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VANILLA SKY has its Third Test Screening, and of course we had eyes and ears there!
Hey folks, Harry here. I had heard of a screening that took place in Los Angeles about a week or so back. In fact about a half dozen folks that attended wrote me, and a couple called to give me the lowdown that they loved this new cut. Two different folks had seen all three cuts that have been tested, and both of them told me that this latest cut... Well if you remember, that first cut got pretty damn fine reviews on the site, however the last cut had about 45 minutes cut from the film, and some began having problems with the film. Word has it that Cameron Crowe did a bit of reshooting, re-editing and has come up with by far the best version of VANILLA SKY yet. It's so nice to see the testing process used by a filmmaker for the crafting of a superior film. Beware of spoilers below...
Hey Harry,
This report is about a week overdue, but I still wanted to get it in to ya...
for partial credit, at least. Anyway, I attended a test screening of VANILLA
SKY last week, and wanted to throw out a few words about this most excellent
experience... especially considering how there have been no reports filed about
this particular screening (none that I've caught, at least).
First off, I gotta say that I've managed to avoid any and all reviews of
VANILLA SKY... until I got the chance to see this awesome, awesome remake for
myself. With that said, I'm not sure how many test screenings, etc. this film
has had up until now, but the print I saw was still in fairly rough form. But
that didn't take away any from the brilliance of the film itself.
I should also get out of the way the fact that I have not seen the original
film on which VANILLA SKY is based (ABRE LOS OJOS ("Open Your Eyes")--also with
Penelope Cruz). One of my friends, however (who has seen both), made the
comment that VANILLA blew the original out of the sky (sorry, I had to do it).
In theory, I think it's a genius concept to have Penelope Cruz portray the same
character in two separate adaptations of the same story... in two different
languages, much less. Not to mention a pretty brilliant career move. Now, I'm
no huge Penelope Cruz fan, but I gotta give it to her (huh-huh) on this one.
So, anyway, I don't want to give away too much about the plot of the film, but
I will say that structurally it is only comparable to a multi-layered,
architecturally pristine, finely crafted German chocolate cake (don't read too
much into that analogy, ye cynical bastards). In short, the film works. The
beauty of SKY is that the story crescendoes slowly and methodically to an apex
of pure mind-fucking frustration, at which point it changes gears to wind down
and bring the entire picture into focus.
As I'm sure most of you reading this are aware, SKY juggles a couple of
parallel stories around, which it weaves in all possible directions, resulting
in the oblivious mess at its highest point of massive confusion. It is there
that the interwoven plots begin to unwind and reveal the brilliance of the
underlying story.
As if the story isn't strong enough, the performances in the film add an
entirely new level of magnificence. As I said, I'm not a huge Cruz fan, but
she really does a great job with this one. As does Tom Cruise and Cameron
Diaz, about whom I need to say no more. Another genuine gem is the performance
turned out by Jason Lee. Having been a fan of Lee's since the ol' 'RATS days,
I was very glad/excited to see him succeed with this role. Also, be on the
lookout for some great (and subtle) cameos; ones which I won't spoil here.
They're hella-sweet! All around, the performances are all great, living up to
the high-profile cast and hype.
The one problem I had with SKY was its visual design. Not that it was "bad" by
any means, but it didn't hit me with the same kind of force that ALMOST FAMOUS
had on me. I found it to be kinda surprising, as the DP (John Toll) on SKY
also did FAMOUS. Maybe I'm talking out of my ass, but something about SKY's
"look" wasn't at the level I was hoping for based on Crowe's past work. Then
again, maybe I'm just looking for something to pidgeonhole, as in most other
senses this film is practically air-tight.
Overall, SKY should look forward to a pretty warm critical welcome. As far as
box office goes, the only turn-off to your average movie-goer would be the
serpentine, tangled plot. If people accept the plot for what it is and don't
try to read into it so much that they convolute it even more than it is, all
should be well.
To me, the film works, and it works well. All around, VANILLA SKY is another
slab of solid gold in Cameron Crowe's vault.
Rock on,
Eraserhead
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+ Expand All
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You heard me.
