According to Deadline minutes ago, the Weinstein Company has temporarily (permanently?) pulled the plug on pre-production for Halloween 3D. With rumors circulating today throughout the industry that Summit Entertainment, flush with Twilight monies, might pursue an acquisition of TWC, this is not a good look. Sources tell Nikki Finke that TWC simply believed the production schedule was too fast—November ’09 start for a summer ’10 bow—only after receiving the script today. In the meantime, haters of Rob Zombie‘s recent Halloween II will be glad to hear that TWC is re-releasing the $31m grossing sequel on Halloween, news that demands the following: Derrrr.
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A couple months ago, Quentin Tarantino told the New York Times that he had a half-written prequel to Inglourious Basterds that he’d like to make if the first does well. This didn’t come as much of a surprise; if there’s one thing Tarantino likes to do, it’s mention follow-up projects to whatever he’s currently promoting. Additional Kill Bill stories and anime, the Vega Brothers movie and other projects have all been QT-touted vaporware over the years. Then again, Inglourious Basterds was vaporware for a decade, too, and now it exists. So who the hell am I to say? Why you might actually see a prequel/sequel to Basterds, after the jump. Read More »
Forcing a filmmaker to submit to editorial oversight can be a good thing, but when the Big Brother hanging over your Avid is Harvey Weinstein? Things can get ugly. We knew that Quentin Tarantino was making some cuts and changes to Inglourious Basterds in the wake of the film’s Cannes Premiere, tightening that 2 hour 27 minute cut and even adding a scene or two. But Sharon Waxman at The Wrap claims that The Weinstein Company wants Tarantino to cut a massive 40 minutes. Is this an artistic move to strengthen the film or a desperate bid to squeeze more cash out of the film in August by keeping the running time down? With The Weinstein Company having massive cash problems, what do you think? Read More »
Scott Rudin has walked away from The Reader, and will no longer be involved in The Weinstein Co’s December release. Here is the situation, as I understand it. A couple weeks ago, Nikki Finke made claims that Harvey Weinstein had harassed both Sydney Pollack while on his deathbed and the widow of the late Anthony Minghella in an attempt to get the film into movie theaters for Oscar consideration. Finke was able to provide an email from Rudin to back up these claims. And then The Weinstein Co released a statement claiming that everything had been worked out, and that everyone involved were on the same page:
“We are issuing this statement together to emphasize the fact that we are in complete agreement on the date we have chosen to release The Reader. Working together, we developed a plan to extend the post-production schedule in order to give Stephen Daldry the additional time he needs to successfully complete the film in time to release it on December 12, 2008.”
But apparently something went wrong since then. LA Times reports that Rudin walked away and removed his producer’s credit because he was concerned that Weinstein’s dealings might cause “his long-standing talent relationships [to] be harmed.” Director Stephen Daldry is still contractually obligated to complete the film in time for the announced December 12th release date, a release date that Daldry at one point claimed “strips me of my ability to make my work good.” The whole thing is one gigantic Hollywood clusterfuck.
An eleven year old phone conversation between Harvey Weinstein and Quentin Tarantino has leaked out to the press. Apparently Robert De Niro believed he should be getting more money for starring in Tarantino’s Jackie Brown. In the phone call, Weinstein warns Tarantino that Robert De Niro might give him a late midnight phone call. Tarantino responds: “Tell Bob not to call me yelling and screaming because I don’t know if I’m going to be nice [if] the guy calls up yelling and screaming at me like a maniac, calling me a [beep]er!”
Weinstein explains “He thinks he’s going to make John Travolta look like that was an amateur night in Dixie.” Also coming to the actor’s defence: “This is a great actor and actually a great guy, who’s going through a difficult time. I think he’s really having like a scratching-his-head session, you know, with his own life and his own career.
I’m not sure what this whole phone call is supposed to prove. What? That De Niro got angry when he didn’t get offered the money that he believed he deserved? Regardless, it is fascinating to listen in on a conversation between an A-list director and a top Hollywood mogul, where you hear things like “are you prepared to go up a million on that?”
