MTV shares this clip about music and its use on the set of We Bought A Zoo. Actors Scarlett Johansson, Thomas Haden Church and Matt Damon all chime in with their thoughts. This clip is part of a longer feature on the Zoo Blu-ray.
Author Archives: Greg
Inquire Within: Bob Sugar, Jerry Maguire & the Rolling Stones
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Welcome to another edition of Inquire Within… Through your submissions, Cameron will answer your questions in his own words.
(Doug Goodwin & John Myers): Given your musical background, In Jerry Maguire – was Jay Mohr’s character name Bob Sugar in any way a tribute to Bob Mould and his post Husker Du band Sugar?
Cameron: It’s funny, I get asked about this quite a bit. Being a longtime collector of all things Husker Du and Sugar and Mould solo… there’s a part of me that wants to say, yes, it’s a tribute to Bob. But, there’s actually another story behind the name, with a different musical slant.
I was in Dublin, Ireland, in July of ‘93, doing interviews with Pearl Jam for a Rolling Stone cover story timed to the release of Vs. The band was playing at Slane Castle, with Neil Young and Van Morrison, and most of the groups were staying at the Mercer Hotel. Most everybody ended up at a bar down the street named Lillie’s Bordello.
One night Mike McCready and bunch of the PJ roadies had gathered there. The place was packed. The word was that the Rolling Stones were in town, and sure enough, the door swept open and in rolled guitarist Ronnie Wood with a small entourage. As we were leaving, we bumped into him. I had written about Woody for Rolling Stone too, and hadn’t seen him in a bit.
The bar was loud, and Ron looked a little bit furtive as he yelled/talked over the music. “I’m being followed!” he told us, looking both ways. “There’s a guy who is stalking me, and he finds me wherever I go. I don’t trust him, and he seems nice, but he scares me.” At this point Woody leaned forward, eyes widening. “He says his name is… Bob Sugar! Bob Sugar!! Can you believe it????” He seemed very emphatic about telling us the name, and we weren’t sure why. Before long, Woody had disappeared into the night, but we couldn’t shake the image of a rattled Rolling Stone being followed by a strange man named Bob Sugar.
All night and into the next day, we kept recounting the story, saying the name with horror. We couldn’t stop saying the name. And then something occurred to PJ roadie Jeff Ousley. “Wait a minute,” he said. “He didn’t say Bob Sugar. He said, ‘BROWN SUGAR.’ We just heard him wrong.” We knew Jeff was right, between the noise and Woody’s accent… of course. He was being creepily stalked by a guy named Brown Sugar, after the song. But the name Bob Sugar just felt so much better and so much more fun to say. So we kept doing it.
When it came time to name the characters for Jerry Maguire, Sugar was the first one on the page. The perfect name for a nemesis — it rolled off your tongue with ease. Jerry Maguire came next, named in part after my first editor at the San Diego Door, Bill Maguire. Originally Jerry’s wife-to-be was named Patty, but that never seemed right. Six months later, after a thousand near-misses, the final name arrived and stuck — Dorothy Boyd. But the one that arrived first…remains as fun to say as it was the first time we misheard it. Gotta give Ron Wood credit for it.
That having been said, my next Bob will be dedicated to Mould.
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Apr 3, 2012
Exclusive: We Shot A Zoo Clip!
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With the North American release of We Bought A Zoo on Blu-ray and DVD just around the corner (April 3rd), we thought you’d like an exclusive sneak peak at We Shot A Zoo, a documentary on the making of the film. This clip explores the casting and rehearsal process. The full length version of the documentary is available on the Blu-ray Combo pack and a shorter version of the doc (It’s A Zoo!) is included on the DVD release.
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Mar 29, 2012
Billy Wilder’s Tips for Writers
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It was 10 years yesterday that the world lost Billy Wilder. We will be sharing some of his wisdom from Cameron’s book, Conversations With Wilder from time to time. Let’s start with his Tips for Writers.
- The audience is fickle.
- Grab ’em by the throat and never let ’em go.
- Develop a clean line of action for your leading character.
- Know where you’re going.
- The more subtle and elegant you are in hiding your plot points, the better you are as a writer.
- If you have a problem with the third act, the real problem is in the first act.
- A tip from Lubitsch: Let the audience add up two plus two. They’ll love you forever.
- In doing voice-overs, be careful not to describe what the audience already sees. Add to what they’re seeing.
- The event that occurs at the second act curtain triggers the end of the movie.
- The third act must build, build, build in tempo and action until the last event, and then –
- – that’s it. Don’t hang around.
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Mar 28, 2012
Fast Times: March 28th – Million Dollar Theater – UCLA
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Fast Times At Ridgemont High is showing at UCLA’s Million Dollar Theater this Wednesday, March 28th as part of their Classic Film Series. Tickets are available over at their site. Just remember: No shirt, no shoes, no dice…
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Mar 26, 2012
A Playlist Shortlist
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Cameron shares some of his favorite songs from his own films for the March issue of Shortlist magazine. Without further adieu…
Film: Fast Times At Ridgemont High
Track: “We Got The Beat” by The Go-Go’s
“It says many things about life, love, hormones and the power of a mighty groove.”
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Film: Say Anything…
Track: “Chloe Dancer/Crown of Thorns” by Mother Love Bone
“I also used it again in Singles. It’s like a recurring character.”
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Film: Singles
Track: “Drown” by Smashing Pumpkins
“Corgan’s reaction was, ‘Sh*t! That’s the one I wanted to keep for myself.’”
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Film: Jerry Maguire
Track: “The Horses” by Rickie Lee Jones
“This gets me feeling the emotion on Renée’s face.”
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Film: Vanilla Sky
Track: “Freur” by Doot Doot
“This had lived in so many of my mixes, it deserved to reach the big screen.”
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Film: Vanilla Sky
Track: “Nothing Song (aka njósnavélin) by Sigur Rós
“Found on a bootleg.”
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Film: Almost Famous
Track: “Cabin In The Air” by Nancy Wilson
“Never on an album, but I’m always asked for an MP3.”
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Film: Elizabethtown
Track: “Come Pick Me Up” by Ryan Adams
“One of the best songs from the past 30 years.”
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Film: We Bought A Zoo
Track: “Go Do” (Remix) by jónsi
“jónsi is the Brian Wilson of his era, and this is proof.”
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Film: Vanilla Sky
Track: “Rez” by Underworld
“Every mix needs a song that says ‘keep driving’.”
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Mar 25, 2012
Zoo Arrives in the UK
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Benjamin Mee and Matt Damon
It’s a special day as We Bought A Zoo is released in the UK (along with Italy and Poland). It’s the culmination of the real Benjamin Mee’s journey to buy the Dartmoor Zoo, write a book and see it come full circle with the film. We will have an exclusive interview with Ben in the coming days, but please let us know what you think of the film.
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Mar 16, 2012
New Beverly Double Feature
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Say Anything… and Almost Famous will be the double feature at the legendary New Beverly Cinema on March 18th and 19th in Los Angeles. If you are able to attend, please let us know how it went!
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Mar 15, 2012
