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Jul. 22nd, 2006 03:24 pmWeekend is quiet so far with intermittent spats of rain. Did not make it to the grocery store and back without a downpour, but did not mind so much...2006 has been a wet year. I may be wrong about this, but I think mother nature is pissed off with us, not that we haven't given her just cause.
Ran into landlord, whose cable is also out - so somewhat of a relief that it is not just me. Told landlord that I'd been laid off, but not to worry, had severance package and things in the works. Decided to do so, since he'll see me wandering about more in August.
Entertained self with watching Office Space...a quaint comedy about working in a soulless environment and getting downsized - very appropriate. Wish there were more women in it. But it's a Mike Judge film - so what can one expect. Found it hilarous in places, perhaps because I identified.
The critiques of M. Night Shalaman's new film "Lady in the Water" amuse me a bit but do not surprise me, they feel almost pre-ordained. Let me explain why.
A few weeks ago, I read a book excerpt in Entertainment Weekly from a soon to be published non-fiction piece about M. Night Shyamalan's career. The books is called The Man Who Heard Voices or How M. Night Shyamalan risked his career on a fairy tale by Michael Bamberger.
The excerpt describes Disney's rejection of Night's script and it's eventual purchase by another studio. Disney was the producer of all of Night's previous films and had first dibs on future ones. Night also had a long-standing working relationship with Disney. In fact Nina Jacobson, president of Disney, whose tastes dictate what kinds of movies Disney makes, had with Night on Sixth Sense and got Night's career rolling.
The first people to read the script - which was shipped to them in utmost secrecy on a Sunday, were Nina Jacobson (Disney president) and Dick Cook (chairman of the motion picture group). Nina read the sixth draft of the script for Lady in The Water, and prior to this script, enjoyed Night's work - all of the four previous works were, according to the writer, well crafted, unique, and interesting. "They didn't have any big plot holes." "The story was told through the dialogue, in what was said, and often in what was not said. Reading Night's scripts was like reading a play." So she had confidence this one, whatever it was, would not be a mess.
The introductory portions were more or less fine, although she wasn't sure a stutterer as a lead would work for an audience. What bugged her were:
( vague spoilers, but cutting in case anyone happens along this who doesn't want to know anything about the film )
Her biggest problem though? She did not understand the myth. She calls her boss and says, "I don't get it." Neither does he.
So they decide to do Night a favor and arrange a dinner meeting in a restaurant, where they confront him on the script and attempt to get him to change a few things.
Here's what Nina says...( vague spoilers which may or may not seem major to some, they are more or less exactly what has been said in the reviews )
After the dinner, Dick Cook takes Nigha aside and says they'll give him 60 million to prove them wrong. But Night refuses and takes his film elsewhere, he wants someone who will support him. The movie gets picked up by Warner Bros, whose entertainment president quickly agreed to make the film.
End of story, right? Wrong.
Movie opens. The reviews come out...and I've admittedly only read two so far, on in EW and an excerpt reprinted on a friend's journal, so far they are exactly, almost word for word, what Nina Jacobson states above. Which oddly makes me want to see the film. Because Nina's diatribe made me uncomfortable. The fact that she read the critics as well as she did, is probably why she is president at Disney. It is also why I stopped caring what critics said about the movies I chose to watch. Half of the time I love films they hate and vice versa. Film criticism like all criticism is really no more or less than someone's opinion. They are merely recommending or in the case of a negative review - recommending against - the viewing or reading or listening of a work. I liked this, so see it. I hated it, avoid it. Whether you do it or not, has a heck of lot to do with how often your tastes coincide. One way or another your still taking a risk.
The criticisms and excerpt remind me of something else - an off-hand quote stated by Sidney Pollack several years back at a Q&A that I attended in college. Sydney Pollack was the producer of Tootsie and several other popular films in the 80's. He stated: "You are only as good as the last film you made. It does not matter that I did Tootsie, what matters is what I'm delivering today. People have short attention spans and even shorter memories in the entertainment business, remember that."
