Remember Sexman that, rat-faced, pre-pubescent YouTube nerdlinger from Canada that we all loved for his hilarious amateur film reviews? (reviews that were only slightly more articulate than those coming from say, Harry Knowles) Yeah, after a while shit got old and most film people moved on. But apparently in that interim, good ol' Sexman then started to focus his vlog rants on 50 Cent for being a posing thug and a whoring sell-out. Well, apparently 50 responded by actually cordially allowing the kid to visit him when he had traveled to NYC, and instead of recording a dis track, or popping a murder cap in his ass, they're bros now.
We must say this is astonishingly mature for 50 Cent. Sexman is still probably only 13-years-old and racked with braces, but we would assume that wouldn't stop him. From everything we already know from Fiddy and his behavior, when we were first sent this link from Gawker, we just assumed the rapper had killed the kid, he is usually that juvenile and thin-skinned. Cheers, 50. Maybe you are growing up after all. And btw, it seems to be contagious. Even The Game recently said in an MTV interview that the things he said to 50 Cent during their war of words was "dumb" and he actually fully apologized much to our total jaw-on-the-floor shock. If you've ever read interviews with these guys or seen interviews, you know just how fucking thuggishly boneheaded than can appear to genuinely be. Are hardcore rappers getting wise in their old age? Hey, Sexman, while you're at it, can you work on that Kanye brat?
7/03/2009
Wow, Who Knew 50 Cent Wouldn't Actually Back Down From Sexman?
Trailer: English Language Version of Almodovar's 'Broken Embraces' Features Cat Power
A new trailer -- finally an English-language version for those that don't speak Español and were vaguely confused by the initial Spanish editions -- for Pedro Almodovar's "Broken Embraces" has been released at the Guardian. As we wrote earlier this year (we saw the film at Cannes), "Almodovar's 17th-something feature is not a masterpiece nor it is it anywhere near his best work, but it still does have virtuous qualities, including bursting color, exquisite frames, melodrama, humor and sometimes a moody score to underscore its mystery-noir underbelly. Sounds great, no? The problem is the story is too long, has too many threads and becomes a little convoluted by the time the picture is over. While passionate in flaring spots, it can feel a little soulless at times. However, it does linger afterwards and features a solid turn by Blanca Portillo who we adored. If it's a failure, it's still an interesting and mostly engaging one."
In other words, this memory flashback-laden mystery cum romance-thriller starring Penelope Cruz as a housewife who desperately wants to become an actress, is still worth watching and we have fond memories from it from Cannes (maybe too much style and not enough substance or weight, but again, it has some great moments and memorable). The trailer also features the Cat Power song, "Werewolf," which is also featured in the film.
Here's the IMDB synopsis, which is a bit more vague, but it's better that way. You don't want to know too much about this one before going in, but suffice to say there's a lot of meta, film-within-film cinephelia love in it.
Harry Caine (Lluís Homar, prominently featured in Almodovar's "Bad Education"), a blind writer, reaches this moment in time when he has to heal his wounds from 14 years back. He was then still known by his real name, Mateo Blanco, and directing his last movie."Broken Embraces" hits North American theaters on November 20 in limited release via Sony Pictures Classics.
Dakota Fanning As Cherie Currie In 'The Runaways,' 'Veronica Mars' Movie Officially Dead, New 'Wild Things' Trailer To Play Before 'Harry Potter 6'
Here's your first look at Dakota Fanning made over for her role as Cherie Currie along with Kristen Stewart's Joan Jett in the upcoming The Runaways biopic. Reports have it the two will go as far sharing a "steamy bedroom scene" in the film. Man, they have really nailed the Joan Jett look. [Dakota Fan Site]
If it wasn't already, the process of nailing the lid on the "Veronica Mars" feature film coffin can now commence after the show's lead Kristen Bell finally conceded defeat once and for all: "I don't think it will ever happen, and here's why: Rob Thomas and I had a powwow, and we were both 100 percent on board. We took our proposal to Warner Bros. and Joel Silver told us that there is no enthusiasm [there] to make a Veronica Mars movie, and that is unfortunately a roadblock we cannot compete with." Well, that's that. [EW]
A new trailer for Spike Jonze's "Where The Wild Things Are" will reportedly play in front of "Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince" in two weekends. The trailer is apparently 1 minute and 33 seconds long. That just may have sold our ticket. [Joblo]
As confirmed by scribe Diablo Cody, Karyn Kusama's "Jennifer's Body," starring Megan Fox, Amanda Seyfried and Adam Brody, will be rated R: "'Jennifer's Body' is rated R. My fifth-grade self is delirious with joy." Duh, it's a horror film with blood, spit and tons of f-bombs, of course it's Rated R. [Cody's Twitter]
Brandon Routh has revealed that his contract to portray The Man of Steel has expired though noted that he would return if asked back. Routh also added that he knows nothing on the franchise's current status and believes the downfalls of "Superman Returns" were on account for a lack of action in the film. [Moviehole]
Despite the rumours, Sandra Bullock has denied she ever had a role or was ever in contention for a role in Sly Stallone's "The Expendables." Bullock admits: "I never read the script, I didn’t even know what the script was about. But now that I know what it’s about, I’m excited for him." [Empire]
Movie Trailer: Jim Sheridan's 'Brothers'
The first trailer for Jim Sheridan's "Brothers" starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Natalie Portman and Tobey Maguire has been unveiled and, true to it's Oscar-season release date, exhibits a emotionally powerful film set to draw the attention of the Academy.
In the film, Gyllenhaal plays the black sheep of a snowy Pennsylvania-based family whose bad behavior has left him in jail for three years while Maguire plays the military man older brother done good with Portman as his wife and the mother of their two daughters. When Maguire's character's tour of duty in Afghanistan goes awry and he is presumed killed in action, Gyllenhaal's character - who has just been released from prison - starts to encroach, seemingly to finally give back and support the family. Things are thrown into chaos, however, when Maguire unexpectedly returns.
We previously noted the strong Oscar pedigree of director Sheridan who is a six-time nominee; twice for Best Director, once for Best Picture and three times for Best Adapted or Original Screenplay; which will bode well for this project despite being scribed by David Benioff, recently of "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" infamy.
Further, the film is a remake of an award-winning 2004 Danish film by Susanna Bier, was previously set for an August release before being shifted to Oscar-season - evidence of studio confidence - and had reportedly tested strongly for its originally planned December 2008 release before post-production presumably delayed the release. All signs point to good things.
"Brothers" is due out December 4th and is also set to feature music written by U2 especially for it. The trailer features U2's "Bad" from the Unforgettable Fire in the second half and some terrible modern-rock fromage-rock song in the first half. Lighthouse? Everyone comes to us for these kinds of answers and we get that, but you can't pay us to listen to that kind of music.
More Character Posters For Quentin Tarantino's 'Inglourious Basterds'
Empire has debuted four more character posters for Quentin Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds." In the same aesthetic style of the last poster released, each new poster details the four characters played by Brad Pitt, Diane Kruger, Melanie Laurent and Christoph Waltz and features a quote by them from the film.
Interestingly, the chosen four here are not the four with top billing on the combined poster of similar aesthetic. That poster was led by Pitt and Waltz but had Michael Fassbender and Eli Roth topping Kruger, Daniel Bruhl and Til Schweiger before Laurent. As we noted though, these four are much more appropriate as leads with Pitt and Kruger as the big-name, marketing leads while Laurent and Waltz are the actual but unknown-to-American-audiences protagonists.
Here are the full posters with their quotes transcribed for your viewing convenience:
- Brad Pitt as Lt. Aldo Raine: "We're in the Nazi killing business, and cousin, business is a a-boomin'"
- Diane Kruger as Bridget Von Hammersmark: "Can you Americans speak any other language than English?"
- Melanie Laurent as Shosanna Dreyfus: "...because Marcel, my sweet, we're going to make a film, just for the Nazis"
- Christoph Waltz as Col. Landa, The Jew Hunter: "I love my unofficial title, precisely because I have earned it."
"Inglourious Basterds" hits theaters on August 21st.
Mark Duplass Talks Collaboration With Marisa Tomei, Jonah Hill And John C. Reilly
Mark Duplass, who along brother Jay are staples of the mumblecore movement, recently took to MTV to discuss his upcoming project with Marisa Tomei, Jonah Hill and John C. Reilly.
"The Untitled Duplass Brothers Project," or "Safety Men" as it was previously known, will follow an "obtuse love triangle" between a single mother (Tomei), her son (Hill) and a 40-something guy (Reilly) with a past defined by a failed marriage who begins a relationship with the single mother.
"[Reilly’s character] is very much out of his league," Duplass explains. "They light up an incredible relationship but she doesn’t really let him in and he finds himself on the other side of the coin, like wanting the snuggle and he can’t get it." Reilly soon discovers the grown Tomei's character has been hiding a son [Hill] which produces, "a very bizarre, codependent relationship" that develops into "some obtuse love triangle, as John and Jonah wrestle for the feelings of Marisa."
"It’s very funny, but it’s also rooted in the humanity of these characters and a lot about what it means to be a little lonely and a little lost and trying to find your way in the world, but at the same time, all the ridiculous funny shit you do trying to find your way."
On working with Hill, Duplass adds: "He’s incredible. And I’m not just saying that because you are press. He is so one of us, I just can’t even tell you. He came in there and he was vulnerable and no ego and fucking hilarious and prepared things, and we’re improvising, so the shit he’s coming up with on the spot, I never could come up with on my own. He’s humble. He’s got it."
Having previously only worked with relatively amateur and or unknown actors in their previous efforts ("The Puffy Chair," "Baghead"), it'll be interesting to see how the writer/director pair now work with A-listers in this Fox Searchlight backed film. Shooting on the project recently wrapped after a six week shoot in Los Angeles and it's probably something we'll see in early 2010.
Jonathan Glazer Directs New Creepy Dead Weather Video; Jack White To Appear At Comic-Con '09
Wondering what lauded video director Jonathan Glazer has been up to directing the haunting drama, "Birth" in 2004 other then still not dazzling us with a new feature film?
Well, actually he does have his next feature-length project, "Under The Skin" happening, but in the meantime he directed the new music video for The Dead Weather, a musical side project led by Jack White and Allison Mosshart (The Kills). The video will premiere on Cinemax on July 11 front of the Angelina Jolie flick, "Wanted" and, judging from the eerie trailers, would be a suitable lead-in to action-flick. [Idolator]
Meanwhile, Jack White will also be hitting this year's Comic Con. A 22 year old White features in a sci-fi spoof film titled "Mutant Swinger From Mars" that will be hitting San Diego. The film, which began filming in 1997, has the synopsis: "Aliens from Mars come to Earth and force a mad scientist to ‘create’ a ‘chick magnet’ to lure women so, they may take them to Mars because.. Mars needs women, of course." Meanwhile, White's documentary "Under Great White Northern Lights," filmed on The White Stripes' 2007 Canadian tour, will be premiering at this year's Toronto International Film Festival. [Rock&RollDaily]
"Mutant Swinger from Mars" - Trailer
Harvey Keitel Cameos In Jay Z's 'D.O.A.' Music Video, Spike Jonze Directed Brad Pitt In Softbank Ad Featuring Department Of Eagles
Brad Pitt, Spike Jonze, a Sumo wrestler and electronic folk-rockers Department Of Eagles are an odd combination but are all apart of the next installment of Pitt's advertising campaign for Japanese telecommunications and media company, Softbank. [Worst Previews]
Who knew Jay Z and Harvey Keitel hang out playing poker in the back of Italian restaurants in Harlem? Well not really, but that's how they roll in the rapper's new video for "D.O.A. (Death Of Autotune)." Jigga follows that up the only way he knows how - one-on-one street ball with Lebron James. [Rock&RollDaily]
Spencer Krug from Canadian indie-rock bands Wolf Parade and Sunset Rubdown on his dream collaboration: "For a long time now I've had this fantasy where Wes Anderson just calls me up, casually introduces himself, and explains that he's run out of cool 1960s and 70s pop to use for soundtrack material and would really appreciate it if I could try writing some tunes for his upcoming film. Then I'd say that I'm super busy right now but his ideas sound "interesting," and that we should talk about it over a beer." Dude, get a more original answer. If you're white, 20-something and play indie-rock isn't this the pre-requisite dream? [Pitchfork]
Jonze' Commercial
Jay-Z "D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)"
Eighty Minutes Of Ryan Reynolds In A Coffin? Indie Thriller 'Buried' To Be A Minimalist One-Man-One-Setting Show
We previously mentioned in passing the newly announced Ryan Reynolds' indie thriller, Rodrigo Cortés' "Buried," which will find center on a civilian contractor who is kidnapped and buried alive in Iraq with only a cell phone, candle and knife at hand.
Reynold's role was noted by the trades to be one that will "stretch his acting chops" as the film would be "one in which he holds the screen through most of the picture." Sure, we thought, they're a dime a dozen. And that was that - until an interview with Reynolds on Australian television caught our attention:
"'Buried' is the story about a guy whose buried (laughs). It's the only movie I've ever heard of with only one person in it. So it's just me, I'm the only person in the whole movie so, I don't know, we'll see. It's either going to be, you know, the greatest, most experimental cool movie ever made or god knows what." Wow, pretty bold, not to mention super minimalist and claustrophobic. Sounds like "Kill Bill 2," in the sequence where Uma Thurman is buried under ground, but instead of being a brutal 10 minute sequence, it's the whole excruciating picture.
Carson Reeves at Script Shadow provides further insight describing the script as "top-notch storytelling" by scribe Chris Sparling who "does a bang-up job creating tension" despite the fact "the whole thing took place in a coffin." Eighty minutes of Ryan Reynolds in a coffin?! That's ambition for you.
Shooting will begin this month in Barcelona.
7/02/2009
First Look: Laetitia Casta, Eric Elmosnino, & Lucy Gordon In The Serge Gainsbourg Biopic, 'A Heroic Life'
Nice. Everyone really looks the part. Here's Eric Elmosnino as Serge Gainsbourg, Laetitia Casta as Brigitte Bardot, Lucy Gordon (who committed suicide earlier this year, RIP) as Jane Birkin and the back of Anna Mouglalis as Juliette Gréco in Joann Sfar's upcoming Gainsbourg biopic, "Vie Heroique" ("A Heroic Life"). Though note, one report said the film was called, "Je t'Aime Moi Non Plus," but that's the name of a Birkin, not Gainsbourg song and even though they were married, that seems odd.
Should we back up? Surely you know who Serge Gainsbourg is, the philandering French sleazebag pop singer who thrilled France with his scandalous songs (some about incest, sung with his daughter Charlotte), lifestyle (a total drunk and Lothario) and insouciant joie de vivre (he told Whitney Houston he wanted to fuck her life on French television much to the amusement of the entire TV audience and nation).
Anyhow, yes, a biopic of the notorious baroque-pop singer is being made, it's coming out in 2010 and the film will be Universal Pictures first foreign language film and will be the directorial debut by French comic book artist Joann Sfar (and note he's promised some animation from the team that helped create "Pan's Labyrinth" which should be incredibly interesting). Various famous female french starlets crossed Gainsbourg's life like Bardot, Greco, Birkin, Francoise Hardy, France Gall and Catherine Deneuve so presumably we'll see film incarnations of all of them (and some of them have already been casted, we did a pretty in-depth casting story last last year).
And from the looks of these pics, the film will follow Gainsbourg as a young songwriter for hire (as he's seen with Greco), to the grayer, more sozzled and ashen version of the fallen singer we all love to read about. There's even a pic of Gainsbourg recording his excellent 1979 reggae album Aux Armes et Cætera with dub superstars Sly & Robbie which seems to suggest this picture is really going in deep historically.
Canadian singer, talented multi-instrumentalist Gonzales — who composed many of the hit songs for Feist — is a modern day Gainsbourg sans the debauchery, so it's rather perfect that he'll be doing some of the music. The film is set for a February 2010 release in Europe and hopefully that means the U.S. release is not far behind. [GainsbourgLeFilm/World of Kane]
First Look: Eminem's Cameo In 'Funny People'
Rapper Eminem told Vibe magazine (RIP) a month ago that he has a cameo in Judd Apatow's "Funny People," starring Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen and Leslie Mann.
Homeboy was not lying. Take a look. In the film Sandler, plays George Simmons, a famous stand-up comedian and actor who is diagnosed with a rare disease and is believed to be dying. It's basically about a guy who gets a second chance at life, but then selfishly fucks it up.
MTV has the first dibs on the photo, but doesn't report why Eminem is actually in the film.
Having read the script and knowing the story well, here's our two guesses. One Simmons is notifying other famous friends that he's dying and has dinner with Eminem to tell him, judging by their grave faces. Or, there is a dream sequence in the original screenplay where Sandler's character talks to Bruce Springsteen and tries to glean wisdom from the rock star who essentially tells him, "hey, dude, we're all gonna die at some point, you should chill." Is it possible that instead of Bruce, they got Em for the role?
