Two days ago, I wrote a rection piece about Ridley Scott’s being named director for an upcoming Alien prequel. Today, Variety is reporting that Steven Spielberg has chosen his next picture as director, an adaptation of the 1944 Mary Chase play, Harvey. Most audiences will remember the story from the 1950 film of the same name starring, quite memorably, Jimmy Stewart. So here we have next project decisions from two towering cinema institutions: Spielberg and Scott. You already know what I think about the whole Alien thing. What do I make of this? Glad you asked.

Any IMDb troll worth his or her salt knows that following Mr. Spielberg’s next film is a game so confusing and full of deceit that it is better to just sit and wait for announcement such as this one. For example, his Abraham Lincoln project has been in the works forever. I personally prefer it this way. For a director as formidable as him, I’d rather not know what he has coming down the pipe. It only adds to the whole “Spilebergian” mystique. But now we know the next film.

The question that must be asked is does the world really need another incarnation of Harvey? Probably not, but there also isn’t any reason why we shouldn’t have one, right? We’re content to watch so many other remakes and redos and reboots, what’s the big deal about one more? The biggest problem with a director making the wrong choice is that he only has a limited amount of years to make films; any missteps waste years in which better films could be made. So who is to say that this is the right or wrong choice? Well, Mr. Spielberg himself.

The biggest piece that I left out of the Ridley Scott article was that these A-list directors are in a position to make whatever they want. Where younger up and comers may get wedged into a particular project for the money or the connections, an established director can think long and hard about the projects he wants to take on. So while it is all well and good for us to comment from the sidelines, we should also be at least excited that these people see something in these projects that propels them into the director’s chair. Why is Mr. Spielberg taking on Harvey? Why is Mr. Scott rejoining the Alien franchise? Because they see something wonderful, and in time, that vision will be shared with us.

All that being said, I feel totally secure sitting here on my tuffet, eating my curds and whey, giving Spielberg the stink-eye (one eyebrow raised) and saying “Harvey? Really? Uhhhhhhhh-reeeeally?” That’s what separates the two of us. While I can blog my cynical thoughts away, he gets to wake up and make whatever the hell he wants. Good for you Steve, just please don’t cast Tom Hanks in the lead; your Frank Capra-Jimmy Stewart relationship has come far enough.

Yesterday, Variety reported that Ridley Scott is attached to an upcoming Alien prequel. I am a fan of both Mr. Scott and his groundbreaking 1979 space thriller, but I can’t help hiking up my crotchety old man pants and start telling it like it is. So here comes a finger-wagging rant; get ready.

The Alien franchise is one of the most interesting in film history (for the purposes of this article, I am excluding the Alien vs. Predator series of films from the franchise). It stands out mostly for the incredible list of alumni. James Cameron, who directed Aliens, went on to pioneer the art of digital special effects and make the most successful film of all time, Titanic. Frenchman Jean-Pierre Jeunet, already established for international hits Delicatessin and City of Lost Childrenby the time he made Alien: Resurrection, directed Amélie a few years after joining the franchise; that film became the biggest francophonic film outside of France ever. Mr. Scott’s brother in arms from the Propoganda Films days, David Fincher, first cut his teeth with Alien³ in 1992, going on to make some of the most provocative thrillers since.

But it is Ridley who has always stood out as the most illustrious alum. The original Alien is a landmark film that took the world by surprise. It was a thriller set in space, not a sci-fi film that was thrilling. Three years later, Mr. Scott turned the sci-fi world on its side once again with Blade Runner. Essentially a film noir set in a bleak future cooked up by Phillip K. Dick, it remains the gold standard of futuristic cinema in the age of advanced special effects. Of course, sci-fi was only the beginning for him. In 1991, he recieved his first Oscar nomination for Thelma & Louise, which again rattled the world for defying genre and moving us forward. Read on…

Farewell, Ben Silverman. I have no doubt that whatever business venture you and Barry Diller are cooking up will be, if not successful, something that will generate a great deal of conversation. At the candler blog, we don’t usually get into the muck and dirt of Hollywood biz talk, so let’s change that for a brief moment.

Yesterday, Mr. Silverman announced his resignation as co-chairman of NBC Entertainment and NBC Universal TV Studios, a job he has had only two years. His is an interesting story, the center of which isn’t even the NBC gig at all, but a company called Reville Productions. Founded in 2002 by Mr. Silverman, the company has spawned some serious money-makers for a number of networks. Some big hits include “Ugly Betty”, “The Tudors”, and “The Biggest Loser”. In a very short amount of time he managed to produce hit after hit, garnering Emmys and prestige along the way.

But it was a short-run midseason replacement that aired in 2005 that set Mr. Silverman apart as a power-producer. “The Office” wasn’t an instant hit when it went on the air, but after the smashing success of The 40-Year Old Virgin that summer, star Steve Carell became an instant household name. America wanted more of him and Silverman had his ace in the hole. Read on…

I’m sorry, but I am going to have to hike up my crotchity old man pants and whip my suspenders; it’s time to do a little ranting about the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS).

Recently, outgoing President Sid Ganis announced that next years Oscar ceremony will feature 10 Best Picture nominations instead of 5. This unprecedented (at least in 60 years) announcement was followed by a few lesser publicized changes. The rules for Best Original Song are now such that there may not even be an award every year and supplemental awards, such as the Thalberg or the Honorary Oscar, will be distributed at a separate event. It is great to see AMPAS blow the dust off of the arcane rule book they have been following for nearly a century, but other changes are needed. Like what, you may ask? Good thing you came to the candler blog.

Axe the Best Animated Feature Category, and Fast

Part of the thinking behind expanding the Best Pic pool is to give films that rarely make it into the running a fighting chance. Comedies, summer blockbusters and animated features are rarely nominated, but only one of those genres has been pushed out of the running completely. Instituted in 2001, with the first award going to Shrek, the Best Animated Feature award was meant to get gold into the hands of animated filmmakers whose work accounts for an incredible amount of box office grosses yet is rarely honored at the annual ceremony. Instead, it has pigeonholed all animated films into one giant lump that is out of the running of the Academy’s top honor.

Over the last decade, Hollywood and audiences have taken note of animation auteurs. So many people are required to make an animated film, the makers often get lost in the shuffle. However, Brad Bird has now become a marketable name, as have Andrew Stanton and John Lasseter. (These are all Pixar guys, I know, but hey, they’re the major studio) As films become more closely linked to specific names, they start to feel more like works of art rather than DVDs to keep the kids happy in the back seat. With a bigger Best Pic pool, there is no longer a need to push animators into a corner with this useless, offensive award. Read on…