breakfast Club in higher regard both for what it said and it’s far reaching influence. It also traffics in more authentic pain, hope and iconography than Say Anything (I’ll invite more ire by saying I’m also not a John Cusack fan).
I know Crowe seems like a nice guy…but genius must be more than that. I criticized him for being a ‘boomer’ director because he has, by both his choice of subject matter and his use of music, allowed himself to be defined that way. Most critics are of his generation and see a rose-coloured view to the past through his work.
Nothing wrong with that.
But that does not make him a genius.
Perhaps I wouldn’t have made a big deal of it but Crowe is one of a handful of directors who is a decent filmmaker who has been elevated way past his stature. This is because there is a lack of youngish auteurs to fill the void felt by the fact that most of the old crew are not doing work of their earlier calibre anymore.
Scorsese’s DiCaprio fixation has all but made his modern films unwatchable and it will continue.
Look at the idolatry of Tarantino. Nothing he has done since has lived up to the promise of Pulp Fiction. Kill Bill 1: awful Kill Bill II: okay. But it gets worshipped.
I hope Elizabethtown is a good film.I’m sure I will see it. I’m just not expecting it to be any better than Spanglish if you know what I mean. Nice. Simple. Trite.
Oh, and y’know it will be loaded to the gills with a score by Springsteen, Dylan, Zeppelin etc.
Yawn.
i don’t think i’ve ever seen orlando bloom in anything other than a period epic type film. and this movie is all on his shoulders.
Orlando Bloom…shudder.
I wonder if modern cinemas fixation with slight effete males is part of the reason these films seem so trite? Bloom, Dicaprio, Depp etc.
Look at Scorese’s next: Nicholson throwing down against Damon and DiCaprio. Wouldn’t you rather see the Nicholson, Cage, Crowe version. Or maybe throw Neeson into the mix.
Yeah…so would I.
Leonardo hasn’t struck me as tough yet. Damon gets some cred for Good Will Hunting. Leo didn’t earn enough from Gangs though.
Day Lewis blew him off the screen.
Nicol D, I take issue with so many of your comments I don’t know where to start! I’ll try to go through a sort of sampler.
–Does Almost Famous travel in the same stratosphere as some of those films mentioned? Well, in short, yes. I love Woody Allen, and Manhattan, but I don’t think that movie, while one of his best, is intouchable and a million miles away from anything Crowe has produced. I think Allen and Crowe have very similar strengths (namely writing and characters). If I were to make a list of the best movies of the past 30 years or so, those two Allen movies would probably be on it — and so would Say Anything, at very least.
I love Spielberg but, again, I don’t see Jaws as being levels beyond Almost Famous or Say Anything. And I’m not a big Lynch fan; actually, I feel similar to how I gather you feel about Crowe: Lynch is talented enough, he makes interesting little movies, but I find his work relatively meaningless on a more advanced level.
–Say Anything is far, far better — smarter, funnier, more complex — than anything John Hughes has ever had his hands on, Breakfast Club included. Maybe we needed the broadness of something like BC to make way for a superior teenager movie, but that doesn’t make BC better. How is the “pain and hope” in the Breakfast Club more authentic? In the way that 4 out of the 5 kids pair up at the end? That’s not looking at their situation through rose-colored glasses? Diane’s dad is in *jail* at the end of Say Anything, and the movie is, in many respects, fairly open-ended. It’s hopeful, but not sugary. The airplane “ding” is a more poetic conclusion than Hughes’s ham-fisted, nerd-fists-to-the-establishment ending to Breakfast Club.
–Scorsese’s recent films have been fine. Gangs of New York is massively underrated. Spielberg’s recent output has been great and on par with his impressive career.
–Young auteurs. I do agree that perhaps the newer crop of directors isn’t as far-reaching or quasi-epic in their scope and ambition as the crew that came out of the ’70s. I also think that’s fine. Why does a great director need to be making movies in that particular mode to be considered great? The mid-late ’90s brought a ton of amazingly talented directors: P.T. and Wes Anderson, Spike Jonze and Michel Gondry, David Gordon Green, David O. Russell, and I don’t give a damn if they never make “their” sweeping Apocalypse Nows. Eternal Sunshine, Undertow, Royal Tenenbaums, Adaptation… great enough for me. I would complain about the space between films, though; I do get impatient when directors take more than two years between projects. That’s something the newer directors could learn from Spielberg (and the others, in their prime).
