Growing up The Wizard of Oz was one of my favorite films, I’ve evolved but the fact remains for its time it’s still an excellent looking film that packs an emotional punch. With that said, there is talk of a 3-D remake, one that Warner Brothers is saying will skew darker than the original. Fine, but please, please, please – don’t let Tim Burton get his hands on the remake.
Tim Burton is great craftsmen but his films, or at least the past few films of his don’t engage the mind as much as they engage the eyes. There is nothing for me to do, except sit back and be passive, he’s done it all for me. I don’t like this, and there many world-class filmmakers that I’d much rather see a Wizard of Oz remake from.
My problems with Alice in Wonderland, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Corpse Bride and Big Fish are that they were visually engaging films. Visual engagement is only half the battle: mental engagement, character development, drama, plot, excitement should be the whole thing. I’d rather pay to see a film that looks like it was shot on your handy cam that captures me. One such example is a documentary I just saw on Hollywood screenwriters, Tales from the Script.
Tales from the Script is visually the blandest film you’ll see all year, I don’t mean that as an insult: it’s a series of talking heads with the occasional scene from a film about screenwriting intercut to introduce the next theme. But what it does right (or write!) is that it contains truly interesting characters talking about a profession they love and are frustrated by and are critical of a closed system, not unlike Burton’s created worlds. I’d rather watch Tales from The Script twice more than Alice in Wonderland.
After paying to see Alice in 3-D, a format I’m not still sold on, I felt nothing, numb. The visuals weren’t terribly exciting to me, in fact we’ve seen this all before. 3-D is a format that I think still hasn’t been used to its full capacity (although Avatar in IMAX was a visually amazing experience), digital 3-D anyway (we saw the Dolby Digital process with glasses that we had to return). 3-D doesn’t do much to add to this experience, as there is a loss of light.
Burton also lost all respect from me as a filmmaker when he didn’t speak up over Disney’s shortening of distribution windows, for his own film (not Old Dogs, which probably should have been released direct to video). He makes films that are visually extravagant and expensive when a micro-budget documentary has the ability to be more exciting – you’d think with those visuals he’d inset on having it be seen on a giant screen, such as IMAX. Therefore you’d think he’d push for a full theatrical run, including a second run at a cheap house.
We’ve made the film a hit by seeing it. I will not see it again unless there was the promise of getting laid afterwards. So why is Burton wrong for Wizard of Oz?
I think the dark, dare I say “hot topic Goth” elements of some of his characters including the White Princess in Alice, serve to alienate audiences, it alienates me. Unlike most I like seeing myself on screen, which is why I had such a good time with She’s Out of My League this evening. The “hot topic Goths” and CGI creatures would ruin The Wizard of Oz. The story is about humans, not animals, humans trapped by their conditions and flaws. The idea of a CGI cowardly lion makes me want to puke.
Why not leave a classic alone. Sure there are things to be done, it could be made into a darker story, but why toy with a classic. The Wizard of Oz has been re-released a few times, I saw it ironically enough back in 1998 the same weekend as I saw the Oz-like Velvet Goldmine in theaters. Maybe Todd Haynes is the right person to do a Wizard of Oz 3-D remake; his work is about superstition, image, desire, alienation, and real humans. He gets women. He’d probably get these men with something missing, being a filmmaker from the golden age of “new queer cinema”. His Wizard of Oz would be personal, moving, and memorable with an emphasis on emotion more than visual.
Sony got that when they hired Marc Webb to reboot Spider-Man (why it needs a reboot I’m not sure). He’s only directed one feature before, but it was the fun character driven comedy (500) Days of Summer, boil it down to its elements and its about a boy and a girl, much like Spiderman. Burton has been adapting the work of others creating a hyper reality without engagement or any sort of conflict for us, the audience. It happens, we pay our $13, sit there for 2 hours and that’s it. The thing is, it shouldn’t more than that, we should connect, and when we can’t there is a huge problem. Maybe it’s just me, but wouldn’t you rather see somebody theoretically inventive take an artist risk and do something bold, then the safe CGI-infused choice that leaves you feeling bored?
