Won't Come
I came upon Doubt costar Phillip Seymour Hoffman around 9:40 pm as I was leaving the premiere party at the Metropolitan Club, and a question suddenly hit me that I thought he might know the answer to.
"Philly, what's the name of Bennett's new movie?," I asked. "The one he's working on now, gonna shoot early next year...something?" I meant Bennett Miller , who directed Hoffman four years ago in his Oscar-winning performance in '05's Capote.
"Uhhmm," Hoffman said, knowing what I meant but drawing a blank. "It's some kind of darkish romantic thing, some kind of relationship drama," I prompted. "Uhhm, yeah, it's...not coming to me," Hoffman said, shrugging. "Okay, two of us," I said. Be well, see ya, happy holidays.
The reason we couldn't remember Bennett's film is because it's called Foxcatcher, and what the hell does that mean? Something about a hound, a lady-killer? But doesn't that sound overly literal? Not to mention anachronistic with that seeming reference to women as foxes? If it's nothing like this then what's the allusion or metaphor? A person who literally catches foxes in the forest? Naaah. Too D.H. Lawrentian.
We all get Dogcatcher, but Foxcatcher? Doesn't feel right.
I'm just saying your film has to have a title that's easy to remember, one that Average popcorn-munching Joes can make an easy connection with. You sure don't want one of your pallies having trouble thinking of it. That says a little something, I think. A word to the wise.
Posted by Jeffrey Wells on December 8, 2008 at 12:38 PM
comment #1
Deathtongue_Groupie
says ...
Okay, show of hands - who else here got as far as "Philly, what's the name..." and found themselves wondering about the balls of speaking familiarly with those you most assuredly barely know?
It fairly screams of an outsider's desire to be part of an in-crowd.
Posted by Deathtongue_Groupie
at December 8, 2008 1:37 PM
comment #2
Geoff
says ...
Philly, baby, you look gooooorgeous.
Posted by Geoff
at December 8, 2008 1:50 PM
comment #3
BurmaShave
says ...
If he actually goes by Philly that's fucking awesome.
Posted by BurmaShave
at December 8, 2008 1:52 PM
comment #4
Dr. Smith
says ...
I have to agree, Jeff. All in all it was a roundabout way of telling us the name of Benny's next movie.
Posted by Dr. Smith
at December 8, 2008 1:54 PM
comment #5
Joshua Mooney
says ...
Perhaps the conversation went something like this:
---"Fiilly?"
---"Neeeiiiigh!"
---"Whoa, boy! Easy, now. Sorry. I thought you were Sarah Jessica Parker. Will you be fox-hunting at the Rolling Rock Club on New Year's Eve?"
---"No. But I may be 'Foxcatching.' Who are you again?"
---"Welly welly welly welly Welles, then."
Posted by Joshua Mooney
at December 8, 2008 2:11 PM
comment #6
ZayTonday
says ...
lol you called him philly
Posted by ZayTonday
at December 8, 2008 2:20 PM
comment #7
rgmax99
says ...
"Philly..."?
I like this site. I like Jeffrey's writing. I even thought he did a good job on the O'Reilly Factor a few months back. But it's the little details that slip such as "Philly," and stuff like thread count rants and his amazing mindbinder of a response to poor Ray on the Ackerman post ("I can probably skate figure eights around...") that make me shake my head and smile.
See, I've figured it out. Jeffrey Wells has morphed into a somewhat cranky and older version of Bill Murray's SNL movie critic character.
And I say this good-naturedly and with a somewhat straight face.
Posted by rgmax99
at December 8, 2008 2:20 PM
comment #8
ZayTonday
says ...
I'm still pissed that he didn't bark like a dog at the Oscars.
Posted by ZayTonday
at December 8, 2008 2:20 PM
comment #9
actionman
says ...
I just want to know what Wells thought of Gran Torino...
Posted by actionman
at December 8, 2008 2:22 PM
comment #10
Rich S.
says ...
It's chickie baby. You know, chickie baby, chickie baby.
Posted by Rich S.
at December 8, 2008 2:25 PM
comment #11
JD
says ...
"I'm just saying your film has to have a title that's easy to remember, that Average popcorn- munching Joes can make an easy connection with. "
What are you, a studio executive? I highly doubt this movie is aimed at average joes or that "Foxcatcher" is any less accessible a title to that demographic than, say, "Capote".
Posted by JD
at December 8, 2008 2:35 PM
comment #12
JD
says ...
By the way, how cool is it that E. Max Frye wrote this movie? For decades, I've been waiting for one of us his scripts to be executed with the clarity and precision of Something Wild. Here's hoping this is the movie to pull it off...
Posted by JD
at December 8, 2008 2:38 PM
comment #13
rgmax99
says ...
Uh..."Mindbender...," I mean.
Posted by rgmax99
at December 8, 2008 2:38 PM
comment #14
buckzollo
says ...
Great actor, and I can remember when he was still a cool dude. Sadly he is a bit of a rumpled prick, unless I guess, you are Wells.
Posted by buckzollo
at December 8, 2008 2:55 PM
comment #15
nemo
says ...
The "Philly, baby" part of the story, implying intimate familiarity with the celebrity at the center of the story, reminds me of the way Annette Insdorf once started an anecdote with the words:
"One night, when I was lying in bed, I wondered why Truffaut chose to do X in movie Y. So I turned to him and said, so Francois, why did you . . .?"
Posted by nemo
at December 8, 2008 5:05 PM
comment #16
T. S. Idiot
says ...
I've heard his pals call him PS.
Posted by T. S. Idiot
at December 8, 2008 6:42 PM
comment #17
nemo
says ...
Is he any relation to the jazz drummer Philly Joe Jones?
http://www.drummerworld.com/drummers/Philly_Joe_Jones.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philly_Joe_Jones
Posted by nemo
at December 8, 2008 8:27 PM
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at November 10, 2010 6:16 PM
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at May 19, 2011 3:36 AM