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introduction Opening the Doors to “The Majestic” Are you now, or have you ever been...a movie fan? If so, you probably know that FRANK DARABONT (also a huge cinema aficionado) wrote-and-directed two of the most respected films of the last decade -- “The Shawshank Redemption” (1994) and “The Green Mile” (1999). Together, they collected eleven Academy Award nominations, including both for Best Picture. That unique distinction marked Darabont as one of only six filmmakers whose first two feature films received Oscar nods as Best Picture (can you name the other five?). Darabont himself received Oscar nominations for his screenplays on both films (adapted from works by Stephen King), in addition to several other honors. And, if you are familiar with Darabont’s two previous efforts, you will recall that he used two classic old-time movie clips in each film (certifying his romance with films) -- 1946’s “Gilda,” with Rita Hayworth tantalizing her adoring fans incarcerated at Shawshank Prison; and Astaire and Rogers dancing and romancing to the music of George Gershwin in “Top Hat,” a moment fulfilling a condemned inmate’s dying wish in “The Green Mlle.” His new film, you could say, is a valentine to such old-time movies. Darabont admits that, “My love of film creeps into all of my work. None more so than this new film. In “Shawshank Redemption” when Gilda plays in the prison, it was a key moment, an emotional point that it infused into the film. In “The Green Mile” the old man’s entire memory in telling the story was brought out by seeing Top Hat on television. In this new story, we’ve been able to go crazy with that motif, because this is all about the love of movies.” In his new project, a period piece entitled “THE MAJESTIC,” Darabont works from an original screenplay by MICHAEL SLOANE (the film represents only his second produced script -- do you know what his first screenplay credit was for?). Coincidentally, Sloane is a boyhood friend of Darabont. Both graduated from the famed Hollywood High School, are exactly the same age (having been born only one day apart in the same year) and worked as theater ushers on Hollywood Boulevard at the Egyptian and Paramount movie houses during their student years. To be united together on this highly anticipated project is a dream-come-true for these longtime friends. Like his two earlier works, Darabont again retreats back in time, here to 1951, when television and, more dramatically, the Communist witch hunts, or Red Scare, threatened Hollywood and the cultural phenomenon called the motion picture. Calling his new venture “an old-fashioned, Capraesque piece,” Darabont’s new project stars two-time Golden Globe winner JIM CARREY as Peter Appleton, an ambitious, idealistic screenwriter who falls under the suspicions of the House Un-American Activities Committee during their ongoing investigation of Communist influences in Hollywood. Barred from his studio, Appleton loses his job and his identity (after a car crash) only to find new courage, love and the power of conviction in the heart of a small town. The Majestic of the film’s title is the name of an aging, neglected movie palace in the fictional California community of Lawson that is resurrected and restored to its former glory when this screenwriter fatefully arrives there after his accident. His appearance in the town touches the hearts of many of the local residents, who presume Appleton to be Luke Trimble, one of the their long-lost (and feared dead) WWII heroes. Darabont does not shy away from confessing his devotion to one of Hollywood’s early masters, and you could say his new film recalls Capra’s 1946 masterpiece, “It’s A Wonderful Life,” in its sensibilities and small-town setting. Carrey is joined in the film by a stellar cast that includes Academy Award winner MARTIN LANDAU (“Ed Wood”), Emmy nominee DAVID OGDEN STIERS (TV’s “M*A*S*H”), two-time Oscar nominee JAMES WHITMORE (“The Shawshank Redemption”), Tony winner RON RIFKIN (“The Negotiator”), and acclaimed actors ALLEN GARFIELD (“The Conversation”), BOB BALABAN (“The Mexican”) and JEFFREY DeMUNN (“The Green Mile”). Film newcomer LAURIE HOLDEN (TV’s “The X-Files”) has her first big screen starring role as the small-town girl who seemingly gets to fall in love all over again with her long-lost war hero. Darabont has also recruited some colleagues from “The Green Mile” to bring his new vision to the screen -- director of photography DAVID TATTERSALL (who also shot “Star Wars Episode 1 :The Phantom Menace” and just completed the new “Star Wars” feature for next year), costume designer KARYN WAGNER (“Eve’s Bayou,” and another fellow Hollywood High grad) and Oscar-nominated composer