Evidently we'll have to wait until July 31 when "Funny People," is released to find out.
Does The 'Moneyball' Imbroglio Bode Poorly For Soderbergh's 'Cleo'? 'The Informant' Gets An Unbelievable Poster
So Steven Soderbergh's "Moneyball" was all but basically pronounced dead yesterday and we all sadly moved on. Or rather if you want to be specific, it was announced that Soderbergh was officially off the project and if "Moneyball," were ever to be made, it would be with Sony, Brad Pitt, Steve Zaillian's draft (or some version by him) and some other director (and presumably that other kid too). No offense to Zaillian, we loved his original draft, but until someone like Soderbergh becomes attached, we're less interested (and Pitt may have even moved on too, see below).
Anyhow, after reading that L.A. Times article and this one particular graph we got to thinking.
Mr. Pitt’s representatives had an eye out for his next picture. Mr. Soderbergh’s were looking for ways to assure that his valuable, if somewhat eccentric, career, would not be harmed by the debacle."Moneyball," was a bit of a fiasco. A sizable budget, an A-list star, an (too?) adventurous director and a studio that got cold feet. Or if reports are to be believed, a studio that shied away because Soderbergh's new draft was too different from what they had green lit (though have read both versions, we can confirm that yes, this is essentially true, though again, not as radically different as some had suggested). But basically Sony and Amy Pascal threw Soderbergh under the bus here. If anyone took some bad P.R from this in the end aside from Sony it was probably Soderbergh as alluded to above.
So we thought, and we hate to even think this aloud, wondering the possibility if other studio heads are thinking the same: if a baseball movie with Brad Pitt, rewritten by Soderbergh is too risky, does this mean a musical rock opera adaptation of "Cleopatra" ("Cleo") starring Catherine Zeta-Jones and featuring the music of booze-sozzled indie rockers Guided By Voices, is essentially career suicide?
Don't get it twisted. We're huge Soderbergh fans and want to see, "Cleo" more than 3/4 of the projects scheduled for 2010 and 2011. It sounds insanely ambitious. It sounds creative, it sounds adventurous, it sounds bold, it sounds... exactly like everything Hollywood is intimately afraid of at the moment.By saying this aloud, we're not really helping we get it. But, we have to say, we're really worried about "Cleo" now. Regardless if the "Moneyball" situation wouldn't have been so ugly. If it had quietly died, would this fearful studio climate have greenlit a project like "Cleo"? Even "Liberace" with Michael Douglas and Brad Pitt, isn't exactly "Brokeback Mountain" or "Milk" and feels like a far riskier project than both.
Maybe "The Informant" (which just had its trailer released, and now has a new poster) and its success or failure will inform, what comes next? We don't want to be doomsayers or cast any aspersions on "Cleo," or "Liberace," they both sound like fascinating projects, especially when helmed by such an unconventional filmmaker like Soderbergh, but we're a tiny bit worried that this climate might be a little too hostile.
What you should do in case you're worried, is buy a ticket to this Matt Damon film when it hits on hits theaters October 9th. It looks like a great, odd and goofy mix of the Coen Brothers meets the wacky comedy of the "Ocean's" films, and if it does half decent, maybe we'll all be able to breathe a sigh of relief. But seriously, go "Cleo," go Soderbergh, FTW.
David Carradine Died From You Know What....
Poor David Carradine. After his death, his decidedly ok B-Movie career was retroactively and revisionistly re-examined as being a wonderful one by over-eager and romanticizing bloggers and writers. But, hey, good for him right? Everyone should be lucky enough to score an appeal like this.
Then it appears that dude did not commit suicide, but instead died by chokin' his, errr... auto erot... urmm... he died by not suicidin' himself. Yeah, that's it! And did you notice that more than half the sites waxing romantic all of a sudden stopped writing about him like nothing happened and uuhh, decided to not mention it was pretty friggin' clear dude had died from some much more embarrassing and sordid? Yeah, those tributes then all of a sudden dropped liked flies. It amused us to no end, frankly.
Coroner's reports are in and they're now saying he died of asphyxiation, but of course they won't say the dreaded A.A words -- auto-erotic asphyxiation. "The cause of death was asphyxiation, an inability to breathe, now why that happened is still what we're working on," a doctor told Reuters. Ha, yeah, we buy that. Poor Carradine. At least dude went out with a smile on his face. We can live with that.
'Heathers' Director Michael Lehmann Confirms Winona Ryder Sequel Comments Are Still Crazy Talk
Every few years, Winona Ryder starts talking "Heathers 2" and how the sequel is back on track. Original "Heathers" writer Dan Waters, said two years ago this talk was all nonsense. Obviously, Ryder's latest comments on the sequel came up again in the press at the beginning of June, sparking interest or hope in the project once more.
Fortunately, her comments are just more crazy talk, "Heathers" director Michael Lehmann confirmed to Movieline this week. Is there any truth to it at all? Nuh-uh.
"No. Winona’s been talking about this for years — she brings it up every once in a while and Dan Waters and I will joke about it, but as far as I know there’s no script and no plans to do the sequel."Fortunately the makers of "Heathers" are just not interested because nothing further needs to be said.
"I’m all in favor of people — myself included — going into the same territory if there’s something that can be done with it. But if somebody says, 'Make a sequel to Heathers,' I feel like, no, someone should make a good movie that’s a dark, satirical comedy that has that sensibility. So a movie as specific as Heathers, which took place in a specific time and specific place and in which many of the characters got killed off, I never thought it made sense to see a sequel."All's well that ends well.
Will Megan Fox Vs. Michael Bay Beef Mean No 'Transformers 3' For Her?
"Transformers: Revenge Of the Fallen" director Michael Bay seems to have pretty much had it with Megan Fox's comments in the press about his film.
You can her snarky comments here, but they've basically amounted to, "there's no acting necessary in a Michael Bay," film and it seems like she's dropped this jab in more than a few interviews now.
Earlier this week, she further tried to distance herself from the blockbuster by saying, "I think if you haven't read the script and you go and you see it and you understand it, I think you might be a genius," on CBS's "The Early Show."
Bay shot back in an interview with the Wall Street Journal where they asked the director about her comments and he responded dismissively. "Well, that’s Megan Fox for you. She says some very ridiculous things because she’s 23 years old and she still has a lot of growing to do. You roll your eyes when you see statements like that and think, 'Okay Megan, you can do whatever you want. I got it.' "
If a "Transformers 3" ever happens -- and by the vague indications out there that we've tried to not pay attention to, it seems like it's possible -- will this growing rift possibly mean Fox doesn't return to the McFranchise?
One can hope only because Fox has been running her mouth about the fact that no film she's been in has really showcased her ability to act. That's if she can. We'd love to see her eschew the robots destructo films and try and prove it to us. We suppose "Jennifer's Body" in September will show if she's got anything like real talent.
RIP Paramount Vantage & Other Sad Things On The Brain...
Or It's Hard Out There For Film Pimps; The Sky Continues To Fall
Are you as depressed as we are? [ed. Or I am?] The entertainment media landscape continues to shrink and every facet of it surely affects us, directly or indirectly. All of it is bad for the movie business and therefore movie lovers.
Earlier this week Paramount had another major shake up, closed down their NY Lit office that scouted for good books and properties to adapt, finally putting the nail in the coffin of the excellent Paramount Vantage (RIP, seriously and to all their staff, they released some great films including, "No Country For Old Men," and "There Will Be Blood"). Specialty divisions -- i.e. the arthouse studios within major studios are going the way of the dodo bird. And of course, all this just days after "Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen" -- a Paramount picture of course-- raked in $400 million. Apparently nothing can stop the bleeding.
Paramount's also apparently thinking about merging their DVD operation with News Corp. or Sony Corp. in order to cut costs. Then Spin magazine laid off almost what's left of its staff (meaning, there's barely anyone left, cause it was a tiny operation as it was) and Vibe magazine folded. The last two are film world, obviously, but they are related as there basically is no major film magazine in this country anymore (remember when Premiere was in print?). Other bad news, VNU Media is arranging a deal to halve its $280M debt as part of a restructuring, which could be really bad news for the properties it owns, The Hollywood Reporter and Billboard. And THR is a film trade that has gone through a lot of cuts already. Notice how there's not a lot of great film news out there lately? The trades are slowing down. They're understaffed and with less people to report news, the less chum blogs have to work with {there's a hint for you studios, maybe try reaching out to other places aside from just V and THR, some of us do strong original reporting when given the opportunity}.
A smaller blow globally, but big to the film community is the loss of round-up master David Hudson at the IFC blog. Word is he was cut and even though he'll likely be back in a month in some new form (or this is what he's alluded to in his goodbye post), it's discouraging to see someone that comprehensive and good at what they do get yanked.
Making it all feel a bit more bleak is this article from Variety that basically says Studios are doing their best to shy away from indie pictures as there's basically no profit in them (or least not the major ones they want). They point out that one of the biggest (and really one of the left) mini majors like Fox Searchlight have only bought one movie, the Sundance film, "Adam," since acquiring "The Wrestler" last fall and note that poor Terry Gilliam's "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus," still does not have a U.S. distrib buyer.
The more the bottom dollar matters means the more uninteresting the film to be offered, frankly. It pains us to write something negative about Michael Mann's "Public Enemies," because if that film's unsuccessful in this climate (it cost north of $100 million, shot on the, uh... apparently cost-saving digital format), what are the chances of a bold filmmaker like that getting another chance at something this grand in scope?
As Jeff Wells says, "the thrust of this Kim Masters/Daily Beast hit piece ("The Knives Are Out for Michael Mann") is that if and when Public Enemies tanks with Mr. and Mrs. Joe Schmoe and their kids over the July 4th holiday then it's curtains for Mann in terms of getting any kind of heavy funding for his next film." [ed. though would vehemently disagree that anyone has it out for Mann. It's just that the ambitious and stylish 'Enemies' is frustratingly uninvolving].
IndieWire's Eugene Hernadez seems to be feeling a similar pain and started a new Cinemadaily column to essentially ponder the state we're in. "Are we fighting to preserve a business or an artform?" is the headline of his first article and he seems just as concerned about the "increasingly striking tension" between the art of films and the business of making money in films. The two goals seem more and more mutually exclusive these days. It's all troublesome to say the least. How much worse is it going to get? And how bad does it have to all get before it gets better? Will there be some kind of cinematic rebellion? Cool, but will it pay the bills and keep any of us afloat?
In Theaters: 'Public Enemies,' 'Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs' & 'Tony Manero'
It's that time again. The weekend obviously starts early here for those of us living in the U.S. (Fourth of July weekend for those readers elsewhere), so it's time to look at the box-office.
There's two new entries, "Public Enemies" and "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs ," which will try and do battle with "Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen." Sadly, the uber-dumb Michael Bay film seems to have the upper hand and it feels likely that the Michael Mann film or the kids threequel can best it. "Revenge of the Fallen has already grossed, $228 million in North America and $449 million worldwide which makes it just $12 million dollars short from the highest grossing film of the year internationally, "Angels & Demons." Presumably that small deficit will be taken care of easily this weekend.
If Bay's sequel dominates again, the second slot should probably go to Michael Mann's gangster epic, "Public Enemies" starring Johnny Depp and Christian Bale, however as we presumed, ' Enemies' has critics (and fans) are divided, and it only has a 61% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Top Critics like it a bit better where the film has a 65%, but not a great score for Mann who is a beloved filmmaker. I personally didn't think it was great and two Playlist contributors I've heard from were also divided. One loved it, the other one called it, "geez, ROUGH." As we said in our review, it'll be up for subjective opinion maybe more so than anything released this year. Some love the grandeur, detail and style, while some find fault with the lack of drama and emotion. As much as we had problems with it, we hope it's mixed critical reception doesn't affect it at the box-office too much, and more importantly doesn't affect Michael Mann from doing his thing (though as some like Anne Thompson have noted, filmmaking is just getting too bloated dollar-wise, for this day and age, so it might be tough from here on in).
We have little so say about "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs." It's voiced by Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Simon Pegg and more and only has a 36% RT. Sure, it's a kids film and not meant for adult critics, but most reviews we've read is that it even insults the intelligence of children. Hard to say since those adults aren't kids. Parents don't have a lot to choose from though.
In the Limited Release zone it doesn't look exactly terrific either, although 81-year-old French director Agnes Varda's ("Cléo de 5 à 7") autobiographical documentary, "Beaches of Agnes" has a super solid 93% RT rating.
The best bet that we can endorse in limited release is the Chilean black dramedy, "Tony Manero" which has a super solid 93 RT rating. Set in 1970s Chile during the oppressive dictatorial Pinochet years, it chronicles a man obsessed with "Saturday Night Fever," and its titular character that was played by John Travolta, Tony Manero, and winning a look-alike/dance-alike contest. The compulsion is so great it become pathological mania and the film, directed by Pablo Larrain, does a wonderful job of blending absurdist and genuinely chilling tones. It's a bit of genre-defier and we thought it was pretty great when we saw it last year at NYFF. If you want to see something dark, twisted and funny with vision and depth that is far greater than the clunky and juvenile, "Observe & Report," from earlier this year, this is your best bet.
Nia Vardalos can't seem to do anything right this year. Her reunion with John Corbett called, "I Hate Valentine's Day" was ripped apart by critics and has a dismal 22% on RT. Her earlier 2009 comeback film, "My Life in Ruins," could have been the title for her reviews. The film was also brutalized by critics and received an incredibly low 12% rating on RT. 2009 is not a happy "Big Fat Greek Wedding" for her and the box-office seems to be dead for her too.
Elsewhere, the French comedy thriller that we wanted to see, but missed, "The Girl From Monaco" has a pretty decent 71% RT Rating. The documentary, "Nollywood Babylon" about the booming Nigerian film industry is something we saw at IFFBoston earlier this year and never got around to writing a review about. It's a semi-fascinating doc about a burgeoning film scene that is unfortunately so low-budget and basically unwatchable (all the film's look positively dreadful). The films are created on the cheap and turned around super fast. The hilariously arrogant, yet god-humble Lancelot Oduwa Imasuen, is one of the key directors featured in the doc and he will have probably shot and edited a new film by the end of today. But the doc does contain a lot of interesting socio-political commentary about the institutional religions in the country that are so far-reaching they even pollute this new cinema (a lot of it based on witchcraft and fear-mongering which is evident in a big portion of the films). It's not something to run out of your way to see unfortunately, but if you happen to ever catch when it presumably makes the rounds on the IFC channel, you could probably do a lot worse.
In Retro-Cinema around New York, the retrospective on the great Russian imagist, Andrei Tarkovsky starts next Wednesday (July 7) at Walter Reade. The director of such internal-world tone-poems such as "Solaris," (a cult film adored by many and known as the Russian "2001") "The Mirror," and his amazing debut, "Ivan's Childhood," if you live in NY, this is a collection of films you should not miss. But just note, Tarkovsky loved to take his placid time and many of these films reach the three hour-plus mark. "Andrei Rublev" is a contemporary audience-testing 205 minutes long, but try not to let that dissuade you. In the end you'll be far richer for having made it through the hypnotic experience.
Justin Timberlake Up For Guy Ritchie's Alleged 'Guys And Dolls' Remake?
British tabloid The Sun reports (translation: take with a grain of salt) that Justin Timberlake has verbally agreed to star in Guy Ritchie's remake of "Guys And Dolls."
Ritchie and Timberlake, who know each other through the director's ex-wife Madonna, reportedly "shook hands over a whiskey at the Punch Bowl pub in Mayfair on Monday night after discussing the blockbusters Guy has on the horizon" -- namely his previously reported musical remake which will apparently star Ritchie's go-to-man Jason Statham as the lead. Knowing the Sun, the two probably just shook hands to say hello and wildly extrapolated, but we suppose it's possible.
Ritchie apparently "rates Justin as an actor...thought he was impressive in 'Alpha Dog' " and believes the musician "would be ideal for 'Guys And Dolls' because he can act, dance and sing," a source reveals.
While questions surrounding Ritchie's initial reported interest in the musical are still unvalidated, we think the idea would be great for all parties involved and a real breath of fresh air. If "Sherlock Holmes" is even a hint of a success, the studio would probably lock the director in for a sequel, so what's he got to lose? And in Timberlake and Statham, we think his potentially got two pretty good, viable leads.
Even if is all BS, an article with the nifty headline of "I'm your guy for 'Guys,' Guy" deserves a mention, right? The article also adds that a remake of the 1978 Richard Burton-starring war film "Wild Geese" is on Ritchie's to-do list though its similarities to Sly Stallone's "The Expendables" could possibly rule it out.
Confirmed: Nimrod Antal To Helm Robert Rodriguez's 'Predators' Film
Robert Rodriguez has confirmed the rumors: Nimrod Antal ("Kontroll," "Vacancy") will be the director of "Predators." Hey, chalk one up for Latino Review, their source on this one was right. Only about 10 more correct reports and they're even in our books. ;)
Tell that to Variety though who are still reporting that Rodriguze is directing. Tsk, Tsk, trade paper. Get it right.
