Our friends at The Playlist are expressing skepticism over Jason Bateman’s latest claim that the Arrested Development movie is “in the works,” but at the very least, Bateman’s insistence on talking the thing up in spite of a total lack of hard evidence that the movie exists is a fascinating example of how not-quite major stars can use the press to their advantage.
When Bateman first mentioned the thing, on the Juno press tour, the press went nuts––probably primarily because 90% of Arrested Development’s devoted fan bas consists of bloggers and journalists. Juno had an unusually long press cycle for a studio film, beginning at Telluride and continuing straight through Oscar night, and for about a week, its fourth billed star was able to temporarily hijack the attention and steer it towards his dream project. He’s essentially doing the same thing with Hancock: he again has a supporting role, but any little crumbs he has to offer about an AD movie (and the couple of sentences dropped here are less than substantial) are far more interesting than anything he could say about the joys of working with Will Smith.
There’s an LA Times story this morning about how Paramount has promoted Apatow-com Drillbit Taylor around the fact that star Owen Wilson has done no interviews, in fear of having to answer questions about last summer’s suicide attempt. Instead of talking to reporters, Wilson taped “Drillbit-themed introductions to Fox’s Sunday-night prime-time lineup.” If there are three steps to managing a celebrity scandal––denial, confirmation, confession––the Wilson camp has chosen to remain mired in Step 1 for going on seven months, a stunning and curious feat in the era of confession as commodity.
After enumerating a number of projects fatally wounded by the unsavory off-hours activity of their stars, LAT writers John Horn and Gina Piccalo note in the last paragraph that Nine Months, the Hugh Grant film that was released just two weeks after the star was caught with a prostitute, grossed $70 million––according to this chart, more than Dumb and Dumber, Bad Boys or Babe, all of which spawned sequels. The Hugh Grant scandal seems to represent a turning point in spin: by appearing on any show that would have him the day before his movie’s premiere and talking about the hooker incident directly and self-mockingly, Grant was able to completely deflate the issue, successfully turning confession into commercial.
Alison at the IFC Blog points to the 50th and apparently final episode of Dinner For Five, which premieres on IFC Friday night, but which you can watch online via Brightcove now. According to this press release, it’s basically a promo for a soon-to-be-released film documenting Vince Vaughn’s Wild West Comedy Show, but in practice, it doesn’t feel that shilly.
The show has always had a boy’s club romanticism to it that can either be fantastic or unbearable, depending on the assortment of guests, but this last episode is interesting if only because it draws attention to the entire series as a work of Jon Favreau/Vince Vaughn autobiography.
The NY Times and CNN are reporting that Heath Ledger was found dead this afternoon in a Soho apartment. According to this NY Times blog post, a housekeeper let a masseuse into the apartment for an appointment, and when they knocked on his bedroom door and there was no response, they went in and found him unconscious. Unnamed pills were allegedly found near the body.
Ledger, of course, was one of the Bob Dylans in Todd Haynes’ I’m Not There; he also stars as the Joker in this summer’s eagerly anticipated Batman sequel, The Dark Knight. He recently split with Michelle Williams, with whom he had a child.
UPDATE 5:15 EST: The NY Times blog post linked above has been updated to say that Ledger was found in an apartment owned by Mary-Kate Olsen. Both STAR and TMZ are referring to the apartment as belonging to Ledger. Olsen has a high-profile cameo in The Wackness, which premiered this weekend to wildly mixed reviews at Sundance.
UPDATE 5:29 EST: NYT is now using the word “suicide.” TMZ apparently has a spy close to the scene who says the medical examiner is on the way. In their typically classy fashion, they’re running with the headline, “Ledger Death Bed Strewn With Pills.”
UPDATE 5:45 EST: TMZ is now reporting essentially the opposite of the NY Times. The AOL-owned gossip site says that Ledger, a recovering addict, accidentally overdosed in an apartment that “was not owned by Mary-Kate Olsen or related to her in any way.”
As political polemic and as entertainment, Robert Redford’s Lions for Lambs is mostly unsuccessful, but as a statement of purpose on behalf of its co-star and executive producer, Tom Cruise, it’s mildly fascinating. Through sheer force of star power, Cruise manages to temporarily hijack this lumpy lecture, and turn it into a battle cry against the corporate media that both built and destroyed him.
You probably don’t need to be reminded that Cruise has had a rough couple of years, culminating in the announcement in November 2006 that he and long-time producing partner Paula Wagner had signed a deal to resurrect MGM’s dormant United Artists. Some saw this as a savvy move for both Cruise and MGM: disappointing box office on Mission Impossible: 3 aside, there’s still no one on the planet with Cruise’s international name-and-face recognition, and as he proved with War of the Worlds, which made $65 million in its first weekend just a scant month after the couch jumping incident, the guy can open the right project regardless of what’s going on in his personal life. But skeptics (myself included) wondered if MGM was just throwing Cruise a bone—if they weren’t doing anything with UA anyway, was handing the brand over really a sure sign of confidence?
The guy had—has–something to prove. With his career at the crossroads, the choice of Lions For Lambs as the vehicle to drive him over the hump is not an immediately logical one. It’s worth noting that Cruise didn’t go looking for politically relevant story to tell—Redford signed on to direct the script, and then called Cruise, looking to cast him. And I may get permanently disinvited from Sundance for saying this, but I’m not sure if Redford fully knew what he was getting into.
In the last ten years, movie screens have squashed podiums as the place for politicians to build a voter base. Should old entertainment formulas be used in politics? Do these politi-dramas spur us to action or whining? Under discussion:Sicko (2007), The Party’s Over (2000), Network (1976) and the sprawling entity known as Michael Moore.
There’s an LA Times story this morning about how Paramount has promoted Apatow-com Drillbit Taylor around the fact that star Owen Wilson has done no interviews, in fear of having to answer questions about last summer’s suicide attempt. Instead of talking to reporters, Wilson taped “Drillbit-themed introductions to Fox’s Sunday-night prime-time lineup.” If there are three steps to managing a celebrity scandal––denial, confirmation, confession––the Wilson camp has chosen to remain mired in Step 1 for going on seven months, a stunning and curious feat in the era of confession as commodity.
Alison at the IFC Blog
As political polemic and as entertainment, Robert Redford’s 
In the last ten years, movie screens have squashed podiums as the place for politicians to build a voter base. Should old entertainment formulas be used in politics? Do these politi-dramas spur us to action or whining? Under discussion: 
