By Jason Apuzzo. I saw The Social Network yesterday – and found it for the most part uninteresting. Despite some stand-out performances by Jesse Eisenberg, Justin Timberlake and Andrew Garfield the film failed to really grab me emotionally in any way. Part of the problem is that there doesn’t seem to have been anything particularly dramatic behind the rise of Facebook as a corporation. You could basically make the same movie about the rise of, say, Dunkin’ Donuts, to about the same effect.
[I hear Dunkin’ Donuts does over $5 billion in business per year, by the way. So don’t laugh.]
And so in lieu of spending hours writing a review about a film that didn’t grab me, on any level, I thought I’d post this video above that illustrates how David Fincher’s directorial style could quickly and efficiently be brought to bear in depicting the rise of other famous Silicon Valley ventures. Judge for yourself.
By the way, my understanding is that Mark Zuckerberg won’t be suing Sony, or any of the other people behind the making of The Social Network. They’re lucky, frankly. The people making the Google movie might not have the same good fortune.
By Jason Apuzzo. • Members of an Islamic radical group called the ‘Islam Defenders Front’ staged rallies in Jakarta, Indonesia on Tuesday, demanding the termination there of the gay/lesbian Q! Film Festival – indeed, demanding that the festival be shut down within 24 hours. The group has apparently threatened several venues in Jakarta associated with the festival, including the Goethe Institute, Erasmus Huis Dutch Cultural Center, Centre Culturel Francais Jakarta and the Japan Foundation – thereby effectively making this an international incident. This is one of those ugly little episodes that should remind everybody of who really persecutes gays and lesbians nowadays – namely, thuggish Islamic theocrats, not middle American Christians. [I’ll be waiting for Hollywood’s ‘tolerant’ liberals to make a movie about this story, by the way. Wachowski brothers, are you listening? Or Kevin Smith?] Let’s see how many film sites outside of Libertas pick up this story.
• On a more positive note, MTV is debuting the new poster for The Taqwacores (see left). We’ve been talking about this film for months, because of the hopeful tendencies it portends among today’s Islamic youth, and we’re very excited about its debut. The film opens in New York and LA on October 22nd.
• Everybody’s buzzing about Titanic 3D and Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace 3D opening within 2 weeks of each other in 2012. Frankly, I think this is great – I plan on seeing both. Both films have their strengths and weaknesses, and both have earned spots in pop culture lore for having pushed the boundaries of cinema spectacle – while also telling compelling stories. Of course, who am I rooting for in the box office race? Do you need to ask? I’ll be jogging later today in a Darth Maul T-shirt.
• Did you know that in 2012 we’re likely to have the ‘whitest’ Oscar season in years, due to the fact that so few minority actors are getting any award-season buzz? How is this happening? I thought our Betters in Hollywood were equitably distributing roles! I don’t understand this at all … except as the flower of hypocrisy.
Tony Curtis was something of a fixture in my household growing up – he almost seemed like part of the family. Isn’t it funny how movies stars can become like part of your family? Back when classic movies used to run on television much more frequently then they do now (classic movies having been – for better and for worse, relegated completely to Turner Classic Movies), Tony Curtis’ cherubic face and delightfully unsoftened Bronx accent would appear all the time on TV – and my father would stop and point at the screen and say, “Look – there’s Tony Curtis!” And I would look, and smile, and always for the same reason: that it just seemed so improbable that this charming, ethnic kid from the Bronx with the soft face and jarring accent would actually be a movie star. And married to Janet Leigh. And would be someone who played heroes, such as the the Viking Erik in The Vikings. All of it seemed so improbable – the kind of thing that could only happen in America.
He seemed to be living The Dream.
Only years later did I learn that things were much more complicated for him – that Tony Curtis (born Bernard Schwartz) grew up desperately poor, speaking only Hungarian until he was age 6. His father was a Jewish tailor, and the family lived in the back of the shop. His mother was apparently a somewhat abusive figure in Curtis’ life; she was at one point diagnosed with schizophrenia, a mental disease which may have been passed on in some form to Curtis’ brother Robert, who was institutionalized. Things were basically very tough for Tony Curtis in his young life. How tough? He and his younger brother Julius were at one point placed in an orphanage for a month because their parents couldn’t afford to feed them. Four years later, Julius was struck and killed by a truck.
This was his young life.