Why doesn't he direct it himself? Simple, his dance card is way overbooked (as if you hadn't noticed already), but Fox did want to use his original script from more than a decade ago as the jumping off point, so we ran with it. "I was already booked up as a director when this came back to me, but I still wanted to have a hand in making it. So I lobbied to have the movie done through my studios so I could oversee it in a stronger position than a producer usually takes on."
Acting as the producer, he also promises this film will wash the bad taste of "Alien Vs. Predator" from everyone's mouths. "No one is ever going to talk about AVP again after this film, I will stake my life on it." Big claim, but we hope he's right, simply because 'AVP' unquestionably ruined both franchise for us.
Rodriguez will still be involved with the film's production though noting that his role, "doesn't feel very different than [his] collaboration on 'Sin City,' working with Frank Miller and Quentin Tarantino." [AICN]
Jessica Biel Rumored For 'Thor,' Michel Gondry's 'The Green Hornet' Pushed Back Two Weeks
Rumor has it that Jessica Biel is in talks to join Kenneth Branagh's "Thor" in a role noted only as a 'love interest.' Previously, Natalie Portman had also been linked to one of three significant female roles from the canon potentially in the film adaptation. [NukeTheFridge]
Michel Gondry's "The Green Hornet" starring Seth Rogen and Stephen Chow has had it's release pushed back two weeks to July 9th, 2010. The film is of course scribed by Rogen and writing partner Evan Goldberg. Filming better get going then... [Variety].
Spike Jonze is evidently doing special effects work on "Where The Wild Things Are" in London, fellow director Mark Romanek reports. [Mark Romanek]
A street banner promoting James Cameron's "Avatar" appearance at Comic Con provides us another glimpse of the alien race known as the Na'vi from the film. It's a little bit like Cats only with less song and dance. Or presumably anyhow (but wouldn't that be truly awesome? Sci-fi musical. That's what we want to see. [ComingSoon]
Rapper The Game is reportedly in consideration for the role of B.A. Baracus in Joe Carnahan's "The A-Team" remake. Common and Tyrese have previously been linked to the role. God forbid, 50 Cent is next on the list. [ComingSoon]
Matthew Vaughn will be premiering footage from his upcoming adaptation of comic book "Kick-Ass" at this year's Comic Con. In the mean time, here's a new picture of Chloe Moretz as Hit Girl. [/Film]
Samuel L. Jackson warns fans in advance to not get too excited -- his Nick Fury character in "Iron Man 2" still won't be doing remotely action-like. "We still haven't moved Nick Fury into the badass zone. His still just kind of a talker...looking forward to ["The Avengers"], yeah." Meanwhile, DJ AM is set to cameo in the sequel in a scene which finds Tony Stark at a club. [MTV/Moviehole]
A special shout out to David Hudson from IFC who has announced he is now moving on from his blog, The Daily. He will be missed, but from all accounts he'll be setting up a new shop soon. IFC's loss, for sure. [The Daily]
RIP Karl Malden: 1912 - 2009
Oscar-winning actor Karl Malden died yesterday at the age of 97. Surely this is old news to you now. We wanted to write something, got behind and now it feels like anything that needed to be said, has already been said ad nauseum all over the web and at this point, we can't contribute much other than white noise.
It's no tragedy though, Malden -- easily best known for his roles in "A Streetcar Named Desire," "On the Waterfront" and the 1970s detective TV show, "The Streets of San Francisco" -- obviously led a long, rich life and was able to accomplish what most people can only dream of.
The thing that sticks with us the most about this great character actor was his pug-nosed face; the one the looked like it had been soaked in booze or knocked on by some surly jack nape.
A nose that only a mother could love, or rather old Hollywood, when there wasn't such a preoccupation with every actor on screen looking entirely beautiful at all times. Malden's bulbous face mostly reminds us of a tough looking guy who could convey vulnerability and someone who was cherished for his acting, not his looks -- what a novel idea. He ways usually never front and center (aside from 'Streets'), but he always played that super-solid supporting character making people like Marlon Brando, Vivien Leigh, Montgomery Clift, Rod Steiger and George C. Scott look even better than they were.
Malden was also rather great in "Patton," "The Cincinnati Kid"and "Birdman of Alcatraz" and countless others. RIP, Mr. Malden. Is this the too obvious clip to play? Absolutely. But he's just so damn good in 'Streetcar,' we can't pass it up.
7/01/2009
Johnny Depp & Michael Mann: Not BFF's
We called this one ages ago. We wrote a piece called, Did Johnny Depp And Michael Mann Butt Serious Heads On The Set Of 'Public Enemies'? based on an interview Depp did with EW where you could basically read between the lines and easily figure out that the actor had reached the end of his tether with the director.
The Daily Beast pretty much confirms the rumors we've all heard.
And sources say Mann went about business as usual on the set: Johnny Depp disliked Mann’s chaotic style of filmmaking to the point that he ultimately refused to speak to the director. Universal executive Dylan Clark (who has subsequently resigned to take another position) was forced to act as go-between. (All parties declined to comment) -- [ed. the telltale sign]Shouldn't stop you from seeing the movie though, which comes out today, July 1. We didn't love "Public Enemies", it's long winded and cold and only roars to life in the last act, but hell, we'd pay you to go see it before you spent more money on "Transformers 2."
Interestingly enough, Harvey Weinstein is apparently so hard up for cash he's now writing articles for The Daily Beast. No seriously, and to indicate that he's a true blue journo he's written about endorsing "Public Enemies" as the beginning of Oscar season. And it's not even a Weinstein Company film! (cue: baddadnadah! pratfall sound)
Steven Soderbergh Officially Off 'Moneyball,' MLB Approval Wasn't Given? Murky Project All But Dead...
Man, we've just about had it up to here with the all the curveballs on "Moneyball." But a New York Times says he's unequivocally off the project as well. Good, that kind of instantly loses our interest in the project.
As of Tuesday [yesterday, June 30], “Moneyball” was back in development, with Sony executives still hoping at some point to work with Mr. Pitt. But Mr. Soderbergh was off the project. And the studio was gearing up eventually to find someone who would direct something more like the version of the script written by the Oscar-winner Steven Zaillian than the rewritten version by Mr. Soderbergh that scuttled the project.Earlier today, the L.A. Times ran an interview with Sony Chief Amy Pascal's thoughts. Essentially, she wants to try and make the film still with star Brad Pitt and a new director. The NY Times says the same thing. However, now the whole issue of Major League Baseball approval is coming up again.
But that might bring problems of its own. One of the reasons Mr. Soderbergh made his script changes was to win the approval of Major League Baseball, which was not happy with some factual liberties in Mr. Zaillian’s version. Such approval is crucial in a reality-based baseball film that intends to use protected trademarks.So then despite many claims, MLB approval was given? This above graph seems to jive with that elusive email that has been going around that no one, including us, is at liberty to full explain, which of course just clouds it all the more.
Despite the fact that Pascal told the L.A. Times they still want to make the film, the NY Times says Pitt is looking to move on.
Mr. Pitt’s representatives had an eye out for his next picture. Mr. Soderbergh’s were looking for ways to assure that his valuable, if somewhat eccentric, career, would not be harmed by the debacle.What is this all mean? "Moneyball" is a convoluted mess and at this point, everyone seems to be telling a different story. This is maybe where we say goodbye unless some new interesting news comes to the surface that isn't minutia. Unless someone equally creative is brought on board as a director, our interest in this project has officially waned/ mostly died. A great Zaillian script to be sure, but you need more than just your average joe to make it interesting otherwise, and Soderbergh was half the reason we were interested in the first place. If it's an average baseball film then we'll pass. This one has gone into more than enough extra innings and it feels like the game has been called at this point.
More Fall Film Festival Speculation/Predix: Venice, Telluride & NYFF
Alright, we already made our 2009 Toronto International Film Festival predix and then people asked, what about "The Informant," what about "The Road" or "Where The Wild Things Are"? The truth of the matter is TIFF is such a beast it essentially has first dibs on anything it wants. So if 'Wild Things,' for example, is going to be part of the fall film festival circuit — and we're not convinced it will, to be honest —TIFF has first dibs on it. However, there are three other major film festivals in the fall and some of these pictures (that could easily land at TIFF too) could land there first, and or afterwards. The smaller festivals will want to key in on specific films so here's our predix for each one (with some preamble...)
Making your splash debut at a film festival can be a risky proposition. If you score the sought after accolades it's gravy for your buzz train. But if you hit the snags of lukewarm reviews you're either in trouble, need major adjustments and/or are simply dead in the water (see the mildly troubled "Inglourious Basterds," probably fucked "Taking Woodstock" and Pedro Almodovar's "Broken Embraces," which didn't receive quite the enthusiastic Cannes reception of his last picture, "Volver"). After being scrutinized over Quentin Tarantino's bloated war epic, will the financially strapped Weinstien company take that risk again with John Hillcoat's "The Road"?
Perhaps the remaining big, highly anticipated films from 2009 will throw caution to the wind and try their hand in the fall festival circuit anyway, in pursuit of some buzz. But will Warners unveil something like 'Wild Things' early? Again, will Weinstein unveil "Nine" months in advance and will Peter Jackson show "The Lovely Bones" that far ahead? Here's our guess: unlikely. Like Fincher's 'Benjamin Button' (albeit a film allegedly not ready for the fall film fest slate last year), the major heavyweights will most likely wait for their December time slots, especially now since there's 10 Best Picture slots to choose from. There's less of a rush. Oscars may matter less these days, but they still mean something, and studio's have it in their head (and they may be right) that late year releases have the upper hand in the race — plus, it's tradition, at least as of the last few years. Similarly, The Weinstein Company can't afford another bomb, or even really middling reception for one of its films, so they're particularly likely to sit on their films for as long as they can.
So what will we see at this year's other fall film fests, Telluride, Venice, and New York?
Well, we can only guess, but we have some educated predictions (as well as some that could be filed as "wishful thinking"). We hope to see things like Werner Herzog's bizarre-looking "Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans" (which has no distributor yet), and this seems as good a time as any for Herzog to try and sell the damn thing, Nic Cage lunacy and all.
Venice International Film Festival (nobody calls this VIFF, sorry. If you do you will be shot on sight)
Runs: September 2nd to 12th 2009.
Venice goes for artier, more auteur-driven fare and generally doesn't include Cannes repeats since the south of France isn't that far off from Venice geographically. Also, Venice generally doesn't includes a ton of American films in their line-up.
"The Road" - Possibly? Like we said, it seems unlikely that the Weinsteins will show "The Road" anywhere, considering their financial woes and all manner of other crap — but, if they were going to show it early, the receptive European audience at Venice would be a good one, no? If the film's a hit, there — and with its artier leanings it very well could be — it might be able to sneak into TIFF's line-up at the last minute as well, as was the case with "The Wrestler" last year. (And look how well that that move paid off.) And, if it's a bomb, at least being a bomb at Venice is not as bad as being a bomb within the U.S. for U.S. critics.
"The Informant" - This one seems almost a lock for something, as Soderbergh isn't festival shy or scared off by early reactions (he's off onto the next six pictures while you're dissecting the current one). Easily could hit here first and then would likely hit TIFF afterwards, but we have a hunch Venice might be an early launching pad.
"The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" - Build the buzz, build the buzz. At this point it seems that 'Parnassus' will wait for fall festival accolades — because maybe it will manage one — before it sells to a U.S. distributor.
"Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans" - Herzog's latest was in our TIFF picks, but it's just too off-the-charts bad for them, perhaps he'll try for Venice and hope they've taken advanced irony courses and not flunked out.
"13" - Gela Babluani's remake of his own film starring Mickey Rourke (TIFF also seems likely).
Telluride Film Festival
Runs: September 4-7,
If you have the dollars in this economy to go to Telluride in Colorado — a wacky, hippie-like film festival that does not reveal its line-up until the day it begins — consider yourself lucky. We're always curious to see how many regular film writers can afford to show up to a festival this blind. While the idea is super cool, that kind of risk is generally not in our purview.
Telluride seems to have a good relationship with Fox Searchlight and gave "Juno" and "Slumdog Millionaire" their World Debuts, so possibly Jason Reitman's "Up In The Air" could land there. As per usual in the fall schedule, many films that premiered at Cannes make their North American debuts around this time, but generally Telluride grabs the more off-the-beaten path pictures, conceding to — like many festivals — the premiere power and clout of Toronto.
"Where The Wild Things Are" - Does Warner Bros. really want to show this off early? Most years we would say absolutely, but given its ballooned budget, the economy and how much they'll want this film to be a success, we think showing 20 minutes of footage like they did with 'Benjamin Button' to get critics foaming at the mouth might be a better route to test the waters. Then again, they are showing footage at ComicCon 2009, which maybe means they are more receptive to trying their hand at the Autumn festivals.
"Men Who Stare At Goats" — Telluride will need some big name premieres. This one doesn't hit until December which is generally far to late for most festival consideration, but films like 'Goats' need some early press buzz to help them out and Telluride seems like a good place for it. TIFF might want it too because of George Clooney and Ewan McGregor.
"Looking For Eric" - Telluride grabs a few Cannes film each year and this small little celebratory and feel good film by Ken Loach could be a perfect little fit.
"Vincere" - Marco Bellocchio's pre-WWII era'd film about the the abandoned son of Mussolini feels like it could fit in well here.
"Michael Moore Untitled Doc" - There's a small chance Moore could take his economy doc here, but not a chance in hell if it means TIFF won't. But he surely wants American audiences to see it, so he'll probably flog this all over.
NYFF- The New York Film Festival
Runs: September 25 - October 11, 2009
The New York Film Festival is excellent, but generally skews artier — lots of Cannes pictures — and has the semi-unfortunate position of being the last major fest of the fall season so TIFF often beats them to bigger names, but they do curate an amazing best-of-the-best from many prior fests. Last year the only major debut was the Eastwood film "Changeling," but they did have "The Wrestler" and "Che" and always choose meticulously. Less prestigious, as the more enviable TIFF steals its premieres, NYFF still has probably the most carefully curated line-up of all the festivals. While interested in stars for marquee value, they know they're dwarfed by TIFF.
Note: this festival only takes on an average of around 28 films.
"Forgiveness" - If it's ready, Todd Solondz's seems right for this art-leaning, sympathetic festival.
"Tree of Life" - If Terrence Malick's "The Tree of Life" is indeed hitting in 2009 like the reports say, it will have to hit the fall film festival circuit somewhere, no? But is this ambitious film, that nobody seems to know much about (other than that "life and family" jargon we've all been fed a zillion times), starring Brad Pitt and Sean Penn, actually going to be ready any time soon? That seems to be between Malick and his maker.
"Broken Embraces" - It's possible that Almodovar's latest, which has already been slapped with hit or miss reviews, could land at TIFF, but if it skips that festival for whatever reason, it feels like a NYFF film. Likely will land in New York regardless.
"Antichrist" - The organizers always cherry pick the best from Cannes and they love auteurs, which means it find a home here as well, which seems to fit with its new October-scheduled release date which will star in limited NY/L.A. release.
"An Education" - TIFF seems to not like to sully itself with films that have already premiered at Sundance earlier in the year. NYFF doesn't seem to have those issues.
"Biutiful" - We have yet to hear a word about Alejandro González Iñárritu's new drama starring Javier Bardem and it's July. We'll shove it here, 'cause why the hell not? Plus we hope New Yorkers get to see it first.
"Enter The Void" - Is Gaspar Noe's heady, surrealist drama too heady for TIFF? Here's a good alternative for it.
"Dogtooth" - Won the top prize in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes, which means it'll probably be at TIFF first, but could easily hit NYFF after.
"A Thorn In The Heart" - Maybe if TIFF passes they'll take the low-key Michel Gondry documentary about his aunt?
"Visage" - Probably too avant-garde for TIFF, and thus a very strong NYFF candidate.
"Kinatay"- NYFF seems to love Brillante Mendoza. They had "Serbis" at the festival last year.
Some Odd Balls:
"Hadewijch" - Bruno Dumont's latest. Many speculated it would be at Cannes, it wasn't, so it should show up somewhere.
"Mammoth" - We don't really know what happened to Lukas Moodyson's new movie other than receiving middling reviews at the Berlin Film Festival earlier this year. Perhaps it went the way of the dodo, and the steam powered train.
More Funny People Viral Vids: Aziz Ansari Is Raaaandy
In Judd Apatow's upcoming comedians with problems flick, "Funny People," Aziz Ansari plays the stand-up comedian Randy. Now he's got his own viral site at the jovially titled, laughyourdickoff.com, as we pretty much figured given everything he's already said about his character (maybe a ton of these elements might be on the ever-expanding "Funny People" DVD).
Of course these clips play automatically, so after we get yelled at 3-4 times we'll take them down and hopefully switch them out when they're on YouTube. "Funny People," viral web designers take note already. "Funny People" comes out July 31 and a lot of people we know seem to have already seen it (we haven't heard back yet). WTF. We'd love to get in on that early screening action. Definitely one of our most anticipated comedies of the summer.
