BarryLevinson Tagged Articles at Cinematical

It's not uncommon to hear people discussing -- or complaining about -- the ways in which Hollywood celebrities are involved in politics, whether they're airing their opinions during a concert or speaking in public on behalf of a politician. Barry Levinson (Diner, Good Morning Vietnam) thought this was an interesting enough topic to address in his documentary Poliwood, which focuses on the 2008 national Democratic and Republican conventions. Unfortunately, the documentary shows us little that we haven't already seen, and tends to preach to the converted.

Poliwood is subtitled "a Barry Levinson film essay," which signals us that this will be a more personal style of documentary. Levinson opens the movie with shots from his 1990 feature film Avalon and uses this footage to discuss the ways American lives have changed because of television. His focus is on the Creative Coalition, a non-partisan organization of celebrities that focuses on issues such as arts education. The documentary shifts to the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, where Creative Coalition members such as Anne Hathaway, Tim Daly, and Ellen Burstyn talk about how they include politics in their lives. It's especially surreal to see Richard Schiff at the convention after his role on The West Wing -- in one scene, someone from the Clinton administration walks up to him and says "You played me!" -- but Schiff handles it all with good humor.

I really don't know who thought You Don't Know Jack would be a great title for an HBO biopic about Jack Kevorkian, the doc who spent eight years in jail for his role in assisting the terminally ill to commit suicide, but whoever you are, I applaud you. It adds a smidge of levity (and inappropriate humor, my favorite kind!) to what is sure to be a rather dark feature, indeed.

Al Pacino has taken on the role of Kevorkian, a friendly enough looking older fellow whose name has become synonymous with assisted suicide. (Now is not the time for jokes about his roles in Righteous Kill or 88 Minutes and what effects either might have had on movie-goers.) Kevorkian's interest in dying patients, his creation of a device to assist the terminally ill in their own suicides, and his own work helping 130 people with terminal diseases end their own lives earned him the nickname Dr. Death, about eight years in jail, and a Time magazine cover.

Tony Montana will be joined by Susan Sarandon and John Goodman in You Don't Know Jack, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The pic is a "loose" adaptation of the book Between the Dying and the Dead: Dr. Jack Kevorkian's Life and the Battle to Legalize Euthanasia by Neal Nicol and Harry Wylie. I haven't read the book, but it seems like a somewhat empathetic look at this controversial man. Noted political activist Sarandon has been cast as Janet Good, an advocate of the right-to-die movement who took her own life because of pancreatic cancer.

Let's just point out the elephant in the room, shall we? Al Pacino is one of the all time greats, but his recent work has been anything but. If he was anyone but Pacino, a story like this would be phrased as a hopeful, can he come back sort of piece ... but it's Al Pacino. You don't say those kinds of things, do you? Well, you can think it if you like, as The Hollywood Reporter says that Pacino is currently circling Barry Levinson's biopic on Dr. Jack Kevorkian.

I doubt there's anyone reading who doesn't remember who Dr. Kevorkian is. Known as Dr. Death, he assisted in more than 150 cases of suicide / euthanasia with his "Mercy Machine." After beating the Michigan court system for years, he was convicted of second degree murder after sending a tape of one euthanasia patient to 60 Minutes. He served eight years, and was released in 2007 on account of good behavior, and has been doing public appearances since. The media frenzy and emotional fury that surrounded him seems to have dissipated for the moment, but perhaps Levinson and HBO Films can stir it up again.

Levinson's film will trace Kevorkian's career as he builds his famous "Mercy Machine," conducts his first assisted suicide, and creates a firestorm with his advocacy for providing assisted suicide as "a medical service." It's the kind of role Pacino could really excel at ... but it's also something he could probably do in his sleep. So, is it promising? Predictable? The first step on the road back to exciting brilliance? You be the judge.

If there's one movie descriptive that can actually get my jaded heart racing, it's "in the style of L.A. Confidential." Sure, it's glib, and probably sells the potential film and its source material short, but I can't help it, it's a magical phrase. And The Hollywood Reporter (by way of Lakeshore Entertainment) used it to describe Barry Levinson's latest movie.

Levinson is set to direct an adaptation of Peter Dexter's novel Train, a story set in 1950's Southern California. It centers around Miller Packard, a white sergeant in the San Diego Police Department, who has little time for the hypocrisy and racism of his age. An avid golfer, he befriends a troubled young African-American caddy named Lionel "Train" Walk, who harbors knowledge of an unreported murder that haunts his past. The city politics and racism of the 50's surround the murder investigation, and threaten their friendship.

