*** Official 'THE BOURNE IDENTITY' Discussion Thread (1 Viewer)

[Patrick G]

Why, when there is such immense pressure on a film to do big box office, especially the first weekend, would Universal choose not to advertise the fact that Julia Stiles is in this one? I mean, if you blink while watching the trailers, you will miss her. She's a huge star now, even proving that she can open a film on her own (has Damon?), and I would think that her name alone broadens the appeal of this movie by a wide margin.

 

[Jason Seaver]

I don't know as I'd call Stiles a "huge star". She's had one or two movies that have done very well (Save The Last Dance and Ten Things...), and she's gotten a good reputation that's 75% deserved and 25% doing Shakespeare without looking stupid, but I don't know to what extent her name gets people in theaters - did Save The Last Dance do well because Julia Stiles was in it, or is Ms. Stiles a name for being in STLD?

She's not the lead - I don't think she plays opposite Damon much; that's Franka Potente's job, so Stiles probably wouldn't be billed over her. This is also Stiles's first role in a high-profile "grown-up" movie (not many people saw The Business Of Strangers). So there's plenty of reasons not to put her up on the marquee with Damon.

And, she may be mangling a French accent. If so, best to downplay that.

 

[Patrick G]

I still don't understand why they wouldn't advertise her participation. It would only help the picture. I'd be willing to bet there are a number of teens out there who will miss this film, who otherwise wouldn't if they were aware that Stiles was in the picture. I would think that Universal would want to do everything possible to get people in the theater.

 

[Matt Stone]

I agree...I'm sure more American's would recognize her name more than Frank Potente's.

 

[Bruce Hedtke]

I'm sure more American's would recognize her name more than Frank Potente's.

That ain't no woman! It's a man, man!
Seriously, Stiles is a "rising" star but she isn't a headliner. She is a great young actress but she has been pretty particular with her roles and has so far managed to avoid stardom. With her abilities, I would assume that is what she wants which means she doesn't have some inflated ego and probably doesn't give a rip whether she is prominent in the trailer or movie poster.
Bruce

 

[Mark Pfeiffer]

From what I read somewhere, her appearance in the film is about as long as it is in the trailer. If that's the case, that's why more isn't being made of it. If anything, it's possible they're trying to tease people that she has a larger part.

 

[Richard WWW]

Also, there's the question of what kind of demographic they think the film will draw. If they're looking for adults rather than teens, Julia Stiles may be a turnoff to the very people they expect to draw. Stiles career so far (at least her high-profile roles) shrieks, "TEEN QUEEN!!"

I personally am planning to see it, but would have wondered exactly where they were going with it had I known that Stiles was in the picture.

 

[Jason Whyte]

I'm amazed no one has told me about this thread until now. No one mentions Julia Stiles on this forum without at least letting me know!

She's a huge star now, even proving that she can open a film on her own (has Damon?), and I would think that her name alone broadens the appeal of this movie by a wide margin.

I'd like to think so, considering how MGM is backing her next film, "A Guy Thing" (which is now being released late September, bumped from its original August date), but I wouldn't say she's a "Marquee Player," at least not now. (And I WILL say she certainly doesn't come across as a "movie star" in person. Anything but.) "Save The Last Dance" was a success because it featured dancing, young actors, and a Hot New Soundtrack. I wasn't a huge fan of the film for all of its flaws it had, yet I did find it modestly entertaining despite.
Anyway. Julia's role is very brief in "The Bourne Identity," hence why you only see two shots of her in the trailer. Surprised she is visible at all, what with all the excessive cutting and the "Run Lola Run" score running all throughout it.
Jason

 

[Sam Hatch]

Julia Shmulia -- I've seen one poster and two trailers and none of them mention Franka Potente at all (maybe buried in the small type), and she's supposed to be the bigger character!

So far they'll use as many references to 'Lola' as possible, but still can't bear to put her frickin' name on a poster or trailer.

According to the marketers, the only person in this film is Matt Damon. So maybe Bruce was right -- Matt does play the female lead and just looks alot like Franka when he's in drag!

 

[Rob W]

It's not uncommon for actors to go unbilled if they're a big name in what amounts to a cameo role. Often it's in the contract. An actor may consent to a small part for less money in a film they believe in, but limit the amount of exposure of their name to avoid misleading the public.

Bill Murray in TOOTSIE is one famous example for us old-timers.

