Kate & Leo's revelations at 'Revolutionary Road' Q&A

By Kevin Lally

Co-stars of the biggest movie of all time, Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet are also two of the most gifted actors of their generation. DiCaprio, 34, has earned three Oscar nominations, while Winslet, 33, is the youngest actress to have attained five Oscar nods. Each actor gives an exceptionally strong performance in director Sam Mendes' Revolutionary Road, certain to be recognized by the Academy when nominations are announced on January 22.

DiCaprio, Winslet, Mendes, and supporting actors Kathy Bates, Michael Shannon, David Harbour and Zoe Kazan were all on hand for a Q&A session moderated by Rolling Stone critic Peter Travers at a packed Producers Guild screening of Revolutionary Road at the AMC 34th Street Theatre in Manhattan last night. They seemed happy to be there, and justifiably proud of their work.

Based on the celebrated 1961 novel by Richard Yates, Revolutionary Road tells the story of Frank and April Wheeler, a onetime "golden" couple whose marriage and dreams are suffocated by life in suburbia in the 1950s. Their impetuous plan to change their fates and move to Paris merely underscores the fragility of their bond.

Winslet, working for the first time with her director husband Mendes, described the theme of the Yates novel as "the eternal struggle to find happiness." In the search for personal identity, she confided, "we all experience moments of incredible pain." The tragedy of Frank and April is that "they don't even know what they're hoping for anymore."

DiCaprio marveled at the "voyeuristic quality" of the material. "You shouldn't be hearing these conversations," he said, adding that Yates "taps into the unconscious voice we all have."

The two stars were thrilled by the complex emotional demands of their parts, and they each deliver arguably their strongest, rawest performances under Mendes' direction. "I couldn't wait to attack Kate," DiCaprio said of the movie's most ferocious moments opposite his onetime Titanic love and close friend.

Winslet confessed that "I don't switch off" at the end of the shooting day, unlike her husband, which led to a few unwelcome middle-of-the-night pleas to discuss new insights about her character.

Adding some fun to the Q&A were the supporting cast. Bates, who plays an intrusive neighbor, said she lost weight for the role but was distressed to see new wrinkles. "I look exactly like my mother!" she lamented.  Harbour, who plays one of the Wheelers' best friends, joked that his intimate dance scene with Winslet made just the desired impression: "sexy and pathetic."

But the night's scene-stealer, just as in the film, was New York theatre veteran Michael Shannon, who plays Bates' bluntly truthful son, recovering from shock treatments in an insane asylum. "I'm not right for many parts," he gratefully acknowledged about this award-bait role. When Travers asked the panel why modern audiences should relate to a story about a disintegrating marriage in the 1950s, Shannon had a retort worthy of his volatile character: "Not all films can be as contemporary and relevant as vampires and James Bond."

Teens turn out for 'HSM3' and 'Saw V'

By Sarah Sluis

High School Musical 3: Senior Year won over the box office with an impressive $42 million opening, well
above expectations that put the film at $30 million plus.  That number was left to Saw V, which opened at $30.5 million.  Together, these films made almost twice as much as the remainder of the top ten, each of which earned between $2 and $7 million.  Even number three Max Payne didn't break the double digits, with a $7.6 million take that represented a 56% drop from last week.  Surely High School Musical 3 will be able to extend the success of its $40 million opening, at the very least matching the longevity of Beverly Hills Chihuahua, the surprise doggie hit that was number one two weeks in a row.  However, the film will face tougher competition from the Friday Halloween next week, which will have kids trick-or-treating instead of seeing movies.  G-rated Madagascar 2 and Disney's own Bolt (featuring the voice of fellow teen queen, Miley Cyrus) release in coming weeks, luring away younger audiences.

Pride and Glory debuted at an uneventful number five, earning a paltry $6.3 million.  On the specialty side, Changeling's limited release earned an impressive $33,467 per theatre, totaling $.5 million at 15 locations.  Critics have given so-so reviews to Eastwood's film, instead looking to Gran Torino, a film Eastwood directs and stars in, as the probable Oscar contender.  If Changeling excels at the box office when it expands into wide release this weekend, the voice of the ticket-buying audiences might put the film back in the running.

Beverly Hills Chihuahua, displaying remarkable longevity, held the number four spot, earning $6.9 million, bring its total to $78 million.  The Secret Life of Bees, in its limited release, placed at number six with a $5.9 million take.  Right below Bees, W. earned $5.3 million.

Eagle Eye fell a below-average 26%, coming in a million above Body of Lies' $4 million take.  Horror picture Quarantine dropped heavily due to competitor Saw V, and earned $2.5 million, barely squeaking above Fireproof (#11), the "Middle America" Christian-themed picture that has made most of its $23.6 million take outside of the top ten by posting minimal drops--only 17% this week--and successfully mobilizing churches to organize group viewings.

Full box office results available here.

'Gran Torino' revs up for December release

By Sarah Sluis

Clint Eastwood's Changeling releases this Friday, and Warner Bros. has confirmed that his second
2008 film, Gran Torino, will release December 17th.  While the week (and month) is crowded with A-list stars and action pictures, as well as the studios' Oscar contenders, mediocre reviews and last-minute juggling of release dates (i.e. The Reader) may thin the ranks and give Gran Torino a better chance at the gold statue.  However, studios are also cutting back on their Oscar promotional budgets this year, as mentioned by Variety editor-in-chief Peter Bart in his blog.  He faults the economy, as well as a lack of enthusiasm for projects (doubtful), as the reason for his presumable poor Oscar-related ad sales to date.

In development news, Warner Bros. has enlisted McG to direct spy thriller Dead Spy Running.  The Charlie's Angels director is currently finishing up action sequel Terminator Salvation.  The material comes from an as-yet unpublished book by Jon Stock, a British author and journalist who spent time as a foreign correspondent.  I see two positive forces at work here:  Stock's experience reporting abroad will certainly enhance the book's authenticity, and with Terminator Salvation McG will accumulate another action credential, presumably one that will take the over-the-top, humorous action of the Charlie's Angels films in another direction.

On a bit of a roll, Warner Bros. also bought an action pitch for a film version of last year's rescue of fifteen hostages from the Colombian jungle.   The rescue was the culmination of five years of effort after three Americans were captured in 2003.  Their employer, defense and aerospace company Northrup Grumman, (who knows why they were in Colombia in the first place...) hired McLarty Associates to consult on the rescue.  Interestingly, this same consulting firm will actually produce the film through their spin-off company, McLarty Media.  I find this an odd mix.  While no more biased than an autobiography, what company would want to hire a consulting firm knowing that any juicy story might be considered for a movie pitch?  Moreover, will the company consider the film a chance to airbrush less attractive parts of the story?  New York Times foreign correspondent Peter Landesman, who recently wrote an adaptation of a Deep Throat biography, will script the project, so perhaps those questions will fall to him instead of the producers.