Trust The Man

thanks

2006-09-11T17:45:14Z

been a while. as you may know, i was in vancouver shooting things we lost in the fire and then to nyc to finish up support for trust the man and now back in la to resume family life and normal life for the kids. just a few (last?) words here---it's always a disappointment when a movie doesn't set the world on fire, but in truth, not many do, so the expectation is unrealistic. of course, that doesn't stop you from having it. that said, the movie is out there, and will find its life and its audience, over time; if not now, then later, and if not later, then never, but it remains with me as a damn good smart funny film and a wonderful time spent with the folks on set and the lovely and talented bart f. and all that. the rest, unlike hamlet, is noise. i read some of your responses and was moved by the entry about Pam and clicked and saw the picture from the triathalon and yes for sure i do remember her---she was in some ways a fixture at public events. now to be honest, when someone shows up with that regularity, it can be a little unsettling---we don't know the depths of other peolepe's hearts or their true intentions and the mind can easily feel paranoid, so to me, she was always "oh there's that woman who's always at these things i hope she doesn't mean harm". to read that she has died and to hear your praise of her and your sadness, i must say humanizes her. for me. and is humbling and sad. and i know that it is too late. but thank you for doing that. best wishes to all of you. david

heres an old poster I liked

2006-08-23T05:25:20Z

View image

wow

2006-08-23T04:58:20Z

Just to dispel any bad rumors... the movie is still being released wide by fox despite some... well... less than desirable reviews... I feel so proud of this film and I know it is funny and heartfelt and worthwhile... I really hope you will all go to see it when you can... We really need you all... and ten friends... Critics... im trying to think of a way to be understanding and human here.... critics can suck it... The only time I ever read critics are when they are reviewing my own work because... well because im too weak not to and I know the way they review the film will directly influence the way in which the distributor markets (or doesnt) market the movie. Fox will keep the film in theaters but will rely soley on word of mouth from now on spending $0 on ads... Nice to have a company that really believes in your movie... the truth is, they never found a way to market the film... This movie should have been marketed as "a chick flick with balls" (duchovny's line not mine, but brilliant all the same.) The ads should have been geared toward men, all over sportscenter and sunday night baseball... " If you want to have sex with your wife, go see this movie" Money back guarantee... it needed and warranted that kind of edge... We pushed for that but lost. So now here we are hoping that people will go see the movie and love what we all love about it... by we i mean me, Julie, David, maggie, james, Billy C, Eva, garry, Ellen, Glenn F, Tim P producer... I'm so lucky to have the undying support of all those talented people and I want people to experience what they did in this film... if any of you guys are reading this thank you for your belief in me... and thank you to all of you folks who go to see this film...
all the best
Bart

the day after

2006-08-19T17:30:39Z

i've been out of it here in vancouver getting ready to start a new movie and therefore a little out of touch, but it's good to know that bart and i and julie won't be the only ones discussing the film any more. there are many experiences to doing a film. there's the primary one---how it feels on set in character with the other characters and the people playing them, your life in that time and place, there's your individual experience as you watch the finished product, then there's the release to the public, then there's the slow process of a film settling down in to a long history of film. i don't know which stage is fraught with more anxiety and intensity; each brings up its own set of terrors and exhilirations. my sense is that not everybody is pleased with the critical response to the film. that's unfortunate. but we don't make films for critics. we make them for a wide audience to go and enjoy, laugh, cry etc. it is easy to attack a film for what it is not. i suppose it feels good to get excited about something like snakes on a plane cause it makes moviemaking seem like anybody could do it. maybe anybody can. i wish that people would approach a film like ttm in the spirit in which it is offered---a good time, laughs, perhaps a moment of empathy or three---and maybe some legitimate disappointment (who knows---that's certainly fair)because at this point all that carries this film is word of mouth. not the mouths that carp. the mouths that count. yours. thanks for joining in on all this. d

