list http://www.spout.com/ Recent community activity around Ocean's Eleven on Spout Copyright 2005-9 Spout, LLC Spout RSS http://www.spout.com/images/SpoutLogoRSS.jpg http://www.spout.com/ 136 30 http://www.spout.com/films/Ocean_s_Eleven/25147/default.aspx Title: Ocean's Eleven
Year: 1960
Director: Lewis Milestone
Plot: During a Los Angeles Christmas, a group of 82nd Airborne vets assembles under the leadership of gamblin' man Danny Ocean (Frank Sinatra) to rip off four Las Vegas casinos just after the stroke of midnight on New Year's Day. Playboy Jimmy Foster (Peter Lawford) joins in the scheme because he's sick of needing his oft-married mother's money, especially now that she's about to wed Duke Santos (Cesar Romero), a self-made man with all sorts of underworld ties. After he receives the news that he could die at any time, newly released convict Anthony Bergdorf (Richard Conte) reluctantly agrees to participate so he can leave some money to his estranged wife and young son. Ocean's own wife, Beatrice (Angie Dickinson), doesn't think much of her husband's promise of a big score to come, but her quiet protests don't dissuade him. With Las Vegas garbage man and fellow vet Josh Howard (Sammy Davis Jr.) and several casino employees among their number, the titular band of thieves have just a few days to get ready for their caper. When Duke Santos, Jimmy's mother, and one of Ocean's discarded paramours all show up in Sin City at the same time as the veterans, the crew's perfect plans face some serious hurdles. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
Times Tagged: 6
Number of Lists: 9
Number of blog posts: 4
Number of discussion threads: 1
SpoutRating: 3
]]>Tue, 27 Jan 2009 22:01:13 GMTOcean's Eleven1960Lewis MilestoneDuring a Los Angeles Christmas, a group of 82nd Airborne vets assembles under the leadership of gamblin' man Danny Ocean (<a href="/players/P___111632/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Frank Sinatra</a>) to rip off four Las Vegas casinos just after the stroke of midnight on New Year's Day. Playboy Jimmy Foster (<a href="/players/P____40880/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Peter Lawford</a>) joins in the scheme because he's sick of needing his oft-married mother's money, especially now that she's about to wed Duke Santos (<a href="/players/P____61318/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Cesar Romero</a>), a self-made man with all sorts of underworld ties. After he receives the news that he could die at any time, newly released convict Anthony Bergdorf (<a href="/players/P____85734/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Richard Conte</a>) reluctantly agrees to participate so he can leave some money to his estranged wife and young son. Ocean's own wife, Beatrice (<a href="/players/P____19096/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Angie Dickinson</a>), doesn't think much of her husband's promise of a big score to come, but her quiet protests don't dissuade him. With Las Vegas garbage man and fellow vet Josh Howard (Sammy Davis Jr.) and several casino employees among their number, the titular band of thieves have just a few days to get ready for their caper. When Duke Santos, Jimmy's mother, and one of Ocean's discarded paramours all show up in Sin City at the same time as the veterans, the crew's perfect plans face some serious hurdles. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide6Taggedy Taggged (6-10)9413http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/t81747wpsfd.jpghttp://www.spout.com/films/Ocean_s_Eleven/25147/default.aspxFilm http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2009/1/27/39987.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 1/27/2009 5:01:13 PM
Body: Both are broadly classifiable as science fiction, but Alien is basically a horror flick and Aliens has all the conventions of a war film. That’s a pretty slick transition from one type of movie to another, especially since the switch was so immediate within the series. Most movie franchises don’t play with genre in such a way until they’ve gone through a number of sequels, and even then the series usually just simply takes its characters into outer space, a la Moonraker, Jason X and Leprechaun 4. Genre jumping isn’t that easy, though, unless a franchise inhabits a whole universe in which to expand through. Like Star Wars, for example. Originally a film series, the Star Wars franchise spread out into novels, which has allowed for dips into the romance genre and now horror. That’s right, an upcoming novel by horror author Joe Schreiber, titled Deathtroopers, takes the Star Wars universe into frightening territory described by Schreiber as “in the vein of The Shining and Alien, with a little dose of William Gibson mixed in.” So, if Star Wars can venture into the horror genre, what other movie franchises should attempt a genre jump? To toy with the idea, we’ve selected five film series in need of a change and suggested a possible redirection of genre for each. Franchise: Indiana Jones New Genre: Spy Film With Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, the franchise already made a slight genre leap, turning an adventure series with minor fantasy elements into a lame science fiction tale. In a way, George Lucas pretty much did for Indy what past producers did with James Bond, Jason Voorhees and the Leprechaun. Only, this time, the outer space came to the characters instead of the other way around. That installment was quite a disappointment and now the only way to save the series is to head in a more serious