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Reports straight from the set of MINORITY REPORT; with Update

Published at:  Jun 25, 2001 9:20:31 PM CDT

Father Geek here with his newly re-established E-mail service and what do I find in my E-box but a couple of dozen notices of the MINORITY REPORT filming in Washington DC. Soooooo, here are a couple of the better ones for your information and entertainment...


Call me Mizuke.

I am working in downtown Washington, DC, today and just happened to stumble smack dab onto the set of Steven Spielberg’s Minority Report!

The shoot is currently taking place in the Ronald Reagan Building a few blocks away from the White House. Though I haven’t seen him myself, I talked to several people who had seen Tom Cruise walking around the set. I did, however, get to watch Mr. Spielberg blocking a shot of what looks to be Tom Cruise’s character walking out of the building and across a courtyard filled with giant "artsy" sculptures.

There are a ton of extremely "Hollywood" looking extras (perfect faces, perfect bodies, perfect clothing, etc.) crawling all over the place. I caught a glimpse of their staging area and it is immense. There were no fewer than 20 makeup tables all lined up in neat little rows, and rack after rack of extra clothing and other wardrobe items.

I wish I could tell you more, but I’m here on business and don’t have all day to hang! a! round the set. Later!

Mizuke

Father Geek back with another report from the streets of DC...

It looks like Spielberg is filming part of Minority Report at the Ronald
Reagan Building on 14th and Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington DC. The
Rent-A-Cop who detoured me away from the set said that both Tom Cruise and
Spielberg were on the set, which is doubly exciting because I am kind of
hoping the will be on hand for tonight's preview of A.I.

Anyway, I didn't have a camera, but hopefully they will be filming later
this evening... I will get pix. A Description though. It looks to be a
very expansive scene. But my description is of observations from the past
few days while they have been setting up.

Basically, the Reagan Building is Romanesque with fat turrents (almost
reminiscent of Jabba's Palace from Jedi). There is a big courtyard between
the Reagan Building and the old Post Office building, probably 150 yards
long by 50 wide. Today it was half filled with people. Over the past week,
I have noticed changes to this courtyard. One change was a track installed
in the cobblestones (apparently for a camera). Another change is the
replacement of the federally issued park benches with these big ugly
retro-future ones that look like 3/4 of an egg.

The most impressive change was the three statues they erected. When I first
saw them last week, my first thought was that there were erecting yet
another statue in honor of Reagan. But then I went up to one and tapped on
it only to find it made of fiberglass. The statues themselves are three
20-25 feet tall women. Well, I can't really say women, rather obscurely
feminine figures who are looking away from each other in a circle. At the
base of this circle is a stage where most of the action will take place.

That is all for now...

The Monkey Charmer

This is Father Geek back with an update from Mizuke on his earlier report...

Mizuke here,

Ok, here's more of the Minority Report scoop:

Seems they are using the Ronald Reagan Building as the Headquarters of the
Government's Pre-Crime unit. They've got Pre-Crime insignia plastered all
over the windows and doors to the building, as well as a set of metallic
"Eye-dentification" pillars in front of the main entrance. The scene they
are shooting, however, takes place in a courtyard just outside the
headquarters. They've erected two gigantic sculptures in the courtyard.
Both are very dark and abstract. One is of three human figures huddled in a
circle, and the other looks like some sort of gigantic calf (as in leg, not
bovine).

I watched the shooting during my lunch break and only got to see repeated
takes of a man leading a children's tour group up to the first sculpture.
During the shooting, I was standing behind this tech guy sitting in front of
a computer. He had three LCD screens showing the recently shot footage as
well as a computer screen with 10 to 15 little mini-windows open, each
showing a different shot of the movie. While I was there, this techie
struck up a conversation with a woman nearby and told her the details of the
scene. Tom Cruise's character is going to meet with some men in the
courtyard. They speak to him of a future crime and, during the course of
the conversation, Cruise realizes that he is the perpetrator of said future
crime. Cruise bolts, men give chase, end of scene.

