By Jason Apuzzo. • Photos leaked this week of Leonardo DiCaprio playing Hoover (see here and here). In all the chatter I’m seeing about this film, I still haven’t heard a peep about how this film intends to depict Hoover’s confrontation with actual – i.e., non-imaginary – Soviet infiltration of the American government from the 1930s-1950s. This is an enormous issue that has rarely been covered adequately in film, beyond the usual treatment as being a phenomenon of ‘paranoia.’ I’m hoping that Clint breaks from that clichéd and misleading template – although, for a multitude of reasons, I’m doubting he will.
You know who would’ve made a great film out of this subject matter? Kazan. (I’m actually reading his autobiography right now.) There are no Kazans today, however, because they’ve been weeded out of the system by the same people so enamored with Eastwood right now.
• Die Hard 5 suddenly has a director, and the latest rumors on that film involve Bruce Willis/John McClane fighting a relative of his old nemesis, German ‘Red Army Faction’-style terrorist Hans Gruber, wonderfully played by Alan Rickman in the original film. (Jeremy Irons played a relative of Rickman’s in Die Hard 3; I actually thought Irons was even better than Rickman.) What do people still think of this franchise? Personally, I’m long past caring about Willis or what he does; I didn’t even bother to watch Die Hard 4 – a film which, I might add, dropped its American title of Live Free or Die Hard in certain foreign territories in order not to ‘offend’ certain sensibilities. Opinions on the film and on Willis are welcome.
• Sony will apparently be releasing James Bond 23. Also: no word yet on whether or how this may also affect MGM’s Red Dawn.
• According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Russians are building a huge new studio complex, ‘Lenfilm XXI,’ which apparently could become Europe’s largest film studio. Question: isn’t it ironic that the Russians are actually building studios, while we’re shipping our film production overseas?
• The big news this week was the release of the new X-Men: First Class trailer, in which the young X-Men and X-Babes appear to play a role in … resolving the Cuban Missile Crisis. Not exactly what I was expecting, but I’m rolling with it. Check out the trailer above, and see how the Cold War continues to be fought and re-fought on our screens these days. (Also: Bryan Singer talks about the new film here.) By the way, where are all the juicy production stills we’re expecting of January Jones and Jennifer Lawrence? (January Jones talks more about her sexed-up costumes here.) The latest production photo they released was of the back of Magneto’s head. Weird marketing, guys.
• Speaking of publicity stills, the first such still of Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher has just been released. I’m not sure what the point of that was – to prove that Streep can transform herself? I think we all know that by now. The photo doesn’t make me feel any better about the ugly rumors over this film being a hit job – or about the Thatcher family’s ardent opposition to the film. Here’s what Streep herself is saying about playing the role:
“The prospect of exploring the swathe cut through history by this remarkable woman is a daunting and exciting challenge. I am trying to approach the role with as much zeal, fervour and attention to detail as the real Lady Thatcher possesses—I can only hope my stamina will begin to approach her own!”
Sounds wonderful. Why am I not believing a word of it?
• The Atlas Shrugged trailer arrived this week, and to some extent it raised more questions than it answered. Certainly the main question it raised was: who is John Galt? OK, bad joke, I haven’t my coffee yet. But seriously, reader Vince noticed that Dagny Taggart is driving a Toyota in the trailer – quite the irony given Toyota’s recent acquittal in court over their supposedly bad brakes. My question is: wouldn’t Dagny be driving something like a Jaguar? Or a Mercedes? She strikes me as being an expensive kind of gal.
• A word of note: Mao’s Last Dancer will be arriving on DVD/Blu-ray on March 29th (we loved the film, see our review here), and Farewell – a great Cold War thriller, featuring Fred Ward as Ronald Reagan (see our review here) – will be arriving on DVD/Blu-ray April 12th.
• AND IN TODAY’S MOST IMPORTANT COLD WAR NEWS … Russian former Bond babe Olga Kurylenko’s The Assassin Next Door hits DVD this week, and her new film There Will Dragons just got picked up for distribution for Samuel Goldwyn Films. Olga’s proving that old homespun adage about what Russian immigrants should do to make it in America: play Bond girls and assassins.
And that’s what’s happening today in The Cold War!
Posted on February 12th, 2011 at 12:37pm.
wouldn’t Dagny be driving something like a Jaguar?
If what I’m getting from the trailer is correct, it would likely be a rental car she picked up at the airport to get to the site of the train wreck.
Hans Gruber, wonderfully played by Alan Rickman in the original film.
Rickman has a terrific screen presence but seems typecast by his world class sneering. Even before the Potter movies I thought he should be cast in a story where the character he plays undergoes a transformation from dark to light, unfortunately I don’t believe he’s done one.
Then she should rent a BMW! This is Dagny Taggart we’re talking about here.
As for Rickman, yes, he is without peer in sneering. His face seems made for it.
Call me dense, but I don’t understand what sensibilities might be offended by the title Live Free Or Die Hard, or why. I’m not being sarcastic – truly I don’t have a clue. Could you enlighten me?
Apparently it was the phrase “Live Free.” I’m not kidding. That, apparently, was considered too provocative a phrase for use overseas by Fox. Or at least we assume that, because without explanation the film was released simply as Die Hard 4 in many foreign territories. I’m sure some of that had to do with brand recognition, but we’ll never know because Fox wouldn’t explain it.
I think the most likely explanation is that they simply didn’t think that people in those territories would be familiar with the state motto of New Hampshire. If you don’t get the reference, it’s just a bizarre title with no apparent connection to the plot of movie. Not that it has any real connection to the plot of the movie if you do get the reference, but at least it sounds sort of cool.
God bless New Hampshire. Wouldn’t want to actually live there, though.
