Ness/Capone - A Good fit for Butler?

A different kind of Elliot Ness?

Reading over the announcement that Relativity Media has acquired the rights to the Grant Pierce Myers script, which is a retelling of The Untouchables with a different twist,  and the fact that Gianni Nunnari (300 co-producer), along with some others, may be co-producing, I immediately thought that Myers' very different take on Elliot Ness may be a good fit for Gerard Butler.

Post Machine Gun Preacher and Coriolanus, will they feel his acting chops and box office numbers, plus his screen name recognition among men and women alike, make him a possible candidate?

I am still SO hoping that Joe Carnahan's White Jazz  (I was the first to associate him with the project, but not on this blog) is on the agenda for him, but I think this might be another interesting project, if they get a good director and co-star to sign on.

Gerry was supposed to play Jimmy Malone in the Brian DePalma prequel to The Untouchables that fell through a while back, so when I saw this, it caught my attention.

Read the particulars here.

http://www.deadline.com/2011/04/mob-movie-mania-relativity-buys-nesscapone-as-other-pics-percolate/


Any thoughts?


April 28, 2011

AFTERTHOUGHT:  After re-reading through the article, I realize that  Ness is supposed to be 26 years old in this script, so this might not be a fit for Butler after all, unless they make Ness a little older.  With the right style and make up, could the slimmed down, in shape and perhaps with a little facial filler, ever youthful in spirit Butler get away with playing a variation of that age?  Would he even want to?

I still feel Butler would have been a good Jimmy Malone, so when I saw that Ryan Kavanaugh bought the rights to this project and knowing  he likes Butler, I immediately thought this might work.

Wishful thinking doesn't cut it, but with the magic of Hollywood,  the impossible sometimes becomes possible, so I never say never.

I'm still rooting for him to have a part in White Jazz.

Songs out of tune, the words always a little wrong...Canzoni Stonate

No Contest!

More photographs coming out of Shreveport and the Playing the Field shoot.   Looking at them, I am hard put to decide who is the biggest kid in the group. What do you think?

No Caption Necessary

Songs out of tune, the words always a little wrong...Canzoni Stonate

Kids in the Field - Through their Eyes

I love all the recent photos coming out of Shreveport. Every day there are new photos from either the shooting of the film  or just candid fan photos of Gerard Butler and his many admirers, whether they be 7, 17 or 37.

My favorite photos, though, are the ones where he is surrounded by a bunch of kids.  Somewhere deep down inside I feel he is in his element.  Not because he represents a "father figure" as so many sighing women would like to think, but because a part of him (as with many men) remains always, a kid at heart, so a part of him connects with these kids...in some very elemental way.  It's almost as if a part of him recognizes a part of himself in that kid acting out or just being....a kid.

The nice part about being a Gerard Butler admirer is that a part of what draws us is precisely that KID in him...the genuine part of him that not all the glamour and money of being a movie star can pervert.

Every time I read some person (usually a woman) trying to put a picture of him out there that doesn't fit, I want to answer in this manner:

"Some of you need to stop trying to make him fit your idea of lover, boyfriend, husband, ideal, etc.  The kids get him and that should tell you something about the real person.

Kid's have a way of seeing through the bullshit adults are sometimes so mired in and can't see through!   YOUR prism can't define him anymore than it can define ANYONE but yourself and  the constant "in the know" psychobabble is a waste of time.

He is who he is and some of you have no idea who that is.  All the amateur Dr. Drews and even Dr. Drew  Pinsky himself SHOULD hang it up.  You cannot put Butler in a box, anymore than you should anyone else.  If you could, he would lose part of the allure that draws friend and foe alike to comment on his foibles.

It's all right to comment, just keep your personal prejudices out of it.  Unfortunately, most people cannot.

A big part of Gerry is a wicked little kid and the kids get that and love it.  Some of us do too."

All the photos I have seen coming out of Louisiana only give credit to the things I think to be true.  Some will say it is all orchestrated by his publicists or his manager, or someone trying to "revive his image" as if it needed it.  I find that a silly scenario, especially when everything else about him is complete speculation.

I don't know all of the real man, but I do know that you can't fool kids, even with all the acting skills in the world.  They can pick up a false note like nobody's business.  I trust their instinct like I trust my own and we are dealing with a decent human being here, despite his temper and his bouts of Mr. Know it All, and I think that is what has kept him on the front burner in Hollywood beyond what a few of his more lackluster movies would have done.

