So long, soundstage of 1,000 memories.
The Price Is Right aired its final episode from Television City on Monday. The iconic CBS game show, produced by Fremantle, is leaving the Los Angeles studio complex where it has taped since its 1972 relaunch.
The daytime staple will relocate for season 52 to Haven Studios, a new facility in nearby Glendale, CA., in which Fremantle is an investor with a long-term lease.
The final episode at TV City featured contestants playing classic Price Is Right games, including the “Grand Game” but for $33,000, as well as the fan-favorite, “The Money Game.” One contestant also got to play the very first game executed on the show in 1972.
Along with host Drew Carey and announcer George Gray, all six of the show models appeared — Rachel Reynolds, Manuela Arbeláez, Amber Lancaster, Alexis Gaube, James O’Halloran and Devin Goda.
“Today we say farewell to the legendary Bob Barker Studio,...
The Price Is Right aired its final episode from Television City on Monday. The iconic CBS game show, produced by Fremantle, is leaving the Los Angeles studio complex where it has taped since its 1972 relaunch.
The daytime staple will relocate for season 52 to Haven Studios, a new facility in nearby Glendale, CA., in which Fremantle is an investor with a long-term lease.
The final episode at TV City featured contestants playing classic Price Is Right games, including the “Grand Game” but for $33,000, as well as the fan-favorite, “The Money Game.” One contestant also got to play the very first game executed on the show in 1972.
Along with host Drew Carey and announcer George Gray, all six of the show models appeared — Rachel Reynolds, Manuela Arbeláez, Amber Lancaster, Alexis Gaube, James O’Halloran and Devin Goda.
“Today we say farewell to the legendary Bob Barker Studio,...
- 6/26/2023
- by Lynette Rice
- Deadline Film + TV
The Price Is Right is on the move. The iconic CBS game show, produced by Fremantle, is leaving Television City, the Los Angeles studio complex where it has taped since its 1972 relaunch. The daytime staple will relocate to Haven Studios, a new facility in nearby Glendale, in which Fremantle is an investor with a long-term lease.
Related Story Historic Radford Studio Center Set For $1 Billion Expansion; Room For 20-25 New Soundstages Related Story CNN To Show Bill Maher's 'Overtime' Segments As Part Of Friday Night Programming Related Story Bill Maher On The Horror Show That Is The New House Of Representatives: "The Zombies Are In The Mall"
Hackman Capital Partners, which bought Television City for $750 million from CBS Corp. in 2019, is planning a $1.25 billion renovation of the landmark complex. In addition to The Price Is Right, it has been housing CBS’ The Late Late Show with James Corden,...
Related Story Historic Radford Studio Center Set For $1 Billion Expansion; Room For 20-25 New Soundstages Related Story CNN To Show Bill Maher's 'Overtime' Segments As Part Of Friday Night Programming Related Story Bill Maher On The Horror Show That Is The New House Of Representatives: "The Zombies Are In The Mall"
Hackman Capital Partners, which bought Television City for $750 million from CBS Corp. in 2019, is planning a $1.25 billion renovation of the landmark complex. In addition to The Price Is Right, it has been housing CBS’ The Late Late Show with James Corden,...
- 3/8/2023
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
Two more classic game shows are making a return to TV. ABC has ordered revivals of Card Sharks and Press Your Luck. Produced by Fremantle, the shows will go into production this spring. Hosts and premiere dates will be announced soon.
In each game of Press Your Luck, three contestants compete against each other answering questions to earn spins on the Big Board. Contestants then use their spins to win cash and prizes while trying to avoid the Whammy, who could take all of their winnings and leave them with nothing. The winning contestant moves on to the All-New Bonus Round to face the Whammy in a final battle for the chance to win a fortune. John Quinn will serve as showrunner and executive produce, along with Fremantle’s Jennifer Mullin.
Card Sharks features two players who face off in a head-to-head elimination game with the goal of one player...
In each game of Press Your Luck, three contestants compete against each other answering questions to earn spins on the Big Board. Contestants then use their spins to win cash and prizes while trying to avoid the Whammy, who could take all of their winnings and leave them with nothing. The winning contestant moves on to the All-New Bonus Round to face the Whammy in a final battle for the chance to win a fortune. John Quinn will serve as showrunner and executive produce, along with Fremantle’s Jennifer Mullin.
Card Sharks features two players who face off in a head-to-head elimination game with the goal of one player...
- 3/13/2019
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
British broadcaster ITV is bringing back Play Your Cards Right, the classic gameshow that was originally adapted from U.S. format Card Sharks.
The show, which was famously hosted by Bruce Forsyth, who died in August 2017, is being piloted with The Friday Night Project and Chatty Man star Alan Carr hosting the non-tx ep. This comes after Carr’s golden handcuffs deal with rival Channel 4 ended earlier this year.
Play Your Cards Right, which started in 1980 and ran for 248 episodes across a number of iterations, follows two couples as they played a series of games. The host would begin with questions based on surveys of 100 people. The first couple would guess how many of the 100 answered the question a certain way and the other couple would have to guess whether the answer was higher or lower. Then the teams were handed a series of five cards and they had...
The show, which was famously hosted by Bruce Forsyth, who died in August 2017, is being piloted with The Friday Night Project and Chatty Man star Alan Carr hosting the non-tx ep. This comes after Carr’s golden handcuffs deal with rival Channel 4 ended earlier this year.
Play Your Cards Right, which started in 1980 and ran for 248 episodes across a number of iterations, follows two couples as they played a series of games. The host would begin with questions based on surveys of 100 people. The first couple would guess how many of the 100 answered the question a certain way and the other couple would have to guess whether the answer was higher or lower. Then the teams were handed a series of five cards and they had...
- 8/8/2018
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
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Deep Impact Vs Armageddon is not the only time similar movies have landed around the same time...
Usually, a competing project is poison for a studio. Especially in the era now where a blockbuster costs the national budget of a small country to get out into the world, you don't want to be up against a film with similar subject matter.
Yet this keeps happening, time and time again. Even now, there are two live action Jungle Book movies in various stages of production, for example. And let us not forget when K-9 and Turner And Hooch once did battle...
But how have the movie showdowns of old turned out? And are there any instances where everyone's a winner?
Er, not many as it happens...
The Haunting Vs The House On Haunted Hill
Let's start with two reasonably budgeted horror films, that both got wide releases. Jan De Bont...
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Deep Impact Vs Armageddon is not the only time similar movies have landed around the same time...
Usually, a competing project is poison for a studio. Especially in the era now where a blockbuster costs the national budget of a small country to get out into the world, you don't want to be up against a film with similar subject matter.
Yet this keeps happening, time and time again. Even now, there are two live action Jungle Book movies in various stages of production, for example. And let us not forget when K-9 and Turner And Hooch once did battle...
But how have the movie showdowns of old turned out? And are there any instances where everyone's a winner?
Er, not many as it happens...
The Haunting Vs The House On Haunted Hill
Let's start with two reasonably budgeted horror films, that both got wide releases. Jan De Bont...
- 10/14/2015
- by simonbrew
- Den of Geek
Exclusive: Level One’s Bill Todman Jr and Edward Milstein have teamed to option A Vintage Crime, a Vanity Fair.com article by Michael Steinberger about Rudy Karniawan. A shadowy figure who zoomed to the center of the rare collectible wine game, he is suspected of perpetrating what might be the largest known wine fraud in history. They will look for a writer quickly. The article focuses on the curious ascension of Karniawan, a 31-year old collector from Indonesia who, from his perch in Los Angeles, began buying and selling large quantities of rare Burgundy wines in 2003 and soon became the world’s most prodigious wine collector. Vague about his origins and armed with an impeccable knowledge of wine and a discerning palate, Karniawan helped drive up the prices of rare grape, and then sold $35 million worth of wines in two auctions. Many of them turned out to be counterfeits.
- 6/13/2012
- by MIKE FLEMING
- Deadline
Comic-Con International has unleashed the full schedule for Wednesday and Thursday for the San Diego Comic-Con 2011, and there is going to be a ton of stuff to keep you incredibly busy and entertained.
Like I've been saying it's never to early to start planning, and there is a ton of stuff here that we are looking forward to checking out. I've gone through the list and put exclamation points next to all of the events that we are looking forward to attending. What panels and events are you looking forward to?
We will be at Comic-Con in full force this year, bringing you everything you need and want to know about. We will also be having a GeekTyrant meet-up this year, which we announce soon.
See you at the con!
Wednesday July 20th
!!! 6:00-9:00 Special Sneak Peek Pilot Screenings: Alcatraz, Person of Interest, The Secret Circle, and Supernatural...
Like I've been saying it's never to early to start planning, and there is a ton of stuff here that we are looking forward to checking out. I've gone through the list and put exclamation points next to all of the events that we are looking forward to attending. What panels and events are you looking forward to?
