8-9 July 2000

3. Come Together: The theories surrounding Universal and the Vivendi merger continue to fly fast and furious. The latest "it must mean something" was a meeting last week that didn't take place between Vivendi folks and studio President Ron Meyer in Paris last week. The Vivendi team hit Hollywood after the holiday this week and made it clear who was in charge. But still, what will this mean for Meyer? No one really knows. Who will be the production chief of the future? No one really knows. Does the announcement that Pierre Lescure will be Chairman of Universal Studios really mean anything that should be remotely surprising? No one really knows. But one thing that is also getting some press that I know to be deeply ironic is the criticism of Vivendi for being in the sewerage business before getting into entertainment. Does anyone remember how Steve Ross started the empire that would end up with him taking over Warner Bros., which would eventually merge with Time, which would eventually (most likely) merge with AOL? Garbage removal and hearses in New York City. The more things change…

2. You Deserve A Jail Today: The Screen Actors Guild is running a self-described publicity stunt at a McDonald's in Studio City, California on Monday, protesting with intent of being arrested in and act of "nonviolent civil disobedience." Picketing took place through the last week, but to get really good video for local news around the country, arrests must occur. A SAG official told The Hollywood Reporter that, "We trained on how to get arrested and on how to be nonconfrontational." There is no truth to the rumors that the training session was led by Divine Brown and Heidi Fleiss or that future acts of nonconfrontational disobedience will include ordering right off the menu at The Ivy and telling the absolute truth to reports with no publicity spin. Meanwhile, the union released a list of big times scabbing companies (Pepsi, General Motors, McDonald's, Philip Morris, Volkswagen, America Online, Toyota and British Airways), hoping to shake things up.

1. Piling On: Universal went after Mike Myers for costs after he announced that he wouldn't be making Dieter for the studio months after getting the studio to start pre-production and to sign a few pay-or-play acting contracts. Now, producer Imagine Entertainment has filed a suit for damages to the tune of $30 million. Besides spilling the beans on the accusation that Myers was set for the film at one price, but wouldn't sign after The Spy Who Shagged Me until his price was increased to the reported $20 million, the lawsuit shreds the actor…well, how about I just offer some of the suit in Imagine's lawyers' own words? "Myers arbitrarily announced that he would not perform after all. He claimed he had not approved the screenplay. Who wrote the screenplay? Myers. This was not the first time Myers engaged in such conduct. He has followed a pattern and practice of breaking his promises, betraying the trust of others and causing serious damage to those with whom he deals through selfish, egomaniacal and irresponsible conduct." As Billy Joel once sang, "Say goodbye to Hollywood…say goodbye my baby." No doubt, some will be willing to swing with Myers again, hoping to hit the jackpot. But this is the kind of behavior that can destroy a career. For instance, how does one get completion insurance on a Myers movie now? But more to the point, the fact that both Universal and Imagine have gone public is a sign that they consider this worse than bad behavior. It is not standard operating procedure to go public. It's terrible for business. This filing means that Myers now has powerful people actively attempting to destroy him. And how dissed does Steven Spielberg feel after trying to resolve the issue and failing publicly? Not pretty.

READER OF THE DAY: DW (not Griffith) writes: "This whole thing with Spike Lee's complaints about The Patriot has me upset. This isn't a film about slavery. It's a film about one man's war with his past, as well as with the British. I enjoyed the film, and it would have added a little depth to the proceedings if there would have been a scene or two about slavery, but it didn't really hurt the movie. As I remember, Spike Lee complained when Amistad was released. If I recall correctly, it was because the white men got too much screen time, and because the film should have been made by a black man. I find this kind of mind set appalling. I don't care what race the director of a film is, regardless of the subject matter. And I object to him trying to turn everything into racism."

That GD Gary writes: "It's interesting to note that in all this talk about slavery and emancipation in The Patriot no one that I've read (except me, I guess) has noted that Rodat, et al consulted with several Smithsonian historians on aspects of the movie, including slavery. A black historian there actually came up with the island scene, and the business of freed slaves in military and off-shore. The Brits, I'm told, were the first to free slaves to serve in their army, forcing the more reluctant Yanks to reciprocate.

Yeah, the slavery issue was off-putting throughout Patriot, but it isn't as if Rodat didn't make the effort. Maybe Spike can do his own movie on the subject."

That leads to B&D's thoughts on Spike: "Mr. Lee's comments on Patriot? Let's look at D&E's history of movies, shall we? Independence Day--somehow, aliens coming to invade/destroy the Earth has become a novel idea, in spite of that little Orson Wells thing so many years back, and Ed Wood's contributions to American cinema. Godzilla--or should that have been titled Mrs. Godzilla, as it wasn't the lumbering big green guy we all know and love. Stargate was a pleasant little surprise, I'll grant them that. So you want to start hunting historical inaccuracies in a costume drama/action film of theirs? Knock yourself out, I have better things to do with my time.

I have never heard Jews complaining about the Holocaust being glossed over in European theatre war movies, and I've only heard one complaint about the absence of Christians in Gladiator. Should there have been a louder outcry?

To hear critics, professional and otherwise, speak of the glossing of slavery in Patriot is one thing, but I hold filmmakers to a different standard. If you think there's a story to be found in slave ownership and the founding of America, tell it. Fire up the word processor, crank out a script, get the financing machine in motion, fire up the publicity machine, cast, shoot. I'd go see it as I consider Spike Lee to be a really good filmmaker with an interesting vision. His take on such a setting should be noteworthy indeed. And the same goes for any other filmmaker with specific complaints about a film. It's one thing to be annoyed by one thing or another, but if you feel as angry as Spike does, well, he's in a position to do something about it, specifically make a better movie. And when he does, I won't feel compelled to complain about his glossing over of French contributions to the Revolution, or the participation of German mercenaries on either side of the conflict."

E ME: They score… they spike Spike. Is anyone coming to his defense? How about personal gossip as news? Do you care? Do you obsess? Do you feel guilty? Inquiring minds want to know!