What a mess surrounding Revolution Studios' Across the Universe thanks to the idiocy of hiring director Julie Taymor, who may be lauded as a visual iconoclast in the pages of The New York Times but also derided as a cinematic loon based on what Hollywood sources tell me. So now this musical romance pic has dissipated into two warring versions, and its scheduled September playdate hangs in limbo.
Here's part of the response from Francoise Bonn:
Across the Universe is undoubtedly the most extraordinary film I have had the chance to edit in my 20-plus years as a film editor. The film is entertaining, full of invention and spectacle, and, I believe, appealing to people of all ages. For that reason, and because of numerous inaccuracies written within, I disagree with Nikki Finke’s column about the film [“Across an Alternate Universe,” April 13–19].
Here's the plot summary from the Across the Universe official site:
A love story set against the backdrop of the 1960s amid the turbulent years of anti-war protest, mind exploration and rock 'n roll, the film moves from the dockyards of Liverpool to the creative psychedelia of Greenwich Village, from the riot-torn streets of Detroit to the killing fields of Vietnam. The star-crossed lovers, Jude (Jim Sturgess) and Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood), along with a small group of friends and musicians, are swept up into the emerging anti-war and counterculture movements, with "Dr. Robert" (Bono) and "Mr. Kite" (Eddie Izzard) as their guides. Tumultuous forces outside their control ultimately tear the young lovers apart, forcing Jude and Lucy – against all odds – to find their own way back to each other.
And here's the lackluster trailer. Was anyone clamoring for another Vietnam movie?