Dexter's books have been popular in Hollywood recently -- he was the pen behind Mulholland Falls and The Paperboy is currently in production with Paul Verhoven and Jan de Bont. Unlike with Falls, he won't be penning the script this time around. That job falls to Allison Burnett, who's a pretty popular writer at Lakeshore, adapting Fame and penning Untraceable for them.

Hopefully, a Cinematical reader or two can chime in on the book. From its reviews, the source material sounds pretty enticing. Here's hoping this can not only be a comeback for Levinson, but a noir rival for L.A. Confidential.

Not long ago the strangest unmarked DVD arrived in my mailbox. Actually, strike that, on it were the words, "What Happened to Bruce Willis?" So I popped it in, and -- whaddya know -- it was a very funny scene from the film What Just Happened? featuring Robert De Niro trying to convince Bruce Willis to shave his obnoxious beard for a movie. Since it first premiered back at this year's Sundance Film Festival (read James' review), I've been waiting to see more from What Just Happened? as it featured a reunion between director Barry Levinson and De Niro, who worked together on the very awesome political satire Wag the Dog.

Now, thankfully, the first full-length trailer for the flick has arrived online (see above or over on Moviefone), and while it definitely appears to have the whole "inside baseball" thing going on, it certainly looks entertaining. Heck, with a cast featuring the likes of De Niro, Sean Penn, Bruce Willis, Catherine Keener, John Turturro and Robin Wright Penn, I'd like to think we'll be getting our money's worth from this one. Based on the memoir by producer Art Linson, What Just Happened? follows a Hollywood producer (De Niro) who's struggling to maintain his sanity while juggling his deteriorating personal life and a new movie he's trying to get made. Here's the poster, up there is the trailer -- now tell us what you think ...

What Just Happened? is due in theaters on October 3.

Cinematical just received this exclusive poster for What Just Happened? (click to enlarge), which comes to us from director Barry Levinson (Rain Man, Wag the Dog). Based on producer Art Linson's memoir What Just Happened? Bitter Hollywood Tales from the Front Line, the film stars Robert De Niro as a middle-aged Hollywood producer who tries to juggle an actual life with an outrageous series of crises in his day job.

As you can see from the poster, however, this puppy is packed with talent. You've got De Niro, Sean Penn, Bruce Willis, John Turturro, Stanley Tucci, Catherine Keener and the list goes on. When What Just Happened? premiered earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival, Cinematical's James Rocchi described it as "movie geek heaven," saying De Niro produces "his best 'sly' comedic work since (probably) Wag the Dog." And how can you not love that poster and its tagline? Hilarious. Really looking forward to seeing this one when it arrives in a few months. (Check out the full synopsis after the jump)

What Just Happened? is set to hit theaters on October 3.

With Sundance wrapped, it's time for Robert Redford to get going on his next movie. According to Yahoo/Associated Press, his next project will be an adaptation of Bill Bryson's bestseller -- A Walk in the Woods. He will produce and star while Barry Levinson is planning on directing. Nothing like Into the Woods or Into the Wild, this book focused on Bryson's return to the U.S. after 20 years in England, and how he decided to reconnect with his homeland by hiking the 2100-mile-long Appalachian Trail with a college friend. The account details their struggles with self-reliance, and the people they meet along the way.

Redford says: "It'll be fun. I don't know when I've read a book that I laughed so loud. Also, it's a chance to take a look at the country... The backdrop is pretty terrific, if you stop to think of all the visuals that are possible as they go along that trail." It's about flipping time, I say. The family favorite Charlotte's Web aside (he was Ike the Horse), Redford hasn't acted in a comedy since 1996's Up Close & Personal. The last time he was in a good comedy, well...

Of course, the drama master can't go without some heavier fare as well. After hiking the Appalachians, Redford says he will take on the story of how Branch Rickey helped Jackie Robinson get into major league baseball in 1947. "What Rickey had to do, what Robinson had to go through, and the partnership they had to form, that's a story nobody knows. It's just a fascinating story."