–Vanilla Sky, for one, doesn’t have a “classic rock score,” in the sense that it includes songs by Radiohead, Looper, Sigur Ros, and R.E.M., among others. And there’s also some Paul McCartney and Dylan and stuff in there too… but really, so what? Woody Allen is on your list of amazing directors, and he alays plays those damned scratchy ’20s tunes over his credits… he made a movie about *twentysomethings* a few years ago and couldn’t bear to have them listening to anything but jazz!
In fact, your “classic-rock score” complaint could be mostly directed at Almost Famous which, pssst, is about classic rock, and set in the seventies! Say Anything’s most prominent song is from the eighties, when it was set.
–I know what you mean about Spanglish, but Crowe has never made a movie that messy (though I liked quite a bit of Spanglish, especially Sandler’s performance)… and by the same token, “nice” and “simple” are not words I’d use to describe Spanglish, because of this messiness. Still, I know what kind of filmmaking you’re talking about — intelligent-sitcom filmmaking — and Crowe is much more immediate and more unique than that.
Don’t dis John Hughes circa 1986. That is just wrong. Flat out wrong.
Josh, honestly, John Hughes is just one of those sacred cows for people of a certain age group (usually including my own) that I just can’t abide. And I *like* Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, and Sixteen Candles. They’re pretty funny. But his rep as intelligent and heartfelt is at least half bunk.
I’d put Ferris Bueller as one of my all-time favorite flicks. But you’re right, this guy isn’t a genius. He captured High school in a humorous way in the eighties, but as I’ve gotten older the films are less and less funny.
Who gave him an intelligent and heartfelt rep? I’m giving him a “made good movies” rep. Which is completely different.
Ferris Bueller is Hughes’ masterpiece. A classic. I think it gets better over time. And it was made in 1986 and doesn’t feel the least bit dated.
I never understood why Alan Ruck didn’t become a big comedy star after that movie, he’s hysterical.
Josh — I dunno, I always thought the rap on Hughes was that he took the teens genre and gave it more heart and humanity and all of that. I thought his movies were thought to have uncommon depth for movies about teenagers. And maybe they do/did, but that’s only because the bar had been set so low. What baffled me most is that with the late 90s/early 00s teen-movie revival boom, those disposable movies were dismissed as not having the heart/intelligence of the Hughes films! When, in reality, they were all pretty similar to the Hughes aesthetic — maybe just somewhat glossier (so arguments that they’re all just ripoffs, OK, accepted).
I give huge props to Warner and Mike Newell for going PG-13 with “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.” That’s going to be a big story once the mainstream media hears about it.
Also, if I could only see one movie from now until December 31st, gotta admit it would be “Domino.”
Alan Ruck is one of these guys that will be a star at 50. A star of something. Some sitcom. Where it comes out of nowhere. He has too much talent. He even made Spin City funny.
Hughes took the teen genre and actually made good films. Films with 3 dimensional characters and good stories and comedy.
I love Firefly, but if I had never heard of the show, there’s nothing in that trailer that makes the movie look very good. It will do worse than Riddick, which looked bad and even had a star in it.
Looks like there is a lot to be excited about in November and December.
Can’t wait to see:
The Matador
Ice Harvest
Cache
V for Vendetta
Wolf Creek
Jarhead (just started the book)
The New World
Breakfast on Pluto
Walk the Line
Syriana
All the King’s Men
Will see:
The Family Stone
Fun With Dick and Jane
Get Rich or Die Tryin’
Rumor Has It
Bee Season
White Countess
Brokeback Mountain
Match Point
King Kong
Why am I getting deja vu here? Thanks Stellas Boy but we already read your boring list about 6 hours ago. No one cares. No need to post it twice. Like relax guy.
A fan of Serenity thinks it will do worse than Riddick? Not exactly a ringing endorsement of its future prospects.
I can’t wait for Jarhead. That’s the top of my list. I’m sure I’ll see Kong, and Potter too.
serenity is coming down to whether its really good or not. easy to say but its not going to be a huge opening week movie and will need big legs. and great word of mouth.
Josh, that is a different list. One is for Sept/Oct releases, and the other is for Nov/Dec releases. Maybe you should try reading before you attack me. And I am far from the only person to post a list. Plenty of others did that before I did. Why didn’t you bash them, too? Take it easy. All you have to do is not read it if it bothers you. No need to act like a dick.
With either list who really cares? I forgot I signed up for the Stella Blog.
