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Praise Paramount! WONDER BOYS Will Return!
Greetings, citizens! ROBOGEEK here, bidding you Good Tidings of Great Joy.
Every once in awhile, studio execs actually make an intelligent decision. Sometimes they even go so far as to admit they screwed up. Granted, this borders dangerously on a sign of the apocalypse, but is often well worth the risk.
Yesterday I was pleased as punch to hear (read) Variety announce that the good folks at Paramount are planning to re-release my favorite movie of the year so far, Curtis ("L.A. Confidential") Hanson's gleefully fantastic WONDER BOYS, starring Michael Douglas, Frances McDormand, Tobey Maguire, Robert Downey, Jr., and Katie Holmes. (Visit www.wonderboysmovie.com for more info.)
I absolutely LOVE this movie, and here's why. For me, a great movie is principally predicated on a.) characters you want to spend time with, and b.) a story you want to be wrapped up in -- just like curling up with a good book. Well, WONDER BOYS (based on the 1995 Michael Chabon novel) has characters I immediately connected with, and wanted to hang out with. Actually, I would have been thrilled to pieces to be able stay in that darkened theater all day with them, just... hanging out. As I told Harry afterwards, "this movie understands me."
WONDER BOYS is about... well, part of me doesn't even want to tell you. In a way, it's best if you see this movie not knowing anything, just that these are characters you want to hang out with for a couple hours. Trust me.
But if you want more info, the official website is actually pretty good -- assuming you aren't scared off by the front page (which you can bypass by going to www.wonderboysmovie.com/intro.html). Basically [SPOILERS!], Michael Douglas plays a celebrated writer/professor who's been slaving away at the long-awaited follow-up to his wildly successful novel -- which his editor (Robert Downey, Jr.) is badgering him for. His problem isn't writer's block but, in fact, quite the opposite; he's on page 2612, and can't seem to stop. But that's all pretty much beside the point, since he's having an affair with the (married) chancellor of the university (Frances McDormand), who tells him she's pregnant. And there's this brilliant student of his he's trying to help (Tobey Maguire) -- who could actually help him -- but then the student shoots the chancellor's dog and... Well, a lot of stuff sort of happens. And you get to tag along for a great ride.
There are so many little things I love about this movie. Small moments, finely tuned and masterfully crafted. Details like the bathrobe. The car. The transvestite. Marilyn Monroe's jacket. But mainly it's the characters, who are so vividly drawn and palpably alive, thanks to a miraculous confluence of brilliant writing, acting, and directing (not to slight all the other elements of the film, which are uniformly excellent).
Hardly anyone else I know has seen this movie. It snuck in under everyone's radar early this year, opening the last weekend in February (whose idea was that?), and was long gone before most people noticed. It was plagued by what can be most charitably described as a weird, misguided marketing campaign that managed to make the film appear ponderously inaccessible while providing no compelling incentive for anyone to go see it. This included an incredibly lethargic trailer ( www.apple.com/trailers/paramount/wonder_boys.html) -- and don't even get me started on the poster, which was just... well, not only completely non-communicative, but sorta creepy.
It was almost by pure chance that I happened to see the movie myself. I don't even know what compelled me to do so. I think I was up one night late working (as usual), with VH1's Insomniac Music Theater playing in the background, when Bob Dylan's "Things Have Changed" video for the movie came on (a _great_ video, by the way, which should be given a major push to help promote the film -- and wasn't; use the song in the new campaign, dammit!). The next day or so -- stressed, tired, and suffering from cabin fever -- I jumped in the Robo-Mobile and did something I virtually never do: go see a movie alone.
I think it was the Sunday night of opening weekend, maybe late afternoon, I dunno. Hardly anyone was there. And I was immediately sucked in by the spryly inspired screenplay by Steve Kloves (writer/director of "The Fabulous Baker Boys," currently writing "Harry Potter), full of wit, insight, and heartfelt humanity. And then there are the exhilarating performances; everyone involved is at the top of their game, and I personally think Michael Douglas has never been better. Curtis Hanson's direction is smooth as silk, effortlessly engaging and electric. The film is magic, pure and simple. I LOVE THIS MOVIE.
