good night and good luck Tagged Articles at Cinematical

If you haven't already, you must read Joshuah Bearman's new Wired article about the 1980 hostage rescue involving the creation of a fake sci-fi movie. Here, I'll sum it up quickly: after the CIA and two makeup artists came up with a non-existent movie (it seemed so real that it had the trades fooled), an operative named Tony Mendez traveled to Iran under the guise of the production in order to sneak out six American hostages. And yes, it worked. Well, it didn't take long for a studio to realize the now-unclassified story would make a perfect non-non-existent movie. Warner Bros. has bought the rights to the article and has tapped none other than George Clooney and Grant Heslov to write the screenplay.

The last film Clooney and Heslov wrote together was Good Night, and Good Luck, for which they received Oscar nominations. And considering the fact that Clooney has worked with CIA subject matter before, with his directorial debut, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, and with his Oscar-winning performance in Syriana, the man seems fully qualified. Hopefully Clooney will also direct the film, which will be called Escape From Tehran, or at least appear in it. It would also be perfect if the project, labeled a dramedy, could employ the two makeup artists, but unfortunately one of them is no longer alive. John Chambers, who won an Honorary Academy Award in 1969 for his work on Planet of the Apes, died in 2001. However, his partner on the mission, Robert Sidell, who went on to do the makeup for E.T., may be able to contribute somehow.

Escape From Tehran reminds me of two other films, Wag the Dog and The Last Shot, but it will likely be good enough to make me forget both (especially the latter). The only thing I ask for is a title change. Right now it sounds like it should feature Kurt Russell as Snake Plisskin, or worse, it could confuse people if it comes out anytime close to the Escape from New York remake. Here is my suggestion, which will associate it better with Clooney's and Heslov's work: You May Proceed. Good Luck. Okay, it isn't actually a better title, but if you read the article (do it!), my idea will at least make sense.

Imagine a Spielberg film that isn't a tent-pole, either in the summer or the winter season. Imagine a Spielberg film that opens on two screens in New York City and Los Angeles before rolling out slowly to the rest of the country. Imagine a Spielberg film at Sundance. Can you possibly think of an indie film directed by Steven Spielberg, the most famous filmmaker of our time? Well, it might not be just a hypothetical idea for long, as the director of Jurassic Park and War of the Worlds has told AMC's Sunday Morning Shootout that he is interested in making smaller, lower-budget films for Dreamworks. It seems he was impressed by his competition at this year's Oscars, saying, "I would love to go off and make a picture like Capote or George Clooney's Good Night, and Good Luck."

Funny, I thought that Spielberg was powerful enough in Hollywood that he kinda has been making the expensive equivalent of indie films, but I guess with all his prestige, he still doesn't have complete freedom at the big studios. He claims the reason he didn't end up directing Memoirs of a Geisha (he served as producer instead) is because studio execs (at Sony, I'm guessing) wouldn't let him film it in Japanese -- and show it subtitled -- for a lower cost of $10 million. The thing is, Memoirs probably would have made more of its money back if Spielberg had gotten his way.

I think Spielberg doing smaller films is a great idea. After all, his movies are often about spectacle, but they are typically about the story first. He's one of the few who still uses special effects as a compliment to his storytelling rather than vice versa. Now, without the spectacle, he could go back to the kinds of thoughtful films he used to make. Take out the mechanical shark from Jaws, the mother ship from Close Encounters and E.T. from E.T. (I mean figuratively, not literally creating a void) and you still have excellent movies.

The episode and interview will be shown on AMC this Sunday.

Who knew George Clooney was such a big Ali G fan? Apparently, the Good Night, and Good Luck director is so into the British comedian, he wrote a part in Ocean's Thirteen specifically for him. With Talladega Nights due out this summer, Ali G (or Sacha Baron Cohen) is beginning to show signs he's ready to roll with the big boys. 

