Even though he's getting set to directBen Stiller in the caper comedy "Tower Heist" this fall, Brett Ratner is keeping an eye on what's next.
The auteur has optioned the 2008 memoir "The Reluctant Communist," with an eye to possibly direct the film. The story follows U.S. Army sergeant Charles Robert Jenkins, who surrendered to North Korea while drunk and ended up being imprisoned for forty years. As if that isn't odd enough, he became a minor celebrity in the country after being forced to act in anti-American propaganda films.
Ross Katz, writer/director of the TV film "Taking Chance" and producer of "Marie Antoinette" and "Lost In Translation," is penning the screenplay with Rat Entertainment's John Cheng producing. The material sounds great, but we're not convinced Ratner could do it any justice. Here's hoping it finds another director. [Variety]
Slow down there tigers. David Fincher's "The Social Network" is an admirable piece of work, another outstanding piece of technical craftsmanship from the notoriously fastidious filmmaker, a tour de force of editing, a snap, crackle and pop of witty "His Girl Friday"-like tête-à-tête dialogue, and it does feature Jesse Eisenberg's best performance so far. Admittedly, there is a lot to love about the film, but those critics bemoaning the fact that it doesn't have a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes because of Armond White (that evil man, how could he!?) are being downright silly. The picture — like all movies — is not perfect (does a truly perfect movie even exist aside from a handful of unimpeachable classics?) and more importantly, it has its flaws.
Moreover, it's a film that has been doused in hyperbole. The film that defines a generation. Really? Why, because it features computers? It's well established that the film is not about Facebook and or social media or social networks. It's about — at the end of the day — friendship, greed, betrayal, entitlement, and to an extent, communication in the communication age. But how most of those themes only apply to this decade is puzzling (Peter Travers, care to explain?). Don't get it twisted, we liked the film (this writer's grade is more B, B+ than the A-grades it's been getting across the board, but whatever), but it's not god's gift to movies (though it certainly will have more long-tail resonance than the enjoyable, but slight, "Toy Story 3" which also almost had a 100% RT grade until Armond did his unspeakable dislike thing). Oh, and don't let producers tell you that screenplays that leak online are just first drafts. While that's often the case, it's not always true, and Aaron Sorkin's script is proof; the version online and the finished film are almost word for word the same in dialogue and certainly in exact structure and sequence flow. Regardless, here's six issues and/or quibbles why the film is not "perfect." 1. The under-developed relationship between Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) and Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield). While Justin Timberlake is an important part of the equation as entrepreneur Sean Parker, the film's nuts and bolts are about the dissolution of the Zuckerberg/Saverin relationship. And in a very Sorkin-esque/TV manner, the backstory of their friendship is done away with and implied. It's fully in swing when the film starts and when it eventually crumbles under the weight of underhanded maneuvers, potential betrayals, miscommunication and greed (though this is all subjective and the viewer is supposed to decide), there's no real sense that Saverin is Zuckerberg's "only friend" as Garfield states in the film. We're not asking for a hugging scene or a heart-to-heart, but something that developed their relationship a little deeper may have made the conclusion a bit more resonant. This under-developed friendship, in a way, is the Achilles heel to the picture; it zips by so enjoyably and with such thrilling zest you might not even realize until later.
2. Speaking of underdeveloped relationships, the girlfriends -- Erica (Rooney Mara) and Christy (Brenda Song) -- are given particularly short shrift. While Mark continues to pine for Erica after she dumps him in the first scene, we're never really shown that he cared for her or they had much of a relationship to begin with. As for Christy, her turn from casual sex Facebook groupie to the raving psychopath girlfriend of Eduardo is as random as it is puzzling and ultimately pointless. Her ultimate impact on the narrative or even Eduardo's brief arc is nil.
3. Fincher's tone is cold and aloof. While "The Social Network" is Fincher's most humanist film, that's still relative and he keeps the viewers at emotional arm's length. This speaks to the director's decision to not develop the friendship further or task the screenwriter to do the same (in a recent Vulture interview Fincher says the studio asked for something more between the two in the film's conclusion, but they ultimately decided to not add the scene). 4. The TV-ish-ness of it all. Yes, the editing is something thrilling, but the sometimes unimaginative cutting-back-and-forth structure in the middle of the film feels slack and TV-ish, as per Sorkin's standards. There's an episodic feel to Zuckerberg's adventures with Sean Parker sans Saverin and one could argue that "The Social Network," while a thrilling piece of drama, is nothing more than super entertaining two-hour tele-film. One created by one of the best technicians working in cinema today, but there's something about the episodic nature and structure that has little emotion and more importantly, little long-tail resonance. "The Social Network" is thrilling in the moment. A little later? Not so much.
