Posts with tag spielberg
John Rhys-Davies (aka Sallah) Written Out of 'Indy 4,' Source Says
Filed under: Action », Casting », RumorMonger », Newsstand », Remakes and Sequels »
According to a recent report that surfaced over at Dark Horizons, stalwart Indiana Jones sidekick Sallah, played by John Rhys-Davies in both Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade will not be appearing in the fourth installment of the franchise. I'm not sure if this exactly qualifies as a "travesty" or not, but it is a little disappointing, especially as Sallah was a very important part of Raiders and provided the film with some of its best lines, like: "Snakes, you go first" and the classic "Bad dates." So, why is he reportedly not being included in Indy 4? According to the site, Rhys-Davies was asked about his appearance in the film at a recent Sci-Fi convention in New Zealand. He answered that, through a third party, he was told his character was written out of the script in favor of "a younger cast." If that's really the reason he was given for not being in the film, I have to wonder a little about it. And, if his character was "written out," could it be that at one point it was "written in?" Not to be a nit-picker but according to IMDB, Rhys-Davies is actually two years younger than Harrison Ford. Although, I guess you can't really have an Indiana Jones movie without Indiana Jones. Plus, Lucas and Spielberg probably decided that one old guy running around getting into fights, swinging from a bullwhip, shooting bad guys and protecting antiquities was enough for one movie. Thinking about it like that I guess I can't really blame them. Still, what's next, no Short Round either?
Major Hollywood Dems Defect to Support the Governator
Filed under: RumorMonger », Newsstand », Politics »
Well, color me shocked. According to this piece by Nikki Finke, several major Hollywood Democrats -- including Steven Spielberg and Jeffery Katzenberg (but not, interestingly, the third member of the original Dreamworks SKG triumverate, David Geffen) -- have come out in support of their "friend", incumbent governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, over his Democratic rival, Phil Angelides. Also turning out on the Governor's side of the fence is Haim Saban, owner and founder of Saban Entertainment (which may sound more familiar in its post-Disney-buyout incarnation as Buena Vista Entertainment). Saban, as Finke notes, is a particularly perplexing defector, given the $200K he dropped fighting the recall election that gave Ah-nuld the opportunity to muscle his way to the state's top seat. Finke, who is not what one might call an ardent fan of Schwarzenegger to begin with, questions whether the power players jumping ship on their own party is really about friendship or some ulterior, business-related motive (cue Dr. Evil here, saying, "An eeeeevil motive?")
What say you, Californians? Is this news as shocking to you as it apparently was to Finke? Is the Dems candidate really so weak a prospect that it justifies jumping the party line to support Schwarzenegger? Do you buy the line that it's all the the name of friendship, or do you call B.S. on these fickle Democrats as Finke does?
Jurassic Park IV script finalized
Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Scripts »
Most people, the kind who don't mind the occasional big
budget popcorn flick anyway, had good things to say about Jurassic
Park when it came out in 1993. The sequels, however, didn't impress quite as much. I can agree that The Lost World took the franchise to puzzling levels of
goofiness, but I think the series redeemed itself somewhat with the third installment. It wasn't perfect, and the
raptors by that point conveniently switched from intelligent to dimwitted as arbitrarily as Homer Simpson, but at least
some elements of realism were brought back and the kitsch of the previous episode was tastefully discarded.
The lesson, perhaps, is that you can never go back. Michael Crichton is an intelligent man, but he's far too left-brained to write a truly compelling story. This made Jurassic Park the perfect vehicle for Spielberg, as he could take the best elements of Crichton's tale of science vs. nature and flesh it out into the mega blockbuster it became.
So what of Jurassic Park IV? Producer Frank Marshall says the script has been written and production will begin next year. Nothing is really known about the script, though it's been rumored the story will focus heavily on the character of Lex, the granddaughter of the billionaire investor, John Hammond (Sir Richard Attenborough), who funded the park. It is doubtful, however, that Ariana Richards, who played Lex in the original movie, will reprise her role. I don't see how the series can duplicate the original movie at this point, and I don't think it should try to. Jurassic Park III was a step away from The Lost World, and it was a wise step to take. If the fourth installment continues on that path, so much the better.
Beware, the new generation of filmmakers!
Filed under: Critical Thought », DIY/Filmmaking »
WNYC's Brian Lehrer
did a segment this morning with Joshua Horowitz, author of the new book, The Mind
of the Modern Moviemaker: Twenty Conversations with the New Generation of Filmmakers, and Kerry Conran, creator of
that strange hybrid of painterly geekery and celebrity charity, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. It's a
good piece of radio, but Horowitz' book is an odd bag, comprised as it is with interviews with both card-carrying
hipster aesthetes like Michel Gondry, and dude-movie heroes like Todd "Old School" Phillips. To many
of us, a lot of the guys that Horowitz singles out for investigation are unremarkable hacks; to Horowitz, they're a new
crop of auteurs, stamping a generation-specific brand of irony and self-referentiality and digital savvy on classical
filmmaking. I'm sure he's probably right, but I'm not sure this is cause for celebration. The segment reminded me of a coversation I had last week about the state of the jump cut, and other technical tactics that filmmakers employ to remind you that you're watching a film. The person I was speaking with praised a certain filmmaker's use of such tactics as "Godardian". In response, I said something along the lines of, "I think if Godard was dead, one would hope that the post-digital flurry of self-referentiality would have him rolling in his grave." (As it is, the old New Wave master seems to be too far afield of relevancy to cause much of a fuss about anything).
