Short Cuts: 'Donnie Darko 2' Gets Method Actor, 'The Great Buck Howard' Limps Onto Screens; Flaming Lips Movie Finally Unveiled, Fred Durst; More...

Elizabeth Berkely the Stanislavski-esque thespian of "Showgirls" has signed on for the "Donnie Darko" sequel, creatively tiled, "S. Darko." [Hollywood Reporter]

The trailer to Fred Durst's feel-good sports film, "The Longshots" has hit the web. It stars rapper Ice Cube. The world couldn't care less. [YouTube]

Despite, mediocre reviews, "The Foot Fist Way" star Danny McBride and the whole, "he's the greatest comedian since slice bread" story keep on being regurgitated. [L.A. Times]

"The Great Buck Howard," the film starring John Malkovich, Tom and Colin Hanks, Emily Blunt and featuring a score by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! is going straight to video, err, has been picked up by Magnolia Pictures. The film is scheduled for a fall release, but as Collider notes, 'Buck Howard' was among several films to debut at this year's Sundance Film Festival with marquee talent attached and no bidders in sight." Knowing Magnolia's track record, the release will be very limited, however, if you don't live in L.A. or NY, they usually put their films up on OnDemand and Netflix at the same time. [Hollywood Reporter]

Rose McGowan Jon Cryer, William H. Macy, Leslie Mann and James Spader have all signed on to star in Robert Rodriguez's family film, "Shorts." We've heard of this guy before, we think. [Slash]

Will it be the South American version of "Nailed"? Francis Ford Coppola has had union issues on the set of "Tetro" in Argentina and production shut down for a minute, but all seems well, for now...[AP]

The guy who composed the original "Star Trek" theme has boldly gone where many have gone before up into that white spaceship in the sky. [Wired]

Micheal Bay has another genius idea, "Ouija!" the movie! [IWatchStuff]

Was Martin Scorsese's odd, but brilliant and classic '80s film, "After Hours" a rip-off of NPR host Joe Frank's 1982 monologue Lies? Dunno, we just watched it again the other night and we still think it's amazing and kinda couldn't care less either way. [Panopticist]

The incredibly long-overdue Flaming Lips movie "Christmas On Mars" premiered at the recent Sasquatch festival. Seattle radio station KEXP wrote, "Coyne arrives from a large vaginal comet to put on a Santa costume, visions and actual infants appear, and there are a whole lot of intense noise interludes, and occasional flashes of vibrant color. I don’t want to spoil the whole plot (and there isn’t much of it to give away); so I’ll just say that it is an incredibly weird, slow-paced, and jarring thing to be watching from midnight until two in the morning and it just might be about saving all of our souls." [via Extended Play]

EP also notes that the soundtrack to "The Edge of Love" starring Keira Knightley, who sings on the disc and in the film, hits U.S. shores on June 24. [Amazon]

There's a new Dolemite movie? With a trailer? Oh, Rudy Ray Moore, we guess everyone's gotta make a buck. [Twitch]
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Esoteric, Unpronounceable Film Gets Family-Ready Easy To Digest Poster - Inscrutable Much?

Seriously, can they make Charlie Kaufman's enigmatic and surreal "Synecdoche, New York" anymore unappealing to mainstream audiences. Yes, we realize it's going to be a niche film, but isn't it a hard sell as it is? The marketing people are supposed to trick you into seeing it anyway possible, not driving you away from it. This is a real head-scratcher. Right now, it's for the constituency and nooooobody else. Dumb, dumb, dumb.
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Sex And... The Shitty? Do You Hate Materialistic Upper West Side Cougars Or Do You Just Hate Female Vagina In General?

In case you haven't noticed or heard the feature-length adaption of "Sex And The City" comes out in theaters today and the tone around the film's release is rather shrill and frankly a little souring. The release of the film is opening up a cultural can of worms for men and women some of whom are using the film as a tirade against women, New Yorkers and seemingly almost everything else at hand.

Jezebels' Crimes Against Womanity section must be literally ringing off the hook.

We mean, who hasn't thrown around some playful digs like that at the film if you write a blog and happen to be male (*whistles nervously*), but some people (and not just blogs), journalists and writers are just taking it way too far and the devolution into straight up misogyny and hateful sexism is a little disconcerting.

