June 30, 2019

The Surprise Connection Between Martin Scorsese and Stanley Kubrick’s ‘Eyes Wide Shut’ Orgy

The “Eyes Wide Shut” orgy scene is the gift that keeps on giving this week thanks to Vulture’s oral history of the iconic sequence. On the heels of the revelation that Cate Blanchett had a secret cameo during the orgy scene comes a new reveal that the scene created a surprise connection between two masters of cinema: Kubrick and Martin Scorsese. English composer Jocelyn Pook was hired by Kubrick to handle the “Eyes Wide Shut” original music score and the composition she originally wrote for the orgy got cut and found itself being used by Scorsese for “Gangs of New York” four years later.

“For the orgy scene, Stanley was a bit vaguer musically, because it was going to be less stylized,” Pook told Vulture. “He said, ‘Yeah, I really don’t know what the music should be here, but try something — sexy music.’ That was my brief! I came up with a weird piece called ‘Dionysus,’ which didn’t ultimately get used in the film. It actually got used in ‘Gangs of New York.’ I don’t know if Martin Scorsese knows it was originally written for ‘Eyes Wide Shut.’”

Pook’s “Dionysus” is a five-minute piece of music that pulsates with a stimulating beat and airy vocals. Listening to the track (see video below), it’s not hard to imagine it playing over the “Eyes Wide Shut” orgy scene. The music translates the seductive and thrilling atmosphere of Kubrick’s scene rather perfectly. Kubrick ultimately decided not to use “Dionysus” for the orgy and instead took a track off her album “Flood” entitled “Masked Ball.” The choice led to a bit of controversy.

“It used a vocal sampled from another earlier recording. The vocalist had been improvising and had used some words from the ‘Bhagavad Gita,’” Pook said. “Some in the Hindu community happened to notice those few words, and it became a bit of a media frenzy. In the end, the Kubrick family felt rather uncomfortable about it, and they recalled all the films and I had to rerecord it again with a different vocal. It was an expensive mess-up.”

Head over to Vulture to read the “Eyes Wide Shut” oral history in its entirety.

Source: IndieWire film

June 30, 2019

‘Do The Right Thing’: How Spike Lee’s Film Boosted the Careers of These 12 Actors

Spike Lee’s “Do the Right Thing” is 30 years old. Starring Lee himself, along with Danny Aiello (his role was originally offered to Robert De Niro), John Turturro, Giancarlo Esposito, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Richard Edson, Bill Nunn, and Samuel L. Jackson, in a cast of around 30 characters, the film marked the feature acting debuts of stand-up comedians Martin Lawrence and Steve Park, as well as dancer/choreographer Rosie Perez. For several of the actors, it was the first or second of many collaborations with Lee, notably Turturro, who has appeared in as many as nine Spike Lee Joints. Most of the cast, which included some future stage and screen award nominees and winners, went on to have quite prolific careers, and have Lee to thank for helping to boost their work prospects. A few of them have sadly since passed. Here’s a look at where the actors who played some of the film’s most memorable roles, are today.

Source: IndieWire film

June 30, 2019

Bleak Indie Summer Continues: ‘Maiden’ Outpaces Openers as ‘Late Night’ Collapses

Festival favorite “Maiden” is the latest in documentary to buttress a weak summer at the specialty box office. “Maiden” opened in New York and Los Angeles at a level below some of the year’s top entries, but should build word of mouth with Sony Pictures Classics’ careful rollout, as initial audiences were enthusiastic. It’s slim pickings at the moment.

Multiple other films with solid reviews –“The Chambermaid” (Kino Lorber), “Ophelia” (IFC), “The Other Story” (Strand), and “The Plagiarists” (Kimstim) — also made limited debuts but didn’t report lesser grosses. This happens occasionally, but not reporting this many estimates is a sign of an overall problematic market.

A bigger problem is top titles that skip the normal specialized slow expansion route like “Booksmart” (United Artists) and “Late Night” (Amazon). Both have yielded disappointing wider performances, particularly the latter. Both continue at some key arthouse situations.

But the big success at the moment remains A24’s “Last Black Man in San Francisco,” which once again showed strength as it slowly expands, while Ron Howard’s crowd pleaser “Pavarotti” (CBS) continues its good run.

Opening

Maiden (Sony Pictures Classics) – Metacritic: 80; Festivals include: Toronto 2018, Sundance, South by Southwest 2019

$50,715 in 6 theaters; PTA (per theater average): $8,453

Sony Pictures Classics has shown success with two word of mouth documentaries in recent years — the Oscar-winning “Searching for Sugar Man” and “The Eagle Huntress.” “Maiden,” about the first all-women crew crew to round the world, during a major 1989 sailing competition, opened in six New York/Los Angeles theaters. The extra dates slightly brought down the average. The response is similar to “Sugar Man” before it took off to major success (at a time when documentary hits were less frequent).

