The Couch Potato Report - August 19th, 2004
This week in The Couch Potato Report, two old new titles that are worth your time and two new new titles that aren't.
First up, the two new new titles.
TAKING LIVES stars Oscar winner Angelina Jolie as an FBI profiler who tracks a serial killer to Montreal.
Jolie is an incredible talent, and beauty, but TAKING LIVES isn't incredible at all. Its just (another) very predicable thriller that doesn't leave much to the imagination.
TAKING LIVES is no SILENCE OF THE LAMBS or SEVEN but it does have a few good frights and an interesting moment or two, plus it has Angelina Jolie.
I enjoyed looking at her, you might enjoy her "work" or you might appreciate the "work" of Ethan Hawke, Olivier Martinez and Kiefer Sutherland, who also star.
You might also enjoy the film's best line. I'll give it to you right now, and don't worry, it doesn't give any of the plot away.
At one point, Ethan Hawke says, "I should have stayed in Winnipeg."
Had Nia Vardalos stayed in Winnipeg, her hometown, the world would never have been able to see her cinematic BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING.
And that would have been too bad.
On the other hand, had she stayed in Winnipeg, we would have been spared having to ever see her horrible follow-up film, a "comedy" called CONNIE AND CARLA.
No amount of Windex will ever clean up this mess about two women who pose as men posing as female impersonators to evade criminals.
There are some laughs along the way, but the movie is not funny. It wants to be a modern day SOME LIKE IT HOT, but it is really just a Big Fat Cinematic Mess.
Nia Vardalos has genuine comedic talent, but she has to avoid making another movie like CONNIE & CARLA or she may become known as a one hit wonder.
Admittedly, she's not the only one at fault here. Toni Collette from THE SIXTH SENSE and former X-FILE-er David Duchovny get to share the blame.
There is no blame to share with this week's two other new releases, two old titles getting a new release.
Let me start with Martin Scorsese's classic film GOODFELLAS.
After years of only being available as a DVD you had to flip over to watch the entire film, GOODFELLAS finally gets a two disc DVD special edition!
GOODFELLAS is Scorsese's 1990 masterpiece. It centers on the hilarious, horrifying life of actual gangster Henry Hill, from his teen years on the streets of New York to his anonymous exile under the Witness Protection Program.
On this new two disc Special Edition the movie now has a digital soundtrack and picture. There is also a director's commentary, a making of featurette and a look at how GOODFELLAS influenced other filmmakers, which there are many.
The final new title this week on The Couch Potato Report is the three-disc set HAPPY DAYS - THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON. It contains all 16 episodes from the 1974 season of the classic television series.
HAPPY DAYS was the show set in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in the 1950's. It revolves around Richie Cunningham and his family and friends, including The Fonz, Joanie, Ralph Malph, Potsie and Mr. And Mrs. C.
Plus, in this first season, Richie has a brother named Chuck. Remember Chuck? If not, that's not a surprise, he disappeared after a few episodes of the show and was never referenced again.
HAPPY DAYS - THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON, GOODFELLAS - SPECIAL EDITION, TAKING LIVES and CONNIE AND CARLA are all available now at your favourite local video store.
COMING UP IN THE NEXT COUCH POTATO REPORT
ELLA ENCHANTED is a charming film about a young woman is cursed with obedience. The breathtaking Anne Hathaway from THE PRINCESS DIARIES and Cary Elwes of THE PRINCESS BRIDE star.
Pierce Brosnan and Julianne Moore top line LAWS OF ATTRACTION as two New York divorce attorneys who fall in love and get married.
And
Canada's Elisha Cuthbert, from the television show 24, is THE GIRL NEXT DOOR. In this modern day poor remake of RISKY BUSINESS a high school boy takes his ex-porn star neighbor to his prom.
What?!? It could happen!
I'll have more on those, and some other releases, in seven days.
For now, that's this week's COUCH POTATO REPORT.
Enjoy the movies and I'll see you back here next week on The Couch!
(NO SPOILERS CONTAINED!)
