Dream Team
I once had a dispute with a guy over the proper role of a Hollywood columnist-commentator. He felt that columnists should basically be receiver-responders -- that they should only write about what the entertainment community puts before them. Baaaah. That's obviously part of the game, I said, but he was thinking too passively. A go-getter columnist should also adopt the mentality of a senior vp of creative affairs for the entire entertainment industry. Come up with new ideas, approve or disapprove of scripts, and so on.
Jeff Goldblum, Chris Walken
All to explain that during a recent phone interview with Adam Resurrected star Jeff Goldblum, I hit upon a great idea for a movie he would absolutely shine in. Not that Goldblum doesn't give a rich and savory performance in Adam -- he does. But he needs to star in a vehicle that won't get in the way of his naturally smooth charm. He's never quite been in such a film. And he's in a prime condition right now. And the clock is ticking.
I'm thinking about a kind of remake -- call it a revisiting -- of My Dinner with Andre costarring Goldblum and Christopher Walken. Two older guys of roughly the same generation (Walken is a little bit older) shooting the shit over dinner for 90 minutes or so in midtown Manhattan. Can anyone think of a more entertaining pure-talk proposition? Both are seasoned charisma machines with live-wire personalities and smart-ass urban attitudes. And both have great voices and signature speaking styles.
The thing that triggered the idea was Goldblum telling me during our chat that he knows, likes and gets along well with Walken.
If I had the power and influence I would sit down with these guys and come up with some kind of fictional-situational backstory that could be discussed and picked through during their long chat, and then get them to sit down for a week's worth of conversation. Shoot it on high-def video, cut the best passages together, and you'd have a great chit-chat movie. I for one would pay to see this. I have a feeling it would be a very popular DVD title. Everybody knows these two guys and what they're about. And it wouldn't cost very much to make.
If not Goldblum and Walken, who would be a bigger attraction?
Wait...how about a short series of films about famous actors sitting down together and just yapping away? A DVD package of five or six, say. Maybe an HBO series.
Posted by Jeffrey Wells on January 6, 2009 at 11:14 AM
comment #1
Rich S.
says ...
I would love to see Nicholson sit down with Dennis Hopper, Bruce Dern or Peter Fonda and listen to them just shoot the shit over the late sixties, when they were moving from Roger Corman to Easy Rider to the mainstream. Scorsese and Coppola could get in on it, too. That Roger Corman pipeline is unmatched.
Posted by Rich S.
at January 6, 2009 12:12 PM
comment #2
Breedlove
says ...
I love this idea, Jeff. I say Geoffrey Rush and Tom Wilkinson for the sequel. Or how about Frances Mcdormand and the Coens. But I like your choices.
Posted by Breedlove
at January 6, 2009 12:27 PM
comment #3
Geoff
says ...
Awesome idea. In fact, I know plenty of guys in their early 20's who would easily shell out some dough to see those two together.
Walken and Goldblum would have made a great vignette in Coffee and Cigarettes.
Posted by Geoff
at January 6, 2009 12:34 PM
comment #4
MikeSchaeferSF
says ...
You've just decribed that Jon Favreau show on IFC, "Dinner for Five".
Posted by MikeSchaeferSF
at January 6, 2009 12:37 PM
comment #5
Josh Massey
says ...
Why go fictional? I'd much rather see Walken and Goldblum as themselves.
Posted by Josh Massey
at January 6, 2009 12:39 PM
comment #6
PCP_Patriots
says ...
I think Jeff's pairing is actually brilliant. Two quirky guys with really interesting mannerisms talking about who knows what! That's actually really pretty cool!
On other scenarios:
What about Robert Duval and Jon Voight? A bit less quirky but two guys that would seem to get a really good vibe in such a film I'd say.
Or how about 2 women? Something like Angelica Huston and Anne Archer maybe?
Or the more obscure: Christopher Plummer and Philip Baker Hall.
Posted by PCP_Patriots
at January 6, 2009 12:42 PM
comment #7
Wiggumx
says ...
It's also similar to "Iconoclasts" on IFC.
I could watch "Dinner for Five" all day long.
Posted by Wiggumx
at January 6, 2009 12:42 PM
comment #8
Jeffrey Overstreet
says ...
Wells wrote:
"But he needs to star in a vehicle that won't get in the way of his naturally smooth charm. He's never quite been in such a film."
Wells, when was the last time you watched "The Tall Guy", with Goldblum, Atkinson, and Emma Thompson? It's still my favorite Goldblum film, a sorely underrated comedy, and the most uproarious thing Emma Thompson's ever done. I think it might fit the description of a "vehicle that won't get in the way of his naturally smooth charm."
