edited by Jonathan Doyle

Cloverfield [BLU-RAY] (Paramount Home Entertainment, 6.3.2008) Disguised under deliberately goofy, yet deliciously edible-sounding, aliases such as Cheese and Slusho, Matt Reeves' Cloverfield was produced and rushed into theaters under an equally appetizing shroud of secrecy. From last year's incredibly elusive Super Bowl ad to the film's viral marketing campaign, Cloverfield had everybody scratching their heads and drooling in anticipation. Aside from the as-yet untitled title and the Blair Witch-ian visual style, the film's biggest appeal was the enigmatic creature who was last (un)seen hurling the decapitated head of the Statue of Liberty onto the crowded streets of New York City. All we knew about the mysterious beast was that it was big and angry. Now that the highy-anticipated project has come and gone, one question has fortunately been answered: Cloverfield was a major success. (continued)

Upcoming

October 17

Mary

The Secret Life of Bees

Sex Drive

True Loved

What Just Happened

October 22

Fear(s) of the Dark

Stranded, I Have Come From a Plane that Crashed on the Mountains

October 24

Changeling

Dalton Trumbo's Johnny Got His Gun

High School Musical 3: Senior Year

I've Loved You So Long

Roadside Romeo

The Universe of Keith Haring

October 29

The First Basket

Simian Empathy

email this story
read comments (4)
post a comment

In this stammering Tony Kaye video about his regard for the films of Stanley Kubrick, he talks (at the very end) about an encounter with a friendly payroll consultant. As a way of stirring empathy between kindred souls, the guy told Kaye "he played the ape in 2001...the one who picked up the bone and threw it into the air." As Kaye puts it, "The friendliest person I ever met when I was going bust was the ape in 2001."

I knew in a flash upon watching this morning that Kaye had spoken to Dan Richter, whom I interviewed 15 years ago for an L.A. Times Calendar piece. Here are three scans of the original -- #1, #2 and #3.

My second favorite Kaye line in this video is his repeating what New Line Cinema's Bob Shaye said in an argument over American History X, to wit: "'Look..who do you think you are, Stanley Kubrick or something? You don't have a track record, you haven't done anything, you can't tell me what you want." In response to this, Kaye says, " I was stood up, very reactive, and stormed out and proceeded on a direct road to hell. "

North<< previous | next >>Can't Be Bothered

Posted by Jeffrey Wells on July 1, 2008 at 2:08 PM

comment #1

Gnome de Guerre says ...

Very nice to read about Richter. Thanks for the scans. (BTW, scan #2 is redundant; it's a cut-off version of #3.)

Posted by Gnome de Guerre at July 1, 2008 5:46 PM

comment #2

Gnome de Guerre says ...

Actually, too bad about scan #2 because I wish the article was longer. It would be great to hear more about how Richter trained the other actors. I wonder if he ever donned the ape-suit again. Maybe for a birthday party for Julian Lennon, or a private prank? Just imagine the apes running onstage during the '69 Oscars and bashing statuettes in yet one more of the Academy's misguided musical numbers.

Posted by Gnome de Guerre at July 1, 2008 6:00 PM

comment #3