Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan in director James Mangold’s ‘A Complete Unknown.’ Photo: James Mangold’s Twitter Account.
Preview:
The first official image of Timothée Chalamet in ‘A Complete Unknown’ has landed.
Director James Mangold posted the picture in response to a flood of paparazzi set images.
This new movie will chronicle a key early part of Bob Dylan’s career.
Thanks to the recent one-two punch of ‘Wonka’ and ‘Dune: Part Two’, Timothée Chalamet’s celeb-obsession-ometer is naturally high right now. So with him out and about in New York shooting the new film ‘A Complete Unknown’, there has been a paparazzi feeding frenzy for images of the young star playing a scruffy 1960s-era Bob Dylan.
To head off more, filmmaker James Mangold, who is directing the new movie, has released his own image of Chalamet, plus one of the clapper board from the movie, via social media.
(Left) Bob Dylan in director D. A. Pennebaker’s documentary ‘Don’t Look Back.’ Photo: Leacock-Pennebaker, Inc.
Co-written by Mangold and Jay Cocks, ‘A Complete Unknown’ is set in the influential New York music scene of the early ’60s.
It follows 19-year-old Minnesota musician Bob Dylan’s meteoric rise as a folk singer to concert halls and the top of the charts — his songs and mystique becoming a worldwide sensation — culminating in his groundbreaking electric rock and roll performance at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965.
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Who else is in ‘A Complete Unknown’?
Edward Norton as Miles in ‘Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.’ Photo: Courtesy Netflix.
In the new movie, Edward Norton plays fellow folk musician Pete Seeger (a role that initially went to Benedict Cumberbatch before scheduling issues forced him to drop out), Elle Fanning is appearing as a character based on university student and artist Sylvie Russo, who was an early big love of Dylan’s, while Monica Barbaro is Joan Baez.
One person not in the movie? Chalamet’s ‘Dune’ co-star Austin Butler, who famously got his own big break playing another huge music icon in ‘Elvis’.
Here’s how Chalamet joked to Butler about him appearing, as reported by NME:
“I wish you were in it! There’s an Elvis character in the Johnny Cash biopic ‘Walk the Line’. It’s really brief, it’s very brief, but I was kind of wishing we could create a musical cinematic universe.”
While the actor doesn’t have any roles officially lined up after the Dylan pic, he’ll likely return for ‘Dune: Messiah’ as and when director Denis Villeneuve is ready to make the next chapter in the successful sci-fi saga.
But Warners, pleased with the box office hauls of both ‘Wonka’ and ‘Dune: Part Two’, has now signed a deal with the star, which will see the studio collaborating with him on movies he’ll lead and produce, much as it recently did with ‘Barbie’s Margot Robbie and her LuckyChap company.
Opening in theaters on March 31st is the new movie ‘Spinning Gold,’ which tells the story of Casablanca Records founder Neil Bogart and was written and directed by his son, Timothy Scott Bogart.
What is the plot of ‘Spinning Gold?’
‘Spinning Gold’ depicts the life and career of record producer and Casablanca Records founder Neil Bogart, who was credited with discovering many iconic musical acts such as Donna Summer, Kiss, and the Village People. Along with a rag tag team of young music lovers, Neil and Casablanca Records would rewrite history and change the music industry forever. The movie also examines Bogart’s own personal love triangle with wife Beth Bogart (Michelle Monaghan) and manager Joyce Biawitz (Lyndsy Fonseca).
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Jeremy Jordan about his work on ‘Spinning Gold,’ playing Neil Bogart, being directed by his son, the artists Casablanca Records discovered, and why Neil believed in them.
Jeremy Jordan as Neil Bogart in ‘Spinning Gold.’
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Jordan, Jay Pharoah, Tayla Parx, and director Timothy Scott Bogart.
Moviefone: To begin with, how much did you know about Neil Bogart and the history of Casablanca Records before joining this project, and what did you learn about him that really helped you play this role?
