Day: October 9, 2015

It’s nearly mid-October. Halloween pumpkins are stacked high at my local Pavillions. Yesterday I was thinking about dropping off a couple of sweaters at Holloway Cleaners. And today it’s 98 degrees with the same expected for tomorrow. Even for Los Angeles this is way out of the realm of normal. 2015 has proven to be, in fact, the hottest year on record. Which is largely the fault of China, India and American climate-change deniers (Republicans, corporate whores, hinterland yokels). I’ll tell you whose fault this definitely isn’t — i.e., mine. I sit around and write all day, and whenever I go anywhere locally I prefer my bicycle or scooter to the car.

From Pride and Prejudice and Zombies Wikipage: “Based on Seth Grahame-Smith‘s 2009 novel [and] first announced on 12.10.09 in Variety, where it was revealed that Natalie Portman would both star in the role of Elizabeth Bennet and produce, and that Lionsgate would finance and distribute.” Thud. “On 12.14.09 David O. Russell was announced as the writer and director of the film, but it was announced on 10.5.10 that Russell had left the production due to disputes with Lionsgate over the budget. The next day Portman had quit the role of Elizabeth Bennet, though she would still produce the film.” Double thud. “Following Russell’s departure, Lionsgate offered the directing reins to Mike Newell and Matt Reeves, but both declined. On 11.5.10 it was announced that director Mike White had left the film due to scheduling conflicts.” Bullshit? “In February 2011 Craig Gillespie took over as director. On 10.27, it was announced that Gillespie had left the film. At one point, both Jennifer Aniston and Rowan Atkinson were attached to the project. On 5.2.13 Lily Collins confirmed that the film was still in the works and announced that she would star in the film as a leading role. On 8.4.14 it was announced that filming would begin in September, with Lily James as Elizabeth, Sam Riley as Mr. Darcy, and Bella Heathcote as one of Elizabeth’s sisters. Jack Huston joined the cast on 8.12.14.”

Last night Truth costars Cate Blanchett and Robert Redford sat down for a Times Talk discussion with New York Times Magazine staff writer Susan Dominus, and were later joined by Dan Rather (whom Redford portrays in James Vanderbilt‘s film) and his former 60 Minutes producer Mary Mapes, whose book, “Truth and Duty: The Press, The President and the Privelege of Power,” is the basis of Vanderbilt’s screenplay.

I’m credentialed. Might be cool. Two days of listening, watching, roaming around, sucking up the vibe. A Saturday debate between Ann Coulter and Cenk Uygur. A Yes Men interview with Edward Snowden. A live visit from Trevor Noah. A KCRW political debate between Robert Scheer, Patrick Milsaps and Mike Pesca. A Doris Kearns Goodwin interview. A screening of Mad As Hell, a 2014 doc about Uygur’s contentious career, plus an interview with the guy.

Steve Jobs screenwriter Aaron Sorkin offered two interesting observations about the late Steve Jobs on last night’s Charlie Rose Show. The irony is that neither view is, I feel, truly manifested or brought home by the film.

Sorkin Observation #1: “If you’re writing an anti-hero, you can’t judge that character. You have to write that character as if they’re making a case for before God why they should be allowed into heaven…you have to be that character’s lawyer.” HE response: The feeling I had about Jobs when I finished reading Sorkin’s script was “no sweetheart but what a force of nature!” while the feeling I had about Michael Fassbender‘s Jobs was “what an asshole.”

Sorkin Observation #2: “This man, deep down, felt flawed and unworthy of being liked, unworthy of being loved…and to compensate for that, had the remarkable ability to infuse these products with lovability.” Rose (echoing): “Here was a man who didn’t feel loved but was able to give lovability with products that people would love.” HE response: This is the most profound observation about Jobs that I’ve ever read or heard. It makes perfect sense. But I didn’t hear it articulated in the film, either directly or indirectly. Maybe I was nodding out or something.

Wells to Universal: “Please hint that you’re thinking about maybe platforming Joel and Ethan Coen‘s Hail Caesar! sometime in December before the wide break in February? Just for the fun of it? I’ve read the script and it’s a peach, this thing. It’ll be great to have a Coen Bros. knucklehead comedy to put on my Ten Best of 2015 list.” By the way: If you look at the cast list on the Hail, Casear! Wikipedia Page you’ll notice that Patrick Fischler, David Krumholtz and Fisher Stevens portray “Communist screenwriter[s]” and that Dolph Lundgren plays “a Soviet submarine commander.” Do the math. Wouldn’t it be a kick, hypothetically speaking, if an early ’50s Hollywood farce was predicated on the notion that HUAC, John Wayne, Cecil B. Demille, Robert Taylor, Adolphe Menjou, Gary Cooper and all the other witch-hunters were right? And that there was, in fact, a cabal of Hollywood commie screenwriters in league with Stalinist Russia, and that they were plotting to undermine American Democratic values and maybe even take over? New Beverly double-bill in July 2016: Hail Caesar! and Jay Roach‘s Trumbo.