March 18, 2004

How complicated is it for me to leave town for a week?

Too complicated.

Saw a great 30-second spot for Hellboy on Arrested Development last night that gave me more hope. It’s the funny thing about this business. Sometimes, things make perfect sense. Sometimes they don’t. And more often than not, when it comes to something unique, the rules don’t quite apply as expected. Hopefully, by the time I land back in Los Angeles next week, everyone in America will know who Hellboy is… or at least everyone under 50.

I was at two press screenings for the upcoming City of Lights/City of Angels film fest here in L.A. I’m looking forward to seeing Anne Fontaine’s Nathalie today, before I get on the plane. Terrific film… saw it the first time in Toronto.

Fathers & Sons, which will show here on April 3, is a good movie, but even better as indie remake fodder. The story of two warring sons, a third kinder one and the father who tricks them into a vacation so he can try to bring his family back together is one of those tough sells, like one of my beloveds, Tornatore’s Everybody’s Fine, starring Marcello Mastroianni. But imagine Mark Ruffalo, Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom on the road with Gene Hackman.

And with that, I am going to sign off. Look for ShoWest coverage from Len Klady and Gary Dretzka on MCN early next week. If I do write from Bermuda, there will be some kind of notification on MCN.

It actually looks like a pretty good movie weekend, with the flawed but still worthwhile Eternal Sunshine, the zombie genre remake that I haven’t seen and the Angelina Jolie film (that I also have not seen) that is getting better word of mouth in CriticVille than she or Paramount has had in a while.

In Bermuda, things will open with Jim Sheridan presenting In America, end with someone presenting Eternal Sunshine and, in between, Dafoe, Cuaron, Arriaga will be hanging out on the beach. And I am thrilled to say, there are a lot of really good movies at the festival this year. Take a look at www.bermudafilmfest.com for more info.

On next month’s schedule… Palm Beach and Champagne-Urbana. I’m definitely going to need a vacation from this vacation.

See you in a week …or maybe earlier.