MTV's Kurt Loder does a nice summation of exactly what we're talking about.

"Media attempts to whip up male hysteria around the release of the "Sex and the City" movie have been thoroughly peculiar. The assumption appears to be that any guy voluntarily going to see this picture — or, more likely, getting shanghaied into seeing it by the "Sex"-addicted woman in his life — would somehow be sullying his heterosexuality, and, who knows, might soon find himself mooning over a pair of $700 Jimmy Choo sandals, or something. In London, where the movie opened on Wednesday, a columnist for the Evening Standard warned, "If there ever was a time for men to avoid the cinema, this weekend is it." "

The film and everything vile the original HBO might represent (in the minds of some anyhow) - vacuous materialism, insipid accessory consumerism, shallow behavior, brazen sluttery, back-stabbing and anything remotely superficial or cosmetic - has become a dumping ground for cliches about the movie and older, cougar-like women in general (not to mention specifically from Americans in the rest of the country who seemingly can't understand the apparent tawdry "whorehouse" life of New York women).

Case in point: Even senior female NYTimes movie critic Manohla Dargis critic falls prey to it in her opening line no less. "A little Botox goes a long way in 'Sex and the City,' but a little decent writing would have gone even further," she wrote in her review. We'll let the "a little decent writing" line speak for itself.

We shouldn't expect much more from Jeffrey "I Beg Movie Directors To Send Me Topless Photos Of Hollywood Actresses" Wells, but Mr. Wells, do you happen to be divorced? Are you projecting? His screed was rather ruthless.

"The film is another Taliban recruitment film — a grotesque and putrid valentine to the insipid 'me, my lifestyle, my accessories and I' chick culture of the early 21st Century. Guys everywhere — if you’re in a brand-new relationship, take her to see this thing. If she even half-likes it, dump her and walk away cold. Save yourself!"

Granted, we haven't seen the film and it could be as wretched and fluff-filled as many are suggesting, but after a certain point it just gets a little nasty and ugly. Not to be all ghey PC about it, but at the very least it's incredibly interesting/fascinating to see the kind of strong reactions the film - and what is perceived to be what the show exemplifies - evokes.

Variety suggested that men would rather be shot than see this film. And maybe men do hate the idea of "Sex And The City," even David Eigenberg who plays Steve, Miranda's husband/father of her child refused to watch the show and basically never has. I've never watched the television show," Eigenberg told Intelligencer. "You have to divorce yourself from all this" — he waved his hands around —"I don't know what all this hoopla is."

The New Yorker's Anthony Lane gets in a deep dig within his first paragraph about the secrecy surrounding the film's plot. "Would one of the main characters die? If so, would she commit suicide by self-pity (a constant threat)?," he wrote.

The always reliable and even-keeled Joshua Rothkop - one of the better movie critics out there - wrote what might have been the best review we've seen (or at least the least hateful from a dude).

"We'll continue to experience befuddlement verging on disgust whenever we're reminded of Sex and the City (so named, we suppose, because Seriously Rethinking Third-Wave Feminism reads like ass on a poster)," writes some critic from Orlando.

"Flabby, unfocused reunion in which the emotional content is drowned out by the incessant pursuit and plugging of designer shoes, gowns and handbags," writes the L.A. Daily News.

The consensus however, seems to be if you were a fan of this show, you should be generally pleased with the film. Yeah, cosmo-sippin' culture and Manolo-adoring frivolousness can be annoying, but being the contrarian reactionists we are - in any direction, plus we hate a herd - we're going to pay out of our pockets this weekend and go see it [ed. congratulations?]. So there.

Meanwhile, the possibility of a sequel has been hinted at. Johnny, go get your gun.
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The Coen Brothers Return To Dim-Witted Boobs For CIA Spy Comedy, 'Burn After Reading'

"Intelligence is relative."

The Coen Brothers love their humor with bumbling protagonists (see "O' Brother Where Art Though'), but in recent years, their films with dim-witted boobs haven't been their best material (see "The Lady Killers" and "Intolerable Cruelty," though we will argue to no end that these films are still better than your average film, just slightly sub-par from the Coens). Regardless, the producer-director writing pair have seemingly returned to this genre with "Burn After Reading," a dark CIA spy comedy starring Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Frances McDormand, and John Malkovich (among many other talented actors they're fond of using).

The small synopsis is: a disk containing the memoirs of a cast out CIA agent (Malkovich) ends up in the hands of two unscrupulous gym employees who attempt to sell it (Pitt, McDormand) and exploit it for its potential worth. Will it be more 'Lebowski' than 'Cruelty'? It definitely feels like it's closer in tone to the blundering mood of t he latter, but that doesn't mean it can't be great. Either way, the film is set to hit theaters on September 12, 2008. Apple has the high-def versions of the trailer if you're interested.

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What Goth Girl Will Cut Herself Convicingly Enough To Play Emily Strange - The Outcast Version of 'Juno'?

Phones are currently ringing off the hook in young Hollywood for a niche, but highly coveted role. An adaptation of the cult counter-culture comic character Emily The Strange has been announced. Ok, and?

Well, think about it. Strange isn't exactly a household name (even though her visage is instantly recognizable), but obviously good, female roles are hard to find and so a character who's rebellious, recalcitrant, bitchy, sarcastic, cranky and dresses like misfit self-cutter goth?

The role practically screams gothy-version of the sarcastic, flippant teen of "Juno."

Every girl from 18-26 (and older) is on the phone with their agent (and put aside for the fact, this is basically a movie being adapted from what began as just a sticker). We imagine new young Hollywood (Ellen Page, Olivia Thirlby, Kristen Stewart and Zooey Deschanel) have the inside track against old, new young Hollywood (Christina Ricci, Mila Kunis, Fairuza Balk, Robin Tunney; the entire cast of "The Craft"), but regardless phone lines are being bombarded as we speak (some Ari Gold like agent is probably yelling at his assistant right now and saying, "Look, Emily Blunt is too damn old for this part, I'm not even taking her call!").

But we're worried about the method-acting immersion thing. Will Kristen Stewart do nothing, but cut hearts into her thighs and listen to Front 2 4 2 and The Cure for two weeks straight? Will Olivia Thirlby all of a sudden start becoming an acerbic little witch that gives people the stink eye while talking shit behind their back.

Even worse, will Diablo Cody be hired to write it? The producer of "Hellboy," its upcoming sequel and "30 Days of Night," so we can imagine a lot of irreverent scoffing and dark biting tones. Those who lose out will still be able to presumably play voice parts for Emily's four cats -- troublemaker Sabbath, schemer Nee-Chee, imaginative Miles and leader Mystery (umm, they do talk, right?).

We could say something about chicks being all catty to one another about who gets the role, but with "Sex And The City" right around the corner, there's just too much damn misogyny out there for our taste. Have at it ladies and best of luck to the winner. Read more...

Kevin Smith Still Underwhelming While Trying To Channel Judd Apatow

Do we care about Kevin Smith? Not one iota, but we figured we'd try and enter the cultural conversation that is "Zack And Miri Make A Porno," because a) we probably should regardless of our feelings on his special-Olympics-like filmmaking and b) because the film does look like wannabe Apatow and even stars Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks (two Apatow mainstays). This clip is mostly uneventful: Zack and Miri comment on offscreen actors in their porn screen tests and it's full of Smith's grade school potty humor comedy which isn't that funny? Why are we posting this? Cause we already typed this all out and at least three people will be interested in this no matter how lame it is. Maybe there's no hope for Smith at all, even if he's trying to go for cock n' balls comedy.

Smith even cast Craig Robinson in the film, the funny doorman who first got noticed by most people as the doorman in "Knocked Up," ("I would love to tear that ass up, but you too damn old for this club"), c'mon Kevin, do you have any original ideas? Oh right, that kid named Jason Mewes (*eye roll*). You'll have to do better than this.
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David Gordon Green's 'Highness' Gets Green Lit By Universal

Remember the David Gordon Green/Danny McBride medieval comedy project called "Your Highness" that we'd been tracking?

