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Hollywood & Vine
Hosted by Sharon Waxman
Post Style Correspondent
Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2001; 2 p.m. EST
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 was online Tuesday, Dec. 18, at 2 p.m. EST, to answer your questions and field your comments on the industry personalities she has met; the movies that are causing a stir and why; and trends in the industry and the culture of moviemaking in general.
Below is a transcript.
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: Good Morning everyone. I'm back from interviewing Wes Anderson, director of the upcoming release 'The Royal Tenebaums." He's a leading light of our next generation of directors, surely. But a quiet interview. What else: I was treated yesterday to bits and pieces of Fox's animated movie called 'Ice Age,' which they're very high on. It won't be out until March; other than this one production company, they've pretty much bowed out of the animation business.
What else: Barry Diller will take over Universal. I have my own view on that. Our story mentioned - though, oddly, the LA Times did not - that Diller is not taking a salary. This is not an insignificant fact and seems to me to indicate pretty clearly that the guy is a figurehead to make Wall Street happy. He gets to keep his own company, develop his internet biz and work on the tv side. He'll come in when he wants to. I think I"m not the only one in Hollywood who thinks Diller got a very sweet deal from a very French sucker.
But anyway, that's biz news. Meanwhile, if any of you read the story about popular culture in Egypt that ran Monday and have comments, I'm all ears. Ok, let's go --
Takoma Park, D.C.:
Sharon, I thought your article on Egyptian culture was excellent. I pulled it off the Web and read it yesterday. You are a good writer. My comment and question is, it seems that we here in the U.S. are kind of fixated with "repairing" or as this week's Newsweek says "reforming" the Arab world (though of course it will be pointed out the author is Arab). Can other countries' citizens appreciate Egyptian culture on its own without so frequently cross-referencing it with their own? Although I dug your article, I am getting tired of this new ethos of let's fix the Arab world. Plus, don't people from Arab countries feel patronized?
Sharon Waxman: Thank you, all compliments gratefully accepted.
The truth is there's an awful lot of things in the Arab world that need fixing, and thoughtful Arabs will be the first ones to tell you this. Illiteracy, poverty, lack of development, corruption - these are all major, major issues. And the main public hostility seems to be reserved for Israel. There's something wrong with that. Israel is not the reason for Egypt's ills, it's just an acceptable scapegoat. Example: Whether or not Egyptians believe that Egypt Air Flight 900 - a couple of years back - was downed deliberately by the pilot does not make it true or false. The facts make it true or false. Nonetheless there is a reflexive, cultural/polticial - whatever you want to call it - response that the pilot could not have taken the plane down on a suicide mission, or as an act of personal desperation. These are cultural, fundamental issues, and they prevent places like Egypt from moving forward as a society and as a culture.
And of course, that does not mean that our culture is a paragon of perfection, and I don't think I need to prove to any of my regular readers that I think otherwise. Thanks for writing.
Herndon, Va.:
Ms. H&V: Great article on "popular culture" in Egypt. It's unnerving to hear how many (apparently) intelligent people buy into the "powerful Jews" myth and the "standard" myths about the U.S. What happened when you tried to set the record straight -- if you had the opportunity, that is.
Sharon Waxman: I was taken for being pro-Israeli, pro-Jewish or a close relative of Ariel Sharon. After one argument with Mohamed al-Adl, the producer of the 'Friends of Business' movie, the actor who had taken me to the meeting named Khaled el-Nabawy very gently suggested that perhaps I might not want to argue so strenuously with people about Israel.
It's useless to do so, too, I know that. But I'm just ornery by nature. And also, even if it's meaningless I feel compelled not to allow pure drivel to go by unchallenged. (Like: the Post and other papers basically print press releases brought by the Jewish lobby, etc.) I explained to Khaled that when I interview Israelis I get into exactly the same arguments, but about Palestinians and Arabs. There's a word for that quality - in Yiddish it's called 'aftzalaches.' (Rhymes with 'tuches'.)
About time?:
Hey, what's behind the Drew Barrymore-Tom Green split? Anything interesting?
Sharon Waxman: Have they split? Tell me more.
Washington, D.C.:
Just a question, why CAN'T we see the Egyptian filmakers movies?
I am assuming this is more about money than culture. Did you happen to tell him about all of the great movies we will never get to see because of the horrible number of Rocky's and Rambo's we do get?
Oh, I guess that was his point. How depressing for us. We export crap and then wonder why the world doesn't like us.
Sharon Waxman: The funny part is they love the crap we export. Mohamed, the Post's faithful and darling driver in Cairo (for 20 yars now), told me his favorite, favorite movies are Steven Seagal's and Jean-Claude Van Damme's, exactly the kind of movies that we know export best to places as diverse as Egypt, Russia and Japan.
