• Carolyn Giardina floats the possibility of “How to Train Your Dragon” beating “Toy Story 3” for Best Animated Feature with nothing but those (not unexpected) Visual Effects Society wins to justify it. [The Race]
• James Cameron thinks Christopher Nolan should have been nominated for Best Director this year. [Hollywood Reporter]
• Steve Pond explains the voting procedure of the five categories not on the ballots that went out yesterday. [The Odds]
The trailer for Kevin Smith’s latest has been bouncing around the last few days as the writer/director has been on a bit of a public (via Twitter) diatribe for the better part of the holiday. It seems he won’t be doing any press for the film and will only exhibit it at Sundance during public screenings. Do what you want. I’m all for it. And, frankly, the film looks like it could be something special. At the very least, it’s a lesson in what a teaser ought to be. Check it out via Smodcast by clicking the image below or watch an embed after the jump.
Actor — and as of late, filmmaker — Ben Affleck makes his way to a cozy corner of Santa Monica’s Casa Del Mar hotel restaurant. He’s coming from a “Dad’s event” at his daughter’s school, he says, propping his feet up on a nearby chair.
Currently shooting Terrence Malick’s latest film in Oklahoma, the multi-hyphenate has a window for awards season publicity and Warner Bros. seized the opportunity. Affleck’s second directorial effort, “The Town,” has kicked up enough buzz to legitimize an all-out Oscar push, and judging by most reactions to the film, it could be an effort well-rewarded.
I pass along one such reaction — from actor Robert Duvall, who greatly enjoyed the film — and Affleck’s eyes light up. “Wow, really? That’s great to hear.” He playfully riffs on Duvall’s characteristic voice, adding, “He’s a spectacular personality. A genius.”
That mixture of humility and humor highlights the majority of our conversation. Affleck is as affable as they come. Perhaps it’s years of navigating the game and knowing how to put his best foot forward with a journalist, but it rings through with authenticity. He’s a guy’s guy with a thoughtful charisma that has served him well over the years, but now he finds himself putting it all to use in the director’s chair. And while he is very appreciative of the success his latest film has achieved, he notes that he came to it apprehensively.
One of my favorite parts of Kevin Smith’s Saturday Comic-Con appearance was his take on the “Twilight” series, video of which Dennis over at Think Hero has dug up and passed along. Great stuff (originally at ScreenCrave.com):
Snapped by Jon Favreau on the Hall H stage during the “Iron Man 2” panel discussion:
And a taste of Kevin Smith at the Con, where he talks about the fact that the title “A Couple of Dicks” may not hold (My camera lost battery power half-way through. Apologies):
I wish I could tell you how awesome the “Iron Man 2” footage form yesterday’s Paramount panel was, but Hall H was packed to the gills and even us schmoes int he VIP line couldn’t get in because it was at capacity. Without a doubt, the event was the most popular attraction at this year’s Comic-Con.
It sounded good muffled through the walls. That’s all I got. Hoping for another screening in LA soon.
By far the highlight for me was the Entertainment Weekly Visionaries panel with James Cameron and Peter Jackson. It’s a pretty big leap from last year’s set of Zack Snyder, Frank Miller, Kevin Smith and Judd Apatow. Let’s hope next year isn’t a step backwards at the crew responsible for this momentous occasion gets creative and puts a few equally brilliant minds together on that stage once again.
Speaking of Jackson, “District 9” made a major splash here. The screening was very well-received on Thursday and the Saturday panel got the crowd chomping at the bit. In this community anyway, the film is sure to be a runaway hit.
This Vulture interview with Kevin Smith is two weeks old now — so, ancient by Internet standards — but because I only recently caught “Zack and Miri Make a Porno” and found it surprisingly endearing, perhaps the director’s best film yet, I figured I’d link to the piece. It features a typically candid Smith opening up about how the film’s fiscal failure affected him and, whether you think it’s whining or not, makes for the kind of straight-forwardness that a number of Hollywood types could certainly take note of.
I really feel like I grew up in the last year, and it wouldn’t have been possible if Zack and Miri hadn’t done what it did. Which wasn’t, like, a colossal failure, but it underperformed severely. We were all expecting double of what it did — not even 100 million bucks, but everything was pointing to an easy 60. And after being told that by, like, everybody, and then seeing what it did, it was just so fucking disillusioning. And I know it sounds like, “Oh, rich man’s problems. Oh, poor baby, you got paid a shit-ton of money to make your dopey little dream of yours come true, and now you’re gonna complain that it didn’t make enough money.” But you know, I’m sorry, but it bugs you. It’s just about, especially when you write and direct, it’s about like, fuck, what you have to say isn’t important to me, amusing to me, or relevant to me.