Jeremy Jordan: I knew absolutely nothing about it, to be honest with you. I knew some of the music that came out of the recording studio that they’d formed, and that was pretty much it. I really approached it from the perspective that I’m working with this guy’s family. Tim Bogart wrote and directed it, and he gave me so much incredible insight, and really allowed me to find my own way into my version of his dad without trying to be a carbon copy of this guy. It was nice because he’s not a really widely known figure, and there’s not a whole lot of video that people can be like, “Oh, you’re not doing exactly the thing.” But even so, we didn’t really focus on that in the film, even with the more famous characters. We really just got to figure out who these people are and then go from there. That was a really liberating experience. I didn’t feel like I had to do exactly this perfect impression, you know what I’m saying?
(L to R) Jeremy Jordan as Neil Bogart and Michelle Monaghan as Beth Bogart in ‘Spinning Gold.’
MF: Was it weird being directed by the son of the person you were playing?
JJ: It was weird in my head, but in execution, it really wasn’t, except for every once in a while when Tim would be like, “Hey dad.” I was like, “That’s weird. Don’t do that.” But no, I really felt supported a hundred percent all the way through it. If there was ever any guidance, it was done with a really loving hand. One of the things that I was really lucky about is that Tim said one of the reasons that he chose me to play the role was that I had a lot of the essence of his father, and he allowed me to find that version of it within myself. So I never really felt like I was under a microscope or anything, so it was liberating in that way, and I didn’t have to be self-conscious.
(L to R) Tayla Parx as Donna Summer and Jeremy Jordan as Neil Bogart in ‘Spinning Gold.’
MF: Finally, can you talk about the relationships Neil had with musical artists like Donna Summer and Kiss, and the way he discovered them and really believed in them when no one else would?
JJ: He saw things before everybody else. So he saw Kiss and saw Donna Summer as this incredible thing that was going to change music. He was so far ahead that everybody just kind of thought he was crazy and nothing hit for years with both of them. But he continued to believe in them, almost to a fault. Just tenaciously throwing money at it until some people finally figured it out, or he actually figured out the best way to present them to the world. But he never gave up on them and he never faltered in his belief in them, or never really second guessed any of those decisions. He knew that he was right, and he 99% of the time was. It’s tough to find people like that, especially nowadays. Nothing like this story could ever happen today. I’ve recently tried to join the music business. I started a band and they’re like, start your own TikTok, release your first couple albums and then talk to us. There’s no sending your record tape or your demo and someone saying, “if I believe in you and I think I can make you into something, let’s do it.” If there is, then I don’t know. It’s rare. It’s cutthroat nowadays much more.
(L to R) Casey Likes as Gene Simmons, Sam Harris as Paul Stanley and Alex Gaskarth as Peter Criss performing as Kiss in ‘Spinning Gold.’
Airing its finale on Paramount+ June 16th is the 10-part miniseries about the making of ‘The Godfather’ entitled ‘The Offer.’ The series chronicles producer Albert S. Ruddy’s journey to turn author Mario Puzo’s famous novel into a movie.
Actor Giovanni Ribisi began his career at a very young age appearing in such successful 90’s sitcoms as ‘My Two Dads’ and ‘The Wonder Years,’ before making the jump to the big screen with Tom Hanks’ directorial debut, ‘That Thing You Do!”
But the actor is probably best known for playing Parker Selfridge in James Cameron’s ‘Avatar,’ and will reprise his role later this year in the long-awaited sequel, ‘Avatar: The Way of Water.’
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Giovanni Ribisi about playing Joe Colombo in ‘The Offer.’
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You can read our full interview with Giovanni Ribisi below or click on the video player above to watch out interviews with Ribisi and Dan Fogler about ‘The Offer.’
Moviefone: To begin with, were you aware of all the legendary behind-the-scenes stories of the making of ‘The Godfather’ before you started making this miniseries?