We will be at Comic-Con in full force this year, bringing you everything you need and want to know about. We will also be having a GeekTyrant meet-up this year, which we announce soon.
See you at the con!
Wednesday July 20th
!!! 6:00-9:00 Special Sneak Peek Pilot Screenings: Alcatraz, Person of Interest, The Secret Circle, and Supernatural...
- 7/7/2011
- by Venkman
- GeekTyrant
Friends say former World Wrestling Entertainment Films president Joel Simon died in his sleep this morning after a four-year battle with pancreatic cancer. In addition to The Condemned and The Marine, he produced See No Evil as vehicles for WWE superstars. Before starting WWE Films in 2002, Simon served as president of Quincy Jones Media Group and Quincy Jones/David Salzman Productions, overseeing all feature and television productions from the late 1990s through 2001. Prior to that, he was partnered for nearly a decade with producer Bill Todman Jr in Todman/Simon Productions, which had a first-look deal with Lorimar and Warner Bros Pictures, and whose feature releases included Married to the Mob and Hard to Kill. Simon's additional production credits included Vacuums, X-Men and X2, Wild Wild West, Steel, The In-Laws, and Say It Loud: A Celebration of Black Music in America, a five-hour Vh-1 original documentary mini-series. He went into...
- 6/19/2011
- by NIKKI FINKE
- Deadline Hollywood
Filed under: TV News
When Mark Goodson and Bill Todman created 'Family Feud' in 1976, they could not have known how tailor-made the gameplay is for the viral-video age. Asking seemingly innocent questions can elicit surprising responses. That is exactly what happened recently when host Steve Harvey set up the following category: "Tell me something that gets passed around." He received the funniest answer since the woman replied "penis" back in October.
Harvey began his career in the drug- and booze-fueled days of '80s stand-up comedy. Now he's a family man, a born-again Christian and the host of 'Family Feud." He apparently doesn't get out much anymore either, because when one contestant answered, "A joint," Harvey couldn't believe it. Surely a group of 100 random people at a mall somewhere in middle America would not have given an illegal substance as an answer? Right?
Well, Steve, this isn't the 1950s anymore,...
When Mark Goodson and Bill Todman created 'Family Feud' in 1976, they could not have known how tailor-made the gameplay is for the viral-video age. Asking seemingly innocent questions can elicit surprising responses. That is exactly what happened recently when host Steve Harvey set up the following category: "Tell me something that gets passed around." He received the funniest answer since the woman replied "penis" back in October.
Harvey began his career in the drug- and booze-fueled days of '80s stand-up comedy. Now he's a family man, a born-again Christian and the host of 'Family Feud." He apparently doesn't get out much anymore either, because when one contestant answered, "A joint," Harvey couldn't believe it. Surely a group of 100 random people at a mall somewhere in middle America would not have given an illegal substance as an answer? Right?
Well, Steve, this isn't the 1950s anymore,...
- 2/10/2011
- by Ryan McKee
- Aol TV.
On Thursday night, January 20, old school Hollywood gathered at the Beverly Hilton Hotel to honor some of TV's biggest legends. The Television Academy of Arts and Sciences inducted seven honorees into their Hall of Fame, adding them to a list of over 100 other famous names from in front of and behind the camera.
This year's inductees were actresses Cloris Leachman and Diahann Carroll, writer/producer Susan Harris and TV executive Tom Freston. Posthumous honors were given to game show producer Bill Todman, journalist Peter Jennings and composer Earle Hagen. Presenters for the special awards were also legends in the industry — Carl Reiner, Florence Henderson, Bob Woodruff, George Englund, Bob Daly, Fred Silverman, Tavis Smiley.
On hand to congratulate the honorees were other TV luminaries including Rose Marie, Valerie Harper, Marsha Strassman and David Steinberg. The evening's hosting duties were fulfilled by Survivor's Jeff Probst.
We were lucky enough to...
This year's inductees were actresses Cloris Leachman and Diahann Carroll, writer/producer Susan Harris and TV executive Tom Freston. Posthumous honors were given to game show producer Bill Todman, journalist Peter Jennings and composer Earle Hagen. Presenters for the special awards were also legends in the industry — Carl Reiner, Florence Henderson, Bob Woodruff, George Englund, Bob Daly, Fred Silverman, Tavis Smiley.
On hand to congratulate the honorees were other TV luminaries including Rose Marie, Valerie Harper, Marsha Strassman and David Steinberg. The evening's hosting duties were fulfilled by Survivor's Jeff Probst.
We were lucky enough to...
- 1/26/2011
- by Pop Culture Passionistas
- popculturepassionistas
Some bite-sized TV news for your Tuesday:
Fox isn't ordering any more of "Lie to Me" this season -- but that doesn't necessarily mean the show is canceled. It will complete its 13-episode order by the end of January, after which "The Chicago Code" takes its timeslot; the network will make a decision on "Lie to Me's" future closer to upfronts time in the spring. [Deadline]
The CW has a "Glee"-esque musical series in development, but it's focused more on rock 'n' roll. It's tentatively titled "The Prickly Spheres" and is about a musician who turns down a Julliard scholarship and joins an indie-rock band in Minneapolis. Music manager and producer Jeff Kwatinetz ("Royal Pains") is among the executive producers. [Vulture]
"The Middle" just expanded a little bit. ABC has tacked on two episodes to the season order for the comedy, bringing its total to 24. [TV Guide]
The final season of "Law...
Fox isn't ordering any more of "Lie to Me" this season -- but that doesn't necessarily mean the show is canceled. It will complete its 13-episode order by the end of January, after which "The Chicago Code" takes its timeslot; the network will make a decision on "Lie to Me's" future closer to upfronts time in the spring. [Deadline]
The CW has a "Glee"-esque musical series in development, but it's focused more on rock 'n' roll. It's tentatively titled "The Prickly Spheres" and is about a musician who turns down a Julliard scholarship and joins an indie-rock band in Minneapolis. Music manager and producer Jeff Kwatinetz ("Royal Pains") is among the executive producers. [Vulture]
"The Middle" just expanded a little bit. ABC has tacked on two episodes to the season order for the comedy, bringing its total to 24. [TV Guide]
The final season of "Law...
- 12/7/2010
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Zap2It - From Inside the Box
North Hollywood, CA – The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame Committee has selected two iconic actresses, a ground-breaking comedy writer, an innovative cable executive, a trail-blazing TV game show producer, a universally respected journalist and television’s most beloved composer as the newest inductees into the Hall of Fame, announced Television Academy Chairman-ceo John Shaffner. Actresses Diahann Carroll and Cloris Leachman, cable executive Tom Freston, composer Earle Hagen, writer and producer Susan Harris, broadcast journalist Peter Jennings, and game show producer Bill Todman will be honored in the 20th Annual Hall of Fame Induction ceremony held at the Beverly Hills Hotel on January 20th. The event will be produced by Lee Miller. Earle Hagen, Peter Jennings, and Bill Todman will be inducted posthumously. “This year’s group of Hall of Fame inductees continues to exemplify and define the accomplishments that we recognize with this honor. Each one of...
- 12/7/2010
- by NELLIE ANDREEVA
- Deadline TV
Help! They need somebody! Help! Not just anybody! Help! You know they need someone… to give them a big fat new account! Help! Last week’s episode of Mad Men dropped The Beatles explicitly and hysterically (thank you, Sally, for making your mom smile) into the show’s matrix of cultural references—and brought Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce to the proverbial Eve Of Destruction. Loathsome good ol’ boy Lee Garner, Jr. of Lucky Strike—which represents nearly 70% of the agency’s business—told Roger that the tobacco company was pulling its account. The reason: Consolidation. Lucky Strike’s parent company...
- 10/2/2010
- by Jeff Jensen
- EW.com - PopWatch
Laughter is definitely an endangered species where Strange Wilderness is concerned.
An exceptionally lame comedy about the loser son of a late wildlife program host who hopes a close encounter with Bigfoot will save the program from imminent extinction, this first feature by former Saturday Night Live scribe Fred Wolf plays like one giant outtake reel.
Despite luring an ensemble of bright young comic actors, including Steve Zahn, Jonah Hill and Justin Long, this presentation of Adam Sandler's Happy Madison Prods. went out over the Super Bowl weekend without any advance exposure to critics.
Word-of-mouth should effectively do the job for them.
Having effectively driven his dad's beloved nature show into the ground since he took it over, Zahn's Peter Gaulke (he happens to share his name with Wolf's writing partner) needs a big ratings stunt to keep it on the air.
Obtaining a map of Bigfoot's jungle lair from his dad's survivalist friend Joe Don Baker), Gaulke and his partner, one Fred Wolf (Sandler movie regular Allen Covert), gather a crew together for the biggest expedition of their lives.