Gotta get back to work. Hope this is useful!

Mizuke



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    Readers Talkback

  • Jun 25, 2001 9:23:56 PM CDT

    Should be one of the best of next year...

    by gravyakira

  • Two SF movies in a row from Spielberg. Interesting. I'm optimistic about AI but hope that this one has had some major rewriting done to it, as all of the reports last year about early script drafts were uniformly horrible. Also, wil this be another PG13 summer movie or a hard-edged futuristic thriller with an R? Hopefully the latter. There have been too many whitewashed movies pandering to the box office lately (Pearl Horrible, anyone?). Let's get some fucking EDGE back into American cinema, gawdammit.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jun 25, 2001 9:48:26 PM CDT

    What is this movie about, anyway?

    by choda

    I hate to sound like a newbe, but I really haven't read any articles about the storyline of this movie. Could I get someone to post a brief synopsis please? Thanks in advance.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jun 25, 2001 10:01:02 PM CDT

    no subject

    by lunarnaut

    Choda,
    MR is based on a Philip K. Dick short story and it is based in the future. Crimes are stopped before they occur because peoples brains' are scanned. Tom Cruise plays an agent who works for the agency who learns what irony means when he is accused of a murder he is yet to commit. Phillip K. Dick is the man. Read his stuff mind-blowing philosophy wrapped in great stories. Also, check Jonathan Lethem: a writer in the same vein who is admittedly a fan of PDK...

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jun 25, 2001 10:09:13 PM CDT

    Minority Report's scripts

    by hktelemacher

    Scott Frank, the screenwriter of "Get Shorty" and "Out of Sight" was supposed to be writing this one. The draft(s) that was in circulation and was being reviewed was not his but had no writer credited so a lot of people assumed it was his. I remember that happening on the Stax Report over at IGN and Scott Frank e-mailed him to correct it. If memory serves, that's how it went down. I also heard that John August ("Go") was on-board re-writing, but don't know how factual that is. I hope this is good, but if Scott Frank's is the shooting script it should be great. I thought his original script for "Dead Again" with Kenneth Brannagh was awesome, and it's all I've seen of his own style since both "Get Shorty" and "Out of Sight" were loyal Leonard adapatations.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jun 25, 2001 10:40:41 PM CDT

    The God Of Modern SF : Philip Kindred Dick

    by pitchmaster

    Hopefully Minority Report will turn out to be more than a just another chase flick, with a futuristic slant...but with Spielberg, Cruise and screenwriters like Frank Darabount involved, pretty hard to believe it will be flash-crash-trash. Anyone know what's happening with that biopic of Philip K Dick that was written up on Dark Horizons last year? If you think Dick's stories are weird and twisted, you should find out more about this guy's true life adventures. Two of Dick's best novels, A Scanner Darkly (THE best insider drug-fuck book ever written) and Flow My Tears, The PoliceMan Said are, according to 4filmmakers.com optioned for production. Know DreamWorks had Scanner (but couldn't get a script they were happy with - even Charlie Kaufman couldn't get it right?), but Flow My Tears is optioned by Tom Cruise' production company. Flow My Tears is brilliant, fucking choice material for modern celebrity-obsessives : a world-famous tv host/recording star wakes to find the entire world does not have a clue who he is anymore, he has no ID, no money and no idea. Excellent stuff. Hope Minority Report rocks hard. In a NY Times story on AI, it mentioned Minority Report is set for release June 2002....isn't that when Star Wars Episode Two is due? Would Spielberg and Lucas really duel it out with mammothic SF releases in the same month?! With a shitload of Dick novels coming to the screen, Ray Bradbury's films on the way and a wave of time travel films, SF fans have got lots to look forward too. MORIARTY! Aren't you a Philip K Dick obsessive? Find out what's happening with the PKD biopic! We wantz to knowz.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jun 25, 2001 10:46:11 PM CDT

    I hope this doesn't turn out to be Cruise's Judge Dredd

    by herzaaes56

    chase scenes after chase scene; like real immitating reel life? cruise chasing (gay) men to court? we'll see.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jun 25, 2001 11:36:00 PM CDT

    Yo, Pitchmaster!

    by lunarnaut

    Ever heard of this:
    http://us.imdb.com/Title?0257573

    Intrigued by your post I went to the IMDB and found this. It says it is based on A Scanner Darkly.

