Comments on: Will The Depressing Cinema Landscape Force Steven Soderbergh Into Early Retirement?

By: B.

B. — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 19:09:20 +0000

Well, this is a bloody shame, because there is a rather large group of Spalding Gray fans out here that have been waiting and waiting for the Spalding biopic (documentary, whatever!) to come out.

By: J.D.

J.D. — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 13:17:16 +0000

Well, CHE was reviewed by most of the major critics and it predictably divided them. I really like how J. Hoberman championed the film, reviewing it twice — the Cannes screening and the Roadshow version — which was nice to see. I recall that he was one of the few American critics to defend FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS when it came out and now its considered a cult classic.

It was depressing that CHE was snubbed at all the major awards shows but not surprising. I like how Sean Penn called attention to this fact at the SAGs. Good for him.

By: rodrigoperez

rodrigoperez — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 12:28:18 +0000

I Spoke to the writer. He assures me, the interview was conducted last thursday and he says he did ask about Moneyball, as in working within the studio system, but he didn't really answer the question directly.

By: rodrigoperez

rodrigoperez — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 22:56:54 +0000

It was ignored by U.S. critics. It came close to winning the Palme d'or, it was definitely in contention and benicio del toro won best actor at Cannes that year which was another way to validate it.

Assassination of Jesse James got some decent awards at Venice that year too (Brad Pitt best actor i think?) What are you gonna do, you can't hold a gun to ppl's heads and force them to love a movie. I don't feel angry at critics who didn't love either, I just feel like they're missing out, but not in that condescening, 'they're retarded!' way. I can understand why some "Che" might not work for some people.

Public Enemies was editorially neutral like Che, but I didn't care for it much and I'm sure many ppl feel like it is the Jesse James of 2009. It's bold and ambitious for sure, but it missed the mark for me.

By: SK

SK — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 22:44:33 +0000

what are your thoughts on why the awards shows (Oscars, Golden Globes) almost ignored Che? And even some critics.
They really embraced The Wrestler, The Reader, Milk, etc. I know those cost less and made at least a bit of profit, but there must be more to it? This movie was ignored, publicly. And given the themes, characters and actors/reputations in the movies I mentioned, could it have been that hard to support Del Toro or Soderbergh and Che? Please explain. It's like The Assassination of Jesse James in a sense.

By: rodrigoperez

rodrigoperez — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 20:21:05 +0000

@J.D. "ven Benicio Del Toro snapped at a journalist."

Totally, right? By the end you could tell it was becoming a grind and they just wanted to get away from it. Having to answer all those contentious questions about the political (or apolitical) nature of the film probably started to grate. They went above and beyond to promote, the production itself was a slog and the outcome financially was disappointing and by the end of that press cycle, they knew it.

i'm almost certain these are old quotes now and should have figured enough considering how much i wrote about it, but lots to do and on the brain and I missed it.

but i wanna at least wait til there's some kind of confirmation about that.

By: J.D.

J.D. — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 20:17:06 +0000

You're right about the dispiriting tone in Soderbergh's interviews towards the end of his media blitz. Even Benicio Del Toro snapped at a journalist. I think these guys just got burnt out endlessly flogging the film to any journo who would listen. Ya certainly can't fault 'em for that.

I loved the film too. My fave from last year.

I wish Criterion would already announce the release date and specs for CHE, dammit!

By: rodrigoperez

rodrigoperez — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 13:47:21 +0000

I definitely started to note a dispirited tone near the end of the Che interviews. i think he got sick of talking about it and the film did underperform overall which i think was depressing. Something like $30 million worldwide on a $60 million dollar budget?

10 years from now he'll be happy as shit he made it. It's a stone-cold classic in my mind.

There was also post-che interviews were he sounded frustrated by all the pirating and leaks. Apparently there were a lot of leaks internationally where he hoped the film would do better.

By: J.D.

J.D. — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 13:40:12 +0000

With all this dispiriting talk about doing CHE I'm guess we shouldn't expect an audio commentary by him for the Criterion DVD? If so, man, it's gonna be the most depressing one ever recorded.

I agree that all he needs is some downtime to recharge the ol' batteries.

By: SK

SK — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 03:49:09 +0000

This down period for him will probably just make a good story when "The Informant" does well and gets him some awards consideration, like a Golden Globe nomination for best comedy.

At the very least some awards would make it up to him for ignoring the 'Che' movies.

Or him and Michael Mann can make a movie together and let all the pain out.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 01:00:40 +0000

I agree with Scott. The guy is one of the most prolific filmmakers ever, it was only a matter of time before he got burned out. He needs a break. Then he can start up again with some fresh energy.

By: Scott

Scott — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 00:36:26 +0000

Soderbergh is 46-year-old. He's been making movies his entire life. He's not going to retire now. Take a year off, maybe, but that's it.

By: iheartsubtitles

iheartsubtitles — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 22:29:40 +0000

Steven: Move to France or become an AD on 101 year-old Manoel de Oliveira's next film.