Richard Dreyfuss

TV Review: A&E Mini-Series Remake of ‘Coma’ is Lifeless

BrianTT — Mon, 03 Sep 2012 10:17:30 -0400

CHICAGO – When I heard that A&E was airing a remake of Michael Crichton’s wonderful slice of ’70s health care paranoia “Coma” (based on the book by Robin Cook), I thought, “That makes perfect sense.” With our current national focus on what’s going to happen to us when we get sick along with the continued health issues of the aging Baby Boomer generation, a “Coma” remake was a great idea. There are plenty of reasons to do another “Coma.” It’s just too bad that the producers of this turgid mess never stumbled upon any of them.

Television Rating: 2.0/5.0

It’s truly maddening to see so many talented people sucked into a morass of bad writing, lazy direction, and personality-free filmmaking as they are in “Coma.” Leading lady Lauren Ambrose (“Six Feet Under,” “Torchwood: Miracle”) proves to be a capable lead and Steven Pasquale breaks out of the blockhead role he played on “Rescue Me” to adeptly play a prominent surgeon but the two stars of this two-night affair can’t overcome the many flaws on every level of the production, even within the supporting cast of living legends that includes a bizarrely ineffective Geena Davis, a solid Richard Drefuss, reliable Joe Morton, wasted James Woods, and a movie-stealing Ellen Burstyn. Of all these talented people, only Burstyn seems to be relishing the chance to inject this drowsy piece with a bit of morbid personality. She’s more fun than the film around her deserves.

Coma
Photo credit: A&E

Ambrose plays Susan Wheeler, a rising medical student who shares a name with one of the buildings at the school she attends. Her health care industry lineage allows her to climb the ladder more quickly than her jealous peers but it also means that she’s the first to uncover a massive conspiracy at the world-renowned hospital at which she works. The first question is a simple and obvious one — why does this hospital have a higher percentage of patients who enter comas during seemingly routing surgeries than the national average? Could there be a relation to the Jefferson Institute, a controversial building at which coma patients are housed like dry cleaning in a futuristic laundromat?

Coma
Photo credit: A&E

Before director Mikael Salomon can let an ounce of actual paranoia enter his production, Susan is off on a thankless series of discoveries and near-misses. As you might expect, the closer that Susan gets to the truth about her hospital’s patient record and what might be happening at the Jefferson Institute, the more powerful people want to keep her quiet. Salomon and his team leave a few question marks as to which of the power figures circling this unraveling conspiracy are the actual bad guys but things get really silly when the house of cards starts to collapse. One character is attacked in the most bizarre and implausible murder attempt I’ve seen in a very long time but that’s nothing compared to when Susan makes a crucial connection and decides to text her discovery to another character. She texts! If you thought you were on to something that would make front page news and change hundreds of lives, don’t you think you could at least make an actual call?

In all seriousness, this is a minor complaint but there are far more broad ones I could levy at this disappointing production. Overall, the piece just doesn’t have any personality. Crichton and Cook brilliantly exploited that fear that we all have when we submit to being put under anesthesia. How do we know we can trust the people who now have complete control over our bodies? How can we be certain we’ll come back? As he so often did, Crichton painted a scary vision of a future where one of the most essential authority figures of our lives — doctors — could no longer be trusted.

The 2012 “Coma” could have brilliantly played with how our fears of hospitalization, mortality, and even health insurance costs have changed since the original. It could have, but that would have required more ambition than the going-through-the-motions production we get here. Nearly everything that was altered, including a substantially different climax and finale, is dramatically lesser than the original. Sure, things get a little bizarrely morbid in the final act but it’s too little too late. Before that, “Coma” is a lifeless mix of routine TV mystery filmmaking. It’s more than a wasted opportunity. It’s a waste of time.

“Coma” will air on A&E on two nights, Monday, September 3, and Tuesday, September 4, 2012. It stars Lauren Ambrose, Steven Pasquale, Geena Davis, Richard Dreyfuss, James Woods, Michael Weston, and Ellen Burstyn. It was directed by Mikael Salomon and is based on the book by Robin Cook.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

Blu-ray Review: Restored ‘Jaws’ Gives Your Blu-ray Player Purpose

BrianTT — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 17:11:41 -0400

CHICAGO – I’ve long argued that the main reason that Blu-ray sales didn’t instantly take off like purists argued that they should have was because too many people’s favorite movies weren’t even available on the format. Universal has gone a long way to fixing that problem in 2012 through their 100th Anniversary line of Blu-ray releases and today sees the company unveiling for the public what is unquestionably the Blu-ray of the year. “Jaws” is back, digitally restored in a way that’s truly difficult to put into words. You need to see it. You need to own it. Or your Blu-ray player isn’t doing its job.

