Plot synopsis for Closer, whitefonted (but using actor's names instead of character's):
Natalie & Jude meet when she gets into an accident in front of him. She's a waifish whacko wanderer-type, and he's a novelist. He takes her home with him. Later, Jude meets a photographer - Julia - and hits on her. Natalie is well aware of Jude's wandering eye and asks Julia not to go with him. Later, Jude poses as Julia in an online chat room and convinces Clive to meet him at a park that he knows Julia goes to often. Clive & Julia end up hooking up & moving in together. Jude finally convinces Julia to have an affair with him after Julia marries Clive. Jude & Julia move in together, & Clive finds Natalie in a strip club & has her move in with him. Clive manages to mind-fuck Julia into coming back to him, and Jude finds Natalie again and tries to mind-fuck her. Of course, there is no happy ending.
I'm not too sure how far they've strayed from the script, but that's the gist of it. It's entirely a character and relationship play.
This may be a stupid question, but wasn't there a musical called "Closer" a few years ago? (I remember reading that it was almost all dance, but not much else.)
You may be thinking of Contact.
Shaun of the Dead was sold out last night, so we went to see Hero instead. It's absolutely gorgeous and surprisingly nationalistic, given that the filmmaker has been in quite a bit of trouble with his government.
Also, why did someone make a sequel to Ocean's 11? The trailer said that everyone from the first movie is involved, but I didn't see Soderbergh's name anywhere.
Really? I was pretty sure he was back at the helm, but I could be wrong.
Edit:
IMDB seems to think he's directing again.
Edit again:
x-posty, natch.
The trailer said that everyone from the first movie is involved, but I didn't see Soderbergh's name anywhere.
He is involved. After Full Frontal and Solaris he's probably not the selling point anymore.
Mini-Closer/Shaun Of The Dead factette - closer is written by the brilliant patrick marber, who before he was one of the UK's hottest playwrights (if his debut, Dealers Choice, ever comes near you
kill
for a ticket) was one of the crew behind The Day Today, the second best british TV comedy of the '90s which led directly to (among much else) Spaced, The Office, Father Ted, Alan Partridge (who was the sports reporter on TDT), and basically every funny UK show since. Anyone who's ordering Spaced from a UK vendor really, really should do themselves a favour and order this in the same package:
[link]
Huh. Soderbergh. Unnecessary sequel. Why? I'd generally assume it's to give Don Cheadle more screen time, but he wasn't used particularly well in the first one.
Thanks for the tip, Jim.
