This morning, TMZ announced Lindsay Lohan’s exit from the (alleged) Gotti movie. This afternoon, TMZ announced her return to the (alleged) Gotti movie. So… what kind of stupid you want to believe TMZ is will guide whether you believe, A) They were just used by first-time (alleged) producer Mark Fiore to negotiate with Lohan, B) The entire thing was just a stunt by Fiore’s publicists and TMZ was the lucky sucker to be used like journalistic toilet paper by the (alleged) producer, or C) this was all a scam by Lohan’s people to explain why she was playing such a small role in the film and showing how very responsible she really is. Or maybe someone explained to the (alleged) producer after the press conference that he couldn’t get insurance against Lohan flaking out if she was in a major role, but could get her covered – or was willing to take the chance she’d show and show sober – for a few days work. Welcome to Whack-A-Moron… Where Everyone Loses, But Is Sure They Won!
A day before launch, “Home Premiere” is nowhere to be found on DirecTV or their website.
Fox Searchlight continues to invest in the Brit Marling business, picking up the second of her Sundance films, The Sound of My Voice , almost four months after they first saw it. Sounds like a DVD buy. But more importantly, the question seems open to what Searchlight’s model is these days. Sundance pick-ups for Searchlight include Marling’s Another Earth , now this film, Martha Marcy May Marlene , and The Film Formerly Known As “Homework” ( The Art Of Getting By )… with the last one the only one with anything close to major commercial upside. Meanwhile, according to Mojo, they are releasing Dum Maaro Dum sometime this year, Malick’s Tree of Life which is expected to have one solid movie act and two acts of film critic yummies that actual ticket buyers will sleep through, Wayne Wang’s Snow Flower and the Secret Fan , The Bengali Detective and the two likely late-year hits, The Decedents , by Alexander Payne and with George Clooney and More at The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel , aka Cocoon With British Accents. In other words, when did Searchlight become Sony Classics? (not that there’s anything wrong with that!)
Tim Hetherington was killed in Libya. Yes, working in war zones is actually life threatening. I think we forget this too often. Of course, this is magnified by the many in the media who met Hetherington last year because of Restrepo . Someone we know died. And now, Libya is a little more personal to entertainment media. (RIP, Mr. Hetherington. You had the balls to do the serious work and made the ultimate sacrifice.)
Jodie Foster commits the ultimate act of feminism… calling out female movie execs who are just unlikely to hire a woman to direct a big film as any man. It sucks. But it is institutional, not misogynist. Though there is also the niggling truth that most big studio movies are made for teen boys… so why would you hire a woman or emotionally mature man to direct any of them?
Netflix is handing out raises… salaries of top execs doubling. After all, the stock price went through the roof, revenues were up 25% or so… and let’s not mention the part where streaming acquisition costs went up about 40 times (so far) over the pre-Relativity deal number. Cash out!
Variety ran a story about Tribeca’s for-profit acquisitions business, making it sound like Tribeca has launched or might launch some commercial movies after a decade as a very-well funded wannabe major fest. Of course, it wasn’t really about theatrical pick-ups, since there are virtually none out of the festival. But there are movies headed for the VOD and streaming market. And Tribeca does hide behind the skirts of their for-profit festival, pretending to have the best interest of the filmmakers in mind. The piece really comes down to Cinetic, which is also in that game, hating on Tribeca… and the piece leaves out Cinetic’s biggest beef, which is that Tribeca takes ownership of the films, while Cinetic, amongst others, does deals that allow the rights to stay with the filmmakers. And by the way, I don’t think there is a single picture on the Tribeca Online slate that is premiering at Tribeca. Some were Sundance titles… some Toronto 2010. It’s a very weird story…. lots of quotes that don’t seem to be attached to any specific allegations on specific movies… just shit being thrown against a somewhat sticky wall, sponsored by American Express.
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