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Interestingly, this will be the first feature produced as part of an A24/Apple partnership to provide content for their upcoming streaming service; unknown whether they’ll adopt the Amazon or Netflix approach regarding theatrical exhibitions.

I really hope this is Jones' breakout role. She's as talented as anyone in Hollywood but for whatever reason, hasn't really gotten the attention she deserves. She has a niche and it could be she's not interested in a J-Law level of recognition but she would still be a welcome sight in some higher profile roles..

Maybe I've just seen the wrong stuff, but I haven't seen a ton of range from Jones. She's obviously got strong comedic timing and is gorgeous, but has she really had to do much from a dramatic perspective in anything? (phrased in the form of a question because I'm genuinely looking for examples)

I thought Celeste and Jesse Forever was one of that year's best films and it's a comedy with a dramatic undercurrent (which she also co-wrote). Rather than her having range, it showed she could carry a movie, which to me is a better metric of optimism for her future roles like this

Fair enough. Jennifer Lawrence was the comparison though, and that would demand a lot more than just being a likable lead

I have admittedly seen nothing from Jones on the level of Lawrence, but it's not a comparison I would make for most actresses anyways because Lawrence is to my eyes easily one of our best talents, so it's not fair to most others! However, Lawrence has yet to star in a 90s R&B / hip hop nostalgia music video, so there's that small victory in her corner

Now completely off topic: I could not believe when re-watching The Office episodes somewhat out of order recently how badly the show got the tone of Jones' character's departure - not only did they not give her the job at corporate that she was shown doing a great job interviewing for, but the show delighted in Jim smugly recalling her telling him that she worked very hard for her career and the next day clearing out of her desk and leaving her job in Scranton. Bad gender politics, bad optics - raw deal all around, man

Karen was too good for Jim anyways

I married a Pam who evolved into a Karen, there is literally no better evolution path outside of Pokémon. And I'll just sit here being a Kevin until the end

I just attended a virtual Q&A with Sofia Coppola hosted by the 92nd St. Y in which she gave some plot details about On the Rocks:

Spoiler

The film has to do with Rashida Jones' character's suspicions that her husband (Wayans) may be cheating on her while on business trips. She confides in her aging-playboy father (Murray) and the two team up to spy on the husband, while sharing their different generational perspectives on relationships, men, and women.

I also asked whether there are currently any plans to release more of her films on Criterion, since there had been a rumor about them putting out Lost in Translation. Unfortunately she said not at this time.

Kind of jarring when I first heard the Michael Nyman track come in - I identify that era of his music so closely with Peter Greenaway. Otherwise this looks... okay? I have a feeling the trailer and the actual tone/pace of the film are a bit at odds with each other.

As an aside, I can't really put my finger on it, but the Apple TV+ content I've seen all just looks a bit threadbare and cheap somehow, even if all the usual signifiers of production quality are present. Kind of an uncanny valley thing.

Here's the excellent new Phoenix song/video from the film's soundtrack. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_cont ... e=emb_logo

Oedipax wrote: Wed Aug 19, 2020 7:39 pm As an aside, I can't really put my finger on it, but the Apple TV+ content I've seen all just looks a bit threadbare and cheap somehow, even if all the usual signifiers of production quality are present. Kind of an uncanny valley thing.

Based on the trailer it does look somewhat cheap.

Oedipax wrote: Wed Aug 19, 2020 7:39 pm As an aside, I can't really put my finger on it, but the Apple TV+ content I've seen all just looks a bit threadbare and cheap somehow, even if all the usual signifiers of production quality are present. Kind of an uncanny valley thing.

I've found this too, and can't quite put my finger on it as to why. Perhaps it's a remnant of being part of generation where direct to VOD meant the product was subpar. I'm not sure exactly how Netflix overcame the hurdle, but I don't find that 'cheapness' with their originals.

I'm looking forward to On The Rocks regardless. Trailer was... okay... but I have faith in another Coppola/Murray collaboration, and the concept could be a bit of fun no matter what.

To me they tend to have a sort of overly digital sheen to them that makes them look cheap, not unlike watching someone’s iPhone uploads on YouTube. I hadn’t really thought about it until I saw it mentioned here, but I agree that they have a noticeable “house style”.

Netflix, on the other hand, seems to go the opposite way- whether movies or shows or even comedy specials, their original programming by and large seems to be going for a vaguely grainy “cinematic” look.

I haven't watched any AppleTV content yet so maybe I'm not qualified to weigh in on this, but can this movie really be seen as exemplifying some sort of preexisting Apple "house style" when it was shot by Coppola a year ago, presumably before she ever agreed to sell it to Apple TV, with the same production team she's used for over a decade, and also appears to share A24 as a co-distributor?

This was always going to be for Apple TV, it's part of a production slate that Apple is doing with A24. I think it's dubious to read so much into the look of a single trailer, but if Apple TV is anything like Netflix, they might have a detailed set of technical guidelines that content producers are supposed to follow and which might theoretically produce a more uniform look, though Netflix's guidelines are pretty broad and they're willing to bend them for bigger names (e.g. allowing Baumbach to use film or Michael Bay to use 2.39:1 instead of the preferred 2.00:1).

I didn't realize this was part of a deal with Apple from the beginning. Even so, as you say I think it's pointless to read too much into this trailer. (I highly doubt the Michael Nyman music will actually be in the movie for example.) It seems to be very much in line with Coppola's previous work and I see no indication that she's been straight-jacketed into making something "cheap."

Edit: I take back the part about the Michael Nyman now that I learn the piece is called "In Re Don Giovanni," given that Murray's character is supposed to be an aging Don Juan type.

On the Rocks Q&A with Sofia Coppola, Bill Murray, Rashida Jones & Marlon Wayans | NYFF58

In progress now on YouTube.

I thought Jones and Murray developed an entertaining chemistry, this is a father daughter relationship movie which can be assumed to have echoes of Coppola’s relationship to her own famous father. Murray is especially good, making merry with his public personae while being careful (disciplined even) not to sink the film with his familiar schtick.

The premise of the plot (is her husband cheating or not) takes a backseat to the realization that no matter how disappointing Dad has been in deed and attitude, Jones loves the sense of fun she experiences with him. Murray has a sublime moment singing “Mexacali Rose” on a beach at sunset that surpasses his Roxy Music cover in Lost in Translation.

Mr Sheldrake wrote: Sat Oct 24, 2020 4:59 pm I thought Jones and Murray developed an entertaining chemistry, this is a father daughter relationship movie which can be assumed to have echoes of Coppola’s relationship to her own famous father. Murray is especially good, making merry with his public personae while being careful (disciplined even) not to sink the film with his familiar schtick.

The premise of the plot (is her husband cheating or not) takes a backseat to the realization that no matter how disappointing Dad has been in deed and attitude, Jones loves the sense of fun she experiences with him.

That's a very charitable reading and one that makes me reach out a little more trying to appreciate this film from a self-conscious angle. Coppola's desire to part with her father whilst understanding that his shadow will remain, and finding some acceptance of that binding-separation dynamic through self-actualized compartmentalization, seems clear enough and her mature subdued style helps with the necessary humility. Unfortunately I didn't find anything in the actual film interesting, deep, romantic, fun, or funny, and Coppola's tendencies to let some threads hang loose as a form of realism aren't as visible and the content and characterizations feel too pat and thin as a result. It's not a bad film, but it's probably her worst because it's the only movie she's made that feels empty. And yes, I like The Bling Ring along with everything else she's made (though I only 'love' The Virgin Suicides and Somewhere).