Ask Me a Question: Heat w/ Mann, Pacino, DeNiro & Nolan

As you know, Heat is one of my all time favorite movies. So I was absolutely heartbroken to see that an Academy anniversary screening premiere of a new 4K restoration with writer/director Michael Mann and stars Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro attending came out of nowhere and sold out instantly. As someone who has attended so many awesome screenings and now put on my own special events, missing this seemed like a punch in the gut. A near meeting Jean-Claude Van Damme level of VienDammage influence. Not enough of a punch to go line up hours ahead of time to try and stand by but you know what I mean. But some eagle eyed #MovieBros alerted me that a block of tickets had gone back on sale, probably from Academy members who had to cancel. I quickly swooped up a pair for a cool $10 bucks, informed my other Heat loving friends and before you knew it, we had near front row seats at the Academy's theater in Beverly Hills.

The evening's program exploded with names added to the night like Val Kilmer, Diane Venora, Mykelti Williamson, editor William Goldenberg, producer Art Linson, director of photography Dante Spinottie and many more. I think there were 12-15 guests on stage by the end of the night. The movie, about highly skilled and experienced thieves and detectives still plays incredibly. At 3 hours long we get all the twists and turns of both professional crews yet I could keep watching another 3 hours. Everyone in the cast is immaculate but it's Pacino's quiet then screaming Detective Hanna that is just so Damme memorable. During the Q&A, Pacino shared that it was a secret that his character chipped cocaine which lead to some of his hilarious outbursts. Christopher Nolan is an open worshiper of the film, just watch The Dark Knight if you need evidence, and more or less fanboy'd out as moderator talking technical aspects with Mann, who in turn rattled off the exact number of shooting days and locations with no hesitation.

This is the second time we've seen Pacino and he was a riot as usual but he needed a little warming up. DeNiro didn't help as he literally is his cold and quiet onscreen persona and just shrugged about getting involved with the film basically thinking it would be great based off Mann's script and previous work. After a bit of reminiscing from the rest of the panel, Pacino started to remember more and in one story, he and Mann thought Williamson, hot off of Forest Gump should have won an Oscar but didn't, so they paid out of pocket to get him in their film. Pacino also delivered the greatest line of the night and possibly of the quarter when he summed up getting involved with the film as "it's New Year's Eve, I want to get into something...". Val Kilmer was a surprise, after years of battling throat cancer rumors and weight loss, he looks slim but in good spirits but when he started talking, it sounded like he was doing a Marlon Brando impression as he was fighting a swollen tongue. Walking out I spotted co-star William Fichter and chit chatted with Danny Trejo and wondered where Tom Sizemore was. A movie magical night.

Sneak Cinema: The Hateful Eight

Last night, The Crest Theater in Westwood hosted a press screening of The Weinstein Company and Quentin Tarantino's latest opus, The Hateful Eight. In attendance were several movie critic types from internet, TV and OG Leonard Maltin himself. Much has been made about the production of Eight that was shot on 70mm film to harken back to the good ol' days in the 60's where going to the movies was an event. People dressed up, received programs and the films included beginning overtures as well as an intermission. If I remember correctly, the ultra wide scope was an effort to draw audiences to the theater instead of watching programs on their rinky dink televisions at home. The road show angle faded and 70mm became obsolete as the cinematic landscape changed as it always does. Last year, noted film fan Christopher Nolan unveiled his space epic Interstellar at less a dozen theaters still equipped with 70mm projection equipment. Tarantino and The Weinstein's are upping the ante by outfitting 100 plus theaters with 70mm projection. To make it more of a special event, shows in 70 include extra footage too boot.

From the opening credits last night, something was amiss. The bold font of OVERTURE was fine but underneath it, a silhouette of a horse and carriage kept throbbing in and out of focus. People murmured and complained to the PR staff who had no explanation. Generally a tech run happens during the day to make sure the picture and sound are up to par. Nolan personally checked out several theaters to make sure Interstellar was being presented the way he intended while Michael Mann did the same at The Egyptian for a repertory screening of The Last of the Mohicans, heck, Dolph Lundgren did a tech check when they hosted the Skin Trade premiere. Why this didn't happen on this night for this movie, who knows. Apparently some viewers were more upset than others and berated the PR staff leading to a swap to a Digital Print after the intermission. The result? The Hateful Eight looked a lot cleaner and more detailed. While the picture was crisper, I felt the sound lost a bit of impact though. After the film, the crowd exited still grumbling about the technical issues while I made an effort to thank the PR and theater staff because at the end of the day, shit happens, it's just a movie after all.

Now on the one hand, the evening could be seen as a disaster. After all this is a press screening meant to promote a throwback experiment turned event. This was the night meant to build an ally of armies to take back a piece of the business and show what film could do for future generations. Tarantino is a huge proponent of film and runs The New Beverly basically to preserve the medium. But if you can't even get it to work at a "special" event for a special event, what chance does the film have for general viewings multiple times a day? At a screening in New York recently, the projector broke down leading to a 60 minute impromptu Q&A with attending stars Kurt Russell, Walton Goggins and crew while a gear was replaced. Looks like dusting off a buried for 40 years technology for one film and one filmmaker needed more time to work out the kinks.

