So I pretty much just got 10 scripts to read and analyze in 5 days while working a regular job, so….
…there is a chance I may not even get these quickie updates on the scripts I’m reading up. I’ll try. I should be able to get a few but this is the balls to the wall crunch time for the market.
I have a ‘wonderful’ Renee Zellwegger romantic comedy, My One & Only, to read now. It’s always a shame because they are usually light reads but don’t have much to them. I hope this is one of the exceptions.
Wow. So I just got done reading the biopic of Harvey Milk called, Milk.
It is just great.
If you don’t know the story of Milk, he was basically the spearhead of the gay rights movement and is widely considered to be the first openly gay person elected to a major political office. (City Supervisor of San Francisco)
The film probably won’t make much money because it has a pretty narrow focus, but those who do see it will no doubt be left intrigued by this period in San Francisco history.
Pretty gripping stuff.
It stars Sean Penn as Milk and co-stars James Franco, Emile Hirsch, Josh Brolin (who is just on a roll right now) and Diego Luna (who is stuck in a pretty thankless role IMO)
Up next is some Renee Zellwegger chick flick which I pray is good.
So, I just got done with Antoine Fuqua’s latest films, Brooklyn’s Finest.
It is a straight genre piece. It has about every genre device you expect from a crime film: the cop retiring in 2 weeks, the undercover cop who gets in too deep and the good cop who goes bad out of desperation.
However, that could be said about every crime film as the genre has been beaten and bloodied to death and there are scant few places that invention can be had.
Basically, it all comes down to the actors and how good a job they can do. This film has Don Cheadle. It will be good.
Ooooh so no updates today with the ‘usual’ stuff, so I thought I drop a quick note about the script I just got done reading (haven’t analyzed it yet) but it’s Gerard Butler’s (300, Phantom of the Opera) new picture Law Abiding Citizen by Kurt Wimmer.
I gotta say, it was pretty thrilling stuff. A nice crime noir in the vein of Northside 777.
It did kinda bug me that it was obviously set in LA but was switched to Chicago and Wimmer decided not to fix the problems. i.e. he mentions the ‘mountains’ of Illinois on several occasions. As someone who grew up in Chicago for nearly 30 years, I can tell you the tallest ‘peaks’ in Northern Illinois are the landfills. It really is about as flat as it gets. My sister lives 70 miles from the city and if you stand on top of her house or in the second story of her house and it’s not smoggy, you can see downtown Chicago perfectly.
Other than that, if it’s not done hokie and they keep it gritty and cutting it could be a great shit kicker.
OK, we’ll see if I am handed anything to do tomorrow. If not, I should be able to get back to some ‘normal’ posts.
Just got done with the new Josh Hartnett vehicle Bunraku, and I have to say, despite the shitty title…it’s pretty fuckin’ rad.
Now, if you think I mean ‘rad’ as in it’s going to be the next Citizen Kane, then you’d be wrong…and retarded.
However, if you like action packed, martial arts ass kicking fests fueled by hate filled blood lust revenge and a sprinkling of tits and ass in it then you’ll love it. (normal caveat: if they actually shoot it properly)
Basically what I’m saying is if you have testicles and are straight (or even a gay man who is a total top) you will love this or you will probably want to see a doctor as there is a good chance you are in fact comatose or dead or in need of becoming a broad.
I was shocked to say the least I expected the worst, but got a much needed good start to the Cannes script reading time.
Next up Gerard Butler’s new film Law Abiding Citizen. I will also try to get some ‘normal’ updates up too tonight but as I have mentioned a billion times, film festival times pretty much swamp me to death with scripts to read so it leaves little time, but on the plus side you get to hear about the films before ANYONE else hears about them as many of these aren’t even to the casting stage yet just being sent out as straight offers as I believe the Gerard Butler film is.
Here is a video from the ad campaign for the upcoming film The Dark Knight.
I am excited about it. I have come to learn some things about the film itself but since it was from a non-final cut I won’t say anything or judge it. I will say I hear Heath Ledger is now the definitive Joker which is pretty high praise.
Well, the Tom Cruise starrer Valkyrie, has been beset with problems. It has once again been hit with a delay. E! reports:
The thriller’s new release date, Feb. 13, 2009, falls a full eight months after it was originally scheduled to hit theaters.
In December, the studios postponed the film from June 27 to Oct. 3 to allow director Bryan Singer additional time to shoot a key battle sequence.
Producers have offered no such explanations for the delay this time around, instead chalking up the pushed-back date, usually a red flag, to a tactical move designed to make the most of the movie’s opening weekend, which now falls on the Presidents Day holiday.
What the E! article fails to mention, that I know from working in the distribution side of the biz for a while is: Moving a film to February means “we think the film sucks worse than we thought and are hoping the softer competition will let it earn more than it could otherwise”
They know the biggest competition at this time of year is the re-release of Oscar contenders which is about the softest time of year you can imagine. Fertile breeding ground for turd movies. Extended weekend or not.
I was excited for this when it was announced. However, given the heinous release date, I am officially calling this film a hunk of shit.
NBC is releasing shows differently these days. Usually the networks get together in New York for a vacation er, meeting to reveal their new line up to advertisers. The stroke fest is called ‘the upfronts’ in the business. They also hold a similar event in LA (that actually makes sense) right after.
This year NBC is doing a press conference and selling to individual advertisers to save on money. (some of these show roll outs are exorbitant wastes of money)
Well, they announced that The Office will have a spin off show which sounds utterly retarded.
They also announced that Scrubs will most likely move to ABC which is odd since that show should have ended last year.
During the weekend there was a link to a story about Sacha Baron Cohen getting into some trouble playing the character Bruno while filming a movie by that same name.
