MANN'S MEN IF YOU WANT TO WORK FOR THE `MIAMI VICE' DIRECTOR, GET TOUGH.Byline: Glenn Whipp Film Writer `You know what? I don't track what people are saying. This is the year of bloggers. And anyone who lets that stuff keep them awake at nights is foolish. I've got all kinds of gray hair, but not from that.'' Michael Mann Michael Mann is the name of:
There was the time they were shooting in Miami during hurricane season Hurricane season refers to a period in a year when hurricanes usually form. For more information see: Tropical cyclone#Times of formation. For a lists of past seasons, see:
Filming ended for the day. There were the tense days spent shooting in dangerous areas of the Dominican Republic Dominican Republic (dəmĭn`ĭkən), republic (2005 est. pop. 8,950,000), 18,700 sq mi (48,442 sq km), West Indies, on the eastern two thirds of the island of Hispaniola. The capital and largest city is Santo Domingo. , where armed private security guards kept the peace. There was the night, ironically, in a safe area of Santo Domingo Santo Domingo, pueblo, United States Santo Domingo (sän'tə dəmĭng`gō), pueblo (1990 pop. 2,866), Sandoval co., N central N.Mex., on the Rio Grande; founded c.1700 after earlier pueblos were destroyed by floods. , when a police officer approached the set, got into a beef with a security guard and was shot and wounded. That incident was enough for Foxx, who packed his bags and returned to the States, forcing Mann to change the ending of the film, moving the final scene back to Miami. Says Foxx, denying any unhappiness: ``With him (Mann), you know what you're getting into. And you've got to be ready for that.'' Adds Mann: ``I have the same core group of guys who have been with me for a long time. When things get tough, everybody rises to the occasion, not just to get through but to do it and make it great. ``Nobody shirks from it. We celebrate it and tell stories about it.'' ``(Camera operator) Gary Jay and I will still laugh about having 2,500 crazed kids in a town in Israel where the intifada began while we were hiding in a limo, trying to shoot the last scene with Al Pacino for the opening of `The Insider.' We always wind up in the back seat of a boat someplace some·place adv. & n. Somewhere: "I didn't care where I was from so long as it was someplace else" Garrison Keillor. See Usage Note at everyplace. . It always happens at the end of the movie.'' In more relaxed times, Foxx -- who has worked with Mann three times, including ``Ali'' and ``Collateral'' -- pitched the idea of a ``Miami Vice'' movie to Mann while attending a birthday party for Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali, pasha of Egypt Muhammad Ali, 1769?–1849, pasha of Egypt after 1805. He was a common soldier who rose to leadership by his military skill and political acumen. in Harlem in 2001. Foxx riffed for about 20 minutes, describing to Mann what the movie would sound and feel like. Mann laughed it off. And yet ... ``Over the next year, year and a half, I started thinking about it, and it occurred to me: `undercover,''' Mann says. `` `Miami Vice' is all about being undercover. What really is undercover? What really is going on inside a human being who is doing this and doing it under really difficult circumstances? ``So I started investigating this, talking to Noun 1. talking to - a lengthy rebuke; "a good lecture was my father's idea of discipline"; "the teacher gave him a talking to" lecture, speech rebuke, reprehension, reprimand, reproof, reproval - an act or expression of criticism and censure; "he had to the agents, and I found out that these guys, what they do is very similar to acting,'' Mann continues. ``They don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. it, but they talk about it in purely dramaturgical dram·a·tur·gy n. The art of the theater, especially the writing of plays. dram  a·tur terms. They put themselves in these roles. The best
undercover fabricated identity is yourself -- yourself with the volume
turned way up and the inhibitions turned way down. If you try to be
somebody you're not, you stumble and fall.''