Don't forget, it's not only Egyptian movies we don't see. (And frankly, even the best ones are an impossibly hard sell for American audiences. There is so much context that would need to be provided to understand the point of a lot of them. Also, the technical quality is generally not what we're used to.) We also barely see the best of European moveis - this year and last year being exceptions, since we've seen a number of Chinese and French films. The reasons are economic and cultural; distributors are concvinced American audiences won't go. So we remake the best movies, badly, (to wit 'Vanilla Sky') instead of releasing the good originals.
Youssef Chahine's frustration over not getting distribution is very understandable.
D.C.:
Finally saw "Amelie" this weekend and I must say that I just loved it! It put such a smile on my face. It was so nice to go into a film, know not much about it, and be so surprised and happy that you went. Audrey Tauteau and the film are both breaths of fresh air.
Sharon Waxman: I heartily agree.
Washington, D.C.:
Wes Anderson, along with his co-writer Owen Wilson, had a unique slant on the world ... J.D. Salinger meets Harold and Maude meets Eloise, etc., etc. Did you meet him in person and was he wearing a wacky corduroy suit with N.B. sneakers? When will the interview be published in the Post? Did he say that he would be continuing his partnership with Owen? Give me any tidbit ...
Sharon Waxman: Vive the NB sneakers. Red. Suede. A staple.
He dresses like he's still in prep school. Like he's grown out of his prep school clothes but persists in wearing them. Blue blazer, sagging grey wool trousers, blue oxford shirt, camel cashmere sweater. I can hardly believe they make people like this in Austin, Texas.
Did I meet him in person? Do I interview people as profile subjects any other way?
I have to write the piece before it can be published, clearly. Believe it shld be in sometime before Sunday.
Washignton, D.C.:
Tom filed for divorce Monday citing "irreconcilable differences" -- har har.
Sharon Waxman: You must be joking. TOM filed for divorce? From that Charlie's Angel babe?
Alexanrida, Va.:
Have you seen the Fox show "The Tick"? Very funny superhero spoof (undoubtedly destined for imminent cancellation). Last week there was a woman character with the last name Waxman. I don’t remember her first name (I don’t think it was Sharon). The ever-clueless Tick didn’t catch it either, assuming the last name referred to an archenemy: "Ah, the Waxman... burning his fiendish candle at both ends..."
Remembering past discussions, is there perhaps a conspiracy afoot to mention you by name or deed on every TV show?
Sharon Waxman: We can only hope.
D.C.:
So what is the real deal re: Winona Ryder and her pilfering? So bizarre!
Sharon Waxman: You know, in another world, another time, I would have found that story too delicious to pass up. Winona Ryder, who probably made $10 million on her last Alien film, and who also gets just about all her clothes for free, caught shop-lifting $5,000 worth of stuff. It's been suggested that this probably wasn't the first time, since it became so public. These kinds of embarrassing little things are what publicists are paid for, to make them go away.
Laurel:
Around where I live we do get movies from India.
Those who haven't seen them aren't missing much.
Sharon Waxman: Hmmm. Tell more. Why?
DREW:
Green Files for Divorce From Barrymore
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Reuters
Tuesday, December 18, 2001; 5:34 AM
LOS ANGELES—After less than a year of marriage, actor Tom Green filed for divorce in Los Angeles Monday from "Charlie's Angels" star Drew Barrymore, his publicist said.
In a statement, Green said: "Drew is a wonderful woman. I love her very much. I wish our marriage could have worked out. I wish her much happiness." Court papers filed by Green in Los Angeles County Court cited irreconcilable differences.
A spokesman for Barrymore was not immediately available for comment.
The couple reportedly began dating in March 2000 and then eloped to the South Pacific in March 2001, where they married. They remarried in July before family and friends in a ceremony in Malibu, California. It was Canadian-born Green's first marriage and Barrymore's second. Her first to bar owner Jeremy Thomas in 1994 ended after 19 days.
Barrymore, 26, became a child star in 1982 as the pudgy, innocent Gertie in Steven Spielberg's "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial."
Caught up early in the wild Hollywood lifestyle, Barrymore made headlines when it was revealed that she had a drug and alcohol problem from the time she was 9 years old.
She made a comeback in the 1990s, starring in a string of films including "Charlie's Angels", which she also produced, "Never Been Kissed", "The Wedding Singer" and Penny Marshall's recently released "Riding in Cars With Boys". She is slated to star opposite heartthrob George Clooney in the upcoming film "A Dangerous Mind".
Sharon Waxman: Thanks for the update. The question, I guess, is: whose career will it hurt, Tom Green's or Drew Barrymore's?