direction and cut out all sci-fi/fantasy material altogether. Set in the 1960s, Indiana Jones and the Bay of Pigs will be more C.I.A. thriller than mystical archaeological adventure, but while Harrison Ford will get to bring a piece of his Jack Ryan portrayal into the franchise, it won’t completely abandon the elements that make it an Indiana Jones movie. He’ll still be in search of an ancient object, this one located in the Cuban rain forest, but he’ll also be battling Communists in more of a Jason Bourne and Daniel Craig as 007 style. No flying fridges, no swinging Shias and definitely no aliens. Just pure Cold War-era suspense. Franchise: Harry Potter New Genre: Teen Sex Comedy The Harry Potter series has evolved throughout its novels and films to darker and more mature themes, but the next step, if Warner Bros. decides to continue the franchise after the last J.K. Rowling adaptation, is to regress into a lighter and more immature genre. Along the lines of the teen sex classic Zapped!, as well as the hilarious fantasies/screenplays of actor Patrick Stewart (as depicted on Extras), Harry Potter and the Clothes That Magically Fall Off, would involve Harry’s days at university, during which he uses his powers to see female classmates naked and win basketball games (because it’s an American “Muggle” college and so there’s no Quidditch team). But in the end, he realizes that he doesn’t need to use magic to win the girl of his dreams (really just his college fling since he later settles down with someone else) or the championship game. Franchise: Ocean’s Eleven New Genre: Western There aren’t many places left for Steven Soderbergh to go with this series, which kicked off with a remake of the Rat Pack film Ocean’s 11. So, instead of moving ahead with Ocean’s Fourteen, he should move sideways and do a remake of Sergeants 3. Itself a loose remake of Gunga Din, the western comedy was the only other movie to feature all of the Rat Pack guys. Technically, this new version won’t be another sequel to Ocean’s Eleven, but it would surely be considered part of the franchise, as it will still star Clooney, Pitt, Damon, Affleck, Caan, Jemison, Qin, Gould, Reiner and Cheadle (sadly, Bernie Mac can not join them). Who wouldn’t love to see that cast playing tongue-in-cheek in the old west? In any genre those actors together would make an enjoyable piece of blockbuster fluff. Franchise: Die Hard New Genre: Marital Drama Weren’t you disappointed to learn that John and Holly McClane are divorced by the fourth Die Hard installment, Live Free or Die Hard? After all, the original movie wouldn’t have happened were it not for the main character’s attempt to save their marriage. And the events of Die Hard 2 also pretty much revolve around the status of the relationship. So, let’s go back to the beginning and look into the cracks between the four action flicks. We know John can thwart terrorists in any given scenario, but how does he function on a normal day? How does he deal with the threats of separation and divorce when he doesn’t have the distraction of action and the benefit of coming off a hero? This prequel/concurrent drama, titled Die Slowly, would depict marital dysfunction and collapse similar to Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and Revolutionary Road, except that in this film, whenever the couple goes at it, the husband gets to shout, “I saved you from terrorists. Twice. Give me a f—ing break!” Franchise: Friday the 13th New Genre: Romantic Comedy We’ve seen Freddy Vs. Jason. Now it’s time for Jason , a romantic pairing of Jason Voorhees, of the Friday the 13th series, and Angela Baker, of Sleepaway Camp. The two meet-cute when they both attempt to kill the same camper, accidentally stabbing each other instead. Rather than uniting to kill more kids, the new lovers realize that they’ve only been slashing people because they’ve never been hit with Cupid’s arrow (Jason actually had encountered the little cherub once, but he mistakenly decapitated him, stole his arrow and used it to impale a naked teen). But the movie isn’t all happy lovey-dovey montages. Like all romantic comedies, this one features a misunderstanding, and here it comes about when Jason and Angela first become intimate and the former discovers that the latter is in fact a boy. The result, though, is tragically more Boys Don’t Cry than The Crying Game, and ends with Jason killing Angela and returning to his old murderous ways. It’s a harsh conclusion, sure, but some genre jumps must be expected to be only temporary. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Tue, 27 Jan 2009 22:01:13 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com1/27/2009 5:01:13 PMBoth are broadly classifiable as science fiction, but Alien is basically a horror flick and Aliens has all the conventions of a war film. That’s a pretty slick transition from one type of movie to another, especially since the switch was so immediate within the series. Most movie franchises don’t play with genre in such a way until they’ve gone through a number of sequels, and even then the series usually just simply takes its characters into outer space, a la Moonraker, Jason X and Leprechaun 4. Genre jumping isn’t that easy, though, unless a franchise inhabits a whole universe in which to expand through. Like Star Wars, for example. Originally a film series, the Star Wars franchise spread out into novels, which has allowed for dips into the romance genre and now horror. That’s right, an upcoming novel by horror author Joe Schreiber, titled Deathtroopers, takes the Star Wars universe