Diving into deep end
Primal fears -- the new film Open Water explores them, the two lead actors in it had to battle them to get the job done.
The film, opening Friday, depicts a young American couple who go scuba diving in the tropics and find themselves accidentally stranded in the open ocean. As their already-stressed relationship spirals into crisis, they are menaced by grey reef and bull sharks, stung by poisonous jellyfish and terrified by issues of abandonment.
The film was suggested by a real-life incident in Australia, then fictionalized with other incidents inspiring the filmmakers' research, too. But shark fear is always a factor.
"During those days shooting with the sharks I was in tears sometimes," actress Blanchard Ryan confessed to The Toronto Sun during a visit to publicize the much-buzzed-about indie film. "I was so scared, SO SCARED!"
Her character, who is named Susan (which is Ryan's own real first name -- Blanchard is her middle name) had enormous appeal to her, but there were problems, too.
There was the mandated nude bedroom scene -- brief but graphic. And she and co-star Daniel Travis, who plays her husband, had to spend 30 days treading water, primarily on location 18 miles off the coast of a Bahamian island among a healthy population of wild sharks.
"The role of Susan was why I took the movie," says Ryan, the daughter of NHL executive Ron Ryan, a Windsor-born hockey professional who is now president of the Philadelphia Flyers. "I took it despite the nudity, despite the sharks, despite all the dangers that were inherent in it ... I figured that I couldn't say no. So I did it -- but I was really afraid."
Unlike Ryan, Travis is a newcomer to film. He had other fears to contend with -- swimming with sharks was actually an attraction for this adventurer.
"The shark aspect was exciting to me," Travis says, remembering many incidents when they literally bumped into him, part of their feeding behaviour before they bite into something.
"I wasn't scared at all," Travis says. "She (Ryan) was scared for both of us. I think that my anxieties are placed in a different area. I must have lost the genetic disposition to be afraid of sharks."
One of Travis' real fears, however, is a major and important theme. Travis has a fear of being left alone in the open ocean.
"That was actually a much greater fear for me," he says. The shoot was intimate. There were two actors in the water and only two crew members on board the small boat, writer-director Chris Kentis and his producer wife Laura Lau, with both handling digital cameras. Travis felt vulnerable when the boat would disappear from view in ocean swells.
"There was an instant recognition of our insignificance in the grand scheme of things in the universe," he says. "When all you can see is water on any side and the only thing left recognizable is the person next to you, that's intimidating. That was a chilling moment for me in shooting."
One positive that helped both actors overcome their fears was friendship. While the filmmakers did not know it during the auditions, Ryan and Travis are good friends who already knew and trusted one another. But that also means they are willing now to tattle on one another.
"The most scared that I ever saw Daniel," Ryan says with a mischievous grin, "was at the opening at Sundance (where Open Water made its impact and sold to Lions Gate Films). When he saw all the people filing into the theatre, I thought he was going to be sick."
Primal fears -- everybody has them.
STARS LEARN TO SWIM WITH 'LAND SHARKS'
The careers of actors Blanchard Ryan and Daniel Travis are soaring because they took the plunge in the break-all-the-rules thriller Open Water, which is now creating a buzz in Hollywood.
"It's sort of the equivalent of being shot out of a catapult," says Travis, "and right now we are flying through the air, flailing away." Adds Ryan: "We're hoping we land in a nice trash pile, as opposed to cement, but we're ready to go splat on the ground."
Ryan says she would prefer, continuing the metaphor into whimsy, to land on a soft cloud. "But I figure a trash pile is the best-case scenario. It is Hollywood, after all. There are no cushy landings, I think. But it's an exciting time."
As Open Water continues to get them consideration for bigger projects, Ryan says, "Land sharks are much scarier! The ones in the water are innocent!"
New U2 album out in November
U2's still untitled new album will be released at the end of November, according to the U2 fan site Interference.com.
The site announced Tuesday that the confirmed release date for the new U2 record will be Monday, Nov. 22 in Europe and Tuesday, Nov. 23 in North America.
The album, produced by Steve Lillywhite, will be preceded by a new single titled "Vertigo," which will be available commercially on November 9. The single will hit North American radio on September 24.
