Merrick here...
Latauro just sent in his entertainment news round up from the place called Australia, which some people call "Downunder", which is why this coumn is called "ACIN-Downunder".
I've always wondered..."Downunder"...what? The equator, presumably?
Here's Latauro...
The message Hollywood needs to send out is 'Smoking Is Cool!'
AICN-DOWNUNDER
People who know me know I'm heading into one of the busiest period of my life, a fact that isn't helped much by the forthcoming Melbourne International Film Festival.
MIFF organisers were kind enough to send me a mini-pass for the festival, but were also cruel enough to programme so many things that I've given up and bought a second mini-pass. My diary is so full that the extra weight from the ink has required me to hire a manservant to carry it around, but that's nothing compared to my housemate who has booked thirty-eight film sessions. That includes a day where he's seeing a film at 3pm, one at 5pm, one at 7pm, and one at 9pm. Presumably, he'll be bringing some sandwiches with him, but when I quizzed him about the deep vein thrombosis he's going to be experiencing, he shrugged and said, "It's worth it."
So if you know anyone in the city of Melbourne who likes their film, don't be alarmed if you don't hear from them until August. We have more important things to do.
Check out the start of Latauro's MIFF coverage in the Reviews section below.
NEWS
The internet moves at an alarmingly fast speed. So fast, in fact, that I was able to debunk a rumour nearly a week before it started making the rounds! Last week, I made mention of the fact that Denzel Washington was in NZ to discuss Weta doing the effects for his next directorial outing (THE GREAT DEBATERS), and wasn't there for any Master Chief-related casting discussions. A few days later, the rumours started doing the rounds that he was, in fact, there to talk to Peter Jackson about starring in HALO. Now, I should point out that I don't have any definitive proof that Washington won't be in HALO, but I do know the following points: (a) I spoke to someone who saw first-hand Washington hanging out with Richard Taylor at the Park Road post-production facilities; (b) the Weta design team doesn't have much to do on HALO at the moment because Bungie is in control of the design elements; and (c) point b is important because the Master Chief will not be removing his helmet at any point during the film. All of you Judge Dredd fans just flinched a little when you read that, didn't you? Can you see Denzel Washington signing up for a film where he won't be seen at any point? My money would be on a Ron Perlman or Karl Urban or someone known by us in the film geek community but not widely-known to the general public. Hell, maybe they'll get a stuntman and just get Andy Serkis to do the voice. Who knows? Anyway, for now we can all safely put the Denzel rumour to bed, where the tabloids can have their way with it in about three weeks.
In other news, James Cameron visited New Zealand recently, and is now a hot contender for the role of Master Chief in the new HALO film. In reality, speculation had it he was there to discuss Weta handling some of the special effects for AVATAR, his first blockbuster film since PIRANHA PART TWO: THE SPAWNING. In further reality, he was just there for the hell of it. A spokeshobbit for Peter Jackson said that James Cameron was just there to hang out, and that it had nothing to do with business. Jackson's representative went on to say that it was "definitely worth mentioning as a news item if it means editors can make awesome Master Chief jokes". The report originally appeared on Black Magic and Stuff.
Ringan Ledwidge's directorial debut MIDDLE OF NOWHERE has had a change to its titularity. The film will now be known as GONE, but will still feature the same storyline, cast and crew as it did when it was filming. The film is a thriller following a British couple who encounter a mysterious American whilst traveling in the Australian outback. So it's a bit like the coalition of the willing if it were stuck in the middle of the desert -- lol!!! Wait, that doesn't make sense.
AWARDS, FESTIVALS AND SCREENINGS
79TH ACADEMY AWARDS
This is actually pretty interesting: a change has been made to the Oscar rules about Foreign Language Films. No longer must each submission be in an official language of the country submitting the film. Now, so long as the majority of the film is not in English, all films are acceptable regardless of which language (or combination of languages) it contains. What does this mean for Rolf de Heer? His Cannes-friendly TEN CANOES is now eligible to be entered, as it is the first film to ever be shot entirely in an Indigenous Aboriginal language (specifically, the Ganalbingu dialect). What does this mean for you? That entirely authentic Klingons vs Middle-Earth Elves film you've been slaving away on for years could be eligible for Oscar gold! Get submitting!