Well, "Pineapple Express" and "The Foot Fist Way" aren't even in theaters yet, but the buzz that both films are generating have already paid off as Universal has just green lit the project. McBride in particular is the comedic talk of the town with upcoming summer appearances yet to be seen by the public in 'Pineapple,' Ben Stiller's "Tropic Thunder" and the adaptation of ""Land of the Lost" with Will Ferrell in 2009.

Green's first-foray into big-budget, mainstream comedy with 'Pineapple' (produced by Judd Apatow) has also generated a ton of pre-release praise so it's kind of no wonder studios are giving him the go-ahead. After struggling to make tons of little indies that populist audiences generally ignored (see "Undertow"), it's nice to finally see the studios come knocking and these guys getting relative carte blanche.

McBride wrote the script with Ben Best, the actor/writer of "The Foot Fist Way" (and one of the musicians in the band Pyramid who scored the kung-fu comedy) and the wacky concept chronicles an arrogant, lazy prince who must complete a quest to save his father's kingdom (played by McBride of course who specializes in playing cocky, bloviated buffoons).

"This is such an original idea for a comedy that takes place in a kingdom with dragons and wizards, with Danny at the center as the outcast brother who gets an opportunity to prove himself," the producer of the project Scott Struber said.

We're starting to think Peter Dinklage may not have anything to do with this project like we initially surmised. We'll see we guess. Now that Green and company are getting their way, how about digging up one of the myriad old school scripts out of a drawer and helping out old buddy Paul Schneider? He's due for a break-out role, don't you think? Either way, good on all y'all (even if 'Foot Fist Way' wasn't that funny).

BTW, there's an interesting article in the New York Sun about how 'Foot Fist Way' was ignored at Sundance 2006 and sat on the shelf for two years before people came around to it. That's an incredible turn-around success story that's rather unheard of and they contextualize that well.
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Look Ma, No Hands: The Playlist Featured In Pages Of Rolling Stone

That's right, bitches. Because our mom is actually Jann Wenner* and because we bribed* every writer we could think of, The Playlist is in the pages of Rolling Stone magazine.

First person to say we actually Photoshopped the small, modest little piece running in this week's issue [ed. doood, Eddie!] gets two free front row tickets with popcorn to Uranus.

We're pretty sure this is going to skyrocket our readers to around the three dozen mark. Can't wait. Whether we "broke" anything RS claims we did, well, to "break news" over the internet is kind of relative, ain't it? [esp when some mags still refuse to put their scoops online]. But whatevs, we cured cancer too. Didja hear?

The Playlist would like to thank the academy and all the readers that refrain from posting in our comments section because they realize we'd electrify you at the drop of a hat for posting the slighest inane comment given even half the chance. We might even ask out Emily Gould later this week, stay tuned.

Kisses,
RP/Pgheylist
[*ed. patently untrue]
Oh, we curate a Soundtrack series mixtape thingy that some of you kids dig too.
PS. It's "The Playlist," not "Playlist" singular (gross).
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Germs Biopic 'What We Do Is Secret' Hitting U.S. Theaters In August

The long-completed Germs biopic, "What We Do Is Secret" will finally hit U.S. theaters in August via Peach Arch Entertainment - the same company putting out "The Go-Getter" - according to Billboard.

Initial screenings will be held New York (Aug. 8), Chicago (Aug. 15) and Los Angeles (Aug. 23) and the picture may roll out into other major markets depending on how it performs (which seems to be the cautious approach that the new fledgling Peach Arch seems to have for all their releases, again, see 'Go-Getter').

Starring Shane West (the tough guy punk from "A Walk To Remember" with Mandy Moore) as seminal L.A. punk figure Darby Crash, the short-lived singer of the Germs, 'Secret's has been seemingly finished for almost two years and the trailer has been out for ages (the film itself premiered at the Los Angeles film festival in June 2007).

Hollywood tart Bijou Phillips plays the Germs' Lorna Doom, and that kid, "Spanish" from "Old School" plays Pat Smear (sporting the most amazing Afro).

Directed by Rodger Grossman, the film took nearly ten years to make. West evidently campaigned hard for the role, immersed himself in the portrayal and endured three rounds of undoing dental prosthetics to match Darby's chipped and fucked-up teeth. West said that playing Crash would be a "losing battle in general. I'm not ignorant enough to say that I could duplicate Darby's madness, intelligence and wit. But I became close with his family and friends, and that was the validation for me."

