Caan Hates Computer Tricks; Lee’s Casino Show: Hollywood Buzz
James Caan
Todd Williamson/Directors Guild Of America via Bloomberg
James Caan at the HollyShorts Film Festival in Los Angeles. Caan, 70, recently announced finalists in a short-film competition offered by his Openfilm LLC.
James Caan at the HollyShorts Film Festival in Los Angeles. Caan, 70, recently announced finalists in a short-film competition offered by his Openfilm LLC. Photographer: Todd Williamson/Directors Guild Of America via Bloomberg
David Arquette
Todd Williamson/HollyShorts Film Festival via Bloomberg
David Arquette at the HollyShorts Film Festival in Los Angeles. Arquette made a 3-D movie "The Butler's in Love."
David Arquette at the HollyShorts Film Festival in Los Angeles. Arquette made a 3-D movie "The Butler's in Love." Photographer: Todd Williamson/HollyShorts Film Festival via Bloomberg
Tough-guy actor James Caan is disturbed by Hollywood’s obsession with computerized special effects.
“It’s a little depressing,” Caan said at a press conference for the HollyShorts Film Festival in Los Angeles. “Everything is CGI (computer-generated imagery) and directors who don’t want actors to distract from their prowess.”
Caan, 70, announced finalists in a short-film competition offered by his Openfilm LLC. The winner gets $50,000 in cash and $200,000 in financing to adapt the short to feature length.
Openfilm, a website where filmmakers can display their work without charge and share in advertising revenue, plans to distribute $1 million to new directors through competitions, Caan said. The Beverly Hills, California-based company also offers an online venue for film festivals to show movies to a broader audience, Caan’s partner, Dmitry Kozko, said in an interview.
Caan received an Oscar nomination for his role as mobster Sonny Corleone in “The Godfather.” He said success has more to do with luck than talent.
“I’ve been around a while and I’ve met a lot of people who have been trying hard for a lot of years,” Caan said. “Basically, we want to be in the right place at the right time.”
The festival, in its sixth year, included actor David Arquette’s 3-D “The Butler’s in Love.” Arquette said the film, based on a painting by Mark Stock, shows that 3-D technology can be used to tell small, intimate stories.
Arquette attempts to take the viewer inside Stock’s painting of a butler holding a lipstick-stained absinthe glass.
“I wanted to bring it to life,” said Arquette, who directed and co-starred in the film. “It’s already a two- dimensional image, so I wanted to expand on that.”
The film, made in 2008, was sponsored by absinthe-maker Le Tourmet Vert.
‘Battle of Tao’
“Spider-Man” creator Stan Lee is developing a Las Vegas- style show, “The Yin and Yang Battle of Tao,” that will include audience participation.
Lee said the show will be performed at a casino owned by a major hotel company, though he declined to identify the venue.
“It has audience involvement, something that I believe has never been done before,” Lee, 87, said.
The story revolves around the eternal struggle between good and evil and will feature newly created characters, Lee said.
The project is among several that Lee is developing through his Los Angeles-based POW! Entertainment Inc. He’s also talking to TV networks about airing his “Heroman” anime series in the U.S. The 26-episode cartoon, which features a boy who uses a giant robot to battle bad guys, is shown in Japan by TV Tokyo Corp.
To contact the reporter on this story: Michael White in Los Angeles at mwhite8@bloomberg.net.
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