To paraphrase the season (but hopefully not series) finale of SPORTS NIGHT, "Anyone who can't make money on WONDER BOYS should get out of the money-making business." (To date, it's made less than $20 million.)
So far, I think this is the best movie of the year -- and one I will blissfully pay to see again. I really miss those characters, and am thrilled to be getting another chance to hang out with them. If you missed your chance the first time around, mark your calendars now. I don't think there will be five better movies this year, much less scripts. (Hint-hint, Academy!)
WONDER BOYS will be re-released in October by Paramount, featuring a new marketing campaign emphasizing the ensemble cast and the overwhelmingly positive reviews, to both fulfill the box office and Oscar potential of the film (which I think are both considerable).
Now if we could just get Warners to re-release SUPERMAN, which they're already restoring for the DVD...
- robogeek@robogeek.com
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May 23, 2000 6:58:04 AM CDT
I heard Bob Dylan once mistook Johnny Depp for an acustic guitar
by dirtfish
Wonder Boys sounds cool and Curtis Hanson really needs more credit because LA Confidential should have made him!
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May 23, 2000 7:36:21 AM CDT
A Studio makes a good decision. The heavens crumble. God return
by nordling
Well, you get the picture. My fellow movie geeks, you MUST do yourself a huge favor and see this. If you love stories, and books, and movies, this is the one. Don't let this go by forgotten. It's a hell of a movie, with career bests from Douglas and Maguire. Fantastic, and I'll buy the DVD (even if it is Paramount, which suck dick as far as DVD is concerned). I'll be there for the rerelease.
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I don't know what all the hoopla is about this film. I loved LA Confidential and think Tobey McGuire is a great actor, but this film left me cold. I could relate to the struggling writer story. It was admirable not to see Michael Douglas as another rich businessman chased by beautiful women. But there was still that air of arrogance in Douglas' performance that put me off. I thought the film was too long, very unfocussed, and lacked the energy that beamed from Curtis' last film. My personal opinion, folks. See it and judge for yourself.
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That would be my only inducement for standing in line for this.
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I forgot that was another thing that I didn't like about this film.
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Does anyone know if there's a chance in Hades that WB will reiussue the Iron Giant, which also suffered from colossal marketing/scheduling stupidtry? This news about Wonder Boys gives me hope that an IG reissue could possibly happen. I really want to see it on the big screen!
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May 23, 2000 8:53:44 AM CDT
Well Crap, then we won't get it on DVD or video for another YEAR
by drath
Dammit, this sucks. I didn't have time to see this movie in theaters and then they yanked it real quick. I took solace in the liklihood that they would have to release it on video in few months. Now I have to wait until October just for a fucking re-release? This ain't cool.
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May 23, 2000 9:06:53 AM CDT
I can think of so many overlooked films that need to be re-relea
by ambush bug
Iron Giant, Magnolia, Dark City, Reservior Dogs, The Exorcist (although this will be remedied later this year), Glengarry Glen Ross. The list goes on and on.
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I agree with Robogeek. this is definitely one of the best movies I've seen this year. I'm glad Paramount is doing the right thing. And read the book by Michael Chabon if you get a chance. The movie is very faithful to this excellent book.
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At the risk of sounding like a Philistine, I thought that "Wonder Boys" was one of the most utterly pointless, mediocre films I've seen in a long time. Yes, it has all the right elements: fine performances, quirky dialogue, a nice jazzy score by Chris Young -- but they added up to a film that's less than the sum of its parts. At the end of it, my wife and I looked at each other and said, "well, that was a waste of two hours." Honestly, the film doesn't stick with you 15 minutes after you see it. "Wonder Boys" struck me as an honest adaptation of a "quirky" literary novel that probably was all the rage on college campuses, but when translated into film, created a work of surprising weightlessness. (And, BTW, both my wife and I are writers, so it's not as if we didn't identify with Douglas's character.) I'm amazed that Curtis Hanson followed his brilliant "L.A. Confidential" with this bit of pointless fluff. Sorry for the dissenting opinion, but to me, "Wonder Boys" was completely unmemorable, and a re-release will be greeted with the same yawns and ennui that the initial release produced.