On the other hand, watching the film in a room full of critics made me realize something, I love movies but hate critics. I've always been vocal about critics being parasites who wouldn't exist without someone else's work. If there's no movie, they have nothing to talk/complain about, simple logic. They see everything early and for free yet they're ungrateful and demanding. It's not like they're creating something or putting themselves out there to be "judged". What was that quote from Theodore Roosevelt about the man in the arena? Something about giving him credit for striving to do the deeds while critics point out stumbles without knowing victory or defeat themselves? Or in this case they're jockeying for Facebook Likes and covering the same mainstream, Marvel movie news that a million other folks are. It's kind of like a barnacle that hitch hikes on a whale then complains there isn't enough plankton around. Go find your own plankton on your own steam then, pal.

There was no energy in the room, dead as dodos. I can only imagine how many times an opening night crowd of actual movie lovers would break out into applause during Hateful Eight's 3 hour run time. A person behind me even complained that the film had an intermission! Apparently they'd never seen a film that included one and basically missed the point of how Eight was being presented entirely. While it seemed like plenty of people were upset, even pissed off, I didn't notice anyone leaving. The moral? It's easier to blah blah blah than to do.

Grudgement Day: Whiplash

Being a movie lover people assume I follow the Oscars but I actually think they're kinda bullshit.  Why?  Because I don't have the tastes of a 70 year old white man, the presiding demographic in the Academy.  Of course their choices for Best Picture are usually easy to spot in the sense of a movie having some social merit, being based on a true story, being about stuffy British people or an underdog fighting for a cause.  Men lose weight or change their image to play against type and women get fat to ugly themselves up.  Blockbusters are usually left in the cold and if you want any chance of winning, you've got to hit the campaign trail attending special events, taking out ads and making sure there's suitable heat to your project.  In 2008, The Dark Knight made a mint at the box office and won critics over but the superhero film via Michael Mann's Heat was left without a 2009 Best Picture nomination.  Why?  Because it was about Batman and the Joker.  In a bid to make it look like they weren't entirely out of sync with the movie going public, The Academy opened up the number of Best Pic nominations from 5 to 10 in 2010.  While a movie about long established comic book heroes in costume wasn't celebrated, James Cameron's tall blue aliens would as Avatar picked up 9 nominations.  Go figure.

This year I enjoyed Birdman and The Imitation Game but one extremely undeserving Best Picture nominee really ruffled my feathers, the music drama Whiplash.  Made for a few million bucks by usual horror and genre label Blumhouse, Whip follows young wanna be drumming prodigy Andrew Neimann (Miles Teller) and his physically and emotionally abusive instructor Terrence Fletcher (J.K. Simmons).  We see Neimann try to balance life, love and his drive for greatness as he's berated, slapped and pushed by Fletcher.  Pretty typical underdog stuff, right?  Suffice to say, I thought this movie was bullshit.  I didn't even want to finish it. First off, I don't understand the appeal of Teller.  Some compare him to a young John Cusack because they're white and have the same kind of chin but Cusack at least had a quirky likeability in Say Anything, Better Off Dead and later Con Air, Grosse Pointe Blank and High Fidelity.  Teller just comes off as blank and forced to me.  Simmons, the likeable supporting actor from films like Juno, Spider-Man and I Love You, Man gets the showy role as the loud, abusive teacher.  He insults students for being fat, homosexual and stupid but strangely doesn't go racist.  If you're going to make him a total asshole why not have some balls and make him an asshole to EVERYONE?  Remember The Departed where all Boston cops and crooks were racist, homophobic and misogynist?  It won Best Picture.  Why exactly is playing an outright prick that impressive?  Because Simmons is usually a nice guy and here he plays an asshole?  That's notable?  Please.

Then don't get me started on how uneven this film is.  SPOILERS.  From Teller's character being this driven young man who practices long into the night, literally bleeding for his passion but then can't wake up on time for his big break.  Or the competition scene where he puts down the music folder to buy a drink and it gets stolen.  Who the fuck stole the folder?!  It's oh so convenient as it gives him the chance to step up but give me a fucking break.  At least show one of the other competing bands stealing it or reveal that Fletcher took it to teach someone a lesson.  But nope, nada.  Bullshit.  Then there's his uneven character who starts out as quiet, meek and awkward for the first act.  Then all of a sudden turns into The Social Network's Mark Zuckerberg and has a stinging one liner for everyone at the dinner table who minimizes his musical aspirations.  We never see that version of the character again.  How about the next competition where his bus gets delayed, he rents a car, forgets his stuff at the dealer, goes back then gets hits by a semi?!  Fletcher keeps harping about not letting the students fuck up his chances of winning competitions but he certainly puts them into compromising positions every chance he gets.  And how about that ending where Fletcher sets Neimann up during a prestigious show by giving him the wrong music, thus making the young drummer look foolish in front of an audience that could make or break his future career.  You're telling me that Fletcher is willing to risk the futures of the ENTIRE band to take his revenge on one kid?  Then of course Neimann picks himself up and goes into a show stopping drum solo that earns Fletcher's respect.  Just what the fuck man.  END SPOILERS.

