Kicking ass
I Hollywood has got over its fear of terrorism and learned to love slaughter and mayhem once again. After experiencmg plummeting fortunes during the immediate aftermath of the events of l 1 September and having played the tact card in the weeks that followed by releasing anodyne. relatively low earners Such as the Keanu Reeves baseball film Hardball instead of autumn l:)lockbusters such as Arnold Schwarzenegger's now indefinitely postponed terrorism thriller Collateral Damage. the Hollywood studios are once again arming themselves for a box office busting Summer 2002. And as the voice of American movie trailers might say. ‘This time it's personal'.
Combining their forces ithough not their grosses). studio executives are upping the ante for 2002. having already collectively scheduled for release 20 films over this summer's 23. with more in the pipeline. Among those action movies kicking ass next sunny seasOn will be John Woo's World War II moVie lA/indta/kers. Somalia war movie Blackhawk Down. Behind Enemy Lines. Sum Of All Fears ithe next Jack Ryan spy thriller). Martin Scorsese's Gangs Of New York plus Men In Black 2. Spider-il/Ian and Stars Wars Episode II - Attack Of The Clones. The combined target the Western Alliance of Studios must hit to beat summer 2001 is a hefty Siib. Insider wonders whether a comparable financial objective has already been achieved by the Pentagon's bombing missions in Afghanistan?
l Of course. it's a iiiattei' of SHOT/UV history that escapist
6 THE LIST 7‘! N9. 1.: i)€:t£ 7/)?
THE INSIDER Who’s getting up to what
films do better business than those connecting With reality: witness the popularity of Hollywood musicals such as The Wizard Of 02 during America's Depression years. Good news. then. for the next blockbuster fantasy adventure The Lord Of The Rings part one The Fellowship Of The Ring. which opens. unusually on mid-vireek Wednesday 10 December in the UK. in line with the US. Will. InSider wonders. the subtext of JRR. Tolkien's novel - the war between good and evil - be lost on blissfully happy Christmas Viewers?
til Sad times for another American abroad. Californian theatre director and radical Peter Sellars who has resigned lie he was forced) from his position as artistic director of the Adelaide Festival only four months before the 2002 event. Sellars. whose productions of Nixon In China. / Was Looking At The Ceiling And Then I Saw The Sky and The Persians were seen at the Edinburgh Festival. was accused of putting together a “thin programme. He says that's because of lack of cash. One of the events that's now called into question is his own staging of El Nino a multicultural rewrite of the natiVity. With a score by John Adams. If only Sellars had a contact in Hollywood. If only
theatre were treated with the same lack of financial prudence that films are.
This is creepy. Serbian pop singer Goca Trzan was stunned into silence when she found just one seat OCCUplOd at the main Belgrade Concert Hall — her greatest fan had bOLight all 4000 tickets for the show itotal value 835.045. Harry Potter's American fans take notel. After her manager talked her into it. Trzan sang for one man for two hours. sometimes - and this is horrible — crying between songs. During the performance the fan. an unnamed wealthy 30- year—old Serb businessman working in Geneva. kissed Trzan's hand. gave her 101 roses. a ring and a one-way ticket to Geneva and asked for her hand in marriage. Tr/an's answer was not revealed. though Insider hopes it was words to the effect: fll‘SSia}‘!!
New Scottish Arts Council chairman James Boyle has won his first battle of wills. having forced the departure of director Tessa Jackson only two years into her five-year contract. lt's understood that 80er was unhappy about having to defend the SAC when he was asked by MSPs to account for the c0uncil's support of the proposed changes at Scottish Ballet. With Jackson out of the way. he has the chance to institute a new management style.
I Potentially sad news for Glasgow gig—goers. A notice was posted in The Herald to say the 13th Note Ltd has gone into liquidation. But don't despair yet. Insider understands all gigs and clubs are going ahead as advertised.
THE QUOTES
‘Reawakening my creative senses has helped me cope during an
almost unendurable time in my life. I recognise the importance of being free-spirited with creativity.’ Handbag designer Monica Lewinsky proves that her time in the spotlight may have left her feeling a little light— headed.
‘I got a bit carried away.’ John Simpson regrets his boast that the BBC Single-llanded/y liberated Kabul.
‘There’s more irony in an episode of EastEnders than in an entire Joseph Conrad noveL’
Atomic Kitten 's Li/ McLarnon applies for a slot on the Newsnight Revrew panel.
‘Normally, I would pull hairs out of my nostril.’
John Thomson on how he gets the screen tears flowing.
‘Americans are less capable of having good honest fun than any other people in the non-Muslim world.’
Julie Burch/ll does her best to upset both sides in the current conflict.
‘I can’t smile broadly without looking like I’m on heavy medication.’
Johnny Vegas faces the brutal truth.
‘He couldn’t really cope as a human being. He was too paranoid to answer the door.’ Justine Frischniann recalls dropping by Bobby Gil/espie's for a cup of sugar:
‘I was the most crap singer and the most crap dancer but I worked my bollocks off.’ Dannii lvlinogue tells the honest truth and gets utter/y confused in the one sentence.