Rating: 5.0/5.0

As for the movie itself, there are some films that I adore for which I’m open to debate or discussion about their potential flaws. “Jaws” is not one of them. The movie is PERFECT. It’s one of those flicks that I simply have to watch every time it’s on cable and I get something new out of it every time. This release gives fans a wealth of that “something new to appreciate” sensation because, as cliched as this sounds, you’ve simply never seen “Jaws” like this before. From the moonlight on the water in the opening scene to the way the red of the blood looks just a bit brighter to the stubble on Roy Scheider’s face — the level of detail is astonishing. And yet it’s never overly polished. There was a time when films from the ’70s and ’80s often came to Blu-ray with a plastic look. That is not the case here. It is quite simply one of the best HD transfers in history (and there’s a great mini-featurette about how it was accomplished — going back to the original film and polishing it up and color correcting it frame by frame by frame).

One of the best movies ever made with one of the best HD restorations in history should be MORE than enough reason to rush out and buy “Jaws” (or, even better, click on the link below and do so through your favorite site). But you need more? Want some special features? How about hours of them filled with details that even this Spielberg historian didn’t know about and a digital version, DVD version, and Ultraviolet version so you can get your “Jaws” on wherever you may be?

The highlights of the special features are the feature-length documentaries “The Making of Jaws” (which was previously available on DVD but is still a spectacular document on the history of the film) and the newly available “The Shark is Still Working: The Impact & Legacy of Jaws.” Storyboards, production photoes, deleted scenes, outtakes — Honestly, “Jaws” is one of those Blu-rays that makes a critic regret having given 5 stars in the past because most of those releases weren’t this good.

Jaws was released on Blu-ray on August 14, 2012
Photo credit: Universal

Synopsis:
Directed by Academy Award winner Steven Spielberg, Jaws set the standard for edge-of-your-seat suspense quickly becoming a cultural phenomenon and forever changing the movie industry. When the seaside community of Amity finds itself under attack by a dangerous great white shark, the town’s chief of police (Roy Scheider), a young marine biologist (Richard Dreyfuss) and a grizzled shark hunter (Robert Shaw) embark on a desperate quest to destroy the beast before it strikes again. Featuring an unforgettable score that evokes pure terror, Jaws remains one of the most influential and gripping adventures in motion picture history.

Click here to buy “Jaws”

Special Features:
o The Shark Is Still Working: The Impact & Legacy of Jaws
o The Making Of Jaws
o Jaws: The Restoration
o Deleted Scenes and Outtakes
o From The Set
o Storyboards
o Productions Photos
o Marketing Jaws
o Jaws Phenomenon
o Original Theatrical Trailer

“Jaws” stars Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss, and Robert Shaw. It was directed by Steven Spielberg and released on Blu-ray on August 14, 2012.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: 5 Blu-rays of Digitally Remastered ‘Jaws’ From Steven Spielberg

HollywoodChicago.com — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 00:13:14 -0400

CHICAGO – In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Blu-ray with our unique social giveaway technology, we have 5 free Blu-rays up for grabs for the highly anticipated home entertainment release of 1975’s “Jaws” from Steven Spielberg! This release has been digitally remastered and fully restored from high-resolution, 35-millimeter original film elements.

“Jaws,” which comes to Blu-ray and DVD from Universal Home Entertainment on Aug. 14, 2012, stars Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss, Lorraine Gary, Murray Hamilton, Carl Gottlieb, Jeffrey Kramer, Susan Backlinie, Jonathan Filley, Ted Grossman, Chris Rebello, Jay Mello, Lee Fierro and Jeffrey Voorhees from director Steven Spielberg and writers Peter Benchley and Carl Gottlieb.

Demonstration of a “Jaws” frame repair.
Image credit: Universal Home Entertainment

To win your free “Jaws” Blu-ray courtesy of HollywoodChicago.com, get interactive with our unique Hookup technology directly below. That’s it! The more social actions you complete below, the higher yours odds of winning!

Before entering, make sure you allow pop-ups.
If viewing this on your phone, click “Go to Full Site” at the bottom of the page to enter.
Deadline: Entries can continue being submitted through Sunday, Aug. 12, 2012
at 5 p.m. CST. These Hookup winners will be awarded via e-mail that night.
If necessary: To see your entry count on a repeat visit, submit your name and e-mail again.
Note: You must enter your mailing address to win.