2007 MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
With the 2006 MIFF not yet begun, we thought it was worth looking ahead to next year's setup. (You know, the way fans stress about which villain will be in SPIDER-MAN 6 before the previous three have even been made.) With Festival Director James Hewison stepping down to take up a position at the Australian Film Institute (that position being the entry-level "CEO" job), it's been announced than Richard Moore will take over Director duties starting in September. So who is Richard Moore? He worked as Executive Producer at ABC TV Arts for five years, and has since been working as a freelance consultant within the Australian Arts Industry. With any luck, Moore will continue the festival's tradition of providing way too much quality stuff to go see, and will possibly bring us SPIDER-MAN 6 in 2007! I heard he's going to fight Sandstorm, Fusion II and the Ringmaster!!!
2006 RUSSIAN RESURRECTION FILM FESTIVAL
If, like me, you're aware of Russia, you might want to check out the traveling Russian roadshow, which features a lot of pretty cool-looking new films along with a Tarkovsky Retrospective. Yes, the original SOLARIS will be playing on the big screen, so set that pron money aside and clear your schedule. The festival is in Sydney from the 26th of September, in Canberra from the 28th of September, in Melbourne from the 5th of October.
BOX OFFICE
I can't remember the last time where the majority of our top five actually put a smile on my face. It's nice to see some films of quality up there, and with PIRATES settling in for a year or two in top position, we can but hope the trend continues.
1. PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST
2. SUPERMAN RETURNS
3. OVER THE HEDGE
4. CLICK
5. CARS
RELEASED THIS WEEK
Kevin Spacey's miscast passion play comes out barely a century after it was first made to perplexingly cash in on the SUPERMAN-esque cast members, Connie Neilson falls for some great Danes, the dangers affecting internet paedophiles are finally tackled, and the NZ box office hit introduces us to first film from the Tangat' Pack.
BEYOND THE SEA
BROTHERS
HARD CANDY
SIONE'S WEDDING
MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL REVIEWS
The MIFF press screenings have begun, so I'll incorporate them into the main column until the festival proper begins (on July 26), after which I'll be doing a series of special MIFF reports, which will basically just be reviews of things I've seen.
THANK YOU FOR SMOKING
The machinations of press screenings can't be of much interest to anyone not directly involved with them (and even, it should be said, to those that are), but I thought it was amusing that by a complete coincidence, MIFF had set up a screening of Jason Reitman's THANK YOU FOR SMOKING at the exact same time as Roadshow's screening of Ivan Reitman's MY SUPER EX-GIRLFRIEND. It's the father-son match like no other, and had the SUPER print not been delayed and the screening postponed, it would have been interesting to see who would have shown up at what.
THANK YOU FOR SMOKING is a film told from the point of view of tobacco lobyist Nick Naylor as he tries to rehabilitate the demonised public image of cigarettes. Aaron Eckhart (who proves he was probably separated from Peter Krause at birth) plays Naylor, and is as smarmy, slimy, charming and sympathetic as he would need to be. But before I get into the highs and lows of the actors, it's worth giving credit to Jason Reitman and Christopher Buckley. Reitman both wrote the script and directed the film, and completely nails it. His confidence is high, and every risk he takes pays off completely. Buckley wrote the book the film is based on, and though I've not read the book (but soon will), it's worth dishing out a decent amount of credit to the person who had the hardest job: coming up with the idea and executing it successfully. Adapting is one thing, but seeding is another... hm. That sentence disturbs me and I'm not quite sure why.
Discussing the story of a film is something I usually try to shy away from, as I believe you should go into the film knowing as little about it as possible. So I'll jump to the elements that stood out.
