We've seen tons of movies about both John Lennon and The Beatles. One focused on the early days of the band; another focused on the killing of Lennon. Documentaries galore displayed the artist's life and/or career, comprehensively or specifically. And, of course, Lennon and his band mates have starred in their own movies. But how about a dramatic telling of little Lennon, the kid who would grow up to be one of the most famous men of the 20th century? Last week, a film titled Nowhere Boy, based on the book "Imagine This: Growing Up With My Brother John Lennon," penned by one of Lennon's half-sisters, Julia Baird, received funding from the UK Film Council, and is therefore on its way to your Beatlemania collection in only a matter of time.

The most exciting thing about Nowhere Boy, the thing that makes it more than just another movie about Lennon, is that it's being scripted by Matt Greenhalgh, writer of the phenomenal Ian Curtis biopic Control, who was attracted to the book's psychological insight into Lennon's character. Baird's telling is not without controversy, mostly due to its portrayal of Mary "Mimi" Smith, the aunt who raised Lennon from the age of 4 (and who Baird did not live with). Because it's about the childhood of a person idolized by millions, there are sure to be other criticisms and controversy once the movie is released. Will it be permitted, though, or even necessary to feature any of Lennon's later music, either from The Beatles or solo?

No, no, there's not going to be a remake of A Clockwork Orange starring Mick Jagger. At least I don't think so. This is just a fun bit of what-could-have-been. We like to play around with alternate-universe casting here once in a while, and this one's a doozy. Someone found a letter from producer Si Litvinoff to legendary director John Schlesinger, urging him to consider directing an adaptation of Anthony Burgess's novel. And part of the pitch was that Mick Jagger wanted the role of the psychopathic Alex, and that the Beatles "love[d] the project" and wanted to provide the musical score. Fortunately (?) Schlesinger wasn't interested and the project eventually wound up falling to good old Stanley Kubrick.

The Clockwork Orange we got was -- like all of Kubrick's work -- too singular a film to even try to imagine how someone else's version would have been different. But I admit I'm amused (and intrigued) by the notion of Jagger taking on the Malcolm McDowell role. Hell, after watching the manic two-hour stage show he put on in Shine a Light at age 63, I'm kind of convinced that he's actually omnipotent. As for the Beatles? That's just creepy. I'll stick with Kubrick's classical selections.

[hat tip: Movie City News]

• Abby Mann (1927-2008) - Oscar-winning screenwriter of Judgment of Nuremberg. He was also nominated for writing Stanley Kramer's Ship of Fools. He also worked on Vittorio De Sica's The Condemned of Altona, wrote John Cassavetes' A Child is Waiting and Gordon Douglas' The Detective, which starred Frank Sinatra, and created the TV series Kojak. He also appears in the documentary Imaginary Witness: Hollywood and the Holocaust. He died of heart failure March 25, in Beverly Hills. (Variety)

• Art Aragon (1927-2008) - Professional boxer-turned-actor who appears as himself in the Bob Hope comedy Off Limits and in Kur Neumann's film-noir The Ring. He also appears in John Huston's boxing picture Fat City and in the WWII film To Hell and Back. He died of complications from a stroke March 25, in Northridge, California. (NY Times)
• Paul Arthur (c.1948-2008) - Film historian, scholar and critic who taught English and film studies at Montclair State University in New Jersey. He was known for his writings on avant-garde and documentary cinemas and had made a number of short films, himself. He died of melanoma March 25, in White Plains, New York. (NY Times)

With its concentration on the music industry, it's easy to forget that the Grammys have a few movie-related categories. They include best compilation soundtrack album, best score soundtrack album and best song written for motion picture, television or other visual media. One thing that's always odd with the Grammys, though, is how many nominees are so old. Take a look at the score/composer nominees, for example: Babel (Gustavo Santaolalla); Blood Diamond (James Newton Howard); The Departed (Howard Shore); Happy Feet (John Powell); Pan's Labyrinth (Javier Navarrete); Ratatouille (Michael Giacchino). Only the last of those films came out in 2007. But the eligibility period for the Grammys is always October of the previous year until the end of September of the current year. All but Ratatouille's soundtrack were released in October, November and December of 2006. Since the Grammy ceremony is only a couple weeks prior to the Oscars, the ancient films honored are easily seen as that much more old news (Babel won the 2007 Academy Award for score).