into frightening territory described by Schreiber as “in the vein of The Shining and Alien, with a little dose of William Gibson mixed in.” So, if Star Wars can venture into the horror genre, what other movie franchises should attempt a genre jump? To toy with the idea, we’ve selected five film series in need of a change and suggested a possible redirection of genre for each. Franchise: Indiana Jones New Genre: Spy Film With Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, the franchise already made a slight genre leap, turning an adventure series with minor fantasy elements into a lame science fiction tale. In a way, George Lucas pretty much did for Indy what past producers did with James Bond, Jason Voorhees and the Leprechaun. Only, this time, the outer space came to the characters instead of the other way around. That installment was quite a disappointment and now the only way to save the series is to head in a more serious direction and cut out all sci-fi/fantasy material altogether. Set in the 1960s, Indiana Jones and the Bay of Pigs will be more C.I.A. thriller than mystical archaeological adventure, but while Harrison Ford will get to bring a piece of his Jack Ryan portrayal into the franchise, it won’t completely abandon the elements that make it an Indiana Jones movie. He’ll still be in search of an ancient object, this one located in the Cuban rain forest, but he’ll also be battling Communists in more of a Jason Bourne and Daniel Craig as 007 style. No flying fridges, no swinging Shias and definitely no aliens. Just pure Cold War-era suspense. Franchise: Harry Potter New Genre: Teen Sex Comedy The Harry Potter series has evolved throughout its novels and films to darker and more mature themes, but the next step, if Warner Bros. decides to continue the franchise after the last J.K. Rowling adaptation, is to regress into a lighter and more immature genre. Along the lines of the teen sex classic Zapped!, as well as the hilarious fantasies/screenplays of actor Patrick Stewart (as depicted on Extras), Harry Potter and the Clothes That Magically Fall Off, would involve Harry’s days at university, during which he uses his powers to see female classmates naked and win basketball games (because it’s an American “Muggle” college and so there’s no Quidditch team). But in the end, he realizes that he doesn’t need to use magic to win the girl of his dreams (really just his college fling since he later settles down with someone else) or the championship game. Franchise: Ocean’s Eleven New Genre: Western There aren’t many places left for Steven Soderbergh to go with this series, which kicked off with a remake of the Rat Pack film Ocean’s 11. So, instead of moving ahead with Ocean’s Fourteen, he should move sideways and do a remake of Sergeants 3. Itself a loose remake of Gunga Din, the western comedy was the only other movie to feature all of the Rat Pack guys. Technically, this new version won’t be another sequel to Ocean’s Eleven, but it would surely be considered part of the franchise, as it will still star Clooney, Pitt, Damon, Affleck, Caan, Jemison, Qin, Gould, Reiner and Cheadle (sadly, Bernie Mac can not join them). Who wouldn’t love to see that cast playing tongue-in-cheek in the old west? In any genre those actors together would make an enjoyable piece of blockbuster fluff. Franchise: Die Hard New Genre: Marital Drama Weren’t you disappointed to learn that John and Holly McClane are divorced by the fourth Die Hard installment, Live Free or Die Hard? After all, the original movie wouldn’t have happened were it not for the main character’s attempt to save their marriage. And the events of Die Hard 2 also pretty much revolve around the status of the relationship. So, let’s go back to the beginning and look into the cracks between the four action flicks. We know John can thwart terrorists in any given scenario, but how does he function on a normal day? How does he deal with the threats of separation and divorce when he doesn’t have the distraction of action and the benefit of coming off a hero? This prequel/concurrent drama, titled Die Slowly, would depict marital dysfunction and collapse similar to Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and Revolutionary Road, except that in this film, whenever the couple goes at it, the husband gets to shout, “I saved you from terrorists. Twice. Give me a f—ing break!” Franchise: Friday the 13th New Genre: Romantic Comedy We’ve seen Freddy Vs. Jason. Now it’s time for Jason , a romantic pairing of Jason Voorhees, of the Friday the 13th series, and Angela Baker, of Sleepaway Camp. The two meet-cute when they both attempt to kill the same camper, accidentally stabbing each other instead. Rather than uniting to kill more kids, the new lovers realize that they’ve only been slashing people because they’ve never been hit with Cupid’s arrow (Jason actually had encountered the little cherub once, but he mistakenly decapitated him, stole his arrow and used it to impale a naked teen). But the movie isn’t all happy lovey-dovey montages. Like all romantic comedies, this one features a misunderstanding, and here it comes about when Jason and Angela first become intimate and the former discovers that the latter is in fact a boy. The result, though, is tragically more Boys Don’t Cry than The Crying Game, and ends with Jason killing Angela and returning to his old murderous ways. It’s a harsh conclusion, sure, but some genre jumps must be expected to be only temporary. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/10/16/36398.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 10/16/2008 1:00:43 PM