Giovanni Ribisi: There were so many things that were so intriguing about the story and the making of, but I’d also categorized ’The Godfather’ as it came out of the 70’s as sort of the wild and crazy days of filmmaking. So, for that reason, it wasn’t all together shocking, but just still amazing to me. What Al Ruddy did to achieve what he did.
MF: Can you talk about your approach to playing Joe Colombo and the differences between the character depicted in the series and the real-life mob boss?
GR: For any biopic or even documentary for that matter, there’s always an interpretive factor and a lens that you’re looking through to create the whole story. I think for me, I had read a book that was written by Don Capria, and actually Joe Colombo’s son, Anthony Colombo, which was better than some sort of sensationalized mobster biography. It was something that was from having grown up with this man, looking up to him as a father and it really humanized him for me.
But there was also definitely for the story, a comedic aspect to the nature of everything. Also, just how ridiculous it got, especially by today’s standards of again, what protagonist Al Ruddy was going through and the hurdles he had to overcome in order to achieve what he did. So, for me, I think at a certain point in reading the scripts, I just decided to have fun with it. I wanted to look at it from, I wouldn’t say comedic, but just try to find the humor just to balance the severity, I guess.
MF: In your opinion, why did Joe Colombo hate Mario Puzo’s novel ‘The Godfather’ so much, and how did producer Albert S. Ruddy convince him to let them make the movie?
GR: That’s a great question. This is just my theory, because I don’t know for sure. But what it seemed like Joe Colombo was doing, and I think the common ground that he found with Al Ruddy was that he was trying to bring in and usher in the new guard of what his life was. I think that the book, and the way things were depicted, and Frank Sinatra‘s take on it were just not conducive to him trying to reidentify, restructure his life and the business that he was in.
I think that you can make the argument that there’s movies before ’The Godfather’ and after ‘The Godfather,’ not just because of the nature of filmmaking. I mean, largely of course because of that, but also because the way they went about things. Mike Nichols was the maverick of Hollywood and he was trying to rescue this thing from corporate America and bring the creative nature of films, and the possibilities of that to the films that he was making.
I think that from just that notion of thinking outside of the box, Al Ruddy and all that, I think that’s where they connected. Al really changed Joe’s mind. I mean, he was adamantly against it. He was trying to deny the ideas of the mafia or La Cosa Nostra. Joe Colombo was trying to do that.
MF: What was it like working with actor Miles Teller on Colombo and Al Ruddy’s friendship?
GR: I just can’t say enough positive things about my experience with Miles and just what a class act he is. He reminds me of an old school movie star. He’s just got taste, and he’s really smart, and he challenges the material in all the best ways. So, it was easy to find for me personally, to find that connection and that bond with him and to have that hopefully translate through the characters.
MF: ‘The Offer’ reveals that Luca Brasi actor Lenny Montana was actually a member of Joe Colombo’s crew. Were you aware of that before making the series?
GR: Oh, I had no idea. Then when you look him up, it’s incredible because he was a 1950s wrestler, in the sort of the lower brow version. He was just such a character and that’s also part of, I think Coppola’s genius and Al Ruddy just looking at somebody like that, hiring them and making them perform the way they did. Because that’s one of the most, for me, one of the most memorable scenes of the movie and something that I flash on whenever anybody brings up ‘The Godfather.’
MF: In the series, Lenny Montana is played by ‘The Incredible Hulk’ actor Lou Ferrigno, which was perfect casting. What was your experience like working with Ferrigno?
GR: I mean, he was the guy that for everybody on set, when he came on set, we were all star-struck because he’s such a huge, almost pivotal masculine figure in our Freudian minds of the formative years. ‘The Incredible Hulk’ and watching that show, anybody who’s as old as I am now, remembers that.
MF: Finally, you worked with director Sofia Coppola on ‘The Virgin Suicides’ and ‘Lost in Translation.’ How do you think this series honor’s her father, her family, and their cinematic legacy?
