Jerry Bruckheimer has revealed plans for a sequel to Crimson Tide.It comes 30 years after the submarine thriller debuted in cinemas. Speaking this week, the 80-year-old Hollywood producer was quoted by Variety saying: “We have a really good director and writer talking to the navy right now about what’s going on under the water.”Jerry made the comments during an appearance on The Rich Eisen Show, where he discussed the legacy of the original 1995 film and his hopes for a follow-up. Crimson Tide, directed by Tony Scott and written by Michael Schiffer, followed a tense stand-off between a commanding officer and his executive officer on a US nuclear submarine. Denzel Washington, now 69, starred opposite Gene Hackman, who died in February aged 95.Jerry said Denzel may return to reprise his role, depending on the quality of the screenplay. “If we give him a good script, I think he’d do it,...
- 7/2/2025
- by BANG Showbiz Reporter
- Bang Showbiz
Get ready to roll tide again. Crimson Tide, the white-knuckle 1995 submarine thriller, has a sequel under construction at the shipyard. Jerry Bruckheimer, who produced the original film, discussed the in-development sequel on The Rich Eisen Show this week while promoting his latest blockbuster, F1: The Movie. And while nobody's turned their key yet, Bruckheimer thinks he can convince the original's star, Denzel Washington, to take the helm once more.
While discussing the high-velocity F1, Bruckheimer and Eisen's conversation turns to Crimson Tide, which starred Washington and the recently departed Gene Hackman. Bruckheimer notes that a sequel to the film is in development, saying that "We have a really good director and writer talking to the Navy right now about what’s going on under the water." And while he doesn't have a commitment from Washington yet, Bruckheimer is confident in his ability to get the Oscar-winner back in the...
While discussing the high-velocity F1, Bruckheimer and Eisen's conversation turns to Crimson Tide, which starred Washington and the recently departed Gene Hackman. Bruckheimer notes that a sequel to the film is in development, saying that "We have a really good director and writer talking to the Navy right now about what’s going on under the water." And while he doesn't have a commitment from Washington yet, Bruckheimer is confident in his ability to get the Oscar-winner back in the...
- 7/2/2025
- by Rob London
- Collider.com
It’s been 30 years since “Crimson Tide” sailed into theaters, scoring with critics and dominating the box office. If Jerry Bruckheimer, the producer of the 1995 film, gets his way, there may be more underwater nuclear brinksmanship in moviegoers’ future. The Hollywood mogul revealed that he’s developing a sequel to “Crimson Tide” during an interview this week on “The Rich Eisen Show.”
“We have a really good director and writer talking to the navy right now about what’s going on under the water,” Bruckheimer teased, without naming said filmmakers.
Bruckheimer also suggested that Denzel Washington, who played an idealistic executive officer locked in a heated battle for control of a nuclear submarine against Gene Hackman’s domineering commanding officer, might be convinced to take another trip beneath the waves.
“If we give him a good script, I think he’d do it,” Bruckheimer said.
A source close to Washington...
“We have a really good director and writer talking to the navy right now about what’s going on under the water,” Bruckheimer teased, without naming said filmmakers.
Bruckheimer also suggested that Denzel Washington, who played an idealistic executive officer locked in a heated battle for control of a nuclear submarine against Gene Hackman’s domineering commanding officer, might be convinced to take another trip beneath the waves.
“If we give him a good script, I think he’d do it,” Bruckheimer said.
A source close to Washington...
- 7/2/2025
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Of his many memorable performances, Sam Rockwell is apparently still getting paid for one that never happened.
The Oscar winner recently recalled when he, Michael Imperioli and Kevin Corrigan “drove in a van to New Jersey to audition for one line in Lean on Me” early in their careers, as well as how he still gets paid despite not appearing in the 1989 film.
“And then I got it,” said Rockwell on the Happy Sad Confused podcast. “And then, they never got to my scene, so they had to let me go because they didn’t want to pay me for a week. So, they gotta pay you for a day player or pay you for a week. So, they let me go. They didn’t fire me, they just sort of let me go because they were like, ‘We can’t pay him a week for one line.’ And then Michael got it.
The Oscar winner recently recalled when he, Michael Imperioli and Kevin Corrigan “drove in a van to New Jersey to audition for one line in Lean on Me” early in their careers, as well as how he still gets paid despite not appearing in the 1989 film.
“And then I got it,” said Rockwell on the Happy Sad Confused podcast. “And then, they never got to my scene, so they had to let me go because they didn’t want to pay me for a week. So, they gotta pay you for a day player or pay you for a week. So, they let me go. They didn’t fire me, they just sort of let me go because they were like, ‘We can’t pay him a week for one line.’ And then Michael got it.
