miramax Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Take a good look at the woman on your right, because this is the real Toby Phalen Young, and I just wanted to make sure that we all got to see the real person before Hollywood gets a hold of her. Variety reports that Miramax has optioned the Wall Street Journal article, The Heart Has Its Reasons, for a feature film (you can read the full article over at WSJ). Kevin Helliker's article tells the story of Young, a 48-year-old mother of two who fell in love with a convicted murderer and wound up in prison herself.

In 2004, Young had created a program for counseling inmates by having them care for dogs. This is where she met the 27-year-old murderer, James Manard. At the age of 17, Manard participated in a carjacking that left one of the passengers fatally shot. Manard received life in prison and had little hope of getting out. As the two became closer, an escape plan formed; Young grabbed $42,000 from her retirement fund and smuggled Manard out of prison. The two were eventually located in a Honeymoon cabin in Tennessee (how romantic!), and now Manard is back in prison, and Young is facing felony charges.

It was just this past May when Patrick Walsh blogged that the MPAA was going to start using smoking as a consideration of a film's rating. Just a few months later, Disney seems to be following suit, declaring a ban on smoking in future films. Chief exec Robert A. Iger wrote a letter to US congressman Edward Markey about the subject, which the congressman has made public. Iger claimed that smoking in future Disney films would be "non-existent." He also says that anti-smoking announcements would show up before any future film where smoking is shown. Personally, I'm not sure how he can have it be both non-existent AND showing up, unless he means future films already in production only.

While Markey is calling this "a really important first step," I'm waiting to see something actually happen with it. The letter also states that Disney would "discourage" depictions of smoking in films that get released under Touchstone and Miramax. It's going to be axed, then deterred and then discouraged? Sounds to me like making "effort" in word only, not in deed.

If you like the billowing, cloud of cinematic smoke, Film Forum has a NYC Noir series coming up, which has a bit of a celebration of smoke, because really, what's old-school noir without the cancer stick? Organizer Bruce Goldstein told The Reeler: "I love images of people smoking, and I think [others] find it attractive, even if they don't smoke -- they find it sexy in old movie images. It's so iconic, not only for film noir but for old movies. What's better than a femme fatale with a cigarette dangling out of her mouth? What better image?"

Now there's a casting tidbit I bet you never expected. Back in March, we told you how Columbia Pictures had optioned the rights to turn The Green Hornet into a big-screen adventure, after both Universal (with Ron Underwood directing) and Miramax (with Kevin Smith directing) couldn't muster up the guts to put out the film themselves. Immediately casting rumors swirled round the water cooler, with names like Jake Gyllenhaal, George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg coming up more than once. However, The LA Times claim Seth Rogen (yes, Seth "Knocked Up" Rogen!) "has entered a deal to write and likely star" in The Green Hornet.

I'm sorry ... but Seth Rogen? How do you go from George Clooney or Jake Gyllenhaal to Seth Rogen? That just seems ... weird. Regardless, that's what's being reported, and with Rogen writing, does that mean we should expect a real comedic Apatow-style take on the classic crime-fighter? The Green Hornet originally began as a radio show in the 1930s, and has since taken on a number of forms -- from comic books to television shows, the character has been around for almost 80 years now. Essentially, the story revolves around a guy named Brit Reid (blood relative of The Lone Ranger); a newspaper publisher by day and a masked hero at night (with help from his sidekick/bodyguard, Kato). He sort of reminds me of Dick Tracy with a mask. The LA Times claims that Rogen's deal was confirmed by "a number of sources inside and outside the studio," so it all seems pretty legit. Seth Rogen as The Green Hornet? I don't see it; what about you? And if Rogen stars, does that mean someone like Jack Black will play Kato? Ouch. As of now, it looks like Columbia will release the film at some point in 2009.

There used to be a lot of talk buzzing around about The Green Hornet. However, while an alien in tights, an insect hero and a certain fantastic group of four have been fighting crime, the Hornet has lounged in the dugout, waiting for his turn at bat. He almost got his shot when Kevin Smith was heading the project for Miramax, but then Silent Bob bowed out a year ago, stating that he wasn't an action director. While that seemed to be the end of it, the tide has now turned in another direction. Variety has reported today that Columbia Pictures has optioned the rights to crime-fighter, which will be set up with Neal H. Moritz and Original Film.

