Hollywood Ink: Mann Overboard
· Nepotism is still alive and well in Hollywood, with Ami Canaan Mann preparing for her feature The Fields, co-produced by her father Michael Mann. The family ties wouldn't usually bother me except for the grotesquely hard sell Pops is doing on his daughter's behalf, whether it's noting Sam Worthington's participation as the lead in the Texas-set detective drama, or literally priming Berlin Film Festival buyers for the film's pre-sale availability this week: "Sam will play Jake, this tough-minded misanthropic Texan, who with his partner Brian wind up waging something of a war against these unknown assailants, a ferocious battle to save each other and the life of this young street kid." Next stop: Craigslist. [Deadline]
Valentine's Day gets a spinoff, Taylor Lautner gets a franchise, and more Hollywood Ink after the jump.
· The excesses of Super Bowl Sunday vanquished whatever brain cells are required to fully process the news that Garry Marshall and New LIne are planning the star-studded spinoff New Year's Day to succeed the Category-5 romcom Valentine's Day. So... yeah. There you have it. This is apparently happening. [Deadline]
· And Taylor Lautner got the nod from Universal as the title character of its toy adaptation (and franchise hopeful) Stretch Armstrong, which will come our way in 2012. Which is to say: Maybe there's something to those Mayan apocalypse predictions after all. Whatever, just as long as it doesn't affect the production of Cancun, all is well. [Variety]
· Dumping soon at a theater near you: The Michael Douglas drama Solitary Man, which has been on the market since last September at the Toronto Film Festival, finally found a buyer in Anchor Bay Films. [Variety]
· And presumably taking an early lead in the 2010 documentary Oscar race is the Sundance sensation The Tillman Story, which The Weinstein Company finally closed a deal for over the weekend. [THR]
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Remember, for every Ivan/Jason Reitman success there is a Paul/Jill Mazursky "Gone Fishin'" debacle cursing audiences.
Solitary Man? Single Man? Serious Man?
How do you keep them all straight?
In his Sundance documentary, "The Tillman Story," Amir Bar-Lev says he was pretty hard on the Democratic Congress for their role in the aftermath of Pat Tillman’s friendly fire death.
But in his book, “Where Men Win Glory,” Jon Krakauer only blamed the Bush administration and Army. However, the cover-up was actually a thoroughly bi-partisan affair. In particular, the Democratic Congress and the Obama Presidency protected General Stanley McChrystal from punishment for his role in the cover-up of Pat Tillman's friendly-fire death.
The documents at http://www.feralfirefighter.blogspot.com describe how General McChrystal has been protected by Congressman Henry Waxman, Senator James Webb (along with Senators Carl Levin and John McCain), the New York Times Reporter Thom Shanker, the Center for a New American Security's Andrew Exum, and President Obama.
It’s not surprising that after the initial cover-up fell apart, Army officers and the Bush administration lied to protect their careers. But after they took control of both Houses in 2006, the Democratic Congress could have gone after those responsible. Or at least not promoted them!
Just before the 2006 mid-term elections, Kevin Tillman published his eloquent letter, “After Pat’s Birthday” (truthdig.com). Kevin hoped a Democratic Congress would bring accountability back to our country. But, just as with warrantless wiretapping and torture, those responsible for the cover-up of his brother’s friendly-fire death have never been held accountable for their actions.
Five years ago, Pat Tillman’s family were handed a tarnished Silver Star. It was a travesty of justice that General McChrystal was promoted to the Army’s highest rank, and handed his fourth star.