The Costner mystique

Today (7/29), Life Magazine highlighted the release of The Upside of Anger DVD. In a feature called DVD Club, they list discussion topics. One of them is:

"Critics gave Costner his best reviews in years for this role. Discuss the Costner mystique whenever he plays a jock."

OK, I'll discuss.

It starts with his athleticism, but that is only the beginning. What he does beyond that has less to do with sports than with life. All of his athletic movies--Bull Durham, Tin Cup, For Love of the Game, American Flyers--and movies where sports is a secondary thing (Field of Dreams) or a backdrop (The Upside of Anger), show his characters at some form of crossroads in life, making decisions that many people make. We see the struggles, the difficulties, the joys, etc., and many people relate.

I think the mystique translates to many of his non-sports movies as well, but the probable reason KC relates best to many moviegoers in those sports movies is that the popularity of those sports is a conduit to the movies.....and the shared experience of making one's way through life is another conduit.

TUOA DVD and the KC moviegoing experience

Today's the day "The Upside of Anger" DVD went into the stores. Generally, the reviews have been pretty good. I probably won't get to watch the whole thing for a while.

With the popularity of DVDs, people have been comparing the experience of watching DVDs to going to the movies. When it comes to Kevin Costner movies, what's better? DVD or cinema? For me, watching his "big" movies, like Dances With Wolves and Open Range is better on the big screen. The same with "Field of Dreams," I think, because it brings out the full effect of building the field, the players, etc. on Ray. For his more intimate movies, like Tin Cup or Bull Durham or The Upside of Anger, a DVD might suit fine. Thoughts?

"Rumor Has It" official website

Here's the link to the RHI website, which currently has the trailer in various media forms:

http://rumorhasitmovie.warnerbros.com/

"Rumor Has It" trailer

The trailer for "Rumor Has It," KC's next movie, is now online. I've seen a couple of links, but I'll direct you to one that should help avoid popups; in addition, it's a great site for finding out KC news. It's called "The Kevin Costner Scrapbook," and it's run by Red, a fan in Great Britain. Here's the link to the page that has the link to the trailer:

http://www.twoeg.fsnet.co.uk/newsarc.htm

The trailer looks at thinks from the perspective of the lead character, Sarah (played by Jennifer Aniston), so we don't hear very much from KC here (although the one major line from him is a hoot).

Just a thought: If the plotline has Beau Burroughs, KC's character, being the influence for Dustin Hoffman's character in "The Graduate," then Beau has to be a lot older than KC, who was 12 when "The Graduate" was released in 1967. In any case, Beau looks very good for his age. ;)

Dragonfly script

Last week, the Los Angeles Times had an article about script doctors; not only do directors have them, but actors and actresses do, too. But I digress. Part of the article talks about Tom Shadyac. Shadyac is known for very loud, obnoxious and successful comedies, usually with Jim Carrey. He has a rewrite man, Steve Oedekerk. Anyway, the LA Times article ends like this: Sometimes the biggest mistake a director or actor can make is not calling in his rewrite guy. Shadyac says he didn't show Oedekerk "Dragonfly," one of the director's rare flops, until after the film was finished. "I wished," Shadyac says, "we had invited him earlier."

Now, "Dragonfly," we will all recall, is not a loud, obnoxious comedy; it's a quiet, subtle thriller starring KC, with a script originally written by Mike Thompson and Brandon Camp. Also, their original script did not look like what the film finally came out to be. There were a couple of subplots that got taken out, either in the filming or the editing. Here's a link to the review of the script that KC likely saw while he was lying on his couch. He loves subplots:

http://www.tnmc.org/dp/0404011.shtml

So, what happened to that script, which I think is better than what wound up being filmed? Perhaps Mr. Shadyac already played script doctor, possibly because Universal Studios leaned on him for a movie of less than 2 hours, possibly because he had to learn how to film a drama. Or, perhaps his bosses told him to emphasize the thriller portion. We already know that some scenes that were filmed were cut out of the movie. I believe there were also some complaints from Mr. Thompson and Mr. Camp after the movie came out that their script had been sliced. I think it's a good movie, with terrific performances from KC and the rest of the cast, but it still could have been so much better.

50 years from now....

This week's Newsweek magazine has a feature on which movie stars will have their work survive in the long term. I'll post the web site that has a brief summary:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8424990/site/newsweek/

But the print edition seems to have the main article, which says that a low percentage of the movies of some stars, including Julia Roberts and Brad Pitt, will be remembered half a century from now, as it currently stands. The article primarily focuses on actors and actresses born after 1960. It doesn't mention KC, but where will he stand 50 years from now? Let's see.

Not counting bit parts and cameo roles, KC has played either a leading or principal role in 27 movies (with Rumor Has It not released yet), from "Stacy's Knights" to "The Upside of Anger." What will people remember? How about:

--Silverado--The one great western of the 1980s, and the one that made KC into a name

--No Way Out--One of the great thrillers of the last two decades, with twists and turns (both in the plot and in the limousine ;) ) that are still discussed.

--The Untouchables--One of the great cop-and-crook movies, with many memorable scenes.

--Bull Durham--Many have called it the best sports movie ever made. Memorable for the quotes, the romance and the sports.

--Field of Dreams--My choice for KC's best movie, with scenes that leave you catching your breath and wiping your eyes.

--Dances With Wolves--The film that, once and for all, shattered the idea that Hollywood would cast non-Native Americans to play Native Americans. Just look at the DVD and you see how personal a project this was to KC.

--JFK--It forced the early opening of records related to the assassination and reminded people that it is our obligation to question.

--Waterworld--Whether people like it or not, the movie is still on people's lips. Perhaps some of those people will actually sit down and watch the movie before they criticize it.

--Tin Cup--To golf what Bull Durham is to baseball. And to me, there has never been a more quintessentially Kevin Costner scene than Roy McAvoy's 12 on the 18th hole. "Greatness courts failure" isn't just Roy's motto--it's KC's.

--The Postman--Blasted by many critics and general moviegoers, but I've never heard KC fans defend one of his movies more passionately than this one.

--For Love of the Game--This has quietly become the movie many athletes point to when discussing how they focus on their competition. Clear the mechanism.

--Thirteen Days--Snubbed by Oscar, but it went into space with the shuttle astronauts and into the White House. It has also become required viewing for many students and leaders.

--Open Range--The shootout has become so iconic that historic reenactors are recreating it. And the movie's just 2 years old. :)

You can also add Robin Hood and The Bodyguard, both still very popular movies, to the list.

The full Newsweek article calculated the "batting average" for actors and actresses, and which movies were likely to have staying power. For KC, the average would be .481 (or 48 percent of his films). Not bad for a guy who's made the best baseball movie. :)

"It's immortal!" Molly Griswold, Tin Cup