- 6/27/2025
- by Glenn Garner
- Deadline Film + TV
Several years ago, Ethan Hawke said something interesting in an interview with Marc Maron. He admitted to having a lot of anxiety when he was cast in Training Day because he said that whenever he watched movies with Denzel Washington, he felt like his co-stars were blown out of the water by him. One exception that Hawke mentioned is Gene Hackman, who said the two played brilliantly off of each other in Tony Scott’s Crimson Tide, partly due to the fact that they were playing adversaries. Indeed, such was the power of Gene Hackman, who tragically passed away this week. While his career is loaded with classics, including The French Connection, The Conversation, The Royal Tenenbaums and so many more, one of his biggest box office hits was Crimson Tide, a movie that’s long overdue for a deep dive here on JoBlo!
When asked why he wanted to do Crimson Tide,...
When asked why he wanted to do Crimson Tide,...
- 2/28/2025
- by Chris Bumbray
- JoBlo.com
Joe Clark, the inspiration for John G. Avildsen’s 1989 film Lean On Me has died.
Clark’s family shared in a statement that the retired New Jersey high school principal died on Tuesday in his Gainesville, Florida home after a long battle with illness. He was 82.
Born in Rochelle, Georgia in 1938, Clark is most known as the ambitious principal of New Jersey’s Eastside High School who expelled nearly 300 students for drug possession, vandalism and fighting, and challenged the remaining students to strive for better. To help him inspire his students and get his inspirational messages across, Clark carried a bullhorn and baseball bat through the Eastside hallways.
Gaining fame for his success at Eastside, the former U.S. Army Reserve Sergeant and Drill Instructor went on to grace the cover of Time Magazine and made appearances on 60 Minutes and The Arsenio Hall Show. In 1989, Clark retired from Eastside and...
Clark’s family shared in a statement that the retired New Jersey high school principal died on Tuesday in his Gainesville, Florida home after a long battle with illness. He was 82.
Born in Rochelle, Georgia in 1938, Clark is most known as the ambitious principal of New Jersey’s Eastside High School who expelled nearly 300 students for drug possession, vandalism and fighting, and challenged the remaining students to strive for better. To help him inspire his students and get his inspirational messages across, Clark carried a bullhorn and baseball bat through the Eastside hallways.
Gaining fame for his success at Eastside, the former U.S. Army Reserve Sergeant and Drill Instructor went on to grace the cover of Time Magazine and made appearances on 60 Minutes and The Arsenio Hall Show. In 1989, Clark retired from Eastside and...
- 12/30/2020
- by Alexandra Del Rosario
- Deadline Film + TV
The CW has put in development Lean On Me, a female-led hourlong drama inspired by the 1989 film that starred Morgan Freeman, from writer Wendy Calhoun (Station 19), LeBron James & Maverick Carter’s SpringHill Entertainment, John Legend, Mike Jackson and Ty Stiklorius’ Get Lifted, and Warner Bros. TV.
Written by Calhoun, in the potential series Lean On Me, when a spirited young black teacher Amarie Baldwin scores the principal job at an Akron, Ohio, public high school, she must dig deep to transform a failing campus into an urban oasis. In a time when education and school safety have life-or-death stakes, Amarie will take on a broken system that tests her mettle, love life and family. But can she keep her moxie in check in order to embody the aspirational educator that motivates and uplifts an entire community?
Calhoun executive produces with James and Carter via SpringHill and Legend, Jackson and Stiklorius via Get Lifted.
Written by Calhoun, in the potential series Lean On Me, when a spirited young black teacher Amarie Baldwin scores the principal job at an Akron, Ohio, public high school, she must dig deep to transform a failing campus into an urban oasis. In a time when education and school safety have life-or-death stakes, Amarie will take on a broken system that tests her mettle, love life and family. But can she keep her moxie in check in order to embody the aspirational educator that motivates and uplifts an entire community?
Calhoun executive produces with James and Carter via SpringHill and Legend, Jackson and Stiklorius via Get Lifted.
- 9/13/2018
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Simon Brew Jun 14, 2017
DreamWorks launched in a blaze of publicity – but its first film, The Peacemaker, was beset by problems…
Not since United Artists had launched in the 1930s had Hollywood seen anything quite like it. Steven Spielberg, David Geffen and Jeffrey Katzenberg – a trio with a lot of money and a big contacts book between them – came together to launch the first new studio in a generation. It was called DreamWorks Skg, and it was not short on ambition.
Katzenberg would be heading up its animation arm, and soon got to work, with the likes of Antz and The Prince Of Egypt getting things going. But on the live action side, the assumption that Spielberg would exclusively make his films for the studio quickly proved false. Post-the formation of DreamWorks, his first movie as director would instead be The Lost World: Jurassic Park for Universal. Only then would he...
