InfoAnda - Hollywood persists with biopics despite perils

Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case
Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They

Taiwan denies boycotting Australian film festival
Thursday, August 6, 2009

AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e

Merkel's support dips, regional ally resigns International
Thursday, September 3, 2009

By Sarah Marsh and Noah Barkin

BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German

Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who

Asian markets mixed after Wall Street rally
Wednesday, March 18, 2009

By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an

China investigates attack on foreign journalists | 2 December 2008
Rihanna's celebrates, BEPs party late | 8 February 2010
Red Carpet Photographer Compared Blake Lively To A Llama | 9 June 2009

Court upholds Corsican separatist's murder verdict | | 21 June 2011

Forum Views () Forum Replies ()

Read more with google mobile : Hollywood persists with biopics despite perils

Yahoo! My Yahoo! Mail More Yahoo! Services Account Options New User? Sign Up Sign In Help Yahoo! Search web search Home Singapore Asia Pacific World Business Entertainment Sports Technology Asia Pacific World Hollywood persists with biopics despite perils Reuters - Friday, October 2 Send IM Story Print By Jay A. Fernandez LOS ANGELES - When DreamWorks announced in May that it planned to make a movie about Martin Luther King Jr., it took less than 24 hours for the prestige project to hit a speed bump. Two of King's children disputed a third's authority to speak for the estate, and soon enough King's own words came to mind: "All progress is precarious, and the solution of one problem brings us face to face with another problem." Granted, putting someone's life story on film hardly compares to the struggle for civil rights. But the biographical movie is a uniquely frustrating beast. Discovering a fascinating life story is the easy part, but acquiring the appropriate life/film/art/music rights, appeasing relatives' and audiences' expectations, persuading financiers to ante up and actually making money on the project can be as arduous a task as universal equality. This is why, despite their undeniable magnetism at awards time, few true biopics ever make it to the big screen. However, that never has stopped anyone from trying. In DreamWorks partner Steven Spielberg's case, he acquired King's life rights and access to his intellectual property and speeches, but the threatened legal action and King family infighting could affect the project. For its part, DreamWorks says it is undeterred and confident differences will be worked out. "We remain committed to pursuing a film chronicling Martin Luther King's life provided that there is unity in the family so we can make a film about unity in our nation," the company has stated. There are at least three dozen biopics lining the benches of major studios, though not all are actively being developed. Those swelling ranks might be a function of our 21st century addiction to celebrity, but just as few finished products will make it onto a screen as 30 or 50 years ago. Musicians remain a popular target because of the built-in ancillary boost from their soundtracks. Currently, producers and studios are pushing personages as diverse as Kurt Cobain, Abraham Lincoln, Nina Simone, Marilyn Monroe, Liberace, Hugh Hefner, James Brown, Theodore Roosevelt, Lance Armstrong, Ian Fleming, Joe Namath and Milli Vanilli toward a green light. "We always have liked stories that are about the triumph of the human spirit," says Howard Baldwin, who produced the 2004 Oscar nominee "Ray," about Ray Charles, and is working on projects about hockey icon Gordie Howe and Redwoods-saving activist Julia Butterfly Hill. "So, if we do a biopic, it's usually going to be about that. Somebody that's able to overcome obstacles and triumph is a good story." That could describe anyone who ever has tried to make one. Obstacles are built into the very concept of the genre: For the most part, one can't simply stick one's version of someone's life onscreen without permission. Navigating various rights issues takes diplomacy. One Monroe project with star interest hit a snag when writer-director Andrew Dominik adapted Joyce Carol Oates' Monroe-inspired novel "Blonde" on spec before acquiring film rights. It remains in limbo. A Simone project at Paramount/MTV Films has a similar high-octane star interested and a writer working on the script. But they've got an eye on a court case being fought by the late singer's ex-husband and lawyer over the rights to her songs. Producer David Permut's aggressive mid-1970s pursuit of Janis Joplin's music and life rights -- he already had film rights to Joplin's biography, "Buried Alive," by Myra Friedman -- was an adventure in itself. The quest led him from sharing a San Francisco sauna with younger Joplin siblings Michael and Laura and their lawyers to playing all-night billiards at a converted whorehouse before he finally got the family's blessing. "It was a long, winding road," Permut says. The upshot? Bette Midler decided to make the thinly veiled version of Joplin's life, "The Rose," at Fox instead, and Permut's project suddenly was as dead as his subject. In May, Martin Scorsese officially came aboard Universal and Mandalay's Frank Sinatra project, which had been bogged down not only in a complicated negotiation over rights to the iconic singer's music, but also rights to apparel sales. Phil Alden Robinson now is crafting the screenplay. Universal's Cobain biopic required the negotiation of book rights, life rights, music rights and widow Courtney Love's rights to same. David Benioff is working on the script. "Every one is a negotiation and a process, and on a bio you tend to get bogged down on creative only because it's a person's life," Baldwin says. "Just sitting with the people whose life you're talking about and getting them comfortable -- trust is really important." Even if rights are sewn up properly, the material provides its own problems. Often, an intriguing life story looks enticing on paper until a screenwriter tries to bend it into a movie form that remains true to history without whitewashing it or offending fans and families. Rarely do real lives snap into a three-act structure. "The trick to writing or making a biopic is: Don't make a biopic," says screenwriter Christopher Wilkinson, who with partner Stephen Rivele has written "Ali" and "Nixon" and is developing biopics about Miles Davis, Hugh Masekela and Jackie Robinson. "Meaning, it has to be something else that's bigger than the life that you're writing about," he says. "The details of someone's life are just not that interesting. You really have to cut the line between making a compelling drama and being truthful to what actually happened. Facts are boring; the truth is fascinating." Adds Permut: "If you're dealing with noteworthy people, historical figures, you have to tell a story that hasn't been told. Get under the skin." All those unknown stories sometimes can lead to multiple teams of filmmakers pursuing the same subject. Lincoln, for one, has four treatments in the works: Spielberg's Doris Kearns Goodwin-derived version; a Christopher McQuarrie-scripted look at John Wilkes Booth, Lincoln's killer; an adaptation of "American Gothic," a book about the Booth brothers; and a Robert Redford-directed film, "The Conspirator," that recently began casting. McQuarrie was involved in another bio matchup when his work with Scorsese on an Alexander the Great movie was overtaken by Oliver Stone's 2004 version. Among the advantages of the genre is that if a compelling story can be shaped from the raw material, it often attracts major talent driven either by passion or ego to take the role of a complicated artist or iconic outsider. It usually is the only way the project will draw financiers and distribution. "It's very tricky," says director Karyn Kusama, who has been trying to put together a project about New York assemblage artist Joseph Cornell. "Either the life is so recognizable that it becomes a selling point of the title, or the life is so rich that you can do something with it where the story becomes the star." Kusama hopes to build her project in the latter mold, showcasing the changing city that Cornell scavenged during his long career. For every "Walk the Line" or "Coal Miner's Daughter" that has captured critical and commercial praise, there is a "W." or "Frida" that didn't attract much of either; then there are musical icons, such as Jimi Hendrix or Joplin, that have managed to elude cinematic portraits. In an era awash in source-material addiction, most bio projects have brand awareness much in the way a best-selling book does because the audience already has knowledge or curiosity about the subject. On the other hand, most such films don't travel well because they're so specific to nationality. "Ray" garnered awards attention in the U.S. but grossed only $37 million abroad; the Harvey Milk biopic "Milk" took in $20 million overseas. Even Scorsese's lavish "The Aviator," his take on Howard Hughes that starred Leonardo DiCaprio, grossed just $71 million foreign . That math -- combined with the near extinction of the midbudget drama and disappearance of the TV movie -- is why each studio trots out a biopic only once every few years, passion project be damned. Says one studio exec surveying the field of such projects out there, "The biopic is dead." But then, in Hollywood, dead doesn't really mean dead. Recommend Send IM Story Print Related Articles Kanye West and Lady Gaga's North American tour cancelled Reuters - Friday, October 2 Hollywood persists with biopics despite perils Reuters - Friday, October 2 Letterman says he was target of extortion attempt AP - Friday, October 2 Tyminski top Bluegrass male vocalist for 4th time AP - Friday, October 2 Clothes make powerful memories in 'What I Wore' AP - Friday, October 2 News Search Top Stories Scientists find path to fountain of youth LA prosecutor hits back at Polanski criticism Iran agrees to allow UN visit to nuclear plant US auto sales crash after Cash for Clunkers expires EU banks 'sufficiently capitalised': presidency More Top Stories » Related Full Coverage Hollywood NewsGet the latest Hollywood news All Full Coverage » ADVERTISEMENT Most Popular Most Viewed Most Recommended France Telecom boss under fire over staff suicides UN demands end of sexual violence as tactic of war Travolta testifies in extortion case US superrich lose 300 bln dlrs in a year: Forbes LA prosecutor hits back at Polanski criticism More Most Viewed » Ozone hole smaller in 2009 than 2008: WMO Nanoparticles could pose threat to humans: scientists Implanted tooth helps blind US woman recover sight More Most Recommended » Elsewhere on Yahoo! Financial news on Yahoo! Finance Stars and latest movies Best travel destinations More on Yahoo! News Home Singapore Asia Pacific World Business Entertainment Sports Technology Subscribe to our news feeds Top StoriesMy Yahoo!RSS » More news feeds | What are news feeds? Also on Yahoo Answers Groups Mail Messenger Mobile Travel Finance Movies Sports Games » All Yahoo! Services Site Highlights Singapore Full Coverage Most Popular Asia Entertainment Photos Copyright © 2009 Yahoo! Southeast Asia Pte. Ltd. (Co. Reg. No. 199700735D). All Rights Reserved. Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | Community | Intellectual Property Rights Policy | Help