Unfortunately, they forgot to pack anything resembling jokes.
It should come as no real surprise that Wilderness originally took the form of a decade-old series of short wildlife-show parody videos penned by Wolf and Gaulke (the real guys, not their screen alter egos), seeing as the whole thing feels like a dated "SNL" sketch stretched to the breaking point.
The result is a slacker comedy that goes slacker by the second, trying hard to be rude and crude but suggesting an old John Candy-Dan Aykroyd movie with bongs and more swearing.
It's evident that Wolf's cast -- which also includes Harry Hamlin, Ernest Borgnine, Broken Lizard sketch troupe member Kevin Heffernan, Robert Patrick and Ashley Scott as the honorary female member of the frat pack -- has been encouraged to improvise wherever they see fit, which only serves to accentuate the negative.
There's a slapdash quality to the entire production, which gives the impression that it was made for one of Peter Gaulke's (the character, not the writer) shoestring budgets.
At least there was enough left over to pay for composer Waddy Wachtel, whose retro, guitar-heavy score summons up the requisite toasted '70s effect.
STRANGE WILDERNESS
Paramount Level 1 Entertainment presents a Happy Madison production
Credits:
Director: Fred Wolf
Screenwriters: Peter Gaulke & Fred Wolf
Producer: Peter Gaulke
Executive producers: Adam Sandler, Jack Giarraputo, Glenn S. Gainor, Bill Todman Jr., Edward Milstein, Paul Schwake
Director of photography: David Hennings
Production designer: Perry Andelin Blake
Music: Waddy Wachtel
Costume designer: Maya Lieberman
Editor: Tom Costain
Cast:
Peter Gaulke: Steve Zahn
Fred Wolf: Allen Covert
Cooker: Jonah Hill
Bill Whitaker: Kevin Heffernan
Cheryl: Ashley Scott
Danny Gutierrez: Peter Dante
Sky Pierson: Harry Hamlin
Gus Hayden: Robert Patrick
Bill Calhoun: Joe Don Baker
Junior: Justin Long
Ed Lawson: Jeff Garlin
Milas: Ernest Borgnine
Running time -- 87 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
An exceptionally lame comedy about the loser son of a late wildlife program host who hopes a close encounter with Bigfoot will save the program from imminent extinction, this first feature by former Saturday Night Live scribe Fred Wolf plays like one giant outtake reel.
Despite luring an ensemble of bright young comic actors, including Steve Zahn, Jonah Hill and Justin Long, this presentation of Adam Sandler's Happy Madison Prods. went out over the Super Bowl weekend without any advance exposure to critics.
Word-of-mouth should effectively do the job for them.
Having effectively driven his dad's beloved nature show into the ground since he took it over, Zahn's Peter Gaulke (he happens to share his name with Wolf's writing partner) needs a big ratings stunt to keep it on the air.
Obtaining a map of Bigfoot's jungle lair from his dad's survivalist friend Joe Don Baker), Gaulke and his partner, one Fred Wolf (Sandler movie regular Allen Covert), gather a crew together for the biggest expedition of their lives.
Unfortunately, they forgot to pack anything resembling jokes.
It should come as no real surprise that Wilderness originally took the form of a decade-old series of short wildlife-show parody videos penned by Wolf and Gaulke (the real guys, not their screen alter egos), seeing as the whole thing feels like a dated "SNL" sketch stretched to the breaking point.
The result is a slacker comedy that goes slacker by the second, trying hard to be rude and crude but suggesting an old John Candy-Dan Aykroyd movie with bongs and more swearing.
It's evident that Wolf's cast -- which also includes Harry Hamlin, Ernest Borgnine, Broken Lizard sketch troupe member Kevin Heffernan, Robert Patrick and Ashley Scott as the honorary female member of the frat pack -- has been encouraged to improvise wherever they see fit, which only serves to accentuate the negative.
There's a slapdash quality to the entire production, which gives the impression that it was made for one of Peter Gaulke's (the character, not the writer) shoestring budgets.
At least there was enough left over to pay for composer Waddy Wachtel, whose retro, guitar-heavy score summons up the requisite toasted '70s effect.
STRANGE WILDERNESS
Paramount Level 1 Entertainment presents a Happy Madison production
Credits:
Director: Fred Wolf
Screenwriters: Peter Gaulke & Fred Wolf
Producer: Peter Gaulke
Executive producers: Adam Sandler, Jack Giarraputo, Glenn S. Gainor, Bill Todman Jr., Edward Milstein, Paul Schwake
Director of photography: David Hennings
Production designer: Perry Andelin Blake
Music: Waddy Wachtel
Costume designer: Maya Lieberman
Editor: Tom Costain
Cast:
Peter Gaulke: Steve Zahn
Fred Wolf: Allen Covert
Cooker: Jonah Hill
Bill Whitaker: Kevin Heffernan
Cheryl: Ashley Scott
Danny Gutierrez: Peter Dante
Sky Pierson: Harry Hamlin
Gus Hayden: Robert Patrick
Bill Calhoun: Joe Don Baker
Junior: Justin Long
Ed Lawson: Jeff Garlin
Milas: Ernest Borgnine
Running time -- 87 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
This review was written for the festival screening of "Rendition".Toronto International Film Festival
TORONTO -- In "Rendition", a major moral and political issue confronting the American public runs up against the filmmakers' commercial agenda. There is a crying need to publicly explore the U.S. government's policy of "extraordinary renditions," the abduction of foreign nationals deemed security threats and their transportation to overseas prisons for brutal interrogations. But "Rendition" tackles the concern in a heavy-handed thriller with simplistic characters and manipulative story lines.
The film, directed by Gavin Hood in his first outing following the Oscar-winning "Tsotsi", aims for none of the moral ambiguity of Steven Spielberg's examination of Israeli anti-terrorism in "Munich". Rather he settles for a contrived melodrama, emotionally jerry-rigged to ensure audiences arrive at the proper conclusion.
The well-produced film, due for release October 19 by New Line, will attract considerable attention and commentary from non-entertainment media, so along with a solid cast of bankable young actors such as Jake Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard and Reese Witherspoon the film should enjoy good boxoffice numbers opening week. Disappointed word-of-mouth, though, may prevent much carry over into the following weeks.
"Rendition" does little to resolve and even shed light on a program most Americans find morally repugnant but are divided on when it comes to its potential for preventing terrorist attacks. In the fictional case in question, the CIA clearly has the wrong guy from the get-go but, ratcheting up the emotional manipulation even more, the guy is an American green card holder who lives in Chicago with an American wife and child -- make that a pregnant wife -- whose only crime apparently is his Egyptian birth.
Meanwhile, the CIA head of anti-terrorism, played by Meryl Streep at her devilish worst, and the North African torturer (Igal Naor) are cartoon villains with just enough personality quirks to make them seem almost human. A thriller may have been the wrong way to go here because screenwriter Kelley Sane feels the need to up the tension and emotional ante further by playing a trick on the audience with the story's structure and sequence of events.
A suicide bomb goes off in an unnamed North African city square, claiming as one of its victims a CIA case officer. The bewildered CIA has no real leads but nevertheless snatches a U.S. resident, Egyptian-born chemical engineer Anwar El-Ibrahimi (Omar Metwally), from the Washington, D.C. airport moments after he arrives on a flight from Cape Town, South Africa. Their only evidence is a possibly coincidental use of cell phone number.
When the CIA understandably gets no information from him at the airport, he is hooded and dragged aboard a secret flight to the very country where the bomb went off for an appointment with a talented torturer.
This is where the movie ensnares itself in a particular sticky set of connections and circumstances of scant credibility. Anwar's distraught wife (Witherspoon) just happens to have an old college friend -- more than a friend, the movie implies -- in Alan Smith (Sarsgaard), who is top deputy to her Illinois Senator (Alan Arkin), who just happens to be on a committee briefed weekly by the CIA anti-terrorist head (Streep) who ordered the rendition. So he is in prime position to learn all sorts of dirty state secrets for the wife.
Anwar's torturer (Naor) just happens to have a rebellious daughter (Zineb Oukach) who is romantically involved with an Islamic militant (Moa Khouas) who is connected to the attack. It gets better. The dead CIA case officer is temporarily replaced by an analyst, Douglas Freeman (Gyllenhaal), who is so new to this game he still has a conscience and becomes sickened over the water-boarding and electric shocks delivered to a man who has no information to surrender.
Characters make political statements and stake out fierce positions that are meant to ponder the issue of torture in the name of anti-terrorism. Yet these arguments are mostly loaded by clearly appalled, liberal-minded filmmakers.
