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Bar Mitzvah Boy Movie Could Be Studio’s Answer

Roger Friedman
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The Coen Brothers’ new comedy, “A Serious Man,” could be the hit for which Focus Features has been looking. The little studio has never had a movie that grossed $100 million domestic. Focus got close to the Oscar for Best Picture with “Brokeback Mountain,” “The Pianist” and “Atonement,” but has never been able to close the deal.

The Coens’ “Burn After Reading” only did $70 million and it had Brad Pitt as its star, kind of. The much admired “Milk” made only $30 million. This year, “Away We Go” and ‘”Taking Woodstock” ‘ by name directors Sam Mendes and Ang Lee, respectively ‘ were relative disappointments financially.’The one true gem in the Focus crown, at least at the boxoffice, was the recent””Coraline.”

I do not know what’size audience awaits “A Serious Man.” The demographic would be’bar mitzvah boys circa 1967 to 1970. This means me, and about a half-dozen other people including the Coens. At my press’screening there were loads of laughs and many non-Jews in the audience loved it. At the premiere, three people later told’me they walked out. They were all Jewish. So here we’go.

Joel and Ethan Coen were raised in St. Louis Park,’Minn. In 25 years of filmmaking, from “Blood Simple” to “Burn After’Reading,” it felt to me like there may have been one Jewish character. I’d say it was Michael’Lerner as the studio head in’”The Hudsucker’Proxy.” Lerner returns in “A Serious Man” for one brief, hilarious scene.

Michael Stuhlbarg, a gifted actor, plays Larry Gopnik, a serious man who is a professor trying to raise a middle-class Jewish family in Minnesota in 1970. Stuhlbarg plays Larry as a passive’intellectual who is powerless as his life is falling apart. Of course, everyone around him is very kooky. His’grating wife, Judith (the almost too-good Sari Lennick), is having an open affair with recent widower Sy Abelman, played with slithering unctuousness by Fred Melamed. Larry and Judith’s son Danny’is about to be bar mitzvahed. Their’teenage daughter’is going through difficult years.

Richard Kind, who’s brilliant, plays Uncle Arthur, who lives with the family. It’s unclear who he’s related to, but Arthur is full of shtick and sight gags including a suction machine he’s using to relieve a cyst on his neck. Amy Landecker is the overly suntanned divorcee on the prowl to seduce Larry, channeling Mrs. Robinson; Adam Arkin is a worthless divorce lawyer. And so on.

There are several rabbis, of all things, and a lot of Yiddish. A lot. There’s also cancer, and an approaching tornado. What does it all mean? Is there a point, or is “A Serious Man” like a lot of jokes and stories told by characters in the movie: pointless.

Just in case we’re looking for too much meaning, the Coens add a epigraph to the beginning of the film from the 11th century Jewish scholar Rashi: “receive with simplicity what is being offered.” In other words: don’t read too much into’it.

The movie also has an opening scene, set in Poland perhaps circa 1899, that’s a complete non sequitur, spirited from Cynthia Ozick and Isaac Bashevis Singer. It seemed almost like a parody of the opening scene from “Inglourious Basterds.” Who knows?

And who does know, really? Most filmmakers eventually render their nostalgic childhood memoir. This is the Coens’. It might have helped to have a central plot, but maybe that wasn’t important. Getting Danny bar-mitzvahed seems to be the goal, while all around him chaos reigns. The only other central idea is that Larry is up for tenure, and a Korean student is trying to bribe him for a better grade.

For the Coens, “A Serious Man” is just another chapter in their long and productive history, with much to applaud and the usual amount of question marks. For Focus, however, its meaning could be much more, uh,’serious.’They need a hit. I hope this it.

Weinsteins Make Oscar Move: Checkmate

Roger Friedman
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The Weinstein Co. did indeed come out on top last night. It bought Tom Ford’s “A Single Man,” and will release it before the end of the year.

a single man 341x182 300x160 Weinsteins Make Oscar Move: CheckmateNot only did Harvey love it, Bob did, too. I’ve rarely seen him so effusive about a straight-ahead feature. (Bob makes all the great genre films at Dimension.)

But this means the Weinsteins have made a decisive move in the Oscar race. They already have the hot “Nine,” directed by Rob Marshall, as a very strong yet still unseen candidate for one of the 10 best picture slots. “A Single Man” most assuredly will get one of those berths. (You never know, “Inglourious Basterds” could be a third.)

