Alec Baldwin is certainly plotting his post-“30 Rock” life. Not running for mayor of New York, and having feuds with Starbucks and the New York Post, Baldwin is heading back to the movies. I’m told he and writer-director James Toback are planning to shoot an indie film this spring. The plot is under wraps, but it should include filming during the Cannes Film Festival. That certainly sounds like fun. Toback had just finished a rewrite of the “Gotti” movie–which I will have more about later this week–and is still working on the umpteenth draft of a movie about John DeLorean. Baldwin popped up this week, regrettably, in an atrocious indie called “Hick” here at the Toronto Film Festival. (The whole thing should have been retitled “Ick.”) The voluble actor is hosting the Tony Bennett 85th birthday gala at the Metropolitan Opera this Sunday and skipping the Emmy Awards. Six days later he hosts “Saturday Night Live.”
Jane Fonda Gets Hippie in “Peace, Love, & Misunderstanding”
Jane Fonda was sorry to miss the Toronto Film Festival premiere of her new movie, “Peace, Love and Misunderstanding.” She’s been suffering from a “persistent bug” for a few days and couldn’t fly to Toronto from Los Angeles. Too bad because Jane also missed the great reception the Bruce Beresford directed comedy had at Roy Thomson Hall. It’s nice when all the laughs are in the right place.
Fonda’s Grace plays the hippie dippy artist mother of straight arrow Diane. They haven’t seen each other in 20 years–not since Diane had Grace arrested at her wedding for selling dope to the guests. Now Diane’s husband has left her, so she brings her two kids (Elizabeth Olsen, Nat Wolff) to Grace’s artist retreat in Woodstock, New York.
This is the kind of film where you expect cliches to abound. But Beresford and the screenwriters make all the right moves. The film has a light touch as conflicts unfold and are addressed but not necessarily resolved. While Diane’s position seems like a gross overreaction to her mother, the estrangement doesn’t seem so far fetched.
Fonda is the most economical of actors, which is why she has two Oscars. Grace could have been a broad joke. But Fonda imbues her warmth and dignity. She simply lives on her own track and means no one harm. She’s a pot smoking and growing embracer of free love. What’s wrong with that?
The movie has low key charms that sneak up on the audience. Whoever gets hold of it has a shot at a Best Supporting Actress nod for Fonda. Keener is her usual best, and there are nice turns by Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Chace Crawford, Kyle Maclachlan, Rosanna Arquette, Joyce van Patten. Beresford brings the understatement of classics like “Tender Mercies” to the table. And the movie, shot on location in Woodstock, features locals and music by resident Levon Helm.
The producers of this film also made the current “Higher Ground” with Vera Farmiga and are setting up shop fast as quality filmmakers. They have great taste. They’re already developing another film for Fonda, and are currently shooting “Bachelorette” with James Marsden, Isla Fisher, and Kirsten Dunst.
PS Talk about misunderstandings–the Hollywood Foreign Press aka Golden Globes security wouldn’t let Beresford bring any guests into their party last night, not even the film’s screenwriters–and he and his wife were staying in the Windsor Arms. Not only that–the people who work for publicist Ken Sunshine and the HFPA told Beresford that even though his daughter was staying in the hotel, too, and had a room key, they wouldn’t allow her in either. Sponsors InStyle and Tommy Hilfiger take note. And HFPA lackey Munawar Hosain — photographer to the stars, he tells me– scooted out of sight.
Harvey Weinstein Invites Michelle Bachmann to Co Host Movie Premiere
Actress Olivia Wilde read this statement tonight at the Toronto Film Festival premiere of “Butter,” a new comedy starring Jennifer Garner.
“Thank you everyone for coming out tonight. I want to start by thanking Jason Micallef who wrote the great script to BUTTER, I want to thank Jim Field Smith who did a wonderful job of directing, and I want to thank Mike DeLuca, Jennifer Garner, Alissa Phillips and Juliana Janes for producing a movie I’m so proud of. I must thank my own spectacular team, especially Kelly Carmichael and Matt Garner. But I also want to thank Jason Reitman. Jason was an inspiration and guiding light for this film. I love his movies and I love his dad’s movies. Jason is a great cinema lover and one of the smartest people I’ve met in this industry.