I think the problem with Atlas Shrugged and the ‘Toyota’ thing is that they had to cut budget somewhere so that they could make the film look so phenomenal, which I think by and large, they achieved. I’m more excited by the film now after seeing the trailer, so that was a big hurdle for me and they jumped over it easily. Now it’s time for the final product to see if it can succeed as well.
I don’t mean to get people hung up on the Toyota thing. With that said, details matter.
An amusing touch would’ve been having her drive a Tesla.
Great job, Jason — so much to talk about …
-I’m cautiously optimistic about the Hoover pic. There’s a great opportunity to examine the role the FBI plays, and showcase the danger of communist infiltration in America. You’re link to the Venona Project is great — I read Blacklisted By History years ago, and was shocked at the difference in what I’ve been told, and what actually happened. It helped shape my worldview.
-Whether he knows it or not, Bryan Singer has made some of the most Objectivist-friendly films I’ve seen. People get crazy when they hear the “truth, justice, and all that stuff” line in Superman Returns, and they overlook how the main theme of the film is the power of the individual. James Marsden’s character is a normal man, but literally does what Superman does in the film. Lex Luthor’s obsession with Prometheus is manifested in his jealousy of Superman’s ability, and he actually seeks to redistribute power. Enough of that rant.
-When I saw Dagny’s Camry, I immediately thought it was a company car, or something. But it actually fits when you consider she loved the metal ring Henry made for his wife, who didn’t understand its importance. Perhaps it symbolizes a little of her altruism.
-I can’t wait to see Farewell. Also, The Way Back is also ready also available for pre-order; it comes out on April 19.
Thanks for the tip about Way Back, Vince! I hadn’t caught that. I will update our readers down the line.
Also: I own Blacklisted By History, and what I’ve read of it is superb.
I’ll have more to say later, re: Dagny, Hoover, etc. Btw: do you notice that DiCaprio’s smoking? I guess that’s OK now …
Is it just me, or does that photo make it look like Olga Kurylenko is seconds away from accidentally shooting herself in the butt? By the way, she’s Ukrainian (although if you believe Wikipedia, she’s half Russian).
Hey, even better! I have some Ukranian blood in me, as well.
First my take on Clint. I perceive his early career, that he felt unappreciated and a outsider. He relished that role and cultivated it to his advantage. He took that persona into his movies and the roles that he picked. He also has an ability to pick roles that seemed to mirror the mood of the country at that time. The man with no name, the anti-hero, which was an in the face rebuke of the image of John Wayne. Kelly’s Heroes with it’s Vietnam War ethos of every man for himself. And of course, Dirty Harry and the depiction of America’s disillusionment with the sixties and liberalism. He pivoted again in the eighties when he took on roles like Firefox (a guilty pleasure, please don’t hate me) and Heartbreak Ridge (Very overrated, in my opinion). He even dipped into politics and became a mayor and proclaimed himself a Republican. (During the height of Reagan’s popularity no less) Clint has been very astute keeping his career image just outside of liberal Hollywood. That changed with Unforgiven. (A pretty good movie but not one of my favorites. I’ve never warmed up to it.) He finally got the critical acclaim that alluded him for so long. After that, he pivoted again by adjusting his image ironically and more successfully than John Wayne did with the The Cowboys and Shootist, by playing off that image to become a man stuck in the past during changing times. Movies such as In the Line of Fire, Million Dollar Baby and Gran Torino. I actually believe Clint had sort of become more libertarian although his recent interviews has belied that perception. He should probably stop giving them.
As far as the Hoover bio, well I’m not hopeful. First, what a charged Subject! You thought getting honest movies about Reagan or Kennedy was tough!? I believe a honest Hoover bio is virtually impossible. I’m also not a Leo fan and when I look at the picture of him as Hoover, I think of him play acting as Howard Hughes again. (What a yawner) Then there’s Clint’s total screw up with Flags of our Father.
Bruce Willis, well what can I say. I’ve always liked him. Even when he was doing Wine Cooler commercials. He’s a everyman that’s has played the popcorn circuit better than anyone. Nothing more, nothing less.
A very perceptive analysis of Clint. And on balance, I share your skepticism of the Hoover project – I’m cringing about it, actually.
But John Galt, I want to hear a lot more from you about the Atlas Shrugged trailer! What gives?
Jason…I’m fearing it’s a rush job. It looks like a made for television movie and that’s not a terrible thing but for wide release it could be problematic.
The key is how they market this movie. They need to pick the right media in order to reach the right audience. I’m following them on twitter (little over 1500 followers) and Facebook (little over 12000 followers). That’s not going to cut it. For example they could be connected to the Libertarian Facebook page which has 140,000 followers and even better the Ayn Rand Facebook page with 190,000 followers. Google Ayn Rand and Atlas Shrugged and it comes up with numerous websites that perhaps this movie could have advertised on. They should be taking it directly to college campuses and offering student discounts. They need to get onto Fox News and somehow get a face to face interview with one of the big three, Hannity, Beck or O’Reilly.
A great blueprint on how to do this is the Christian themed movies like “Fireproof”. The people that made Fireproof knew their audience and marketed directly to them. That movie cost $500,000 to make and earned $33 million! To be frank it’s a crappy movie with atrocious acting but again it knew it’s audience and went directly to it. I’m not sure the people making Atlas Shrugged are doing the same. Please correct me if I’m wrong.
You’ve just articulated the same sort of common-sense marketing approach that we’ve advocated with them, and with many other filmmakers in their position. And you know what? This same, obvious sort of advice is rarely taken once marketing ‘experts’ take over. Unfortunately, I’m already assuming that such ‘experts’ are being brought in right now, so I can already predict how this will all turn out. [Sigh.]
A Failure to Plan is a Plan for Failure
Quite.