Toronto comes but once a year…

I have already seen a half dozen or so films slated for Toronto and have another dozen scheduled for the next week.  If I can get more in, I will, since my list of “must-sees is at about sixty as of today.  And I haven’t even gotten to chew on any of that good old festival buzz.

It is with deep regret that I won’t be attending Telluride this year.  It is my favorite festival of all and I suspect that as long as Tom Luddy and the Pences are in charge, it will be.  I’d love to tell you what great stuff they are showing next weekend, but they won’t be announcing until Thursday afternoon, as people arrive in the mountain village.  It is movie-love writ large.  I will just have to take solace in knowing that I will be there next year.

In the meanwhile, I’ve come back and edited this paragraph since writing the column… and there’s no room for Toronto.  So, look for the rare Saturday update tomorrow, where I will preview Toronto… I swear!  In the meantime, some other stuff.  And afterwards, the weekend box office.  (You can see how highly I prize this weekend’s powerhouse slate of releases.)

IN THE MONEY:  DreamWorks has $1.5 billion more to play with.  (How do you write the noise of one of those party noisemakers into which you blow?)  Bruce Orwall of the Wall Street Journal tells the story in today’s paper and for those of you who don’t pay for WSJ access, you can read a wire story about Orwall’s story here. As ever, Orwall asks the real questions, even if there aren’t any real answers yet. 

The only thing missing from the story is that DreamWorks needed this to happen.  The company has been operating for about two years now with an invisible noose around its neck, thanks to its failed TV operations.  By many accounts, that is why Jeffrey Katzenberg was so intense about not having the SAG strike last year.  It is also why the studio has suffered the quiet wrath of hundreds of animators, who have had their lives destabilized by the studio’s (and Disney’s, for that matter) catch-and-release hiring practices in the last two years.  And much as I love DeLuca on the merits, his less-expensive sensibility is one factor in his hire last year. 

But now, all that goat-on-mountainside awkwardness should level off.  And frankly, I would be shocked if DreamWorks doesn’t own MGM before Bond hits theaters.  The biggest missing puzzle piece at DreamWorks is a significant library.  MGM has one.  MGM needs to be sold.  Kerkorian is not going to get the price he wanted two years ago, but there is a perfect price out there.  And it makes sense for DreamWorks to find it.   With a library, the studio would become more than a solid producer of product.  They would be assured a seat at the table for at least a decade, which is about how long it would take to pay off the mortgage on the library.  They would be, finally, a major.

In any case, congratulations to the fly fishing boys on the moon, who just landed a big one.  It’s been a harder ride than expected, but DreamWorks is now the second most stable studio in Hollywood.

CLICK, CLICK, CLICK:  I went to One Hour Photo’s premiere last night by mistake.  I got an invitation and I answered, looking forward to seeing the film on the great big screen of the Academy and wondering all the time why Searchlight was being so specific about ticketing, etc.  It turned out to be a red carpet event.  And while I know that some of you will scoff at the notion, I get very shy at things like that.  I don’t like being part of a crowd, milling around, eating free food and trying to look like they don’t care that Robin Williams just rubbed up against their ass.  Worse, I don’t feel like its the right venue to have a serious conversation about the film, so even as the crowd dissipated, I didn’t chat with Mark Romanek about his small masterpiece, which got better, yet again, on a third viewing.

I have to say, the critics are pissing me off on this one.  Why can’t they get over Robin Williams’ career and review the damned movie?  The very talented Manohla Dargis, in what I think is her first review for the L.A  Times, spent the first three paragraphs of her review today without even mentioning One Hour Photo.  When she got around to the movie, it was almost like an afterthought.

Worse for Dargis, Elvis Mitchell and many others, it seems that Williams’ mere presence somehow made it okay not to think too hard about what was going on in the film.  And since I see some genius in this film, it strikes me as outrageous.  If, as a cineaste, all you get out of One Hour Photo is a stalker movie starring Mork with blonde hair, you have missed an opportunity. 

