Father Geek here with EURO-AICN Part 2. Edgard had to cut his report short this week so good old Ozymandias sent in this Update to add to it this afternoon, lots of cool info from our man in Dublin and his host of Euro-sources...
OZY'S EURO AICN SUPPLEMENT....
First off one of my new guys Astral Weeks (check out his first ever AICN review below!) gives us a great story from this weeks Sunday Times about Arnie filming here..
First off one of my new guys Astral Weeks (check out his first ever AICN review below!) gives us a great story from this weeks Sunday Times about Arnie filming here..
From The Sunday Times:
THE Hollywood action hero, Arnold Schwarzenegger, is expected to star in a Disney blockbuster to be filmed in Ireland after Christmas. Schwarzenegger, who reputedly commands at least $25m per movie, is due to spend several weeks in Dublin and Wicklow shooting the action thriller. The Austrian-born star is expected to play a villain in the science-fiction movie about dragons which take over the earth. The former bodybuilder - best known for his roles in violent movies such as the Terminator films - recently expressed fears about the harmful effect of screen violence on young people. Schwarzenegger, 53, a father of four, is thought to be interested in running for election in America. His latest project, Reign of Fire, is said to be a cross between a monster movie like Dragonheart and the post-apocalyptic action picture, Mad Max. The new film will be directed by Rob Bowman, who made the cinema version of The X-Files. Also involved is Welsh actor Christian Bale, the 26-year-old star of American Psycho and Shaft, who recently completed work on the film of Captain Corelli's Mandolin. Reign of Fire will be the second Disney movie to be shot at Ardmore Studios in Co Wicklow. It follows The Count of Monte Cristo, which finished filming there two months ago. This $40m movie, which starred Guy Pearce and Richard Harris, was the biggest to be made in Ireland for several years. The budget for Reign of Fire is said to be at least double that of The Count of Monte Cristo. The film is already in production in Ireland. Schwarzenegger visited Ireland several times before he became an action-movie icon. Ivan Dunbar, a bodybuilding official from Belfast, once recalled how a 19-year-old Schwarzenegger arrived to take part in a contest. "He could hardly speak a word of English, but we became close and when Arnie returned he always stayed with me," said Dunbar. It is thought that at least two other Hollywood movies have also been booked for Ardmore, Ireland's only film studio. The renewal of section 481 , the Irish government's tax incentive for film-makers, and the weakness of the punt against the dollar are credited with the revival.
Most of the rest of this weeks other news I came across here and there..... Let's start with this.... Who would have ever thought it......
From peoplenews.com:
Appearing on the London stage may have been just the career boost that Macaulay Culkin, 20, so desperately needed. PeopleNews can reveal that the former child star, who is currently starring in Madame Melville at the Vaudeville theatre, has been approached by producer James Ivory to appear in the next Merchant Ivory production. Since first making a huge splash aged 10 in the 1990s movie Home Alone, Culkin's Hollywood progression has hardly been the stuff of film legend, with a string of lacklustre box-office performances and a career that effectively seemed finished by the time he was 19. However, his performance in Madame Melville, which opened last month, has been roundly praised by critics, and has massively boosted his credibility - the latest Merchant Ivory production, The Golden Bowl, features high-profile stars such as Uma Thurman, Jeremy Northam, Kate Beckinsdale and Nick Nolte. 'James Ivory thought Macaulay was wonderful,' said our source. 'He is convinced that he would be perfect for his next film.'
Also I saw that Empire Online http://www.empireonline.co.uk has what seems to be the definitive nail in the Gilliam/Watchmen coffin :-(
From Empire Online:
Fear and Loathing director Terry Gilliam revealed that he has no further plans to bring cult-comic Watchmen to the screen as he doesn't believe it would be possible to stay true to the spirit of the comic.
Talking to 6degrees.co.uk, Gilliam expressed his doubts over bringing Watchmen to the screen, saying that the epic story could not be faithfully reproduced as a movie. "The problem with Watchmen is that it requires about five hours to tell the story properly, and by reducing it to a two or two-and-a-half hour film, it seemed to me to take away the essence of what Watchmen is about."
Having been forced to abandon the project in the past due to funding problems, the director stands by his decision not to try and raise Watchmen from the ashes, "I was happy when I didn't get the money to make it because I would have been embarrassed if we'd done it."
