In Contention

Tag: Peter Berg

  • Good news for ‘Friday Night Lights’

    Kyle Chandler in Friday Night LightsLots of TV talk lately.  It happens, I guess, but I’ve been biting my nails waiting on the fate of NBC’s “Friday Night Lights” for a while now.  When the network gave up on it I thanked my lucky stars I could see it exclusively on DirecTV, but NBC has been re-running that third season this year so that’s nice.  Now comes news that the show will see network life for two more seasons.  From the AP:

    A person close to the production said Monday that it has been renewed for two more 13-episode runs and will be on the air through the 2010-11 season. The person, who lacked authorization to discuss NBC’s decision, spoke on condition of anonymity.

    “Friday Night Lights,” a Texas football-and-family drama starring Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton, has struggled in the ratings but has been a critical bright spot for NBC, drawing consistently good reviews and Emmy and Peabody awards.

    “Lights” hasn’t been the “best stuff on TV” material it was in its first season, but I still very much enjoyt he show and think it deserves the time to play out the course of its various characters.  Strange that I became such a fan of the series when I was immediately turned off by Peter Berg’s 2004 film for whatever reason.  And someone give Kyle Chandler a silver screen role he can really dig his teeth into already.

  • Peter Berg’s Hulu Super Bowl ad

  • So…does Michael Mann have a SAG card?

    Michael MannI dropped in to see “Hancock” tonight and was frankly taken out of the film for the five minutes or so filmmaker Michael Mann was on screen.

    I noticed him initially, figured hey, Peter Berg let his mentor slide into the film with an on-screen cameo (Berg’s offices are two or three doors down from Mann’s Forward Pass headquarters over at the Tribeca West compound on Olympic).  But it turns out it’s a speaking part.  Two whole lines!

    Anyway, as for the film, I’m kind of compelled to comment on it now.  It’s not a total wash.  I need to read through the initial draft of the screenplay that Jeffrey Wells posted recently because I’m sure there is some more depth, but even for what this film is, Berg milks it for the drama that it’s worth.  I love the way he’s filmed this thing, as I typically respect the effort he puts into visually depicting the ambitious scripts he chooses.

    I’m not as thrown off by the mid-film twist as some were, either.  It’s a smart way to go, actually, but it needed some more fleshing out, a little more finessing, to fully work.  It makes me wonder if indeed producer Akiva Goldsman (who pops up in that executive meeting sequence as well) got his paws on it and squeezed the life out of it, as he indeed did with “I Am Legend.”  Perhaps not, but whatever the case, this one could have used a few more re-writes.

    All in all, a good flick.  Some genuinely hilarious moments blend with the pandering necessities that come with a summer tent pole like this and I’d call it another respectable miss from Berg.  I can’t help but thinking he’s practicing, gearing up for something truly exceptional, and having Mann take him under his wing has really made its mark as well.  It’ll come…sooner rather than later, I bet.

    And word up on The Roots over the closing credits!

    What did you guys think of “Hancock?”

  • Brilliant

    How am I walking the streets of London and missing stuff like this?  Courtesy of The London Paper (via Cinematically Correct and Awards Daily):

    Truth be told, I am REALLY looking forward to “Hancock.”  Despite obvious flaws here and there, I have always found Peter Berg to be a fascinating filmmaker who seems restless, always looking for something new and never corning himself into a market or fitting himself for a label.  There’s a lot to be said for that, and he knows how to put some entertaining stuff on film (I’m big on “The Rundown” and am a longtime friend of “Very Bad Things”).

    Additionally — and sue me — but I continue to buy into Will Smith as the shining box office star/nice guy extraordinaire.  Until someone shows me a YouTube video of him calling some poor kid a mother fucker, I’m in his court.

    “Hancock” (with the “Han”) lands in theaters July 2.  They should just rename that weekend in Smith’s honor.

    (Props also to my man Mars Crain, the muscle-bound doorman of my local bar back home, who landed a role in the film.  And, despite his daunting size, another all around nice guy.)