Bee Movie

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Dressed in a bee costume, Jerry Seinfeld took two wild rides off the roof of the Carlton Hotel late this morning to promote Bee Movie, the animated DreamWorks feature comedy that opens in November. Seinfeld was hooked up to a long-ass safety wire that stretched from the Carlton roof to the hotel pier some 200 yards away.

Bee Movie star and co-writer Jerry Seinfeld doing the paparazzi stroll on the Carlton pier a little after noon today -- Thursday, 5.17.07, 12:105 pm. (The wind and the light showed that Seinfeld has a bit of Rogaine issue -- if I were him I'd do something about it before it gains any more ground.)

Footage from the film was shown at the Espace Miramar about an hour earlier, followed by Seinfeld coming up on stage and talking about the film -- the why and how of it, the genesis, the plot, the Steven Spielberg connection and so on.

The flying stunt had been rehearsed by Seinfeld and an assistance crew this morning at 5 am. DreamWorks chief Jeff Katzenberg also rode the wire early this morning "just to do it," according to what Premiere online critic Glenn Kenny told me at the after-party. Seinfeld's second stunt didn't go as smoothly as the first, Kenny said. The comedian had a hard time landing smoothly and "was visibly rattled," said Kenny.

I didn't take any pics of Seinfeld because I decided to walk over to the rue d'Antibes after the stage show to score one of those heavy-duty, multi-region electric power adapters. (I had bought one at FNAC two days ago, but it gave up the ghost last night in the apartment -- don't ask why.) But I made it back to the luncheon party and took a few shots of Seinfeld and the paparazzi.

The plot is about Barry B. Benson (Seinfeld), a bee who's not thrilled at the idea of doing just making honey for the rest of his life. (A disillusioned insect who wants to be different...hey, wasn't this what Woody Allen's "Z" was about in Antz?) In any case, Barry gets to leave the hive on a honeysuckle mission in Manhattan's Central Park, and he eventually runs into humans who try to swat him to death. Naturally.

Bee paparazzi -- Thursday, 5.17.07, 12:158 pm; Stone #3; Seinfeld again; Bee cookie; Bee cake

Barry is nearly all in at one point when he's saved by Vanessa (Zellweger), a kind-hearted hottie, and he promptly falls in love. Kind of a King Kong-Ann Darrell romance in reverse. Then he decides to talk to her. English, that is. Then he learns about the human honey business, and decides that humans are ripping off the bees in order to do so, and so files a lawsuit to try and prevent this. Honestly, that's more or less the story. I'm half into it. I like "silly" if the movie really goes for it whole-hog.

Chris Rock, Matthew Broderick, Oprah Winfrey, Sting and Ray Liotta (among many others) voice the other bees and humans who figure in the plot.

I haven't yet loaded by trusty Wavepad sound editing software since last week's hard drive crash, so I'm running the Seinfeld chit-chat raw.

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on May 17, 2007 at 5:40 AM

comment #1

Jayne Gacey says ...

I think Curb Your Enthusiasm has confirmed who the true genius behind Seinfeld is. To use a Wellsian phrase, I would say Jerry's hipness is severely damaged.

Posted by Jayne Gacey at May 17, 2007 9:55 AM

comment #2

LYTrules says ...

Ann Darrow. Not Darrell.

Posted by LYTrules at May 17, 2007 11:39 AM

comment #3

christian says ...

oh wow. another dreamworks animated film about insectsanimals feaaturing celebrity voices and laden with pop cultural references. whoda thunk?

btw, walter chaw at filmfreakcentral has a devasting review of SHREK THE TURD that incisively eviserates these awful corporate toons. a review more honest than the ones complaining that shrek has lost its "wit" which was always for shit.

Posted by christian at May 17, 2007 12:53 PM

comment #4

Craig Kennedy says ...

I sort of remember liking the first Shrek. It was overrated but it at least had something approaching a soul. The second one was fine while it was in front of me but then I watched The Incredibles right afterward and the comparison made me quickly start to hate Shrek. It was like drinking a Chateau Mouton-Rothschild after a swig of Night Train. I have no use for #3.

Posted by Craig Kennedy at May 17, 2007 1:51 PM

comment #5

Bocephus says ...

Sting is in it? That's pretty funny.

Posted by Bocephus at May 17, 2007 1:56 PM

comment #6

Glenn Kenny says ...

Hey Jeff; just to clarify, I said Seinfeld looked "rattled," not "riled" after his second leap off the Carlton roof. Sometimes the essential hard consonants get lost at these high-volume lunches, of course. Hope you saw "Control"; there's a pic worth writing about, for sure.

Posted by Glenn Kenny at May 17, 2007 2:19 PM

comment #7

christian says ...

"It was overrated but it at least had something approaching a soul."

love ya cj but boy, i couldn't see soul within the mean-spiritedness and pop culture smugness. i loathed SHREK from the opening-wiping-your-ass with-fairy-tale-pages.

what adult psychosis at work thinks that children need to learn post-modern cynicism? it's the inner-rot of soulless studio filmmaker.

and the film's "message" is way off -- it's okay to mock john lithgow's king because he's SHORT but we shouldn't mock shrek because he's ugly. whateva. plus any film that ends with a smashmouth song belongs to hell.

and the animation is ugly, with no point of view.

i fucking hate SHREK. but you know that now.

Posted by christian at May 17, 2007 2:22 PM

comment #8

Craig Kennedy says ...

Whoa hey! Slow down there. I didn't intend "something approaching a soul" to be a ringing endorsement.

Posted by Craig Kennedy at May 17, 2007 2:36 PM

comment #9

christian says ...

if SHREK was approaching a soul, it took a serious u-turn before it got too close.

i just love to vent on SHREK because so few do...

Posted by christian at May 17, 2007 2:39 PM

comment #10

Craig Kennedy says ...

I keep coming back to an image of Jerry Seinfeld flinging himself off a roof in France dressed as a bee and it makes me feel a little less jealous that I'm not at Cannes right now.

Posted by Craig Kennedy at May 17, 2007 3:40 PM

comment #11

RoyBatty says ...

How can you post this story and not even have a single link (much less a pic) of said costumed-Seinfield? I would say it's safe to assume that half if not all who opened this story were expecting to see just how ridiculous he looked in said costume.

For those who need one, the Washington Post had a nice shot and decent story. Chris Rock's statment about how the script was the sole product of Seinfeld's mind and not an ampersand-laden list of writers has doubled my interest in the film.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/17/AR2007051701037.html

Posted by RoyBatty at May 17, 2007 4:50 PM

comment #12