But with Colin Firth a shoo-in for best actor nominations, and Julianne Moore in best supporting actress, this means the Weinsteins are playing their best Oscar game again. Add those names to Daniel Day-Lewis in best actor for “Nine,” Christoph Waltz as supporting from “Basterds,” and one of several actresses from “Nine” in supporting — I’m told it’s Marion Cotillard or Penelope Cruz — the red carpets are going to be full of Weinstein nominees.

With “A Single Man,” TWC also gets a very strong musical score, a fantastic adapted screenplay. and several tech nominations. This pic, as dressed by Tom Ford, looks like a million more bucks than it cost.

And, unlike some other movies of the recent past, this is a “gay” film that’s not so gay — gay-ish, as someone observed last night!

So add Julianne’s name to the list of supporting actresses: Patricia Clarkson from “Whatever Works,” maybe Mo’Nique from “Precious” (and maybe not for reasons I will explain soon), the “Nine” ladies, Vera Farmiga from “Up in the Air” (who could go into Lead), Kerry Washington from “Mother and Child,” and’ handful more still to be revealed.

Now, kids, we have some Oscar races!

Blackberry: No More Track Ball

Roger Friedman
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Here’s a little gossip from the gadget world: Blackberry is about to replace the Bold with something really fantastic. Sources say they’re about to unveil a new lighter, smaller Bold with a finger pad cursor that replaces the Track Ball. For those of us who have had to have Track Ball operations, this comes as amazingly good news. The finger pad swiftly moves the cursor around with minimum effort. And there’s nothing to break. No more dust or lint removal, no more turning the Bold over and tapping it. And there’s also a rumor that it’s going to both AT&T and T Mobile. I saw a working prototype this weekend, and it’s a home run. Yippee!

Juno Star Ellen Page Skates to a Win

Roger Friedman
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‘

Malcolm Taylor/Getty Images

Malcolm Taylor/Getty Images

What was Ellen Page going to do after making such a splash in “Juno“? The 21 year-old actress really had to find material that could advance her career but not look like a “Juno” sequel.

She found it in the film adaptation of Shauna Cross’s book, “Whip It.” The film opened last night in Toronto, with Page taking the kudos for leading a strong cast of woman, as well as Daniel Stern and Landon Pigg, through a Girl Power adventure centered on Roller Derby. First time director Drew Barrymore, who refused to do a standard Q&A after the film, is helped in large part by veteran’cinematographer Robert D. Yeoman and expert film editor Dylan Tichenor. Their contributions cannot be overemphasized, as is this is a movie incredibly dependent on style to make it a hit.

And’a hit it shall be. A chick flick for teen chicks who will dig the empowerment theme. Page’s Bliss and her mom, played by the world class Marcia Gay’Harden, are at odds. Mom wants her to’be Little Miss Sunshine, appearing in talent’and beauty pageants.’Bliss is already going punk, trying to shed $800 custom-made’gowns for’Army boots and blue hair. When she spots some roller girls in Austin, Texas,’a spell is cast. She knows this is her destiny.

Some of’”Whip It” is cliche, especially the stuff with the overbearing 1950s mom in 2009. But Harden is so good that she and Stern ‘ who plays her husband ‘ manage to rise above it all. (They come perilously close to Juno’s parents, from that movie.) In the’end, Page ‘ who did her own skating and stunts ‘ makes it all worthwhile. And Tichenor makes the’roller derby come alive, even when you don’t completely understand what’s going on.

Toronto Takes: Darwin Had Problems, Too

Roger Friedman
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Toronto kicked off on Thursday night with a movie Ben Stein sure won’t like: Jon Amiel’s “Creation,” starring real-life married couple Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly as Charles and Emma Darwin. They are each superb, even when “Creation” is soft or slow, which it tends to be. Bettany is particularly outstanding. The movie is less about science than about Darwin losing his mind after their eldest child, Annie, dies. “Creation” needs an American distributor. Disney would seem like a good candidate. This is ready made for them…

…If you’re looking for stars during this festival, the only place to be is the lobby of the Four Seasons. This is ground zero for seeing and being seen. Just yesterday, while three of us chomped on a ridiculously’overpriced lunch, the list widened to Peter Saarsgard and Carey Mulligan from “An Education” (this is the must-see small film of 2009), Tilda Swinton, Vera Farmiga, Michael Caine, Matt Damon, George Clooney–who was in residence, director Jason Reitman, Michael Sheen, and Kim Cattrall, who yesterday was inducted into the Canadian Walk of Fame–she’s from Vancouver Island, plus Oscar Isaac from “Agora” and so on and so forth. More deals are being done standing up in the lobby because the pizza is $28. Yes, that’s right.

