Hey folks, Harry here... Personally this new SPIDER-MAN trailer can't hit soon enough... though with tonight's Fox Broadcast of the Episode 2 trailer, I think I can wait. I think I can survive. But I'm hot as hell to see Spidey. Tonight at SXSW I was chatting to Chris Gore of Film Threat fame, and he is really jazzed for SPIDER-MAN and exhausted from the eternal plague of remakes and ill-conceived tripe that has been flooding into cinemas recently... Especially the stuff from our childhood like PLANET OF THE APES, TIME MACHINE and ROLLERBALL. While Chris and I don't see eye to eye on everything, we certainly do on this subject.... as well as our undying anticipation to see SPIDER-MAN. Now here's Adam with a look at the new trailer (wish he was more detailed) and a look at Adam Sandler's ahem... reconception of the brilliant film that never needed to be remade.... MR DEEDS
Harry and Crew,
This is Adam from Zboneman.com back again with some coverage from the final
day at ShoWest in Las Vegas. While there were certainly some cool things
going on, there were no "big surprise" screenings. Here's some interesting
tidbits!
THE NEW "SPIDER-MAN" TRAILER
While a rumored Spider-Man screening never took place, Sony did unveil the
new trailer before a showing of the new Adam Sandler flick, Mr. Deeds. How
was the trailer? HOLY SHIT! This trailer is fantastic. I've been really
excited for this picture for quite a while. Although I didn't read the
comics as a kid, I love a good super hero movie just as much as the next
guy, and the idea that the flick was being directed by Sam Raimi even made
me more excited. This new trailer is sort of an extension of the last one.
It features a few familiar moments, but also offers new shots of Spidey in
action as well as some awesome shots of bad guy Willem Dafoe. Toby Maguire
looks like he will probably win over skeptics while Kirsten Dunst is hotter
than ever. What really struck me in this trailer was the vibrant imagery.
This movie looks extremely colorful and completely alive with unlimited
energy. Although movie geeks around the world are more than familiar with
the work of Sam Raimi, this master film maker is about to hit the big time.
A Sony spokesmen said that this trailer should hit theaters at the end of
the month.
"MR. DEEDS" SCREENING
Sony held a screening of Mr. Deeds, a new comedy starring Adam Sandler. I was in the mood for a good laugh so I went into this screening ready to laugh. Before the screening, one of the heads at Sony made a few announcements, the major one being that Michael Bay had signed on to direct Bad Boys 2 and that the film would be out in summer of 2003. Then, Mr. Sandler hit the stage to get the audience in the mood for what they were about to see. This guy is an absolute scream. He thanked Sony pictures not only for the opportunity to make Mr. Deeds, but for revealing a wet and excited Kirsten Dunst in the Spider-Man trailer (I'm sure everyone knows what I'm talking about).
In addition to the Spider-Man trailer, a new spot for XXX was unveiled before Mr. Deeds began. Actually, this particular trailer is already in theaters. It looks silly, but action packed. It looks to be in the same tradition as Point Break or Rob Cohen's own Fast and the Furious. Vin Diesel is a bad ass!
Following the trailers, Mr. Deeds began.
This Mr. Deeds is an extremely loose remake of Mr. Deeds go to Town starring Gary Cooper. In a stroke of genius casting, Adam Sandler has been cast in the Gary Cooper role.
Longfellow Deeds is a fun, likable man who finds himself showered with billions of dollars after his rich, crazy uncle passes on and leaves him a huge inheritance. To everyone's surprise, all this money doesn't really seem to change Deeds. He remains the same sort of good natured fun seeker that he was in the beginning. Of course, there are many people in Deeds' new life that seem to have a hidden agenda. And the media doesn't make anything easier. Did I fail to mention that there is also a romance? Winona Ryder shows up as a journalist who sees Deeds as a story, but then slowly develops feelings for him.
Make no mistakes, Mr. Deeds is an Adam Sandler vehicle. Happily, it is far more entertaining than Little Nicky. Of Sandler's goofball resume, I'd probably compare this film to The Wedding Singer. No annoying accent here, just a likable Sandler. Adam also gets help from a hilarious supporting cast, most notably John Turturro as Mr. Deeds' servant. You might ask yourself; "What the hell is Turturro doing in a Sandler film?" My response is I have no idea, but he's damn funny and steals every scene he's in. I also liked Sandler film favorite Steve Buscemi as a eccentric character name Crazy Eyes.