Other News on Friday, 2 October 2009
NATO air strike 'kills nine civilians'
BAE faces prosecution over alleged corruption
US-TECH Summary
Germany's Oktoberfest shrugs off terror threats
LA Times, Washington Post end syndication service
U.S. demands concrete steps from Iran
Spain to rebury Franco victims interred at mausoleum
Iran, world powers to talk again before end of month
EU launches free satnav system
UK court orders writ to be served via Twitter
Israel says Gaza war report threatens peace efforts
Virtual economies in videogames used as case studies
Israel charges Russian-born tycoon with fraud
Investor conference holds hope for poor Haiti | International |
Guinea opposition rejects junta unity call | International |
Iran, world powers finish first session of talks
Britain asks Schwarzenegger to close prostitute website
UN Afghan envoy says sacking a 'terrible signal'
Report: Iran releases opposition figure on bail
Body of Kyrgyz opposition politician found
Search on after boat capsizes in India, 42 dead
Upbeat Tokyo bid chief promises surprises
Several charged in NYC construction corruption
Death toll nears 150 as Samoa tsunami devastation revealed
Obama deputy national security adviser takes leave
11 Indian fishermen arrested by Pakistani patrol
Muslim rebels attack Philippine marines, 4 killed
Baucus wants panel to wrap health bill Thursday
Seasonal flu vaccine delayed for some US providers
UK court orders writ to be served via Twitter | Technology |
New jobless claims rise; Americans' spending jumps
For some, US remains villain at UN climate talks
Mule deer or Yule deer? Buck draped with decor
Judge: NM can yank US Airways' liquor license
Torrential rains kill 55 in southern India
41 die after tourist boat capsizes in India
Torrential rains kill 15 in southern India
Fire on Calif. military base 80 percent contained
Judge orders release of Cheney interview with FBI
AP NewsAlert
Business booms for car mechanics after Philippine floods
Montblanc's $25,000 Gandhi pen sparks controversy
Japanese executives less gloomy as crisis abates
Bharti shares jump, talk deal could be revived
Stronger Asian currencies key to global rebalancing: IMF
Japan stocks tumble; Nikkei closes under 10,000
2nd quake shakes Indonesia after temblor kills 531
Tate museum pulls young Brooke Shields nude image
Winnie-the-Pooh returns for new children's adventure
Schoolgirl to leave Japan pro league
Hermes says it has bought site on New Bond Street
Japan rules against road over ancient port behind 'Ponyo'
Expanded Rolling Stones album revisits '60s heyday | Entertainment |
Egypt critics turn against Hosni and regime for UNESCO loss
Brother Jermaine to judge BBC Michael Jackson show
Black Eyed Peas match Mariah Carey record on chart
Kylie Minogue gives fans the Wow in first U.S. tour | Entertainment |
Brother Jermaine to judge BBC Michael Jackson show | Entertainment |
Kylie Minogue gives fans the "Wow" in first U.S. tour
Chechnya seeks to become fashion capital
Black Eyed Peas match Mariah Carey record on chart | Entertainment |
A Minute With: Drew Barrymore directing Whip It | Entertainment |
Obama's hometown orchestra a hit on Europe tour | Entertainment |
Iran agrees to allow UN visit to nuclear plant
IBM takes on Google in business Web-mail market
Super typhoon bears down on flood-ravaged Philippines | International |
LA prosecutor hits back at Polanski criticism
Ireland heads to polls for European treaty vote
Senate blocks commander's testimony before new Afghan strategy
Google adds options as search engine race continues
Israel awaits first pictures of Gaza-held soldier
Blair in line for EU presidency: report
Iran nuclear talks with U.S. and allies eases tension | International |
Iran agrees to allow UN visit to nuclear plant
US auto sales crash after Cash for Clunkers expires
US to add up to 1,000 cybersecurity experts
EU banks 'sufficiently capitalised': presidency
Iraq's al-Maliki joins with Sunnis in election bid
US launch for Relaxnews
Amazon settles suit over deleted Orwell books
Iraq: Key figures since the war began
France launches 'battle of the electric car'
Fresh quake near Tonga, tsunami toll nears 200 | International |
War report wounds isolated Georgian leader
Twitter testing tool to organize tweets
Honduras resists demands to lift emergency decree | International |
Myanmar court upholds Suu Kyi guilty verdict | International |
Juvenile behind Facebook poll on whether to kill Obama
ECB chief warns strong dollar needed for stable growth
Oldest hominid skeleton sheds light on human origins
Uzbek militant killed in Pakistan: security agents | International |
Honduras resists demands to lift emergency decree | International |
World economy healing, but crisis not over: IMF
Frantic search as Indonesia quake toll tops 1,000 | International |
Explosion in Sri Lanka injures 13: military | International |