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Paris Hilton with a Gun and a Badge: PC Sheriff Speziale
This essay was submitted and has yet to run in The Bergen Record in response to a puff piece the paper ran about Passaic County Sheriff Jerry Speziale’s role in Brooklyn’s Finest (http://www.northjersey.com/arts_entertainment/86740172_Sheriff_enjoys_his_star_turn.html) What sickens me most about Speziale is that he’s front and center and often not challenged by the papers that cover him.
Granted the papers cover the facts and reporters should be objective -after you read this, you may have the same reaction I did: if we give this guy enough rope, eventually he’ll hang himself. I have no doubt he'd do something very stupid in the name of self promotion, it might be a stupid YouTube Video. It might be a reality show. Think of him as Paris Hilton with a gun, a badge and an elected position.
Because The Record hasn’t run this essay, nor may they ever especially after running the above linked article which is factual if devoid of real valuable news especially in regards to the film's content (he wasn't asked the important questions as I do below). I think its fair to present it in its entirety for the 3 people that actually read my blog:
----
Letter to the Editor, The Record
RE: Passaic County sheriff celebrates film debut in “Brooklyn’s Finest” at screening in Paterson
------
After attending a screening of Brooklyn’s Finest, a film that features Passaic County Sheriff Jerry Speziale in a supporting role as a Captain of a corrupt Brooklyn police force, I have to wonder if such a thing is good for the Speziale brand. Speziale is a textbook example of effective self-marketing, he has become the front man for a brand of justice, as evidenced by the website for his office and technological outreach. Speziale is a prominent feature on the department’s crime fighting posters including a recent campaign to text in crime and quality of life issues. His face is front and center on all of the department’s materials.
This is why it is not shocking to see he’s now acting in a film – he’s capitalizing on brand equity, however like Ron Paul’s disastrous interview with Sacha Baron Cohen in Bruno, I have to wonder if in advancing his own interests the Sheriff was duped into participating in a narrative heavily coded and perhaps inspired by the Sean Bell shooting in 2006, and the ever changing narrative that immerged from the NYPD as it was uncovered.
The film also mirrors allegations within the Sheriff’s department. Sure there are good cops, bad cops and the unspoken “blue wall of silence” – the film shows many extremes, focusing primarily on three cops. One is pushed to the limit while undercover forcing him to lash out and commit homicide, the other bares similarities to former Passaic County Sheriff officer Alan Soto as he makes an unethical decision for money, while another cop finds redemption after regular visits with a cocaine snorting prostitute whose regular clients are cops.
The film blurs the lines between real life scandals and a shoot first; justify later mentality that haunts police forces. In this respect the film seems to be a direct reaction to the killing of Sean Bell. Following that incident the NYPD practically shook down every black man in Queens trying to find a mysterious shooter to justify some 50 shots fired. Law enforcement as portrayed in Brooklyn’s Finest is systemically corrupt from the top down to the new 20-year-old recruit. The title appears to be an ironic commentary. The corruption becomes viral; those at the bottom of the food chain witness it and are inspired by it. The film offers only one honest cop who is justified in his behavior at all times. Ronnie (played by Brain F. O’Byrne) does not break the law for a vendetta or for personal needs.
As a resident of Passaic County, I find it inappropriate that our front man for law enforcement would participate in a film that, while fiction, has parcels to recent scandals involving Passaic County law enforcement including the previously referenced Soto, who was convicted of selling narcotics from the department’s evidence locker, and other allegations of friendships and business arrangements between cops and drug dealers (such as an incident that involved cops from my town, Pompton Lakes as well as the Sheriff’s department a few years ago)
I suppose the reason Sheriff Speziale agreed to star in the film was to advance his brand as covered extensively in Robert Bieselin’s article of March 7, 2010, which also includes a book on his experiences that has been optioned for film. The Sheriff gives a fine, realistic performance and is featured in two important scenes in the film: he offers Richard Gere’s Eddie a shot at redemption by mentoring a new recruit and in the other he encourages Eddie to embellish a truth.
A push in the film is to justify all actions of police force, including shootings as “drug related” even when they are clearly excessive force. Propelling the myth of the blue wall of silence- that is cops sticking together to craft a version of the truth to protect each other, Speziales’ Captain Geraci confirms our worst suspicions.
