Two little articles I was able to find on it, the first just a teaser and the second a review of the screenplay (no spoilers). The more I read about it the more I become interested in it. Perhaps it will turn out nicely?
Synergy
Directed by: Paul Weitz
Written by: Paul Weitz
Cast: Dennis Quaid, Topher Grace, Scarlett Johansson
Studio: Universal
Genre: Comedy
Release Date: TBA 2004 (wide)
PLOT
Dan Foreman (played by Dennis Quaid) is headed for a shakeup. He is demoted from head of ad sales for a major magazine when the company he works for is acquired in a corporate takeover. His new boss, Tom (played by Topher Grace) is half his age—a business school prodigy who preaches corporate Synergy. While Dan develops clients through handshake deals and relationships, Tom cross-promotes the magazine with the cell phone division and “Krispity Krunch,” an indeterminate snack food under the same corporate umbrella.
Both men are going through turmoil at home. Dan has two daughters—Alex, age 18, and Jana, age 16—and is shocked when his wife tells him she’s pregnant with a new child. Between college tuition, the mortgage and a new baby, Dan can’t afford to lose his job in the wave of corporate layoffs. Tom, in the meanwhile, is dumped by his wife of seven months just as he gets his promotion. Dan and Tom’s uneasy friendship is thrown into jeopardy when Tom falls for, and begins an affair with, Dan’s daughter Alex (Scarlett Johansson). Weitz’s examination of life’s surprises, ironies and coincidences combine to form Synergy.
The Stax Report: Script Review of Synergy
January 22, 2004 - Stax here with my reaction to the screenplay for Synergy! This 120-page draft dated February 19, 2003 is credited to Paul Weitz who, along with his brother Chris, wrote and directed the vastly underrated About a Boy. Synergy will begin filming this spring under Paul Weitz's direction. The cast includes Dennis Quaid, Topher Grace (Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!), and Scarlett Johansson (The Perfect Score). Universal will release it this fall.
Synergy is a dramedy about two men – one middle-aged, the other in his twenties – who have both arrived at a crossroads in their lives. Dan Foreman (Quaid) is an old-fashioned ad salesman for Sports America magazine. He finds himself demoted and working for 28- year-old hotshot Tom Duryea (Grace) after the company is taken over by the giant GlobeCom corporation.
Dan is also shocked to find out that his wife Ann is unexpectedly pregnant. They already have two teenage daughters, college-bound Alex (Johansson) and slightly younger Jana. Dan is just trying to keep his head above water and not lose his job.
He's ticked to be working for a guy half his age but finds himself unwittingly becoming friends with Tom whose life isn't as smooth or rewarding as it seems. Tom's wife of seven months suddenly ditches him right after his big promotion. He's lonely and not quite ready for the pressures and responsibilities that have been thrust upon him.
Dan and Tom's friendship is put to the test when Tom and Alex begin secretly seeing each other. Further pressures are added when Dan and Tom's futures at Sports America (and the fate of the magazine itself) are put on the line.
Synergy may seem a little too realistic for some; after all, don't many of us go to the movies to escape from such worries? Then again there is an obvious wish fulfillment to be found in seeing an Everyman take on The System. Since the problems that Dan (and to a lesser extent Tom) faces are ones that most audience members can relate to that makes him an instantly identifiable and sympathetic protagonist.
Tom finds a mentor and father figure in Dan, which is ironic considering that he's Dan's boss. Tom is a young man who is beginning to question his beliefs and commitment to the corporate lifestyle. Even his relationship with Alex isn't quite what he thinks it is. He must learn the lesson that Stan Lee taught so many of us long ago: that with great power comes great responsibility.
You'd be incorrect to assume that Synergy is some sort of anti-capitalist screed. Dan is a loyal company man, an old-fashioned salesman who uses face-to-face meetings and believes in what he sells. He's simply resistant to adopting the soulless and selfish tactics the game now requires. His dilemma is whether a man in his precarious position can afford to have courage or convictions anymore.
