By Jason Apuzzo. I’m curious as to what people think of the new trailer above for NBC’s forthcoming show The Playboy Club, as well as the clip below from ABC’s forthcoming series Pan Am. Both series are set in the early, swingin’ 60s – and both are looking an awful lot like Mad Men … in fact, almost embarrassingly so. Christina Hendricks and January Jones would seem to be owed some residuals, here.
It seems fairly clear that the major network Mad Men cash-in has begun, except that whatever ironic detachment and/or sophistication with which Mad Men approached the 50s/early 60s seems to be jettisoned here in favor of abject lifestyle propaganda and product placement (even of an obsolete brand, in the case of Pan-Am).
Due to their overall flavor of pandering, my sense is that the networks are going to have a difficult time selling these shows – although I certainly could be wrong. In any case, it’s fascinating to me that this is the turn popular entertainment is taking during the Obama era. Obama has always struck me as a 50s-style, Adlai Stevenson-type person in terms of his tight, disciplined personal demeanor, academic-style liberalism and Illinois background. Perhaps we are, in sense, going back to the late 50s/early 60s these days. Reader feedback is encouraged. Continue reading Ring-a-Ding-Ding: Pan Am, Playboy Club Trailers Begin the ‘Mad Men’ Cash-in
By Jason Apuzzo. The imagination sometimes wanders in unexpected directions. Govindini’s recent post on The Demise of bin Laden and The Cinematic Legacy of 9/11 put me in the frame of mind to revisit a favorite film of mine from years ago, a classic Hollywood action spectacle with eerie and unsettling echoes in the September 11th attacks: Irwin Allen’s The Towering Inferno, from 1974.
The Towering Inferno is, in my opinion, a genuinely great Hollywood adventure film – likely one of the best the industry has ever produced. It was certainly recognized as such in its day; the film was nominated for 8 Academy Awards, including Best Picture (it won 3 Oscars – for Cinematography, Editing and Best Song). What’s more, the film was a gigantic hit at the domestic box office – taking in around $116 million. What this means is that adjusted for inflation, the film would’ve grossed around $482 million today. (By comparison, the top film at the domestic box office in 2010, Toy Story 3, made $415 million.) Today the film is largely remembered for being the greatest of the 1970s era ‘disaster’ epics, but that probably puts the film in too narrow a box. There really are very few action films of its scale, energy or dramatic impact. The film also has the distinction of being the last great action film made by either Steve McQueen or Paul Newman, who co-starred in the film – and so for that reason alone, The Towering Inferno has a special place in cinema history.
Around 1973, just after the smash success of producer Irwin Allen’s The Poseidon Adventure, a bidding war erupted between Fox and Warner Brothers for a forthcoming novel called The Tower, which told the harrowing tale of a fire that breaks out in the world’s tallest building just as celebrities and dignitaries gather for its opening. The Tower, which I’ve read, is basically a morality tale set in a spectacular setting – in which we get to see how different types of people behave in the midst of a terrifying crisis.
Allen wanted to adapt the novel for Fox, but Warner Brothers outbid him for the novel. As luck would have it, a similar novel called The Glass Inferno – telling almost the same story – would also soon be coming out on the market, so Allen acquired the rights to that one. Allen then pulled one of the great producing maneuvers in Hollywood history: he called a summit between Fox and Warner Brothers, and got both sides to co-operate on an expensive joint project marrying the two novels into one film: The Towering Inferno, with a screenplay – a superb one, by the way – to be written by Stirling Silliphant. Thus was born the first major joint studio project in history. (As an interesting aside, years later James Cameron’s similarly expensive disaster epic Titanic would be another such joint venture, this time between Fox and Paramount.)
Old-school cast photo for "The Towering Inferno."
The film that resulted from this collaboration between these two major studios lived up to expectations – and to some extent surpassed them. A project that could easily have flopped, or spun out of control in a maelstrom of budget overruns, dangerous stunts and FX work – or out-of-control star egos – was put together by Irwin Allen in an atmosphere of crisp, military precision and professionalism.
The first big thing Allen did was assemble the film’s extraordinary cast, beginning with the improbable, blockbuster pairing of Steve McQueen and Paul Newman. More on that pairing below. Take a look at the rest of the cast, though, for Towering Inferno: Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Fred Astaire, Jennifer Jones, Richard Chamberlain, Robert Vaughn, Robert Wagner … and, of course, O.J. Simpson (he’s actually pretty good in his few scenes). Can you imagine a cast of this caliber appearing in a special effects picture today? It’s unimaginable. Continue reading Classic Blu-ray Review: The Towering Inferno, American Ambition & The Post 9/11 World
By Jason Apuzzo. Pixar has released a new trailer for Cars 2, which I’ve embedded above. I’m curious as to what people think of it.
I’m particularly interested in readers’ thoughts on Larry the Cable Guy’s ongoing performance as Mater. Here’s my question: is the ‘appeal’ of Larry the Cable Guy as a media personality real or imagined? Hollywood seems to assume Red State audiences just love this guy, that he is some sort of touchstone for middle American identity. Is that true?
Dominic Cooper as Uday Hussein in "The Devil's Double."
By Jason Apuzzo. A picture is worth a thousand words, you know? Some great new images are becoming available of of Dominic Cooper as Uday Hussein in the new film The Devil’s Double. I’ll be posting them here periodically in the run-up to the film’s release on July 29th.
For our new readers, The Devil’s Double is a new film about the mobster-like lifestyle of Saddam Hussein’s son Uday – and the moral crisis faced by his body double Latif Yahia. Both characters are played by Dominic Cooper, and the film otherwise stars French actress Ludivine Sangier as Uday’s mistress, Sarrab. The film is based on the real-life memoirs of Latif Yahia, and is directed by veteran director Lee Tamahori (Die Another Day, The Sopranos, Next).
