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Peter Blood's look at MAN ON THE MOON
Hey folks, Harry here with Peter Blood's look at MAN ON THE MOON. Why run his look? Because... it's different than mine. I remember the first thing he said to me afterwards was something along the lines that Zmuda and Kaufman ought to grab co-screenplay credit, what with the amount of their material that Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski filled their screenplay with. But frankly... For me... that was important in establishing the character in my eyes as being the REAL ANDY... to me. But, if you want my opinion read My Review, otherwise continue on to Captain Blood's...
Last week I had the pleasure of seeing a film many are looking forward to, but few were looking more forward to than myself. It's always bad to
go into a movie expecting so much. Some critics have said Star Wars fans were disappointed because they expected too much from Phantom
Menace. With that film I expected the worst, hoped for the best, and got basically what I expected. With Man on the Moon, I purposefully
disallowed myself to get overly "psyched up" and ensure my disappointment.
Let me back up a bit and begin by saying I really like Andy Kaufman. I grew up watching him torture the world, and I think more than a little of
his brand of humor made its way into psyche and helped me become the person I am today. I saw him on SNL and Fridays (and of course Taxi).
I followed the tabloids when he got sick (the web wasn't around yet, so the tabloids were still the least accurate medium of the time) because
they were the only ones who seemed to really care. I remember watching a late-night news program one time showing in great detail what the
charlatans like the one who treated Andy really did. I followed anything I could on Andy to the point that I even watched wrestling for a while
(and believe me, back then, if you didn't live in a trailer park, you didn't admit to watching wrestling.) In high school, his bits were always some
of my circles of friends' favorites to recite ad infinitum. But I never felt for a moment that I knew who Andy Kaufman really was, and
unfortunately I still don't.
Man on the Moon is a really good movie; there's no denying that. Jim Carrey's performance is dead on. He deserves an Oscar nom here much
more so than he did for the overrated Truman Show. But when you put Milos Forman together with writers Alexander & Karaszewski for a film
about a comic genius, you expect GREAT. What Man on the Moon does is give almost perfect recreations of Kaufman's most famous bits.
What it doesn't do is give any real insight to what made the man this way. If A & K get a writing nom for this one, they should defer it to Andy
Kaufman and his longtime writing partner, Bob Zmuda, because those two wrote over half of everything seen in this film. The recreations were
fantastic; they couldn't have been better if Kaufman had come back and performed them himself (as Harry contends he did). But when it came
time to show what was going on in Andy's head, they were obviously stumped. Maybe the behind the mask stuff didn't test well and was cut
out. I don't know. All I know is most episodes of A&E's Biography (www.biography.com for the unawares - interestingly enough, they've yet to
do a segment on Andy) showed more insight in an hour than Man on the Moon did in two. Maybe, like Courtney Love said as Lynne
Margulies, Andy's girlfriend, "There is no REAL (Andy Kaufman)."
The audience I was with (yeah, the same one as Harry) loved the film, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't laugh right along with them. The
difference is they were mostly college students who were seeing a lot of this for the first time. Whereas I was remembering how much I enjoyed
them the first time I saw them. When I watched The People Vs Larry Flynt (Forman and A & K's first collaboration), I was captivated by the
man, himself. Here was someone I knew very little about, probably because most of what he did wasn't broadcast into my home during my
adolescence, and I don't remember reading too many of his editorials. But I never got that insight from Man on the Moon, maybe because Andy
never let anybody ever have it. Biographical films are hard to do really well. If you take somebody who isn't familiar with your subject and go
too deep, you'll lose them immediately. On the other hand, if you just replay a person's life, the people who were fans and who remember it all
when it happened will be disappointed. I'm sure there are a lot more people out there who barely know who Kaufman is, than who were
"followers" like me, and those people will probably find the film a true joy. Those like me, who want a little more Andy and fewer of his bits, will
be entertained, but left wanting more.
Peter Blood signing off
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first. for the first time!
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Jim Carrey IS Kaufman. I would prefer a little insight into Kaufman's life, but the movie will no doubt rock. That Grinch poster RULES. Can't wait til November 2000.... Dude! That's a year!
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I have no doubts that this film will be awesome, but the opening of the trailer makes me cringe, its almost like Deniros Performance in awakenings, although that was a drama, while this is too, that was supposed to be funny, Ahh either way ill be there, and oh yeah Hows the Janitor work Eric?, treating you good?
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Don't know, man. How's the restraining order, Steve?
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It's coming along O.K, ill get through it, hey i heard that you cross dress, whats up with that?, that time you made that comment about me being cute was messed up but i thought it was a joke, now im not so sure
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crossdressing shit? What is this bullshit? I don't care! It don't matter to Jesus!
At least my girlfriend doesn't have me arrested.
