Don't Fear & Loathe 'Gonzo: The Life And Work Of Hunter S. Thompson,' Just Steer Far Away From Its Cloying Campaign Trail

The Edge… There is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over. —Hunter S. Thompson, “Midnight on the Coast Highway,” 1965

Do we break it to you now that the great literary sacred cow Hunter S. Thompson was kind of a selfish asshole, idiot manchild or do we wait til the end of the review? But then again he was a brilliant, seminal writer and an important dissenting voice in America culture. Ah, the contradictions, they're what make life fascinating and beautiful. And while these paradoxes are on display in "Gonzo: The Life And Death Of Hunter S. Thompson," Alex Gibney's artless documentary does little to contextualize them and simply acknowledges their existence. This stand alone lack of editorializing sounds like the most objective approach. But in this already fawning eulogy, it doesn't work.

Somewhere in the middle of 'Gonzo,' Hunter Thompson is shown deep arguing with the original director of "Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas" Alex Cox, in vehemently disagreeing with his cartoonish aesthetic intentions for the feature-film adaptation. The irony is obviously completely lost on the director whose different — yet no less hamfisted — aesthetics deliver their own set of problems to the Hunter Thompson mythos (Cox was eventually thrown off the project, we could only be so lucky).

A gun-toting lunatic of true principal (to a fault) Mr. Raoul Duke did make some venerable moves that should be admired, mind you (other than writing a few masterpieces of modern literature and his estimable dedication to savaging venal administrations - "a nation of bullies and bastards"). He turned on his Hells Angels buddies when he saw them for the true barbarians they were. And he turned on 1972 Democratic front runner George McGovern - a candidate he had tirelessly championed - when he saw his campaign make some painful blunders and errors in judgment. Most would remain loyal in these cases, to both party and ally, but the only allegiance Thompson ever rightly felt beholden to were the veracities of truth and principal. If you crossed those lines, even best friends could get thrown under the bus.

The good Doctor made gaffes and pulled some boners too. And Gibney spends far too much time lionizing Thompson's foolishly misguided run for Sheriff in Aspen, Colorado that gained some traction with the aimless, hippie freanik movement at the time, but would have served to bring nothing but chaos and headlines. Thompson's mishandling of the legendary Ali vs. Foreman's "Rumble In The Jungle" match (Thompson snorted rails and went swimming rather than attend the momentous sporting event) was pretty much the nail in the coffin.

Let's leave Thompson out of this for a second, he was brilliant in many respects and had moments of sheer genius (a word that shouldn't be used often). Gibney's inelegant approach by filmmaking standards is way too on-the-nose and cloying. If we were to harshly judge every film on their use of music, we'd be doomed given our raison d'être, so we always try and look the other way, and yes, the man was a counterculture maverick icon, but do we really need to hear every super obvious, super overused cuts by Jimmi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, Janis Joplin, et al? And more so, do they have to be so clumsy and ungracefully? (when Thompson is shown shooting guns, Hendrix's "Hey Joe" is played, when Thompson boats in Miami, Jimmy Buffet's, wait for it... "Boat Drinks" is heard. Does the world need one more rebellious, revolutionary montage cut to Dylan's "All Along The Watchtower?" Ugh).

These painful music choices are emblematic of some of the unsubtle ways Gibney cares to convey his story and many are so aggravating, they rip you right out of the moment. The over-reliance on footage from Terry Gilliam's "Fear & Loathing In Las Vegas" is irritating. Johnny Depp's narration of Thompson's words falls flat. The over-amplification of the counterculture and times' are a changin' idealizing is annoying (dude, we get it). And the pacing is super odd too. Not only is the film far too long (and spends way too much time overstating the point), Gibney spends ages on the Presidential election of 1972 and then quickly claims Thompson is chiefly responsible for getting Jimmy Carter elected with no qualifying evidence.

Only after an hour and half of blatant hagiography, does the celebrating doc deign to show the sad, tragic downward slope of HST; too much drink, goofballs, celebrity to the head, women and laurel-resting to produce any work of any real magnitude. His slow demise is miserable and would be melancholic if the good Doctor wasn't completely responsible (his garish funeral has sadly got to be one of the least dignified in U.S. history).

Ultimately swallowed by fame, the doc is essentially story of an angry young man with the fiercest of sword-pens turned rock n' roll writer, turned irrelevant old man of painfully squandered talents. But it raises uncomfortable questions: is the writer a buffoonish clown or is it just the filmmaker that inadvertently makes him out that way? Perhaps it's as flawed as its subject. As endlessly noted, Thompson was a true patriot and bred of the highest conviction and resolve. His idealism may be a romantic notion, but his relentlessly unwavering commitment to crisis, outrage and foxing out the "dishonest shitheads" in America was also his ultimate undoing and 'Gonzo' is just as much a cautionary tale (though perhaps one unbeknownst to the director), as it is an idolatry shoe-shine. At the very least it's a reminder that even the stalwart keepers of the flame need a day of rest now and then. But either way, Hunter deserved better than this. [C-]

Will Marvel's 'Captain America' Be This Patriotic, This Jingoistic?

Captain America Kicks Ass to "America Fuck Yeah" (from "Team America: World Police")

When the comic book character Captain America finally comes to the big screen in 2010, will he be portrayed as a sterling freedom fighter or more naturalistically as neo-con war-machine puppet? Could you imagine if Marvel tried to gear this audience this movie towards young Republicans? Now that all their films are rooted in plausible reality, it'll be interesting to see how they try and swing this character in a way that doesn't make him feel like a jingoistic blind foot soldier. Hope you had a happy fourth!

Pixar's 'Wall-E' Is Endlessly Charming And Endearing, But Is Far Too Light For Serious Oscar Consideration

So we finally saw the animated Pixar movie "Wall-E," that everyone is doing backflips over. Like many have already noted, the film is endlessly charming and endearing, the narrative engaging and the characters and storyline, incredibly sweet.

Naturally, the animation is top notch and even near-magical in spots, especially a celestial dance sequence throughout the galaxy which is visually awe-inspiring.

But all this Best Picture Oscar-nomination talk is overstated nonsense churned out by film tourists, deadline jockeys and misguided manchild pundits. Despite what Jeffrey Wells says, all movies should be considered an option for Best Picture - animated or no, but regardless,"Wall-E," while beguiling is far too light as a feather to be considered for serious Oscar contention.

Though it's not frivolous, talk of the movie's environmental/ecological themes are also overinflated as this thesis is thin and ephemeral; it's a love story about two robots that lightly grazes upon the idea of where mankind is headed and where we might end up if we don't remain vigilant towards the increasing issues facing our planets future. But that's about as deep as it gets, because it's merely a side dish to the computer, Mac-shilling (naturally, Pixar=Apple) romance.

Best Picture films are generally considered for their weight and a resonance that lasts longer than the 90-some minutes of your theater experience and "Wall-E" doesn't chart there. No, it's not cause "serious" films means no animated movies or comedies, those should be considered as well, but they need some gravitas and deeper richness (see "Annie Hall").

This is not to say "Wall-E" isn't completely enjoyable and fun. New animated modern classic? Sure, we suppose we won't argue that, you're kids are going to love it for years; though its no "Lion King" just quite, and its facile ending doesn't help its case.

Lovable film, near magical in spots? Absolutely. But Best Picture Nod? Not a chance. Like Werner Herzog before us, if this film earns a nomination we'll eat our shoe. You can mark that down if you wish, but note, we'll be keeping track of your ridiculous predictions too.

Spike Lee Heading To Broadway; Shooting 'Passing Strange' Concert Film

Spike Lee is heading to broadway. The Oscar-nominated director is going to shoot a concert film like version of the hit Tony-winning Broadway musical, "Passing Strange" in July (as he did with with "The Original Kings of Comedy" live concert he shot in 2000).

Written by singer/songerwriter and actor Stew, Lee will shoot the performance over a weekend, twice with an audience and once without. No distribution has been set, but "Passing Strange"s producers are funding the project and Hollywood Insider says they'll hope to find a home for the film on cable television once its complete.

A rock ’n’ roll autobiography of a black musician in search of himself, as many have noted already, "Passing Strange" isn't your average musical. "It is far richer in wit, feeling and sheer personality than most of what is classified as musical theater, its big heart throbs to the sound of electric guitars, searing synthesizer chords, driving drums and lyrics delivered not in a clean croon but a throaty yelp," wrote the New York Times. "Call it a rock concert with a story to tell, trimmed with a lot of great jokes. Or call it a sprawling work of performance art, complete with angry rants and scary drag queens.... I'll just call it wonderful, and a welcome anomaly on Broadway."

'Dark Knight' Cast Dismiss The Notion Of The Mental Toll The Joker Took On Heath Ledger; Oldman Says The Actor Channelled 'Clockwork Orange's Alex

''I know there are these rumors out there that playing the Joker drove him to his grave, but I never saw anything of that. [Heath Ledger] was always on time. He knew his part backwards and forwards. I just thought he was a really sweet kid," Gary Oldman said dismissing the mental toll of the character in this week's Entertainment Weekly engaging cover story on "The Dark Knight" and Heath Ledger's tour de force reinvention of the classic Batman villain.

"The idea of anarchy as an absolute. The idea of chaos as the most frightening thing to society. The idea of a motiveless criminal, somebody who just wants to watch the world burn," said director Christopher Nolan of Ledger's darker approach to the character than say Jack Nicholson's almost gentlemanly performance, by comparison. Appropriately enough, Oldman says that one of Ledger's anarchy-inspiring characters was Alex (Malcolm McDowell) from "Clockwork Orange."

''The guy had serious nuts,'' Nolan said. ''Such a lack of vanity. This was an actor who wasn't afraid to bury himself in his character — to a massive extent.''

Though he did immerse himself in the role, everyone in the piece waves off the idea that playing the Joker drove him mental or to an early grave. 'He enjoyed the sort of crazy immersion of acting. He took it incredibly seriously but simultaneously recognized how ridiculous it all is," Christian Bale said (EW notes that all the cast members was reluctant to talk about Ledger).

The Joker isn't given an origin in the movie. He just bursts onto the scene like a flame and never dies down, but it's super-interesting the note the very-plausible back story that Michael Caine invented for his servile Alfred character. 'Nobody cares but me, but I do it anyway. And my backstory for Alfred was that he was with the Special Infantry Service — sort of like the Navy SEALs — during World War II. But he got injured. So in order to stay in the service, he took a job in the officers' mess as a barman. And that's where [Bruce Wayne's dad] found him. That's why the accent I use for Alfred is that of an army sergeant. You see, you're not dealing with an ordinary butler here," Caine said.

As for all the worries that pundits had in January after Ledger's passing and how his death would affect the film (reshoots, ADR looping, etc.), Nolan said that was never a problem: he's a pro. 'I've never done any reshoots on anything,'' he says. ''I've never had to loop more than a couple of lines in any of my films.''

EW says with all the gushing critical praise and tickets selling out in advance, "The Dark Knight" could be on track to surpass "Spider-Man" and become the highest-grossing comic-book-based movie of all time. Time will certainly tell, it does seem a little too dark for mass consumption as the light and fluffy, first "Spider Man" was. Anyone of any age would have been happy seeing that. 'Dark Knight? maybe not so much...

