Thursday, 3 February 2000

S.A.G.GING: Okay...here comes another TNT-related thing I'm writing about. Of course, I know a bit more about the S.A.G. Awards than I do about professional wrestling. Not that the awards might not turn into a professional wrestling event, with Richard Masur showing up in tuxedo-styled tights and calling out to William Daniels..."Daniels!!! You took me from behind after the bell and the referee didn’t see it! You couldn't administrate your way out of a steel cage! Daniels! I know that accent is phony! I know it! You got to work with Grant Tinker and Paltrow and that crowd while I was stuck with Bonnie Franklin! I'm gonna kill you!!!!"

But seriously, folks...

There were only two real surprises in the S.A.G. Award nominations. One was the nomination of Philip Seymour Hoffman for Flawless. Though I thought it was the least believable performance ever by a great actor and others loved it, the fact that it got in despite being a big flop was remarkable. Second was the attention paid to Being John Malkovich. As I've written before, I don't object to the attention, but the film kind of walked that line between arthouse and studio movie and while IFP pretty much forgot it, here you have S.A.G. nominating it like crazy. One reader pointed out, rightly, that he was surprised that S.A.G. rejected The Talented Mr. Ripley completely. They also rejected Titus and Cradle Will Rock. Plus, performances by the women of All About My Mother, Kate Winslet in Holy Smoke, the cast of Mansfield Park and Sean Penn in Sweet and Lowdown (a choice that particularly suggests group insanity.)

The magic of Miramax marketing is once again clear here. The Cider House Rules isn't on the same planet as some of these other movies, though the actors otherwise are, yet there is the acceptable Michael Caine nomination and the unacceptable Outstanding Cast nomination. Likewise, Meryl Streep, brilliant though she is in all movies other than Music of the Heart, which seems like a made-for-TV movie, does not belong in a category that shuts out Winslet, Frances O'Connor, Cecilia Roth and Sigourney Weaver in either A Map of the World or Galaxy Quest (yes, Galaxy Quest...though that may be a supporting role.)

And though I like the work of Janet McTeer and Angelina Jolie a lot in both of their movies, it sure seems like marketing got nominations in their cases too. McTeer may be the next great import, but her daughter steals the movie from her much of the time in Tumbleweeds. And Angelina Jolie stretched a lot more in The Bone Collector than in Girl, Interrupted. Being nominated for G.I. is almost like giving her an award for her early work as a wild thing. If you haven't seen Foxfire, rent it and see the better performance of the same character before she gets committed.

Anyway, I'm betting we'll (being roughcut) be there for the awards and the party. I'll try not to get swung on in the process.

NORTH OF THE BORDER: My favorite story of the week has to be Jack De Govia taking a job on The Score, the Robert De Niro picture shooting in Montreal. Why is that a great story? Because DeGovia was chairman of the Film and Television Action Committee until last month. Still don't get it? The F.T.A.C. is the group screaming about movies being shot in Canada a.k.a. runaway production. Gee, didn't take long to end up in Canada, did it, Jack? Of course, the excuse is made that the Mandalay project isn't under a Canadian contract that demands a set number of crew and cast members, and the film is set in Montreal. But make no mistake, tax breaks and the strength of the dollar has a lot to do with why the film is set in Montreal. The free market has made, will make and will always make the rules. As long as it's cheap, production will go north and water tanks will be built 30 minutes south of the border and that's the way of the world. Even for Jack De Govia. Sorry, gang.

WHAT'S IN A NAME?: Amorette Jones was named Executive V.P. of Worldwide Marketing this week. Why does that matter? Well, is that great name or what?!?! Really, I don't know nothing about the woman and God knows I'll just be a blip on her radar screen, but "Amorette..." Beautiful.

