comment #1

Arran says ...

Stone didn't actually edit JFK, however.

comment #2

Richardson says ...

Didn't he (or, at least, he-with-an-editor) re-cut 'JFK' for video because he wasn't satisfied with it?

comment #3

Richardson says ...

And, Jeff, I don't think that one counter-example from 50 years ago really proves your point. If you're going to bring up 'JFK', it's worth pointing out that 'Natural Born Killers' took a year of editing, and that, from 'JFK' to 'Alexander', every single movie he made was re-cut after the theatrical version because he had rushed through the editing [except for NBK, where he did all the re-cutting beforehand to get an R and then released the full-on unrated version later].

It's not a good sign, no matter how you spin it. It shows that the release date is paramount over the quality of the movie.

comment #4

NDH says ...

Were the makers of ANATOMY OF A MURDER under pressure to have the film released on July 2? Probably not. I gather they just happened to be done editing by then. Editing will vary from film to film, and some movies are easier to cut down than others (especially if they've been planned out thoroughly in advance). If Stone is shooting this film according to how he knows it will eventually be edited (unlike a lot of directors), then it shouldn't be too hard to have it out by October.

comment #5

Mark says ...

How old was Stone when he edited Anatomy of a Murder?

comment #6

SmilingPolitely says ...

What about Spielberg with Munich? He cranked that one out pretty damn fast.

comment #7

Geoff says ...

I remeber Spielberg's Catch Me If You Can being shot in record time.

comment #8

Craptastic says ...

"Nixon" was put together even faster. Shooting ended in August and it was out in theaters by December.

comment #9

T. S. Idiot says ...

Otto made films with long takes and few cuts, so editing was easier.

comment #10

btwnproductions says ...

As I recall, the fast-track editing to get Richard Donner's ASSASSINS into theaters by fall 1995 was blamed for the death of one of the editors, after a series of all-nighters to get it done.

Preminger announced to the press that ANATOMY would be ready to go by July 1. It was the kind of attention-getting, independent producer thing he liked to do. It was an uncomplicated (and, for Preminger, enormously convivial) shoot, with the trial scenes shot in sequence, and not difficult to pull together. But he was renowned for bringing in all his pictures, whatever the challenges, on time and at or under budget.

comment #11

btwnproductions says ...

To amplify: Said ASSASSINS editor fell asleep behind the wheel leaving the studio and died in a car crash.

comment #12

Rodrigo says ...

I appreciate the schooling, Jeff. Regardless of Preminger's quickie turnover being rewarded gloriously with Oscar love and Stone's proven ability to make good in record time, the start date/release date quickie is just another detractor from W.'s potential for greatness. While Stone's filmmaking prowess and eye-on-the-prize ambition are the driving forces behind "JFK" and "Nixon," they're also to blame for "Alexander," a sterling example of another project whose list of uh-oh warning signs (Angelina Jolie as Colin Farrel's mother?!?!) rivaled the film itself in length and audacity. Is there any other film in recent memory that represented such a high-stakes coin toss? Nothing springs to mind, although that could be the cause of all those stars in costume and the screenplay's reliance on reverse-bombastic dialogue, blithely scattering "Freedom Fries" and such notorious nonsense throughout, with little regard for transcending cartoonish expectation. Then again, the very prospect of a Dubya biopic is inherently polarizing, and a portrait of America's inarguably dumbest President wouldn't be complete without arriving on screen with W.'s idiot spirit fully intact.

comment #13

Doug Pratt says ...

Anatomy of a Murder was simply a filmed version of an establish stageplay, with limited sets and the blocking half in place already.

comment #14

btwnproductions says ...

According to Foster Hirsch's Preminger bio, Ray Stark and Preminger both claimed to have rights to the bestselling book, which Stark wanted to turn into a play first (John Van Druten completed the stage adaptation right before his death). Preminger prevailed in court, and his film proceeded. I'm not sure what happened to the play, which did not reach Broadway.

comment #15

Legowombat says ...

Ah, that's finally clarified the lyrics to 'Marquette County, 1959' by Great Lakes Myth Society.

"Jimmy Stewart came to Marquette County in 1959
And he was shot for two months there
And all the pines wept stardust for a while
And the Duke would play his soundtrack there
As Preminger had cast him in the film
His character was Pie-Eye
Jimmy Stewart came to Marquette County in 1959
And he was shot in black and white
With local labour acting by his side
The northern lights where shining"

This makes me wonder... how many other songs about the making of movies exist out there? Is there enough for a mix cd?

comment #16

btwnproductions says ...

The movie makes outstanding use of locations, all derived from the novel as much as possible (even the courthouse and courtroom).

comment #17

NC Gary says ...

A little off topic, but whoever put together that trailer did Stone no favors. I rarely agree with Entertainment Weekly, but after seeing the preview, the phrase "unintentionally funny" came to mind. "What a Wonderful World"? Is the movie intended to be serious or treated as a lark?

comment #18

StoneFan1 says ...

"Nixon"
Start Date - late April '95
End Date - July 27th, '95
Release Date - Dec. 22nd, '95

"W."
Start Date - late April '08
End Date - Didn't hear, but I'm guessing it was
early-mid July '08
Release Date - Oct. 17th, 08

"Alexander"
Start Date - September 22nd, '03 (Stone actually
shot some stuff during the summer of 2002)
End Date - mid February '04
Release Date - Nov. 24th, '04

"JFK"
Start Date - April 15th, '91
End Date - July 31st, '91
Release Date - Dec. 20th, '91

"World Trade Center"
Start Date - Oct. 19th, '05
End Date - Feb. 10th, '06
Release Date - Aug. 9th, '06

comment #19

StoneFan1 says ...

