McAdams vs. Ford
I’m presumably being afforded a little slack for being slow to post this, given this and that Sicilian distraction. You can sense off the top that this TV-news dramedy (Paramount, 11.12), directed by Roger Michell and written by Aline Brosh McKenna, isn’t quite operating at a Broadcast News level. Or am I being too sensitive?
JJ Abrams doing light comedy for the first time since “Felicity” could be interesting. If Harrison Ford shows up for this, it could be fun. It’s nice to see him playing with his ‘grouchy old fart’ persona a little. I know i’ll get cut apart for this, but this is the absolute first i’ve ever seen or heard of this film (that’s strange in and of itself) but it looks….good? Maybe an updated Broadcast News kind of vibe.
I didn’t notice this when I posted it last night, but John Pankow alert. Good to see him.
Also I know Jeff Goldblum is just the guy from Law & Order now, but how does he not warrant being credited in the trailer?
DiscoNap: I was also (I think) uncredited in that Jason Bateman/Jennifer Aniston sperm comedy trailer. I forget the name. ‘The Switch,’ I think.
I actually think this looks not-terrible. Not worth a cinema trip, but could be an entertaining watch on a flight. Harrison Ford channeling Ron Burgundy is funny, but damn does he look OLD. Look at that massive old-man nose and ears.
Diane Keaton has officially become the ex-nun who taught me French four 4 years in college. Talk about memories. Going to France the first time my freshman summer, a buddy and I scoring with two waitresses our first night there. Oh yeah, this is a rental at best.
I don’t know, but as I see Ford showing up for a charity event because he remains loyal to Lucas, as well as hearing he’s a pretty down to earth guy, I find myself rooting for him in face of all the fanboy and aesthetic drubbing he’s been getting. I hope it’s better than the first comedy he did with JJ Abrams, “Regarding Henry.”
What is Abrams’ involvement in this? Is he a hands-on creative influence, or a paycheck “name” producer?
I don’t know. JJ is credited as producer with Bryan Burke who he worked with on Lost and (I think) Alias. This could be a JJ greenlit, Bryan Burke produced thing, not that that’s an automatic bad thing. Harrison Ford looks old because he IS old. Dude is almost 70. cut him some slack.
Han Solo returns. Thank God. Whenever Ford gets the snark out, I’m glad to see it. Not ticket-buying glad, just…glad.
This had a horrible test screening late last year… audiences hated McAdmas’ character and her story….the only parts they liked involved Ford and Keaton
Arnold, that doesn’t surprise me. She has the Amy Adams who-cares part. Really, seriously, when he says “that’s what I had until you came along” I wanted to blow my brains out.
The difference between this and Broadcast News was that the latter turned out to be one of 1987′s best films, with arguable career bests from many involved.
We’ll be lucky if Morning Glory simply manages to not be awful.
“Harrison Ford looks old because he IS old. Dude is almost 70. cut him some slack.”
Yeah, I know… but I think that combed-back coif highlights his old-man features more than it needs to.
This looks a lot better than “State of Play,” and I will always give Roger Michell the benefit of the doubt because of “The Mother.”
Sadly, it looks like Ford’s character replaces Ty Burrell’s. The movie would definitely benefit from as much Burrell as possible.
Last time Abrams and Ford mixed it up?
Regarding Henry.
So much for men aging better than women. Keaton is actually four years younger than Ford but looks, what, ten or fifteen?
talk about broad. this thing tried to hit every age group 1 to 100. they got me with the underwear and heels shot.
DiscoNap wrote:
Also I know Jeff Goldblum is just the guy from Law & Order now, but how does he not warrant being credited in the trailer?
Saw Goldblum’s name at trailer’s end.
Looks DELIGHTFUL. McAdams is a ray of sunshine.
Good to see Patrick Wilson continuing his wholesale morphing into Zack Morris from Saved by the Bell.
Also AWESOME SONG at the end, even if it’s a wholesale soundalike of Rihanna/T-Pain’s “Live Your Life.”
Also: Does Paramount EVER make a disreputable movie? I can’t think of any studio that makes SO FEW MOVIES; WB, Uni, Fox and Sony seem to have a new movie out EVERY SINGLE WEEK. Paramount, if you discount DreamWorks, makes, what, 8, 10 a year? Why the sparsity? And why always so proper? Either adult-skewing romcoms, tame comedies, or militaristic, straight-shooter action movies.
