Sharon Waxman (The Post)

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Hollywood & Vine
Hosted by Sharon Waxman
Post Style Correspondent
Tuesday, April 3, 2001; 2 p.m. EDT

Hollywood & Vine is a weekly discussion about the inner workings of the movie industry. There is a whole political universe behind how the movies happen, the tug and pull of egos, financial imperatives, a pecking order for privileges as well as genuine creative impulses.

Washington Post Style correspondent Sharon Waxman brings Hollywood & Vine Live Online for a discussion about the inner workings of the movie industry. There is a whole political universe behind how the movies happen, the tug and pull of egos, financial imperatives, a pecking order for privileges as well as genuine creative impulses.

Sharon Waxman is online Tuesday, April 3, at 2 p.m. EDT to answer your questions and field your comments on the industry personalities she has met; the movies that are causing a stir and why; trends in the industry and the culture of moviemaking in general.

Submit your questions for Waxman in advance or any time during the Live Online hour.

Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.

Sharon Waxman: Hi folks. I wish there was some way to roll over questions from one week to the next, since last week we had to leave a lot of you hanging.

I have some bad news: I have glimpsed a bit of the summer movies and most look pretty excruciating. I actually walked out of "A Knight's Tale," a medeival jousting romance starring Heath Ledger, it was so lame. Also saw "Shrek," which everyone is saying is going to be huge, but I found lacking. People are saying "Moulin Rouge" is great, and I'm presuming 'Pearl Harbor' will deliver, but if this is the summer slate, I shudder to think what the post-strike movies will look like.

Ok, let's go.

Centreville, Va.: Sharon, I have a real concern about something and need to get it off my chest, I guess. I am so sick of the tabloids, E!, ET and all the rest. It seems we spend so much time worrying about the stars and their personal lives, that we don't see beyond that. Why should we care about who is drug rehab or what marriages are splitting up? Does it impact that performance I am paying $8 for? Just like with our sports "heroes" we can only be disappointed to find out these people are just like us, flawed and imperfect. Is there a chance any of this is ever going away? Or, as Russell Crowe (everyone's favorite bad boy) says, have the tabloids created a marketplace by feeding us this trash? Kind of like a different kind of drug, they are now supplying the habit.

Sharon Waxman: Glad you could vent. To me that stuff is so much noise that I try to tune it out as much as possible. As a society we certainly seem addicted to anything celebrity-oriented, to the sensational and bizarre.

But on the other hand you do have a choice - you can turn it off.

Hollywood, Calif. Sharon:

Who is the bad guy in the upcoming writer's strike? What are the main issues? Do you think they'll get resolved before?

Sharon Waxman: I don't know if there is a bad guy; it seems there is a lack of leadership on the side of the unions, and to a lesser degree the side of the studios. In the old days, Lew Wasserman would get everybody to sit down and make a deal. The issues here are money, of course; the writers want more, and so will the actors once they start negotiating. They also started out coming up with demands when the economy looked a lot stronger; now the studios are whining that their margins are so small and the economy so precarious they can't possibly ante up what the unions are demanding. (For video residuals, foreign tv, cable and, presumably the Internet if it ever produces a revenue stream).
H-hour draws ever nearer - May 1 - and whether they make a deal or not is anyone's guess. It still mystifies me why they wouldn't make a deal before getting to a devastating strike; but people have been known to act against their interests before.

Rockville, Md.: I know the Oscars are over, but I'm confused about the timing of film releases for them. What release dates make a film eligible for an Oscar nomination?

My husband says it's a calendar year, but I think it must be February to January. Please settle our bet! If he loses, I get to see Memento this week.

Thanks!

Sharon Waxman: Sorry you lose, but I hope you still go to see Memento; it's one of the best movies you'll see this year.

The Oscars judge films in theatrical release for at least two weeks in Los Angeles from January to January. A lot of films that are scheduled for later release (like 'Traffic' this year, 'Pollock' and others) get a brief two-week run at one or two LA theaters for Oscar consideration, then open elsewhere around the country later on.

