cisler on Thu, 27 Sep 2001 20:52:51 +0200 (CEST) |
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<nettime> Media delays of entertainment programs and movies |
Since the 9.11 attacks our television, film, and radio industries here in the U.S. have put a lot of programs on hold or changed the content of others. In the immediate aftermath, comedians were off the air or became serious. The Onion web site had innocuous re-runs of old satire. Numerous television pilot program or opening episodes were delayed or changed. The opening season for new television series was due to start here at the end of this month. Included were three different series about the Central Intelligence Agency: "24", "The Agency", and "Alias" most of which dealt with terrorists or some exciting thread with visual possibilities. They won't be the tales of "cratologists" in the CIA (the people who analyze satellite photos of shipping crates to determine what weapons or planes country X is buying from country Y). All of them were meant to boost the image of the agency which has been criticized yet given more money in the wake of the intelligence failures this month. A number of movies are being re-shot, according to the New York Film Commission, in light of the attacks. One film/movie/blockbuster is being withdrawn: Arnold Swarzenegger's "Collateral Damage" I took an extensive look at the genesis of this movie, what fans thought about it, and the recent withdrawal. It was due to open (after many delays) October 5 here in the U.S. That means the prints were made, but not distributed. The web site has been pulled, but Google archived enough material to help me with this posting. Arnold: "I'll be back!" Swarzenegger (September 24) "For the last, you know, 50 years, action movies have been in and if they are well-made people will go in to see it," he said. "I mean, I don't think that - if there's any indication that this terrorist attack happened because of some of the terrorist movies that were made, then that's one thing, but that's definitely not the case." -Arnold Swarzenegger OFFICIAL Warner Brothers STATEMENT ON "Collateral Damage"! Wednesday, September 12, 2001 WB has released their official statement minutes ago: WB Studios, BURBANK, CA, September 12, 2001 - In light of yesterday's tragic events and out of respect for the victims and their families, Warner Bros. Pictures has postponed the October 5th release of the political action thriller "Collateral Damage." A new release date for "Collateral Damage" has not yet been scheduled. Warner Bros. Pictures is making an immediate and complete effort to retrieve all outdoor advertising; to pull the website and all in-theater advertising, including trailers and posters; and cancel all radio and television advertising and promotions for this film. On behalf of director Andrew Davis, producers Steven Reuther and David Foster, the film's star, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Warner Bros. Pictures, we extend our deepest sympathy to the family and friends of those who lost their lives in Tuesday's terrorist attacks and join the nation in focusing our hope on the continuing rescue efforts. THE FANS SPEAK OUT Akim Bischoff, who runs TheArnoldFan.com wrote an editorial about the delay: ...Unfortunately, and ironically, Schwarzenegger's upcoming film "Collateral Damage" has become a victim of exactly what its title suggests. After charting the progress of "Collateral Damage" for over a year now, with our anticipation growing each day, Warner Bros. has understandably pulled the plug on its theatrical release with only 3 weeks until its debut. It seems almost like a cruel joke, but it was the right thing to do in consideration of the thousands of people across the world who lost friends and family in Tuesday's tragedy. So what will become of "Collateral Damage?" Warner Bros. has not publicly announced as of yet, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to assess the studio's actions and determine (for the most part) the film's fate. Here is what can be assessed: THE RELEASE DATE: When Warner Bros. pulled the official Collateral Damage website off-line, this offered a clear indication that Arnold's terrorist thriller would not be released in the next 6 months, in concern of the nation's newfound sensitivity towards terrorism. If Warner Bros. had any intention in releasing "Collateral Damage" in the next 6 months, they would leave the website running and just postpone advertising. Some people may suggest that the studio just wants to retool the film's website and promotion minus any terroristic themes, and they will re-launch it in the next few months, but that is impossible. Terrorism is what the film "Collateral Damage" is all about. There is no way to repackage it. (Anyone who has read the script knows exactly what I mean.) My