…The new female Borat is’a viral video character called Suzie Cocktail. You can her on YouTube and at www.suziecocktail.com. Funny stuff…

Michael Caine Knows How to Kick Ass, Even at 77

Roger Friedman
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cain1 Michael Caine Knows How to Kick Ass, Even at 77If you think about Michael Caine, extreme violence doesn’t usually pop into your head. “Alfie,” “Cider House Rules,” “Blame It on Rio,” “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” — hello — clever Michael Caine is not seen killing people.

And yet: In “Harry Brown,” Caine is Dirty Harry redux, playing out “Death Wish.” He’s 77 and he kicks ass, man. First-time director Daniel Barber puts Caine through paces no one could have ever imagined. Let’s put it this way: Caine told us yesterday, “I said to the other actors, ‘You don’t want to be in a scene with me. You won’t survive.’ ”

Harry Brown lives in council housing and watches as violence consumes his apartment complex. The kids in his neighborhood aren’t just hooligans. They’re beasts, shooting a mother pushing a pram, beating up anyone who tries to use a subway underpass. After Harry’s wife dies (of natural causes), his best pal — an even older man — is killed by one of these gangs. Then Harry wakes up from his grief and takes matters into his own hands.

Michael Caine can pretty much do no wrong, so he’s just right to make Harry a sympathetic, complex character. Emily Mortimer — who was strangely sort of mocked on stage before the screening by the movie’s director for being very pregnant — is very good as a left-field choice as a local detective who follows Harry’s evolution. The quality of the production is a lot higher than any vigilante movie from the raging ’70s.

There’s a rumor that the producers turned down a $12 million offer from a studio, and are holding out for more for distribution. “Harry Brown” will be a hit, believe me. And maybe one day even a video game!

And you have to like the “Harry Brown” gang. They threw a Soho House-sponsored party after the premiere in a most unusual location — a Toronto subway station. As trains rumbled above, Soho House took over the lower level of Bay Street station, and turned it into one of their inventive locations — complete with a few subway cars for seating off the platform and lots of comfy leather chairs and couches. It’s the first time I’ve ever had pesto lambchops in a subterranean vault, and I’m sure the last. Caine held forth with plenty of pals including Michael Sheen. Harvey Weinstein’s eyes narrowed at the sight of the train cars, and publicist Peggy Siegal observed, “This is the first time I’ve been in the subway in 30 years!”

Michael Douglas’ Sexy Surprise Oscar Buzz

Roger Friedman
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douglas Michael Douglas Sexy Surprise Oscar BuzzIt’s been nine years since Michael Douglas has made a really good movie. Nine years — yup — it was in 2000 that “Wonder Boys” and “Traffic” were released. And then, well, it wasn’t such a good decade, except that he married Catherine Zeta-Jones and she won an Oscar for “Chicago.”

But all it takes is a good script, as it turns out, and people who are paying attention, to breathe life into a great movie star’s career. Brian Koppelman wrote “Solitary Man” and directed it with his partner David Levien. They’re the same duo who resurrected “Ocean’s 13″ after “12″ was an unlucky number, and have lots of other good credits. After seeing “Solitary Man” open last night in Toronto, I think Douglas should be sending them a case of Champagne.

“Solitary Man” is no easy film with easy answers. It’s funny and it’s tragic, but it’s beautifully written, directed and acted. Douglas’ Ben is an irredeemable womanizer who had it all: a Harvard education, millions of dollars, and a thriving BMW business, a wonderful family and friends. And then a mid-life crisis causes him to throw it all away, operatically, sensationally and ferociously. It’s a wonder anyone’s talking to him. Actually, few are.

Ben is surrounded by potential support from a doting daughter (Jenna Fischer, from “The Office,” is a total revelation — not the monotone Pam we’ve come to know), ex-wife (Susan Sarandon — splendid as always), best friend (a philosphical Danny DeVito), protege (Jesse Eisenberg), Mary-Louise Parker (ex-girlfriend). But it doesn’t matter. He’s determind to trash everyone’s lives.

“Solitary Man” has echoes of “Shoot the Moon,” “The Heartbreak Kid,” a little “Roger Dodger” and “Californication” — just to name a few influences. But it’s also its own success, with lovely, textured dialogue and a determination never to let Ben off the hook. Michael Douglas hasn’t looked or sounded this good since “Wonder Boys” (a personal favorite of mine). Indeed, in some angles he’s really starting to look a lot like his dad, Kirk Douglas. And you know he’s bringing a lot of himself to the role of Ben. At the Q&A after the screening, Koppelman said, “Most people who read the script thought this was the story of Gordon Gecko, or Michael Douglas. They were the only two people who could play the part.”

