 | halfbloodprincess78 |
| | Gambit
per la sceneggiatura dei fratelli Coen è un remake dell'omonimo film del 1966 con Michael Caine Shirlie Mac Laine e Herbert Lom Diretto da Ronald Neame. IL Remake verrà girato a Londra in Maggio, protagonisti Cloin Firth e Cameron Diaz... e quindi a questo punto anche Mr Rickman!  ! E' la storia di un ladro e di una cameriera che cercano di rubare una statua preziosissima a un miliardario. In quello dei fratelli Coen pare che mireranno a un quadro e non a una statua, comunque vedremo in seguito le eventuali modifiche alla trama originale. Per ora tutto quello che abbiamo per ora è questa foto e una serie di articoli e articoletti, che mi sono presa la briga di andare a ripescare nella discussione sulle news: 
A 14-Year 'Gambit' Finally Provides a Big Payoff For Producer Mike LobellBy MIKE FLEMING | Thursday May 5, 2011 @ 9:58am EDT Production begins today on Gambit, a caper comedy that stars Colin Firth as a London art curator who plans to con England's richest man into buying a phony Monet painting. To do it, he enlists a Texas steer roper (Cameron Diaz) to pose as a woman whose grandfather liberated the painting at the end of WWII. Michael Hoffman is directing, Alan Rickman and Tom Courtenay also star, and it's Firth's first big job since winning the Best Actor Oscar for The King's Speech. And the script was written by Oscar winners Joel and Ethan Coen. Isn't Hollywood great, the way these things just magically come together?
Gambit actually took a remarkable 14 years to get to this point, a case study on how impossible it is for producers to succeed without infinite patience and an inability to comprehend the word "no." These Don Quixote types are the only ones in the moviemaking equation who don't cash big paychecks through the development process, collecting serious fees only when their movies get made. They have a harder road than ever, because cost-cutting studios have made first-look producer deals an endangered species. After all, producers are bringing them projects anyway. In the case of Gambit, the driving force has been producer Mike Lobell. A seasoned vet who has gotten 14 pictures made -- The Freshman, Honeymoon in Vegas and Striptease among them -- Lobell last produced 2003's Tears of the Sun. He has devoted himself to Gambit, with a script by the Coen brothers that has long been considered one of the great unmade projects in town. I've been writing about this film long enough that I never thought it was going to get made. I thought it worth a review of Lobell's odyssey as I've covered it -- the nine directors including Alexander Payne and the late Robert Altman, the numerous financiers and actors that include Hugh Grant, Reese Witherspoon, Ben Kingsley, and Jennifer Aniston -- as a reminder than even when you have a great script, sometimes this business comes down to a producer's threshold for pain.
Lobell's journey began in 1966. Living in Paris, he was running an errand in London and wrangled a ticket to Gambit's 1966 UK premiere. The film, which starred Michael Caine and Shirley MacLaine, didn't make much of a dent in the U.S., but Lobell remembered it years later when he signed an overall deal at Universal when his longtime friend Ron Meyer left CAA and took the reins. When Lobell combed through the studio's catalog for remake ideas, Gambit jumped out. This was 1997, the studio liked it, and assigned him the rights. And the first writer he sent it to, Aaron Sorkin, committed immediately. When Sorkin came in for his first production meeting after making the deal, he told Lobell and the studio that things suddenly were looking good for his TV pilots Sports Night and The West Wing. That meant Sorkin had to back out, without writing a word. It was the first of several crushing close calls.
A trail of writers came and went. Then, Lobell got lucky. Told that the Coens were looking for a little rewrite work between their movies, Lobell went after them. They said yes and did a radical overhaul that gave a dated picture a fresh context. As Lobell sat in his den reading that draft in 2003, he knew he had a movie. "I will never forget that first time I read it, from the opening line I knew I was in for a ride," he said. "They reinvented about 90% of it, so much so that it didn't feel like a remake."
That should have made a production start a snap, right? Alexander Payne loved it and planned to reunite with his Election star Reese Witherspoon. That was until Payne called Lobell and told him he just couldn't see himself directing a script he didn't write. Several directors followed, with actors like Hugh Grant and Firth intrigued. Nothing happened.