Hip-Hop Heavy 'Wackness' Has Its Dope-Smoking Heart Actually Rooted In Emo

We saw "The Wackness" back in March and weren't able or motivated enough to spit out a proper review then and since it comes out today, well, here we are. In our numerous posts about the film — including where we exclusively revealed the film's soundtrack credits and CD details — we've almost said all we can possibly say about it. But let's give it another quick whirl.

The bildungsroman tale chronicles a troubled teenage drug dealer (the up and coming Josh Peck), who trades therapy sessions for pot with his drug-addled psychiatrist (Sir Ben Kingsley). Their already-weird relationship is complicated when the hip-hop loving dealer falls for the doctor's daughter (played by 2008's soon-to-be indie It girl, Olivia Thirlby). The dramedy also features rapper Method Man as a Jamaican drug connection, Mary-Kate Olsen as a fruity hippie, Famke Janssen as Kingsley's estranged wife and David Wohl as Peck's pathetic and indigent father.

Set in Giulliani-villifying New York, circa 1994, much has been made about the film's dope-smoking, nostalgia-waxing and hip-hop fetishizing through very rose-tinted glasses. Yet, the movie's main flaw seems to be its disparate tones. Sometimes the film can't decide whether it's a comedy or a serious drama and the moods are definitely mixed and almost jarring. At one moment, the film is semi-cliched innocuous weed comedy, and the next its a semi-cliched romance story filled with sun-dappled photography straight-out of a Sofia Coppola music with similar Brian-Eno-like stargazing music. Yes, it's fine to have a "dramedy," but the moods aren't quite seemless and the dsyfunctional weed, broken-home tale soon becomes a sentimental, woe-is-me, unrequited love story for the brokenhearted with a sad sack protagonist.

These crestfallen moments, while very real (yes, we can relate), seem a little too forced, a little too life-affirming and even almost-naively sincere. If you're feeling remotely cynical these notes will probably ring sour for you (It's a case by case scenario, but reviews are already sounding mixed in polar opposites). Given that we're pessimitic optimists, the movie's heart-on-its-sleeve emo-ness and naïveté both won us over and sometimes made us squirm. Either way it is an auspicious beginning for director Jonathan Levine, and we surely won't be hearing the last of him anytime soon. [B]

It should be noted , we actually do want to see this movie again, as we were sort of on the fence about how we felt about the film for a long time. It may have the legs to be a grower. And as many quibble as we have you'd surely be better off seeing this than "Hancock," "Wanted" or any of the recent studio dreck out there. Update: We saw "The Wackness," again and we're not sure if it was a different cut than the one we saw in March or if we'd grown accustomed to its problems a second time, but we'd like to grade our second viewing a B+.

I Stayed At Home On The Fourth Of July

We're almost out for grand ol' Independence Day. We might get around to some regular blogging updates if we get the chance. So have fun, eat lots of bbq and chillax all you can. Oh, and what's July fourth without this classic Galaxie 500 song? Dean Wareham, you can tell-all divorce, all you want, we'll still love you. Oh, in keeping with '80s indie-rock, we'll be at The Feelies and Sonic Youth on July 4 in Manhattan if you happen to be around.


Watch: Galaxie 500 - "Fourth of July"

ShortCuts: David Fincher, The Flaming Lips, Harry Potter, The Case For Robin In Batman?

Random Stuff to catch up on before we disappear for the July 4 holiday.

- We noted sometime last year that moody, dim-lighting nu-auteur David Fincher usually takes a long time between projects and has been on a creative tear of late (or at least buying up properties, it remains to be seen if they will come to fruition quickly. We can now add CG animated "The Goon," to his list of projects he's attached to which includes, a revamped animated "Heavy Metal," "Fight Club" the musical that will likely never happen, and three graphic novels; the perverse Charles Burns book "Black Hole," and the "assassin suddenly plagued by his conscience," tale "The Killer;" and the true crime chronicle, "Torso." [/Film]

- The Flaming Lips will lend more musc for the sequel to "Okie Noodling" the 2001 documentary about Oklahoma fishers that nobody cared or saw, and the oddball rockers scored. Lessons learned? It pays to be from Oklahoma even if you can't film your way out of a paper bag. Really? Yes, other Okie weirdo-rockers (Lips part deux), the Starlight Mints will also contribute a track. The DVD comes out July 14. [Pitchfork]

- "Harry Potter" nerdlinger Daniel Radcliffe has said that the next installment of the dork wizard movie will not be your father's version of dungeons and dragons. "There's a fair amount of sexual energy and there are some drug parallels. We have a couple of what David Yates, the director, calls our 'Trainspotting' moments. That's two films I never thought would be mentioned in the same breath." Color us mildly intrigued. [Telegraph via Vulture]

- Comic legend Jeph Loeb sayd Christian Bale should rethink his position on Robin in any further additions of the Chris Nolan-helmed Batman franchise. He drives home a salient argument. “It’s all about building the relationship between Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson [Robin]. Dick hates Bruce. He doesn’t understand why it is that he needs to do this and Bruce doesn’t understand why he’s doing it either because he’s not a parent. He doesn’t know how to be a parent.” Wait, so it's like "Monster's Ball," where the father and son bitterly loathe one another? (which ironically features Heath Ledger). [MTV]

Did Bill Murray Hate The Shit Out Of Lucy Liu On The Set Of "Charlie's Angels"?

Derober has an interesting feature on "6 Crazy Hollywood Stories You Probably Haven’t Heard," which are amusing and interesting enough, but the one that caught our eye and the most probable one given all we've learned about Bill Murray lately.

