Tom Cruise vs. Frank Miller: Which Santa will deliver the goods?

The Spirit and Valkyrie both open on Christmas Day.

The Spirit adapts a comic book property that doesn't seem to have much of a fan base. I'm a huge Frank Miller fan and former comic geek and I'd never even heard of it. They haven't released any more footage than the two trailers, which is not a great move when courting the comic book "fanboy" audience. I'd really like to see a complete scene to get more of a sense of tone; the trailer comes across as choppy to me.

Then there's Valkyrie, which has been delayed more than once so there's already bad buzz. The trailer looks great, but another WWII film? And another post-couch jumping Tom Cruise movie?

Will the public support the spirit or the Scientologist?

We shall see.

So Zack and Miri are NOT making a porno?

There was a commercial during SNL a few nights ago for the new Kevin Smith movie, which we all know is titled Zack & Miri Make a Porno, but when the title came up at the end of the ad, it said just Zack & Miri.

What gives? Anyone know?

I suppose I could go over to Kevin Smith's site and do some digging, but I'm not sure I trust what I'd find over there. Seems like there's been a whole lot of manufactured controversy with this film and they've been milking it on the web for months.

E.g., the original poster was banned by the MPAA, even though it used the same visual gag as the approved poster for Good Luck Chuck...






I can believe the Zack & Miri poster got banned, considering it suggests a WOMAN getting pleasure (an MPAA no-no) and it's from Kevin Smith, the man who unleashed Satan on America in the form of Dogma. Smith's definitely not on the MPAA holiday card list.

But I have a hard time believing that THIS was the only poster they could release next...


It reeks of a gimmick, with a claim that we know is not true because there's nothing titillating at all in the trailers for the movie (not even in the Red Band trailer, fercriminy!).

Some conjecture about the editing of the title...

1) They know they have a turd on their hands and the college crowd and up won't be turning out, so now they're trying to soften it for younger viewers? Seems odd, considering the movie already has an R RATING (down from an NC-17).

2) This was the plan all along: to market the film for months with the full title so EVERYONE already knows what it's about, then change it to the lame title right before release so it looks like "the Man" (a.k.a. the MPAA) censored it, thus giving it (even MORE, if that's possible) street cred?

3) Just another marketing blunder from the Weinsteins? Seems like any time they set out to make a movie that they perceive as "commercial" they can never quite get it right. This was supposed to be Smith's most accessible comedy yet; he even caved in and tried out some good ol' Apatow-style improv.

4) Actual, gosh-darn controversy! Well, this AP article supports that; apparently, Fox received "complaints" (no one knows how many) during a broadcast of a Dodgers game after the commercial for the film aired. Shockingly, a young boy asked his father "What's a porno?" and instead of taking the opportunity to have a talk with his child, the dad did the right thing: he called his local tv station and complained. Yep, he ruined it for the rest of us!

Not really, as I'm guessing those who were planning to see the film will still be going. The rest of us who may have been on the fence, well we just have to make our decision based on footage, and that's the real problem here...

The trailer...kinda sucks. Not a big laugh in there to be had. And Smith is trying to sell two concepts that no self-loathing, overweight, porn-obsessed geek (this movie's core audience) would possibly believe...

-A single guy in his 20s with a hot female roommate has never imagined sleeping with her.

-A single guy in his 20s makes a porn film that looks like an amateur attempt from 1976.

I'm guessing the comic-book reading, Dr. Pepper swilling, Halo 3-playing crowd (again: the CORE AUDIENCE) has actually SEEN a modern porn video via the thing known as the Interwebs. I mean, it's not like these guys have actual women to go with them to see Max Payne on opening weekend! They knoweth their adult entertainment.

But Smith apparently does not. Or...does he?

I guess we'll find out on October 31. Zack & Miri (or perhaps soon to be retitled Z/M: The MPAA wouldn't let us use whole words!): a big gimmick or an inspired laugh riot? We shall see.

