...more recent posts
speaking of tom cruise, i started watching the top gun sequel last night and am really surprised at the good reviews it got. the first one was over the top macho reagan cold war nonsense but at least it was kind of fun. this one has been an absolute slog for me. two thirds of the way through and i cant point to one redeeming quality. maybe some of the aerial cinematography has been good. maybe? at least they aged cruises character appropriately. he may still be the slightly incorrigible maverick but he is not a smirking manchild. beyond that, meh. some obvious and not so obvious nods to its predecessor and a bunch of two dimensional characters and none of those dimensions are intriguing. also, ive decided john hamm is not a great actor. he is not bad at comedy but how many dull performances post don draper before we accept the truth? prove me wrong, johnny boy!
Privately, however, Guinness had dismissed the script to friends as “fairy tale rubbish” before accepting the part for which he will forever be best remembered. He only did so after 20th Century Fox agreed to his demand that they double the initial offer ($150,000) and — rather ingeniously — tack on 2 percent of the backend grosses, with Lucas throwing in another .25 percent as a goodwill gesture once filming had wrapped.
On June 3: “Am pinning my hopes on Star Wars percentage which could bring me £100,000 or more if it does Jaws business, as predicted.”
The film..., grossing over $300 million in its initial release — earning Guinness more than $7 million immediately ($33 million today) and an estimated $95 million by the time of his death in 2000 at 86. Despite that unheard-of salary for what amounted to 20 minutes of screen time, Guinness was reluctant to come back for a sequel.
Festival on criterion.
Streetscapes (dialogue)
i cant believe this is from the same culture that brought us octopus erotica.