WIll Janusz Kaminski Direct "American Gods"?

The rights to Neil Gaiman's beloved modern fantasy novel American Gods have been sold, according to the author. In an interview with Digital Spy, Gaiman  said "there is one cinematographer and director on board who has many, many Oscars and is, I think, a genius." I haven't found any other news on the deal, so who knows if it will actually happen and how many ducks are in a row. Getting such a film financed and released would be no small task.



And who is this mystery cinematographer-director? Let's break that statement down.

1) He said cinematographer first, so he must be successful in that capacity; I would rule out directors who have long-forgotten DP credits. Nor would it be someone like Steven Soderbergh, who has shot many of his own films. He would call Soderbergh a "director" or "filmmaker" only, I think.

2) Gaiman also mentions that this filmmaker spent many years pursuing the project, so I don't think that it is a very successful director. He also qualified his classification of the filmmaker as a genius, inserting a conspicuous "I think."

3) And then the kicker: the filmmaker has "many, many" Oscars. Gaiman doesn't strike me someone who wastes time following awards season closely (as I do). So he could be forgiven for exaggerating when referring to someone who has one or two out of many nominations, or has shot films that have won "many, many" awards.

My prediction: Janusz Kaminski, Spielberg's go-to cinematographer. He has won two Oscars- for Saving Private Ryan and Schindler's List. Those films took home a combined total of 12 trophies. I would call him a genius, as would many, but only for his work as a DP. He has directed two little-seen features and a TV episode (The Event). It would be a pleasant surprise to many if he helmed a blockbuster himself (or even a smaller, acclaimed film).

It has been speculated elsewhere in the blogosphere today that this is the case, so you'll have to take my word that I arrived at the conclusion independently. Commenters at bleedingcool.com and aintitcool.com are among those who are trumpeting the notion, while William Babini included Kaminski in a relatively long list at craveonline.com

U.S. Box Office: March 25-27

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Roderick Rules won the top box office prize this weekend with $24 million. The Fox release cost an estimated $21 million to produce. This is the second adaptation of Jeff Kinney's phenomenal-selling series of illustrated children's novels. Last year's Diary of a Wimpy Kid made $64 million in the U.S., with an estimated production budget of $15 million. This new, relatively inexpensive franchise may provide a new model for studios that have been burned by expensive fantasy non-starters like Eragon (Fox), Percy Jackson (Fox), and The Last Airbender (Paramount)

Warner Brothers' $80 million Sucker Punch in second with $19 million for the weekend. It serves them right, too: the film is abysmal. It remains to be seen if Zack Snyder's fifth film will make up for its weak domestic start overseas. Limitless and The Lincoln Lawyer proved to be strong holdovers, taking the third and fourth positions, respectively. Rango rounded out the top five, passing the $100 million milestone in it fourth weekend.  


Bill Cunningham New York, a documentary about a legendary photographer, had the highest per-theatre average with $22,633 in its second weekend. Julian Schnabel's critically savaged Miral opened with $65,000 in four theatres. Focus Features' Jane Eyre expanded to 90 theatres in its third weekend, and came in just shy $1 million.

Review: Sucker Punch

Sucker Punch

2011 (Warner Brothers)

Directed by Zack Snyder

Starring: Emily Browning, Abby Cornish, Jena Malone

Spoilers: Mild

Sucker Punch is the story of a young woman who accidentally shoots her younger sister with a bullet intended for her stepfather (he was trying to rape the girl). She is trucked off to an asylum for the criminally insane to be lobotomized. She spends the majority of the movie in a fantasy world where she and her fellow patients are sex slaves trying to escape their bondage on penalty of death. There is also a fantasy-within-a-fantasy where the women battle demon soldiers and dragons in fetish costumes.

It is rated PG-13.

Zack Snyder assembled five talented and beautiful young actresses to play characters with maybe eight thoughts and emotions among them. Baby Doll (Browning) wants to escape, and doesn't like to see anyone get raped. Rocket (Malone) wants to do whatever Baby Doll says, and is not fond of being raped. Rocket's sister (Cornish) wants to get out, but only if the odds are favorable. Amber (Jamie Chung) and Blondie (Vanessa Hudgens) play along and smile a lot, except when things go wrong. They all cry when things go wrong. Because they're girls.

The film lacks narrative momentum, and it is hard to tell what's really at stake. Rather than blurring the line between fantasy and reality, it simply rejects reality in the opening minutes, letting the vast majority of the events and struggles occur within Baby Doll's imagination. And her imaginary worlds looks suspiciously like a 13 year-old boy's masturbatory fantasies a lot of the time, with bad CGI thrown in as a bonus.

For a movie so obsessed with pornographic archetypes, Sucker Punch has a surprising lack of eroticism. For a story of female empowerment, Sucker Punch has an unfortunate amount of implied sexual violence and unchecked misogyny. For a film about the potential of the human imagination, Sucker Punch is unforgivably dull.