GR: I really hope it honors their cinematic legacy. That was definitely minimally an intention from all of us and just by virtue of the fact that it is about what they did and what it takes to make a movie. Not just to go through that, because a lot of people go through experiences or extreme experiences like that and they don’t make ‘The Godfather.’
But this was something that is just, again, just such a seminal important piece of work for what we all do. I think movies would be completely different had ‘The Godfather’ not been made. Yeah, it’s definitely a tribute to them.
You can watch an exclusive scene from the finale of Paramount+’s ‘The Offer,’ featuring the premiere of ‘The Godfather,’ by clicking on the video player above.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Dan Fogler about playing Francis Ford Coppola in ‘The Offer.’
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You can read our full interview with Dan Fogler below or click on the video player above to watch out interviews with Fogler, and Giovanni Ribisi about ‘The Offer.’
Moviefone: To begin with, were you aware of all the legendary behind-the-scenes stories of the making of ‘The Godfather’ before you started making this miniseries?
Dan Fogler: Yes, we just had one recently on the series that was a legend that came out, which was the famous dinner scene. I remember talking about that in college when I went to acting school because it was such a great tool. Coppola talks about getting all the actors together for dinner, sharing central activities, drinking together, and partying together because that builds the relationships and it makes excellent chemistry.
So, there was this famous dinner that we recreated in the show, where they brought in the cast. It was the day before shooting and Coppola rented out this room in this restaurant and they brought Marlon Brando, James Caan, and Al Pacino. Everyone was there, even Diane Keaton. Everyone started vying for Brando’s attention and everyone kind of sat where you’d think that they would sit as a family hierarchy.
Then all the things that happened in that scene played out, where there’s an insult and Caan gets upset, and it gets heated. Then Brando says, “Did this man hurt you?” to Talia Shire. Suddenly, it was in that moment that Coppola saw, “Oh my God, this is going to work. Everyone’s falling into place perfectly, the chemistry’s working and they’re already in character.” So, it was one of those magical theatrical moments. So yeah, those are legends. Coming up as a young actor, you hear about all these things and then suddenly you’re on set and you’re recreating them and it’s very surreal.
MF: What was your approach to playing Francis Ford Coppola?
DF: So, I’ve been kind of studying Coppola for a while. I saw ‘The Godfather’ when I was in high school as a young actor, and then used that as a mothership of the whole ensemble, just like reverse engineering. I was seeing everything from Coppola, including ‘The Godfather,’ then I went to ‘Apocalypse Now,’ and ‘Hearts of Darkness.’
Just seeing Coppola, the ringmaster at the center of that circus and the kind of person that it takes. The fortitude that it takes to create something like that, the passion, and the energy. So, I was very familiar with him. I understood as a young actor, he was 30 when he did ‘The Godfather.’ There was a real “Orson Welles syndrome” going on with him, where he’s the smartest guy in the room, but he still is got to prove himself.
He won an Academy Award for writing ‘Patton,’ which is just military poetry, but he still had to prove himself as a director. They don’t make a lot of people like that anymore. These real artists, he’s like a real visionary. What I understood about seeing him at the center of that, that he has to put himself in the middle of chaos in order to create his best work. He has to be in the middle of a pressure cooker in order to create, to be at his best.
I understood as a young actor, really trying to prove yourself, being put in a situation where you’re pigeonholed and who would ever cast me is Coppola? I would think John Belushi first, and I would think all of these different people first. I knew I would have to prove myself in order to be the room to audition for Coppola.
But there was something that happened after the audition where I saw myself and I kind of saw what they were hoping to see, like the potential there, which is that I look like him. I look like I could be related to him if I put the glasses on. I got a beard, I put my hair to side, and I really do look like him. So, there was a confidence there where I thought, I got a shot here. So, Coppola has been in my life a long time.
Matthew Goode as Robert Evans in ‘The Offer,’ streaming on Paramount+, 2022. Photo: Miller Mobley/Paramount+
MF: At this year’s Oscar ceremony, Coppola for the first time ever publicly recognized Robert Evans contributions to ‘The Godfather.’ Can you talk about their relationship in the series and what it was like for you to work with Matthew Goode?