I was chatting with Jeff Wells before the screening.  He was not a fan of the film, which he saw at Sundance.  And I was bringing up the color scheme in the film, which he immediately brushed off as something out of Eyes Wide Shut, a film on which he rode the fence before joining the more convenient and easily accessible crowd of critical naysayers.  He said that he had noticed how colorful the photos on Sy’s wall were and how he liked that.  But then I pointed out that it was the only place in the movie where the man and woman who become part of Sy’s obsession have any color in their clothing.  They wear only brown or black throughout the movie.  They had color in their lives, but it rained out, until only their young son remained capable of embracing color.  Even as Romanek floats over the photos on Sy’s wall, we see the color drain from the husband first and then, the wife.  And when Sy develops the child’s roll of photos, all the pictures are absurdly rich in color.  Now, you could see it as a child’s silly photographic choices… but you’d be missing the point.  

And don’t even get me started on the use of red in the film, which only occurs six times.  And the subtle genius of Romanek’s removal of the color from one of the key characters after Sy has taken action.

I like Memento a lot.  But it was a lot easier on critics, signaling its special secrets and challenging us to unwrap them.  People who see only the surface of One Hour Photo and accuse it of superficiality just aren’t looking hard enough.  Ironically, it was Dargis who turned me on to Fincher’s possibilities with a brilliant review a decade ago, opining in the Village Voice in a non-review about the possible AIDS subtext of Alien3, a movie that was written off by almost everyone… including me.  I had already heard about Fincher’s on-set obsessiveness from friends who had worked for him and was mocking his pretensions in light of the film’s weak script.  Fincher still claims that Dargis was not onto something, as do members of his crew.  But what Manohla taught me was that taking the time to look more closely at a big commercial picture might be worth the effort.  It taught me to look past the hype machine and to watch the movie. 

Eyes Wide Shut was unfairly murdered by critics who were waiting for a sex movie.  One Hour Photo is being unfairly whipped because Robin Williams can never be forgiven for having a hit with Patch Adams.  (They would have supported him had it failed miserably and come close to crashing his career, instead of building it.)  Had this movie starred some unknown Brit, you can be sure that there would be Oscar speculation in every corner, for everyone, including the actor and Romanek.  Watch the movie.

SPEAKING OF WELLS:  Jeffrey couldn’t keep himself from writing… this column thing is addictive.  So, his first FilmAnus story is up today.  I don’t know how Jeff found nearly 4000 words in what might normally be a 400-word column item… but he did. 

The short of it is that The Polish Brothers have a deal at Miramax to make a movie based around George Reeves decline towards death/suicide/murder during his Superman era.  The film is slated to star Joaquin Phoenix as a guy investigating Reeves’ death.  But is Joaquin, a still-rising star, enough of a box office draw to open a $20 million movie?  Apparently, Miramax thinks not.  And so, they want to insure themselves with a big name in the George Reeves role, which is told in flashback, but will require four weeks work.  The Polish Brothers screen-tested Kyle MacLachlan and he looks  a lot like a young George Reeves.  And obviously, MacL can act.

That said, MacLachlan would be fine for me, if cast.  But if I had my druthers?  No.  He’s too skinny… too angular… too subtle.  Now, it seems that The Polish Brothers see Reeves more that way than I do.  When I think of Reeves, I think of how he looked like a big man with a soft body in that Superman suit.   A good looking guy, but a guy who had put back a few every hour or two.  And as an actor… a kind of good-natured stiff…. The kind of guy who might get one of the sidekick roles in an Irish version of The Sopranos…. Big Potato Pussy. 

Miramax wants John Travolta to make this film.  The idea of Travolta putting on that suit tickles me.  Travolta can play a loser.  But the irony is (and today’s column is just rife with irony, ain’t it?) that every time Travolta plays a loser, the film stiffs at the box office.  Has Miramax taken that into consideration? Maybe they are just thinking that Travolta’s stiffs make enough to pay for this film’s budget. 

After thinking about it yesterday, two great ideas came to mind for the role.  The first will never happen, but Russell Crowe could be a great, great Reeves.  But more reasonable, though still not the A-list star that Miramax wants but a member of the Miramax family, is Colin Firth.  He’s 6’ 1”.  He’s wide-shouldered, but he gets that soft looking pudgy body when he eats a few too many Hot Pockets on the set.  And he has a facial structure similar to Reeves.  True, he won’t make a dime in box office back for Miramax… in this country, at least.  But he could be perfection. 