Boonies, Va.:
I just finished reading Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason. I read once that if the sequel was made into a movie, Renee Zellweger refuses to reprise the role. Do you think they will still make a sequel?
Sharon Waxman: Don't even bring this up, please. Miramax is pushing her for a Best Actress nomination.
Tel Aviv:
I read your piece online. As a person familiar with Egypt, I must say that your reporting is depressing, but sadly all too true. As long as the Egyptian people are distracted by the "Zionist devil," they will never realize the need to reform their government and society.
Did you find any evidence that Egyptians are becoming interested in the works of Rudolph Ingalls Vogel? He has quite a following here in Israel among the youthful intelligentsia. I'm told that he's also become big in Morocco and Tunisia. There's a movement to reorganize their governments along Vogelian principles. Apparently, they find the theory of climatic price cycles wonderfully applicable to their situation, especially given the advance of the Sahara.
Sharon Waxman: Thanks for joining us from Tel Aviv.
I'm not familiar with Vogel, please fill me in.
Washington, D.C.:
Best Actress: Tilda Swinton for The Deep End. Pass it on...
Sharon Waxman: I agree.
Arlington:
You mentioned an Egyptian giving the Nazi salute in one film. There's a lot of admiration in the Arab world for Hitler. Did you find any of that in Egypt?
Sharon Waxman: I can't really tell based on the people I met and hung out with. It's certainly not on the top of anyone's interest, though you can always buy copies of Mein Kampf in Arabic or, again, the Protocols of the Elder of Zion, at many bookstores or corner book-sellers.
It's sad. It's a demonization that serves a world-view in which the Jews and the Israelis are the bad guys.
I don't think sophisticated Egyptians spend a half-second on these things. At least I hope not.
Capitol Hill:
Do Egyptians have any understanding that the average American rarely thinks about their country? It seems like they're convinced we're obsessed with the Arabs and how to keep them down.
Sharon Waxman: Good point. One of my closest friends, an Egyptian named Amr Badr, says that the Egyptians labor under the mistaken impression that the power centers of the world are Washington, Moscow and Cairo. It's a pharaonic thing, and I"m not actually joking when I say that, linked in with deeply-ingrained Arab pride.
Fairfax, Va.:
Re: American movies and TV shows -- I lived in Europe for two years and the majority of people I've known preferred American shows over their own product. The production value is so much better and the stories move at a faster pace, not as talky and serious as European stuff.
Sharon Waxman: Thanks for the comment.
Virginia:
Saw Titanic on NBC. Why are so many movies shown on NBC and ABC? Is this a trend?
Sharon Waxman: Maybe because so many of their fall shows have failed. I'm not sure, actually. I think it's also the time of year when people are out shopping and partying and not watching so much tv. So Titanic is a way to draw them back to the infernal tube.
Frederick, Md.:
Have you seen Lord of the Rings? Is it as good as all the hype it has received?
Sharon Waxman: I haven't, but I'm told it's great. Entertainment Weekly put it on its list of year's 10 best.
D.C.:
Hi Sharon,
I don't know if I'm just losing my mind, but lately I've felt like a lot of TV shows have started using this rapid-fire dialogue that seems a little unrealistic and VERY distracting. The two examples I can think of are "The West Wing" and "Gilmore Girls." The characters practically stomp on each other's lines as they spit out witty remarks. At first I thought it was just a Sorkin thing, since "Sports Night" was the same way, but I've really noticed it elsewhere. Do you know what I'm talking about? Is this the new style?
Sharon Waxman: I haven't noticed, but if true, I'd bet it's Sorkin's influence. He's already the reason for an entire slate full of politically-oriented shows, so why not the dialogue thing? And remember, when NYPD Blue started doing that herky-jerky thing wiht the camera, everybody else - including the commercials, so annoying - started doing it.
Hoax:
There is no such person as Rudolph Ingalls Vogel. The submitter was just posting in other chats and is pulling your leg. What an unintersting prank.
Sharon Waxman: You mean the Tel Aviv thing was a lie? I'm crushed.
Lorton, Va.:
(imdb.com on Ice Age): "Set during the Ice Age, a sabertooth tiger, a sloth, and a wooly mammoth find a lost human infant, and they try to return him to his tribe."
Oh my goodness. Sounds like a movie one would require a barf bag for. Is it really as sacchrine as that makes it sound?
Sharon Waxman: It's kids entertainment, or more accurately 'family entertainment.' If you're a cynical, slacking 20-something into Wes Anderson, you'll probably want to skip it. If you're a bleary-eyed 30-something parent with overenergetic children on your hands, you will be thrilled to go.
