By Christopher Stipp
April 2nd, 2004
ANYTHING A SPIDER CAN
So, ShoWest was last week.
For those that don’t know, ShoWest is a convention that features “a variety of studio sponsored events, informative seminars” and is, “a trade show filled with the latest and greatest innovations in motion picture technology.” It’s essentially way for your local mega multiplex owner to come see what’s new and improved in the world of the movie theater business. One of the nice things about this whole thing was that many new movie posters surfaced from the hallowed halls of the studio’s marketing department and it also gives a good look at what to expect this summer season.
There were trailers galore along with video, print, and web reporters on hand to cover it all. There were remotes by Extra, Entertainment Tonight and even my crappy local stations (who, I have to say, without fail, smilingly slap a stamp of approval to any movie they’re told to pimp regardless of how shitty the movie actually is) got involved in this annual event.
I guess the whole trailer angle was lost on those in the know in the industry as I think my invitation to the party got lost in the mail. I mean some other, more inferior web reporters had a jolly time, whooping it up in Sin City whilst I sat here in Phoenix calling my local postmaster general letting him that, no, there must be some mistake and charges would be filed against my local heathen of a mailman who must have stolen my golden ticket. I mean, c’mon, who would be a bigger whore than me? I read the manuals. I know that if you’re invited to a junket you’re supposed to say nice things about a flick or else be relegated to refugee status in the studio’s playbook and that I won’t ever be able to nosh on free food, get free stuff or get close to actors who get to hear me ask simpering, sycophantic questions that they’ve already heard a few times already. I understand all of this and would like to be a talking head, please, because I heard the Spider-Man 2 trailer event was, in a word, an experience.
If you have an internet pulse at all you may have already heard that Sony had a large affair for Spider-Man 2. There were people writhing on the ground like human spiders, faux webs bedecked the theater, free swag flowed like freshly crushed grapes, and even Maguire and Dunst were on hand all to…show…a…trailer. In case you missed that, one more time please, Maguire and Dunst were on hand, along with the accoutrements of a premiere, just to show a trailer. From the reports I read, again, I’m on the case to find out where my invite went, the trailer kicked “all sorts of ass” to quote an individual who saw it firsthand. It is a large improvement over the first teaser trailer that’s running rampant all over the net. While the first trailer isn’t that bad, it’s really good capturing the same vibe of the first, there were some things that were being held back. You could tell. The newest one is supposed to be packed, wall-to-wall, with nothing but Spidey goodness. There is fighting, explosions, fire, swinging, chicks, no flaming arrows, but it’s got a lot squeezed into a tiny time frame. The downside to it all? The thing isn’t debuting to the general public, meaning us lepers who weren’t asked to see it yet, until April 9th. My word of advice? I see people hype things up beyond reasonable expectations (read here: HELLBOY) and the movies never seem to live up to the imaginations we all have when they’re allowed to create an image of perfection in the form of a film. It never quite comes close. So, as you get prepped to experience anything like this, do yourself a favor and lower your expectations. Have absolutely the worst attitude you can before watching something like this. In fact, be downright ornery. I’m serious. When you don’t expect much from entertainment like this your experience can only be that much better when you can see something for what it is and not for what someone else says it is. Need evidence? STAR WARS: EPISODE I. Low expectations. Works great for people too.
I’m still biting my nails to see the trailer, though.
Director: Peter John Ross
Cast: George Caleodis, Fritz Cargould, Milan A. Cargould, Kevin Carr, Glen Littlejohn, John Mader, Jon Osbeck, Dovie Pettitt, Ryan Stefano
Release: Currently Playing
Synopsis: New World brings high adventure and special FX to a short series of internet movies. Focusing on a time on Earth after aliens have invaded, a group a young upstarts begin to fight back against the insect-like Invaders.
View Trailer:
* Small (QuickTime)
Quite simply, graphics and effects-wise, it looks fantastic. As for the guys wearing Mexican rugs like ponchos and wielding swords like Adrian Paul after getting their Highlander starter kit in the mail.
The opening montage, with the writing on the screen and the slow, fade-in movement of a CG ship was a great way to start things. After the initial shot, the music and mood of the trailer sustains itself well with some fairly impressive graphics and good camera angles. After that, though, that’s when things get a little murky.
I am not sure, as a viewer, what exactly is happening on the screen. I see some beautifully rendered ships and flying objects but I am not really positive about the dichotomy between who is “good” and who is “bad.” There is no point of reference for me to differentiate or discern between the two.