DreamWorks launched in a blaze of publicity – but its first film, The Peacemaker, was beset by problems…
Not since United Artists had launched in the 1930s had Hollywood seen anything quite like it. Steven Spielberg, David Geffen and Jeffrey Katzenberg – a trio with a lot of money and a big contacts book between them – came together to launch the first new studio in a generation. It was called DreamWorks Skg, and it was not short on ambition.
Katzenberg would be heading up its animation arm, and soon got to work, with the likes of Antz and The Prince Of Egypt getting things going. But on the live action side, the assumption that Spielberg would exclusively make his films for the studio quickly proved false. Post-the formation of DreamWorks, his first movie as director would instead be The Lost World: Jurassic Park for Universal. Only then would he...
- 6/1/2017
- Den of Geek
We take a look at new Blu-rays of two ’80s classics.
Shout! Factory’s relatively young collectors label, Shout Select, is something of an odd duck. This is less of a criticism than an observation as their releases so far bear no real discernible through line. We’ve gotten well-deserved Blu-rays of eagerly awaited ’80s classics like To Live and Die in La, Road House, and Midnight Run, but the label has also released/announced titles like Death of a Salesman, The Chinese Connection, and Simon Pegg’s forgettable 2012 film, A Fantastic Fear of Everything. So yeah, there’s something of an odd inconsistency across the catalog.
For now though we’re here to discuss their latest releases, two ’80s films of varying acclaim and renown — John Milius’ Red Dawn and Dennis Hopper’s Colors.
Red Dawn (1984)
A small town in Colorado begins its day like any other until strangers drop from the sky. Soviet...
Shout! Factory’s relatively young collectors label, Shout Select, is something of an odd duck. This is less of a criticism than an observation as their releases so far bear no real discernible through line. We’ve gotten well-deserved Blu-rays of eagerly awaited ’80s classics like To Live and Die in La, Road House, and Midnight Run, but the label has also released/announced titles like Death of a Salesman, The Chinese Connection, and Simon Pegg’s forgettable 2012 film, A Fantastic Fear of Everything. So yeah, there’s something of an odd inconsistency across the catalog.
For now though we’re here to discuss their latest releases, two ’80s films of varying acclaim and renown — John Milius’ Red Dawn and Dennis Hopper’s Colors.
Red Dawn (1984)
A small town in Colorado begins its day like any other until strangers drop from the sky. Soviet...
- 3/17/2017
- by Rob Hunter
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
In 1988, Dennis Hopper directed the controversial cop drama Colors, now reissued on Blu-ray. Ryan takes a look back at a gripping film...
By the spring of 1988, several high-profile cases had brought the gang violence in Los Angeles to national attention. The fatal shootings of an 18-year-old college student and her 12-year-old neighbour were, according to a newspaper report, the 113th and 114th gang-related murders to have occurred in La County since the start of the beginning of 1988. The previous year saw 387 people killed in gang-related incidents.
Against this backdrop came Colors, Dennis Hopper’s unflinching and disturbingly authentic crime drama starring Robert Duvall and Sean Penn. Some of the film’s harshest critics called it exploitative and voyeuristic - a calculated attempt to cash in on the real violence that was regularly making headlines. Colors’ detractors were given further fuel when reports began to circulate of violent incidents occurring in...
By the spring of 1988, several high-profile cases had brought the gang violence in Los Angeles to national attention. The fatal shootings of an 18-year-old college student and her 12-year-old neighbour were, according to a newspaper report, the 113th and 114th gang-related murders to have occurred in La County since the start of the beginning of 1988. The previous year saw 387 people killed in gang-related incidents.
Against this backdrop came Colors, Dennis Hopper’s unflinching and disturbingly authentic crime drama starring Robert Duvall and Sean Penn. Some of the film’s harshest critics called it exploitative and voyeuristic - a calculated attempt to cash in on the real violence that was regularly making headlines. Colors’ detractors were given further fuel when reports began to circulate of violent incidents occurring in...
- 8/24/2015
- by ryanlambie
- Den of Geek
Part II: The Producers Take Back The Reins
By the late 1970s, the tremendous creative license the major studios under a new generation of production chiefs had granted the young tyros of the 1960s – Coppola, Scorsese, et al – had expired as each managed to deliver at least one, major, back-breaking flop. For Scorsese, it had been the grim musical New York, New York (1977, $13.8 million U.S. vs. a budget of $14 million); Peter Bogdanovich turned out a streak of losers including period piece Daisy Miller (1974), comedy Nickelodeon (1976), and another disastrous musical, At Long Last Love (1975, $1.5 million U.S./$6 million cost); after the back-to-back hits of The French Connection and The Exorcist, William Friedkin delivered Sorcerer (1977, $6 million U.S. against a crushing $22 million cost); and Francis Coppola, after a string of commercial and/or critical home runs including The Godfather (1972), The Conversation (1974), The Godfather Part II (1974), and Apocalypse Now (1979), turned out One from the Heart...
