Tinseltown (1997)

In Hollywood it's all about who you know, and the only person two friends know is a serial killer.

Director:

Tony Spiridakis

Writers:

Tony Spiridakis (play), Shem Bitterman (play),

Stars:

Arye Gross, Joe Pantoliano, Ron Perlman

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Arye Gross	...	Max
Joe Pantoliano	...	Arnie
Ron Perlman	...	Cliff
Kristy Swanson	...	Nikki Randall
Tom Wood	...	Tiger
John Considine	...	Wolfie
David Dukes	...	Jake
Nicole Hansen	...	Eugenia
Mark Neal	...	First A.D.
Nichole Pelerine	...	Opera Singer
Rebecca Gray	...	Artist's Model
Bryn Pryor	...	Cockney Musician (as Bryn Prior)
Ron Thomson	...	Policeman
Hershey Felder	...	Piano Player
Saleem	...	Belly Dancer

Storyline

Two down-and-out Hollywood screenwriters living together in a self-storage facility suspect that the man who rents space next to them is the infamous Costume Killer--a serial murderer who stalks the streets of Los Angeles decked out in ridiculous rented outfits. Using their neighbor's misdeeds for inspiration, the two friends desperately try to write a hit screenplay... at any cost.

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Plot Keywords:

hollywood | serial killer | costume | christmas | storage | 

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Taglines:

A plot to commit the act of moviemaking.

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and some violence and sexuality

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 January 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

Self Storage

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$517 (USA) (22 January 1999)

Gross:

$3,169 (USA) (5 February 1999)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Tonik Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Based on the stage play "Self Storage", directed by Dan Lauria, which played at The Odyssey Theatre, Los Angeles, California (May 1990).

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Quotes

[first lines]
Max: [in phone booth] Ted! Are you home? Ted! Are you there Ted? It's Max and Tiger on the prowl. Ya home? You out drinking, you waste product? What, are you screening your calls? Ted. Ted. Ted!
Tiger: I'm going.
Max: No wait, hold it! Hold it! Hold it! One more. Just. Just. Just stay.

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Connections

References Natural Born Killers (1994)

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Soundtracks

"Gilligan's Island"
By George Wyle / Sherwood Schwartz

User Reviews

while it's hard not to criticise Tinseltown, give it a chance.

The first 30 minutes of Tinseltown had my finger teetering on the remote, poised to flick around to watch something else. The premise of two writers, down on their luck, living in a self-storage-space "bin" was mildly amusing, but, painfully bland.

The introduction of the character, played by Joe Pantoliano - the big deal movie guy, that lives in the park and sleeps in a lavatory, offered hope and I decided to give it a few more minutes. And then a few more until Kristy Swansons introduction as a budding film director & borderline nymphomaniac, added a bit of spice. Her solid acting performance raised her presence above and beyond just a very welcome eye-candy inclusion.

Ultimately, the obvious low-budget impacts on the film with poorly shot scenes, stuttured pace and slapstick handling of certain moments. Some of my favourite movies of all time have been low budget, Whithnail & I being one that also deals with 2 guys with a dream, but down on their luck.

However, for my money, the actors save Tinseltown from the "Terrible movie" archives and just about nudges it into the "could have been a cult movie" archives. I laughed out loud at some of the scenes involving Joe Pantoliano's character. In particular, the penultimate scenes in the terribly clichéd, but still funny, rich-but-screwed-up characters house, where the story unravels towards it's final moments.

I can see how Tinseltown was a great stage play and while the film-makers did their best to translate this to celluloid, it simply didn't work and while I laughed out loud at some of scenes and one liners, I think the first 30 minutes dulled my senses and expectations to such a degree I would have laughed at anything.

Unless you're stuck for a novelty coffee coaster, don't pick this up if you see it in a bargain bucket.