Not just in the entertainment business.
Ran into landlord, whose cable is also out - so somewhat of a relief that it is not just me. Told landlord that I'd been laid off, but not to worry, had severance package and things in the works. Decided to do so, since he'll see me wandering about more in August.
Entertained self with watching Office Space...a quaint comedy about working in a soulless environment and getting downsized - very appropriate. Wish there were more women in it. But it's a Mike Judge film - so what can one expect. Found it hilarous in places, perhaps because I identified.
The critiques of M. Night Shalaman's new film "Lady in the Water" amuse me a bit but do not surprise me, they feel almost pre-ordained. Let me explain why.
A few weeks ago, I read a book excerpt in Entertainment Weekly from a soon to be published non-fiction piece about M. Night Shyamalan's career. The books is called The Man Who Heard Voices or How M. Night Shyamalan risked his career on a fairy tale by Michael Bamberger.
The excerpt describes Disney's rejection of Night's script and it's eventual purchase by another studio. Disney was the producer of all of Night's previous films and had first dibs on future ones. Night also had a long-standing working relationship with Disney. In fact Nina Jacobson, president of Disney, whose tastes dictate what kinds of movies Disney makes, had with Night on Sixth Sense and got Night's career rolling.
The first people to read the script - which was shipped to them in utmost secrecy on a Sunday, were Nina Jacobson (Disney president) and Dick Cook (chairman of the motion picture group). Nina read the sixth draft of the script for Lady in The Water, and prior to this script, enjoyed Night's work - all of the four previous works were, according to the writer, well crafted, unique, and interesting. "They didn't have any big plot holes." "The story was told through the dialogue, in what was said, and often in what was not said. Reading Night's scripts was like reading a play." So she had confidence this one, whatever it was, would not be a mess.
The introductory portions were more or less fine, although she wasn't sure a stutterer as a lead would work for an audience. What bugged her were:
( vague spoilers, but cutting in case anyone happens along this who doesn't want to know anything about the film )
Her biggest problem though? She did not understand the myth. She calls her boss and says, "I don't get it." Neither does he.
So they decide to do Night a favor and arrange a dinner meeting in a restaurant, where they confront him on the script and attempt to get him to change a few things.
Here's what Nina says...( vague spoilers which may or may not seem major to some, they are more or less exactly what has been said in the reviews )
After the dinner, Dick Cook takes Nigha aside and says they'll give him 60 million to prove them wrong. But Night refuses and takes his film elsewhere, he wants someone who will support him. The movie gets picked up by Warner Bros, whose entertainment president quickly agreed to make the film.
End of story, right? Wrong.
Movie opens. The reviews come out...and I've admittedly only read two so far, on in EW and an excerpt reprinted on a friend's journal, so far they are exactly, almost word for word, what Nina Jacobson states above. Which oddly makes me want to see the film. Because Nina's diatribe made me uncomfortable. The fact that she read the critics as well as she did, is probably why she is president at Disney. It is also why I stopped caring what critics said about the movies I chose to watch. Half of the time I love films they hate and vice versa. Film criticism like all criticism is really no more or less than someone's opinion. They are merely recommending or in the case of a negative review - recommending against - the viewing or reading or listening of a work. I liked this, so see it. I hated it, avoid it. Whether you do it or not, has a heck of lot to do with how often your tastes coincide. One way or another your still taking a risk.
The criticisms and excerpt remind me of something else - an off-hand quote stated by Sidney Pollack several years back at a Q&A that I attended in college. Sydney Pollack was the producer of Tootsie and several other popular films in the 80's. He stated: "You are only as good as the last film you made. It does not matter that I did Tootsie, what matters is what I'm delivering today. People have short attention spans and even shorter memories in the entertainment business, remember that."
Not just in the entertainment business.