Having an active leader in county law enforcement in this role inspires cynicism about his department and his leadership. The Passaic County Sheriff has a duty to the citizens of Passaic County, and it seems impropriate that he is creating a public persona to advance his own interests and not those of Passaic County or law enforcement’s interests, by taking a role in this film. His participation in the film provides a chilling two-dimensional character – and one can only hope it is not true to life.
I find it’s impossible to remove his persona and the film’s themes from scandals and allegations within his department. I would be interested to hear the Sheriff’s take on the themes explored in the film, while many are valid; this is a film that does very little to glorify the honest cops, although one character finds redemption. As Ronnie states “there are good cops and bad cops, we have our good days and our bad days” – this is a string of very bad, dark days that mirrors recent allegations of law enforcement abuse and the burying of truth. Perhaps the filmmakers were attempting to capture the immediacy of classic film movements such as neo-realism, by including non-actors in the cast.
Granted the papers cover the facts and reporters should be objective -after you read this, you may have the same reaction I did: if we give this guy enough rope, eventually he’ll hang himself. I have no doubt he'd do something very stupid in the name of self promotion, it might be a stupid YouTube Video. It might be a reality show. Think of him as Paris Hilton with a gun, a badge and an elected position.
Because The Record hasn’t run this essay, nor may they ever especially after running the above linked article which is factual if devoid of real valuable news especially in regards to the film's content (he wasn't asked the important questions as I do below). I think its fair to present it in its entirety for the 3 people that actually read my blog:
----
Letter to the Editor, The Record
RE: Passaic County sheriff celebrates film debut in “Brooklyn’s Finest” at screening in Paterson
------
After attending a screening of Brooklyn’s Finest, a film that features Passaic County Sheriff Jerry Speziale in a supporting role as a Captain of a corrupt Brooklyn police force, I have to wonder if such a thing is good for the Speziale brand. Speziale is a textbook example of effective self-marketing, he has become the front man for a brand of justice, as evidenced by the website for his office and technological outreach. Speziale is a prominent feature on the department’s crime fighting posters including a recent campaign to text in crime and quality of life issues. His face is front and center on all of the department’s materials.
This is why it is not shocking to see he’s now acting in a film – he’s capitalizing on brand equity, however like Ron Paul’s disastrous interview with Sacha Baron Cohen in Bruno, I have to wonder if in advancing his own interests the Sheriff was duped into participating in a narrative heavily coded and perhaps inspired by the Sean Bell shooting in 2006, and the ever changing narrative that immerged from the NYPD as it was uncovered.
The film also mirrors allegations within the Sheriff’s department. Sure there are good cops, bad cops and the unspoken “blue wall of silence” – the film shows many extremes, focusing primarily on three cops. One is pushed to the limit while undercover forcing him to lash out and commit homicide, the other bares similarities to former Passaic County Sheriff officer Alan Soto as he makes an unethical decision for money, while another cop finds redemption after regular visits with a cocaine snorting prostitute whose regular clients are cops.
The film blurs the lines between real life scandals and a shoot first; justify later mentality that haunts police forces. In this respect the film seems to be a direct reaction to the killing of Sean Bell. Following that incident the NYPD practically shook down every black man in Queens trying to find a mysterious shooter to justify some 50 shots fired. Law enforcement as portrayed in Brooklyn’s Finest is systemically corrupt from the top down to the new 20-year-old recruit. The title appears to be an ironic commentary. The corruption becomes viral; those at the bottom of the food chain witness it and are inspired by it. The film offers only one honest cop who is justified in his behavior at all times. Ronnie (played by Brain F. O’Byrne) does not break the law for a vendetta or for personal needs.
