What Just Happened (2008)

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

Director:

Barry Levinson

Writers:

Art Linson, Art Linson (book)

Stars:

Robert De Niro, John Turturro, Stanley Tucci

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert De Niro	...	Ben
Sean Penn	...	Sean Penn
Catherine Keener	...	Lou Tarnow
Bruce Willis	...	Actor
John Turturro	...	Dick Bell
Robin Wright	...	Kelly (as Robin Wright Penn)
Stanley Tucci	...	Scott Solomon
Kristen Stewart	...	Zoe
Michael Wincott	...	Jeremy Brunell
Jason Kravits	...	Pollster (as Jason Kravitz)
Mark Ivanir	...	Johnny
Remy K. Selma	...	Jimmy (as Remy Selma)
Christopher Evan Welch	...	Studio Marketing Guy
Lily Rabe	...	Dawn
Sam Levinson	...	Carl

Storyline

A week in the life of Ben, a powerful Hollywood producer, as he juggles negotiations with a studio head so that his newest picture can open at Cannes in two weeks, with a high-strung director who must make edits to the film, with an actor and his agent because the star has arrived on the set of a new picture with a full beard, and with his most recent ex-wife, Kelly, whom he discovers may have a lover. He also notices that his 17-year old daughter, from another marriage, has probably been crying. What's up? Can Ben keep it all together, get the green light from the studio to go to Cannes, move his new picture past the beard crisis, and maybe return to Kelly's good graces?

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Plot Keywords:

eyepatch | falling downhill | looking at oneself in a mirror | hollywood | cannes | 

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Taglines:

In Hollywood, everybody can hear you scream.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan] Official site [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Hebrew French

Release Date:

31 October 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

What Just Happened?

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$192,508, 19 October 2008, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$1,090,947, 18 December 2008

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$3,291,679

Company Credits

Production Co:

2929 Productions, Art Linson Productions, Linson Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film cast includes two Oscar winners: Robert De Niro and Sean Penn; and two Oscar nominees: Stanley Tucci and Catherine Keener.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Ben: Vanity Fair named me as one of the 30 most powerful producers in the business. Power is an elusive term, but in Hollywood it's everything, I don't care what they say, you either have it, want it, or you're afraid of losing it. Where you stand at these things, or who you may be standing next to, may not seem like the most important thing, but it *really* matters.

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Connections

Referenced in The Wizard of Lies: Cast interviews (2017)

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Soundtracks

Brothers in Arms
Written by Mark Knopfler
Performed by Dire Straits
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Records Inc.
By arrangement with Warner Music Group Film & TV Licensing

User Reviews

Unexpected gem

When I read some of the other users' comments I could hardly believe we watched the same movie. Wasted 2 hrs of my life!? This is, simply put, ridiculous, this movie does not require moral or surprise, it is quite enjoyable and powerful as it is.

Superb acting, intelligent writing, characters you can sympathize with as well as good steady rhythm.

It is a beautiful movie centered around a producer and how his life evolves around a series of regular down to earth events. It is a little like entourage minus the girls and absurdity as it is centered around Hollywood but you do sympathize with the lead character a lot on his reactions to events.

I had no expectations from this movie and it turned out to be quite a gem, I believe this is one of those movies that will be rated more highly in the future. If there was any hype around this, if people expected a blockbuster, well it is their fault. It is more like an independent movie and a very good one at that I must add.

It certainly feels like De Niro very much enjoyed acting in this one, this is by far the best I have seen him in years. Turturro, Wincott, Penn Willis all saw something in this script and they were right. ( To be honest with you Turturro did overdo his part a little)

I have been to much more boring movies than this and they were rated much higher by IMDb crowd, no it does not move at a snail's pace, no there are no big psychological dramas or a big story, and yet all those are OK and their absence is what makes this movie perfect.