DF: If Matthew is not nominated (for an Emmy), then there’s something wrong with the world. I had a front row seat. There’s something that happened to me playing Coppola, which was, I’m playing a director. I had such a love of the ensemble of all their performances. I was just sitting there impressed. I just couldn’t help but root them on and be a coach for them. Anytime someone was like, “I feel nervous or whatever.” I was like, no. You are amazing. I was there for them for the support. Especially Matthew, because he’s a Brit. What he’s doing is he’s just sinking into that, disappearing into that, and becoming Bob Evans. I think that he’s amazing.
On the show, I’m playing a great admiration for the Evans because he’s giving us a chance here. He’s just a huge coach for everybody, but in a real life, that contention really spiraled out of control. There’re so many egos and there’s telegrams that I found, between Evans and Coppola when they were starting to do ‘The Godfather Part II.’ They’re just scathing, and a lot of feelings were hurt.
Here’s the thing. Coppola had this vision and he saw only one person as the Don, and he wanted Brando. He thought that was a long shot. Then when he got Brando, it was just like, “Okay, well then I want Pacino, that’s my only choice.” So, he became like, “It’s my vision, let me see my vision to the end. There’s something here.”
He butts heads with Evans at every point on the road. So, I guess they did butt heads a bit about that. That’s in the show, and those scenes are a lot of fun, but I think my favorite stuff to play is when they’re working together, getting along, and Evans walks in and is just like a knight in shining armor. He just saves the day. There’re a couple moments like that. Those are my favorite moments, the celebratory moments where we’re all winning, and the musketeers are working together.
MF: Finally, have you ever had a chance to meet Francis Ford Coppola?
DF: No, but I’ve met people in his family. I worked with Robert Schwartzman. I did ‘The Argument,’ with him. He’s his nephew. I’ve met and spoken to, in my research, people that want to be off the record, who are very close to him. I got to speak to James Caan, which is as close to him but not in the family as you can get. I hope one day to talk to him and I hope that he sees it. That would be the ultimate badge of honor to get his stamp of approval.
You can watch an exclusive scene from the finale of Paramount+’s ‘The Offer,’ featuring the premiere of ‘The Godfather,’ by clicking on the video player above.
The result is a really fun retelling of how ‘The Godfather’ was made, even if most of the facts have been replaced with legend, and serves an entertaining send-up of Hollywood filmmaking with an absolutely brilliant performance by Matthew Goode as the iconic Robert Evans.
The series begins by introducing us to Albert S. Ruddy (Teller), a computer programmer-turned TV writer who wants to produce feature films. He soon meets the head of Paramount studios, Robert Evans (Goode), who desperately needs a hit, and assigns Ruddy to produce Mario Puzo’s (Patrick Gallo) best-selling novel, “The Godfather.”
Evan’s righthand-man, Peter Bart (Josh Zukerman) recommends writer Francis Ford Coppola (Fogler) to direct the film and co-write with Puzo. But production of the movie is put in jeopardy when mob boss Joe Colombo (Ribisi) decides to stop the production because he feels the book is negative towards Italian-Americans. Along with his assistant Bettye McCartt (Juno Temple), Ruddy begins a friendship with Colombo that allows the movie to get made.
Meanwhile, Evans battles Paramount owners Charles Bluhdorn (Burn Gorman) and Barry Lapidus (Colin Hanks) to get the movie made and keep his job. As the film goes into production, Ruddy must deal with Colombo and the mob, fighting Bluhdorn and Evans to get actors Al Pacino (Anthony Ippolito) and Marlon Brando (Justin Chambers) cast, and fulfilling Coppola’s vision to make the greatest movie of all-time!