The reality of these situations is much messier. Victims seldom if ever have friends in high places. They are not U.S. residents, nor are they always guilt free. The real questions, touched upon ever so lightly here, concern the value of any information so derived, the violation of constitutional law by outsourcing dirty work and the potential for radicalizing moderate Islamic elements through these tactics.
The film also contains an unappetizing whiff of anti-Arab sentiment. The good Arab, the film's victim, is thoroughly Westernized. But the old country Arabs are either American lackeys and therefore backward and sadistic or terrorists and therefore brainwashed fundamentalists and bigots.
The film benefits from good location work in Marrakech, Morocco, along with D.C. and Cape Town, a slick (perhaps too slick) production and a score infused with North African musical themes.
RENDITION
New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema presents in association with Level 1 Entertainment an Anonymous Content Production
Director: Gavin Hood
Writer: Kelley Sane
Producers: Steve Golin, Marcus Viscidi
Executive producers: Toby Emmerich, Keith Goldberg, David Kanter, Keith Redman, Michael Sugar, Edward Milstein, Bill Todman Jr., Paul Schwake
Director of photography: Dion Beebe
Production designer: Barry Robison
Costume designer: Michael Wilkinson
Music: Paul Hepker, Mark Kilian
Editor: Megan Gill
Cast:
Douglas Freeman: Jake Gyllenhaal
Isabella El-Ibrahimi: Reese Witherspoon
Sen. Hawkins: Alan Arkin
Alan Smith: Peter Sarsgaard
Anwar El-Ibrahimi: Omar Metwally
Abasi Falwal: Igal Naor
Corrinne Whitman: Meryl Streep
No MPAA rating, running time 121 minutes...
TORONTO -- In "Rendition", a major moral and political issue confronting the American public runs up against the filmmakers' commercial agenda. There is a crying need to publicly explore the U.S. government's policy of "extraordinary renditions," the abduction of foreign nationals deemed security threats and their transportation to overseas prisons for brutal interrogations. But "Rendition" tackles the concern in a heavy-handed thriller with simplistic characters and manipulative story lines.
The film, directed by Gavin Hood in his first outing following the Oscar-winning "Tsotsi", aims for none of the moral ambiguity of Steven Spielberg's examination of Israeli anti-terrorism in "Munich". Rather he settles for a contrived melodrama, emotionally jerry-rigged to ensure audiences arrive at the proper conclusion.
The well-produced film, due for release October 19 by New Line, will attract considerable attention and commentary from non-entertainment media, so along with a solid cast of bankable young actors such as Jake Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard and Reese Witherspoon the film should enjoy good boxoffice numbers opening week. Disappointed word-of-mouth, though, may prevent much carry over into the following weeks.
"Rendition" does little to resolve and even shed light on a program most Americans find morally repugnant but are divided on when it comes to its potential for preventing terrorist attacks. In the fictional case in question, the CIA clearly has the wrong guy from the get-go but, ratcheting up the emotional manipulation even more, the guy is an American green card holder who lives in Chicago with an American wife and child -- make that a pregnant wife -- whose only crime apparently is his Egyptian birth.
Meanwhile, the CIA head of anti-terrorism, played by Meryl Streep at her devilish worst, and the North African torturer (Igal Naor) are cartoon villains with just enough personality quirks to make them seem almost human. A thriller may have been the wrong way to go here because screenwriter Kelley Sane feels the need to up the tension and emotional ante further by playing a trick on the audience with the story's structure and sequence of events.
A suicide bomb goes off in an unnamed North African city square, claiming as one of its victims a CIA case officer. The bewildered CIA has no real leads but nevertheless snatches a U.S. resident, Egyptian-born chemical engineer Anwar El-Ibrahimi (Omar Metwally), from the Washington, D.C. airport moments after he arrives on a flight from Cape Town, South Africa. Their only evidence is a possibly coincidental use of cell phone number.
When the CIA understandably gets no information from him at the airport, he is hooded and dragged aboard a secret flight to the very country where the bomb went off for an appointment with a talented torturer.
This is where the movie ensnares itself in a particular sticky set of connections and circumstances of scant credibility. Anwar's distraught wife (Witherspoon) just happens to have an old college friend -- more than a friend, the movie implies -- in Alan Smith (Sarsgaard), who is top deputy to her Illinois Senator (Alan Arkin), who just happens to be on a committee briefed weekly by the CIA anti-terrorist head (Streep) who ordered the rendition. So he is in prime position to learn all sorts of dirty state secrets for the wife.
Anwar's torturer (Naor) just happens to have a rebellious daughter (Zineb Oukach) who is romantically involved with an Islamic militant (Moa Khouas) who is connected to the attack. It gets better. The dead CIA case officer is temporarily replaced by an analyst, Douglas Freeman (Gyllenhaal), who is so new to this game he still has a conscience and becomes sickened over the water-boarding and electric shocks delivered to a man who has no information to surrender.
Characters make political statements and stake out fierce positions that are meant to ponder the issue of torture in the name of anti-terrorism. Yet these arguments are mostly loaded by clearly appalled, liberal-minded filmmakers.
The reality of these situations is much messier. Victims seldom if ever have friends in high places. They are not U.S. residents, nor are they always guilt free. The real questions, touched upon ever so lightly here, concern the value of any information so derived, the violation of constitutional law by outsourcing dirty work and the potential for radicalizing moderate Islamic elements through these tactics.
The film also contains an unappetizing whiff of anti-Arab sentiment. The good Arab, the film's victim, is thoroughly Westernized. But the old country Arabs are either American lackeys and therefore backward and sadistic or terrorists and therefore brainwashed fundamentalists and bigots.
The film benefits from good location work in Marrakech, Morocco, along with D.C. and Cape Town, a slick (perhaps too slick) production and a score infused with North African musical themes.
RENDITION
New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema presents in association with Level 1 Entertainment an Anonymous Content Production
Director: Gavin Hood
Writer: Kelley Sane
Producers: Steve Golin, Marcus Viscidi
Executive producers: Toby Emmerich, Keith Goldberg, David Kanter, Keith Redman, Michael Sugar, Edward Milstein, Bill Todman Jr., Paul Schwake
Director of photography: Dion Beebe
Production designer: Barry Robison
Costume designer: Michael Wilkinson
Music: Paul Hepker, Mark Kilian
Editor: Megan Gill
Cast:
Douglas Freeman: Jake Gyllenhaal
Isabella El-Ibrahimi: Reese Witherspoon
Sen. Hawkins: Alan Arkin
Alan Smith: Peter Sarsgaard
Anwar El-Ibrahimi: Omar Metwally
Abasi Falwal: Igal Naor
Corrinne Whitman: Meryl Streep
No MPAA rating, running time 121 minutes...
Toronto International Film Festival
TORONTO -- In "Rendition", a major moral and political issue confronting the American public runs up against the filmmakers' commercial agenda. There is a crying need to publicly explore the U.S. government's policy of "extraordinary renditions," the abduction of foreign nationals deemed security threats and their transportation to overseas prisons for brutal interrogations. But "Rendition" tackles the concern in a heavy-handed thriller with simplistic characters and manipulative story lines.
The film, directed by Gavin Hood in his first outing following the Oscar-winning "Tsotsi", aims for none of the moral ambiguity of Steven Spielberg's examination of Israeli anti-terrorism in "Munich". Rather he settles for a contrived melodrama, emotionally jerry-rigged to ensure audiences arrive at the proper conclusion.
The well-produced film, due for release October 19 by New Line, will attract considerable attention and commentary from non-entertainment media, so along with a solid cast of bankable young actors such as Jake Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard and Reese Witherspoon the film should enjoy good boxoffice numbers opening week. Disappointed word-of-mouth, though, may prevent much carry over into the following weeks.
"Rendition" does little to resolve and even shed light on a program most Americans find morally repugnant but are divided on when it comes to its potential for preventing terrorist attacks. In the fictional case in question, the CIA clearly has the wrong guy from the get-go but, ratcheting up the emotional manipulation even more, the guy is an American green card holder who lives in Chicago with an American wife and child -- make that a pregnant wife -- whose only crime apparently is his Egyptian birth.
Meanwhile, the CIA head of anti-terrorism, played by Meryl Streep at her devilish worst, and the North African torturer (Igal Naor) are cartoon villains with just enough personality quirks to make them seem almost human. A thriller may have been the wrong way to go here because screenwriter Kelley Sane feels the need to up the tension and emotional ante further by playing a trick on the audience with the story's structure and sequence of events.
A suicide bomb goes off in an unnamed North African city square, claiming as one of its victims a CIA case officer. The bewildered CIA has no real leads but nevertheless snatches a U.S. resident, Egyptian-born chemical engineer Anwar El-Ibrahimi (Omar Metwally), from the Washington, D.C. airport moments after he arrives on a flight from Cape Town, South Africa. Their only evidence is a possibly coincidental use of cell phone number.