Now that we're just three months away from the start of production, casting for Danny Ocean's third trip to the big screen is really starting to heat up. Recently, after news broke that neither Julia Roberts nor Catherine Zeta-Jones were returning, everyone from Jennifer Lopez to Angelina Jolie are rumored to be interested in a role. Clooney admitted to Sky News that he's a big fan of Cohen's work and that, if he decides to get down with the role, he'd be playing an "oddball character." Oh, and the rest of Ocean's crew are just so normal, right?

In related news, singers Barry Manilow and Céline Dion are also in talks for roles in the film. If that's the case, then this means part of the plot will probably surround a Dion/Manilow concert. Wicked! Ocean's Thirteen is going to totally rock out. I'd say yes to Ali G playing an oddball character. Manilow and Dion? Um, not so much.

 

It's cold and rainy here in blustery Seattle, so why not go catch a movie? Here's a roundup of some of the film offerings around the Emerald City:

FREE MOVIES IN SEATTLE! 

Sure, you can listen to your fave radio station to find out about those nifty free preview screenings.  But if you're really a movie buff, you might want to check out Janet's Film Club at Janet Wainwright PR. They'll send you passes to get in free to lots of preview screenings! The only catch? Use 'em or lose 'em.

UW Film Club 

Japenese Film Series - Supermarket Woman (1996, Itami Juzo). Japanese comedy about a woman (Miyamoto Nobuko) hired to remake a small grocery store to compete against a large chain. Thursday, March 9 @ 7:30PM, UW Savery 239

A Moveable Feast  - Check out a rough cut of this film, by a former UW student. And it's free! At the Ethnic Cultural Center, 3940 Brooklyn Ave NE.

Seattle Jewish Film Festival March 5-19 - This year marks the 11th year of the Seattle Jewish Film Festival, and they have a fantastic lineup. This year's fest runs at three venues: Seattle's Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI), AMC Pacific Place, and Majestic Bay Theaters in Ballard. The festival really kicks into high gear this week, with an interesting lineup of films:

March 11 - The opening night film is Live and Become, which you can have with dessert at the 7PM showing (for passholders special ticket holders only), or without at 9:50PM. The film, which won the audience award at the 2005 Berlinale, tells the story of a young Ethiopian boy in the 1980s whose mother places him with a group of Ethiopian Jewish refugees to save him from the famine. As he grows from a boy into a man under his assumed identity, the lie under which he has lived begins to take its toll.

Check out the full lineup to see when other films are playing.

 

Thankfully, the Oscars are done for another year. We have some very interesting and astute comments from Cinematical readers on our Oscar posts:

Nobody commented on Tom Hank's really bad hairdo, but plenty of you noticed that he seemed to be saying "f***ing moron" or "f***ing idiot" as he stormed on stage to present the Best Director award. Many of our readers have speculated that his apparent anger was in response to host Jon Stewart's comment about the Brokeback Mountain screenwriters wearing jeans; others thought perhaps he was being rushed. Whatever the cause, people were rather shocked at Mr. Nice Guy Hanks using such language at the Oscars.

Stewart announces that the presenters will be coming out in order of acting ability - hah! That didn't go over well with the crowd. Here comes Actor in a Supporting Role, presented by Nicole Kidman, who looks very nice in an ivory embroidered gown with nice, straight hair worn loose. The nominees (like we don't know) are George Clooney, Matt Dillon, Paul Giamatti, Jake Gyllenhaal (in a scene where he's wearing that cheesy '70s gay-stache), and William Hurt.

And the Oscar goes to....

Holy jeepers! To George Clooney! That's a surprise.

Clooney's speech is cute and self-deprecating. He thinks Hollywood is out of touch, but in a good way - oh lordy, he's getting political. He's talking about Hattie McDaniel's Oscar - too bad he forgot to mention that she and her husband had to sit at a back table.

Martha says she loves George.