By the late 1970s, the tremendous creative license the major studios under a new generation of production chiefs had granted the young tyros of the 1960s – Coppola, Scorsese, et al – had expired as each managed to deliver at least one, major, back-breaking flop. For Scorsese, it had been the grim musical New York, New York (1977, $13.8 million U.S. vs. a budget of $14 million); Peter Bogdanovich turned out a streak of losers including period piece Daisy Miller (1974), comedy Nickelodeon (1976), and another disastrous musical, At Long Last Love (1975, $1.5 million U.S./$6 million cost); after the back-to-back hits of The French Connection and The Exorcist, William Friedkin delivered Sorcerer (1977, $6 million U.S. against a crushing $22 million cost); and Francis Coppola, after a string of commercial and/or critical home runs including The Godfather (1972), The Conversation (1974), The Godfather Part II (1974), and Apocalypse Now (1979), turned out One from the Heart...
- 11/22/2010
- by Bill Mesce
- SoundOnSight
Chicago – The Blu-Ray Round-Up has looked around the office after the dust has settled on the major September HD releases and realized that there are a few remaining titles worthy of a mention. Before frost warnings, Halloween decorations, and planning for Thanksgiving, pick up one of these five titles. You won’t regret it.
Note: The Round-Up is designed merely to present synopsis, cast & crew, tech specs, and special features information on titles that may otherwise fall through the cracks for your purchasing perusal. Having said that, “American Beauty” is a must-own in HD just for the gorgeous cinematography of Oscar-winner Conrad L. Hall and the film has held up much-better than the cynical haters would have you believe. It’s a great movie. And “Bored to Death” continues to be one of the more intriguing shows on cable. If we had to pick favorites it would be those two.
Note: The Round-Up is designed merely to present synopsis, cast & crew, tech specs, and special features information on titles that may otherwise fall through the cracks for your purchasing perusal. Having said that, “American Beauty” is a must-own in HD just for the gorgeous cinematography of Oscar-winner Conrad L. Hall and the film has held up much-better than the cynical haters would have you believe. It’s a great movie. And “Bored to Death” continues to be one of the more intriguing shows on cable. If we had to pick favorites it would be those two.
- 10/4/2010
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Michael Schiffer has sold his pitch "Speed Boyz" to Alcon Entertainment. The film is about real-life engineer-turned-teacher Simon Hauger, who inspired a group of troubled Philadelphia high schoolers to win a competition to build an alternative-fuel vehicle. Hauger, a math teacher, launched an unusual curriculum in 1998 to improve students' performance in math and science. They went on to win the annual Tour de Sol, a national green car competition, where they competed against teams from top universities with their electric cars.According to The Hollywood Reporter, The Gotham Group's Ellen Goldsmith-Vein and Lindsay Williams are producing along with Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove of Alcon. Gotham's Jeremy Bell and Alcon's Steven Wegner will executive produce.Schiffer wrote the screenplays for "Colors,"...
- 10/19/2009
- by Adnan Tezer
- Monsters and Critics
Like the uplifting sports films we've all come to expect every year, another subgenre has become almost as predictable in its execution: the story of an inspirational teacher showing a group of misfit kids that they're underestimating their potential as he drives them towards accomplishing a seemingly impossible goal. Alcon Entertainment is throwing another one of these stories our way as THR reports that they have purchased a pitch called Speed Boyz about "real-life engineer-turned-teacher Simon Hauger, who inspired a group of troubled Philadelphia high schoolers to win a competition to build an alternative-fuel vehicle." The pitch comes from screenwriter Michael Schiffer who had success with a similar story in Lean on Me, a drama that starred Morgan Freeman as real-life, hard-nosed New Jersey high school principal Joe Clark. The pitch for Speed Boyz based on the true story: "when Hauger launched an unorthodox curriculum in 1998 to improve students' performance...
- 10/15/2009
- by Ethan Anderton
- firstshowing.net
In a story from Variety, Michael Schiffer (screenwriter of Lean on Me) has sold his pitch Speed Boyz to Alcon Entertainment.
The story follows real-life engineer-turned-teacher Simon Hauger. He inspired a bunch of troubled Philadelphia high school students to win a competition to build an alternative-fuel vehicle.
Hauger used "an unorthodox curriculum in 1998 to improve students' performance in math and science. The kids went on to win the annual Tour de Sol -- a national green car competition -- where they beat teams from top universities with their electric cars."...
The story follows real-life engineer-turned-teacher Simon Hauger. He inspired a bunch of troubled Philadelphia high school students to win a competition to build an alternative-fuel vehicle.
