A beautiful Brittany Murphy

A broken neck and a broken JCVD

ok I’ve been quiet cuz I’ve been working on my own project – but more about that later.  First things first, the neck…Sly did indeed have a very serious surgery a few weeks after we wrapped The Expendables.  He did it under the radar and kept it out of the press…I love that! Arnold went to visit him in the hospital and I saw him a couple of weeks after the surgery.  From what he told me it was complicated and involved moving his trachea, putting in a metal plate and some very delicate maneuvering by the surgeon – the slightest mistake could have resulted in paralysis.  As for how it happened – I don’t exactly remember because Sly had several injuries over the course of the film – he did so many over the top stunts and rarely used a stunt double for the fights.  After one fight blood was pouring out of his ear.  I do know the fight between him and Steve Austin was brutal – took place in a cave with jagged walls and a hard dirt floor – stunt pads were rarely used as that would prevent Sly from getting the full frame shots he loves so much.  They both got their clocks wound in the scene that day.

As for JCVD, it is clear that during the pathetic excuse for a press conference he exhibited a real case of sour grapes.  JCVD was disrespectful, insulting and showed he has no character.  But then again most of us knew that.  That doesn’t mean some of his movies aren’t good, he isn’t in good shape or that he isn’t a martial arts expert – just that he clearly created a mythology about what happened to make it look like he turned down Sylvester Stallone for creative reasons.  Bull@#!%.  I’m not going to get into a he said/he said dialogue here since I wasn’t present for the conversations.  But again, my understanding is Sly really wanted JCVD and was writing a part for him – just as he did for Jason, Jet, Dolph, Mickey, etc.  Doing this film was never about the money for Sly so I find it completely implausible that he tried to lure JCVD with the promise of riches.  A rewarding experience, a chance to get back on the big screen in a big film and a role that would allow him to show his chops?  Yes.  The promise of money money money.  No. Anyone who knows how NuImage operates knows that getting money out of Avi is like milking a hummingbird – he has a formula that he sticks to which is why he is successful.  Sly had x amount of $ to make the film and he wanted to get the most out of it.  Giving bundles to a marginal screen draw makes no sense.  John Wright is right (heh heh) – the script went through over 100 rewrites…JCVD’s character was not fleshed out completely but Sly had an outline for who he was.  As with the other actors, JCVD would have the opportunity to develop the character.  I think it came down to how much of a team player would JCVD be – remember this was an ensemble piece – everyone had to click – ego on set would not be tolerated.  My thoughts – JCVD was perhaps the architect of his own demise in terms of the film because of ego and perhaps a little feeling of intimidation.  That’s my take and it is filled with a lot more truth than any speculation I’ve seen here.  Get it? Got it? Good.

…you say goodbye and I say hello….

Ahhh I’m in a reflective kind of mood tonight what with the “blue moon” so full and luminous and a retrograde Mercury causing havoc… I’m fairly certain that wackiness will ensue.  So before I head out into the land of the wild and the weird known as New Year’s Eve I’m chiming in with my take on the past 10 years…

Looking back makes me realize what a wild assed conglomeration of hideousness and hilarity the soon to end decade was. Let us not forget people…The 21st century began with the crazies in high gear as way too many people on planet earth believed the world was going to end with the advent of Y2K…But alas the world did not stop spinning on its axis, planes did not fall from the sky (yet) and cities did not come to a grinding halt. But one thing was for certain –  media manipulation was officially at full tilt.  And with that we were off and running as Playstation became the drug of choice, Dubya became the 43rd President of the US but not “us” and George Harrison reminded us “All Things Must Pass”.  The tragedy of 9-11 brought the country together for a brief moment until the 2004 election Kabuki tore us apart again.  Tsunamis and earthquakes ravaged the Indian Ocean, China and India while in the US Hurricane Katrina revealed to us this is a country still very much divided by class.  Saddam Hussein was found in a rat hole, our brave men and women went to war In Viet Nam and Cambodia….oops I mean Iraq and Afghanistan… and pirates once again trolled the high seas and I’m not talking about Johnny Depp.  The space shuttle Columbia disappeared before our eyes, that cute little Pope died , gay marriage became legal – sort of – and pot stores literally sprouted up over night in California.  We learned that you can see Russia from Sarah Palin’s backyard, a man named Barack Obama was elected President, Bernie Maddoff made off with other people’s money, Kenneth Lay took the easy way out, banks failed, the stock market did a free fall, the dollar tanked and gas rose to nearly $5 a gallon. Meanwhile back in Iran, thousands filled the streets to make their voices heard.  And the world listened…for a minute.  Oh and let’s not forget about Mad Cow disease and Swine flu and anthrax.