    Having read a lot of PDK's short stories, I am moving on to his novels. i begin Flow my tears, tomorrrow and just finished Galactic Pot-Healer, which I enjoyed. Ever read it?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jun 26, 2001 12:27:23 AM CDT

    This will be a disappointment

    by lazarus long

    If Spielberg couldn't even stay true to the very relevant themes containted in the novel Jurassic Park, do you think he could possibly keep up with Philip K. Dick? Michael Crichton, while not even in the same league as Dick, had a lot to think about in his book, and it was turned into a hollow (although admittedly enjoyable) theme park ride. You people think Kubrick is hard to live up to? PKD would eat 5 Stanleys for breakfast. One Philip K. Dick novel will induce more brain-racking, heart-wrenching and soul-searching than Kubrick's entire filmography (which is quite impressive, no doubts there). We are talking about quite possibly the most important writer of the second half of the 20th century, so amazing that it will probably be another 100 years before he is truly appreciated. Steven Spielberg is the antithesis of the worldview that PKD portrayed time and time again. Dick's questioning of "what is human?" and "what is reality?" are things that SS does not have the mental capacity or the artistic ability to process for any portion of the public. And no, A.I. will NOT be a noteworthy meditation on Dick Question #1. Stop kidding yourselves that Minority Report will be anything but a SF thriller with high production value. It won't be any better than Total Recall, let alone Blade Runner, which was itself a POOR adaption (but a great film, which Dick himself enjoyed). Do yourself a favor and go read some PKD instead of responding in this talkback. Sit and spin, folks.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jun 26, 2001 1:11:20 AM CDT

    PEOPLE! FEEL A SIGN OF RELIEF FOR THIS MOVIE!

    by pips orcille

    It will not suck like Inspector Gadget the movie.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jun 26, 2001 3:56:12 AM CDT

    I want to see someone do UBIK for the big screen. n/t

    by human2

  • Jun 26, 2001 5:36:04 AM CDT

    More on the Genius of PKD

    by johnquay

    Lazarus Long's assessment of the brilliance of PKD is quite on-target; the man's books are profoundly unsettling and also quite funny (CLANS OF THE ALPHANE MOON and the short story "Oh, to be a Blobel" are two of the funniest things he ever did); "Minority Report" (a minor work, really) appears in the out-of-print collection THE VARIABLE MAN and also somewhere in that mammoth 5-volume collection of his stories. PKD's genius was that, as early as the 1950s, he began to understand that advances in technology, digital reproduction and pharmacology would inevitably shift the general population's worldview towards that of the most paranoid schizophrenic...because we can no longer know for certain what is real and what is only a copy. Hollywood, it appears, is only now beginning to catch on to his great storytelling gifts and has been not-so-subtly ripping him off in such recent films as THE TRUMAN SHOW (derived from TIME OUT OF JOINT) and THE MATRIX. Oddly, VANILLA SKY, the film Tom Cruise just wrapped, is based on a Spanish film called OPEN YOUR EYES which I saw last year and which is *very* phildickian (I'm not gonna say Dick-like), very similar to UBIK, check it out. I beg to differ politely, Lazarus, on PKD's opinion of BLADE RUNNER, the (very weak) adaptation of DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP? PKD died before the film was released, so far as I know he never saw any of it. That is all.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jun 26, 2001 6:02:23 AM CDT

    Scanner Darkly would make a great film

    by virkku

    Also it would be quite cheap to make since it has only very few scifi elements and they could be easily removed. Just get a great director and a few great character actors and it would become a great film.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jun 26, 2001 6:12:13 AM CDT