You'll recall his recent divorce news in which he was accused of a serious ill-temper problem (beating his wife) and the fact, very-much like his surly 'Life Aquatic' character Steve Zissou, he enjoys the doobage and going on many an offshore drunk. So the story of Murray and why he didn't appear as Bosley again in "Charlie's Angels 2" (though the uber-arrogant James Cameron "Aliens" story is rather delicious as well) is rather interesting and telling given his behavior.

The story seems rather simple when you think of it. Murray has notoriously never suffered fools gladly and well, given that, he apparently hated actress Lucy Liu. People magazine had already reported that the two butted heads on set, and there was a major altercation on set as Murray "loudly complained about Liu's [acting techniques], and Liu fired back -- causing fellow actors, including Drew Barrymore and Cameron Diaz, to flee for their trailers and for shooting to cease for the day." Well, it appears this was one major delicate euphemism. Derober writes:

"What actually transpired was much more intense. Bill Murray stopped a scene in progress and pointed to Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, and Lucy Liu saying in order, “I get why you’re here, and you’ve got talent….but what in the hell are you doing here. You can’t act!” At that, Liu blew her lid and attacked Murray, wildly throwing punches. The actors had to be separated to opposite corners of the room while they lobbed verbal hand grenades at each other.With a Columbia Pictures gun to their heads, both actors would publicly downplay in incident but insiders know better. Bill Murray would not do any sequel with Liu attached and was subsequently replaced by Bernie Mac."

Is this why Liu's acting work has been relegated to shitty B-movies with Antonio Banderas and TV? One things for sure, Bill Murray is much like his characters and is generally the wrong nigga to fuck with to paraphrase Ice Cube.

Exclusive: 'The Wackness' Expands In North America

Sick of hearing about the dope-smoking, New York in '94-nostalgia-waxing, hip-hop fetishizing, Giulliani-villifying, coming of age tale "The Wackness" starring Josh Peck and Ben Kingsley yet? The film opens today in New York and Los Angeles, and nothing has been announced past that. We've been given a first look as the film expands into other markets in the U.S. They are thus.

July 11: SAN FRANCISCO, WASHINGTON, DC, PHILADELPHIA, BOSTON, SAN DIEGO, CHICAGO, SEATTLE
July 18: DALLAS, MINNEAPOLIS, PHOENIX, PORTLAND
July 25: HOUSTON, AUSTIN, DENVER, ATLANTA, PROVIDENCE, RALEIGH-DURHAM-CHAPEL HILL, CHARLOTTE, CLEVELAND, SAN ANTONIO, ALBUQUERQUE, SANTA FE, DETROIT, ANN ARBOR, MIAMI – FT. LAUDERDALE – WEST PALM, KANSAS CITY, HONOLULU, MAUI, MILWAUKEE, MADISON, SALT LAKE CITY, SACRAMENTO, FRESNO. MONTEREY, RENO, EUGENE, SALEM, TACOMA, OLYMPIA, BELLINGHAM, ANCHORAGE, ST. LOUIS, BALTIMORE, ANNAPOLIS, RICHMOND
August 1: PLEBE'S EVERYWHERE ELSE

The soundtrack is suffused with old school '94 era hip-hop. Here's all the music used in the film too. Sony Pictures Classics, don't say we didn't ever do anything for you. Will it be this year's "Juno"? Survey says its way too early to tell. Oh yeah, another fucking trailer...

An Indy-like Holy Grail Discovery: Lost Scenes Of Fritz Lang's 'Metropolis' Found In South America

Doesn't that headline sound like a meta version of an Indiana Jones movie? Maybe Spielberg and company woulda had more luck if they made Dr. Jones head to Kasikstan to look for the missing reels in Orson Welles' "The Magnificent Ambersons."

Oh well. Anyhow, to our above point. One of cinema's holy grails has been found. The missing reels from Fritz Lang's legendary, silent science fiction masterpiece, "Metropolis" - the most expensive movie ever made at the time in 1927 - have been discovered in Argentina according to German weekly newspaper Die Zeit (the Argentines were Nazi sympathizers, there's the connection! Speilberg you TOTALLY missed the boat here).

"The film's original rhythm will be re-established," Martin Koerber, the man responsible for the current restoration of the proto-sci-fi film that also leaned heavily on German Expressionism, modernism and art deco, told the German paper.

Zeit writes, via GreenCine, "The most important silent film in German history can, from this day forward, be considered rediscovered." However, this longer discovery, found in the Museo Del Cine in Buenos Aires, is accoring to Zeit and GreenCine, "not have the absolute, complete version; [Rainer Rother, director of the Deutsche Kinemathek ] estimates that what's been rediscovered represents around 85 percent of what had been considered lost for good."

Of course, now we have to play Queen's "Radio Ga Ga," the video of which was famously cut to some footage of "Metropolis." Who knew Freddie Mercury was such a cinephile? [some links found via Spout]

Scene: "Metropolis"

Oscar Candidates Lagging So Far This Year? (*Sound Of Hand Smacking Forehead*)

Jesus christ. It's July! Are you new to this movie game? Is this some new trend none of us have somehow failed to observ? Not according to Variety's Timonthy Gray who seems absolutely puzzled that there are no major Oscar frontrunners outside of the one's discussed only because there is nothing to else to talk about (Heath Ledger as the Joker, "Wall-E,"), and lord knows the media will discuss the Oscars and posit away even when there's nothing to discuss (Do you have a deadline? Is there a gun in your mouth? Can't you think of something else to write about?). C'mon, we really shouldn't have to tell you how this is done. Look at last year's Oscar Best Picture nominees "No Country for Old Men," "Atonement," "Juno," "Michael Clayton, "There Will Be Blood." Not ONE of these films was released before October and most delivered far after that. We really shouldn't have to waste our time writing this to trade writers, sheesh. [Variety]

Val Kilmer And Xzibit Join Werner Herzog's "Mainstream" 'Bad Lieutenant' Remake

Werner Herzog's remake of Abel Ferrara's early '90s depraved cop classic, "Bad Lieutenant," just got a little bit more awesome or terrible depending on which side of the fence you're on.