The running theme of Horowitz's argument seems to be that it's easier now, for people who want to badly enough, to make films: Conran spends years developing virtual sets on his home computer and eventually finds himself directing Gwyneth Paltrow in front of a blue screen; Kevin Smith maxes out his credit card, feeds his friends lines about blow jobs and Yoda, and we get Clerks. Which all reminds me of a line from a little dino-film by Steven Speilberg, who probably deserves as much credit for the filmmaking foibles of this new generation as anyone: "You spent so much time worrying about whether you could do it, you didn't stop to think if you should."
Later today, you'll be able to listen to the interview here.
Munich screeners screwed for BAFTAs
Filed under: Awards », Universal », Tech Stuff », Distribution », Steven Spielberg », Home Entertainment », Oscar Watch »
Despite the controversy over Spielberg's political
leanings (not to mention the wishy-washy press
"embargo"), Munich has thus far failed to make as much of an impact on the awards scene as many earlier
predicted. That situation was not helped by yesterday's news that voters for the BAFTAs (Britain's version of the
Oscars) were sent DVD screeners that most members could not watch. It all ties into piracy paranoia. Remember months ago when the studios started signing up with Cinea to encode their DVD screeners? The idea was that voters would be sent special DVDs that could only play on Cinea-specific players, which would also be provided. This seems to have gone off without a hitch in most cases, but a customs snafu kept the screeners out of the hands of voters past the January 3 deadline for early voting. Universal issued an apology, promising that voters would get their screeners in time for the final deadline, and issuing a vaguely threatening warning: "Do not vote without seeing this extraordinary film." Numbers are not yet in in regards to how many voters actually obeyed this command, but those that did probably did not vote at all – when the screeners did arrive, they were encoded as Region One, which only works in the US and Canada, presumably Cinea-player be damned. As the film is not yet in British theaters, those who have not recently gone cinemagoing in the US will be unable to vote for it (if they choose to disobey Universal's orders and vote at all).
I think Eric Bangeman at Ars Technica sums this up best: "Region encoding is stupid, and like many of the other steps taken by the content-creation industry to protect its interests, it hurts consumers, he writes. "I'm wondering what the fallout from the situation withMunich and BAFTA will be. Spielberg is a major player in Hollywood, and I can't imagine he's pleased that his masterpiece will be ineligible for consideration for the British awards." "Masterpiece" might be stretching it, but what good are piracy regulations if keep the films in question from getting awards recognition, which is in itself primarily useful for its ability to jack up box office?
Spielberg defends Munich ... but is the "controversy" for real?
Filed under: Drama », Universal », RumorMonger », Celebrities and Controversy », Newsstand », Steven Spielberg », Politics », Oscar Watch »
Stop the presses – or, at least, the blog software: Steven Spielberg has broken his interview embargo to
"defend" Munich. He gave a phone interview to Roger Ebert and, predictably, he doesn't say a whole
lot ("I knew I was going to be losing friends when I took on the
subject ... I am also making new friends"), but I suppose after all the press about how he absolutely refused to
do press, the conversation is news itself.It's actually less a passionate defense than a carefully-worded dismissal: "I am as truly pro-Israeli as you can possibly imagine ... But there is a constituency that nothing you can say or do will ever satisfy." Spielberg himself admits that the silliest aspect of this whole buzz ball is that one faction is accusing him of "moral equivalency" - in other words, of making like Switzerland and refusing to pick a side. "Frankly," he tells Ebert, "I think that's a stupid charge." The film is meant to be critical of Israel, he says – but in the nicest, gentlest, most puppy-dogs-and-ice-cream, appropriate for a 10 year old's birthday party way possible. "Criticism is a form of love. I love America, and I'm critical of this administration. I love Israel, and I ask questions."
There are two notable things about this interview, I think. 1) Anybody who really believed Spielberg wasn't going to do speak to the press is hopelessly naive, and 2) This whole "controversy" seems suspiciously without teeth. What vaguely political film *doesn't* inspire a couple of wire stories about the various offended parties? Is there really a fight brewing that needs quelling – or is it just that there's a small bubble of negative reviews that needs press-savvy puncturing? Call me cynical, but this whole thing is so measured, so controlled, so suspiciously well-timed – from the first dart tossed to Spielberg's "response", this so-called controversy strikes me as staged.
