Genie Award nominees announced
TORONTO (CP) - Nominees for the 25th annual Genie Awards - the Canadian version of the Oscars - were unveiled Tuesday by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television.
Being Julia, the Robert Lantos film that stars Annette Bening, was nominated for best picture, along with Love Sex and Eating the Bones, the Triplets of Belleville and two French-language films Ma Vie en Cinemascope (My Life in Cinemascope) and Memoires affectives (Looking for Alexander)
Andrea Martin, who is currently starring on Broadway in Fiddler on the Roof, will host the awards this year, the academy announced.
"Things haven't gone too well since my SCTV days," Martin joked to a news conference in a taped segment from New York.
"So when the kids in Canada found me on the street and said would you host this, the Genie thing - the I Dream of Genie thing - I said yeah . . . bring on the bling."
Her sister Marcia Martin will be executive producer of the Genie telecast.
Filmmaker Atom Egoyan and his wife, actor Arsinee Khanjian, announced this year's nominees.
"It's an ongoing festival in this country that goes on with every film that we produce," said Khanjian. "I think that is something that remains our first and foremost task to be able to make it not only available but make people aware - the audiences per se - that we have one of the richest production pools in this country."
CHUM Television stations, including Citytv outlets in Toronto and Vancouver, Star, Bravo and Access will be broadcasting the awards, which will take place March 21.
BEST MOTION PICTURE
MEILLEUR FILM
BEING JULIA - Robert Lantos
LOVE, SEX & EATING THE BONES - Jennifer Holness
MA VIE EN CINÉMASCOPE - Denise Robert, Daniel Louis
MÉMOIRES AFFECTIVES / LOOKING FOR ALEXANDER - Barbara Shrier
LES TRIPLETTES DE BELLEVILLE / THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE - Paul Cadieux
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
INTERPRÉTATION FÉMININE DANS UN PREMIER RÔLE
ISABELLE BLAIS - Les aimants / Love and Magnets
CÉLINE BONNIER - Monica la mitraille / Machine Gun Molly
PASCALE BUSSIÈRES - Ma vie en cinémascope
EMILY HAMPSHIRE -Blood
JACINTHE LAGÜE - Elles étaient cinq / The Five of Us
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
INTERPRÉTATION MASCULINE DANS UN PREMIER RÔLE
MICHEL CÔTÉ - Le Dernier Tunnel / The Last Tunnel
ROY DUPUIS - Mémoires affectives / Looking for Alexander
DAVID LA HAYE - Nouvelle-France
IAN MCKELLEN - emile
NICK STAHL - Twist
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
INTERPRÉTATION FÉMININE DANS UN RÔLE DE SOUTIEN
JULIETTE GOSSELIN - Nouvelle-France
JENNIFER JASON LEIGH - Childstar
SYLVIE MOREAU - Les aimants / Love and Magnets
ELLEN PAGE - Wilby Wonderful
SUSANA SALAZAR - A Silent Love
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
INTERPRÉTATION MASCULINE DANS UN RÔLE DE SOUTIEN
GARY FARMER - Twist
BRENDAN FEHR - Sugar
BRUCE GREENWOOD - Being Julia
JEAN LAPOINTE - Le Dernier Tunnel / The Last Tunnel
KYLE MACLACHLAN - Touch of Pink
ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTION
MEILLEURE RÉALISATION
DENISE FILIATRAULT - Ma vie en cinémascope
PIERRE HOULE - Monica la mitraille / Machine Gun Molly
BRONWEN HUGHES - Stander
FRANCIS LECLERC - Mémoires affectives / Looking for Alexander
DAVID "SUDZ" SUTHERLAND - Love, Sex & Eating the Bones
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
MEILLEUR SCÉNARIO
DENISE FILIATRAULT - Ma vie en cinémascope
