In Contention

Tag: Billy Crudup

  • Billy Crudup talks ‘Public Enemies’

    Billy Crudup in Public EnemiesAt the beginning of the year, my two most anticipated films happened to feature Billy Crudup in pivotal roles.  “Watchmen” came and went and is perhaps better left in the rearview, though the actor received solid notices from proponents and detractors alike.  “Public Enemies,” however, still lies ahead as the summer movie season pushes forward.

    The film, directed by Michael Mann, has Crudup taking the reins as J. Edgar Hoover, the former F.B.I. director who declared a war on crime and mobster John Dillinger in particular.  I missed Susan King’s brief Los Angeles Times profile on the actor last week, but happily stumbled across it over the weekend.

    Crudup speaks briefly about his unexpected approach to the character in the following exchange:

    Crudup says that the “Public Enemies” script, by Ronan Bennett and Mann and Ann Biderman, was rich with character development — “filled with this mixture, which seemed always to be Hoover’s problem, of ego and patriotism. That was more than enough for me to tackle him.”

    Mann, says Crudup, always sort of characterized Hoover as a visionary to the actor. ” ‘Visionary’ to me speaks of somebody who is attempting to change society or culture for the good,” Crudup says. “It was interesting to think of him in a somewhat positive light.”

    “Public Enemies” opens nationwide July 1.

  • On ‘Public Enemies’

    Public EnemeisDuring our week away, materials landed for one of my own most anticipated films of the year: Michael Mann’s “Public Enemies.”  I haven’t taken a moment to really dig in to this yet, but here goes…

    The first thought I had when I saw the trailer was that this is the most un-Mann tease I’ve ever seen.  The latter half montage under Otis Taylor’s “Ten Million Slaves,” however, is vintage Mann, wallowing in the rush of narrative flow, images both beautiful and unusual, it’s all signature.  And for a guy like me who puts Mann on a pretty high pedestal, those final moments are exciting for those reasons.

    No one seems to want to admit the poster is just bad, and that’s fine.  Who wants to sour the mood?  But it screams “studio” and has no artistic focus.  It’s a figment of selling the film first and that’s okay, but it’s graphically awkward and visually impotent.  It says nothing.  Maybe we’ll see another one before release, but truth be told, I’ve never been particularly impressed with a poster for a Mann film.

    I’ve heard Marion Cotillard is quite good in the film, and of course, Johnny Depp looks like he’s cranking out a special performance.  Christian Bale will be nice background flavor but I don’t sense the symbiosis of, say, “American Gangster.”  I wonder if Billy Crudup might finally be on the cusp of “arriving” after nearly a decade of solid work without a real breakthrough to show for it.  His work here could mix with his positive notices for “Watchmen” and make a perfect publicity storm.  Or not.

    I’m most excited at the idea of Mann teaming up with lenser Dante Spinotti after a 10-year break.  I don’t think the director was tinkering with digital very much in their last collaboration, “The Insider,” but it’s become his adopted style as of late and it may or may not work in a period piece such as this.  Ultimately, I think it might make the film too slick to be seen as prestigious.  We’ll see.

    On the whole, I don’t get a big awards vibe from this film.  I think it’s perfectly positioned to make good money but it’s also very much on a “Road to Perdition” trajectory.  Maybe I’m just muting expectations, but I see commercial success, design respect, not much else.  But who cares about Oscars?  I’m stoked.

  • Goldenthal to score Mann’s ‘Enemies’

    Exciting news.  This is without a doubt my most anticipated film of next year.  The press release, in part, on Goldenthal jumping on board:

    Oscar-winning composer Elliot Goldenthal (Frida) has been signed to score Universal Pictures’ action-thriller from acclaimed filmmaker Michael Mann, Public Enemies. Currently shooting in Chicago, Public Enemies stars Johnny Depp and Christian Bale in the incredible story of criminal folk hero John Dillinger (Depp), whose wave of bank robberies and the subsequent FBI manhunt, commanded by J. Edgar Hoover and run by Special Agent Melvin Purvis (Bale), fascinated the nation in the 1930s.  The film also stars Oscar winner Marion Cotillard, Giovanni Ribisi, Billy Crudup, Stephen Dorff, Rory Cochrane, Stephen Lang, David Wenham, Stephen Graham, Channing Tatum, and Jason Clarke.  It arrives in theatres in July 2009.