It seems like the movies were his solace. Apparently he saw Cary Grant in Destination Tokyo and Tyrone Power in Crash Dive, and this led him to enlist in the Navy and serve on a submarine tender. The funny part of it is, years later he would ‘serve’ on board a submarine with Cary Grant in Operation Petticoat, and also pull off a delicious Cary Grant imitation in Some Like It Hot. I guess that was his way of thanking a guy who’d inspired him, who’d helped pull him out of what had been a troubled and desperate life.
Tony Curtis as Erik in "The Viking."
You were always rooting for Tony Curtis in his movies. The reason, I suspect, is because he never quite seemed as handsome as Kirk Douglas, as commanding as Burt Lancaster, as volcanic and sexual as Marlon Brando, as brilliant and subtle as Laurence Olivier, as ruthless and passionate as Anthony Quinn. Tony Curtis was more like the rest of us, a regular guy from the Bronx who might easily be working (a lá Marty) in a butcher shop – except that this Jewish kid from the Bronx had make it big in Hollywood.
A few thoughts on the The Vikings, my favorite Tony Curtis film. So much of what makes that film compelling is how awkward Curtis seems – like a misfit – in the macho world of the Vikings. Kirk Douglas and Ernest Borgnine seem completely in their element in that film. Tony Curtis? Not so much. The cast of The Vikings is filled to the brim with people who are, alternately, either too beautiful or too sophisticated for Curtis to cope with – the impossibly gorgeous Janet Leigh as Princess Morgana, the cunning and wicked Frank Thring as Aella, or James Donald’s crafty Lord Egbert. [And don’t forget Orson Welles’ basso profundo voice narrating the film.] Curtis basically seems to have nothing going for him in this film except a Bronx accent and a grudge.
Having fun with wife Janet Leigh.
And yet … as the story unfolds, we gradually realize that there’s something we’ve underestimated about Tony Curtis’ character: his tenacity, a tensile inner strength – a passion for justice, perhaps? – that drives him far beyond what he initially appears capable of. Curtis’ ‘Erik’ character carries around with him an inner resource of integrity – nicely symbolized by the royal pommel stone around his neck – that will carry him through thick and thin, and against adversaries far more powerful and cunning than he is. This is the side of Curtis that always comes out in Act 3 of his films – the survivor, the tough Bronx kid who climbed out of a tragic life and made it to the top.
And so the character who begins the movie as a pitiful slave will eventually win both the throne of England – and the lovely Princess whom he prizes above all else. And all of it is credible, because Tony Curtis transforms himself convincingly over the course of the film from desperate schlemiel to bad-ass Viking conqueror, a hardened rival to Kirk Douglas’ fatally sentimental ‘Einar’ character. Does Tony Curtis give a great performance in the film? You bet he does – in fact, it’s iconic. I’ve always suspected, in fact, that the big emotional cues from The Empire Strikes Back were borrowed more or less unaltered from The Vikings, and from Tony Curtis’ performance specifically. If you’ve seen both films, you know exactly what I’m talking about.
Govindini and I had the chance to meet Tony Curtis a few years ago. He was, as you can imagine, courtly and old-school. He had a kind of impish charm that carried over from every movie performance I’d seen him give as a kid. You had the sense standing next to him that he’d lived a great life, and was grateful for the opportunity that America and Hollywood had given him. Even though the industry had to some extent forgotten him, he was neither bitter nor remorseful – the twinkle was still very much in his eye, and he was still living The Dream. Hell, what did he have to complain about? The man had enjoyed six wives – from Janet Leigh to Jill Vandenberg! Not bad for a Hungarian kid from the Bronx.
As we were chatting, he smiled at one point, looked Govindini over, and kissed her hand. Then he winked at me. I laughed. He looked and acted like a sweet young charmer that day, and I’ll bet he still is. I imagine he’s chatting up Janet Leigh somewhere right now.
By Jason Apuzzo. • The big news today is Lucasfilm’s announcement that the entire, 6-film Star Wars saga is going to be retrofit into 3D, and that the films will be released in series order (i.e., Episode I-VI) starting in 2012. This is fabulous news in my opinion, albeit not surprising. 2012 will mark the 35th anniversary of the original film, and George Lucas has been hinting for years that something like this was in the works.