Here is the synopsis for the digitally remastered “Jaws”:

“Jaws” – one of the most enduring thrillers in motion picture history – is coming to Blu-ray and DVD for the first time on Aug. 14, 2012. Directed by Steven Spielberg and nominated for four Academy Awards including best picture, relive the hunt for the great white that launched the beginning of the summer blockbuster. “Jaws” continues to make audiences afraid to go in the water.

Filled with suspense and adventure, “Jaws” arrives on Blu-ray digitally remastered and fully restored from high-resolution, 35-millimeter original film elements. The release includes all-new bonus features, 7.1 surround sound and a digital copy for a limited time. An all-new DVD is also available.

“Jaws” comes to Blu-ray and DVD on Aug. 14, 2012.
Image credit: Universal Home Entertainment

Watch the “Jaws” restoration video now below!

This HollywoodChicago.com Hookup is simple! Just get interactive in our unique Hookup technology above. We will award 5 Blu-rays based on social entry numbers and/or randomly via e-mail for our “Jaws” Hookup. Good luck!

Disclaimer
HollywoodChicago.com LLC is a promotional partner with the studio and its partners and doesn’t assume any liability for this giveaway. Note: Comments are closed in this Hookup.

By ADAM FENDELMAN
Publisher
HollywoodChicago.com
adam@hollywoodchicago.com

Blu-ray News: Restored Version of ‘Jaws’ in HD Coming on Aug. 14, 2012

BrianTT — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 09:52:17 -0400

CHICAGO – The news that millions of movie lovers have been waiting for finally came this morning with the press release announcing that a restored HD version of Steven Spielberg’s masterful “Jaws” will hit Blu-ray on August 14th, 2012. With an all-new, feature-length documentary feature about the making of the film along with a fully restored and digitally remastered picture (and a 7.1 surround sound system), this will be one of the Blu-ray highlights of not just 2012 but the format to date.

Special Features:
o The Shark is Still Working: The Impact & Legacy of JAWS: All-new feature-length documentary featuring never-before-seen footage and interviews with cast and crew including Steven Spielberg, Richard Dreyfuss and Roy Scheider.
o JAWS: The Restoration: An all-new, in-depth look at the intricate process of restoring the movie.
o The Making of JAWS: A two-hour documentary featuring interviews with key cast and crew.
o From the Set: An insider’s look at life on the set of JAWS, featuring an interview with Steven Spielberg.
o Deleted Scenes & Outtakes
o JAWS Archives: Take a peek inside the JAWS archives, including storyboards, production photos and marketing materials, as well as a special segment on the JAWS phenomenon.
o Original Theatrical Trailer
o UltraViolet™: The revolutionary new way for consumers to collect movies and TV shows, store them in the cloud, and download and stream instantly to computers, tablets and smartphones. Currently available in the United States only.
o Digital Copy: Viewers can redeem a digital version of the full-length movie from a choice of retail partners to watch on an array of electronic and portable devices.
o pocket BLU™ App: The popular free pocket BLU™ app for smartphones is now even better with newly updated versions for iPad®, Android™ tablets, PC and Macintosh computers, with features made especially to take advantage of the devices’ larger screens and high resolution displays.
o BD-LIVE™: Access the BD-Live™ Center through your Internet-connected player to access the latest trailers, exclusive content and more!

Jaws will be released on Blu-ray on August 14, 2012
Photo credit: Universal

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

Blu-Ray Review: ‘Piranha’ Gives Viewers Skin, Gore They Should Expect

BrianTT — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 21:53:43 -0500

CHICAGO – “Piranha” is ludicrous, offensive, disgusting, gratuitous, and stupid — just the way that it should be. Can you imagine the complete failure it would have been to try and take the concept of killer fish seriously? Director Alexandre Aja (“High Tension”) wisely went the other way and made a movie that falls completely flat in terms of character, dialogue, and logic but works where it needs to: T, A, and gore.

Blu-Ray Rating: 3.5/5.0

Pete Goldfinger and Josh Stolberg haven’t just remade the B-movie classic “Piranha” but they’ve tried to make a horror film more like the enjoyable trash that came out during the era of the initial film’s release. There was a time when horror movies weren’t obsessed with storytelling hooks or moral messages. In the ’80s, they used to be about blood and skin. Let’s just say that legendary drive-in movie lover Joe Bob Briggs would totally dig “Piranha.”

The movie opens with a nod to “Jaws” as Richard Dreyfuss drinks and sings while he fishes for bass. A minor earthquake opens up a cavern below poor Dick and he finds himself the first victim of the toothy denizens of a subterranean lake buried under the Earth for a couple million years. The creatures that have lived there since the days of the dinosaurs are out and ready to wreak some havoc — just in time for Spring Break.