Go you laughyourdickoff.com for all the vids.
Sony's Amy Pascal Finally Addresses 'Moneyball' Fiasco; Soderbergh Seeming Off The Project?
Fiasco might be a strong word, but c'mon the last minute deep-sixing of Steven Soderbergh's baseball metrics drama, "Moneyball," that was to star Brad Pitt was one of the major news items of the year as far as we were concerned.
The film was greenlit and three days away from being shot when Sony prez Amy Pascal pulled the plug, leaving many to wonder: is a film starring money-maker Brad Pitt and slung with a relatively low ($57 million; that's compared to blockbusters of course), still susceptible to economic concerns? (baseball films traditionally don't do gangbusters, but Pitt is usually a safe bet).
Since the project was stopped, almost two weeks ago, there's been a ton of speculation as to why the film was stopped -- some of it has been our own, but generally it has been as informed as can be from what reputable sources have heard -- but Sony, Soderbergh and Pitt have all stayed completely mum until now.
Pascal has finally spoken out to the L.A. Times, and she's sticking to the story originally given out in Variety when the film was production was first canceled.
"I've wanted to work with Steven forever, because he's simply a great filmmaker. But the draft he turned in wasn't at all what we'd signed up for. He wanted to make a dramatic reenactment of events with real people playing themselves. I'd still work with Steven in a minute, but in terms of this project, he wanted to do the film in a different way than we did."
Having read Soderbergh's draft, we can buy this, however, we'd still insist the changes aren't radically different. Just significantly different enough to cause concern. His version feels much more docu-drama compared to the more dramatized version in the Stephen Zaillain draft (there's an alleged reasons for this going around in an contentious email making the rounds, but we're not going to get into that any further).
The L.A. Times have read both versions of the script as well and say, "seems clear that [Soderbergh] became obsessed with authenticity, replacing many of Zaillian's inspired scripted set-pieces with actual interviews with the real people who were involved in the events."
Pascal echoes that sentiment. "Steven wanted to tell the story through these interviews with the real people, as they commented on Beane. But there are lots of ways to tell a true story. We were just more comfortable with what we thought was a wonderful draft from Steve Zaillian."
The Times also notes how Soderbergh took out a lot of jokes or dramatic moments because they actually didn't happen. Again,we can confirm having read them both, that this is true.
Apparently Soderbergh, his team and Pascal and Sony met to address the issues, and while she wouldn't say on the record what was said behind these closed door meetings, sources apparently told the Times that "Soderbergh asked the Sony executives to trust him." Naturally, this worried them and they were apparently concerned he'd deliver something more like, "Bubble" or "The Girlfriend Experience" (i.e. micro appeal indies on a major studio budget).
So more importantly, will "Moneyball" actually happen? Warner Bros. and Paramount already passed on it, and Sony is already in the tank for $14-some million based on the scripts, the interviews Soderbergh has already shot and all the pre-production. Do they take a bath on that money or do they still try and make the movie, perhaps without Soderbergh? And does that mean Brad Pitt walks because he allegedly brought the director onboard himself?
Her answer is, "We really hope we can still make this with Brad Pitt." Translation: Soderbergh is more than likely off this project, but we hope we can persuade the intensely loyal Pitt to go with someone else, so we don't have to entirely shelve this project and can potentially make our money back. Pitt apparently has director approval on this film, so they'll have to find someone he's cool with.
Soderbergh off the project isn't just our speculation either, the L.A. Times says Pascal insists that there is no bad blood between her and the filmmaker and other projects are being discussed (i.e., not "Moneyball"). She's still a believer that Sony and Pitt can get it off the ground. "We love this movie, we always have and we still want to make it. It's a completely innovative way to tell a baseball story. It's about wanting to believe in magic, which is what baseball is all about."
But you know what? Unless someone equally creative is brought on board as a director, our interest in this project has officially waned/ mostly died. A great Zaillian script to be sure, but you need more than just your average joe to make it interesting otherwise, it's an average baseball film and we'll pass.
The Playlist's July Summer Preview
JULY 3
"The Girl from Monaco"This is the first of writer-director Anne Fontaine's two films to hit the U.S. this year (the other is "Coco Before Chanel," starring Audrey Tatou), the movie will likely appeal to anyone excited by the phrase "French sex comedy." It appears to have a relatively standard romcom love triangle: a lawyer, a bodyguard, and a bimbo of a girl with a history. The film was nominated for two Cesars, including Best Newcomer for Louise Bourgoin, making her feature film debut.
"Public Enemies"The odd thing about this film is that while everyone is anticipating it, no one knows exactly what to expect. Back in February we raved about the script, saying: " it reads and breathes like a straightforward bit of bigscreen entertainment." Early reviews from screenings, and the one that was yanked seem to be mixed, but there are too few of them to suggest any sort of consensus. We'd like to believe that a Michael Mann film about John Dillinger, headlined by Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, and Marion Cotillard (not to mention the strong supporting cast) will be fun, but the lack of preceding buzz has us a bit worried.[ed. saw it, fascinating, but frustrating. It takes forever to come alive and is emotionally aloof].
JULY 10
"Brüno"We saw footage at SXSW, and, well, let's just have our esteemed editor take it from here: "The "Brüno" was seriously uncontrollably funny, and with a dangerous subversive and transgressive bent that will smash the limits of UNPC-ness and will surely outrage people. We died laughing and everyone in the theater did as well. "Borat" the film doesn't have a lot of staying power, but it was riotously hilarious on the first viewing and "Brüno" looks like it will do the same only with an even more aggressive bent of social satire." To briefly recap, Bruno, one of Sacha Baron Cohen's characters, is a flamboyantly gay Austrian fashionista, and Cohen uses him like Borat, to mine humor from unsuspecting saps. But now that we've seen the whole thing, read our review, we didn't totally love it.
"Humpday"We were left somewhat unimpressed by this indie mumblecore take on "bromance," saying it is the "typical case of a scrappy, not-bad film festival picture being vastly overrated." The crux of director Lynn Shelton's film centers on best friends (Mark Duplass and Joshua Leonard), both straight males, deciding to have sex with each other for the sake of an art film. While there's certainly room in this setup for a innovatively nuanced look at gender relations and sexuality, we felt the film rarely scratched out anything more than a superficial take on things. Still, it wouldn't be terrible for this film to cross over a little and open people up to other movies in its oeuvre.
"I Love You, Beth Cooper"OK, yes, in all likelihood this teen flick about a nerdy valedictorian making a bold declaration of love in his graduation speech for the school hottie and spending the subsequent evening getting into various hi jinks with her will not rise above the adolescent crowd to which it has been marketed. Still, Chris Columbus has helmed such classics as "Home Alone" and "Mrs. Doubtfire," unlikely male lead Paul Rust is poised for a breakout as he's also in "Inglourious Basterds" (though for just a brief second) and Hayden Panettiere seems like a great fit for the role. We revealed the film's soundtrack a few weeks ago.
"Soul Power"This is a documentary about the music festival which accompanied Ali/Foreman's Rumble in the Jungle in Kinshasa, Zaire in 1974. Directed by Jeffrey Levy-Hinte, the film consists of archival footage of the concert, featuring such greats as James Brown, B.B. King, and Celia Cruz. Some have said it feels like a companion piece to "We Were Kings." We're not sure if we have time for a review, but this one is rock solid and features some thrilling performances and camera work by cinéma vérité greats like Albert Maysles that is right up in the action. If you're a fan of music docs, this is one we fully endorse, and frankly, it's much more engaging than something a little bit more sterile like, "It Might Get Loud." This picture is intimate and vibrant and up there with "Wattstax," and "Gimme Shelter." There's some wonderful social context too and amazing scenes with Ali from extra footage from 'Kings.'
JULY 17
"(500) Days of Summer"We'd say the marketing team behind this offbeat romcom of sorts has done a stellar job of building blog buzz. Of course, we're partially responsible for that, posting director Marc Webb's exclusive track by track commentary of the songs on the movie's soundtrack. Plus a review of the film, in which we said: "At its best and when it has found its groove...[the film] begins to breathe and is largely fetching and winsome, and at its worst, it's imperfect, gooey, and marginally irritating...but overall it's mostly well-crafted and when the film decides to get honest with itself...it delivers tons of affecting dividends." Those of us yet to see film, which stars Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, can't wait to do so.
"In the Loop""The Office" meets the highest levels of government? This British flick played Sundance, but was bought by IFC Films even before it showed and early reviews suggest this film might be the rare political satire that's actually funny. Director Armando Iannucci returns with his crew from "The Thick of It" which was hit TV show in Britain, like the show, the film takes a mocking look at the highest levels of the British and American governments. Oscar-winner (OK, OK, it was for Live Short Film) Peter Capaldi reprises his role of the acerbic Director of Communications Malcolm Tucker from the show, and if there is a breakout performance in the film, it seems likely to him. James Gandolfini also stars as an Army general, along with Tom Hollander, other notables include Steve Coogan and Anna Chlumsky [ed. another film we've seen, a review coming soon. It has wild laughs, but a little too episodic].
JULY 24
"The Answer Man"Formerly known as "Arlen Faber," this romcom (or maybe romdram?) starring Jeff Daniels as the formerly title character, a reclusive author of a pop spirituality book beloved the world over and Lauren Graham as a single mom with a chiropractor practice, received generally positive reviews at Sundance. We were enchanted with it at IFFBoston saying: "[it is] an entertaining romantic comedy in the vein of Frank Capra films, there were many moments where we felt the film could have easily fallen apart due to cheesy Hollywood conventions, but [first time writer-director John] Hindman succeeds in tempering the story contrivances with touching realism, mainly credited to the superb witty writing and the actors' portrayal." Lou Taylor Pucci also stars as the owner of a self-help bookstore who longs to be a disciple of Faber, Olivia Thirlby and Kat Dennings round out the cast.
JULY 31
"Adam"Another weekend, another charmingly quirky romantic comedy. We've been anticipating this one, helmed (and written) by Max Mayer, for a few months now, and recently broke details of its pleasantly indie pop/folk soundtrack. Hugh Dancy stars as a lonely, geeky sort, Rose Byrne is his attractive new neighbor, and sparks eventually fly. The catch (why must there always be a catch?!) is that he has Asperger's syndrome, which presents all sorts of little hurdles to the relationship. Peter Gallagher and Amy Irving headline the supporting cast.
"Funny People"The marketing team behind this film have been dropping viral videos like crazy of late, most of which are pretty humorous (not that it should be too difficult to come up with a ridiculous Adam Sandler movie). We found the script to be pretty much what you'd expect from Judd Apatow at this point, a funny comedy with heart that isn't afraid of sadness, heart, and a long run time. The film stars Adam Sandler as a famous comedian facing a dire diagnosis, Seth Rogen as his new confidante, Leslie Mann as the girl who got away, and Eric Bana as the other man, and boasts a supporting cast including Jonah Hill, Ken Jeong, Aubrey Plaza, Jason Schwartzmann, Aziz Anzari, and cameos from like everyone.
"The Cove"Directed by Louis Psihoyos, this documentary looks to be absolutely riveting. It may seem odd to rave about a trailer, but look for yourself. The film was the darling of Sundance, and so far has received sparkling reviews. Not your daddy's doc, this one reveals the terrible treatment of dolphins in a cove off the coast of Japan, the covert operation to film it, and apparently some truly horrifying images.
Other films hitting in July include, "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" (strictly for kids, we're sure), "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," (strictly for man-childs and nerds), "The Ugly Truth," a rom com starring Katherine Heigl that we're midly interested in for guilty pleasure reasons only [ed. ok, she's the worst, but I'm kinda attracted to her, I know, I deserve to burn], and "Lorna's Silence" the new film from the Dardenne Brothers (2005 Palme d'Or winner "L’Enfant") that we wish we had more time to write about, but you can watch the trailer here. It hits July 31, and the film won best screenplay award at the 2008 Cannes film festival. The Dardenne Brothers have won the coveted Cannes Palme d'Or twice in six years which is no easy feat.Original 'Brüno' Ending Climaxed With Gay Bashing Scene?
We hate to give The Wrap's National Inquirer-style reporting any ink or credence, but perhaps their articles that said Sacha Baron Cohen's "Brüno" was softened and made more "gay friendly" were somewhere on the money? Then again, their reports were revealed to be nothing more than printing random emails, but still, this one can't be overlooked.
Movieline is reporting that the original ending of Brüno featured a "brutal gay bashing played out for laughs."
Apparently a cut screened in February to industry people was far more biting than the tame, "We Are The World"- esque singalong with celebrities like Bono and Coldplay's Chris Martin that now closes out the film -- which we singled out as being a "toothless and with-a-whimpering conclusion" in our review.The film does feature a cage-match UFC championship scenes, which we've discussed at length, and evidently the film ended shortly after that moment in the Feb cut.
Writer-director Richard Day (Arrested Development, Ellen) was among the industry figures at the screening. In that version, Day tells Movieline, “The cage-match kiss resulted in a violent attack on the couple. They then cut to a press event where they are announcing their marriage or plans to, I forget which. But the boyfriend is now drooling, seemingly brain-damaged, and in a wheelchair, played for laughs.”This violence jives with what Vulture wrote yesterday about the sequence via the film's production notes. The first time they tried to shoot the scene it didn't work out because the audience flipped out and the police, who got wind of what the scene would be about refused to play security.
Moments after the first embrace between the two men, chairs were pulled up and tossed, a fighter who had been watching from the audience climbed into the cage and challenged Baron Cohen to a fight. Director Charles got none of the footage he needed, but Baron Cohen and the crew escaped just in time. The police did not return to the scene.Perhaps they used that experience to stage their original ending? Meanwhile, Richard Day was one of the two gay people in the audience and wasn't entirely thrilled with the scene despite the fact that the rest of the viewers were fine with it.
“Then I started in and Jack joined with his thoughts. By the time I got to the bashing, the audience started defending the movie. They were annoyed with us for ruining the party.”When Movieline reached out to Universal about the changed ending, their response was, "no comment." Day said Sacha Baron Cohen and "Brüno"director Larry Charles reached out to him earlier to include a "gay voice," but after an initial meeting with the filmmakers he never heard back. “I guess he was overruled or I blew the meeting or something. I remember telling them it read like it was written by people who didn’t know much about actual gay life, but I don’t remember it making me angry or anything.”
Clooney Takes His Smokehouse Production Shingle To Sony
George Clooney and Grant Heslov have moved their production company, Smokehouse Pictures, from Warner Brothers to Sony which feels like a very odd move considering Sony is generally all about mainstream movies and dumping smaller projects like, "Moneyball," and Warner Bros. is perhaps the most daring studio of 2009 having already released challenging and difficult films like, "Watchmen," and "Observe & Report," not to mention spent millions helping Spike Jonze realize his expensive vision for "Where The Wild Thins Are."
The two still have a plethora of projects in development at the studio but will now forth be working at Sony. Heslov recently made his directorial debut helming Clooney in "The Men Who Stare At Goats" which will likely see a release sometime in the fall. They must have hit it off, but we still yearn for the Section 8 partnership of Clooney and Steven Soderbergh that yielded some great indies ("Insomnia," "Syriana," "A Scanner Darkly" and "Michael Clayton"), but sadly shut down at the end of 2006 when the filmmaker wanted to focus on directing again.
Then again, "Good Night, And Good Luck," which Clooney directed, was a Section 8 film produced and written by Heslov so hopefully that's a strong indication that the quality will remain.