This announcement will, of course, occasion a lot of uniformed pontificating about some of the bad 3D retrofits that have been released in the wake of Avatar. Two obvious factors mitigate such concerns here: 1) Lucas and his team have about 18 months until the first film is released, giving them a great deal more time than usual to do a high-quality retrofit – as opposed to the rush-jobs we’ve become accustomed to from this past summer; 2) Lucasfilm boasts the best technical staff in the industry, so we can assume the presentation will be state-of-the-art.
The Death Star trench run - soon in 3D.
Just for fun, I’ve put up a Star Wars student fan short (see above) I caught recently that was done in 3D. It was the winner of the “Best Animation” award from the recent Star Wars Fan Film Movie Challenge, sponsored by Lucasfilm. You’ll need your anaglyphic red/blue glasses for this one. [Make sure to get those, by the way, because I’d like to start showing more 3D stuff here at Libertas in the future.] Enjoy!
Incidentally, this means that the forthcoming Star Wars Blu-rays will subsequently need to be re-issued in 3D. They don’t call George a genius for nothing.
• In related 3D news, there’s a rumor circulating that Warner Brothers is pressuring Christopher Nolan to shoot the next Batman film in 3D – and also that Inception may get a 3D retrofit after all. Take that rumor for what it’s worth. Personally I doubt this story, because Nolan is currently The Man over at Warner Brothers, in the wake of Inception and his supervision of the Superman reboot. I would add that the vibe of the Batman series is more old-school retro/noir (largely contrary to the spirit of 3D) – although Nolan did shoot parts of The Dark Knight in IMAX, and he’s obviously fascinated with new technologies. As for Inception, there’s no point in doing a retrofit now anyway because it’s too soon for a re-release and there are too few home systems out there set up for 3D viewing.
For all the Wall Street excess that Stone’s new film depicts, the movie (spoiler alert — skip ahead to the next paragraph if you’d rather not know) in many ways offers a benign, even uplifting message about the Street. Sure, the fevered speculation drives one old-timer to take his life. But the movie ultimately tells the story of a young idealist — and one who gets the money and the girl to boot.
Even one of moviedom’s all-time unrepentant characters, the Wall Street sharpie Gordon Gekko, seeks, and (after a lapse) gains, redemption. Compared to the original, which sees said sharpie sent off to jail, this chapter of his story is almost.. heartwarming. Big business and the financial industry may have a deep skepticism for the current Democratic administration. But there’s little for them to dislike in a movie about them from the most outspoken of left-wing filmmakers.
This is why you need to read Libertas folks – we’re prescient here. What’s funny is that later in the article Zeitchik darkly intimates that Stone made such a “benign, even uplifting” film for crass commercial purposes – i.e., to sell out and make a buck! Unreal. Not even Oliver Stone can get his films cleared these days by the People’s Truth Commissions over at the NY and LA Times.
The bold designs of the new "Tron."
• Brett Ratner has just taken on Charles Robert Jenkins’ memoir The Reluctant Communist as his next project. This is great news, because this book is apparently one of the most harrowing accounts of life in communist North Korea that’s ever been written. The book deals with Charles Jenkins’ booze-driven defection as a U.S. Army sergeant to North Korea in 1965, a nation he would later refer to as “a giant, demented prison.” Jenkins would remain in North Korea for the next four decades – used by the communist regime as a propaganda prop – until the Japanese eventually arranged for his release. I think it’s very encouraging that Ratner is taking on this complex and interesting project, and we’ll keep an eye on how it develops.
• Do you recall Jessica Alba’s pseudo-nude shower scene in Machete? Of course you don’t, because you didn’t bother to see that film. Well, we learn today that Alba wasn’t actually nude in the scene when they shot it – she was apparently ‘digitally undressed’ in post! Forget 3D, this is the most promising development in digital technology yet! Imagine the possibilities. By the way, if you click over to this news piece – which 90% of our male readers will – you’ll notice that Alba also lost a little weight once the digital artists were through. So we have the perfect situation here: you ladies don’t need to take your clothes off on set, plus you get to lose a few pounds in the process. And everybody’s happy!