MARK ISHAM (“A River Runs Through It”). They are joined by veteran production designer GREGORY MELTON (“Children of the Corn 2,” and yet another Hollywood High alumnus) and film editor JIM PAGE, who worked with Darabont on two of his recent productions -- HBO’s “Black Cat Run” and the upcoming Castle Rock feature, “The Salton Sea” both directed by D.J. Caruso. Executive producer JIM BEHNKE, also a veteran of “The Salton Sea,” returns in the same capacity here. Darabont’s new film celebrates and salutes Hollywood of yesteryear, a bygone era where audiences marveled at Fred and Ginger...Cagney and Bogart...Bogart and Bacall...Tracy and Hepburn...Gable and Lombard...Chaplin and Keaton. Hayworth, Turner and Gardner set our hearts ablaze. Gene Kelly danced. Shirley Temple laughed. Stan Laurel cried. Garbo whispered. At the same time, “The Majestic” unveils a bleak era in that heyday of Hollywood, a dark period dominated by the insidious investigation by the United States government into Communist infiltration in the movie industry. It was a time defined by a group of filmmakers branded as “The Hollywood Ten” (those writers and directors indicted and jailed for their Leftist beliefs), and the phrase “Are you now or have you ever been...a Communist?,” which echoed from the hallowed halls of Hollywood onto the nation’s front pages, radio airwaves and movie newsreels. If watching movies tickles your fancy, making them is also magical. While the craft can sometimes be challenging and arduous, it is a wondrous experience and environment in which to work, one that still evokes a sense of amazement to those of us who have spent careers manufacturing these fantasies. Yes, we, too, are movie fans. If you’ve never experienced the wonder of watching a movie production unfold, how would you like to visit a movie set? Would you like to get that sense of the daily activities that a group of a hundred or so actors, filmmakers and craftspeople achieve in their efforts to put that indelible image on celluloid? You can do that and more, all for the price of a ticket (in this case, your Internet Service Provider) as we usher you onto the set of Darabont’s new movie production, “The Majestic.” Allow me to introduce myself -- my name is Ernie Malik. This project represents my third association with Frank Darabont, having worked as the on-set publicity coordinator (or “unit publicist”) on both “The Shawshank Redemption” and “The Green Mlle.” In addition to my usual daily duties on this project (more about those everyday tasks later), I shall also serveas your cyberguide to a front row seat on this poignant and nostalgic look at a vintage era in Hollywood and America. You’ve heard the phrase “They don’t make movies like they used to.” This is how they used to make them! In future reports, we’ll give you an idea of how these artists and technicians collaborate with director Darabont to give scope and detail to the film, defining what their jobs are, especially in recreating a “period” story, America of 1951. We’ll also bring you chats with some of the key players on the production, those that appear in front of the camera and those whose jobs entail sundry responsibilities behind-the-scenes to bring Darabont’s (and scripter Sloane’s) vision to life. When and where does all this fun begin? Filming commences on March 5 in Hollywood (where some of the story is set) at one of the city’s historic studio backlots -- the former Goldwyn Studios on Santa Monica Boulevard, now called The Lot. Hollywood history imbues this block-square studio, a place where Orson Welles uttered one of filmdom’s greatest phrases (can you guess?), and where Frank himself spent four months in 1998 confined behind the bars of “The Green Mlle.” As for the small-town milieu where writer Sloane has situated much of his tale, Darabont will lead his troops almost 700 miles north of Los Angeles to a quaint, Victorian-laced enclave called Ferndale, about a half-hour south of Eureka on California’s Lost Coast. The company will also base in Mendocino and Ft. Bragg, halfway between Eureka and San Francisco, all of which will comprise the story’s fictional town of Lawson, California. Well, now that you know a bit about the new project, sit back, click your mouse and open the cyberdoors to “The Majestic!” We hope you will check back regularly for peeks, updates and anecdotes about our stars and filmmakers (yes, Jim Carrey and the rest of the cast will be prominently featured) as well as exclusive photos and documentary video footage directly from the set. We hope you find this exclusive and unique cyberguide informative and entertaining, and one that will hopefully bring out the movie fan in you. |
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