I was quite surprised at the backlash Christopher Nolan's Interstellar received this year.  For some reason people thought it was going to be some kind of defining documentary on space travel when it's still a frigging movie that preserved the history of cinema and had ambition to spare.  Perhaps it reached too far and wasn't quite successful in blending the science and cinema but you had to admire the effort and the experience.  Did you see Nightcrawler?  What a terrific performance by Jake Gllynehaal as a creepy, funny and driven young man in the world of shock journalism.   Even that crazy Korean flick Snowpiercer was an unsettling, off the wall yet oddly charming observation of class told in a unique way.  With films like that overlooked for shit like Whiplash, it's just another reminder as to why I don't get into the Oscars.  Movies are supposed to be at their best entertaining, educational, emotional, enlightening, intriguing and/or inspirational.  I got none of those from this flick. Frustrating, man.

Gotta Drank! Kate Mantilini

Ever seen the movie Heat?  One of it's many notable moments is a showdown between acting legends Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro, playing the best of the best in law enforcement and professional criminal.  Tracking down DeNiro's crew, Pacino asks him to coffee where the two men discuss the path of their existence, their calling and the destruction it wreaks on their personal lives and what will happen when they come face to face in an unfriendly confrontation.  Michael Mann filmed Heat all over Los Angeles and used Kate Mantilini's on Wilshire in Beverly Hills for the historic scene.  We stumbled into Kate's one random Sunday afternoon on our way back from Anaheim's WonderCon in April.  The first thing that caught my eye was a drink dubbed "Table 24" in honor of the scene from Heat.  Realizing we were in the restaurant where the scene filmed, I got suddenly giddy and sent a text to some other fans of the film that a piece of it's production was literally next door to us for the last 5 years.  On your way out is a large framed photo of the two stars filming the scene.  It was pretty empty on that Sunday afternoon but we went back with some Heat aficionados to celebrate the film (and were seated next to 24) and the fact that Kate's is closing after 30 some years as a Beverly Hills landmark.  Unable to come to terms with rising rent costs, management has decided to shutter it's doors and focus on their remaining Woodland Hills location.  The joint is upscale American fare with crowd favorites like Macaroni and Cheese, Chicken Pot Pie and Meatloaf along side a decent sized Brunch menu.  The Table 24 is a Scotch based citrus medley complete with huge square of ice and blackberry garnish which got me feeling a little happy after one and a half of them...

Kate Mantilini's closes it's doors in Beverly Hills for good on Saturday, 6.14.14.  Get there!

That's the discipline:

Hot Damme! Heat

While Manhunter helped spark a Hannibal themed week, it also took me back into the land of writer/director Michael Mann.  Responsible for some absolutely terrific films like Thief, Manhunter, The Last of the Mohicans, Heat, The Insider and Collateral while his continued descent into near docudrama/High Definition filmmaking has yielded star-studded, almost home movie like features Miami Vice and Public Enemies.  While still working on film, Mann gave us a cops and robbers tale of epic proportions in Heat.  Epic in it's casting:  Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro, Val Kilmer, Jon Voight, Tom Sizemore, Ashley Judd, Mykelti Williamson, Wes Studi, Natalie Portman, William Fichtner with musicians turned thespians Tone Loc and Henry Rollins.  Epic in it's production:  the entire film was shot utilizing 65 locations around Los Angeles without one manufactured set or stage.  And epic in it's detailed depiction of the lives of well trained, seasoned professionals on both sides of the law and the inherent violence that can ensue.  The film is steeped in gritty procedural facts with an air of authenticity that comes from copious research and perfectionist execution.

After 1981's Thief, Mann rewrote his script to Heat and asked Walter Hill (Hard Times, The Warriors) to direct, who declined.  Before lensing 1986's Manhunter, Mann was still trying to produce but not direct Heat.  In 1989, Mann reworked his script and turned it into the TV movie, L.A. Takedown.  After the success of 1992's The Last of the Mohicans, Mann turned his attention back to Heat and with 6 months of prep time, went about creating his arguably most masterful work.

If you've seen Heat, you probably remember the bank heist scene midway into the film.  There, DeNiro's crew have made it out of a bank with millions in cash while Pacino's posse from the Major Crimes Unit finally catches them in the act.  What follows is a harrowing, intense and LOUD showdown between professional thieves and their law abiding pursuers.  Always one for keeping it real, Mann based much of the film on real life cases, criminals and officers of the law he had encountered through his career.  Mann himself spent months going on patrol with seasoned detectives and put his actors through the same rigorous and detailed regimens to prepare for the film with mandatory ridealongs, gun training, etc.  The bank scene was shot in downtown Los Angeles and has inspired future fare from the Michael Biehn/Sammo Hung Hong Kong actioner Dragon Squad to last week's Captain America:  The Winter Soldier.

To Live and Die on the Streets of L.A.: