Cool News
A peek at a Bruckheimer project called THE LISTENER!
SPOILER ALERT !!
Well Pop The Weasel here heard about a new testosterone flick from the king of such flicks, Jerry Bruckheimer, called THE LISTENER. Sounds like it might make a cool movie.... Or perhaps not... We'll have to watch and see how this one develops... Spoilers do follow...
Hey Harry,
Thought I'd drop you a line about a little Bruckheimer project my eyes
got to peruse a few weeks ago courtesy of the Mouse House. Call me "Pop
The Weasel". Since that sums up most of what seems to happen these days
*S*.
Anyhow, the script is called "The Listener" and I haven't heard a
definitive word on a greenlight or not, but the story sure is fun, and
has some killer sequences. The premise is that of a blind man, who
listens to transmission for the US government in some little outpost in
Antarctica... only he picks up on the wrong code. A US military
operation has pulled of a stunt in the North Korean Sea that's about to
touch off World War Three because the N. Korean's think that some other
country has attacked them (If I remember correctly, I think it was
China). At any rate, the Listener picks up a coded transmission in the
area at the time of the attacks, and is pretty sure it's CIA code. He
let's his superior know - and this sets in motion the chain of events
that follows. A few of the best sequences that I could see, were when
the CIA and NSA spooks show up to blow the shit out of the listening
post, and kill everyone there. The blind man and this lady pilot
decided to fly out of the snow storm in Antarctica in a C130 cargo plane
that had dropped off supplies - and there is some heavy duty action...
Just what you'd expect from Mr. Bruckheimer, eh? I won't give away the
ending - but let's say it's the typical political power plays messing up
everyone's lives.
- Pop The Weasel
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Don Simpson is dead. In other words, one down and one to go. Will someone please kill Jerry Bruckhiemer so the public will no longer have to endure such crap as CONAIR and ARMAGEDDON and THE ROCK? I admit, all of these two-hour trailers had nice cinematography but thats about it. Message to HARRY: Why do you post news about stupid producers like Bruckhiemer??? Us film geeks are only interested in the news concerning artists like Kubrick, Tarantino, Verhoven, Spielberg, Scorsese, Woo, and of course Lucas. We are NOT interested in the news concerning "bean-counters". NOTE TO EVERYONE ELSE: "bean-counter" is HARRY'S word (read his article about DREAMWORKS and CAMERON CROWE).
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Is it just me, or did Simpson's passing have absolutely no effect on the quality of the subsequent Bruckheimer productions. Actually I think the films have gotten better. Enemy of the State, The Rock, even Armageddon and Con Air had their moments. Which kinda tells me that Jerry Bruckheimer was the definite brains of that "Visionary Alliance" (hah!) and Simpson was simply the excessive egotistical cokehead asschaser who thought he was all that when actually his partner was just putting up with his fat ass
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Actually, Don Simpson did work on The Rock. Interestingly, you'll notice the further away you move from the film, the less hard-core action there are in Bruckheimer's films. Con-Air was still pretty much in the old style (over the top action, lots of comedy beats, gay-bashing) but given he was making it while Simpson was still alive though not a partner that's not too surprising. However, Armageddon kept trying to be this moving epic but with Bay & Bruckheimer's heavy hands, ended up looking like the pre-packaged manipulative commercial it is. Enemy of the State was also striving to be a little more about 'issues' (privacy, goverment, blah) and a bigger human factor (his family and shit). This one sounds like it might also be in the same vein as Enemy of the State, less action, more hiding and pseudo cleverness. Though Gone in 60 seconds might be a lot of action...
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Actually, Don Simpson did work on The Rock. Interestingly, you'll notice the further away you move from the film, the less hard-core action there are in Bruckheimer's films. Con-Air was still pretty much in the old style (over the top action, lots of comedy beats, gay-bashing) but given he was making it while Simpson was still alive though not a partner that's not too surprising. However, Armageddon kept trying to be this moving epic but with Bay & Bruckheimer's heavy hands, ended up looking like the pre-packaged manipulative commercial it is. Enemy of the State was also striving to be a little more about 'issues' (privacy, goverment, blah) and a bigger human factor (his family and shit). This one sounds like it might also be in the same vein as Enemy of the State, less action, more hiding and pseudo cleverness. Though Gone in 60 seconds might be a lot of action...