First of all, I keep a running tally of my favourite films of the year so when I make my end-of-year list for AICN on December 31, I've remembered everything that was good and can rank them accordingly (even though ranking films is something I hate doing, which is why you never see star ratings or x/10s in my reviews). My first year here I totally forgot to put RUSSIAN ARK in (which would have been at spot number four), so I make sure I write the good ones down. I mention this because THANK YOU FOR SMOKING was added the moment I got home from the screening. I mention that because there are some very minor structural issues that I'm about to go into, and I want to make it clear that I love the film and I'm totally nitpicking.
The only problem with the script is that it seems to be perpetually in search of the Big Idea. The obvious one is the relationship Naylor has with his son (the always-reliable Cameron Bright), but that serves more as an underlying motivating force than a narrative-driving plot point. The other obvious one is the Hollywood storyline, and when that was introduced I thought "Ah, here it is!", but it's a relatively small diversion in the context of the film. Ultimately, the only thing this film suffers from having so many interesting places to go, it doesn't know which to focus on. And when I say "suffers", I mean in the same way that Mozart's music suffers from using violins a lot. Well, maybe not, but I do see it is as a problem that I might not even notice the second time around. Like how Tyler's true identity bothered me the first time around in FIGHT CLUB, and now it's one of my favourite reveals ever.
The cast is an impressive one, and while I'd like to single out some of them for being particularly good, it'd get a bit repetitive and hyperbolic pretty quickly. The big one worth mentioning is Adam Brody; not because he's so much better than everyone else or because his role is so outlandish, but because -- as much as I liked him in "The OC" and "Gilmore Girls" -- I really didn't think he'd end up having a whole lot of range. He's not a million miles from Seth Cohen in this film, but he was different enough for me to be impressed.
The only real let-down this film has is Katie Holmes. Now, despite the fact I wrote nearly the same thing in my BATMAN BEGINS review, I don't have an anti-Holmes agenda. I quite like her. Well, not really, but I do respect her. With the exception of one bad teen movie (TEACHING MRS TINGLE, which appears to have been done as a favour to the man who gave her her first big break), Holmes has made some admirable choices in the films she's picked. From THE ICE STORM to GO to WONDER BOYS, THE GIFT, THE SINGING DETECTIVE, PIECES OF APRIL and now THANK YOU FOR SMOKING she seems more concerned with the quality of the projects than being a movie star. In terms of picking films, I think she's aces. The problem is that she doesn't really have the talent to back it up. I didn't believe her as a District Attorney in BATMAN BEGINS, and I don't believe her as a hard-hitting journalist in this film. I hate to say it, but the only times I really believe she's suitable for the role is when she's in dreck like FIRST DAUGHTER. You never want to discourage actors from picking interesting roles (not that I think Mrs Cruise is waiting to see what I think before picking her next project), but when it's to the detriment of an otherwise-brilliant film, you sorta do. Katie Holmes needs a few more years behind her before she should even be considered for these roles, because she still looks fifteen years old. She's the sore thumb of the film, and wanting to like her performance just doesn't make it so.
I always find it easier to talk about the bad elements in great films, because they stand out so much. Of course, then I end up misrepresenting the film somewhat, and the review ends up lopsided. The bottom line is that this is a great film, and if you don't catch it at MIFF, you can see it in August when it's released across the country. Cannot recommend this one enough.
NEXT WEEK
- Jerry Bruckheimer begins work on his new TV franchise, "Miami Vice: New York"
- Jason Patric signs on to Sandra Bullock's romantic film about two people who fall in love on a cruise two years apart, in THE LAKE HOUSE 2: THE SEA BOAT
- Philip Seymour Hoffman reprises a recent role, showing what happened to Dan Mahowny after he became obsessed with internet gaming, in PWNING MAHOWNY
Peace out,
Latauro
AICNDownunder@hotmail.com
