Cannes likelies?

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Ocean's Thirteen is going to Cannes so the festival can throw the spotlight on George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and Al Pacino ...fine. Nobody's going to trash this latest Steven Soderbergh-er like The DaVinci Code or Marie Antoinette got trashed, even if it's on the level of Ocean's Twelve, which I have a special affection for because of the improvised Julia Roberts-pretending-to-be-Julia Roberts scene in the Rome hotel room with Bruce Willis.

I was just wondering why, in mid-March, Alison James' Variety story about this didn't veer into speculation about some likely (or somewhat likely) Cannes frontliners. Like the Toronto Star's Peter Howell did a month ago. Surely James has her sources and has heard a few things?

Howell assembled a list of Cannes-favored directors (i.e., men whose films have routinely been invited to the festival in years past) and simply cross-referenced it with their latest efforts which are slated to open in '07.

I checked back with Howell yesterday morning, and he's still betting on Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones being there this year -- Dylan being the subject of Todd Haynes' I'm Not There and the Stones having been portraited by Martin Scorsese in a "career-spanning documentary on the Rolling Stones, with concert footage from their 'A Bigger Bang' tour."

I'm agreeing with Howell in half-expecting to see the following turn up in Cannes (and if they do it'll he a hell of a festival): Paul Thomas Anderson's There Will Be Blood, Michael Moore's Sicko, Joel and Ethan Coen's No Country for Old Men (I read the excellent script for this last year -- it told me the film could be Fargo-level), Hou Hsiao-hsien's The Red Balloon, Michael Haneke's Funny Games, Michael Winterbottom's A Mighty Heart (the murder of Daniel Pearl movie), Wong Kar Wai's My Blueberry Nights, Gus Van Sant's Paranoid Park, Hector Babenco's El Pasado and Ken Loach's These Times.

Howell says to scratch the Adam Sandler pic from the list in his 2.16. piece. (Alexander Payne co-wrote the screenplay, but the final version has been heavily "Sandlerized.") And scratch David Cronenberg's Eastern Promises, which won't be ready to show until the Toronto Film Festival in September.

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on March 16, 2007 at 1:54 PM

comment #1

alynch says ...

I've been hearing for months the Cassandra's Dream will premiere at Cannes.

Posted by alynch at March 16, 2007 3:04 PM

comment #2

christian says ...

"because of the improvised Julia Roberts-pretending-to-be-Julia Roberts scene in the Rome hotel room with Bruce Willis."

possibly the worst scene of soderbergh's career and the very definition of directing from the back of the limo...

that said, bernie mac said OCEAN'S 13 kicks OCEAN'S 12's butt.

Posted by christian at March 16, 2007 3:16 PM

comment #3

Hopscotch says ...

What the hell do you expect him to say christian? not to sound like a jerk.

I never saw Ocean's 12, I heard it was terrible. But a new Coen Bros. movie this year, and a new Paul Thomas Anderson movie. Sounds about time.

Posted by Hopscotch at March 16, 2007 3:32 PM

comment #4

115thDreamer says ...

Ooooooh...can't wait for the Coen Bros. flick. If you haven't read the book it's based on, do so at once, it's awesome. Kind of a "A Simple Plan"-ish story about a guy finding a ton of money, deciding to keep it, and the shitstorm that ensues. It's not a copy of ASP though - it's sort of a beautiful, troubling, modern-day Western. Tommy Lee Jones is playing the sheriff looking for the guy w/ the money (played by Josh Brolin), but he wants to find him mainly to save him from the OTHER guy after the money, a psychotic bad-ass named Chigurh, who's being played by Javier Bardem. The prospect of the Coens doing this story w/ Jones & Bardem playing two of the leads has me giddy, quite frankly. Like a lot of fans, I want them to go back to creating original stories instead of doing other people's stories or remakes, but if they have to do a book adaptation, this is a great choice.

Posted by 115thDreamer at March 16, 2007 3:40 PM

comment #5

Craig Kennedy says ...

It gives me great pain to agree with Wells and disagree with Christian over that scene in Ocean's 12.

I won't say Ocean's 12 was great, even the cast and crew don't make that claim, but it wasn't nearly as bad as people have said.

Sure, it was a thinly disguised excuse for a bunch of famous friends to hang out in exciting European locales on the studio dime, but it was also occasionally entertaining if always implausable and silly...and really isn't this the same spirit in which (for better or for worse) the original Sinatra film was made?

