TORONTO -- Recalling those golden days of the Golan Globus era, "Edison" is a star-studded dud of a B-picture populated with corrupt politicians, rogue psycho cops, noble newspaper reporters and enough posturing to start up a chiropractic clinic.
Although writer-director David Burke probably intended for this clenched-jawed noir thriller to be taken reasonably seriously, all the stilted, hard-boiled dialogue provoked many a titter at the Toronto International Film Festival, where it was selected as the official closing film.
Coming after the screenings of so many high-profile, awards-season contenders, it would seem like an odd choice, but given a cast that includes Morgan Freeman, Kevin Spacey, LL Cool J, Dylan McDermott, Cary Elwes and a nonsinging, nondancing Justin Timberlake in his feature acting debut, it probably made perfect sense to the party planners.
For most everyone else, this Millennium Films presentation's domestic best bet likely will be as a DVD rental, though those big names alone will ensure international interest.
The picture is set in the shiny metropolis of Edison (played by an undisguised Vancouver), where crime is handled by FRAT (First Response Assault & Tactical), a testosterone-injected elite police unit that doesn't necessarily play things by the rule book.
Exhibit A is Sgt. Francis Lazerov (Dylan McDermott), the sort of quintessential dirty cop who shoots people in the head first and asks questions later, when he's not busy urinating in indoor parking lots.
His partner, Raphael Deed (LL Cool J) is the conscience of the outfit, but he's landed himself in a bit of trouble when Josh Pollack, a green but earnest cub reporter (a green but earnest Timberlake) overhears a suspicious exchange between Deed and the alleged coke dealer he arrested.
But Moses Ashford (Freeman), his editor at the Heights Herald, a community paper that's more interested in printing coupons than blowing the lid off deep-seated civic corruption, insists Pollack needs to do some hard investigative work before a word is printed. Pollack initially tells him to take a hike, but once he gets a look at the ex-photojournalist's shiny Pulitzer Prize, he's willing to risk considerable peril to get the story.
Writer-director Burke, whose extensive TV credits include "Crime Story" and "Wiseguy", evidently was going for a kind of steely "Serpico"/"Chinatown" vibe, but the script keeps tripping over piles of good cop/bad cop cliches.
While Freeman always has that envious knack of making a silk purse out of a sow's ear, the rest of the cast has a tougher time trying to chisel all that self-consciously verbose dialogue off the page and make it their own.
With the exception of the Freeman-Timberlake storyline, everybody seems to be in a different movie -- Spacey's, for example, lasts about all of five minutes -- and though cinematographer Francis Kenny attempts to provide a unifying gloss, "Edison" ends up generating as much spark as a summer brownout.
Edison
Millennium Films
Millennium Films presents a Randall Emmett/George Furla production of a VIP Medienfonds 3/Nu Image co-production in association with Rising Star
Credits: Director-screenwriter: David Burke; Producers: Randall Emmett, George Furla, Boaz Davidson, John Thompson; Executive producers: Avi Lerner, Danny Dimbort, Trevor Short, Andreas Schmid, Andreas Grosch; Director of photography: Francis Kenny; Production designer: Katterina Keith; Editor: Casey O. Rohrs; Costume designer: Katrina McCarthy; Music: Machine Head. Cast: Ashford: Morgan Freeman; Wallace: Kevin Spacey; Pollack: Justin Timberlake; Deed: LL Cool J; Lazerov: Dylan McDermott; Sgt. Tilman: John Heard; Reigert: Cary Elwes; Willow: Piper Perabo; Maria: Roselyn Sanchez.
No MPAA rating, running time 97 minutes.
Although writer-director David Burke probably intended for this clenched-jawed noir thriller to be taken reasonably seriously, all the stilted, hard-boiled dialogue provoked many a titter at the Toronto International Film Festival, where it was selected as the official closing film.
Coming after the screenings of so many high-profile, awards-season contenders, it would seem like an odd choice, but given a cast that includes Morgan Freeman, Kevin Spacey, LL Cool J, Dylan McDermott, Cary Elwes and a nonsinging, nondancing Justin Timberlake in his feature acting debut, it probably made perfect sense to the party planners.