The pilot episode is directed by Dexter Fletcher, who is also a producer on the series and has a flair for telling “based on a true story” movies like ‘Bohemian Rhapsody,’ which he unofficially directed, and ‘Rocketman.’ But the biggest problem with the series, much like HBO’s ‘Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty,’ is that it offers legend as fact and mixes the two together, ultimately leaving the audience lost as to what is real and what is a dramatization.
Also blending myth and facts, actor Gianni Russo, who played Carlo in ‘The Godfather,’ has been very vocal over the years about his version of the making of the film, which again, may or may not have been true, and saw him taking on the role of mediator between the studio and the mafia.
The series contradicts that story, having Ruddy as the mediator, and also depicts Russo as physically abusive and a sexual predator on the set. Again, that may or may not be true, but if it is, the series does finally explain why actor James Caan really beat Russo up in their famous fight scene.
Another aspect of the series that may or may not ultimately work, is the way they orchestrated moments from ‘The Godfather’ to happen behind the scenes, as if to say that those “real life” moments inspired the film. This works once in a while, but the series doubles down and does it constantly. For example, on the set of the movie in the Don’s office, Ruddy sits behind the desk answering questions from the crew as if he was the Don. While fun at times, this technique eventually runs out of steam.
The sub-plot between Ruddy and the mob is at times more entertaining than the story of making the movie, but I have to call into question if any of that actually happened. According to the mini-series, Ruddy and Colombo become very close, and Ruddy is even in attendance when Colombo was assassinated, which may or may not be true.
The series also implies that Lenny Montana (wonderfully played by Lou Ferrigno), the actor who portrayed Luca Brasi, actually worked for Colombo and may have been implicated in the murder of “Crazy” Joe Gallo. With so many true stories told in the series, it becomes confusing when the show takes “creative license.”
Miles Teller gives a strong performance as Albert S. Ruddy and is really the audience’s eyes throughout the series. Juno Temple is also quite strong as his assistant Bettye and transcends her limited role. Some of the supporting roles of famous actors are a bit hard to swallow, including Anthony Ippolito’s caricature-type performance as Al Pacino. But, Justin Chambers perfectly captures both Marlon Brando’s oddness and genius.
Giovanni Ribisi is surprisingly great as Joe Colombo and brings a lot of humanity to an otherwise unredeemable character. Burn Gorman also gives a spot-on performance as Gulf + Western owner Charles Bluhdorn, which is both funny and at times menacing.
Matthew Goode as Robert Evans in ‘The Offer,’ streaming on Paramount+. Photo: Miller Mobley/Paramount+.
But for me, its Matthew Goode’s performance as legendary producer Robert Evans that really makes this series worth watching. For those that don’t know, Evans is one of the most iconic Hollywood producers of all-time, overseeing not just ‘The Godfather,’ but also hits like ‘Love Story,’ and ‘Chinatown.’ Evans had a very specific way of talking and moving, and Goode nails each aspect of his personality perfectly.
While a supporting character, Evans is as much the star of ‘The Offer’ as Ruddy, and the series tracks his rise, fall, and rise again at Paramount and hints at his drug addiction and failed marriage to Ali MacGraw.
In the end, fans of classic Hollywood filmmaking and specifically ‘The Godfather’ will enjoy this series, whether some of the facts are in question or not. But I do think that anyone with a passing knowledge of ‘The Godfather’ and the legendary stories from behind the scenes will have a more enjoyable viewing than those that do not know the movie’s history.
‘The Offer’ receives 4 out of 5 stars.
‘The Offer’ premieres April 28th on Paramount+
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You can watch an exclusive scene from the finale of Paramount+’s ‘The Offer,’ featuring the premiere of ‘The Godfather,’ by clicking on the video player above.
Once again directed by David Yates, the movie follows Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) and his friends as they aid Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) in stopping his former lover, Gellert Grindelwald (Mads Mikkelsen) from taking over both the Wizarding World and the world of Muggles.
The result is an entertaining conclusion to an otherwise pointless spinoff series that never quite recaptures the magic of the ‘Harry Potter’ films but does feature strong performances from Jude Law, Mads Mikkelsen, Dan Fogler, and Alison Sudol.
