On Sunday, 12.25, or roughly a day and half before poor Carrie Fisher died, I posted what appeared to be at least semi-persuasive evidence that Fisher might have sharpened and improved some of her dialogue in The Empire Strikes Back. Given her later success as a valued Hollywood script doctor, especially after Postcards From The Edge (’90), this seemed plausible. Well, it turns out that the red-ink jottings may have been made my Empire director Irvin Kershner. This is what Comicbook.com’s Lucas Siegel reported on 12.26, at least. Two days ago Dailydot.com’s Michelle Jaworski concurred that the changes weren’t made by Fisher, although she made no mention of Kershner. Obviously I should have caught this earlier.

Three days ago I posted one of my Spielberg bash pieces on Facebook. I didn’t post it here on Hollywood Elsewhere because I’m sick of getting kicked around.

But then I read something in the Facebook comment thread that blew me away. It was written by Mark Eifert, to wit: “If Spielberg was a challenging filmmaker he’d make a Saving Private Ryan-type thing but about the Gaza Strip from the point of view of the Palestinians. He could get the money to do it, but I’m not standing on one foot waiting for this to happen.”

Hello? This is a perfect idea for Spielberg — a story about a team of struggling anti-Israeli commandos on some kind of terror mission that doesn’t work out or which ends in failure, but we get to learn about the Palestinian commandos and what they’re all about deep down (their families, their hopes and fears) as well as the Israelis looking to intercept and destroy them.

If he were to direct something like this and do it well, Spielberg could almost redeem himself in one fell swoop. Alas, it’s not in him. Well, maybe it is but I would be flabbergasted if he did something like this. The guy who directed Schindler’s List almost certainly doesn’t have the balls to make a film that would humanize Israel’s enemies.

Hidden Figures‘ Kevin Costner speaking with Variety‘s Kris Tapley about Dances With Wolves:

“There was an undertone out there that was ugly. It was ‘Kevin’s Gate,’ like, ‘What’s he doing out there? This movie is a disaster.’ I didn’t know where that had come from. I know this: I had to turn down The Hunt for Red October because I had promised I would do Dances, and some people thought me saying no to Hunt for Red October was [because] I needed more money.

“It wasn’t more money. I had already postponed Dances for a year and I wasn’t going to do it now. I had all my things in place. In fact, if anything, it caused me a lot of pain because there was more money offered on Hunt for Red October than I had ever seen in my life. So I was doing the dumb thing. I was putting up my money and leaving behind the biggest check I had ever seen.”

When Dances won Best Picture along with six other Oscars, “It was like ‘I got my money back!,” Costner recalls. “I got my house back!’”

Jeffrey Wells to David O. Russell: “It’s cool that you’ll be co-presenting Lion with Lee Daniels at [an event next week]. I’m a limited fan. I love the beginning section with the kid lost and alone and not knowing what to do, and of course the finale definitely works.

“But just between you, me and the walls…do you really and truly like the Dev Patel middle portion in Australia with Nicole Kidman and Rooney Mara, etc.? I hated that part of it. I hate that sensitive hurting look on Patel’s face…’I don’t feel whole, I don’t really know who I am, I’m adopted, I have to find my home,’ etc. I didn’t give a shit about any of that. I didn’t care about Patel or his relationship with Rooney…none of it. I almost walked out.

“Then Dev finally makes his way back to India and finds the village and reunites with his mom….THAT part works. So it’s that plus the kid in the beginning with a dead middle section.

“I realize that Joe and Jane Popcorn love this film (it won the Audience Award in Toronto), but it doesn’t seem like the kind of thing that you, the crazy-brilliant David O. Russell, would really be into. But whatever. What do I know?”

That Neil Armstrong biopic that Damien Chazelle has been talking about directing for over two years is a definite go project. First Man (based on the same-titled James Hansen biography) will begin shooting sometime in early ’17 with Ryan Gosling portraying the legendary Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon.

Armstrong was also regarded as one of the dullest famous guys who ever lived. I’m not suggesting that First Man will be that. Chazelle is too inventive to let that happen. His recreation of the 7.20.69 Apollo 11 moon landing will be worth the price in itself. It was reported eight years ago that the book would be adapted by Nicole Perlman, but Chazelle’s film will be based on a script by Josh Singer(Spotlight, The Fifth Estate).

A 9.24.14 Slashfilm story mentioned that First Man “has been bouncing around Hollywood for over a decade. At one point, Warner Bros. had it set up for Clint Eastwood to produce and direct.”

Here’s something I wrote when Armstrong died in late August of 2012:

“Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon and allegedly one of the dullest guys to ever do something momentous, died today at age 82. Let’s offer due respect for his and NASA’s brilliant achievement and for Armstrong being the super-reliable and resourceful pilot that his colleagues always spoke of.

I’m not sure that Gene Wilder‘s “be careful what you wish for…you may get it” advice [after the jump] is sinking in very much. Most people would he happy to get this hot girl or that great-looking house. If the relationship doesn’t work out or if the house loses its lustre and you wind up selling it or whatever…so what? Most people would say “get the girl” or “buy the house” or both, and worry about the details later. As I listened to Wilder, I thought of something Keith David‘s “King” character said to Charlie Sheen‘s “Chris Taylor” in Platoon: “You gotta be rich in the first place to think like that.”

Variety‘s Peter Debruge has written a Debbie Reynolds tribute piece. He partly focuses on the seminal influence of Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen‘s Singin’ In The Rain (’52), in which Reynolds costarred at age 19. Underappreciated when it came out in 1952, Rain is “easily the most delightful Hollywood-plays-itself movie ever made, thanks in no small part to the purity of Reynolds’ performance,” Debruge says, and “one of the great screen musicals of all time.”

No argument from this horse. I “like” and respect Singin’ In The Rain as far as it goes. God knows, the lore of the damn thing has been pounded into my head my whole life. Which is one reason why I own that remastered 60th anniversary Singin’ in the Rain Bluray, which comes with spirited commentary from Reynolds and costar Donald O’Connor, among others.

I nearly popped this Bluray into my Oppo last night in honor of Reynolds’ passing, but I couldn’t quite do it. A little voice told me “wait…maybe not.” The reason for this reticence, I remembered this morning, was expressed four and a half years ago in a piece called “Rain Fatigue”:

“The older I get, the harder it is to really enjoy Singin’ in the Rain,” I began. “I can still appreciate what’s ‘classic’ and ‘joyous’ about it. The problem is that it feels — has always felt — forced and a bit clenched.