Without a Moral Component, a Movie is Just Shadows on a Screen
By the time you read this article, Tony Gilroy's Duplicity should be well on its way out of first-run theatres, if not the public's consciousness. The film, written and directed by the man behind the Academy Award-winning Michael Clayton (2007) and starring the formidable duo of Julia Roberts and Clive Owen, Duplicity was supposed to be one of this year's first breakout hits. But despite its stellar pedigree, the film had all the impact of a Hostess Twinkie lobbed underhand at a speeding freight train. ››
text Allen B. Ury
The Burdens of Success Can Burn Out Even the Brightest Young Stars
One of the reasons Los Angeles may be so closely identified with natural disaster and the apocalypse is its apparent intolerance of the fragile artistic temperament. Hollywood's creative element - the writers, directors and actors which constitute its combined assets - represent a subclass given to flights of optimism that can defy both logic and gravity, but only for a finite period of time. And the rank seduction and casual brutality to which they are routinely subjected, decade in and decade out, finds its only relief in the slashing profiles of the place they leave behind after they're gone. Whatever distinguishes F. Scott Fitzgerald, Raymond Chandler, Nathanael West, Norman Mailer, Joan Didion and Bruce Wagner as authors, the overriding quality that The Last Tycoon, The Big Sleep, The Day of the Locust, Deer Park, Slouching Toward Bethlehem and Force Majeure have in common is that all were written by frustrated, or failed, screenwriters. ››
text Paul Cullum & Tim Merrill illustration Brett Colvin
The Retro Pleasures of 16mm
So now it's over. I've just sat through one masterpiece, four commentaries, two documentaries and seven featurettes. I'm Kubrick-saturated, but feeling strangely unsatiated. Surely, it's the same movie I've always worshipped. And surely all those slick "extras" and refined visual enhancements have added something to my Strangelove experience - right? Still, as I lie here surrounded by remotes and other digital knickknacks, a voice inside my head complains that the whole blam thing was just too easy. Everything was given to me on a silver plate at the touch of a button. All this "added value," all this control has only given my MTV-fed brain another reason to go numb. ››
text Paul Chart photography Irvin Kershner
An Important Letter From Fade In's Editor in Chief
Did a new entertainment media competitor maliciously attack Fade In and its editor in chief in order to attract readers to its new website or is there something more sinister going on besides sloppy reporting? You decide. It was recently brought to our attention by our Board of Advisors, that a new entertainment media company/competitor and its founder/COO planned on publishing a fallacious story in order to discredit our reputation. The "story" accuses Fade In and myself personally of taking advantage of and lying to entrants and finalists of our competition, the Fade In Awards. It accuses us of telling entrants that the magazine's Board of Advisors act as the competition's judges and story analysts. It also accuses us of never having a relationship with Apple or Waterman. ››
Surf Junkies Unite
www.adamsandler.com
Funnyman Adam Sandler's site with behind-the-scenes videos, pictures and news.
www.agentassociation.com
Look up nearly any actor, writer or director's agent working in the business.
www.angryalien.com
Animated bunnies reenact movies in less than thirty seconds.
You Can't Tell the Players Without a Scorecard, so here it is! The Latest Movements of Hollywood Talent
In Hollywood, a town not known for subtlety, there's no limit to how far a talent representative will go in order to poach - er, acquire - a new client, especially if that client is already represented elsewhere. From Rolexes to Bentleys, no gift is too grand if it will boost a tenpercentary's bottom line. Whether it's taught or simply an innate skill, the ability to sniff out someone else's unhappy client like a shark senses blood is a precious skill - and a badge of pride - in the agency biz. The process starts with a weekly call just to "check in" - and, of course, remind the mark how much better his life would be if the rep were in it twenty-four/seven. "You didn't get the latest Judd Apatow script? It'll be there before we hang up." "You're starting production on Monday? I'll send over a bottle of Taittinger, and drop by the set next week to say hello." But coercion isn't always necessary, as actors, writers and directors have shown a migratory streak by following their reps when they defect to rival companies. In response to this revolving door of constant rep-hopping, Fade In decided it was time to finally start keeping score. ››
The Best of the Best as Chosen by Fade In's Superstar Judges
Bryan Singer, Director, Superman Returns
Maniac (Anchor Bay) "Because of the documentary on Joe Spinell in the special features section, the documentary contains a piece of footage that I don't think anyone has ever seen unless they're familiar with the DVD. Steven Spielberg is in it, and so is Jaws. It's phenomenal and unique."
Jeremy Piven, Actor, Entourage
Man Bites Dog (Criterion) "It's viciously real and biting and funny and everything you want from a DVD. Extras? When you've got great meat, you don't need any condiments." ››
For Women and Minorities, Hollywood Jobs Can be Harder to Come By Than an Available Limo on Oscar Night. Prejudice or Paranoia?
Everyone knows that Hollywood is a bastion of open-minded liberalism, right? After all, didn't tens of millions in show-business donations go to Barack Obama's presidential campaign? Yes, and yes. But does that political stance hold true when it comes to hiring minorities and women to write, direct and produce projects? According to the insiders surveyed here, not so much. ››
illustrations Tom Richmond