Body: It hasn’t been terribly uncommon since the late ’60s for musicians to get behind the camera, whether for a straight concert film, a tour documentary or some kind of silly narrative focused on themselves and their bands. Jerry Garcia co-directed The Grateful Dead, Frank Zappa co-directed 200 Motels, The Beatles collectively co-directed The Magical Mystery Tour and separately John, Paul and Ringo has each taken the helm on a film project, some more artsy (John and Yoko’s cinematic collaborations, like Up Your Legs Forever) or less self-focused (Ringo’s Marc Bolan doc, Born to Boogie) than others. Now it’s a little more common for musicians to become directors of fictional films that aren’t so reflexive. Many don’t even have anything to do with music at all. And many are so awful that it’s safe to say the filmmaker should stick to music making. This week, IFC releases the directorial debut of Madonna (Filth and Wisdom), and Beastie Boy Adam Yauch has a new basketball documentary (Gunnin’ for That #1 Spot) hitting stores, so we’d like to celebrate by looking at some other musicians who turned filmmaker, for better or worse. Musician: Ray Manzarek, keyboardist for The Doors Debut Narrative Feature: Love Her Madly (2000) He and Jim Morrison met in film school, so it isn’t too surprising that Manzarek shot a lot of the tour footage that you find on Doors home videos, nor is it too surprising that he’d have greater aspirations as a director. But he really blew it with his first narrative feature, named for one of his band’s songs, which came with the Skinamax-ready tagline, “At the crossroads of art and obsession…waits murder.” Musician: Prince Debut Narrative Feature: Under the Cherry Moon (1986) Following the success of his acting debut in Purple Rain, Prince became attached to star in this black and white period musical and then ended up replacing Mary Lambert as its director. Unfortunately, the Fellini-influenced musician-turned-filmmaker disappointed, and Under the Cherry Moon bombed at the box office. Yet Prince would still go on to helm the concert film Sign o’ the Times and the even less popular Purple Rain sequel, Graffiti Bridge. Musician: Master P Debut Narrative Feature: I’m Bout It (1997) Rapper Master P is probably the most prolific filmmaker on this list, but he’s possibly also the least deserving of directorial work. Most of his movies have been ranked extremely low by IMDb users, yet they must be somewhat popular, as he’s been able to release nine straight-to-video titles since he first shared the director’s chair with Moon Jones for the semi-autobiographical I’m Bout It. His tenth movie, Internet Dating, hits stores December 30. Musician: Bob Dylan Debut Narrative Feature: Renaldo and Clara (1978) Dylan got his directorial feet wet working with D.A. Pennebaker on the doc Eat the Document, and then with this nearly four-hour surreal pic he pretty much drowned himself as a filmmaker. Not only was it poorly reviewed, it also played to mostly empty theaters, resulting in a recut two-hour version that focused primarily on the film’s musical performances. Currently, there is no cut of the film available to fans, though excerpts can be found on a bonus DVD released with a live CD a few years ago. Musician: Neil Young Debut Narrative Feature: Human Highway (1982) Young’s filmmaking alter-ego, “Bernard Shakey”, started off with the CSNY doc Journey Through the Past and has since also continued making films about his old supergroup, most recently with CSNY Deja Vu. But he’s also let a few narrative films slip through, including this weird edge-of-apocalypse tale co-directed by actor Dean Stockwell and featuring the members of Devo. Considering how easily it could be a cult classic today, it’s a shame the film isn’t available on DVD. Young’s more serious fans, though, at least have his so-so rock opera Greendale to enjoy for now. Musician: Rob Zombie, singer of White Zombie Debut Narrative Feature: House of 1000 Corpses (2003) Exactly what you’d expect from a heavy metal star, Rob Zombie entered filmmaking with a violent exploitation horror film. He followed it with the more accessible and more successful sequel The Devil’s Rejects and the more mainstream Halloween remake. It’s still up in the air if he’s better suited for the concert stage or the director’s chair. Musician: Fred Durst, singer for Limp Bizkit Debut Narrative Feature: The Education of Charlie Banks (2007) Many people would have expected something akin to Zombie’s filmmaking style to also come from rap-rocker Durst, but the former Limp Bizkit frontman surprised audiences at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival when he premiered this 1970s-set coming-of-age drama. Even more shocking than its genre and tone, though, was that it isn’t actually completely terrible. However, Durst’s sophomore effort, The Longshots, which opened to poor reviews and poor box office, may be evidence that Durst’s future as a filmmaker isn’t as bright as originally thought. Musician: Ice Cube Debut Narrative Feature: The Players Club (1998) He’s a much better actor than some might have expected or may still give him credit for — even if he sometimes appears in crap like Durst’s The Longshots — but Ice Cube’s filmmaking ability leaves much to be desired, as evidenced with this debut and only feature from the former member of rap group N.W.A. It’s not so awful, though, that he shouldn’t keep trying. He’s certainly not the worst rapper-turned-filmmaker (that might be Master P). Musician: David Byrne, singer/guitarist for Talking Heads Debut Narrative Feature: True Stories (1986) When Byrne’s quirky Warner Bros.