If you're a ravenous movie nerd like me, than there's very little in Barry Levinson's "inside baseball" Hollywood movie What Just Happened? If, on the other hand, you don't know a whole lot about studio politics, the angst of test-market screenings, and the tricks that movie-makers (or, more specifically, movie-sellers) will pull just to get a festival screening and a huge opening weekend, then you'll most likely get a whole bunch of chuckles out of the flick. To those who know about this stuff all too well, the comedy should still make for an interesting enough diversion -- thanks mainly to a massive, colorful cast and a few solid jabs that hit Hollywood right in the kisser.

Based on producer Art Linson's book What Just Happened? Bitter Hollywood Tales from the Front Line, the film version tells the story of one very successful Hollywood producer, and the ways in which he juggles multiple professional crises, as well as some prickly domestic issues at the same time. Robert De Niro is our movie producer, doing his best "sly" comedic work since (probably) Wag the Dog. John Turturro is the archetypal agent: skittish, shifty, and packing a nasty ulcer. Stanley Tucci is the writer who needs our protagonist for professional reasons, but pursues his ex-wife (Robin Wright Penn) for other activities. Michael Wincott is the drug-infested director whose ultra-edgy film is being mangled by horrifying studio boss Catherine Keener.

Toss in some supremely amusing "self-mocking" performances from movie stars Bruce Willis and Sean Penn, and you've got the makings of a flick best described as "movie geek heaven." And while What Just Happened? is by all means a colorful and generally pretty funny expose of modern-day Hollywood, it often feels like Levinson and Linson (he also penned the screenplay adaptation) are content to preach to the choir. It's meant to be outrageous and unbelievable how art turns into pure commerce, but there have been plenty of Hollywood satires that demolish the "test screening" mentality, the "beleaguered producer" conceit, and the oh-so-cynical insinuation that Hollywood has no integrity whatsoever. So while much of the material in What Just Happened? is insightful and accurate ... it's just not all that new or shocking anymore.

I'm not sure which I like least: newspaper ink, which gets all over my hands and clothes; or scented perfume and cologne ads, which always manage to open and cover me in their aromas (it's no wonder the internet is doing better than print media!). However, I do know that I will like a certain new innovation, which combines the two annoyances, even less. According to ComingSoon.net, Fox Walden is printing a new kind of ad in the September 9th issue of the L.A. Times that features scented ink. The ad, for Zach Helm's family fantasy film, Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium, will have designated areas printed in a soy-based ink that, when scratched, emits the smell of frosted cake. Fox Walden chose the specific scent because it should "remind consumers of all ages to be young and have fun."

But what does frosted cake -- or even scented ads in general -- have to do with Mr. Magorium? The movie is about a toy store, not a bakery. Well, I see it as being just another similarity to Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, which featured scratch-and-taste stickers of fruits (in the movie, not in its ads). Actually, this new marketing idea would have fit much better with the recent remake, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The plot of Magorium is almost completely modeled on that film -- with a little of Barry Levinson's Toys thrown in for a change of product. Dustin Hoffman plays the title character, a quirky toy-store owner who is searching for a successor to run the magical place. There's no contest or grand-prize tour of the joint -- Magorium's replacement choice is only between his accountant (Jason Bateman) or his store manager (Natalie Portman) -- but the likeness is still obvious. If you aren't as grossed out by the annoying tactic as I, you can check the ad out in Sunday's Fall Movie Sneaks section of the paper.

I just can't decide whether I should be excited or worried about Robert De Niro's upcoming film, What Just Happened? In December, I brought you news of of the star once again teaming up with Barry Levinson (they collaborated on Wag the Dog) on an adaptation of Hollywood producer, Art Linson's memoir, which he turned into a screenplay. De Niro will play Ben, a movie producer based on Linson, who struggles with the treachery of Hollywood and a failed second marriage. All of this is not the worry -- it's the excellent, growing cast.

There seems to be a fine line in cinema between a solid cast making a film stellar, and overwhelming talent leading to a disasterous, exploding film failure. However, Wag pulled it off, so the worry could be for naught. The Hollywood Reporter says that Stanley Tucci, John Turturro and Kristen Stewart have all signed on as co-stars. Tucci, fresh off a 3 lbs. failure, will play a screenwriter; Turturro is playing a Hollywood agent; and Stewart (Panic Room and Zathura) will play De Niro's daughter. In smaller roles, Bruce Willis and Sean Penn will make brief appearances, as themselves. While I'm all about seeing The Tooch in something less fashionista, Levinson is more psyched about the content: "What excites me about this film is that it's not only very funny, but it's terrifyingly accurate." We shall see! Principal photography begins in March.