Another project Gilliam was rumoured to be involved with in early stages was the ubiquitous Harry Potter movie. "I wasn't actually offered it - I was obvious - but after having a meeting with the studio, I realised that what they we're trying to make was a franchise - something that would sell and would probably betray the essence of Harry Potter. but I'm sure Chris Columbus will sort that out and everything will be wonderful."
Also one of our AICNers at the London Film Festival Cap K sent this back from the surprise film..............
Hi Oz,
Well ive just come back from the surprise movie and it was,,,,,,,,,,MEET THE PARENTS,i enjoyed it , the director and the leading lady showed up at the end. The director was JAY ROACH ,he directed both austin powers movies and mystery alaska. His next project is gonna be another romantic comedy for sony,he is still trying to get the hitch hikers guide to the galaxy going but the studios think that its too english, he suggested a email petition to the studios to get this made,he seems very passionate about this,i hope it happens. The leading lady in the movie (THE LOVELY TERI POLO! - OZ) is next going to be doing a movie with John Travolta and Vince Vaughn with Harold Becker directing (THAT WOULD BE D: DOMESTIC DISTURBANCE, REGIS - OZ).
I've also got a pal who does lighting for london theatres,he is trying to get into the movie side,his first movie which he just worked on, Harry Potter, he went to a few locations to set up but wasnt allowed near the set whilst filming (if i get any info ill pass it to u).
Hope this helps....
Cap K
I also came across a couple of other Irish movie stories from our friends at Showbizireland.com http://www.showbizireland.com
From ShowbizIreland.com:
The Irish Star Trek actor Colm Meaney, who played Chief O'Brien in the world famous TV show is currently back home in Ireland filming a new movie.
Speaking exclusively to ShowBizIreland.com last night Meaney sad the film was being directed by the Serbian Gorin Paskaljovic and was called How Harry became a Tree.
"It's a great story and he's a great director to work with. Adrian Dunbar is acting with me on this film and we are already five weeks into filming. We have four more weeks then it's back to LA where I live now for Christmas. Then on working on a TV show called Random Passage. I've just finished filming in Canada so Ireland is nice to come back to."
And
The Irish film of the John Le Carre novel Tailor of Panama, which stars Pierce Brosnan, will not be released before the end of the year to qualify it for Oscar consideration as first planned.
As Irish based director John Boorman wanted some additional scenes shot, the film, which also stars Geoffrey Rush, will not now open until early next year.
Brosnan, who is awaiting the birth of his second child with fiancee Keely Shaye Smith, may next star in a film biography of war photo-journalist Robert Capa.
And
The Irish movie in which the actress Melanie Griffith was set to play fellow actress Julia Roberts is back on track. The movie called The Limo Man was in pre-production, when the finance fell through and the film was pulled. Now reports are that Melanie was so upset that she cried and her husband actor Antonio Banderas has raised the cash to bring the film back on track.
Filming was due to start in September but after last minute finance fell through and the movie was scrapped. The producer of the film Katie McGuinness, sister of U2's manager Paul, is reported to have come to the rescue after much convincing by Banderas.
Sets were already built for the movie in Dublin when the movie was pulled. The director of the film Barry Devlin has confirmed to the Irish press that the filming will begin next March. "I can confirm that filming will begin next March. The film is just parked at the moment" Devlin said.
The script is based on the true story between the Irish chauffeur Mick Devine and Julia Roberts when he and his family took care of the actress when she fled to Ireland after the spit with Kiefer Sutherland nine years ago.
There's also more news from Empire Online http://www.empireonline.co.uk about everyones current favourite historical kung fu epic.....
From Empire Online:
Ang Lee's epic Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon has begun the journey towards Oscar glory with the news that the film has been chosen as Taiwan's official entry for the Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award.
This is the third time that Ang Lee has been chosen to represent his country in consideration for the Academy Awards, and if - as is widely predicted - the bid succeeds, this will be the director's third nomination for the Best Foreign Language Film award. Both The Wedding Banquet and Eat Drink Man Woman were nominated in 1993 and 1994 respectively.
In the humble opinion of workers in the Empire Online office it will be a travesty if Crouching Tiger fails to secure additional Best Film and Best Director nominations. Our campaign for the Academy to recognise the power of Ang begins now.
Oh and this one caught my eye too...... Start booking your plane tickets now!