No matter what anyone tells you, people like a nice guy.  He may be a ladies' man or a man's man, a heartbreaker or not,  but deep down inside, he is one wicked and lovely little kid.  I like that about him.  I think a lot of people do too.  It's a big surprise to see that in the packaging it comes in and the reason why people like Warner Bros. Alan Horn can come out and say the things he does (telling Gerry he had to quit smoking), or even someone like Mark Canton, making comments about Gerry's abs not being real.   It's like..."well, he's a good natured kid and so ernest, we can say stuff like this...."   

Well, the Cantons and Horns beware.  Underneath that likable kid is a very determined guy and it is at your peril that you sell him short, Alan S. aside.  He's a good guy, but he knows where he's going.  Right now it may be the "field."   But tomorrow....

Songs out of tune, the words always a little wrong...Canzoni Stonate

The Field is Looking Better Every Day

With the addition of Catherine Zeta Jones and Judy Greer,  the Gabriele Muccino directed Gerard Butler comedy filming in Shreveport is showing more promise every day.

Sweet and charming?

Word has leaked that Stuart Blumberg is working on the script originally penned by Robbie Fox and that is another bit of good news for those of us following this project.  Blumberg, who is responsible for the excellent Kids are All Right,  gives this story more heft and I read somewhere that the movie is evolving into one with a European feel to it, even though it has an American setting.  I was hoping Muccino's helming would do that, but I am beginning to think that Butler may also be responsible for the direction this is taking.

In another post last month, I had a few wishes for this film and I hope that the addition of these three players will bode well in bringing it closer to the movie I'd like to see.  The rest will depend on how Butler plays it.

Remember Gerry, if you are going to do comedy, make your character sweet and charming and leave the snark to others this time around.   It worked for Beatty.   I think you can put the critics in your pocket if you pull this one off.

Songs out of tune, the words always a little wrong...Canzoni Stonate

Shame on You Mark Canton...

...for trying to be so glib by making the following comment to Arnold Schwartzenegger (who in his own effort to be glib, immediately went out and spilled the beans to the news media) that you forgot about a little thing called professional integrity.    

Schwarzenegger Explodes Movie Myth About Butler's 300 Physique

Arnold Schwarzenegger has exploded the myth Gerard Butler was ripped and toned for his role as a Spartan hero in cult action film 300, revealing the Scottish actor's look was computer generated.

Schwarzenegger made the discovery after approaching the film's producer Mark Canton and asking for details about the fitness regimen Butler adopted to look like a beefy warrior.

The impressed Terminator star wanted to track down the Scot's trainer and hire him to get him back into blockbuster shape, following his two terms as California Governor - and was shocked to discover Butler's look was all movie magic.

He tells Entertainment Weekly magazine, "I said to Mark Canton, 'You have got to get a hold of this guy (Butler). I want to know what his training regimen is.'

"Canton said, 'What are you talking about? (That look) cost me a lot of money.'" »

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While Butler HAS admitted to some grease paint to delineate the "hard worked for abs,"  the physique in the movie 300 were indeed his and come by honestly.

I can only think that the shrewd Canton was displaying a little bit of the  "little man" syndrome  by saying something that would immediately negate the hard work his actor did to get in shape for a movie that so handsomely helped Mr. Canton make a producing comeback of sorts.  While Butler certainly benefitted greatly by his turn in 300 in terms of exposure to American audiences,  I think the statement by Canton certainly makes the actor out to be a bit of a liar. 

Please observe the above photographs, taken on the set, and you be the judge of whether the abs and look were ALL CGI. 

Yes, movies are all about fantasy and smoke and mirrors and perhaps I am being stupidly naive,  but they sent their actor out to promote their movie in a certain way and THAT 300 physique and the training videos that were a part of that promotion, sent lots of real men back to the gym.  Yes, the 300 workout was excessive and perhaps not a reachable goal for the average guy, but a lot of men decided to get in shape after viewing the movie and that was a good thing.   300 made King Leonidas (as acted by Butler) a modern icon.

In my book,  what Canton has done with his little (taken so lightly) comment, is no less than  lost a little of his own credibility about his ability or willingness to protect those other actors that come after Butler, because he is telling the world that the actor's credibility doesn't matter much in the scheme of things.  

Good relationships, no matter what kind and even in Hollywood, should be built and nurtured on a certain amount of trust.   While Butler has a reputation for not holding back his words and might appreciate that Canton was trying to be glib, the fact remains another former actor  took it so lightly that he had to blab it to the press, doesn't say much for the Terminator either.  He should know better.