As a resident of Passaic County, I find it inappropriate that our front man for law enforcement would participate in a film that, while fiction, has parcels to recent scandals involving Passaic County law enforcement including the previously referenced Soto, who was convicted of selling narcotics from the department’s evidence locker, and other allegations of friendships and business arrangements between cops and drug dealers (such as an incident that involved cops from my town, Pompton Lakes as well as the Sheriff’s department a few years ago)
I suppose the reason Sheriff Speziale agreed to star in the film was to advance his brand as covered extensively in Robert Bieselin’s article of March 7, 2010, which also includes a book on his experiences that has been optioned for film. The Sheriff gives a fine, realistic performance and is featured in two important scenes in the film: he offers Richard Gere’s Eddie a shot at redemption by mentoring a new recruit and in the other he encourages Eddie to embellish a truth.
A push in the film is to justify all actions of police force, including shootings as “drug related” even when they are clearly excessive force. Propelling the myth of the blue wall of silence- that is cops sticking together to craft a version of the truth to protect each other, Speziales’ Captain Geraci confirms our worst suspicions.
Having an active leader in county law enforcement in this role inspires cynicism about his department and his leadership. The Passaic County Sheriff has a duty to the citizens of Passaic County, and it seems impropriate that he is creating a public persona to advance his own interests and not those of Passaic County or law enforcement’s interests, by taking a role in this film. His participation in the film provides a chilling two-dimensional character – and one can only hope it is not true to life.
I find it’s impossible to remove his persona and the film’s themes from scandals and allegations within his department. I would be interested to hear the Sheriff’s take on the themes explored in the film, while many are valid; this is a film that does very little to glorify the honest cops, although one character finds redemption. As Ronnie states “there are good cops and bad cops, we have our good days and our bad days” – this is a string of very bad, dark days that mirrors recent allegations of law enforcement abuse and the burying of truth. Perhaps the filmmakers were attempting to capture the immediacy of classic film movements such as neo-realism, by including non-actors in the cast.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Oscars = Toronto 2008?
Well I’m glad I did get to watch most of the Oscars after all. Cablevision, led by a recovering drug addict with a temper must be great at pissing off its content providers. Here is a corporation with such little regard for its customers, customers whose bills keep going up, that they let it come to this. Most blame ABC, I can’t say I do – I have little brand loyalty for Cablevision who are pushing customers to switch to digital cable by removing stations that we still pay for. If you want to get E! (and who doesn’t want to watch a documentary about Tara Reid acting like Cablevision CEO James Dolan did in the early 90’s – drunk off his ass on a Tuesday night) – you’ll have to pay extra per month, plus a monthly box rental fee, and to further sodmize you without lube – you have pay a fee to rent the remote from those crooks).
In protest I did buy an HD antenna at Target, which couldn’t pick up ABC 7 (CBS looked way clearer than Cablevision’s signal actually). It will be going back to Target tonight.
We saw the major awards anyway and not much of Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin, which I hear weren’t funny after all. (The last funny Oscar host was Chris Rock, the Oscars should take notes from the Spirit Awards, but then again they are playing to a safe Middle American type of crowd, you know the people that made The Blind Side a hit and didn’t see A Serious Man or A Single Man.)
The Hurt Locker, a film I saw last January at an Independent Spirit Awards screening won big – two major awards (picture and director, as well as 4 other Oscars). Back then it was a little movie with great buzz from Toronto, Jermey Renner and Anthony Mackie took questions at a Q & A session. Toronto 2008 was a great festival: it brought us two best picture and director winners in a row: last year’s Slumdog Millionaire had its Canadian premiere at TIFF, where it won the audience award (Precious won the same award at TIFF in 2009).
Toronto again is confirmed as a predictor, a festival with great taste, brilliant programmers, and amazing audiences who love film. Audiences make a film festival which is why I’m reluctant to participate in Rebecca’s virtual festival this year, but I may have to, I’m not sure I will get their in person with all the work piling up in March and April (I’ve been commissioned to make two pieces for Hallwalls Models and Artists Affair in Buffalo).
The Oscars contained little surprises, my friends were right: Bigelow did beat her husband and genuinely looked surprised, she made a great film, one that I need to see again very soon (hopefully next week the folks at Dip son Theatres will bring it around again in Buffalo).