Starring Nicolas Cage in the full-frontal cocksmith role made famous by Harvey Kietel and co-starring Eva Mendes, the cast has just grown by the inclusion of Val Kilmer and Xzibit.

Though we love Herzog, clearly we were on the disgusted side when we heard about this film, but the more and more we read, hear and think about this project, the more the wonderful absurd proclivities of this amazing German director start to excite our irony leanings (which we normally keep in check at all times).

Kilmer and Xzibit are really huge names at this point, but we think we're finally starting to see where Herzog is going with this and of all things it's starting to conjure up - coincidentally enough - Ferrara's "King Of New York," which if you watch now is just as comical as it is amazing.

Kilmer will play Cage's cop buddy (naturally probably another loose cannon scumbag) and Xzibit will play his nemesis. The film sounds like it's going to be done on the cheap in the same way Herzog's "Rescue Dawn" was (but not painful low-budget, just a modest mix of action and drama). Producer mensch Avi Lerner spoke to the L.A. Times about the project and he basically said, they're not fucking around with the money. According to the Times, because of Werner's prestigious name, Cage was willing to cut his fee to do the film, taking roughly 10% of his normal $20-million fee.

The film starts shooting on July 14 and the production won't be spending money on superfluous luxuries like trailers for actors. "'I don't want to spend the money on stupid things that you won't see on the screen.' So there won't be any big trailers. You lose one trailer, you save $100,000. You lose five trailers, you save $500,000."

Don't forget Christian Bale ate maggots on the set of 'Dawn,' and there were no trailers, just huts in the middle of the jungle. If you're working with Werner Herzog, you better be prepared to keep the pampering at home.

Lerner says the film is going to have a ton of commercial appeal and won't be the artsy version of 'Lieutenant.' "I trust Werner. He was very clear. You saw what he did with 'Rescue Dawn.' He wants to make a mainstream movie." Don't go thinking that it's going to be Michael Bay style though. You've hopefully seen enough Herzog/Klaus Kinski films to know better.

Spike Lee's 'Miracle' To Premiere At Toronto Film Fest, So Will 'Nick & Nora's Playlist'

Ok, it probably wasn't that difficult to guess, but we were right when we reported that Spike Lee's "Miracle At St. Anna" would be premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival (We're 1-for 3, so far, here's hoping Michel Gondry's "Tokyo" and Guy Ritchie's "RocknRolla" are also announced to prove our sources mettle).

Canada's National Post has confirmed our report. Other newly announced premieres at TIFF include Steve Jacobs' "Disgrace" starring John Malkovich, "Good," starring Viggo Mortensen as liberal German professor whose moral cowardice leads to his involvement with the Nazi war machine and Auschwitz.

Also premiering is the long-awaited Micheal Cera and Kat Dennings punk-rock romance date night, "Nick & Nora's Infinite Playlist," which will feature a bunch of indie-rock like Bishop Allen and Project Jenny/Project Jan. Plus Paolo Sorrentino's "Il Divo," and Kathryn Bigelow's "The Hurt Locker" (her first feature since '02s "K-19: The Widowmaker," she directed "Point Break" too) - an Iraq War thriller that stars Ralph Fiennes, Guy Pearce and David Morse.

The 33rd annual Toronto International Film Festival runs from Sept. 4-13 and new films are supposed to be announced almost all summer long.

Previously announced films at TIFF include, Laurent Cantet's Palme d'Or-winning "The Class," Brazilian filmmaker Walter Salles' "Linha de Passe," Ari Folman's "Waltz With Bashir," Kim Jee-woon's Sergio Leone-like Western "The Good the Bad the Weird" and Canadian actor Paul Gross' sure-t0-be budget WWI film "Passchendaele" (the trailer is so bad).

Christian Bale Would Rather Do Batman Dinner Theater Than Work With That Kid Robin

"If Robin crops up in one of the new Batman films, I’ll be chaining myself up somewhere and refusing to go to work.” Christian Bale says he'd rather eat his Dark cap than work alongside a campy Robin character in Batman 3. [StarPulse Via Vulture]

"A very well known American action director heard about my love of Superman, approached my and asked me to team up with he and his producer to make a pitch for this. We’ve been talking for several weeks now and, if this is going to happen, we’ll know by Christmas. He has huge pull at WB so fingers crossed. But this is nothing more than a huge US name pulling me into his fold and making me part of a package.” - Does "Wanted" graphic novelist Mark Millar have any pull over the Superman franchise and does he want to do it without "Superman Returns" director Bryan Singer? [/Film]

"Unfortunately I am allergic to paparazzi and have found the best antidote to that sort of nonsense is staying behind the guitar and typewriter." - Ryan Adams breaks up with Mandy Moore. We call rebound dibs. [Daily Intel]

"If Ian Holm is able and willing and in health and in disposition, I would love more than anything to use him [in 'The Hobbit']. ... I think a lot of people don't take into account the inevitable physical exertion that making two movies back-to-back entails." - Peter Jackson intimates that Ian Holm is old. [MTV]

Hellboy Meet James Lipton On 'Inside The Actors Studio'

Admittedly, very amusing and delightful. On a sidenote we assume movies like "Hellboy" are for types like the Comic book store guy on The Simpson's, but having just seen the trailer for "Hellboy II," when we saw "The Incredible Hulk" a few weeks back, we were really impressed. That Guillermo del Toro kid knows a thing or two about making visually fascinating movies. [via Spoutblog]

Hans Zimmer Almost Scrapped The "Too Dark" 'Dark Knight' Music Because Of Heath Ledger Death

Academy Award-winning composer Hans Zimmer was so broken up about the news of Heath Ledger's death after finishing "The Dark Knight," he almost scrapped the theme he had written for Ledger's Joker because he felt it was too dark and morbid the estimable musician, who composed scores for "Gladiator," and "The Thin Red Line" to name just a few, told Parade magazine.