Synergy was witty rather than hilarious, which is fine as there's precious little that's funny about losing your job or making ends meet. My only real gripe with this draft was with its resolution, which is an area that I want to skirt around so as to not reveal any spoilers.
Suffice to say that it just seemed too quick and easy a resolution given what the stakes were. I would've liked to have seen Dan and Tom do more work and face some setbacks in pursuit of their mutual goal. Other than that, I found Synergy to be a thoughtful slice-of-life tale for the post-Enron age. – STAX
CSI's Marg Helgenberger Joins Synergy
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation star Marg Helgenberger has joined the cast of the Weitz brothers' Synergy for Universal Pictures.
The comedy revolves around the uneasy relationship between a 50-year-old businessman (Dennis Quaid) and his new 26-year-old boss (Topher Grace). The younger boss is having an affair with the older man's daughter (Scarlett Johansson). Helgenberger will play the wife of Dennis Quaid's character and mother to Johansson's character.
Selma Blair, Clark Gregg, Philip Baker Hall and David Paymer round out the cast for the film which starts shooting March 15. Paul Weitz will direct from his own script, with Chris Weitz producing.
Casting Update for Synergy
Blair, Gregg, Hall & Paymer in Universal's Synergy Source: The
Hollywood Reporter Wednesday, February 11, 2004
Selma Blair, Clark Gregg, Philip Baker Hall and David Paymer have
signed on to appear in the Weitz brothers' Synergy for Universal
Pictures.
The comedy follows the uneasy relationship between a 50-year-old
businessman (Dennis Quaid) and his new 26-year-old boss (Topher
Grace). The younger boss is having an affair with the older man's
daughter (Scarlett Johansson).
Blair will play Grace's unhappy wife, whom he has just wed, while
Gregg will appear as Grace's boss, who wants Quaid fired. Hall
portrays the head of an auto-supply chain that Quaid is trying to get
as a client, while Paymer has been set as Quaid's co-worker, who has
his own set of insecurities.
Synergy Given the Ax After Much News!
February 20, 2004 - After a flood of news on the film, apparently talks between the director and the studio have fallen apart and they've decided not to go ahead with this project.
themodernage02 Eaten by Wolves
February 20, 2004--This just in, Themodernage02 died today. He was torn to shreds by a pack of rabid wolves. He was delicious.
Quote from: Chest Rockwellthemodernage02 Eaten by Wolves
February 20, 2004--This just in, Themodernage02 died today. He was torn to shreds by a pack of rabid wolves. He was delicious.
Dibs on his DVD collection.
Quote from: MacGuffinQuote from: Chest Rockwellthemodernage02 Eaten by Wolves
February 20, 2004--This just in, Themodernage02 died today. He was torn to shreds by a pack of rabid wolves. He was delicious.
Dibs on his DVD collection.
Shazbot!
Quote from: MacGuffinQuote from: Chest Rockwellthemodernage02 Eaten by Wolves
February 20, 2004--This just in, Themodernage02 died today. He was torn to shreds by a pack of rabid wolves. He was delicious.
Dibs on his DVD collection.
haha, dont you have them all?
Quote from: themodernage02haha, dont you have them all?
Trade in for credit... Wait a minute...You're alive!!!
My sources seem to be mis-informed. Turns out it was actually bonanzataz, which explains his defunctnicity for the last few weeks.
Quote from: MacGuffinQuote from: themodernage02haha, dont you have them all?
Trade in for credit... Wait a minute...You're alive!!!
wait, i do know one i know you dont have...
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HHAHAAHAHA, i KNOW you want it!
Anyways, any real comments on the movie thus far?
Gerald Ford shot dead today at the senseless age of 83.
Quote from: SloyjGerald Ford shot dead today at the senseless age of 83.
Haha. That's the skit.
The title has been changed to In Good Company.
Trailer HERE (http://movies.yahoo.com/movies/feature/ingoodcompanyqt1.html).