There’s a lot of buzz about Douglas reprising his Gecko role in “Wall Street 2″ this fall. This is tricky, because it could turn out to be self-parody. We’ll see. But “Solitary Man” is fresh and original, a total surprise from left field. It’s an indie release, so it needs a distributor. But there’s a best actor nomination in there for Douglas and an original screenplay nomination for Koppelman, at the very least. And it was nice to hear Johnny Cash singing Neil Diamond’s “Solitary Man.”

PS: The film is produced by Steven Soderbergh, who came to cheer Douglas on, as did Matt Damon and wife Lucia.

George Clooney: No Oscar Campaign This Year

Roger Friedman
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George Clooney–the last of the great movie stars, as it turns out–is about to stop talking.

At the Toronto International Film Festival, promoting not one but two hits–”Up in the Air” and “The Men Who Stare At Goats“–he tells me he’s giving up the publicity circuit.

“After this, there’s no nore,” Clooney said, after the very full house at Roy Thomson Hall went crazy for “Goats” last night. “Goats” is a rocking dark comedy in the vein of “Dr. Strangelove” and “Wag the Dog,” directed by Clooney’s pal Grant Heslov. It was of such interest last night that a bunch of other actors–including Bill Murray and Woody Harrelson–turned up to see what all the fuss is about.

But it’s Clooney’s other film here at the Toronto Internantional Film Festival–Jason Retiman’s “Up in the Air”–that’s going to bring the actor his next Oscar nomination and lots of accolades as well as big box office. And that’s okay with him, but there will be no Oscar campaign.

No campaign? “Nope, I’m done, I have nothing to say. And I really liked not doing a campaign for ‘Michael Clayton,’” George said.

And it’s too bad because Clooney has a lot to say, generally. When Michael Moore came to congratulate him last night, the two reminisced about their mutual trips to Venice. “Oliver Stone brought Hugo Chavez,” Clooney said. “He invited me to a screening of their movie. I looked around and said, ‘I see what this is.’” He laughed. “At least this time, it wasn’t me getting in trouble.”

What– or rather wh0–Clooney is proudest of is his dad, Nick, who spoke so eloquently at Walter Cronkite’s memorial service this week. Clooney was not able to be there because of this last PR push. “I downloaded the whole thing from You Tube,” he said. “And you know he wrote the whole thing. Wasn’t he wonderful?” he asked, eyes sparkling.

Cronkite was a lifelong family friend, George said. “He and Walter had their last dinner together at Patsy’s,” he revealed, the famed Italian restaurant favored by Frank Sinatra, on West 56th St. in Manhattan.

Cronkite, in fact, had visited Clooney at his home in Lake Como, Italy–the same place where George recently had his hand smashed in a car door, hence the big white bandage he’s sporting–for the last four summers.

“The first time he came, he asked if we dressed for dinner. He came down in a blue blazer and a white hat, so we played a joke on him and’were all in robes! He was so angry, and we went in to change. When he came back, dressed casually, we were all in suits. He loved it. He had a great sense of humor.”

George got his start on TV, of course, in “ER,” most famously. He is an unexpected movie star. But once you’ve seen “Goats,” and “Up in the Air,” and then calculated them with “Michael Clayton,” you realize he’s a hybrid of Cary Grant and Jack Lemmon. In “Up in the Air,” he is Lemmon in “Save the Tiger,” a man who knows he is a dying breed–a 10-million-mile frequent flyer who’s more at home in the American Airlines Admirals Club than in his own, spare apartment.

The performance, I tell George, like everyone else who’s seen it, is extraordinary.

“It’s Jason Reitman, the director,” he replies, typically self-effacing. “He did it.”’ He’s not going to toot his own’horn. And that’s the Oscar campaign. He says, with a sheepish smile, “I have some pull, don’t I?” And then adds, quickly: “And you know, I didn’t even plan it.” We know.

P.S. Clooney’s two films will be boons to their respective studios even without publicity. ‘”Up in the Air” is a Paramount release, which needs a good hit after postponing Martin Scorsese’s “Shutter Island” until next February. Even more importantly, “Goats” comes from little Overture Films, only two years into business. Chris McGurk’s mini mini-studio also has Michael Moore’s “Capitalism.”’ Two hits–not bad.

Risky Business blog has more on Clooney’s Toronto press conference.