this is weird

2006-08-14T18:06:48Z

Okay this is weird, I've never blogged before and I think maybe I'm doing it wrong - I hope I've gone to the right site and not talladega nights or something. If this is the right place - this is julianne moore [posting as Bart] and I am in barcelona, shooting a movie called savage grace. I have 2 more weeks and then I come home. I'm very excited about the opening of trust the man - I loved making this movie. It was wonderful to shoot at home in new york with all of our friends and just about every family member we could round up. and I loved playing a character that I don't think you get to see that often - ( or I don't anyway) a woman with a family who just happens to have a job acting. Kind of like me and alot of my friends! bart was wonderful to work with, and the script was so funny - my biggest disappointment was that some of the funniest stuff ended up not being in the movie - like david and his vibrating balls, and me and billy and the hamster incident. and oddly - maggie has ended up pregnant and i'm doing a play in the fall.

]]> maybe bart is psychic.

directing the actor

2006-08-14T03:42:25Z

Hi all... Sorry for the delay... I did not get to hold a baby lion but my dog cherry did sit in my lap while I watched david holding the baby lion. The premiere was a great night... though I am anxious for the film to finally come out which will allow people I dont know see it... (or lets hope)

I was reminded of a couple things on the night of the premiere. One was how odd it is that in a lot of cases I think life imitates art, as oppose to the more traditional view that art imitates life... Maggies character Elaine screams out in the film "I want to get married and have a baby!' and there she was at the premiere 18 month later hugely pregnant with her fiance... Also Julie character "Rebecca" is a film actress doing a broadway play (by Edmund Middleton... my brother and my middle names combined, [trivia tidbit]) and though Julie has never done a play or expressed any interest in doing one since we've been together she will appear on broadway this winter for the first time ever... also like maggie's character Elaine Julie just finished writing a children's book to be published next year. Anyway... its not like im saying that my movie is responsible for all those things I just think its interesting that sometimes actors are attracted to things that deal with issues that are floating around in their subconscious that have yet to come to fruition... does that make any sense? Some how they, me, we work things out in our heads by exploring them in a fictional world but then we find some of that fictional world has spilled over into our real lives...

A couple other things I was reminded of: One day on the set I approached David with a serious look on my face and he has since told me he thought "oh great, here comes a really insightful direction into my character, I could really use that right now". I then walked up leaned in close and said, "tell me the truth "(pause as I look directly into his eyes) "Do I know or have you ever thought that I have bad breath?" So much for the great directing... But thats the advantage of having such close friends on the set. It also speaks to another directorial trait... vanity... its not just for actors.

Later that night we were shooting a shot where david and Billy jump through the doors like super heros ready to reclaim their women back at all costs. It's a somewhat tongue in cheek moment, here are these buffoons acting larger than life and I kept encouraging them to make the jump bigger... "More super-hero like" I would shout... "you can even go bigger with that"... finally "Jump as high as you can on this next one". Well this wasnt a problem for Billy because he is short... I know those of you whove seen almost famous find that hard to believe but yes... 5'9"... but davis who is 6'2" leaped and smashed his head into the metal door frame above making a sound so sickening that I was sure he had cracked his skull open. To his credit he finished the take without so much as a whimper... Turned out to be just a goose egg. I always know my actors trust me when i can direct them to do something ridiculous that could very well end their careers and they do it... DD thanks for that and sorry.... I also had to throw a wooden spoon at my wifes face, but thats a different story...

bart

baby lions

2006-08-12T16:07:10Z

man that was a deep sleep. it was a long day's journey from boston to lax to home to leno and then home. the talk shows. always have that unsettled feeling over how hard to sell the picture, funny thing is, the better you think the movie is, the less you feel the need to push it, as if the goods will speak for themselves, and then you get home and wonder, did i push hard enough? then you get out there with catchphrases like romantic comedy with hard r moments (true) and woody allen this and that, and you feel like a salesman. but i ask you, how else can i get word out? how deeply i believe in bart and the rest of the cast and that this is a movie that meets its audience on so many levels. how can i tell you that without being a jackass of sorts? all i will say here for now is that this is the funniest movie i've ever made and, no, playing god does not count cause it wasn't supposed to be funny. and tea is not really pissed about the baby stuff. we just thought it might make a funny thing to talk about on the show. she's great. such an inspiring mother. the baby lion was something else. just the thought of what that cat like thing in my lap would grow to filled me with awe. show biz can be silly---joking while the world is in such distress, even going about one's daily business while the world is begging for the big answers--- but sometimes you just have to be thankful for a life where you get to hold a baby lion. dd

