Friday, March 29, 2024

Oscar Winner Warren Beatty Maybe Planning a “Dick Tracy” Sequel After Appearing in Surprising TCM Special

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Warren Beatty has been pretty quiet and reclusive the last few years. But the famed Oscar winning director and writer pulled off a surprise move tonight with an impromptu special on TCM.

Beatty appeared on the special in character as Dick Tracy and as himself. As you know, Beatty acted in and directed the movie “Dick Tracy” thirty three years ago. The movie won high praise — and three Oscars — and was a big hit. Al Pacino was nominated for Best Supporting Actor and Madonna sang a now classic Stephen Sondheim song. Subsequently, Beatty bought the rights to the character out of a bankruptcy. (Long story there.)

In 2008, Beatty cut a short film playing Tracy being interviewed by Leonard Maltin on TCM. This was said to be to extend the copyright.

Tonight, Maltin and Ben Mankiewicz participated in the new piece. This time, however, Beatty also appeared as himself, talking to Dick Tracy in a Zoom set up. At the end, he and “Dick Tracy” are shown having lunch at the Polo Lounge.

Beatty makes the point several times that he owns the rights to Dick Tracy. Then he says he will make a new film about an older Tracy, and this time make it “more real” and less stylistic than the original film.

Since Warren Beatty never does TV and rarely does interviews, this was something to behold. I can’t wait for more details. Anyway, it was great to see Beatty after a long period of silence.

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.
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