When the CIA understandably gets no information from him at the airport, he is hooded and dragged aboard a secret flight to the very country where the bomb went off for an appointment with a talented torturer.
This is where the movie ensnares itself in a particular sticky set of connections and circumstances of scant credibility. Anwar's distraught wife (Witherspoon) just happens to have an old college friend -- more than a friend, the movie implies -- in Alan Smith (Sarsgaard), who is top deputy to her Illinois Senator (Alan Arkin), who just happens to be on a committee briefed weekly by the CIA anti-terrorist head (Streep) who ordered the rendition. So he is in prime position to learn all sorts of dirty state secrets for the wife.
Anwar's torturer (Naor) just happens to have a rebellious daughter (Zineb Oukach) who is romantically involved with an Islamic militant (Moa Khouas) who is connected to the attack. It gets better. The dead CIA case officer is temporarily replaced by an analyst, Douglas Freeman (Gyllenhaal), who is so new to this game he still has a conscience and becomes sickened over the water-boarding and electric shocks delivered to a man who has no information to surrender.
Characters make political statements and stake out fierce positions that are meant to ponder the issue of torture in the name of anti-terrorism. Yet these arguments are mostly loaded by clearly appalled, liberal-minded filmmakers.
The reality of these situations is much messier. Victims seldom if ever have friends in high places. They are not U.S. residents, nor are they always guilt free. The real questions, touched upon ever so lightly here, concern the value of any information so derived, the violation of constitutional law by outsourcing dirty work and the potential for radicalizing moderate Islamic elements through these tactics.
The film also contains an unappetizing whiff of anti-Arab sentiment. The good Arab, the film's victim, is thoroughly Westernized. But the old country Arabs are either American lackeys and therefore backward and sadistic or terrorists and therefore brainwashed fundamentalists and bigots.
The film benefits from good location work in Marrakech, Morocco, along with D.C. and Cape Town, a slick (perhaps too slick) production and a score infused with North African musical themes.
RENDITION
New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema presents in association with Level 1 Entertainment an Anonymous Content Production
Director: Gavin Hood
Writer: Kelley Sane
Producers: Steve Golin, Marcus Viscidi
Executive producers: Toby Emmerich, Keith Goldberg, David Kanter, Keith Redman, Michael Sugar, Edward Milstein, Bill Todman Jr., Paul Schwake
Director of photography: Dion Beebe
Production designer: Barry Robison
Costume designer: Michael Wilkinson
Music: Paul Hepker, Mark Kilian
Editor: Megan Gill
Cast:
Douglas Freeman: Jake Gyllenhaal
Isabella El-Ibrahimi: Reese Witherspoon
Sen. Hawkins: Alan Arkin
Alan Smith: Peter Sarsgaard
Anwar El-Ibrahimi: Omar Metwally
Abasi Falwal: Igal Naor
Corrinne Whitman: Meryl Streep
No MPAA rating, running time 121 minutes...
TORONTO -- In "Rendition", a major moral and political issue confronting the American public runs up against the filmmakers' commercial agenda. There is a crying need to publicly explore the U.S. government's policy of "extraordinary renditions," the abduction of foreign nationals deemed security threats and their transportation to overseas prisons for brutal interrogations. But "Rendition" tackles the concern in a heavy-handed thriller with simplistic characters and manipulative story lines.
The film, directed by Gavin Hood in his first outing following the Oscar-winning "Tsotsi", aims for none of the moral ambiguity of Steven Spielberg's examination of Israeli anti-terrorism in "Munich". Rather he settles for a contrived melodrama, emotionally jerry-rigged to ensure audiences arrive at the proper conclusion.
The well-produced film, due for release October 19 by New Line, will attract considerable attention and commentary from non-entertainment media, so along with a solid cast of bankable young actors such as Jake Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard and Reese Witherspoon the film should enjoy good boxoffice numbers opening week. Disappointed word-of-mouth, though, may prevent much carry over into the following weeks.
"Rendition" does little to resolve and even shed light on a program most Americans find morally repugnant but are divided on when it comes to its potential for preventing terrorist attacks. In the fictional case in question, the CIA clearly has the wrong guy from the get-go but, ratcheting up the emotional manipulation even more, the guy is an American green card holder who lives in Chicago with an American wife and child -- make that a pregnant wife -- whose only crime apparently is his Egyptian birth.
Meanwhile, the CIA head of anti-terrorism, played by Meryl Streep at her devilish worst, and the North African torturer (Igal Naor) are cartoon villains with just enough personality quirks to make them seem almost human. A thriller may have been the wrong way to go here because screenwriter Kelley Sane feels the need to up the tension and emotional ante further by playing a trick on the audience with the story's structure and sequence of events.
A suicide bomb goes off in an unnamed North African city square, claiming as one of its victims a CIA case officer. The bewildered CIA has no real leads but nevertheless snatches a U.S. resident, Egyptian-born chemical engineer Anwar El-Ibrahimi (Omar Metwally), from the Washington, D.C. airport moments after he arrives on a flight from Cape Town, South Africa. Their only evidence is a possibly coincidental use of cell phone number.
When the CIA understandably gets no information from him at the airport, he is hooded and dragged aboard a secret flight to the very country where the bomb went off for an appointment with a talented torturer.
This is where the movie ensnares itself in a particular sticky set of connections and circumstances of scant credibility. Anwar's distraught wife (Witherspoon) just happens to have an old college friend -- more than a friend, the movie implies -- in Alan Smith (Sarsgaard), who is top deputy to her Illinois Senator (Alan Arkin), who just happens to be on a committee briefed weekly by the CIA anti-terrorist head (Streep) who ordered the rendition. So he is in prime position to learn all sorts of dirty state secrets for the wife.
Anwar's torturer (Naor) just happens to have a rebellious daughter (Zineb Oukach) who is romantically involved with an Islamic militant (Moa Khouas) who is connected to the attack. It gets better. The dead CIA case officer is temporarily replaced by an analyst, Douglas Freeman (Gyllenhaal), who is so new to this game he still has a conscience and becomes sickened over the water-boarding and electric shocks delivered to a man who has no information to surrender.
Characters make political statements and stake out fierce positions that are meant to ponder the issue of torture in the name of anti-terrorism. Yet these arguments are mostly loaded by clearly appalled, liberal-minded filmmakers.
The reality of these situations is much messier. Victims seldom if ever have friends in high places. They are not U.S. residents, nor are they always guilt free. The real questions, touched upon ever so lightly here, concern the value of any information so derived, the violation of constitutional law by outsourcing dirty work and the potential for radicalizing moderate Islamic elements through these tactics.
The film also contains an unappetizing whiff of anti-Arab sentiment. The good Arab, the film's victim, is thoroughly Westernized. But the old country Arabs are either American lackeys and therefore backward and sadistic or terrorists and therefore brainwashed fundamentalists and bigots.
The film benefits from good location work in Marrakech, Morocco, along with D.C. and Cape Town, a slick (perhaps too slick) production and a score infused with North African musical themes.
RENDITION
New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema presents in association with Level 1 Entertainment an Anonymous Content Production
Director: Gavin Hood
Writer: Kelley Sane
Producers: Steve Golin, Marcus Viscidi
Executive producers: Toby Emmerich, Keith Goldberg, David Kanter, Keith Redman, Michael Sugar, Edward Milstein, Bill Todman Jr., Paul Schwake
Director of photography: Dion Beebe
Production designer: Barry Robison
Costume designer: Michael Wilkinson
Music: Paul Hepker, Mark Kilian
Editor: Megan Gill
Cast:
Douglas Freeman: Jake Gyllenhaal
Isabella El-Ibrahimi: Reese Witherspoon
Sen. Hawkins: Alan Arkin
Alan Smith: Peter Sarsgaard
Anwar El-Ibrahimi: Omar Metwally
Abasi Falwal: Igal Naor
Corrinne Whitman: Meryl Streep
No MPAA rating, running time 121 minutes...
- Quick Links > Rendition > New Line Cinema > Gavin Hood > Jake Gyllenhaal > Reese Witherspoon > Tsotsi Jake Gyllenhaal and Reese Witherspoon will star in New Line Cinema’s Rendition, a political thriller based in the Middle East. Bill Todman will serve as executive producer over Kelley Sane’s script, with cameras rolling in mid-November. Gavin Hood of Tsotsi fame will direct. The complex storyline centers around Gyllenhaal, an CIA analyst whose assignment is the overseeing of an interrogation of a suspected terrorist. His life begins to unravel when he questions the validity of his assignment. The film will be director Hood’s first since his aforementioned Tsotsi won the Best Foreign Film Oscar in 2006. It will also be Hood’s first film in the Hollywood system. More interestingly, did you know that Reese Witherspoon is in talks to do a remake of of Bunny Lake is Missing? You would have thought Hollywood
- 9/27/2006
- IONCINEMA.com
Fred Wolf will make his directorial debut in Level 1 Entertainment and Happy Madison Prods.' Strange Wilderness, a comedy written by Wolf and Peter Gaulke. 20th Century Fox will distribute the film in the U.S., U.K. and Italy. Steve Zahn (Chicken Little, Sahara) and Allen Covert (Grandma's Boy, 50 First Dates) have signed on to star in the film, which starts shooting Nov. 10 in Los Angeles. Adam Sandler, Jack Giarraputo and Covert are producing, while Level 1's Bill Todman Jr., Edward Milstein and Paul Schwake are executive producing along with Glenn S. Gainor.
