October
16Who Forgot the Jokes?
I was leaving a screening the other day, trying to figure out what just happened. That was the title of the film I’d just seen, but that’s a coincidence: It wasn’t the movie I’d expected to see and that’s what threw me.I rarely read screenplays but a year or so ago I read both the novel and script of Art Linson’s “What Just Happened?” Linson is a veteran producer and also a great character who views the vicissitudes of his profession with both humor and pain. The novel and script embraced the humor. The movie however, is all pain.
“What Just Happened?” is a quick glimpse into the tortured life of a producer (clearly Linson) as he is beat up and battered by two ex-wives, two egomaniacal movie stars and myriad agents and studio heads.
Ironically, the producer is played by Robert De Niro, who is himself known for his formidable ego. In the movie, De Niro’s character is threatened and insulted by Bruce Willis (playing himself) who won’t cut his beard for his next movie.
De Niro himself has just walked away from a co-starring role opposite Mel Gibson after only one day of shooting – “creative differences,” was the typical explanation. One wonders what those producers must be saying.
Somewhere between novel to script to movie, “What Just Happened” lost its sense of humor. The characters became pathetic, not empathetic.
Watching De Niro trying to pitch his movie on Jon Stewart’s show last weekend, I sensed he knew it, too. “I liked Linson’s novel a lot,” De Niro said softly, as the subject quickly switched to “Raging Bull,” a movie De Niro made twenty-eight years ago.There must be a lesson somewhere. Maybe producers can’t depict themselves without basking in self-pity (but they make lots of money!)
Or maybe films about the filmmaking process are simply too “in” – even when actors as talented as Bruce Willis, Sean Penn and De Niro contribute their talents at guild minimum.
Movies are fun to see; they’re not fun to see getting made.
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I''ve been a huge DeNiro fan since his 70''s breakout however, it is clear that thru the years and watching him struggle with dozens of interviews, (most recently on ''Actors Studio'' and ''Charlie Rose'')he is ill-equipped to deal with responding effectively in an interview setting. He is completely unsettled and comes very close to looking inept and, frankly, stupid. If it''s not scripted, he might as well forget it.
Posted by: Baxter Peanut | 11/5/2008 7:45:19 AM
There are some good "in' movies, but most fail because they try to show complexity at the expense good storytelling.
Posted by: mkaven | 10/19/2008 8:09:32 PM