Posted by Jeffrey Overstreet
at January 6, 2009 1:02 PM
comment #9
Midwest Doug
says ...
Hell, I just want an aging buddy road trip movie with Jeff Bridges and Kurt Russell.
Posted by Midwest Doug
at January 6, 2009 1:09 PM
comment #10
Breedlove
says ...
Bill Murray and Sam Shepherd...
Posted by Breedlove
at January 6, 2009 1:21 PM
comment #11
Nick Rogers
says ...
I'd love to see Ricky Gervais and Alec Baldwin in a comedy together.
Posted by Nick Rogers
at January 6, 2009 1:27 PM
comment #12
Edward
says ...
Great idea. Thanks for mentioning "My Dinner With Andre;" one of the great film experiences ever.
Posted by Edward
at January 6, 2009 1:44 PM
comment #13
Breedlove
says ...
Damn Nick that's a good one.
Posted by Breedlove
at January 6, 2009 1:49 PM
comment #14
Sabina E
says ...
Jeff Goldblum and Steve Buscemi.
or Steve Buscemi and Paul Giamatti.
Yep, I love those guys :-)
Posted by Sabina E
at January 6, 2009 1:53 PM
comment #15
televisiontears
says ...
Without a doubt, DeafBrownTrashPunk ftw (the Buscemi/Giamatti pairing, that is). What I wouldn't give to see that...
Posted by televisiontears
at January 6, 2009 2:02 PM
comment #16
Bix B-Roll
says ...
Let's throw James Woods into the mix and have all three reprise their roles in 80s David Cronenberg films.
Jeremy Irons can play tag-team waiters.
Posted by Bix B-Roll
at January 6, 2009 2:16 PM
comment #17
MilkMan
says ...
David Patrick Kelly and James Russo, both having already consumed two double espressos each, eat lunch at Carrows.
Fred Ward and Ed Harris cooking an Elk over an open fire somewhere in Wyoming.
Klaus Kinski and Ken Ogata at Clifton's Cafeteria. Both bring translators with them and it's the translators who end up getting in a fistfight.
David Lynch and Werner Herzog share a milkshake at the Van Nuys Cafe 50s.
Robert Blake and Gary Busey share a hanglider.
Posted by MilkMan
at January 6, 2009 2:25 PM
comment #18
RennyForRealHarlin
says ...
Nick Nolte and Gary Busey sitting by a fire place.
Posted by RennyForRealHarlin
at January 6, 2009 2:54 PM
comment #19
shepherd123456
says ...
Jennifer Connelly and Elisha Cuthbert, trapped in a sauna, door locked from the outside, and we keep on slowly turning up the heat and piping in some kind of gaseous ecstasy.
Posted by shepherd123456
at January 6, 2009 2:59 PM
comment #20
TVBoy
says ...
Careful. Get Busey and Notle too close to a fire and they could explode.
Posted by TVBoy
at January 6, 2009 3:32 PM
comment #21
CitizenKanedforChewingGum
says ...
ohhhh, shepherd ftw late in the game! it's hottt in hereeee!
Posted by CitizenKanedforChewingGum
at January 6, 2009 3:35 PM
comment #22
frankbooth
says ...
I want to see Shatner and Walken. Or better yet, Shatner directing Walken:
"No, Chris, not "To be or...NOT...to be." It's "To be! Or not! To beeeeee!!""
I can't believe no one has ever done this as a comedy sketch. Get on it, SNL writers.
Posted by frankbooth
at January 6, 2009 5:23 PM
comment #23
BurmaShave
says ...
I've always wanted a movie where John Voight and Walken play brothers.
Posted by BurmaShave
at January 7, 2009 8:15 PM
comment #24
cheapetiffany
says ...
I have not sought this enormous responsibility, but I will not shirk it. Those who nominated and confirmed me as Vice President were my friends and are my friends. They were of both parties, elected by all the people and acting under the Constitution in their name. It is only fitting then that I should pledge to them and to you that I will be the President of all the people. Thomas Jefferson said the people are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty. And down the years, Abraham Lincoln renewed this American article of faith asking, "Is there any better way or equal hope in the world?" cheap tiffany co jewelry
Posted by cheapetiffany
at April 22, 2011 2:13 AM
comment #25
janee
says ...
Si vous etes interesses par le dossier, ou desirez en savoir plus, contactez-moi par mail, et je vous mettrai en contact.
Best regards,Jane, CEO of sql high availability
Posted by janee
at May 19, 2011 6:30 AM