For most everyone else, this Millennium Films presentation's domestic best bet likely will be as a DVD rental, though those big names alone will ensure international interest.
The picture is set in the shiny metropolis of Edison (played by an undisguised Vancouver), where crime is handled by FRAT (First Response Assault & Tactical), a testosterone-injected elite police unit that doesn't necessarily play things by the rule book.
Exhibit A is Sgt. Francis Lazerov (Dylan McDermott), the sort of quintessential dirty cop who shoots people in the head first and asks questions later, when he's not busy urinating in indoor parking lots.
His partner, Raphael Deed (LL Cool J) is the conscience of the outfit, but he's landed himself in a bit of trouble when Josh Pollack, a green but earnest cub reporter (a green but earnest Timberlake) overhears a suspicious exchange between Deed and the alleged coke dealer he arrested.
But Moses Ashford (Freeman), his editor at the Heights Herald, a community paper that's more interested in printing coupons than blowing the lid off deep-seated civic corruption, insists Pollack needs to do some hard investigative work before a word is printed. Pollack initially tells him to take a hike, but once he gets a look at the ex-photojournalist's shiny Pulitzer Prize, he's willing to risk considerable peril to get the story.
Writer-director Burke, whose extensive TV credits include "Crime Story" and "Wiseguy", evidently was going for a kind of steely "Serpico"/"Chinatown" vibe, but the script keeps tripping over piles of good cop/bad cop cliches.
While Freeman always has that envious knack of making a silk purse out of a sow's ear, the rest of the cast has a tougher time trying to chisel all that self-consciously verbose dialogue off the page and make it their own.
With the exception of the Freeman-Timberlake storyline, everybody seems to be in a different movie -- Spacey's, for example, lasts about all of five minutes -- and though cinematographer Francis Kenny attempts to provide a unifying gloss, "Edison" ends up generating as much spark as a summer brownout.
Edison
Millennium Films
Millennium Films presents a Randall Emmett/George Furla production of a VIP Medienfonds 3/Nu Image co-production in association with Rising Star
Credits: Director-screenwriter: David Burke; Producers: Randall Emmett, George Furla, Boaz Davidson, John Thompson; Executive producers: Avi Lerner, Danny Dimbort, Trevor Short, Andreas Schmid, Andreas Grosch; Director of photography: Francis Kenny; Production designer: Katterina Keith; Editor: Casey O. Rohrs; Costume designer: Katrina McCarthy; Music: Machine Head. Cast: Ashford: Morgan Freeman; Wallace: Kevin Spacey; Pollack: Justin Timberlake; Deed: LL Cool J; Lazerov: Dylan McDermott; Sgt. Tilman: John Heard; Reigert: Cary Elwes; Willow: Piper Perabo; Maria: Roselyn Sanchez.
No MPAA rating, running time 97 minutes.
- 9/18/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
APA Agency is expanding its talent department with two new hires: Writers and Artists alumnus Todd Eisner and UTA veteran Josh Pollack. "Our talent department has received a tremendous boost by having Todd and Josh come aboard," APA president and CEO Jim Gosnell said. "It is our goal to continue the growth of this part of our business, and Todd and Josh will be integral in that process." Eisner spent the past 8 1/2 years as a top talent rep at Writers and Artists Group International, which was recently acquired by Paradigm (HR 8/4). Eisner began his career in the mailroom of the Triad Artists agency and also worked at J. Michael Bloom & Associates for three years. During his tenure at Writers and Artists, Eisner had a client roster including Esai Morales and William H. Macy. It is unclear how many of his former clients will follow him to APA. Pollack spent seven years with UTA. Before that, he worked for CBS' Late Show With David Letterman.
- 9/29/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The United Talent Agency is parting ways with at least four of its younger agents, several of whom were notified Thursday that their contracts are not being renewed. The affected agents are Gregg Clark, Erik Hyman, April Lim and Josh Pollack. Actual dates for their departure have not yet been set. A UTA spokesman had no comment.
- 7/16/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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