Under their aegis, Smokehouse has projects like the legal drama "The Challenge," penned by Aaron Sorkin (go Facebook! go!) on the go, a John Grisham adaptation "The Innocent Man" (which David Gordon Green was once attached to), and "The Tourist," a project that Tom Cruise was circling earlier this year, among several others. [Variety]
First Look: Brandon Routh In 'Scott Pilgrim,' Megan Fox Reviews 'Revenge Of The Fallen,' New 'Precious' Poster
Here's a glimpse at Brandon Routh as Todd Ingram in "Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World." Ingram is the third boyfriend of Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) who has special vegan psychic powers and also plays bass in Clash at Demonhead who is fronted by Brie Larson's character Envy Adams. [EdgarWrightIsHere]
Megan Fox keeps lobbing hilarious digs at Michael Bay and "Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen." You gotta love her spunk. "I’m in the movie, and I read the script, and I watched the movie, and I still didn’t know what was happening. So I think if you haven’t read the script and you go and you see it and you understand it, I think you might be a genius." [Movieline]
Seth Rogen and Barbra Streisand may make the unlikeliest of duos in an upcoming road trip comedy, "Mother's Curse." Nothing is in concrete though as the project is described by Rogen himself as "one of the many projects I may or may not do in the next fifteen years." Ridiculously awesome or just ridiculous? Either way, it sounds pie-in-the-sky-ish and nothing to bank on quite yet. [HitFix]
Bill Nighy is reportedly set to join the cast of "Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows" as the Minister Of Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour. The actor had apparently previously complained about being "the only British actor who hasn't been in Harry Potter." [Leaky Cauldron]
IFC has revealed its upcoming slate which includes nine pictures coming out between July and October. No exact dates are given in this frustrating article, but it appears that John Krasinski's directorial debut, "Brief Interviews with Hideous Men"will arrive in September, while Doug Pray's "Art & Copy" advertising documentary will hit in August, as will Ondi Timoner's "We Live in Public" web doc. [Variety]
A new poster for Lee Daniels' "Precious: Based On The Novel Push By Sapphire" has been unveiled. This one is quite excellent and far better than the first one, but they can't sell this to a mainstream crowd unfortunately. [HitFix]
Annette Bening, Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Josh Hutcherson and Mia Wasikowska are all set to star in Lisa Cholodenko's "The Kids Are All Right." The film begins shooting today and centers on a brother and sister who set out to find their same-sex parents' sperm donor, who totally upsets their family dynamic once he enters their lives. Wasikowska is of course Tim Burton's title character in "Alice In Wonderland." Cholodenko you'll remember directed the decent indie flicks, "Laurel Canyon" and "High Art." [Variety]
The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has invited 134 members artists to its ranks among those including Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, Seth Rogen, James Franco, Michael Cera, Paul Rudd, Michael Shannon, Casey Affleck, Amy Ryan, Michelle Williams, James McEvoy, Danny Boyle and Dustin Lance Black. [Variety]
Matt Reeves ("Cloverfield") says his inspiration to remake the Swedish vampire film, "Let The Right One In" was a individualistic one. "I was so taken with the story and I had a very personal reaction. It reminded me a lot of my childhood, with the metaphor that the hard times of your pre-adolescent, early adolescent moment, that painful experience is a horror." How about spending your time and money on therapy instead of compensating by butchering this? [L.A. Times]
Charlie Day ("It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia") and Christina Applegate have joined Drew Barrymore and Justin Long in the Nanette Burstein ("American Teen") helmed "Going The Distance." The film will follows the story of a couple who are trying to maintain a long-distance relationship. Like the majority of rom-coms weren't mundane enough. [THR]
Terry Gilliam Drops 'Zero Theorem' With Billy Bob Thornton, Still Holds Hope For Johnny Depp On 'Don Quixote'
After the roller coaster ride that has been the publicity and marketing for "The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus," Terry Gilliam has revealed to Dreams (an obsessive Gilliam fansite) that his previously planned film "Zero Theorem" have been canned. But it was the director himself who ankled the project.
"That was a thing that I was going to be doing this year," the director noted. "I thought I could do it quite quickly and cheaply, and that would be a nice one, rather than getting caught in more expensive, more complicated or hard-to-finance things. But the year just got swallowed up by 'Parnassus' and publicity, and preparation for 'Don Quixote.' I just didn't think it would be viable and I pulled the plug earlier this year."
"Zero Theorem" was set to star Billy Bob Thornton as a reclusive 'cubicle zombie' who juggles a top secret project involving an unsolvable theorem, a relationship with a gorgeous woman, a friendship with a young rebellious whizkid and questions of his own existence and piece of mind. Shooting had originally been planned to begin in May. 
Gilliam also seemingly still holds hope for Johnny Depp returning to "The Man Who Killed Don Quixote." Despite Depp having publicly expressing a distinct lack of interest and even questioning Gilliam's own return to the ill-fated project, Gilliam admitted: "Johnny gets first dibs on the thing. I think he is just tied up with too many big projects that he is locked himself into. Neither [producer] Jeremy Thomas nor myself feel we can wait until Johnny's available. Nevertheless, he gets first choice, and we'll see if anything changes on his dance card."
Hmm, that still smells like a no. How about working with Jude Law since he was the first pick for 'Imaginarium' before Heath Ledger took the role. And or Colin Farrell who seems to be back on track.
The spectacular failure of the original attempt to shoot 'Don Quxiote,' was infamously documented in "Lost In La Mancha," but Gilliam insists a lot has changed since then. "We've done quite a rewrite on the thing, and it's not quite the same project it was. The character is basically more rounded. I've changed his story, the character of the Man Who Kills. And Don Quixote himself has been changed. Events are the same, but the reasons the events occur are now different, if that's understandable!"
Before all that though, Gilliam's latest film "The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus" is still seeking U.S. distribution and will be making an appearance at this year's San Diego Comic Con. [/Film]
Legal Path Cleared For Steven Spielberg & Will Smith To Butcher 'Oldboy'
We recently celebrated the prospect that pending legal proceedings could potentially hinder the progress of Steven Spielberg and Will Smith's ridiculous and unnecessary remake of Park Chan-Wook's "Oldboy" (look, there's just no need for it, let alone a watered-down American version). Those celebrations, however, have now been revealed to be premature and unfounded.
Previously, the publisher of the "Oldboy" comic, Futabasha, had filed a case against the production company who reportedly dealt with Universal for the remake rights, Show East. Now, according to Reuters, Show East has shut down its operations, is possibly bankrupt and has had its CEO literally gone missing. Furthermore, a sales company, Cineclick Asia, have come forth as the negotiator for the remake deal with things now back on track for Universal as the rights have ended up in their hands via Mandate and Vertigo Entertainment.
We're not 100% sure what all that legal whiz-bang means but the bottom line is this: we're going need some serious divine intervention to stop this now. Someone, please.
Originally written by manga writers, Nobuaki Minegishi and Garon Tsuchiya, "Old Boy" is a very twisted story of revenge about a man kidnapped and imprisoned for 15 years seemingly for random reasons. When the imprisoned man is finally released, he discovers he must find his captor's motives in 5 days or the abductor will kill a recent female friend that innocent man has made. Considering how diabolical and transgressive the ending is (elements of incest), it seems doubtful that popcorn-aesthetes like Smith and Spielberg could deliver something up to snuff.
The film was the second installment of Chan Wook's "Vengeance Trilogy" and won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival in 2004, second only to Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11" which won the Palme d'Or that year.
6/30/2009
Steven Soderbergh's 'The Informant' Trailer With Matt Damon
More commentary and context tomorrow, but man, we cannot wait for this. It looks like a blast. In the meantime, here's one of the larger synopsis for this upcoming Steven Soderbergh black comedy. You gotta love how much weight Matt Damon puts on (would Tom Cruise ever pull a move like this? Will Smith?) and just how committed his performance appears to making his character seem like a total buffoon. When was the last time a major star put on serious weight for a role?
What was Mark Whitacre (Matt Damon) thinking? A rising star at agri-industry giant Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), Whitacre suddenly turns whistleblower. Even as he exposes his company’s multi-national price-fixing conspiracy to the FBI, Whitacre envisions himself being hailed as a hero of the common man and handed a promotion. But before all that can happen, the FBI needs evidence, so Whitacre eagerly agrees to wear a wire and carry a hidden tape recorder in his briefcase, imagining himself as a kind of de facto secret agent. Unfortunately for the FBI, their lead witness hasn’t been quite so forthcoming about helping himself to the corporate coffers. Whitacre’s ever-changing account frustrates the agents and threatens the case against ADM as it becomes almost impossible to decipher what is real and what is the product of Whitacre’s rambling imagination. Based on the true story of the highest-ranking corporate whistleblower in U.S. history.The film also stars, Tony Hale (Buster from "Arrested Development"), Scott Bakula, Melanie Lynskey (Kate Winslet's other half in "Heavenly Creatures") and Joel McHale from E!'s weekly comedy pop culture commentary series, "The Soup." The score was also written by venerable composer Marvin Hamlisch ("Take the Money And Run," "The Sting," "Ordinary People"), who before 2008's documentary, "Every Little Step," hadn't had a feature film composing credit since 1996. We're hoping he bring some ironic schmaltz to the proceedings.
"The Informant" hits theaters October 9th. Can't remember if we put this in our TIFF picks, but it seems like something that would be there.
'Public Enemies': A Fascinating & Ultimately Frustrating, Moody Arthouse Blockbuster
The moody and intense "Public Enemies" is a curious picture, and mark our words, it's going to be a great divider with lots in two polarized camps of love or hate. One, because it's paradoxically wandering and aimless and at other times fully engaging. It's one half of a great film that sometimes becomes — as Michael Mann seems to be as a person — too meditatively obsessed with details that detract from the big picture, but also create a super detailed and rich universe to be transported into. It might just boil down to what you truly value in a film and your subjectivity, but there's a strong chance that those without patience will find it dull and erratic as bursts of tommy gun fire.
It's also one of the most bold and unconventional summer blockbusters released in recent memory, but let's judge it as a stand-alone picture and not what it should or shouldn't be in the middle of the summer. After all, its date is really a ruse. It's a Michael Mann film that's not a tentpole film which happens to be released in July because of names like Johnny Depp, Christian Bale and the $$ possibilities of a "gangster epic" with two heavyweights going toe-to-toe. That alone is admittedly a delicious premise, but if you've come strictly for an action film, you've come to the wrong place.
And although, frequently gripping, intense and masterfully crafted (Mann has a near erection for production design) the filmmaker's 10th feature is also as uneven as his oeuvre (many will disagree, let them) and not at all a blockbuster. It's also emotionally aloof, slow to coalesce and editorially neutral to almost an infuriating degree, not to mention free of most traditional narrative beats, which can make for a laborious experience. Characters don't have arcs and in fact, it so defies the three-act structure, it resembles more of a chronicle of two Alpha Males on a doggedly linear collision course than it does any A-B-C story and one often bereft of heart or soul. And yet still, there's ancillary pleasures and elements to admire.
Marketed as a 1930s action gangster picture, what Mann has really delivered is a meticulous, slow-burning arthouse saga that is incredibly idiosyncratic and bares his stamp everywhere. Whether mainstream audiences will respond to this picture as they would a regular summer tentpole however, remains to be seen.
In this respect, the film resembles the POV-less "Che," realized by Stephen Soderbergh. Expository dialogue is kept to a minimum and we learn about every character, through their actions, not their words. And while the apolitical nature of "Che" was by design, and perhaps necessary given the polarizing figure, this tack utilized in a 1930s gangster picture feels like an odd choice, especially given the lead character, John Dillinger is ostensibly playing a Robin Hood type character.The digital photography is another strange aesthetic decision which will leave some viewers feeling one layer further removed from the emotional coolness. While it can take one out of the picture initially--and the digital framing does look out of place--it is a far more pleasing and successful look than the grainy mess of "Miami Vice" (but the shaky, extreme close-up feel anachronistic).
Zero character motivations or back story are given and the audience joins what feels like a story in progress. John Dillinger (Depp) is in the middle of his notorious crime wave and one so huge it creates ripples around the then, still-provincial United States. A veritable folk hero, he is essentially unattainable from the law, as the man-of-the-people celebrity status he enjoys affords him undercover asylum in any city he decides to cool off in. But the politically motivated J. Edger Hoover (unctuously played by Billy Crudup with an adenoidal and off putting accent) has other plans and anoints Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale) to be the star officer of his nascent FBI agency after the goldenboy policeman becomes distinguished for terminating prominent bank robber Pretty Boy Floyd (Channing Tatum, in a brief cameo) with extreme prejudice. A champion of press attention and manipulation, Hoover ostensibly has a long term game plan, deftly realizing the capture of Dillinger and infamous criminals like Baby Face Nelson (Stephen Graham) will get his embryonic Bureau off the ground and the funding it needs, but this can only really be inferred (and if you haven't read the script you might be scratching your head in certain parts).
Mann's movies have been increasingly free of the familiar rhythms of mainstream moviemaking, sans big dramatic turning-points, and 'Enemies' is no different, perhaps going subtle to a fault. The understatement extends to performances too. Christian. Bale's FBI man is so subterranean, his character feels either incredibly ill-defined or impossible to get a read on. And truthfully it feels like a bit of both as his only clear motivation seems to be to uphold justice which makes him rather one-dimensional (Bale also might want to take a romantic comedy, his unsmiling methodness is getting to be a bit dour of late).
Other characters — and there are many of them — are equally poorly sketched out. The Dillinger gang member Charles Makley (Christian Stolte) is clearly a loose cannon, but that's about all we get out of him. Overloaded with name-brand actors, aside from maybe Stephen Dorff's Homer Van Meter character — who still has about as much character depth as "loyal Dillinger gang member" — the rest of the names, Giovanni Ribisi, David Wenham, Lili Taylor, Leelee Sobieski, Carey Mulligan, Channing Tatum, Rory Cochrane and Stephen Lang, are essentially glorified cameo placeholders without a ton of substance. Mann seems so beholden to history that he fails to dramatize much with his docu-drama-like style. Yet at the same time, he clearly wishes to romanticize Dillinger and it's almost as if he's at odds with himself.
As per usual, the director seems to be obsessed with the nature of great men and how to fetishize their manly actions, many times at the expense of forward narrative. It's like a careful character study of actions, but not personality and unlike "Che," the actions don't reveal a ton about the still mysterious characters.
The saving grace character and acting wise is the charismatic Johnny Depp and the underused Marion Cotillard. Their love story, which sort of leads Dillinger astray, is presumably the focal point, but there's so many threads in the picture, the crux of the picture becomes hazy. Still, as overly serious as many Mann films can be, Depp's sly, sang-froid and jovial performance helps the picture from backsliding too much into humorless territory (something that truly marred "Miami Vice"). His relaxed, live-for-today attitude is also well-rounded, possessing a duality of hubris and caution with fiery, impulsive passion as well. Naturally then, Dillinger is a contradictory persona, giving his coat to a woman he just kidnapped momentarily (just to get away of course) and telling old timers to take their personal earnings back ("we're here for the bank's money, not yours," Dillinger says). A cold blooded killer who also happens to be a people person who cares. The beautiful belle, Cotillard as Dillinger's "Blackbird," babe, is steely eyed, resolute and extremely capable, but her character also doesn't have a lot to do other than put up mild defenses to Depp's brazen charms. Moreover, the reasons for his passionate love seem rail thin; he seemingly is only magnetically drawn to her for her bewitching looks, as we really don't get to know them together as a couple.
His Robin Hood-like actions, quickly gain him the empathy of the people still in the depths of the depression, headlines in the press, and obviously, the attention of the Feds. In this regard, the measured showdown between two Alpha Males on the opposite sides of the law reminds us of "Heat" simply in another setting — Pacino vs. DeNiro with a whole surplus of side players and a girl under the arm of the badboy (and like "Heat," Depp and Bale also have only one face-off in the film).If 'Enemies' attempts to say anything at all (aside from being strictly a historical heavyweight bout from another era), it's perhaps that all of us must adapt or face extinction. While love is part of Dillinger's downfall, what really bring on his fate is his need for attention and thrills. Bank robbing, even by 1930s is too loud of a game. It draws plenty of Federal attention and headlines that are bad for business and his criminal underworld peers (characterized by a slickster, John Ortiz) quickly shut him out (they're already on to quieter, state of the art illegal business — using a vast phone network and taking advantage of the coastal time zone differences to rig bets on horse races that haven taken place yet). Displacing the order of things, Dillinger is persona non grata everywhere and his demise seems inevitable. While he's been indulging carefree in his untouchable crime status, he's become an antiquated figure. A man on the outs with the times of his day.
'Enemies' is immense and the symphonic grandeur and scope will surely beguile those seduced with craft. An immersive experience, the biggest strength of the somewhat aimless first half of the picture, is just how ensconced the viewer becomes in Mann's precisionist world. The filmmaker only deals with five course meals, no truffles here. When Bale's Purvis' pursuit finally starts to box-in the criminal, making him "feel the heat," the picture starts to light up with thrilling and intense action sequences; something finally feels like its at stake. When the throttle is let loose, the picture roars. These sequences in the picture's third act are taut and at times, mesmerizing, but they also arrive during the 3/4 mark of a two hour and 20 minute film with no discernible structure. A little too late is perhaps an overstatement, but it comes close.
Elliot Goldenthal's score, while mostly restrained and reigned in, is quite sublime when it eventually opens up helping the film achieve some dramatic poignancy and making up for lost time and misplaced emotional hooks.
Mann is no doubt a director of vision and the initial experience of the sweeping third act is electric, but by this point, the connection between audience and characters still feels largely distant. There is power and resonance in the delivery and well-observed execution, however, the deliberate pace and internal-world characterizations frustratingly mute the overall impact.