ANOTHER HEADLINE: When I saw the Hollywood Reporter headline, "Wells, Nava honored for promoting diversity," I thought "Jeff Wells promoting diversity?" Of what? Implant sizes? Fortunately, it was John Wells, who does have a wonderful history of writing diverse characters. (Of course, there is only one Nava...Gregory, an unfortunate show of the industry's lack of diversity.) Anyway, it amused me and I bet it will even amuse Jeffrey.

ROBERTS WATCH: Variety reports that Julia Roberts may take on The Mexican, a project that has bounced around a bit and now looks to be Gore Verbinski's long-delayed follow-up to Mouse Hunt, a movie that I consider an underrated classic. But here is what was of interest to me...while Roberts has spent the last year jumping in price from $15 million to $17 million to $20 million, she has also gotten involved with directors who actually have unique points of view and bring more to the table than the most glam close-up. Erin Brockovich, from all reports, could have been somewhat boilerplate were it not for Steven Soderbergh's slightly bent perspective. Likewise, the choice to work with Verbinski seems like a choice to work with the pre-Hollywooded Sam Raimi. Really interesting, daring choices. Brava.

NEWSWEEK/WWF, ROUND TWO: There is more news on the WWF front that makes the Newsweek article seem even stupider. The TV rights are in play. Newsweek just threw more gas on the fire under negotiations that will determine how much Vince McMahon and Company will make over the next five years. No wonder Barry Diller was played down as a driving force in building the franchise via USA Networks. (WWF has been with USA for 17 years...do you think it was a coincidence that it took off after Diller took over?) If I'm Newsweek and I didn’t know all this was going on, I'm embarrassed as hell about now. And if I did know, then I've degraded myself in the worst way.

WILLING A PROJECT BACK TO LIFE: Yeah, there's lots of options for black actresses out there. That's why it's news that Will Smith has bought the rights to remake Diva with Whitney Houston. Where have the rights been for the last 18 years? With Diana Ross a.k.a. Whitney Houston 18 years ago. Diva is a good movie and all, but they could make a new movie, couldn't they?

READER OF THE DAY: S.S. writes: "Lee Majors days? That's scary cause I saw Lee on ET last night (announcing his fourth trip down the aisle--must have been a slow day in fluff news) and jeez louise what happened to the Six Million Dollar Man? He obviously has not followed your sage example and left those days in the past. Well that or too much sun and bad plastic surgery. ha ha.

And after jokes about carousing, a natural segue to Leo. Once Titanic started its ascent into the stratosphere and Leo became the object of desire du jour for millions of girls (and some women I'm sure) around the world, his becoming the number one subject for gossip columnists and entertainment media in general was to be expected. But how to explain the thinly veiled vitriol bubbling just underneath the surface of a good deal of this coverage?

Envy and/or jealousy. It sounds silly, I know, but think about it. Where are most people at age 25? Living in a closet masquerading as an apartment or even more fun, still with the folks, working at some entry level job, taking crap off of a boss who you are convinced is the antichrist or just a medical miracle in the flesh--a person can live without a brain stem. If you're lucky you have some idea what you want to do in life, but the road how to get there is blanketed in fog. If you're unlucky, you know you're brilliant, but are directionless. To top it all off, you're probably broke.

After you've recovered from these memories, lo and behold you're covering the living embodiment of the life you wish you had at that age (at least from the surface). Young, talented, good looking, rich enough to have many Lee Majors days (and nights) and take all of you friends along for the ride, career success, and powerful enough to do just what you want to do when you want to do it. It's enough to throw the most even keeled person into a savage bout of PTSD where you excise your demons through your work :-) Either that or a lot of journalists are terribly lazy and are just looking for ways to fill column inches, but we've all heard that reason before.

E ME: How did I end up with a LDF (Leo Defense Fund) column this week? Funny. The guy who got all sorts of hell for suggesting that Leo was dragging his feet and now I'm Leo Central. But hey, things change. I still think he was dragging his feet and I still think that the media is out to either get him or Hoover him these days. Anyway, any thoughts on S.A.G. nods?