NC Gary - Stone has made it VERY CLEAR the
movie will be a dark comedy, not a straight out
drama. So, EW can go fuck themselves if they
aren't able to pull up some quotes by Stone in
attempting to judge the trailer.

Rodrigo - I didn't have a problem with Jolie's
casting in the least bit. She delivered her best
performance, end of story. I don't think you can
blame Stone for the supposed "rush" through
filming and post-production. I'm sure INTERMEDIA
wanted to beat that other Alexander project to
the punch, so everything was put on the fast
track.

comment #20

nelson37 says ...

SARCASM ALERT:

Were U-Turn, The Hand, and Alexander supposed to be comedies? They had more unintentional laughs than Tropic Thunder has intended ones.

comment #21

StoneFan1 says ...

Perhaps, "U-Turn" and "The Hand," but nothing in
"Alexander" was unintentionally funny unless
you're a total mouth breather.

comment #22

nelson37 says ...

Guess Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper are mouth breathers because they said the same thing on their show.

comment #23

Josh Massey says ...

Stonefan1, stop posting here and get back to the editing room! You don't have much time!

comment #24

SmilingPolitely says ...

Uh... U-turn was most certainly intended as a black comedy.

comment #25

nelson37 says ...

My bad. Ebert didn't say it was unintentionally funny. Roeper called it "campy fun". Anyway, I'm sure W. will sweep the Oscars, assuming Benjamin Button, Frost/Nixon, Revolutionary Road, Body of Lies, and Gran Torino all suck.

comment #26

corey3rd says ...

Coming to America - Landis had a few weeks between the final day of shooting and the opening.

It all depends on how you shot it and how much post-production effects you've got. with today's Final Cut Pro set up, you can capture the video assistant and start cutting that night instead of even waiting for the dailies to return from the lab.

comment #27

Rodrigo says ...

At least you put your loyalties right up front in the title, StoneFan1. Were the wildly differing accents from the entire cast intended to be funny? They certainly were, although if "Alexander" was intended to evoke a hearty mix of chuckles and glances at the clock, I suppose credit should be given when credit is due. It should also be assumed, I'm guessing, that Colin Farrell and Rosario Dawson growling at each other on all fours in a bout of animal-fetish foreplay was thrown in for comic relief. Yes? And Farrell's California blond coif? I hadn't realized "Alexander" was playing for intentional laughs until now. Insight appreciated; I stand corrected.

comment #28

TedM says ...

nelson 37: My bad. Ebert didn't say it was unintentionally funny. Roeper called it "campy fun". Anyway, I'm sure W. will sweep the Oscars, assuming Benjamin Button, Frost/Nixon, Revolutionary Road, Body of Lies, and Gran Torino all suck.

Come on -- we all know the Academy will institute new ballots with hanging chads and that the Supreme Court will decide which movie wins Best Picture. Of course it will be "W." -- and Scalia will tell us all to "get over it!"

comment #29

Richardson says ...

"but nothing in "Alexander" was unintentionally funny unless you're a total mouth breather."

I have to give you credit, Stonefan. Usually, when an Internet film nerd makes an angry, insulting statement like that, they at least have popular opinion on their side. I respect your willingness to stand alone without backing off your argument, though not the stupidity with which you express the argument.

comment #30

D.Z. says ...

Rodrigo: I doubt W will be as risky as Alexander, since it's probably going to be cheaper to shoot, even if it bombs; so it'll make money on video.

corey: Coming to America doesn't count, since it was plagiarized, and had Eddie Murphy at his career peak before he just did dumb comedies which he happened to be in, and didn't headline.

comment #31

StoneFan1 says ...

"W." only has a budget of $30 million, while
"Alexander" cost $150-160 million. In fact, "W."
is Stone's first film under $60 million since "U-Turn."
Yes, "U-Turn" was a black comedy, but it SUCKED
BIG HORSE DICK! Sean Penn was quoted as
saying he'd KILL Stone if he ever saw him again
after the fighting they went through while making
that piece of shit.
Now, I don't have any "loyalties" towards Stone
or "Alexander," for your information. I waited four
years to see "Alexander" and if I wouldn't have
liked it, I would say so...loudly!!!! I felt it got a bad
rap from people who didn't (and weren't about to)
understand what Stone was doing with the
Alexander the Great myth. Stone has explained
the accents hundreds of times and I'm not about
to go over that again. Colin's hair was factual (at
least with the legends) and worked perfectly. Once
again, I'm not sure what people wanted or
expected, but it worked within Stone's vision.
These people thought they were direct, blood
relations of the Greek Gods. Why would they act
like Maxius in "Gladiator" or William Wallace in
"Braveheart"? They wouldn't!!! So, the acting style
Stone went with made perfect sense to me. Those
who couldn't handle it, GET OVER IT!!!!!!!!!!!!! You
weren't dealing with dumb Romans or half-witted
Scots here. Now, I would've had the actors
perform at the level of HBO's "Rome" series. That
seemed to have a nice balance to me between the
old epic style of acting and a new way to present
those sort of characters. Anyway, "Alexander"
is underrated and was unfairly taken apart by the
entertainment press in America because it wasn't
what THEY wanted it to be. The End!

comment #32

lazespud says ...

Like the Anatomy of a Murder analogy, "the Real Cancun" was shot over a week's time in March of 2003, and was in theaters in two weeks, and was also nominated for 7 Oscars. Well maybe not that last part. But from a practical perspective it was a pretty amazing turnaround considering the time it trakes to strike prints, etc. But considering they edited as they went along, and it was basically a TV show, they quick editing was pretty much par for the course.

comment #33

Cadavra says ...

Variety actually reviewed ANATOMY 21 days after shooting wrapped--in mid-June.

Eastwood is also incredibly fast. MILLION DOLLAR BABY began shooting in August and was released in December...and won the BP Oscar.