At two hours and twenty minutes, "Public Enemies" takes a long time to hook its claws and will test patience and or just lose people along the way. It's hard to imagine cineplexgoers flocking to this one unless all they've seen is the rough and tumble, rock n' sock 'em trailers we complained about earlier this year. Like Mann and many of his pictures, 'Enemies,' is systematic and methodical (it also aggressively follows the script that he co-wrote to the very letter, which gives you perhaps another example of the director's notorious perfectionism), and so the clinical air makes some of the proceedings rather lifeless. Some have already carped about the complaints thrown at 'Enemies': "aren't you glad there's pictures like this being made during the summer?," they crow in attempts to scold you for censuring an adventurous tentpole. Sure, that goes without saying, but they still have to be enjoyable. And what, we're supposed to overlook what doesn't work on as a whole because of the calendar month? Sorry, no. [B-]
'Couples Retreat' Trailer & Poster
Vince Vaugh and Jon Favreau's belated re-teaming with their production pal, Peter Billingsley (the latter two co-produced the show "Dinner For Five" on IFC before they were "Iron Man"-sized superstars) has arrived in the form of the upcoming romantic comedy, "Couples Retreat."
Billingsley (who always makes cameos in Favreau and Vaughn films like "Elf" and "The Break-Up") make his directorial debut with a story essentially about four couple who take off on a tropical island resort. One of the couples is working on their marriage and by proxy the others are sucked into the resort's couples therapy. Here's the official synopsis:
Vince Vaughn, Jason Bateman, Jon Favreau, Malin Akerman, Kristin Davis, Kristen Bell and Faizon Love star in Universal Pictures’ upcoming comedy Couples Retreat. Based on an original idea of Vaughn’s, the comedy follows four Midwestern couples who embark on a journey to a tropical island resort. While one of the couples is there to work on their marriage, the other three set out to jet ski, spa and enjoy some fun in the sun. They soon discover that participation in the resort’s couples therapy is not optional. Suddenly, their group-rate vacation comes at a price. What follows is a hilarious look at real world problems faced by all couples. The film also stars Kali Hawk and Jean Reno.It doesn't look like it will re-invent the wheel, naturally, but it does look like another good time blast of dude-centric comedy. These guys are really great at riffing, Bateman is a perfect addition, and it should please in the exact way it's meant to. presumably bringing in a boatload of female audiences as well who want to watch a fun, battle of the sexes. A.R Rahman of "Slumdog Millionaire" composed the score and the picture is due October 9, 2009.
International 'Inglorious Basterds' Trailer Is Fun, But Not Really The Final Picture
This fast and funky "Inglourious Basterds" international trailer is what most Quentin Tarantino fans have been waiting for. "That's more like it!," is the thinking.
It's fun, features blaxploitation funk, a few scenes we haven't already seen and some humor not evinced in past trailers. It should make Tarantino fans more excited. However, for those that like to complain about trailers that try and sell an entirely different movie -- and there are many of those people out there, including us from time to time --- here's your prime example. This basically takes all the violence and fast-moving parts and jams them together with propulsive '70s funk and yes, it totally works. But it's not the picture Tarantino made and its not the picture that we saw at Cannes. Some are convinced that the upcoming August 21 cut of 'Basterds' is going to be drastically different and much more exciting than the initial reports, but we're not buying it.
Harvey Weinstein has already suggested there's probably going to be a version with minimal cuts that is either shortened and or extended by 7-10 minutes, and the way, the jenga, building blocks of this script and story were framed, you can't just all of a sudden radically change it (if you've read the script even you can probably figure this out already). Therefore, 'Basterds' is still going to be the slow-moving, chatty talk fest with outbursts of Tarantino-esque violence we've seen. But expect something closer to "Jackie Brown," than anything else he's made in terms of languid pace. That said, some will still love it, no matter what, and that's cool, everyone filmmaker needs their devotees, but we're just saying: don't let this one change your expectations too much. Good trailer though, for sure. Way to sell it TWC (or Universal international or whoever cut it).
[IFan/Tarantino Archives]
Trailer For Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Satirical Gun Trade Comedy 'Micmacs à tire-larigot'
We're big fans of French filmmaker Jean-Pierre Jeunet, the director behind three stone-cold whimsical French classics, "Delicatessen," "The City of Lost Children," and "Amélie" (less successful, but still interesting works include "Alien Resurrection" and "A Very Long Engagement").
He has not made a film since 2004 with 'Engagement,' but his latest, "Micmacs à tire-larigot" is something we highly look forward to and included it in our Most Anticipated of 2009 feature written early this year. 'Micmacs' is a a satirical film about the gun trade starring excellent French actor Dany Boon (the French dramedy, "My Best Friend," which is being adapted into English by Wes Anderson) and now a teaser trailer has arrived (some English interpretations of the title include, "Dodgy Dealings By the Dozens" and "An Endless Big Mess," but apparently the original is French slang; don't be surprised if the title changes to something more conventional for North America).
Granted its in French with no subtitles, but anything Jeunet creates is worth looking at. Here's the synopsis from Twitch which makes it sounds somewhat similar to the basic premise of "Nailed."Is it better to live with a bullet lodged in your brain, even if it means you might drop dead any time? Or would you rather have the bullet taken out and live the rest of your life as a vegetable? Are zebras white with black stripes or black with white stripes? Is scrap metal worth more than landmines? Can you get drunk from eating waffles? Can a woman fit inside a refrigerator? What’s the human cannonball world record?Find out answers to these questions and more. A comedy in the vein of Delicatessen and Amélie.
No word yet as to when this one hits the U.S., but it's scheduled for a release in France on October 28. We're hoping the film debuts at the Toronto International Film Festival and it's supposedly set for release stateside this year. And the release of a teaser trailer bodes well for that "coming-soon" thinking (though it's entirely possible we might not see this one until 2010). And if you're wondering, this teaser trailer definitely harkens back to the wacky and wonderfully tone of "Amelie" and not the seriousness of "A Very Long Engagement."
Evan Rachel Wood Tries To Tame Bono's Pretentiousness On 'Spider-Man' Musical
We missed this the first time. Evan Rachel Wood trying to mollify Bono's humorlessness when writing music for Julie Taymor's "Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark," Broadway musical. Funny...
“Bono and the Edge are doing the music. It was hysterical, I got to do the workshop, sit down with them playing guitars going over the music, and I was making jokes going, watch by the end of this, I’ll be telling them what to do. And by the end I was! I was like, 'Bono, I know you want to save the world and everything, but in this song you’re talking about poverty and world hunger and it’s Broadway, can we lighten this up a bit, can I just not sing this?' And he was like, [in Irish accent] ‘You’re right, I know, we have to try, we have to try.’”[RS/Tripwire]
Celine Dion Song Replaces Elton John Track In "Brüno"
While we didn't love "Brüno," a mildly funny film with a lot of fleeting and forgettable laughs, one scene in particular we did rather like -- filled with the incisive social commentary we were hoping for -- was the "Straight Dave" Ultimate Fighting Championship face-off scene (detailed here at length).
As we reported earlier this month, the scene originally included Elton John’s "Can You Feel the Love Tonight," originally from "The Lion King," but either Disney and seemingly John himself pulled the song from the scene perhaps fearing the sequence was too outrageous.
And it kind of is. The moment is a part in the film when Sacha Baron Cohen's flamboyant Austrian character attempts to go straight and starts to host a homophobic show called “Dave’s MAX Out,” a "gay-loathing party to end all gay-loathing parties." It gives us our first peek at Straight Dave; the newly invented Brüno persona that is mustachioed, hirsute and decked out in camouflage gear and an outback hat -- uber straight as it were. But eventually, he gets called out as a "faggot" by his ex-assistant who is in love with him and the two duke it out in the ring. Of course, all the hot and aggressive groping eventually goes gay much to the freaked-out outrage of the audience, and one particular glorious slow-motion shot captures an overzealous red-faced fan crying. It's rather beautifully funny.
The scene of course was remarkably soundtracked to the aforementioned "Lion King," song and as we wrote, when we first reported that the song had been dumped, we were partially worried that the excellent scene had been ruined or tamed beyond recognition (we first saw the original version at SXSW). However, all is well that ends well. Obviously, we've seen "Brüno," and we can report that they made an awesome alternate choice in Celine Dion's uber-schmaltz theme from "Titanic," "My Heart Will Go On."
Suffice to say, a sweaty, half-naked Brüno making out to with his assistant in slow-motion to this cheeseball anthem, while redneckers look on in utter disgust and shock is a pretty amazing moment. Now if only the rest of the movie was this good...
Funnyball With 'Moneyball'
There's some strange, C.I.A.-type shit and secretiveness happening with the deep-sixed Steven Soderbergh baseball film, "Moneyball," and it went down clandestinely this weekend.
In fact, the drama behind "Moneyball" is quickly becoming the real story. Script Shadow got a hold of an email, allegedly from someone within first-hand knowledge of what went down behind the scenes, and published it on their site late Sunday evening. And whatever was in the piece, was so hot, it basically had cease and desist lawyer-like action descend on it immediately.
The story went up and then was edited upon request, but then a few hours later the entire post was pulled like it never existed (and it appears to be wiped out from google cache). ScriptShadow is not talking. Judging by folks who read the in question email and the comments section, it's something about MLB (perhaps not so conspiracy, though not exactly what you think either), script authenticity and interpersonal dramas not for repeat here (not to mention some possible blame gaming). Is that vague and murky enough for you? That's on purpose, but suffice to say there's more backstage stuff happening with "Moneyball" that hasn't been reported in the press and it's contentious enough to have legal types act super fast — apparently the email was also posted in the comments section of a prominent web blog we all read, but was also pulled within the hour. What's happening? Various people are doing their best to distance themselves from it. But as a reader notes, "if the legal folks stepped in, then it must be a pretty damned accurate summation of what went down."
According to a brief mention in a Variety article from last night, Columbia/Sony are still trying to make the film happen with Brad Pitt and Soderbergh, but you gotta wonder just how long this can go on for. What also seems very real is that Sony has already spent more than $10 million on the film so far including the interviews Soderbergh shot and paying for the various script drafts.
Will more info come out? Beats us, but consider this one, not quite dead yet.
Peter Jackson Talks Paramount's Oscar Push For 'The Lovely Bones,' Reveals That 'Dambusters' Is Waiting On Him
Based on the critically acclaimed Alice Sebold novel, Peter Jackson's "The Lovely Bones" was always tipped for Oscar potential. Speaking with Stuff (via Filmonic) though, Jackson has revealed that Paramount had originally planned a March release before they saw a cut of the film.
"When we showed them the cut late last year, they decided to delay the release until December to plop it into the 'awards season' which is a nice vote of confidence in the movie," admitted Jackson.
The delay has evidently given the director a healthy amount of time to work on final cut — something early test screening reviews of the film noted was necessary — and spend more time on the visual effects needed to presumably perfect the depiction of the world between Earth and heaven which the film's protagonist finds herself in.
"Sometimes you wish you could pop the movie on a shelf for three months and come back to it with fresh eyes," Jackson added. "I wish we had this time on 'King Kong,' which we badly wanted to reduce by 20 minutes, but we ran out of time before figuring out how to do it."
"The Lovely Bones" follows the story of deceased victim Susie Salmon, played by Saoirse Ronan, as she struggles between her dichotomous desires for vengeance against her murderer and wishes for her family to grieve and rebuild their lives. Starring alongside Ronan will be the likes of Mark Wahlberg, Susan Sarandon, Stanley Tucci and Rachel Weisz.
Jackson also took time to discuss his involvement with "Dambusters," a film about the 617 Squadron's famous dam assault scribed by British film star Stephen Fry (who is set voice the Cheshire Cat in Tim Burton's "Alice In Wonderland") and set to be helmed by first time New Zealand director Christian Rivers.
"I need to polish a draft of the script, and I've been too busy," noted Jackson. "Fortunately, there's no ticking clock, but that has meant that it's been held up. I'll get my draft done soon, and will get it, ahem, off the ground."
The film had previously undertaken test shooting in New Zealand earlier in the year. As for "Tintin," apparently he and Spielberg are also still open to co-directing a third 'Tintin' film, but evidently Jackson won't even start directing the second feature until summer 2010 at the earliest ("The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn," is being worked on by Jackson in post-production right now). There's also the development of "The Hobbit" on his current plate. Dude is a busy man and you have to wonder or worry if he's taking on too much.
Jackson's 'Bones,' meanwhile, is set for a December 11th release.
Amy Adams Set To Join Boston Boxing Drama, 'The Fighter'
Amy Adams is in negotiations to join the cast of "The Fighter," a boxing drama once under the aegis of Darren Aronofsky and now to be directed by mercurial filmmaker David O. Russell.
Adams will play Charlene, a tough, gritty bartender who ends up dating Mark Wahlberg's character, Micky Ward, the film's protagonist whose rise from the streets of Lowell, Massachusetts to the world lightweight boxing champion will drive the story.
Also already on board are Christian Bale, who plays Ward's half brother and trainer Dickie Eklund, and Melissa Leo, who will play the brothers' mother. That's a sweet cast of A-listers. Bale recently said in an interview that the film was just weeks away from shooting and the trades confirm this reporting the film is set to begin production this summer.
Project is shaping up very nicely, and it's been a long time coming. The picture was first announced — with Matt Damon in the lead part (now taken by Bale) — in February of 2007. Damon left the project and Brad Pitt took over for Damon in Sept. '07, but eventually dropped out in the fall of last year. Afterwards, the project seemed to be up in the air, but finally came together in April when O. Russell stepped in for Aronofsky and Bale took the lead role. We wrote a fairly lengthy review of the excellent script last year. Consider it now at the top of our Most Anticipated 2010 list. Can't wait.
Many are still asking as a side note though: what's happening with O. Russell's political satire, "Nailed." From all we've heard, nothing. So don't hold your breath. [Variety]
Heath Ledger Signed On For 'The Dark Knight' With The Intention Of Getting Fired?
Despite his extraordinary turn as the Joker in Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight" last year, an article in Vanity Fair this week on the late and great Heath Ledger alleges that the actor signed on to the project with the intention of eventually being laid off with financial compensation.
According the actor's agent, Steven Alexander, Ledger signed a pay-or-play deal for "The Dark Knight" which meant compensation would be granted for the actor with or without a performance. As a result, Ledger reportedly had absolute freedom to explore the role and do whatever he wanted as the Joker — which may have been why he went the the direction he did.
"Friends" reportedly also noted that Ledger was attracted to the role of the Joker as the lengthy shoot would allow him to reject other offers while Nicola Pecorini, cinematographer on Ledger's final role in Terry Gilliam's "The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus," further added that Ledger had gone as far as hoping that he would be fired and, subsequently, benefit from a lengthy, paid vacation.
Be that as it may, we're not too sure what Vanity Fair, Pecorini and Alexander are trying to achieve by revealing such alleged information (and images such as this for that matter. We're all for light heartedness but is it appropriate for a piece titled "Heath Remembered"? Not to mention all the marital drama in the piece the brings up dirt with Michelle Williams that we won't bother to address here).
"[Heath] was always hesitant to be in a summer blockbuster, with the dolls and action figures and everything else that comes with one of those movies. He was afraid it would define him and limit his choices," added Alexander. "He was a private person, and he didn’t want to share his personal history with the press. It just wasn’t up for sale. That’s part of the reason he initially tore down his career. He wasn’t motivated by money or stardom, but by the respect of his peers, and for people to walk out of a movie theater after they’d seen something that he’d worked on and say, ‘Wow, he really disappeared into that character.’ He was striving to become an ‘illusionist,’ as he called it, able to create characters that weren’t there."
Ledger's final performance in "The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus" is still yet find to U.S. distribution though was recently bought by Lionsgate in the U.K. possibly boding well for a potential release by the company's U.S. arm. Clips of the film will also appear at ComicCon 2009 in July which could also hopefully facilitate a sale.
New Tony Scott/Denzel Project Maybe Not Be So 'Unstoppable,' Michelle Trachtenberg Joins 'A Couple Of Dicks,' Alia Shawkat For 'The Runaways'?
We're making an effort to avoid all corny puns here but Tony Scott's upcoming project "Unstoppable" has been... held back over disagreements regarding the film's budget. The film was set to shoot in the fall and has Denzel Washington and Chris Pine on board though reports are that the mediocre box office performance of Scott's "The Taking Of Pelham 123" and the studio's fear of potential wages for Washington, Scott and Pine have... hindered the project's progress. Everyone's playing it safe these days. [THR]
Kevin Smith's "A Couple Of Dicks" has added Michelle Trachtenberg to its cast. The actress will play the daughter of Bruce Willis' character who is also Jason Lee's character's stepdaughter. Filming is currently taking place on the east coast. [Variety]
Jane Lynch on her role in Greg Mottola's "Paul": "I have a small part... I play the owner of a restaurant called "The Alie-Inn." It’s full of paraphernalia and everything and [Simon Pegg and Nick Frost's characters] stop at this place and they almost get beat up by these rednecks and I come to their aid." [Collider]
The underrated and underused Guy Pearce is set to join the Katie Holmes led supernatural thriller "Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark." Based on the 1973 ABC telemovie, the Troy Nixey-helmed project will center on a young girl who movies with her father and his partner only to discover the house she now resides in is home to demonic creatures. The film is written and produced by Guillermo Del Toro. Bailee Madison has also joined the cast. [THR]
"Arrested Development's" Alia Shawkat is rumored to be joining the cast of The Runaways biopic currently shooting with Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning as the leads. Shawkat will reportedly play a fictional bass player named Robin, who may or may not be based on Micki Steele, the band's original bass player who went on to join The Bangles. [LatinoReview]
6/29/2009
A Bloody Look: Pics Of Megan Fox & Amanda Seyfried in 'Jennifer's Body'
The photo of Megan Fox as a possessed, boy-eating high school student in Diablo Cody -penned, Karyn Kusama-directed "Jennifer's Body" is old news, but today we get real stills (ok, magazine scans of stills) from the black comedy teen horror flick via Empire Magazine (and Filmschoolrejects), and it's clear they didn't scrimp on the budget for corn syrup.