-distributed film was released to theaters, it somehow failed to connect with either moviegoers or critics. Since then, it has fortunately become a cult hit, possibly because every film featuring John Goodman eventually catches on with cult audiences (Speed Racer may eventually have its day!). Following this fictional effort, Byrne went on to direct a couple of documentaries, including the arty Ile Aiye (The House of Life) about a Brazilian spirit cult. Musician: Frank Sinatra Debut Narrative Feature: None But the Brave (1965) This might be considered more along the lines of an actor-turned-filmmaker effort, but even during the peak of his movie career, even after he won an Oscar, the “Chairman of the Board” was first and foremost a singer. Sinatra had already produced a number of films, including Ocean’s Eleven, but Warner Bros. was still reluctant to give him his first directing gig. And perhaps the studio should have kept him out of the role, since he apparently didn’t even have the decency and respect to call his Japanese actors by their real names (he reportedly called them all “Freddy”). Though the WWII film was a modest hit, ol’ blue eyes never sat in the director’s chair again, but it’s speculated this has more to do with Sinatra’s wanting less responsibility than the studios’ wanting less racism from their filmmakers. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Thu, 16 Oct 2008 17:00:43 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com10/16/2008 1:00:43 PMIt hasn’t been terribly uncommon since the late ’60s for musicians to get behind the camera, whether for a straight concert film, a tour documentary or some kind of silly narrative focused on themselves and their bands. Jerry Garcia co-directed The Grateful Dead, Frank Zappa co-directed 200 Motels, The Beatles collectively co-directed The Magical Mystery Tour and separately John, Paul and Ringo has each taken the helm on a film project, some more artsy (John and Yoko’s cinematic collaborations, like Up Your Legs Forever) or less self-focused (Ringo’s Marc Bolan doc, Born to Boogie) than others. Now it’s a little more common for musicians to become directors of fictional films that aren’t so reflexive. Many don’t even have anything to do with music at all. And many are so awful that it’s safe to say the filmmaker should stick to music making. This week, IFC releases the directorial debut of Madonna (Filth and Wisdom), and Beastie Boy Adam Yauch has a new basketball documentary (Gunnin’ for That #1 Spot) hitting stores, so we’d like to celebrate by looking at some other musicians who turned filmmaker, for better or worse. Musician: Ray Manzarek, keyboardist for The Doors Debut Narrative Feature: Love Her Madly (2000) He and Jim Morrison met in film school, so it isn’t too surprising that Manzarek shot a lot of the tour footage that you find on Doors home videos, nor is it too surprising that he’d have greater aspirations as a director. But he really blew it with his first narrative feature, named for one of his band’s songs, which came with the Skinamax-ready tagline, “At the crossroads of art and obsession…waits murder.” Musician: Prince Debut Narrative Feature: Under the Cherry Moon (1986) Following the success of his acting debut in Purple Rain, Prince became attached to star in this black and white period musical and then ended up replacing Mary Lambert as its director. Unfortunately, the Fellini-influenced musician-turned-filmmaker disappointed, and Under the Cherry Moon bombed at the box office. Yet Prince would still go on to helm the concert film Sign o’ the Times and the even less popular Purple Rain sequel, Graffiti Bridge. Musician: Master P Debut Narrative Feature: I’m Bout It (1997) Rapper Master P is probably the most prolific filmmaker on this list, but he’s possibly also the least deserving of directorial work. Most of his movies have been ranked extremely low by IMDb users, yet they must be somewhat popular, as he’s been able to release nine straight-to-video titles since he first shared the director’s chair with Moon Jones for the semi-autobiographical I’m Bout It. His tenth movie, Internet Dating, hits stores December 30. Musician: Bob Dylan Debut Narrative Feature: Renaldo and Clara (1978) Dylan got his directorial feet wet working with D.A. Pennebaker on the doc Eat the Document, and then with this nearly four-hour surreal pic he pretty much drowned himself as a filmmaker. Not only was it poorly reviewed, it also played to mostly empty theaters, resulting in a recut two-hour version that focused primarily on the film’s musical performances. Currently, there is no cut of the film available to fans, though excerpts can be found on a bonus DVD released with a live CD a few years ago. Musician: Neil Young Debut Narrative Feature: Human Highway (1982) Young’s filmmaking alter-ego, “Bernard Shakey”, started off with the CSNY doc Journey Through the Past and has since also continued making films about his old supergroup, most recently with CSNY Deja Vu. But he’s also let a few narrative films slip through, including this weird edge-of-apocalypse tale co-directed by actor Dean Stockwell and featuring the members of Devo. Considering how easily it could be a cult classic today, it’s a shame the film isn’t available on DVD. Young’s more serious fans, though, at least have his so-so rock opera Greendale to enjoy for now. Musician: Rob Zombie, singer of White Zombie Debut Narrative Feature: House of 1000 Corpses (2003) Exactly what