FEDERICO HIDALGO, PAULINA ROBLES - A Silent Love
FRANCIS LECLERC, MARCEL BEAULIEU - Mémoires affectives / Looking for Alexander
DON MCKELLAR, MICHAEL GOLDBACH - Childstar
DAVID "SUDZ" SUTHERLAND - Love, Sex & Eating the Bones
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
MEILLEURE ADAPTATION
JOËL CHAMPETIER, DANIEL ROBY - La peau blanche / White Skin
JERRY CICCORITTI - Blood
LUC DIONNE, SYLVAIN GUY - Monica la mitraille / Machine Gun Molly
TODD KLINCK, JAIE LAPLANTE, JOHN PALMER - Sugar
JACOB TIERNEY - Twist
ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY
MEILLEURES IMAGES
LOUIS DE ERNSTED - Nouvelle-France
BERNARD COUTURE - Le Dernier Tunnel / The Last Tunnel
PIERRE MIGNOT - Ma vie en cinémascope
PAUL SAROSSY - Head in the Clouds
ANDRÉ TURPIN - Childstar
ACHIEVEMENT IN EDITING
MEILLEUR MONTAGE
JEAN-FRANÇOIS BERGERON - Le Dernier Tunnel / The Last Tunnel
RICHARD COMEAU - Elles étaient cinq / The Five of Us
DOMINIQUE FORTIN - Head in the Clouds
REGINALD HARKEMA - Childstar
YVANN THIBODEAU - Ma vie en cinémascope
ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC - ORIGINAL SCORE
MEILLEURE MUSIQUE ORIGINALE
BENOIT CHAREST - Les Triplettes de Belleville / The Triplets of Belleville
MICHEL CORRIVEAU - Le Dernier Tunnel / The Last Tunnel
PIERRE DUCHESNE - Mémoires affectives / Looking for Alexander
TERRY FREWER - Head in the Clouds
CHARLES PAPASOFF - La Lune viendra d'elle-même / So the Moon Rises
ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC - ORIGINAL SONG
MEILLEURE CHANSON ORIGINALE
REBECCA JENKINS - Wilby Wonderful - "Something's Coming"
KYPRIOS - Childstar -" Ignorance is Beautiful (Help Me)"
LUC PLAMONDON, PATRICK DOYLE - Nouvelle-France - "Ma Nouvelle France"
RON PROULX, JACOB TIERNEY - Twist - "Pantaloon in Black"
LORRAINE RICHARD, MICHEL CUSSON, PIERRE HOULE - Monica la mitraille / Machine Gun Molly - "Le Blues de Monica"
ACHIEVEMENT IN ART DIRECTION/PRODUCTION DESIGN
MEILLEURE DIRECTION ARTISTIQUE
ANDRÉ-LINE BEAUPARLANT - Camping Sauvage
JEAN BÉCOTTE - Le Dernier Tunnel / The Last Tunnel
JONATHAN LEE, GILLES AIRD - Head in the Clouds
MICHEL PROULX - Monica la mitraille / Machine Gun Molly
JEAN-BAPTISTE TARD - Nouvelle-France
ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN
MEILLEURS COSTUMES
FRANÇOIS BARBEAU - Nouvelle-France
MARIO DAVIGNON - Head in the Clouds
MICHÈLE HAMEL - Monica la mitraille / Machine Gun Molly
SOPHIE LEFEBVRE - Camping Sauvage
DENIS SPERDOUKLIS - Ma vie en cinémascope
ACHIEVEMENT IN OVERALL SOUND
MEILLEUR SON D'ENSEMBLE
PIERRE BLAIN, JO CARON, MICHEL DESCOMBES, GAVIN FERNANDES - Head in the Clouds
CHRISTIAN BOUCHARD, LUC BOUDRIAS, JOCELYN CARON, CLOVIS GOUAILLIER, BENOIT LEDUC - Mémoires affectives / Looking for Alexander
DOMINIQUE CHARTRAND, GAVIN FERNANDES, PIERRE PAQUET - Le Dernier Tunnel / The Last Tunnel
DEAN HUMPHREYS, TODD BECKETT, DAVID LEE - Resident Evil: Apocalypse
NICOLE THOMPSON, JEFF CARTER, BRAD HILLMAN, MIGUEL NUNES - emile
ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND EDITING
MEILLEUR MONTAGE SONORE
MARIE-CLAUDE GAGNÉ, GUY FRANCOEUR, GUY PELLETIER, CLAIRE POCHON, JEAN-PHILIPPE SAVARD - Camping Sauvage
CRAIG HENIGHAN, STEPHEN BARDEN, TONY LEWIS, NATHAN ROBITAILLE
Resident Evil: Apocalypse
MARCEL POTHIER, NATALIE FLEURANT, GUY FRANCOEUR, ANTOINE MORIN, GUY PELLETIER - Head in the Clouds
MARCEL POTHIER, NATALIE FLEURANT, GUY FRANCOEUR, CAROLE GAGNON, ANTOINE MORIN - Monica la mitraille / Machine Gun Molly