Scientists find path to fountain of youth
Japan's Kobayashi gets first taste of F1 action
Myanmar's Suu Kyi set for appeal verdict
US congratulates China but critics abound
Judge orders Cheney statements released in Plame case
Texas judge clears way for gay divorce
Colo. Gov. declares `Rocktober' after Rockies' win
NY's Empire State Building chided for honouring China
Complaint: Killing of tribal leader was hit job
UN: Indonesia death toll rises to 1,100
IBM takes on Google in business Web-mail market | Technology |
Montana AG launches probe of jail deal
Death toll in Samoas tsunami reaches 150
Pakistan, New Zealand gear up for pace battle
Finnish startup bets on universal media manager | Technology |
US military deaths in Iraq war at 4,347
Afghan legislation nudges women's rights forward
US military deaths in Afghanistan region at 773
Indonesian official: Quake death toll rises to 777
Trampling blamed for Alaska walrus deaths
North American pro sports leagues in a twitter over tweeting | Technology |
India vehicle sales surge
Indonesian quake toll at 1,100; thousands missing
Turkmens, Azerbaijan to talk on Caspian border
Indian exports dive 19% but rate of decline slows
Sri Lanka stocks set new record: official
Hollywood persists with biopics despite perils
Letterman victim of $2 million extortion over affairs | Entertainment |
Kanye West and Lady Gaga's North American tour cancelled | Entertainment |
Zombieland looks to kill at the box office | Entertainment |
Kanye West and Lady Gaga's North American tour cancelled
Hollywood persists with biopics despite perils | Entertainment |
Hollywood persists with biopics despite perils
Playing politics can make, break Olympic dreams
Dennis Hopper released from hospital | Entertainment |
Del Toro urges Puerto Rico to nix monkey facility
Kanye West and Lady Gaga tour canceled
Newark mayor ups the ante on comic Conan O'Brien
NY Philharmonic shelves Cuba tour due to embargo
"Zombieland" looks to kill at the box office
Princess Diana exhibit to open in Philadelphia
Dennis Hopper released from hospital
Israeli official: Captured soldier looks healthy
Taiwan unveils hydrogen-powered mobile phone chargers
Video shows Israeli soldier well; prisoners freed | International |
Polls open in Irish EU treaty referendum
Finnish startup bets on universal media manager
Fledging Afghan army grapples with high expectations | International |
US Navy creates command to maintain cyber supremacy
Iraq's Mosul hopes for end to stubborn insurgency | International |
Nazi camp guard trial opens in Germany next month | International |
Shabaab rebels take full control of Somali port | International |
Obama love flows for Chicago at 2016 Games vote
Aid trickles in as Indonesia quake toll hits 1,100
Philippines in 'state of calamity' as typhoon looms
Disaster-hit Asia faces fresh typhoon trauma
US, British troops killed in Afghanistan attacks
SKorea questions 11 NKoreans over intent to defect
US targets banks in effort to restart NKorea talks
Samoan baby named Tsunami after lucky escape: report
Asia death toll rises as Ketsana floods recede
Sotomayor won't sell NY apartment in this economy
Teenager buried by quake rescued 40 hours later
Concern grows as search for Tenn. infant continues
Thousands evacuated ahead of Philippine storm
California fair is homemade harvest tradition
U.S. Senate panel set to advance healthcare overhaul
Report: USFS ordered Calif. firefighters reduced
Get everyone in US online, high-level panel says
CBS: '48 Hours' staffer charged in Letterman case
Samoans abroad pray for family back home
Indonesia calls for quake help as bodies rot in heat
WB warns on growth, inflation risks for Asia
Toyota chief optimistic about global auto recovery
Japan's jobless rate falls for first time in 7 months
Transformers 3 confirmed for 2011 | Entertainment |
Japan's first passenger jet lands big order
Markets in SKorea, India, China closed
US-ENTERTAINMENT Summary
Amos Oz heads field of Nobel literature candidates | Entertainment |
"Transformers 3" confirmed for 2011
Willy Wonka may star in stage musical
Willy Wonka may star in stage musical | Entertainment |
Lost, Mad Men actors join Adjustment Bureau | Entertainment |
"Lost," "Mad Men" actors join "Adjustment Bureau"
Letterman admits affairs after report of blackmail
The Trial: Judge tackles Franz Kafka archive nightmare | Entertainment |
Taiwan 'rice bomber' pins hopes on organic farming
Circus tycoon clowns around after space docking | Entertainment |
Shadowed by giants, Milan young designers seek break | Entertainment |
Tantrums and tiaras in Bogota prison
Jackson autopsy could pose problems for his doctor
In Egypt, swine flu fears buried under rubbish threat
Get everyone in US online, high-level panel says
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights

USD EUR - 1 year graph		BlogMeter 1.01