Thompson On Hollywood

Cannes: Soderbergh Talks Che

Here are some of the high points of the Che press conference Thursday:

"The process of editing was intense," said director Steven Soderbergh. "The further you get into it, you need context. That's why you need two movies."

Soderbergh visited Cuba five times but never met Che Guevara cohort Fidel Castro: "I was told, 'Pedro may call you.' He has a reputation for calling at 2 am and saying 'Come over. Let's talk.' I also heard that he likes to stop the film and talk about it when it moves him to. This film he may not survive."

Soderbergh admired Water Salles' The Motorcycle Diaries, starring Gael Garcia Bernal as the young Ernesto Guevara: "Walter's movie is really an Act One. With these, now it's a trilogy."

He defended his film's friendly approach to the iconic and polarizing revolutionary: "I've read the anti-Che literature out there. I get the arguments. I feel there's no amount of barbarity I could put on the screen that would satisfy them."

The shoot was rough and tumble:

"On the set I told the actors that I'm not going to be able to take care of you. I'm just trying to get this movie shot on schedule. And they formed a support group to survive it.

It sounds like he wants to use Smello-vision: "I wish we could transit the smell to the screen. There was a smell on the set."

[Photo of press conference by Jeffrey Wells]

UA Pushes Back Cruise and Singer's Valkyrie

In retrospect, the MGM-UA idea is starting to look suspect.

When movie star Tom Cruise and partner Paula Wagner had a producing pact at Paramount, a studio controlled the purse strings, with the power to say no.

But put Cruise and Wagner in charge of a studio, and you have Wagner assembling a slate on the one hand, but who does she answer to? Cruise! And CAA (and husband Rick Nicita) are helping to package projects like Lions for Lambs, which was doomed to be a noble failure from the start. From Cruise/Wagner's perspective, coming from big-studio projects, at $35 million Lambs probably seemed like a modest effort. But it was still too expensive for what it was. Its $15 million domestic gross (of which less than half is returned to the studio) didn't cover its marketing costs. It also earned $42 million overseas. The just-launched DVD release will have to bring the movie into the black.

And Valkyrie is a perfect storm. I hear that director Bryan Singer, who has runaway director tendencies anyway, has run up a $90-million negative tab, which probably seemed reasonable to him, since he was coming off the $200-million Superman Returns. Because Cruise had to promote the opening of Lions for Lambs, Singer postponed three key scenes of the Valkyrie shoot, including one big battle sequence in North Africa. (That's when Cruise's Nazi officer loses his right hand, plus two fingers from his left hand, and an eye.)

But pushing the movie's release date back twice has made it look like tainted goods. Cruise and Wagner took a calculated risk pushing it back to February, knowing that an October date was facing off against the looming Presidential election. As soon as Wolfman and the Pink Panther sequel moved off of Presidents Day, UA jumped on the date. Their October weekend usually yields a b.o. of about $55 million, the thinking went, as opposed to Prexy Day, which usually generates about three times that. Singer and Cruise signed off on the promise of a possible Superbowl spot, Berlin Film Fest launch, and a bigger boxoffice bonanza.

They must have known how the town would react. When you say: "No, we don't have a summer movie, it's a fall movie," it really means: "we don't have a commercial movie that will stand up to the competition in wide release, but a quality smart film with possible Oscar potential that needs critics, so we'll go for fall." But push that same movie again into February, and it conjures up All the Kings Men, which was too weak to earn rave reviews and had no identifiable core audience.

The trouble with the whole MGM construct is that a decision about making or picking up a movie for release has to be based on a slew of market equations. Targeting your audience is crucial. Just because Hot Director Bryan Singer and Major Star Tom Cruise want to make a period movie about a Nazi hero doesn't make it worth $90-million (not to mention marketing costs). (Much as I loved it, Alfonso Cuaron's Children of Men shouldn't have cost that much either. Who was the audience?)

MGM CEO Harry Sloan was smart to hire Mary Parent to run MGM. She will run studio production, marketing and distribution. (That's why Rick Sands is out.) She will be damn sure to pick movies she can market. That's half the battle. And Hollywood sat up and took notice of this move, because they know that Parent gets it.

Notorious B.I.G. Biopic Skirts Reality

Tackling a biopic about a well-known figure is always tricky--Ray, Hurricane, 8 Mile, A Beautiful Mind, and Schindler's List come to mind. Thus Notorious, George Tillman's movie about gangsta rapper Christopher G. Wallace (or Notorious B.I.G.), gunned down in his prime at age 24 in 1997, is rife with issues, reports the NYT's Michael Cieply. Journalist Cheo Hodari Coker worked on a screenplay for years, followed by Reggie Rock Bythewood. Now the film starts shooting for Fox Searchlight in Brooklyn next week. How close to all the details of B.I.G.'s life the movie will be, remains unclear.