Piranha was released on Blu-Ray and DVD on January 11th, 2011
Photo credit: Sony Home Video

The first hour or so of “Piranha” is boob-filled set-up as drunken, bikini-clad party-goers await the inevitable. Aja is merely counting down until one of the most ridiculous and over-the-top horror centerpieces of all time. There’s a roughly fifteen-minute sequence that should make “Piranha” a must-own for gorehounds. Like something closer to “Dead-Alive” than anything that has played at the multiplex recently, Aja goes off the rails, unleashing total chaos on dozens of co-eds. Heads get lopped off, people are torn in half, a girl is scalped by a propellor blade, and a man’s penis is graphically eaten by a fish. And that’s just part of it. It’s nuts. In a good way.

You probably know if cock-eating fish can be “nuts in a good way” for you or not. What I mean is that no one should get into “Piranha” expecting subtlety or character development. Some of the dialogue could have been more clever and even a purposefully bad performance from Jerry O’Connell is still bad, but films should be judged on their intentions. With what it sets out to do, you couldn’t ask for much more from “Piranha.”

Check out the longer, more-detailed film review of “Piranha.”

Special Features:
o Filmmakers Commentary
o Deleted Scenes with Optional Commentary
o 10 Behind-the-Scenes Featurettes
o Deleted Storyboard Sequences

“Piranha 3D” stars Steven R. McQueen, Elisabeth Shue, Jessica Szohr, Adam Scott, Jerry O’Connell, Richard Dreyfuss, Ving Rhames, and Christopher Lloyd. It was written by Pete Goldfinger & Josh Stolberg and directed by Alexandre Aja. It was released on Blu-ray and DVD on January 11th, 2011. It is rated R and runs 88 minutes.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

Film Review: Talented Ensemble Wasted on Incredibly Dull ‘Red’

BrianTT — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 10:54:54 -0400

CHICAGO – They say you can learn as much from a bad movie as you can from a good one. If that’s true, what’s the lesson to be taken from the extremely boring and misguided “Red”? Perhaps that moviemaking is not the sum of its parts and that you can’t just get together an amazing cast, shout action, and expect magic.

Rating: 1.0/5.0

There’s simply no denying that “Red” features a spectacular cast with Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren, Richard Dreyfuss, and Mary-Louise Parker, but the caliber of the ensemble almost makes the piece all the more baffling. What did they see in this script? If the film featured a B-level cast and was released straight-to-DVD, no one would give a damn about “Red” but when people this talented get together there’s an expectation of entertainment that this inert comic book adaptation just doesn’t deliver.

Read Brian Tallerico’s full review of “Red” in our reviews section.

The most often-ridiculed genre used to be video-game-to-screen but we’re starting to develop a film festival from Hell of inferior films based on non-superhero comic books. Sliding just barely above the horrendous “The Losers,” “Red” is another graphic-novel adaptation about a group of killing machines fighting the man. But while films like “Watchmen” and “Wanted” sometimes stumbled due to an over-use of style, director Robert Schwentke goes the other way and develops absolutely no personality of its own. Most of the cast sleepwalks through the piece and except for a couple of clever shots that you’ve already seen in the preview, there’s nothing colorful about this mess.

A half-asleep Bruce Willis stars as Frank Morris, a man who used to be one of the world’s deadliest but has been reduced to the boredom of everyday life in suburbia. Frank is so desperate to make a connection that he’s begun flirting with the representative (Mary-Louise Parker) who handles his pension and the two have developed a long-distance relationship of sorts. Before Frank can work up the courage to visit his phone buddy, he’s attacked by a group of masked men trying to kill him.

Continue reading for Brian Tallerico’s full “Red” review.

‘Red’ stars Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren, Karl Urban, Mary-Louise Parker, Brian Cox, Julian McMahon, and Richard Dreyfuss. It was written by Jon and Erich Hoeber and directed by Robert Schwentke. It opens on October 15th, 2010. It is rated PG-13.

Red
Photo credit: Summit Pictures

Film Review: Ridiculous ‘Piranha 3D’ Attempts Record For 3D Gore

BrianTT — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 17:40:15 -0400

CHICAGO – With a record-setting approach to bare breasts and bloodied bodies, Alexandre Aja’s “Piranha 3D” is a ridiculous gore-fest that falls completely flat in terms of character, dialogue, and logic but pops off the screen in the areas in which it really counts for a movie about prehistoric man-eating fish. It’s far-from-perfect and could have been with a few tweaks but “Piranha 3D” is off-the-rails crazy in all the ways that someone buying a ticket to a three-dimensional gore-o-rama wants what’s presented to them to be off-the-rails crazy.