What I liked most about the trailer is its focus on trying to accentuate the visuals but also giving a little attention to the players who will have to, inevitably, drive the action forward. However, I never really get to hear them talk or get an idea for their motivation. Probably the worst action cliché in trailerdom is a voiceover that invariably says to us that “what had started out…” as they plug in a shake-n-bake storyline to fit within some loose parameters. As an independent movie, however, some people like to just twist that convention, hopefully, and give the genre a fresh look on things. This leads me to say that I don’t know if that what’s happening here. Where do things start out? Maybe a little cliché would help establish some point of reference for me. To wit, I have no clue if I am supposed to be rooting for Gringo Steve wearing the Mexican poncho or for the balding, black cloth clad individual as they clash samurai swords. I, obviously, have an idea but I can’t assume anything.
I am unsure of the actual story behind this film and would like to know more about what’s happening and the kind of dialogue I can expect from the production. I want to know more, need to know more, before I would give up however long it would be to see the final product. Right now, as it stands, I am feeling it would play perfectly to that segment of the population that loves their science fiction. I am not talking about X-MEN or MINORITY REPORT but I am specifically thinking about Andromeda or even the new incarnation of Enterprise. It’s those kind of demographics that this film seems to appeal to most.
Director: Tod Williams
Cast: Jeff Bridges, Kim Basinger, Mimi Rogers, Bijou Phillips, Elle Fanning
Release: June 23, 2004
Synopsis: Set in a privileged East Hampton beach community, the film chronicles one pivotal summer in the lives of famous children’s author Ted Cole (Bridges) and his beautiful wife Marion (Basinger). Their once-great marriage has been strained by tragedy. Her resulting despondency and his subsequent infidelities have prevented the couple from confronting a much-needed change in their relationship. Eddie O’Hara, the young man Ted hires to work as a summer assistant, is the couple’s unwitting yet willing pawn – and, ultimately, the catalyst in the transformation of their lives.
View Trailer:
* Small (Windows Media)
Progonosis: Negative.
John Irving has had a few films made from his work as an author.
For those not up on such things, Irving has penned THE CIDER HOUSE RULES, THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP, SIMON BIRCH and even THE HOTEL NEW HAMPSHIRE which starred his older brother, Beau. His works, at least from a cinematic standpoint, have a much deeper shine to them than let’s say many of the works from the author of litigious fiction. When coming upon this trailer, though, not once does it reference this fact. Not that John Irving is better than the other John I just mentioned, but that he was responsible for helping to give the world one of the best nuanced performances from Robin Williams and gave the world a great, hard look at an actor really looking to break out by the name of John Lithgow.
Beyond the fact that this movie looks like a hardcore drama of depressing proportions it does start with a scruffy, yet dashingly masculine, Jeff Bridges. As an aside, it’s nice to see him in something new after he did a splendid job in SEABISCUIT last year and this movie is the only thing in his pipeline until 2005. As the clip progresses we establish he is a creepy children’s book author and has a hottie for a wife in the shape of Kim Basinger. As another aside, as this seems to be a movie about a couple on the outs, let’s hope this movie doesn’t have her character crying endlessly a la Meg Ryan. She does, however, seduce the young protégé of Jeff Bridges and that’s not such a bad thing. If you’re a young lad, and are going to get seduced by someone, Kim Basinger is probably the best woman for the job. Either kind of job that she would perform would be sufficient enough.
What could make this a better trailer than it is, even elevating it to a positive review instead of a negative one is the cheesy, generic Stryper guitar riffs that some guy who produced this thing thought would be a good idea. It distracts from the progression of the narrative and puts in an 80’s era tension device where it’s not needed. Keep the guitar riffing for AIRHEADS 2, Skid Row, as this is a drama not a high school battle of the bands playoff.
There are moments of the slow motion running by ol’ Jeff which is always elevates his performance in whatever he does. Just look at BLOWN AWAY and you can see why he so good at doing it. There is even a shot of Jeff riding a bike with what looks like a sombrero. Any movie that has a man riding a bike with an oversized hat just can’t be all that bad. He gets double points if he’s doing it while intoxicated. He’s even wearing a bed sheet to play racquetball. Hopefully this means we are dealing with a man headed on a road to self-destruction. It would help to sustain some interest and hope there’ll be a full-on implosion of the suicidal kind. In all, it looks like a good date movie and I would recommend this to any guy, if you were forced to pick from what’s out there, as you may get some nice Kim Basinger action for your troubles. Jeff Bridges is wonderful to watch and I would pay simply based on his cred as a bankable actor. He’s a rarity.