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This pleases me. A lot.
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I think it's SICK that Tom C. is doing his sister Penelope C. Yucky.
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Cameron is working hard on the script for his next feature film that would be a continuation of sorts to "Jerry Maguire". Only in this film Cuba Gooding Jr's Academy Award winning role of Rod Todwell would be the main character. Tom Cruise's titular character from the first film decides to retire from Sports Management so that he can have lots of little cutesy blonde babies running around. Rod Tidwell finishes out his final season in the NFL with a bang (1,700 yards receiving, MVP honors). Now Rod has to face life after football, he tries many different things from coaching at a local Arizona college to joing a Television sports program co-hosted by a smart-mouthed former Sports Agent played by Jay Mohr, who was Jerry and Rod's enemy in the original film. The show is a smash hit but Rod can't help but feel bad that he is no longer on the feild. There are laughs, crys and lots of Cameronisms. It will be nominated for 7 Oscars, win 3. Gross over 180 million domestically and be named Movie of the year at the prestigous MTV Movie Awards.
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Is that the man doesn't really have a distinctly identifiable visual style. The first and foremost, he is a writer, a brilliant one at that and a brilliant actor's director. He works with reknown D.P.s as a way to hand over lighting and composition responsibilities to them while he focuses on performances, storytelling, and writing. Now John Toll is one of the great D.P.'s of our time(he's the one who made a terrible film like The Thin Red Line be at least tolerable through its photography) whose work in Legends of the Fall, Braveheart, and especially Captain Corelli
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Crowe probably didn't choose to part ways with Janusz Kaminski. It's just that dude has now started his own directorial career, and is Spielberg's D.P. of choice, so he's probably either unavailable half the time or too expensive for the project. Who knows? Not me, that's for sure. I'm just wondering aloud. Hmm... but I am looking forward to this film, it looks mighty fine indeed.
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SierraMountain is right... Crowe *doesn't* have an identifable visual style. Arguably he has no visual sense at all. In an interview with American Cinematographer, John Knoll said working with John Madden (on Mandolin) was great because he was a total filmmaker - he wasn't a writer wanting to hear his dialogue performed. That was a pretty harsh dig at Crowe - and totally correct. Yes, he's a good writer and he's able to get the performances to tell that story. But he doesn't understand (yet) visual storytelling. For most DoPs (I'm an aussie, so shoot me) having a Director with no visual sense doesn't give you freedom - its a shackle. How do you know if you're contributing to their 'vision' of the story? You can't. You have to feel your way around their inarticulate mumblings. Some DoPs are exceptionally good at translating writer-speak (John Seale is a good example) some aren't. It's just a thing. Crowe probably saw Toll's previous work and wanted that same look for Almost Famous (and Vanilla Sky) - hence the whole soft lighting thing. He probably didn't spend enough time to work out if he was a good collaborator for him. Personally, I think the DoP is responsible for individual shots and helping the Director construct a 'visual style' for the film. But, in the end, the only person who can SEE the whole story before its made is the Director. Sadly, Almost Famous' uninteresting style is a testament to Crowe's failure in this regard. Lets hope he learns cause otherwise AF was a good solid flick.
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The fact that "Everything in it's Right Place" is used as the opening theme song for this film is reason enough to see it. The best reason to see it though is that Cameron Crowe hasn't let us down as a filmaker yet, having made significant strides forward with each film. Although I loved "Open Your Eyes", the source material is ripe for re-interpretation. I have high hopes for this one. By the way, all of you fanboy fucks that always rant about Cruise should sit down and watch Born on the Fourth of July, Rainman, Interview with the Vampire and Magnolia again and then try and complain that he can't act.