Quote from: matt35mmThe title has been changed to In Good Company.
Trailer HERE (http://movies.yahoo.com/movies/feature/ingoodcompanyqt1.html).
I like Synergy better -- this sounds too much like In The Company of Men.
And I liked that trailer quite a bit -- a thid into it I was suddenly reminded of Punch Drunk Love.
Scarlett is cute, too.
I'll see this.
could this be the first good role for dennis quaid in a llllooonnnngggg time? i sure as hell hope so
Quote from: El Duderinocould this be the first good role for dennis quaid in a llllooonnnngggg time? i sure as hell hope so
"The Rookie" and "Far From Heaven" weren't that long ago.
well, neither were "Cold Creek Manor" "The Alamo" and "The Day After Tomorrow"
Guess I misunderstood the your measurement of time with "llllooonnnngggg" meaning recent months.
over 2 films = llllooonnnngggg
Its all about Scarlett, homos
I'm actually surprisingly optimistic about this one, quite enjoyed the trailer.
By the way, that's a fantastic band name: The Scarlet Homos
It doesn't make sense. This movie should be horrible, another throwaway, especially 'cause of when it's being released. Maybe it is, I don't know yet. I don't know what Newsweek's credentials are either, Maybe this is just a lot of hype, a lot of hot air. But things are looking good. The premise seemed a bit off, but maybe the cast will carry it.
Quote from: Devin Gordon of NewsweekState of Grace
After high times on 'That '70s Show,' Topher Grace makes the leap to film and lands 'In Good Company'
Topher full of grace: A young Everyman
By Devin Gordon
Newsweek
Jan. 10 issue - Someday soon, Topher Grace will be an award-winning actor. He will be a movie star, one of those guys about whom directors and producers and studio chiefs say fondly, "He can do anything." If every planet aligns, he'll inherit American cinema's Everyman throne passed down from Jimmy Stewart to Jack Lemmon to Tom Hanks—actors whom Grace, 26, has long revered. But in the meantime, he'll have to settle for this: according to Scarlett Johansson, his radiant costar in the workplace comedy "In Good Company," Grace plants upon her ample lips the best on-screen kiss she's ever received. Way to go, stud. "During shooting," says Grace, "I asked her as a joke, [in a lascivious voice] 'So, who's your best movie kiss ever?' And she says, 'Oh, definitely you.' I was, like, 'Uh, what?' And then I told everyone on the set. I think I actually made an announcement."
Not to rain on Grace's parade, but Johansson, 20, hasn't gotten much action on screen. It was basically him versus Bill Murray. Still, he outslugged a legend—and surely not for the last time. As the star of Fox's hit sitcom "That '70s Show," Grace has spent seven years making Ashton Kutcher seem funny. He's become a company player for Steven Soderbergh, appearing as a spoiled druggie in "Traffic" and, hilariously, as a spoiled version of himself in "Ocean's Eleven" and "Twelve." But he bided his time selecting his first major film role, passing repeatedly, then pouncing when he read "In Good Company," by writer-director Paul Weitz ("About a Boy"). Grace plays Carter Duryea, 26, a hotshot who, after a corporate merger, becomes the boss of 51-year-old father of two Dan Foreman (Dennis Quaid). It's an awkward pairing that becomes really awkward when Duryea begins schtupping Foreman's daughter (Johansson). Far from the usual sleazeball, though, Duryea is actually a decent but mixed-up kid. He's gotten success way too quickly, and his soul is struggling to keep up. It's a poignant, complex role, and Grace, with shades of Lemmon in "The Apartment," smacks it out of the park.
