Hey Heather,
Sorry for the delay in your post getting to the list - for some reason Yahoo flagged it as "potential spam" and only just now saw it, and sent it through.
Even a spam flagging algorithm should have been able to see that you post was not spam, but in fact a very astute commentary on Our Movie.
I do believe that studio execs sabotaging Ishtar was one factor in it's box office failure. The guy that directed Mystery Men said the same thing. If a director gets into conflict with the studio, they'll hang him/her out to dry, no matter how many millions of dollars are at stake.
I've heard down through the years on many occasions that capitalists will always act to maximize their profits, and that endless wealth accumulation benefits us all, yadda yadda yadda.
Well, these guys are human like all of us, with bigger egos than most. They will quite willingly shoot themselves, and their companies in the foot when their ego gets involved. I can't count the number of articles I've read about up and coming musicians and authors who were kicked to the curb because the guy that brought them to the label / publishing house was replaced, and the new guy neglected the old guy's signings... solely for the reason that they were the old guy's proteges.
Of course, that doesn't explain why there is no DVD in the US (there is most everywhere else). I think that SONY bosses are concerned that a movie that portrays the CIA as bad guys and Arab insurgents as good guys would offend American sensitivities. Just my opinion.
If I was remaking Ishtar, I'd go a different direction with the casting. I'd emphasize how these guys are just ordinary schlubs... I'd cast Paul Giamatti as Clarke, and ... wow, I'm coming up short on Rogers. How about David Cross and Bob Odenkirk from Mr. Show? They're already a matched set.
I might pursue the exotic notion of casting somebody actually from the middle east to play Shirra Assel...
Haifaa Wehbe, maybe:
http://indo-Finally, I just want to say I think a mutual love of Isthar is a very strong foundation for a relationship!
thanks for posting that.
i just joined the list yesterday so clicked around to see the other images and found the review by this michael giltz fellow, which is astounding in its abject shallowness and totally literal reading of this great and subtle comedy! aside from the blatantly sexist comments (did it *really* set "women" directors back ten years?), the guy complains that the songs are bad(!) and that he's subjected to a LOT of them. like...um. duh?
i hadn't seen it in at least 10 years but watched it on christmas day with my boyfriend, who had claimed to be a fan--what a great bonding experience: turns out we were both impressed at how much better it was than we'd recalled it! i hadn't remembered the cinematography being so artful (i googled it to learn that vittorio storaro had won oscars for reds, last emperor and apocalypse now, had NO idea) and that the humor held up, lo these 21 years! i know i'm preaching to the choir on this list, but it's such a sad story on one hand (the studio head who comes in halfway through shooting, has a grudge against warren beatty and dustin hoffman, is curmudgeonly about it being overbudget and the LADY director and leaks negativity to the press pre-release thus ensuring bad reviews) and yet, had it not been so universally reviled, folks probably wouldn't have such a proud and almost defiant allegiance to this movie, which, to my mind, is on par with any cult comedy classic like 'caddyshack', 'meatballs', or 'airplane', totally ahead of its time. i am not exaggerating!
if so-called "uncomfortable" humor like the office or seinfeld had already been part of cultural consciousness, it probably would have been hugely popular, but folks just didn't know how to deal with something so subtle and self-consciously "bad".
my dream is for a remake. with hm...matt damon and ben affleck, and maybe angelina jolie?
okay, in your wildest dreams, who would you have play lyle and chuck? i know this is a blatant attempt to get some activity on this list, but hey, it's after xmas and before new years, what else are you doing?
kind regards,
heatherOn Sun, Dec 28, 2008 at 7:48 PM, n8binus <n8binus@yahoo.com > wrote:
--- In ILoveIshtar@
yahoogroups. , "matt love" <mattlove1@..com .> wrote:
>
> You have to squint a bit to read this poster, but it's worth the
> effort. Here's more evidence that several reviewers liked Ishtar...
> before, for whatever reason, people figured out they better say they
> hated it...
>
Yo Matt,
The attachment is "not stored". (We can't see the poster)
-N8
--
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