- Howdy folks! How ya been? That’s good. Big doings these days with all of this early Jersey Girl press, ‘eh? First it was the religious controversies around Dogma, then it was gay activists attacking Jay & Bob, and now we’ve got the critics vs. Bennifer. And this one’s 7 months before the film is scheduled to debut! As many have said though, no press is bad press, and it’s certainly got the film’s name out there a lot earlier than most studios could hope for. We’ve got a BIG spoiler-filled story just below this one, so if you want to avoid Jersey Girl spoilers completely, please skip that next story.
Before we move on, we’d also like to give a big THANKS to Lions Gate and Tom Ortenberg for setting us up with a “Cabin Fever” screening last weekend. Since they acquired Dogma, the studio really has been making some great purchases, and this film does bring back that fun, scary, 80’s feeling to horror. The film’s going to be Lion’s Gate’s biggest opening yet – The film will hit 1500 screens on Friday, September 12th. Go out and see it, you’ll get some gross-out moments, scares, and laughs out of it, we promise. Ifilm has some great teaser trailers as well if you wanna get a feel for what the film’s all about. It’s the most fun, gross horror film to hit the big screen in ages. And a big opening will certainly help Eli Roth get the recognition to make more like this one, so please, SEE IT!
Alright then, let’s take a look at what we’ve got in the news for ya today…
Archive for August 11th, 2003
More On Jersey Girl (Spoiler!)…
- WARNING! This entire article is one big spoiler! Before you proceed, let that be known. However, if you want our opinion, it seems that this spoiler for Jersey Girl is now SO public, that you’re going to have trouble avoiding it before the film comes out. It might even make it into the film’s trailer, for all we know. So, it’s up to you if you’d like to read further. Again, PLEASE skip down to the next headline if you want to avoid this spoiler. Also, please avoid talkbacks for this story as well as we will be permitting spoiler talk within.
Alright, you’re still here. Now, as you know from either reading it here, seeing a test screening, or otherwise, yes, Jennifer Lopez’s character dies very early in “Jersey Girl”, thus, her part in the film is rather small. Naturally, with all the Gigli press, folks are now turning their eyes towards JG and unfairly comparing the two films. In other words, many critics, without seeing Jersey Girl, are proclaiming that hey, if Gigli wasn’t to their liking, Jersey Girl won’t be either. Makes perfect sense, doesn’t it? Right.
So, that was last week. Now, this week the new buzz is this: “They’re changing Jersey Girl to kill of Jennifer Lopez’s character because Gigli didn’t perform well at the box office! They are reworking the entire plot!” Newsflash, folks. Lopez’s Gertrude was ALWAYS set to die early in the film. The film has always been about Affleck raising his daughter as a single parent. None of this has changed as a result of Gigli. Now, that being said, since filming began, very little was known about this twist in the film, and we expected the film was going to be marketed without this “spoiler”, to surprise audiences when it happened. That may still be the case, but given that the fact is becoming so well known, the marketing campaign may give this fact away, anyway. We may not know that until the film’s trailer is cut (see next story for more on that).
Alright, having cleared the air on that, let’s take a look at the press regarding this today. First off, the IMDB so graciously ran this short piece with the spoiler so sudden that it’s already taken tons of fans off guard:
“The failure of Gigli has enabled director Kevin Smith to rejigger his upcoming Jersey Girl into the kind of movie he had originally conceived — one that features Ben Affleck as a single father raising a young daughter, the New York Times reported today (Monday). Until unfavorable reviews of Gigli began to roll in, Smith had been prevailed upon to expand the role of the girl’s mother, played by Jennifer Lopez, in order to take advantage of the publicity surrounding the Affleck-Lopez romance. Smith told the Times that he began trimming Lopez’s scenes after Jersey Girl tested poorly with preview audiences. But, he said, Miramax co-chairman Harvey Weinstein “was always ‘Let’s leave as much of Jennifer in because we paid her $4 million for the movie.’” Her character now dies in the movie’s first 15 minutes, the Times said.”
And here is that very New York Times story to which the IMDB refers:
After ‘Gigli,’ Less of J. Lo Is Seen as a Good Thing
By LAURA M. HOLSON
You would be hard pressed to find a Hollywood marketing manual that says killing off one-half of the country’s most famous celebrity couple in the first 15 minutes of a movie should be used as a selling point.
But in the wake of the box office and critical disaster that is “Gigli,” the film that brought together Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez, Miramax Films is doing just that with the couple’s next movie, “Jersey Girl.”
When news reports in recent months revealed that Ms. Lopez’s character dies early in “Jersey Girl,” publicity executives at Miramax were displeased. But in the last few weeks, they have begun quietly highlighting the fact that Ms. Lopez barely appears in the movie.
Now, it looks as if Miramax will be promoting the movie the way the director, Kevin Smith, had originally wanted. Mr. Smith, who attained cult status with movies like “Chasing Amy” and “Dogma,” had always conceived of “Jersey Girl” as the story of Ollie Trinke (played by Mr. Affleck) raising his young daughter, Gertie. But when Ms. Lopez was cast as the girl’s mother, the production quickly turned into the “Ben and Jennifer show,” much to Mr. Smith’s chagrin.
The publicity nightmare worsened recently as Internet chat groups and tabloids began comparing “Jersey Girl” to the much maligned “Gigli.” Rumors surfaced that Miramax had cut Ms. Lopez’s part, and even had her face removed from movie posters.
Many of the changes had been made well before “Gigli” even showed up in theaters, largely because of the two characters’ chemistry — or, in this case, a lack thereof, Mr. Smith said. Ms. Lopez’s part was trimmed after test audiences last spring panned the on-screen relationship between Ms. Lopez and Mr. Affleck.