Michael Moore’s ‘Capitalism’ Skewers Republicans and Democrats

Roger Friedman
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Michael Moore’s absolutely brilliant (but flawed) new documentary, “Capitalism: A Love Story” skewers both Republicans and Democrats. I got to see it yesterday at an advance private screening in Toronto.

Although Moore is definitely a liberal and an Obama fan, Democrats should beware: the Oscar-winning filmmaker doesn’t hesitate to take to task a group of Democrats including Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd, lifetime ambassador Richard Holbrooke, and former Clinton cabinet member Donna Shalala. Moore also comes down hard on Treasury Secretary Timothy Geitner.

But this shouldn’t surprise anyone. Moore is interested in getting at the truth of how our economy collapsed. Political parties don’t matter in the end. I know he’s hoped’a scandal would break out and get publicity for the film about him decrying capitalism, perhaps supporting socialism. But it’s not accurate. What he’s after is a return to democracy.

“Capitalism” is brilliant on many levels. Moore said in a blog recently that in Venice they told him the film was symphonic. It is actually quite operatic, and plays like an epic. It is the most serious film Moore has made, almost a sequel to his 1989 hit “Roger and Me” that is often poignant and always edgy. There are no cheap shots. And in fact the “shtick” stuff is offered as just that ‘ a little intentional comic relief to the really meaty subject at hand.

The “Roger and Me” references are apt because 20 years ago’ Moore made a name for himself predicting the end of General Motors. His record of what happened to Flint, Michigan when GM closed its plant now resonates like crazy thanks to the GM and Chrysler bankruptcies and the government bailout.

Moore tells a tale beginning in 1980 with the election of Ronald Reagan, although he skips completely David Stockman, trickle down economics and the 1987 Wall Street crash. Nevertheless, he makes a strong case for the corporatizing of the government during Reagan and how that set in motion the events of last fall. (You may be surprised by a clip of a Jimmy Carter presidential address that in retrospect looks naive.)

So much information is packed into “Capitalism” that it would take a very long column to detail its every move. Suffice to say that Moore is unflinching in’describing how members of both parties availed themselves of Wall Street help while the average American was being set up to pay a heavy price. Stories of home foreclosures, and how they snowballed across the country, are particularly jarring.

This time around, as in “Sicko,” Moore does not make fun of characters or take jabs at them. He’s matured tremendously as a filmmaker and as an editor. Now, when a man is losing his belongings and they include his gun collection, Moore doesn’t berate the guy for owning firearms. He sympathizes with his loss. This attitude gives “Capitalism”’the gravity it required to make it work.

And don’t miss Moore’s trip to Washington, DC where he finds support for his theories with three members of Congress. One of them, Ohio Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur, is my new hero. She’s a standout. The people of Ohio should be proud that she represents them. I just hope she gets re-elected after they see her in the movie. She’s a brave lady! Kaptur agrees with Moore that what’s happened since the stock market crash of October 2008 amounts to a “financial coup d’etat.” And that includes the Democrats’ capitulation to the bailout, and the later realization that no one knows where the bailout billions went.

Bravo to Michael Moore. Now let’s just hope every American sees this movie.

Jermaine Jackson’s Michael Tribute: Chaos

Roger Friedman
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Jermaine Jackson’s big Michael Jackson tribute show set for September 26th in Vienna is in shambles.

Both Mary J. Blige and Chris Brown have denied being part of it after Jermaine announced their participation. That’s just as well, anyway. Chris Brown didn’t seem like the right fit, if you know what I mean.

If Natalie Cole is smart, she’ll stay away from this thing, too.

Sources in the Jackson camp say that Jermaine does not ‘ repeat, does not ‘ have the support of his family in thie show. His mother is said to be furious with him, and is not going. She doesn’t endorse it. Michael’s kids won’t be going either. Janet is also exempt from this thing. That leaves LaToya, maybe, and maybe a house pet.

Jermaine, it turns out, is the lightning rod for controversy within the family. The biggest issues go back to his stealing brother Randy’s wife and marrying her. They’ve since divorced, but you can imagine the trouble that caused.

Jermaine recorded a song in 1990 called “Word to the Badd,” which castigated Michael. Insiders point out that Jermaine’s involvement with Michael was never good. He introduced him to the Nation of Islam, took him to Bahrain, may have introduced him to Tohme Tohme and even held up Michael’s burial because he alone wanted him at Neverland for eternity.

The Tribute 2009 remains a mess, however. And still unclear is how Jermaine can explain what his Earth Care International Foundation is. There is no record for it anywhere. In the end, the accounting for money from tickets sold to this Vienna event is going to end in tears, acrimony, and I dare say, a court case.

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