Things seemed to take a turn for the better when Robert Altman read the script, and was eager to sign on. He'd just directed Gosford Park, and was eager to make another movie in London, especially one that would star Witherspoon. Universal flew him from New York for a meeting. That morning, just before they were supposed to sit down, Altman called with bad news. He'd read the script again on the plane, and realized it just wasn't right for him. Another pass. The movie finally seemed to find its footing when Bo Welch, the production designer-turned-director, wanted to commit. Firth was in the mix by then, Ben Kingsley was eager to play the mark, and Jennifer Aniston wanted to play the girl. And since Welch was making his directing debut on one of Universal's biggest films, what could go wrong? Unfortunately, that film was Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat. It proved to be a pricey disappointment and the studio just wasn't into an encore. In fact, Universal cooled on the project by then, but because of Lobell's relationship with Meyer, the studio put it into turnaround and allowed Lobell to shop it elsewhere. That led to several more years of development hell with Mark Cuban's 2929 Productions and Alcon Entertainment.
By then, even Lobell needed a break. He put the script on a shelf, where it stayed until CAA's independent film agent Roeg Sutherland called and said, "I think I know how to get your movie made." Sutherland plugged him into Crime Scene Pictures, an upstart company hatched by former CAA agent Rob Paris and Adam Ripp. They got equity financing from Southeast Asia, planned to make 4-6 films a year, and wanted to get off the ground with something splashy. Lobell's fuse was lit again, but it started out with more of the same. Doug Liman circled the project and then did another movie. Lobell became intrigued with Hoffman, a director he knew because his ex-partner Andy Bergman had written the Hoffman-directed comedy Soapdish. Hoffman promptly passed, but Lobell kept after him. Finally, Hoffman committed. Firth, who'd always been interested, also signed on. This was before he won the Best Actor Oscar for The King's Speech, but it was clear he was going to be a serious contender. Diaz then signed on to play a variation of the role originated by MacLaine. CBS Films signed on to distribute in the U.S. and the film sold out in most world territories. Suddenly, it was a reality.
Reached in London, Lobell said that the current incarnation of Gambit is so strong, it was worth the wait. He attributes the long road to shifting realities in the movie business.
"By the time the Coens wrote that script, the business was already changing," he told me. "Movies that didn't smell like big blockbusters weren't priority for the studios. But I knew this was a terrific script, one that had fans all over the business. I figured one day, somebody would step up with the cojones and some dough to do this, and these Crime Scene guys did just that. Now it just has to be good. And by the way, I got one even older than Gambit. It's a Freddy Raphael-scripted love story about marriage, This Man, This Woman, which once was going to be a go movie with Sean Penn and Meg Ryan. That was the first movie for me that was going and then got stopped. I gotta make that movie, and I've got people reading it right now."Alan to Film Nude Scene for “Gambit”
June 10th, 2011 • Gambit
News has been floating around these past two days about Alan having a nude scene in his upcoming role in “Gambit”, which also stars Colin Firth and Cameron Diaz. SomeNews.com gave some more details about this scene. The film is currently filming in London, England. It is set to be released in 2012.
Alan Rickman is starring in the Coen Brothers’ remake of the 60s film Gambit, starring alongside Cameron Diaz. It will involve a scene with him naked in a glass box.
Hey, if I want to see a cock behind glass I’ll go and try to get good service in the Post Office.
But I’m actually looking forward to seeing Rickman in the nude; it will finally test what people say about men with big noses. If it’s true what they say, seeing Alan naked will be like seeing a man try to shop-lift a pink draught excluder.
And this is where his genius shows through. Most male actors worry about the cold during a nude scene leading to some embarrassing shrinkage. Rickman gets naked in what is effectively a greenhouse.
The glass box is currently being constructed in a top secret location. Why the secrecy? I think it’s because he’s paying to have magnifying glass built in to aid the natural look.
So he has the warmth, the refracting lens and the big nose affect all helping him look larger down there. And if that isn’t enough… Cameron Diaz will be in the room. He’ll he fine. GambitA quick note to drop by this Wednesday as I'll be posting a review for the first script to break into my Top 10 in over a year!
Genre: Crime/Caper/Comedy
Premise: An art curator enlists the services of a Texas chicken farmer to con a wealthy collector into buying a phony Monet painting.
