Two weeks in the life of a fading Hollywood producer who's having a rough time trying to get his new picture made.Two weeks in the life of a fading Hollywood producer who's having a rough time trying to get his new picture made.Two weeks in the life of a fading Hollywood producer who's having a rough time trying to get his new picture made.
- Awards
- 1 nomination total
- Kelly
- (as Robin Wright Penn)
- Pollster
- (as Jason Kravitz)
- Jimmy
- (as Remy Selma)
- Sophie
- (as Alessandra Danielle)
- Verna
- (as Karina Buck)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe subplot involving Bruce Willis refusing to shave his beard for a movie is based on a real-life incident writer and producer Art Linson had with Alec Baldwin on the set of The Edge (1997).
- Quotes
Ben: [discussion about Bruce Willis] I suppose it took him a long time to grow it, he probably just wants to wait 'til the last minute.
Cal: That's what I thought last week, but after seeing him today, I got the sense this is going to be his "look", it's an artistic-choice...
Ben: The extra weight is too? It can't be.
Cal: It's a feeling.
Ben: Cal, we got the studio to pay him $20 million to be a leading man. For that kind of money there is an expectation.
Cal: They expect a good performance...
Ben: No, no, no no, Cal. For that kind of money they expect millions of menstruating women to want to have intercourse with him. You understand what I'm saying? You want a poster that says "See Santa Run"?
- ConnectionsReferenced in Teen Wolf: The Tell (2011)
- SoundtracksFlow of Experience
Written & Performed by Steve Kornicki
Courtesy of MS-Pro
The film itself, however, is not quite as worthy a comeback we would have expected, but still garners some witty laughs and a realistically melancholy view of the bittersweet world of Hollywood. The opening scene is playfully familiar to cinema, particularly the eponymous taboo that horrifies the audience. It's a great scene, mainly because of De Niro's deadpan but wise monologue, which is the first thing to certify this as his return to form.
But despite an effective beginning, the rest of the movie seems scattershot; the narrative tries to skim its way through all the familiar faces of film making (director, studio exec, agent, screenwriter, pompous actor, etc.), while simultaneously trying to prominently develop the long-existing love-hate between Ben and his wife (an acceptable but grounded Robin Wright Penn). Turtorro and Wincott's performances are actually quite hilarious (each idiosyncratic moan delivered at perfect and rib-tickling time by Turtorro, and the outburst and subsequent fall from grace of Keith Richard-esquire Wincott is brilliant).
Even De Niro suffers sometimes; some of the foul-mouthed wit sounds odd and outlandish in the mouth of his reasonably straight-laced character, so some of the gags are lost, but this is more the fault of ill-conceived writing. The Bruce Willis subplot loses interest after Willis' only amusing scene; his enraged breakdown after being told to shave his beard, which, in itself, is helped by Ben's sarcastic but regretful outburst. There are some touching scenes that show Ben's tendency as a reactionary: the chair in his ex-wife's house, and his increasing annoyance at Willis, particularly his comments at a funeral.
The film works best on the good sportsmanship of the cast and their willingness to laugh at themselves, which, as the film tellingly shows, is universal in the cutthroat world of Hollywood.
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Languages
- Also known as
- What Just Happened?
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $25,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $1,090,947
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $192,508
- Oct 19, 2008
- Gross worldwide
- $6,759,057
- Runtime1 hour 44 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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