Arlington, Va.: What about the glamour trend at the Oscars with Catherine Zeta douglas, Marcia Gay, Renee Zellweger? Wasn't there an anti-glam trend too, with Angie Jolie, Frances McDormand, Kate Hudson and Penelope Cruz? There didn't seem to be a stylist near any of them. Also, why can't "Original Sin" be released? Did Angie and Antonio fizzle?

Sharon Waxman: Is glamour a "trend" at the Oscars? Isn't that what it's all about? (Anti-glam trend: Tom Cruise.) I only saw Penelope Cruz later in the evening at the Vanity Fair party and she looked gorgeous. Although for her it doesn't take much.

"Original Sin" is another one of those awful movies - shoulda been on that list above. The story is implausible, the plot becomes hackneyed and the movie starts with a close-up of Angelina Jolie's lips, for God's sake. At 60' tall, those things are damn scary.

Washington, D.C.: I know I'm going to be slammed for this, but... This weekend I went out and rented the Battlefield Earth DVD. Now, before I get ridiculed, I figured I had to see the movie before I could really make fun of it. While it was most certainly an embarrassing piece of film, it also was simply not the worse film I saw last year. How much of all the abuse it got was just backlash against John Revolta (who was terrible in the movie)?

Sharon Waxman: Really? Wow.

So I have to ask: What WAS the worst movie you saw last year?

San Francisco, Calif.: Sorry to contradict the earlier poster who was sick of celebrity chat, but here's a celeb question...

In the Kidman-Cruise divorce, I have to feel more for Kidman, particularly after news of her miscarriage became public. What's the sentiment in Hollywood? Will she fade into obscurity like the previous Ms. Cruise, Mimi Cruise?

Sharon Waxman: I'm not dishing today, but just going to note that Kidman is headlining Moulin Rouge this summer, so you're about to see her all over posters and the tv. (Hope she has her interview coach lined up.) Also, the movie's supposed to be good.

Rosslyn, Va.: So, when the strike hits... where do those of us who feel we could do so much better in the movies go to sign up for parts? Seems there will be lots of room for newbies or armchair critics!

Sharon Waxman: Well, you can be an extra for three days before joining SAG, and the pay is - hmmm let's see - it's $60 a day. You can flip burgers at McDonald's for the same money, and probably get benefits to boot.

And we always have room at H&V for armchair critics.

Falls Church: Any advance word on "Blow?"

Sharon Waxman: Haven't heard much. I want to see it, just because I'm always interested in Johnny Depp.

Forgot to mention that I did see a very good, extremely erotic and thus far unrated film by Wayne Wang last night called "The CEnter of the World." It's about a dot-com millioniaire shlub (Peter Skarsgaard) who falls in love with a part-time-drummer/full-time stripper (Molly Parker) and their intense exploration of each other and the nature of relationships in a Las Vegas hotel room. A bit like "Last Tango in Paris" for the 90s.

Washington D.C.: Sharon,
What does it take to get involved with the movies on a creative level. Money, connections or just plain luck? And why does anyone let John Travolta make movies?

Sharon Waxman: John Travolta makes movies because a lot of people will show up to see him on opening weekend no matter what he's in. Even Battlefield Earth did something like $9 million it's first weekend, despite it being the biggest joke on celluloid in decades.

By the way did anyone notice that Joe Roth's first movie 'Tomcats' - which I also heard was ridiculously bad - tanked, despite a wallpaper campaign that made that offensive poster absolutely unavoidable? It only made about $6 million this past weekend. Not good for a first effort. Let's hope American Sweethearts is better.

Fairfax, Va.: What is the industry opinion (and your opinion, of course) on Peter Bart, the editor of Variety? I just got finished reading his latest 'memo' in Variety and think it leaves a lot to be desired. He definitely can't separate his personal politics from his reporting - just check out his book The Gross which left me wondering if James Cameron had killed Bart's puppy (what is up with Cameron nowadays anyway?)

Sharon Waxman: Let me start with this: Hollywood is a very catty town. A very competitive town. So Peter has a lot of friends, and a lot of people who don't like him too.

I've heard lots of things about him - that he changes his reporter's articles to suit his friends, that he shilled for Mike Ovitz, even that he's plagiarized (ouch).