About: They’ve been trying to get this Gambit remake going forever. The original starred Michael Caine, and Joel and Ethan Coen’s draft of the script has been kicking around for 7 years now. They finally got financing, throwing newly minted best actor winner Colin Firth into the lead role, as well as bringing Cameron Diaz in to play the southern belle. The film is being directed by Michael Hoffman, who’s been seen by many as a talented director waiting to break out (his films include the underrated “The Emperor’s Club” and the more recent “The Last Station.”). As you’ll read a little more about in a link I provide for Wednesday’s interview, one of the practices the Coens’ use is to write their characters into a corner and leave it up to the other brother to figure out how to get them out.
Writers: Joel & Ethan Coen
Details: 129 pages – 2004 draft (This is an early draft of the script. The situations, characters, and plot may change significantly by the time the film is released. This is not a definitive statement about the project, but rather an analysis of this unique draft as it pertains to the craft of screenwriting).
Question. Can the Coens be stopped!? Long time readers know I’m not exactly public supporter numero uno for the siblings. But I will say this. Outside of maybe Tarantino, there are no other writer/filmmakers who take more chances than these two and still manage to bring in big box office. We talked about breaking the rules the other day and really, if you’re a supporter of that mantra, these guys should be your deity. Last week I was watching Fargo, my favorite of the Coen films, and there’s this scene near the end where Margie has a date with an old Asian friend of hers that has absolutely NOTHING TO DO WITH THE MOVIE. That’s, like, rule number 1 in screenwriting. Don’t include a scene that doesn’t push the story forward. Yet the scene works. It’s hilarious. You don’t think twice about it. And I couldn’t tell you why. Go figure.
Gambit starts off by introducing us to art curator Harry Deane, who’s playing the British version of Jerry Lundegaard (William H. Macy in Fargo), a desperate morally skewed man obsessed with money.
He’s enlisted his best friend and compatriot, a stalwart older gentleman known as “The Major,” to accompany him to Alpine, Texas to locate the owner of an extremely rare Monet painting known as “Haystacks Dusk,” which went missing half a century ago. The reason this painting is so important is that Deane’s employer, the obscenely rich English magazine magnet, Lord Shabandar, has the companion piece to Haystacks Dusk, Haystacks Dawn. Obtaining the long-missing Haystacks Dusk would complete the pair, and therefore he’ll be willing to pay a mint for it.
How this painting ended up in an Alpine, Texas trailer is another story. Through meticulous research and a few lucky breaks, Deane was able to trace the origins of the painting back to the trailer owner’s great grandfather. The current owner of said trailer, chicken herder and minimum wage earner PJ Puznowski, isn’t even aware that the painting’s a Monet.
Oh, there’s one thing I’m forgetting to tell you. This is all a lie. Deane has fabricated the lineage and the connection and, of course, the painting itself. He’s going to Texas to find a pretend PJ Puznowski, someone to play the part, who will meet Shabandar, pretend to be the owner of the Monet, sell it to him for 10 million dollars, of which Harry will take all of and give PJ 50 grand for her help.
Perfect plan right?
Of course not. Once PJ comes to England and meets Shabandar, the two hit it off, and soon they’re spending time at restaurants and balls, with Deane being pushed further and further out of the picture (so to speak) with each successive date. PJ’s rascally straight-forward personality delights the more buttoned up Shabandar, and before she knows it, she’s feeling bad about deceiving him. Maybe she won’t sell him this fake painting after all.
In the meantime, Deane, who’s put every last penny of his into this scam, is being nickel and dimed by PJ’s expensive lodging tastes, someone who extorts him once he leans about the scam, and is eventually fired by Shabandar for, not surprisingly, a lack of trustworthiness. Deane must find a way against all ways to reign PJ in, keep her on track, and somehow pull this all off. Can it be done?
First thing you gotta talk about whenever you read a Coen Brother’s script is the complete disregard for standard formatting. These guys don’t use Courier when they write. They use Times New Roman. Why would this matter? Well, the truth is, Times New Roman is much easier to read than Courier. So in reality, it would make more sense if we all used it. But we can’t, because Times New Roman takes up less space, giving an incorrect page count, screwing up the precious 1 page of script = 1 minute of screentime rule. This script is 129 pages. It’s probably closer to 140 or 145 if it were in Courier. Unless you’ve had a few Oscar wins under your belt, producers don’t like when you fudge the page count, so this is not advised.