prediction is "Collateral Damage" will not see the light of day until at least one year from now, after the anniversary of this horrible tragedy. While this realization is very frustrating, 1 year is certainly better than what has faired for similar films in this situation, like the infamous "O" which was delayed for a couple years after the Columbine shooting. THE TITLE: In my opinion, once this film is re-released, "Collateral Damage" will not be the title. Tuesday's tragedy has changed the course of history. America has declared a "War on Terrorism" and it is a foregone conclusion that the U.S.A. will enact a long military campaign in the days to come. With all military strikes, once again focused in the middle east, there will always be 'collateral damage' (the taking of innocent lives) in the next few years. Simultaneously, the term "collateral damage" will increase dramatically among news journalists across the world. With that said, Warner Bros. will try to avoid this stigma and change the film's title upon re-release (maybe focusing on the word "justice.") THE CONTENT: This is what concerns me the most. There is a fear among film lovers that Warner Bros. may feel the need to tone down ''Collateral Damage" and remove a great portion of graphic violence especially during the scenes that depict terrorist destruction. This decision would definitely be disastrous. It would not only butcher Andrew Davis' original vision but it would be an insult to the audiences everywhere. Would it make sense to soften the violence of a World War 2 film to appease the surviving veterans of the World War 2? Would it make sense to depict the war as a tame event (and not the gruesome horror that it truly was?) Of course not! War veterans everywhere would be extremely insulted, and I wouldn't blame them. Well the same standard should be applied here. Any effort to actually soften the depiction of a terrorist act on film would ruin any sense of realism in "Collateral Damage." We all have learned that terrorist acts are brutal. Many of us will be able to relate to Arnold's character when this film hits theaters someday. Let's not make a joke out of it. Now more than ever, the audience should never be fooled. They should always be reminded how horrible terrorist destruction can be. -- SO, WHAT'S THE STORY? In June, some writing under the name of Harry Caul (Gene Hackman's character in "The Conversation") posted a history of the screenplay for "Collateral Damage." What's interesting is the number of screenwriters and how the backstory for the main character changes during the frequent re-writes. It begins as a tale of revenge by a man whose wife and child have been killed by a terrorist's bomb, changes to a basketball coach whose son and wife are killed when a terrorist blows up a tower in Manhatten, and ends with Arnold as a fireman going after a Colombian drug lord. For more details about the script changes read on. Script Comment: COLLATERAL DAMAGE By Harry Caul (6/14/01) DISCUSSION BOARD: Click Here. Hey gang, Chris here. Harry checks in with some thoughts on the upcoming COLLATERAL DAMAGE film to be released in October, and may indeed be pushed back even further. There was a review of an older draft up on the web, but it's gone. We've done some checking and have this report for you. Hey Chris, your pal Harry here. I've got a saying, a proverb, a maxim, for you: The greater the number of screenwriters involved with the film, the greater the odds it will suck. Due to be released in October (maybe) is Arnold Schwarzenegger's latest attempt at regaining his blockbuster form, COLLATERAL DAMAGE. THE 6TH DAY and END OF DAYS nearly resulting in about the sixth time Arnold has faced the end of his days as a major Hollywood movie star, or at least one who is considered capable of carrying a film by himself. His last legit hit was TRUE LIES way back in 1994. COLLATERAL DAMAGE is a script originally penned by Ronald Roose, revised by Nicholad Meyer (STAR TREK 6), then by the Griffiths (David and Peter), and again by Mike Werb and Michael Colleary, the writers behind John Woo's FACE/OFF. And if that's not enough for you, Terry George (THE DEVIL'S OWN) and Channing Gibson (RED PLANET) also got stabs at the script as did Frank Darabont (THE GREEN MILE). I was unable to discover final screenwriting credits as the WGA will most likely have to decide. I believe only three screenwriters can receive credit, there might be an exception if a screenwriting team is involved where by four screenwriters would be credited. I'm sure someone will correct me if I am wrong. (Pop quiz: what is the highest total for screenwriters working on a single project?) I've read two old drafts, and both are absolutely worthless in terms of a review as the vision Ronald Roose had for this story has long since been destroyed. Now, I'm