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No, Katie Holmes DOES NOT get naked in this movie (big surprise, eh?). But there is this great scene where Michael Douglas walks into her room and she's wearing a white t-shirt with no bra. MY GOD, Katie's tits look magnificent! Ding! Cookies are done!
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for crystalizing my thoughts on this film. You hit the nail on the head with your counter-review. Through my lack of coffee induced haze this morning, I could not properly put my thoughts down as to why I disliked the film. You were right. Fifteen minutes after I saw Wonder Boys, during the time when I usually ramble on and on about a film wether it was good or bad, I found myself lacking any words of praise or interest at all for this forgettable and now over-hyped movie.
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Wonder Boys is a small, quirky movie pretty much like Rushmore, Election and Fargo. It doesn't really have a plot but has some FANTASTIC moments. But much like those movies that I mentioned above, it probably will be overlooked at the Oscars.
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Since when have movie buffs started working for major studios? Why would a fan of the movie care how much money the damn thing makes? Who cares? The trailer was completely accurate to the film and that's why I saw it (twice) and loved it. Furthermore, anyone not lining up to see whatever Curtis Hanson did after LA Confidential must officially surrender their status as movie geek. That film was great and this film is better and the re-release is bad news because: 1) Now I have to wait an additional 6 months for the freaking DVD, and 2) Nobody else is gonna see it. It is not a commercial movie, it's just a good one. Those two things, as everybody knows, tend to be mutually exclusive.
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Yes this was a very enjoyable and over-looked movie
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Doesn't it seem like movies in the past ten years are either these hugely overproduced, $100 million dollar behemoths or crappy little $10 million movies based on pathetic SNL sketches or the latest teen obsession or a quirkly little micro-budget indie that is supposed to be brilliant but has awful production values and terrible actors (like PI). This is why it is important to see WONDER BOYS and support films like this. It isn't a brilliant film or even a great film -- I put it firmly in the "pretty entertaining, intelligent, well-made" category. What it shows is that you can make an enjoyable comedy without fart, dick or shit jokes (although there is a dead dog and lots of ganja), without 500 effects shots, without braindead character stereotypes, and without paying an actor 20% of first dollar gross. This is exactly the sort of economics Hollywood should embrace: a medium budget that will have enormous appeal with critics, modest appeal with mass audiences, and a long shelf-life in video stores and on cable. This isn't a movie that is going to change your life beyond getting some mild inspiration to be creative and original, but it will inspire you to wonder why Hollywood doesn't make more movies like this. It is more mainstream than RUSHMORE or FARGO or ELECTION (although it is a far superior movie to Election -- which I thought was a vile, snotty film), but just as pleasurable to watch.
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I sat in a near empty theater in Chicago opening night with my girlfriend and we loved every minute of it. I usually can't stand Michael Douglas, but he was brilliant as the stoned-out Grady Tripp. I will glady pay to see it again in October. (Hopefully to a more crowded theater.)
Anyone who loves Rushmore and Election will love this movie too.
Now if only their respective studios would've given them a second chance... -
Harry good point.
The characters in this flic were really well developed and likable. I think it was because they represented the ideals and traits a lot of people wish they had: Creativity, Originality, Talent, and a fuck all attitude.
Tobey MacGuire kills as an actor he's so damn brooding.
Ps RIP TORN ROCKS! -
For my money, there has not been a better film this year. This is just not a film that mindless drones who need an explosion every ten minutes can sit through. Wonder Boys could be a modest hit later this year if Paramount markets it the same way Dreamworks marketed American Beauty. The good thing is that so many people didn't even know it was out, so it will seem like a new movie. And with built in critical reaction. I think the executives know they screwed up, and they haven't seen any really good films so far this year. So if they play their cards right, Wonder Boys could get a number of nominations. Hopefully Douglas will be nominated for his incredible performance. Kudos to Paramount
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This is great great news. Didn't Paramount save Braveheart with this strategy? My favorite movies so far this millenium are: 1. Wonder Boys 2. Erin Brokovich 3. High Fidelity (I'm in the "Gladiator wasn't that great" camp). I was perplexed as to why it was released in the spring when it's so clearly an "Oscar" picture (I personally loved the trailer). I too could have spent all day in this movie and never gotten bored. Can't wait to see it again. Michael Douglas' best performance. I even liked Tobey "Bud-Cort-in-a-coma" Maguire who usually drives me nuts.