The legendarily self-destructive Crash flamed-out extremely early: he overdosed on heroin at 22 and his death was overshadowed by John Lennon's death that happened earlier the month of December, 1980. Though his life was shrouded in mystery, apparently his death was premeditated. "He had a five-year plan to make his mark and then commit suicide, thereby ensuring his legend, " Grossman told the L.A. Times last year. LAist wrote a fairly favorable review last year.

Trailer: "What We Do Is Secret"

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James McAvoy To Play Bilbo Baggins In 'The Hobbit'?

As you've probably read by now soon-to-be 'Hobbit' director Guillermo del Toro and "Lord Of The Rings" mastermind Peter Jackson, recently held a web Q&A session / online chat where fans and geeks got to ask the two filmmakers tons of questions about the upcoming two-part prequel to the beloved 'LOTR' film trilogy.

Many little tidbits of information were given out in the discussion, but about Ian Holm - who played the older Bilbo Baggins in the LOTR films and everyone now agrees is too old to play the younger, 'Hobbit' version of the character - del Toro said he still planned to use the British actor “in some fashion."

The Mexican director then told Empire that they had many casting choices for the role of Bilbo in mind, but it was far too early to say anything. Evidently there's one actor that all the key 'Hobbit' players are keen on.

"We are writing based on [Ian Holm’s performance], but other than that, we have ideas [of who could play him],” Del Toro told us. “I can tell you that it’s down to a few names that we all agree upon. And that our first choice…completely, magically, we said the same name. All of us!”

Many names were rumored and thrown around (Daniel Radcliffe, Jack Black), but apparently the frontrunner the filmmakers and producers want is the young, British "Atonement" star James McAvoy according to the unreliable British press. It's a great choice to be sure, McAvoy can act the shit out of some scenes, but we remain skeptical and with a wait-and-see attitude (the U.K. is seriously the worst).

File it under rumors until confirmed, but yes, it would be nice. Meanwhile, Christopher Tolkien, the son of the books' author J. R.R. Tolkien, is attempting a last minute bid to shut down the production of "The Hobbit," because he claims the family and estate is still owed millions of pounds from New Line and is suing them for millions (it wouldn't be the first time someone accused NL of withholding dollars from the billions raked in via the original 'LOTR series', hello Peter Jackson).

"Christopher Tolkien did not wish to be involved in the LOTR movies and I would assume his feelings are the same with these two films," Jackson said during the online chat before Tolkien submitted his lawsuit. "I totally respect him for that since he is looking after the legacy of his father's books and does not wish to be involved in someone else's interpretation of those stories."

Not be involved? Guess again.
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Is Bill Murray Pretty Much Like 'Rushmore's Herman Blume?

"She's sweet, but she's fucked up."

Everyone has a soft spot for Bill Murray and most people surely have a deep soft spot for the charming, yet fucked-up, sin verguenza character he played in Wes Anderson's "Rushmore," Herman Blume (we sure as hell do). But is he too much like that self-loathing, sad-sack billionaire alcoholic chainsmoker?

Jennifer Butler Murray, his wife of nearly 11 years seems to think so.The news is just coming out now, but she filed for divorce on May 12, alleging the actor abused her and is addicted to marijuana and alcohol.

"I wouldn't know. I haven't seen her in six weeks."

Man, some of the alleged charges against Bill are rough. We hope they're not true.

The complaint, which doesn't specify instances of Murray's alleged marijuana or alcohol use, alleges he would often leave without telling his wife and says he "travels overseas where he engages in public and private altercations and sexual liaisons." It also alleges Murray physically abused his wife and last November "hit her in the face and then told her she was `lucky he didn't kill her.'"

"Mmm, I'm a little bit lonely these days..."

Do we forsee a new Wes Anderson script tackling the subject matter as a way to help out his buddy? (After all, Wes and Owen Wilson were pretty much done as writing partners, but after Wilson's alleged suicide attempt, Wes was insistent they two would write again - and thank god). Poor Bill, hang in there kemo sabe, she ain't your Rushmore, mate.