not saying that Roose's original script was a masterpiece. The original story dealt with a guy whose wife and child are blow up buy a terrorist's bomb, and then he seeks revenge. By the time the script was on its fourth draft (after revisions by David and Peter Griffiths draft) the story dealt with a high school basketball coach (and ex-player at U. of North Carolina) who's son and wife are killed when a terrorist blows up Mason Tower in Manhattan. At this point in 1998 Arnold could not have been involved as no one in their right mind would have him playing a basketball coach -- especially since that draft shows his character doing basketball drills. Could have made for some humor actually. Another knock against the story at that point, the Oklahoma city bombing. No one wanted to make a movie about a terrorist who blows up a building where hundreds are killed and injured. Who can blame them. Eventually Mike Werb and Michael Colleary (FACE/OFF) are brought in (sometime in January of 2000) and do an almost complete overhaul of the story as far as I can tell. Not long after their work Arnold Schwarzenegger was quoted as saying (commenting on the story to Empire Magazine) "Colombian guerrillas attack a motorcade in Los Angeles that has the Colombian ambassador inside. They blow up the motorcade and at the same time my family gets killed, which is called collateral damage, it¹s a military term. I go to Colombia to try and find who was responsible and it becomes find myself in a big mess with death squads, the right-wing military, guerrillas, terrorists and drug-lords." The story moves from Arab terrorists to drug lords in Colombia, which fits right in today's latest go-around in cliché ridden films. Right now the fashionable thing to do is make your bad guys drug dealers. So if you're finishing up that spec script and your bad guys are Arab terrorists, change it to Mexican or Colombian bad guys ;) I believe there was some more "tweaking" done to the script until we have this description some months ago on the movie's official web site: "Collateral Damage tells the story of family man and firefighter Gordon Brewer (Arnold Schwarzenegger), who is plunged into the complex and dangerous world of international terrorism after he loses his wife and child in a bombing credited to Claudio "The Wolf" Perrini (Curtis). Frustrated with the official investigation and haunted by the thought that the man responsible for murdering his family might never be brought to justice, Brewer takes matters into his own hands and tracks his quarry ultimately to Colombia." The fourth draft to the script, October 23, 1998, could be described the exact same way (funny ain't it?), the only major changes are the main character going from basketball coach to fireman (better suited for someone the size of Arnold), and it's now set in Colombia not the Middle East. The script is sometimes engaging, but most of the time surprisingly bad. Gordy Pitt, now Gordon Brewer (to be played by Arnold S.), plays a basketball coach in the old draft, one who takes matters into his own hands and somehow gets to Libya and hunts down a man, called "The Wolf." A known terrorist and the guy who is credited with the attack that killed his family. This story requires that you suspend your disbelief to an almost unacceptable limit. By moving the story south of the border you the audience member will have an easier time believing a fireman could actually find a terrorist down there. At least this way he's not going half-way around the world. But still, there will undoubtedly be some serious suspension of disbelief in order for this story to work. The early drafts have a nice twist in them, and since I suspect it could still hold true for the final script that was shot, I will withhold it. Overall, I don't think we can expect much from this film. Countless rewrites, polishes and tweaks have most likely created a convoluted, compromising and inventless script. We already know Arnold likes things to be written a certain way in his movies. This will be no exception. The film wrapped months ago and is awaiting release. It is directed by Andrew Davis (THE FUGITIVE, A PERFECT MURDER, UNDER SIEGE) and also stars John Leguizamo (Felix Ramirez), Francesca Neri (Selena Perrini), Elias Koteas (CIA Agent Peter Brandt), John Turturro (Sean Armstrong), Cliff Curtis (Claudio "The Wolf" Perrini), Lindsay Frost, Jsu Garcia, and Tyler Posey. -- Harry Caul www.screenwritersutopia.com/script_reviews/collateral_damage.html Steve Cisler # distributed via <nettime>: no commercial use without permission # <nettime> is a moderated mailing list for net criticism, # collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets # more info: majordomo@bbs.thing.net and "info nettime-l" in the msg body # archive: http://www.nettime.org contact: nettime@bbs.thing.net