A support tour will be announced in December, with a likely start-time in March of 2005 in the U.S.
U2's last album, "All That You Can't Leave Behind," was released in October 2000.
Mellencamp Walks 'Tall' On Retrospective
John Mellencamp has drafted producer/artist Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds to co-produce two new songs for his upcoming retrospective "Words & Music." The new cuts "Walk Tall" and "Thank You" join 35 Mellencamp catalog selections on the double-disc set, due Oct. 19 via Island/UME.
The album draws material from the 2001 Billboard Century Award winner's stints with longtime label Mercury and his latest home, Columbia. It features such early-career smashes as "Jack & Diane" (No. 1, Billboard Hot 100), "Hurts So Good" and "R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A." (both No. 2), plus additional top-10 hits like "Cherry Bomb," "Pink Houses," "Paper in Fire" and "Lonely Ol' Night."
The latter phase of Mellencamp's catalog is represented with his No. 3 hit cover of Van Morrison's "Wild Night," the No. 14 single "Key West Intermezzo (I Saw You First)" and one track each from his 2001 studio album "Cuttin' Heads" and last year's covers project "Trouble No More."
As previously reported, Mellencamp and Babyface will team up for October shows as part of the Vote for Change tour. Beforehand, Mellencamp will on Saturday (Aug. 21) perform "Small Town" with guitarists Andy York and Mike Wanchic at halftime of the Indianapolis Colts' pre-season home game against the New York Jets.
Expert Says 'Lost' Beatles Trove Is Fake
LONDON - It sounded too good to be true. Turns out it probably was. A long-sought trove of rare Beatles material that reportedly was found last month by a lucky British tourist remains lost, a leading Beatles expert says.
Last month, The Times newspaper reported that a suitcase bought by Fraser Claughton, 41, at an Australian flea market for about $35 was packed with Beatles memorabilia, including photos, concert programs and unreleased recordings.
But Pete Nash, a memorabilia expert from the British Beatles Fan Club who examined the contents of the suitcase on behalf of a British television channel, said he saw photocopied ticket stubs, laser-scanned pictures from the 1990s — and no rare reel-to-reel recordings.
"It's farcical, really," Nash told The Associated Press.
Neither The Times nor the reporter who wrote the original story wished to comment Wednesday.
Claughton does not have a listed telephone number, and could not be reached for comment. John Read, a friend and pop memorablia dealer who has spoken for him on the issue, did not return calls.
The story of Claughton's alleged discovery was picked up by media outlets around the world, including the AP.
The Times reported that among the contents of the suitcase was a reel-to-reel tape that included John Lennon and Paul McCartney experimenting with alternative versions of previously unrecorded tracks.
The newspaper quoted an expert with Christie's auction house as saying the find "sounds very exciting indeed," but a spokeswoman stressed to the AP that the auction house had not been contacted about evaluating the find and none of its experts had seen it.
The Times had said some experts believed the collection was the lost "Mal Evans archive," originally belonging to the Beatles' roadie and sound recordist.
Evans was killed by police in Los Angeles in 1976 after brandishing a fake gun. His belongings were lost during the police investigation and have never been recovered.
Nash said many of the items in the suitcase appeared to be copies, including laser-scanned photos dating from the mid-1990s and ticket stubs for The Beatles' appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show" and the premiere of "A Hard Day's Night" that were reproductions of images from "Lennon Legend," a book published last year.
"There was nothing to tie it to Mal Evans whatsoever," Nash said.
He said he asked to see the reel-to-reel tapes but was told "they were locked away in a bank vault."
"They said the tapes were still housed in their metal canisters," Nash said. "Audio tape is magnetic. One thing you do not do is store it in metal canisters."
Nash said he was played some tracks on CD that were "very common (bootleg) tracks that most Beatles collectors would own."
Geoff Baker, spokesman for The Beatles' label, Apple Corps, also said he believed the find was a fake.
The Evans archive remains a grail for Beatles collectors. Evans traveled with the band from the early 1960s and amassed a collection that would be worth millions if it turned up, Nash said.