LONDON (Variety) - A remastered version of Stanley Kubrick's ``2001: A Space Odyssey'' will close the 2001 Berlin Film Festival before being re-released in several major territories worldwide.
The Berlin screening is set for Feb. 18, while the March 7 re-release date will coincide with the second anniversary of the director's death.
Before then, there will be one chance to see the film Jan. 1 at the National Film Theatre (NFT) in London. With the re-release upcoming, ``2001'' is not available for theatrical screening anywhere else in the world.
Warner Bros. has made an exception for the NFT because shortly before Kubrick's death the British Film Institute spent a great deal of money creating a new 70mm print.
It is hoped that Kubrick's widow and children will attend the NFT presentation. They are also expected to attend Berlin, along with the film's special-effects maestro Douglas Trumbull.
This print will not include the remastered soundtrack that Warner technicians are working on, both for the theatrical reissue and a video/DVD release later in 2001.
The territories in which a theatrical outing is planned include the U.K., France, Germany, Japan and Australia. No specific plans have been set for a U.S. re-release, although Warner insiders said they expect one later in 2001.
And we finish out with this weeks reviews - starting out with a virgin review of Cherry Falls.....
CHERRY FALLS - REVIEW BY ASTRAL WEEKS
Hey Oz,
I thought I'd fill you in about Cherry Falls which has just been relased in Irish cinemas. This is the last in a long line of horror films which were inspired by the mega success of Scream and are now defunct thanks to the diminishing returns of its rip offs and that amusing pisstake Scary Movie. This mini horror boom is now officially dead and I think its unfortunate that Falls has trailed in last on Screams coattails since it certainly better then insipid wank such ,"I Know What Jennifer Love Hewitts Tits Did Last Summer". I'll divide this review into 4 Sections.
1 - PLOT.
There is an amusing high concept at the heart of this funish flick. A sick fuck of an apparently female serial killer is hacking and slashing the innocent teenagers of a small sleepy American town. The twist is that these victims are truly innocent since they all are virgins. What a wacky high concept!!! Anyway the next likely victim is our protagonist, the simply divine Brittany Murphy (Sigh). Brits Has just been dumped by her (understandably) frustrated boyfriend because she will still not put out after a one year courtship. Her overprotective dad is town sheriff Michael Biehn who is at first bewildered by the murders. Anyway when the teenagers discover the killers virgins only policy, they decide to take proactive action by organising an orgy to "remove ourselves from the endangered species list". Way to go kids! Meanwhile there is plenty of hacking and slashing and Brittany discovers that her daddy may know more about the killers motive then he may wish to admit.
2 - STUFF I LIKED.
Well the main thing to love her is Brittany Murphy who does a grand a job with her first leading role. Shame it had to be in a slasher flick. To give you some personal back story I have carried a bit of a torch for her since been totally blown away by her work in a direct to video kung fu flick called "Drive". She popped up there as an adorable wild child and she was great fun altogether. I've kept an eye out for her work ever since. Her career profile has continued to be frustatingly low to medium but she was great in in that TV remake of David and Lisa and I thought she was truly haunting in Girl Interupted.She diserved much more attention then she got for that film and she was robbed by Anglinas Jolies,whooo look at me I'm fucking nuts I am, Oscar winning ham job "performance". Anyway Murphy's fine here in both senses of the word. Her gorgeous mouth. Her Bambish dewy eyes. Her tight supple.....Uh Oh I Um.... have to stop typing for a few minutes....
Okay sorry folks, I'm back. Anyway Brittany is damn good here, she is a nice girl virgin who dress's like a Goth and projects both sweetness and edginess which is no mean feat. As for Michael Biehn ,wow this was the first time I've seen this guy on screen since his Jim Cameron salad days and he still is a perfectly adequate actor although he looks suspiciously unaged (He must have a hell of a good plastic surgeon). Jay Mohr plays Brittany's nice but akward English teacher. Mohr is utterly dull and tedious for the the first 70% of this flick but he really comes through in the end (Still it pissed me off that he took top billing in this film, thats nothing but bullshit Hollywood pettiness as dear Brittany is the lead character here).