Social networking reminded us of how much we all want to be connected.. to our IPods and Iphones and Kindles but not necessarily to each other. We waged war against terrorism  but not against hunger in our own backyard. Global warming became the new buzz word. TV’s got flat, albums all but disappeared and TiVo changed our lives forever – ok so maybe just mine but it did! We met the Osbornes, LT danced with the stars, American Idol gave us mediocrity (Justin, Rueben) mixed with brilliance (Jennifer , Carrie, Kelly), Madonna stuck her tongue down Brittany’s throat, YouTube gave every moron in the world with a camera a chance at fame, Michael Jackson disintegrated, Janet Jackson showed her nipple ring and Amy Winehouse became an embarrassment to crack heads everywhere.  All the while Beyonce made it totally legit to have a big ass…errr… I mean booty.  Peter Jackson gave life to Frodo and Gollum,  Penguins marched, Memento mesmerized, Russell Crowe beat a guy with a phone (not very Gladiator like), a little fish named Nemo made us smile, Spidey ruled, Transformers enthralled but the sequel was a snooze fest and Christian Bale and McG ruined the Terminator franchise.  Pan’s Labyrinth disturbed us and we fell in love with Batman and vampires…again… as Jim Cameron…love him or hate him…delivered the best trip I’ve been on in years.  Moulin Rouge, Crouching Tiger, Daniel Craig as a very sexy Bond..I could go on and on…

The Red Sox won the world series, Usain Bolt ran really really fast, Shaq and Kobe ruled, Brett Favre got very confused, Beckham bent it in LA, Michael Phelps got cozy with a bong, Danica Patrick showed the boys how girlz play, Michael Vick went to jail, Barbaro broke our hearts, ‘roids raged, Tiger got beat by his own golf club and the Steelers won the Super Bowl…TWICE (just because I haven’t mentioned The Expendables doesn’t mean I wouldn’t mention my Steelers ;]

Ok so there you have it…maybe TMI but it’s my take and i’m sticking to it. Happy 2010 everyone.  Lots of good things are coming our way including the release of The Expendables and Arnold’s final days as Guv.  Cheers.

Sly clears my confused mind

Had coffee with Arnold and a couple of his friends today – BTW he looks amazing – fit and tan.  He just returned from Israel where he traded ideas on the environment.  Then he headed to Iraq to visit the troops.  I had the honor of traveling with him to Baghdad, Balad, Kuwait City and a few other places on July 4th 2003 so I know a). how much he loves meeting the brave men and women who put their lives on the line everyday and b). how much the troops LOVE having Arnold  visit their bases and the gyms.  He slept in Saddm Hussein’s Summer Palace which is now Camp Victory (ironic name by the way).  We also visited the palace in 2003 and I have video of me in one of the bathrooms where everything was gold including the toilet.  But I digress…As we were saying goodbye Sly pulled up and I had a few minutes to ask him some more questions about Rambo 5 guz honestly people I was a little confused and the comments on this blog did nothing to give me any clarity.

Right off the bat I asked him to clarify – was Rambo 5 two stories in one …and this is what he told me… When he first agreed to do another Rambo the idea of JR against something way way bigger was the logical step- he knew that this time out Rambo needed the ultimate challenge physically and mentally.  But as the creative process took hold Sly found himself veering away from that concept with the real pull towards the story of the  horrendous violence inflicted on the women and girls caught in the Mexican drug war.  It will have all of the trademarks of a Stallone film and the story will be provocative, revealing and totally kick ass. And while the chess game governments play using innocents as pawns has been told before I am prepared to bet the farm Sly will come up with stuff that will blow our socks off – figuratively and literally!! So now I’m clear – this Rambo will be Rambo and Hunter will be made in the future as a stand alone as it should be.  Sly is also talking about collaborating with a writer for Rambo.  The Expendables went through over 100 drafts and took a huge toll on Sly…it will be interesting to see who he teams up with.