“In 20 years of coming to the Toronto Film Festival, I’ve never released a statement for a film. But I would like to take this moment to formally invite Republican Congresswoman from Minnesota and Republican presidential candidate, Michele Bachmann, to co-host with me the big premiere of BUTTER in Iowa in a few months from now. I know Michele will already be in Iowa for the caucus, so we can save some money on airfare and travel.
“I would of course be more than happy to fly in the other leading members of the Tea Party movement to make an entire day of it. We could take some math classes in the morning to help balance the budget, brush up on the Constitution in the afternoon, play some ping-pong and then maybe some verbal ping-pong on gay rights and women’s rights (especially the right to choose). But at night we can all go hand-in-hand to the premiere of BUTTER, a fun and important film where we’ll share some popcorn and laughs. These are the kind of bipartisan effort that makes America great.
I look forward to hearing from Michele and I’m particularly looking forward to those classes on the Constitution.”
All my best,
Harvey
Paul McCartney New MusiCares Person of the Year
Paul McCartney has finally agreed to accept the MusiCares Person of the Year award. The prestigious award entails the big gala on the Friday night of Grammy weekend in February. McCartney was offered the award long ago but finally has time on his schedule. He follows last year’s honoree, Barbra Streisand. For Person of the Year, the artist chooses a bunch of performers to sing his/her songs. The honoree also usually puts on his own show. So this year’s gala should be the biggest ever. MusiCares is in the middle of a big campaign to bring in music fans from all over. Go to www.musicares.org to read more about it.
Madonna Movie Review: History in the Making
Madonna does not want us to review her, but to review her movie, “W.E.” It’s not easy. In Madonna’s world, everything is about her. You want to call the movie, her fantasy about the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, “M.E.” Up here in Toronto, the screening and premiere of the film have caused a lot of agita. First, few people showed up for the press screening. It was very odd. Had the bad press from Venice really turned people off? Or was it that the movie had been pre-screened for the Canadian press? There’s no way of knowing.
Then the big movie premiere last night: Madonna brings only the two female leads. The men are nowhere to be found because apparently she didn’t get along with them. She made some nice remarks, but forgets to mention the film company that has brought her here. On the other hand, she doesn’t seem perturbed that one of her star actresses, Andrea Riseborough, shines from the stage of Roy Thomson Hall like a real Hollywood legend in a glittery black and silver Dolce and Gabbana dress.
And there’s this whole history thing: is “W.E.” supposed to be accurate? Or Madonna’s interpretation of history? I’ve spent the whole day listening to different rationalizations. “W.E.” is like a gauzy “Wonder Years” version of the story of “the greatest romance in history.” Very little of it is connected to what we used to call “facts.” Apparently, facts don’t matter. This is Madonna’s take on what she thinks really should have happened.
So let’s set that aside. The movie looks great. It’s beautifully edited and composed. The cinematography is unusual, and striking. Madonna knows style. She’s made hundreds of videos, and has learned from that experience. Even though it’s incredibly chaste–no sex, really–“W.E.” moves. It doesn’t linger. Riseborough is perfection as Wallis Simpson, the ambitious, engimatic, hated commoner who got the King of England to abdicate his throne. She’s the original Yoko Ono. With her pearls and pasted down flapper hair style, Riseborough is so captivating that Simpson’s infamous infelicities can be set aside.
There are two unusual moments– and I wish there had been more of them. Early in the couple’s party throwing, the whole decadent gang dances to the Sex Pistols’ “Pretty Vacant.” Madonna chose the song for a reason. These people are really vacuous, all of them. She knows it. And in that scene she finally admits what “The King’s Speech” and history chronicled: the Duke and Duchess of Windsor were nitwits.
At the end of the movie, Simpson dances to Chubby Checker’s “The Twist” as the Duke lays dying in his hospital bed attached to an oxygen mask. He’s asked her to “dance for me.” But it seems like a spit in the face more than a tribute. And Madonna knows that Simpson had come to hate the former king, the fabled romance long over. Their gilded cage had become a prison.
“W.E.” has been called a big screen shopping spree. It’s certainly a close up parade of expensive objects, the people included. I think the best way to enjoy it is as fiction. The Duke and Duchess were terrible people: Nazi sympathizers, totally self involved. The world was lucky to be rid of them. But who wants to hear that story? Madonna has instead captured their decadence and their isolation. She’s also shown her keen eye for detail. Her next movie–because there will be one–should be drawn entirely from fiction, I think. When her imagination can run wild, untethered to facts, her films will be judged entirely on their own.