The four new images include Fox in her flag team uniform (going directly into the spank banks of 14-year old boys everywhere), Fox and co-star Amanda Seyfried (as her nerdy best friend) in class, Seyfried looking worse for the wear in some prom gear, and a creepy-looking Fox completely drenched in bloody gore. How do ya like your Transformers princess now, nerds?
Cody says about her first foray into horror, "So what’s scary? Teenage girls. Terrifying. I just thought about the most aggressive female bullies I had known in life… and imagined them as literal monsters."
We've read the script and liked it's wickedly wry tone, and it's made our list of most anticipated 2009 flicks, though right now there's some concern that director Karyn Kusama ("The L Word," "Aeon Flux," "Girlfight") missed the mark in her execution of the quirky horror comedy script (though the source is from an AICN test screening, so take that as you will, i.e. with a grain of salt).
"Jennifer's Body" hits theaters on September 18th and stars Fox, Seyfried, and Adam Brody as the lead singer of a Satan worshipping emo-douche band that gets Fox's Jennifer into this whole cannibalism mess.
'Brüno' Is Mostly Forgettable, Without Sharp, Satircial Bite
Considering just how uproariously funny and excruciatingly outrageous the footage of "Brüno" that screened at SXSW was — not to mention how it went over with audiences; like a carpetbomb of positive blog buzz — it's almost shocking to discover just how tame and forgettable the laughs of the final film product are.
While frequently diverting, marginally amusing and occasionally just plain funny, "Brüno" also contains ephemeral laughs that do not possess the hysterically subversive or arresting qualities hinted at in Austin back in March. While we hate to endorse the Wrap, and its rumors of "gay-friendly" endings, Sacha Baron Cohen's third feature-length film based on one of his "Da Ali-G Show" characters, does feel compromised on some levels. While somewhat scandalous, the comedy feels safe and not as disarming or sharp as the incisive social commentary hilarity of "Borat." But it’s not because the filmmakers reigned themselves in, rather it's largely due to lesser ambitions and deeper obligations to narrative. Unlike "Borat," which didn't try to hide the fact that it was a collection of sketches around a loose premise, "Brüno," tries harder to tether to a story, and sometimes at the expense of humor. It also feels all-too-familiar.
The story here starts with Brüno as we know him from "Da Ali G Show," a well-known Austrian fashion reporter who is fired and excommunicated from the fashion industry after a disastrous stunt at an Italian runway show (the infamous incident captured by various international outlets, precipitated from Brüno's all-Velcro outfit that grafts itself onto everything and causes mayhem backstage and on the catwalk).
Dishonored and dumped by his pygmy boyfriend — who he is seen earlier having wild gay sex with; think slingshot-enabling buttsex and champagne bottle in places they shouldn't be — Brüno decides to become famous and heads to the United States (wait, wasn't this sort of the exact premise of "Borat"). The only loyal member of his entourage is Paul, his assistant's assistant who he barely remembers. The two travel to L.A in hopes of attracting fame and fortune of course up to this point, much of what we're describing has mostly been all staged drama with actors (Paul and the pygmy bf). It's much harder to dupe innocent bystanders these days and much more of "Brüno" feels scripted and therefore not quite as electrically charged with that uneasy element of danger and surprise.
In the U.S., they try multiple failing tactics to ensure attention, including adopting a black African celeb accessory, err, child ala Madonna and try to launch a TV show with lo-rent celebs (Paula Abdul and LaToya Jackson who are fooled for all of 5 seconds of screen time; there's also that segment where Brüno is cast as an extra on "Medium" starring Patricia Arquette which brings guffaws, but feels like a funny, "gotcha" sketch).
While the story is far more premeditated than we're used to, it paradoxically feels like it's also being written on the fly. Brüno then fires his clearly enamored assistant and attempts to go straight as clearly "all the top celebs are hetero" (Tom Cruise and John Travolta are the prime examples, har har). It's corny one-line zingers like this that riddle much of the attempts at comedy and there's not enough of that hard-to-watch squirm-inducing humor we all love to watch and shriek at through semi-shielded fingers. The film plods along like this with muted and mixed results though the straight-Dave cage match section (articulated fully by us here), is admittedly still, wickedly delicious. But even when the film hits its targets dead-on, the laughs aren't unforgettable belly aches. The water cooler factor compared to "Borat," will be decidedly low.
All this talk of stronger narrative, is relative of course. "Brüno"s story is still largely a collection of gags, but one that's just not as successful or funny as its predecessor. Sadly, for a film arguably more politically charged than the one about the Kazakhstani simpleton, it says far less about homophobia and America than the striking ignorance and intolerance revealed in "Borat." The emphasis mostly seems to lie with Brüno, the gay buffoon, rather than bigoted society around him, and this is one of the key differences and problems compared to 'Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious ...' Also, what's up with the lack of mention of Larry Charles? Charles' name was all over "Borat," but you'd be hard pressed to find any press that reminds you he's also the director here. Maybe it's because this one feels much more like the Sacha Baron Cohen show.
Even at a scant 84 minutes, "Brüno" has few everlasting jokes and likely will not create the rippling culture-shock of its antecedent. Whether that's because expectations are higher, "Borat" inured us to militant offensive comedy, or even SXSW muted the experience is arguable, but the real likelihood is that "Brüno" in final film form is just not that funny, nor sustainable in quality for feature-film length running time.
One of the key qualities missing from footage at SXSW is the sheer relentlessness. When simply previewing scenes, Baron Cohen and co. could eschew story and simply bombard the audience with scathing humor. In their truncated forms, the same scenes feel hurried and less effective. Plus that element of uncompromising humor that goes on for too long is jettisoned. It's as if the filmmakers fell in love with each little scene and decided to give them all screen time rather than pummel the viewer with one particularly uncomfortable moment.
What exactly went wrong with "Brüno" will probably take a bit further examination, but the bottom line is it feels like a trifle, does not possess an air of danger, nor is it anywhere as biting or political as it should be.
One point of fault is perhaps Sacha Baron Cohen's relative overexposure and our awareness and understanding of his stealthy gags that either feels muzzled or too familiar. Where as many of the scenes in "Borat" felt all too magnetically real, sequences here feel staged. Yes, the overweight African American hooker in "Borat" was an actress, but she didn't feel like one. Clearly the hooker brought to a swingers party - part of the heterosexualizing the Brüno character attempt to undergo— and it undermines the humor. Another scene with a fortune teller and Brüno's need to connect with his deceased boyfriend Milli Vanilli suicide case is funny — Brüno explicitly pantomimes what he would do if he was present, including copious amounts of fellatio, ball suckling and arse to mouth cleansing. But the humor is slightly undercut by the nagging and debatable notion that the clairvoyant is actually an actor and therefore not as taken aback (or mortified) as one would like
The toothless and with-a-whimpering conclusion — that features a "We Are The World"-like sing-along with Bono, Chris Martin, Snoop Dogg, Elton John, Slash, but not Madonna as erroneously reported by the U.K. press — is also simply anticlimactic and unsatisfying. Not to mention it feels tacked on and tossed together. A disappointing sign-off to an underwhelming film. [C+]
Btw, if you're curious, "Brüno" comes out on July 10th and embargoes were lifted today.
'Amelia' Trailer: John Murphy's 'Sunshine' Score Dukes It Out With Clint Mansell For Trailer Score Supremacy
Move over Clint Mansell and your constantly aped original songs from "Requiem For A Dream," "The Fountain" and to a lesser extent, "Smokin' Aces," recycled for various trailers to import gravitas into lacking films. There's apparently a new musical game in town. Or actually, an old rival in the trailer music game: John Murphy whose "28 Days Later" theme was once the trailer song du jour for a moment Mansell and Murphy are constantly jockeying for position in this field or rather, music supervisors for trailers are always reaching for these go-to guys to juice their previews with sonic drama.
Murphy seems to have the upperhand today as a remix of "Surface Of The Sun," from Danny Boyle's "Sunshine," is the track that helps elevate this "Amelia" trailer — Hilary Swank's "Amelia," biopic about pioneering female aviator, Amelia Earhart — to such great heights.
While Mansell's aforementioned scores have been used to death in trailers to "I Am Legend," "LOTR: The Two Towers" and "Frost/Nixon" to name just a few, Murphy's "28 Days Later," and now "Sunshine" cuts are still being utilized more and more to push the envelope of dramatic grandiloquence ( Murphy's '28 Days' score was aped by the "Beowulf," and "Death Sentence" trailers). Basically, the grander and more sonorous the music, the greater chance that a band like Explosions will be featured, but we gotta say, the use of their music in this "Amelia" trailer is almost laughably melodramatic.
As for the film itself? Well it's about the relationship between famed aviatrix Amelia Earhart and her husband George Putnam (Richard Gere) and of course Earhart is played by one of our not-so-favorites, horseface Hilary Swank (Ewan McGregor, Christopher Eccleston, Mia Wasikowska and Virginia Madsen also co-star). It's set to hit theaters October 23 via Fox Searchlight and apparently has Oscar on its mind, but it remains to be seen if this one is going to be a true contender. Honestly, some more understated music might serve it a little better. We're big fans of Murphy's "Sunshine," score some of it performed and written with British techno duo Underworld, but we're the first to admit it's a little over-the-top (though it works for the sci-fi world of Boyle's picture).
"Amelia"
"In A Heartbeat" John Murphy's "28 Days Later" theme
"Beowulf" (around the 1:11 mark)
"Death Sentence" (near the end)
Who's Laughing Last? 'Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen' Has Already Grossed $387 Million Worldwide
Apparently dumb and dumber does pay off. Umm, laugh all you want at Michael Bay and take apart the incomprehensible mess that is "Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen," the film has already grossed $387 million worldwide making it the second highest grossing film around the world in 2009 ("Angels & Demons" is still #1 for now) and number three in the U.S., behind "Up" and "Star Trek," (these numbers soon to be bested in a few short weeks no doubt).
"Transformers 2"scored $201.2 million in five days domestically and almost matched the best five-day gross of all time: $203.8 million for "The Dark Knight" (domestic of course). Critics are obviously scratching their heads, but Bay is laughing all the way back to the bank and Paramount shareholders are probably pleased as punch. It's a bit sad that a spectacle this dumb is rewarded so well, but it's not like any of us weren't expecting it. [Variety]
Update: apparently the film is now at a $419 million global total as of Monday evening.
Academy Awards To Potentially Drop Best Original Song? Music Branch Makes It Easier To Lose Category
There's more Oscar changes in the air. Sure, the Academy Awards have decided to get all wacky and include 10 Best Picture nominees this year, what the hell, right?
But the first alarm bell to sound is that of length. If the Oscars already runs three hours-plus with five Best Picture nominees, how long will it run with 10? Four hours?
Well, the concern is already on the minds of the Academy committee and they're already taking steps to ensure this doesn't happen. So something has to go, no?
Yup, and the first things to get jettisoned is what we'll call the old-timers awards (given out intermittently and not necessarily every year). This is not your daddy's Academy Awards any longer. The Irving G Thalberg Memorial Award (last given out in 2001), the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award (given to Jerry Lewis in 2009) and the Honorary Award (last given out to Robert F. Boyle in 2007) will now be shuffled off to a black tie dinner awards ceremony in November. So remember those great moments when artists like Akira Kurosawa, Robert Altman, Ennio Morricone, Satyajit Ray, Sidney Lumet and Michelangelo Antonioni among countless others were finally given their Oscar due on television? Yeah, you won't see those moments again (or at least not until the Academy rules change again).
Changes are on the horizon for the Best Original Song category as well. This section is of course notoriously long because the songs actually have to be performed. Well, the Academy's Music Branch Executive Committee is doing its best to drop this category and recommending that "if no song achieves a minimum average score of 8.25 in the nominations voting, there will be no nominees and therefore no Oscar in that category for that year," according to ScreenDaily.
What that means exactly is nebulous, but presumably, that's on scale of 1-10 and it'll take at least two songs to reach those scores to have a category. Actually, it's on a scale of scale of 6 to 10, not bad odds, really.
Last year you'll recall there were only three songs nominated for Best Original Song, Peter Gabriel's “Down To Earth” from "Wall-E"; and two A.R. Rahman tracks from "Slumdog Millionaire"; “O Saya” and the ultimate winner “Jai Ho.” Good news for TV audiences who don't want to sit through long musical segments. Bad news for music lovers. Maybe the Oscar committee should just try nominating interesting artists for a change? (i.e. how the hell did Bruce Springsteen's "The Wrestler" song not score a nomination?
What other changes are in store? Don't expect the loss of any other categories. Academy prez, Sid Ganis, who is stepping down later this year, told MovieLine that losing a category would be an "impossibility" (then again, he said this before the Music Branch made it easier to drop the Song category).
The 82nd annual Oscar ceremony hits next year on March 7, at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood and the nominations will arrive on Feb. 2.
Julien Temple To Direct Feature-Length Kinks Documentary
The Kinks are finally getting their due, at least outside music circles. The once underrated, now-cult favorite U.K. Invasion pop rockers will immortalized in film via an upcoming documentary by legendary music doc helmer, Julien Temple.
Temple, the estimable British music scenester/documentor, is known for all kinds of work including the demented alien '80s comedy, "Earth Girls Are Easy," tons of iconic '80s music videos (Dexys Midnight Runners, Culture Club, Neil Young, The Beat; plus the amazing short film/extended music video "Jazzin' for Blue Jean" featuring David Bowie) and more music related projects like, The Sex Pistols films, "The Great Rock And Roll Swindle," their 2000 documentary, "The Filth and the Fury," and the Clash-related doc, "Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten." He's also responsible for music-movie touchstones like, "The Secret Policeman's Other Ball" and the David Bowie, Patsy Kensit-starring rock musical, "Absolute Beginners."
Though Temple is closer known for his affiliations to punk and the eighties, it's no surprise that he's agreed to document the Kinks, having directed many of their '80s videos like "Come Dancing," "Don't Forget To Dance," and "State of Confusion." We might not want to hold our collective breaths though, apparently the doc has been in the works since at least 2007 with a tentative working title of "Kinkdom Come."
The Kinks story should be a good one, as the two key brothers in the band Ray and Dave Davies had an extremely fractious relationship which included punchouts on stage and of course, the band was mostly overlooked during the The Beatles, Who, Stones, heyday, but their music has proven to be of equal value and in some cases, of a much more lasting and musical caliber.[Independent UK/Spinner]
The Kinks - "The Village Green Preservation Society"
'Wah Do Dem' Wins Top LAFF Award; Boasts Duet From Norah Jones, Appearances By Yeasayer, MGMT & The Congos
A few weeks ago, we introduced you to, "Wah Do Dem (What They Do)," a small indie travelogue about a young Brooklynite who makes a trip to Jamaica on his own after his girlfriend dumps him. The girlfriend happens to be songwriter Norah Jones and her appearance in the film, her second acting gig since taking on the lead role in Wong Kar-Wai's English-language debut, "My Blueberry Nights," was pretty much off everyone's radar.
Directed by Sam Fleischner and Ben Chace, the film also just won the top narrative feature award at the just finished Los Angeles Film Festival. The other big winner which took the audience award was Cyrus Nowrasteh's all-the-more relevant Iranian drama, "The Stoning of Soraya M.," which has been receiving accolades wherever it goes (and the NY Times have been seemingly writing about it non-stop).
When we first wrote about "Wah Do Dem" we did write about some of the musical happenings in the film, but we've since learned more. Norah Jones and lead actor Sean Bones (also a musician who contributed music to the film) sing a duet called "Turn Them" which closes out the movie. The song will also be featured on Bones upcoming album Rings which is being released this summer by French Kiss records. Other musicians with supporting roles and cameos include from Ira Tuton from Yeasayer, Ben Goldwasser (MGMT) Brooklyn folkie Turner Cody, Simon Oconnor (Amazing Baby), Mikal Rose (Black Uhuru), and '90s dancehaller Mr Lexx. The film's climax features an incredible live session from the legendary dub reggae band, The Congos. Here's the trailer again if you missed it.
Here's all the winners from LAFF.