- 11/2/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
In Warner Bros.' "Wild Wild West", the West isn't so much wild as loud, rudderless and full of misplaced energy. This unwieldy mishmash of highly disparate elements -- it might be described as "Men in Black" meets "Maverick" -- never manages to come together as a satisfying entertainment.
With Will Smith toplining, the film should enjoy an excellent first two weeks. But the ultimate boxoffice response to "Wild Wild West" might be milder than Warner Bros. hopes.
No fewer than six writers are credited, but the movie still careens from one set piece to another without any sense of a story. This discontinuity makes the action seem not so much organic as imposed on the story.
Director Barry Sonnenfeld's previous movies -- "Men in Black", "Get Shorty" and the "Addams Family" films among them -- displayed considerable wit and charm. Each was outlandish in its own way, but one sensed a bemused intelligence behind the shenanigans.
This time out, though, "West"'s overwhelming logistics force Sonnenfeld into the uncomfortable role of traffic cop. The director never appears to get a purchase on the material, settling for lame comedy and rudimentary caricatures to punctuate the action.
In the original 1960s television series, produced back when the Western was still a staple entertainment, its creators introduced the notion of spies into the Old West, spies who fought with futuristic gadgets out of the world of Jules Verne. But with the Western moribund and gadgetry now all the rage, today's filmmakers feel constrained to push the visual effects at the expense of story and characters.
President Ulysses S. Grant teams special government agent James West (Smith), a man of action, with U.S. Marshal Artemus Gordon (Kevin Kline), a man who prefers disguises and inventions. They are asked to foil the greatest threat to the Union in the post-Civil War era: Dr. Arliss Loveless (Kenneth Branagh), a legless former Confederate who has kidnapped several scientific geniuses to help him create monstrous weaponry to overthrow the American government.
Joining in this crusade is Rita Escobar (Salma Hayek), who claims her father is among the purloined scientists. Dr. Loveless' beauteous accomplices include strong woman Amazonia (Frederique Van Der Wal), weapons specialist Munitia (Musetta Vander), Miss Lippenreider (Sofia Eng) -- well, you can figure out what she does -- and Miss East (Bai Ling), assigned to derail Mr. West sexually.
Veteran character actors Ted Levine and M. Emmet Walsh do respective turns as a much mutilated ex-Confederate general named "Bloodbath" McGrath and the conductor of the Wanderer, the gadget-laden luxury train that scoots West and Gordon around the country.
The style throughout the movie is over the top. The film appears to operate on the theory that any quiet or introspective moment would be a waste of time. But even a roller coaster needs to climb gently before it rushes downhill.
Smith gives handsome dash to West by combining just the right amount of swagger with good-natured humor. But the film puts a strain on Kline's considerable comic gifts in saddling him with the wobbly repartee between him and his co-star. Branagh, who once again indulges in the take-no-prisoners acting style he favors when slumming in Hollywood movies, understandably fails to give Loveless the edge a true villain needs.
The women are all treated as little more than sexy upholstery. It is especially troubling to see that fine Chinese actress, Bai Ling, who was so spectacular in "Red Corner", reduced to playing an Oriental seductress.
Technical credits are top-notch, but they swamp the picture. Michael Ballhaus' wild, wild camera angles and the eye-popping visual effects fit more comfortably in a "Star Wars" movie than the Old West. Elmer Bernstein's full-throated orchestral score pounds away in scene after scene to wearying effect.
"Wild Wild West" is this summer's most expensive movie, but the money never bought the most important gadget of them all -- a workable screenplay.
WILD WILD WEST
Warner Bros.
Peters Entertainment/Sonnenfeld-Josephson
Producers: Jon Peters, Barry Sonnenfeld
Director: Barry Sonnenfeld
Writers: S.S. Wilson & Brent Maddock, Jeffrey Price & Peter S. Seaman
Story: Jim Thomas & John Thomas
Executive producers: Bill Todman Jr., Joel Simon, Kim LeMasters, Tracy Glaser, Barry Josephson
Director of photography: Michael Ballhaus
Production designer: Bo Welch
Editor: Jim Miller
Music: Elmer Bernstein
Costumes: Deborah Scott
Color/stereo
Cast:
James West: Will Smith
Artemus Gordon/President Grant: Kevin Kline
Dr. Arliss Loveless: Kenneth Branagh
Rita Escobar: Salma Hayek
Coleman: M. Emmet Walsh
General McGrath: Ted Levine
Amazonia: Frederique Van Der Wal
Munitia: Musetta Vander
Miss Lippenreider: Sofia Eng
Miss East: Bai Ling
Running time -- 107 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
With Will Smith toplining, the film should enjoy an excellent first two weeks. But the ultimate boxoffice response to "Wild Wild West" might be milder than Warner Bros. hopes.
No fewer than six writers are credited, but the movie still careens from one set piece to another without any sense of a story. This discontinuity makes the action seem not so much organic as imposed on the story.
Director Barry Sonnenfeld's previous movies -- "Men in Black", "Get Shorty" and the "Addams Family" films among them -- displayed considerable wit and charm. Each was outlandish in its own way, but one sensed a bemused intelligence behind the shenanigans.
This time out, though, "West"'s overwhelming logistics force Sonnenfeld into the uncomfortable role of traffic cop. The director never appears to get a purchase on the material, settling for lame comedy and rudimentary caricatures to punctuate the action.
In the original 1960s television series, produced back when the Western was still a staple entertainment, its creators introduced the notion of spies into the Old West, spies who fought with futuristic gadgets out of the world of Jules Verne. But with the Western moribund and gadgetry now all the rage, today's filmmakers feel constrained to push the visual effects at the expense of story and characters.
President Ulysses S. Grant teams special government agent James West (Smith), a man of action, with U.S. Marshal Artemus Gordon (Kevin Kline), a man who prefers disguises and inventions. They are asked to foil the greatest threat to the Union in the post-Civil War era: Dr. Arliss Loveless (Kenneth Branagh), a legless former Confederate who has kidnapped several scientific geniuses to help him create monstrous weaponry to overthrow the American government.
Joining in this crusade is Rita Escobar (Salma Hayek), who claims her father is among the purloined scientists. Dr. Loveless' beauteous accomplices include strong woman Amazonia (Frederique Van Der Wal), weapons specialist Munitia (Musetta Vander), Miss Lippenreider (Sofia Eng) -- well, you can figure out what she does -- and Miss East (Bai Ling), assigned to derail Mr. West sexually.
Veteran character actors Ted Levine and M. Emmet Walsh do respective turns as a much mutilated ex-Confederate general named "Bloodbath" McGrath and the conductor of the Wanderer, the gadget-laden luxury train that scoots West and Gordon around the country.
The style throughout the movie is over the top. The film appears to operate on the theory that any quiet or introspective moment would be a waste of time. But even a roller coaster needs to climb gently before it rushes downhill.
Smith gives handsome dash to West by combining just the right amount of swagger with good-natured humor. But the film puts a strain on Kline's considerable comic gifts in saddling him with the wobbly repartee between him and his co-star. Branagh, who once again indulges in the take-no-prisoners acting style he favors when slumming in Hollywood movies, understandably fails to give Loveless the edge a true villain needs.
The women are all treated as little more than sexy upholstery. It is especially troubling to see that fine Chinese actress, Bai Ling, who was so spectacular in "Red Corner", reduced to playing an Oriental seductress.
Technical credits are top-notch, but they swamp the picture. Michael Ballhaus' wild, wild camera angles and the eye-popping visual effects fit more comfortably in a "Star Wars" movie than the Old West. Elmer Bernstein's full-throated orchestral score pounds away in scene after scene to wearying effect.
"Wild Wild West" is this summer's most expensive movie, but the money never bought the most important gadget of them all -- a workable screenplay.
WILD WILD WEST
Warner Bros.
