Tuesday, September 05, 2006

Phil Joanou Grows Up

Phil Joanou had a fun movie debut with the clever "Three O'Clock High." He followed that with the underappreciated U2 concert film "Rattle & Hum." He followed THAT with a whole lot of nothing. I know people who've worked on film sets with Joanou and they all agreed: what a jerk. Remarkably, now Joanou agrees too.
"When I was growing up, I wanted more than anything to be a movie director," he says. "But it's been seven years since I made my last movie. I had a very lucky beginning in film, but I blew it. I'd argue with people and act like a jerk and they decided that they didn't need to hire a guy who was such a pain ... and didn't make hit movies either."
His new movie "Gridiron Gangs" looks pretty formulaic, but anyone who can realize they've been an ass and convincingly say so deserves a second chance.

No comments: