What Just Happened? (2008)

User Rating:

8.7/10   

Director:

Barry Levinson

Writers (WGA):

Art Linson (written by)
Art Linson (book)

Release Date:

13 November 2008 (Russia)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

In Hollywood, everybody can hear you scream.

Plot:

Two weeks in the life of a fading Hollywood producer who's having a rough time trying to get his new picture made. |

Plot Keywords:

Movie Producer

Cast

Robert De Niro	...	Ben
Bruce Willis	...	Himself
Stanley Tucci	...	Scott Solomon
John Turturro	...	Dick Bell
Kristen Stewart	...	Zoe
Lily Rabe	...	Dawn
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Dennis Albanese	...	Anthony
Emily Alpren	...	Lou's Assistant
Floanne Ankah	...	Bollywood singer (voice) (as Florence Annequin)
Ari Barak	...	Aba Peterson
Moon Bloodgood
Lindy Booth	...	Hostess
Felix J. Boyle	...	Hollywood Producer / Vanity Fair
Virginia Bryant	...	Grammy Scene Award Attendee
Scott Burn	...	Lou's Assistant
Alessandra Daniele	...	Sophie
Cayleen Davies	...	Hot girl in car
Vincent De Paul	...	Jack L. McDonagh's Brother
Aubrey Dickinson	...	Film Festival Attendee
Jay Ferraro	...	Movie Theater Patron
Aura Figueiredo	...	Lady at Cannes Film Festival
Jill Flint	...	Lou's Secretary
Leslie Dawn Forsyth	...	Cheering Fan
Karina Friend Buck	...	Verna
Julia Frisoli	...	Lady Getting Pedicure
JR Garcia	...	Red Carpet Attendee
Phil Gardiner	...	Film Critic
Logan Grove	...	Max
Frank Hansen	...	Hitman #2
Marin Hinkle	...	Annie
Mark Ivanir	...	Johnny
Peter Jacobson	...	Cal
Lu Johnson	...	Vanity Fair Set Dresser
Kalina Justice	...	French Wife
Brandon Keener
Catherine Keener	...	Lou Tarnow
Ayla Kell	...	Mary #1
Stefania Koszti	...	Celebrity Guest #1- Cannes Film Festival
Kat Kramer	...	Celebrity Guest - Cannes Film Festival
Laurie Lee	...	Red Carpet Fan
Dimitri Lekkos	...	Jack L. McDonagh - Dead Agent
Paul Lieber	...	Photographer
Ron Li-Paz	...	Rabbi
Paydin LoPachin	...	Mary
Jacques Maroun	...	Taxi Driver
Kristopher Maslardzievski	...	Famous Actor
Jared Morrison	...	Film Crew
Alex Norca	...	French Guard
Ali Olomi	...	Waiter
Sean Penn	...	Himself
Tom Probst	...	Celebrity Guest
William Ragsdale	...	Agent #1
Monica Ramon	...	Celebrity guest
Jean-Michel Richaud	...	Festival Host
Wendy Riordan	...	Starlet
Brent Rose	...	First A.D.
Bess Rous
Tiffany Scott	...	Executive Assistant
Remy K. Selma	...	Jimmy
Scott L. Treger	...	POWER Producer
Sonny Vellozzi	...	Film Crew Member
Michael Wincott	...	Jeremy Brunell
Robin Wright Penn	...	Kelly
Dey Young	...	Marilyn

MPAA:

Rated R for language, some violent images, sexual content and some drug material.

Runtime:

USA:107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:R | UK:15 | Ireland:15A

Filming Locations:

California State University Northridge - 18111 Nordhoff Street, Northridge, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

2929 Productions

Trivia:

The film's tagline "In Hollywood, everybody can hear you scream" is a play on Alien (1979)'s famous tagline "In space no one can hear you scream."

Soundtrack:

Flow of Experience

Very spotty -- and boring

I just saw this at an AFI screening and was really disappointed. Maybe Linson's book was good, but it did not translate well to film. There were a few laugh out loud moments, but they were few and far between. Frankly, I was bored after 20 minutes. I didn't care for the protagonist -- nor anyone else. Therefore, I had no emotional connection. And I don't think the audience did either, although they politely applauded at the end -- perhaps because De Niro, Levinson and Linson were there for a Q@A after the screening. There have been very few good films about Hollywood. Altman's The Player was one. It was cohesive, with a solid story and structure. This one was a mess. Despite it's stellar cast, I don't see it doing well with the general public. With that said, I'm sure it will do well in and around Hollywood.