Of course, he had to fight just to get a turn at the plate. Director Weitz knew of the actor only from the bit part in "Traffic." Universal, meanwhile, the studio behind the film, was willing to consider someone from "That '70s Show"—Kutcher, not Grace. "With a studio," says Grace, "if you haven't opened a movie, you don't exist." Grace did not exist. Kutcher, cruising on the glory of "Dude, Where's My Car?", did. So, at Universal's request, Weitz met with Kutcher to discuss the role, but the two quickly agreed it wasn't a good fit. Then Grace auditioned. "The thing I really liked about Topher was the thing that made the studio a little scared," says Weitz. "He wasn't desperate to be liked. Most actors want to be embraced. But with Carter you need to believe, at least initially, that he would fire Dennis Quaid's character at the drop of a hat. I could tell Topher was going to be OK with being icy."
It also helped that Grace could easily have been Carter Duryea in real life. He grew up in the tony Connecticut suburb of Darien, the son of a businessman who commuted daily into New York. "I feel like I speak this language fluently," he says. "The language that I speak in Hollywood is like this crude second language to me." In high school, "That '70s Show" creators Bonnie and Terry Turner, whose daughter was a pal of Grace's, saw him in a student production of "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" and told him to look them up if he ever came to Los Angeles. "That '70s Show," which ends in March—"11 more episodes, not that anyone's counting"—was his first-ever audition.
At the age of 18 Grace was a TV star, but instead of considering his good luck a birthright, he treated it like a debt that had to be repaid. Making his film debut in "Traffic," he says, was an exhilarating experience, "and I realized I needed to find a path that would allow me to do this for a long time, so that it wasn't like I lost my virginity to the hottest girl I'll ever sleep with." Weitz and others on "In Good Company" say Grace is earthbound and easygoing off camera, but deeply cautious—even difficult at times—about his career. (He briefly halted his NEWSWEEK photo shoot over a proposed conceit that he thought denigrated his TV peers.) "If you're just in love with the lifestyle, you have a whole different set of priorities," he says. "But if the show ended and that was it for me, I'd be heartbroken. I want this to be the beginning of my career." Rest assured, it is—and we can't wait to see where it's headed next.
© 2005 Newsweek, Inc.
From http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6777693/site/newsweek/
Quote from: wantautopia?It doesn't make sense. This movie should be horrible, another throwaway, especially 'cause of when it's being released. Maybe it is, I don't know yet. I don't know what Newsweek's credentials are either, Maybe this is just a lot of hype, a lot of hot air. But things are looking good. The premise seemed a bit off, but maybe the cast will carry it.
well, it was released at the end of december which is the best time to get released, its just not expanding until january. when i read the synopsis back when it was Synergy i thought they would be playing up the 'how ridiculous is this?!?' all comedy thing, but i didnt end up seeing the trailer until about a month ago and now i think it looks really good. so i'm looking forward to this as (possibly) my last hope at one of the 20 best of 2004.
saw this tonite and really liked it. it really helps sometimes to know so little going into a movie and just enjoy myself. because its rare when i can do that. the story although it seemed like it was somewhat familiar, it managed to constantly stay fresh for me by going in unexpected directions. i liked how sympathetic they were to both sides instead of just painting one character 'the bad guy'. everyone in the cast was good, including topher, who it was my first time seeing him in a leading movie role. WARNING: scarlett fans beware, she comes in and out of the movie for long stretches! its nice to see the weitz going in a good dramedy direction with about a boy and then this,w hen they so easily could've just milked the teen genre while it was hot, so respect to them. (also: 2 shins songs, what is this the new garden state?!? and a minor faux paus for playing a song that cameron crowe already used. thats just a no-no.) it was funny, i cared about the characters, and i liked it. :yabbse-thumbup:
Quote from: themodernage02saw this tonite and really liked it. it really helps sometimes to know so little going into a movie and just enjoy myself.
I know I'm like the 10th person to say this, but you should
seriously do that more often.
i know. i wish i could, but between here, 5 magazine subscriptions and daily online news, its hard to stay uninformed. :yabbse-undecided:
I really liked this... very very good acting and the story was good overall... good ending too... I like the trailer for this and was looking forward to it, although it looked very predictable, but it isnt... its good!