Madonna: All Eyes on Duchess of Windsor Movie Premiere
Well, everyone here is counting down to the 6:30pm EST premiere of Madonna’s “W.E.” This morning only 100 people showed up for the first press screening–there were over 500 seats available. The low turnout was rationalized because the movie had already been screened for Canadian press, and two other big films not seen in Venice were showing simultaneously. However, the big “W.E.” gala at Roy Thomson Hall is a hot hot ticket. I’ll keep you updated on Twitter as the night unfolds. And we’ll talk about “W.E.” tomorrow. It’s a gorgeously filmed and edited feature film debut, that’s for sure.
Jon Hamm Is Actually Jennifer Westfeldt’s Boyfriend
For the last few years, Jennifer Westfeldt has been tagged as the girlfriend of Jon Hamm. Ever since “Mad Men” hit it big, Westfeldt–who had starred in and wrote “Kissing Jessica Stein”–sort of got lost in the mix. No more. She’s directed “Friends with Kids” from her own screenplay, and stars in this top notch, moving romantic comedy. The movie has just blown away everyone who’s seen it this weekend. Hamm can now be known as Westfeldt’s boyfriend.
“Friends with Kids” also finally elevates the very talented Adam Scott from sideman to main player. He and Jennifer play long time friends who are not attracted to each other but feel like they should have a child. All their friends have married and have kids with varying degrees of success. Hamm and Kristen Wiig play one couple; Maya Rudolph and Chris O’Dowd are the other. Brian D’Arcy James has a cameo appearance, too.
The baby is born, and into Westfeldt’s and Scott’s lives come, respectively, Ed Burn and Megan Fox as new loves. It’s all so socially progressive, at least for a while. And then things go very wrong.
The plot of “Friends with Kids” is not new. I think many people here in Toronto had a feeling they were walking into something they’d seen before. Surprise! The movie is fresh, and resonates with new observations, well drawn characters, and deep emotions. It’s a descendant of Woody Allen and Nora Ephron, but quite wonderful in ways that it updates conventional concepts. “Friends with Kids” is a total winner, and Westfeldt–who could be Lisa Kudrow’s long lost twin–is again an overnight sensation.
PS This is my favorite kind of New York movie. Jobs are never issued or discussed. Everyone has loads of money and great places to live in. They also have great clothes and personal stylists. Life is but a dream.
“Shame” Director Will Not Cut Anything to Avoid NC-17 Rating
Two big movies at the Toronto Film Festival: “Shame” starring Michael Fassbender and Carey Mulligan; and “Albert Nobbs,” with Glenn Close and Janet McTeer. Full frontal nudity for everyone! Fassbender goes the full monty a few times, also masturbates, and gets orally satisfied in a gay bar. “Shame” is from English director Steve McQueen (whose parents obviously were not “Bullit” fans.)
Fox Searchlight picked it up, and it’s going to be NC-17 because while it’s not exactly titillating, it is full of graphic sex. Fassbender goes on the shortlist for Best Actor, Mulligan for Best Supporting Actress. The film and director are serious contenders for awards, too. This is a film about a sex and porn addict who is unrepentant. You will not be watching this movie with your parents or your kids. But it is riveting. Fassbender is the new “it” guy. He is also here with David Cronenberg’s “A Dangerous Method.” He’s suave, handsome, sexy and smart. Go back and watch him in “Inglourious Basterds.” He’s part of the famous bar scene.
Director McQueen told me the other night that he will cut any part of this film to get an R rating. Not the three way sex, the gay sex, the self pleasuring, the prostitute, Mulligan and Fassbender–as brother and sister–naked on top of each other or Mulligan quite bloody. So this will be problematic as newspapers and TV will not take ads for NC-17 movies.
Meanwhile, Glenn Close will get her Oscar nod for “Albert Nobbs” and McTeer as Supporting Actress. They make Rodrigo Garcia’s film about a woman disguised as a man working in turn of the century Irish hotel totally believable. “Albert Nobbs” was a surprise at its premiere. I don’t think anyone had great hopes for it. But Close has worked on bringing it to the screen forever. And now it’s a gem, a sparkling gem. Glenn told me at the premiere that she’d studied Charlie Chaplin to pull it off. His spirit definitely informs her characterization. Glenn has five Oscar nominations and no wins. She has a very good chance of finally bringing home a gold statue. She Meryl Streep, Michelle Williams, Viola Davis, and Jennifer Westfeldt are among the early contenders.