Oh well, in the scheme of things, this isn't important, but I'll bet a bunch of young movie buffs out there who made an icon of King Leonidas,  are getting a taste of Hollywood sleaze 101.  

I think a clarifying statement (from either Canton or Schwartzenegger) and an apology to Mr. Butler is in order and would go a long way in restoring everyone's  credibility.  

What do you think?   Is this all just a *haboob?

Songs out of tune, the words always a little wrong...Canzoni Stonate

*Arabic word for sandstorm I picked out of a hat and helped me win a game of Trivial Pursuit in a tournament a long time ago.

Evil Twins Now Gerard Butler Alan Siegel Entertainment?

The Evil Twins

According to IMDb Pro,  Evil Twins is still listed as producer of Law Abiding Citizen because that was the name at the time, but it looks to me like the production company is now operating under this new moniker for Playing the Field.

Have they changed their name or is it still an ongoing lawsuit with the other company and perhaps they must refrain from using the Evil Twins shingle until the action is settled?

Inquiring minds want to know.

Songs out of tune, the words always a little wrong...Canzoni Stonate

Gerry and Jessica B. together? Of Course.

Why shouldn't they be together?  They are new in town and about to start a new movie.  Has anyone heard of "getting to know your co-star?"

I have to really laugh at all the gossip sites pushing this one up the hill with the usual variations of the original item posted several days ago and some, not even doing a good job at it.

The next thing that follows is people speculating which actor's people are using this to their advantage. Once this phase of it starts, the quantity and viciousness of it is amazing.  Last time out it was poor Jennifer Aniston who took the brunt of it.  Now it is Jessica Biel, the victim of misplaced speculation due to her recent breakup with boyfriend Justin Timberlake.

People love to put celebrities down because it makes them feel better about their own,  possibly dull, lives.  Every time I see some of the people commenting on these stories that are put out there, it makes me realize how many mean people there are...wanting to write something nasty about someone or something they have no first hand information about.  Any excuse will do to keep the story going...and boy do they.  For some it's a part of their job to be snarky, but what about the souls that lap it up like mother's milk then think it's okay and the normal way to treat others?

I've seen Jessica B on two different occasions and very up close.  While she is very attractive on screen, she seems very normal and pretty in the flesh,  but not necessarily someone you would sit and gawk at if you didn't know who she was.  She dresses very conservatively, not necessarily calling attention to herself  through her stylish, but not flashy clothing...as a lot of less pretty girls tend to do to grab attention, particularly if they have a figure.

L.A. style is not necessarily the best, if you know anything about fashion, but JB has her own style and I think she is in Shreveport  to do her job and get on with her life and hopefully do some credible acting in this movie.  Gerry is her boss and her co-star...and a very friendly one, as anyone who has been watching him for any length of time, will know.   I think she deserves a break from all the nastiness.

As for Gerry.... being a very outgoing and flirty male, especially in a small town, he is naturally going to gravitate towards his pretty co-star for companionship.  That is a very normal thing to do.  Someone like Biel, just having gone through a break up, might find him very sympathetic towards her.  It is a normal human thing to feel for someone.  But just because they are attractive celebrities under the normal microscope of the press and the fans, it does not mean they are going to jump into the sack from day one.

It also doesn't mean that at some point, human nature being what it is, they might not share some warm communion (in whatever form that communion may take) .  But that is a far cry from "being together" in the hyped scenarios people have been making up from the moment they hit town. I guess reality doesn't sell as well as fabrication...so let's see what we can come up with.  Smoke and mirrors indeed!

The next thing you know, people will start with the stupid name combinations...probably one of the more asenine things I ever heard of.  To me it always smacks of smallness....like celebs are not human beings and therefore it is okay to trivialize them by making them only worthy of being a half of something rather then as individuals in their own right.   Yes, I know some times there are some celebs who deserve these kinds of things, but to adopt it from one instance where it might have been cute to another set of circumstances?   How boring and unimaginative is that?  I suppose some need it to be cute?  I find it downright silly.

And people complain about the shallowness of Hollywood?

I am just hoping Playing the Field will be more than it sounds like from afar or that it will at least be entertaining.    If it is not,  then we will all have a basis on which to criticize and critique the performances and the people involved for not making it something worthy of watching.

Until then, or until we have some proof that there is much more than a simple, normal flirtation going on between these two people, let's try not to insult people's intelligence by writing or repeating nonsense.   Smart people see right through it and hopefully are getting tired of the same old hype!


Songs out of tune, the words always a little wrong...Canzoni Stonate