ButchCassidyAndTheSundanceKid Tagged Articles at Cinematical

It's tough to lose a legend like Paul Newman, and the rush of DVDs, biographies, and rumor mongering don't make it any easier. The rush of merchandising seems to walk a fine line between actually honoring the person, and pure graveyard profit. You can decide what category Fox's upcoming Paul Newman Tribute Collection falls into. I'm going to err on the side of classy, even at its steep price of $89.98, because it contains a total of 17 DVDs. The list includes:

The Long, Hot Summer (the film that Newman Joanne Woodward met on)
Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys
From the Terrace
Exodus
The Hustler Collector's Edition
Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man
What a Way to Go!
Hombre
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid Collector's Edition
The Towering Inferno Special Edition
Buffalo Bill and the Indians Or Sitting Bull's History Lesson
Quintet
The Verdict Collector's Edition

The collection goes on sale on September 22. It's definitely a fine collection of films (and it's especially nice to include the posh Collector's Editions of films like Butch Cassidy, unfortunately the notes say nothing about the lesser known films like Exodus or Quintet getting the remastered treatment. Still, it's a chance for a lot of people to meet some gems of Newman's impressive career for the first time, and for longtime fans to rediscover a film they forgot all about. To sweeten the deal, the set comes with a 136 page softbound book with new photos of Newman, photos of cast, crew and sets of the film along with , movie excerpts, and personal quotes from the man himself. The book alone might help tip the balance -- he was possibly the most beautiful man to have ever lived! Who wouldn't want a nice book like that?

[via DVD Active]

I tend to be skeptical of anything pitched as "an Evening with..." someone, because I don't generally melt from simply being in the presence of someone famous or talented -- they've got to, you know, do something. But when the San Francisco International Film Festival announced "An Evening with Robert Redford," they had a trump card: a brand new print of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, one of my favorite films that I had nonetheless never seen on the big screen. That seemed like a fair trade: you give me Butch Cassidy and I'll sit through the clip reel and onstage interview. Deal.

It was pretty painless, actually. The interviewer, the San Francisco Chronicle's Philip Bronstein, manages to just be mildly sycophantic, and Redford was thoughtful and articulate -- as charming as you'd expect. The audience questions were typically gushy and occasionally inappropriate (someone tried to pitch a documentary project, prompting a groan from the entire room -- who really thinks that a 1500-person Q&A is a good venue to talk business with Robert Redford?) but the man answered (or deflected) them with the aplomb of someone who has done this a gazillion times. At one point, we learned that Redford has not seen Butch Cassidy in the 40 years since its release, which is kind of remarkable when you think about it.

I seriously love the Daily Express. These guys know how to scheme up a good rumor. This time around, they're going for the ultimate buddy remake. Forget the likes of Paul Newman and Robert Redford. Who'd want those guys when you can have Tom Cruise and John Travolta? According to the gossip rag, Cruise wants to remake the 1969 classic Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and star in it along with Travolta. Not only that, but Cruise reportedly got the blessing of Paul Newman before he passed on.

According to the Express' source, this remake has "been a pet project of his [Cruise] that has been on the back-burner for years. But now he's ready to go, and will most likely happily eschew the enormous salary that he normally commands."

Now I'd love to see Travolta and Cruise as buddies on the big screen. I think they could have a lot of fun with each other. But a Western? One of the most iconic Westerns with two of Hollywood's most notable and critically loved male stars? No thanks. If this is, in any way, true, Newman must have been high on pain meds. And if it comes to fruition, I think we're all going to want to be high on them.

Would you like Travolta Cassidy and the Sundance Cruise?

Last weekend we lost two great stars, actor/comedian Bernie Mac (1957-2008) and Oscar-winning songwriter/actor Isaac Hayes (1942-2008), who both appear in the upcoming Soul Men (pictured above), out this November. For more on their respective deaths, see Erik's and William's posts.

Actor and playwright George Furth (1932-2008) died August 11 in Santa Monica, California. I'll always remember him best as the anti-Cannonballer spoilsport Arthur J. Foyt in The Cannonball Run. He also appears memorably in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Blazing Saddles and Shampoo. (AP)

Where would the montage sequence be without Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Want to Have Fun"? And what about the movie that borrowed the title, Girls Just Want to Have Fun? Robert Hazard (1948-2008), who wrote the tune, died August 5 in Boston. (Variety)

"Love means never having to say you're sorry." This famous line came to us partly by way of Howard G. Minsky (1914-2008) who received an Oscar nomination for producing Love Story. He died August 10 in Palm Beach, Florida. (Variety)

Bernie Brillstein (1931-2008), formerly half of production team Brillstein-Grey Entertainment, executive produced Ghostbusters, Ghostbusters II, The Blues Brothers, Spies Like Us, The Cable Guy, Bulletproof, Happy Gilmore, Summer Rental, Dragnet, Up the Academy, Neighbors, Doctor Detroit, Continental Divide, The Celluloid Closet, What Planet Are You From? and Run Ronnie Run and produced The Replacement Killers and Jiminy Glick in Lalawood. He died of chronic pulmonary disease August 7, in New York City. (NY Times)

Oscar-nominated record producer Jerry Wexler (1917-2008), who was portrayed by Richard Schiff in the movie Ray, died of congenital heart disease August 15, in Sarasota, Florida. He also worked on soundtracks for The Wiz, The Cotton Club and Pretty Baby (for which he received the Academy Award nom) and co-wrote the Aretha Franklin tune "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman". (AP)

Now that it seems that Paul Newman is quitting acting after one more film, everyone is dying to find out what that film will be. And will it be the talked-about adaptation of Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods, starring Newman and Robert Redford? Well, Newman hasn't announced his final project yet, but he has said that he hopes it will indeed be a reunion with his old co-star (they've paired-up twice before, in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Sting). Newman said they're "working on something but it's not by any means a slam-dunk." Redford jokingly added that, "The real question is whether he can remember his lines or not."

Know what I think would be funny? The two should do a really awful comedy where they have to dress up like women or something. That would end their careers on a shocking note. I mean, sure it would be great to watch the duo walking around in the woods together, but imagine how much more interesting it would be for them to work with the Farrellys. Either that or they should remake The Sting II as a good film.