By Kenn Tarr Notes from the film scoundrel
AS TH E FI LM MAESTRO I HAVE projections and predictions, and as the new year comes around, I promise to have more.
Here’s an early taste of what’s to come: Within the next five years there will be a “Sopranos” movie. Reasons: David Chase, though he feigns his desire for bigger and better things, is doing nothing but relaxing and waiting for the anticipation to build. He is not in production on anything currently except a nice Monaco suntan. James Gandolfini will forever go the route of Lloyd Bridges (“Sea Hunt”) — audiences will only respond to him in one role. The same role. Tony Soprano. Who wants to see an all-powerful mob boss play a neutered domestic male schnook as he is in the forever upcoming “Romance and Cigarettes.”
“Lonely Hearts” tanked and May 2008’s “Sex and the City” should be a hit just based on the costume design alone. That defiant cash-grab looks completely forced and lifeless except of course their clothing is very nice. Their hardball game for the highest salaries will pale in comparison to the hold-outs “Sopranos” cast members will soon stage. In this time, in this environment, it is important to always put an astronomical premium on the word “never.”
GET WITH IT, HANUKKAH As a joke the other day, I joked “Why don’t Jews all over the world adopt Dec. 23 as the start of Hanukkah?” It could get its own traditional bowl game, get the requisite time off from work, get plenty of publicity and hype, and most importantly, not be in the beginning of December. As a Jew, I have dealt with the fluctuating whims of Hanukkah’s annual occurrence. Of the eight days, at least half of them should be a national holiday. Sometimes it is in late November and occasionally in early January, which is better than in the doldrums of early December. Who cares if Jews are religious or there are ethereal and actual reasons for adhering to the Jewish calendar for the actual Hanukkah date every year?
Everything is so assimilated anyway, what difference would it really make? The weekend Hanukkah started this year, “Awake” was the newest release, served like a cold, lifeless latka and plated in a manner not fit for a pauper. For Christmas, celebrating moviegoers will be rejoicing in the aisles at the prospect of “Sweeney Todd,” “There Will Be Blood” and “The Great Debaters” all on the same weekend. Hanukkah needs a good PR team, a high-profile, secular Hanukkah parade, a bowl game (hosted in Crown Heights, Brooklyn), a movie tie-in deal or two, a more diverse greeting card selection and an identity. Because now, all most non-Jews know about it is that it happens and that when a news anchor talks about it, there is a funny-looking candle holder above his or her head.
Perhaps a re-make of “It’s A Wonderful Life” starring Adam Sandler and Natalie Portman. In the final scene, the family can be lighting the menorah and the child talking about how every time the candles burn bright a mensch is born. Religion is a battle of PR and politics, and it seems to have been determined that Hanukkah and most Jewish holidays are off-limits, even though many filmmakers and producers are Jewish. Waste the money — the novelty of it all would be well worth it. A “Jew Wave” of filmmaking begins.
Jason Reitman’s family comedy romp “Sephardic Sabbath” and Chris Weitz’s epic romance “Under the Sukkah” and of course, the Coen Brothers’ macabre, darkly funny, honest and thrilling historical epic “O Canaanite Where Are You?”. Rather, Jewish actors, writers, directors and producers would much rather do Christmas schlock. Hanukkah movies released on Hanukkah. It makes sense for the future. More sense than Hillary Clinton for President.
HANDICAPPING THE RACES Get ready for a battle for the Best Actor Oscar this year. It is a two person race right now between previous winners George Clooney (“Michael Clayton”) and Daniel Day-Lewis “There Will Be Blood”. The precursor awards are rolling in day by day, and these two stalwarts have emerged. If this were college basketball, Clooney would be a number 10 seed that gets hot at the right time and is poised to pull off an upset. However, “Michael Clayton” never really caught fire, and his performance is surrounded by other strong acting performances by Tom Wilkinson and Tilda Swinton.
The film really is one of the best of the year and it will be interesting to see where this race ends and who, if anyone can step in and excise some of the recent momentum. Day-Lewis has won the New York Film Critics award, split the Los Angeles Film Critics award with Frank Langella for “Starting Out in The Evening”. Langella is a certified dark-horse, but I don’t think his momentum will continue. Clooney won the San Francisco Film Critics award and the DC Film Critic’s award, for what that’s worth (very little).
So far, this has been a very exciting and unpredictable Oscar season... as the sun sets on another day in Santa Monica, the scoundrel permeates into the dark light of the cinema.
KEN TARR is a student at Santa Monica College, an actor and writer and is also taller than 99 percent of the population. He telepathically or at
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 15, 2007. Read the original PDF.