Dos Amigos screening

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I went to a special "Dos Amigos" screening of Children of Men last night on the Universal lot, hosted by Guillermo del Toro and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu. (Men director Alfonso Cuaron is in Mexico, I was told.) Two screening rooms on the eighth-floor of a Universal office building (i.e., where publicity and marketing works from) were used.

Cuaron, del Toro, Inarritu

Del Toro and Innaritu spoke to the crowd before it started, with the former talking about the importance of "viral" word of mouth about Children of Men getting around as much as possible before Saturday's Oscar nomination balloting deadline.

The projection and sound levels in the screening room I sat in were full, rich and needle sharp. (I took Jett and Dylan to see Men at the Lincoln Square just after Xmas, and the projection and sound levels sucked. Clearly, people who pay to see movies often see diminished versions -- and it's a real shame.) I especially loved that the entire frame of the film was shown -- there was no masking at all. (You could see the slight rounded corners at the four points.)

There was a generously catered after-party at the Universal Grill following the screening. Director Michael Mann, producers Mark Johnson (Chronicles of Narnia, The Rookie) and Caldecott Chubb (Tonight at Noon), producer-screenwriter L.M. Kit Carson and Oscarwatch.com's Sasha Stone also attended.

Inarritu is the first<< previous | next >>WGA nominations

Posted by Jeffrey Wells on January 11, 2007 at 10:44 AM

comment #1

Mr. Gittes says ...

Michael Mann???? I wonder what he's doing next.

Posted by Mr. Gittes at January 11, 2007 11:34 AM

comment #2

OddDuck says ...

I thought I heard Mann is doing a western next. If true, I'm really looking forward to it, but gotta admit, Mann + Western = global box office poison!

Posted by OddDuck at January 11, 2007 11:47 AM

comment #3

Colin says ...

Box office be damned, a Mann helmed Western sounds terrific.

Posted by Colin at January 11, 2007 11:52 AM

comment #4

OddDuck says ...

I completely agree!

Posted by OddDuck at January 11, 2007 11:54 AM

comment #5

gatsby1040 says ...

mann's next is a WWII fighter pilot picture starring tom cruise.

too bad all the screenings in the world won't help COM's oscar hopes. the voters like their nominees a bit less interesting.

Posted by gatsby1040 at January 11, 2007 12:08 PM

comment #6

Thrudvangar says ...

Why no Four Amigos? So Almodovar isn't from Mexico but he's Spanish, and Volver (and the other two films) are a hundred times better than Babel. If you're stuck on Three Amigos for the convenient reference couldn't you kick Inarritu out of the club, make a trade?
I reckon most folks will see Babel first and then instead of that leading them to see the other films, they will just stop attending films altogether cuz they'll figure that they could stay home where the popcorn is cheaper and watch reruns of Baywatch and have a better time.

Posted by Thrudvangar at January 11, 2007 12:46 PM

comment #7

Kristopher Tapley says ...

Wish I could've been there.

Posted by Kristopher Tapley at January 11, 2007 1:03 PM

comment #8

Kristopher Tapley says ...

OddDuck: You heard right. I reported on Mann's western, "Comanche," in a NY Times profile on Eric Roth back in November. Roth is writing the script, and from what little he told me, it sounds fucking AWESOME.

Here's the link to that story:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/19/movies/19tapl.html?_r=1&ref=movies&oref=slogin

As for Mann being at the "Children of Men" party, I bet he's still chummy with Emmanuel Lubezki, who sho "Ali" brilliantly, really stepping into Dante Spinotti's shoes and then some for the director.

Posted by Kristopher Tapley at January 11, 2007 1:06 PM

comment #9

bipedalist says ...

Sigh, Guillermo and Alejandro. *SIGH*

Posted by bipedalist at January 11, 2007 1:07 PM

comment #10

OddDuck says ...

Kristopher Tapley, that's awesome about Comanche! I don't have times select, can you fill us in on some of the specifics if you have them?

And I never realized that Lubezki worked on Ali. Damn, I'm gonna have to revisit that movie, as it and Collateral are probably my least favorite Mann movies, but I was completely floored by COM

Posted by OddDuck at January 11, 2007 1:19 PM

comment #11

Colin says ...

OddDuck, it says that Comanche is based upon the true life events that served as the basis for The Searchers but sticks closer to the true life events.

Posted by Colin at January 11, 2007 1:22 PM

comment #12