What Just Happened
| What Just Happened | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster |
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| Directed by | Barry Levinson |
| Produced by | Art Linson Mark Cuban Robert De Niro Jane Rosenthal |
| Written by | Art Linson |
| Starring | Robert De Niro Sean Penn Catherine Keener Stanley Tucci John Turturro Robin Wright Penn Moon Bloodgood Kristen Stewart Michael Wincott Bruce Willis |
| Music by | Marcelo Zarvos |
| Cinematography | Stéphane Fontaine |
| Editing by | Hank Corwin |
| Distributed by | Magnolia Pictures (USA) Pathé (UK) |
| Release date(s) | January 19, 2008 (Sundance) October 17, 2008 (United States) |
| Running time | 104 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $25 million |
| Box office | $6,710,888[1] |
What Just Happened is a satirical comedy-drama directed by Barry Levinson & starring Robert De Niro.
What Just Happened is an independent film, produced by 2929 Productions, Art Linson Productions and Tribeca Productions, and was released on October 17, 2008.
The film is based on the book, What Just Happened? Bitter Hollywood Tales from the Front Line, by Art Linson, about his experiences as a producer in Hollywood.[2]
This film was shown at the Cannes Film Festival on May 25, 2008.
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[edit] Plot
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This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. Please help improve it by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise. (December 2010) |
Ben (Robert De Niro), a veteran Hollywood producer, is suffering a number of professional and personal problems. His latest film, Fiercely, has a disastrous test screening, mostly because of its ending which features the murder of its main character (played by Sean Penn, who plays himself elsewhere in the film) along with his pet dog.
Ben and his maverick British director, Jeremy Brunell (Michael Wincott), plead their case to studio executive Lou Tarnow (Catherine Keener). She accuses Ben of filming the dog's killing only so he could use it as a "bargaining chip" - to make it easier to negotiate against cutting other problematic scenes). Lou threatens to pull Ben's movie from Cannes and take over editing unless at least the dog's death is removed. Jeremy adamantly refuses, throwing a tantrum.
Adding to Ben's problems, he is having trouble making a clean break from Kelly, his second wife. Ben later discovers his wife is having an affair with Scott Solomon, a married screenwriter who Ben has previously worked with. Scott has a screenplay that he's trying to get off the ground, to which Brad Pitt later becomes attached.
Lastly the studio is threatening to cancel a planned Bruce Willis movie because of the star's unwillingness to shave the large, thick beard that he has grown. Ben's career hinges on the fate of the film, but any attempt to reason with Willis inevitably meets a violent, foul-mouthed response.
Ultimately Jeremy relents and re-edits the ending of Fiercely to have the dog survive. Ben tries to get Willis's agent, Dick Bell, to reason with him and get the beard removed, but his efforts only get Bell fired. Nonetheless, Willis does eventually shave his beard off, and the film goes ahead.
A week later, Ben, Lou and Jeremy attend Cannes, hopeful that they might take a Palme D'Or award. Unfortunately, and without telling Ben or Lou, Jeremy has re-edited Fiercely again, not only killing the dog, but adding nearly a full minute of bullets being shot into their bodies. While new ending destroys the film's chances of a Palme d'Or and angers many in the audience, others eagerly applaud the final version of the film, including Sean Penn (playing himself). Lou is not impressed, and immediately flies out of Cannes on the studio's private jet, leaving Ben stranded in France.
Ben eventually does make it back home, in time for a photo-shoot of Hollywood's top thirty producers with Vanity Fair, although after the magazine's publishers hear about the debacle in Cannes, Ben is relegated to the far edge of the photo, meaning he won't be on the magazine's cover and will be barely noticeable in the larger inside version. Ben's voice-over, as the film ends, comments that this represents him nearly, but not quite being pushed out of Hollywood.
During the film's postscript as narrated by Ben, he reveals that Fiercely turned out to be a major blockbuster but its success doesn't stop Jeremy from having a run-in with the law. Emotionally unstable Jeremy is arrested at an airport when drugs are found in his bag. While in rehab, Jeremy focuses on his work, and considers several offers to direct, including the possibility of working with Ben. Lou wins a major award, ironically because of her work with Jeremy whose work she dislikes.
Brad Pitt drops out of Scott's film project, causing Scott to fall into a deep and alcohol-fueled depression while living with Ben's ex-wife. Dick Bell, on the other hand, still suffers from excruciating stress-induced stomach pain that prompts him to pull over to the side of the road while on a date.
[edit] Critical reception
Based on 113 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes as of February 7, 2009, the film has received an overall "Rotten" rating of 53 percent, with a weighted average score of 5.8/10.[3] In describing the critical consensus, it stated: "What Just Happened has some inspired comic moments, but this inside-baseball take on Hollywood lacks satirical bite."
[edit] Cast
- Robert De Niro as Ben, a Hollywood producer
- Stanley Tucci as Scott Solomon
- John Turturro as Dick Bell, agent to Bruce Willis
- Kristen Stewart as Zoe, Ben's daughter
- Moon Bloodgood as Laura, a seductress
- Robin Wright Penn as Kelly, Ben's second wife
- Catherine Keener as Lou Tarnow
- Bruce Willis as Himself
- Sean Penn as Himself
- Michael Wincott as Jeremy Brunell
- Marin Hinkle as Vanity Fair Coordinator
- Peter Jacobson as Cal
[edit] References
- ^ "What Just Happened? (2008)". Box Office Mojo. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=whatjusthappened.htm. Retrieved 2009-05-24.
- ^ "What Just Happened?: Bitter Hollywood Tales from the Front Line".Author Art Linson ISBN 1582342407
- ^ "What Just Happened". Rotten Tomatoes. IGN Entertainment. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/what_just_happened/. Retrieved 2009-02-07.
[edit] External links
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