You never see Paramount releasing something like a Crank or Running Scared or super-gritty Michael Mann-type flick with grain and crazy cuts and extreme sexuality. They’re like the movie equivalent of CBS in 1998 in the CITIZEN BAINES days.
“isn’t quite operating at a Broadcast News level”
How many films do? That movie is brilliant. And better and better every time I see it.
I liked Broadcast News, or pretended to like it because it got four stars everywhere and I was a precocious wannabe movie geek, when I was 14 years old and saw it with my family, but…
Man, I ALWAYS assume that’s one of those once-hailed movies that absolutely nobody, nobody, NOBODY has watched, anywhere in the world, since its initial run on HBO a year after it came out.
“What do you think the Devil is going to look like if he’s around? Nobody is going to be taken in if he has a long, red, pointy tail.
No. I’m semi-serious here.
He will look attractive and he will be nice and helpful and he will get a job where he influences a great God-fearing nation and he will never do an evil thing.
He will just bit by little bit lower standards where they are important. Just coax along flash over substance.
Just a tiny bit.
And he will talk about all of us really being salesmen.
And he’ll get all the great women.”
Like most studios, Paramount wants to play it safe and hit nothing but home runs every time at bat. They want either four-quadrant films like Morning Glory, or they want one-to-two quadrant films like Cloverfield that keep the costs down but can reap big rewards. Hell, they’re even re-re-re-re-re-re-re-re-re-re-re-re-re-releasing the original Grease this summer. Low cost (the film’s already made, just need to clean up the negative and make some new prints) with potential decent returns compared to the expenditures.
Paramount would easily try to do more films like Crank or Running Scared if films like Crank or Running Scared actually showed a profit. We’re lucky they’re giving Waiting for “Superman” a chance this summer, after what happened with American Teen two years ago.
LexG, give News another chance. It’s one of the funniest drama ever. We’re talking Billy Wilder-level stuff here.
I use Robert Prosky’s “Who gives a damn what you think?” just about every time I watch network or local news.
The reason Ford takes Ty Burrell’s place at the show is because Burrell went on Vacation with his girlfriend, got caught in a zombie outbreak, holed up in a mall and then turned INTO a zombie, got killed and…well, the morning news show had to go on, so they brought in Ford.
Best exchange in the film:
Some random network suit: It must be nice to always believe you know better, to always think you’re the smartest person in the room.
Holly Hunter: No. It’s awful.
Kind of amazing that Abrams has only directed two theatrical movies at the age of 43. I guess he’s involved in so many projects, you always assume he’s done more.
Aline Brosh?
Aline: I know James L. Brooks, and you, my dear, are NO James L. Brooks!
Lex must be jealous of Harrison’s hair.
BROADCAST NEWS is da bomb, y’all.
Don’t you just want to make out with Rachel McAdams?
I hope she shows her toes in it.
Lex, I saw Broadcast News about a year ago and loved it. Are your assumptions ever correct?
Also, “from the screenwriters of THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA…”
This will not be on the level of Broadcast News.
Running Scared and Crank have both made tons of cash on DVD. I think Crank did a lot better than Running in the theater, but then Running was barely marketed by New Line. I’ve heard the DVD numbers on Running are something like 60 million since the film has developed a cult following from younger audiences. If these studios thought long term and marketed their films better, rather than using the theatrical as a commercial for the DVD, they could be well into profit. Both Crank and Running cost under well under 20 to make. It’s a good profit model for the studios.
Too bad this isn’t based on a Nicholas Sparks book because then you’d be assured that at least one of these characters would die.
Why all the love for BROADCAST NEWS? It’s not that good. It’s just barely good.
“It’s not that good. It’s just barely good.”
I strongly disagree. Holly Hunter’s character is about as complicated and prickly as you’ll find in American movies, and her performance is completely alive. On top of that, the movie’s funny, oddly melancholic, serious about its subject (and the integrity of its subject), and visually it’s the most elegant thing James Brooks has done. The only major flaw I remember is the unnecessary cartoonish opening.
This JJ Abrams thing is written by the screenwriter of 27 Dresses. So–I’m guessing it’ll have the dynamics of Broadcast News (swoony fireworks!) with none of the emotional honesty or incisive commentary about media.
More crap-peddling. I mean, I hope I’m wrong. But…27 Dresses.
“Man, I ALWAYS assume that’s one of those once-hailed movies that absolutely nobody, nobody, NOBODY has watched, anywhere in the world, since its initial run on HBO a year after it came out.”
Lex – every assumption you make about cable seems as if you haven’t had cable since the early ’90′s. ‘Broadcast News’ is a perennial on pretty much every cable station. It’s one about once a week.
