|
Los Angeles Times - October 11, 2002 MIRAMAX IS MOVING GONY!!
Scorsese-Spielberg Match Called Off Each had a project with Leonardo DiCaprio set for Dec. 25, but Miramax rescheduled to avoid rivalry. By Kim Masters, Special to The Times
The celebrity death match pitting the lightweight Leonardo DiCaprio against the heavyweight
Leonardo DiCaprio has been called off.
Miramax has decided to move Martin Scorsese's costly and long-in-the-making epic "Gangs of New
York," which features DiCaprio in a central role, from Dec. 25 to an earlier date in December that
had not been determined by midday Thursday. That means Scorsese's gritty tale of gang warfare in
19th century Manhattan will not go head-to-head with Steven Spielberg's "Catch Me if You Can," a
holiday confection that also stars DiCaprio.
"There are challenges to having the two films on the same date," Miramax spokesman Matthew Hiltzik
said. "Whatever the eventual date will be, we're extremely confident in the film. This is one of
the great times of the year to release the film, and there's plenty of opportunity for this and
other quality projects to perform well."
At DreamWorks, Miramax's decision brought relief after months of tension over the clashing dates.
"We didn't like having to share Leo's audience with that movie, and we also didn't think it was
seemly to have two of America's greatest directors square off against each other," DreamWorks
executive Walter Parkes said.
Indeed, the two directors have a long and complicated friendship. Their vastly different styles
are on display in these two films, which feature dramatically different DiCaprios. In "Gangs," he
is bulked up to play a grubby street fighter. He is trimmed down and squeaky clean for his turn
in "Catch Me if You Can" as an early-'60s teenage con artist who poses as a pilot, doctor and
lawyer.
The holiday season is packed with high-profile movies, and finding a new date for "Gangs" could
prove difficult. On Dec. 6, Warner Bros. releases "Analyze That," the sequel to its hit comedy
with Billy Crystal and Robert De Niro. The following weekend, Paramount launches the latest
installment of "Star Trek." And on the 18th, New Line will open "The Two Towers," the second
episode in its "Lord of the Rings" trilogy.
Many in the industry are wondering how Miramax can handle its extraordinary number of films set
for holiday release. Aside from "Gangs," a few films have generated early buzz. "Chicago," a
musical starring Renée Zellweger and Richard Gere, already is being mentioned as an Oscar
contender.Other Miramax openings include "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind," directed by George
Clooney; Roberto Benigni's "Pinocchio"; and "The Quiet American," a Philip Noyce-directed drama.
Industry executives said head-to-head competition between "Gangs of New York" and "Catch Me if You
Can" wouldn't have been good for either project. But most believed that the underdog in such a
contest would have been Miramax's "Gangs," with its violence and length--approaching two hours and
40 minutes. And the stakes are high. The picture has a budget substantially in excess of $100
million, making it by far the most expensive film Miramax has made. It's arriving a year late.
DreamWorks' "Catch Me if You Can" cost about half as much, and Spielberg shot it in 55 days. At
about two hours, it is shorter than "Gangs" and considerably sweeter. And it pairs Spielberg with
Tom Hanks, one of the most bankable stars. Finally, there's DiCaprio, looking much as he did when
he made legions of female fans swoon in "Titanic."
"Gangs of New York" doesn't lack star power. Along with DiCaprio, it has Cameron Diaz and Daniel
Day-Lewis, whose performance may put him in Oscar contention. But the characters have an eccentric
period look, and they are coated with meticulously re-created 19th century grime. As one producer
observed, "Nobody's cute in 'Gangs of New York.' "
Miramax spokesman Hiltzik says early tracking shows that "Gangs" will appeal to a broad audience.
"An action film with romance starring Leo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz and Daniel Day-Lewis, directed by
Martin Scorsese with music by U2, has tremendous, widespread appeal," he says. Research shows that
the potential audience has an exceptionally high awareness of the film before Miramax has run the
first ad for it.
Tom Sherak, a partner at Revolution Studios, thinks "Gangs" can perform strongly, especially now
that it has been moved. "It looks like something that I want to see," he says. "It has a cachet to
it." But he expects that the picture, with its dark themes and violence, will appeal primarily to
big-city audiences, and that would limit the box office potential to about $100 million, he says.
"It can't do as much business as a picture that plays everywhere," he predicts.
"Catch Me if You Can," on the other hand, looks like a film with appeal in the heartland as well
as in urban areas. "If a movie is going to work big, it works from the middle [of the country]
out," Sherak says.
