BOFFO Tinseltown’s Bombs and Blockbusters
HBO’s version of “Clips; The Movie”

In case you missed it, HBO and Variety chummed together to give us a bombastic, explosive celebration of filmaking in the form of ‘BOFFO Tinseltown’s Bombs and Blockbusters’ The cinematic equivalent of a 75 minute commercial for the sentiment, “Aren’t movies cool?”. Yeah, sure, perhaps I should have been a tad, say, forewarned when the title of anything is, well, BOFFO But the commercials were like walking down an aisle of a 7-11 when you’re really hungry. Suddenly, licorice looks like a viable meal substitute. Yet, unlike that time honored haven of midnight binging, ‘BOFFO ’ neither offers even the low-grade nutrition of either a shriveled hot dog or even a tube of Pringles.
Opening up with grandiose music, they pull no punches. Fast flying clips of Lawrence of Arabia, The Godfather and various other classics that “they don’t make anymore” are spliced together to create awe and grandeur. HBO does this better than anyone else. I can’t count the times that I am surfing between their eleven channels for a hook. (You know, the opening scene of ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’ so that two hours later I have a reasonable excuse for “what I did last night”) During which I see one of their montages for all their envelope pushing series with, say, Coldplay in the background and start re-assessing whether I actually do hate ‘Entourage’ or not. In the end you wonder how ‘ Beethoven’ can be playing on so many different channels and ‘One Fine Day’ starts to look better and better.
In the end, if you DID miss ‘BOFFO ’ have no fear. If you have HBO it’ll be staggered on and off so many times in the coming month you’ll probably see it in it’s entirety by complete accident. (Right after trying to second guess your all-too-quick assesment of ‘Weekend at Bernie’s 2'...the animated opening credits is a dead giveaway...pardon the pun.)
Then, suddenly, miraculously, we have George Clooney. “George ” George of ‘Syriana’...George of ‘Good Night and Good Luck’. George who aced the Oscars with a sardonic and endearing speech that ‘saved’ the Oscars that night from mediocrity Certainly, George will have something of wit or interest to say about the nature of that elusive craft of filmaking.
Uh-oh.
Why does George look slightly annoyed.
Oh no.
Why is George regurgitating EVERYTHING he has EVER said in every interview. AND, why does it look like it?
Forgive me here, I am unsure who said this (I may be making this up, even...), but it seems once an actor gets famous the most difficult role they will ever play after that is themselves and pretending to get excited about it. Unfortunately for ‘BOFFO ’ the filmakers (documentarians...uh, advertisers?), either didn’t ask the right questions or just chose to ignore any answers that went beyond cliche’.
A round-up of “some of your favorite people” talking in snippets about the nature of risk in making movies includes Charlize Theron Morgan Freeman Stephen Spielberg Jody Foster Danny DeVito (Pardon the last exclamation point...)
Included here (spoiler alert ) Are some of the nuggets of wisdom ‘BOFFO ’ has to offer after years of industry insider hits, misses and personal losses.
1) Making a good movie is hard.
2) There are no rules.
3) You have to take risks.
4) The line between success and failure is razor thin.
5) The studio spends a lot of money on movies. They want to make that money back AND...(wait for it)...even MORE