post premiere funkiness d to the d

2006-08-08T22:10:45Z

well hello again. premiere and my birthday last night. it's all a blurr. screening was great. movie plays so well. so satisfying to see it on a big screen where bart's choices and subtlety is rewarded. had a great dinner with my wife. and in general gave thanks for my life. thank you all for all the birthday wishes and for your support at the movie, i did see some familiar faces out there. i look forward to when ttm comes out and we can talk about the movie on your terms when you have seen it. for me, that's the fun part. all this is just preamble. will post more when my head clears. dd

aug 7th

2006-08-07T19:09:57Z

Tonight is the premiere... Im happy this is all finally coming to a head... the films been done for over a year I just want people to get a chance to see it. Being at the press junket reminded me how great the chemistry between the actors is. Billy and David did all their interview together and could barely keep a straight face through any of it... The women were a little more serious... though also much better smelling than the boys. There were some good questions and some inane ones like "what do you think about mel gibson"... We really pushed the tag line "women are from mars, men have a penis" and people seemed to like it... Im bringing my son to the premiere though I will have to use 'ear muffs though half of it because of the language... thanks for the continued support out there... Bart

fromm dd in nyc

2006-08-05T01:22:22Z

just got to nyc where we're gonna do the press junket for ttm tomorrow and sunday. for those of you that are interested, a press junket is where one goes from room to room talking to journalists from all over the country who only get about 2 and half minutes each so they end up asking the same questions and out of the goodness of your heart you try and act surprised like it's the first time you've heard that one and try to give a new answer different from the 450 other times you just answered in exactly the same way. i anticipate---can men be trusted? who is the man? are you funny? when is the next x file movie? i think as an interesting exercise, i turn the questioning over to you all. you have just 2 and a half minutes, you need to get to the bottom of it all in that blink of an eye. what's your question? dd

premiere

2006-08-04T20:25:06Z

Sorry for the delay in the blogging... We are gettin ready for the premiere of the film Monday. I'm working on posting a few pictures of alternate posters we had made for the film.

The entire cast is coming in for the event and it really makes me realize how lucky I've been getting to work with all these actors... The four big ones are obvious, but i also got to work with Eva Mendes, Garry Shandling, Bob Balaban, Justin Bartha.... It makes such a difference when you have capable actors in the supporting roles... It really helps to add a sense of three dimentionality to the story ... when you believe these character have a life that is going on even when they are not on screen.

HBO has just cut together a behind the scenes special that will begin airing soon that gives a really good idea of exactly how committed all these actors were. My wife has also promised to blog in the next day.

Thanks for all the support
bart

socks & Europe

2006-07-31T09:02:47Z

So lets just clear up the socks issue... Vey innocent... david and I happen to be exactly the same size foot and ive been known to "borrow" items... makes for very convienient packing when I go to LA.

To answer a few of the questions you folks poised... The film is coming out in europe... I believe in october. Julianne and I are coming over to do a press tour in mid september. Icon is releasing the film throughout the UK with fox taking many other territories. Hopefully the film will translate well... there are so many idioms of couple-dom in the film... i hope the subtitles and do the trick.

As a writer, I set out to write a comedy but really didnt know what i wanted it to be about. That is usually how I begin a script... With an abstract Idea or a concept without really knowing what the narrative will be. I begin almost as if im beginning that journey myself and I sort of discover where the character and the story want to go... now its nothing super natural... dont look up to the heavens and ask for guidance (at least most days) and I dont speak out loud to my fictional creations but things start to have a ring of truth to them and I try to follow that... then as my characters take on a more 3 dimentional quality i start to try an form the story around them... I found my note pad on which I began taking notes for this film... I had written down verbatum an interaction I had with my 6 year old son as he sat on the toilet: " I need some help!" he screamed. Entering the room I saw him sitting on the toilet straining... " Just don't push so hard... maybe you'll get a burp or a fart and that will help" I said... He looked at me as if I suggested something ridiculous "Who said anything about a fart?"
I found that to be a very funny and succint portray of family intimacy... and the script grew from there.