Update June 27, 2008: Murray and his wife were granted a quickie divorce. According to a prenup, Murray agreed to pay her $7 million within 60 days of the divorce. This comes one month after Jennifer Butler Murray announcing she was filing for divorce.
Watch: 'Bill Murray Is Sad' Montage Read more...

Trailer And Scene: Kiera Knightley Sings For 'The Edge Of Love'

In Keira Knightley's upcoming film, "The Edge of Love" - a love triangle based on the life of famous Welsh poet Dylan Thomas - the mostly emaciated British waif plays one of the women vying for his affections (and has a bathtub scene with her rival, Dylan's wife as played by Sienna Miller for all you boyz out there, fyi).

Matthew Rhys stars as Thomas, Cillian Murphy co-stars and Knightley does croons a bunch of songs in the the film and the movie and soundtrack are both expected later this summer. The "Edge of Love" soundtrack will feature Suggs from Madness ("Hang Out The Stars In Indiana") and song written by Maybury and Angelo Badalamenti sung by Banshee Siouxsie Sioux, Beth Rowley and Patrick Wolf.

But really, is it in Knightley's contract to basically say, "I love you, come back to me!" forlornly in every film? Man, the British really love their historical, over-the-top melodrama. One quote says, "Like 'Atonement' only better." More like, "looks exactly like "Atonement," but may feature sex scene worth waiting one hour and twenty minutes for (offer not guaranteed; results may vary).

Trailer: "Edge Of Love"

Scene: Kiera Knightley sings "Blue Tahitian Moon"
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Is "The Wackness' Star Luke Shapiro Personally Soliciting You With Viral Clips?

Luke Shapiro, the star of "The Wackness" emailed us this morning with a link to a YouTube viral clip of his hip-hop flavored cable access show. "Sup playboy? finally found this episode in my archives, peep it," he wrote. Or rather, the unpaid intern probably posing as Shapiro as part of the film's "viral " marketing campaign since Shapiro ain't a real person (he's played by actor Josh Peck; Shapiro is the main fictional character in the film who sells weed and is obsessed with weed and co-star Olivia Thirlby).

The clip reads off the top: "The following footage is from "Luke Shapiro's Dope Show," a public access show created by New Yorker Luke Shapiro in 1994. This footage was recently discovered in the archives of Manhattan Cable television." But yeah, meta and whatnot. "Shapiro" is basically spamming all the movie bloggers right now, so we're not really sure why we bothered to put this up clip, but the post is almost done, so why not. And the clip is in the spirit of the 1994-set life of the teenage character. Rhys Coiro, who plays the canteakerous fictional art-house/porn director Billy Walsh from "Entourage," is also in the clip, but curiously enough, he's not actually in the film (maybe they're all just buds). "The Wackness" in theaters starting on July 3rd.
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Garbage's Shirley Manson Joins Cast Of Small-Screen Terminator

Remember the '90s alt-rock trip-hoppers Garbage and their sassy, firebrand singer Shirley Manson? Well, apparently the band is undergoing another long hiatus - or at least one can safely assume since Manson has been cast in the small-screen version of the Terminator, 'The Sarah Connor Chronicles' as the CEO of a cutting-edge high-tech company (and Garbage is wont to take a lot of time off in between records). Not that it matters, does anyone listen to that band anymore? [Hollywood Reporter] Read more...

Hoop Dreams: 'Gunnin for that #1 Spot' Gets A Full-Court Trailer

The first real full-trailer for Beastie Boy Adam Yauch's hoop dreamy basketball documentary "Gunnin' For That #1 Spot" is finally online (you'll recall their was a snoozy teaser trailer released a few weeks back. It looks a lot more compelling than the teaser did and features Public Enemy's 1991 track "By The Time I Get To Arizona" and Jay-Z's "My 1st Song" (the final track from The Black Album). The soundtrack will feature tracks by Hova, the Notorious B.I.G., Nas, Lil Wayne and — you guessed it — the Beastie Boys (a new track recorded for the film, titled "Bass Line Is Nice"). Whether a soundtrack disc is being released is currently unknown.