Rating: 3.0/5.0

Working from a tongue-in-bloody-cheek script by Pete Goldfinger and Josh Stolberg, Aja opens his remake with a nod to “Jaws” as Richard Dreyfuss drinks and sings while he fishes for bass. After a minor earthquake opens a rift in the lake beneath him, poor Dick captures something much bigger than your average catch and ends up a bloody mess. It turns out that there has been a subterranean lake buried under the Earth for a couple million years and the maniacal creatures that have lived down there have gone a little stir crazy. Just in time for Spring Break.

Read Brian Tallerico’s full review of “Piranha 3D” in our reviews section.

For the next hour or so, “Piranha 3D” is mostly boob-filled set-up as drunken, bikini-clad party-goers have no idea what’s about to hit them. Some will be turned off by the dozens of shots of swimming fish (often from piranha P.O.V., something that I’m not sure has ever happened in a film before) and wish that the movie would “get to the good stuff” but Aja is merely counting down until the insanity begins. And I mean insanity.

What most people will remember about “Piranha 3D” is a roughly fifteen-minute centerpiece in the final act that will send gorehounds to Amazon to pre-order their copy of the film. With the same kind of goreful glee as “Dead-Alive,” you can practically hear Aja giggling like a mad scientist as he unleashes total chaos on literally dozens of victims. Only a few of the many “joys” of this simply insane climax include a controversial horror director’s head being lopped off by a motorboat, a cheesy actor being torn in half, a girl being scalped by a propeller blade, and literally dozens of starlets being ripped into pieces. It’s nuts. And I mean that in a good way.

Continue reading for Brian Tallerico’s full “Piranha 3D” review.

Piranha 3D
Photo credit: Gene Page/Dimension Films

Blu-Ray Review: Wolfgang Petersen’s ‘Poseidon’ Rises to the Surface

BrianTT — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 14:14:36 -0400

CHICAGO – When Wolfgang Petersen’s “Poseidon” crashed and sank in the wave of summer hits of 2006 — making only $60 million domestically on a reported budget of $160 million — I thought the film got an undeserved bad rap (and it actually did much better internationally). It’s no classic and my love for the Irwin Allen era disaster films might have disguised some flaws but it looks and sounds great on Blu-ray.

Blu-Ray Rating: 3.0/5.0

Looking at it now, two things are immediately apparent. First, the movie isn’t nearly as bad as you remember. It’s a well-made slice of escapism that clocks in at a lean 98 minutes; a minor miracle in the age of bloated summer blockbusters. And it has a sound design that’s truly remarkable, something very noticeable with the Blu-ray’s DTS-HD Master Audio English 5.1 track. The other thing you’ll notice is how far special effects have come in just four years. Even though the HD video transfer is excellent, the effects in “Poseidon” already look dated in the age of “Avatar”.

Poseidon was released on Blu-ray on April 6th, 2010.
Photo credit: WB Home Video

Why did “Poseidon” fail? I think expectations were high with its mid-May release and the pedigree of Petersen (“The Perfect Storm,” “Troy”) and the film is far from perfect. It also lacked some serious star power as proven by the subsequent resumes of “stars” Josh Lucas, Emmy Rossum, Jacinda Barrett, and Mike Vogel. Viewed now with no “Summer Preview” expectations, I think the film does its job as a disaster diversion. Why it’s being released now on Blu-ray is beyond me (perhaps a character name in common with Warner Brothers’ “Clash of the Titans” is reason enough) but it’s a film enhanced by the technical specs of the format and a nice addition for action fans.

Official synopsis: “It’s New Year’s Eve on the Poseidon. Partying voyagers toast the future. The future comes in a rush: a 150-foot rogue wave flips the cruise ship over…and a struggle to survive begins. Director Wolfgang Petersen (The Perfect Storm) returns to the sea with a thrill-packed, cutting-edge screen adaptation of Paul Gallico’s novel The Poseidon Adventure. Josh Lucas, Kurt Russell, Richard Dreyfuss, Emmy Rossum and more play passengers who must rely on each other as they seek safety through the water, flames and wreckage of an upside-down world.”

Special features:
o “Poseidon: A Ship on a Soundstage”
o “A Shipmate’s Diary”
o “Poseidon: Upside Down”
o The History Channel Documentary “Rogue Waves”

‘Poseidon’ is released by Warner Brothers Home Video and stars Kurt Russell, Josh Lucas, Richard Dreyfuss, Emmy Rossum, Jacinda Barrett, Mike Vogel, Jimmy Bennett, and Andre Braugher. It was written by Mark Protosevich and directed by Wolfgang Petersen. It was released on Blu-ray on April 6th, 2010. It is rated PG-13.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

HollywoodChicago.com’s Top 7 Interviews of 2009

PatrickMcD — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 21:55:31 -0500

CHICAGO – The celebrities do come to Chicago, sometimes to sit through the grinding interrogation of HollywoodChicago.com’s Patrick McDonald. The Lucky Seven of 2009 comprise the best of last year, interview-wise.