Hauger used "an unorthodox curriculum in 1998 to improve students' performance in math and science. The kids went on to win the annual Tour de Sol -- a national green car competition -- where they beat teams from top universities with their electric cars."...
- 10/15/2009
- MovieWeb
Twenty years later, screenwriter Michael Schiffer is heading back down the rough-and-tumble halls of high school.
In 1989, Schiffer's screenplay for "Lean on Me" became a Warner Bros. drama that starred Morgan Freeman as real-life, hard-nosed New Jersey high school principal Joe Clark. Now Schiffer has sold his pitch "Speed Boyz" to Alcon Entertainment, and it concerns real-life engineer-turned-teacher Simon Hauger, who inspired a group of troubled Philadelphia high schoolers to win a competition to build an alternative-fuel vehicle.
The pitch sale was in the mid-six-figure range.
The Gotham Group's Ellen Goldsmith-Vein and Lindsay Williams are producing along with Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove of Alcon. Gotham's Jeremy Bell and Alcon's Steven Wegner will exec produce.
Hauger, a math teacher, launched an unorthodox curriculum in 1998 to improve students' performance in math and science. The kids went on to win the annual Tour de Sol -- a national green car competition...
In 1989, Schiffer's screenplay for "Lean on Me" became a Warner Bros. drama that starred Morgan Freeman as real-life, hard-nosed New Jersey high school principal Joe Clark. Now Schiffer has sold his pitch "Speed Boyz" to Alcon Entertainment, and it concerns real-life engineer-turned-teacher Simon Hauger, who inspired a group of troubled Philadelphia high schoolers to win a competition to build an alternative-fuel vehicle.
The pitch sale was in the mid-six-figure range.
The Gotham Group's Ellen Goldsmith-Vein and Lindsay Williams are producing along with Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove of Alcon. Gotham's Jeremy Bell and Alcon's Steven Wegner will exec produce.
Hauger, a math teacher, launched an unorthodox curriculum in 1998 to improve students' performance in math and science. The kids went on to win the annual Tour de Sol -- a national green car competition...
- 10/14/2009
- by By Jay A. Fernandez and Borys Kit
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Film review: 'Very Bad Things'
'Very Bad' Sets a Nightmare Scenario / Grisly tale of Vegas bachelor party turning to disaster reveals thin plot
By Duane Byrge
TORONTO -- Boys will be boys -- especially in Vegas -- in this acerbic, savage comedy about a bachelor-party weekend that turns into a nightmare. With an appealing and talented cast including Christian Slater and Cameron Diaz, this PolyGram Filmed Entertainment release, playing the Toronto International Film Festival, should draw some initial appeal among males, but its grisly nature will likely turn off mainstreamers. This is a love-it-or-hate-it type of outing.
In this dark escapade, square suburban dude Kyle Fisher (Jon Favreau) is set to marry Laura Diaz), the girl of his dreams, despite her high-maintenance nature. Kyle's favorite bad-apple buddy, Boyd (Slater), arranges one last bash in Las Vegas for his bashful pal, including, of course, a stripper who supplements her earnings with other talents. These middle-class squares head from their suburban Southern California neighborhood for a wild weekend on the Strip. Things get quickly rowdy and out of control, and in a delirious fit of passion, Kyle accidentally impales the stripper on a bathroom fixture. Good-boy Kyle has just killed a young woman. But for bad-boy Boyd, it's a simple question of situational ethics: Bury the stripper in the desert. Why should they ruin their lives for one crazy action? He convinces them of this wisdom.
Essentially, you've got "Lord of the Flies" hurled into "Animal House". Screenwriter-director Peter Berg undeniably fires off some lethal and decadently funny salvos, but the plot soon wears thin. It becomes an exercise in ghoulishness as the fellows, owing to their own craziness and sense of doom, escalate the killings, getting in deeper and deeper.
The film's best feature is the choice casting, with Slater shining as the wily leader of this debauchery. Diaz is hilarious as a very anal bride-to-be, and Daniel Stern, with all his twitches and tics, is sympathetic as the guy who is downright paranoid about getting caught. Favreau is also well-chosen, projecting a naivete and weakness intrinsic to the role.
While there are indeed some thoughtful, provocative moral quandaries in Berg's script, the film is played mainly for noisy, low-level farce; after a while, it wears repetitively thin. Praise to the production crew; they've stoked it with some very funny stuff, most prominently costume designer Terry Dresbach's loud outfits, perfect for the raucous mayhem that ensues.
VERY BAD THINGS
PolyGram Films
PolyGram Filmed Entertainment presents
in association with Initial Entertainment Group
an Interscope Communications production
in association with Ballpark Prods.