Whoa. Slow down there, Egghead. Sure, I may be a Hollywood Insider (tm) but are these concepts so easily traversed over without some time to digest them? “You have to take risks” Crazy. I bet those people on Wallstreet enjoy that cushy safety of certainty of their day-to-day lives.
Along the way of this cliche-fest I couldn’t help but start thinking of alternate titles. Like, “How I Learned To Stop Fearing A Bomb” or “Decade Uninfluential” (I had to do SOMETHING to keep myself entertained).
The latter reference is to the documentary, “A Decade Under the Influence’ started by the late Ted Demme and brought to fruition by a gang of like-minded peers and friends (including writer Richard LaGravenese and Dennis Leary) about what many consider the true ‘Golden Age’ of movie making. The 70's. Here Paul Schrader, Coppolla, Julie Christie, Peter Bogdonovich (also on ‘BOFFO ’) etc. go on at length about the true nature of defying odds, conventions and current standards to break through to something true, ambiguous and daring. It’s long, complex and thorough...everything ‘BOFFO ’ seems to be afraid of.
Surviving the ‘Spectacle of the Soundbite’ (yes, another title option...) , to no surprise, are Morgan Freeman and Richard Dreyfus. Their answers to flash-n-cut, self-awe are completely different. Freeman is simply silent and of few words. He almost defies you to cut away. When asked about ‘Bonfire of the Vanities’ and whether he was surprised it failed he simply shakes his head slowly. Asked if he knew while shooting if there were problems, he slowly nods. Why did it happen? After a moment of contemplation he says dryly, “You know...they say, when a plane crashes...it’s generally not one thing...but a series of events.” Nuff said.
Dreyfus, in contradiction, is very animated in his enacting of his tried-n-true ‘Jaws’ routines. Yet, when that runs thru he begins a more profound point about the nature of storytelling. Something he feels is lacking in the current studio mindset as a priority. Then, he let’s slip the one thing that made me realize how this bonanza of self-evidence came into being. He says, “ ...and THAT’S why people aren’t going to movies.”
Ahh, there it is
The movie industry is in a shake-up period. Home Theatres, DVDs, Video on Demand, Netflix, video games and i-pods have sent a shock wave through Hollywood. People aren’t going to movies in the theatres as much anymore. The Oscars was practically a sermon to it’s viewers chastising them almost with montage after montage of “The importance of watching movies.” Hey, there’s Brando in ‘On the Waterfront’...hey, Brando again in ‘The Godfather” (sorry, axe to grind about their indifference to his passing the previous year at the ceremony) Even DeVito in ‘BOFFO ’ references the movies as a “temple”. A place of worship. I don’t know about you, but if ‘Death To Smoochy’ is the sermon, I’m an atheist.
The irony of all this self-important talk of “you need us” and “the story is the thing” is that ‘BOFFO ’ lacks exactly that. As I kept waking up and rewinding the DVR to the last cliche, in the end, I was left with the feeling of “Look at me Look at me Look at me ”
These were the last sentiments Lawrence Olivier passed on to Dustin Hoffman during a night out while shooting the film, ‘Marathon Man’ (a moment of silence, please) when queried on why he ‘does it’ on a recent episode of “Inside the Actor’s Studio” Honest. Ironic. A two-hour segment that summed up with passion, humor and clarity all the insanity, accidents and inspiration the medium can offer.
That’s what the industry needs more than anything. Not a commercial on HBO where the stars are allowed to swear.
(Just be careful...the episode after Hoffmans is apparently the ouvre of Rosie O’Donnell.)
Man are we in bad shape.

SUPERMAN RETURNS...um, okay.

The reviews are in.(“Amazing ”) The box office is off-the-charts good.(108 million ) The trailers are stunning.(Even his eye reflects bullets )
Brian Singer has done it again
SUPERMAN RETURNS carries the industry on it’s back through the 4th of July weekend
You’ve GOT to see it

So, here you are, on the delicate “second weekend”. Sure, sure, blockbusters are made or broken on the opening weekend. You don’t have to be a movie analyst or a filmwhore to know that these days. So, SUPERMAN is an unqualified success in industry terms...but now we have to see if it has legs. This baby cost over two-hundred million (and that’s just what they’re reporting) and if it doesn’t carry it’s weight into the next couple of weeks your gonna see a lot of money men paging through Variety for the International section.
“We just made $20,000 in Manilla ”

So, before you haul ass to the cineplex, the question is...is it THAT good?
Let me preface this by saying I love Bryan Singer.(You can see where this is going...) Not just cause I think he handled both lofty expectation-filled X-MAN movies with grace but with flair. They weren’t just “give me my bang for my buck ” spectacles but thoughtful with enough dimension that you felt you could justify eating your frosted flakes because basically they were sugar-coated Wheaties.
It’s also because Bryan fought for his films and that quality. Rumor has it that Mr. Singer was fired numerous times on BOTH X-Men features because his refusal to back down from what he thought they needed. No one surrounding or working on those films will tell a simple tale of grace and ease on the set (unless they are on Access Hollywood or they are Hugh Jackman who is unfazed by ANYTHING ). It was work and it was tense. Plain and simple .
He’s also remarkable because in person his demeanor is understated, unassuming and present. Not the brazen ring-leader so many young directors feel they need to be to remind you of their “star quality.”(see Bret Ratner references below) Bryan knows what people like to see cause he has a fans eye. He obviously loves movies. ‘The Usual Suspects’ and it’s cinematic referencial style should confirm that.

SO...that being said...the answer is, unfortunately, no.

I’m not here to bring down SUPERMAN. Not the Lex Luthor of Kryptonian critics there to gouge the fatted hog of Hollywood. I think it’s great the box-office is still muscling forth behemoths...it gives me hope. But it feels discernably like a step back for Mr. Singer and his grace with mega-expectation. (Even with going over-budget again here...keep it up, Bry ) The movie feels oddly un-inspired all the while it’s fantastic images and score pound and shake the theatre.
The most striking moment in the film, for me, happened in it’s first few minutes and it rarely if never captured it again.
The slightly mumbly, lispy and iconic voice of Marlon Brando as Superman’s father permeates the darkness. Brando...from beyond the grave, from childhood, from the original...here agin, to herald in a new version. My goodness, I was stunned and I even knew it was coming. He had me. Bryan is no fool, he needed that gravitas to get us on board for what is to follow. Yet, the very brilliance in using this gift is at the very core of what’s wrong with the film.
SUPERMAN RETURNS is neither a re-invention of the franchise nor a continuation. It is an homage whether intended or not. It’s cinematic predecessor resembles more of Gus Van Sant’s re-enacting of ‘Psycho’ than it does last years inspired, ‘Batman Begins’. One has the feeling that Mr. Singer “really liked” the Superman movies growing up and didn’t want to change them but ‘sure did want to make one.’ Which, at it’s very essence, is what cuts this film down from it’s great heights of possibility and makes it more a cinematic wax-museum of good intentions.
It is the laborous honoring of it’s predecessors that mires the heart of the film in a languid pictoral detachment.