There. I've admitted it. I'm a movie going retard with no taste.

I'm not sure how I feel about 13. I kind of assume they wouldn't be doing it if they didn't have something new to bring to the game, but that doesn't mean it will be any good.

Posted by Craig Kennedy at March 16, 2007 3:47 PM

comment #6

corey3rd says ...

I tried five times to watch Ocean's 12 on HBO. And after a few minutes, I'd give up on it. Maybe Ocean;'s 13 kicks its ass, but that's not saying much. It's like saying you swim faster than a beached whale.

Posted by corey3rd at March 16, 2007 3:51 PM

comment #7

jeffmcm says ...

I thoroughly enjoyed 12, more than 11, especially because of wonderfully silly scenes like that Julia Roberts scene. I call that gold!

Posted by jeffmcm at March 16, 2007 4:15 PM

comment #8

Hopscotch says ...

I get a really strong SMUG vibe off the trailer for this one.

"We're good-looking, this movie is pointless...but you'll pay to see us anyway"....bye.

not for me.

Posted by Hopscotch at March 16, 2007 4:33 PM

comment #9

jjgittes says ...

I have extremely high hopes for "Oceans 13". Loved "11', thought "12" was sort of a mess, but enjoyed it in a weirdo way.........but something about the trailer for "Oceans 13" suggests a great big fun ride, and yeah, Pacino has alot to do with it, but still it's more than just Al.

It's big stars having fun, and letting us bask in their good times for a little bit. A talented director in big need of a hit film......That's Hollywood. I like Hollywood. I like that kinda magic.....got my fingers crossed for it.

Posted by jjgittes at March 16, 2007 4:41 PM

comment #10

dpease says ...

oceans 11 and 12 were money especially for the topher scenes. is he in 13?

Posted by dpease at March 16, 2007 6:32 PM

comment #11

christian says ...

it seemed bernie mac was admitting the sequel was not that good, so i dunno; it sounded like when tobey maguire said the exact thing about SPIDERMAN 2 and he was telling truth. i'd like it to be a fun film as soderbergh has it in him.

Posted by christian at March 16, 2007 7:03 PM

comment #12

JTag says ...

Jeff, how you cab possibly see anything redeemable about Ocean's 12? George Clooney, Matt Damon, Bernie Mac, and Brad Pitt have all gone on record as saying Ocean's 12 is pretty much a piece of shit. All of them acknowledge that it basically became an US Weekly parody of itself.

Posted by JTag at March 16, 2007 9:29 PM

comment #13

JTag says ...

Jeff, how you can possibly see anything redeemable about Ocean's 12? George Clooney, Matt Damon, Bernie Mac, and Brad Pitt have all gone on record as saying Ocean's 12 is pretty much a piece of shit. All of them acknowledge that it basically became an US Weekly parody of itself.

Posted by JTag at March 16, 2007 9:30 PM

comment #14

The Movie Man says ...

Ocean's 12 manages to combine the worst impulses of both Soderbergh the mainstream director and Soderbergh the hip low budget guy, its wink-wink bullshit that is absolutely about nothing and easily the man's worst film. That said, he's a smart guy, he probably knows it sucks, so I imagine 13 will be much better. Pacino as a villian is promising.

Posted by The Movie Man at March 16, 2007 9:34 PM

comment #15

D.Z. says ...

Jeff, I can't post my witty comment in response to that TIME Reagan cover.

Posted by D.Z. at March 16, 2007 10:17 PM

comment #16

christian says ...

i've read the coen bros script and it's easily their best since FARGO.

Posted by christian at March 16, 2007 10:34 PM

comment #17

Dan Revill says ...

Ocean's 12 is a tad messy, but I do enjoy it. I guess maybe because it does seem sorta off the cuff.
That being said, I do hope 13 is better.

Posted by Dan Revill at March 17, 2007 1:41 AM

comment #18

frankbooth says ...

Funny Games?

Is it a re-issue? Digitally-revamped director's cut in which the white gloves are replaced by powder-blue ones? Or maybe it's the Ron Howard remake.

Posted by frankbooth at March 17, 2007 2:40 AM

comment #19

thasos says ...

The Julia Robert/Bruce Willis scene is the worst, most smug piece of crap in the history of cinema. It has to be seen to be believed. It's nice that they all had a good time making the movie, but that scene completely floored me. I would have turned it off if I weren't in a cinema.