Happy Feet was also recognized in the best song category, for "The Song of My Heart" by Prince (who already has the best soundtrack of all time), despite its not having received an Oscar nomination. Same goes for one of its competitors, Casino Royale theme song "You Know My Name", co-written (with David Arnold) and performed by Chris Cornell. Dreamgirls' "Love You I Do", written by Siedah Garrett and Henry Krieger (performed by Jennifer Hudson) is the only overlap from last February's Oscar nominees (it lost to Melissa Etheridge's "I Need to Wake Up" from An Inconvenient Truth). The other recognized tracks, both from 2007 releases, are Eddie Vedder's "Guaranteed" from Into the Wild and Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová's duet "Falling Slowly" from Once.

Once is also a contender for best compilation soundtrack, though it faces a huge challenger in The Beatles, who are recognized for the album for the Cirque du Soleil show Love (how does that fall into this category and not the one for musical show album?) and indirectly for the soundtrack to the movie Across the Universe, which features covers of the band's tunes performed by the movie's cast. Other soundtrack nominees are retro musicals Dreamgirls and Hairspray. Sorry, fans of High School Musical 2.

I have been seriously looking forward to Across the Universe since it was announced a few years ago. I think Julie Taymor's previous two films (Titus; Frida) were visually brilliant (and not too bad in the non-visual departments), I think Evan Rachel Wood is a terrific young actress (I hope Marilyn Manson doesn't ruin her career), I love the Beatles' music and I love "the '60s" as a subject and a setting (even in the form of cheesy amalgams like Forrest Gump and The '60s). More specific to this film, though, I think the trailer captures all these things I love together in a beautiful little montage. I don't see how I could possibly not love the whole package when it arrives in theaters this September.

But recently I've been growing more and more worried about the film. In March, we learned that Taymor and Revolution Studios were fighting over the final cut of the film. The director even threatened to remove her name from the film because she isn't happy with Revolution's editing the pic without her involvement. Some of us sided with Taymor, while others explained in detail why Taymor shouldn't be allowed complete control. Now we get this bland poster, which provides no hint of how stunning the pic will look. The strawberry frame makes sense, as it is part of the film's original logo (where did it go?), but otherwise the poster seems to be advertising a simple love story. Maybe that is the best way to sell this romantic musical, but following the posters for Titus and Frida, both of which I would be happy to put in my dorm room -- if I lived in one -- the poster for Across the Universe is just not that aesthetically interesting.

I know, it's just a poster. But the marketing decisions for the film continue to make me wonder if Revolution's cut is really going to pander too much to a wide audience. With the trailer, this was fine, in keeping all the artsy images short and at the end, it left me wanting more. I just hope that the actual film doesn't also leave me wishing for more of Taymor's imaginative imagery and less of the studio's need to cater to a less art-minded crowd. Feel free to argue for the business and the storytelling; sometimes I just want the mind-blowing eye candy -- on film, and on the poster.

Indie niblets for you:

• It's been a few months since director Adrienne Shelly died at the hands of a short-tempered construction worker. Now, while her final film gears up for a pie-licious May release, a number of awards and initiatives have been announced to continue women's filmmaking in her memory. The American Film Institute is launching a production grant what will underwrite a Master Class in Directing under her name, Columbia University is starting an annual Adrienne Shelly Award for best female directors, New York Women in Film & Television is launching an ASF Finishing Funds Grant and an annual ASF scholarship with be awarded annually at the Maurice Kanbar Institute of Film and Television (part of NYU). It's great news for future female filmmakers, but it's a shame that it couldn't come years later, after Shelly enjoyed an extremely long and successful life.
• As part of a Q&A with TOMB, Mira Nair, the Indian director responsible for works like Vanity Fair and The Namesake chatted briefly about another feature in the works -- this time, a documentary on The Beatles. Nair has an interesting spin on the epic band. It will delve into inspiration and how it strikes. In the late 60's, the group went to India, where it is said they created most of their White Album and part of Abbey Road. As Nair describes: "This moment of amazing inspiration that the Beatles had in this remote place on the banks of the Ganges -- how does it happen?" It could be a great view into the band, and at the very least, have some great tunes to accompany it.
  
• Walter's son, Charlie Matthau, is getting busier and gearing up for another film to add to Freaky Deaky, which I posted about in January. He will direct Mikey & Dolores, a jazz-infused love story about an unlucky talent manager who falls for a jazz singer who is a client of his. The lead is being played by David Proval, who also penned the script with wife Cheryl Meccariello, and there is no word yet on his love interest. However, according to Matthau, he's looking at a tasty little cast to round things off. He says that he is in talks with Eric Roberts, Steven Bauer, Vincent Pastore and Tanna Frederick, with two already signed on -- Don Rickles as a standup comic and Pete Rose as a Vegas celebrity. It will shoot this May in Vegas and L.A.
  

