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Surviving En-Core

Not much to report today. We've got some casting news on Surviving Christmas and Dr. Strangelove's script review of The Core. I actually liked that screenplay. An amusing throwback to old school disaster movies. Way better then Armageddon. The teaser poster is pretty cool too.

The Core script review

Dr. Strangelove here with a review of John Roger's The Core (dated July 6th, 2001). I began reading Roger's screenplay telling myself this wouldn't be another version of Armageddon, however, that is exactly what it becomes in it's closing moments. I absolutely HATED Armageddon, I loathed it. It was one of the most excessive and special effects driven films I've ever seen and I can't stand it. It was a damn shame watching as Roger's The Core bounced between being something truly original and damn good to the trash known as Armageddon.

Roger's begins his screenplay with a very good idea and some great characters. We start off on a normal day in New York City. The sky is clear and people are happy. Suddenly, twelve men die. Meanwhile, the space shuttle Endeavor is on it's way back to the Cape when it suddenly discovers it's navigation computers have put it WAY off course, causing it to land at LAX. Oh yeah, did I forget to mention the sudden rush of birds dive bombing the population? (No, this is not a sequel to Hitchcock's thriller.) The problem, as our hero Dr. Josh Keyes (Aaron Eckhart) finds out is that the Earth's core is unstable and is causing a break down of the magnetic field around Earth. Earth has about four months before a number of things happen:

1. EMP rays put all electronic devices out of commission.
2. Lightning storms cause massive amounts of destruction.
3. Cosmic rays bake everyone on the planet alive.

The only way to save Earth? Get the core stable by blowing off some nukes. So naturally, the United States finds the best people they can and assembles a team to journey to the center of the Earth. The team includes Josh, Beck (a hotshot female pilot of the Endeavor that went down at LAX, going to be played by Hillary Swank), Josh's friend Sergei (a Russian nuclear expect), Brazzleton (the inventor of a deep Earth exploration vehicle called Virgil), and Brazzleton's ex-partner, Zimsky (an arrogant scientist prick). They go through a long training deal along with the help of the military and launch off for the core to save the human race.

Roger's writing can be dead on at times. Take a conversation between Josh and Sergei for example:

SERGEI
When are you going to meet a nice girl, bring her for dinner?

JOSH
Ah, you know, married to my work.

SERGEI
So am I, which makes my wife my mistress, that's why I'm still in love with her.

Or the characterization given to Beck following an emotional moment in Virgil:

Tears are in her eyes. Note: There are the tears of a seasoned professional, bitterly disappointed at her performance, and mourning the loss of a friend. These are not the movie-convention tears of a female character who's finally emerged from her hard shell and gotten in touch with her feelings. If they somehow become those tears, I will find who is responsible. And I will hurt them.

However, the screenplay quickly goes from unique and drawing to cliche and over the top, especially towards the end It just became too much and reminded me an awful lot of Armageddon. You have a Russian, a crazy guy (Brazzleton), and a crew on a ship trying to use nuclear weapons to save the Earth. It's the same thing but instead of taking place in space, it takes place underground! Also, towards the end, the last "twelve hours" taken to get to the core go by in like 5 minutes while the training missions seemed to take forever. Granted, this is how Rogers let's us know for what he has planned, but the ending just seemed rushed and sloppy. There is a very good script in here and there is no doubt in my mind that it is entertaining (I couldn't put it down). However, there are some much needed touch ups to rid itself of the cliche moments, especially towards the end when SPOILER: Josh ejects Zimsky. I totally didn't see that in his character, even in the situation. Josh didn't seem like that type of guy. Overall, entertaining. Good, but far from great. I hope the talent involved can pull this project together and make it everything that Armageddon wasn't.

Christmas Casting

There's one project I've been following with a particular interest. It's Surviving Christmas. I reviewed the script a while back. Ben Affleck has been signed to play the lead role for a long time now. I've gotten confirmation that Christina Applegate (The Sweetest Thing) has been handpicked and signed to play opposite Ben. It's an interesting combination. I had pictured someone younger then Applegate for the role but she's an intriguing choice. It will all depend on the chemistry between herself and Affleck. I'm positive it's going to work.

The next big piece of casting is Tom Valco, Applegate's father in the story and the man who agrees to rent his family for Christmas. Dreamworks is talking with Tony Soprano himself, James Gandolfini for the part. A very interesting choice. It would mark a departure for Gandolfini, but I liked his gay character in The Mexican. Let's face it, he can't play Tony S. in every movies. It would mark a good chance of pace for him. Nothing is done, we'll see if he signs on or not.

Stay tuned...

That's all folks...

Jean-François Allaire (aka DeadPool)

Questions, comments, praise etc. Email me at deadpool@tnmc.org

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Jean-François Allaire is TNMC's first columnist. At only 24 years old he has become a respected entertainment journalist, with his columns appearing in Corona's Coming Attractions and Scr(i)pt magazine. He also writes a monthly column in Screenwriters Monthly entitled 'The Last Word.' Hailing from Montreal this young writer is determined to dig up all the details on the movies before they hit your local theater. If you're part of a movie production then you really need to be talking to him.