Cold Mountain

[Pubrick]

-spoils-

i liked the softcore sex scene. especially the start when he shoved his hand right up in there. i think that spoke a lot about his character and the film  

[MacGuffin]

Weinstein: 'Cold' shunned because of location

BERLIN -- Miramax Films co-chairman Harvey Weinstein said Thursday that he believes the low Oscar-nomination count for "Cold Mountain" was due in part to stories in the U.S. press attacking the moviemakers' decision to shoot it in Europe and not America.

Weinstein, who jetted in to support the Anthony Minghella-directed Civil War story, which kicks off the Berlin International Film Festival, hinted that there had been a whispering campaign against the production because the filmmakers chose to shoot largely in lower-cost Romania rather than the United States.

Said Weinstein: "I'm proud of 'Cold Mountain' being a European film. The movie has done $80 million at the U.S. boxoffice so far and is on its way to $100 million. But I think it (being shot in Romania) did hurt us with the Academy (voters)."

Weinstein stopped short of calling it a boycott by voters but said negative press may have resulted in "a move to deny the movie awards." The film received seven Oscar nominations.

Said Minghella: "There has been a reaction in America and a real campaign to stop movies leaving America to shoot."

While Minghella said he understood the criticism, he defended his decision to shoot in Romania on economic terms. "It was a choice between making the movie (outside America) or not," he said. "We still spent nearly $20 million in the U.S."

Weinstein also attacked what he called American "discrimination" against European films and cited an example of how few are seen in the United States.

"We believe in European quotas because European movies are discriminated against in America," Weinstein said. "The major networks in America have not shown one single European movie in 25 years."

The news conference saw Weinstein face down a question on why the movie's three principal stars -- Jude Law, Nicole Kidman and Renee Zellweger -- failed to travel for the evening's gala.

He said Law and Zellweger are shooting movies in London, and Kidman had returned to Australia because of a "family situation."

Weinstein said he had offered to buy out the production of "Closer," which Law is shooting, in order to secure the actor's presence in Berlin.

"You know my reputation," Weinstein joked. "If I couldn't get them out (to Berlin), nobody could."

He played down any suggestion that the stars weren't supporting the movie's European rollout, which begins Monday on a release tour of the continent's capitals. Law and Zellweger will be traveling with the film, while Kidman is gearing up to do satellite interviews upon her return to New York.

Other attendees at the news conference included the movie's Philip Seymour Hoffman and Brendan Gleeson.

[godardian]

-spoils-

i liked the softcore sex scene. especially the start when he shoved his hand right up in there. i think that spoke a lot about his character and the film  

I didn't much care for this movie, and this is part of why, but could I ever try to claim that I wholly regret any opportunity to see either Nicole Kidman or Jude Law naked, however stupid and gratuitous the context? No. No, I cannot.    However, I got to see the movie for free, and the nice-looking diad (however little chemistry they may have had) was just a bonus. I wouldn't pay a ticket price for Cold Mountain.

[MacGuffin]

*MINOR SPOILERS*


I'm with GT and godardian on this. I didn't believe the romance to begin with at all, and thought Kidman and Law had no chemistry, so I felt nothing for them for the short-lived reunion. The film was very slowly paced and I thought the editing was the biggest problem of the film (is Walter Murch losing his touch?). The transitions and cutting back and forth between flashbacks and the lovers respective stories were poorly done. The while the film did pick up when Zellweger entered, she quickly became over-the-top in her performance.

[modage]

Title: Cold Mountain
Released: 29th June 2004

Further Details
Miramax have kindly sent over the first details on Cold Mountain: Collector's Edition which stars Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, Renee Zellweger and Donald Sutherland. This two disc release will be available to own from the 29th June this year for around $29.99. The film will be presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen along with both English Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 Surround tracks. Extras will include two audio commentaries with director/writer Anthony Minghella, actors Jude Law and Nicole Kidman, and the film's legendary editor Walter Murch. Also up for grabs are deleted scenes, the documentary Climbing Cold Mountain, a behind the scenes special entitled A Journey to Cold Mountain and a number of special live performances based on the film from UCLA's Royce Hall, which includes music from Alison Krauss, Sting and Jack White. Finally, you can expect conversations with the musicians and a storyboard to film comparison.

[Derek]

Did Melora Walters play Giovanni Ribisi's wife in this movie?

[MacGuffin]

Did Melora Walters play Giovanni Ribisi's wife in this movie?

Yes.

[Pubrick]

fascinating.

[ElPandaRoyal]

Worst movie I saw this year. Oh no... The Day After Tomorrow is somewhat worse.