"It was so inconceivable. For a moment I was thinking, 'Oh my God, I should throw out all the music I've written for the Joker and just start over again.' Which is just exactly the wrong thing to do. And I mean, I can never find a better word for it but to honor his performance, I had to stick to my guns. The music has to portray the philosophy of anarchy that the Joker displays in the face of Batman's valor. I couldn't soften the music or compromise the evil he projects because Heath really did give such a tremendous performance. If I had taken my eye off the ball, if I had been sentimental, if I had done anything like that, it would really have not served him."

James Newton Howard ("Michael Clayton," "The Fugitive"), who co-composed the score with Zimmer, ultimately agreed with him in the end.

"His performance is so electrifying in the movie that if he has the ability to look down upon any of this, I think he would be certainly pleased that his character was honored by, certainly on our end, by writing the music that is most appropriate to that performance."

Zimmer has previously said he gave the "Joker Suite" an industrial punk rock edge. "I'm German, so I come from the tradition of Kraftwerk.... But I kept thinking I wanted to find a way to bring corrosion into Gotham -- corrosion and recklessness. It's very much of the idea of taking one note and expressing any part of fearlessness and recklessness and surprise.... It is very industrial music. I used to work with the Damned and bands like that." Interestingly enough, for security reasons Zimmer and Howard had to score the film to a black and white cut of 'Dark Knight,' one that they now prefer.

Here's a track the duo did on "Batman Begins." "The Dark Knight" soundtrack hits stores July 15.

Super Annoying Nerd Guy Tries To Posit Wall-E, Wall-Mart Theory

We seriously couldn't sit through the whole thing, but someone will find this amusing, we're sure. OK, we sat through some of it (and then eventually, begrudginly, all of it). Basically he says "Wall-E" portrays human society as a priviledged white version of Wall-Mart America. Where are all the working class and non-white people? Nerdlinger says Wall-E killed them all. So did American's sweetheart supermart. "Wall Mart killed all the poor people!" Holy shit, this guy is annoying. All we know is 'Wall-E' chatter is soul-crushing. Wait, why did we post this again? We smell a Pixar-like boycott.

Will Smith's 'Hancock' Twist Revealed: Hint, It's M. Night Shymalyan In Ridiculousness

We won't spoil it for you, don't worry. A week ago (a year ago in blog years), we had noted the L.A. Times was all over why Charlize Theron wasn't in the marketing for Will Smith's anti-hero superhero film, "Hancock."

The piece revealed there was a big twist ending near the end of the film. We made some guesses and without spoiling it, one of our secondary - "This ain't gonna be like that [REDACTED] M. Night Shyamalan ending is it?" - guesses seems like it was on the money.

We said we wouldn't likely solve the riddle, and we didn't. We said someone would do it for us. Naturally, they did (we really didn't care that much). Vulture did some hunting and has pointed to the spoiler if you want to go down the Internet rabbit hole (ok, it's only two clicks, it just sounds better). But no, we won't spoil it. We know you hate your children and you need to do something with them this July 4 weekend. Why not let them "oooh and ahh" for two hours while you take a nap, right?

PS, Jeffrey Wells says "Hancock" is not bad (up until a point), but it's the aforementioned twist that makes the film totally jump the shark into an "absurd abandonment of logical behavior." The L.A. Times asks, is a Will Smith backlash inevitable due to his newfound ties to Scientology?

Diddy Blog #8: Your Boy Dids Loves Will Smith's 'Hancock' In Expletive-Filled Rant

Diddy says growing up there were no black super heroes. So he's thankful for "Hancock," even if the character Will Smith plays is a super heroic drunk, womanizer and all-out unreliable role model, uhh... Did's says it's "200-motherfucking 8 and shit is changing," and about time we had some African American super heroes, even though there was Power Man, Black Falcon, the Black Panther and many more (but yes, obviously they weren't as prevalent, we'll definitely give him that).

"As a black kid you're like, 'well, why ain' there no super heros that look like me?' Why aint' there a black super hero?' They got Wonder Woman, Underdog...[pauses, thinks about the absurdity of this for a minute and then catches up] They even have a dog super hero, they got no black super hero! (aside). That's my white boy answering the phone."

Then Dids goes off on an expletive tirade about Hancock and well-known DC and Marvel heroes, calls Batman's ward Robin a "bitch-ass" for no apparent reason (hey, he was a kid!) and then goes off the rails screaming, "Hancock, bitches, Hancock!" Duly noted. Diddy mind you, is one of the few "critics" in North America that actually enjoyed the film.

"Hancock" is getting terrible reviews (34% at Rotten Tomatoes), but that's not going to stop it at the box office this weekend, as it's projected to be a juggernaut, in seemingly direct defiance to the unanimity of critics that say you'd be better off driving your family off a cliff this July 4 weekend rather then spend it with this piece of trash film.

'Dark Knight' Actors And Crew Are Unsurprisingly More Cautious About Heath Ledger's Chances For An Oscar Than The Press Is

Gee, go figure. While they obviously all think Heath Ledger did a stellar job in his haunting performance, all of "The Dark Knight" cast and director Christopher Nolan are cautious not to make wild proclamations. Christian Bale in particular says keep your pants on, people. ""A lot of people talk about awards all the time, and it's early days," the Batman star told MTV. If you cycle through the video you can hear his thoughts, plus Maggie Gyllenhaal and Gary Oldman. When asked what he thinks about Ledger's much-hyped posthumous chances at Oscar gold, the director Nolan was typically wary. "I have no idea."