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If you thought "Wonder Boys" was a great film, that's fine -- but personally, I'd be astonished if it won (or deserved) any Oscars. I put "Wonder Boys" in the category of "bloodless" movies -- movies that try to push all the right buttons, but end up feeling plastic, artificial, and -- dare I say it? -- pretentious. (I put the overrated "Chariots of Fire" in the same category; a movie that I simply *looked* at, but didn't connect with emotionally whatsoever.) Yes, I'm tired of seeing giant, bloated FX spectacles, but I also want to see movies that make me *feel* something, and that have some sort of *point.* What was the point of "Wonder Boys?" What was its theme? How did its characters change and grow, and why should I (or anyone else) care? Ultimately, I didn't. While I somewhat enjoyed "Wonder Boys" while I was watching it, by the time the end credits rolled, it felt like a minor diversion that could've easily been skipped. For that matter, I maintain that "Three Kings" was a more quirky, more interesting (and frankly, better written) movie than "American Beauty," a film that I really *wanted* to like (and I think Kevin Spacey is phenomenal), but which left me surprisingly unmoved. (I honestly don't think the screenplay was that great; it struck me as an oh-so-precious, film-school, overwritten TV movie, to be honest.) The difficulty with expressing opinions such as these, of course, is that going against the tide of common belief opens you to charges of Philistinism, and "not getting it!," but I'm calling it as I see it, and, of course, opening myself up to criticism both learned and informed, and ignorant and flaming. As always, your mileage may vary.
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Paramount also ruined THE NEXT BEST THING by releasing it during the SLOWEST week-end of the year with a pood ad campaign...This movie was so cute!
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The only other really good movie that I've seen this year. Douglas deserves an Oscar nod for sure, and Steve Kloves for screenplay. Admiral Nelson, I disagree, because (also from a writer) I liked the way that every character and situation worked as a thematic reaction to another character and situation. I liked the way that everything had an arc that developed and followed through to the end (James' sexuality, Hannah's "interest", Grady's book, the girl in the diner, Grady's pot smoking and the kid on the janitor crew). But, though I disagree, thank you at least for articulate your thoughts clearly and intelligently instead of just saying something like "This movie suck. NeEd More nudity."
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Gee, what went wrong? For one thing, the film was marketed like it was the Cider House Rules (which is apparently how they will conitnue to market it in October), when it is in fact about a pot head teacher, his insane student, and their wacky adventures that include homosexual sex and transvestites along with alot of drugs. Tell me, why would Grandma want to see this movie?
No surprise, I worked for Paramount Publicity where I recall the executives handing down the edict to 'Foreget Wayne's World, it's going to be a bomb'. They also had the great idea to eliminate Whoopi Goldberg from all publicity materials while marketing 'Ghost' upon its release, thinking that she would keep people away. Love her or hate her, she got an Oscar nomination for it and does anybody remember anything else from that blockbuster? -
so this is a way for the studios to get back into the oscar run. For some reason films released early in the year almost never gets any nods. Wonder why? Could it be that the Oscars are bull? But hey that's another discussion. And I just love Katie Holmes (thank you Ang Lee. I just fell in love with her from the first moment she was on the screen). But then again that's another discussion!
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I am SO glad to read here that Wonder Boys will be re-released. It's very deserving of a broader audience.
I caught this incredible piece of work at a theater during its initial run. I was on a road trip (work related) and had some time to kill one afternoon. It was the only thing playing I hadn't seen (and to be honest I had been impressed with the trailer).
I went in expecting to be mildly entertained and was completely blown away. This is high-caliber entertainment. The script, the performances, everything. Incredible.
