Summers compared to Speilberg

If Sommers is the next Spielberg, than the future art of film making is truly dead.

If Sommers is the next Spielberg then I guess that makes Uwe Boll the next James Cameron.

If Sommers is the next Spielberg then I guess that makes Michael Bay the next Kurosawa.

I thought M. Night was the next Spielberg! I read it in a magazine, so it must be true.

I thought M. Night was supposed to be the Hitchcock? That's who I'm always reading him being compared to.

I don't even like most of Spielberg's films (only enjoyed DUEL, JAWS and MINORITY REPORT) but I'll still venture to guess that someone forgot to take their medication when they made that particular comparison.

how so? everyone forget's about the films Sommers did before Deep Rising and the Mummy Stuff. If they said Sommers was the next Terry Gilliam then id be crying. I love the Spielbergs work. E.T. being one of my favorite films (i got the super dooper edition of that, lol)but he's just a really good commercial filmmaker.

Eager kid?

Sommers is 42 fucking years old!

Spielberg had already directed The Duel, Sugarland Express, Jaws, Close Encounters, E.T., Raiders, Temple of Doom, Colour Purple and Empire of the Sun by the time he was 42.

What kind of a hack would base artistic merit on box office returns? That's exactly the reason so much crap's getting greenlit.

So, fuck you MSNBC!

I think that's pretty much all that needs to be said on this subject. While I love Deep Rising and (to a certain extent) like The Mummy, comparing a half-competent popcorn director to Spielberg completely misses the point that Spielberg puts more heart and personal experience into his movies than Sommers will ever dare to.

This reminds me of a story one of the Sunday newspaper magazines ran a month or so ago, a piece that virtually defined the term 'slow news day'.

The writer looked at how many of your current celebrities were named Jennifer and tried to establish some commonality between Lopez, Garner, Love Hewitt, Aniston, Capriati and whoever the fuck else...like the only reason these women had a high profile was due to their first name.

Spielberg and Sommers have the same first name. That's pretty much ALL they have in common.

I don't know whether to feel sorry for this writer because (a) he was pressured into writing this crap by an editor or (b) he actually believes it. If it's the first, pal, quit your job. If it's the second, quit your life.

By the way, TravisDearly, Spielberg IS a really good commercial filmmaker. REALLY good. And that's why comparing him to Sommers is spurious...because Sommers is a decidedly average commercial filmmaker.

Watch Raiders again and see if you still stand by this claim.

Spielberg's mastery of film-making and visual style is phenomenal.

He's as good as Hitchcock in that field, as well as in the creation of suspense. Out of the brat pack, he was the heir apparent to Hitch, not DePalma.

Not to mention that he ended up being a very diverse director, evading the trappings of genre film-making. His filmography includes sci-fi, action, thriller, comedy and drama.

...anyone ever see Sommer's early effort "Catch Me If You Can"? Now that's weird; Speilberg, who PMSNBC compared him to, directed a film with the same name! CMIYC was made in the 1989 and was a really good 'teen flick'. It starred Matt Lattanzi ("My Tutor"/ex-husband of Olivia Newton-John) and Loryn ("Fortress") Locklin. If you've ever seen it, you'll understand why Stephen Sommers is where he is. It's an exceptional early film from a once-promising director.

I liked "The Mummy", but haven't seen "Deep Rising" or "The Mummy Returns". Sorry, but "Van Helsing" just looks bad judging from the trailers, but I'll reserve judgement until I get a cross-section of critical reviews. 'Frankenstein', 'Dracula', and 'The Wolfman' look awful. Just awful. Are we making movies here, or video games?

Sommers has only made five films. i'm not trying to defend the man. I just dont see the problem. he's also wrote (or co-wrote) all his films. which Spielberg hasnt done. Sommers swims or drowns based on his own creativity. Spielberg usually has alot of excellent screenwriters helping him stay afloat.

or does screenwriting have nothing to do with it? Spielberg is a good director but he's developed his techniques and skill overtime and films. When Sommers has ten or twelve films under his belt then lets talk. Its not like Spielberg hasnt made some stinkers.

in the end i just dont see the outrage.

Spielberg's second theatrical feature was Jaws. His third was Close Encounters of the Third Kind. His fourth was 1941, a misfire, but he followed that up with Raiders of the Lost Ark and E.T.

That right there is a pretty damn impressive opening salvo. To follow that up with stuff like The Color Purple and Empire of the Sun - it's a fairly bold and distinctive statement of a filmmakers intentions.

As for the writing argument - Sommers may have written his films, but I'd hardly hold up something like The Mummy Returns as an example of the screenwriting art. It's barely functional, at best - a series of events shoving the characters towards yet more empty set pieces.

I'm not saying Sommers doesn't have it in him to produce something great - I'm always ready to be surprised - but nothing in his filmography or interviews suggests a director with any ambition beyond making big, noisy franchise-driven spectacle. Which is OK, in it's own way, but don't compare that sort of "make do" attitude to a director who has consistently shown that the term "blockbuster" can co-exist with notions like "intelligence", "wit" and "emotion".

Re: Summers compared to Speilberg

what do you expect??? It's MSNBC afterall

It's the comparison to Spielberg that grates, that's all.

If you're going to compare Sommers to anyone, it should be someone like Ron Underwood: a nice enough guy who made at least one undisputed cheesy classic (Sommers - Deep Rising, Underwood - Tremors) before embarking on a career helming so-so time-wasters.

Spielberg's present-day analogue? Maybe John Lasseter and the Pixar crew.

Bingo. On all counts.

i never said Sommers writing was great. I'm just saying at the end of the day. he swims or drowns based on his own complete work. spielbergs films arent all spielberg. the writers need to be given credit too. now when Sommers directs a movie not based on his own script. then we'll see if that comparison matches. i think the only reason they compare sommers to spielberg is because of the tone his Mummy films and Van Helsing has with the Last Indiana Jones film.

it's also just one mans opinion. which we can argue back and forth on. i guess i just hate it when hoopla over something that everyone doesnt agree with turns into bitter words. which i figured might happen in this thread. there are people who hate Sommers and dont even know him.

I dont know who id compare Sommers to. You would have to give me a little time to think of that. the man seems to do one big action extravganza after another but i like him for it.

which is the guys opinion. nothing to cry to the far winds about.

Summers compared to Speilberg

On what fucking planet?

What about Hook, or Indiana Jones and the Last Crusades??
But you're right about the quote, I mean c'mon. Spielberg when he started at least had original ideas. Sommers is just taking something that's been done already.

Also, Spielberg puts a hell of a lot into the writing, usually uncredited. He wrote the second or so draft of JAWS before turning it over to Gottlieb, and his personal imprints on movies like E.T. are there for all to see.

I can see where the comparison comes, after all THE MUMMY was pretty much a straight rip of RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK and its sequels, even if it was pretty fun.

They can compare Stephen Sommers to whomever they want... I don't care. I just want him to make a sequel to the excellent "Deep Rising"!

Heh.What rubbish.

Fat Dragon cannot help but smirk at the compairing of ANYONE(especially any of the younger directors)to The Beard.

The Beard is the template,the original mold,The Beard IS the ATOM from which all are made.

We cannot help but wonder what innovations The Beard will bring upon us with each new slab of cinematic porterhouse.Fat Dragon shudders when he pictures aspiring directors piling on top of one another in a sad but noble attempt to suckle but one of The Beard's teets,hoping,in vain,that some of that once in a millenium genius could be transferred through his sweet,sweet milk.

Surely,there was light before The Beard,but after,the only pulsating brilliance that explodes from the projector and warms that hearts of all filmgoers,belongs to,and only to,The Beard.