Trailer Park Sep 04 2008 @ 08:58 pm
TRAILER PARK: Milk
I’ve never been one for bio pictures. Walk the Line failed to excite me, Oliver Stone’s W. looks to be awfully facile (much like its subject), and I couldn’t muster up much excitement for Jamie Foxx as Ray Charles no matter how good his performance may have been. These films walk a box office tightrope: they are usually seen rabidly by people who know and love the person being biographed (is that even a word?) and completely ignored by the rest of the world who doesn’t really care to spend money on film about them. When it comes to Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to be elected to public office, I fall into the second category.
But strangely enough, this new trailer for Milk, Gus Van Sant’s biopic of the famed politician, has me excited. To put it mildly, I think this may be one of the best movie trailers I’ve ever seen. Having done some trailer editing, I’ve experienced firsthand how hard it is to achieve the right balance of tension while trying to preview a story AND keep people interested. This trailer achieves all three, it is perfectly edited and designed, features just enough plot material, and flows seamlessly for the entire running time. The performances look to be electrifying as well; I’m sure that helps a lot.
It will be interested to see how Van Sant uses his unique style with this material and if he’ll be successful at evoking strong feelings of compassion both for people who believe in Milk’s cause and those who do not. Paranoid Park (Van Sant’s last film) was a huge success in making a decidedly niche character extremely relatable … perhaps this will be the same.
Turn the volume up and check out the trailer High Definition at Quicktime or in YouTube below.
on Sep 05 2008 @ 9:30 am 1. Evan Derrick said …
I’m in. Typically I’m not the biggest Van Sant fan, nor am I the biggest Sean Penn fan (they both just seem to be trying too hard sometimes), but this looks right on the money.
How much you wanna bet Sean Penn is on the Oscar buzz forerunner once this one comes out?
on Sep 05 2008 @ 10:25 am 2. Evan Derrick said …
Question for discussion: do you guys think that religious groups will come out swinging at this one? I’m trying to remember if there was a lot of angst over Brokeback (can’t recall).
on Sep 05 2008 @ 10:55 am 3. Adam K said …
Eh, although I can’t watch the trailer (I’m at work), I’m not sure why we even need this when there’s a perfectly good, critically acclaimed documentary out there. Van Sant may surprise with his dramatization, but I can’t help but think of the needlessness of the Psycho remake, the remake of All the King’s Men, and Herzog remaking Little Dieter as Rescue Dawn. Only the latter was any good.
And it looks like Singer, if he makes his at all, will have an Infamous to Van Sant’s Capote.
Needless to say, I hope Milk is good whether I think it’s semi-pointless or not; Harvey’s story deserves to be more widely known.
on Sep 05 2008 @ 11:08 am 4. Evan Derrick said …
I don’t think the Singer/McQuarrie version will ever get off the ground. No one wants a repeat of Infamous. Heck, did anyone even see that film? From a marketing standpoint, a biopic about a gay rights activist who was murdered isn’t exactly an easy sell. A second film about the same thing? Borderline impossible, even if you have Steve Carrell playing Milk.
I haven’t seen the doc, although I’m interested.
But you really should watch the trailer later when you get a chance, Adam. It’s top notch work.
on Sep 05 2008 @ 11:49 am 5. Ryan Dunlap said …
One of my best actor friends played in Infamous (Brian Shoop), and I still haven’t seen it…
on Sep 05 2008 @ 11:52 am 6. Alexander Coleman said …
As I’ve said about 10,000 times at LiC, I was able to watch them shoot scenes on Castro Street in San Francisco back in late winter. They made everything that they had to into what it looked like back in the time the film is set. On the Castro Theatre, they had The Poseidon Adventure on the marquee. There, now you’re all spoiled.
on Sep 05 2008 @ 11:54 am 7. Adam K said …
I liked Infamous. Take Capote from Infamous (take that, PSH!
), Perry from Capote, and Harper Lee from either one, and you’d have the best movie of the bunch.
on Sep 05 2008 @ 11:59 am 8. Evan Derrick said …
Adam, you’re gonna make my head asplode.
Darn you and your spoilers Alexander!!!!!!
on Sep 05 2008 @ 1:38 pm 9. Nick Plowman said …
I am a HUGE Van Sant fan, and that trailer is the best trailer I have seen all year. I am so stoked to see this.
on Sep 05 2008 @ 1:45 pm 10. Alexander Coleman said …
“Darn you and your spoilers Alexander!!!!!!”
Bwahahaha…
on Sep 05 2008 @ 1:46 pm 11. Evan Derrick said …
Ryan, how big was the role that Brian played in Infamous?
on Sep 05 2008 @ 1:54 pm 12. Ryan Dunlap said …
Not sure… but he acted in at least one scene with Sandra Bullock… and there’s a pic of them together on imdb… I should ask him… or just watch the flick.