Director: Jeff Nathanson
Cast: Robert Redford, Helen Mirren, Willem Dafoe, Matt Craven, Alessandro Nivola, Melissa Sagemiller
Release: May 21, 2004
Synopsis: Wayne (Robert Redford) and Eileen (Helen Mirren) Hayes live the American Dream. Together they’ve raised two children and struggled to build a successful business from the ground up. But there have been sacrifices along the way. When Wayne is kidnapped by an ordinary man, Arnold Mack (Willem Dafoe), and held for ransom in a remote forest, the couple’s world is turned inside out. Eileen finds her home full of FBI Agents, their life under scrutiny. While Wayne is engaged in the negotiation of his lifetime, Eileen works frantically with the FBI to secure his release. The terrifying ordeal causes Wayne and Eileen to reassess their marriage and come to a deeper sense of their commitment to each other. With each passing hour, the need and desire for Wayne to return home safely becomes ever more urgent.
View Trailer:
* Various (Windows Media, QuickTime, RealOne)
Progonosis: Positive.
I’m not sure where this one lands, as confessions go, but one of my favorite Robert Redford performances isn’t the NATURAL or OUT OF AFRICA; it is most definitely a tie between SNEAKERS and INDECENT PROPOSAL. The cries of “the horror, the horror,” I know are probably ringing like Big Ben but it makes perfect sense if you go with me on this.
Ol’ Redford has taken his time with films. He has gone years without doing anything and god love him for being able to delicately pick and choose his projects at will and not feel pressured to do anything because his property tax bill just came in for his house in the Hamptons. When I was first gravitating towards all kinds of film, around the age of ten or so, his most recent offering to the discerning moviegoer was LEGAL EAGLES and all I remember about that movie was the video for Love Touch that had some play on MTV. As a young male, Rod Stewart was not on my playlist and neither were bad romantic/drama/comedies. The first real offering from Robert, forgetting his sleepwalked performance in 1990’s HAVANA, was 1992’s SNEAKERS which I’ll defend as the one of the most enjoyable heist movies ever to be put to film. I caught up with Redford again for INDECENT PROPOSAL and it was then I found an appreciation for his older work.
This is germane to the discussion of this trailer because after this film there will not be, if the past is any indication, another film with him in it until 2007 or 2008. He’s had some tough going at the box office for his last handfuls of films and managed to curse the radio landscape with his movie UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL (Thanks a lot, Rob, for being the vehicle that gave Celine Dion a bigger voice and secures her ditty as the single most played song in women’s cars everywhere.). This film will be a movie that first time Redford fans, I was one too, will be exposed to seeing. I was sparked alive as a young ‘un to find his older work and find a deeper appreciation for his gift as an actor.
This trailer looks good, not great, enough to pass as acceptable fare. I say this only because the plot is obfuscated and I don’t know why that’s the case. I can only assume that Robert is being kidnapped because he did something bad to someone at sometime so long ago, but, outside of that, I am not sure if Willem Dafoe is supposed to be a “bad” guy. Make no mistake about Willem. He is one of the best, and that superlative doesn’t do the man near enough justice, out there and he could easily be playing either side of the fence. The trailer doesn’t give away anything, which I guess is a good thing, but I want to know why in the hell they are traipsing through the woods. That’s probably the whole point of the movie, right? A movie that hinges on a payoff is asking for trouble if there isn’t enough between that could support a let down if the plot twist smells like week old swamp ass. There are two greats working together in this film but I am still am not sure, and not convinced, if this thing makes me want to see it in the theaters or wait for the DVD. .
Director: Jim Jarmuch
Cast: Roberto Benigni, Cate Blanchett, Steve Buscemi, Steve Coogan, Isaach De Bankolé, Genius/GZA, Cinqué Lee, Joie Lee, Taylor Mead, Alfred Molina, Bill Murray, Iggy Pop, William Rice, RZA, Tom Waits, Jack White, Meg White, Steven Wright
Release: May 14th
Synopsis: COFFEE AND CIGARETTES is a comic series of short vignettes that build on one another to create a cumulative effect as the characters discuss things as diverse as caffeine popsicles, Paris in the twenties, and the use of nicotine as an insecticide, all the while sitting around sipping coffee and smoking cigarettes. As Jarmusch delves into the normal pace of our world from an extraordinary angle, he shows just how absorbing the obsessions, joys, and addictions of life can be. Filmed in black and white, COFFEE AND CIGARETTES made its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival then screened to a sold-out crowd at the Toronto International Film Festival.
View Trailer:
* Small (Quick Time)
* Medium (Quick Time)
* Large (Quick Time)
Progonosis: Positive.
The best of the bunch in Jarmusch’s arsenal is STRANGER THAN PARADISE. I know many out there will go to bat for GHOST DOG: THE WAY OF THE SAMURAI as the best ever, but, as narratives go, I didn’t care for its style, pace or overall presentation.