Posted by thasos at March 17, 2007 3:06 AM

comment #20

Legowombat says ...

I prefer to be able to suspend disbelief in a movie. Julia Roberts pretending to be Julia Roberts is strictly amateur hour desperation, similar to how teenagers thinking Matthew Broderick breaking down the fourth wall in 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off' is the height of ultra-cool rebellion.

It's smug, arrogant, contemptous of the audience, painful to watch, and made me discount it, Oceans 11 and any future sequel/s.

Not bad for one scene.

Posted by Legowombat at March 17, 2007 3:41 AM

comment #21

crabbie says ...

On the Coen Bros. flick - shouldn't have been too hard for them to write a script given that Cormac McCarthy's dialogue already reads like Coen dialogue. Or what they're always trying to write anyway. And if they can manage to get somewhere near the relative simplicity of Fargo and not try a lot of cartoonish O Brother Where Art Thou crap it might turn out good.

Posted by crabbie at March 17, 2007 9:17 AM

comment #22

Filipe says ...

McCarthy's novel already read so much like a screenplay that the Coens probably didn't do much besides cutting a couple od scenes and a few lines of dialogue.

As for the Cannes line up, everything Jeff mntions has big shot of being there if ready in time (or in the case of My Blueberry Nights as long as long as kar-wai can show a decent enough working print), if the possible execeptions of Babenco's (whose last couple of movies get almost no reaction there) and Winterbottom's (who might fell due to excessive number of high-profile english-language features).

Posted by Filipe at March 17, 2007 10:19 AM

comment #23

christian says ...

the script is clear as a bell and free of RAISING ARIZONA cliches.
sparse, violent and poetic. could be cool.

Posted by christian at March 17, 2007 10:43 AM

comment #24

jeffmcm says ...

Thasos and Legowombat: You are both incredibly wrong. That scene is the highlight of the movie and if you can't enjoy it, there's something wrong with you.

Posted by jeffmcm at March 17, 2007 2:12 PM

comment #25

nemo says ...

"We're good-looking, this movie is pointless...but you'll pay to see us anyway".

That pretty much described Ocean's 12. 13 should be more of the same.

I was going to say that the real highlight of Ocean's 12 was the scene where Matt Damon is getting Bernie Mac canned from his job at the casino. Mac is steaming with the notion that the firing is racially motivated, and every time Damon opens his mouth, out comes something that confirms Mac's suspicions. Of course it's all a put-on by Mac and Damon to distract Andy Garcia by making a big uncomfortable scene.

But then I remembered that the scene was the highlight of Ocean's 11. There was no highlight in Ocean's 12.

Posted by nemo at March 17, 2007 2:51 PM

comment #26

frankbooth says ...

See, 'cause Funny Games was made, like, years ago. But whatever.

Now back to Clooney Gets Paid 17.

Posted by frankbooth at March 18, 2007 1:30 AM

comment #27

jeffmcm says ...

Nemo, your 'highlight' of 11 is exactly why the scene I mentioned in 12 is great. It's a good scene in 11 because it relates to nothing, it's a put-on. Every scene in 12 is likewise: nothing in the film is 'meaningful' except as it relates to advancing the objective of the movie. Within the movie, this is to pull off the heist. Externally, it's to have a good time. I thought watching Julia Roberts play a nervous, non-actress playing Julia Roberts was hilarious and probably the most difficult acting performance she's ever done. It was bravura, especially opposite Bruce Willis. I would be interested to hear others explain why they thought it was other than great but until that happens I remain convinced.

Posted by jeffmcm at March 18, 2007 3:08 AM

comment #28

bacio says ...

I too thought the Julia scene was the best part of the film, it was hilarious. because the entire film was never meant to be a serious heist film. And then they took this weirdo thing so far out, itÃ‚Â´s basically unheard-of in such a supposedly Hollywood mainstream film starring mainstream actors and actresses.

anyway, doesnÃ‚Â´t Jeff sort of dislike Julia?

Posted by bacio at March 19, 2007 11:59 AM

comment #29

msic says ...

Unless production hits another major snag, I'd expect Bela Tarr's "The Man From London" to get a Competition slot. (It's his first English-language film, for what that's worth.)

Also, I'm sure someone's addressed this by now, but Haneke's 2007 "Funny Games" is an English remake (said to be a near replica) of the 1997 German-language original.

Posted by msic at March 27, 2007 12:22 PM

comment #30