you’d expect from a heavy metal star, Rob Zombie entered filmmaking with a violent exploitation horror film. He followed it with the more accessible and more successful sequel The Devil’s Rejects and the more mainstream Halloween remake. It’s still up in the air if he’s better suited for the concert stage or the director’s chair. Musician: Fred Durst, singer for Limp Bizkit Debut Narrative Feature: The Education of Charlie Banks (2007) Many people would have expected something akin to Zombie’s filmmaking style to also come from rap-rocker Durst, but the former Limp Bizkit frontman surprised audiences at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival when he premiered this 1970s-set coming-of-age drama. Even more shocking than its genre and tone, though, was that it isn’t actually completely terrible. However, Durst’s sophomore effort, The Longshots, which opened to poor reviews and poor box office, may be evidence that Durst’s future as a filmmaker isn’t as bright as originally thought. Musician: Ice Cube Debut Narrative Feature: The Players Club (1998) He’s a much better actor than some might have expected or may still give him credit for — even if he sometimes appears in crap like Durst’s The Longshots — but Ice Cube’s filmmaking ability leaves much to be desired, as evidenced with this debut and only feature from the former member of rap group N.W.A. It’s not so awful, though, that he shouldn’t keep trying. He’s certainly not the worst rapper-turned-filmmaker (that might be Master P). Musician: David Byrne, singer/guitarist for Talking Heads Debut Narrative Feature: True Stories (1986) When Byrne’s quirky Warner Bros.-distributed film was released to theaters, it somehow failed to connect with either moviegoers or critics. Since then, it has fortunately become a cult hit, possibly because every film featuring John Goodman eventually catches on with cult audiences (Speed Racer may eventually have its day!). Following this fictional effort, Byrne went on to direct a couple of documentaries, including the arty Ile Aiye (The House of Life) about a Brazilian spirit cult. Musician: Frank Sinatra Debut Narrative Feature: None But the Brave (1965) This might be considered more along the lines of an actor-turned-filmmaker effort, but even during the peak of his movie career, even after he won an Oscar, the “Chairman of the Board” was first and foremost a singer. Sinatra had already produced a number of films, including Ocean’s Eleven, but Warner Bros. was still reluctant to give him his first directing gig. And perhaps the studio should have kept him out of the role, since he apparently didn’t even have the decency and respect to call his Japanese actors by their real names (he reportedly called them all “Freddy”). Though the WWII film was a modest hit, ol’ blue eyes never sat in the director’s chair again, but it’s speculated this has more to do with Sinatra’s wanting less responsibility than the studios’ wanting less racism from their filmmakers. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/blogs/jjgittes/archive/2008/10/8/36056.aspx Post By: jjgittes
Post To: jjgittes Blog
Post Date: 10/8/2008 7:51:56 PM
Body: Though I had never seen the "original" OCEAN'S ELEVEN, I was well aware of it. Word on the street was that it was a bit of a lark and had the feeling of being a film that was made for fun by a bunch of big movie stars who wanted to hang out in Vegas. Watching it a couple weeks ago on Reel 13, I had no idea that it would be as sloppy or unsophisticated as it turned out to be.I knew I was in trouble from the very beginning with the obnoxiously slow and annoying title sequence. Animated title sequences, particularly for comedies, were in vogue in the sixties, so that wasn't the issue as much as it was that there was nothing interesting or imaginative about the sequence. Counting up to 11 took forever and the music chosen wasn't engaging enough to make it worthwhile.After that, the film is all over the place. It seems to me there were more inside jokes than there were actual jokes, which is pretty infuriating. The result is several scenes seem to ramble (Why do Sammy Davis Jr., Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin take ten minutes to discuss what they would do if they were president? What does that have to do with the price of tea in Vegas?), which interrupts the momentum of the narrative. After all, this is supposed to be a crime caper - the first meeting of the eleven doesn't even happen until fifty minutes into the film. And the caper itself isn't clever enough to make the waiting worthwhile. As a group, they face very little obstacles in pulling off their heist (as opposed to the far superior, exciting and fun remake by Soderbergh) and then to top it all off, the ending is so anti-climactic, that you want to throw something at the screen for wasting your time.Director Lewis Milestone doesn't help the matter either. Floating balloons hiding cuts? Cameos? Really? Additionally, the blocking is pretty lame and wooden. Nearly every joke (what was with the running gags regarding the Russian mastermind guy?) falls flat. The sets look weirdly unrealistic and the swinging music gets to be really irritating after awhile, largely due to the constant repetition of the same chords over and over again without any variation. Overall, in spite of its star power, the film plays like a TV movie. No wonder that Soderbergh wanted to remake it. The plot has potential that Milestone, Sinatra, et al all seem to ignore. It is easily the worst film we have seen so far this year on Reel 13 Classics.
