welcome to the dollhouse Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Update on the New Todd Solondz Movie
Filed under: Comedy », Drama », Independent »
Back in June of last year, Erik Davis blogged about a new project from indie filmmaker Todd Solondz. Said to be a companion piece to Happiness, the film was supposed to begin production in the fall, with the wonderful Paul Reubens/Pee-Wee Herman attached to star. There's been no word since then, and that's because the film slipped into limbo rather than slipping into production. As Erik mentioned -- since Solondz's indie hit Welcome to the Dollhouse, his films have done progressively worse at the box office. So, it's really no surprise to learn that this latest feature, Life During Wartime, is having money issues.Reubens recently talked to MTV about the project and had lots of positive things to say about Solondz while ruing about the film's troubles: "If it gets made, I'm doing it -- but I'm not sure. It's gotten pushed three times. He's had problems with the financing on it. To me, it's such a sad state of events that he can't get that movie made. He's such a talented guy. His movies are so incredible." I imagine the fight for funding will continue for a while, but should the film get made, what will it be like? Well, rumored cast includes Emma Thompson, Demi Moore, and Paul Dano, and Reubens says: "It's characters from Welcome to the Dollhouse and Happiness whose paths converge. It's all different people playing the same roles. I'm playing a role someone else played in one of those movies." Now... If Pee-Wee was going to take on Dawn Wiener... I really, really hope they get funding because I would pay to see that.
If you've seen the films, what role would you want Reubens to play?
Solondz Announces New Film
Filed under: DIY/Filmmaking », Newsstand »
I admit, you have to be a certain kind of person to fully enjoy and understand a Todd Solondz film. Personally, I became a fan of his after watching Happiness and saying to myself, "Holy crap, that was disturbing, yet oddly enjoyable." Most, if not all Solondz films deal with obsession, and he does a wonderful job of unearthing the inadequate emotions found in his characters.
Remember that scene in Happiness where Philip Seymour Hoffman was treating his body as if it were an amusement park? Or, in Storytelling, the, um, interesting scene between Selma Blair and her professor? Solondz is a master at making us feel uncomfortable. However, that's often why his films never get much press. Just recently, Solondz announced his next film which, for the time being, is called The New Todd Solondz Film. Partnering, once again, with producer Ted Hope (Happiness, Storytelling), Solondz admits his next film will serve as sort of a companion piece to Happiness and Welcome to the Dollhouse. He says, "Many of the characters from these movies unexpectedly beckoned to me, and so I have explored new ways of developing and enlarging their stories, with the intent to recast them from a fresh perspective." Seeing as those two films are my favorite of his by far, I'm certainly excited to see where he goes with this. You?
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