Next, the guys don’t use sluglines. Instead, they use “faux lines,” mini slugs without all the technical jibber-jabber. This is another one of those things that actually makes more sense. It’s a lot easier to read, “A GAS STATION” than “INT. GAS STATION – NIGHT.” And you would think that with scripts becoming more reader-friendly over the years, that this practice might have caught on, but the Coens have been doing it forever, and it still hasn’t changed, so I guess it’s not going to anytime soon.
On the story side of things, there’s a lot of good here. First of all, I’ve been thinking a lot about “voice.” Personally, I’m sick of when people say this or that writer has a distinct “voice.” I guess what annoys me is that it’s too broad, and kind of lets the person get away with saying they liked something without being able to verbalize why they liked it. “Oh I LOVED that script.” “Really? Why?” “Because of the writer’s voice. Such a unique voice.” “What else? Anything specific?” “Oh, just the voice. The voice was so uniquely theirs.” “What about the characters?’ “Oh the characters. They all had such an original voice.”
Well, I think I have a better understanding of voice after this script. “Voice” encompasses a script that nobody in the world could’ve written outside of that writer (or writers). Yes, I know this is a remake, but when you read this script, you just know that nobody else in the world could’ve written this story the way the Coen Brothers did.
Look at how the characters speak for instance. First, you have this line from a British Lord: “I knew a Koznowski once, charming man, no relation I suppose, Baron Koznowski, Janusz, related to the emperor Franz Josef on one side, also quite the equestrian, man had horseblood in his veins. Mixed Cossack descent, stuck to a horse like a burr on a dog’s arse. Assassinated in the early nineties, sadly enough. By the Ossetians, the swine…This was, please.” Contrast that with this line from Southern belle PJ: “Well hey-ho there, friend, I wouldn’t recommend it. Yeah your nose’ll roll with the punches but Merle snores like a sawmill without that reinforced septum. Course I snore too on account of the sleep apnea, or maybe that’s just Mama puttin’ me on since in other respects I’m dainty.”
I mean, who the hell is able to pull off two distinctly different dialects like that in a single screenplay!?? You have to understand, I read a couple dozen scripts a month where the disparity in the character’s dialogue amounts to, “Hey essay, I’m going to the supermarket” and “Sounds good bro. Pick me up some cheese.” I could be wrong and this dialogue is plucked right out of the original, but the Coens past work tells me that they’re responsible for this incredible ability to write unique characters each with unique ways of speaking.
Structurally speaking, the script is good. The Coens follow a very simple formula in most of their movies. They put money in the middle of a room (the goal) and watch all of their characters try to get it (strong motivation). In this case, the money is the painting (or at least it pretends to be), and I actually liked that better, because money is so…generic. A painting, on the other hand, is romantic, intriguing, unique. And no, I don’ think it’s a coincidence that the Coens simply swapped out the last letter of money and replaced it with a “t.” This is what they do. Throw money out there and see what characters will do to get it.
My one problem with Gambit was that it started out so clever, and we’re led to believe this will continue, with double crosses, neat twists, and a reversal or two. But the second half of this script feels more like a Pink Panther film, with Deane turning into a stooge, scaling buildings naked and hiding behind curtains in Shabadar’s quarters before he and PJ get it on. I don’t know, I guess the humor devolved into juvenile tomfoolery, and that’s too bad, cause I really liked the first half. Luckily, there’s enough good stuff here to still recommend it. Not a bad script at all.
[ ] What the hell did I just read?
[ ] wasn’t for me
[x] worth the read
[ ] impressive
[ ] genius
What I learned: Stop writing boring characters! I implore you to rent 5 Coen Brothers films this weekend and study how different and unique all the characters are. I know that we don’t all write in this kooky exaggerated reality that the Coens have perfected, where every character is a little off his rocker. But you can learn so much from how different they make each of their characters. Throwing “essay” or “bro” into a character’s dialogue is not enough to make them stand out. Edited by Ida59 - 21/9/2020, 13:16
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che succede se do un bacio allo scimmiotto? A che schifo, peli 
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