Posted on 01/02/2006 4:03:35 AM PST by Liz
The "Rumor" mill grinds on. With Warner's romantic comedy "Rumor Has It..." taking in just $7 million in its opening frame, second-guessing quickly ramped up. Not that Warners execs should have been surprised: Tracking data on the project -- which Rob Reiner took over directing just 10 days into shooting when tyro helmer Ted Griffin was fired -- showed the pic wasn't likely to wow.
Griffin, who penned the screenplay, might be glad he got the boot. Not so happy might be Reiner-- who hasn't seen a hit in some time, and who lately has been preoccupied by politics and his universal preschool initiative -- and Section Eight which produced the pic for Warners.
Critics lambasted Reiner for applying a shallow gloss to what was, at its heart, a quirky, indie-like script. One even quipped that Reiner directed "between naps." But some blame might rightly rest with Griffin, who decided to give the pic a mainstream feel in casting Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Costner and Shirley MacLaine.
Mark Ruffalo was the only "indie" guy in the bunch. You'd never guess from the utterly mainstream marketing and poster that the film picks up where "The Graduate" left off. Instead, you might think Aniston had landed a new post-"Friends" TV show.
Pic was to be released last April, but was pushed to December because it wasn't ready. But in opting for a Christmas Day berth as counterprogramming, Warners put the film into competition with seven other wide releases.With that kind of jostling, it's no wonder this "Rumor" never got started.
Pitt and Anniston were really acting swell, weren't they? Making fun of a 19-year old who couldn't answer back (because anything she said would be in the papers the next day).
Add Spinal Tap to that list....
I was responding to a guy who said that Spinal Tap was the only good film Reiner Directed. So it had already been acknowledged!
LOL...I am just so damn lazy today I didn't even see that...hahahaha.
Thank you!
Nope, not even close.
Looks like Jenna didn't say anything, and it still wound up in the papers the next day. Like you said, just swell. And coming from just about the two biggest potheads in Hollywood to boot.
Specifically, she has nowhere near the classic serene beauty Hepburn possessed, but then very few women do. With regards to her acting and her interpretation of the role, my assessments were much less harsh than yours. What you termed "carnivorous" I merely perceived as a slight excess of enthusiasm and energy level. Of course, my expectations, and hence my demands, were probably less stringent than more involved movie buffs' would be.
I wish!
Actually, ole Lucius was more of a "Neca eos omnes. Deus suos agnoscet" (kill them all, God will know his own.) kind of guy. Arnold "The Terminator" Schwarzenegger probably has the closest English equivalent.
A movie I might actually go see
Lucius is usually considered rather demented, I often think that he was coldblooded about his actions, not like the later crazy Emperors (Caligula, Nero, etc.). Click on my screen name for more of my thoughts on this key figure in the fall of the Roman Republic.
I concur. He was not demented, but rather cold-blooded and ruthless. However, I do find myself wishing sometimes we could turn him loose on the US Senate... /grin.
My concern is that someone like him or his younger associates IS about to be turned loose on the country.
To you movie lovers and haters, sorry to get so off-topic!
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