I just had a thought: Smith should do a remake of Fellini’s “8 1/2.” I know that would make film snobs the world over pass out from the audacity, but as much as he talks about how reaction to his work affects him, he should put it into the work and see what comes out. Just sayin’.
If there’s one Hollywood memoir I’d love to get my hands on, it has to be that of producer Jon Peters. Barbra Streisand’s former beau and a certifiable wack-job if you trust the unavoidable talk of a town built by guys like this, Peters first caught my attention when I was a kid. The movie was, of course, Tim Burton’s “Batman” and every name in that amazing opening credits sequence was seared into my consciousness.
But Peters has more than been around the block, from 1976’s “A Star is Born” to Bryan Singer’s “Superman Returns” (another property he has on lock-down), give or take a “Witches of Eastwick” or a “Tango & Cash.” Hell, did you know the Peters/Peter Guber team was involved with Simpson/Bruckheimer on “Flashdance” of all films? The mind boggles.
Anyway, it looks like Peters is strutting his stuff and trying to land a hunk of change for his life story, according to the New York Post’s Cindy Adams:
In his mid-60s, he’s now low-key but chubby, gray-haired, bearded, semi-scruffy, could use a hairdresser, and at one meeting never removed his coat. Mused the editor: “I think it was to hide that he’s fat.”
He’s had multiple wives. His selling pitch is, no woman can resist him. No woman he can’t turn on. No woman who’ll voluntarily leave him. Of all his bedmates, he calls Barbra “the best.” He brought a collaborator who actually read his proposal aloud for him because, for whatever reason, Jon Peters does not, cannot or will not read.
Because he’ll name-drop, one publisher offered a $550,000 advance. He refused that. Another offered $875,000. Looks like he’ll take that.
All of this reminds me of the Kevin Smith story about his involvement on the “Superman” reboot over a decade ago and Peters’s obsession with certain plot particulars. If you haven’t seen it, you must. Check it out after the jump.
Kudos to Peter Sciretta of /Film for pointing us to this video of Kevin Smith dishing the Internets, a somewhat timely discussion with all the poo-slinging going on this week. Like Sciretta says, “It’s interesting to hear about this world from the side of a filmmaker.” Have a look:
I wouldn’t call myself a huge fan of Kevin Smith’s movies. I love the man, love his take on this crazy industry, loved “An Evening with Kevin Smith,” etc. But most of the time, when he gets behind a camera, it doesn’t work for me on some level.
Of course, there are those who love to hate on Smith’s cinematic output because vitriol is sometimes easier to come by than measured consideration, but I try not to go there with him for some reason. Maybe it’s the comic book thing. (Speaking of which, “Batman Cacophony” is a pretty good three-issue arc if you didn’t catch it over the last few months).
I found some things to admire in “Clerks,” which has some qualities perhaps more endearing in 1994 than in 2009, but I really hated “Mallrats.” I thought “Chasing Amy” showed his promise and felt “Dogma” to be rather daring in some ways.
“Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back” did exactly what it was supposed to do, while “Jersey Girl” and “Clerks II” were extensions of “Chasing Amy”‘s promise with various limitations. But “Zack and Miri Make a Porno,” which I missed last fall and finally caught on DVD over the weekend, might be Smith’s best work to date.
Of course, I’d say The Weinstein Company mishandled the release on this thing and didn’t drum up the publicity necessary to land it the kind of box office it probably deserved, but beyond the business of it all, there’s a touching piece of work in there. Smith was smart to associate himself with folks like Seth Rogen and Craig Robinson, quickly becoming figments of the new comedy breed in Hollywood. He also got a pretty good performance out of Jason Mewes that didn’t have to depend on the usual toilet humor (though you could certainly find that elsewhere in the film).
Anyway, kind of a rambling post, but I was impressed. Even with a disgusting poop gag (I laughed), this is a film with heart that resonated more than I thought it would. Nicely done. No surprise the stuffy top-tier critical fraternity wasn’t on board, though.
What did you guys think?
