ORSON’S 'EVIL’
On Dec. 5, 1957, filmmaker Orson Welles wrote a desperate and heartfelt 58-page memo to executives at Universal Studios, begging them to make specific changes to his film "Touch of Evil," which had been reshot and re-edited without his participation or consent.
This memo - included with the film's new 50th anniversary DVD release - is perhaps the ultimate document of a filmmaker pleading for the maintenance of his artistic vision. After Welles filmed "Touch of Evil," a film noir crime drama starring Charlton Heston and Janet Leigh, he left halfway through the post-production process to try to secure financing for his next film.
As Heston recalls on the DVD extra "Evil Lost and Found," which details the film's restoration process, this was "a big no-no," as studio executives found Welles' version too dark and confusing, and decided to drastically change the picture without his input.
Welles wrote the memo after viewing the end result, which he felt destroyed his intent for the film. The studio ignored his requests, and the episode sank his career. He never made another film in the US.
The DVD includes both the 96-minute version the studio released and a 111-minute restored version constructed in 1998 by editor Walter Murch based on Welles' memo. (There is also an early preview version included in the set.)
Of the 58 pages, Welles spent eight begging for more cross-cutting between Leigh's scenes and Heston's, to establish (as we see in the restored version) a more equal balance between the two characters. As Murch explains, "by trying to make the film simpler, [Universal] complicated things, because the audience was led to believe the film was about Heston," when the reality was more complex.
Comparing the versions is informative, but the memo itself illustrates both the depth of Welles' genius and how the stubbornness that accompanied it doomed his career.
Audiences adopt 'Chihuahua' with $29M weekend
LOS ANGELES - "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" was barking up the right tree with movie-goers, who put the Disney comedy at No. 1 for the weekend with a $29 million debut, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Featuring a talking Chihuahua with Drew Barrymore's voice, the family flick about a pampered pooch lost in Mexico led a surge of new movies that boosted Hollywood business, which generally has slumped the last two months.
The top-12 movies hauled in $95.4 million, up 42 percent from the same weekend a year ago, when "The Game Plan" was No. 1 with $16.6 million.
"We had a huge weekend," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers. "That's really due to the little Chihuahua. The little dog made a big difference."
The previous weekend's No. 1 movie, the DreamWorks-Paramount thriller "Eagle Eye," slipped to second-place with $17.7 million, raising its total to $54.6 million.
The PG-rated "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" took advantage of a long drought for movies aimed at families, who found the idea of a chatty Chihuahua irresistible.
"They're so cute, and they seem to have great facial expressions, so that adds to all the fun of the whole thing," said Chuck Viane, Disney's head of distribution.
Hollywood's other new wide releases had fair to poor premieres.
Sony's "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist," starring Michael Cera and Kat Dennings as teens who fall for each other on a wild New York City night, had a sturdy No. 3 debut of $12 million.
The Warner Bros. Western "Appaloosa," which had played two weeks in a handful of theaters, expanded solidly to come in at No. 5 with $5 million. "Appaloosa" was directed by Ed Harris, who stars with Viggo Mortensen and Renee Zellweger.
Vivendi Entertainment's "An American Carol," a satire of Hollywood's liberal politics from director David Zucker ("Airplane!"), debuted at No. 9 with $3.8 million. The movie stars Kevin Farley as a Michael Moore-type filmmaker aiming to abolish the Fourth of July holiday.
Universal's "Flash of Genius," starring Greg Kinnear as the engineer who invented intermittent windshield wipers then spent decades suing automakers over the innovation, opened weakly with $2.3 million, finishing at No. 11.
Two other movies, the comedy "How to Lose Friends and Alienate People" and the apocalyptic "Blindness," both bombed.
Miramax's "Blindness," featuring Julianne Moore, Danny Glover and Mark Ruffalo in a nightmare tale about a plague of sightlessness, took in just $2 million, averaging an anemic $1,185 in 1,690 theaters.
"How to Lose Friends and Alienate People," released by MGM and starring Kirsten Dunst and Simon Pegg in a celebrity satire set at a slick magazine, did $1.4 million in 1,750 theaters for a feeble $801 average.
By comparison, "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" averaged $9,020 in 3,215 theaters; "Nick and Norah" pulled in $4,957 in 2,421 locations; "Appaloosa" did $4,799 in 1,045 cinemas; "An American Carol" took in $2,325 in 1,639 sites; and "Flash of Genius" did $2,120 in 1,098 theaters.
In narrower release, Bill Maher's documentary "Religulous" opened well, placing No. 10 with $3.5 million in 502 theaters, averaging $6,972. The Lionsgate release follows Maher as he travels the world to mock one of his favorite topics, organized religion.
Anne Hathaway's "Rachel Getting Married" had a strong start in limited release, taking in $302,934 in nine theaters for a whopping $33,659 average. The Sony Pictures Classics drama stars Hathaway as an addict who leaves rehab to come home for her sister's wedding and forces her family to relive the anguish of past tragedy.
Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.
1. "Beverly Hills Chihuahua," $29 million.
2. "Eagle Eye," $17.7 million.
3. "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist," $12 million.
4. "Nights in Rodanthe," $7.4 million.
5. "Appaloosa," $5 million.
6. "Lakeview Terrace," $4.5 million.
7. "Burn After Reading," $4.08 million.
8. "Fireproof," $4.07 million.
9. "An American Carol," $3.8 million.
10. Religulous, $3.5 million.
Harrison Ford Confirms Another Indiana Jones Gaining Momentum
There hasn't been much written about the potential continuation of the Indiana Jones saga because its been such a touchy subject ever since Kingdom of the Crystal Skull hit theaters in May.
Most fans didn't love the fourth film and don't want to see another one at all, but there are also those die hard Indiana Jones fans who do want to see it continue.
Geoff Boucher of the LA Times blog Hero Complex caught up with the legendary Harrison Ford recently. Apparently George Lucas is already hard at work on coming up with a story for a fifth film. Ford says, "It's crazy but great… George is in think mode right now."
The first question most will think when they hear this is: why?
Well, remarkably, Crystal Skull ended up making $317 million domestically and $783 million worldwide, which is more than enough to warrant a sequel.
"It's automatic, really, we did well with the last one and with that having done well and been a positive experience, it's not surprising that some people want to do it again," Ford said.
Of course that makes sense, I guess it's just a matter of really hoping that Lucas doesn't come up with any ideas involving prairie dogs or monkeys or giant waterfalls.
Being a die hard Indiana Jones fan myself, I admit that I'd love to see another, especially with Ford holding onto the reigns (and not passing them off to Shia LaBeouf).
Boucher asked Ford who exactly was bringing up the idea of another sequel. His answer, oddly, doesn't single anyone out, instead, he makes a spiritual comment. "Really, it comes from the ethos, from the ether. It's natural. It's a way of nature, of course, success breeds [sic] opportunities … also we don't stay as closely in contact as have in the last year, that's part of it."
Considering it is Lucas who is working on story ideas, I'm guessing he's the frontrunner. I think it will definitely take a lot for Lucas and Spielberg to recover from the Crystal Skull backlash, but the fans will be there to really help it out.
Won't they...won't you?!