MIRAMAX, DAY 237:  The drama at Miramax continues… There seems to be a clear strategy afoot to overwhelm the news cycle by flooding it with fresh information every day this week.  As of Monday, Gangs of New York was set for Christmas week, despite a direct Leo conflict with DreamWorks’ Catch Me If You Can and the Cannes preview was off.  Yesterday, the honchos at DreamWorks and Miramax were good pals again and they were going to let Scorsese and Spielberg work out the conflict of timing… and Gangs of New York was suddenly locked and ready to go, deflecting earlier stories that there would be some new shooting for the ending.  Today, Scorsese is going to Cannes as a judge and will host a 17 minute preview screening… and Jeff Wells is reporting that Miramax LA still has the Gangs penciled in for October.   Oh yes… and according to Page Six, U2 is writing a theme song for the film, which is mildly ironic as U2 supported an excellent Irish film called Bloody Sunday which Paramount Classics has scheduled for release on the same weekend as Miramax’s other “troubled” film, Frida.  When will the madness end?!?!?!

MORE SPIDEY:  The question that came up most yesterday about the Spider-Man review was, “Why didn’t the review give more ink to Tobey Maguire?”  After all, he is The Man in the mask.

Well, unlike some of you, I am a fan of Tobey Maguire as an actor.  I felt that he deserved and Oscar nomination for his work in Wonder Boys and actually had the opportunity to tell him just that after the screening of that film, which I saw on the Paramount lot.  The funny thing about his absence in my review is that I didn’t even realize that he was missing until I started getting e-mail. 

Reflecting on the issue, it seems to me that a simple lack of excitement about the performance is at the root.  In a way, Tobey is the Mary Tyler Moore of Spider-Man.  What I mean by that is that on the Mary Tyler Moore Show, Mary was the calm center around which crazy characters revolved.  How interesting was Mary, really?  Sure, she had spunk.  But Murray Slaughter has more serious life crises on that show than Mary ever did.  Her dinner parties may have sucked, but she was never the one who made the Veal Prince Orloff.  She was the react-er.

In Spider-Man, Peter Parker is mostly a react-er.  As I wrote yesterday, even at moments where the Peter Parker character got obnoxious in the comic, the movie’s Peter Parker remains a nice guy.  Only in the final sequence with The Green Goblin does Peter Parker really let it loose.  And Maguire is terrific in that sequence. 

Do I think a younger, shorter DiCaprio would have made a better Peter Parker?  Yes.  You can feel more passion going on even the calmest DiCaprio façade.  Who else could have gotten away with the role?  I don’t know.  Nick Stahl, maybe?  Giovanni Ribisi is too old now.  You’d never believe Josh Hartnett as the nerd.  Edward Norton is a decade too old and was when he did Primal Fear.  Luke Wilson is too old.  I’m sure I’m missing names.

But I think that Maguire is an asset that will become more valuable the next time out, as I also feel about Ms. Dunst and Mr. Franco.  Maguire does an excellent job of maturing, using his voice only, behind the mask.  A looser, funkier Spider-Man II should make everyone better. 

And remember, the Mary Tyler Moore Show wouldn’t have worked without Mary as the center.  (Just ask the Seinfeld sidekicks about trying to make a character part into a lead.)  Maguire does the job in Spider-Man.  I only wish he had a little more range in what he had to do as a character.

MORE CARTOONS:  Joe Dante has had a curious career.  He has been pretty consistent as a filmmaker.  His movies are always chock-full of images, flying at you with the rage of a cartoon, while the screenplays have varied in quality.  Gremlins is almost perfect, but Gremlins 2: The New Batch is richer in some ways and completely vacant and derivative in others.   No one much saw Explorers or Innerspace or Matinee, but all three are incredibly well respected and loved in some quarters and all three mark important career moments for the actors involved.  (River Phoenix, Meg Ryan and John Goodman all moved up a notch because of these financially unsuccessful films.)  Dante went five years without a feature film between Matinee and Small Soldiers, which, like much of his work, was stuck in the awkwardness of puberty.  And it will be more than five years after Small Soldiers before he delivers the yet untitled Warner Bros. animation/live action feature that he’s just signed on to direct. 

What’s the deal?  Is Dante a one-trick pony?  I mean, this career makes pigeon holes look roomy.