A Peter Berg film
Credits: Producers: Michael Schiffer, Diane Nabatoff, Cindy Cowan; Screenwriter-director: Peter Berg; Executive producers: Ted Field, Scott Kroopf, Michael Helfant, Christian Slater; Line producer: Laura Greenlee; Director of photography: David Hennings; Production designer: Dina Lipton; Editor: Dan Lebenthal; Music: Stewart Copeland; Costume designer: Terry Dresbach. Cast: Robert Boyd: Christian Slater; Laura Garrety: Cameron Diaz; Adam Berkow: Daniel Stern; Kyle Fisher: Jon Favreau; Lois Berkow: Jeanne Tripplehorn; Michael Berkow: Jeremy Piven; Charles Moore: Leland Orser. MPAA rating: R. Color/stereo. Running time -- 101 minutes...
By Duane Byrge
TORONTO -- Boys will be boys -- especially in Vegas -- in this acerbic, savage comedy about a bachelor-party weekend that turns into a nightmare. With an appealing and talented cast including Christian Slater and Cameron Diaz, this PolyGram Filmed Entertainment release, playing the Toronto International Film Festival, should draw some initial appeal among males, but its grisly nature will likely turn off mainstreamers. This is a love-it-or-hate-it type of outing.
In this dark escapade, square suburban dude Kyle Fisher (Jon Favreau) is set to marry Laura Diaz), the girl of his dreams, despite her high-maintenance nature. Kyle's favorite bad-apple buddy, Boyd (Slater), arranges one last bash in Las Vegas for his bashful pal, including, of course, a stripper who supplements her earnings with other talents. These middle-class squares head from their suburban Southern California neighborhood for a wild weekend on the Strip. Things get quickly rowdy and out of control, and in a delirious fit of passion, Kyle accidentally impales the stripper on a bathroom fixture. Good-boy Kyle has just killed a young woman. But for bad-boy Boyd, it's a simple question of situational ethics: Bury the stripper in the desert. Why should they ruin their lives for one crazy action? He convinces them of this wisdom.
Essentially, you've got "Lord of the Flies" hurled into "Animal House". Screenwriter-director Peter Berg undeniably fires off some lethal and decadently funny salvos, but the plot soon wears thin. It becomes an exercise in ghoulishness as the fellows, owing to their own craziness and sense of doom, escalate the killings, getting in deeper and deeper.
The film's best feature is the choice casting, with Slater shining as the wily leader of this debauchery. Diaz is hilarious as a very anal bride-to-be, and Daniel Stern, with all his twitches and tics, is sympathetic as the guy who is downright paranoid about getting caught. Favreau is also well-chosen, projecting a naivete and weakness intrinsic to the role.
While there are indeed some thoughtful, provocative moral quandaries in Berg's script, the film is played mainly for noisy, low-level farce; after a while, it wears repetitively thin. Praise to the production crew; they've stoked it with some very funny stuff, most prominently costume designer Terry Dresbach's loud outfits, perfect for the raucous mayhem that ensues.
VERY BAD THINGS
PolyGram Films
PolyGram Filmed Entertainment presents
in association with Initial Entertainment Group
an Interscope Communications production
in association with Ballpark Prods.
A Peter Berg film
Credits: Producers: Michael Schiffer, Diane Nabatoff, Cindy Cowan; Screenwriter-director: Peter Berg; Executive producers: Ted Field, Scott Kroopf, Michael Helfant, Christian Slater; Line producer: Laura Greenlee; Director of photography: David Hennings; Production designer: Dina Lipton; Editor: Dan Lebenthal; Music: Stewart Copeland; Costume designer: Terry Dresbach. Cast: Robert Boyd: Christian Slater; Laura Garrety: Cameron Diaz; Adam Berkow: Daniel Stern; Kyle Fisher: Jon Favreau; Lois Berkow: Jeanne Tripplehorn; Michael Berkow: Jeremy Piven; Charles Moore: Leland Orser. MPAA rating: R. Color/stereo. Running time -- 101 minutes...
- 9/15/1998
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Film review: 'The Peacemaker'
The wait has been worth it. DreamWorks Pictures has finally launched its first movie, and it's a smartly calibrated, mainstream entertainment.
Starring George Clooney and Nicole Kidman as a perfectly mismatched duo fighting world terrorism, "The Peacemaker" will certainly be a big moneymaker this fall on the domestic front, and down the line it should score winning international numbers and counter this country's sorry trade deficits.
Wired around the current, post-Cold War hot plot -- renegade terrorists hijack nuclear missiles within a dysfunctional Russia -- "The Peacemaker" is the cineplex equivalent of the airport paperback novel, Robert Ludlum's side of the rack. It's a crafty pasting of front-page reality, including the horrors in Bosnia, on top of well-proven story formulas. And it's torqued by the battling banter between Clooney and Kidman.
