NEWS: Things I Missed...

There is a lot of news out there in film land, and when you are one person going to school, writing for a paper, and trying to keep up with it all, you set priorities. However, the weekend is time for me to give you some one or two sentence overviews of stories that have hit the web. Here are the things I've missed...

- ShoWest kicked off this week, and during the festivities, it was announced that wheels are turing for a new Men In Black film. Men In Black 3 was officially announced this week, as was Ghostbusters 3.

- Speaking of ShoWest, Zack Snyder CONFIRMED that Warner Brothers will be rereleasing Watchmen in theatres in July. However, it will be the much anticipated Director's Cut that will see rerelease this summer. SCORE!

- Jackie Earl Haley has been cast as Freddy Kruger in the upcoming Nightmare on Elm Street reboot...

- Rumor has it that Christian Bale is interested in getting a role in the yet to be announced film, Prisoners. The script has been breaking out like gangbusters, and is the first screenplay written by newcomer Aaron Guzikowski. Mark Whalberg has also shown interest in this screenplay, although it doesn't even have a studio attatched to it yet. Bryan Singer is circling the project to helm.

- Be careful when picking up Slumdog Millionaire, as not only is it an overrated film (there's my daily shot), but some versions of the DVD have also been released sans special features. Yet another notch in Fox's the-world-hates-us-as-we-hate-them belt.

- In the obvious news that really isn't news category, it looks like Michael Cain decided to open up again about an inevitable Batman sequel. Because, you know, no one will let us take a week off of Batman...Thanks /Film for the heads up...

“All I know is that Christopher Nolan, who writes and directs Batman is doing a picture called Inception, and I’m not in it. So I think another Batman film is a long long way off. Long Way. I would say three years, must be.”

Awesome, exactly what we knew before I wrote this. I just waisted 30 seconds.

But in all seriousness, the window in which Nolan can do the third Nolan-verse Batman, if he so chooses to anywho, won't open for a while. For Warner Brothers to get the previously targeted opening date of Summer 2011, Chris would have to start principal photography before Inception were to finish post-production. Look at Summer 2012, at the earliest, and for the best. We don't need a rushed film from Team Nolan.

- Because Donnie Darko was such a brilliant frakking flick (can you taste the sarcasm dripping from that statement, because I know I can), Richard Kelly is allowed to continue making films. So, as is mandatory with all of his films, he new one, The Box, has seen a lot of problems. However, in a recent blog post, he has graced us all with an update.

WB is releasing the film on October 30, 2009. The release date has been shuffling around a bit, but this is common with studios, and everyone feels like this is the best date for the film

The film is completely finished. Principal photography was completed in March 2008, and it was officially delivered to WB right before Christmas 2008. A March 2009 release was briefly considered, but a Fall 2009 release was always a better fit.

We shot in Massachusetts and Virginia. The film takes place predominantly in Virginia, 1976.

The running time is 1 hour 55 minutes long including end credits.

The film was digitally photographed using the Panavision Genesis camera. In my audio commentary on Tony Scott’s Domino, I mentioned that I would never shoot a 1970s period piece using a digital camera. My position on this changed when I saw David Fincher’s extraordinary Zodiac. It can be done.

There is more than 300 visual effects shots, which required eight months of post-production. The digital work-flow of the Genesis was essential to completing these visual effects properly.

Win Butler, Regine Chassagne (of Arcade Fire) and Owen Pallett (Final Fantasy, frequent collaborator with Arcade Fire) recorded more than 80 minutes of score for the film.

Here is a list of artists whose songs appear in the film: GRATEFUL DEAD, DEREK & THE DOMINOS, WILSON PICKETT, THE MARSHALL TUCKER BAND, SCOTT WALKER

The official website for the film is www.thebox-movie.com - it will unveil sometime this summer.

This is my most personal film to date, and I’m very proud of how it turned out.

Two things. First, he has the core of Arcade Fire and a Final Fantasy musician scoring the film, so kudos Kelly. Second, HOW DARE HE mention Zodiac. May he fail for this statement. Only good directors may talk about how great Zodiac was (because is freaking was).

Now, off my high horse, all of this does kind of sound interesting, but when your resume includes Donnie Darko and Southland Tales, you have a lot of ground to make up in my book.