• “Real” men of the screen are a dying breed, according to Peter Bart. [Peter Bart]
• Journos keep beating a dead horse about the new “At the Movies” failure. [eFilmCritic]
• And again. [The Hot Blog]
• Anne Thompson salutes Telluride and New York for steering clear of high profile American cinema, but as she notes, was there really a choice this year? [Thompson on Hollywood]
• Erik Davis talks Bond with Daniel Craig and Marc Forster. [Cinematical]
• Speaking of Bond, apparently the character won’t be uttering a few of his infamous lines in the latest installment. [The Independent]
• John Horn sits down with Diablo Cody on the set of “Jennifer’s Body.” [Los Angeles Times]
• Dennis Lim, meanwhile, chats it up with “Class” director Laurent Canet in the wake of his film landing the official French foreign film selection for this year’s Academy Awards. [New York Times]
• Giles Hattersly gets some quality time with “I’ve Loved You So Long” star Kristin Scott Thomas. [The Times]
• Kevin Kelly talks to “Zack and Miri Make a Porno” director Kevin Smith at Fantastic Fest. [Spout Blog]
You know, I really like that Anne Thompson’s interview skills are enjoying the podcast/video treatment. She always asks the right questions and can get a good quote with the best of them. But this first person stuff is freaking me out. Maybe this is what people want. It gives the whole “Kevin Smith is talking to ME” vibe, which, there’s something to be said for that I guess.
Anyway, I’m actually looking forward to “Zack and Miri Make a Porno” more than I was a few weeks ago. But hearing Smith talk about his films can endear anyone, regardless of how terrible some of them have been.
And hearing Anne say “dildos” and “erect penises” made me spit out my Dr. Pepper:
From the writer/director’s MySpace blog (via /Film):
I saw “Watchmen.” It’s fucking astounding. The Non-Disclosure Agreement I signed prevents me from saying much, but I can spout the following with complete joygasmic enthusiasm: Snyder and Co. have pulled it off.
Remember that feeling of watching “Sin City” on the big screen and being blown away by what a faithful translation of the source material it was, in terms of both content and visuals? Triple that, and you’ll come close to watching “Watchmen.” Even Alan Moore might be surprised at how close the movie is to the book. March can’t come soon enough.
I think it’s fair to say that if the movie was shite, Smith wouldn’t be singing its praises. Not that he’d be ripping it apart, he’d probably just abstain from commenting. He never misses an opportunity to talk shit about Tim Burton’s “Batman,” so this news has me jacked.
And no, I’m no Smith fanboy. I hate…just about every single one of his movies. But he’s a stand-up guy when it comes to commentary.
I’m heading out the door to hit the Wrath of the Con party tonight, but before I go, I thought I’d link out to the news items worth reading from Comic-Con this weekend.
At Cinematical, Elisabeth Rappe writes up the “Wolf Man” panel, which included the revelation of the film’s first trailer. She also calls Marvel’s new animated film “Wolverine vs. Hulk” a “blast.”
At The Movie Blog, John Campea kicks back with the ladies of “Bitch Slap” (who’ve certainly made the rounds) for an interview at the Marriott. There’s also some nice video of Entertainment Weekly’s Visionaries panel including Frank Miller, Kevin Smith, Zack Snyder and Judd Apatow. Strange collective.
At io9, Charlie Anders writes up the footage-less “Lost” panel with some video tossed in for good measure.
At Screen Rant, Vic Holtreman live blogs the “Terminator Salvation” panel.
At /Film, Peter Sciretta passes on Zack Snyder’s revelation during the “Watchmen” panel that the director would be interested in a “Dark Knight Returns” movie. Who wouldn’t? There is also the exciting news that Jonathan Nolan was confirmed as the lead writer on “Terminator Salvation” by McG himself.
That should be plenty to chew on. I’m outta here.
David Cohen offered up a pretty standard story at Variety yesterday, touching on the darkness of “The Dark Knight” and the danger of alienating general audiences versus appeasing fans, etc. He quotes two online Batman fansite sources (truthfully, a knowledgable step if you want to convey any real education on the character — these guys are committed). He then tosses in some perspective from poducer Charles Roven. But I’m wondering if this was the best choice of words for Mr. Roven:
We walk that narrow line of making sure we were true to the character, but it’s not so gruesome. It’s not so utterly real that you turn away in disgust. You watch it and it’s one of the things that lets you know the film is not a real thing. We call it hyper-reality.
I get what he means, but it kind of made me take a step back and read it again. Sort of goes against the grain of the franchise’s mantra just a bit.
Meanwhile, comic geek extraordinaire Kevin Smith was impressed with the film to say the least. Here’s the brief blurb from his MySpace blog:
Without giving anything away, this is an epic film (and trust me: based on the sheer size and scope of the visuals and storytelling, that’s not an overstatement). It’s the “Godfather II” of comic book films and three times more earnest than “Batman Begins” (and fuck, was that an earnest film). Easily the most adult comic book film ever made. Heath Ledger didn’t so much give a performance as he disappeared completely into the role; I know I’m not the first to suggest this, but he’ll likely get at least an Oscar nod (if not the win) for Best Supporting Actor. Fucking flick’s nearly three hours long and only leaves you wanting more (in a great way). I can’t imagine anyone being disappointed by it. Nolan and crew have created something close to a masterpiece.