The article reveals some interesting details about the film that I’ve excerpted below:
“Secretariat” doesn’t shy away from politics — portraying conservatives and liberals honorably — and embraces Christian themes also are reminiscent of “Blind Side.” …
“Secretariat” even opens with a lengthy quote from the Bible, a portion of God’s speech to Job. A trailer that includes those lines is on Christian websites all over the Internet, and some of those sites contain the earliest reviews of the film and offer users a chance to see advanced screenings. The Bible quote is “transcendent,” Wallace told The Hollywood Reporter. “I wanted to capture that timelessness and majesty. The idea that courage prevails.”
At a screening for a group called Catholic Media Review that included remarks from Wallace, the invitation boasted, “Not only is Randall one of the most successful directors of all time, he is also a devout Christian.” A film reviewer there “highly recommended” the film to readers and noted “a definite subtext of faith which is as rare these days as it is welcome.” That subtext includes a dramatic singing of “Oh Happy Day! When Jesus Walked” at the movie’s climax, and horse groom Eddie Sweat (Nelsan Ellis) speaks reverently of God’s plan and being “lifted up.” …
“Blind Side” was the true story of an essentially homeless teenager adopted by a conservative Christian couple. Although the politics in “Secretariat” are less central to the story, they’re not ignored. Except for the eldest daughter, the [Penny] Chenery family members [owners of Secretariat] were political conservatives during the early 1970s, when the movie takes place. Chenery’s husband (Dylan Walsh) is portrayed as the obvious right-winger who isn’t thrilled with his wife’s decision to pull double duty after she inherits her father’s horse ranch, nor is he happy about his hippie daughter’s embrace of all that “commie crap” she’s getting from anti-Vietnam War protesters. His values are portrayed as old-fashioned, but they’re not belittled.
Politicos on the right side of the aisle no doubt also will appreciate the appearance of former Republican Sen. Fred Thompson in a good-guy role as well as the film’s statement against large inheritance taxes, portrayed as a looming threat that could derail the protagonist’s heroic efforts. One particularly political though short scene has the dad explaining to his children the concept of there being a cost to freedom. Wallace said Chenery, who makes a cameo appearance in the film, was “deeply satisfied” with the way he dealt with politics in the film.
You get the drift. Secretariat will be released October 8th.
By Jason Apuzzo. • We begin today with sad news. It was extremely hot here in Los Angeles yesterday (around 113 degrees), and it appears that Sally Menke, Quentin Tarantino’s long-time editor, went out hiking in the heat and died. This is a terrible development, and we want to wish her family and collaborators our condolences. Menke was absolutely instrumental in the development of Tarantino’s revolutionary film style over the years, and she will be missed.
• Facebook has been doing overtime on damage control in preparation for the launch of The Social Network, reports the Wall Street Journal today. Good luck, guys. The Silicon Valley people are eventually going to learn that Hollywood always has the final say in these things. I wonder what William Randolph Hearst would be saying right about now. It’s hard to imagine, actually, because I keep thinking of Charles Foster Kane instead.
The writer of the article appears to be unaware that Stone was making a narrative drama, rather than a Michael Moore documentary. Stone actually had to explain to the writer: “I don’t know how you show a credit default swap on the screen … The idea that the entire system was dependent on a credit bubble that could pop overnight — that is really hard to convey on-screen … People won’t watch a business movie.”
The [financial] crisis, [Stone] insisted, was merely meant to be the backdrop for a story about a handful of “complex” people — an older, wiser Gordon Gekko among them — who just happened to be operating on Wall Street around September 2008 … Truth to tell, I wasn’t really buying what Mr. Stone was selling. The more he protested, the more he sounded like a man who hadn’t pulled off what he had set out to accomplish and was now making after-the-fact excuses. Not unlike Wall Street itself in the aftermath of the financial crisis, when you come to think of it.
So there you go, folks! The New York Times puts itself on record as resisting complex characterization in a drama, because it might get in the way of political score-settling. Perfect. No wonder the Times is going out of print.
• Gore Verbinski and Johnny Depp may team up again to bring back The Lone Ranger. I loved the original show when I watched it on rerun as a kid. Depp doesn’t at all read ‘Lone Ranger’ to me, though – he’s too metro. But basically I’ve given up arguing the point on that guy. He’s a megastar, he can act, and he’s obviously here to stay. [UPDATE: It wasn’t in the Deadline Hollywood article I linked to, but supposedly Depp is up to play Tonto – which makes more sense, frankly, as Depp is part Cherokee. Thanks to reader ‘Shane’ for the heads-up. Shane provides links for the Depp-Tonto story here and here.]
