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Under discussion:

Chinatown  (1974)

The Two Jakes  (1990)

MTV has posted a fantastic interview with Jack Nicholson, in which he talks in depth about Chinatown, its sequel, The Two Jakes, and a planned third film that was to complete the trilogy, but, because of the poor reception to Jakes, never got made. An excerpt:

We always planned on making three films. We wanted it all to be tied into elemental things. Chinatown is obviously water. The Two Jakes is fire and energy. And the third film was meant to be about Gittes’ divorce and relate to air.

MTV: Was the third film in the Chinatown trilogy ever scripted?

Nicholson: No. I would imagine Robert [Towne] has some kind of outline. I can tell you it was meant to be set in 1968 when no-fault divorce went into effect in California. The title was to be Gittes vs. Gittes. It was to be about Gittes’ divorce. The secrecy of Meg Tilly’s character was somehow to involve the most private person in California, Howard Hughes. That is where the air element would have come into the picture.

Nicholson goes on to say that he “certainly would consider” making Gittes vs. Gittes if Paramount and Towne were to show interest. That and much more here. The interview’s a two-parter, which I usually find annoying, but Part One was good enough that I’ll happily be back for Part Two tomorrow.

Under discussion:

High Noon  (1952)

Chop Shop  (2008)

• Robert Mitchum’s son Christopher Mitchum and two partners acquired remake rights to High Noon at AFM. The team is on the hunt f0r a director and a star to make the remake for about $20 million.
• A poster and a synopsis for a sequel to George Romero’s Diary of the Dead were unveiled at AFM, but Romero claims there’s not yet a deal to make the film. “I don’t have an idea yet, but if the idea and the money can meet somewhere in the middle, it’s possible.”
• For Craig Kennedy, Chop Shop is “a nicely rendered slice of life at the fringes of civilization with a near documentary feel and a series of fascinating observances.” Short reviews of Honeydripper, Blind Mountain and 1000 Journals at the same link.
• Scott Foundas had a long profile of Robert Redford, the director of AFI’s opening night selection Lions For Lambs, in last week’s LA Weekly.
• Photo evidence: Michael Jones has snap shots and swag shots at The Circuit; Mark Rabinowitz captures a 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days dinner at The Rabbi Report.

Under discussion:

Star Trek  (2009)

• J.J. Abrams says he will “honor his contractual obligation to work as a director” on his upcoming Star Trek reinvention, but will also serve some time in the picket lines outside Paramount, where writers are apparently chanting things like “Who’s got more money than they can count? Paramount!” (There’s no indication as to who raised their pencil to write that one.) Also seen on picket lines yesterday: James L. Brooks, Tina Fey, and the writers of Lost.
• Meanwhile, Hollywood’s two most beloved presidential candidates both issued statements yesterday in support of the writers. Barack Obama characterized the fight as “a test of whether media corporations are going to give writers a fair share of the wealth their work creates or continue concentrating profits in the hands of their executives.” Hillary Clinton was, predictably, a little less acerbic in her criticism of those executives. “I support the Writers Guild’s pursuit of a fair contract that pay them for their work in all mediums,” Clinton said. “I hope the producers and writers will return to the bargaining table.”
• American Film Market is the last event where indie producers can close projects that will be wrapped before the SAG and Directors Guild reach their own pre-strike deadline in March, and so far it looks like slow going. Said Mark Urman of ThinkFilm: “Actors normally on a one on/one off indie/studio film schedule now are looking for big paydays in big, stupid Hollywood movies.”