Village Voice Reporter Digs Through Harvey Weinstein's Trash: Finds Nothing

There's a cute story making the rounds. Village Voice reporter Tony Ortega was walking around Tribeca drunk (some class A reporting already, huh?) and accidentally "stumbled upon," irascible movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's trash and proceeded to rifle through and ranksack it for all it was worth (We assume Ortega is a freegan and was trying to liberate and emancipate the potential news).

Ortega wrote up five online pages worth of story and the biggest news he can get from this is shit about Project Runaway? C'mon dude, when we rape and pillage Harvey Weinstein's trash— detritus that included emails and scripts — we're going to have movie news for a month, at least! Weak sauce.

The best he gets? As Vulture parses for us (cause it was rather uneventful to read in full): "[Ortega] suggests that Anne Hathaway's role in "Promises, Promises" could've gone to Gwyneth Paltrow, hints that "Bullets Over Broadway" on Broadway is proceeding apace, and puts a number on the salary Nicole Kidman would've gotten for The Reader if she hadn't had to drop out owing to pregnancy: a mere $100,000, plus a $450,000 break-even bonus."

Coulda, woulda, shoulda. So what, tell it to US Weekly.

Having had a rather turbulent history with the press though, the formerly hot-tempered movie producer is taking it all in stride and not having the Voice writer's legs broken in six places. Ortega should be thankful Weinstein switched back from Sanka, months ago.

Big Fucking Surprise! 'Arrested Development' Movie Announcement Is Premature

Gee, do we need to tell you, we told you so, like, multiple times? We tried to tell you that Jason Bateman (Michael Bluth) was a little too overenthusiastic and talking out his ass, and we tried to warn that people like Jeffrey Tambor (George Bluth Sr.) didn't really know what they were talking about, but you wouldn't listen. We certainly knew the specious claim that shooting before the cameras next year would be bullshit.

And? Well, it appears we were right (in that nyah, nyah, Nikki Finke kind of way, of course) and news of an "Arrested Development" movie is premature! [ed. gee, you think?] Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider blog has officially learned what we pretty much knew all along: there's no deal in place and not one page of a script yet (though they just reported days ago that Tambor said it was a go! Consider this their mea culpa).

This hasn't stopped the actors from speaking out of turn at every chance they get, nor has it stopped many a gullible, skeptical-free journalists from writing the news up with enthusiastic, naive glee. Bateman has already said they were trying to scrounge up funds and lint from their pockets and basically confirmed to MTV and EW that they're still looking for cash to make the project a go. "Michael Cera is a huge star now...with a huge star attitude to go with it. His salary will probably be the holdup," he joked, probably feeling contrite for leading dumb reporters on.

Well? We won't say it exactly,... but you guys have been burned more times than a Mexican kid cooking with a cornballer. With all the crap these 'AD' actors are spouting they may find themselves in the position of needing a lawyer soon. May we suggest Bob Loblaw? He's got a great law blog.

Ice Cube To Get All 'Janky' With Young Jeezy

They still let Ice Cube make films? Oh wait, it's Fred Durst who's probably going to get his directors pass revoked any day now, Cube still makes money at the box-office with his ungangster-like family fare.

The multi-hyphenate rapper/actor/filmmaker /etc. will star alongside rapper Young Jeezy in "Janky Promoters," a comedy about shady hip-hop promoters in over their heads, Jeezy will obviously play the main rapper. Cube will play one of the promoters.

Cube is not only acting, he wrote the film for Dimension Films which will also star Mike Epps and Terry Crews. It's Cube's first screenplay since the lodestone cinema classic, "Friday After Next," and the director of that film, Marcus Raboy will helm the project which has already started shooting.

"This feels a lot like 'Uptown Saturday Night' to me, a caper film where you have these music promoters who are slightly shady but are good enough guys that you root for them," Bob Weinstein told Variety in March. "This is going to be R-rated, and it appeals right to the core of Cube's audience."

Elementary My Dear Dumbasses: Sascha Baron Cohen & Will Ferrell To Star In Sherlock Holmes Project

Really? Really? Hollywood has super sleuth fever apparently.No, it's not the action adventure-y, Guy Ritchie Sherlock Holmes project, but Will Ferrell and his "Talladega Nights" buddy Borat, aka Sacha Baron Cohen have signed on to Columbia pictures' still-untitled Scottish detective project. In a bit of a nice twist, Cohen will play Holmes and Ferrell will play the presumably bumbling and buffooning Watson. Etan Cohen, the writer behind, the may-or-may-not-be funny "Tropic Thunder," is penning this one and Judd Apatow with Jimmy Miller.

It sounds slightly amusing and all, but doesn't this sound like a project that was conceived of over beers at an Apatow-home poker game with Ferrell? Will: "You hear about Guy Ritchie doing Sherlock Holmes? Stupid... Two cards, please." Judd: "You know what would be funny..."

Exclusive First Listen: Huey Lewis' Title Track From The 'Pineapple Express' Soundtrack Due August 5

There haven't been a ton of soundtracks this year so far that fall into our raison d'etre ("that sweet spot where movies and music meet"™), but the Judd Apatow-produced, David Gordon Green-directed stoner comedy, "Pineapple Express," finally has some musical reprieve for us.

Due August 5 on Lakeshore records, the 15 track disc features the much-touted return of Huey Lewis And The News, ala "The Power Of Love" from Back To The Future, doing their updated, cheesy take on the title track. It's good fun. The rest of the disc, is naturally filled, with stoner delights from Cypress Hill, Peter Tosh, Public Enemy and tracks by Eddy Grant and friggin' Moondog of all people! (how obscurist is that!?). The disc also has two cuts of Graeme Revell's score, a gentle Spiritualized track (they like to get high in the sun, right?) and a sermonizing Bone Thugs & Harmony song.