As long as we're expanding our definition of "expert" this Oscar season, I thought we might as well explore the global-political vote. Herewith then, some words of wisdom from Nikolai Blogostroika, a v odka-soaked, Eastern Bloc -bred character I made up to make jokes about Capitalism and Communism.

Nikolai, what are you thinking in the Best Actor race?

Why do the gay cowboys not show a little gaeity? Back in USSR, we have no cows to be gay about. Truman Capote had eccentric way of dress and spoke with lisp. In Russia, we have Dostoevsky; Capote limp milquetoast sh*t in comparison. But Phillip Seymour Hoffman big strong man, very convincing as fruit.

Interesting. What about Best Actress?

Reese Witherspoon has a head, lumpy like a potato. It is quite appetizing. Many nights in Former Soviet Union, I sit up shivering, longing for such a warm "Ring of Fire".

Triple Oscar nominee George Clooney isn't apologizing for making a joke about lobbyist Jack Abramoff during his Golden Globe's acceptance speech.  According to a story in USA today, Abramoff's father wasn't happy about it and wrote an angry letter to The Desert Sun newspaper attacking Clooney for the off-color reference about his son, saying that Clooney's remark made his granddaughter cry. Clooney is unrepentant, however, saying on The Larry King Show that Abramoff, who has pleaded guilty to numerous fraud and bribery for providing "lavish trips, golf outings, meals", and more to politicians in exchange for political favors, is the one who has disgraced the Abramoff name. 

Clooney is nominated for Academy Awards for supporting actor for Syriana and for screenwriting and directing for Good Night, and Good Luck.

George Clooney doesn't expect to win any Oscars. Really, he doesn't. It's an honor just to be nominated, and all that jazz.  Actually, of all the guys in Hollywood, Clooney is the one guy I actually believe when he says that, which is why he's one of my secret movie star boyfriends. Whether he really is sincere, or he's just really good at acting sincere, who can say? I'm a sucker for those soulful puppydog eyesn and earnest eyebrows, I guess.

Clooney scored three Oscar noms - directing and screenplay nods for Good Night and Good Luck, and a supporting actor nom for his role in Syriana, in which he plays a CIA agent assigned to assassinate the heir to the throne in a Persian Gulf country. You'd think with three noms, he ought to have a decent shot of scoring Oscar gold on at least one.

Personally, I think the Academy needs to invent a special award for actors who put on 35 pounds in a month just to play a part, as Clooney did for Syriana. Do you know how many Twinkies, Krispy Kremes, and Fatburgers it takes to pack on 35 pounds in 30 days? It's not as easy as just slipping into a fatsuit and some latex appliances, as Gywneth Paltrow did for Shallow Hal. Clooney actually ATE to get chunky. And he was forced to grow that nappy looking beard that made him look like my drunk Uncle Louie. Surely that's worth something in the world of self-congratulatory Hollywood back-patting.

So...what did you do this weekend? If you lived in Seattle, you likely spent it at a friend's house or in a local bar, filling your Sunday evening with many tears and much gnashing of teeth. (Of course, if you're the kind of geek who reads Cinematical daily, you likely spent your Sunday evening finding those people and reveling in schadenfreude. I'm just saying.) If you were George Clooney, however, you spent the weekend in Santa Barbara, California, where you picked up an award recognizing you as a Modern Master of film. Clooney is no stranger to the Santa Barbara Film Fest, having premiered his directorial debut, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, at the festival. Clooney, looking all de-Syriana-ed (yes, that is a word) was his usual charming and self-deprecating self in his appearance, claiming that he didn't think he was "brave" for making films like Syriana and Good Night and Good Luck. The film polyglot is quoted as saying, "I'm terrified of not making films like these, and that's the truth. I'm afraid of waking up at 70 years old and saying, 'I'm Batman again'."

Funny, George, but we have the exact same nightma - er, dream. Here's to more directorial and acting success for Clooney...so long as he leaves the tights to Christian Bale.