CHRISTIAN RIVEST - Le Dernier Tunnel / The Last Tunnel
BEST DOCUMENTARY
MEILLEUR DOCUMENTAIRE
THE CORPORATION - Mark Achbar, Jennifer Abbott, Bart Simpson
MR. MERGLER'S GIFT - Beverly Shaffer, Germaine Ying-Gee Wong
WHAT REMAINS OF US -François Prévost, Yves Bisaillon, Hugo Latulippe
BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT DRAMA
MEILLEUR COURT MÉTRAGE DRAMATIQUE
CAPACITÉ 11 PERSONNES - Gaël d'Ynglemare, Yves Fortin
CHOKE - David Hyde, Tyler Levine, Carolyn Newman
DESASTRE - Jay Field
THE DOG WALKER - James Genn, Andrew Rosen, Geoffrey Turnbull
TV DINNER...(BURP!) - Vanessa-Tatjana Beerli, Antonello Cozzolino, Annie Normandin
BEST ANIMATED SHORT
MEILLEUR COURT MÉTRAGE D'ANIMATION
L'HOMME SANS OMBRE - Georges Schwizgebel, Marcel Jean
LOUISE - Anita Lebeau, Michael Scott, Jennifer Torrance
MABEL'S SAGA / LE VOYAGE DE MABELLE - JoDee Samuelson, Kent Martin
RYAN - Chris Landreth, Steven Hoban, Marcy Page, Mark Smith
THROUGH MY THICK GLASSES - Pjotr Sapegin, Marcel Jean, David Reiss-Anderson
Five Nominated Acts Will Open Grammys
NEW YORK - The 47th Annual Grammy Awards show will open with five music acts.
The show, airing live Sunday from the Staples Center in Los Angeles on CBS, will begin with performances by five nominated artists: the Black Eyed Peas, Gwen Stefani (performing with Eve), Los Lonely Boys, Maroon5 and Franz Ferdinand.
They will perform separately across three stages at the start of the broadcast, the Recording Academy announced Tuesday.
Usher, who is nominated for eight Grammys, joins previously announced performers Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony, Green Day, Alicia Keys, U2 and Tim McGraw, The Recording Academy also announced. Also planned is a tribute to Ray Charles featuring Bonnie Raitt and Billy Preston, and a salute to Southern Rock with Gretchen Wilson, Lynyrd Skynyrd and others.
Queen Latifah will host the show, which airs at 8 p.m. (EST).
The Couch Potato Report - February 8th, 2005
In The Couch Potato Report this week, one of the best films of the 80's, one of the best TV show's of the 80's and two films released in the 21st century.
To me, a movie is a movie is a movie.
Whether it is live action, animated, a comedy, a drama, a sappy love story, science fiction, a documentary, or a combination of all of those. They are all movies.
A movie is a movie is a movie.
But I know that others don't think that way. The Academy Of Motion Pictures Of Arts and Sciences doesn't see comedies the same way they see dramas and most film goers still think that animated films are cartoons for kids.
Sure, many adults went to see the SHREK films and FINDING NEMO, but the majority of adults that did go, went with a kid.
I, on the other had, go to see animated films just to be entertained, not to entertain someone.
A movie is a movie is a movie.
Our first movie this week is SHARK TALE.
SHARK TALE features Will Smith from MEN IN BLACK as the voice of Oscar, a lowly tongue-scrubber at the local Whale Wash.
When a shark accidentally kills himself Oscar just happens to be right there, prompting all of the undersea creatures to believe that Oscar killed the shark himself.
That lie makes Oscar a celebrity and he becomes revered by the general fish population, lusted after by a golddigger, missed by his best friend, hunted by the godfather of great white sharks, and he befriends a vegetarian shark named Lenny, who may or may not be able to make everything alright.
Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Renee Zellweger, Robert DeNiro and Martin Scorsese are just a few of the well known Hollywood stars who lend their voices to this entertaining film.
I was hoping I didn't have to bring it up, but comparisons between SHARK TALE and FINDING NEMO are inevitable. The films both take place under water, and they were released in close proximity of each other.
So, to compare the two head to head, FINDING NEMO is a wonderfully fun film to watch and each one of its scenes gives you something new to see, feel and experience.
SHARK TAKE, on the other hand, is entertaining, and I liked it a lot, but it never excels at anything, and every single thing plays out like you think it will.
That said, it is the performances of the cast of SHARK TALE that make the film better than it is, or better than is should be.
Simply put, FINDING NEMO is a classic, SHARK TALE is now available on video and DVD.
Also now available on DVD - finally - is the two disc Special Edition of the classic film RAGING BULL. This edition has been out in Europe for years, and now we fans of this 1980 Academy Award winner can enjoy it as well.
RAGING BULL is Martin Scorsese's brutal black-and-white biography of self-destructive boxer Jake LaMotta. This is the film that Scorsese should have won an Oscar for making as it is a complete knockout of a film!
Robert De Niro plays LaMotta, a man who is just as fascinating as he is pathetic and the fight scenes are astounding. It is not a film that I would recommend to everyone as the language and violence are excessive at times.
But when RAGING BULL was made, Scorsese and DeNiro were at the top of their game, and the result is a classic movie.
The two-disc SPECIAL EDITION features three commentary tracks, a documentary on the writing, casting, and preproduction of the film, an in-depth look at the choreography and the shooting of the fight scenes, a shot-by-shot comparison of De Niro and LaMotta in the ring, newsreel footage of the real LaMotta and much, much more!
For better or for worse, I was able to compare SHARK TALE to FINDING NEMO.
For RAGING BULL there is no comparison.
It stands alone.
A TV show that stood alone in the last part of the 1980's was MIAMI VICE.
MIAMI VICE ran from 1984 until 1989 and was set in and around the seedy side of Miami. The show featured a never-ending array of criminals, drug dealers and lowlifes.
Don Johnson was Sonny Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas played Rico Tubbs, but Jan Hammer's unforgettable music was as much a star of the show as any of the actors.
In it's day, MIAMI VICE was a TV show, but it looked and sounded like a movie.
That was due to the fact that it had high production values, featured stylish clothing, and was full of the music from familiar artists of the time like Glenn Frey, Elvis Presley, The Rolling Stones, Phil Collins, U2 and Peter Gabriel.
Now, all twenty-two episodes of the first season of the show are available in the three-disc box set MIAMI VICE - SEASON ONE.
I remain a huge MIAMI VICE fan and I enjoyed watching the episodes again.
The show's executive producer was Michael Mann. He is the the director of such films as COLLATERAL, HEAT and THE INSIDER. Mann is working on a feature film version of this iconic show that is set to star Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx.
The film is guaranteed to be a lot of fun, but it won't really be MIAMI VICE.
MIAMI VICE will forever be a show firmly rooted in the '80s, thanks to the show itself, and a great new DVD box set.
If you are a fan of old television shows on DVD, the first seasons of NIGHT COURT, THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL AIR and FULL HOUSE are now available as well.
Our final new release this week is the sweet and cliché filled THE NOTEBOOK.
And I won't mince words about this love story based on the popular Nicholas Sparks novel of the same name - I loved it!
It is the kind of movie that made me wish I was in love!
THE NOTEBOOK is about two teenagers and two elder people loving couples in the early 1940s and present-day North Carolina.
As we meet the young pair, he is poor and she is rich, but you can't deny love.
The pleasure in this film is watching the love between the couples, as the juniors meet and fall in love, demonstrating their love at every turn, and how the seniors love is unspoken.
Yes, it is sweet and and it is cliché, but I enjoyed it for what it was - a good movie.
And as I like to say, a movie is a movie is a movie.
THE NOTEBOOK, SHARK TALE, the RAGING BULL - SPECIAL EDITION, the complete first seasons of MIAMI VICE, NIGHT COURT, THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL AIR and FULL HOUSE are all available now at your favourite local video store.