Peters Entertainment/Sonnenfeld-Josephson
Producers: Jon Peters, Barry Sonnenfeld
Director: Barry Sonnenfeld
Writers: S.S. Wilson & Brent Maddock, Jeffrey Price & Peter S. Seaman
Story: Jim Thomas & John Thomas
Executive producers: Bill Todman Jr., Joel Simon, Kim LeMasters, Tracy Glaser, Barry Josephson
Director of photography: Michael Ballhaus
Production designer: Bo Welch
Editor: Jim Miller
Music: Elmer Bernstein
Costumes: Deborah Scott
Color/stereo
Cast:
James West: Will Smith
Artemus Gordon/President Grant: Kevin Kline
Dr. Arliss Loveless: Kenneth Branagh
Rita Escobar: Salma Hayek
Coleman: M. Emmet Walsh
General McGrath: Ted Levine
Amazonia: Frederique Van Der Wal
Munitia: Musetta Vander
Miss Lippenreider: Sofia Eng
Miss East: Bai Ling
Running time -- 107 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
- 6/30/1999
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
After the major misfire of a sequel that was 1994's "Major League II", you'd think that any subsequent attempt, no matter how misguided, would have to look better by comparison.
You'd think.
But even a decent ump would be hard-pressed to make that call with the arrival of "Major League: Back to the Minors," a bland, poorly paced effort that takes its regressive title to heart.
A very pale imitation of the lively -- if never exactly inspired -- original, this third and likely final outing takes a half-hearted swing and fails to make any contact.
Final attendance figures will be disappointing, though series fans might take their chances during video postseason play.
While Charlie Sheen and Tom Berenger have long since hung up their cleats, Corbin Bernsen returns as Roger Dorn. Currently the owner of the Minnesota Twins, Dorn is looking for someone to manage his farm team, the South Carolina Buzz; that someone turns out to be burnt-out minor league pitcher Gus Cantrell (Scott Bakula).
Reluctantly, Gus takes the gig, only to find out that the triple-A team might as well be called the Bad News Bores. A decidedly motley crew with a lousy attitude, the Buzz might appear as a hopeless task to some, but not to Cantrell, who knows a thing or two about never saying never.
Not only does he put the team back in the winning column, but a personal feud with vain, smug Twins manager Leonard Huff (Ted McGinley) leads to a minor league-major league grudge match with entirely predictable results.
As written and directed by John Warren, the picture goes through its generic paces with a scarcity of spark and spirit. It would have done well to take heed of one of Cantrell's pep talks.
The cast does the best it can with what it was given. Bakula, saddled with a tired, screen-cliche of a character, nevertheless conveys an easygoing amiability, as does Bernsen, for the little time he's onscreen.
"Married ... With Children" vet McGinley plays his adversarial part with the requisite broad strokes, while Dennis Haysbert (as Cuban voodoo outfielder Pedro Cerrano), Takaaki Ishibashi (as highly spiritual teammate Taka Tanaka) and Bob Uecker (as enthusiastic play-by-play man Harry Doyle) all return for more of the same.
Handed the token female role of Bakula's girlfriend, Jensen Daggett ("The Single Guy") fulfills her character demands by always looking pretty and supportive.
***MAJOR LEAGUE: BACK TO THE MINORS
Warner Bros.
James Robinson presents
a Morgan Creek production
Director-screenwriter: John Warren
Producer: James G. Robinson
Executive producers: Michael Rachmil,
Gary Barber, Bill Todman Jr.
Director of photography: Tim Suhrstedt
Editors: O. Nicholas Brown, Bryan H. Carroll
Music: Robert Folk
Color/stereo
Cast:
Gus Cantrell: Scott Bakula
Roger Dorn: Corbin Bernsen
Pedro Cerrano: Dennis Haysbert
Taka Tanaka: Takaaki Ishibashi
Maggie Reynolds: Jensen Daggett
Rube Baker: Eric Bruskotter
Harry Doyle: Bob Uecker
Leonard Huff: Ted McGinley
Running time -- 100 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
You'd think.
But even a decent ump would be hard-pressed to make that call with the arrival of "Major League: Back to the Minors," a bland, poorly paced effort that takes its regressive title to heart.
A very pale imitation of the lively -- if never exactly inspired -- original, this third and likely final outing takes a half-hearted swing and fails to make any contact.
Final attendance figures will be disappointing, though series fans might take their chances during video postseason play.
While Charlie Sheen and Tom Berenger have long since hung up their cleats, Corbin Bernsen returns as Roger Dorn. Currently the owner of the Minnesota Twins, Dorn is looking for someone to manage his farm team, the South Carolina Buzz; that someone turns out to be burnt-out minor league pitcher Gus Cantrell (Scott Bakula).
Reluctantly, Gus takes the gig, only to find out that the triple-A team might as well be called the Bad News Bores. A decidedly motley crew with a lousy attitude, the Buzz might appear as a hopeless task to some, but not to Cantrell, who knows a thing or two about never saying never.
Not only does he put the team back in the winning column, but a personal feud with vain, smug Twins manager Leonard Huff (Ted McGinley) leads to a minor league-major league grudge match with entirely predictable results.
As written and directed by John Warren, the picture goes through its generic paces with a scarcity of spark and spirit. It would have done well to take heed of one of Cantrell's pep talks.
The cast does the best it can with what it was given. Bakula, saddled with a tired, screen-cliche of a character, nevertheless conveys an easygoing amiability, as does Bernsen, for the little time he's onscreen.
"Married ... With Children" vet McGinley plays his adversarial part with the requisite broad strokes, while Dennis Haysbert (as Cuban voodoo outfielder Pedro Cerrano), Takaaki Ishibashi (as highly spiritual teammate Taka Tanaka) and Bob Uecker (as enthusiastic play-by-play man Harry Doyle) all return for more of the same.
Handed the token female role of Bakula's girlfriend, Jensen Daggett ("The Single Guy") fulfills her character demands by always looking pretty and supportive.
***MAJOR LEAGUE: BACK TO THE MINORS
Warner Bros.
James Robinson presents
a Morgan Creek production
Director-screenwriter: John Warren
Producer: James G. Robinson
Executive producers: Michael Rachmil,
Gary Barber, Bill Todman Jr.
Director of photography: Tim Suhrstedt
Editors: O. Nicholas Brown, Bryan H. Carroll
Music: Robert Folk
Color/stereo
Cast:
Gus Cantrell: Scott Bakula
Roger Dorn: Corbin Bernsen
Pedro Cerrano: Dennis Haysbert
Taka Tanaka: Takaaki Ishibashi
Maggie Reynolds: Jensen Daggett
Rube Baker: Eric Bruskotter
Harry Doyle: Bob Uecker
Leonard Huff: Ted McGinley
Running time -- 100 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
- 4/20/1998
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
A nicely executed throwback to traditional family adventure films, with enough action and teen sex appeal to win over a respectable modern audience, "Wild America" has likeable animals and young heartthrobs to spare in a kind of "My Three Sons"-meets-"Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom".
Directed by William Dear ("Angels in the Outfield"), the Warner Bros. wide release stars the dynamic trio of Jonathan Taylor Thomas ("The Adventures of Pinocchio", TV's "Home Improvement"), Devon Sawa ("Casper") and Scott Bairstow ("White Fang 2") as real-life brothers who spend a summer traveling around the country with a 16mm camera.
Budding naturalists in search of endangered species, a legendary cave filled with sleeping bears and an escape from unadventuresome lives in Fort Smith, Ark., the three Stouffer boys -- Marshall Thomas), Mark (Sawa) and Marty (Bairstow) -- are decent but full of mischief. The leader of the group, narratively speaking, is the youngest shutterbug Marshall, who is often the subject of filmed stunts and other pranks by his competitive older bros.
With an amiable voice-over, the episodic scenario penned by playwright David Michael Wieger in his feature debut stays true to the mid-1960s rural south milieu. Barely touching on the political and cultural turmoil of the times, there is little romance, no references to "Star Trek" and no sporting activities except leader Mark and rebel Marty's inventive ways of putting daredevil Marshall in harm's way.
Their parents are sturdy salt-of-the-earth types, with Marty Sr. (Jamie Sheridan) running a carburetor shop and promising would-be flyer Marshall that one day he'll restore a World War II training plane. Dad, of course, wants his oldest to take over the family business someday, but when the trio of amateur filmmakers is given a professional camera they embark on a mission worthy of the ensemble war movies of the era.
Along with the predictable generational friction caused by pursuing a risky dream come such conventional maneuvers as Marshall stowing away and then winning approval from all concerned for the central road journey the brothers take to national parks and relatively far-flung locales. Encounters with gators, moose, snakes, bears, wild horses and a pair of English hippie girls await them.
Including Frances Fisher as the boys' protective but supportive mom, the performances are sturdy throughout, with the headliners achieving a winning chemistry.
A fun running gambit has Thomas' character devising ways to secretly get back at his brothers with befouled toothbrushes and canteens.