402 words.

DVD CONTEST:  As I announced yesterday, we will have our first sponsor aboard THB next week.  So in honor of THB’s fifth anniversary, Digital Eyes has been kind enough to offer up The Godfather Collection as a THB contest gift.  The contest is simple.  Offer up your “Reader’s Choice” DVD, along with a 25-word-or-less explanation of why it kicks ass and you can win yourself three great films, including two of the greatest films ever made.  It’s just that simple.  You have until Monday to enter, so get those thinking caps on.  And if you decide to go explore Digital Eyes before our links are up, and you decide to buy something, please let them know that you found them through The Hot Button.  It’s a great site and I suspect that they will make your DVD experience better and easier than its ever been.  That’s why we’re working with them.

POST-ING DRUDGE:  When I read a link headline of “The Ozzy Interview He Doesn’t Want You To See” and then saw that it led to the Washington Post, I figured that Drudge was being an over-hyping jackass.  BZZT!!!  Wrong!  It turns out that the headline, seemingly from the cover of The National Enquirer, was written by The Washington Post for a Lisa de Moraes story on Fox News’ bait-and-switch play on Ozzy Ozbourne.  (You can read that story here. The problem detailed in the story is less and less uncommon these days.  It used to be that a great interview was good for a year or more, as time made the interviewee seem smarter or less smart.  But the effort of the publicists to control the flow of all media has made every interview opportunity a one-serving effort.  This story is the electronic equivalent of the magazine cover stories of earlier this year when the magazine bought a photo and got a story without a publicists cooperation and put a star on their cover, even though they had been refused a cover shot by the star.  Right or wrong?  Since entertainment is rarely real news, what are the rules?  And sorry for judging you, Matt.  You would never over-hype anything!

PITCHING:  There are two development stories that caught my eye today.  First, there is now an Americanization of yet another Nick Hornby book.  This time, it’s Fever Pitch.  One wonders whether they will change the name for the release, even though the replacement of soccer with baseball seems to make the title even better.  However, there is a film adaptation of Fever Pitch, called Fever Pitch, already out there.  If you haven’t guessed already, it stars Colin Firth.  (I love when a column comes together!)

Also announced was the pitch purchase of Superhero Summer Camp, a parody of the superhero genre.  Okay, class… what does a parody of a genre indicate?  Right!  The end of the genre.  I mean, don’t even get me started that X-Men is essentially about a “training ground for superheroes,” just as this pitch is described.  Why would WB be making any effort to make a movie that suggests the killing of that golden egg-laying goose even before they can get out of their own way and exploit their very exploitable franchises??!?!?!  The mind boggles!

P.S.  IMDb is getting obnoxiously greedy.  I don’t know if you’ve noticed too, but a click on the “back” button is now greeted with a “Page expired” notice.  The only reason for this is that they want it that way so you have more page views… even if they are a gross waste of your time.  It was irritating enough when virtually every single info request was greeted by a second page, loaded with options.  (Yeah, I put in Gone With The Wind and wanted some actor named “wind.”  ARGH!!!)  But this is irritating as hell!!!  If there are three movies with the same title and I pick the wrong one, the “back” button was very helpful, thank you.  Having to type it in again and go through the middle page again and to guess about the title again is enough to make you look for a web gun.

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO:  It finally occurred to me last week… Gary Oldman has disappeared.  After imploding over The Contender, Oldman’s primary goal, as laid out by the man and his manager Doug Urbanski, was to become seriously famous again.  Famous enough to get jobs like the one Russell Crowe got – and which Gary lost – in A Beautiful Mind.  But since The Contender public relations fiasco, Oldman has not made a single studio film.  Hannibal was released in February of 2001, but since then, nada.  He’s made two independent films, Tiptoes and Sin, neither of which has domestic distribution set up.  Interstate 60 has a release date n America through IDP Pictures… but look for it to be small and brief, though I will be very interested on the strength of Bob Gale’s name alone. 