Most industry watchers were surprised that Miramax took as long as it did to move the film to a
different date. One prominent agent speculated that Miramax chief Harvey Weinstein was reluctant
to move "Gangs" in part because of the ongoing rivalry between his company and DreamWorks. The two
have engaged in bitter Academy Awards battles for several years.
There were rumors that DiCaprio was so upset over the conflict that he threatened to back away
from publicity chores for either movie unless some accommodation was reached. Ken Sunshine, the
star's publicist, says those reports were "completely bogus."
Ultimately, says one prominent agent, Weinstein had no choice but to yield. "Harvey would alienate
everybody in the whole world if he were trying to throw another Leo DiCaprio movie out there on
Christmas Day," he says. "It's blood sport setting these dates, but there is a certain amount of
cooperation that has to go on with these studios when it comes to releasing movies with the same
stars."
Miramax contends that Weinstein set "Gangs of New York" for release Dec. 25 after DreamWorks
principal Jeffrey Katzenberg assured him that "Catch Me if You Can" would open in November.
DreamWorks denies that Katzenberg made such a promise. But if Weinstein had consulted a release
schedule, he would have seen that the Spielberg movie was parked on Dec. 25 when he announced the
"Gangs" date. Miramax contends that Weinstein set that date without checking. On Thursday,
Katzenberg said, "We're going to root for them in every way we can."
One source with knowledge of Weinstein's actions says he and Scorsese hastily agreed on the
Christmas date just before the Cannes Film Festival in the face of mounting media interest in
the progress of the much-delayed "Gangs." "I think they figured they'd work it out or they'd win,"
this insider says. "It was a mistake." (Scorsese's publicist, Lois Smith, said Scorsese never
involves himself in scheduling decisions. And Hiltzik said the date had been set weeks in advance
of Cannes.)
DreamWorks says it never considered moving "Catch Me if You Can" from its date. But the studio
clearly wanted "Gangs" to move. To that end, Spielberg did something he had never done in his
storied career: He cut together 14 minutes of footage from his film to show to selected members of
the press. In other words, DreamWorks flashed its poker hand to show that it wasn't bluffing.
Meanwhile, Spielberg made a friendly gesture toward his old friend Scorsese. When Scorsese couldn't
get a Miramax-provided jet to the recent Hollywood Film Festival Awards, Spielberg offered his
plane. Scorsese--still toiling over "Gangs of New York" in the editing room--decided not to attend.
The two directors and their projects have undergone a series of twists. "Gangs" is a project that
Scorsese had dreamed about making for decades. Spielberg, on the other hand, did not intend to
direct "Catch Me if You Can." At one time, DreamWorks wanted Lasse Hallström to take the helm. But
the studio couldn't strike a deal with Miramax, which would have had to release Hallström to take
the assignment. When DiCaprio committed to "Catch Me if You Can," DreamWorks delayed the start of
production so that he could finish filming "Gangs." During that interlude, Spielberg decided to
direct the film, and the confrontation between the two directors inadvertently was set into
motion.
Spielberg and Scorsese have a long-standing relationship that an executive who has worked with
both describes as "friendly but strained." When both were starting out, Spielberg was the one who
seemed to be at a disadvantage, according to Peter Biskind, author of "Easy Riders, Raging Bulls."
"Steven said to me at one point that when he was coming up, he wanted to be Marty," Biskind said.
"He wanted to be an auteur." Spielberg, who had worked in television, was "too studio" for
Scorsese's crowd, Biskind said. According to Biskind, Spielberg was so concerned about his
artistic bona fides that he briefly decided not to direct "Jaws." But after he established himself
as a box office titan, it was Scorsese's turn to be concerned about his failure to make a highly
commercial film, according to executives familiar with both directors.
In the early '90s, the two briefly switched roles. Three executives familiar with the episode give
the following account: After Spielberg tried to develop "Schindler's List" without success, he
turned the project over to Scorsese, who commissioned screenwriter Steven Zaillian to tackle it.
Zaillian came up with a successful approach, and Spielberg wanted the project back. Spielberg asked
Scorsese to attend a reading of another script--a reworking of the 1962 thriller "Cape Fear."
Scorsese traded "Schindler's List" for the presumably more commercial "Cape Fear" remake. As an
incentive, one of the executives said, Scorsese's deal gave him a percentage of the film's gross
for the first time--the kind of deal that had long been a matter of routine for Spielberg. The
directors' representatives would not comment.
The bargain paid off for Scorsese--to a point. "Cape Fear," which pulled in $77 million at the box
office, was the highest-grossing film he has directed. But "Schindler" grossed $96 million. And in
a moment of considerable irony, Spielberg won the Academy Award for best picture and director--both
honors that have eluded Scorsese to this day.
Thanks to Pax ! ***
|