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gee, this plot sounds kinda like "Enemy of the State", with a guy who know something and get chased by the government. Bruckheimer needs to do different kind of films everytime, like he's always done in the past. I think his last few films have been his worst. Armageddon and Con Air sucked ashe. Simpson was tha man.
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Don Simpson did put initial work into both The Rock and Enemy of the State. That's why he's credited as a producer in both those movies. On a different note... L'Auteur, are you serious about including Tarantino in that group of directors? The guy's a Woo/Scorsese/Ringo Lam hack.
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that's a pretty broad generalazation, I know film geeks that love Tarintino and rodreguiez along with the likes of Kubrick, Speilberg, Lucas, etc but also love a good blowup fest like a Bruckhimer or Verhoven flick...I personally love the work of Hal Hartley, Wim Wenders, Kubrick, etc but can also watch a Kevin Smith Comedy, or a Bruckhimer explosin fest...becasue I love film and llove to be entertained
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Bruckenheimer does his own thing and does it successfully. He delivers an action-packed, All-American good-guys-win production that rakes in the bucks. Fine. Obviously a lot of moviegoers enjoy this. I admit all of his films posess a large degree of implausibility, but if you film-geeks are gonna rant and rave about BLADE, you can't down Jerry for giving America what it wants. No, he doesn't sign on guys like Scorsese and Tarentino (I don't know how you guys are throwing Verhoven's name into that group). And yes, those guys would NEVER helm a project for him. But if he puts out so many bad flicks, why do you guys keep going to see them? Just so you could tell everybody how bad they are? Next time, you should really consider saving your 8 bucks and your breath.
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I have not seen ONE Bruckenheimer movie I liked. These are ultra-budget pieces of festering dog shit. Get an interesting plot. Get some unknown actors instead of just making movies into a Willis or Cage or Connery vehicle.
I am proud to say I saw Enemy of the State for the Star Wars preview alone and after 10 minutes, I walked out and got my money back. If more people just friggin TRIED to write a good story, we would have a Star Wars to look forward to every week. That's what people deserve. -
I hate it when people waste their own breath telling everyone else to stop wasting theirs. It boils down to "I don't like what you're saying, so I'm going to call you losers with nothing better to do than write hate mail to Bruckheimer." Do you realise how ironic those types of statements are? Then what the fuck are you doing here? If someone wants to spend their $8 to see what their most hated filmmaker is doing so they can then rail on him for everything they did wrong, then so be it! If you disagree with what he says than say so, but don't say, "oh you dislike Bruckheimer? You need to get a life." That's fucking stupid.
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I did not pay 8 bucks to see a Bruckenheimer film. I paid 5 bucks, which I promptly got back afterward, to see a Lucas preview.
I just can't emphasize the importance of writing enough in the movie-making process. There's more story in the preview to Episode 1 than in all of Bruckenheimer's films combined! Filmmakers are spending copius amounts of dollars on mediocre ideas. Why not, for a few dollars more, add a WRITER to the equation. -
Yeah, I do think anyone who keeps spending $8 a movie, knowing what they'll get, just to bash it afterwards does in fact need to get a life. People like you, Wes, just like to hear yourselves talk. And I can understand that. Most people do. But do you realize that you've helped Bruckenheimer's films become the highest grossing over the past three years? Bashing them seems kind of foolish. Or maybe you don't hate him after all?
