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Frost/Nixon Peek
Firstshowing.net's Alex Billington has posted the European (i.e., German subtitled) trailer for Ron Howard's Frost/Nixon (Universal, 12.5).
For what it's worth, Frank Langella seems a little more Nixon-like in this than he did in the Broadway play, which required broader strokes and playing to the upper balcony. (On top of which his size -- Langella is a big man -- couldn't be disguised on stage, but it can here.) Michael Sheen, also, naturally, seems to be using more subtlety in his performance as David Frost.
But you know what I'm also feeling? That the name-level supporting players -- Oliver Platt, Sam Rockwell, Rebecca Hall, Toby Jones, Matthew Macfadyen -- are going to deliver first-rate snap, edge, smarts. We know Langella and Sheen are going to score, but the second bananas are going to bring it home.
Posted by Jeffrey Wells on August 20, 2008 at 4:34 PM
comment #1
4th grade army says ...
Looks Wonderful.
Posted by 4th grade army at August 20, 2008 5:01 PM
comment #2
thorsen1nk says ...
"I'm saying if the president does it, it isn't illegal."
I can't think of a more pertinent subject to grapple...four years ago. Still, looks wonderful. Shame we'll never see the Bush/Cheney junta get the same treatment.
Posted by thorsen1nk at August 20, 2008 5:12 PM
comment #3
clancy says ...
The emperor could not be more naked here.
"Looks wonderful"?
Is that a joke? Langella seems like a Saturday Night Live parody of Nixon - a silly mimic. The film looks over the top. Wells is right that the supporting cast will top Langella but that hardly seems difficult.
Count me out.
Posted by clancy at August 20, 2008 5:28 PM
comment #4
colby says ...
What if both Nixon and Bush are nominated for Oscars this year?
Posted by colby at August 20, 2008 5:29 PM
comment #5
SmilingPolitely says ...
The world will collapse in on itself?
Posted by SmilingPolitely at August 20, 2008 5:34 PM
comment #6
actionman says ...
Looks very solid. Sheen looks awesome.
Posted by actionman at August 20, 2008 5:35 PM
comment #7
BurmaShave says ...
For some reason I'm not feeling Langella. Reminds me of Nicholson's Hoffa. But Sheen looks tremendous.
Posted by BurmaShave at August 20, 2008 5:43 PM
comment #8
plastiqueelephant says ...
this is my idea of a wet dream. as much as i'm looking forward to W as a poke in the face of the administration & fox news brand reds, this looks to have a gravitas which is massively appealing to me. peter morgan is just such an incredible writer.
Posted by plastiqueelephant at August 20, 2008 5:54 PM
comment #9
btwnproductions says ...
The supporting cast is unlikely to top Langella or Sheen. The parts aren't bad and the actors are good (but, whoa, Sam Rockwell is a flop indicator) but onstage at least they weren't terribly distinctive.
Posted by btwnproductions at August 20, 2008 7:14 PM
comment #10
btwnproductions says ...
The play, incidentally, will be touring this fall, with Stacy Keach as Nixon. Worth checking out.
Posted by btwnproductions at August 20, 2008 7:16 PM
comment #11
BurmaShave says ...
Keach as Nixon is the kind of crazy I can get behind.
Posted by BurmaShave at August 20, 2008 7:22 PM
comment #12
Mgmax says ...
In the trailer Langella comes off like an impersonation, hopefully that disappears when he's able to do it for extended periods.
I agree, this looks shockingly smart and crisp for the director of The DaVinci Code. But Apollo 13 nailed that period and the government-related subject pretty well, too, so maybe this is the one subject where he really excels.
Posted by Mgmax at August 20, 2008 7:27 PM
comment #13
BurmaShave says ...
All right two thoughts upon listening to it on my laptop with better sound:
1) Richard Nixon was from California, not Wales
2) The use of the score from THE FOUNTAIN was absurdly overdramatic. Can Clint Mansell just be commissioned to write original music for trailers?
Posted by BurmaShave at August 20, 2008 7:53 PM
comment #14
NDH says ...
Sheen gets top billing over Langella?
Posted by NDH at August 20, 2008 8:01 PM
comment #15
Aris P says ...
I am so over film set in the 60s. Same soundtrack, same events, same same same same. At the 1 min mark of this trailer I knew I would not see this film.
Posted by Aris P at August 20, 2008 8:49 PM
comment #16
lipranzer says ...
The trailer is no longer available online. Damn.
Posted by lipranzer at August 20, 2008 8:56 PM
comment #17
btwnproductions says ...
The Frost/Nixon interview was in 1977.
Posted by btwnproductions at August 20, 2008 9:02 PM
comment #18
BurmaShave says ...
What the fuck is the point in embargoing trailers? It's a goddamn ad for your movie. Fuckers. Really makes me not want to see it.
Posted by BurmaShave at August 20, 2008 9:07 PM
comment #19
lipranzer says ...
Never mind, found a new link.
http://www.filmtrailer.dk/trailer/1219/Frost%2BNixon.html
Posted by lipranzer at August 20, 2008 9:09 PM
comment #20
Marty Melville says ...
I caught the trailer just once before it disappeared, so my comment is based on one quick look... but I hope this film has some good fleshed-out performances from Langella and Sheen because, from a purely superficial viewpoint (voice, gesture), those are terrible impersonations.
Jeez, was it beneath Langella to throw a little David Frye in the mix?
Posted by Marty Melville at August 20, 2008 11:26 PM
comment #21
diesel says ...
German subtitled, you say?
The trailer I saw at Slashfilm was Danish subtitled.
Unless there are two subtitled versions out there, it would be pretty embarassing to confuse Danish with German.
Posted by diesel at August 21, 2008 3:13 AM
comment #22
D.Z. says ...
Burma: Yeah, that accent was awful.
Posted by D.Z. at August 21, 2008 3:16 AM
comment #23
K. Bowen says ...
It's an adaptation of a play. Therefore I am not excited about it.
Posted by K. Bowen at August 21, 2008 8:00 AM
comment #24
p.Vice says ...
It's a Ron Howard movie, folks. Major suckage is imminent.
Posted by p.Vice at August 21, 2008 8:52 AM
comment #25
NC Gary says ...
"It's a Ron Howard movie, folks. Major suckage is imminent."
SPLASH, COCOON, APOLLO 13, THE MISSING, and CINDERELLA MAN were all wonderful movies.
A BEAUTIFUL MIND, RANSOM, NIGHT SHIFT, and PARENTHOOD were good, not great.
So he's directed a couple of not so good movies. Who hasn't?
Posted by NC Gary at August 21, 2008 12:55 PM
comment #26
madskrilla says ...
I'm in.
Posted by madskrilla at August 21, 2008 2:38 PM
comment #27
Yves says ...
I just finished the Election Edition of Stone's Nixon. Ron Howard doesn't have the skills to come anywhere near the standard set by this movie. But I guess that would be comparing apples and oranges, as Stone's picture was an epic, while this is just an adaptation of a play. Still, I'd rather not pollute my cinematic impression of Nixon with another portrayal.
Posted by Yves at August 21, 2008 9:12 PM
comment #28
K. Bowen says ...
Oh, I didn't realize it was Ron Howard.
So ...
It's a Ron Howard movie.
Based on a stage play.
About a real-life story.
With actors imitating known figures.
Yeah, I'm completely bored by it.
Posted by K. Bowen at August 22, 2008 9:32 AM
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