Jeff Bridges rightfully won for his amazing performance as Bad Blake in Crazy Heart, which also won for song, which was expected and apt. I’m not sure how I feel about Sandra Bullock winning for Best Actress; I wish it had gone to Gabourey Sidibe for her fearless role in Precious. Also robbed was The Messenger, a powerful film that saw no wins at the Oscars. Christoph Waltz won best supporting actor for Inglorious Bustards as expected, Mo’Nique won finally after being shut out for Phat Girlz.
Hurt Locker won screenplay, upsetting The Messenger, a film that was equally as powerful, but hey – it was a Hurt Locker kind of night. Precious of coarse won best adapted screenplay, I assume it would have been too strange to give the In The Loop the award since I suspect much was improvised.
Then the technical awards: White Ribbon should have won for best cinematography (Avatar won, it rightfully won for its digital Art Direction). Hurt Locker was made in its editing, and it rightfully scored that win as well as two wins for sound. Shockingly the mediocre The Young Victoria won best for costume design over Coco Before Chanel. Make Up is a category I care little about, but Il Divo (unseen by me) looked impressive, it lost to Star Trek. Up won music score and animated film, I wish it had won best picture, it’s a wonderful piece of filmmaking.
So how about the docs? The Cove won, but I wished it had been Food, Inc. However I haven’t seen the Daniel Ellsberg doc yet, or Which Way Home. Nor have I seen the winner for Foreign Language Film, El Secreto De Sus Ojos, this category is nearly impossible to predict.
As for the short subjects, I can’t comment on documentary. I did see the nominated short animated and live action films and agree with both wins. Logorama was a bright spot in an otherwise dull year, save for Wallace and Gromit, but that short went on for a bit too long. As for live action, I’m glad to see The New Tenants won, Joachim Back’s dark comedy written and staring This American Life’s David Rakoff. It was very Danish despite taking place in the US of A.
The real tragedy is the way The Hurt Locker was of coarse released. It made $12 million dollars in theaters, perhaps the lowest sum of any Oscar nominated film many years (Slumdog pulled $120M), I’m not blaming Summit Entertainment but it’s a victim of collapsing release date windows between a theatrical release and DVD, had they not done a DVD release they could have opened it wide next weekend and it could have gone on to make over $100M at the box office. DVD sales and rentals, of coarse should be brisk starting today.
Expanding Best Picture to 10 allowed the academy to still pick the best picture of the year, others seemed like filler. Had it only been 5 I suppose we would have been Hurt Locker, Avatar, Precious, A Serious Man and Up as the nominees. This year we also got District 9 (I don’t understand that pick, but okay), The Blind Side (a hugely popular film with middle America, it’s made 250M), An Education (a very well made coming of age story), Inglorious Basterds (a solid film from a brilliant filmmaker), and Up In The Air (fun, but I suppose this is more of a celebration of who was in it and who was making it). Hurt Locker is second lowest grossing of the films (A Serious Man has only pulled in $9M, but its truly an original trip that recalls the strangest of the brothers Coen – reminding me of Lebowski).
With all this said, 10 proved to yield the same result: it wasn’t a popularity contest, or at least a popularity contest of the mainstream. Hollywood is still, by this measure out of touch with the mainstream, if this were the people’s choice awards I bet The Blind Side and Avatar would dominate, but those are the kinds of films they are. The Oscars choose No Country for Old Men a few years ago, a lot of people hate the lack of closure it ends on. This essay will end the same way.
In protest I did buy an HD antenna at Target, which couldn’t pick up ABC 7 (CBS looked way clearer than Cablevision’s signal actually). It will be going back to Target tonight.
We saw the major awards anyway and not much of Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin, which I hear weren’t funny after all. (The last funny Oscar host was Chris Rock, the Oscars should take notes from the Spirit Awards, but then again they are playing to a safe Middle American type of crowd, you know the people that made The Blind Side a hit and didn’t see A Serious Man or A Single Man.)
The Hurt Locker, a film I saw last January at an Independent Spirit Awards screening won big – two major awards (picture and director, as well as 4 other Oscars). Back then it was a little movie with great buzz from Toronto, Jermey Renner and Anthony Mackie took questions at a Q & A session. Toronto 2008 was a great festival: it brought us two best picture and director winners in a row: last year’s Slumdog Millionaire had its Canadian premiere at TIFF, where it won the audience award (Precious won the same award at TIFF in 2009).