And it’s a masterpiece, especially for an ’80′s studio dramady. Especially to watch that movie for a little while and then flip over to ANY news station or even just news program, and realize “Hey, whoever advised James Brooks on this was 1000% right.”
You know, I like Diane Keaton. And I like Harrison Ford. But the moment they showed Diane Keaton hosting a morning TV show, I couldn’t take it. This ad paints a movie that is going for some form of realism — choosing work vs. choosing life, isn’t the news business CRAZY?! — and, meanwhile, Diane Keaton is hosting a TV show? and the shot of her specifically emphasizes her turkey neck?
And then Ford becomes the co-host? Has nobody involved in this movie ever seen a show. Okay, Ford only looks a generation older than Regis Philbin, so *maybe* he could cut it if he was already famous. But Keaton? No way. At most, she’s have ‘The View’, and she’d need major work to be on that.
I love both of them, but how am I supposed to take this movie seriously?
roger michell. the man has made some truly excellent and deeply underrated films over the past few years — enduring love, changing lanes, venus, the mother are all fucking terrific. i even liked persuasion way back when.
that said, this looks safe, but fun, and quite slick, so i’ll likely see it at some point.
>Man, I ALWAYS assume that’s one of those once-hailed movies that absolutely nobody, nobody, NOBODY has watched, anywhere in the world, since its initial run on HBO a year after it came out.
I just watched it for the first time actually, on Netflix.
I wouldn’t call it a great movie, but I enjoyed the ambiguous ending and the clever way it resolves the usual “will she pick THIS guy or THAT guy?” romantic-triangle question. Also, William Hurt’s character seems a bit ominous from the perspective of 20+ years later.
Albert Brooks is pretty much always worth watching, even when he’s phoning it in. (Not to say he was phoning it in here. Actually, I have a hard time telling the difference between Albert Brooks phoning it in, and Albert Brooks giving it 110%. I mean that in a good way…)
Oh, the other thing I liked about Broadcast News is the way things really, palpably change for the characters during the course of the story. Jobs change. People abandon their careers. A corporation alters course irrevocably. You get a sense of a true shifting backdrop. It almost feels… dare I say…? epic.
The proper way to get ripped off on 3DTV.
R.I.P. Linkletter.
Logan tries another run with different director.
From Digital Bits:
And here’s a bit of good news from Fox and MGM – they’ve announced a new batch of catalog Blu-ray + DVD sets for release on 8/3 (SRP $24.99 each), including a few titles we haven’t seen on Blu-ray: Blood Simple, Bull Durham, Escape from New York and Kalifornia.
Spider men.
Ladd, Jr. wins his daddy’s money.
New Hex trailer.
New Toy Story 3 clip + featurette.
Sorcerer spot.
Salt spots.
‘Persia clips.
Splice spots.
Eclipse spots.
Shanghai trailer.
Life as we Know it trailer.
Another Kitano joint.
How the fuck does Doom rank better than Hitman?!
Brad Lowe.
I’ve had it up to here with these signs.
I still love Ford even if his last good movie was The Fugitive. I’m hoping this is his best light-hearted role since Working Girl.
Amelie guy on MicMacs.
Missed some. Via Ebert’s tweet, a QT-less Jackie Brown “prequel”">http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/may/25/jackie-brown-elmore-leonard-switch?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter”>”prequel”.
Buried guy unearths Weaver thriller.
Worst product placement evar?
Isn’t this basically Swingers?
The Bear Hunter.
Keaton and Page do the news.
It’s like Memento, but with Cusack.
Last time I checked, a live-action Dilbert was already done and called Office Space.
Atlas guy shrugs the lack of a cast.
RE 4, Love Ranch, Stranger and Splice pics here.
Also via Dark Horizons, Red Dead short.
The Thing cast update.
Midnight in Paris cast update.
More Tango & Cash?
Gyllenhall wants to do his Namath biopic right.
Mendes does shorts for the iPhone.
Jackie Brown link fixed.
‘Broadcast News” is very good. And this looks like it could be…tolerable. (What the hell is happening to me?) And Jeff is doing an apples and oranges bit by even suggesting an analogy. The proper correlative here is “Switching Channels.”
isn’t Switching Channels just an 80s cable news take on The Front Page His Girl Friday? I’ve never seen more than ten minutes of it but Burt seemed charming.
