Wednesday, 28 January 1998

There is only one story worth ranting about these days. And surprisingly enough, it has everything to do with the movies. Wag The Dog is the most obvious connection to Fornigate. Will the U.S. use missiles against Iraq to distract Americans from how the President may have used his? Not with Levinson and Mamet's masterwork still in theaters. Chemical weapons are nothing compared to bad PR in Washington. There should be a Wag The Dog Holiday in Baghdad celebrating those not killed in "The Gulp War." (Note to studio execs: Use Presidential crisis to drive DVD sales in the Middle East.)

On the horizon is Mike Nichols' adaptation of Primary Colors , which covers, "fictionally," the Clinton election campaign. Universal is reportedly as nervous as Bill about the release of the film. Sure it has John Travolta in a dead-on impersonation of Clinton, but Hollywood fears that it may be too much reality for audiences. Expect the current advertising tag line, "What went down on the way to the top" to change in a hurry. I mused yesterday on Nichols tagging an addendum onto his film, but he may have found an outright sequel. Universal's purchased rights to the novel The Reader for Nichols to produce and maybe direct. The story? A teenage boy has an intense affair with an emotionally unavailable older woman. Years later, her past is revealed, throwing everyone's life into turmoil. Hmmm.

Clinton advisors must be particularly anxious for the release of Sony's Les Miserables. After all, if Primary Colors is the warts-n-all version of the story, Les Mis is pretty much the version that the Clinton staff is pushing all over cable. The President is Jean Valjean (in the movie, Liam Neeson), pursued mercilessly by Kenneth Starr, Washington's very own Javert (Geoffrey Rush). Of course, the hope of Clintonites is that Javert will throw himself into the Potomac because he's so overwhelmed by Jean Valjean's natural kindness. While his detractors wonder when nudes of he and Cosette in a compromising position will emerge. We'll see.


READER OF THE DAY: From Rafael: "Enough with the jibes at Titanic. It's getting old and boring. The last thing I need is one of my favorite Websites implying a conspiracy. I'm sure the book and CD are also in on it!"

Okay! Enough about Titanic. Let's start a new subject. All you have to do is E Me.