In screenwriter Michael Schiffer's complex but tightly compacted scenario, Clooney and Kidman step out in a variation of the battling-buddy movie. Except for the fact that they aren't exactly buddies: she's Dr. Julia Kelly, a straight-laced nuclear scientist and acting head of the White House Nuclear Smuggling Group, and he's Lt. Col. Thomas Devoe, an Army Special Intelligence officer. When a trainload of nuclear warheads is hijacked by terrorists in the Russian boonies, they're paired up to track down the terrorists before they can, say, deliver the nukes to Iran or, for instance, blow up the U.N. building. And, the clock is not just ticking, it's going fast-forward.
Although it may not beat out "L.A. Confidential" for the most subplots in a movie award, "The Peacemaker" is crammed with a heavy story-load, from geopolitics to the psychology of blue-collar women who have risen to the top of a male-dominated profession. Fortunately, Schiffer and director Mimi Leder don't allow the story to jam up, or for that matter, even slow down. Unfortunately, this full-throttle surge is somewhat akin to the traveler who doesn't stop to smell the roses along the way.
The best stuff is off the beaten plot: It's the human stuff, not the braininess of the narrative or the gadgetry of the effects, that's the highlight. In short, the movie's most refreshing and memorable moments involve the interplay between the loosey-goosey intelligence officer and the by-the-book nuclear scientist.
To be sure, even a movie as professionally scoped and intricately blueprinted as this one would fall flat if the chemistry between the leads wasn't there. And, Clooney, with his salt-and-pepper flair and seat-of-his-pants daring, is a believable and wonderfully appealing action hero.
Studio executives who are familiar with films before 1985 might recall a chap named Cary Grant who outwitted and outscrambled the bad guys in such winners as "North by Northwest" and didn't need a membership at Gold's Gym to do it.
Although his constant head tilting has become somewhat of a distraction, Clooney's suave edginess brings a welcome verve to a genre in need of tone rather than bulk. Similarly, Kidman's intelligent and appealing performance as, essentially, Clooney's brainy straightwoman, is refreshingly strong-spirited. She has the presence and confidence that makes one recall the best of strong-woman performers -- Rosalind Russell types who could dish it out and take it, no punches pulled.
Overall, Clooney and Kidman make an excellent pairing and could generate a franchise for DreamWorks, particularly if their battling banter is not shackled by overly busy plotting. Think William Powell and Myrna Loy.
Supporting players are well-selected and generally personalize some standard-issue roles. Armin Mueller-Stahl is particularly outstanding as an old-school Cold Warrior, and Marcel Iures remarkably manages to convey his terrorist character's psychology not in simplistic black-and-white tones but rather in the cracks of credible human frailties.
Technically, the film's Byzantine plotting is complemented by an appropriately murky look; credit cinematographer Dietrich Lohmann for the threatening tones. Editor David Rosenbloom's kinetic cuts bring thrust to the loaded story, while Hans Zimmer's stentorian music is a terrific blast in the great full-horned tradition of "The Guns of Navarone".
THE PEACEMAKER
DreamWorks Pictures
A Mimi Leder film
Producers:Walter Parkes, Branko Lustig
Director:Mimi Leder
Screenwriter:Michael Schiffer
Executive producers:Michael Grillo, Laurie MacDonald
Director of photography:Dietrich Lohmann
Production designer:Leslie Dilley
Editor:David Rosenbloom
Co-executive producer:John Wells
Costume designer:Shelley Komarov
Music:Hans Zimmer
Co-producers :Pat Kehoe, Leslie Cockburn, Andrew Cockburn
Casting:Risa Bramon Garcia, Randi Hiller
Visual effects supervisor:Michael Backes
Second unit director:Conrad E. Palmisano
Color/stereo
Cast:
Thomas Devoe:George Clooney
Julia Kelly:Nicole Kidman
Dusan Gavrich:Marcel Iures
Alexander Kodoroff:Alexander Baluev
Vlado Mirich:Rene Medvesek
Hamilton:Gary Werntz
Ken:Randall Batinkoff
General Garnett:Jim Haynie
Shummaker:Alexander Strobele
Appleton:Holt McCallany
CPN Beach:Michael Boatman
Senator Bevens:Joan Copeland
Santiago:Carlos Gomez
Dimitri Vertikoff:Armin Mueller-Stahl
Running time -- 122 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
Starring George Clooney and Nicole Kidman as a perfectly mismatched duo fighting world terrorism, "The Peacemaker" will certainly be a big moneymaker this fall on the domestic front, and down the line it should score winning international numbers and counter this country's sorry trade deficits.