I can't wait for the video/DVD release, either ... i WILL own this movie. But to see it again in the theater (and the possibility that it will actually find an audience this time) makes it worth the wait. -
Why don't the prestigious Paramount execs pay a crack team of scientists to invent a time machine, go back to November 1999, yank the awful Angelas Ashes from their XMAS release slate, delay it until February, and then open Wonder Boys in the Angela's Ashes slot? Why the hell didn't that idea occur to them? That would've virtually guaranteed that the film would've secured a few oscar nominations. Curtis Hanson and Michael Douglas were practically begging Paramount to give the priceless Wonder Boys a 1999 slot, but they opted to go with Angela's frickin' Ashes instead (arguably one of the top five worst adaptions of all time). I'm glad though that the Paramount brass realized that they released the best movie of the year so far and no one saw it for god knows what reason. I hope this is true, and I look forward to seeing it again. I only wish WB would've pulled the same stunt with The Iron Giant.
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I was amazed when I first saw the opening weekend gross for this film,
as I expected it to be much higher. At the theatre I work at in Portland, OR, the film was very crowded ( in a250-plus theatre), for it's opening weekend, and enjoyed a lengthy run.The Iron Giant also did very well
in the Portland area, floating around first run theatres for three months,
although about the last 4-5 weeks it played only matinee times. Move Here!
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In Wonder Boys, Michael Douglas plays an English professor who is racked with self- doubt over the fact that he may never be able to top the last great novel he wrote several years ago. Now he consumed with a new project that is over 2600 pages long, but comparisons are still made with his last project which put him on the map.
Director Curtis Hanson can no doubt relate to that character. For years he churned out films that were often better than their source material, but never quite great (see for instance The Hand That Rocks the Cradle or The River Wild - two reasonably good films that could have easily been direct-to-video schlock in the hands of a lesser director).
That all changed in 1997 when Hanson directed LA Confidential which was undoubtedly that year's best film and arguably the best film of the 1990's. The film proved Hanson to be a first rate talent when given challenging material to work with. But how does one follow up such a universally acclaimed film?
Wonder Boys is Hanson's answer. It is a film that is far more modest in scope than LA Confidential, yielding far more modest rewards. Though it is good enough to suggest that Hanson still has some great films left in him if he ever gets back to challenging material.
Douglas plays Grady Tripp, who has been working on his follow up novel for 7 years. Now his wife has just left him and he also finds out that his mistress and college chancellor (Frances McDormand) is pregnant. It doesn't help matters that she in turn is married to the head of the English Department (Richard Thomas).
While trying to sort all this out, Tripp must also contend with a visit from his editor (Robert Downey Jr.) who is desperate for him to finish the novel, and James Leer (Tobey Maguire), Tripp's most gifted but morosely twisted student who emulates his early writing talents.
It is clear that Hanson is concentrating on characters and dialogue here. Regretfully it is often at the expense of strongly driven plot lines, but the acting is good enough to make it mildly entertaining throughout.
The film shines best when Robert Downey Jr. is on the screen. He gives another inspired performance here as Tripp's high strung homosexual editor. It is one of the great mysteries of the ages how Downey seems to be working more than any other actor around, even though he has been incarcerated on drug charges for some time now. Though if any parole board can be swayed by star power, Downey would do well to bring a copy of Wonder Boys with him.
Like director Hanson, Douglas can no doubt relate to much of Tripp's character here as well. He is teased for his marriage difficulties stemming in part from how young his wives are. Even as his latest wife has left him, Tripp must contend with his pregnant mistress who is in turn jealous over a young student (Katie Holmes) who makes a pass at him.
The 54-year-old Douglas is now engaged to the 29-year-old Catherine Zeta Jones, who also happens to be a few months pregnant by him. The relationship came on the heels of the separation of Douglas from his wife Diandra. The tabloids speculated that Zeta Jones and Douglas had themselves separated, but news soon followed that they were in fact engaged. A British tabloid broke the news soon afterwards that Zeta Jones was in fact pregnant.
What is the true motivation for the marriage? Love? Convenience? A Hollywood power- play? Readers will want to know....off the record...on the QT...and very hush-hush. -
I truly liked the movie. I worship at the altar of Tobey McGuire. But I just couldn't help thinking "what the hell does she see in this aging stoner slacker? He's not even nice to her!" And man, didn't JohnBoy disappear from the beautiful house and life without so much as a buh-bye? Maybe Grady has it figured out, maybe not. And truthfully, I was focused on Tobey the whole flick, but still. Some aging babyboomer "figuring it out" at 50+? I guess I wanted more from him. For St. Frances's sake . . .
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