The film is certainly for both men and women... ive been stressing the men here because I believe the marketing stresses the women and sometimes that scares men away... but hopefully the film will give insight to women into the behind the scenes machination (or lack there of) of the male mind. I also was lucky enough to have THE BEST two actress in the biz Maggie Gyllenhaal and my wife who kept me honest and connected to the female perspective.

I will get the rest of the cast to guest blog...

I think in reality Trust the man is a romantic sex comedy... but that just sounded to complicated to say... We had come up with a perfect tag line but the MPAA wouldnt let us use it...

"Women are from Mars... Men have a penis"

Thanks --- Bart

P.S. I do remember you girls from montreal and so appreciated the distance you drove to se the film... we've cut about 5 minutes out since then so you'll have to go back and see it again...

Nothing

2006-07-30T22:22:40Z

I really hope we can get the men in to see this movie because so much of it is told from a male perspective on relationships. In my mind it started out as a romantic comedy for men... something you rarely see because romantic comedy sounds soft and girly... but this is not... It's about the real fundemental differneces men and women have that makes a long term relationship a stuggle.... It also ends up being about the nature of guy friendships... how much of the time you communicate through scarcasm or sportcenter but there is something real and ... I guess necessary behind that communication. I thought an early poster for the movie really summed it up well... there is a couple walking through the park hand and hand... they both look happy... in her thought bubble is a huge heart.... and is his thought bubble is nothing... it's blank. Doesnt mean he doesnt love her but sometimes, ive found us men... we've really got "nothing" on our minds. Now to me the difference between that heart and that nothing had a lot of room for comedy.. hopefully you guys will agree....
- Bart

david d 2

2006-07-28T16:21:04Z

Good to hear you guys are out there. you too, bart. and even happier to hear you're not in my house. i was thinking about what makes this movie different. i was getting to it yesterday when i said it was like old woody allen but with an edgier wedding crashers, 40 yr old virgin madcap guy vibe thrown in. and thye movies about men and women, but also about that weird thing called friendship. male frienship and i was asked if i had any conversations with my guy friends like the ones i have with billy crudup in the film and i thought, yeah, with bart---the way men do talk about feelings but they use symbols to get there like sports or food or laughing when one of them gets punched in the b*lls. twice. interesting. you guys who have seen the movie probably have a better idea of what i'm saying, but it manages to be perfect for men and women somehow, a true testament to bart's femininity i suppose if he doesn't mind me saying. but seriously, it's no small feat what he's done. as for that cut scene of me getting checked out at the doctors'---that's on the dvd extras. i wanted that scene in, too. i hate bart for cutting it. i want my socks back. dd

a few things

2006-07-27T23:23:31Z

DD, I figure if nothing else this can be our own little site to communicate with each other... You know everything about the making of the movie cause you were there from the inception... In fact i wrote it hoping you'd play the role. I loved seeing how at ease you are with humor, both physical and verbal... I loved the fact that you allowd my son to punch you in the nuts on camera. It also was invaluble to have a friend like you on set with me so much of the time. That said, I think we made a very funny movie... Ive come to think of it as a sex comedy. Also it was nice to see you back in NYC where you fit in so well ( as you grew up here) and I wish youd move back.. there is a nice house for sale on 9th street that you should go see. You could join our sunday basketball game and experience seasons again. Are the yankees really thinking of trading a-rod? I personally think he's getting a bumb rap... he was mvp of the league last year for crying out loud, and it's not a personality contest... As much as I try not to root for the yankees I cant help it. I remember the days of growing up with greg nettles and bucky &*%$in! dent and I see those pin stripes and can't help pulling for them even though they seem to have lost their soul. Anyway, I'm not at your house right now, Im in Barcelona though i do have a pair of your socks with me. I'd have to say that this movie comes as close to being what i intended it to be as any movie I've made... Looking forward to the damn thing coming out finally.

BTW, is that picture at the top of the blog really what I look like?