Hail Cesar!

Hail Cesar!ⁱ is the definitive Producer's movie. Mannix may well be "head of physical security" in the film, but in reality - yes, yes, IN REALITY - he's the show runner for about half of all TV productions (and 99.x% of all those anyone ever hears about), and he's the executive producer for about half of all movies (and 99.x% of all those anyone ever hears about).

The film, as you'd expect from a tribute to the chief insider made by the very people in the very profession, is replete with Variety speak, so much so that I doubt the innocent viewer understands a third of what's going on. Don't think this will make me explain any of it, however - I won't. You wanna be part of tinseltown, go wait tables for five years, maybe you get lucky enough to have the enchanted opportunity of discovering whether you know what to do to the cock.

Notably enough, Clooney is playing himself, an easigoing if verbose cloudcuckoolander. And he gets slapped, which is well deserved irl. The best buildup for a line in history ("It's complicated!") alone makes this gem of a loving satire worth watching. I was without air. By the way, does the name Carlotta Valdes ring any bells ? How about the expression "spaghetti Western" ? How about the hoover ?

Squint against the grandeur!

PS.

"You don't follow for a very simple reason : these men are screwballs. God has children ? What, and a dog ? A collie, maybe ? God doesn't have children. He's a bachelor. And very angry!"
"He used to be angry."
"What, he got over it ?"
"You worship the god of another age! Who has no love!"
"He likes Jews."

1. 2016, by the Coens, with Josh Brolin, George Clooney, Alden Ehrenreich. [↩]