Box office chaos: Variety in 60 Seconds
Filed under: Comedy », New Line », Sony », Universal », Box Office », Variety in 60 Seconds », Oscar Watch »
- Hollywood is unloading a
ridiculous number of films this week, some for Oscar consideration (cough Munich cough), some to capitalize
on your children being out of school, and some to clear the coffers in time for Q1. But because Christmas falls on a
Sunday – meaning that most will head to the mall instead of the movies on Saturday afternoon – a less-than
phenomenal holiday weekend is predicted. The article also sneaks in an odd tidbit that backs up my hunch that New Line
has no clue what they're doing with The New World: the studio opens the picture on 3 screens Christmas
Day, audiences will see the 149 minute version of the film that was screened for critics. But Terry Malick is
apparently cutting another, 20-minute shorter version as we speak for the wide release.
- Meanwhile, Universal's got nothing but bad news on the Kong front: the Big Fake Gorilla was beat down mid-week by Narnia, and saw unexpectedly virile competition from Sony's apparent debacle Fun With Dick and Jane. Tumbleweeds apparently blew through theaters showing quickie kiddie sequel Cheaper by the Dozen 2.
- Robert Koehler has harsh words for The Ringer. "Sometimes veering close to being a promotional film for the Special Olympics, pic will be applauded by the disability community and its advocates but quickly ignored by longtime fans of the Farrellys and Knoxville for a subdued B.O. run."
Israeli government aid promoting Munich
Filed under: Drama », Universal », Steven Spielberg », Movie Marketing », Remakes and Sequels »
In order to counteract a raft of pre-release bad publicity, Steven Spielberg has hired Eyal Arad, an aid to Israeli
Prime Minsiter Ariel Sharon, to promote his film Munich to Israelis. Spielberg's been getting it from various
ends for months for the allegedly questionable source materials on which Munich is based, and those attacks
have only increased in recent weeks as various pundits have seen the film, and others have come out of the woodworks to
make semi-informed contributions to the discourse. A typical criticism of Munich comes from Avi Dichter, the
retired head of Israel's Shin Bet intelligence service, who compared the film to a children's adventure story.
"There is no comparison between what you see in the movie and how it works in reality," he said after
attending a screening in Washington. Arad is already combatting such criticism by showing Munich to deeply interested parties – he hosted a screening for two of the widows of the athletes killed in the events that inspired the film. One of the widows, Ilana Romano, was satisfied with the film, saying she felt it did "no dishonour to the memory of the murdered athletes, nor to the image of the state of Israel," and noting that if Spielberg really wanted to attack the state, he would have depicted Israeli's botched retaliation attempt, which involved the killing of an innocent, uninvolved man in Norway. "Had Spielberg wanted to harm Israel's image, he would have included the Lillehammer affair," Romano told reporters. "Don't let's over-analyse Spielberg's film." Um, sorry Ilana, but over-analysis? Sort of our job.
Why Doesn't Tom Cruise Just Make Scientology: The Movie?
Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Celebrities and Controversy »
You guys really jumped on our Tom Cruise/Scientology poll - if you haven't checked out the comments to that post, you should, because there's some pretty wild stuff going on there. We thought one comment deserved some extra attention. Reader Sanjeev writes: "Reading this blog seems to indicate that the "Xenu" subject has lot of mystery around it...I am sure millions are curious about what Tom's viewpoints are on this subject." Yeah, I would say so. So, maybe, "Tom should make a movie on this subject ... and Steven Spielberg would love directing it, knowing how he loves to scare people and make mean alien movies."
<insert emoticon of Karina smiling out of corner of her mouth here>
Sanjeev continues, "The publicity expenses on such movie could be minimal since
so many websites have already raised the public awareness, and created a big "mystery" about it. Millions would flock to see the movie since they are curious about Tom's viewpoints on this subject. I cannot but see this as a mega-blockbuster idea :-)"
I'm totally on board. Except for one thing: how do you keep this from being Battlefield Earth II: Cruise Control?
Israeli government aid promoting Munich
Filed under: Drama », Universal », Steven Spielberg », Movie Marketing »
In order to counteract a raft of pre-release bad publicity, Steven Spielberg has hired Eyal Arad, an aid to Israeli
Prime Minsiter Ariel Sharon, to promote his film Munich to Israelis. Spielberg's been getting it from various
ends for months for the allegedly questionable source materials on which Munich is based, and those attacks
have only increased in recent weeks as various pundits have seen the film, and others have come out of the woodworks to
make semi-informed contributions to the discourse. A typical criticism of Munich comes from Avi Dichter, the
retired head of Israel's Shin Bet intelligence service, who compared the film to a children's adventure story.
"There is no comparison between what you see in the movie and how it works in reality," he said after
attending a screening in Washington. Arad is already combatting such criticism by showing Munich to deeply interested parties – he hosted a screening for two of the widows of the athletes killed in the events that inspired the film. One of the widows, Ilana Romano, was satisfied with the film, saying she felt it did "no dishonour to the memory of the murdered athletes, nor to the image of the state of Israel," and noting that if Spielberg really wanted to attack the state, he would have depicted Israeli's botched retaliation attempt, which involved the killing of an innocent, uninvolved man in Norway. "Had Spielberg wanted to harm Israel's image, he would have included the Lillehammer affair," Romano told reporters. "Don't let's over-analyse Spielberg's film." Um, sorry Ilana, but over-analysis? Sort of our job.
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