Wired around the current, post-Cold War hot plot -- renegade terrorists hijack nuclear missiles within a dysfunctional Russia -- "The Peacemaker" is the cineplex equivalent of the airport paperback novel, Robert Ludlum's side of the rack. It's a crafty pasting of front-page reality, including the horrors in Bosnia, on top of well-proven story formulas. And it's torqued by the battling banter between Clooney and Kidman.
In screenwriter Michael Schiffer's complex but tightly compacted scenario, Clooney and Kidman step out in a variation of the battling-buddy movie. Except for the fact that they aren't exactly buddies: she's Dr. Julia Kelly, a straight-laced nuclear scientist and acting head of the White House Nuclear Smuggling Group, and he's Lt. Col. Thomas Devoe, an Army Special Intelligence officer. When a trainload of nuclear warheads is hijacked by terrorists in the Russian boonies, they're paired up to track down the terrorists before they can, say, deliver the nukes to Iran or, for instance, blow up the U.N. building. And, the clock is not just ticking, it's going fast-forward.
Although it may not beat out "L.A. Confidential" for the most subplots in a movie award, "The Peacemaker" is crammed with a heavy story-load, from geopolitics to the psychology of blue-collar women who have risen to the top of a male-dominated profession. Fortunately, Schiffer and director Mimi Leder don't allow the story to jam up, or for that matter, even slow down. Unfortunately, this full-throttle surge is somewhat akin to the traveler who doesn't stop to smell the roses along the way.
The best stuff is off the beaten plot: It's the human stuff, not the braininess of the narrative or the gadgetry of the effects, that's the highlight. In short, the movie's most refreshing and memorable moments involve the interplay between the loosey-goosey intelligence officer and the by-the-book nuclear scientist.
To be sure, even a movie as professionally scoped and intricately blueprinted as this one would fall flat if the chemistry between the leads wasn't there. And, Clooney, with his salt-and-pepper flair and seat-of-his-pants daring, is a believable and wonderfully appealing action hero.
Studio executives who are familiar with films before 1985 might recall a chap named Cary Grant who outwitted and outscrambled the bad guys in such winners as "North by Northwest" and didn't need a membership at Gold's Gym to do it.
Although his constant head tilting has become somewhat of a distraction, Clooney's suave edginess brings a welcome verve to a genre in need of tone rather than bulk. Similarly, Kidman's intelligent and appealing performance as, essentially, Clooney's brainy straightwoman, is refreshingly strong-spirited. She has the presence and confidence that makes one recall the best of strong-woman performers -- Rosalind Russell types who could dish it out and take it, no punches pulled.
Overall, Clooney and Kidman make an excellent pairing and could generate a franchise for DreamWorks, particularly if their battling banter is not shackled by overly busy plotting. Think William Powell and Myrna Loy.
Supporting players are well-selected and generally personalize some standard-issue roles. Armin Mueller-Stahl is particularly outstanding as an old-school Cold Warrior, and Marcel Iures remarkably manages to convey his terrorist character's psychology not in simplistic black-and-white tones but rather in the cracks of credible human frailties.
Technically, the film's Byzantine plotting is complemented by an appropriately murky look; credit cinematographer Dietrich Lohmann for the threatening tones. Editor David Rosenbloom's kinetic cuts bring thrust to the loaded story, while Hans Zimmer's stentorian music is a terrific blast in the great full-horned tradition of "The Guns of Navarone".
THE PEACEMAKER
DreamWorks Pictures
A Mimi Leder film
Producers:Walter Parkes, Branko Lustig
Director:Mimi Leder
Screenwriter:Michael Schiffer
Executive producers:Michael Grillo, Laurie MacDonald
Director of photography:Dietrich Lohmann
Production designer:Leslie Dilley
Editor:David Rosenbloom
Co-executive producer:John Wells
Costume designer:Shelley Komarov
Music:Hans Zimmer
Co-producers :Pat Kehoe, Leslie Cockburn, Andrew Cockburn
Casting:Risa Bramon Garcia, Randi Hiller
Visual effects supervisor:Michael Backes
Second unit director:Conrad E. Palmisano
Color/stereo
Cast:
Thomas Devoe:George Clooney
Julia Kelly:Nicole Kidman
Dusan Gavrich:Marcel Iures
Alexander Kodoroff:Alexander Baluev
Vlado Mirich:Rene Medvesek
Hamilton:Gary Werntz
Ken:Randall Batinkoff
General Garnett:Jim Haynie
Shummaker:Alexander Strobele
Appleton:Holt McCallany
CPN Beach:Michael Boatman
Senator Bevens:Joan Copeland
Santiago:Carlos Gomez
Dimitri Vertikoff:Armin Mueller-Stahl
Running time -- 122 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 9/22/1997
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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