``And why do they do this? The answer is: the juice. It's like Al Pacino on stage. You see the thrill -- `I'm in there, and they're buying it.' That's the motivation. And I've never seen any of that in a movie.'' The finished film is dark, detailed, gritty and extremely violent, a far cry from the pastel-hued television series. Foxx and Farrell wear Versace, but the clothes are black -- not white or pink. So why call it ``Miami Vice''? The assumption could be made that Mann, an executive producer on the TV show, did it for the tie-in value and to facilitate his $135 million budget. Wrong, Mann says. ``To make this kind of picture, I could get the same budget, anywhere, any time,'' he says. ``Maybe two movies from now, I won't be able to.'' He laughs. ``But that's not an issue. ``The show was unique in a couple of respects -- it was melodramatic, in the best sense. It told emotionally overt stories. Secondly, it dwelt dwelt v. A past tense and a past participle of dwell. in the world of undercover. And it did it in Miami. So that's the core. I didn't want to do nostalgia. So that meant reimagining `Miami Vice' in 2006, as if the television show never existed. It became a weird minefield where I had to avoid things I might otherwise use because they would trigger associations.'' Mann could have changed the locale, but he remains as fascinated by Miami today as he was 20 years ago. ``It's kind of a Casablanca,'' Mann says. ``The allure is the perfume surface, under which many evil things are happening. It's a very dangerous place, but always underneath a veneer of extreme, exquisite, sensual beauty. And the only other place that ever struck me that way was part of Thailand. But you make a movie there ... now that would be a movie that would generate a lot of stories.'' Glenn Whipp, (818) 713-3672. glenn.whipp@dailynews.com `MIAMI'S' WOMEN NAOMIE HARRIS Her character: Trudy, Bronx-born intelligence analyst and lover to Tubbs (Jamie Foxx). You may know her from: Ran from zombies Zombies Companies that continue to operate even though they are insolvent. Also known as living dead. Notes: It's advisable to avoid investing in zombies at all costs their life expectancies are highly unpredictable. in ``28 Days Later''; plays gypsy queen in ``Pirates of the Caribbean This article is about the franchise. For other, more specific uses, see Pirates of the Caribbean (disambiguation). For real pirates, see Piracy in the Caribbean. Pirates of the Caribbean : Dead Man's Chest.'' Special challenges posed by ``Miami Vice'': Turning accent from British to Bronx, casting aside her anti-violence leanings to learn how to shoot automatic weapons. ``I have to tell the truth,'' Harris whispers. ``It was exciting. I hate to say it, but there is something exhilarating about firing a gun. And I was very good at it, I was told.'' Feel like making love?: ``I said when I was offered the role that I wouldn't do any nudity -- I don't think it's part of my job as an actress -- and Michael was really sweet about it.'' ``He got me a body double, so that's who you're seeing in the shower scene. ``The lovemaking love·mak·ing n. 1. Sexual activity, especially sexual intercourse. 2. Courtship; wooing. lovemaking Noun 1. scene with Jamie, he was amazing at calming me down. When I arrived to do the scene, he was there, buck-naked, and he had tied his nether regions in a little sack with a bow tied around it. That was just a crack-up crack·up or crack-up n. Informal 1. A crash, as one involving an airplane or automobile. 2. A mental or physical breakdown. Noun 1. , which was perfect. He was really sweet.'' Differences between her life now and her life before ``Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest'' hit theaters: ``I came back here (Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. ) two days ago,'' Harris says. ``It's so weird So Weird is a television series shot in Vancouver, British Columbia that aired on the Disney Channel as a midseason replacement from January 18th, 1999 to September 28th, 2001. . I checked into the hotel, and the person behind the desk said, `Hello, Ms. Harris. I just wanted to tell you I really loved you in ``Pirates of the Caribbean.''' The bellman, the driver -- the same thing. I don't think there's anyone in Los Angeles who hasn't seen the movie, at least, not that I have met.'' GONG LI  The of this article or section may be compromised by "weasel words".You can help Wikipedia by removing weasel words. Her character: Isabella, the banking brains behind an international drug smuggling smuggling, illegal transport across state or national boundaries of goods or persons liable to customs or to prohibition. Smuggling has been carried on in nearly all nations and has occasionally been adopted as an instrument of national policy, as by Great Britain operation. Becomes romantically involved with Sonny (Colin Farrell). You may know her from: Played the diva geisha geisha Member of a professional class of women in Japan whose traditional occupation is to entertain men. A geisha must be adept at singing, dancing, and playing traditional musical instruments (e.g., the samisen) in addition to being skilled at making conversation. in ``Memoirs of a Geisha''; made six movies with acclaimed Chinese director Zhang Yimou Zhang Yimou (born Nov. 14, 1950, Xi'an, China) Chinese film director. He began his film career as a cinematographer, and his work for Chen Kaige's The Yellow Earth (1983) helped launch the “Fifth Generation,” filmmakers who brought back sensuality and emotion , including ``Raise the Red Lantern''; made three films with equally acclaimed Chinese director Chen Kaige