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So Mike, you build your life around watching these 'people who need a life' and tell them that they should do. So what does that make you? And yeah, I love to hear myself talk! So what? Back on topic, I don't mind Bruckheimer at all. I even like Bay in small doses. I just think it's totally justified and appropriate in a MOVIE DISCUSSION area to discuss what we hate and like about movies. It's you "Bruckheimer/Bay freaks" who go crazy everytime someone points out negative aspects of their films. And the response is always, oh they're balls-to-the-wall popcorn films, they're meant to be enjoyed. What, does that put them above criticism? Does that mean that you have to either love the movie completely or hate it completely? Like in much of life, things aren't always black & white. There is a middle-ground. If you got out more, maybe you'd see that (SEE HOW ANNOYING THESE GET A LIFE QUIPS CAN BE?). And while I don't mind the current Bruckheimer style once or twice a year, think if all action movies became like that? That would suck (just as if every single movie were Woo-like) but it's not an entirely far-fetched threat given how successful they've been so far. We'll see what happens when this age of teens grows up and gets tired of in-your-face 24-7.
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You're alright, Wes. And I didn't intend to target just you. I'm not a Bruckenheimer fan and don't think anyone who's not needs to go out and get a life. I just can't understand why everyone rips him so, knowing time after time what kind of movie they're getting in his work. It seems very ilogical. Oh well, I guess I just like to hear myself talk as well.
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LaneMyers, theres nothing wrong with big american action. i love DIE HARD and T2 and JAMES BOND and INDIANA JONES and STAR WARS... but! the current state of film is so that no movie can be anything other than big american action and thats what i have a problem with. if a movie requires a budget of more than, say, $60 million, then studios will make sure that they make their money back. therefore, if its an action movie, they will make sure that action movie follows ALL the predictable formulas that worked in the past. Bruckhiemer does the same thing. i liked TOP GUN, because in 1986 (i think it was) that was fresh and original. but 10 years later, in 1996, THE ROCK is just the same fist pumping testasterone filled jerk-off fest that TOP GUN was a decade earlier. these movies are SOOOOOOOOOO predicatble!! studios refuse to take chances anymore and THATS why i hate jerry and don, because they invented the "high concept" cookie cutter format that all action movies follow nowadaze. to Mike D, dont say "you guys" when talking about those foolish enough to endorse carp like ENEMY OF THE STATE, because I DIDNT!! and to El Pollo, yes Tarantino derserves to be in that league. Pulp Fiction was THE film of the 90s. It destroyed EVERY formula that Hollywood follows nowadaze... the complete bsense of any three-act structure... the death of the protaginist half-way thru... the bizzare lack of any real plot... the ability to entertain audiences with minutes upon minutes of dialogue in each scene... the incredible SUBTLITY (sp?), something Hollywood cant do at all, of the message(by the way, the message was one of redemption in case anyone wants to talkback about that)... it was the only instant classic of the decade along with GOODFELLAS and SCHINDLERS'S LIST (although heres hoping THE PHANTOM MENACE and EYES WIDE SHUT will join that group).
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awww, man, just when i thought you were someone cool to spar with, you have to give me the boring ol' i-have-my-opinion-and-you-have-yours retort. nothing ends a fun arguement faster than that. but if you cant defend jerry and don, so be it. and as for your suggestion for me to stop posting: no thanks.
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"I" don't care really if you like or Don't like bruckheimer. "I" love watching his films "I" find them enjoyable. The point about this post is that "I" am interested in information about his film's. I also want to find out about Star wars and John Woo projects as well as those of the more "Serious" Directors. If I see a post about something that I have no real interest in it. I don't read it. By doing this I am exercising the same right that everybody has. Of choosing what I spend my time doing. If you want to say Bruckheimer is a crap director, That is good you went and watched his films and made your decision you didn't just say it was crap without watching it. really the point I am trying to get at is I hope Harry post's more information on this
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It was all just a dream. A long, boring dream.
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No Ocrus or Kevin here....
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I was just watching. To see what you would do. Because I like to watch.
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Hah.
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I see you are speechless, in awe of my wonder. Gaze upon it!
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damn you.
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Orcus' pointy ears were tingling
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