Brad Pitt Hits a Grand Slam Home Run with “Moneyball”
Once upon a time, a long time ago, Brad Pitt had an Oscar nomination with “Three Twelve Monkeys.” (I lost nine along the way!) It seemed like a turning point for the new generation Robert Redford. And then, nothing. Sometimes Pitt was very interesting in a film and not taken seriously. (“Devil’s Own,” “Sleepers,” “Burn After Reading”). Other times, he wasn’t so great — think “Troy.” But maybe it was because the movies weren’t so good. Now with Bennett Miller’s “Moneyball,” Brad is going to get his Oscar nomination and maybe even win. He is note for note perfect as Oakland A’s manager Billy Bean, creating a whole character of such dimension and depth that he surprised maybe even himself.
“Moneyball” is all about how Bean came to be convinced to use something called ‘sabremetrics’–a numbers theory developed by Bill James in the late 70s–to guide his team to victory. In 2002, the A’s–with the lowest salary budget in the major leagues–won a record 20 games in a row. Bean became an overnight genius, and wound up turning down an offer from the Red Sox to become the highest paid general manager in history. The Sox went on to win the World Series, using James as a highly regarded consultant.
Full disclosure: in 1983, I was Bill James’ book publicist for his “Baseball Abstract.” The book became a bestseller, and Bill went on to much success and controversy in the baseball world. He was a genius before his time, and now–almost 20 years later, he’s getting his due thanks to Michael Lewis’s book and this Scott Rudin produced movie. I couldn’t be prouder.
But the movie’s greatness is thanks to Miller and his top top screenwriters Aaron Sorkin and Steve Zaillian. This is “The Social Network” with heart and soul. “Moneyball” also has the underdog spirit–missing from that well made but cold movie. There was never much sympathy in the former movie over which of those obnoxious kids got a cut of millions of dollars. But in “Moneyball” we are routing for Pitt and his team (and Jonah Hill as his Yoda, Paul Brand).
Brad Pitt makes this movie. By the time the A’s are in their famous 20th game–where they blew an 11 run lead–Pitt has completely abandoned his tabloid movie star persona and absorbed into Bean completely. The intelligence that informs his charity work, his real life thoughtfulness, seeps out of him and onto the camera. It’s extraordinary to watch. It also makes it possible for Miller to end “Moneyball” not with the bang of a rousing win–a “Rocky” moment–but a sweet, rich flourish. And that’s when “Moneyball” becomes so much more than just another sports movie and a real work of art.
Jon Hamm, Bryan Cranston in Emmy Throwdown
Who needs to go to the actual Emmy Awards? Last night (Saturday) top Emmy contenders for Best Actor in a Drama, Jon Hamm and Bryan Cranston, came face to face at the Toronto Film Festival. It was around 1 am, and the pair met up at the big all star Soho House party that brought in everyone from George Clooney to Bono. Hamm, of course, is nominated for “Mad Men.” Cranston is now famous for “Breaking Bad.”
Ironically, both shows are on AMC, a cable network that can’t seem to understand or capitalize on its shows successes. The result is “Mad Men” is only now shooting its fifth season, and “Breaking Bad” still doesn’t have a start date for it next season. Oh well.
Hamm and Cranston will each be in penguin suits next Sunday for the Emmys–although Cranston isn’t nominated because “Breaking Bad”s season missed the deadline. But in the meantime, while Cranston and I were reminiscing about his “Seinfeld” days as Dr. Tim Watley–who became Jewish for the jokes–Hamm and girlfriend Jennifer Westfeldt passed before us like the rogue planet from “Melancholia.”
Cranston, evoking his character from “Breaking Bad,” said with a laugh, “It’s simple. I’m going to knock him out with a lead cinch pipe.” Hamm shook his head in his disbelief. Cranston said, once Hamm passed: “Oh no, it’s his year.”
Meantime, Cranston is now in the same boat Hamm was in last year when “Mad Men” was in limbo with AMC. He can make movies until “Breaking Bad” gets a greenlight. Here in Toronto, Cranston is featured with Ryan Gosling in the about to be released — and really great– “Drive.” He said he would indeed consider a movie based on Dr. Tim Watley if nothing else comes up. But once audiences see him in “Drive,” there should be less fanciful offers on the table!