"Eyes Wide Shut" Exclusive!
The scooper known as 'Neerly D' hands me my first major exclusive scoop on Kubrick's next! Here's what Neerly had to say to me:
"Good to see the interest in a Kubrick film is as strong as ever. A friend of mine spent six months working on Eyes Wide Shut from summer to winter '97. (He'll kill me for writing this!) From our conversations he plays a stalker who follows Tom Cruise around the streets of New York. There's no dialogue involved. Apparently the link to the film is that the character Tom Cruise plays trys to extricate himself from the vortex of drugs and sex he's involved in and my friends character is hired to put the frightners on him. Where this all fits in is anyones guess....Keep an eye out for him though he's a big bald guy and spent the entire time in a long overcoat looking mean and nasty. Lots of lurking apparently! Since he doesn't know I'm writing this It wouldn't be fair to give his name but he tells me he does get an actors credit for the part! Some people have all the luck! Generally there was only himself and Tom Cruise in the scenes which were set at Christmas time. Hope this is of interest to you."
Drugs and sex in a Tom movie? Hell, it's Kubrick. But what I'm asking is who hired the big bald guy to get Tom's character out of this vortex? Would it be Nicole's character? So many questions remain unanswered...
"Varsity Blues" Reviewed
I saw this movie at a sneak preview last Friday night. I didn't expect much but I was plesantly surprised by this little film. Some good direction along with a nice little script elevate this movie from the usual high school angst drama. Jon Voight is riveting as usual, better than his Enemy of The State role for sure. James Van Der Beek has leading man potential, giving an anti-Dawson performance. Can't wait to see what he does next. The supporting cast has no real highlights except for Scott Caan, who was truly hilarious. A nice role for him after his evil turn in Enemy of The State. Most of the youngsters gave okay performances. On the negative side the ending is predictable and won't surprise you. One of the plotlines that bothered me was the love story between Mox (Van Der Beek) and Jul (Amy Smart). They seem to have no previous history, aside from a bridge scene which was cut out of the movie but still mentioned. When Mox is tempted to sleep with Whip Cream lover Darcy (Ali Larter), there's no real string attaching him to Jul. Why doesn't he just do it? But he doesn't do it and we're left wondering why the hell not. The movie could have been a whole lot better if Dawson Creek members Katie Holmes, Michelle Williams and Joshua Jackson would have taken the roles given to Amy Smart, Ali Larter and Paul Walker. Ali Smart really resembles Katie Holmes so much I thought Holmes was actually playing in the movie.
"Gladiator" on the move
We've received this very interesting scoop that we wanted to share with you since we don't have a page (just yet!) for Ridley Scott's next film: "Coloseum being built in Malta along with other Roman monuments." [Scoop provided by 'Jean Pierre Borg'.]
"Grey Owl" Test Screening Results
"I work for a local production company in Montreal and recently was privy to an advanced screening of Attenborough's GREY OWL. I must say that audiences are going to be pleasantly surprised by this very moving film. Pierce Brosnan gives a performance which I can only be described as tremendous. Let's face it he sleepwalks through the BOND films and Dante's Peak was another cakewalk. It seems like Attenborough has the ability to coax realistic performances from his actors. Robert Downey was fabulous in CHAPLIN, although that film was flawed (too much info not enough depth), Downey was stunning. Grey Owl was supposed to be released in Febuary but initial response has been so positive that they're aiming for an October release. Mr. Eberts (the producer of Dances with Wolves, Ghandi) feels like he has another Oscar contender on his hands. The love story between Brosnan and the native girl is powerful. You'll see." [Scoop provided by 'The Northern Rogue'.]
Stuff like that happening in my own backyard and I don't even know about it! I'll have to go hunting some more...
What's Your Top Five Wish List of '99?
Feel free to e-mail your top 5 movies you're dying to see right now. I just need a few more of these wish lists to assemble my next column. Guess what movie is leading first place??? Episode One, of course.
Stay Tuned...
That's All Folks...
![]() |
![]() ![]() Jean-François Allaire is a 19 year old aspiring writer. Surfing the internet by night and stalking the streets of Montreal by day, he's always on the prowl for news from the set. J-F is a major contributor to Coming Attractions, always pushing himself to look for that story that needs to be told. If you work behind the scenes on a film production and you're just another name in the credits (or no credit given), and you feel that nobody cares, well guess again... Feel free to send him your funny, strange, and heart-warming set stories. Hell... he may even interview you! Previous issues of Deadpool's column are also available. |