|
(Thanks to the TNT's Hot
Button by David Poland)
On Tuesday, a bunch of us got a first look at the new Ah-nuld picture from Columbia, The
6th Day. The Sony publicists scheduled groups of 4 and 5 to hang out in one of the editing
suites where director Roger Spottiswoode is cutting the picture. Normally, serving a glass
of red to a journalist suggests that they want you drunk. But not here. Spottiswoode was
the consummate host and for a few minutes, his editing suite was your editing suite. We
were shown between 20 and 30 minutes of footage, most of it low-tech. But in talking to
Spottiswoode, that was the big surprise of this film. It isn't your father's Arnold
Schwarzenegger movie. The 6th Day is a psychological thriller that just happens to have
attracted the Austrian Oak. They added some big action to satisfy Arnold's audience, but
it seems that this movie is the first step of the next Arnold evolution, more brain than
brawn.
The picture looks beautiful. That's not really a surprise. Spottiswoode knows how to do
major motion picture and his collaboration with cinematographer Pierre Mignot seems to be
a happy fit. What was interesting was the lack of big effects. Spottiswoode, who made
Noriega: God's Favorite for Showtime for $5 million right before this, told me that the
budget on the film was in the mid-80s. Welcome to the new world order of Hollywood. Just a
few years ago, you couldn't have made a Schwarzenegger movie for under $100 million. Now,
even with the big man's big payday, keeping it tight is a priority. And that is in no way
a slam or even negative. We didn't see enough of the movie to really know how smart and
solid the story is. It sounds terrific--technology speeds ahead of the law and even the
philosophers and while one man plays God another fights to figure out where he, surprised
to find out that he is the monster, fits into the world. Very Frankenstein 2K. Robert
Duvall is there as a scientist who has lost control of his creation and has serious
doubts. Tony Goldwyn is back, trying to top his villainy in Ghost with a far more lethal
egomaniac. There's some real talent here, including Spottiswoode, who has hit a bit of a
wall each time he's gone into a huge film, seeming to be focused on pleasing everyone more
than bringing to bear the passionate smarts that he shows on his smaller projects. But he
seems to really love the core of this story, so maybe this is the perfect blend for him.
But most of all, the idea of Arnold making a Stigmata instead of an End of Days is music
to my ears. There are those who will obsess on the fact that Arnold isn't 29 anymore. So
what? It was always about his presence more than his muscle. He has a certain charm. And
if he can use that charm to tell a story without killing half the cast every time out, I'm
happy. The 6th Day looks to be another sort of retro movie, eschewing the technology
obsession for actual storytelling. And that shouldn't be too much of a surprise
considering that Mike Medavoy is behind the project. Let's hope that this promising first
glimpse holds in the final outcome. |
|