    I don't know, can Spielberg do this anymore?

    by drath

    Spielberg seems incapable of making enjoyable fantasy adventure films these days. From Moriarty's rant, AI sounds like a downer with no aspirations at all for being a fantasy film as much as a giant metaphor, much like Hook was, for Spielberg's professional career(either he's the dreamer child aspiring to be more and Giggalo Joe is the nightmarish Kubrick influence, or Spielberg is the pleasure giving male hooker-bot and Kubrick is the child robot whose sincere but too disturbing to be loved). But not everything needs to be a metaphor, and frankly sometimes you just want to be taken away on a good ride by a master storyteller who can still entertain. I'll reserve my judgement for AI until I see it, but I'm certainly not expecting an SF adventure romp or a fun ride, actually I never expected that from a Kubrick collaberation anyway. But when all's said and done Spielberg hasn't really delivered an adventure you can lose yourself in since Jurassic Park--which he himself said he didn't think he could make again after he did Schindler's List. Lost World felt empty and detached, the lolipop colors that identified Spielberg's old sense of wonder were gone, and they were sorely missed. I don't think his inner child is dead though because I think I saw it playing a little in Amistad(which I feel is part of why the film doesn't work for so many), and despite how he ended Hook, he's not an adult who's incapable of making more films like Raiders and Jaws. I think he just doesn't want to, preferring to pursue the more high-minded artistic ventures. That's a shame, because I miss him, the real him I mean, the child I can see trying desperately to break out when characters like Upham(SPR) and Baldwin and Cinque and Adams are on screen. I don't think he's "outgrown" the films he made when he was younger, even if he does(okay, thematically I didn't like splitting up the family in CE:TTK either, it was too irresponsible). Maybe Minority Report will be something totally new for him, a stab at the wrongly-accused-man-on-the-run thrillers that Alfred Hitchcock made famous. Whatever Spielberg does with this film and the next, I hope I like it. In the end, I guess that's all I care about anymore. Let the critics, Moriarty and Aintitcoolnews, and the highly outspoken Talkbackers shit all they want on his next films, I just want for ME to like them. It's selfish I know, but who isn't when it comes to their entertainment?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jun 26, 2001 6:47:41 AM CDT

    Will be good because of Scott Frank/John August.

    by jspot

    These two screen writers are absolutely brilliant. If the movie sucks(which it wont) itll be because of Spielberg, theres something about an amatuer director, this being his sophomore attempt...his Mallrats persay. Wait...Spielberg has made something else besides AI? Mind blowing.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jun 26, 2001 7:13:50 AM CDT

    Dick biopic

    by majorkong

    The Dick biopic is called *The Gospel According to Philip K. Dick*. You can get it on DVD(http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000059TOP)

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jun 26, 2001 7:19:42 AM CDT

    Kinda of topic: Tom Cruise

    by jaka

    Tom Cruise has Vanilla Sky with Cameron Crowe and Minority Report with Spielberg on the way. Cha-ching, Cha-ching! Isn't it strange how truly large Tom Cruise has become? Do people still remember Risky Business and Top Gun? And I don't mention thses films as an insult(even though I hated Top Gun with a passion). How about Days of Thunder? Eh? Now there's a classic. Just trippy to have grwon up watching Tom Cruise at the movies. He's made a good number of films now that I have enjoyed. Never thought I'd say that.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jun 26, 2001 7:21:23 AM CDT

    Whoops! I meant OFF topic.

    by jaka

  • Jun 26, 2001 7:30:22 AM CDT

    Big Tom Cruise Fan Here

    by jspot

    Im a huge Tom Cruise fan, all im gonna say is once this guy gets an Oscar, itll be over, he will officially be the biggest star of all time.....no doubt about it. He needs to do a Kevin Smith Movie

