Bottle Shock scoops The Judgment of Paris, which has not yet started filming. The producers of the second film control rights to a 2005 book on the tasting and the life story of Englishman Steven Spurrier, who ran a Paris wine shop and staged the competition.
Egos and reputations are on the line as the very different projects spin their own stories - and thus the public perception - of what happened.
Call Bottle Shock the "white wine" version. It focuses on chardonnay winner Chateau Montelena, layering in a father-son conflict between the winery's colorful owner, Jim Barrett (played by Bill Pullman), and his son Bo (Chris Pine).
In the film, Bo is a young surfer dude who helps save the day, showing dad he's not so bad. To symbolize their difficult relationship, they spend time in a boxing ring. Alan Rickman plays wine merchant Spurrier.
Director and co-screenwriter Randall Miller insisted in a phone interview that Bottle Shock is "as close to the truth as possible."
In that case, the screenplay from June that I read must have undergone major surgery before shooting started in August. Even so, big chunks of truth apparently have been jettisoned for wider cinematic appeal, and an invented love triangle has been added.
"It's completely Hollywoodized," said the real Bo Barrett, now 52. "My character has this great girlfriend - I had zero luck with girls back then. I'm sure my friends will hoot with derision when they see it."
Though Montelena's winemaker at the time, Mike Grgich, made the winning wine, he's not a major character. His assistant, played by Freddy Rodriguez, gets a key role, though, including one side of the love triangle.