COMING UP IN THE NEXT COUCH POTATO REPORT
The Motorcycle Diaries is a portrait of the young communist revolutionary Che Guevara. It is a film that is half buddy-movie, half social commentary.
Also next week, I'll talk about ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND, RAY, COLLATERAL, SPIDER-MAN 2 and the other Academy Award nominated films that are now available on video and DVD. Just in case you'd like to see some of them prior to Oscar's big night.
I'm Dan Reynish and I'll have all of that 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!
PlayStation Portable gets March release date
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - Last Thursday Sony Corp. said it will release the PlayStation Portable in North America on March 24 and have one million units ready for sale in the first week.
The PSP game machine, a challenger to Nintendo Co.'s long-standing grip on the handheld video gaming market, will be sold as a "value pack" for $249 US and $299 Cdn. It will include numerous accessories and a copy of the Spider-Man 2 movie on the new Universal Media Disc format that Sony designed for the PSP.
Sony said it has already shipped 800,000 PSPs in Japan, where it went on sale on Dec. 12 for about $190 US.
By comparison, Nintendo's newest product, the Nintendo DS sells for $150 US. It was among the must-have Christmas gadgets, with 1.5 million sold worldwide since its release in late November.
The PSP is designed, however, with more multimedia features. It can play digital music, movies and display photos on its 11-centimetre colour display, using Sony's 1.8-gigabyte UMD discs or a Memory Stick.
Sony said 24 game titles will be available around the time of the launch with prices starting at $40 US each.
CTV-Rogers score Olympics rights
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (CP) — The Olympics have a new TV home in Canada. And for the first time the price tag of the Winter Games has exceeded that of the Summer Games.
A consortium led by Bell Globemedia, incorporating CTV and Rogers Communications, was awarded Canadian television rights Monday for the plum 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver and the 2012 Summer Olympics, another high-profile event with a quintet of glamourous cities bidding to host.
IOC president Jacques Rogge said the winning bid was $153 million US, an increase of 124 per cent on the $73 million spent for the 2006 and 2008 Games.
Of that, $90 million US is for the 2010 Games and $63 million for the 2012 Games.
“This is the first time that the amount for the Games exceeds the Summer Games,” IOC Finance Commission chairman Richard Carrion told an IOC news conference.
“We certainly believe that 2010 will be the biggest sport events in Canada this decade, may well be the biggest event in Canada this decade,” added Ivan Fecan, president and CEO of Bell Globemedia.
“We really felt we needed to be part of it and right at the centre of it. We also think there’s a huge amount of interest, from viewers and advertisers for 2010.”
The winning bid offers a wide-ranging Olympic menu of networks. CTV’s subsidiaries include TSN, TQS, RDS and the Outdoor Life Network. Rogers holdings includes Rogers Sportsnet and the Omni channels, plus radio stations.
The winning bid offers round-the-clock coverage.
CTV will get the glamour items on the Olympic calendar, with TSN and Rogers Sportsnet offering more indepth look at certain events. Outdoor Life will also play a role, as will the consortium’s ethnic and aboriginal stations.
In Quebec, TQS will be the main carrier with RDS also helping out in coverage.
More than 4,000 hours of coverage is planned.
Fecan called it the “most inclusive (Olympic) coverage” in Canada.
CBC paid a Canadian record $45 million US for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, part of a $165-million US package deal for five Olympics back in 1998.
In contrast, CTV paid $4.3 million US in 1988 for rights to the Calgary Games.
The IOC declined to specify financial details from the CBC bid. But CBC’s website, citing sources, said “there was a wide disparity in the amount of money each camp was willing to offer.”
Fecan called his offer “a strategic but responsible bid.”
It’s more bad news for CBC Sports, which is already suffering from the NHL lockout. There had been speculation the network might reduce its amateur sports coverage if it lost the bid.
The loss is also a blow to the prestige of the CBC, which has broadcast every Olympics since 1996, recently sharing coverage with TSN. It also holds the rights to the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing.
“We would like to acknowledge the CBC for their efforts,” Carrion said. “They’ve been an excellent partner and will continue to be our partner in 2006 in Turin and 2008 in Beijing.