]]>Wed, 08 Oct 2008 23:51:56 GMTjjgittesjjgittes Blog10/8/2008 7:51:56 PMThough I had never seen the "original" OCEAN'S ELEVEN, I was well aware of it. Word on the street was that it was a bit of a lark and had the feeling of being a film that was made for fun by a bunch of big movie stars who wanted to hang out in Vegas. Watching it a couple weeks ago on Reel 13, I had no idea that it would be as sloppy or unsophisticated as it turned out to be.I knew I was in trouble from the very beginning with the obnoxiously slow and annoying title sequence. Animated title sequences, particularly for comedies, were in vogue in the sixties, so that wasn't the issue as much as it was that there was nothing interesting or imaginative about the sequence. Counting up to 11 took forever and the music chosen wasn't engaging enough to make it worthwhile.After that, the film is all over the place. It seems to me there were more inside jokes than there were actual jokes, which is pretty infuriating. The result is several scenes seem to ramble (Why do Sammy Davis Jr., Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin take ten minutes to discuss what they would do if they were president? What does that have to do with the price of tea in Vegas?), which interrupts the momentum of the narrative. After all, this is supposed to be a crime caper - the first meeting of the eleven doesn't even happen until fifty minutes into the film. And the caper itself isn't clever enough to make the waiting worthwhile. As a group, they face very little obstacles in pulling off their heist (as opposed to the far superior, exciting and fun remake by Soderbergh) and then to top it all off, the ending is so anti-climactic, that you want to throw something at the screen for wasting your time.Director Lewis Milestone doesn't help the matter either. Floating balloons hiding cuts? Cameos? Really? Additionally, the blocking is pretty lame and wooden. Nearly every joke (what was with the running gags regarding the Russian mastermind guy?) falls flat. The sets look weirdly unrealistic and the swinging music gets to be really irritating after awhile, largely due to the constant repetition of the same chords over and over again without any variation. Overall, in spite of its star power, the film plays like a TV movie. No wonder that Soderbergh wanted to remake it. The plot has potential that Milestone, Sinatra, et al all seem to ignore. It is easily the worst film we have seen so far this year on Reel 13 Classics. http://www.spout.com/groups/Directors/Directors_and_remakes/406/18758/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: ShaunHuston
Post To: Directors
Post Date: 8/25/2007 2:50:00 PM
Body: Over on the Top 5 group, tmoney mentioned the forthcoming remake of 3:10 to Yuma in one of his contributions to the Westerns thread. This got me thinking about other directors who have, seemingly at least, chosen to cash in their chips from a particularly good year or stretch of years on a remake. In this case it looks as if James Mangold is turning Walk the Line around into 3:10 to Yuma. I also thought of Peter Jackson and King Kong, Gus Van Sant and Psycho, and Steven Soderbergh and Ocean's 11. This got me wondering if there are other examples of filmmakers choosing this path, and, if so, who and what was the film, and also why a director might choose to do this. Remakes are, more often than not, greeted with growns and skepticism, even though the record is actually mixed (Soderbergh's Ocean's 11, for example, is a much better film than the original, which is almost painfully bad and boring). But, given the widespread perception that remakes are jokes or wrong somehow, what is the attraction for the filmmaker?
