Gangs of New York - 12/22/02

I first remember hearing about this film when George Clooney and Steven Soderbergh created their own studio called Section 8, Ltd. Actually, it was before that. In 2000, Johnny Depp was signed on to play Chuck Barris, with Bryan Singer as the director.

This film went through a lot of turmoil, with Clooney then having to find another job, because Confessions went under, the star left, the director left... people were dropping out left and right... though it was around this time that Being John Malkovich became a hit and put Kaufman on the map in a serious way. Kaufman was nominated for over a dozen different awards for Malkovich... but it didn't save this project, at the time.

With Clooney joining Welcome to Collinwood (which was just one of Warner's throw-away movies of 2002), and Soderbergh and Clooney working on Ocean's 11 and Solaris, along with producing Rockstar, Insomnia, Collinwood and Far From Heaven (which might be up for best picture this year)... I suppose that Clooney found a pet project for his own directorial debut.

Kaufman would go on to write Human Nature, which did not do well in the States at all... I think people just find his work too weird... and also Adaptation, which will certainly be up for an Oscar this year as well (although I didn't much like this film).

So, there's a director (Clooney, who was also going to have a star role), a script (adapted from Chuck Barris's book of the same name)... and they needed a star. As I said, Depp was up for the role, as was Michael Meyers, Ben Stiller and John Cusack... also, it was rumored that David Fincher was interested in the project as a director... but, with all these out, and Clooney not taking the star role... they needed an up and coming actor on the young side... kind of like an Ed Norton ten years ago...

I'm racking my brain, but the only person I can come up with (besides Sam Rockwell) is Colin Farrel, who has been very busy over the past two years. Other than that... keeping in mind that all of the potential stars are of a distinct look... each of them with brown hair, of a certain height (though that's of little difference) and stature... and each with a comedic bent in their acting abilities... well, I can see why Farrel might not have been thought of as a viable option... but who else?

Well, it's late, I'm sick and my brain is mush, so maybe I'm overlooking a few actors... but anyway... straight off of The Green Mile, Galaxy Quest and Charlie's Angels, Rockwell, whom I think is incredibly talented, must have seemed like a knight in shining armor. He's not too high up on the star list to demand major money, but he's got a recognizable face, and did fantastic in his 'plucky' role as Guy in Galaxy Quest...

He fit the profile... and that's not really a pun, just a coincidence (don't mind me if you haven't seen the movie yet).

You can see actors like Rockwell coming a mile away. He's in the same class, I think, as Ed Norton. The two can act different roles with slightly different tinges to make sure you're not viewing (and they're not acting) the same part over and over. I was very impressed with Rockwell in this film, and I'm very much looking forward to seeing him in Matchstick Men, which stars Nicolas Cage and Rockwell, directed by Ridley Scott. Should be very interesting.

I can't say much for Clooney... he's good, he's pretty much good in everything I've seen him in... and I can't say with any certainty that he was more concerned with behind the camera than his acting, because he really didn't have that much of a character. Jim Byrd was slightly more two dimensional than any of the supporting characters... and that might have been with good reason (him being a CIA recruiter and all)... so, with Clooney's acting in this film, neither good nor bad.

Drew Barrymore has been super busy over the past four or five years. It seems every season, there's at least one film that she's in... and I don't think we've been water logged with Barrymore yet, but I think it's coming. I just don't think you can saturate a market that much and not get people tired of seeing you act. She was pretty great in this role, with more depth than some of her others recently (Charlie's Angels included). She played the late 60's and early 70's girl to a T... but I'm not surprised that her next film is a sequel to Charlie's Angels.

Not much I can say about Julia Roberts character. Pretty standard, in the spy world. Pretty standard acting from her, as well. It wasn't a great stretch for her to play someone mysterious and attractive and dangerous. She's done it before.

Now, Clooney as a director... this is a little more difficult to talk about, because I'm sure there were a number of people out there who were hoping that this would flop. Just out of spite, or jealousy or what-have-you. With Kaufman coming out on top and being nominated for Malkovich, and then coming out again with Spike Jonze with Adaptation... people were going to see this film just because of Kaufman alone, not to mention the fact that this film was based on a true story about Chuck Barris, a man people saw on the television for YEARS...

I think that the first person Clooney would be tight with would be the cinematographer. There are two different kinds of directors. One deals with the actors and has very little to do with the technical aspects of the camera work. The other lets the actors do their job, and is very concerned with each and every shot. I remember when this was truth... now-a-days, I'm not so sure. It's hard to tell, because there are SO MANY people who help make a film... the distinct look of the film might be one way, then in post-production (with effects, etc) might bend slightly this way... and then in the editing room, it might come out bending another way... so, who knows.

But with this film, and with this DP... I think Clooney and Newton Thomas Sigel worked very close and very hard to make sure that each scene was well thought out and well executed... all the way down to the type of film stock used.

Sigel has been shooting some so-so films over the last twenty years. It wasn't until 1995 that Sigel got his real break as a DP (instead of continuing to shoot films like Blankman). He partnered up with Bryan Singer on The Usual Suspects, and would continue to be used as DP by Singer for his next three features, including Apt Pupil, X-Men and the sequel, X-Men 2 (boy, they really used the marketing division to come up with that title).

Sigel would also shoot (with Clooney) Three Kings in 1999... so it's no wonder the two would work together on this film, especially since Singer backed out of the film before shooting began.

I think that Clooney had some serious support with Sigel, along with Soderbergh (who was an Executive Producer). But I cannot say with any certainty that he did get help from these people... and I was impressed with the look and feel of the film. There were some very good choices made, along with some wonderful shots that I thought helped propel the film along and helped tell the story.

One of the supporting actors I would like to mention is Rutger Hauer. He's always been one of my favorites, and I was really happy to see him get some decent mainstream work. I hope that he's utilized in the future, because he's always been a fine actor who was (in my opinion) typecast after Bladerunner. Though he got his fair share of decent roles (specifically in Blood of Heroes, one of my favorites), he's also only been doing mainly B-movie work and straight to video.

All in all, this is a very well paced, well acted film. I was very impressed with Rockwell, and if Clooney's next directing gig (he hasn't chosen one yet) is as good looking and put together as this film was... then I will be even more impressed with his work on Dangerous Mind.

As for Charlie Kaufman, his next film, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind... starring Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Tom Wilkinson, Kirsten Dunst, Mark Ruffalo and Elijah Wood... well... we'll just have to see.