3rd viewing of The Dark Knight, going back for #4 soon...

I caught The Dark Knight on Imax again, this time at Universal Citywalk AMC cinemas. We missed the first fifteen minutes, thanks in part due to the worst parking garage ever (cute name, "Jurassic," awful system). Should it take 20 minutes to park once you're inside the garage (and paid your ten bucks)?


Memo to Citywalk: check out The Grove, see how they run their parking garage. Do that.


Anyway, once again, seeing this film in Imax is an unrivaled experience. The images and sound are just breathtaking.

Unfortunately, since I missed The Scarecrow's scene, I failed to check on and confirm my theory that Cillian Murphy was NOT the actor who was playing Dr. Jonathan Crane.

I have two friends, both MASSIVE Batman fans who think I'm full of Bantha poodoo on that one. They insist it's Murphy. I still say nay. But I'll take another look on viewing #4.

Btw, one of these friends is "Groucho," aka Peter Canavese, who has his own Batcomputer, check it out...

So on third viewing, what stands out?

-I must admit some people's criticisms about 'realism' feel more valid. For example, at the party at Wayne Penthouse, Wayne puts Dent in a closet with a broom stick across the door handles. Once Wayne goes flying out the window, certainly the Joker and his henchmen had a few minutes to scour the Penthouse and would notice this closet door? For me, I'm fine with how they handled it, but I can see others having that issue. Yes, the Joker's increasingly elaborate plans can be seen as ridiculous, but hey, we're still watching a comic book movie and a big part of the fun is trying to predict the next step in its execution. The term "evil genius" has never been so apt.


-This is still Ledger's movie. Man, he's great. His voice, in particular, stuck out this time for me. Amazing vocal work.

THE JOKER
I'm like a dog chasing after a car.
I wouldn't know what to do with it
if I caught it!

-The Joker wants to die. He challenges Batman and Dent to kill him, and he welcomes beatings.

-The extraction of Lau from Hong Kong felt long on first viewing, but no longer. I now appreciate it as a fantastic sequence that's woven into the plot with elegant writing and editing.

-Anthony Michael Hall as Engel the TV news host? He has a lot of screen time, good for him! I'd love to see him in more roles, and not just to gauge the girth of his rapidly-expanding face.

-The sequence of Batman saving Rachel from the free-fall out of the skyscraper is more clear in the script, whereas in the movie they're primarily using sound to cue us that Batman is using his cape to break their fall. It also seems like they meant for the earlier scene of Batman landing on the car to be a setup for the skyscraper fall...

From pages 12-13, in the parking structure...

After a moment he JUMPS... and falls... ten stories...

He's about to hit the exit ramp- the van appears- his cape
POPS OPEN- he SLAMS into the roof, CRUSHING the cab.

From pg. 65, the fall from Wayne Penthouse...

EXT. BUILDING -- NIGHT

They DROP- Batman FIRES his grapple, SNAGGING Rachel's
ankle- activates one wing of his cape- They SPIN and SLOW-
Batman envelopes Rachel- they SLAM into the hood of a
passing taxi.


-The reason the ending works, even though it is very dark and seemingly ends on failure, is the same with any film in which the protagonist dies -- the Central Dramatic Question has been answered: How can Gotham defeat its rampant crime? By maintaining Harvey Dent as a figurehead and The Batman as an outlaw. Bruce Wayne and Jim Gordon had to go through the steps of the narrative to come to this conclusion.

The script reveals many moments that were improved by the shooting and editing process. For example, in the opening of the screenplay the Joker is only glimpsed in the reflections of shards of glass inside the bank. In the movie, he takes off his clown mask and we see a full shot of his face, which really gets the movie firing on all cylinders.

And now, off to plan viewing number four. Should I take the Ducati or the Lamborghini?


p.s. The cable channel Reelzchannel is running an episode of "The Big Tease" in which they show the trailers for every Batman film thus far, including the winner of a fan trailer contest. I can't seem to find that fan trailer on line, but it's truly hilarious, and revisiting all of the Batman trailers is quite the trip down memory lane. Look for this show.

TROPIC THUNDER: HILARIOUS! (UPDATED)

Updates below in red...

I saw an advance screening last night of Tropic Thunder and I can say it's unique, smart, ballsy, consistently funny and entertaining. This is the true comedy event of the summer! (Did I just say that?)

If you haven't seen it already, I suggest you stay away from the red-band trailer on youtube, it gives away too many of the best jokes. The first trailer's a good teaser...



The surprise star cameos in this movie are a ton of fun. They definitely didn't skimp on the budget on this one, in any way, which makes you really appreciate that you're getting your money's worth. There's about a million movie stars in it -- three huge ones that aren't even shown in any of the ads.

If you're a fan of movies like Platoon and Apocalypse Now, it will be especially funny (there are lines directly cribbed from Platoon), but that's not necessary. Kids who have never seen the Vietnam dramas of the 70s and 80s will still be laughing their asses off.

The entire cast is in top form, starting with the three leads, Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Robert Downey, Jr., joined by up-and-coming comedy stars like Bill Hader, Steve Coogan and Danny McBride (the Foot Fist Way guy). And of course Nick Nolte, perfectly cast as the growly voiced vet who wrote the book that inspired the film that they're shooting.

The big star is Robert Downey, Jr. He's brilliant in this role; him and Stiller really go at it in some hilarious dialogue scenes that had to have been expanded via improvisation. You don't even have to understand what Downey is saying in his over-affected Cajun drawl to laugh; his facial expressions are enough to send you over the edge.

It's great to see Ben Stiller back in the director's chair and with material right up his alley; this is definitely not a conventional Hollywood comedy; it takes chances and they pay off. Stiller has always been great when skewering Hollywood, starting with his brilliant spoof of The Color of Money which was shown on SNL way back in 1988 (The Hustler of Money, seems to be unavailable online), and then reprising his role as Tom Cruise in the Tom Crooze video for MTV, which I'd warrant has been hugely influential on today's online comedy filmmakers...




Although Stiller sometimes goes a bit far (Zoolander has its moments but gets to be a bit much by the third Act), with Tropic Thunder he finds the right balance of absurdity, reality and satire. Lines like Downey's: "I stay in character until I do the dvd commentary" are classic Stiller.

Kudos to Justin Theroux, the talented actor turned screenwriter, for co-writing this film with Stiller and Etan Cohen and just nabbing the job of writing Iron Man 2. I enjoyed Theroux on Six Feet Under as the guy who runs naked across the lawn to get to Brenda (okay, his character's name was Joe).

Let's not forget the brilliant viral marketing campaign, beginning with separate websites for the "movies within the movie within the movie:"

The Simple Jack site has been shut down due to controversy over the use of the "R" word...

They even built a site for Tugg Speedman's favorite charity (which figures into some hilarious bits in the movie):

The brilliant "Rain of Madness" site offers a faux-documentary about the making of the film within the film (if that makes any sense)...

...this satirizes the "Hearts of Darkness" documentary
about the making of "Apocalypse Now," directed
by Coppola's ex-wife...

The three main actors produced this spoof from the MTV Movie Awards, which is kind of a meta-viral video and is definitely worth watching if you've got four minutes...

They're dropping this film at a perfect time, the dog days of Summer, mid-August. You know, you've seen The Dark Knight 12 times, you can't find a friend to join you for The Mummy 3, despite you're pointing out that it has Yetis (Yetis, ferchrissakes!) and you just want a good laugh.

That's when you unleash a little thunder.

Enough love, go see it.

2nd viewing of The Dark Knight: Observations and Realizations

picture source: College Humor

-Rachel is definitely dead. There's a theory out there that she's still alive, since we never saw a body. But storywise, she HAS to be dead. If they bring her back, it will be cheesy as hell. (plus, I'm not a fan of Maggie Gyllenhaal's lopsided face. Sorry, but I'm no Katie Holmes apologist, I thought she was damn good in Batman Begins.* Gyllenhaal was good, but not great, in this movie.)

-Harvey Dent is definitely not dead, even though it looks like it. But they want the public to think he's gone; that's part of Gordon and Batman's new plan to use Dent as a martyr and maintain The Batman as an outlaw. Great ending, and a great way to put Two-Face in Arkham Asylum for the next chapter.

-When Lucius Fox turns off the sonar system, the sound fx are initially the sounds of bats swarming in a cave!

-Bruce Wayne was not working with Harvey Dent when Harvey gave himself up as The Batman. Wayne really was going to turn himself in, something I didn't buy into the first time around.

-I don't believe that was Cillian Murphy as The Scarecrow, even though he is listed in the credits. His face and voice are just off enough that I think they hired a double so they didn't have to pay him for what amounts to a single shot in the movie.

-The youtube-esque footage of The Joker interrogating the Batcopy guy is truly terrifying. Audience members were covering their eyes. Give Ledger the Oscar now. Seriously, before the nominations and ceremony. Now!

-The borrowing from Frank Miller continues: this time, we've got the Batman "copycat" vigilantes (from Batman: The Dark Knight Returns), and also a potential foreshadowing of a fling between James Gordon and Sgt. Ramirez? (or does Two-Face kill her? Can't remember.) This made me recall the subplot in Miller's Batman: Year One regarding Gordon's extra-marital affair. Anyone else think such thoughts? (side theory: maybe this was a subplot cut from the film that will show up in DVD extras? I'll have to check the script.)

-Audiences have finally caught up to the essential truth of adapting comic book films: the filmmakers must make changes so that it feels completely REAL. The Dark Knight is intense, disturbing and ultimately, convincing. It would never have been that way had they not come up with new ways to interpret the Batman mythos. The facial scars on The Joker could have gone the same route as the "organic web shooters" fanboy debacle from the first Spiderman film. But by now, audiences have wised up to the fact that talented writers, directors and actors need to exercise some freedom to bring the true essence of the comic book character and world to life on the big screen. If the film delivers, the audience will come around, anyway.

In short, let the fanboys complain all they want on their little boards and don't worry about it if you know you've got the goods. Iron Man and The Dark Knight proved this in spades this summer. Both are great films and they made their respective worlds authentic and this is why they both have massive box-office legs and street cred on the Cheeto-encrusted pathways of the Comic Con.

Not to take anything away from the more stylized Sin City's or 300's of the world, I enjoyed both of those films immensely and look forward to Frank Miller's vision for The Spirit and Zack Snyder's Watchmen -- but when I firmly believe that a superhero saga is happening in the real world, our real world, I'm being blown through the back wall of the theater like it's May '88 and John McClane is diving off a rooftop with a firehose around his waist. I.e., it's on, peoples.

With that said, the only two moments that still don't work for me in The Dark Knight:

-When Batman dives out the window after Rachel and they fall hundreds of feet down to the car on the street, it would have been nice to see him use his cape or a wire to somehow break their fall. (we hear his cape flapping but don't see it slow their fall) I don't buy that his armor alone broke his fall from that height and neither of them would be knocked out or suffer broken bones. It's a small quibble but seems like it wouldn't have been that tough of a fix.

-Batman would have rammed the Joker with the Batpod, perhaps breaking every bone in the Joker's body but not killing him. Or he would have jumped off the bike and tackled the psycho, considering the Joker's multiple murders by that point. I don't buy that Batman would veer around him and crash the pod in such a haphazard fashion as to knock himself out, thus needing James Gordon to bail him out. I guess this is Batman's "one rule" in effect: he won't kill. But he didn't need to. C'mon, he's Batman! He's got the skillz, the agility. Which leads to my final observation on this go-round:

-Batman's fighting style is all power and brute force. No kung-fu, no acrobatics, no wires, he's literally beating these crooks to a pulp, as Alfred reminds him. This is quite deliberate, of course, to go along with the thematic thread of what happens when a guy brings a knife to a fist fight.

And if that guy also has four grenades under his vest, sickening facial scars and absolutely no respect for life...you've got a problem on your hands.



So that's two viewings of this masterpiece, and soon I just may be going in for number three.

*While we're at: Michelle Williams as Catwoman in the next film. Not because of Heath Ledger, because of Dawson's Creek. It was the springboard for the best Rachel Dawes yet, why not another cast member?

Of course, Pacey as the Riddler could work?

C'mon, he grew the beard, ferchrissakes. That guy's nails. Nothing but.

No?

Okay, I'll shut up now.


Dan.

p.s. The script is out there. I've got it. It's damn good. It's very interesting to see all the small changes that Nolan made when shooting the film. If you want a copy, email me.

PINEAPPLE EXPRESS: Not a bullet train, but it makes the right stops.

Saw Pineapple Express the other night, preview screening, thanks to my super-covert inside source for screenings.

I'm a big Apatow fan, and I loved Knocked Up, the first major Seth Rogen feature vehicle, and Freaks and Geeks, the first team-up of Rogen and James Franco. Both are great in this film, Franco being the stand-out.

Overall, Pineapple Express is consistently entertaining, with some good laughs and many good actors, but it's just not up there with the best of the Apatow comedies, IMHO.

If you're into stoner comedy or spoofs of action movies -- the third act becomes similar to Hot Fuzz with some over-the-top comedic action, and is actually the most entertaining part -- then go see it. If not, you can wait for dvd or cable.

It's a treat, though, to see actors like Rosie Perez, Gary Cole, Nora Dunn, and even Ed Begley, Jr. in the mix of this broad comedy. Kevin Corrigan (with insane Chris Walken hair), Craig Robinson (the "mad solid" Darryl from The Office) and Danny McBride (what comedy is he not in this year?) also turn in strong performances.

As far as the Apatowography goes, I'd say I liked it better than Forgetting Sarah Marshall, but not as much as Superbad. And also not nearly as much as Walk Hard, which I found hilarious and it still baffles me as to why that bombed so hard. I was talking to a friend about that; we both were thinking it was probably due to John C. O'Reilly just not being a proven leading man. Comedies are still very star-driven, and when they're not, they need to appeal really strongly to teens (Napoleon Dynamite and Superbad would be two examples). Walk Hard skewed older and just didn't have the big name or the brand recognition a la Steve Carrell in Get Smart. It's too bad more people didn't take a chance on it; hopefully it's done well on dvd.

Anyhooskees, you're still going to get plenty of laughs out of Pineapple Express, and it's got a few great scenes, like an extended fight scene in a narrow apartment with three guys who are the WORST fighters ever and a funny prologue in black and white with Bill Hader as the guy who was the military's guinea pig for marijuana in the 1920s.

They filmmakers take chances with pacing, living up to the stoner ethic -- slowing it down when a normal (sober) person would speed things up -- and I commend them for that experimentation.

In conclusion, I have a theory that Bill Hader must be Apatow's bookie or long-lost brother because he's somehow worked his way into pretty much every one of his movies over the past two years. I mean, the guy's funny and he does an great Vincent Price and a hilarious Vinny Vedecci on SNL, but give someone else a chance, huh?

The Writers' Building 2.0 is NOW OPEN!! (Updated)

After much hard work and technical brou-ha-ha, I am proud to report that we opened the doors of the new site on schedule on Monday, March 3, 2008.

You can see our new home page and read more about us here...

thewritersbuilding.org


We're capping the membership at 100 this year, going more exclusive and focusing on networking and script swapping above all else.

If you're a serious, commercial-minded screenwriter with at least one current contact in the industry and a strong spec sample, I invite you to apply!

We are now accepting applications for membership. Please follow the detailed instructions on the Join Page (link from the index page, above).