Toronto again is confirmed as a predictor, a festival with great taste, brilliant programmers, and amazing audiences who love film. Audiences make a film festival which is why I’m reluctant to participate in Rebecca’s virtual festival this year, but I may have to, I’m not sure I will get their in person with all the work piling up in March and April (I’ve been commissioned to make two pieces for Hallwalls Models and Artists Affair in Buffalo).
The Oscars contained little surprises, my friends were right: Bigelow did beat her husband and genuinely looked surprised, she made a great film, one that I need to see again very soon (hopefully next week the folks at Dip son Theatres will bring it around again in Buffalo).
Jeff Bridges rightfully won for his amazing performance as Bad Blake in Crazy Heart, which also won for song, which was expected and apt. I’m not sure how I feel about Sandra Bullock winning for Best Actress; I wish it had gone to Gabourey Sidibe for her fearless role in Precious. Also robbed was The Messenger, a powerful film that saw no wins at the Oscars. Christoph Waltz won best supporting actor for Inglorious Bustards as expected, Mo’Nique won finally after being shut out for Phat Girlz.
Hurt Locker won screenplay, upsetting The Messenger, a film that was equally as powerful, but hey – it was a Hurt Locker kind of night. Precious of coarse won best adapted screenplay, I assume it would have been too strange to give the In The Loop the award since I suspect much was improvised.
Then the technical awards: White Ribbon should have won for best cinematography (Avatar won, it rightfully won for its digital Art Direction). Hurt Locker was made in its editing, and it rightfully scored that win as well as two wins for sound. Shockingly the mediocre The Young Victoria won best for costume design over Coco Before Chanel. Make Up is a category I care little about, but Il Divo (unseen by me) looked impressive, it lost to Star Trek. Up won music score and animated film, I wish it had won best picture, it’s a wonderful piece of filmmaking.
So how about the docs? The Cove won, but I wished it had been Food, Inc. However I haven’t seen the Daniel Ellsberg doc yet, or Which Way Home. Nor have I seen the winner for Foreign Language Film, El Secreto De Sus Ojos, this category is nearly impossible to predict.
As for the short subjects, I can’t comment on documentary. I did see the nominated short animated and live action films and agree with both wins. Logorama was a bright spot in an otherwise dull year, save for Wallace and Gromit, but that short went on for a bit too long. As for live action, I’m glad to see The New Tenants won, Joachim Back’s dark comedy written and staring This American Life’s David Rakoff. It was very Danish despite taking place in the US of A.
The real tragedy is the way The Hurt Locker was of coarse released. It made $12 million dollars in theaters, perhaps the lowest sum of any Oscar nominated film many years (Slumdog pulled $120M), I’m not blaming Summit Entertainment but it’s a victim of collapsing release date windows between a theatrical release and DVD, had they not done a DVD release they could have opened it wide next weekend and it could have gone on to make over $100M at the box office. DVD sales and rentals, of coarse should be brisk starting today.
Expanding Best Picture to 10 allowed the academy to still pick the best picture of the year, others seemed like filler. Had it only been 5 I suppose we would have been Hurt Locker, Avatar, Precious, A Serious Man and Up as the nominees. This year we also got District 9 (I don’t understand that pick, but okay), The Blind Side (a hugely popular film with middle America, it’s made 250M), An Education (a very well made coming of age story), Inglorious Basterds (a solid film from a brilliant filmmaker), and Up In The Air (fun, but I suppose this is more of a celebration of who was in it and who was making it). Hurt Locker is second lowest grossing of the films (A Serious Man has only pulled in $9M, but its truly an original trip that recalls the strangest of the brothers Coen – reminding me of Lebowski).
With all this said, 10 proved to yield the same result: it wasn’t a popularity contest, or at least a popularity contest of the mainstream. Hollywood is still, by this measure out of touch with the mainstream, if this were the people’s choice awards I bet The Blind Side and Avatar would dominate, but those are the kinds of films they are. The Oscars choose No Country for Old Men a few years ago, a lot of people hate the lack of closure it ends on. This essay will end the same way.
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