If you think of Regis Philbin, Babara Walters, Willard Scott and Joy Behar…Ford and Keaton are quite age appropriate and fine for their roles.I confess to thinking back in the 1970s that Harrison Ford was too cold to make it as a leading man. But I must admit I enjoyed him in “Working Girl” and even the much picked on remake of “Sabrina.”In fact I like him better than Bogart in the 1950s original. Bogart, of course, was not that happy in the part, knowing Billy Wilder really wanted but couldn’t get Cary Grant.
Ford looks soooo old here. Guess he is.
That said, he looks like he might have a little fun for once. I’m guessing the deal is Ford is a retired “serious news” anchor called in to do the fluff with Katie Couric, I mean Keaton? It’s sad to note that ten, maybe even five years ago, Keaton and Ford would have had the movie all by themselves, and McAdams would be a daughter or something..
Anyway, the film looks awful. Four quadrant poll-factor crap, total airplane movie. Did I spy any copper pots in a kitchen?
“If you think of Regis Philbin, Babara Walters, Willard Scott and Joy Behar…Ford and Keaton are quite age appropriate and fine for their roles.”
So, your response to me saying “she’s clearly too old to co-host anything besides maybe The View” is to cite two hosts of ‘The View’ as proof that I’m wrong? Interesting.
But, also, missing the point, which is that age doesn’t matter, it’s the visible signs of age I’m pointing out. Keaton is clearly too old to be the visible leader of a morning news/talk show. Ford is on the fence, but they would obviously NEVER have a show where both leads are that old. If you want to prove me wrong, you should try to cite things that do prove me wrong, rather than things that don’t.
Life imitates Magnolia.
In real life, Diane Keaton is the same age as Diane Sawyer(64), who, until about a year ago was co-hosting “Good Morning America”, and had so for about a decade.
So Keaton in this part isn’t totally unrealistic.
Sorry for leaving out the first r in Barbara Walters. I was just trying to say I’m willing to buy Ford and Keaton in the roles. Speaking of James L. Brooks, he will be back Dec. 17, 2010 with “How Do You Know?”, starring Reese Witherspoon, Paul Rudd, Owen Wilson and the too long absent, Jack Nicholson.
Here’s what I don’t buy; Rachel McAdams asks Harrison Ford to be the co-host of this morning news show that’s has tepid ratings, he and Diane Keaton, who’s diametrically opposed to him in every way, snipe at each other on the air, and the ratings go down even more? Have the filmmakers even heard of “The View”? Yes, Ford and Keaton aren’t as young as Rosie O’Donnell and Elizabeth Hasselback, and their characters may not be operating at the level of hatred those two apparently had in real life. But I won’t watch “The View,” and even I know how well “The View” did with media coverage alone because of O’Donnell and Hasselback going at each other. Just not buying this at all.
And yes, BROADCAST NEWS is still the shit.
As someone who has actually worked for a morning news program, I can tell you that they tend to pair opposites…in our case, older, distinguished gentleman with hot babe or hot babes in our case. And goofy weather guy. Again, just as in the movies, going for that 4 quadrant, I guess.
But then again, our main competition (which has the #1 morning show) has 2 folks in their 50s…but they have been on for years and people are just used to seeing them. The other stations all have younger on-air personalities on, so I guess what I’m thinking is a start-up morning show would probably be more like Regis/Kelly than Morning Glory, but hey, it’s a freaking movie…
I seriously think actionman is one of the worst commentors on the boards here. Seriously. But, is everyone else that blind to the class of Roger Michell? He is one of the great journeyman directors of the past 10 years, proving himself ultimately capable of producing a terrific entertainment arthouse or otherwise, thriller or comedy or psychological drama. This guy is the real deal. Everyone’s blathering on about JJ Abrams when a real mega-talent is directing this thing? Remove your auteur-theory critical blinders for a minute and recognize a classic talent with a real knack for storytelling and drama. Come on, people.
Basically, that sneaking, guilty feeling of pleasure that it seems Glenn “what the hell is happening to me?” Kenny’s having is probably born out of something tangible. I hope it is.
So, thanks actionman. You’ve oddly got the right perspective here, even if it seems to be falling on deaf ears.
It should just say ‘from the screenplay for Devil Wears Prada’ since it looks like the same movie but , y’know, in a TV studio instead of a magazine.
kanye — why am I one of the worst commenters here? i hardly post here anymore…thanks do people like you.
it’s gotta be the bay-love, right?
action, i’ve been lurking around these parts long enough to say Kanye is off-base and something of a trolling fool. The Bay-love is missed, he needs all the friends he can get.