StevePink Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Carr Directing 'Mall Cop'
When news first came about Mall Cop, it was clear it had to be a kids' movie. Reminiscent of Home Alone, it features a burglary attempt at a mall. But it stars Kevin James rather than a kid or bunch of kids as the person who thwarts the criminals' plan. Still likely a slapstick-heavy comedy, it just doesn't have the same appeal as a movie where kids outsmart adults. Then Steve Pink, who co-wrote Grosse Pointe Blank and High Fidelity, came on board to script the thing. Suddenly it sounded like it could be a little wittier than originally expected. However, now we're back to square one, because Variety reports that Mall Cop will be directed by Steve Carr. In case you aren't familiar with the guy's work, here's a sampling: Dr. Doolittle 2; Are We Done Yet?; Daddy Day Care; Rebound. All PG movies. Sure, his first movie, Next Friday, wasn't for kids, but he certainly seems on track to deliver only family friendly films these days. So far, James has been pretty successful in his transition from TV to movies. Of course, it helped that in his two hit comedies he was the co-star of Will Smith and then Adam Sandler. Mall Cop will be his first vehicle as sole star unless some big name comedian is cast as one of the burglars. Considering Happy Madison is producing, that big name would have to be Sandler. With little chance of that casting happening, though, James could settle for a lesser co-star in Happy Madison regular Rob Schneider. However, then we'd again be wishing that young Macaulay Culkin was in this thing, since Schneider played one of the many semi-baddies in Home Alone 2. Honestly, I'd settle to see any kid in there -- even a young Erik Davis -- instead of James. I guess the title wouldn't make much sense then, though.
Cinematical Seven: My Favorite Screenplays of the Decade
Filed under: Classics », Comedy », Drama », Romance », Scripts », Home Entertainment », Cinematical Seven », Remakes and Sequels »
Well, it's official. The Writers Guild of America is going on strike tomorrow. Here's hoping the strike ends quickly and that all parties come away happy. And writers? Use this time off to study my choices for the seven best screenplays of the 2000's:
The 40 Year Old Virgin by Judd Apatow & Steve Carell
The blending of improvisation and the written word gives Apatow's two classic comedies -- Knocked Up would be the other -- a feeling of authenticity that is all too rare in today's film world. Apatow takes the strategy of writing for specific performers and their strengths, and it really pays off. Scoff if you want at a sex comedy making the list, but for a movie to be this incredibly funny -- while keeping an oddly touching romance and a spot-on character study afloat -- the screenwriters deserve high praise.
About Schmidt by Alexander Payne & Jim Taylor
One of the saddest comedies ever made, and one of the most truthful and painful portraits of old age. Payne and Taylor specialize in scripts about people on the verge of cracking, depressed souls who tend to find the smallest redemption possible. Payne/Taylor characters never go from Point A to Point B over the course of the screenplay, they go from Point A to Point A.1. The small, gradual changes in their characters are reflective of the way actual humans (as opposed to movie humans) work. Warren Schmidt's personal growth is so minor that it is confined to the last thirty seconds of the film, but when it comes it's an emotional punch in the gut.
Steve Pink to Rewrite 'Mall Cop'
Filed under: Comedy », Deals », Scripts », Newsstand »
It hasn't even been a month since it was announced that the fake gay fireman King of Queens, Kevin James, was going to write, produce, and star in an upcoming comedy called Mall Cop. The comedy is about a "mild-mannered security guard thrust into action when his mall is taken over by highly organized thieves." James has written an episode of Everybody Loves Raymond, as well as a bunch of eps for his own show, but this is his first feature -- and it looks like it hit a little bit of a snag. Variety reports that Steve Pink has been picked to "pen a draft" of the Happy Madison/Columbia film.Sure, scripts get re-written all the time, but I wonder how this will work when they get the new script back, rather than a plain spruce, since James is both starring and producing as well. Will he accept Pink's draft as is? Will this become a big back-and-forth deal? He's the guy delivering the lines, after all. But they won't have long to finalize this -- assuming that the strike still happens next summer, the plan is to start production this Spring and get it wrapped beforehand.
The good news in this -- Pink hit it out of the ballpark with his first two screenplays -- John Cusack's Grosse Pointe Blank and High Fidelity. He hasn't put another out since -- although he is in line for Fletch Won and The Prom. He has, however, kept busy with other projects, such as helming the Justin Long comedy, Accepted. They haven't picked a director yet, so I wouldn't be surprised if he signs on for that as well. Excited yet? I know I am ... well, not really.
Tribeca Review: 'The War Tapes'
Filed under: Documentary », Independent », Tribeca », Politics », Cinematical Indie »
The current Iraq War is possibly the most misreported American military engagement in history. Embed reporters are heavily censored, each network has its own spin, and it's simply not in our government's interest to disseminate details on what's really going on. The driving concept behind The War Tapes is so simple, it's amazing no one's tried it up to this point: attack the media problem head-on by giving soldiers small, consumer quality camcorders and, communicating with them nightly from the US via the internet, allow them to tell their own stories from the center of the conflict. Director Deborah Scranton has managed something that I haven't seen in documentary film or television in a long time. Under her shaping, the selected soldiers aren't particularly brilliant, nor especially brave; they sometimes talk themselves into corners, and sometimes, know exactly what to say; they're sometimes intensely unlikeable, and sometimes, incredibly sympathetic. In other words, the director has managed to shape real people's lives into a drama, without imposing ideological filters, and without sacrificing what makes them real.
Jeremy Renner Wants To Be An Avenger
Directors We Love: Jim Jarmusch
Indie Roundup: 'Sweetgrass,' 'Clarkworld,' 'Broken Embraces'
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Watch: Famous 'Matrix' Scene Re-Created with LEGOs
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