Perhaps ensuring that he will never work on a The Weinstein Company/Dimension picture again, Vincent D’Onofrio has signed on to play the big cheese himself, Harvey Weinstein in an adaptation of Peter Biskind’s “Down And Dirty Pictures: Miramax, Sundance & The Rise Of Independent Film.”
Biskind’s salaciously fun read chronicles the independent film movement of the early ’90s, that included the growing importance of the Sundance Film Festival and rise of Harvey Weinstein from smalltime producer to industry powerhouse. While Biskind’s assertions always need to be taken with a grain of salt, he really goes to town on Harvey in the book, painting him as an egotistical maniac, with an “artist” complex who will do anything to get the picture he wants, and God forbid if you get in his way.
While we think the material is ripe for a great documentary, we’re not sure how a traditionally narrative film would really work. Are they getting actors to portray major Hollywood and studio figures (doubtful)? Are people going to cameo as themselves (highly doubtful)? Or is this going to be one of those documentaries guided/narrated by an actor playing a key figure (possibly). The answer may lie with the director, Kenneth Bowser, who previously directed a documentary based on Biskind’s ’70s chronicle of American cinema, “Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex, Drugs and Rock ‘N Roll Generation Saved Hollywood.” While that was a straight up documentary, it might be harder getting people to talk openly and honestly on camera, about some of Harvey’s wilder misdeeds in his youthful days. Especially if afterwards you end up running into the guy at a party.
It really is a fascinating story that deserves to be told, but the trouble is we still may be too close to those years for the film to really give an idea of how important that era was. Moreover, while “Easy Riders, Raging Bulls” was an easy sell — with big stars, and classic films — even to those casually interested in Hollywood history, “Down And Dirty” is very inside baseball stuff, and we’re not sure how well that will translate on screen or reach an audience that isn’t just indie film nuts. The film is being produced by the same guys behind Bill Condon’s forthcoming Richard Pryor biopic “Is It Something I Said” so we’ll stay cautiously optimistic on this one.