[Photo of Jamal Woolard as Notorious B.I.G.]

UPDATE: P. Diddy is fighting mad at the LAT over its assertion he was linked to the 1994 shooting of Tupac Shakur.

Here's the most recent LAT story and the original.

Here is Sean "Diddy" Combs' Monday statement:

"This story is a lie. It is beyond ridiculous and is completely false. Neither Biggie (Wallace) nor I had any knowledge of any attack before, during or after it happened."

Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan Photo Discovered

This recently discovered 1888 photo is racing around the Internet, revealing the allure that blind-deaf girl Helen Keller still holds. No other known photo shows her holding a doll--which was the first word Sullivan taught her.

Arthur Penn's 1962 movie The Miracle Worker, based on William Gibson's Broadway play, won Oscars for both Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke.

Oscar Watch: Weinstein May Not Push Blanchett into Best Actress Race

Over the weekend, David Poland at Movie City News reported that Harvey Weinstein was planning to push Cate Blanchett as best actress for I'm Not There, rather than supporting. Which didn't necessarily mean that the Golden Globes, SAG and the Academy would go along with it. UPDATE: And it doesn't mean Weinstein will take this route, either, it turns out. "Nothing is changing," said one Weinstein Co. spokeswoman. These games are often played. In this case, some of the
I'm Not There folks are pushing for TWC to make this change. Blanchett is off Down Under doing a play, but apparently has no intention of backing off her support for Elizabeth, which Universal has been backing handsomely via "for your consideration" ads. If Blanchett were to withdraw her support for an Elizabeth push, she might land best actress, but she's weaker in that category. She was a surefire winner in supporting.

Poland didn't check with TWC to verify the assertion of his good source, he admits. And his weekly memo to his Gurus of Gold voters told them to place Blanchett in the best actress category.

So why take the chance? Economics. Even a nomination in the lead categories means more in global boxoffice and DVD sales than supporting does. Think Don Cheadle in Hotel Rwanda. That movie did far better than it would have done otherwise. And I'm Not There is strictly an art-house play without some Oscar attention.

Here's a Blanchett clip that's been on YouTube for a while:

And the real-life limo video of John Lennon and Bob Dylan that may have inspired it:

Walk Hard: Apatow Spoofs Musical Biopics

[Posted by Daniel Frankel]
Judd Apatow suffers no deficiency of buzz these days. Still, establishing early media momentum for his next film — the music biopic send-up Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, starring John C. Reilly and co-helmed by longtime collaborator Jake Kasdan — probably couldn’t hurt.

With that in mind, Apatow, Kasdan and Reilly hosted a noontime Sony-lot lunch reception for handful of press and studio staff Thursday, followed by a short screening featuring 20 minutes of footage from the unfinished film, which is set to bow Dec. 21. The aptly titled Walk Hard throws hard, too, with the subtle, layered curveballs of Apatow’s recent Knocked Up and Superbad giving way straight-ahead spoofery.

Noting a lifelong affinity for popular music that was partly nurtured by his grandfather, a former record exec who once managed the career of Janis Joplin, Apatow says the film broadly targets the entire music-biopic genre. However, from minute one it’s apparent that those who haven’t seen 2005’s Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line will have a tough time fully grasping all the gags.

Pic even features The Office’s Jenna Fischer duetting with Reilly, a la Reese Witherspoon’s June Carter and Joaquin Phoenix’s Cash, only with far more suggestive lyrics. Whether or not Apatow’s Airplane! shtick actually flies was indiscernible based on a small home-field screening featuring mostly studio personnel. But within the footage there were clearly some can’t-miss moments, such as a scene featuring Jack Black, Jason Schwartzman, Paul Rudd and Justin Long sending up the The Beatles on their legendary Indian sojourn. “We were having trouble casting that, then Justin Long shows up and just happens to have a George Harrison impression in his back pocket,” Apatow recalls.

In fact, the strong comedic supporting cast — which also includes The Daily Show’s Ed Helms and SNL’s Tim Meadows and Chris Parnell — brings to mind another robustly ensembled laugher that was successfully counter-programmed into the same frame last year, Night at the Museum, which went on to gross more than $573 million worldwide.