What comes next: Chicago, San Francisco, and Washington add on this week, with a slow growth over the summer planned.

Three Peaks (Greenwich) – Metacritic: 65; Festivals include: Locarno, Toronto 2017

$4,000 in 1 theater; PTA: $4,000

This German family drama, initially shown at late summer 2017 festivals, opened at New York’s IFC Center to modest results.

What comes next: The NuArt in Los Angeles opens this Friday, which the enterprising Greenwich expecting to hit most top cities over the next few weeks.

Neon

Week Two

Wild Rose (Neon)

$64,113 in 16 theaters (+11); PTA: $4,007; Cumulative: $135,403

This top Toronto acquisition about a troubled Scottish singer trying to break into the Nashville scene continues with modest traction in its second weekend top city expansion. It’s still possible it might find more interest in upcoming heartland dates.

Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am (Magnolia)

$(est.) 100,000 in 28 theaters (+24); PTA: $(est.) 3,571; Cumulative: $(est.) 162,000

Though not performing at the same initial level as Magnolia’s earlier writer-centered documentary “I Am Not Your Negro,” this effort on the contemporary novelist expanded to top cities this weekend to definite interest.

Amazon

Ongoing/expanding (Grosses over $50,000)

Late Night (Amazon) Week 4

$1,074,000 in 871 theaters (-1,301); Cumulative: $13,052,000

A massive loss of screens plus truncation of shows at some of the remaining theaters did not aid this film’s cause as its shortfall continues to have ripple effects in the media and within Amazon. It’s a tiny win to credit this with having the biggest Saturday increase of any film in the top 25. That suggests some of its core older audience are responding. Expect this, like “Booksmart,” to find ongoing interest in a smaller number of locations. But its total won’t get much beyond $15 million, below the $20 million earlier week projection that itself was a major disappointment.

Pavarotti (CBS) Week 4

$532,000 in 288 theaters (+152); Cumulative: $1,801,000

If this is indeed the final theatrical release for CBS (transitioning to streaming for future films), it is a successful fade out. Ron Howard’s opera superstar documentary continues to find interest as it expands.

The Dead Don’t Die (Focus) Week 3

$520,000 in 551 theaters (-139); Cumulative: $5,900,000

Jim Jarmusch’s Bill Murray/Adam Driver-led zombie comedy, with a widest release in his career, needs about another $600,000 more to equal the adjusted gross of his early indie hit “Stranger Than Paradise.” Foreign and later streaming viewing interest will enhance its total revenue take.

A24

Last Black Man in San Francisco (A24) Week 4

$482,387 in 155 theaters (+83); Cumulative: $2,033,000

One of the few narrative releases this year to both follow the normal pattern of gradual expansion and succeed in reaching its audience, “Last Black Man,” still fairly narrow, continues to grow with strong per theater averages.

Booksmart (United Artists) Week 6

$(est.) 290,000 in 165 theaters (-62); Cumulative: $(est.) 21,265,000

This South by Southwest-premiered and acclaimed comedy held at about the same average as last weekend in its remaining theaters. Though somewhat disappointing, it will end up about 50% better than its Park City counterpart “Late Night.” (Once again, United Artists oddly passed on giving an estimate, but our guess should be close.)

Echo in the Canyon (Greenwich) Week 6

$253,800 in 141 theaters (+60); Cumulative: $1,502,000

While the 50th anniversary of Woodstock will nab attention all summer, this ode to the LA rock scene around the same period has amassed surprising interest. It expanded wider this weekend, and will keep adding to its total.

The Biggest Little Farm (Neon) Week 8

$132,454 in 122 theaters (-12); Cumulative: $3,525,000

This sleeper documentary on biodiverse farming is late in its run, but still might flirt with an impressive $4 million total. If so, it would be their fourth non-fiction release this year to hit that mark..

Also noted:

The Spy Behind Home Plate (Ciesla) – $43,420 in theaters; Cumulative: $253,051

The Souvenir (A24) – $30,000 in theaters; Cumulative: $958,967

The White Crow (Sony Pictures Classics) – $25,659 in 98 theaters; Cumulative: $1,779,000

All Is True (Sony Pictures Classics) – $23,894 in 34 theaters; Cumulative: $1,129,000

Apollo 11 (Neon) – $23,352 in 5 theaters; Cumulative: $8,905,000

Being Frank (The Film Arcade) – $12,740 in 13 theaters; Cumulative: $50,124

Amazing Grace (Neon) – $10,150 in 18 theaters; Cumulative: $4,417,000

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Source: IndieWire film

June 30, 2019

Ringo Starr Approves of That Shocking ‘Yesterday’ Beatles Twist

[Editors’ note: The following post contains spoilers for Danny Boyle’s “Yesterday.”]

