Lives of Others Part II

The movie is not even out of the theaters yet, and Hollywood is already talking about a remake. "The Lives of Others," a dark drama about the East German secret police's surveillance of average citizens, seems relevant to the U.S. in terms of Homeland Security and the Patriotic Act. Wouldn't it be great if the remake by the Weinstein Company was Americanized and featured a demonic Dick Cheney eavesdropping on a law-abiding Muslim family? Doubt that will happen. Probably this film will be a poor facsimile of the original with George Clooney as the innocent writer who is spied upon, and a dead-eyed Kevin Spacey as the Stasi agent who does the spying. Ugh.

Bomb Threat

I smell a bomb. Here's a sure sign that "Factory Girl," the new Edie Sedgwick biopic, may be a dud. The latest gossip--or "leak"--about the flick is that its stars, Sienna Miller and Hayden Christensen, may have had real sex in one scene. This type of leak--or rather, carefully placed item--is standard procedure when a movie is mediocre. The studio's publicity department will contact gossip columnists to report that some sex scene in the flop is outrageous or "for real." Damn, I was actually looking forward to seeing this film. (Image via Artnet.com)

Mis-Castaway

Can you picture Tom Hanks as an alcoholic womanizer? Me neither. Hanks is slated to play the lead (what else?) in "Charlie Wilson's War," which is the true story of a congressman who helped to fund resistance fighters in Afghanistan. I can imagine Hanks playing an alkie, but a lover of many women? No way. I felt the same way about Bill Murray in "Broken Flowers." I'd love to hang out with Bill Murray, but kiss him? Not on your life.

Tru Times Two

What to do with a second Truman Capote.... This New York Times article delves into the marketing strategy behind "Infamous," a film that sounds an awful lot like last year's "Capote." Warner Independent's tactic is to emphasize the difference between the two movies and to focus on those cities in which "Capote" performed well. That is, the studio is going after people like me who liked "Capote." I think the technique is working because I'm planning to see "Infamous" at some point. If I were a studio head, however, I think I would've held this film back about five years. (Image via New York Times)

Sex Sells--Sometimes

Here's a little Hollywood P.R. secret. When a movie is mediocre, the studio's publicity department will leak news that some sex scene in the dud is outrageous or looks "for real." (This was the case with Miramax's bomb "Reindeer Games." P.R. staff contacted gossip columnists to report that an oral sex scene between Ben Affleck and Charlize Theron looked so real that it may have actually happened. Despite this ploy, the movie tanked.) Now comes Martin Scorsese's "The Departed." I've heard more about a sex scene with Jack Nicholson, two women, and a strap-on than about the movie's plot. This news does not bode well. For Scorsese's sake, I hope that this "leak" did not come from Warner Brothers' P.R. department. The director really does deserve an Oscar at some point.

Buzz Killer?

Bad buzz isn't the reason "All the King's Men" tanked this past weekend at the box office, as the New York Times contends. The reason is much simpler: it's a bad movie. The Times argues that when Sony Pictures decided to push its release date from last Christmas to this fall, moviegoers sensed the film was in trouble and, because of that negative publicity, stayed clear of the theaters. Sorry. Don't think so. I pay close attention to Hollywood gossip, and somehow this film's "bad buzz" slipped right past me. The movie has gotten uniformly horrible reviews. Even if the reviews were positive, you must admit that "All the King's Men" is a terrible movie title, even if it is based on the book by the same name. Does anyone really want to see a period piece about Southern politicians? Not me.

Comes "Clean"

"Clean," a film by Olivier Assayas, is finally coming to NYC on April 28. I have been waiting to see "Clean" since it debuted at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival. What took so long? The selling points: This French flick stars the internationally well-known Maggie Cheung who won best actress at Cannes for this role. In addition, Assayas is an arthouse and film fest darling. However, when I look at his box office numbers, I see that with each proceeding film released, the U.S. grosses have dropped dramatically. Assayas's last film "Demonlover"(2002), which I liked a lot, made a little over $200,000. Let's hope "Clean" does better, or the next Assayas film may be straight-to-video.

Andrew Sarris, Are You Serious?

I'm still in shock. Andrew Sarris, a top film theorist, suggested in his review of "Find Me Guilty" that its star, Vin Diesel, be nominated for an Oscar:

Sidney Lumet plays his richest directorial notes of feeling and humor ever with Vin Diesel, a supposedly stereotyped action figure from the lower depths of contemporary moviemaking.... Now I’d be very upset if he weren’t nominated as one of the five best actors of 2006. He is that good.

So now Vin Diesel has replaced Al Pacino as Lumet's cinematic partner in crime? I have not seen this film, which Sarris describes as a "masterpiece," so maybe he's right (highly unlikely). I'm baffled at this review. It reminds me of the time that critic Gene Siskel suggested that James Woods be nominated for an Oscar for "Vampires" (1999). Siskel had a brain tumor and died a few weeks after that pronouncement. Could Sarris be ill? He's recently written a few questionnable reviews. But I guess I'll withhold judgment about Sarris's faculties until I've seen "Find Me Guilty," which will be never. (Image via Filmlinc.com)

Rochester's Favorite Son

YEA!!!! Philip Seymour Hoffman--born and raised in Rochester, NY, my hometown--won the Oscar! This is the biggest thing to happen to Rochester since white hots and Eastman Kodak. (Image via New York Times)

Another Actor Sells His Soul

Oh, well, another actor sells his soul. Remember when Mark Ruffalo came out in You Can Count on Me (yes, a horrible title, but a great film--because of Mark Ruffalo). His performance was exciting; it felt unpredictable and raw and real. Well, I saw this ad for Just Like Heaven plastered on a subway entrance, and my heart sank. My distaste for this ad is right up there with Must Love Dogs. There's little Mark Ruffalo staring longingly up at box office jackpot Reese Witherspoon. Mark Ruffalo wants to be a big, big star. And it seems that he's chosen films based on whose name is on the marquee. Unfortunately, most of them have tanked. Here are some of his recent bombs: The Last Castle, Windtalkers, View from the Top, all starring big stars with whom he hoped to align himself. I do admit that he was the saving grace in In the Cut, but he had to share the screen with Meg Ryan. No thanks. And, yes, he made The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind with Jim Carrey, but do you really remember his even being in it? His last movie 13 going on 30, I think, did pretty good box office, so maybe he is counting on that. Besides both flicks being supposedly "romantic comedies," I see one very distinct similarity: his picture in both ads is teeny tiny. That's the price of fame, I guess.

Andrew Sarris, My Favorite, Favorite Critic

In last week's Observer, Andrew Sarris's review of Crash is right on the money. Where have all the good critics gone? (Click here to read Mr. Sarris's recent reviews.) (Image via Filmlinc.com)