The film is incredibly un-p.c. in its depiction of the notorious “Black Prince” Uday, who is portrayed in the film as a carefree, sadistic monster with a keen taste for violence and sex. As regular readers will recall, Libertas’ Joe Bendel reviewed The Devil’s Double at Sundance in January and absolutely loved it. Lionsgate will be releasing the film here in the States on July 29th.
By Jason Apuzzo. • In the time since our last Sword & Sandal Report!, trailers have been released for Immortals and also for the new version of Conan. I’ll start with the Immortals trailer. What a disappointment! As much as I love the concept of building a film around the ancient Greek hero Theseus, slayer of the Minotaur and lover of Ariadne, this Tarsem Singh take on the myth is not working for me at all based on what I’m seeing so far in the trailer … a trailer for which the term ‘derivative’ would be an understatement. About halfway through the trailer a title card reads, “From the producers of 300,” which is about as unnecessary a statement as can be imagined given how utterly identical this film looks to 300. In fact, if this film wasn’t being made by the producers of 300, I would’ve recommended they sue for copyright violation, given how close the two films are in terms of their look, styling, costuming and even color palette.
Henry Cavill as Theseus in "Immortals."
300, however, at least had a perverse/decadent sense of humor about itself, of which – thus far – Immortals seems painfully devoid. The entire Immortals trailer gives us little more than earnest speeches, slo-mo action, mugging at the camera and massed CGI armies. The dialogue sounds dreadful, featuring such chestnuts of profundity as: “To those whom much is given, much is asked.” Wow, really? I’ve never heard that line before! I thought that to those whom much is given, still more could be given – along with a free Starbucks coupon!
As for Mickey Rourke, his physical transformation into The Elephant Man seems complete, which I suppose makes him a good choice as the villain here … provided his character wasn’t wearing bronze bunny ears, and provided his mumbled dialogue was actually comprehensible, which it isn’t. And as for future Superman Henry Cavill, he does nothing for me here – and nor does Freida Pinto, who in her first big Hollywood film already seems to be taking her clothes off. That certainly didn’t take long! Welcome to L.A., young lady – you’ll fit in just fine.
In any case, I’m lowering my expectations for this film, although not to the point that I’ll avoid it altogether. (In other Immortals news, cast member Joseph Morgan discusses his role in the film here.)
• … which brings us to the new Conan the Barbarian trailer. This trailer is slightly better than the one for Immortals in that I actually understand what the story is about (“No man should live in chains …”), it has a more masculine lead (Jason Momoa), war elephants, and Rose McGowan as an insane witch. All good elements. This trailer again features too much CGI for my taste, and music that sounds a little too close to Metallica, but on the whole the film looks less annoying than Immortals. Jason Momoa as Conan is also reminding me a lot of The Rock, which is a good thing.
How will the new Conan rate against the original Schwarzenegger/Milius version? Poorly, I suspect, but it still may be entertaining. The trailer goes on a bit too long, repeating its action sequences, as if the film has little else to offer. That’s a problem. The original Conan got by on a certain amount of cheeky good-humor, based around Arnold’s over-the-top persona. Hopefully they’ve found some way to preserve some of that in this new version. Continue reading Sword & Sandal Report!: Conan, The Immortals, Hercules, Game of Thrones Rock the Pre-Modern World!
By Jason Apuzzo.THE PITCH: Muscular Aussie newcommer Chris Hemsworth swings the heavy hammer in Thor, a big-budget adaptation of Stan Lee’s superhero comic series – featuring an expensive, A-list cast (Anthony Hopkins, Natalie Portman) and operatic direction from Kenneth Branagh.
THE SKINNY:Thor brings muscle, pomp and even Marlovian court intrigue to this revered Marvel Comics property – while never losing its sense of humor. In a genre that sometimes takes itself too seriously, Thor strikes a nice balance between campy light humor and mythic/fantasy storytelling.
WHAT WORKS:
• Chris Hemsworth, who between Thor and Red Dawn (which I’ve already reviewed, in its original, non-castrated form) is about to become a major star. Physically, Hemsworth reminds me of the linebackers who played for Pete Carroll at USC – big, wild, ripped dudes with long hair, like Clay Mathews or Brian Cushing. As an actor, though, Hemsworth excels in moments when he needs to project warmth, sensitivity or shrewdness. He’s the complete on-screen package, and should have a strong career ahead of him. The rest of the film’s pricey cast is similarly solid – especially Anthony Hopkins as Odin, and Tom Hiddleston as Loki.
• Thor’s boffo set pieces and art direction from Maya Shimoguchi and her team make Asgard look like something out of Wagner’s Ring-cycle as performed by The Met. Shimoguchi and cinematographer Haris Zambarloukos also elevate the film’s New Mexico desert town into a cozy, archetypal burg out of classic 1950s sci-fi. I wanted to move right in and hunt aliens.
• Strong, humanistic values. Thor is a lover and a fighter, you might say. Banished to Earth by his father Odin (a highly grizzled Anthony Hopkins, complete with eyepatch), and having lost his super-powers, angry young man Thor matures and comes to enjoy Earth and all its human pleasures (coffee, beer, cute astrophysicists). Plus, although our government doesn’t know who he is – after he weirdly drops out of the sky into the New Mexico desert, and cheerfully clobbers everyone in sight – and although government agents quasi-threaten him with ‘enhanced interrogation,’ Thor eventually comes around to the government’s side, pledging himself to defend Earth’s security. Thor’s very much a team-player, a good egg who digs small town America, and you basically get the sense he would fit in well on SEAL Team 6.
A ripped Chris Hemsworth tries to lift Asgard's hammer.