He and I are friendly and I didn't actually read The Gross. I discount a lot of the back-stabbing talk regarding him (he's spread plenty of dirt to me as well), since I've found him to be a pretty good journalist. My biggest beef is that Variety and the Hollywood Reporter don't do much in-depth coverage of the industry; it's all pretty superficial, and the personal politics of the place seeps through the coverage all the time. His memos are sometimes annoying, I agree, but I think his columns in Esquire are very good writing. A long way of saying I'm not entirely sure.

Wait!: So, "Original Sin" is not going to be released?

Sharon Waxman: I think it will be, maybe the fall. They pulled it from a spring release at the last minute. And I hear they changed the ending once or twice too.

Atlanta, Ga.: Sharon - I think you mentioned in a previous discussion that you had seen Bridget Jones Diary? Will it disappoint those of us who are big fans of the book? How is Renee Zellewegger (who I think was terribly miscast) as Bridget?

P.S. Seeing a sneak preview of Memento tonight (since it hasn't been release in Atlanta yet)

Sharon Waxman: Well here was a funny thing. The Hollywd Reporter gave Bridget Jones such a glowing review I'd swear it was written by the Miramax publicity department. And on the same day Variety shredded the movie, more or less, with a scathing review. (Though not scathing enough in my view.) Depending on who you believe, she's either perfectly cast, charming, endearing, with an accent that never falters; or she's horribly uncomfortable in her overweight skin, out of place among all those Brits, shot to look ugly on top of everything else and a general disaster. I go with the latter, big time. The movie was an insult to her and to women, I thought, and I couldn't believe such a thin screenplay was written by Helen Fielding, the author of the book, and directed by a woman.

PS Memento, I continue to maintain, is brilliant.

Charm City: I want to see Memento, too!!!

Any idea when it will be released in Baltimore?

Sharon Waxman: No. Anybody?

Washington, D.C.: Sharon, I was watching Rock Hudson's biography on A&E last night, and one line by the commentator really struck me: "1950s America was not ready for an openly gay film star in male romantic leads."

Never mind 1950s America -- we're not ready for it in 2001, which is pretty sad. When do you think we will be? I'm sure that we have our own Rock Hudsons today, and they're just as trapped. What a shame.

Sharon Waxman: Very well put. I think America won't be ready until Hollywood decides it is. Americans are pretty reasonable about most things, it seems to me; it's Hollywood that's so massively hypocritical.

Washington, D.C.: Sharon -- just thought I'd share. I rented Woman on Top and Sunset Boulevard (or was it sunset strip?). The first cute, but predictable and mostly stupid, the second entirely entertaining. (The two were promo-ed on each others tapes). Did these movies make it to the big screen? If I blinked did I miss it? Sunset was really a cool movie... Almost Famous-esque, but not as wholesome. (all the better in my opinion)

Sharon Waxman: Woman on Top came out last fall, and I have no idea what second film you mean unless it's Sunset Boulevard with Gloria Swanson in 1950. Somehow I don't think you mean that film.

Boston: Saw Tomcats this weekend. It's the Battlefield Earth of 2001.

Sharon Waxman: Tell more.

Arlington, Va.: I wanted to talk about what passes for starlets. First, I don't get that Ashley Judd girl. She gets up at the Oscars with $750,000 of borrowed diamonds and talks about being a country girl. But she's right, only in KMart country would they wear that much tacky jewelry, including that headphone looking getup. Better when she was showing her undies. And that Hilary Swank, her husband's prettier than her and she doesn't blink, and that Winona ryder, throw it back with that tacky hairdo. Back to you, Sharon?

Sharon Waxman: Thanks for sharing. Poor Hilary, she just got over the ugly thing too...

Sigh...: Bad news for anyone who had even a glimmer of hope that the next installment in the Star Wars series was not going to bite the big one...

They are reconstructing sets and calling back actors because Lucas wants to "add a few touches" even though it supposedly wrapped a few months ago.

Did he forget that people loved the story in the first three? That the special effects were cool and wonderful, but hey, so were Tron's and I don't see anyone waiting for that to come out on DVD. Sheesh.

