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Warren Beatty's 1990 film Dick Tracy opened the Los Angeles Times Hero Complex Film Festival [1] Thursday night and the legendary actor and director showed up to talk about it. Beatty did a thought-provoking and hilariously candid, but also sometimes guarded, 90 minute Q&A. Here's a small example:
I always think of making a movie like vomiting. I don't like to vomit. But I get to a point sometimes where I think, 'Okay, I better go ahead and do this and I'll feel better.' When I finally get around to making a movie, that's why. I think I'll feel better if I make this movie.
To that statement, it seems safe to say that, ladies and gentleman, Warren Beatty isn't feeling well.
When once again asked about with the possibility of a making a sequel to Dick Tracy, the actor, who last appeared in front of the camera in 2001's Town and Country and behind the camera in 1998's Bulworth, said "I'm gonna make another one." That long rumored Dick Tracy 2 might be on the way.
Beatty continually expressed almost a sort of embarrassment over how much he loves his 1990 film and teased that, after winning a recent lawsuit [2]with the Tribune company which gave him the rights to the character, he was going to make the sequel he's been talking about for so long. However, he's a strong believer against talking about movies before they're made so details were scarce.
The LA Times' Geoff Boucher brought up the sequel which is when Beatty said "I'm gonna make another one." he then said this:
I think it's dumb to talk about movie before you make them. I just don't do it. It gives you a perfect excuse to avoid making them. The more you talk about it, the longer it's hidden.
After some banter in the audience, he was asked if the process has started:
You'd have to define 'start.' I take so long to get around to making a movie that I don't know when it starts. And I'm a very strong believer in the fact that when you're really doing good work is when you don't know you're working and something just occurs to you. And you say 'Oh, of course.' My problem is I don't know when I finish because I want to get it to what I think is right.
Over the course of the evening Beatty was consistently asked about the sequel. Would he once again suit up as the detective? Would the characters from the first film be back? Would the film would employ practical effects and sets or would it be digital? For most of those question, Beatty bluntly replied, "I'm not going to tell you" which always got a laugh, On the question about effects, though, the stoic actor - who speaks with a very slow, deliberate, but confident and charming tone - kind of slipped:
That's a conversation I have with [my production team] and the conversation goes on and on and on and on. I can tell you that the matte paintings [done for the original film]...they move me.
Rumors of a Tracy sequel go back to the film's original release when the studio was pushing Beatty to do it. However, the actor/director said he never saw his movie as a "theme park tentpole," plus, he was already busy on Bugsy. He's also talked about it here and there ever since. But now that the rights are back with him, he says "I'm gonna do it."
So what does this all mean? Is he going to don the yellow fedora again or will someone else slip into the trench coast? At times, it almost felt like Beatty was joking but, it seems that after battling in the courts to get the rights to Dick Tracy back again, Warren Beatty is prepping an honest-to-god sequel to Dick Tracy. Fans who have been waiting for a long time know, though, when we might see that film is a whole other story.
We'll have more breaking news and stories from the rest of the Los Angeles Times Hero Complex over the course of the weekend. For more information, click here [3].
[1] http://www.slashfilm.com/film-la-hero-complex-film-festival-features-dick-tracy-warren-beatty-superman-richard-donner-iron-man-jon-favreau/
[2] http://www.deadline.com/2011/03/warren-beatty-wins-dick-tracy-lawsuit/
[3] http://herocomplex.latimes.com/2011/06/09/hero-complex-film-festival-the-day-by-day-guide/
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