Doug Liman Blog: Drinks With Scarlett Johansson and Naomi Watts: Fun. Watching My Ex Diss My Screenwriter’s Work to His Face? Not So Much.
Jez and John Henry Butterworth came to town this week to help me lock picture on Fair Game. We also went with Naomi Watts to see the Broadway play A View From The Bridge, which stars her husband, Liev Schreiber. Afterwards, we all went out with Liev and Scarlett Johansson (who was also in the play). I had never met Scarlett before and I have to say, not only are they both amazing in the play, it’s a treat to hang out with them.
Trying to lock picture on Fair Game requires (as I’ve said before) screening the film for people who will give me an honest opinion. So we screened our cut for Naomi and my ex-girlfriend, who can always be counted on to speak her mind. When I introduced her to Jez, I told her that we had worked on Mr. & Mrs. Smith together and that he had written and directed a Nicole Kidman movie that she had probably never seen, called Birthday Girl. To this, my ex replied: “I saw Birthday Girl — I didn’t not like it.”
Jez burst out laughing. She did a similar thing to me at the premiere of The Bourne Identity, which was one of the worst nights of my life. The studio had told me the film was a disaster, and when the film ended, I saw that my sister two seats over was sound asleep, and then my girlfriend (the current ex) turned to me and said, “It’s not what I expected it to be.”
I gave her so much flak about it that at the Jumper premiere she turned to me after the movie and said, “I loved it!” To which I replied, “Cut the shit.”
Related posts on 30ninjas.com:
- Doug Liman Blog: Photo Gallery of Naomi Watts, Liev Schreiber, Valerie Plame, Joe Wilson, and Noah Emmerich at the Fair Game Premiere
- Doug Liman Blog: Valerie Plame and Joe Wilson to Watch Naomi Watts and Sean Penn Play Them in Fair Game
- Doug Liman Blog: Sean Penn Has the Movie Star Role But Naomi Watts’ Steely Performance May Be Her Finest Yet
- Doug Liman Blog — Complete List Of All My Fair Game Posts
- Fair Game Blog — Naomi Watts Training at Crucible
- Doug Liman Blog: Meet My Business Partner Dave Bartis (I Streaked at His Wedding and He’s Still Willing to Work With Me)
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11 responses to Doug Liman Blog: Drinks With Scarlett Johansson and Naomi Watts: Fun. Watching My Ex Diss My Screenwriter’s Work to His Face? Not So Much.
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Rofl funny stuff, great blog.
May I ask what did your ex think about “Fair Game”? And what do you think about Naomi Watts?
To answer Stella’s question, I loved Fair Game. Perhaps his best yet.
I also saw a private screening of Fair Game and think it’s a major piece of work. It has all the story-driven momentum of Liman’s more commercial movies, but in service of a moving account of a marriage buckling under great strains. Really powerful stuff.
And Sean Penn gives a really extraordinary performance, complex and moving.
Thank you Doug’s ex.
Vladi Showbiz, how about Naomi Watts’ performance?
Is this movie going to debut in Cannes?
It will be ready in time for Cannes and I would be excited to show it there. France occupies a special place in my heart – I worked in Paris after college as an office assistant for a film company and swore I’d come back and make a movie one day and I did with Bourne Identity
Unfortunately, that’s not my call. It’s a marketing decision, so I don’t know yet.
Hey Liman! When are we gonna see Swingers 2 already???
The irony about a sequel is that everyone would have finally found success but would actually be unhappier.
Mr. Liman,
Since this seems to be the only contact place, I would like to ask you a question: why did your excellent film “Fair Game” and its excellent actress Naomi Watts SUDDENLY and ABRUPTLY stop promoting/campaigning and disappear from this year’s awards (especially the Oscars) scene in mid December?
steandric
Dec 27, 2010
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