There were many venues and circumstances of interview locations, from the stifling heat of a July Red Carpet Event (Gen Arts Fest) to the rat-infested alley behind the Vic Theater (photo tent, Just for Laughs, 2009).

The following are the Lucky Seven of 2009, the seven best or most memorable interviews, with notable quotes from the stars and the behind-the-scenes tales of the undaunted HC film reporter and in most cases, photographer Joe Arce.

7. Hollywood Celebrities & Memorabilia Show

Background: For the nostalgia admirer, the twice-a-year Hollywood Celebrities & Memorabilia Show is a boon for meeting old time TV and movie stars. HC was there, scoring sit downs with Tony Curtis, Angie Dickinson, The Brady Bunch Kids, Elliot Gould, Tippi Hedren, Ernest Borgnine and Mickey Rooney, among many others.

Fantastic!: Tony Curtis in Chicago, December 3rd, 2009.
Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com

Memorable Quote: “So I asked Stanley why is everyone jumping on me and my speech? And no one comes and asks you about it. He said to me, don’t worry about it. He was talking to me like he wasn’t a part of the production company. That’s the way he talked to me, like don’t worry about it. Just do it, he said, it will pass by me. I knew then that I was covered by Stanley Kubrick. He was a fabulous man.” ~ Tony Curtis on his role in “Spartacus”

Behind the Scenes: Right before the second interview with Tony Curtis, the star conducted an impromtu casual conversation underneath the Christmas tree at Trump Towers with Patrick McDonald and Joe Arce.

6. Director John Woo

Background:This occurred during the Chicago International Film Festival in October, and in many ways it was like interviewing Orson Welles. John Woo is a legend, both in his native China and in reputation here in the USA. The elegantly dressed Woo was cordial and humble in his accomplishments as he spoke about his latest epic, “Red Cliff.”

West Humbly Meets East: Patrick McDonald and John Woo in Chicago, October 9, 2009.
Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com

Memorable Quote: “I’ve never like violence. People need to be protected, not to be killed. I try to protect also the people behind the gun. Even though I’ve made a lot of action movies, I try to make it anti-violence and in the case of ‘Red Cliff,’ anti-war.” ~ John Woo, on violence in films.

Behind the Scenes: Given Mr. Woo’s more limited background in English, many of questions had to be adjusted on the fly. He was the one who was reassuring, despite the embarrassment caused by the barrier.

5. Debbie Reynolds

Background: The long-time star Debbie Reynolds still has the vital spark that has defined her career for over 60 years. This Academy Award nominated actress, collector of Hollywood memorabilia and mother of Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) still packs an opinionated wallop in an interview.

She is Our Lucky Star: Debbie Reynolds in Chicago, November 6th, 2009
Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com

Memorable Quote: “Well, you don’t tell Carrie a secret, because it will be in a script or a book. So if you have a secret, keep it to yourself.” ~ Debbie Reynolds on “Wishful Drinking,” Carrie Fishers’ one-woman show.

Behind the Scenes: Ms. Reynolds was willing to give the scoop of the century (regarding Marilyn Monroe), but with so many years and possible hearsay, it never came to fruition.

4. Richard Dreyfuss

Background: Richard Dreyfuss had just received a delivery of ice cream, and that’s how the interview started. The irascible and opinionated Mr. D didn’t disappoint, as he pontificated on modern education, politics, the afterlife and how the cast of “Always” couldn’t overcome their status as a remake.

Richard Dreyfuss in a Candid ‘Close Encounter’ in Naperville, Illinois, September 19th, 2009
Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com

Memorable Quote: “First of all, it’s not over. Second of all, we’ve already decided that the early 1970s were the golden age. And I don’t know that it was, but certainly the directors and writers were allowed more freedom of choice. And when their films became successful the studios then said, now that you’re successful we’ll decide these things and everything changed.” ~ Richard Dreyfuss regarding the first 100 years of film.

Behind the Scenes: The publicists warned before the interview that Dreyfuss might not want to answer any questions, but he couldn’t have been nicer. Must have been the ice cream.