“This was obviously a very good result for the IOC. It was a very hotly contested negotiation.”
CTV broadcast the 1988 Winter Games in Calgary, the ‘92 Summer Games in Barcelona and the ‘94 Winter Games in Lillehammer.
One source told The Canadian Press that CBC went into the bidding knowing they didn’t have enough cash to win.
“They knew their bid was not going to be enough,” said the source.
“What the strategy was, if it was close, people would look at the fact CBC does a good job of broadcasting the Games and is pretty dedicated to amateur sports in the country.”
But the decision is a resounding victory for the alliance of private broadcasters, led by CTV Inc. and Rogers Communications Inc., and points to the intertwining of media interests.
CTV is owned by BCE Inc., which also owns Bell Canada. Bell paid $200 million Cdn for the telecommunication rights for the 2010 Games.
London, Madrid, Moscow, New York and Paris are all vying to host the 2012 Games. The IOC will decide the 2012 host city July 6 in Singapore.
The stakes are high because of 2010. With the Games in Vancouver, Canadian interest will be sky-high.
NBC has already paid $2.201 billion US for the American television rights for the 2010 and 2012 Olympics. That deal included $820 million US for the 2010 Games.
The IOC will share a percentage of television revenues with the Vancouver Games organizing committee.
Monday’s decision came after each network made a two-hour presentation and then handed over a sealed bid.
The CBC option involved its main network, CBC Newsworld, its French service, the digital channel CBC Country Canada and its radio network. CBC was also allied with The Score on this bid, giving it another cable outlet.
'Raging Bull' returns to the ring
Raging Bull, considered one of the greatest American films, won neither the Oscar for best picture nor best director for Martin Scorsese in 1981.
The film that won those awards was Ordinary People, while Raging Bull's Robert De Niro won for best actor, and Thelma Schoonmaker won for editing.
That outcome convinced Scorsese that perhaps his destiny was not entwined with an Oscar.
"I said, 'It's OK. Look at the film you got to make.' Certain types of films don't sit well within the system itself. So you just be glad you got to make them."
At 62, Scorsese finds himself on the verge of academy recognition again. The Aviator leads with 11 Oscar nominations, including best director and best picture, going into Feb. 27's Academy Awards.
Today, as part of the campaign to get him that Oscar, a 25th-anniversary edition DVD of Raging Bull is in stores ($30 or $50 as part of The Martin Scorsese Film Collection, which also includes New York, New York, The Last Waltz and Boxcar Bertha).
The DVD is loaded with extras: three commentary tracks and new interviews with Scorsese, De Niro, co-star Joe Pesci and crewmembers and comparison footage of De Niro and boxer Jake LaMotta.
"When the film came out, it got some nice reviews and some bad reviews," Scorsese says. "I was surprised it got (eight) nominations. It was a tough film with its language and action. Ten to 12 years later, people started saying they really liked it. That brought the film to the attention of a new generation."
Raging Bull was voted the greatest film of the '80s in three polls and tied for sixth (with Vittorio De Sica's The Bicycle Thief and Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo) on the Top Ten All-Time director's list conducted in 2002 by British film magazine Sight & Sound.
"It may have been the best film of the decade despite the fact that in a lapse of sanity, I put it No. 2 on my list for the year it was released," says film critic Roger Ebert, author of The Great Movies II (Broadway Books, $29.95). He puts the film in his all-time top 10.
For more than five years, De Niro had nagged Scorsese about making a movie based on LaMotta's autobiography. While Scorsese was in the hospital recovering from what he told Playboy magazine was "a period of excess," De Niro told him that he should make the movie because he knew the material: that of a self-destructive personality.
De Niro's physical transformation to play LaMotta through the years was a shape-shifting accomplishment that was followed more recently by Charlize Theron in Monster and Nicole Kidman in The Hours. He dropped to 152 pounds for the lean welterweight LaMotta and ballooned to 212 for the retired version of the character.
Producer Irwin Winkler remembers halting production for several months while De Niro gained the weight. "My office door opened suddenly one day, and there was a very rotund man walking in with a big smile. I was about to throw him out, and it was Bob," Winkler says.