The movie begins in 1932, where Newt Scamander (Redmayne) is helping a Qilin give birth, which is a magical creature with precognitive abilities. Credence Barebone (Ezra Miller) soon arrives and kidnaps the newborn so the evil Gellert Grindelwald (Mikkelsen) can use it in his plan to take over both the Wizarding and Muggle worlds. Unbeknownst to Grindelwald, the Qilin had twins, and now Newt must keep the sibling’s existence a secret.
Unable to stop Grindelwald himself due to a blood oath the two men took with each other when they were younger, Dumbledore recruits Newt, his brother Theseus (Callum Turner), Eulalie “Lally” Hicks (Jessica Williams), Yusuf Kama (William Nadylam), and Jacob Kowalski (Fogler) to stop Grindelwald’s plan for world domination. Since Grindelwald can now see into the future, thanks to the Qilin, Dumbledore enacts a complicated procedure where his friends only know their roles and not the overall plan.
Grindelwald is soon acquitted of his crimes by the German Ministry of Magic and announces that he is running for the office of Supreme Mugwump. Grindelwald dispatches Barebone to kill Dumbledore and it is soon revealed that he is the lost son of Albus’ brother, Aberforth (Richard Coyle). Now, Dumbledore must hope that his plan works, and that Newt can protect the surviving Qilin long enough to prove Grindelwald is a criminal before he is elected Supreme Mugwump and takes over both the Wizarding and Muggle worlds.
The biggest problem with ‘Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore’ is that it is the third installment of a series that I have lost interest in after two films. Yes, it’s a spinoff to a franchise that is beloved, but any DNA it shares with the ‘Harry Potter’ films is somewhat surface level at best. So, it was difficult to follow along with the complicated plot because I had forgotten a lot of the characters and subplots from the previous installments.
The ‘Fantastic Beasts’ series really only started to get good with the inclusion of Jude Law as Albus Dumbledore in ‘Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald,’ and is at its best when it doubles down on familiar ‘Potter’ characters and locations such as Dumbledore or Hogwarts.
But placing Dumbledore’s relationship with Grindelwald at the center of story was a very wise choice. The film begins with a quiet scene in a restaurant between Law and Mikkelsen’s two characters that is reminiscent of the scene between Al Pacino and Robert De Niro in ‘Heat.’ Dumbledore and Grindelwald are clearly at odds with each other, on separate ends of a long Wizarding World conflict, but also have a very strong and loving friendship that is at the heart of the film.
Albus once loved Gellert, and is upset by what he’s become, and what he will ultimately have to do to stop him. The idea that these two enemies cannot fight each other because they once loved each other is a very fascinating aspect to explore, which the film does well and deserves credit for including with such respect.
Jude Law gives an excellent performance, giving all the commanding gravitas you would expect from the character, while also adding a rare vulnerability that we have not seen in past appearances. Richard Harris and Michael Gambon both played Dumbledore as a wise mentor to Harry Potter, but Law’s performance gives a look at him as a younger man, making the difficult choices that would lead him to be the character that guides Harry in the later movies.
Replacing Johnny Depp, who played Grindelwald in the previous film, Mads Mikkelsen doesn’t miss a beat and has wonderful chemistry in his few scenes with Law. Through his performance, you understand what Albus once saw in him, the moments of greatness that have been taken over by his own ambition and rage. While Mikkelsen definitely plays the character as the “villain,” he shows shades of the man Albus fell in love with, which adds to the conflict of the film.
One storyline I do remember from the previous movies that is concluded in ‘The Secrets of Dumbledore,’ is the relationship between Jacob (Dan Fogler) and Queenie (Alison Sudol). If Albus and Gellert’s relationship is central to this film, Jacob and Queenie’s story is central to the overall series. Jacob is the audience’s surrogate, the Muggle who fell in love with a witch that sided with Grindelwald at the conclusion of the last film. Their relationship, watching Jacob fight for her love, and the two actors’ excellent performances are what make Jacob and Queenie two of the best characters in any of the ‘Fantastic Beasts’ movies.