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another one of Cruise' "vanity-films-please-give-me-an-oscar-now-before-I-rot"
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A 'serpentine plot" heh? Is that a euphemism for the fact that this reviewer deems the average American moviegoer will be too stupid to get this movie. Hmm, yeah, probably for those that complained about the supposed complexity of a movie like 'Memento' even though this movie was as obvious and clear as the deserved scepsis that any true movie fan will have concerning this remake of a fantastic Spanish movie in view of Hollywood's disastrous track record with fucking up European movie, apart from the fact I haven't heard any sane argument of why the original movie should be rehashed other than to cater to the average American dislike to watch foreign movies and having to make the effort of reading sub-titles. I guess it's probably just to squeeze some bucks from an idea and concept that somebody else already realized. As for 'Vanilla Sky' blowing the original out of the sky (nice play of words by the way), I'm not holding my breath and would already be happy if Cruise et al can convince me that there was any point at all in remaking this movie.
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I liked the lighting in Almost Famous. I thought Toll did a very good job. Sure, Kaminski was excellent with Jerry Maguire but the guy was probably busy worrying about Lost Souls. I liked the diffusion because it really did evoke a sense of memories from childhood. Everything had a golden hue. Also, the fact that the story takes place on the road a lot means Toll gets to use that natural light. The reason Almost Famous kind of broke down for me (and I love fast times, say anything, singles, and maguire) is that I felt Fugit didn't wasn't really at the same level of the other performers, which is probably not really his fault.
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Is it just me or have all of the reviews of Vanilla Sky had one common theme (besides Crowe's direction) - Cameron Diaz's performance and how convincing she is as a wack job? I've been looking forward to this movie simply because it's a Crowe film but now I've got to add Diaz to my list...I'm really intrigued.
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i am surprised by the number of posts questioning the abilities of perhaps one the greatest living cinematographers in motion pictures today, john toll. the first d.p. to win back to back oscars since leon shamroy in 44-45. photographer of some of the most beautiful films in recent memory - braveheart, legends of the fall, and the thin red line (the first two for which he won oscars, the last he won the asc award over your beloved janusz). to simply make a generalization about his "style" - soft lighting and natural light - is to misunderstand to the abilities of someone of his caliber. anyone familiar with john toll's whole body of work as well as a background in cinematography i'm sure would agree with me that his resume boasts as diverse material as anyone else working today, including kaminsky. his "style" has always been to serve the director's vision and the material, dating back to his days as camera operator under allen daviau and conrad hall as well as his experience in television (young riders). as a previous poster noted, almost famous was a departure visually from his earlier work. just as legends of the fall was a departure from wind. just as braveheart as a departure from legends. as jack was a departure. as the rainmaker was a departure. as simpatico was a departure. as captain corelli was a departure. and anyone who has seen footage from vanilla sky can tell you that this is a departure as well. there is a reason that john toll has won two asc awards, two academy awards, and the respect of his peers - and it is not because he keeps on doing the same thing over and over again.
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and do i have to remind anyone that this film has not been color-timed yet. i'm sure this reviewer was informed of this at the screening but decided to flame john toll anyway. lovely...
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can't say I knew too much about this film, or had too much interest in it.but THEN, I saw the trailer, accompanied by Where Do I Begin? by Beth Orton and The Chemical Brothers, which wholly rocks, as does what I saw of the film.so I am now interested..........
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Nov 12, 2001 4:52:46 PM CST
speaking of serpentine plots - a question about Mullholland Dr
by sammy_jankis
I would consider it a huge favor if someone would explain Mullholland Drive to me. Not the intricate details of the lighting and sound, but a linear synopsis of the plot. What was real, what wasn't? Just shoot me an email and let me know your take.
Thanks. -
Please tell me they've changed the ending from the original piece of shit that I read about.
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I look at the trailer of this flick, and it gives me that same shiver the first time I saw the Fight Club trailer. You had no idea what was going on there, but man did it look cool.
This movie looks FAR different that Cameron's other works, by far. I hope he can pull it off. The only thing that can get in the way is malcontent test audiences (you know, the cancer of creativity), and the vanity of it's star. But, if this doesn't work out for Cruise, I guess there's always Minority Report (Eh? Eh?). -
I have not seen the movie, but
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I have not seen the movie, but I would never see anything with that no talent chick. She has a horrible accent and is skinny with big lips and very ugly, I think it proves that ole Tom would rather suck a dick then get paid.
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