Gary was reportedly dumped by ICM and has since moved over to CAA, where they are trying hard to get Gary famous again.  He is now shooting one of those BMW movies with Ridley Scott and co-star Little Richard.  (A reader reports that Scott originally wanted Marlon Brando and Michael Jackson.  They are saving big on  Krispy Kremes and make-up/plaster.)  CAA still hasn’t been able to get Oldman a good role on a studio film.

Look, we’re talking about a world-class actor here.  Had he not gotten into a pissing match with DreamWorks, he would have likely won an Academy Award for his work in The Contender two years ago.  But he did.  And there are people –very powerful people - who now see him as anti-semitic and worse, willing to dump on their movie if he gets into a mood.  Arnold Schwarzenegger led the way in salary in this town, in great part because he was willing to sell his movies until he bled.  The opposite is also true.  There is some talent that can get away without doing a lot of press.  There is some talent that can get away with being outrageously assholic in private.  But you can’t piss on your own movie.  It doesn’t matter how good an actor you are… there is too much money at risk. 

WEEKEND PREVIEW:  Some people that I have spoken with have liked Undisputed. No one has had much nice to say about Serving Sara. 

I’ve seen Simone and while some are willing to take what they from the wreckage, I was sadly disappointed.  I love Pacino and I think he has great comedy chops… but he needed a better director and a story that is remotely capable of paying off on its premise.  What you are now seeing in New Line’s ad campaign is the third act of the movie.  You have to wait an excruciating hour before getting to the twist – no longer a surprise to anyone -  that still doesn’t work. 

Ironically, Simone fell into the trap that it thinks it is satirizing.  It’s so dazzled by the idea of CG that it forgets that it is only a tool.  There are a lot of ways to go with this idea.  It could be Tootsie, where Pacinos’ performance as Simone is his salvation.  It could be Sunset Blvd., where Pacino’s fade is propped up pathetically by a machine.  It could be Frankenstein – the movie to which Simone tries to come closest – in which the idea of a CG character that people have a real relationship with is so outrageous that there is a real and ugly debate about the idea of a CG actor.  The answer is: none of the above.  And nothing else terribly clear.

What we get instead is a story of a guy whose career makes no sense and whose actions make even less sense.  Hollywood is not what Andrew Niccols shows in this film.  He may have cobbled it together from some real stories, but what he ended up with is more synthetic than any CG actor.  Characters do what they do, moment-to-moment, never connected with an ultimate vision or held down by the weight of reality.  They just dance around, tetherless.  Simone stayed in the can for over a year… they should have kept it there.

My Best Friend’s Greek Wedding (tic) is adding another 126 screens.

WEEKEND GUESSTIMATES

Signs - 3453 venues – off 38 percent – $12 million

XXX -3517 venues – off 54 percent - $10.2 million

Blue Crush - 3015 venues – off 40 percent – $8.5 million

Serving Sara - 2154 venues – new - $7.3 million

Spy Kids 2 – 3307 venues – off 42 percent – $6.7 million

My Big Fat Greek Wedding - 1326 venues – up 10 percent - $6.3 million

Goldmember – 2805 venues – off a reported 33 percent - $5.8 million

Undisputed - 1102 venues – new - $5.7 million

Simone - 1920 venues – new - $4.3 million

Blood Work - 2203 venues – off 43 percent - $2.7 million

Road to Perdition - 1863 venues – off 39 percent - $2.3 million

READER OF THE DAY:  SOME E OR ANOTHER writes:  “David, I found it curious as I watched ESPN last night and a football game on one of the networks that the ONLY movie ads I saw were for SIGNS after these 3 weeks it has been open. You and others mentioned that XXX might have a chance to be #1 again this weekend with the other weak openings. My theory is that SIGNS has been so close to XXX this week in the daily movie takes that Disney thinks SIGNS might have a chance to take more receipts this weekend than the free-falling XXX. M. Night would love the press of having another movie with legs even in the ballpark of what the Sixth Sense had. Even though Signs does not, a bit of free press would not hurt Disney's attempt to spin this.”

E ME:  As noted above, I expect Signs to win by a significant margin this weekend.

Will you go see the new movies this weekend?  Will you like them?  And what are your DVD picks?  There is greatness at stake!  And your picks will turn up in the future on the site, so use your 25 words wisely.