On the other side, Man on the Moon will be cool, man. Vios dios, man. Jesus cannot wait for Man on the Moon. Jesus loves Milos Forman movies, man. From Amadeus to People Vs. Larry Flynt to Cuckoo's Nest. MOTM will be just one more brilliant film to add on to his list. -
Where the hell did you come from, you think your cool referencing a coen brothers character?, i know you!, I know where you live!, and i know you cross dress, you transexual MOFO!, oh so your from the city of angels huh?, well im from Albuquerque!, but people down here call it Albucrazy!, you know why?, because we got gangs!, and I run em!, me and my 69th street posse, run this city, if theres a test screening we see it first!, if a director wants to use the city for a shoot, he needs our permission!, but that restraining order is none of your business!, i was in the wrong place at the wrong time!, and whore houses look just like any other house!, anyone could have made the same mistake, so stop pestering me or ill call the cops!, on a different note, I Hope this movie catches a big audience, i didnt even know who andy kaufman was before i heard about this movie, but he is also before my time, i just hope it doesnt get overlooked with all teh movies coming out this holiday season, just wait all the best ones will get overlooked!!, Magnolia will make 2 million dollars, Green Mile will make 7 and Man on the moon will be shown as a triple feature with all three of them, he that would be cool!
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I watched "The Midnight Special: Andy Kaufman" (home video) just last night...w/ Andy wrestling the ladies (it's even weirder now, knowing that he was getting a hard-on from it), doing a couple of Elvis songs; Wolfman Jack and Slim Whitman (!) make appearances. All of you fans should dig it. Also: The movie trailer is on the beginning of it.--Jim even has Andy's voice down! i can't wait!
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Making an audience giggle uncomfortably is an interesting ability, but it isn't humor. Nothing Andy Kaufman did was particularly funny though I did like watching him get dropped on his head in a wrestling match. I must say the clips I've seen of Jim Carrey remind me of how much I disliked Kaufman so he's done a great job.
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A & K...........
Andy Kauffman....
Interesting.... -
Does anyone here know anything about the Carrey remake of GOD OF COOKERY? I don't think it's that good of an idea, but I am eager for any information pertaining to Stephen Chow, the best comic actor and director working today. Particularly if it involves him getting work in the United States. The original COOKERY is really great, by the way. Check it out!!
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Neato Andy Kaufman parody at http://superosity.bigpanda.net/d/991115.html
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Jeff Krulick has a video out, if you can find it. You may have heard of Heavy Metal Parking Lot...? "Documentary" style video, with just a video camera roving around the drunken parking lot of a 1983 Judas Priest concert. It's done by him, and it's on this tape. He also has a segment on spending a day with "Classy" Eddie Blassie, who was Kaufman's gateway into professional wrestling.
I highly recommend you write down the name "Jeff Krulick" and do a websearch for his stuff. You will be rewarded. -
i work at a cinema and i have to watch the trailer allday long and at first i was so so excited bout it but now i cant stand the thing but reading all theese reports iis slowly helping all though in the past watching the trailer so much has put me off film and i dont want it to happen with this but i still gotta hack the trailer up until its uk release at the end on January
Awwwwwww!
o well i still have faith it will be a good movie -
Kaufman was nortorious for annoying random people to obtain serious laughs. If you like this kind of humor (and who doesnt) watch the Tom Green Show on MTV.
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Just wanted to say that in Europe nobody knows the guy played by Jim Carrey. So the story really has to be interesting, because we won't be able to judge Carrey's interpretation of Kaufman. Anyway I'm looking forward to watching this movie, because you americans seem to admire that guy.
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hello ok my post was deleted strangely I looked up kaufman and it seems that this is going to be a great movie and more for the fact that JC is starring it hes a great physical actor and perfect for this
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Can you guys just get along? Is a movie worth all this anger being poured out? Is the December 31st shipping day for CREATIVE SCREENWRITING and their interview with the writers of Man on the Moon worth it? I mean, what is this CREATIVE SCREENWRITING? I have never heard of it? Where can I find it? Is is a web page or a book or a magazine? I also have a question of SS Zero...what biographical movies do YOU like? How much are they related to the original material? Is Insider or Apollo 13 more your speed, in that they are interpretations of events that weren't all seen by the public, or are the movies like JFK, All the President's Men, Last Temptation of Christ or Larry Flynt more your style, since a lot of their lives were televised and/or in print? Maybe waiting until the CREATIVE SCREENWRITING thingy is released would be a better deal. That way, you could read what the authors have to say on the creation of a script of a highly televised life?
fnord
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Andy always stayed in character, Green is just plain weird. But their comic styles are like night and day.
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trailer seems really sappy & disconnected.Courtney Love seems to think she's still in The People vs.Larry Flynt
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anyone looking for insights into Andy Kaufman and why he did the things he did is going to be dissapointed. The problem here is not in the script or Universal or anyone else. Andy simply didnt have a "real" him. I was at an interview with the cast of the film and that's what they were all stressing to the journalists. Especially Danny DeVito, who knew him. You need to understand this: You cant make a movie revealing insights into a man who never showed anyone that side of him (if there ever was a side). No one ever truly knew. But one thing remains about this movie. Jim Carrey delivers such a stunning performance that it makes it worth seeing 10 times over. I have always been a huge Jim Carrey fan, but this performance completely blew me away. He literally became Andy, without one trace of Jim. Without ever going over the top, which would have been so easy to do. He was absolutely brilliant.
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I live in Canada.
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