That's it! Come back later for more news and notes...

Go see something good!

NEWS: Stuff I Missed...

So, I've missed some things, and that's why this post is here. Here are your headlines for Wednesday, March 25th...

- Tom Hanks has been cast as Major Matt Mason in the upcoming adaptation of the Mattel action figure, with Speed scribe, Graham Yost, set to pen the script...

- Freida Pinto, the stunningly beautiful young co-star of last years overrated hit, Slumdog Millionaire, has been cast in Julian Schnabel's upcoming film, Miral...

- Disney is bringing Hayao Miyazaki's new film, Ponyo On The Cliff, to the states on August 14th...

- There have been two high profile drop outs this week...Amanda Seyfried has left the all female cast, or at least lead cast, of Zack Snyder's next film, Sucker Punch. Also, Zac Efron has left the remake of Footloose...

- A director has been hired for Eli Roth's upcoming exorcism, documentary style film, Cotton. Daniel Stamm will be taking the helm of the Roth produced film about an evangelical minister who turns against religion and decides to participate in a documentary in which he practices his last exorcism...

- Dennis Quaid has been cast as Bill Clinton in Frost/Nixon playwright, Peter Morgan's directorial debut, The Special Relationship, for HBO...

- There is allegedly a test screening of Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr. Fox later this week, so once someone posts their thoughts, I will let you know...

- After the recent flaming that Magnet has recieved over the butchering of subtitles for Let The Right One In, they will be rereleasing the film! However, no exchanges will be made. Here is their statement...

“We’ve been made aware that there are several fans that don’t like the version of the subtitles on the DVD/BR. We had an alternate translation that we went with. Obviously a lot of fans thought we should have stuck with the original theatrical version. We are listening to the fans feedback, and going forward we will be manufacturing the discs with the subtitles from the theatrical version.”

That's it! Come back later for more news and notes!

Go see something good!

NEWS: Stuff I Missed...

So, I've missed some things, and that's why this post is here. Here are your headlines for Friday, March 20th...

- Pixar's Up will be opening the 62nd Cannes Film Festival...

- Time is reporting that James Cameron, director of Titanic and Terminator along with many others, will have his next film, Avatar, which is beeing filmed right now, budgeted at OVER 300 MILLION DOLLARS...Recession what?

- Time is also saying that the film will change your life, so it may all be worth it...

- Peter Segal, director of Get Smart, will be taking over for Jay Roach in the directors chair of the upcoming film, Little Fockers...

- First Showing has the premiere of the new trailer from Summits The House On Sorority Row remake, Sorority Row, and it looks like garbage...

- Check out this new, badass poster for Terminator Salvation...



- First Showing has a new TV Spot for X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and it is kind of awesome...

- Variety is reporting that Brad Pitt and Natalie Portman have been cast in a feature film adaptation of Leanne Shapton’s novel Important Artifacts and Personal Property from the Collection of Lenore Doolan and Harold Morris, Including Books, Street Fashion, and Jewelry for Paramount Pictures.

And thats it! Come back later this weekend for reviews of Duplicity and Knowing, and then early next week, I'll have a review of Last House On The Left...

Go see something good!

NEWS ROUNDUP: 2-26-09

There have been a ton of little pieces of news that I have ignored over the past week, and this post is here to round up those stories.

- Columbia Pictures has tossed Total Recall up on the remake mound, and sited the huge leaps in special effects as to why this will work...

- It looks like Samuel L. Jackson has signed up to play Nick Fury for NINE more Marvel films...

- Pirates of the Caribbean director, Gore Verbinski, has been tapped to helm a new adaptation of the board game, Clue...

- The third book in the Twilight series, Eclipse, has been green lit and will look for a release in 2010...

- Warner Brothers has released their tent pole slate, and it's pretty damn sweet...

December 25, 2009 Sherlock Holmes

March 26, 2010 - Clash of the Titans

July 16, 2010 - Inception (Nolan’s next film after Batman)
(Same weekend as Marvel Films’ Thor)

August 6, 2010 - Jonah Hex

December 2010 - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I
December 17, 2010. - Green Lantern

July 15 2011 -
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II
(Same weekend as Marvel Films’ The Avengers)

- E! is reporting that Michael Cera has stopped holding out on the much anticipated Arrested Development film. It's not a sure fire deal, as it IS E! that is reporting, so when this is updated, so will this post...

