The Trentonian

October 3, 2002

Eight movie stars in a whole mess of Movies
By JOE BALTAIKE
Sacramento Bee
Stars shine, but during the upcoming fall/winter movie season, some stars will shine brighter than other.%. These eight, for example, not only have performances in multiple films coming up, but the movies they're in sound particularly promising - at least, on paper.
- George Clooney: Hollywood's most eligible bachelor has two highly anticipated titles. In "Solaris' "based 'on the science fiction novel by Stanislaw Lem, he plays a psychologist sent to investigate unexplained behavior by scientists on a space station orbiting a planet named Solaris.~ Directed by Steven Soderbergh, it opens Nov. 27. "Confessions of aDangerous Mind," due Jan. 11, is Clooney's debut as a director, the material based on Chuck Barris' incredible "Unauthorized autobiography" in which he claims to have lived a double life - TV producer by day, CIA assassin by night.

 

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'Solaris' gets early launch
Space pic becomes holiday fare due to wrap, post speed
By CARL DIORIO Variety 7/28/02
Steven Soderbergh's space thriller "Solaris" is shifting its orbit, moving to an earlier launch date of Nov. 27.
Thanksgiving-frame bow for the George Clooney starrer -- produced by Jim Cameron, Rae Sanchini and John Landau -- was made possible by pic's timely wrap three weeks ago, 20th Century Fox distrib prexy Bruce Snyder said. "Solaris" had been set for Dec. 13.
"Originally, we didn't know we would have it done in time," Snyder said. "Now, with an accelerated post sked, we can move it there."
"Solaris" thus becomes Turkey Day sesh's "only adult movie," Snyder said. He added the move is firm, regardless of any additional jockeying by rival distribs over the still-fluid holidays season sked.
"The film is in great shape so early in the post process that bringing it up a couple of weeks is no problem," Cameron said.
Potential 'landmark'
"Nov. 27 is a great date, but from what Steven has been showing me of the rough cut, 'Solaris' is going to be such a landmark of science fiction filmmaking that it doesn't really matter when it is released," he said.
Pic reps Soderbergh's first project since 2001 hit "Ocean's Eleven" -- excluding helmer's modestly budgeted and experimental "Full Frontal," which is set to bow this week. Turkey-sesh skedding also reps Fox's belief that the sci-fier can be marketed as one of the holiday season's more prominent titles.
But the "Solaris" time warp out of the Dec. 13 frame also puts two weeks' distance between Soderbergh sci-fier and a potential direct competitor --Paramount's "Star Trek: Nemesis," the latest space adventure in distrib's long-running feature franchise.
Disney's Jackie Chan actioner "Shanghai Knights" is also skedded to unspool Dec. 13.
On its new date, "Solaris" is positioned against Sony toon "Adam Sandler's 8 Crazy Nights," which should skew substantially younger. It also will knock heads -- but only gently -- with Disney's family toon "Treasure Planet."
To accommodate the move to the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, Fox is bouncing Orlando Jones-Nick Cannon laffer "Drumline" from Nov. 27 to Jan. 10.
Soderbergh pic stars Clooney as a psychologist sent to probe odd behavior by scientists aboard a space station orbiting the planet Solaris. Cast also features Natascha McElhone and Jeremy Davies.

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Film Stew.com

November 6, 2002

Rating Battle Over Solaris
 
Studio and filmmakers behind the upcoming Solaris are contesting an R rating the MPAA handed down.
 
By Liz Jeffries
 
 
Sources closely related to the 20th Century Fox release Solaris have confirmed that the studio and filmmakers behind the project plan to contest the R-rating the Motion Picture Association of America placed on the film. Due for release on November 27th, the studio hopes to secure a PG-13 rating for the sci-fi romance starring George Clooney and directing by Steven Soderbergh.
The MPAA gave the R-rating because of a scene in the film which shows Clooney's naked backside, which is reportedly his own. The argument arises from the fact that a film is eligible for a PG-13 rating if bare female buttocks or breasts are shown, so long as they are not touched in a sexual manner. An R-rating would greatly decrease key audience demographics for the picture.
The movie stars Clooney as a psychologist sent to investigate the behavior of scientists aboard a space station that is orbiting the ocean planet Solaris. When he arrives at the station, he discovers the commander of an expedition has been killed, and several crew members, many of whom have already died, begin reappearing.
James Cameron produced Solaris along with Jon Landau and Rae Sanchini. Gregory Jacobs is the executive producer.

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Release Date: December 13
Starring: George Clooney, Natascha McElhone, and Jeremy Davies
Directed by: Stephen Soderbergh
SYNOPSIS:
When something goes wrong aboard the Prometheus, a spaceship orbiting the titular planet, astronaut-psychologist Chris Kelvin (Clooney) investigates, discovering that one crew member has killed himself, and two others (Davies and Ulrich Tukur) are haunted by lifelike visions. Soon Kelvin starts seeing visions, too-in the form of his wife (McElhone), who committed suicide years before-and he must choose between saving Earth from a potentially evil alien force and having a second chance at a lost love. "This is by far the hardest acting job I've ever had to do," says Clooney, who petitioned producing partner Soderbergh for the role after Daniel Day-Lewis turned it down. "Every single scene is like, 'Okay, this scene may be the last moment of your life.' " In 1972, Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky converted Stanislaw Lem's sci-fi novel into a nearly three-hour tract on Communism and inhumanity ("not his best film," cautions Clooney); now Soderbergh refashions the material into a kind of psychosexual search for God. Or, as the director himself has said, " a combination of 2001 and Last Tango in Paris."
Coy George: "It's [not an easy] thing to do when you're 41," Clooney says of his first nude scene. "I not only had to clear the entire set, I had to clear the director out."