Well Geeks the professor did it! Moriarty slipped the web strung before him and attended the ShoWest presentation for EYES WIDE SHUT. Father Geek has just received his report and will past it on to you with little comment except to say that he uses words like: POWERFUL, PROVOCATIVE, REAL MENACE, VERY CLEARLY R-RATED, and lastly VINTAGE KUBRICK. Great work Doctor! And I will add to that GREAT WORK STANLEY!!! BRAVO!!! BRAVO!!! BRAVO!!!
Hey, Head Geek (and Father Geek)...
"Moriarty" here.
Well, they did it. Warner held true to their promise, and they
actually showed the world the first EYES WIDE SHUT footage anywhere
today during their giant lunchtime presentation. There's very little
chance this will be showing up on ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT any time soon,
so read up, everyone. Here's my impressions of what we were shown and
how we were shown it.
Warner did their entire lunch without mentioning Kubrick's name once
(the report on the whole thing is forthcoming, everyone, I promise),
until after the very last trailer was shown.
At that point, a single light came on in the Event Center, and Terry
Semel stepped back up to the mic. He began simply, "Before we show
the footage from EYES WIDE SHUT, I'd like to clarify a few points
about what you're going to see and what we've seen. Last week, Bob,
Tom Cruise, Nicole, and myself were fortunate enough to view Stanley's
final cut in New York. It is an extraordinary film. We feel very
lucky to be able to release it this year." As he spoke, there was
obvious emotion in his voice. This was not just business as usual for
the man. He was deeply touched by the situation he found himself in.
"A few things were obvious from this viewing. First, this is very
clearly an R-rated film. Second, this is not just a great piece of
cinema... it's a great story about a husband and a wife caught in the
grips of sexual obsession. What you are about to see is a segment of
a scene, not a trailer. This was specially prepared by Stanley for
you, the ShoWest audience. Last Saturday morning, Stanley called me
to rehearse exactly what I would say in describing the film. He was
obviously excited, and I think it's safe to say that he died with a
big grin on his face regarding this project. The world has not just
lost a master filmmaker here. We've lost a very important member of
the Warner Bros. family, a man I've spoken with constantly over the
years. We had a wonderful experience together, and I'm sorry to see
these 25 years end. With that in mind, please enjoy your first look
at EYES WIDE SHUT."
The lights went down and there was a long moment of silence. Finally,
the Warner Bros. logo came up. As it faded to black, the sounds of
Chris Isaak's "Baby Done A Bad, Bad Thing" began to play, filling the
auditorium. FADE IN on Nicole Kidman standing in front of a mirror,
back to the camera. She is completely nude except for a pair of
glasses. Thanks to the counter under the mirror, we get a reflected
view of her from the waist up. She's dancing slightly, swaying, as
she studies herself. One breast, then another comes into view. Tom
Cruise steps in from frame right, also nude, shot from the waist up.
He moves up close to Nicole, takes her in his arms, and begins to kiss
her neck, touch her breasts.
There are three names flashed by suddenly, each against a black
background. CRUISE in red. KIDMAN in yellow. KUBRICK in blue.
Back to the same scene. We're a little closer now, moving in on the
couple. Tom seems to be passionate about the moment, into it, but
Nicole seems removed. She turns so she can study herself in the
mirror again, without Cruise being aware of her distraction. She
takes off her glasses, her face totally impassive.
Against that black screen again, we see the three names flash by,
quicker. CRUISE. KIDMAN. KUBRICK.
Back to the same scene, and we're much closer now to the two of them.
Nicole's face almost fills the screen. Tom is just peripheral to the
moment. She stays locked on her own eyes in the mirror as the Chris
Isaaks song builds to a crescendo, her face a mask.
Suddenly the names flash by one last time, this time so fast they're
almost subliminal, and are replaced by EYES WIDE SHUT written in
yellow, followed by the date, July 16.
And that was it. What do I get from that? A very strong sense that
what we're in for is nothing that American mainstream audiences have
ever seen from a major A-list filmmaker with this kind of A-list cast.
There's real menace in the image, in the cutting, in the way the song
is used. It's powerful, provocative, and showed us absolutely
nothing. It was all suggestion, and it was vintage Kubrick.
All in all, it lives up to his reputation and promises real greatness
to come. The presentation was confident, brief, in control.
I am honored to have been in Las Vegas today. I deeply, deeply miss
Stanley Kubrick already, but I am heartened beyond words at the
thought of his last film. The fact that the final cut is what was
screened makes me feel even better.
And on a personal note, I want to offer my heartfelt condolences to
Kubrick's family and friends and to his professional colleagues past
and present. I can only imagine the loss you must feel right now, and
it's only compounded by the surge of public discussion of his last
piece of work. It must be a very hard time, and I think it was
incredibly generous of you to share this glimpse into the Master's
last film with us under such circumstances.
I'll have more for you later. Until then...
"Moriarty" out.
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