3. Terry Jones of ‘Monty Python’s Flying Circus’

Background: An actual member of the legendary Python comedy troupe, with several unforgettable characters to his credit, Terry Jones is also an amateur scholar of medieval history. He was promoting an appearance in Chicago with “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” which meant carte blanche for geeky Python questions.

Memorable Quote: “Essentially you have to make each other laugh. That’s the key thing. Mike and I started writing together, but eventually we gave that up. I’d write at my place and he’d write at his and then we’d meet and read out what we had. It was really like tag team writing.” ~ Terry Jones on his writing partnership with fellow Pythoner Michael Palin.

Behind the Scenes: The interview was conducted via phone from a hotel room in Kalamazoo, Michigan, which is the site of an annual academic medieval conference that Jones attends every year.

2. Lee Daniels and Gabby Sibide of ‘Precious’

Background: With the awards season in full swing, the nominations and trophies are plenty so far for the film “Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire.” At the Chicago International Film Festival, Director Lee Daniels and lead actress Gabby Sidibe first promoted their film.

Lee Daniels, Gabby Sidibe & Patrick McDonald, Oct. 14, ‘09
Photo credit: Patrick McDonald for HollywoodChicago.com

Memorable Quote: “We are all Precious, but it just so happened to be that I stuck to the book’s story. It is important to hit home that the ‘Precious-es” of society are not forgotten. It is important to note that today, unlike the 1987 that the story is told in, that people don’t fall through the cracks like they used to. It is a different world, but there are those that still get away with abuse.” ~ Lee Daniels on the universal themes of Precious.

Behind the Scenes: Lee Daniels warned that besides interviewing him, he would push back on the interviewer if he didn’t like a question. He never pushed back during the Q&A.

1. Lisa Lampanelli

Background: Easily the most insane interview of the year, a group of wary reporters were led in to comedian Lisa Lampanelli’s dressing room to be lambasted by the “Queen of Mean.” It was actually quite refreshing.

Lisa Lampanelli in Chicago, June 20, 2009
Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com

Memorable Quote: “ I just want to murder you in your f**king sleep, lucky you missed out on the death penalty because that is what I would give you for that friggin’ question.” ~ Lisa Lampanelli answering a query.

Behind the Scenes: Asked to give an answer which would be later connected to a question, the Queen replied, “eat my box.”

Click on the star name headline to read the full interview. The next Hollywood Celebrities & Memorabilia Show is scheduled for March 13th-14th, 2010. Click here for more information.

By PATRICK McDONALD
Senior Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
pat@hollywoodchicago.com

Interview: An Ice Cream Social With Oscar Winner Richard Dreyfuss

PatrickMcD — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 23:46:55 -0400

CHICAGO – Actor Richard Dreyfuss is comfortable. This was on display as he was eating ice cream while talking about his career and life, just before an appearance at the brand new Hollywood Palms Cinema in Naperville, Ill.

Dreyfuss made a huge splash in the 1970s starring in the triptych of classic films: “American Graffiti,” “Jaws,” and “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.” He won his Best Actor Oscar – the youngest actor in Academy Award history to do so at the time – playing Elliott Garfield in the comedy, “The Goodbye Girl.”

Oscar-winning Actor Richard Dreyfuss in a Candid ‘Close Encounter’ at the Hollywood Palms Cinema in Naperville, Illinois, September 19th, 2009
Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com

He continued with great films throughout his career, including roles in “Down and Out in Beverly Hills,” “What About Bob?,” another Best Actor nomination for “Mr Holland’s Opus” and “W” as Vice President Dick Cheney.

Now “semi-retired,” Mr. Dreyfuss puts his energies into the Dreyfuss Initiative, a non-profit foundation to encourage the teaching of civics in American schools.

HollywoodChicago.com caught up with Richard Dreyfuss during the grand opening week of the spectacular new Hollywood Palms Cinema in Naperville, Illinois, where he was introducing a couple of his films. His talked about his early career track, his passion for activism and a surprising story about the film “Always.”

HollywoodChicago: Your mother was a peace and political activist and you were a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War. How important is that background activism to your life and how does it manifest itself in your personal philosophy today?

Richard Dreyfess: It’s an incredibly profitable position (laughs).

I come from a very politically active family and my grandmother is always saying to me ‘I’m rolling over in my grave if you don’t say something.’ So it’s a little eerie, but then I say something.

HC: You played a number of conservative political archetypes: the fictional Bob Rumson in ‘The American President,’ Al Haig in ‘The Day Reagan was Shot’ and Vice President Dick Cheney in ‘W’. What did you connect to as an actor that allowed you to create characters that have personal ideologies that are opposite to your own?