- Best Narrative Feature: Wah Do Dem (What They Do), written and directed by Sam Fleischner & Ben Chace
- Best Documentary Feature: Those Who Remain (Los Que se Quedan), directed by Juan Carlos - Rulfo and Carlos Hagerman
- Best Short in the Future Filmmaker Showcase: Lipstick, directed by Sam Rubin
- Outstanding Performance in the Narrative Competition: Shayne Topp, Dear Lemon Lima
- Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature: The Stoning of Soraya M., directed by Cyrus Nowrasteh
- Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature: Soul Power, directed by Jeffrey Levy-Hinte
- Audience Award for Best International Feature: Born Without (Nacido Sin), written & directed by Eva Norvind
- Best Narrative Short Film: Time and Again, written & directed by Antonio Mendez Esparza
- Best Documentary Short Film: Replayground, by Anna Gaskell
- Best Animated Short Film: Skhizein, by Jérémy Clapin
- Audience Award for Best Short Film: Instead of Abracadabra, by Patrik Eklund
- Audience Award for Best Music Video: Grapevine Fires, by Walter Robot (Music: Death Cab For Cutie)
[LAFF]
Duncan Jones To Follow Up 'Moon' With 'Blade Runner'-Inspired Sci-Fi Thriller, 'Mute'
Looks like Duncan Jones is making friends in all the right places. With news of his film "Moon" taking home the coveted Michael Powell Award for Best British Feature at the Edinburgh Film Festival, the director is now prepping for "Mute," a sci-fi thriller whose prospects were previously hinging on the success of "Moon."
ScreenDaily reports that "Mute," which Jones compared to "Blade Runner" early on, is now set to film early next year in Berlin as a UK-German co-production and will seemingly jump the queue over "Escape From The Deep," the adaptation of an Alex Kershaw novel about a malfunctioning WWII navy submarine which Jones is attached to helm and presumably was supposed to be next.
On "Mute," Jones added that it will follow "a woman whose disappearance causes a mystery for her partner, a mute bartender" who then "has to go up against the city’s gangsters” with the film set to be "definitely be bigger than 'Moon'" and feature a budget of "something up to $25 million."
Previously, Jones had noted that the film will predominantly explore the notion of humanity and how it is maintained in sci-fi settings; will feature two villains which he describes as "very unique" and "different to anything you've seen"; and that the script had already "started to go out to actors" (Sam Rockwell is said to briefly reprise his "Moon" character in the film as well).
The release of "Moon," meanwhile, is currently in the midst of expansion around the nation. We saw the film recently and found it to be an admirable, sharp little addition to the modern sci-fi canon despite fanboy's excessive and overstating praise for it.
'Wild Things' & 'Parnassus' To Appear At Comic Con 2009, Jason Lee Joins Kevin Smith's 'A Couple Of Dicks,' Trailer For 'Daybreakers'
Warner Brothers have unveiled their line up for this year's San Diego Comic Con. Films on show include Spike Jonze's "Where The Wild Things Are," Richard Kelly's "The Box," The Hughes Brothers' "The Book Of Eli," the "Nightmare On Elm Street" remake, "Jonah Hex" and Guy Ritchie's "Sherlock Holmes." Hall H will also be equipped to a 3D screening facility - on hand for a presentation of the 3D "Final Destination" - which bodes well for the potential of footage from James Cameron's "Avatar" being screened. [ComingSoon]
Terry Gilliam's "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus," will also evidently appear in some shape or form at ComicCon 2009 on July 23. [Imaginarium]
Jason Lee has joined the cast of Kevin Smith's "A Couple Of Dicks." While Lee's role is currently unknown, it was revealed that he would be doing "a couple of days" of shooting which seemingly points to a cameo. [/Film]
A remake of "An American Werewolf In London" is rumored to be in the works from Dimension after John Landis sold the remake rights. Ughh. [BloodyDisgusting]
Mike Mignolia, the creator of "Hellboy," has revealed that he recently spent some time in New Zealand assisting Guillermo Del Toro on his adaptation of "The Hobbit." Mignolia described the project as "very much a del Toro stamp on that world." [FirstShowing]
Dreamworks has acquired the screen rights to "I Am Number Four," the first in a series of six upcoming sci-fi novels which has Michael Bay on board to produce and possibly direct. The story centers on a group of nine earthbound alien teens as they try to assimilate into high school and discover that they are being hunted by the enemy that blew up their planet. This sounds horrible even for the Disney children's show it sounds like. [Variety]
Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci are set to produce "License To Steal," a Shane Salerno script based on a Salon.com article about the high-end repo business whereby agents travel globally to reclaim play toys including private jets and speedboats. Is the corporate world the new black? [Variety]
The unctuous Stan Lee will reportedly contribute his signature cameo in Marvel's "Iron Man 2" as Larry King. It's not even funny anymore. [Collider]
Here's a trailer for Peter and Michael Spierig's "Daybreakers," a vampire tale starring Ethan Hawke, William Dafoe, Sam Neill and Isabel Lucas.
6/28/2009
'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen' Crushes The Box-Office With $112 Million; Biggest Opening Weekend Debut of 2009
Three cheers for the lowest common denominator! Despite being trashed by critics as crass, vulgar, dumb and loud -- typical Michael Bay fodder, but even execrable by his low standards -- audiences responded in droves to shit blowin' up real good in "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen." As you'd imagine, the film debuted at number one and took in $112 million from Friday to Sunday. Sure, this is no surprise, Bay movies are critic-proof, but even the online geek community, CHUD, AICN, etc. seemed to savage the film, but not even the herd turning against the "Transformers" franchise they seemed to love so much last time, could make a dent in the audiences, who gave the film a huge thumbs-up with their ticket receipts (Not you give a rat's ass, but sorry for no box-office preview this week, MJ's death waylaid us hard; no not emotionally, at the j.o.b.)
"Revenge Of The Fallen," has grossed a ridiculously high $200 million in the U.S. since it was released on Wednesday and has hauled in $280 million worldwide so far. Sounds amazing and it's no major revelatory prediction to say the film is on track to be the highest grossing film of the year, but profit wise, 'ROTFL' still needs some more cushion to make a comfortable earning as it stands right now. The budget was reportedly $200 million and P&A around the world is probably another $50 million? As of right now, 'Transformers 2' has probably only turned a small profit. But it's way early in the game and by these numbers surely $350 million within the U.S. seems like a feasible number. Then again, there could be massive drop-off next weekend, when plebe word of mouth starts to spread and even yo-yo ham n' eggers realize it's far too dumb and long, even for them. Either way, Paramount's pretty mediocre year, just got a boost of confidence and even when yelled at by the arrogant director, they're probably happy they're in the Michael Bay business. Even if there is dramatic drop-off next weekend (it should be able to best "Public Enemies," and "Bruno," easily, frankly), less discerning international audiences should help the noisy, plotless behemoth continue to turn a huge profit. "Angels & Demons" is currently the highest grossing film of the year internationally with $430-some million already in the bank, but it's very conceivable that 'Transformers' has the non-smarts to best this number.
Number two this weekend was the Ryan Reynolds, Sandra Bullock rom-com "The Proposal," has grossed a very healthy $69 million so far this summer. $100 million definitely seems within reach and we should either expect "The Proposal 2," or solid proof that American audiences miss their sweetheart Sandy Bullock, and so expect more broad, silly rom-coms like this from her, stat.
Hollywood's biggest, left-field comedy hit of the year, "The Hangover" still hangs on to its top 3 box-office domination adding another $17 million to its incredibly strong $183 million total. $200 million should be achieved within a week and a half, which is outrageous, considering this was a comedy with no discernible stars. When was the last time a comedy grossed $200 million? For perspective, during last year's recession-free box-office, the highest grossing male-centric comedy of 2008 was "Tropic Thunder*," which grossed $110 million after three months at the box-office. Obviously, 'Hangover' has greatly bested that number in three weeks. At this point a $250 million dollar total seems within reach. This is definitely Todd Phillips' year and you have to wonder... he all of a sudden has so much cache, maybe he can green light a pet project comedy before "The Hangover 2"sequel? [ed. That's what I'd do I were him].* "Four Christmases" took in $120 million if you want to consider a bigger, male-centric 2008 comedy).
The other big debut of the week was the counter programmed, "My Sister's Keeper," starring Cameron Diaz which took in $12 million, which is not bad considering how many girlfriends were probably dragged to 'Transformers' and the budget was presumably low, but obviously not a major number for a studio film (Warner Bros). It nabbed the #5 slow and maybe female audiences can help this one slowly crawl to a $30 million-plus total? Either that, or it's dead in the water now.
Pixar's "Up" scooped up the #4 slot and raked in another $13 million to add to its impressive $250 million total. Surely, this one is going to end up being one of the top 5 grossing films of 2009. "Year One," slid further down the top 10 to #6 and so far it only has a $32 million gross. Presumably, next week it will have fallen out of the top 10 and for Sony, the lame-duck comedy will probably be seen as a tax write-off.
Biggest bomb of the summer? If you would have told Sony last year that after three weeks a Tony Scott film like, "The Taking of Pelham 123," would have only grossed $53 million in three weeks, you probably would have been laughed out the door, but this is where the film sits thus far, and breaking $75 million feels doubtful at this point. With a budget presumably north of $70 mill, Sony will probably take a bath on this one too. But an even bigger bomb is "Land of the Lost," which cost upwards of $100 million and has only grossed $46 million so far. Pitiful numbers really and it sends a message to Hollywood: stars in remakes no one cared about in the first place (a TV show with a negligible following) is never a guarantee to print money. Also taking a major bath is Eddie Murphy's stock. After three weeks, "Imagine That," a film that should have enticed the kids/family market has only pulled in $14 million. Those numbers hurt.
The rest of the top 10 is as you'd imagine with things like "Night At The Museum 2" and "Star Trek" having lots of staying power with huge cumes. The only indie in the top 10 with legs seems to be Sam Mendes' "Away We Go," which has expanded past its small limited release opening and has taken in $4 million so far which is not bad all things considered (it's still only in 425 theaters across the country; compare: 'Transformers 2' besieged the country in 4,200+ theaters).
In the limited release indie circuit, Kathryn Bigelow's gripping Iraq War drama, "The Hurt Locker," took in impressive numbers. Only on four screens across the entire country, the film amassed $144,000, making for an oscreen average of $36,000, which bested recent indie onscreen averages earned by "Whatever Works," and "Away We Go." Highest limited release opening of 2009? You'd think, no? But nope, that distinction was achieved by "Sunshine Cleaning" earlier this year. Comparatively, Stephen Frears' "Cheri," didn't do all that well, taking in $408,000 on 76 screens, for a $5,368 average. Presumably, when "The Hurt Locker," moves into wider release, it's going to move some serious indie-level units.
Box-Office Weekend Results
1. "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" - $112,000,000 (total so far: $201 million)
2. "The Proposal"- $18,466,000 (total so far: $69 million)
3. "The Hangover" - $17,215,000 (total so far: $183 million)
4. "Up" - $13,046,000 - (total so far: $250 million)
5. "My Sister's Keeper"- $12,030,000 - (total so far: $12 million)
6. "Year One" - $5,800,000 (total so far: $32 million)
7. "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3" - $5,400,000 (total so far: $53 million)
8. "Star Trek" - $3,606,000 (total so far: $246 million)
9. "Night at the Museum 2" - $3,500,000 (total so far: $163 million)
10. "Away We Go" - $1,678,000 (total so far: $4 million)
6/27/2009
Woody Allen Set For A Paris-Based Romantic Drama; Struggling To Afford Making Films In The U.S.
Woody Allen will follow up his upcoming untitled London set project with a romantic drama set in Paris, according to Screen Daily.
The project will continue Allen's partnership with Spanish producing company Mediapro and will be the second of a three-picture deal Allen signed after working with company on "Vicky Cristina Barcelona." The first of which is his London set project starring Naomi Watts, Antonio Banderas, Freida Pinto, Josh Brolin and Anthony Hopkins which is set to commence shooting this summer.
The current relationship between Allen and Mediapro and his run of films set and show in Europe may actually have been conceived more out of functionality than convenience or desirability. At a recent press conference for "Whatever Works," via Hollywood Elsewhere, Allen revealed that the London-based project was first conceived as a story set in New York before financial problems forced him to alter the story as was the case the case for his 2005 film "Match Point."
"I was going to make my next project in New York and I couldn't afford to," the director revealed. "It was millions of dollars short if I made it in New York so I thought maybe I'll make it in San Francisco cause' that's also a very good city but I couldn't afford to make it in San Francisco either cause' that was too expensive so we shifted it to London, made the cast British just as I had done with 'Match Point.' I had written that for New York and the Hamptons and Palm Beach and I had written it as an American story and I anglicized it cause' to make it in New York was a fortune of money. The same with the film I'm doing next. To make it in New York is a lot of money, I can't afford it."
Allen still hopes to return to his native New York in the near future adding: "If I happen to write a film that budgets within my limited budget, I would certainly make it here."
His Paris-based film, meanwhile, is set to shoot in 2010 with the script still currently being written by Allen.
Trailers For Ricky Gervais And Matthew Robinson's 'The Invention Of Lying'
U.S. and U.K. trailers for Ricky Gervais and Matthew Robinson's "The Invention Of Lying" has debuted online and, unfortunately, exhibit a film more akin to Gervais' half-way decent work in "Ghost Town" rather than any of his exceptional British television work with Stephen Merchant.
The film follows the story of Mark Bellison, played by Gervais, who resides on an alternate Earth where no one has ever lied until Bellison himself discovers the art of lying and aims to use it for the better. Co-starring is a star-studded cast consisting of Jennifer Garner, Rob Lowe, Louis C.K., Jonah Hill, Christopher Guest, Tina Fey, Jeffrey Tambor, Martin Starr, Jason Bateman and Patrick Stewart as the film's narrator.
Both trailers feature differing material though both center on Gervais and his relationship with Garner. Here's to hoping the film has much more to offer than a decent romance-tinged comedy with a sci-fi narrative device. Word has it the script is absolutely killer but that, sadly, doesn't seem to shine through the trailer. Hope does lies in the fact that the film is actually written by Gervais, as opposed to "Ghost Town," but we have to admit we're much more excited by Gervais' reunion with Merchant in "Cemetery Junction" than this.
Also, here's what "Star Trek" director J.J. Abrams had to say about the film, courtesy of HitFix:"Ricky Gervais proves, once again, that he is the master. Not only of comedy, but social commentary. 'The Invention of Lying' is as funny as it is biting, wholly original, and surprisingly moving. Is there such thing as an important comedy? Turns out there is, and this is it. If you're still reading this, you should stop immediately and go see 'The Invention of Lying!'
U.S. Trailer
U.K Trailer
"The Invention Of Lying" comes out September 25th.
Michael Bay Keeps Shooting His Trap Off, Claims To Have Made Nicolas Cage And Ben Affleck's Careers
Director Michael Bay was recently asked about Megan Fox's claims that Bay's films were "special-effects-driven" and failed to provide acting opportunities to which he responded:
"I 100% disagree with her. Nick Cage wasn’t a big actor when I cast him, nor was Ben Affleck before I put him in 'Armageddon.' Shia LaBeouf wasn’t a big movie star before he did 'Transformers' — and then he exploded. Not to mention Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, from 'Bad Boys.' Nobody in the world knew about Megan Fox until I found her and put her in 'Transformers.'"
Wait, what does that have to do with the claim that his movies are not special effects driven? Maybe Bay made Fox a star, introduced Smith and Lawrence to cinema audiences and has had a bit to do with LaBeouf blowing up, but it's not like they were spotted for their acting. It's arguable that Steven Spielberg is the real man behind LaBeouf's success - but Affleck and Cage?!
"Good Will Hunting," and "Leaving Las Vegas" anyone? Gotta love this guys arrogance and it's not like he's going to be punished for it by dumb audiences who will likely flock to "Transformers" in droves this weekend. It's already amassed $89 million since Wednesday night, Christ. [Vulture]
Spike Jonze And Kanye West Premiere Short Film, 'We Were Once A Fairytale,' At LAFF
Spike Jonze and Kanye West surprised audiences at the Los Angeles Film Festival last night with the premiere of their previously announced short film, revealed to be titled "We Were Once A Fairytale," according to the Daily Swarm.
Written and directed by Jonze, the short reportedly "walks the fine line between self aggrandizement and self mockery that runs through all of Kanye’s endeavors" and "takes what people love and hate about Kanye’s persona and then pushes it into a new, trippy realm" with Jonze's filmmaking described as "on point, with cinematography and sound design that authentically renders that feeling of being really disoriented in a nightclub."
Plot-wise, the film chronicles a surreal, fictional outing by West at a club that includes the likes of sexual hallucinations, the vomiting and bleeding of rose pedals and a furry demon-like rodent that derives from Kanye's stomach and commits the act of hari kari. And we thought their last collaboration, the music video for West's "Flashing Lights," was weird?
The short also features a remix of West's single "See You In My Nightmares" (off his album 808's and Heartbreaks) by musical group N.A.S.A. whose line up includes Jonze's brother Sam Spiegel (aka Squeak E. Clean).
FYI, the Daily Swarm notes "the answer is no, Kanye still can’t act."
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