Danny Boyle and Richard Curtis’ new film “Yesterday” imagines a world where The Beatles never got together and became one of the most successful music acts in history. Curtis’ script does not wipe Beatles members Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison out of existence, which leaves the door open for a third act shocker when lead character Jack (Himesh Patel) comes face to face with an elderly John Lennon, who is living the long and peaceful life he never got to in real life.

Boyle said he was taken aback by the decision when he was reading Curtis’ script for the first time, but the ability to resurrect Lennon for “Yesterday” ultimately proved to the director the inspiring way “cinema, above all art forms, deals with and changes time.” As Boyle told USA Today, “Somebody’s life was robbed and movies can give him back to us, just for a moment. And I love that about movies.”

The resurrection of John Lennon has proven to be the most divisive moment in “Yesterday.” Boyle said the twist is the one that polarized fans most during test screenings. “Some people that don’t like it at all,” the director said. “But other people like it enormously. We call it a ‘Marmite scene’ in Britain. It divides people very clearly.”

One person who does approve is Ringo Starr, as does the late George Harrison’s wife Olivia. “We sent everyone the finished film,” Boyle said, “and we got a lovely message from Ringo and Barbara [Bach], and a lovely message back from Olivia [Harrison], George’s widow. I don’t think Paul’s seen the film yet but he saw and liked the trailer.”

As for the actor playing John Lennon, that will remain a mystery for now. The actor and the character are not listed in the “Yesterday” end credits, and Boyle was adamant the film not make a larger deal out of the moment than was necessary.

“We worked very, very hard to make sure it remained a very pure moment,” Boyle said. “I know the actor – and this wasn’t the reason for casting him – but I also knew that he was a John Lennon fan. He knew more than any of us about John. That was wonderful, because it was a proper reverence and respect, really. The only thing he asked was that he didn’t want a credit…to try and avoid drawing attention to it in any way other than its appearance in the story.”

Source: IndieWire film

June 30, 2019

Tom Holland A Bit Heartbroken Gwyneth Paltrow Didn’t Remember Acting in ‘Spider-Man’

Gwyneth Paltrow made headlines at the start of June for her appearance on Jon Favreau’s new Netflix series “The Chef Show.” While cooking alongside her Marvel co-star, Paltrow appeared not to remember that she acted in “Spider-Man: Homecoming.” The actress’ character, Pepper Potts, appears in a brief scene near the end as Peter Parker (Tom Holland) declines Tony Stark’s offer for Spider-Man to join the Avengers. When Favreau brought up the movie, Paltrow responded, “No, I wasn’t in ‘Spider-Man, I was in ‘Avengers.’”

Considering how viral Paltrow’s gaffe went on social media, it’s not surprising word got back to Tom Holland that his Oscar-winning co-star did not remember her appearance in his first major Marvel movie. While Holland’s Spider-Man/Peter Parker debuted in “Captain America: Civil War,” it was 2017’s “Spider-Man: Homecoming” that served as both the actor and the character’s full standalone adventure in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Holland is on the press tour for this summer’s “Spider-Man: Far From Home” and humorously shared his reaction to Paltorw’s flub during a video interview with Pop Sugar. “I’ve only worked with Gwyneth one time on ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ but she doesn’t remember, which still to this day breaks my heart.”

The two acted opposite one another again during the climactic “Avengers: Endgame” battle. “She came up and asked me for a photo with me and Robert [Downey Jr.],” Holland remembered. “And then I think she posted it and she said ‘Robert Downey Jr., myself and this guy.’ I was just the guy.”

Whether or not Paltrow and Holland will share the screen once more in the MCU remains to be seen given the tragic ending of “Avengers: Endgame.” While the “Spider-Man: Far From Home” story deals with the fallout from the “Endgame” finale, Paltrow’s Pepper Potts does not appear in the film.

Disney opens “Spider-Man: Far From Home” in theaters nationwide July 2.

Source: IndieWire film

June 28, 2019

Stonewall OutLoud: A New Documentary

Fifty years ago this week, the Stonewall riots were a turning point in the movement for LGBTQ rights. “Stonewall OutLoud,” a new documentary in partnership with YouTube Originals and World of Wonder Productions, celebrates the voices and memories of people who were there, interpreted by a cast of actors and public figures.

Many of the voices featured were recorded by StoryCorps founder Dave Isay as part of his 1989 radio documentary Remembering Stonewall. For many of the recording participants involved, this was the first time they had ever been interviewed about their experiences at Stonewall.

We’re sharing these stories as part of Stonewall OutLoud, our national effort to record and preserve the voices of LGBTQ elders during this anniversary year. Get inspired by listening to more voices and stories, and pledge to add a recording to the collection.

Source: SNPR Story Corps