Virginia:
Sharon, when an actor/director is "in talks" what exactly does that mean? Does it mean the script was sent to them? Or that they are still looking at the contract trying to hash out the final details?
For instance I read that Renee Zellwegger was in talks to do "The Cinderella Man" but it was contingent on whether Russell Crowe signed. What does that all mean? Upcomingmovies.com says he is "in talks" too.
Sharon Waxman: Thanks for bringing us back to the real world. That lingo can be quite annoying.
"In talks" is just one of a myriad way of saying - 'someone who has a project is hoping that X star will agree to be in it.' Sometimes it means the writer or studio exec has made a phone call to an agent and then leaked it to the trade papers. Sometimes it's pure invention, with the hope that the star will hear the buzz and say, 'what is that project anyway?' In any event, it's completely speculative and non-binding. In other words: this may happen, and it may not.
Arlington, Va.:
I love when the studios start dragging out every "wanna-be" and "somewhat of" an actor for Oscar consideration. I can see it now: Presenting for your review, Rob Schneider, Best Actor, "The Animal."
Great article yesterday, by the way. I've had to deal with many who also say they are supportive of the U.S. and follow that up with the inevitable "but". Strange how a lot of the folks who criticize the wealth of the U.S. are in this country themselves to make more money.
Sharon Waxman: Touche.
Re Schneider: there was a hysterical column written by the phantom critic "David Manning' in Entertainment Weekly, pushing Schneider for Best Actor.
Springfield, Md.:
Hi Sharon.
Have you had a chance to see "The Majestic" yet? I was excited by some early Internet buzz, so I caught a sneak Saturday night in Bethesda, but it was terribly disappointing. I'll start by saying I love film and can deal with all the bad dialogue and plot clichés in the world for a film that moves me, but this movie left me untouched. Though the material he has to work with isn't anything special, Carrey replicates his Truman character and seems to glide through the film unable to grasp the character. And the Lauren Holly lookalike that plays Adele is even worse, no wonder she hasn't been doing too much press for the film. The only saving grace were the Hollywood meeting bookends that left me in stitches, though they didn't seem to do much for the rest of the audience. I won't harp on the terrible speeches into the camera, so I will compliment the appearance of "The Big Parade" clip, man, that is a great film that I went home and watched again that night. I really wanted to like this but found it maudlin and uninspired. Please tell me if I'm just some jaded kid, but I'll tell you I love "The Shop Around The Corner", "Meet Me in St Louis", "The Clock", "It's a Wonderful Life", etc... and still found "The Majestic" awful. Please let me know what you thought or what I may have missed. Thanks, and have a happy holiday.
Sharon Waxman: Thanks, I'll consider myself forewarned since I"m supposed to see it tomorrow night.
Actually, I've not run to see the film because I've been hearing buzz along the lines of your comment; 'Truman Show' meets 'The Green Mile' or something like that. It takes a deft director to make a touching, nostalgic film that's not maudlin. And Carrey almost always needs to be restrained, preferably with straps...
Re: Laurel "Movies from India":
I think that if the American public would open its mind a little about another culture then they would probably enjoy alot of foreign movies. I have recently seen alot Vietnamese and Indian movies and they were extremely more refreshing than some of the drivel that Hollywood has been churning out.
Sharon Waxman: Thanks.
New York, N.Y.:
So what's the best way for an Ivy League
educated, IT professional, working as a
casting assistant while finishing up a
screenplay at home to get her film picked
up and still have some say in the
production to get her foot in the door?
Sharon Waxman: Contacts, contacts, contacts. Give your screenplay to anyone and everyone you can and keep bugging them about it. Try and sell yuourself to an agent. Go to film festivals and shmooze producers. Go to cocktail parties and shmooze movie company executives. Visit Los Angeles and insinuate yourself in revelant circles. Or, better yet, date Matt Damon or Ben Affleck. They're always looking for material, if not girlfriends.
Bethesda, MD:
Speaking of NYPD - what's up with all the "realistic" looking cast members being slowly but surely replaced with the "beautiful people" save Andy Sipowicz. The whole appeal of the show was its nitty gritty style -- now its seems like any other Hollywood police show.
Sharon Waxman: A sure sign of decline, in my view.
20008:
Kudos on your column on Eegyptian attitudes towards the U.S. -- it was spot on. Speaking of billboards, what did you think of the hand- painted billboards for major U.S. films that proliferated around the city? I loved them.
Sharon Waxman: Thanks, and yes they're kind of cool.
Lists:
Are you going to give us a year-end best-of list?
Sharon Waxman: Let's do it next week. Still need to see Ali, LOTR and The Majestic.
Sharon Waxman: That's all for today, my friends. Thanks for joining us, happy shopping and see you next week. Adios.
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