This flick is mostly standard neo stalk and slash but the director Geoffrey Wright does inject energy and insanity where he can. You should know him from his powerful Romper Stomper which introduced Russell Crowe. Wright trys his best with this cliched stuff ,he mixes salty blackhumour into the proceedings and the mad climax of this flick has a great blend of visceral charge ,sweaty sex and sick black humour, as the killer hunts Brittany through a flophouse were the "climatic" virgin orgy is in full swing. He also scores the film with an interesting drum and bass soundtrack. Finally thank Christ that his teenage characters don't speak the self aware and over articulate Kevin Willamsonish shite dialogue that infested the Screams and TV shows like Popular and Dawsons Creek. His teenage cast (or is it 25 year olds pretending to be 17 ,I can never tell) are all fresh faces who don't look like they are leaving to do a fashion shoot, rather they are earthy and credible and likeable (that kid who played the nerd who shagged a big black mama in Road Trip briefly appears).
I really the like subversive humour and premise of Cherry Falls. It plays with the moral conservatism of slasher movies were sex equals death. It has a playfully frank attitude toward teenage sexuality and drug use that I found refreshing from the usually coy and annoyingly conservative holly pap. But I fear that Hollywood conservatism has defeated the best intentions of Cherry Falls as I will outline in the things that pissed me off section.
3 - THINGS THAT PISSED ME OFF. What I hate about Hollywood is its conservatism and its enslavement to the dollar as opposed to making art or at least intelligent original entertainment. Now I know that I may be a fool to expect art or intelligence from a slasher flick but what I found so infuriating about Cherry Falls is its unfulfilled potential. For one moment imagine you are a Satans dick sucking son of mediocrity (Sorry I meant to type "Studio Executive", how could I mix the two up?) You have a skilled-gifted director with a taste for subversive humour and a spot of ultra violence. You have an interesting spin on an established formula. You have a cheap but game cast. Do you A. Let your director off the leesh,tell him to make a crazy,sexy,cool NC-17 flick that you can market to people over 17 as a balls to the wall, no gore or sex compromise that will be a cause celebe for years to come. Or do you B. Cut the balls off the thing so that you can get an R-rating that will allow 6 year olds in to see it and then go on to greenlight Scream 20 happy in the knowledge that you again allowed the triumph of compromise and tedium. Well folks in the case of Cherry Falls Mr cocksucking executive pressed the B button and this mangled, censored but enjoyable item is the result. You see I know this for a fact because I happened to read the script for Cherry Falls on the internet months before I saw the final product. Here was the wild gore that the Screams and its sisters have replaced with humour and self-awareness. The scripts slashing scenes were lovingly detailed and were of at least NC -17 quality. I read on Dark Horizons that Rushe was forced to cut a 10 minute slash sequence to get a R rating and that kind of thing just pisses me off. Also the climatic comedic orgy was meant to be a unrestricted "fuck fest".To Quote the script I have ,"Couples are everywhere ,theres no room to walk.......The room is a sea of naked kids humping two deep". Now doesn't that sound great? It would be wild , funny , subversive and something original that would have guaranteed fame and greatness for the film. But don't worry kids because Mr Studio Guy and Mr Censor will never allow that to happen. Instead of an orgy we get the standard hollywood situation of people some how managing to have sex while still wearing their underwear and of course ,they are all under the sheets. Now I don't want to sound like a frustrated voyeur ,its just that the stench of copout really annoyed me. The clammy hand of censorship, compromise and gutless excutive interference lies heavy on the shoulder of Cherry Falls
CONCLUSIONS.
Now I don't want to get too down on this film in the final analysis. There is a lot to like here in terms of Brittany Murphy's fine performance and the wild comic insanity that kicks off the final act from when Brittany asks the killer,"Whats in that trunk" and he/she replies "your father and maybe mine". Also look out for lines like the one were a fat nerd asks a homely girl at the orgy "have you ever played Death Match Quake and she replies "okay but you'll have to wear a condom". My brother and his friend whom I both saw the film with thought it was great craic altogether and personally I did enjoy the film in terms of its limitations. Maybe its unfair for me to judge the final product against the first draft script by Ken Selden. But its annoying to know the frustration of seeing the potential of greatness on paper evaporating on screen because of censorship and compromise. Geoffrey Wright delivered on 90% of Seldens Script so if he was allowed to he could have done the full tilt boogie. I really hope that an unrated dvd will eventually surface with all the cut goodies intact. To paraphrase Ferris buller "That would be so choice.If you have the means I strongly recommend you pick one up."