Even with co-producer Mark Stouffer on board, the film has a few unbelievable moments, but it's an entertaining and amiably paced tall tale. Evocatively filmed in wide-screen by David Burr ("The Phantom"), the production overall is first-rate. A special merit badge to animal trainer Senia Phillips for the many splendid scenes with tame and threatening creatures.
WILD AMERICA
Warner Bros.
James G. Robinson presents
a Morgan Creek production
in association with the Steve Tisch Company
A William Dear film
Director William Dear
Prodcuers James G. Robinson, Irby Smith,
Mark Stouffer
Writer David Michael Wieger
Executive producers Gary Barber, Steve Tisch,
Bill Todman Jr.
Director of photography David Burr
Production designer Steven Jordan
Editor O. Nicholas Brown
Music Joel McNeely
Costume designer Mary McLeod
Casting Pam Dixon Mickelson
Color/stereo
Cast:
Marshall Jonathan Taylor Thomas
Mark Devon Sawa
Marty Scott Bairstow
Agnes Frances Fisher
Marty Sr. Jamie Sheridan
Running time -- 107 minutes
MPAA rating: PG...
Directed by William Dear ("Angels in the Outfield"), the Warner Bros. wide release stars the dynamic trio of Jonathan Taylor Thomas ("The Adventures of Pinocchio", TV's "Home Improvement"), Devon Sawa ("Casper") and Scott Bairstow ("White Fang 2") as real-life brothers who spend a summer traveling around the country with a 16mm camera.
Budding naturalists in search of endangered species, a legendary cave filled with sleeping bears and an escape from unadventuresome lives in Fort Smith, Ark., the three Stouffer boys -- Marshall Thomas), Mark (Sawa) and Marty (Bairstow) -- are decent but full of mischief. The leader of the group, narratively speaking, is the youngest shutterbug Marshall, who is often the subject of filmed stunts and other pranks by his competitive older bros.
With an amiable voice-over, the episodic scenario penned by playwright David Michael Wieger in his feature debut stays true to the mid-1960s rural south milieu. Barely touching on the political and cultural turmoil of the times, there is little romance, no references to "Star Trek" and no sporting activities except leader Mark and rebel Marty's inventive ways of putting daredevil Marshall in harm's way.
Their parents are sturdy salt-of-the-earth types, with Marty Sr. (Jamie Sheridan) running a carburetor shop and promising would-be flyer Marshall that one day he'll restore a World War II training plane. Dad, of course, wants his oldest to take over the family business someday, but when the trio of amateur filmmakers is given a professional camera they embark on a mission worthy of the ensemble war movies of the era.
Along with the predictable generational friction caused by pursuing a risky dream come such conventional maneuvers as Marshall stowing away and then winning approval from all concerned for the central road journey the brothers take to national parks and relatively far-flung locales. Encounters with gators, moose, snakes, bears, wild horses and a pair of English hippie girls await them.
Including Frances Fisher as the boys' protective but supportive mom, the performances are sturdy throughout, with the headliners achieving a winning chemistry.
A fun running gambit has Thomas' character devising ways to secretly get back at his brothers with befouled toothbrushes and canteens.
Even with co-producer Mark Stouffer on board, the film has a few unbelievable moments, but it's an entertaining and amiably paced tall tale. Evocatively filmed in wide-screen by David Burr ("The Phantom"), the production overall is first-rate. A special merit badge to animal trainer Senia Phillips for the many splendid scenes with tame and threatening creatures.
WILD AMERICA
Warner Bros.
James G. Robinson presents
a Morgan Creek production
in association with the Steve Tisch Company
A William Dear film
Director William Dear
Prodcuers James G. Robinson, Irby Smith,
Mark Stouffer
Writer David Michael Wieger
Executive producers Gary Barber, Steve Tisch,
Bill Todman Jr.
Director of photography David Burr
Production designer Steven Jordan
Editor O. Nicholas Brown
Music Joel McNeely
Costume designer Mary McLeod
Casting Pam Dixon Mickelson
Color/stereo
Cast:
Marshall Jonathan Taylor Thomas
Mark Devon Sawa
Marty Scott Bairstow
Agnes Frances Fisher
Marty Sr. Jamie Sheridan
Running time -- 107 minutes
MPAA rating: PG...
Halloween certainly isn't the bloody cinematic feast it used to be.
There was a time when we could count on a slew of fun horror movies every mid-October, usually with at least one Freddy or Jason thrown into the mix. This year, all we have is a subpar Stephen King ("Thinner") and this anemic werewolf flick, which Warners snuck into theaters without press screenings. Look for this one to be gone before the next full moon.
"Bad Moon" stars Mariel Hemingway, who needs to put in a call to Woody Allen as soon as possible, and Michael Pare, whose performance here won't have Lon Chaney Jr. turning over in his grave. The film begins with a brief prologue in Nepal, where Ted (Pare) and his girlfriend are noisily making love in a tent (horror films always scores points with a nude scene in the first five minutes), much to the amusement of the natives. It isn't long before they are rudely interrupted by a wolf; we're talking about a big wolf, so big he can stand on his hind legs and throw a mean punch. Ted, as opposed to his girlfriend, manages to get away, but not before being badly mauled. And you know what that means.
Soon he's back in the Pacific Northwest, holed up in a trailer in the woods and venturing out in the evenings to ruthlessly slaughter wayward campers. Trying to cure himself with a dose of family therapy, he decides to stay with his sister, Janet (Hemingway), and her young son, Brett Mason Gamble of "Dennis the Menace"). Not so pleased is the family's beloved German shepherd, Thor, who knows a wolf in sheep's clothing when he sees one. A game of cat and mouse, or wolf and dog, ensues; it all starts when Thor pees on Ted's trailer. Banishing the dog to the pound, Ted celebrates by peeing on Thor's doghouse.
The best thing in the film is Primo, the beautiful shepherd who plays Thor. He's treated to more loving on-screen close-ups than anyone since Garbo, and why not? He's a lot more expressive, and his eyes are almost as beautiful.
BAD MOON
A Warner Bros. release
Presented by James G. Robinson
A Morgan Creek production
Director-screenplay Eric Red
Producer James G. Robinson
Executive producers Gary Barber,
Bill Todman Jr.
Co-producer Jacobus Rose
Director of photography Jan Kiesser
Editor C. Timothy O'Meara
Music Daniel Licht
Color/stereo
Cast:
Janet Harrison Mariel Hemingway
Ted Harrison Michael Pare
Brett Harrison Mason Gamble
Running time -- 85 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
There was a time when we could count on a slew of fun horror movies every mid-October, usually with at least one Freddy or Jason thrown into the mix. This year, all we have is a subpar Stephen King ("Thinner") and this anemic werewolf flick, which Warners snuck into theaters without press screenings. Look for this one to be gone before the next full moon.
"Bad Moon" stars Mariel Hemingway, who needs to put in a call to Woody Allen as soon as possible, and Michael Pare, whose performance here won't have Lon Chaney Jr. turning over in his grave. The film begins with a brief prologue in Nepal, where Ted (Pare) and his girlfriend are noisily making love in a tent (horror films always scores points with a nude scene in the first five minutes), much to the amusement of the natives. It isn't long before they are rudely interrupted by a wolf; we're talking about a big wolf, so big he can stand on his hind legs and throw a mean punch. Ted, as opposed to his girlfriend, manages to get away, but not before being badly mauled. And you know what that means.
Soon he's back in the Pacific Northwest, holed up in a trailer in the woods and venturing out in the evenings to ruthlessly slaughter wayward campers. Trying to cure himself with a dose of family therapy, he decides to stay with his sister, Janet (Hemingway), and her young son, Brett Mason Gamble of "Dennis the Menace"). Not so pleased is the family's beloved German shepherd, Thor, who knows a wolf in sheep's clothing when he sees one. A game of cat and mouse, or wolf and dog, ensues; it all starts when Thor pees on Ted's trailer. Banishing the dog to the pound, Ted celebrates by peeing on Thor's doghouse.
The best thing in the film is Primo, the beautiful shepherd who plays Thor. He's treated to more loving on-screen close-ups than anyone since Garbo, and why not? He's a lot more expressive, and his eyes are almost as beautiful.
BAD MOON
A Warner Bros. release
Presented by James G. Robinson
A Morgan Creek production
Director-screenplay Eric Red
Producer James G. Robinson
Executive producers Gary Barber,
Bill Todman Jr.
Co-producer Jacobus Rose
Director of photography Jan Kiesser
Editor C. Timothy O'Meara
Music Daniel Licht
Color/stereo
Cast:
Janet Harrison Mariel Hemingway
Ted Harrison Michael Pare
Brett Harrison Mason Gamble
Running time -- 85 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 11/4/1996
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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