Weekend, 17-18 June 2000

NEWS BY THE NUMBERS

10. French Kissing: Vivendi is taking over Universal. The conglomerate is already in business with Universal through its Canal Studios arm and talks are said to propose a $100 billion company with $20 billion of that value set upon the multi-armed Universal/Seagram's side.

9. Where's The Cape?: Well, it looks like a weekend junket of discussing Phone Booth may have been just the thing to scare Jim Carrey right off the interminably unlaunchable project. It seems clear that Fox wants to make this movie. But when Michael Bay almost got but then lost Will Smith, they passed on Bay's other idea. When the Hughes Bros. couldn't come up with the right actor…buh-bye. And now, Joel Schumacher took his big shot with Jim Carrey and lost the fish. (Must have been the green leotard he wanted Carrey to wear.)

8. Fear Of The French: Xenophobes came out of the woodwork to expose their paranoia about a bunch of Frenchies running a big ole' studio like Universal. I guess that German money invading American shores in piles for the past three years wasn't reason to get paranoid. The idea that the French might put hair under a dinosaur's Jurassic armpit or a cigarette in Bruce the Shark's mouth was too much to bear.

7. If You Can't Beat 'Em: Technicolor has been worried about being pushed aside as the digital revolution takes the lead. So, they started Technicolor Digital Cinema, Inc. Now, they've hooked up with Qualcomm to try to become the industry leaders in sending digital films up to a satellite and down to the theater, safely and securely. There still seem to be some big hurdles ahead, but Technicolor's Lanny Raimondo brazenly told The Hollywood Reporter, "The first step was guaranteeing picture quality, and we've done that. The next step is to work with the industry on how they want movies delivered to the theaters." I guess that settles that.

6. What about Barry?: The rumors of Barry Diller's ascendance to King of the World became the hot rumor as the Week of Vivendi continued. In fact, it didn't take long for Diller to unseat Terry Semel from the top of the new Universal food chain. Such is the power of rumors. The rumor mill also has nixed Joe Roth from a Universal slot because everyone has decided he's going to Sony later this year. Besides, he just did a production deal with the Germans and who knows how they might respond if confronted by the French! Who is the only name not attached to a Universal rumor this week? Mike Ovitz. How long can that last?

5. Cherish is the Word: The School of the Art Institute of Chicago has decided to rename its Film Center in honor of Gene Siskel. ("The Gene Siskel Film Center" is the new name…catchy, huh?) The center's new building opens late this year with two theaters that can project 35mm and 16mm film, 3/4 and 1/2-inch video and digital beta video. And leading the way for the project fundraising is Roger Ebert, Gene's old (well, not so old) balcony partner. To date, $1.4 million has been pledged to the project, with a $5 million target. (Note to Richard Roeper: $25,000 minimum donation.)

4. Career Saver?: The London Express reported this week that Mike Nichols has set Robin Williams and Will Smith for a remake of Kind Hearts And Coronets, the Ealing Studios classic starring Alec Guinness in eight roles. The thing that was more encouraging to me about the move was that Nichols seems to know that he can't just use the name and forget the core of the humor. He told the Express, "(The original) was fundamentally about class struggle. The new one will be about race. My movie will also end differently." Great. Focus from the director, not the 27 writers. Meanwhile, Nichols said he expected the start the film this year. What does that mean to other Will Smith projects like Ali? I'm not sure.

3. Pass the Bottle: Vivendi chief Jean Marie Messier has given the word. Seagram's will be sold. Yes, the centerpiece of the Bronfman family empire will belong to someone else. The company that got Junior on the monopoly board is leaving family hands. And the booze that supported the Universal staff through the days of Meet Joe Black and Babe: Pig in the City will have to be bought at retail. It is a sad day indeed.

2. You and Angelina, Together Again: There's a company in London called The Casting Collective, Ltd. that actually uses the Internet to help cast extras for movies. Really. I read about the company when they put out the word that they were looking for international diplomats for Tomb Raider, "people of all nationalities with a very smart wardrobe and a dignified look." They also need "Japanese businessmen." But The Casting Collective is also casting for The Mummy 2, looking for "Egyptian or Arabic Body builders. PLEASE NOTE we are only looking for Egyptian or Arabic bodybuilders." For other projects, they are looking for, "Chinese men, women and children, Arab type film extras male and female, muscular type warriors and very skinny men for other movies. If you fit, write them at enquiries@castingcollective.co.uk. or go to their Web site at www.castingcollective.co.uk.

1. Vivendi in the House: As you can tell, all the news of the week is about Vivendi and Universal, Universal and Vivendi. If Vivendi chief Jean-Marie Messier passes wind, Variety gives it a banner headline. "Gaelic Passes Wind From Asse(t)s." The closer of the week was non-news news that Vivendi would keep Americans in charge of the American studio. Apparently, someone reported otherwise, as Variety made a point of writing, "contrary to published reports." Of course, they never fess up and tell you who they are slapping around in those contrary notes. In any case, it's all just jerking around until the merger happens and the first person is fired. But jerk we shall.

READER OF THE DAY: C.O. writes in about the New York Times article about race and the HBO series, The Corner: "You were right, it was a great article, and not just about entertainment. Man, it took me back to Africa, where I spent four years with a non-profit organization, doing language development work. The government of the country we were in wanted our help in analyzing its many languages and helping its people become literate, first in their own, then in the official languages. It was a worthy goal, and yet how to do it without becoming patronizing or exploitative.

Most of the people in the small rural village I lived in hadn't a clue about why we were there. One young man yelled at an older woman who was helping me to learn the language, saying 'She is stealing our language. She'll go and sell it back in the West and get rich.' And of course I could have used the data I was gathering to get a Ph.D and never have compensated people of the village for their help, as many anthropologists and linguists have done. And for these people their language is what gives them their identity as a people. It is their treasure, and yet the thing that keeps them from entering into the fuller life of their country.

Another man told me, 'They say there are atheists where you come from. I never met one. But the catechist says that God loves everyone alike. Is that right? I don't believe it. If God loves us alike, why are we Africans in misery and illness and war all the time and you Europeans (i.e Caucasians) get everything good?' Try answering that one. All I could tell him is that it didn't seem fair to me either, but that believe it or not in Europe and in the USA there were people who were suffering too and people who had money who weren't very happy.

In this country I lived for a while in a multi-racial neighborhood with some of the same challenges. Here I sometimes feel like a Have Not. Living in rural Africa proved to me that I was a Have. But as a Have what is my responsibility to Have Nots of any race or nationality or religion or whatever? How can I be involved in righting the wrong or at least in the attempt without being patronizing? How can I become trusted? Mostly by hanging around and being tough-skinned (which I'm not) and trustworthy (which I try to be) and by being willing to participate in some of the pain, I guess. Which is what the article concluded, didn't it? Anyway, thanks for the pointer. It made me think and reminded me that there is always a border to cross, often in the back yard."

E ME: I love that letter. There's so much more than movies out there. And who would you like to see in charge of the new Universal?