› ›

Daniel Craig's new film 'Dream House' not screened for critics

JamesPageJamesPage Administrator, Moderator, Director
edited September 2011 in General Movies & TV Posts: 1,380
The <a href="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/movies/2011/09/dream-house-daniel-craig-rachel-weisz-movie-release-date-reviews.html"; target="_blank">LA Times</a> is reporting today that Daniel Craig's latest film "Dream House, whom he shot with now wife Rachel Weisz last year, is not being screened for critics ahead of general release.

The paper comments, "That's an evasive move usually reserved for very marginal genre films (or worse) -- movies for which distributors believe critical response would be so poor they'd rather have no opening-day review at all."

This follows early rumblings that Craig was avoiding as much publicity for the film as possible. The movie also suffered through reshoots after the first edit and was originally scheduled for release in February.

A spokesman for Morgan Creek, which financed and produced the picture, declined to comment, as did a Universal spokeswoman.

"Dream House" tells of a New York power couple (Rachel Weisz and Daniel Craig) who relocate to a picturesque New England town in the hope of a quieter life, only to find that the house may be cursed by its former inhabitants, who were murdered there.

The movie opens in the US on Friday.

Comments

  • Samuel001Samuel001 Moderator
    Posts: 13,350
    This doesn't sound good but it may turn out alright. We'll know in a week.
  • CommanderRossCommanderRoss The bottom of a pitch lake in Eastern Trinidad, place called La Brea
    Posts: 7,969
    Sounds like a terrible film anyway, I'm afraid to say. We'll see.
  • forgotmyusernameforgotmyusername
    Posts: 2,782
    My mate's seen it...he said slow and wear a clothes peg on your nose.
  • Samuel001Samuel001 Moderator
    edited September 2011 Posts: 13,350
    Well for a film with no premiere what did we expect? The reviews are coming in today, the first day of release and they're not good. A right old bad film it seems to be.

    http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dream_house_2011/
  • GermanladyGermanlady
    Posts: 6,601
    I guess everybody would have rather had this film gone right to DVD. I agree, why show, what is embarassing for all involved - I know, some cash CAN be earned...
  • shadowonthesunshadowonthesun Banned
    Posts: 1,894
    Well, the trailer gave the plot away. I've heard almost everyone involved - Craig, Weisz, Sheridan, etc. - was unhappy with the way the film was made, possibly because of continual studio interference.
  • Samuel001Samuel001 Moderator
    Posts: 13,350
    This is never good. Have a read of this:

    Since it came out a week ago, Jim Sheridan’s horror picture “Dream House” hasn’t made many people happy. Less than 10% of critics on Rotten Tomatoes have given it a “fresh” rating, and the film, which stars Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz as a couple tormented by ghosts, has taken in a paltry $9.5 million.

    Apparently there was someone else who wasn’t tickled with “Dream House”: Jim Sheridan.
    The six-time Oscar nominee was in fact so displeased with the finished film he sought to have his name removed from it.

    This summer, the director went to the Directors Guild of America with the aim of striking his name from the credits, said two people familiar with the action who declined to be identified because they were not authorized to talk about it publicly. If his bid had gone to term — the DGA would have had to rule that the finished film differed significantly from the movie he attempted to make — “Dream House” could have gone out with the director credit “Alan Smithee,” Hollywood’s equivalent of John Doe.

    The bid was dropped after a series of events that included the company that was financing the film, Morgan Creek Productions, agreeing to a new set of reshoots. But the incident marked only the latest challenge for the genre film.

    According to a person familiar with production, Sheridan began deviating from David Loucka’s script early on, using an improvisational method he favors. That was followed by a disastrous test screening, rampant anxiety at Morgan Creek, a first round of reshoots, and the production company ultimately taking control of the film in the edit room.

    (Like most directors, Sheridan did not have “final cut” — essentially the right to release the movie as he would like. The film's final version, then, reflects Morgan Creek's edit of a movie that Sheridan shot.)

    As the tension between the parties grew -- the movie was being released by Universal Pictures, but the company’s involvement was primarily of the marketing and distribution variety -- Sheridan moved forward with the DGA. When it came out, he also declined to do any publicity for the film.

    A representative for Sheridan and a spokesman for Morgan Creek declined to comment.

    The news surrounding “Dream House” underscores how much Sheridan’s Hollywood stock has dipped. The Irish-born filmmaker surged on to the movie scene in 1989, when at 40 his debut feature, “My Left Foot,” became a cultural sensation and a multiple Oscar nominee. A fact-based story about a painter with cerebral palsy, the movie wound up landing Daniel Day-Lewis a lead actor Oscar statuette and yielded director and screenplay Oscar nominations for Sheridan.

    In the 13 years that followed, he wrote and directed acclaimed films such as “In the Name of the Father” and “In America.”

    But Sheridan has now endured three consecutive disappointments, including 2005’s hip-hop story “Get Rich Or Die Tryin’” and “Brothers,” the Tobey Maguire-Jake Gyllenhaal 2009 remake of a Danish-language war picture.

    To some, the failures are the result of Sheridan moving too far away from his wheelhouse. “Father” and “In America” are both Irish-themed stories that are close to his heart — the latter, about a poor Irish family’s arrival in New York’s rough-and-tumble Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood, is semi-autobiographical — but a war picture and a horror movie are, well, not.

    Perhaps as a result, Sheridan is now debating directing a smaller film, said a person familiar with his plans: “Sheriff Street Stories,” about his childhood in Ireland.

    http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/movies/2011/10/jim-sheridan-dream-house-rachel-weisz-daniel-craig-reviews.html
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    edited October 2011 Posts: 28,694
    Wow...That's the stuff a filming production doesn't want the people to know. Good find @Samuel. I feel bad for the people involved that wanted to make the film the right way.
  • timmertimmer
    edited October 2011 Posts: 4,622
    This movie does not suck. I guess it has bombed at the box office and critics have panned it. But Dream House is quite watchable. It does seem terrible at first. You might even want to walk out. Craig and his perfect little family are tediously saccharine and one wonders what is the point of this movie, BUT this is all by design. The early stages of the film dovetail nicely with the big reveal that occurs midway through the picture. Then the movie finds its legs and you sit up straight and start caring. Craig does a fine piece of acting in this film. I can see why he took the role. The character he plays would be an interesting challenge for any actor. Problem with the film I guess is that its uneven. Audiences I guess, can't be expected to wait so long for something to grab on to.
    But do put Dream House on your Craig movie-watching list. I may watch it again, now that I have a better idea as to why the first half hour was presented the way it was. Plus its got Rachel Weisz and Naomi Watts who are usually worth the price of admission themselves. 4/5 stars for Dream House. I liked it a whole lot better than Cowboys and Aliens, which I thought really stunk.
Sign In or Register to comment.