RD: What is the difference between that and any actor playing a bank robber like Dillinger? A bad guy is a bad guy. Inside every actor is a fantasy that you fulfill and some of them are fantasies of being a great father or a great lover or a swashbuckler or Adolf Hitler or Jesus Christ or Dick Cheney.

Richard Dreyfuss Enjoys a Treat at the Hollywood Palms Cinema in Naperville, Illinois, September 19th, 2009
Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com

HC: What perspective did you gain about the life cycle and the American experience playing Mr. Holland, from a young man to middle age, especially since it was set during a similar era that you had lived through?

RD: It was clear to me before then, but brought home pretty vividly, that there are three acts in life, and you either know that you’re entering your third act or you don’t. Sooner or later it becomes inescapable, because there is something screwed up about ‘homo sapiens 4.1’ update. And it is constantly crashing.

When you walk by a window when you are 10 years old, you look 10, you feel 10. There you walk by when you’re 15 and you’re 15. But when you get to age 45, there is a little disconnect, as if the film is out of synch. And at 55, there is a definite disconnect between what you’re seeing and how you’re feeling.

And then one day you walk by a window and you say, who the f**k is that? And you realize that’s you, and it’s an old Jewish man in the window.

I don’t think God set out to do that. I think there is going to be another update. And in that update, everybody will have a secretary and no one will be out of synch with their age.

HC: In the 1960s, in all the parts of episodic television that you did, was there ever an opportunity to be a regular on a show, and what do you remember most about those days?

RD: I was the happiest unemployed actor in Hollywood. And I taught a class in how to be the happiest unemployed actor in Hollywood. And I interviewed casting directors, writers and producers of TV shows. And the only requirement for the class was that you already had to be a member of the guild.

So there was about 500 people in the audience and I would do topics like ‘How to Take Over an Interview,’ ‘How to Make Your Agent Your Best Friend’ and ‘How to Make a Casting Agent Wake Up in the Middle of the Night and Say I’ve Gotta Get Richard a Job.’ And there was ways to do that.

The only argument I’ve had on these times, and I still have it, is when I say I never had a picture or a resume. The kids go nuts, they never understand. And I say what is the point of having a picture or a resume? To be remembered. But you know that most of the time that picture goes right into the waste basket.

I’d rather run my car through a building. Then you’ll remember me. I don’t want to waste my money on a picture.

Richard Dreyfuss and Patrick McDonald at the Hollywood Palms Cinema in Naperville, IL, September 19, 2009.
Photo credit: Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com

HC: Having worked with many of the great contemporary film directors, what do you think the biggest contribution will be from them and the era you’ve worked in when the history of the first 100 years of film are written in the future?

RD: First of all, it’s not over. Second of all, we’ve already decided that the early 1970s were the golden age. And I don’t know that it was, but certainly the directors and writers were allowed more freedom of choice. And when their films became successful the studios then said, now that you’re successful we’ll decide these things and everything changed.

One corporate head of one of the studios lost his credibility completely and utterly with one sentence. He visited one of his sets, which happened to be one of my sets, the largest indoor set ever built. And he looked around and said, ‘why aren’t all these people working?’ And that was the end of an era. (laughs)

HC: Since you co-starred with her twice, in totally different roles, what is your favorite Holly Hunter story?

RD: My favorite Holly Hunter story is a performance she gave Off-Broadway. Which was so great it was like weird.

As far as stories, I don’t really catalog my mind like that. But on the set of ‘Always’ [1989], we were so in love with the original version, ‘A Guy Named Joe’ [1943] that we were paralyzed. When you watch the film, you see it. There is a sense of a sacred don’t-f**k-with-that-movie. It paralyzed the film.

HC: You speak often of perspective and enlightenment, especially from an educational standpoint. With the complete information age available on a desktop computer and internet line, do you think the future of education will be more expansive or simply more narrowed to individual tastes, because of the nature of our choices?

RD: That is entirely and completely up to you. You have to answer first a very important question – who runs what? Do you run the technology or does the technology run you? If you decide the technology, as we seem to be, that the technology runs us, we are doomed. There will not be a ‘city on the hill’ and our children will never believe that there was.

If, however, we believe we control our technology and we can make it was it needs to be, then we could fulfill the ‘magical mystery tour’ of the internet – which is both magic and mystery – because we have never had a tool which was potentially infinite. And that is what the internet is. If we can manage to keep it infinite and at the same time decide on a standard research methodology, there will be no ending.

Actress Karen Allen introduces ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ on September 25th & 26th at the new Hollywood Palms Cinema in Naperville, Illinois. Click here for ticket information.

By PATRICK McDONALD
Senior Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
pat@hollywoodchicago.com