- Finally, Cate Blanchett WILL be playing Maid Marian in Ridley Scott's Notingham...

Come back later for more news and notes, along with a review of something this weekend...Coraline?

Go see something good!

NEWS: HAPPY VALENTINES WEEKEND!!

So, it's Valentine's Weekend, and since I will be out for Friday and Saturday in Detroit and out at a musical for the Lanthorn (which can be read here...READ IT!), I decided that I will bring you a roundup of some smaller news reports that I felt didn't really call for a separate post, but still newsworthy. Here are the headlines...

- FIRST, let me give you all a link to a video that I think epitomizes Valentines Day...

Now, onto the news...

- Star of the new Joss Whedon television series, Dollhouse, Eliza Dushku was recently on Howard Stern, and had some interesting things to say about possibly playing The Black Widow in Iron Man 2...

“They’re doing Iron Man 2, and I’m so perfect for the Black Widow character, that they just need to get into it. They need to understand… I just learned Russian because I had to play a Russian girl in Dollhouse.”

Currently the role belongs to Devil Wears Prada co-star Emily Blunt, but due to possible schedule conflicts (Fox wants her as the romantic lead in their adaptation of Gulliver's Travels, and has the option to do so), she may have to give it up...

- 3 separate one-minute spots for Wolverine will be aired this Sunday (February 15) on “Family Guy,” the second on Monday (Feb. 16) on “House,” and the third on Tuesday (Feb. 17) on “American Idol.”

- With the start of his new series, Important Things, Demitri Martin has been on the road promoting it, and in doing so, finally shed some light on his role in Brokeback Mountain/Ice Storm/Hulk/Crouching Tiger director, Ang Lee's next film, Taking Woodstock. Thanks to /Film for the heads up...

The focus of their discussion was Martin’s lead role in Taking Woodstock, the upcoming Ang Lee movie about Elliot Tiber. Tiber unwittingly became a pivotal part in the chain of events that carried the Woodstock music festival from the realms of hippie pipe dreaming and into reality.


Martin’s account of his first meeting with Lee and screenwriter-producer James Schamus gives a good idea of how the film is being pitched:

“I went into the Ang Lee meeting and I had read the book and they’re like, ‘I don’t know how much you know, but we want to do this movie. We’re kind of interested in you as a character. We’re not going into as much of the like underground New York gay scene and that stuff. We’re focusing more on the family relationship and this guy’s personal journey, as a gay person who is in the closet in 1969 as that relates to making Woodstock happen and finding yourself as a generation is finding itself.”

As this is essentially a biopic of Tiber, Martin has apparently been required to appear in every single scene - easily trumping his previous, relatively meagre, cameo appearances in The Rocker and Analyse That. I hope he’s up to the job.

Only one scene is given a fully detailed description, but it’s a key one:

“There’s a scene where I kiss a guy – the only scene where I have a real kiss – and I’m on a dance floor and these girls pull me in to dance with them in my family’s bar in the motel, and they pull me onto the dance and a girl plants a kiss on me and then I push away from her. And then a guy grabs me and swings me around and kisses me, and at first I pull back, like who’s kissing me? And then I see him and I’m like, ‘Oh my god – it’s you!’ and then I go back in for the kiss and it’s more passionate and it’s real and there’s a catharsis and everybody cheers.”

This is where Tiber effectively comes at as gay in front of his Father (played, I believe, by Henry Goodman) and I’d imagine a lot of the drama to follow is ignited at this moment.

There’s an undeniable Oscarability to this picture, so I think we’ll be hearing a lot more about it as the year draws to an end and the ten-pins are re-framed for the next awards season.

As a footnote, I should alert you that this Sunday, the 15th of February, the new episode of Flight of the Conchords (a show on which Martin has appeared, and was co-created by sometime collaborator of his, James Bobin) has been directed by none other than Michel Gondry. Should be truly excellent, not least because we’ll be getting two new de facto Gondry music videos in the mix - so set your reminders now.

