Article from Hollywood Reported
Hollywood Ghost Stories

Labeled (Ghosts) insiders, these strange creatures have confused and mystified reporters for years[wink wink]. With the exception of studio chiefs and A list producers, few have access to this strange fringe of American filmmaking. Called upon to perform the highest of creative miracles - resurrecting films from the dreaded curse of being shelved for an eternity.
OK ! OK! Lets all fess up! Admit that we know they exist. We know what they do! So lets find out who they are.
With past profiles of one time ghosts Frank Darabont and Spike Jonze, to current ghosts Simon Biermann and Roger Daeninchx - We continue our look with a glimpse into the career of emerging genius Charles Wicker.
It is said that movies are about moments. We tend to remember wonderful and powerful elements about movies rather than the plot and storyline. If this is so, than we have to thank Charles Wicker for supplying a number of very memorable scenes in otherwise very forgettable movies.
Where to find them -
The river front shoot out in Universals The Jackal, the opening takedown scene / introduction of Tommy Lee Jones in Warners US Marshals, The very surreal and wonderful mambo scene in Disneys Flubber, The ambulance chase in Universals Mercury Rising
A major name in the Chicago film community [having earned a record FIVE Silver sprocket awards in as many years] Wicker has managed to earn Hollywoods respect in a short amount of time.
Wickers [master of movies] reputation is burgeoning at the same time as mythology is developing around his personality traits and work methods. Brilliant, Meticulous, Mysterious, Reclusive, These are all words that are often used when discussing Charles Wicker.

What they say -
He created more than just movies. He gave us complete environmental experiences that got more, not less, intense the more you watched his pictures. He copied no one, while all of us were scrambling to imitate him. [Chap Freeman ( Film Department Chair Columbia College-Chicago)]

Charlie has no regard for time. He will call you in the middle of the night, whenever he feels like calling. He just has all kinds of things to discuss - everything. He has theories. He feels most film is fraudulent. He is fascinated by the idea of pure film as opposed to just narrative storytelling. He knows every film ever made by heart - every shot, every cut and why they were done. He is truly brilliant. Most of the time I have no idea what he is talking about. [Recardo Mestres (Producer Flubber]

I cannot say I know Charlie, though we spoke briefly on the phone two or three times in early 1998. He was preparing to write Sleepy Hollow and he called me out of the blue. His voice sounded extremely youthful, with a subdued but definite Chicago accent and a kind of reticence and self-effacement that was disarming. He asked what I thought about Christopher Walken filing his teeth to sharp points as a form of psychological warfare. [Scott Rudin (Producer Sleepy Hollow]
People like to say he has these phobias, he wont go here and wont go there. The truth is he lives in a paradise - he likes all his stuff around him, all his books, movies, computers, telephones, televisions, and fax machines. He actually doesnt leave his house ever unless he has to. [Jerry Greenberg (Film Editor and two time Oscar winner)]

Charlie knows virtually every job on a movie. He can light, he can record sound, knows where the mikes should go. He can come into a room and say, you are two stops off in this light. We say no, we just checked the camera. He would say, you are two stops off,we would we would be two stops off. But he would say, I dont now how to act. But Ill tell you this, we will get the best shot. [John Campbell (Director of Photography, Reach the Rock & New Age]

What we say -
Of all the up and coming young talent Mr. Wicker is more than a nose ahead of the rest and definitely has the most stay power. With a seemingly limitless creative well to draw from and an overwhelming amount of natural cinematic genius, Mr. Wicker will carve his master title in stone. We ask him to step into that limelight that he shies from and show us what he is truly capable of.

Copyright 1999 Hollywood Reporter

Daily VARIETY
Printed Monday December 20,1999

THE WRITE STUFF
By Marc Graser, December 20,1999

Charles Wicker is best known for his incredible gift of turning misguided projects into box office gold. The enormous commercial success of projects he has been involved with is staggering when compared with his age (26). The Jackal, Flubber, Inspector Gadget, and Sleepy Hollow are but a few that have dipped well into the 100 million range.
Even with every producer and studio head salivating over him, Wicker shies away from the glitter of tinsel town, Preferring to remain in his native Chicago and work in complete secret.
Widely regarded as a genius, he has been placed on the same plane with fellow mega-writers David Mamet and James Ellroy. Wicker's obsessive work habits, mysterious and reclusive behavior have conjured comparisons to the late Stanley Kubrick.
After reading several of Wicker's TS drafts one realizes that al lthe praise is well deserved.
Transforming simple scripts into works of art. With a master wordsmith pounding out novelized screenplays a questions springs to mind. Can a TS draft of a script be better than the movie?

Copyright 1999 Variety, Inc.

Review of "Musings of a Ridiculous Man"
As appeared in The Chicago Filmmakers Point of View Monthly Newsletter
May of 1996
Reviewed by Jonathan Rosenbaum


Director Charles Wicker's "Musings of a Ridiculous Man," is an exploration of life, death and humor in the face of both. Essentially, that is all one needs in order to understand the actions of this film, such as, the brutal stabbing of the lead character Andy Block, as he defends a woman and her young child from being car jacked.

Wicker's bleak search for answers between this noble but spiritually doubting Block (played with exquisite confusion and quiet chaos by Alexander Vogel) could not be set in a better environment in Chicago's south-side streets and alleys. With moody and stylistic camera angles and lighting Wicker creates a place where humanity suffers and Death seemingly lurks behind every corner. The chase scene between Death and Block is symbolic of our natural tendency to resist the inevitable.
If, so far, this film sounds awfully depressing, it is. However, it is intended to be so and its raucous humor may seem wildly out of place, but laughter is a natural human reaction to disaster. The imminence of extinction cannot possibly be purveyed anymore powerfully than in this film, and it is a frightening reflection to behold. But the power behind Wicker's brilliant film is the power to induce a viewer into nervous laughter with near slapstick moments and occasional irreverence. These scenes, both humorous and horrific, lead to the classic dance of death scene at the films conclusion that portrays death not as a misery, but as a celebration.
Wicker's tale of fear, doubt and resistance in death's hands is an occasion in cinema blessed with the power to never lose potency. Key scenes like Andy Block's confessional expressing doubt about god's existence (a brilliant scene and the film's grandest moment) or his search for God's presence in a young lady's eyes while she is being crucified, all make for an easily understandable exploration regarding the inevitable and unknown that is timeless.
The most brilliant aspect of this startling and beautiful art piece is the conclusion that finds peace among its questions and faith in the unknown. To find reassurance in this film is not difficult if one is willing to believe Wicker's faith. The faith of "Musings of a Ridiculous Man" does contain a belief in a God and a humorous opinion on a man's actions that are soothing and, more importantly, universal.

Copyright 1996 Chicago Filmmakers.