I also asked about Poe…again… because that to me has the potential to be an award winning film even if the studios don’t get it.  He told me not to get him started on that one and as much as I wanted to ignore  and go for it I didn’t.  So I’m hoping Sherlock Homes does well so that someone will wake up and put some money behind it.

It was a good day…

Happy Thanksgiving everyone

I hope you all enjoy the day in a way that makes you happy and I ask you to think of those less fortunate – especially the children – who  with no food and in some cases no home don’t have much to be thankful for.  Make a difference by volunteering or donating to your local foodbank or pantry.  Or go to www.lafoodbank.org if you are in SoCal.

Cheers!

ok that was pretty interesting

Honestly folks I have to admit I wasn’t that jazzed about Sly doing Rambo 5 or whatever number it is.  I felt the last one was so totally kick ass balls to the wall old school action there’d be no need to do another one. Then there was the possibility of shooting in Bulgaria which really didn’t appeal to me so I was thinking I might have  to sit this one out. But that all changed after my oh so interesting conversation with Sly on Saturday about the new Rambo.   I told him how happy I was after reading Zablo’s blog in which Sly said that he had changed the storyline. And while I have utmost respect for Sly’s writing and directing ability I just wasn’t psyched about John Rambo going Predator like on me.  So I told Sly that I was excited about him tackling the subject of the brutality women and children caught in the drug wars in Mexico face.  He spoke passionately about shining the high beams on the situation.  He said he is doing tons of research and the deeper he digs the more complex and dangerous the subject matter becomes.  It was clear this story has struck a chord in him so I am expecting a lot of intensity.  He commented it will be a brutal shoot…more brutal than The Expendables I asked…oh yeh he said.  Ok now I’m hooked. But I had to ask…what about Bulgaria. Absolutely not was the answer (phew). It will be shot in the US, probably somewhere in the southwest where there’s desert – perhaps New Mexico.  He is hoping for a spring 2010 start.  Me too

By definition…

cameo role. a minor part played by a prominent performer in a single scene of a motion picture or a television play.

wow

This morning when my alarm went off at 5am I started to hit the snooze button when I suddenly realized…hey get your ass up…today is the day you’ve been waiting for – today the boys are back in town. the location was in Hollywood at the Hollywood Presbyterian church on Gower, which is about a 35 minute drive from Hermosa Beach on a Saturday morning. I don’t know if I was excited or nervous but I was certainly wound up and wide awake.  I arrived at the location around 6:15am and Bruce and Sly were inside the church running lines.  Arnold pulled up about 20 minutes later – I walked to the set with him and watched as the 3 guys greeted each other with excitement and anticipation.  Pretty cool stuff.  Bruce looked amazing – very fit, beautiful bald head and that smirky smile.  Sly looked relaxed but definitely ready to put this puppy to bed.  Arnold had a stogie in his mouth, a giant watch on his arm and was constantly making jokes.  I introduced him to Daniel Bertorelli, Sly’s stand-in from Brazil who became part of The Expendables family – Arnold told him he was happy to meet someone else with an accent!  Quite a few members of the original crew were there including Lighting god and all around cool kat DP Jeffrey Kimball and his A+ camera team, Nicole and Scott (hair & Make-up), photog Karen Ballard, Liz the costume designer and Mustaffa, Sly’s wardrobe guy along with Sly’s team, Kevin King and the fabulously chic Celeste.  Arnold had Greg Hall, who worked with him on every film since Kindergarden Cop, as his wardrobe person and his longtime friend, Dieter Rauter, doing double duty as stand-in and videographer.   Legendary publicist Paul Bloch and the always delightful Steven Eads were with Bruce. We also had director john Herzfeld shooting behind the scenes for the documentary he’s doing on Sly and the making of  The Expendables.  Producer Jerry Weintraub stopped by as did Dodgers manager Joe Torre who was with Sly’s brother-in-law the famous surgeon who operated on Tom Brady (sorry brain spasm – can’t remember his name).  Other than that we had no looky-loos or p’razzi.  I was, however, amused by the guy who drove by as the 3 guys were walking to their trailers – he almost fell out of his car…nice.