De Niro's intensity as LaMotta could be frightening, such as when he confronts Pesci's character about a rumored affair with LaMotta's wife.
"When he stands up and he looks at his brother, he just became Jake LaMotta. It doesn't even seem like acting," Schoonmaker says.
LaMotta was one of several fatalistic protagonists Scorsese has chronicled, from Mean Streets' Johnny Boy to Taxi Driver's Travis Bickle and now The Aviator's Howard Hughes. Like LaMotta, Hughes' story travels "the path I like," Scorsese says. "He had a serious tragic flaw, and there was a price he had to pay for his genius. It's a film about the spectacle of flying and making films, and at the same time, it's about the fear of touching a doorknob."
Pitt takes a Super Bowl ad and runs with it
Brad Pitt finally has diverted the world's attention from his breakup with Jennifer Aniston by mocking the celebrity-obsessed media in a Super Bowl beer commercial.
The 60-second spot, which has Pitt running from paparazzi while trying to buy a six-pack of Heineken, was a hot topic Monday on the Internet. The background song was The Styx classic Renegade, with sample lyrics: "The jig is up, the news is out, they finally found me."
At the end of the ad, Pitt calls someone for a ride home. Guessing who that would be now that he is separated from Aniston was a subject of much online speculation.
"It's the biggest mystery since Bill Murray whispered in Scarlett Johansson's ear at the end of Lost in Translation," Noelle Hancock wrote on celebrity Web site Gawker.com.
The ad aired in select cities because Anheuser-Busch's deal as the exclusive national beer advertiser on the game limits other beer ads to regional buys.
According to a source with knowledge of the costs, the total bill came to about $5 million, including ad time and production expenses. That would leave Pitt earning $1 million to $2 million.
The spot was directed by David Fincher, who also directed Pitt in Seven and Fight Club. It was created by the Weiden + Kennedy agency in Amsterdam, where Heineken is based.
Heineken USA spokesman Dan Tearno says the ad, which was shot specifically for the Super Bowl, will never air again in the USA. It was widely circulating Monday on the Internet.
"We've had tremendous feedback," says Tearno, who declined to discuss specifics, citing an agreement with Pitt. "It's clear that our commercial will go down as one of the Super Bowl's most memorable moments."
Many celebrities do ads for overseas markets, but major stars shun ads in the USA, although that has been changing. Nicole Kidman is the new face of Chanel No. 5. Catherine Zeta-Jones has a contract with T-mobile. Robert De Niro appears in an American Express ad.
The Heineken ad worked, says Glenn Pere of Pere Partnership advertising agency in New York, because fans recognized Pitt's personal challenges with the paparazzi. "Everyone feels sorry for him. And they take it that if anyone knows anything about beer, it's going to be Brad Pitt."
New Tunage!
Here are the new music releases for Tuesday, February 8th, 1005:
3 Doors Down Seventeen Days (w/Bob Seger on single "Landing in London") (Universal Motown)
The 5 Browns (classical pianist siblings) The 5 Browns (DualDisc w/music videos and interviews) (BMG Classics)
Tara Angell Come Down (produced by Joseph Arthur) (Rykodisc)
Steve Barton (ex-frontman for Translator) Charm Offensive (produced by Ed Stasium; w/cover of The Beatles' "She's Leaving Home") (Sleepless)
Big Fuzz (ex-Deep Banana Blackout) Exercising the Demons (2004 release on new label) (Harmonized)
Andrew Bird The Mysterious Production of Eggs (Righteous Babe)
Bird Show (Ben Vida of Town & Country) Green Inferno (Kranky)