Sharon Waxman: Do you have this on good authority? If true, that'd be a drag. All I know is they're already planning a huge marketing strategy for the release in 2002.

Re: Actors Strike:
The actors strike may provide opportunities for new talent. You need a head or 3/4 shot in 8 x 10 with your theatrical and/or film & TV experience on the back. Another thing to consider is SAG is stating that anyone who works during the strike will be permanently blacklisted from the industry (which may be illegal, but could happen anyway). You need to contact some local agencies who will keep your sheet on file and are likely to be contacted for local/extra talent in movies filmed around the area.

Hope that helps.

Sharon Waxman: Thanks for that.

Rosslyn, Va.: Hi Sharon --

Hope you (or someone else out there) can solve a mystery for me:

Friday morning as I left my house, I noticed a movie crew around the Iwo Jima Memorial -- I mean a MOVIE CREW -- multiple cameras, tents, tables, trailers -- it was a three-ring circus. Any idea what film is shooting around here?

Thanks!

Sharon Waxman: Anybody?

Nani/Texas: Growing up, our parents forbade my sister and I to purchase or read tabloid magazines for the reason that the stories were gossipy and trashy, but more importantly because they hurt people. I, in turn taught my children and now my grandchildren the same thing. If people didn't buy this kind of junk, the tabloids would go out of business.

Sharon Waxman: Okey dokey. But not anytime soon.

Washington D.C.: You mentioned the Vanity Fair party, I have always been curious....How do the "stars" REALLY treat each other? Genuinely friendly, or blatantly superficial?

Sharon Waxman: It's a little odd. Many of them meet for the first time at dos like this - or on the red carpet at the Oscars, for example; for some it's a lovefest, mock fan-worship moment: I saw Michael Douglas tap Javier Bardem on the shoulder on the red carpet and tell him how great he thought he was in "Before Night Falls."
But a lot of the time there's this weird sort of kinetic energy between them, like even though they're complete strangers they're part of this secret celebrity club, and thus are immediately simpatico. You see that a lot in the body language, the fawning. But a lot of stars who hang together just know each other already. You know Matt and Ben were drinking heavily together. Did Liz Hurley know Pam Anderson? I think they just met that night and Liz didn't look entirely at ease with Pam's cozy demeanor. (Mebbe she doesn't like to be upstaged.)

Fairfax, Va.: Do industry people now consider 60 Minutes II as their new 'position our talent here' spot? It's about to cross over to the Access Hollywood/ET side if they continue their celeb interviews the way they have been (I think you agree that the Billy Bob Thornton interview was ridiculous). Has there been any internal pressure for 60 Minutes II to actually do an in-depth Hollywood story like the Sunday edition?

Sharon Waxman: I don't know, but please keep me informed what suck-up interviews you see on it; I'm curious.

Harrisburg Pa.: Tomcats is a work of genius! It will be remembered long after "Traffic" and "Crouching Tiger" are forgotten.

Sharon Waxman: Who are you? Jerry O'Donnell's mother?

Somewhere, USA: "A bit like "Last Tango in Paris" for the 90s."

ummm, Sharon - we're not in the 90's anymore... haven't been for a while now. maybe watching all those bad movies makes time drag to a stop.

Sharon Waxman: Well, dot-com millionaires on three-day spending jags with hookers in Las Vegas just seemed so, so - well, so Nineties to me. Guess I'm just peering over the cutting edge all day long, know what I mean...

Wash DC: Saw Julia dahling in Notting Hill last night on cable. The movie seems all the more fitting now after her big win. Will this help Benjamin Bratt? I saw an listing in the paper for what sounded like an awful movie with him and a washed up actress... sounded very B-movie-ish. He's a cutey... will Julia's success rub off at all? By the way... I'm a woman, and I love her. I think she is beautiful, funny, and I have enjoyed all her movies except the Runaway Bride, which was too stereotypical.

Sharon Waxman: I think you are way too sincere to join the jackals who participate in Hollywood and Vine. Most of us here do not spend our time worrying about Ben Bratt's career. We are too busy worrying about my career.

Arlington: Any buzz on the new Lord of the Rings movies?

Sharon Waxman: yes, that it's bad. Sorry.