When it was revealed Tuesday that Across the Universe was having some creative control issues, a lot of people (myself included) sided with the film's director, Julie Taymor. While I didn't go so far as to compare Taymor to Orson Welles (that would be the NY Times), I had to put in my usual two cents about how a visionary director should at least be in the loop regarding the final cut if he or she isn't actually given authority over the final cut. Apparently Taymor is too stubborn for such a privilege, though, as she has a reputation for not being willing to compromise. L.A. Weekly's Nikki Finke wrote up a story on how difficult Taymor is and why it is in fact her fault that Universe is having troubles.

Finke goes into great detail regarding Taymor's career and cites examples of problems she's had since becoming a big hit on Broadway with the stage adaptation of The Lion King. Both of the director's previous films had their share of difficulties and Finke finds it surprising that anybody would even hire Taymor for anything anymore. So, in a way, Joe Roth is at fault for not knowing any better. This story is illustrative of what I and others despise about Hollywood, how the business side of the movies is always more important than the art side. And I understand this is the way it is and I understand this is best for the industry. But as much as whining doesn't help, it is often our job as writers to complain about the system, and Finke sure isn't going to change my mind about supporting Taymor on this one.

I guess it makes sense for a studio to not give final cut privileges to someone like Julie Taymor. Sure, she's got a brilliant mind for visuals, but sometimes the artsy directors are the ones most in need of help in areas like editing. Plus, Taymor is not yet a bankable director, with only two feature films in the bag so far. Still, it is easy to see why she would be upset about the studio cutting her new film, Across the Universe, without telling her. Now Taymor is threatening to remove her name from the film -- as if Alan Smithee could make such a beautiful-looking movie.

The Beatles-inspired musical is being distributed by Revolution Studios, and since the film was originally supposed to be released last fall, studio head Joe Roth was probably getting antsy about completing it already. But anybody who has seen one of Roth's own movies (Freedomland, for instance) would hate to have to give up something for him to finish. I don't really understand why Taymor couldn't at least be involved in the editing process, but I also have no idea how stubborn or difficult she might be about her work. Whether or not she is credited, though, I will still know that she was responsible and I will still be excited to see the film, even if I do think the premise seems a little cheesy. Some of the sequences do look mind-blowing, as you can see from the trailer.

I finally, at long last (and after an irritating technical snafu involving a DVD that suddenly acted like it was possessed just as I was really getting into it), got to see the documentary Who is Harry Nilsson? And Why is Everybody Talkin' About Him?. What's that, you say? Who the hell is Harry Nilsson, and why does this film have such a long title? If you're around my mom's age, chances are you already know who Nilsson was. Harry Nilsson was one of the most prolific singer-songwriters to come out of his generation, and the title is a reference to the song "Everybody's Talkin'" from Oscar-winning film Midnight Cowboy. Nilsson sang the song (which he did not, in fact, write) for the film, and won a Grammy for it. His album Nilsson Schmilsson was nominated for just about every Grammy it could have been.

This documentary about the singer-songwriter with one of the best voices of his generation has all the elements of a fine narrative film: A boy, abandoned by his father; a childhood and adolescence spent living with various relatives; that lucky first break that led to more; the son he later abandoned himself, as his father did before him; the redemption he found later with his second wife and their kids. This isn't a fictional tale though, it was Nilsson's life. Like a lot of artists, Nilsson used his art as a means to express his feelings and talk about his life. One of his better-known songs, "1941", chronicles his history with his father:

• Date Movie - Nowhere in the formula "Comedy = Tragedy + Time" does "Cruelty" figure in, something that this caca-palooza -- "from 2 of the 6 writers of Scary Movie" -- sets out to correct from the very first scene. When they introduce us to morbidly obese Julia Jones (Alyson Hannigan), it is with ridicule as they paint her as a hideous beast that makes men vomit and turn gay. Of course, when we remember that 2 of the 6 writers of Scary Movie were Wayans Brothers, whose stock in trade is that kind of cruelty, it makes sense (even if these are another two writers.)

A parody of romantic comedies like Bridget Jones's Diary, My Big Fat Greek Wedding and Hitch, this lame spoof goes for the easy laugh almost every time, beating to death with a golf club every gag with the subtlety of, well ... someone who beats someone else to death with a golf club. The "13" in the movie's "PG-13" rating would seem to be either a limit for either I.Q. or emotional age, as the movie's show pieces are either juvenile blue bits or have something to do with either poop, pee, puke or pus (the dreaded "4 P's"). Putting gifted comic actors like Fred Willard and Jennifer Coolidge in this stinky mess makes them both stinky by association, though as time goes by, the whole lot of them will only be guilty of contributing to a vast background of white noise that we will have learned to filter out when we grow up. Presently #64 on the IMDB's Bottom 100 of all time.