]]>Sat, 25 Aug 2007 18:50:00 GMTShaunHustonDirectors8/25/2007 2:50:00 PMOver on the Top 5 group, tmoney mentioned the forthcoming remake of 3:10 to Yuma in one of his contributions to the Westerns thread. This got me thinking about other directors who have, seemingly at least, chosen to cash in their chips from a particularly good year or stretch of years on a remake. In this case it looks as if James Mangold is turning Walk the Line around into 3:10 to Yuma. I also thought of Peter Jackson and King Kong, Gus Van Sant and Psycho, and Steven Soderbergh and Ocean&#39;s 11. This got me wondering if there are other examples of filmmakers choosing this path, and, if so, who and what was the film, and also why a director might choose to do this. Remakes are, more often than not, greeted with growns and skepticism, even though the record is actually mixed (Soderbergh&#39;s Ocean&#39;s 11, for example, is a much better film than the original, which is almost painfully bad and boring). But, given the widespread perception that remakes are jokes or wrong somehow, what is the attraction for the filmmaker? http://www.spout.com/blogs/jimbell/archive/2007/5/5/8177.aspx Post By: JimBell
Post To: JimBell Blog
Post Date: 5/5/2007 1:41:00 AM
Body: Ocean’s Eleven (1960) is not a very good movie, but it sure is interesting as a glimpse of “Rat Pack” life in the late 1950s. As Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Peter Lawford, and Sammy Davis, Jr. hung out at Las Vegas hotels, Frank said they should make a movie, a real movie, together. Peter came up with the book Ocean’s Eleven. Then it became sort of a Hollywood-gets-together-and-plays-Hollywood movie. This movie is also of interest to movie buffs because it is the original of the recent remake Ocean’s Eleven and the follow up, Ocean’s Twelve (and then . . . ). Although some folks like the Rat Pack dialogue, it is not usually very witty except for some of the race jokes regarding Sammy Davis Jr., jokes we could not make today. Many people object to the movie because it is sexist. But I think there are better reasons to find the movie lacking. Eleven guys, not to mention their women, is simply too much to keep track of, and no character gets developed. The mastermind behind the Las Vegas heists (Akim Tamiroff) overacts terribly: He thinks he is on stage rather than in a movie close-up. Although the DVD quality is excellent, the original studio sets (which Jack Warner insisted on) are phony and the lighting and photography is artificially harsh. A lot of the movement on these stages is reminiscent of amatuer theatre: Because nothing much is happening, actors get up, walk around, and sit down for no apparent reason. While all this is going on, there are tidbits of good acting: Sinatra is solid, Angie Dickinson (in two scenes) adds some depth to the movie, and Cesar Romero is perfect as the veteran crook who threatens to spoil the plans. Probably the highlight, though, is the music score by Nelson Riddle and the two songs contributed by Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen, “(Ain’t Love a) Kick in the Head” (Dean Martin) and the theme “Ee-O-leven” (Sammy Davis, Jr.). Trivia: Angie Dickinson has only one major and one minor scene in the whole movie, yet, when she went to Italy, people would point to her and say the name of the movie in Italian. Maybe this is a testiment to what some good acting and substance can do in a movie. She got the miniscule part for two reasons. First, she was sold by Howard Hawkes to Warner Brothers studio and became a contract player for the studio making the picture. Second, Sammy Davis Jr. said to Frank Sinatra, “You know who’d be good as your wife? Angie.” Although a hit in Italy, Angie, according to her, was neither helped nor hindered by the movie: It was work and pay, and it kept her hand in the game.
]]>Sat, 05 May 2007 05:41:00 GMTJimBellJimBell Blog5/5/2007 1:41:00 AMOcean&rsquo;s Eleven (1960) is not a very good movie, but it sure is interesting as a glimpse of &ldquo;Rat Pack&rdquo; life in the late 1950s. As Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Peter Lawford, and Sammy Davis, Jr. hung out at Las Vegas hotels, Frank said they should make a movie, a real movie, together. Peter came up with the book Ocean&rsquo;s Eleven. Then it became sort of a Hollywood-gets-together-and-plays-Hollywood movie. This movie is also of interest to movie buffs because it is the original of the recent remake Ocean&rsquo;s Eleven and the follow up, Ocean&rsquo;s Twelve (and then . . . ). Although some folks like the Rat Pack dialogue, it is not usually very witty except for some of the race jokes regarding Sammy Davis Jr., jokes we could not make today. Many people object to the movie because it is sexist. But I think there are better reasons to find the movie lacking. Eleven guys, not to mention their women, is simply too much to keep track of, and no character gets developed. The mastermind behind the Las Vegas heists (Akim Tamiroff) overacts terribly: He thinks he is on stage rather than in a movie close-up. Although the DVD quality is excellent, the original studio sets (which Jack Warner insisted on) are phony and the lighting and photography is artificially harsh. A lot of the movement on these stages is reminiscent of amatuer theatre: Because nothing much is happening, actors get up, walk around, and sit down for no apparent reason. While all this is going on, there are tidbits of good acting: Sinatra is solid, Angie Dickinson (in two scenes) adds some depth to the movie, and Cesar Romero is perfect as the veteran crook who threatens to spoil the plans. Probably the highlight, though, is the music score by Nelson Riddle and the two songs contributed by Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen, &ldquo;(Ain&rsquo;t Love a) Kick in the Head&rdquo; (Dean Martin) and the theme &ldquo;Ee-O-leven&rdquo; (Sammy Davis, Jr.). Trivia: Angie Dickinson has only one major and one minor scene in the whole movie, yet, when she went to Italy, people would point to her and say the name of the movie in Italian. Maybe this is a testiment to what some good acting and substance can do in a movie. She got the miniscule part for two reasons. First, she was sold by Howard Hawkes to Warner Brothers studio and became a contract player for the studio making the picture. Second, Sammy Davis Jr. said to Frank Sinatra, &ldquo;You know who&rsquo;d be good as your wife? Angie.&rdquo; Although a hit in Italy, Angie, according to her, was neither helped nor hindered by the movie: It was work and pay, and it kept her hand in the game. http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/friendship/MemberTagFilms.aspxfriendship
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