- Justin Marks is tapped to rewrite McG's adaptation of 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea. Now, I'm not normally hip to writing about these things, but let me give a little bit of credence to Mr. Marks. He's a young, hotshot writer, who has turned in a couple big time scripts. First there was his Voltron script that really made everyone stand up and take notice, and then he did the screenplay for He-Man, and had critics who got a hold of it really excited. He has also turned in drafts of SuperMax (the Green Arrow film), and Street Fighter.

- Smells Like Teen Spirit music video director Samuel Bayer is getting the keys to the much talked about remake of Nightmare on Elm Street...

- Darren Bousman, director of Saw 2, 3, and 4, along with Repo: The Genetic Opera, will be helming a film about a heist set on a submarine, called Akula...

- The Wachowski Brothers (Matrix series, Bound, and Speed Racer), are in the hunt to reboot the Superman franchise...

- Finally, click here to play an 8 Bit Watchmen web game...it's kick ass...

Happy Meaningless Hallmark Holiday!

Go see something good!

NEWS ROUNDUP: 1-5-09...

Hey there faithful readers! Now, over the past week, there hasn't been much news of note, as is the case with the week after Sundance. However, that all changed with this past evening, and there is a lot to get into...

- Just Jared is reporting that The Farrley Brothers are in the hunt for possible actors to fill their Three Stooges cast, and they are going for heavy hitters. Rumor has it that Johnny Depp and Sean Penn have been courted to fill two of the spots, as Larry and Moe respectively. And apparently, some of this rumor is true. FilmDrunk is now reporting that famous voice actor, Billy West, has been in touch with Penn, helping him work on his impressions.

- With the recession going full bore into the gut of our economy, some films have been scrapped by their respective studios. The most recent victim, and to much applause, is the American remake of The Orphanage.

- Mark Campbell is in talks to take the helm of Warner Brothers much talked about Green Lantern adaptation...

- Variety is reporting that Enchanted director, Kevin Lima, will be directing the film adaptation of Candy Land, with a script written by Tropic Thunder producer, Etan Cohen.

- Finally, and most interestingly, there were some interesting comments made by Warner Brothers CEO Jeff Bawkes made during an earnings call earlier this week...

“We look at Harry Potter. It’s fantastic to have franchises that last that long. We want to do that with Batman and Superman and perhaps Sherlock Holmes. The sequels are as good, with new characters added, as were the originals. That wasn’t the case in the years ago. Warners has more tentpoles as an on-going strategy that very much lifts its distribution and performance. We think that’s going to hold up our slate in the 2009 - 2010 period. We’ve got four more big tentpoles coming this year.”

What do you make of these comments? Would you like to see the bat expand like this? Maybe not in a straight continuation of the series, but maybe go into an alternate future with The Dark Knight Returns? Zack Snyder got full consent from writer Frank Miller, and I would LOVE Snyder's take on this really gritty book, probably the second best in the Bat's comic book/graphic novel canon. What do you think?

Come back later for more news and notes!

Go see something good!

NEWS ROUNDUP - 1/29/09...

Hello faithful readers! Today is a pretty busy day for yours truly, so I have decided to round up all of the major headlines for you to dig through...

- Bloody Disgusting has CONFIRMED that a sequel to the much maligned Ghost Rider adaptation IS being pitched around. Columbia Pictures is in the hunt for screenwriters, as Nick Cage has signed back on to take the bike once more...

- 20th Century Fox will be co-financing the upcoming third Narnia film, Voyage of The Dawn Treader. The series has been a monetary flop for main studio, Disney, and early talks were saying that the series was dead in the water. However, it looks to be back up, so Narnia fans can rejoice...

- A story I reported yesterday has come back false. It looks like Mickey Rourke will NOT be making a major appearance at Wrestlemania. For those of you who care...

- Slumdog Millionaire scribe, Simon Beaufoy, will be rewriting the Amy Adams starring rom-com, Leap Year....

- Adam Sandler will be making an appearance in the upcoming superhero flick, The Green Hornet, which is still searching for a director...

- Finally, Ron Moore is writing a new treatment based on the short story, "Who Goes There", which just so happens to be the basis for John Carpenters, The Thing...

Come back later for more news, notes, and a review of Revolutionary Road, and hopefully Taken...

Go see something good!