The Ones That Got Away - Five Feature Ideas That Didn't Quite Cut It
I tells ya, they coulda been contenders!
Someone asked the other day whether I’d pitched many features idea that I was disappointed to see go uncommissioned. The fact of the matter is, as a freelance, you’re always pissed off when a piece isn’t picked up. However, I think the following all had potential. And who knows? Perhaps some brave soul after reading about them here might care to to drop me a line at richardluck@yahoo.com…
Eugene Lourie - Europe’s Monster Movie Man
With a slew of Godzilla projects in the offing, it'd be a privilege to pay tribute to the Oscar-nominated French production designer who helped create all-conquering kaiju. One of Jean Renoir's key collaborators, when Eugene Lourie wasn't working on art movies, he was busy directing movies about massive, fuck off monsters. His first film, 1953's The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms, featured ground-breaking effects work from Ray Harryhausen. The story of a prehistoric beast that rampages through a city after being awoken by nuclear testing, Beast would be ransacked by Japan's Toho Studios who brought the world Godzilla but one year later. Lourie, meanwhile, would go on to create The Colossus Of New York - a giant robot takes a bite out of the Big Apple - and Behemoth The Sea Monster - a prehistoric beast enjoys a night on the town in London. The capital also provided the setting for Lourie's final monster film, 1961's Gorgo. On its release, it was roundly criticised as a crude Godzilla knock-off, the critics forgetting that the King Of Monsters was himself lifted from Lourie, a man born in Russia and raised in France, an artist who during his downtime liked nothing more than watching the world burn.
Emil Jannings: Nazi Germany's Favourite Oscar Winner
Jannings was a huge star of German silent cinema who was poached by Hollywood in the 1920s. While there, he appeared in a number of notable films, including Josef Von Sternberg's The Last Command and Victor Fleming's The Way Of All Flesh. It was for his work in both of these movies that Jannings won the inaugural Best Actor Oscar. Aware that his thick accent would hamper a career in American sound cinema, Jannings headed back to Germany where his popularity with one Josef Goebbels led to the Swiss-born actor becoming a major cog in the Nazi propaganda machine. As an 'Artist Of The State', Jannings promoted the Nazi cause in part through appearing in films that promoted the party's message. When Berlin fell to the Allies, Emil produced his Academy Award when the OSS asked if he had any identification. Exiled from both Germany and its film industry, he'd live out his days in Austria. Portrayed in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds by Hilmar Eichhorn, Jannings quite rightly remains a controversial figure.
Moebius - Marvel's Fantastic Frenchman
With six Marvel movies being released in 2023, a piece on the great Jean Giraud would seem in order. Legendary in comic-book circles, Giraud - aka Moebius - was a huge figure in European comic-books before he was invited to draw for Marvel in the 1980s. With Stan Lee outspoken in his praise for Giraud, Moebius was let loose on a number of top titles. His rendering of The Silver Surfer was particularly eye-catching. Indeed, the argument over whether Moebius's Surfer was an improvement on creator Jack Kirby's version is openly discussed in Tony Scott's Crimson Tide. Championed by Studio Ghibli's Hayao Miyazaki, Federico Fellini and Alejandro Jodorovsky, Moebius would be worthy of a feature on the strength of his European art work alone - his Heavy Metal stories are the stuff of genius. Throw in his five years with Marvel and his time spent drawing storyboards for Ridley Scott, Luc Besson and James Cameron, and you have a figure who deserves the widest possible audience.
When The Handmaid's Tale Went All Hollywood
Volker Schlondorff's Margaret Atwood adaptation premiered seventeen years before the TV series, with Natasha Richardson in the role of Kate/Offred, Faye Dunaway as Serena Joy and Victoria Tennant playing Aunt Lydia. The weighty cast also included Aidan Quinn, Elizabeth McGovern and the legendary Robert Duvall in the pivotal role of the Commander. What's more, Atwood's novel was adapted for the big screen by none other than Harold Pinter. All this and a Ryuichi Sakamoto score and yet still the film didn't entirely work. Positively glossy in comparison to the TV series, the movie's problems were at least in part due to Schlondorff being a last-minute replacement for first-choice director Karel Reisz. Whatever its flaws, Hollywood's Handmaid is deserving of fresh scrutiny, thanks largely to a captivating performance from the late Natasha Richardson. Just two years on from playing another passive heroine in Paul Schrader's Patty Hearst, Richardson’s extraordinary as someone who doesn't so much make things happen as have things happen to her. Combine this with the success of the series and I’d hope you'd agree that there's merit in re-examining the film industry's original stab at The Handmaid's Tale.
Prince Of The City - The Greatest Movie You've Never Seen
Now, of course there are plenty of people who’ll have seen Sidney Lumet's Prince Of The City, but I think that this is one of those rare occasions where the headline hyperbole is somewhat justified. For over 40 years on from its original release, the picture has still to receive the credit it deserves. This might have something to do with its muddied background - based on real life NYPD officer Robert Daley’s non-fiction novel, Prince was meant to be a Brian De Palma-John Travolta picture. When the project came Lumet's way, the Serpico/Dog Day Afternoon director agreed to take it on provided he could cast an unknown in the lead. Enter Treat Williams (pictured), a Broadway star just making his way in movies. The picture the pair wound up making is as compelling as any crime drama released in the 1980s. Indeed, in terms of scale and intrigue, Prince Of The City bears comparison with the Godfather pictures and Martin Scorsese's Mafia films. Alas, the advent of the blockbuster - together with Williams' lack of star power - meant the film underperformed financially. Then again, you get the impression the studio had it in for both the film and its director, Lumet even being chastised by the accounts department for bringing in his picture $1 million UNDER budget. Fortunately, strong reviews plus the endorsement of Akira Kurosawa meant Prince Of The City would remain well regarded. It's just a pity more people haven't had the chance to regard it. Might a feature change this state of affairs? Probably not, but, hey, you never know...