Chen Kaige (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: , including ``Farewell My Concubine''; and has starred in two movies with especially acclaimed Hong Kong Hong Kong (hŏng kŏng), Mandarin Xianggang, special administrative region of China, formerly a British crown colony (2005 est. pop. 6,899,000), land area 422 sq mi (1,092 sq km), adjacent to Guangdong prov. director Wong Kar Wai, including ``2046.'' Special challenges posed by ``Miami Vice'': Second English-language movie. As if that wasn't hard enough, director Michael Mann also asked her to speak Spanish, sometimes making the request right before a scene was about to shoot. ``You're saying, `I can't do this; maybe tomorrow,''' Gong says through a translator. ``He'll say, `I know you can do it, and you have to do it right now,' and he walks away. So Michael has this ability to negotiate the way my character negotiates, or the way (the movie's drug kingpin) Montoya negotiates. It's hard, but he's a good psychologist. Michael knows how hard to push.' Feel like making love?: ``The lovemaking scenes were scheduled late in the production. Michael let us get into character and get comfortable. Otherwise it would have been awkward. When it came time to do them, it was very natural. I almost forgot there were other people there.'' On the differences between working with Wong and Mann: ``Wong is famous for not having his scripts ready. Michael, on the other hand, gives you a lot of time and background, so you can prepare and have confidence.'' - G.W Echoes of origional series on soundtrack Given that nothing in Michael Mann's feature film version of ``Miami Vice'' remotely resembles the 1980s television series, it seems a little odd that when the closing credits come up, we hear a cover version of ``In the Air Tonight,'' a Phil Collins song closely associated with the show. ``It's not a nod,'' Mann grouses, frustrated not at the question but at the fact that everyone will think the song is a wink to the TV series. And Michael Mann doesn't do winks. ``I searched and searched to find something that was not `In the Air Tonight' that conveyed the emotions of the song because I'd rather not have `In the Air Tonight,' '' Mann says. ``But I couldn't. The song is just a killer.'' ``The lyrics in the song are really tough. `If I saw you drowning, I would not lend a hand.' '' Mann laughs. ``That's really hard.'' When it's mentioned that Collins wrote the song about his failing marriage, Mann nods his head. ``I suspect he did.'' Elsewhere, the soundtrack of ``Miami Vice'' prominently features two of Mann's favorite artists -- Moby and Audioslave. ``Moby is unabashedly un·a·bashed adj. 1. Not disconcerted or embarrassed; poised. 2. Not concealed or disguised; obvious: unabashed disgust. romantic, with great discipline and great taste,'' Mann says of the artist who remixed his song, ``One of These Mornings,'' for the closing credits of the film. It's the second Moby song to play at the end of a Mann movie; the haunting instrumental ``God Moving Over the Face of the Waters'' is heard as ``Heat'' ends. ``His music puts you in a particular head space,'' Mann says. ``It's almost hypnotic.'' Mann counts Audioslave guitarist Tom Morello Tom Morello (born May 30, 1967, as Thomas Baptist Morello) is a Grammy Award-winning American guitarist of the bands Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave. He performs as a solo acoustic artist under the pseudonym The Nightwatchman. as a friend and collaborated with him for much of the music in his last movie, ``Collateral.'' Two new Audioslave songs, ``Shape of Things to Come'' and ``Wide Awake,'' are prominently featured in the film. Both songs are on the band's upcoming album, ``Revelations,'' due in September. ``I think Chris Cornell's voice is unparalleled,'' Mann says. ``Put it with Tom Morello's guitar, and you have a big, driving sound. That's what you want in a movie like this.'' - G.W. CAPTION(S): 7 photos Photo: (1 -- cover -- color) FEEL THE HEAT `Miami Vice' dumps the pastels for a darker look (2) JAMIE FOXX (3) COLIN FARRELL (4) - Michael Mann (5) NAOMI Naomi (nāō`mē, –mī, nā`ō–), in the Bible, Ruth's mother-in-law. HARRIS (6) GONG LI (7) PHIL COLLINS Box: Echoes of origional series on soundtrack (see text) |
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