Serenity will have a lot of trouble hitting a decent number. The trailers are uninspiring.
So basically Stella’s Boy is seeing 90% of the films opening in Nov/Dec. Congrats. The bigger question is what aren’t you seeing and why?
I love how the exact same people who a few weeks ago endlessly taunted Stella’s Boy into listing his favorite movies are now pissing all over him because he posted a list. Assholes.
I think Lord of War has the best preview of any of the fall trailers that have been released so far. Although I do think it looks like Blow but with guns instead of cocaine. I saw Bee Season over a year ago and it was one of the worse most pretentious moves I have ever seen. Never in my life have I ever wanted to leave a theater more. I know they have had time to fix it, but I have know idea how they could make a good movie out of what I saw. I saw Domino a few months ago as well and I really enojyed it. The cut I saw was good, but if they fixed the few things I dind’t care for it could be Great. I am predicting that In Her Shoes will be the sleeper of the fall. I read the script and it was great, and I don’t usually like chick flicks. Plus its directed by the great Curtis Hanson. I have also heard great things about RENT. I know they screened it for the first time last week and everyone at Sony and Revolution were ecstatic about it. I might be seeing it soon. Besides that I am looking forward to Syriana, Munich, Jarhead, Walk the Line, King Kong, Derailed, The Family Stone, The Weather Man, and seeing Domino again
Usually, Chester/Stella’s Boy, it is that your favorites movies are ones you have seen. Not 400 films you are willing to. Right?
I could really care less what someone wants to see 6 months from now. Because every list is the same. Now the guy who wanted to see Transporter 2. That is who I want to hear from. That is interesting. Why should anyone do backflips because someone here wants to see “All the Kings Men”?
Has there been any pre-release materials released yet for ICE HARVEST?
I’m really looking forward to this one since the book was one of the absolutely best pitch black crime comedies I’ve ever read. I’m surprised the Coen’s didn’t jump on it since the material is so right up their alley. Cusack and Thornton sound well cast for the roles too.
The Coens have been in a huge slump lately. Maybe we’re better off they passed.
This guy is seeing 50 movies in 30 days. That is impressive as all hell.
I barely see one a week so it has to strike my fancy dancy.
After four months of asking Stella’s Girl is going to grace us with the answer to the question I posed of name some of her favorite movies. Thank God for small favors.
The Coens slump coincides with working with Clooney.
The trailers for V don’t inspire any interest in seeing it, and pimping the Matrix brothers isn’t going to help much after the disapointment of the last two films.
That’s not quite two movies a day.
When Devil’s Rejects came out, I was amazed by some horror superfans bragging that they had seen the movie somewhere around 13 times by midweek. Which came out to more than twice a day.
Of course, I have to put “bragging” in quotes. Because that’s nothing to brag about.
Anyway, I’m still going to see Serenity.
Mark said, “The Coens slump coincides with working with Clooney.”
a) So I guess “O Brother, Where Art Thou” was a slump movie. And the $120 million that “Intolerable Cruelty” grossed worldwide counts for nothing (that’s more than double the grosses for “Fargo”).
b) Please don’t ever use the word “slump” around here. Dave Poland considers it an obscenity.
The Ladykillers was subpar and so was Intolerable Cruelty, but the Coens are not in a slump. They just need to go back to original scripts and not hand-me-downs (which those two movies were).
I think on the surface a lot of these movies look great, but I’ve seen very few trailers and images of any of them.
Here’s my top 10 for the fall. Why you would care is beyond me.
Ah, no direct linking… anyway, it’s here: http://martiansattackingindianapolis.blogspot.com/2005/08/fall-guy-10-movies-that-might-not-suck.html
Go back and look at all of the people who posted a list here of the movies they are looking forward to. Yet I am the one who gets bashed. Certain people here are just waiting for an excuse to go after me. Seriously, folks, find a more useful way to spend your time. I never said my list was special or unique. I was merely following the lead of others who had already constructed a list. Why anyone has a problem with that is a real mystery. Another mystery is why Mary is still calling me Stella’s Girl, like that hurts my feelings or something.
Mella, Stella… just let it pass…
Why should a person have to constantly deal with this? It’s ridiculous. And you tell me to mellow? Give me a break.
Back on topic. Someone else said that if they could only see one movie between now and December 31, it would be Domino. Mine would be All The King’s Men. That cast is just incredible.
I’d go with Munich. It’s got me curious. It could be a total disaster, or a fascinating look about what happens when a government acts vengeful. But if I had to pick it’d be Munich.
