Did Paltrow's Karaoke Flick Get Canned By Disney?! (part 1 & 2)

Duets was scheduled for release on May 5th, 2000 by Touchstone Pictures, but an article in The Hollywood Reporter (2/14/00) reported that they've pulled it from their schedule for 2000, and are "quietly" looking for another distributor to sell this film to. The reason given was that Disney was concerned about the level of violence in the film.

A Studio Briefing news item reported that Disney is denying that the reason for the potential sale of this film has to do with the violence. Disney source says the problem has nothing to do with gore: Director Paltrow refused to make edits the studio wanted, and then balked when it decided to give the film a limited release. When Disney allowed Paltrow to shop the picture, he found no takers. According to Karl Detkin from Pioneer Media and an advisor to the filmmaker, Disney wanted to squeeze it into the summer block buster releases and the producers said no way and took the movie back. They are currently shopping it somewhere else at another studio.

Paltrow couldn't be reached for comment, but screenwriter John Byrum ("The Razor's Edge") says, "It's not a movie for everyone," although he does allow that "if Bruce had made a couple of these changes Disney requested, it [probably] would have had a much bigger release."

"Duets" follows several karaoke singers as they work their way into a singing contest in Las Vegas. The Hollywood Reporter says one of the scenes that Disney's new studio chief objects to involves a shooting of a character during a karaoke performance. Disney has yet to decide when-or how widely-"Duets" will debut. Disney exec' Peter Schneider said "We think it should be a small release, and the filmmakers are unhappy about that." Karl Detkin went on to say, "With Gywneth as the star and her father the director and co-bank roller it WILL be released later in the year." This story should get its resolution soon.

DISNEY, PALTROW IN 'DUETS' HARMONY

Date: May 28
The Hollywood Reporter

LOS ANGELES - The Walt Disney Co. has decided to release Bruce Paltrow's "Duets,'' which stars his daughter Gwyneth, after the filmmaker agreed to cut 10 minutes from it.

Disney executives, who pulled the film from its original May 5 release because of two violent scenes they felt took the audience out of the movie, plan to debut the film at the Toronto film festival in September.

Disney will subsequently give "Duets'' a limited release under its Hollywood Pictures banner, opening the film in New York and Los Angeles.

One insider who had seen the new cut of the film said the two scenes in question are still in the film, "but there are no squib hits. There is no blood. You see him get hit, but that's all. The only blood you see now is at the end of the film.''

One of the scenes that disturbed Disney executives was about halfway through the movie, when a convenience store clerk is shot. Instead of showing the bleeding wound, the scene now fades out.
The second scene was near the end of the film, when one of the characters is shot multiple times while performing karaoke on stage. With the current cut, the audience doesn't see the squib hits in the second scene, but there is blood.

"Maybe sometimes you get a little too close with things,'' Bruce Paltrow said. "With the cuts, the audience response was better than it was before. I stand corrected.''

"Duets'' follows three characters who travel the country on their way to a karaoke competition in Omaha, Neb. Besides Gwyneth Paltrow, the film also stars Maria Bello, Andre Braugher, Huey Lewis, Paul Giamatti and Scott Speedman.

At the end of the day, it was less about the squib hits and more about tonal shifts of the story, which I think works fine. Most of the cuts were made in the first 30 minutes of the movie,'' Bruce Paltrow said. "Is it the cut I made? No, but I don't have any quibbles.''