The Smiley Smile Message Board

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So?

Brilliant! Thanks, Fishmonk - I was unaware of this. When's it coming out?

The irony of this movie is that Phil had always wanted Pacino to play him in a movie years before the murder.

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I just love Helen Mirren.

Pacino isn't really pulling off the blond page boy wig...

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the old man in the back is a dead ringer for AGD.

Wow I didn't realize AGD had passed

 :lol

True

And the look on his face implies CK has just walked in with an AFM sheet proving Phil wasn't there

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Looks great, can't wait to see it!

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Same here. Shall we have a duel, then?  8)

yeah, but not on here. ian is no longer a member of this forum.

You be the referee? We won't aim at you, promised.

HBO this Sunday.

http://www.hbo.com/movies/phil-spector/index.html#/movies/phil-spector/index.html

Oh god, watched the trailer the other day and this looked awful. Pacino playing Phil Spector doing an impression of Al Pacino playing Phil Spector. Liking the implication and surrounding hoo-hah they've engineered by suggesting he didn't do it. Tasteful.

Why couldn't they just make a biopic of his life in the 60's? Him just dropping off the map after River Deep and doing ice-cold sh*t like making a solid gold coffin in the basement for his wife would have made a better story. This is just... what's the point other than laughing at Pacino's wig/the poor muppets who seem to be playing Starsailor in it (I would love it if they actually got Starsailor to play themselves, dudes haven't had a hit since.... the Spector stuff)?

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Pacino is completely miscast. He's way too butch and virile, for one thing, with a deep voice and stocky build. Phil always had that high voice and milquetoast manner, which contrasted with his controlling personality and need to carry and brandish guns. Phil is also very tiny; Pacino is short, but he's much bulkier There's no contrast in Pacino's version of Phil's personality. Al is Tony Montana/Michael Corleone. He's already intimidating, whereas Phil may have persuaded Lana Clarkson to go to his house based on his wimpy personality. I'm sure she didn't find a slight, wimpy guy scary, even if he did have guns.

I actually like the idea of a biopic of a young Phil Spector. There were discussions to have one made. I believe Phil even got involved in it. Btu then the murder thing completely overtook it and is now what he's known for.

Agree on the Pacino miscast... Doesn't look promising judging from the trailer.

As for a 'young Phil Spector' movie, you're right. During the 00s there were talks about one with Spector being involved. Apparently with plans for Tom Cruise playing uncle Phil and Cameron 'Almost Famous' Crowe directing... Imagine that...

Perfect!

But I want the movie to cover the years when Spector locked himself in his house for years when he had long straight hair and beard!  :-[

Oh dear.

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/showtracker/la-et-st-phil-spector-reporter-notebook-20130321,0,3933841,full.story

Comments on the article feature a couple from one of Phil's sons, Louis. It somehow doesn't surprise me that David Mamet would write a movie that's pro-Spector and anti-Clarkson. Mamet in real life must identify with the scummy characters he creates in his work.

Phil's current wife Rachelle gave a recent interview to the Hollywood Reporter. She's working on a Broadway musical about Phil's life, emphasizing the positive. There's a comment below the article from Phil's son, Gary. Gary says that Phil barely knew Rachelle when he married her, only proposing because his original personal assistant, Michelle Blaine (daughter of Hal), turned him down. Rachelle and Phil had their marriage ceremony performed in the same area of the house where Lana Clarkson was shot. 

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/mrs-phil-spector-hbos-al-430506

I thought it was actually pretty good.

This is a bit of a car crash. Al Pacino does succeed in making Spector seem like a pompous twat, but I'm not sure how much of that is intentional on Mamets part. But casting Phil Spector as a tragic hero is a bit fucking much, you know. Helen Mirren does good with the mediocre material

PHIL SPECTOR works great when Pacino is on-screen - he perfectly captures that disturbing mixture of pomposity and insecurity that fuels every Spector interview I've seen or read. His "Spector" is a unique tragic character who almost sounds intelligent until his temper turns him into a petulant child. Whether Mamet intended it or not, Pacino makes sure you don't trust this guy but he still brings an odd warmth to the role that Spector himself lacks, at least in his public persona.

However, when Pacino is not on-screen, the quality of PHIL SPECTOR drops considerably. It feels overwritten and forced. Also, that Mirren has trouble maintaining an American accent doesn't help sell the illusion of reality here.

Overall, I wasn't horribly troubled by the film's supposed viewpoint that Spector was railroaded. Mamet was at least sharp enough not to whitewash Spector's behavior too much and Pacino does the rest: in the end, I had little sympathy for the tragic fool who refuses to accept his guilt.