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Psychotic Reactions
-- John Shea
17 June, 2003
I haven't really been around here for a few days. Sorry about that folks. This site isn't exactly paying all my bills yet. Okay, it doesn't pay any of the bills yet. So unfortunately I periodically have to spend some time earning my keep. For the moment that's out of the way so let's get back to my real love: movies.
The box office didn't exactly sizzle this weekend. Finding Nemo reasserted itself, reclaiming the top spot with a healthy $29.2 in its third weekend. 2 Fast 2 Furious stalled badly, dropping 62% to $19.1 million. Both remained right in line with my long term predictions. Opening new this week were three films, Hollywood Homicide, Rugrats Go Wild and Dumb and Dumberer. Rugrats performed the best of the trio opening with $12.5 million. The Harrison Ford action comedy Hollywood Homicide managed a weak $11.9 million for a fifth place opening. Dumb & Dumberer, a sequel so hot that none of the actors, writers or directors wanted anything to do with it, opened sixth with $11.1 million. Expect a quick trip to video for this week's newcomers.
Elsewhere in the world, Mel Gibson's apparently impressive legal team has caused the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and Anti-Defamation League to provide formal apologies. This comes following a protest by both organizations based on a report from a group of religious scholars who had obtained an early copy of the script for Gibson's latest project, The Passion. The film, which just finished shooting in Italy, follows the last 12 hours in the life of Jesus Christ. The film is aiming for absolute accuracy, down to having the actors speak in a pair of dead languages in use at the time, Latin and Aramaic. The film will be shown without subtitles. More on that later. Based on that early script, the groups were concerned that the movie would portray Jews as greedy and responsible for Christ's death and could challenge the Catholic Church's teachings. The concerns came to light based on a New York Times article that portrayed Gibson's father as a hard core Catholic who even rejected the Vatican II reforms of the 60s and believed the Holocaust never ocurred. Naturally, these groups felt that Gibson may have taken some of these beliefs for his own. Mix in a movie about a highly debated moment in history and you get an explosive cocktail.
What stands out to me is that Gibson managed to quell the protests on a legal basis. Other films that drew complaint from religious groups like Dogma or The Last Temptation of Christ had to suffer unending abuse that, based on the final film, was unwarranted. All of these protests were for a film unseen by its critics. The film's producer, Steve McEveety, said that while critics have a right to their opinion, "no one has a right to publicly critique a film that has not even been completed, let alone base their critique on an outdated version of the script which has been illegally obtained." Although it may sound odd, I agree with McEveety here. Yes we run script reviews here all the time but they are just that, script reviews. When I review a script I make it a point to indicate how old the script is and how likely it has been changed since the draft I reviewed. I try to indicate what a director or actors could add to the film. Basically, a script review is simpley a review of a written piece. Nothing else can be critiqued apart from the script and that is all we do. I would never think of launching a protest against a film based on the script alone. We have no idea if it is the same copy used for the shoot. We have no idea what visuals the film adds that can change the subtext. We don't know what the actors may adlib. It's entirely wrong to make a judgement on a completed film based on partial information and a script is just that. I'm sure these scholars look at it differently. Their whole career is based upon the review and analysis of written documents. To them it is no doubt an alien concept to consider what can be layered on to a script that makes for sometimes a wildly different product. I have never read a script that was exactly the same as the finished film. Never. Some are much better and some are much worse but the final product is always to some extent different.
Gibson did the right thing in standing up for his film fiercely. He had the law on his side and he took advantage of that to quiet the debate before his film has a fair chance to speak for itself. He is clearly a very religious man and this piece is very important to him. "Neither I nor my film are anti-Semitic ... Nor do I hate anybody -- certainly not the Jews. They are my friends and associates ... Anti-Semitism is not only contrary to my personal beliefs, it is also contrary to the core message of my movie." He added that the film is "meant to inspire, not offend. ... For those concerned about the content of this film, know that it conforms to the narratives of Christ's passion and death found in the four Gospels of the New Testament."
The film has a budget in the neighborhood of $25 million and he's footing most, if not all of the bill. He doesn't even have a distributor for the film yet. Getting one will prove difficult. Even with his box office clout, very few companies are going to be interested in a controversial film performed in two dead languages without subtitles. The only reason to do this is because it means an awful lot to him. It just doesn't make sense any other way. So give the film a chance. Don't let it be dumped on mercilessly like Dogma or The Last Temptation of Christ, two films that were actually rather devout and whose only crime was apparently to dare to consider the underpinnings of Christianity with an open mind. As for The Passion, we can have no idea where it stands until it is seen in its final form.