Vanity Fair has released the VF 100 – an annual listing of the top 100 leaders of the information age. Below you can find a listing of movie related entries on the list. Check out the full list on VanityFair.com.
4. Steve Jobs – Former Pixar CEO, Member of Disney’s Board of Directors
9. Angelina Jolie/Brad Pitt – Actors
14. Steven Spielberg – Director, Producer, Dreamworks co-founder
22. David Geffen – Dremworks Co-founder
23. George Lucas – Writer, Director, Producer, Chairman of LucasFilm
24. Jerry Bruckheimer – Producer
28. John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, Brad Bird – Pixar’s creative team
32. Sumner Redstone – Majority Owner of Paramount Pictures
33. Arnold Schwarzenegger – Actor
34. Tom Hanks – Actor, Producer
35. Robert Iger – Head of the Walt Disney Company
43. Oprah Winfrey – Actress (kinda), Producer
44. Jon Stewart – Comedian, Actor
45. Stephen Colbert – Comedian, Actor
53. Jeffrey Katzenberg – Dreamworks co-founder, CEO of Dreamworks Animation
55. George Clooney – Actor, Producer
58. Judd Apatow – Producer, Writer, Director
59. Robert De Niro – Actor, Producer, Director
66. Brian Grazer/Ron Howard – Producer/Director
85. The Coen Brothers – Writers, Directors, Producers
87. The Weinstein Brothers – The Weinstien Co
93. Jerry Weintraub – Producer
Pulp Fiction was featured at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills as part of the Academy’s newest 17-week “Great To Be Nominated” series.
It was revealed that Miramax kingpin Harvey Weinstein had plans to open a chain of Jack Rabbit Slims restaurants after Pulp Fiction became such a huge success. Apparently Quentin Tarantino had to talk him down, explaining that the restaurant in the film was actually goofing on the trend of popular theme restaurants of the early ’90s. But Tarantino acknowledged that the five-dollar milkshake is no longer just a joke, but a reality in most diners and restaurants.
The Jack Rabbit Slim sequence in Pulp fiction was actually filmed at the Famous Mel’s. In the film, Mia (Uma Thurman) takes Vincent (Travolta) to the restaurant. The waitstaff and entertainers resemble 1950s personalities such as Ed Sullivan (the maître d’), Buddy Holly and Marilyn Monroe (both of whom are waiters). Besides regular seating, patrons can also sit in a replica of a 1950s automobile, which has a table and seating inside the car. The food is also named after personalities from the 1950s or earlier – when asked what kind of milkshake Mia would like, she’s offered a choice of Amos and Andy (Chocolate) or Martin and Lewis (Vanilla). Vincent orders the Douglas Sirk Steak, while Mia has the Durward Kirby Burger. Both are given the option of having their meat “burnt to a crisp” or “bloody as hell”. A few restaurants, bars and bands across the world have since adopted the name.
Other Juicy tidbits revealed during the panel include:
- The role of Butch the boxer (Bruce Willis) was originally written for Matt Dillon.
- Daniel Day-Lewis was interested in playing Vincent Vega (John Travolta’s role).
- Laurence Fishburne was originally pegged for Jules Winnfield (Samuel L. Jackson’s role), but Fishburne thought he was above supporting roles at that point in his career.
Discuss: Would you eat at Jack Rabbit Slims?
source: pajamasmedia
Star Wars fans are still very angry over The Weinstein Co’s horrible handling of Fanboys. Their movement has gained a bunch of mainstream press, including the New York Post, the Daily Telegraph, Vanity Fair, and thousands of websites. The group is now organizing Stop Darth Weinstein Protests in New York and Los Angeles on March 28th, outside two prominent movie theaters where Superhero Movie will be opening. Fore more information, click this link. Also check out this animated short film they made, which features Darth Weinstein in his Death Star company office, after the jump.
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