Oh and those sad that M.I.A's "Paper Planes" ain't featured on the disc, take some solace in knowing it isn't featured in the movie at all and in the trailer. Alas.

After the tracklist, we've got an exclusive audio peak of Lewis' "Pineapple Express," in full. Sample lyric: We got trouble, we got to get out of here. I’ve got you, you’ve got me. We are as high as we can be. That’s all right. How did we get into this mess? Pineapple Express!"

"Pineapple Express" soundtrack tracklisting.
01. Pineapple Express - Huey Lewis And The News
02. Electric Avenue - Eddy Grant
03. Dr. Greenthumb - Cypress Hill
04. Lost At Birth - Public Enemy
05. Poison - Bell Biv Devoe
06. Wanted Dread Or Alive - Peter Tosh
07. Don't Look Around - Mountain
o8. Pineapple Chase (aka The Reprise of The Phoenix - Graeme Revell
09. Bird's Lament - Moondog & The London Saxophonic
10. Coconut Girl - Brother Nolan
11. Hiilawe - Arthur Lyman
12. Tha Crossroads - Bone Thugs & Harmony
13. Pineapple Fight (aka The Nemesis Proclaimed) - Graeme Revell
14. I Didn't Mean To Hurt You - Spiritualized
15. Woke Up Laughing - Robert Palmer

Download: M.I.A. - "Paper Planes"
What's in the movie not featured on the soundtrack? Our 'Pineapple' film preview denotes a few cuts, plus David Gordon Green said basketball star/rap moonlighter Shaq would have a track in the movie. “The soundtrack is so amazing,” Green told Filmschool rejects. “It is. I mean, there’s Bone Thugs-n-Harmony. It is pretty wonderful and eclectic, very 80s influenced [mix]. There is a Shaquille O’Neal rap song in it. There is a little something for everybody. And it will all end with the Huey Lewis theme song at the end. I can’t even think about it without smiling. It gets stuck in your head for days.”

Updates made to this piece as the tracklist that was delivered was incomplete.

New Tyler Perry Poster Suggests Some Murder (Or Caucasians) Along With Your Afro-Centric Family Friendliness

We mention this for a few reasons. One, because Tyler Perry is that silent, but deadly filmmaking force as far as Hollywood is concerned. Put aside for a second whether his films are actually good or not. His films target a very niche (read: black) audience, but man, they do gangbusters at the box office and Hollywood has taken note. More importantly his audience comes out in droves on that opening weekend which has increasingly becoming the make-or-break moment and headline grabber for films, i.e. what matters in the end ("Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married?" raked in $21 million it its opening weekend in the winter).

Perry's latest, "The Family That Preys," is his first attempt at crossover and as the poster suggest - his first film utilizing Caucasians as main characters.

What's it about? Do you even care? 'Preys' chronicles the inner workings of two families—one upper-crust and the other working class—that become inextricably linked by scandal and ruled over by matriarchs Kathy Bates and Alfre Woodard. They're films generally not for the film blog crowd, but don't be surprised if it topples all on the box-office that weekend (the film comes out September 12). In other words, if you're a betting man, don't sleep on Tyler Perry even if your taste dictates you look elsewhere.

Yet Another 'Dark Knight' Trailer Erodes At Our Level Of Cool Composure

We're all about sang froid comportment, right? Walk in a single file, no running in the halls, no need for hysterical callow hyperbole, keep your pants on, hold your fire and all that shit, yeah? Yes, everyone is doing somersaults over "The Dark Knight," and we're trying to separate the sycophantic fanboy's from the real critics that don't sport debilitating erections every time the WB farts out a viral clip, but this new trailer and poster are really threatening to release the boy in us.

But by, release the boy, we mean the child who adores the dark, fucked-up psychotic episode, mind you. The dialogue of The Joker [Heath Ledger] trying to fuck with Batman's [Christian Bale] head in this thing sounds all too realistic and grim for a tentpole, "comic-book" movie. Could director Christopher Nolan really have gotten away with making a film about two sociopaths who desperately need each other instead of delivering the blockbuster most summer audiences are expecting?

Yes, "Batman Begins" was dark and gritty, but it still had the suspension-disbelieving comic book tropes we've all come to expect (and sometimes leave us one step removed from ranking these films alongside actual great films). In other words, they're just great "comic-book films," but Nolan really looks like he might be able to transcend that ghetto here into something that really resonates. Maybe?

'Pineapple Express' Posters Are A Little Half-Baked

Yeah, yeah, we're not big fans of just posting posters for the sake of it, but these "Pineapple Express" posters are relatively subversive for a major film studio that's arguably going to get marketed everywhere, no?

Or maybe we won't see these posters on bus stops, subways or public places, we'll see. Will they try and sell this as, "from the stoned creators of 'Knocked-Up' and '40 Year Old Virgin'?" Seems unlikely. We digress.

In case you've been stoned in your parent's basement all this time, "Pineapple Express" is an upcoming Judd Apatow comedy starring Seth Rogen and James Franco as two weed enthusiasts who go on the lam after they witness a murder by a crooked cop. [Videogum via Trailer Addict]

Apropos of nothing, we're sure this is going to be a hit, but we're sensing a backlash, not to Judd Apatow, but to Seth Rogen. It might be the way he comes across as slightly arrogant in recent interviews or it might be the recent choice in role (the Kevin Smith one being a particularly bad one), but we've got a hunch some of his work in the upcoming months without Apatow might fail. Or it just might be that this furry Canadian is getting on our nerves of late.