Miramax, a unit of the Walt Disney Company, resisted the cuts at first. “Harvey was always, `Let’s leave as much of Jennifer in because we paid her $4 million for the movie,’ ” said Mr. Smith, referring to Harvey Weinstein, Miramax’s co-founder. The studio’s marketing executives were also pushing to take advantage of the couple’s star appeal.
But that changed as Mr. Smith whittled away Ms. Lopez’s screen time. “It became what’s best for the story,” said Jon Gordon, executive vice president of production at Miramax.
You can almost hear the sigh of relief at Miramax. “In retrospect,” Mr. Smith said, “it turned out to not be such a bad thing.” Now he can only hope the couple chooses not to get married next March when the movie opens, which would provide distracting fodder for the tabloids.
By LAURA M. HOLSON
You would be hard pressed to find a Hollywood marketing manual that says killing off one-half of the country’s most famous celebrity couple in the first 15 minutes of a movie should be used as a selling point.
But in the wake of the box office and critical disaster that is “Gigli,” the film that brought together Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez, Miramax Films is doing just that with the couple’s next movie, “Jersey Girl.”
When news reports in recent months revealed that Ms. Lopez’s character dies early in “Jersey Girl,” publicity executives at Miramax were displeased. But in the last few weeks, they have begun quietly highlighting the fact that Ms. Lopez barely appears in the movie.
Now, it looks as if Miramax will be promoting the movie the way the director, Kevin Smith, had originally wanted. Mr. Smith, who attained cult status with movies like “Chasing Amy” and “Dogma,” had always conceived of “Jersey Girl” as the story of Ollie Trinke (played by Mr. Affleck) raising his young daughter, Gertie. But when Ms. Lopez was cast as the girl’s mother, the production quickly turned into the “Ben and Jennifer show,” much to Mr. Smith’s chagrin.
The publicity nightmare worsened recently as Internet chat groups and tabloids began comparing “Jersey Girl” to the much maligned “Gigli.” Rumors surfaced that Miramax had cut Ms. Lopez’s part, and even had her face removed from movie posters.
Many of the changes had been made well before “Gigli” even showed up in theaters, largely because of the two characters’ chemistry — or, in this case, a lack thereof, Mr. Smith said. Ms. Lopez’s part was trimmed after test audiences last spring panned the on-screen relationship between Ms. Lopez and Mr. Affleck.
Miramax, a unit of the Walt Disney Company, resisted the cuts at first. “Harvey was always, `Let’s leave as much of Jennifer in because we paid her $4 million for the movie,’ ” said Mr. Smith, referring to Harvey Weinstein, Miramax’s co-founder. The studio’s marketing executives were also pushing to take advantage of the couple’s star appeal.
But that changed as Mr. Smith whittled away Ms. Lopez’s screen time. “It became what’s best for the story,” said Jon Gordon, executive vice president of production at Miramax.
You can almost hear the sigh of relief at Miramax. “In retrospect,” Mr. Smith said, “it turned out to not be such a bad thing.” Now he can only hope the couple chooses not to get married next March when the movie opens, which would provide distracting fodder for the tabloids.
And finally, seems like some of our readers might have gotten a bit upset at MSNBC’s Scoop column for dissing Jersey Girl, sight unseen, and rightfully so — Here’s what Jeanette Walls had to say at the end of her latest column:
The Scoop has been deluged with irate emails from “Jersey Girl” supporters after we reported on negative buzz surrounding the upcoming flick. The film is to be released next year and stars that fun couple from “Gigli,” J. Lo and Ben Affleck. “Let’s not forget that ‘Gigli’ is awful not because of the actors, but because of the horrible script, cinematography and editing,” said one of the less-obscene emails. “Wait until you get some credible insight into ‘Jersey Girl’ before you even dare link it to ‘Gigli.’
And for the record, folks — It’s great when you stand up for the film and what you believe in…Just always remeber to try and do it intelligently, as well. Feel free to talk about the big JG spoiler in the talkbacks for THIS STORY ONLY — Have at it. We’d love to hear your thoughts and opinions.
Jersey Girl Trailer: Progress!
- Since many fans are dying to see ANY footage of Jersey Girl, Kevin was asked when fans will be able to get a look at a trailer for the film. His response:
They’re cutting one now. Harvey said he wants to put it out on “Cold Mountain.”
For the curious, here’s the premise of “Cold Mountain”: As the Civil War reaches its final days, Inman (Law), a wounded soldier, gets up out of what his doctors thought was his death bed, and begins the long, hard walk to his home in his North Carolina on Cold Mountain. Waiting there for him is Ada (Kidman), the sweetheart he left behind to go to war, trying to hold onto the farm of her deceased missionary father. Inman’s long journey takes him through the crumbling confederacy, as he meets people of all walks of life who want to both aid and hinder his mission… (Zellweger plays Ruby, a scrappy drifter who helps Ada; Atkins plays a hermit who saves Inman from the battlefield; Walters plays the wife of Giovanni’s character, who tries to seduce Inman). Due for release on 12/25. It looks like Miramax’s big gun for the holiday. Impressive cast : Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, Renee Zellweger, Brendan Gleeson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Natalie Portman, Giovanni Ribisi, Ethan Suplee, Donald Sutherland, Melora Walters.
December 25th seems like a long ways away for a trailer, but no word yet on whether Kevin will release an early trailer on the web for fans to get a look at. We’ll keep you posted as we hear more.
Kevin Confirms A Few Things…
- Kevin made a few confirmations on some items of interest recently, which we can only assume will be expanded upon in the next few days, but here they are:
- Jersey Girl is confirmed for a March 19, 2004 theatrical release.
- He has read Fletch Won a few hundred times recently.
- The mysterious sci-fi project will not be his next project. It will happen though, later in 2004.
There’s a few clues for ya…More to come!