Thursday, 15 July 1999

NEVER BEEN GREAT: If the report in Michael Fleming's Variety column is correct and Raja Gosnell is really being seriously considered as the director of a "Fantastic Four" comic-to-feature adaptation, I have to say, "Fox, this loyalty thing is going to come back to haunt you big time." Maybe Ever After director Andy Tennant will shock me and make a truly beautiful Anna and the King. But I doubt it. People love the man, but based on his previous work and the clips I've seen from Anna, he doesn't bring a lot to the table as a director. Likewise, Raja Gosnell is riding the Drew train to a major gig, even though almost every critic in America noticed a distinct lack of artistry in Never Been Kissed. Don't even get me started on Home Alone 3. The guy is a terrific editor, but as a director, he, like Tennant, is TV all the way. And, just to make sure I've pissed people off all over town, the specific skills needed to shoot an epic movie, whether comic book or semi-non-fiction, have also eluded such established directors as Rob Reiner (whose The Princess Bride suffered from epic scale as much as it benefited from Reiner's comic touch with actors), Peter Yates (who eviscerated a great William Goldman script, The Year of the Comet, by lack of scale after doing small so beautifully in Bullitt, Breaking Away and other pictures) and Robert Rodriguez (who proved with The Faculty that he is more interesting with less to work with than more).

NEW PLAN FOR WEB RINGS: I have written a lot about drawing lines in the evolving "New Media" of the Web. And this week, New Line drew one. Congratulations. And best of all, they drew it in public, which is both more effective and more honorable than drawing them in the privacy of the executive suites of a studio. Their press release explains their position beautifully: "With three event films being shot consecutively over more than a year in New Zealand, Lord of the Rings is an unprecedented production of size and scope. During the coming months, the producers will cast close to 100 roles of substance for this adventure trilogy. The search to complete this ensemble literally spans the globe. New Line Cinema recognizes the substantial media interest in this project and will assist journalists at the appropriate time. However, the studio will no longer comment on completed deals, current negotiations, rumors or speculation about any specific role. When casting of principals has concluded, New Line, along with the filmmakers, will unveil the entire ensemble and announce further newsworthy specifics about these tentpole films."

I doubt this means that Michael DeLuca will stop surfing the Web and reading all the rumors as they keep flying out. But I do think it's a good thing that he has decided that some things aren't worthy of response. What will be fascinating however - and I can't believe someone as web savvy as DeLuca wouldn't have made this a part of his plan - is if Rings director Peter Jackson, who has developed a very rich relationship with Ain't It Cool News, will also participate in the temporary blackout. These days, talent are using the Web even more than the studios to get out their version of what's going on out there. If New Line and Jackson have come to an agreement about how to handle themselves with Web journalists, whether it be restrictive or loose, that too is a step in the right direction. Don't get me wrong. I don't want the Web to be controlled by studio publicists. But public backbiting is rarely helpful to a movie. And if anyone can tell me about a case where a director or writer moaned publicly, even under a veil of anonymity, and it helped the film, I will happily print a record of that event. I haven't seen it happen once yet.

WHAT BECOMES A WOODY ALLEN PROTEGE´ MOST?: Answer: A lawsuit. Doug McGrath (Bullets Over Broadway, Emma) and his partner Peter Askin, who co-wrote and co-directed Company Man, a Cold War spy comedy, are seeking a deal for final cut. According to the lawsuit, Intermedia and Wind Dancer Productions have essentially spirited the film away from them after a roughcut screening, never to allow them even a directors' cut, much less final cut. According to Variety, Intermedia, of course, immediately claimed that they wanted to collaborate and Wind Dancer said nothing. It is as rare for a company to breech a final cut agreement as it is for a company to give final cut to two pretty inexperienced film directors. But who knows what stupidity lurks in the hearts of film executives? No. Not even The Shadow does.

PAGE TWO: "Rocky Avoids Ring, Lopezus Intellectualis, Sympathy For The WB"