Astral Weeks
SNATCH - REVIEW BY ETHAN
Guy Ritchie`s `Snatch` is a flat and forgettable feature. It feels like a methadone pill for `Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels` fans.
I don`t appreciate `Lock, Stock,...` Actually, I believe that `Lock, Stock,...` is the catalogue of common denominators that appear in commercial `indie` flicks. In Hollywood you can always find movies that use cliches to gain box-office results. Ritchie rips-off crucial `indie` flicks and turns their authentic vision into cliche. This strategy is quite kinky so I think that Ritchie should at least get some credit for it.
Guy Ritchie`s movies are very entertaining. I can`t deny that. You really laugh and enjoy when you watch those flicks. When the movie is over you find out that Ritchie sold you a pic without any substance at all.
`Snatch` fits this description perfectly. It is entertaining, dumb and eclectic. Ritchie rips-off everyone, from Tarantino, Fincher and Danny Boyle to Billy Wilder.
If eclectic concept may be legitimate, confusing storytelling definitely isn`t. Ritchie uses degenerate narrative that was develped in the ranks of so-called American Independent Cinema. When The Coens kicked-off the indie revival with `Blood Simple` (noir at its best) they had no idea how Tarantino and Co would capitalize on their iniative and how would they spoil the narrative self of Hollywood films. In Ritchie`s movies each character has a name constituted out of first name, nickname and last name. He develops characters through flash-backs where he explains the nature of their nicknames. If there weren`t for the flash-backs he would be unable to tell a story because a) his characters wouldn`t be developed b)the story itself deserves only half an hour of screen time. He uses subtitles to present his characters and halfway during the movie you can barely follow the plot and `who`s who`. This means that Ritchie uses twisted narrative as the cover for his storytelling faults.
Actors are cool. Brad Pitt is fantastic and Jason Statham has a nice `hardboiled` potential. I can`t wait to see Vinnie Jones in Dominic Sena`s `Swordfish` next summer. My compatriot Rade Serbedzia does his typical Russian villain routine with style.
Ritchie shows off his hipness in direction. He uses all editing weaponry and the whole arsenal of camera devices. Obviously he is aiming to unite the Danny Boyle humour and the influential hip-brit school (Alan Parker, Ridley and Tony Scott, Adrian Lyne, Hugh Hudson). He is off target this time but no one complains as long as Ritchie produces the loud entertainment.
If you`re are looking for the `Lock,Stock`... remake, go and see `Snatch`. Else, beware.
God bless Ethan
HARRY, HE'S HERE TO HELP - REVIEW BY OZYMANDIAS
Cracking on with all that's best in world cinema the IFC here in Dublin this week brings us Dominik Moll's Harry, He's Here To Help. It's the simplest of concepts - Laurent Lucas (on his way to the rundown family gite with the wife and screaming kids in a hot, sweaty car) meets old schoolmate Harry (Sergi Lopez) who's taking his young, pretty fiancée to Switzerland in his sports car. At first Harry's influence is benign (helping around the place, offering lifts, buying the oppressed parents a new air conditioned jeep when their old banger finally gives up the ghost, that sort of thing.) but given that the music always stays creepy whenever he's around you know that something is going to go pear shaped at some point in the proceedings.
And go pear shaped it does! Director Moll does well handling the action in what is essentially a four handed play made large. His screenplay is great too, taking you to the point where Harry's actions almost make sense. Almost. There are good performances all round but Sergi Lopez is the standout as he was earlier this year in the excellent Une Liaison Pornagraphique - Harry needs just the right mix of trustworthiness and menace and he pulls it off without breaking a sweat.
Harry. has been one of the darlings of the film festival circuit this year (Cannes, Toronto, London, Chicago) with many reviewers have used the word "Hitchcockian" when describing the movie. I was left at the end pleasantly wondering just how far buried in his cheek Dominic Moll's tongue was. Harry is tense, dark, funny, true and represents, as far as I'm concerned, all that is good in contemporary French cinema. H3>That's it from my supplement to EURO AICN this week - Edgard will be back at the helm for next Monday all being well and watch out next week when I'll hopefully have three seperate reviews from the first ever Euro AICN geek day out here in Dublin (!) when Phil Connors, Santa and myself took in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon...