In any event, Apatow’s roll will likely continue uninterrupted regardless of the outcome. Notable was a Sony publicist trying to excuse Reilly from the Q&A early, since he had to get back across the lot to another ongoing comedy project, Step Brothers. “Wait a second, he can stay a few more minutes,” Apatow interrupted. “I’m the producer of Step Brothers. Who’s going to get mad? Me at me?”

Rock Music Movies

The NYT's David Carr writes up the current vogue for rock-inspired movies.

Becoming Jane: Austen Manque

Moliere uses the same tactic: take a famous writer and use their writing as the source for a movie about them. Shakespeare in Love did it more successfully. Becoming Jane, starring Anne Hathaway as Jane Austen, doesn't ring true at all. For once I completely agree with Richard Schickel. But this femme blogger, on the other hand, adores the movie, which earned a 55 ranking on Metacritic.

I'm of the school that thou shalt not Americanize and make contemporary period Brit subjects. Let the Brits do their own thing. Yes, Gwenyth Paltrow can do a British accent. So can Renee Zellweger. But Anne Hathaway seems athletically feminist, and not at all period. On the other hand, it opened well in limited release...Miramax, at least, seems to know how to market it. As usual, women are starving for summer pictures geared to them.

Cruise Watch: Valkyrie Nazi Shots

While it's true that Tom Cruise is playing a Nazi who was out to assassinate Adolf Hitler, it's still a tad discomforting to see Cruise in full Nazi regalia.

Hilton Watch: Ratner Not Casting Heiress in Hefner Biopic

Effusive movie director Brett Ratner texts just like he talks: with exclamation points. I emailed him today asking him if he is indeed, as internet rumors suggest, considering casting Paris Hilton in his upcoming (still in development) biopic of Playboy mogul Hugh Hefner. Here's his response:

That's one of the funniest questions I have ever heard!!! Of course not!!!! That's the rumors on the internet. Please don't believe what you read!!! I also heard she was running for president!!!

LAFF: Moliere at The Landmark

I have a weakness for French costume epics, especially the light-hearted bodice-ripping variety. So I couldn't resist checking out the new The Landmark in Westwood where Laurent Tirard's Moliere was showing, starring the divine Romain Duris (The Beat My Heart Skipped) in the title role as a womanizing comedy actor/playwright and the equally luscious Laura Morante as the object of his affections. As always, Fabrice Lucchini is hilarious and never dull.

Although it took me a while to find the poorly marked theaters, which are west of Westwood Boulevard, I settled into my seat to enjoy the well-mounted escapist romp which Sony Pictures Classics will release here on July 27. I had read that the theaters were designed so badly that when people come and go, the doors flood the screen with light. It's true, and far worse than I expected. That's something you learn in Theater-Building 101!

Otherwise, the new Landmark complex seems pleasant enough, with a Barnes & Noble bookstore and an inviting (empty) cafe. It's The Arclight Light.

Luke Y. Thompson's review

Foster To Play Riefenstahl

Jodie Foster has been threatening to play legendary Nazi filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl (The Triumph of the Will) for some seven years. Before her death in 2003, Riefenstahl wasn't thrilled; Foster didn't proceed at the time because the German filmmaker was demanding too much control over her own story. Now it looks like the project is gaining steam, as Foster has found a script she likes and is seeking a director. Riefenstahl is a fascinating woman, at once a brilliant filmmaker and propagandist as well as a Nazi collaborator. How much did she really sympathize? That is the question.

Foster picks her roles carefully. This summer she stars in the thriller The Brave One; she's going off to Australia to film the family film Nim's Island with Little Miss Sunshine star Abigail Breslin for Fox-Walden. That will be finished by early fall. Another long-in-the-works project based on a Marie Brenner article, Sugarland, is still in development.

Elizabeth: The Golden Age Trailer

I know, I've already watched the Helen Mirren version, not to mention Bette Davis and Erroll Flynn's Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex. But I can't get enough of Queen Elizabeth, obviously. Cate Blanchett and Clive Owen? I am so there. We'll have to wait til the fall season.

Check Out Those Randy Tudors

OK, I'm an Anglophile with a jones for the Royals, in this case The Tudors. Check out this trailer, which is actually a tad risible in the way it edits the multiple beddings of Henry VIII (Jonathan Rhys Meyers):

If you don't want to wait until April to watch it on Showtime (or you don't subscribe, and don't want to wait for Netflix), you can see Henry VIII "as Hot, Sexy Monarch -- For Free!" on Amazon Unbox. Right now!