Someone needs a chill pill as they call it.
Munich is definately the most anticipated for myself.
Munich has some good pedigree and should inspire some hostilities. But I am more looking forward to the new Potter movie. Watching the kids get older and age.
I’m most looking forward to “Goblet of Fire.” “Half-Blood Prince” disappointed me, so I’m hoping the movie will give me the HP fix I’m looking for. But mostly I am very eager to see how they realized the climactic confrontation between Voldemort and Harry. To me that is the absolute highlight of the series so far. I cannot wait to see it on the big screen.
The whole Serenity debate is silly. I don’t think it’ll be great or be awful, but will be like the show, middling but sort of quietly rewarding if you pay attention.
I don’t think $15mil is out of the question for an opening. It’s the high end of what I’d expect, for sure, but I figure an obviously lousy science fiction film can open into a weak marketplace like September and get $10mil, even without a pre-sold fanbase.
Sky Captain opened at $15.8mil in September, and that certainly didn’t appeal to anyone but geeks. If Serenity does numbers similar to Sky Captain($37.7mil domestic) it will hit profitability pretty easily on dvd.
And if Serenity does the same number as Riddick($57.8mil domestic) then it would be into profit before it even goes overseas.
Even if they aren’t huge movie stars who can open movies on a regular basis, having recognizable actors had to help Sky Captain at least a little. I imagine that most people see the Serenity trailer and think, “Who the f*ck are those people?” It’s going to be extremely hard to appeal to those outside of the show’s fan base.
To defend unknowns, I think the fans were saying the same things about the original Star Wars cast. And Law, Paltrow, Ribisi, Jolie really didn’t help Sky Captain much did it?
No, they didn’t help the movie much, but I can’t see Serenity opening at $15 million. I can’t even see $10 million. The trailer is not very good, and there is not a single actor that John or Jane Jones has heard of in it. I can’t see it appealing to many people outside of those who loved the show.
if they were looking to appeal to the shows fans, then they’d make about 12 dollars. they have to expand that audience. it really comes down to how good it is. if it can transform for unwatched tv show with no stars to decent hit movie with a lot of legs.
This movie is going to tank. Did you see the trailers?
I have, and based on them, I would have to agree.
Maybe we’ll be surprised but I egt the feeling that no. We won’t.
I’ll have to give it some more time before I give my firm opinion. Want to hear some reviews even if they’re early. I hope its just not made for the shows fans. That would be a terrible decision. Monetarily as well as creatively.
Bruce, were you a fan of the show? I know that AICN ran come reviews a while back, all positive, but I have trouble taking those seriously.
Didn’t really catch the show. It wasn’t on for long was it? AICN reviews, especially of fan boy wet dream shows like this, I find hard to put credibility in. 75% of them are plants anyway.
But the trailer to it makes me think Chronicles of Riddick. That is not a good image and picture.
Yeah I don’t think the show even lasted a full season. I get a Riddick vibe as well, and I agree, that is definitely not a good thing.
On the other hand, as someone pointed out, Riddick numbers for Serenity would be fine.
It does have to expand beyond the TV audience, obviously, but it doesn’t really have to expand beyond the sci-fi audience to eventually turn a profit. So in that sense I think it was a smart move for Universal.
The trailer isn’t strong, but I’m assuming there will be a second one. Hellboy was another property that appealed mainly to nerds and had no stars. I’m not saying Serenity will do Hellboy numbers (which I guess are about the same as Riddick numbers), but I don’t think it can be declared dead yet. They will have to do a good job of selling it, but I can see it getting to the 40-50 mark if it’s good. I’m assuming it will be good.
Whedon has said something to the effect that you won’t need to know the show going in to enjoy the movie; it will tie up some loose ends from the show but the story will be stand-alone. That’s what he says, anyway.
Riddick ended up at 57$ mill. Same overseas. I think they want to get this movie to 80$mill-100$mill. It has a shot. You figure the following and sci fi crowd is good for an opening weekend take of 20$mill-30$mill. Then it all comes down to how good a product they’re turning out and whether they can break thru and get women to show up.
Where is Robert Towne’s ASK THE DUST???
If Serenity appeals *solely* to the people who watched the show that’d translate to a $10mil+ opening. It averaged around 2-3million viewers. Average ticket price is somewhere between $5.50 and $6. That’s assuming they all go, but it’s not like they have anything else to do on Friday now that Firefly’s cancelled.