Day: July 24, 2009

This is a ludicrous idea. What has happened in Carol Channing‘s life that makes it biopic-worthy? She had a career, sang and danced, became world-famous, did Hello Dolly on-stage….what? Gay guys love Channing for being a kind of living caricature of a larger-than-life superstar — the raspy/reedy voice, large popping eyes, platinum blonde hair and wall-to-wall smile. Except that’s not a movie. Certainly not a theatrical one.

Now that Warner Bros. archives has announced the release of James Bridges‘ Mike’s Murder on DVD, it would be right and appropriate and respectful for Bridges’ original cut to be included on the disc. I don’t care if it’s a lowball archives release. Because it truly isn’t right for the sake of Bridges’ legacy for the longer version to be tossed and forgotten. It’s now or never. Seriously. Calling Jimmy Olsen!

The running time of the forthcoming WB Archives DVD is 110 minutes. The IMDB says the film (presumably the recut version that played in theatres in ’84) runs 109 minutes.

Here’s the IMD’s “trivia” recounting: “Writer/director James Bridges originally wrote and edited the film so that the story played chronologically backward, similar to what Memento and Irreversible did 16 years later. However, the studio got nervous, thinking it was too complicated and hard to follow, and had the film re-edited in chronological order for release.

“This was the first project Debra Winger did after An Officer and a Gentleman (1982). After a poor reception from preview audiences, the film was re-edited, the ad campaign was changed, and Joe Jackson‘s soundtrack music was mostly replaced. The film was eventually released on March 9, 1984 after Winger had a hit with Terms of Endearment (1983).”

Presumably there are HE readers who genuinely liked Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. In any event Vanity Fair.com’s Julian Sancton has spoken to director David Yates about how he balances fans’ expectations and those of HP neophytes. He also talks about how the next movie, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, will be shot not only in two parts but in two ways. One will be gritty and edgy with hand-held shots. Then second will go back to the usual widescreen splendor.

I’m not feeling the Comic-Con current as much today. I don’t think anything can top what happened at yesterday’s Avatar presentation It’s all downhill from here. I’d like to attend the Hall H Warner Bros. show (10:00 am to 12:30 pm) but maybe I won’t. I don’t need to see product reels for Where The Wild Things Are, The Box, The Book of Eli, Sherlock Holmes and the new Jackie Earl Haley Nightmare on Elm Street. I don’t care what cheesy-genre-wallower Robert Rodriguez might say. I’d like to see Focus Features’ 9 presentation, however; ditto Sony’s District 9 and Legion presentation, which happens from 3:45 to 5 pm. I’m down for the James Cameron-Peter Jackson “visionary” discussion, of course, at 6:30 pm.

Kevin Spacey can tap-dance around all he wants, but I’ve been told that there’s a better-than-decent chance that David Fincher will direct The Social Network — a.k.a., “the Facebook movie.” Hot-air rumor blather says that Michael Cera or Shia Lebouf are the prime choices to play Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. I don’t think the producers are free to consider Paul Rust because of the
unremovable black stain called I Love
You, Beth Cooper. Lebouf could play Sean Parker, I suppose.
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