Mr. Deeds was directed by Steven Brill and written by Tim Herily, two men who work with Sandler quite often. They do nothing out of the ordinary here. They pretty much just let Sandler do his thing. And while I wouldn't call Mr. Deeds laugh out loud hilarious, it does have a sweet tone and a surprisingly old fashioned sensibility. It also has Sandler's oddball sense of humor. He and Ryder don't quite have the chemistry that Sandler and Drew Barrymore had in The Wedding Singer, but there's still enough sparks to make the movie work.
I'm a big Sandler fan. I really enjoyed Billy Madison, Happy Gilmore and The Wedding Singer. I even enjoyed Big Daddy to a certain extent. I could have done without The Waterboy and Little Nicky. Thankfully, the light and nutty Mr. Deeds is much better than both of those films. Is this better than the original? Of course not. These are different times and Sandler knows that. He's taken the original and made it his own. For Sandler fans, that's probably a good thing.
Mr. Deeds opens on June June 28!
SONY/COLUMBIA PARTY!
Sadly, I was unable to get into the Sony party. It was reported that they
had a new Men in Black 2 trailer. Security was extremely tight at the
luncheon. From what I'm told, Sony went all out with their presentation.
They even gave gift bags to those attending. Included, were these really
cool Spider-Man dolls.
AWARDS BANQUET
And I thought security at the Sony party was tight. The Awards banquet was insane. Upon arriving, I pretty much knew I was going to get screwed. I was right. Rather than leaving, I hung out hoping to get a glimpse at someone important. In the process, I made some new movie geek friends. Through the course of the ceremony, I also had the opportunity to meet and talk to some cool entertainers. Of course there was this raving lunatic hellbent on meeting Nicole Kidman, thus scaring many of the celebs away. She insisted on being loud and obnoxious and it was really annoying. Marisa Tomei came by and I must say, she looks even better in person. I congratulated her on her recent Oscar nomination and she smiled in return. She was on hand to receive an award for supporting actress of the year. I also got to talk to Ridley Scott and Josh Hartnet. Both were quite gracious. As me and about ten others hung out, we noticed Will Smith and Jennifer Lopez talking to press near the green room. They didn't come over but they did wave to us. As the banquet progressed, I hung out, befriending some of the security. After about an hour, I got a big surprise when a familiar face walked into the lobby. To my amazement, very few people realized that it was Hannibal Lecter himself, the brilliant Anthony Hopkins. He was very nice and it was refreshing to see an entertainer, willing to walk amongst the normals.
Anyway, the evening was reaching the climactic event that I was really there for. Steven Spielberg was receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award. I've never been into asking for autographs. I'm more interested in just saying high and telling an artist how much I respect their work. Of course this was an exception, because I absolutely idolize Mr. Spielberg. So I came prepared. I brought my limited edition E.T. laserdisc in the off chance I might get to meet him. I was already denied at last month's E.T. screening during the Winter Games, as Spielberg was unable to attend. My chances here were even worse given the security situation. As fate would have it, I got lucky. No, I didn't get to meet Mr. Spielberg, but one of the the security people (someone who shall remain namelss) was good enough to let me in and watch the Spielberg's acceptance speech. I shall forever be in his debt. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!! As I got into the ballroom, Tom Cruise walked on stage and gave a stirring speech about the famed film maker. Following this, a ten minute reel of Spielberg's work was shown. It was absolutely amazing.
Even though I've seen all of this man's work several times, I'm always in awe when I'm reminded of the movies this guy has brought to the screen. After the A.I. clip came to an end, the audience cheered, but to their surprise, the reel was not over. No, we were all treated to the new Minority Report trailer. OH MY GOD!!!! This movie looks unbelievably cool. You may have already seen part of it during Entertainment Tonight a couple of days ago. ET, however, didn't show it in it's entirety. Trust me. This movie looks fantastic. Of all the footage I saw at ShoWest, this was clearly my favorite. Yes, I know. As a Spielberg fan, I'm biased but who cares. Minority Report looks absolutely spectacular. After the trailer ended, you could feel the excitement in the air. Then, the man himself walked on stage and was greeted with a standing ovation. His speech was short but effective.
He talked about film and family, and ended by saying he had a lot of work
left in him. No, he didn't mention Indy 4, but it hardly mattered. As he
walked off stage, he got another round of huge applause. This was a big
thrill for me. Although I have yet to meet him personally, this was as close
as I was going to get on this night, and it was more than worth it. I want
to thank ShoWest security for breaking the rules and giving me twenty
minutes of sheer bliss.
ENCLOSING
ShoWest was a lot of fun. It certainly got me more excited for some of the films being released in the coming months. And the whole convention was capped off with Spielberg's Lifetime Achievement Award. Thanks to Zboneman.com, Westates Theaters and Terry Losse for giving me a great couple of days! Maybe next year, I'll be able to get my hands on an all access press pass.
Adam