Directed by Adam Yauch (of the Beastie Boys), Gunnin’ follows eight of the country's hottest high school basketball players as they play on the world’s most famous outdoor court: Rucker Park in Harlem -- a place where nicknames are branded and legends are made. Blending this next generation of b-ball players with a mix of raw hip-hop, jazz and break beats, Adam Yauch’s unique kinetic filmmaking makes Gunnin’ an explosively entertaining look at soon-to-be NBA All Stars. The film features Jerryd Bayless, Michael Beasley, Tyreke Evans, Donte Greene, Brandon Jennings, Kevin Love, Kyle Singler and Lance Stephenson. Gunnin will be in theaters on June 27th, 2008.

Meanwhile, Yauch's Oscilloscope Pictures just announced the first film they picked up for distribution, "Flow: For Love Of Water," a well-received doc that screened at Sundance early this year about the world's water crisis.
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Brett Ratner's Nefarious Plot To Destroy Mainstream Cinema Takes Two More Steps Closer To Reality: Beverly Hills Cops 4; Hugh Hefner Biopic

There are bad ideas and then there are bad ideas. And the plan to resurrect the Beverly Hills Cop franchise with a fourth installment still featuring Eddie Murphy, but this time directed by doughy himbo fauxter Brett Ratner really takes the cheesecake.

Apparently based on the success of Indiana Jones 4, Paramount rushed to revive a once lucrative franchise as Murphy is scheduled to reprise his role as Detroit cop Axel Foley. Ratner is negotiating to direct. The studio is hoping for a 2009 production start, a summer 2010 release and either way if Ratner is onboard or not, this one seems like an unfortunate reality.

Apparently it was Murphy himself who approached the studio with the idea of bringing "Beverly Hills' Cop" back to life.

Meanwhile, Ratner is developing the Hugh Hefner biopic "Playboy" for Universal, which is pretty perfect considering how much time he's probably spent at the Playboy mansion trying to roofie air-headed blonds in the grotto. Hefner reportedly wanted "Iron Man" star Robert Downey Jr., to play the younger, more-virile version of his entrepreneurial self and Ratner says that RDJ is interested.

Or well, sort of.

"Robert Downey Jr. agreed to do it based on the script," the director told EW. The problem? Well, the script's not quite complete and Downey Jr. hasn't actually read it. So he's agreed to do it if the script is actually good and worthwhile? Is that what Ratner is trying to say?

"We're gonna hand him the script very shortly. He loves the character and the role and we've been meeting with him on it. So, if he wants to do it, we're excited to have him." Ratner said adding that he and his producers were on the crest of the zeitgeist, "We wanted him before 'Iron Man' so we were ahead of the curve." RDJ's reps declined to comment on the matter. Read more...

Martin Hynes Talks M. Ward, The Origins Of She & Him And The Music of 'The Go-Getter'

In searching for the songs that would guide the "The Go-Getter," director Martin Hynes' producer suggested going to check out a Bright Eyes show with special guests ( My Morning Jacket's Jim James and producer Matt Mogis). Unbeknownst to Hynes, a singer songwriter named M. Ward was also at the beginning of the bill, but the indie-rock savvy filmmaker didn’t know his material at the time. When the Portland indie rocker hit the stage, Hynes was instantly floored with the singer's timeless, achey indie-folk. That's when the 'eureaka!' moment happened.

“Holy shit!,” Hynes said remembering his experience at the show and deciding on the spot that [Matt] Ward was the right man for the job “That’s the guy. That’s it. He’s perfect! I don’t know who that is, he’s not Bright Eyes, but he’s perfect.”

In the script Hynes had written, the main character Mercer (eventually played by "Thumbsucker" lead Lou Taylor Pucci) would come upon a band and whatever song they were playing would become the overture to the film – even though he didn’t know what band or song that would be at the time. “Their music would be the whole soundtrack to the film," Hynes said explaining the concept. "It would sort of haunt him and follow him down the road and a subconscious reminder perhaps about being the kid who’s not in that band and a reminder of home."

After the concert, Hynes bought up all the Ward music he could find and listened to it obsessively. He then sent an unsolicited script to the songwriter and hoped for the best. Unlike most Hollywood flakes, the folk-rocker read the script right away, and called immediately from SXSW of that year.

They met up in L.A. the next day for a Mexican brunch that turned into a three hour talking session about music and movies. Growing more and more excited about the common ground they shared, by the end of their discussion Ward was sold. “Great, well, count me in, man," he said.