I am not going to repeatwhat's already been said about this film, other than it's good....hehehe
ditto
Universal's recent In Good Company will street on 5/10 (SRP $29.98 ) in anamorphic widescreen video with Dolby Digital 5.1 audio. Extras will include audio commentary with director Paul Weitz and actor Topher Grace, deleted scenes with optional Weitz commentary, a number of featurettes (including Stars, Youth, Getting Older, Real Life, New York Locations, Editing and Story), cast and crew bios and more.
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Just watched In Good Company. It is this generation's The Apartment. The main problem with today's ruthless corporate environment is that human beings are reduced to things, or more precisely, they are reduced to figures on an Excel spread sheet. The best way to cut costs is to simply remove human beings from the equation. There is one image in the film that speaks volumes -- a bunch of empty chairs accumulate during a nasty round of downsizing.
The acting was excellent. Quaid is getting better with age, and Topher Grace gracefully reveals (and sometimes conceals) all of the subtle emotional and intellectual changes his character is going through. Scarlett Johansson reminds me of Meryl Streep in her Deer Hunter/Kramer vs. Kramer days -- why hasn't she been nominated for an Oscar yet?
I was just thinking today that In Good Company is a movie that Billy Wilder would have made if he was making movies today and didn't have any talent.
1) It had no original thought. This argument is tough to pull off because the crafty film viewer says, "Judge the movie based on what it was, regardless of what has come before it" or "there is no original thought."
2) The movie had about as much balls as Crash. The business world is wicked, okay. For sure. I'm 100% with you. Its major concern is profiteering: hello 1950. It whole heartedly attacked an issue that should already be inside of all of us.
3) The love story was so fucking hip. It was open ended, anti-climatic, and "realistic." All of that is bullshit. It is a way to put a love story into a movie that does not need a love story. It justified the love story.
4) The movie went nowhere so fast that at the end of the movie I thought perhaps it was still in the expository stages. It was not. The movie ended before anything happened as far as I am concered. And I love movies without plot. I love non-decrypt storylines. I fucking love them. This one just doesn't pull it off. It's okay to say "the movie was realistic but not good." Honestly it is.
5) From imdb: "The studio wanted someone from the cast of "That '70s Show" (1998) for the role of Carter and had originally given it to Ashton Kutcher. Kutcher dropped out due to creative differences, and Topher Grace auditioned and got the part." I think Topher Grace is a terrific actor. I think he steals the show in Traffic, personally. I dig his work in That 70's Show. But here was cast because of his popularity, not because he fit the part. And, honestly, all together: did not fit the part. At all.
6) The intention of the movie was to make you think, but all it made me think about was how this movie was a lot like watching a vase fall and shatter on the floor.
I guess that's six different ways of saying it was trite and didn't take me anyplace I haven't already been before. Comparing it to The Apartment is audacious, The Apartment toyed with taboo subjects like sex and suicide, it was also humerous and cynical about the workplace forty fucking years ago, but most of all it had a great story. In Good Story didn't have a story, and like subtitles, that confuses some people and makes them think they just witnessed art.
I beg to differ with your contention that nothing happened in In Good Company -- indeed, in the first act of the film, Quaid discovers that his wife is pregnant, he has been demoted, his daughter wants to transfer to NYU, and he takes out a second mortgage on his home. Later, he finds out that his boss is sleeping with his daughter. These occurrences would shake up anyone's life. The stakes couldn't be any higher for Quaid -- which is the sign of a good story.
How can you say "nothing happened" when Topher Grace's character underwent such a radical change -- both internally and externally? We see him jogging on a beach at the end, as he is no longer a corporate cog.
I wouldn't claim In Good Company is as good as The Apartment, but it is the best this generation can do in the same ballpark.
The message may be old, but it deserves to retold -- there are more important things in life than climbing the corporate ladder. The business world hasn't changed since The Apartment, so it deserves to have a similar movie to come along and raise the same issues.
It is true that In Good Company isn't the most original film, but how often are films original? Why make any Westerns after Stagecoach, Shane and The Searchers? Aren't all Westerns derivative of those three?