After Arnold, Bruce and Sly went through the scene a couple of times they all 3 headed off to wardrobe and make-up.  at 8:10am with three cameras rolling the biggest action icons of our time went to work.  I thought it was electric in Brazil when all of The Expendables stepped on set – but today was atomic!!!!  the whole crew was mesmerized as we watched the three of them play off of each other in a pivotal scene that sets up the whole movie.  And while I can’t/don’t want to give too much away I can tell you that Arnold’s character is Trench and Bruce is Church, the scene was shot in an empty church without extras and minimal set dec and it has tension and humor – what more can a girl ask for!  Sly was in top form as a director today and was in total command.  Bruce and Arnold were consummate professionals at all times – we got through the scene quickly without compromise.  In 6 hours we did wide shots, close-ups, turned around…the whole nine yards…pretty impressive.  Very Clint Eastwood.

With the EPK cameras rolling the three of them talked to me about working together for the first time and it is very funny…can’t wait to see that piece of footage land somewhere!  Karen Ballard also took some great shots – we are going to release a shot as soon as we go through the approval process which is why I am not posting anything today.  But I will have it posted as soon as we release it.

so that’s it folks.  I won’t have much to say about The Expendables until early May when we might be brewing up something very cool for Cannes.  Other than that, today was amazing – the whole ride has been amazing and remember – you don’t need a gun to be a badass!!

sitting idly by…

This morning I had the urge to write  about how pissed I am over some of the comments posted on this blog and to rant about self-indulgence and conjecture based on  well…conjecture!!  I wanted rant about my need for intelligent, interesting and provocative discussions.  I wanted to rant.  When suddenly the clue train pulled into the station and I got on.  Guess what I found…me sitting idly by.  I got off at the next stop and am now back on my own track.  And I’m loaded for bear.

So from this point forward I’m in control…no more personal bullshit.  If  you guys want to navel gaze do it between yourselves.  No one else cares.  Not interested in the concept that infringing on intellectual property rights is stealing?  Go hang out somewhere else. I realize IPR is sometimes tough to wrap your head around – I was a huge Napster user and shared music with friends all over the world.  But ignorance is no excuse.  Think about this – IPR doesn’t just affect music and movies – babies die because an inferior medicine is falsely packaged under a well known brand name…automobile tires stamped with the Firestone name are in fact recycled tires made in China that after a thousand miles disintegrate…it goes on and on and on. Putting the trailer on the net was one thing – I’m not sure how it got there but only a handful of people had access to it so it can’t be that hard to figure out.  But posting raw footage from the set is not only stupid, it is criminal.  That footage is the property of Lionsgate  and Millenium.  I don’t understand why that concept is so hard to comprehend.

We shoot the scene with Sly Arnold & Bruce on Saturday. I still don’t have the location (not that I would share it anyway) but logic dictates it will be in a church in LA.  I’m excited to have the three of them on set together – they each played a big part in my career…Bruce was the reason I stayed in Cali after Prizzi’s Honor, working with Sly in the early ’90’s helped elevate my profile as a publicist at Warner Bros. and Arnold has been a mentor and a friend for nearly 15 years.  Plus I am a big fan of their films so watching them work together will not only be huge cinematically for me but on a personal level I’m thinking it will feel a little surreal! I’m hoping they will share some comments that I can post and maybe just maybe a photo…we shall see.

a little update

Wanted to give you a little update – I read the pages for the scene with Sly, Bruce and Arnold and while I can’t share the contents I can tell you it is 4 pages long and Arnold has dialogue in all but 2 scenes.  It has not been shot yet – still waiting for the stars to align themselves!!!  everyone’s busy.  But it will be soon.  As soon as cameras roll I will be tweeting!!