Entries from December 2008 ↓

The inventors of Viagra just took one step closer to a Nobel Peace Prize.

From the Washington Post:

“The Afghan chieftain looked older than his 60-odd years, and his bearded face bore the creases of a man burdened with duties as tribal patriarch and husband to four younger women. His visitor, a CIA officer, saw an opportunity, and reached into his bag for a small gift.

Four blue pills. Viagra.”

The usual bribes of choice—cash and weapons—aren’t always the best options, Afghanistan veterans say. Guns too often fall into the wrong hands, they say, and showy gifts such as money, jewelry and cars tend to draw unwanted attention.

“If you give an asset $1,000, he’ll go out and buy the shiniest junk he can find, and it will be apparent that he has suddenly come into a lot of money from someone,” said Jamie Smith, a veteran of CIA covert operations in Afghanistan and now chief executive of SCG International, a private security and intelligence company. “Even if he doesn’t get killed, he becomes ineffective as an informant because everyone knows where he got it.”

The key, Smith said, is to find a way to meet the informant’s personal needs in a way that keeps him firmly on your side but leaves little or no visible trace.

“You’re trying to bridge a gap between people living in the 18th century and people coming in from the 21st century,” Smith said, “so you look for those common things in the form of material aid that motivate people everywhere.”

“Take one of these. You’ll love it,” the officer said. Compliments of Uncle Sam.

The enticement worked. The officer, who described the encounter, returned four days later to an enthusiastic reception. The grinning chief offered up a bonanza of information about Taliban movements and supply routes—followed by a request for more pills.”

By Sunday night, if not sooner, any Hollywood executives who might’ve been in the Frank Miller Business will be quickly back pedaling after The Spirit hits theaters Christmas Day.
The adaptation of Will Eisner’s classic comic raised fan’s suspicions when early scenes were screened this summer at the San Diego Comic Con and they looked fucking terrible. As much as I’ve grown up admiring Miller’s work, this looks like a painful movie to sit through let alone pay to see.

Variety: “Frank Miller’s solo writing-directing debut plunges into a watery grave early on and spends roughly the next 100 minutes gasping for air. Pushing well past the point of self-parody” … “There’s a lot going on here, but none of it sticks — not the shopworn plotting nor the arch, stilted dialogue. The actors often seem to be delivering their lines in ironic quote marks, suggesting a straight-faced sendup of noir and comicbook conventions that, whatever the intended effect, falls mostly flat.”

AICN: “I’ve seen something that has taken the top prize from “Battlefield Earth.” … “Okay, Mr. Miller. Let’s get it on.” … “Seriously, it’s not. You clearly don’t have any idea what you’re doing. Someone, ANYONE, over at Lionsgate should have known this. Fuck, it’s their JOB to know this. But they didn’t.” … “Folks, this movie is that bad. I heartily recommend it if you have a strong stomach and an even stronger sense of Bad-Movie-Love. Otherwise, steer clear.”

Miller’s first foray into Hollywood came in the early 90s with his work scripting the two Robocop sequels. Unsatisfied with the experience, Miller rejected opportunities to bring his work to the big screen until Robert Rodriguez offered him the opportunity to have equal creative input. Transitioning Sin City from page to screen did accomplish bringing the specifics of Miller’s noir soaked world to life. After seeing panel after panel faithfully rendered on screen, the overwrought characters and stilted dialogue made made it hard to over look the flaws in Miller’s work. His participation in Sin City was a gesture of respect, yet it yielded the opportunity for Miller to have sole ownership of the director’s chair. Creating comics, while similar in some capacities, is not the same as directing a movie. Each requires different skills, and while it will be interesting to see what becomes of Miller’s directing career—comics has always been a better fit for Miller’s sensibilities.

Craig Ferguson’s show has never grown on me, it’s hard to follow Letterman and compete with Conan. At any rate, Ferguson’s producers wisely brought on Dennis Lehane to promote his new novel The Given Day. It might’ve been great if Ferguson had maybe read a little bit of the novel or really any of Lehane’s novels. Guess some publicity is better though, than no publicity.

It’s that time of the year again, Hollywood executives have been clearing out their desks and have been reminded of all the great scripts they passed on to Greenlight Mamma Mia or some variation of Fools Gold.

Keep in mind this is a Best Liked—not Best OfList, which reading all of the log lines might prove.
Bare in mind, the top three entries of the 2005 list where Things We Lost in the Fire, Juno, and Lars and the Real Girl, so if quality of those movies mean anything to you, read on with guarded enthusiasm.

The Beaver by Kyle Killen
A depressed man finds hope in a beaver puppet that he wears on his hand.
Status: Steve Carell is attached to star.

The Oranges by Jay Reiss and Ian Helfer
“A man has a romantic relationship with the daughter of a family friend, which turns
their lives upside down.”
Status: Anthony Bregman (Thumbsucker) and Media Rights Capital will produce.

Butter by Jason Micallef
“A small town becomes a center for controversy and jealousy as its annual butter carving contest begins.”
Status: Jennifer Garner is in talks to play Laura, Michael De Luca Productions producing.

Big Hole by Michael Gilio
“An old cowboy goes on a mission to recover his money after a million dollar sweepstakes scam cleans out his entire bank account.”
Status: Aversano Films (Failure to Launch) is producing.

The Low Dweller by Brad Ingelsby
“A man trying to assimilate into society after being released from jail discovers that someone from his past is out to settle a score.”
It’s Like: Unforgiven, only less geriatric. And much less forgiving.
Status: Relativity, Energy Entertainment, Leonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way and Tony and Ridley Scott’s Scott Free Productions will co-produce.

F*buddies by Liz Meriwether
“A guy and a girl struggle to have an to realize they want much more.”
Status: Montecito Picture Company producing.

Winter’s Discontent by Paul Fruchbom
“When Herb Winter’s wife of fifty years dies, the faithful but sexually frustrated widower moves into a retirement community to start living the swinging single life.”
Status: Sony’s Atlas Entertainment producing.

Broken City by Brian Tucker
“A New York private investigator gets sucked into a shady mayoral election.”

I’m With Cancer by Will Reiser
“A autobiographical comic account of one man’s struggle to beat cancer.”
Status: Seth Rogen is producing and signed on to co-star.

Our Brand Is Crisis by Peter Straughan
“Based on the eponymous documentary. James Carville and a team of U.S. political consultants travel to South Abecome President of Bolivia.”
Status: Warner Bros and George Clooney’s Company producing.