Hey folks, Harry here... Last time Spielberg set out to direct an out and out comedy, he came up with 1941 - the biggest bomb of his career. I know for a fact that Steven is a huge fan of vintage comedies. The work of folks like Billy Wilder and Preston Sturges. Steven has made some laughable films, and movies with some laughs in them, but an out and out comedy? Well, I can't wait to see it for myself, because I happen to love 1941. Sure it is chaotic, but that's what a madcap comedy is supposed to be. Besides... Belushi is a god in that thing! And how awesome is the DUMBO scene? And Williams' score for 1941 is one of my all time favorite John Williams scores. These advance looks have me anxious to see this one. After ABOUT SCHMIDT I could use a good strong pick-me-up!
Hullo Harry.
I had the pleasure of seeing Steven Spielberg give a lecture at the Lincoln Center last night. What a genius! We watched clips from various films he has made, most importantly: "Catch me if you can".
SPOILERS!
The clip we watched began with Leo DiCaprio (Frank Abagnale Jr.) at his wedding party, walking among guests. He exudes confidence, and looks as if he owns the world. He kisses his bride and then excuses himself to go to the bathroom. Enter Tom Hanks as Carl Hanratty. Tom Hanks has the absolute look of an FBI agent in his snappy suit and tie. This role is great for him. Leo is on his way up the stairs when he turns and sees men in black suits standing in the front doorway. Tom Hanks shows his FBI badge to a guest, who motions the Agents outside. Leo runs up the stairs to a bedroom.
His wife Brenda (played by Amy Adams) follows him up the stairs with wedding gifts in her arms. Cut to Martin Sheen walking up to Tom Hanks (the audience let out a hiss of joy at the sight of Sheen). The two converse, Martin Sheen asks his wife where Frank and Brenda went, and she points upstairs. Carl walks into the house alone, and creeps up the stairs, his gun drawn.
Frank and his wife are in a bedroom, as Frank desperately pulls suitcases out from above a canopy bed. He tells Brenda that he needs to leave and he admits to not being a medical student, not telling her his real name, and not being a Lutheran (the wife stands shocked and says "you're not a Lutheran??"-very funny.) He opens one of the suitcases and its chock full of money, as is the other one. He runs to the window with the suitcases and tells his wife to meet him at the Florida airport in 2 days.
Carl walks up to the door and pauses as a 20 dollar bill blows out from under a crack in the door and drifts past his head-Spielberg gets the comedy goin' here-Tom Hanks expression is great. Carl opens the door to find the window open, money blowing around the room, and Frank's wife pressed against a wall with money clutched in her hand.
Cut to Frank pulling up to the airport. He sees Brenda standing on the curb, and he gets out of the car, but upon close examination of Brenda he sees she is extremely nervous. He looks around carefully and sees tons of FBI agents in everyday clothes swarming the place. He gets back in the car and drives away. Carl does a lot of walking around barking orders to other FBI agents.
Cut to Frank at a girl’s school. He tells them he is looking for a few girls to join him as stewardesses on a two month trip. The next series of shots are of various girls being interviewed by Frank-funny stuff. Frank names a few girls, each of whom stand up like they’ve won an Oscar.
Next we see Frank at the airport again, in a pilot’s suit, surrounded by about 7 beautiful stewardesses. The FBI’s attention is entirely diverted to the girls surrounding Frank, and Frank makes his way past numerous agents easily.
Carl gets a phone call and turns just as Frank walks past him. The phone call says that the agents think they’ve found Frank. Running ensues. All of the FBI force runs out onto the curb and surrounds a car, guns drawn. A boy in the car gets out with his hands up and tells Carl that somebody paid him to sit in the car and wait for someone. When Carl asks who, the boy holds up a sign that says, “Hanratty”. The last shot shows Carl looking up at the sky as a plane flies overhead, and Frank makes his escape.
Overall this film looks to be funny and very entertaining. The audience was laughing quite hard for most of the 14 minutes we got to see. Everyone was enjoying themselves thoroughly. “Catch me if you can” brought back memories of the older films of Hollywood. Spielberg has created an engaging, comedic film, that I can’t wait to see in theaters.
Call me Samaragorn
next we have Caleb, who describes what he sees as being very Tom & Jerry-esque... Hmmmm... what is this thing?
Hey all,
Second time submitting since seeing bits of Dogma years back.
I just got back from seeing Speilberg speak at Lincoln Center in NYC. The man is amazing. The tickets to this were the best birthday present my sister ever got me. I was lucky enough to see 14 minutes of Catch Me if You Can. I'm not sure if many people have seen much from this or not; here's my take on what was I saw.
Speilberg is still in top storytelling form. Although the sequence we were shown was well into the movie, the relationship between Leo and Hanks was quite clear. Tom and Jerry all the way, but the relentless pacing made it more like Tom and Jerry on cinematic crack. The small taste we were given made me yearn for more. I couldn't help but be reminded of the kinetic pacing of Scorcese's Goodfellas. The camera was in constant motion, helping sweep me up in the leading character's whirlwind lifestyle. The story made very giant yet smart leaps in a very short period of time, forcing the audience to forget plausability and just hang on for the ride. I'm not one for spoiling, so all I'll say is that Leonardo DiCaprio's Frank can pack my bags for me anytime. He knows how to leave an unsavory situation in a hurry ... with nothing but the bare essentials. Along with Gangs of New York it looks like we are all going to have a very Leo Christmas this year.
I'm Caleb.
And here's a little bit about what Spielberg had to say...
Hey Harry,
Mindseye here again.
Went to see Steven Spielberg speak tonight as presented by Lincoln Center Film Society. He spoke and had clips shown from his movies for about 2 hours and change. Many of the stories he told I had heard were from his great interviewon Actor's Studio. This interview was fairly inept. Highlights:
A comment was made that he should include commentaries on his DVDs but he did not directly respond to it.
He told agreat story about how he hooked with Janusz. He found him after watching a MOTW on Lifetime channel. When he hired him to go to Poland, he had no idea he was actually Polish.
He told about how he tried to duck tape a power drill to his camera as he shot the Omaha beach seen to get the shaky effect.
He was asked if he was still interested in Memoirs of a Geisha. He said he wanted to see the movie but he would not do it. He also said he currently was not working on anything.
He was asked how recent current events might affect his film making. Spielberg said that the first good movie about Viet Nam was made 8 years after it was all said and done with and he expected the same to be true here.
They showed 14 minutes of Catch Me If You Can. This is a tight movie. It was thrilling how much story was crammed into the 14 minutes they showed. If the whole movie has this seemless and breathless pace, it is going to be quite a ride. Leo is charming as shit and Hanks is rock solid. The portion of film score heard was fun and snappy as hell.
Best,
Mindseye