If you're uninitiated in the ways of the Hornet -- at night, the Hornet was a masked hero who fought crime along with his sidekick, Kato. By day, however, he was Britt Reid, a blood relative of The Lone Ranger and a newspaper publisher. What makes this hero different is that he's a cross between Batman and any sexy, stylish hard-boiled detective. Instead of tights, Hornet wears a mask, suit, trench and fedora. If Columbia can get it right, this could be gold for the company -- a masked crime fighter who doesn't have to wear a ridiculous get-up.

Now that we're getting back on track with the adaptation, who would play Reid/Hornet and who would be Kato, a role that was once Bruce Lee's? Early rumors paired Jake Gyllenhaal with Jet Li, but that's just silly. Who would buy a sidekick who is much older than the hero? If the studio is going to go young, Gyllenhaal or any other hot-jawed actor who can look good in a suit would work, and then Kato's natural choice would be Ong-bak star Tony Jaa. If you go older, Li works well, and maybe... I know this is a stretch, but Crispin Glover bears a resemblance to Al Hodge, who was the Hornet years ago. But again, any older actor in a suit can do it. Who would you cast?

I'm just dying to complain a bit about the Golden Globes, so please indulge me for just a moment. Let's take a look at the winner for Best Dramatic Film, Alejandro González Iñárritu's Babel (currently playing on 173 screens). Now, let's compare it with two other films directed by Iñárritu's pals, Alfonso Cuarón's Children of Men and Guillermo Del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth (194 screens). Being totally honest, hardly anyone would say that Babel is the best film of the three. It's long and vague and reeks of self-importance, and even some of our most overenthusiastic critics shrugged their shoulders at it. But of the three, it's the most awards-like. It has a message about guns, and one character has a medical condition (she's deaf), which almost always results in awards. Plus, it carefully straddles the line between confusing and complex, so that even viewers who didn't quite get the point were reluctant to say so for fear of looking dumb. (Last year's Syriana pulled off the same stunt.)

On the other hand, Pan's Labyrinth and Children of Men employ genre elements in their story construction, namely horror and sci-fi, and nothing turns off awards-givers faster. Not that either film was dumb, not by a long shot. But their messages were cleverly woven into the story's fabric, instead of waved around like a flag. Such subtleties are often lost on the folks that hand out awards. This leads one to conclude, though many find the idea ludicrous or depressing, that filmmakers deliberately make films with certain elements in place to win awards. But what's really depressing is not so much that they do this, but that it works.

For some odd reason (and this has everything to do with my own weird idiosyncrasies), I could never tell the difference between the stage plays Proof and Doubt. Both of them were on stage in New York City at the same time and, even though they're two completely different animals, I would always confuse them. Oh, and it doesn't help that Miramax is involved with the big screen adaptations of both Proof and Doubt.

However, when Proof finally came out in theaters (after getting somewhat lost in the post-Weinstein fall out with Miramax), it was one of the last Miramax films to have Bob and Harvey listed as executive producers. Now, the new Miramax has teamed up with producer Scott Rudin to bring John Patrick Shanley's Pulitzer Prize-winning play Doubt to the big screen. The play is set in 1964, and revolves around a nun who confronts a priest she suspects is abusing a black student. While the play doesn't even feature said black student, the film will apparently include the character, as well as other students, and utilize several locations throughout Bronx, New York -- not just the school. Currently, there's no word on casting -- in the play, Cherry Jones played the nun and Brian O'Byrne played the priest. Miramax and Rudin also teamed up on The Queen which, as you're already aware, is nominated for everything this year.

I'm curious, is there some sort of unspoken Hollywood rule that if Scott Rudin doesn't have at least one film nominated for Best Picture every year, the entire world will somehow collapse? (Oh, and ladies -- I specifically chose the above picture of Rudin just for you. Enjoy the weekend!)

Producer Saul Zaentz no sooner finishes one court case before he's back at it again. This time Zaentz has launched a $20 million lawsuit against Walt Disney Company, including the Miramax Films unit, over profits from the 1996 drama The English Patient.