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jun 26, 2001 9:33:08 AM CDT

    Spielberg can do no wrong

    by dr rosenrosen

    This will be a good movie, no matter what the script is like. People said "1941" had a bad script, then look how THAT turned ou...What? Oh.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jun 26, 2001 10:59:36 AM CDT

    PKD on Blade Runner

    by lazarus long

    I'm not sure if Dick actually SAW Blade Runner, but I do remember him commenting on the adaption in one of the essays from The Shifting Realities of Philip K. Dick. Perhaps he only read the screenplay. He offered his assistance to Ridley Scott but was refused any involvement. Dick thought the film bore little resemblance to his novel but liked it anyway. Either way, he's correct in that it isn't much of an adaption. Whether or not the film is good, great, or a classic is one of opinion. But I think 12 Monkeys is something truer to Dick's "What is reality?" question than any Hollywood film I can imagine in recent memory. Ironically, that screenplay was written by the scribes of the Blade Runner adaption. Hmmmm....well I still maintain Minority Report won't spend more than a moment on the ramifications of the whole time condundrum, kind of like how Spielberg condensed much of Michael Crichton's theories into a few lame monologues by Jeff Goldblum in Jurassic Park. Minority Report will be a darker Back to the Future II. Nothing more.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jun 26, 2001 11:14:32 AM CDT

    You are who you assiciate with.

    by dr.xerxesmulcahy

    I like Tom Cruise. Unashamedly even. He had the smarts to emerge as a serious actor from the Hollywood jungle that devours pretty boy man-child actors by the busload. Say what you will about his politics, but Mr. Cruise has made all the right decisions to sustain his staying power in a business where a straight rack of polished pearly whites can earn you a first class seat on the 'Flavor of the Month' express - calling Heath Ledger, all aboard! While other hopefuls are jumping onto their own poorly crafted star vehicles (did someone say Leonardo?), Cruise has carefully chosen projects that put him under the watchful direction of Hollywoods best. Everyone is guilty of 'taking a check' from time to time, but his resume reads like a Who's Who List: Scorsese, Stone, DePalma, Levinson, Kubrick, PT Anderson, both Scotts, and I'll even throw in John Woo to keep the AICN tar and feathers off of me. Spielberg is a brilliant new feather in Tom's cap. I wish the best to the collaboration. -- The moral to the story? It is a far finer thing to play second fiddle to Hoffman or Newman in a solid ensemble pic than it is to require being the leading man every single time. Are you listening to me, Harrison?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jun 26, 2001 11:22:35 AM CDT

    Phillip K. Dick

    by dr.xerxesmulcahy

    Don't forget the best adaptation of a Dick story that was ever made. The movie 'Total Recall' is an incandescent vision of the world described in Dick's short story 'We Can Remember It For You Wholesale'. Yes. I am kidding. Paul Verhoven seems to think that classic SciFi is a roadmap to boobies and big guns! Whopeee! I think we can trust Spielberg to do a finer job. Remember this when you shell out your eight bux. -- The Doctor.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jun 26, 2001 11:35:19 AM CDT

    Dick ,did see *some* of Bladerunner.

    by horus

    According to a recent docu' on Bladerunner shown on England's channel 4 , Dick was shown some scenes from Bladerunner , just before his death. FX guy Doug Trumbell (I believe} screened some footage{Most likely of the cityscape and spinner cars} for Dick and said the authors reaction was very positive .He seemed in awe and said *How can this Be* apparently.But obviously weve, no idea what he would have made of the finished item.He hated all the scripts he'd seen so ..he may still not have been that positive of the final thing.My thoughts on Bladerunner , are that its great in its own right , but a woefull adaption of the book , epecially in exploring ,, Dick's obsession , with the Real and non real. Not keeping in the ownership of living animals{as opposed to simulated } as a*status* and Deckards Quest to obtain a real sheep, ....whilst leaving in all ,the Anima Row stuff and Animal/nature heavy Vought Kampf machine {or however its spelt }questioning..made it all really , confusing and a bit pointless.The rainswept streets , neon and spectacular production design , ended up distracting from the core of the story. Plus I felt Do Androids Dream , was designed as a sort of grim black comedy ..non of that made it to the screen.The mystery is why , more PKD hasn't been made into films .To be honest , they shouldn't cost that much to do .Theyre mostly paranoid ,head trips , set in a future not far removed from now.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jun 26, 2001 2:24:07 PM CDT