Michael Bublé It's Time (Reprise)
Dälek Absence (Ipecac)
Carlos del Junco Blues Mongrel (Northern Blues)
Devoted Spirits A Tribute to Earth, Wind and Fire (Thump)
Linda Draper One Two Three Four (produced by Kramer) (Planting Seeds)
Eisley Room Noises (Reprise)
Ronny Elliott Valentine Roadkill (Blue Heart)
Eric Felten Meets the Dek-Tette (VSOP)
The Frames Burn the Maps (Anti/Epitaph)
Sage Francis A Healthy Distrust (Epitaph)
Garaj Mahal Mondo Garaj (Harmonized)
Girls Under Glass Zyklus (Metropolis)
The Golden Republic The Golden Republic (Astralwerks)
The Golden Virgins Songs of Praise (Beggars Banquet)
Good Charlotte The Young & the Hopeless (DualDisc) (Epic)
The Grascals The Grascals (Rounder)
Kim & Reggie Harris and Rabbi Jonathan Kligler Let My People Go! (covers of traditional Jewish songs, black spirituals and ‘60s protest songs; guests Tony Levin and David Sancious) (Appleseed)
Glenn Hughes (of Deep Purple) Soul Mover (guests Dave Navarro and Chili Peppers' Chad Smith) (Sanctuary)
Incubus A Crow Left of the Murder... (DualDisc) (Epic)
Karen Jacobsen Here in My Heart (Kurly Queen)
Emer Kenny Cast a Spell (Artemis)
Lagwagon Live in a Dive (Fat Wreck Chords)
Avril Lavigne Under My Skin (DualDisc) (RCA)
Sylvie Lewis Tangos & Tantrums (Cheap Lullabye)
Los Lonely Boys Los Lonely Boys (DualDisc) (Epic)
Lotus Germination and Nomad (Harmonized)
Mardo Mardo (House of Restitution)
Brian McKnight Gemini (Universal Motown)
Lucia Micarelli Music from a Farther Room (Warner Bros.)
The Motet Live and Music for Life (Harmonized)
Paul Motian Trio I Have the Room Above Her (ECM)
New Mexican Erection Co-Dependent (Nasty Cactus)
Outrageous Cherry Our Love Will Change the World (Rainbow Quartz)
Perpetual Groove All This Everything and Sweet Oblivious Antidote (Harmonized)
James Robinson Colors (Favored Nations)
Rocket Science Eternal Holiday (Modular)
The Roosevelts It's So Hard to Make a Sound (Word of Mouth)
Samael Reign of Light (Nuclear Blast)
Sammy and the Wabos (Hagar) Live Hallelujah (DualDisc; live greatest hits; guests Michael Anthony of Van Halen) (Silverline)
Wonderful Smith Hello It's Wonderful (Fundamental)
Sonata Arctica Reckoning Night (Nuclear Blast)
The Soul Rebels Rebelution (Barn Burner Music)
Stray Cats Live from Europe (15 separate releases from 2004 tour) (Surfdog)
Antony & the Johnsons I Am a Bird Now (guests Lou Reed, Rufus Wainwright, Devandra Barnhardt and Boy George) (Secretly Canadian)
Mia Doi Todd Manzanita (guests Beachwood Sparks, Dead Meadow and members of Brian Jonestown Massacre) (Plug Research)
Trüby Trio Retreated (remixes w/bonus mix CD) (Compost)
Eddie Turner The Harlequin & the Gypsy Girl (Northern Blues)
Ian Tyson Songs for the Gravel Road (Stony Plain)
ulu Nerve (2003 release on new label) (Harmonized)
Velvet Revolver Contraband (DualDisc) (RCA)
Cheryl Wheeler Defying Gravity (Rounder)
Lee Ann Womack There's More Where That Came From (UMG Nashville)
Danny Wright Real Romance (Atlantic)
VA Bands You Love, Have Heard of, and Should Know (two CDs; formerly titled "Drive-Thru Records Pure Volume Compilation") (Drive-Thru/Sanctuary)
VA St. Moritz Vibes Vol. 3: Late Vibes (electronica comp.) (Milan)
VA Universal Smash Hits 3 (Universal Motown)
OST Alone in the Dark (Christian Slater/Tara Reid horror film; w/Fear Factory, Dillinger Escape Plan and more) (Nuclear Blast)
OST Deadwood (HBO series) (Lost Highway)
OST Hitch (Will Smith romantic comedy) (Columbia)
OST Lackawanna Blues (HBO film; tracks by Mos Def, Blind Boys of Alabama and Big Joe Turner) (Vanguard)
DVD Digital Video Destruction (w/Cannibal Corpse, Six Feet Under, Cattle Decapitation and more) (Metal Blade)
DVD The Cardigans Live in London (Mercury)
DVD The Cranberries Live (Island)