The weak links for me in this film were surprisingly two of the biggest names in the movie, Ezra Miller and Eddie Redmayne, who are both usually very good actors. Miller scowls his way through the film playing Credence Barebone, a character we should have sympathy for but instead is just played like your average villain. Even when his true parentage is revealed, you feel no real connection to the character or his actions.
Redmayne, meanwhile, does his best in the role, but is often overshadowed by Law, Mikkelsen, Fogler and other members of the cast. I appreciate the actor’s take on the character, playing him as a nervous oddball, but the performance can be distracting at times, taking us away from the main points of the plot.
Ultimately, the character of Newt Scamander was just not interesting enough to lead his own series, as he is no Harry Potter! That’s probably why the series quickly pivoted from focusing on Newt to becoming more of an Albus Dumbledore origin story. “Dumbledore Begins,” if you will.
In the end, ‘Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore’ delivers a satisfying ending to an otherwise rocky series that may appease some ‘Harry Potter’ fans but fails to recapture the magic of the original franchise.
‘Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore’ received 3 out of 5 stars.
Turning 50 years old in 2022, ‘The Godfather’ is widely acclaimed as one of the greatest movies ever made. But making it in the first place was far from an easy task.
That’s the true story that will unfold in new limited series ‘The Offer’, which launches on Paramount+ this April. It’s inspired by, and partly based on, the book from producer Albert S. Ruddy (who is an executive producer on the series). It chronicles his struggle to get the 1972 movie off the ground and keep it in production in the face of clashing creatives, difficult actors, and unhappy mobsters.
Paramount Pictures chose Ruddy to helm a project that the studio had little confidence could even succeed, especially since many considered the era of gangster movies to be long gone. Based on the novel of the same name by Mario Puzo, ‘The Godfather’ was originally conceived as a low-budget project, and Francis Ford Coppola only became involved after other filmmakers refused to direct it.
While ‘The Godfather’ is known for launching the prolific career of Hollywood legends including Robert De Niro and Al Pacino, ‘The Offer’ will focus on lesser-known facts of the movie’s production. Ruddy dealt with an unwilling director and a screenwriter desperate for money at the start of the production, and the series shows how he negotiated with the studio to increase the budget and help craft the classic it became.
How classic? ‘The Godfather’ was nominated for 11 Academy Awards, winning three, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Marlon Brando‘s performance as Vito Corleone (though he famously refused to accept it, instead using the event to protest the country’s treatment of Native Americans).
Dan Fogler is Coppola, while Burn Gorman plays industrialist Charles Bludhorn, who ran Paramount’s parent company at time, Gulf & Western. Colin Hanks is on as Barry Lapidus, a Gulf & Western executive with a lot of power over Paramount, while Patrick Gallo is ‘Godfather’ author Mario Puzo. Justin Chambers, meanwhile, plays Brando.
‘The Offer’ was created and written by ‘The Player’ and ‘Escape at Dannemora’s Michael Tolkin alongside executive producer Nikki Toscano, who also serves as showrunner. ‘Rocketman’ director Dexter Fletcher handled the first block of episodes.
“What sealed it for me was when Al said, ‘Every day of making ‘The Godfather’ was the worst day in my life,’ and that told me we had a show” Tolkin told Entertainment Weekly last month. “For every character in the film, getting it made or stopping it from being made was at the core of their actions, and it was a matter of life and death to them.”
The 10-episode limited series will drop its first three episodes Thursday, April 28th exclusively on the Paramount+ streaming service. Subsequent episodes will drop weekly on Thursdays.
Paramount+ original series ‘The Offer.’ Photo Cr: Sarah Coulter/Paramount+ (C) 2022 ViacomCBS. All Rights Reserved.
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