    My Favorite PKD Novel Was 1964's WHO THE HELL AM I?

    by buzz maverik

    It's about a man who wakes up one day to find that he's pretty sure he's himself, unless he's somebody else. Everyone seems to agree that he's him, but they might just be humoring him until lobotomy time. Then, the guy is duped into thinking he's another guy but it turns out that he's really himself. Or is he?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jun 26, 2001 2:28:41 PM CDT

    My 2nd Favorite PKD Novel Was 1977's LYSERGICA.

    by buzz maverik

    It's about a writer named Dumbass Colt who ingests more acid in one night than every single Deadhead who has ever lived has in their entires lives combined. After that, he's pretty sure that an alien intelligence ("intelligence might be too strong a word. I don't find it all that bright," Colt tells his friend Court Appointed Therapist) has taken over his body. Or it might just be all that damned acid.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jun 26, 2001 2:40:25 PM CDT

    The Best Phillip K. Dick Biopic Is Lance Thomasville's VALLEY OF

    by buzz maverik

    Man, the research involved. Thomasville tracked down the guy who managed the Trader Joe's in Fullerton, CA, where Phil bought wine in the early '70s. And what an interview with Bonnie Squott, the president of the owner's board at the condos where Phil lived who got into a big fight with Phil over whether hanging plants should be allowed on the patio (Phil was for it, by the way!). Dig it, Thomasville went so far as to interview the last living descendent of Phil's cat in those days, one Mr. Whiskers, who when asked the secret of the non-human intelligence that tormented Phil in later years, began licking his own testicles! This film is now available on Beta Max.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jun 26, 2001 3:20:09 PM CDT

    Run for the Hills

    by quiddity

    I love enthusiasm. I especially love enthusiasm for BRILLIANT work. But you guys are kind of spooky on the PKD tip. I live in Fullerton. If you guys ever have the need to get to PKD's roots, let me know... so I can get the civil defense warnings going and call up the national gaurd.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jun 26, 2001 9:11:45 PM CDT

    Tom Cruise in a midget-tossing film? crap

    by wergh4ree

    But seriously, his only claim to success is working with well-known directors who can make his high-pitch voice find an emotion. I am not at all impressed at Cruise, nor do I think he is a good actor at all. Minority Report is another perfectly packaged Hollywood film, designed to make you all line up first day. Whether it's good or not, remains to be seen.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jun 26, 2001 11:44:25 PM CDT

    Mr. Sleep: go back to sleep

    by lazarus long

    If you've actually read all of Dick's novels, and seen a good sampling of Spielberg's films, you'd know there's no way in hell Wonder Boy is up to the task. Close Encounters is a cool movie, but doesn't come close to any of the themes explored in Dick's oeuvre. As for Crichton & Jurassic Park, I made the point that he was not a great writer. I said nothing about his ability to write characters either. What I did say was that the book contained a lot of really good thematic material about the ethics of science and technology, and that Spielberg dropped virtually all of it to make a popcorn movie. Is that hard to understand? If he can't even adapt a Crichton novel legitimately, how in the hell do you expect him to retain anything on the intellectual level of Philip K. Dick? You're talking about a filmmaker who aims about as low as possible in terms of demographics. Spielberg has always been afraid of confusing or insulting even one person in the audience. With an attitude like that, you'll never get art, and you certainly won't be able to explore the complex and status-quo challenging ideas of the best writer in the last 50 years. But don't take my word for it, just wait until next summer for Minority Report: The Movie a.k.a. Mission Impossible 3. Vanilla Sky will be a better film by a mile and a half, because I have a feeling Cameron Crowe will stay close to his source material (Open Your Eyes), which is pretty Dickian to begin with. In fact, I take back my statement about 12 Monkeys being the most PKD film in recent memory. It's gotta be Open Your Eyes. Great film. And a topless Penelope Cruz.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jun 27, 2001 12:01:33 AM CDT