Anyway… I can’t think of a much better choice for a movie using the top WB animated characters along with live action, especially if they let Dante take the characters to their darkest, most looney places. 

LOT OF FIRE (SALE):  Sony is selling The Culver Studios, which has been home to Sony and MGM’s TV divisions… both of which have gone belly up in the last six months.  At first, I thought Sony was selling their primary lot, which put a big lump in my throat.  But, no.  Phew.  Though the estimated value of the lot is $100 million, one has to wonder whether there will be a buyer out there in a local climate that has most hour-long television headed to Canada and production staying anywhere but home.  Truth is, if the lot were good business, Sony would be hanging on to it as a cash machine.  Another symbol of the end of the biz as we know it.

READER OF THE DAY:  Sojan says:  “I have a top 10 for 2001 and I am glad that there is someone I can share it with. I don’t know or care why you would want to know other people's top tens but I will go ahead and tell you anyway.

First of all, there is one movie that I enjoyed the most last year which I would not be able to include in my top ten. The movie is Lagaan and the reason is I am an Indian and as such I might have a bias. Its another thing that I hate most of the movies that get made in India. But that’s another story. Yes, it was four hours long but that was the best four hours I had at the movies last year. I enjoyed it in a way none of the non-Indians could. I hope more people see it and enjoy it as much as I did.

I am a student doing my masters in America and as such I have neither the time nor the money to see all the movies I want to see. And I live in Memphis which makes it difficult for me to see all the foreign language movies. I have yet to see No Man's Land or The Devil's Backbone. But of the movies I saw in 2001, these are the best.

A.I
The movie moved me in so many ways. I know that it wasn’t perfect but for me this was the movie with the most heart in it. It made me sad about the character of the boy and that was something that very few movies did this year.

Heist
Like you, I went to this movie without expecting anything and got so much from it. It was funny, it was fast and it was exciting without for a second being ridiculous with actors so down to earth and characters so true.

The Man Who Wasn't There
This black and white movie had so much in atmosphere and style going for it. It was funny and ironic but really the reason it was so good was because of the way it flowed. So self assured and confident in the slow way it to took to where it wanted to go. The background score and the photography were just pure magic.

From Hell
Another stylish movie that took us to world that only truly gifted artists can take you. The gothic London soaked with atmosphere and a mystery like something I havent seen in recent years. It was fun watching an old fashioned conspiracy-mystery which was so cool and modern.

Shallow Hal
A romantic comedy that was so sweet and to think that this was a movie from the Farrelly brothers. It was so innocent and sweet in the way it treated its characters that you just cant help yourself fall in love with people like this. Gwyneth Paltrow in particular was so sweet and right for the movie and Jack Black managed to be funny and sweet while actually being such a well "shallow" guy.

Monster's Inc.
The sweetest movie of the year. It was going back to being a kid with no cynicism whatsoever. Its great when for once you don’t look for subtexts or symbolisms and just laugh and feel good or bad about something.

Amelie
The funniest movie of the year. I laughed more during this movie than any other. The movie is so beautiful to look at and the character Amelie makes you want to forget everything you end up thinking as important and go for something more...being happy and making others happy.

In the Bedroom
A moving , tragic and realistic account of loss and suffering. It made everyone feel the heartbreak that only people with that kind of a loss can feel. The final catharsis that the movie offered was something that made it look as if it took an easy way out but despite that one of the most powerful movies of the year.

A Beautiful Mind
A feel good movie with an amazing performance. Although there was nothing pathbreaking or anything it was good at what it tried to do. Its nice when you go to a movie expecting something and you get exactly that only better.

Lord Of The Rings: Fellowship of the Ring.
The best movie of the year by far. The only movie I watched more than once and a movie thats as good as the first time. It takes you to another place in another time and makes you feel for everyone there. I used to hate fantasies until I saw this one. Its breathtaking in its scope, grandeur and feel and so intimate and personal at the same time. Simply the best movie of the year."

E ME:  She liked it.  She really, really liked it!!!  Another Sony film is coming before Spider-Man and I have a feeling that it really belongs in the middle of the summer.  I’ll get into the details on Friday, but do you feel drawn to movies by season?  Do you want a change of pace in the middle of the summer?  Do you want something a little more weighty in the spring or fall?  Do you like the weight of winter?