Reuters reports that the famed producer of Lord of The Rings (1978), Amadeus, and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest filed suit last Thursday at the Los Angeles Superior Court. Zaentz's suit accuses Disney and Miramax of failing to share the profits for the Oscar-winning drama. According to Zaentz's suit, "Like Enron, Tyco and WorldCom, Miramax has used fraudulent and unfair accounting and business practices to deprive (Saul Zaentz Co.) of its profit participation,". Miramax has claimed that they have yet to make back what it cost them to acquire, distribute and market the film, so according to them there are no profits.

Well, Zaentz must think 20 is his lucky number, as he sued and won for that exact same amount ($20 million, that is) in a 2005 lawsuit against New Line Cinema over profits from the Lord of the Rings films. Hopefully Zaentz has better luck with his lawsuit than he had keeping Peter Jackson on The Hobbit. Plus, something tells me Disney isn't going to like that Enron crack.

It has now been one week since Apple started selling movies through its iTunes service, and, with only one studio participating (Disney, which includes Miramax, Pixar and Touchstone), the company has already sold 125,000 downloads, earning $1 million. While this may not be much in comparison to a single movie's weekly DVD earnings, it's a pretty good debut for a product that has far fewer benefits. However, the initial numbers could be a sign of people's curiosity, with the possibility that disappointment with the service could decrease returns as time goes by. I doubt that any more studios will announce a jump-on as soon as this week, but if the movies sell another million by this time next Tuesday, the rest of Hollywood should be quick to get in on the profits.

Disney is expecting their total earnings to reach $50 million within one year.

Odds and ends from Wednesday:

• Watch out Dakota Fanning -- there's a new Dakota out there on the horizon who's bound to give the old Dakota a run for her money. Variety reports that 12-year-old newcomer Dakota Blue Richards (much cooler name if I may say so myself) has been chosen among 10,000 girls in the U.K for the lead role in The Golden Compass. Pic, which will be directed by Chris Weitz (Yes, this time he's really directing it) is an adaptation of the first book in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials fantasy trilogy. With a budget of $150 million, Compass will become New Line's most expensive since The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
• Hey, remember that Frankie Muniz sex comedy that had Martha foaming at the mouth in anticipation of its release? Yeah, well Dimension Films has snatched up the rights to Parental Guidance Suggested, suggesting that people should actually pay money to go see this thing. Labeled a "sketch comedy feature," pic boasts an ensemble cast that includes a cast full of folks that have the potential to be funny if it weren't for the moronic films they choose to appear in. Yes, I'm talking about you Jamie Kennedy. 
• Well, it appears Leonardo DiCaprio's Appian Way has taken a small lead in the race to land a Timothy Leary-related film in theaters. Appian has gone ahead and tapped playwright Craig Lucas and Leary archivist Michael Horowitz to develop a biopic based on the famous 1960s icon as a potential starring vehicle for the Titanic star. Now, you may recall that Appian is not alone in their pursuit to create a film about the LSD advocate. In fact, Miramax has already gone ahead and purchased the rights to Robert Greenfield's book, Timothy Leary: A Biography, with similar intentions. And, while all this is going on, director Darren Aronofsky is said to be quietly developing his own Leary project as well. Since there's a good chance we won't see three Leary films hit theaters at the same time, I'm wondering who will nab the top spot? Not for nothing, but these other guys don't stand a chance against, well, the King of the world. My money is on DiCaprio.

Miramax recently purchased the rights to a forthcoming biography of Timothy Leary, with an eye to making a totally groovy biopic about the 1960s icon. Music writer Robert Greenfield's book -- unsurprisingly title Timothy Leary: A Biography -- is based in large part on interviews with Leary friends and associates and is, according to Publishers Weekly, a "'decidedly ugly portrayal of a pathologically selfish, narcissistic yet complex man who lacked basic qualities such as empathy and compassion" likely to evoke in readers a "visceral dislike for Leary." Wow. That was unexpected, huh? Suddenly I'm really intrigued by this project -- it would have been very easy for Miramax to make a "Yay, LSD!" movie in which Leary's contributions to the 1960s were celebrated in a sort of nostalgic way, but their choice of Greenfield's book as their source (assuming someone at the studio has read it) suggests they've got something much more complex in mind.

How and if this project is related to the rumored Leary biopics being planned by both Darren Aronofsky and Leonardo DiCaprio's Appian Way production company is anyone's guess. It's unlikely, though, that DiCaprio, whose father was a good friend of Leary's, would be interested in anything based on Greenfield's negative portrayal.