    All I Know, Mr. Sleep...

    by buzz maverik

    ...is that LYSERGICA is a helluva novel.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jun 27, 2001 7:03:53 AM CDT

    On The SET

    by nightshot

    "The list is life" 2 points for the source..I spent the last 2 days on this set.. and all I've got to say is that the costumes were very very warm in the summer sun. Seriously, what amazed me was how friendly everyone was. Cruise was very focused, but said hi to everyone. Spielberg actually came up to extras (me included) and asked how we were doing, and chatted for a few seconds. Max Von Sydow and Lois Smith were both very friendly (especially Lois) and it was fun. So, say what you will about Spielberg or Cruise.. they were nice guys. Spielberg put on no airs, and that was really cool. I'd tell you more, but I'm not allowed to. ZAMPH!

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jun 27, 2001 7:05:48 AM CDT

    On The SET

    by nightshot

    "The list is life" 2 points for the source..I spent the last 2 days on this set.. and all I've got to say is that the costumes were very very warm in the summer sun. Seriously, what amazed me was how friendly everyone was. Cruise was very focused, but said hi to everyone. Spielberg actually came up to extras (me included) and asked how we were doing, and chatted for a few seconds. Max Von Sydow and Lois Smith were both very friendly (especially Lois) and it was fun. So, say what you will about Spielberg or Cruise.. they were nice guys. Spielberg put on no airs, and that was really cool. I'd tell you more, but I'm not allowed to. ZAMPH!

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jun 27, 2001 2:15:07 PM CDT

    Mr. Sleep/PKD/Spielberg

    by lazarus long

    Sleep, you appear to be only addressing the points that are easy to argue with. Obviously people can do things they've never tried before. But my point was that PKD was all about challenging his reader, and SS has what appears to be a total aversion to doing the same with his audience. So it's not really a matter of him trying something new, it's altering his whole approach to filmmaking. His recent comments on Close Encounters and how he couldn't make the film today because he's a family man and Dreyfuss' character is "selfish" are a perfect illustration of how safe he plays it. And regarding CE3K itself, it's great entertainment, and has a sense of wonder, but art? I don't know what your parameters are, but it sure isn't high art. It's not art on the level that Dick's writing is to literature. Spielberg has high production value and has the clout to select the best actors and crew, the best scripts, etc., but THAT DOES NOT MAKE HIM AN ARTIST. You compare him to some directors of garbage films, but just because SS doesn't make wretched wastes of celluloid doesn't mean he's automatically capable of this job. That kind of logic doesn't fly. I can barely think of ONE filmmaker that has the vision to adapt Dick (maybe Gilliam, maybe Kubrick could have), and you're considering the king of homogenized cinema? I'll be back here next summer to say "I told you so." ** Also, I beg to differ with your dismissal of 12 Monkeys and Open Your Eyes not being very PKD. Both deal heavily with the question of "What is reality?" There are several Dick novels that feature characters going back and forth through time or dimensions or hallucinations and not being sure exactly where their ground zero is. The last two I read both containted this (Now Wait for Last Year, The Game Players of Titan). The same is true of Open Your Eyes, where the masked prisoner has an inability to tell fantasy from reality. 12 Monkeys has the added bonus of being set in a fairly bleak future, and the notion of sending someone back in time to stop a virus is something Dick would have loved. You don't see the coincidence in the screenplay being written by the same guy who adapted Blade Runner? ** I wouldn't hold any more hope out for Impostor than I would for Minority Report. MR won't be dick, but it will at least be enertaining and cool. Impostor will probably just suck. Hollywood can't even adapt Robert Heinlein successfully, when they give Dick's stuff the generic sci-fi treatment it loses its meaning.

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