Much was made of the casting of the young lead, Brandon Routh, as the Man of Steel. Simply because he had few credits that would merit such stunt casting. Apparently, Bryan hand-picked the kid for greatness. So much so, he reportedly had to buy him clothes so that he would be suitably dressed for interviews. Having seen the film, there can be no question on how/ why Mr. Routh booked this role. There are many uncanny moments when you can eerily feel Christopher Reeve just seeping through his delivery. I would not hesitate to doubt that Bryan had Routh glued to his dvd player watching Reeves moments and absorbing the very lilt of his voice. None more evident then in his guise of Clark Kent. Even the goofball grin and adjustment of his glasses is to the point precision of Reeves. So much so, one has to admire Routh for such a thorough study. Yet, again, where the homage falls short is locating the actors or directors own voice in all this artifice of nostalgia.

The reference to last years parallel comic-book re-invention is unavoidable again. ‘Batman Begins’ with all it’s Joseph Campbell and dark, Nietschean heart thrives because it dares to have it’s own voice. Damn the consequences. Yet, even it hobbled at times when it came to the protagonists counterpart. For some reason comic-book adaptations struggle to find a woman equal to the task of her own ferocity of conviction, yet tender hearted enough to need saving.(Regardless of the amount of qualified actresses out there) Katie Holmes struggled against baby-faced precociousness to be taken seriously as a determined, philanthropic lawyer. (Hey, if Elizabeth Shue can invent cold fusion in ‘The Saint’ I guess we can wash this down with the same stupid juice). Not to be outdone by Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane, all pouty and stammering that she won the Pulitzer (yes, the Pulitzer) on an article she now regrets titled, “Why The World Doesn’t Need Superman” (also a surname for this article, apparently). Again, I like Kate Bosworth, but I won’t be confused with thinking she’s Cate Blanchett, either.

The movie is not without it’s considerable merits. The action sequences are seemless in their execution. Gone from the original is any feeling of blue screen or the sense that this guy is being elevated by wires into the air. They are fast and abrasive and as honest as you could hope for in a movie about a guy in tights. But, more importantly, it is here that Singer tries to infect the film with some vision and depth. One can see the visual sculpting and care the director has put into telling the story and why Singer isn’t just gifted with characters but with storytelling finesse. The references to greek mythology are numerous in these sequences. Superman falling from the sky like Icarus. Superman, like Atlas, carrying the world on his back. Or, when Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor, starts his pursuit of power by comparing himself to Prometheus and his desire to steal the fire form the Gods. Points for style, again, but without the heart pumping beneath them they are simply ideas.

One wonders how much of the decision to shoot this film came from Mr. Singers constant fights with the studio over the X-Men franchise. Apparently, with more success comes more friction rather than the opposite (go figure). I have not yet forced myself to see the third installment of the mutant franchise since it changed hands with Bret Ratner at the helm.(emphasis on the second syllable) Something seemed rotten from the get-go when Singer signed off on a successful run and then, in similar fashion, Matthew Vaughn mysteriously removed himself after being hired from the job. Matthew Vaughn was the first-time helmer of the Brit-indie ‘Layer Cake’ and X3 would have been a huge step for the film-maker who had “undisclosed reasons” for leaving the job vacant. Enter the director of ‘Money Talks’,‘Rush Hour’ and ‘After the Sunset’. Okay. He, too, didn’t want to disrupt the already successful franchise and the great work Singer had already done. Fantastic. One wonders the motivations, besides youthful endearment, Singer had for taking on this pre-conceived franchise. It is well known that the project had been lamenting in desperate development for years with rumored connections to Nicholas Cage starring to Kevin Smith writing and directing. One wonders if it was a convenient place to hide.

Before the movie opened I was on an island (not figuratively...) shooting my own epic dissappointment. The director, who knew my fascination with Mr. Brando,.rushed over to me
upon arriving to set with this “great Brando story” (I sort of collect them) Apparently his friend is a visual effects animator and was working on SUPERMAN RETURNS for some time. His job? To recreate Marlon Brando as accurately as possible so that he seemlessly fits into the film as another actor. This man studied and recreated Brando’s performance from original using un-used outakes and footage never seen. The result is supposedly startling and, according to him, disturbing.
“Doesn’t that scare you? As an actor that they can do that?”
No.
Why? Because somewhere a group of people probably spent millions of dollars and hundreds of hours recreating the performance of man who was working at best a fifth of his talent. Yet, the indelibility of his presence is profound. Which is at the source of where SUPERMAN RETURNS stumbles over it’s own weight of potential. A lot of talented people honoring something that is gone while leaving their own legacy behind.