It was an ass-backwards process for the film, but it was something. “At this point we had no money and we had no actors [signed on], but we had Matt.”

"Vincent O'Brien" (from Ward's Transfiguration of Vincent) soon became that overture to the film and it's performed live off the top of the film. From there, Ward's music world was Hynes' sonic oyster. The singer told the director, " 'You can use anything, any song you want,' " he recalled. "So it was me in an editing room trying everything out."

However, when Jena Malone’s character entered the frame and highjacked the film midway through, Hynes knew he needed a contrasting, harder sound for her story. Enter the Black Keys; two tracks from their 2005 album Rubber Factory, and the Replacements, “Color Me Impressed,” featured in a stylistic, drug-induced scene in Nevada. “I felt it was right to step away from Mercer’s sound – M. Ward – and [convey] that this movie has been overtaken by forces outside his control.”

During the editing process, Ward would stop by L.A. and see how things were going and during that process ended up tweaking his own songs as instrumental versions more suited to the film including a new version of “I’ll Be Yr Bird” and a Radiohead-inspired instrumental from Amnesiac’s "Hunting Bears" that acts as a loud and disjointed flare of guitars that play during a scene when Mercer wanders around a Mexican market in a daze.

The other major piece of new music Ward recorded for the film was Richard and Linda Thomspon cover of “When I Get To The Border” featured in the film’s end titles. Hynes thought it was right for the movie and suggested to Ward that since 'Go-Getter' co-star Zooey Deschanel had such a pretty voice, she could easily sing the female voice on the duet.The director invited the two over to dinner with his producer and they all sat around afterwards passing the guitar around, playing songs for one another and generally having a good time. “I had no idea they would hit it off the way they did,” Hynes said. “I remember Zooey turning to Matt and saying, ‘Hey, do you know the chords to ['50s classic] “Mr. Sandman’? And he did, of course M. Ward knew all the chords to ‘Mr. Sandman,’ duh,” he laughed recalling in near disbelief how close the duo’s taste seemed to be in almost-perfect synchronicity (the duo who went on to become known as She & Him, recorded a still unreleased version of “Mr. Sandman” during these sessions for the film; Nels Cline from Wilco came in to play guitar and the solo on "When I Get To the Border").

But before She & Him had even met, when Hynes was first casting the film and met with Deschanel, Ward’s musical involvement gave her the piece of the puzzle she needed to understand the roadtrip story. “[I told her,] 'M. Ward’s doing the music for this,' and she said, “Oh! Wow, yeah, yeah, I really like his stuff,’ and you could see that in that moment, she really got the film all of a sudden,” Hynes remembered.

Another serendipitous musical moment of the film was the inclusion of potty mouthed novelty singer Corn Mo, who only became a part of the film at the insistence of the peculiar and persisting comedian Nick Offerman who personally flew the musician to L.A. for the film (Through his comical magnetism, Offerman charmed his way into three different roles in the film).

Despite a small budget, Hynes also was able to wrangle songs by Animal Collective and departed Portland indie icon Elliott Smith. “It’s an embarrassment of riches,” Hynes said of the music in the film. Smith’s “Coast To Coast” is featured in a driving montage on the open road from Oregon to Nevada and Hynes acquired the rights to the song by simply penning a heartfelt letter to Smith’s sister and mother – the main holders of his estate – and they made a great and generous deal with the film's producers.

One dream sequence in the film acts as an outright homage to the dancing sequence in Jean-Luc Godard's "Band of Outsiders," but instead of trying to clear some expensive French pop song, the filmmaker enlisted the Portland Youth Jazz Orchestra All Stars to tweak Ward's "One Life Away" into an old-timey instrumental you might hear on a '50s European jukebox.

As for a soundtrack disc? Merge records was supposed to be releasing one and even a tracklist emerged early last year, but so far it's unknown if the disc will be released in conjunction with the pictures or not (Merge's site acknowledges the film, but there's no news of a disc). Update: Merge records says they were never planning on releasing a 'Go-Getter' soundtrack which makes this Pitchfork story from April 2007 seem pretty odd or just plain incorrect, but someone gave them that info). We