5. It's "Law & Order" functioning at its highest level. Back to the TV argument again, but the script — which this writer didn't really care for — is essentially a court room drama played out in flashbacks. Pretty conventional stuff when you think about it.
6. A very small quibble, but the film's lack of interest in current Facebook predicaments — the sharing and profiting of people's personal profiles and Zuckerberg's antagonism towards the critics of this practice would have been some excellent drama or themes that are not utilized.
7. Also, hello? Not enough Winkelvi. Kidding. Sort of, though Armie Hammer as the Winklevoss twins is an outstanding scene-stealer. Again, don't get it twisted. This isn't the contrarian critic point of view, more of just a keep your pants on fyi to the the critics who woke up passed out with their pants around their ankles and their underwear conspicuously missing when their reviews were completed (in a year of Oscar fives, this writer believes "The Social Network" would have a zero shot). As for the hate on Armond, well, pile on all you want, but he's right with this point (even though we too often don't always agree with him either), "[the] frat-boy mentality [is] in effect, no one else in cyberspace dares dissent from the hype." And it's true and unfortunate. Once that buzz ball starts rolling downhill, everyone wants to join and rarely does anyone care to hear otherwise.
Also? We could totally be wrong, but like Justin Timberlake recently said, this film could easily divide audiences. We suspect it'll do well, but it feels like a critics film to us, not one that the public is going to be totally receptive to afterwards. We could be wrong, time will tell. What seems to be clear though is that the raves and the curiosity bug has bit them. With little competition this weekend, "The Social Network" should easily nab the #1 slot, now it's just a matter of how well it does. Our guess is the $15-20million range, but maybe the Facebook appeal — there are 500 million users worldwide after all — could prove stronger. -- RP, Gabe Toro, Kevin Jagernauth
Obviously, if you haven't seen the film or if you have your own satisfactory theory for the end of "Inception" don't read this story, because Michael Caine is putting an end to speculation about the end of the film.
Talking on BBC Radio's The Chris Moyles Show (via ScreenRant) Michael Caine decided to drop some truth bombs about Christopher Nolan's playfully open ended conclusion to his dream world blockbuster "Inception." Caine says, “[The spinning top] drops at the end, that’s when I come back on. If I’m there it’s real, because I’m never in the dream. I’m the guy who invented the dream.”
Is your mind blown yet? Truthfully, this is pretty much what we figured (frankly, we would've preferred a darker ending) and confirms what costume designer Jeffrey Kurland said about the ending back in August.
A year and a half after the awesomely named Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger saved the lives of his passengers on Flight 1549, landing them safely in the Hudson River after an errand flock of birds flew into the plane's engines, those desperate moments are finally going to come to the big screen.
The Kennedy/Marshall Co. and Flashlight Films have optioned Sullenberg's memoir "Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters" with plans to turn it into a movie. We can't wait to find out how it ends.The producers are currently seeking backing for the film and it's not aligned with a studio yet, though it is going out to writers. No offense to Sullenberger, who certainly did act heroically that day, but we have no desire to watch a movie about this. This is a project we might expect, at best, on Lifetime, not from a major Hollywood studio.
But, audiences show great affection for big-hearted movies, particularly those with a story they're already familiar with, and they usually reward them with steady box office receipts. So, any ideas on who should play Capt. Sully? We're voting for Christopher Walken. Just to spice things up. [Variety]
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross' score to David Fincher's "The Social Network" is an incredible piece of work vacillating between ominous, yet melancholy tracks ("Hand Covers Bruise") and the more pulsating electronic tracks ("In Motion") that keep the already fast-paced picture propelling forward. While it won't be recognized by the Academy come Oscar time, score aficionados are likely going to be rocking it on their iPods long after the film has been released.
And yet when Fincher first approached the Nine Inch Nails frontman to do the score, Reznor said he wasn't in a good state of mind and actually turned down the gig. "And of course it gnawed away at me," Reznor said in a recent L.A. Times interview. "I got back in touch with him in late winter or early spring and apologized again and asked him to keep me in mind in the future [on other projects].
Of course the tenacious Fincher knew all along that Reznor was doing the score and had never taken his no for an answer. "He said, ‘No, what are you talking about? You’re doing this one.’ ” And that was pretty much that.
While the "The Social Network" filmmaker had already directed the Nine Inch Nails music video “Only” in 2005 (see below), the reasons why he pursued him for the score were simple. "I wanted to work with Trent," Fincher said matter-of-factly at the recent New York Film Festival Q&A. In fact, he was planning it all along, long before he had even contacted the musician with his proposal. "We had [the rough-cut] temped a lot of the movie to Nine Inch Nails' [2008 instrumental and experimental album] Ghosts I–IV already, the conceptual studio album they did in like two weeks," Fincher noted.