That being said, however, this film is a must see for me. Any trailer that starts with some brother giving it up for my main man Murray, feloniously robbed by a dude who just knew how to get all emotional on cue, and drops GHOSTBUSTERS and GROUNDHOG DAY as a couple of his favorite Bill movies has to be going somewhere good. Just when I think it’s going to get obtuse in a way that only Jarmusch knows how to do the trailer shows the beginning of a small row between Iggy Pop and Tom Waits about the offensiveness of being perceived as someone who would patronize a Taco Bell or as a musician who would make a shoddy record.
The great bits keep coming, but, while the whole thing isn’t side splittingly laugh out loud, there is enough here with the celebrity cameos to more than make the case as to why this might be an interesting departure from the usual fare that sometimes can plague art house theaters. There is the possibility that having as many famous individuals playing themselves could spell out, in large neon black and white letters, pretentious pap. The only thing that would lead me to that conclusion would be the inclusion of Jack and Meg White. When I watched the trailer a second time I wasn’t so sure of their efficacy as potentially intriguing characters compared to the level of talent brimming in the rest of the clip. It looks like Meg is smirking at something that doesn’t really seem funny while Steve Coogan has a very amusing bit with Alfred “Don’t Call Me Doc Ock” Molina right before the trailer spends the rest of its time telling me who is in the movie.
I really like the simplicity of the single table, thus really focusing in on the people and nothing else while they are conversing. It becomes a play of action, words and body language. Again, this could veer into the realm of self-indulgence and become a von Trier experiment of art vs. (insert your own social power element you dislike), but I am going to think not only because there is some humor here and the most effective satire that I know of and have read, with the exception of the Inferno, has had a sharp wit about itself.
There is a real intimacy here with the players involved and it will force these people to utilize the essences of their experiences to make this something interesting enough to sit through. Watching two or three people talk at a table for an hour and a half plus will require more than just looking good, you have to be good. The entire movie depends, with the small exception of the many ways you can get an interesting camera angle of a cup of coffee, on performance. This trailer has a little style and a little charisma and is interesting enough to warrant a closer look at the theaters.
Director: Chuck Hartsell and Chance Shirley
Cast: Kyle Holman, Michael Shelton, Melissa Bush, Chris Garrison, Chris Hartsell, Chuck Hartsell, Barry Austin, John Walker
Release: Later this year
Synopsis: Residents of a small Southern town contend with bloodthirsty zombies, a mysterious flying saucer, and bad television reception.
View Trailer:
* Small (QuickTime)
This took some repeated viewings but I like this trailer. A lot.
What I think is most difficult in seeing a trailer like this is that I have to, without even thinking about it, suspend my needs as a greedy trailer fiend and realize this is not being produced for hundreds and thousands of dollars with a nice soundtrack but that it is being cobbled together by a moviemaker just looking for some notice for their vision. The results, unfortunately, are sometimes mixed as a few trailers look put together with a Sony Betamax as a director succumbs to the Hollywood notion of a high value trailer and is unable to compete. Originality is what’s needed and this trailer has some great pieces of it. Is it the best indie trailer I’ve ever seen? Hell no, but it has the right idea and a pitch perfect vibe for a zombie film that looks to be less Romero and a little more Rami.
From the opening shot of a man walking in the woods, which you’re not quite sure if this is going to try and be intentionally scary or so bad it’s funny scary, when we get a view of some rednecks with rifles and, I believe, a whole lot of mullet going on. There is also a hootchie who seems to be looking skyward but I have no clue if crap is supposed to be raining down from above (what the hell is she looking at?) and a row of bullets being set up one by one as a man sits up in the middle of a forest and ponders the location of his car and his pants.
If this is going to be a straight zombie flick it’s going about its advertising the wrong way, but I think I know better and it is doing what it is supposed to be doing: highlighting the humor first and then set it up as a zombie film. By reversing the process it wouldn’t have worked. Some of the more successful, and effective, campaigns that epitomizes this best would have to be SHAUN OF THE DEAD that essentially gave you comedy and then the zombies.
Here, even after the comedic set up, and the pause in the visual action to let the viewer know this is A CREWLESS PRODUCTION there is more comedy that is punctuated with some sexual innuendo, hillbilly humor, was that some nudity I saw, and maybe even, if it’s possible, a strong female lead in a usually male-centric genre? It doesn’t hurt that the woman is nice to look at, and that will definitely help to distract in small part, or large part depending on what the filmmakers choose to accentuate on her, from the production values of the film.
The locations look well utilized, there are slivers of some great camera work, and by mixing in a good blend of humor, dialogue (what little there is), and a just a small peek of the zombies. It was more like a stolen glance, really, but I’m really not sure how I feel about that yet. The money shot should be the zombies, right? Of course they should, but if there is something different going other than zombies, maybe even relegating them to the background in favor of a different angle on the story, so be it.
I really want to see where this story is going, even if it’s nowhere.
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