Arlington: Sorry to hear BJ's Diary was so bad -- I too thought Renee Zellweger was very mis-cast when I saw the preview. How about the male leads? They looked more promising.

Sharon Waxman: The male leads are fine, and Hugh Grant extra sexy as a JFK Jr. type scoundrel. Problem is they are supporting a central character who is impossible to find heroine-ish. Come to think of it, maybe heroin might have made her more interesting.

Re: Star Wars : My husband says it's being ballyhooed on the Lucas website as being a great thing.

Sharon Waxman: Now that's a shocker.

Bowie: Re: Tabloids.

I only look at their covers while buying groceries, but it seems that except for the most public of actions (e.g. Oscar dresses and divorce) that it's the same 20-25 people over and over again and that there are plenty of top-level stars that are NEVER on tabloid covers.

Aren't those publications a joint venture between the publishers and the publicists?

Sharon Waxman: That's true. They must have some market research study that shows the top 20 people who entice people to buy the paper. Isn't Adrienne Barbeau among them?

Re: Movie Crew at Iwo Jima: It could have been the crew for the West Wing. They film in DC quite often and they have as much equipment as most movie crews. Just a guess...

Sharon Waxman: Thanky.

ArtMovieLover, VA: What's the story with "Memento" and the trouble it had finding a U.S. distributor? I believe it was released theatrically in Europe but couldn't find a U.S. distributor until recently.
Now that it's out, and everyone's buzzing about it, do the studios that passed on the film feel stupid? Or did the producers want too much money for a distribution deal? Who's to blame for the delay?

Sharon Waxman: I've read that they showed the script to every studio, everyone thought it was brilliant - and then passed. They made the movie anyway; no one wanted it initially. (I believe that it was at Cannes last year, and still everyone passed.) Then it started making the festival rounds, winning awards, etc., it was a sensation at Toronto, and at Sundance - and now everyone's getting on the bandwagon. It finally found a distributor in a small company, Artisan or someone like that.
I think the reason people passed is they thought it was too hard to sell, perhaps too smart for audiences. Doesn't this just tell you everything you need to know about Hollywood executives? That's exactly what is drawing people to the movie and intriguing audiences - it's a movie that really makes you think, plus the acting is first rate.

Washington, D.C.: Hey Sharon,

Totally with you on Johnny Depp -- he's really interesting. But I saw that really awful Roman Polansky film he did -- suffered through, really -- and it made me wonder how he chooses some of his material.

Sharon Waxman: I missed it because I heard it was awful. He makes interesting choices, and also a lot of bad choices. Sometimes I get the feeling that he himself doesn't even know what he's looking for; he lives in France now a lot of the time with Vanessa Paradis, so maybe he decided it was a no-brainer to make a film with the great Polanski who also lives in Paris. Dunno.

Morbidly Curious: Is Renee Zellweger way fat in BJ's Diary?

Sharon Waxman: She gained 20 Lbs. Which makes her normal human size for folks like you and me, but unfortunately it made her face blow up and look like Porky Pig. Sorry Renee, jus telling it like it is.

Lord of the Rings: Please elaborate on the bad buzz...

Sharon Waxman: That is all I know.

I don't even know who is in the Lord of the Rings.

The fact that they're shooting three of them at once, however, is apparently not helping matters.

Lisa, Live Online: Hi Sharon,

"The West Wing" won't be back in town until April. Talked to their publicist today.

Sharon Waxman: Okay.

I give.: Who is Adrienne Bardou, or were you trying to make the point that the poster was so way wrong?

washingtonpost.com: Adrienne Barbeux! AHAHAHA. Swamp Thing!

Sharon Waxman: Swamp thing? Wasn't she the one on Maude all those years? Dishy chick of the 70s? All I know is, she was tabloid fodder for YEARS.

Sharon Waxman: Ok kids we're over time. Keep yr eyes peeled, if the topic interests you, for a profile of my movie rater guy this Sunday. (Been waiting for this forever.) I'm on vacation next week, so H & V will take a quick break. See you in a couple of weeks, by which time let's hope we'll know whether Hollywood will be taking time to strike, or not. Ciao.

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