Conversely, and contrastingly, the film closes with The Beatles "Baby You're a Rich Man" which in a very Fincher-ian way, is transformed into a much more sardonic and acidic kiss-off given the way the drama concludes. It's a musical stroke of genius and transports the film to another level.
"When we were shooting the final deposition scene and I was listening to my iPod and I heard the Beatles song and I thought, 'We might be able to get away with this,' " Fincher noted in the Q&A. "I played it to Jesse [Eisenberg] and he nodded his head which, you know, is his form of approval and then we tested it. We laid it under the scene and then [before we watched how it worked] we played the entire movie and I remember going, 'yeah, I think that's gonna work.' "
"The Social Network" score by Reznor was released on Tuesday September 28th. The film has already opened in New York and for the rest of the country it hits tomorrow, Friday, October 1. NIN's "Only" directed by David Fincher
Call it the suicidal, teenage "Bucket List" if you will, but Naomi Watts is reportedly in early talks to join Dakota Fanning in "Now Is Good," an adaptation of Jenny Downham's Before I Die.
The story follows Tessa, a teenager dying from leukemia who drafts a list of things to do before she dies (the top choice being sex), while dealing with the relationships with various family members in the lead up to her death. Sounds fun! The film is set to be directed by Ol Parker ("Imagine Me & You") and we would imagine Fanning and Watts would play mother and child.
No word yet on shooting schedules or other details, but as always, early talks are just that.
Alright, to keep it brief. You've already seen the soundtrack tracklist, you've heard some of the music and you know that Broken Social Scene wrote the score, plus some original songs for Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden's upcoming coming-of-age dramedy, "It's Kind Of A Funny Story" which stars Keir Gilchrist, Zach Galifianakis and on-the-rise starlet Emma Stone.
The soundtrack does feature contemporary indie bands like The Wowz, Pink Mountaintops, The Middle East, '80s punk from The Damned, A Pixies' cover on piano (Maxence Cyrin's "Where Is My Mind"), soul R&B funk from Little Denise (the awesome "Check Me Out") and Egyptian funk (RachidTaha's "Habina") to name a few.
But music is an integral part of the film and there's much much more. Indie-rockers will be happy to hear the name-check mention of Vampire Weekend, plus use of The xx, The Drums and Dead Oceans, classicists will enjoy the mentions of Dylan, the standout use of Queen/Bowie, Black Sabbath, hip-hop heads will dig the Common and Method Man trainspotting and deep cut soul enthusiast will surely love the appearances of Kenny Smith, the aforementioned Little Denise, Lil` Lavair and The Fabulous Jades ("Cold Heat"). There's plenty of music in the film and it's all well utilized. Anywhoo, if you're curious. All the music is listed below. The soundtrack dropped on Tuesday (September 28 via Rhino Records) and the film hits theaters October 8. All The Music Featured In "It's Kind Of A Funny Story" “Chameleon” - Broken Social Scene Presents: Brendan Canning “No Smiling Darkness/Snake Charmers Association” - Broken Social Scene “Weddings” - Broken Social Scene “Ambulance For The Ambience”- Broken Social Scene “Millionaire” - Izza Kizza “Busy Shoppers” - Len Stevens “Let’s Go Surfing” -The Drums “Smash It Up” - The Damned “Happy Today” -- The WoWz “Tourist In Your Town” - Pink Mountaintops “Icarus” - Dead Oceans “Intro” - The xx “The Breaks” -Kurtis Blow “2-4-6-8 Motorway” - The Tom Robinson Band “Murderous Assault” -Harry Lubin “Don’t Forget Your Torch” --Jon Durnie Brooks “Soledad” - Pharoah Sanders “Where You Go” - Elden Calder “Beym Rebin’s Sude” --Robin Jeffrey and Roddy Skeaping “Under Pressure” --Queen & David Bowie “The Ills” --Mayer Hawthorne “Da Rockwilder” --Method Man and Redman “Lost In The Galaxy” --Harry Lubin “Where Is My Mind?” -- Maxence Cyrin (Pixies cover) “It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)” --Bob Dylan (only referenced in dialogue) “Blood” - Middle East “It’s Alright” - Black Sabbath “Cold Heat” - Lil’ Lavair and The Fabulous Jades “We Have Each Other”- Kenny Smith “Check Me Out”- Little Denise “Habina” - Rachid Taha “Be (Intro)” - Common “Major Label Debut (Fast)” - Broken Social Scene “Not At My Best” - Broken Social Scene
Even though he's getting set to direct Ben Stiller in the caper comedy "Tower Heist" this fall, Brett Ratner is keeping an eye on what's next.