RIP
It's been a bad week for losing good people. First David Brinkley and Gregory Peck and now Hume Cronyn. He passed away Saturday night after a long fight with prostate cancer. He first appeared in movies in the 40s in Hitchcock films and later co-wrote the director's films Rope and Under Capricorn. He showed great range by playing villains in The Postman Always Rings Twice and Brute Force and then playing a sympathetic father of his real life wife Jessica Tandy in The Green Years. The couple were the first ever to win lifetime achievement Tony awards. Cronyn was also an Emmy award winner for Broadway Bound and Oscar nominated for The Seventh Cross. Prior to Tandy's passing in 1994, the couple appeared together in the popular films Cocoon, Coccon: The Return and Batteries Not Included.
News
X3: X2 producer Tom DeSanto spoke to Cinescape about the next sequel, and what mutants might be added. "Angel - The funny thing about Angel is that he was in several versions of the original X-Men script until very, very late in the game...He was also in quite a few drafts of X-Men 2 and it was ultimately decided that, again, story time was better spent developing other characters like Nightcrawler. So hopefully we'll see him in X-Men 3, but it ultimately comes down to serving the story. Beast - Beast is probably the number one contender who's made it the farthest along in X-Men and X-Men 2. Sentinels - For a while, the Sentinels were in some of the thought processes behind the second movie, but again, it's trying to keep it real and do it right. If they're done, I think they should be in all their 30-foot-tall glory and not walking around human size."
Color Me Kubrick: John Malkovich has decided to take the lead role in this comedy. It is based based on a real event where a man weaseled his way into London's high society scene by claiming to be the legendary director. The project has a bit of a pedigree in terms of Kubrick himself. His longtime assistant, Anthony Frewin wrote the script while Brian Cook, who was part of Kubrick's crew on Eyes Wide Shut will direct. (The Hollywood Reporter)
Be Cool: MGM is in talks with Rush Hour director Brett Ratner to take the reins of their Get Shorty sequel. They hope to sign him shortly and have the film in production by the end of the year. (The Hollywood Reporter)
Transformers: CNN is reporting that the live action remake will be based on the original lineup of characters and designs. Optimus Prime will lead the Autobots and Megatron will lead the Decepticons. The story follows the two groups of robots as they crashland on Earth while looking for new sources of energy. Producer Don Murphy said, "We figured the technology had finally caught up to the point where we could actually show and 18-wheel truck turning into a giant robot."
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Believe it or not, this project isn't dead. Karey Kirkpatrick (Chicken Run) has been hired to write yet another version of the script. Spyglass Films holds the film rights to the book and and partner Roger Birnbaum said "We finally cracked the story and hired these clever English fellows to make sure that the picture is visually inventive and funny and accessible to contemporary audiences while still connected to the book Douglas wrote almost 25 years ago." Empire Online reports that the two clever English fellows are Garth Jennings and Nick Goldsmith. And no, you probably haven't heard of them. The duo is best known for making music videos for bands such as Blur. Reportedly the project was offered to Spike Jonze (Being John Malkovich, Adaptation) who turned it down but recommended the British duo for the job. While the book remains one of my all time favorites, I can't say as I'm looking forward to a movie adaptation. The main problem is that most of what made the book so funny are a series of jokes that are neither visual nor dialogue based. It's all in the writing style of the late Douglas Adams. I wish these guys the best of luck and hope they make it work, but I'm not expecting much.
Casting Couch
The Aviator: Alec Baldwin and Danny Huston are joining the cast of Scorsese's latest project. Baldwin will be playing Juan Tripp, the head of Pan American Airlines. Huston will portray Jack Frye, president of TransWorld Airlines. The cast for this film is looking truly impressive at this point. (The Hollywood Reporter)
Slow Burn: Jolen Blalock (Enterprise) has signed for the female lead in this thriller that also stars Ray Liotta and LL Cool J. The story is of an ambitious DA who tangles with a gang leader, only to discover he is being manipulated by an assistant district attorney (Blalock) and a mysterious stranger (LL). (The Hollywood Reporter)
I, Robot: James Cromwell and Bruce Greenwood have joined the cast of the Alex Proyas film based on Isaac Asimov's story. Greenwood plays an executive, Lance Robertson, at US Robotis who is entangled in a murder investigation. Cromwell will be a computer programmer named Dr. Lanning. Will Smith is the star of the film and plays Detective Spooner. (Variety)
TV
Now here's something I can get excited about. Fox has given a series commitment to the writing/directing brother team of Peter and Bobby Farrelly. The duo's resume is loaded with outrageous comedies such as Dumb and Dumber, Kingpin, There's Something About Mary and the upcoming Stuck on You. Along with producer Ricky Blitt, the duo have begun work on the series, as yet untitled. They have already written the pilot episode which the brothers intend to direct. The storyline centers on a telemarketer who is less than attractive, who writes a script that turns into a hit TV series. Despite his success, he still can't get a date. Blitt describes the series as "bizarrely autobiographical." While their last couple movies haven't lived up to the standards (yes I said standards) of their earlier films, the two are still funnier and more loaded with strange ideas than just about anything on TV. This is one to keep an eye on. (The Hollywood Reporter)
Reviews
The Hulk (negative, some spoilers)
Adaptation (DVD, positive)
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