Robin Williams had restrictions on using his name for Disney's ALADDIN, and eventually a settlement was reached for additional payments after Williams felt Disney had breached their agreement.

 

[Robert Crawford]

This thread is now designated the Official Discussion Thread for "The Bourne Identity". Please, post all comments, links to outside reviews, film and box office discussion items to this thread.
All HTF member film reviews of "The Bourne Identity" should be posted to this thread.
Thank you for your consideration in this matter.
Crawdaddy

 

[ErichH]

I love Spy On The Run Movies! Here's hoping this one doesn't stink. Matt D. definatly has the goods to play this right, so here's hoping the script is good. I tend to believe in the placement game that studios play. Further away from July4 or Dec 25, the worse the film.
There have been exceptions though.
We are getting close to July, so maby.......

Eric

 

[Ted Lee]

julia stiles is defintely known in the teen demographic, but i doubt many adults know about her. putting her as title billing would be silly - she doesn't fit the demographic of the movie. besides, doesn't she only have a minimal part in this movie?

i'm still concerned about matt's ability to play in the big leagues. i do like his on-screen presence and consider him a good actor and i know he's done well with most of his flicks, but i can't get over his "boy scout" image. i just don't put him in the major league grouping yet...but maybe that's a bias on my part.

i never read the book, so i don't know how well of a fit he is for this role. the movie looks like another "fish out of water trying to find his way home" movie - nothing special. it'll be interesting to see how well it does in the box-office.

i like franka - i thought her role in 'blow' was really good.

 

[D. Scott MacDonald]

I haven't seen the movie so I can't really comment on it, but the whole fun of the book was trying to figure out who Jason Bourne is. Was he a good guy or a bad guy, and if he's a good guy, then why does he do bad things? It seems like that angle has been totally blown by the movie trailers, so I fear that the movie will be little more than fluff. I'll still see it, however, if the reviews are good.

 

[Trace Downing]

I had a chance to see this Tuesday, with a free pre-release screening of it. Alas they had too many takers, so I was turned away at 20 minutes to showtime. The Universal boy had me put my name and addr on an envelope and they'd send me free tickets when it gets released. This was in an IMAX theater. It has seats for at least 1000.
I guess when they do these sneak previews, they give out too many coupons.:frowning:

 

[Mark McLeod]

I guess when they do these sneak previews, they give out too many coupons.

Yep. The statement on the pass is true. Arrive early as theater is overbooked to ensure capacity.
I was at the Bourne Identity sneak last night and it was pretty packed. I arrive usually between an hour and an hour and 15 minutes prior to showtime and am normally pretty close to the front of the line. Last night I was fairly far back when I arrived at 6pm for the 7pm show.
As for the number of passes I've heard that depending on the movie they often give out double the number of passes. I know for Star Wars they only gave out about 50 extras since they expected everyone would show. I attend quite a few of these screenings. In the last two weeks alone I've been to Sum of all Fears, Scooby Doo and Bourne Identity. Next week is Minority Report
As for the movie. It's not bad. It's not great either. I was entertained but it's nothing to write home about.

 

[Larry Price]

I was at the screening in NY. At 7PM they had 700 seats and 250 takers. By 7:30 (the start) about 3/4 of the seats were full.

Also wasnt thrilled with the movie. After 1 particular scene of unbelievability, it went down several notches in my book.

 

[Quentin]

I'm curious Larry...what scene?

I loved the film and thought (other than the very opening) it was one of the most "realistic" and compelling spy movies I've ever seen.

 

[Patrick Sun]

I'm guessing the scene was when Damon rides a badguy in mid-air down the opening of a square stairwell, as he is going down, another bad guy is running up the stairs, and Matt shoots him dead as he's going down, and then when they hit the floor, Matt used the body as a cushion (from like 6 stories high or more). That was just a tad unbelievable.

Julia Stiles had a strange role, one that any competent girl actress could play because she didn't have to do much in the role, besides type and make phone calls.

I like Franka in her role (though it was sort of underwritten for her, you could tell she did the best she could with such a part), I find her different than the typical American actress (plus I enjoyed her earlier work in "Run Lola Run" and "The Princess and the Warrior".

 

[Quentin]

You're absolutely right, Patrick. Honestly, I forgave that scene in a HUGE way just because the film had been so strong up to that.

And I think Franka works best with as little as possible. Man, that woman's face tells a thousand stories everytime I watch her.