"He used to pick up the rubbish in the studio, including The Beatles' handwritten notes and lyrics," Nash said.
In 1998, a notebook compiled by Evans, containing draft lyrics for "Hey Jude" and "Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," sold for $185,000 at a London auction.
A year earlier, McCartney obtained an injunction to prevent Evans' widow from selling a scrap of paper bearing the original lyrics to "With a Little Help From My Friends."
Evans also completed a book about his time with the band. The manuscript is among the items lost after his death.
"All his personal effects were sent back to the U.K., including his ashes, but none of it arrived," Nash said. "I think it's still lost in the mail."
'Goodfellas' Cast Reunites for Dinner
LOS ANGELES - The theme of the night was "breaking bread, not legs" when some of the cast and filmmakers of "Goodfellas" reunited for a traditional sit-down dinner Monday night.
Ray Liotta, Paul Sorvino and real-life mob informant Henry Hill — whose gangland experiences inspired the story — showed up to gobble baked ziti, swap stories, sing some Italian opera and recall director Martin Scorsese's acclaimed mob movie.
Many hadn't seen each other since they shot the movie 15 years ago.
Sorvino, who played gang boss Paulie Cicero, said he desperately wanted the role, but played hard to get with Scorsese.
"I didn't think I had that kind of brutality," he said, recalling his first meeting with Scorsese. "I even went with a pinky ring and a black overcoat, I swear to God. I never wore a pinkie ring in my life before or since, but I wanted the role so bad! ... I think Marty had me in mind for it early on. So I said, `I don't think the money is quite right.' He said, `I'll take care of that!' And after I walked out I thought, `I've just hoodwinked the greatest director in the world.'"
Sorvino doesn't slice his garlic thin with a razor blade and dissolve it olive oil like his character in the movie. "I like having the chunks in there," he said.
Scorsese, currently working on his new film "The Aviator," did not attend the dinner, which was hosted by Warner Home Video to promote Tuesday's new special-edition DVD release of "Goodfellas."
Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci, who won a supporting actor Oscar for his deadly "But, I'm funny how?" character, also were absent.
Liotta sat in a far corner of Matteo's restaurant, watching the movie from his red-leather booth while a painting of Frank Sinatra looked on from across the room. Liotta said he hasn't watched "Goodfellas" since the premiere in 1990.
"I'm flipping channels sometimes and it'll be on," Liotta said. "I'll wait for maybe 20 seconds before moving on."
Soon the actor's signature dish arrived at his table. He eats so often at Matteo's that they named the baked ziti after him.
"It's called on the menu `The Ray Liotta,'" he said. "Actually my ex is the one who ate it all the time. I always had this," he said pointing to his plate. "But I guess somebody else already had the chicken parm."
Accordion player Norm Panto wandered the room during dinner, and Sorvino — an accomplished tenor — belted out some opera while sitting at a table with former Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda, who came just because he's a fan.
"Goodfellas" producer Irwin Winkler confided that he was initially against Scorsese's choice of Liotta for Henry Hill, but a mix of charm and gentle intimidation won him over.
"I kept saying, 'No, no, no, no, no.' But Ray came over to me casually in a restaurant and said, `Look, I'm Ray Liotta ... but I understand you're not interested and don't want me for the part. Can I talk to you about it?' He convinced me!" Winkler said, laughing.
Screenwriter Nicholas Pileggi, who also wrote the book "Wiseguy" with Hill, said he was interested in telling a "Godfather"-like story from a low-level gangster's perspective.
"They're volatile. They're a little touched-in-the-head, and that's why they're doing what they're doing," Pileggi said.
Hill, now 62, was kicked out of the Witness Protection Program for continuing to get into trouble with the law. But he isn't afraid for his life anymore. Most of the people he informed on have died in prison. And a lot of gangsters, himself included, are "Goodfellas" fans.
"What I'm proud of is (Scorsese) didn't glamorize it," Hill said. "They're not nice people ... But they accepted me, and ..."
He hesitates, then smiles. "And ... it was fun."