'G.I. Joe' Trailer Receives Bad Buzz

Paramount recently held a test screening for "GI Joe: Rise of the Cobra" and the fanboys were not impressed. So they did what any obsessive 80s cartoon fan would, they posted a scathing review of the one minute trailer on nukethefridge.com:

"I just came from a 'test screening' of the first teaser trailer for “G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra.” What can I say about it? Well, it was horrible. No, actually it was worse than horrible."

[Ed. wait, they do test screenings of trailers???] But the fun doesn’t stop there. Soon after the review was published Paramount issued a cease and desist letter. However the review remains online because Paramount didn’t have the audience sign a non-disclosure agreement.

Is it safe to certify 'GI Joe' as the first flop of the summer in December? Maybe we’re jumping the gun it's only a trailer after all, but considering the terrible cast, the horrible look of some of the leaked shots and if Paramount is shutting down Pro-Joe websites for reviews of a one minute trailer then perhaps they're demonstrating just how worried they are. - Pearce Dietrich

Frank Miller Quickly Signs On For 'Buck Rogers' Film Before 'The Spirit' Reviews Ruin His Directing Career

Frank Miller & Odd Lot Entertainment, the forces behind the scathingly reviewed and eye-injuringly CG-assisted "The Spirit", are in talks with Nu Image/Millennium to produce a film adaptation of the classic sci-fi character "Buck Rogers."Nu Image/Millennium obtained the rights earlier this year for 'Rogers' from the Dille Trust and will receive credit but won't be heavily involved in the active production of the film. Though John Flint Dille of the Trust is friends with Miller, the deal has only come closer to happening after Miller hooked up with Odd Lot.

Unsurprisingly, "Rogers" is rumored to be taking on a darker tone than previous incarnations of the franchise have offered, much like Miller's work on "The Spirit"...and anything/everything else he's worked on lately.

We're not of the school of thought that comic books, or any existing properties, should require "faithful" adaptations to screen as per the mewlings of comic con attendees the world over (more on this at a later date), but we can assure you that those of us who haven't seen it yet will be nowhere near any lines that might be forming to see "The Spirit" next week, despite Miller's decision not to go note-for-note with this film. Most of Miller's comics are fine and he's earned his place in that world's pantheon of creators, but directing's a much finer art than turning green screens to purple - no matter what Robert Rodriguez might suggest. - Christopher Adams

[via The Hollywood Reporter]

David Fincher's 'Chef' Movie With Keanu Reeves Is A Reality, And A "Sex Comedy," No Really...

Turns out that David Fincher/Keanu Reeves cooking movie, "Chef" is actually a reality.

MTV caught up with the director and he spilled the beans on the idea. First off he says it's not an adaptation of Anthony Bourdain’s best-selling memoir “Kitchen Confidential," a project Fincher was attached to in 2001 called, "Seared," that was to star Brad Pitt.

“ ‘Seared’ was a defunct property at New Line. They decided to go ahead and make ‘Kitchen Confidential’ as a [television] series. This is an original script that’s very funny.” A comedy for Fincher? First it's a love story ('Benjamin Button') and now a comedy, huh? Sounds like the dark and moody auteur is switching gears.

“It’s good and chewy,” Fincher told MTV already adopting foodie verbiage. “It’s like a celibate sex comedy if that means anything. It’s really about the creative process. It’s truly an aromatic art-form, making food. I love that idea. And I love Keanu’s passion for that world.”

Weird. Let's just hope it's nothing like, "No Reservations" with Aaron Eckhart and Catherine Zeta Jones (and that overrated brat Abigail Breslin; how they hell did she ever pull off an Oscar nomination?). We'd ask aloud what the Fincher fanatics thought about this but most of his obsessives are so in love with him they'd probably regard news of the director filming drying paint with feverish anticipation.

Tom Cruise Hearts 'Valkyrie' Screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie

"Valkyrie" scribe Christopher McQuarrie has three new projects in the works, all involving Tom Cruise (though only two have confirmed connections with the actor) according to Variety.

The first McQuarrie/Cruise collaboration is Spyglass' "The Tourist", which is a remake of 2005's French thriller "Anthony Zimmer". Cruise is set to co-star in 'Tourist' with Charlize Theron under the direction of Bharat Nalluri ("Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day"). "The Tourist" script was originally written by Julian Fellowes ("Shadowlands")

Also on McQuarrie & Cruise's collective table is "The Champions", a film version of a British television property that finds a group of government agents given superpowers after being rescued from a Himalayan plane crash by an advanced civilization. Guillermo Del Toro is set to direct this United Artists picture with McQuarrie writing and co-producing. MGM/UA supposedly have plans to turn this into a Cruise-centric franchise.

The third project, to which Cruise has no formal attachment as of yet, is New Regency's "Flying Tigers", which McQuarrie will co-write with Mason Alley (who wrote for TV series "The Agency"). "Flying Tigers" tells the story of the volunteer fighter squadron assembled to to help the Chinese fight the Japanese before the U.S.'s involvement in WWII.

Now if only Cruise was aware that McQuarrie's "Valkyrie" script was a half-baked exercise in anti-climatic tension that shouldn't have been green lit in the first place. - Christopher Adams

'Che' RoadShow Comes Back For Two More Weeks

It was only supposed to last a week, in fact, its run ended last night, but the IFC Roadshow release of Steven Soderbergh's 4 hour-plus "Che" movies has been so successful, it's coming back. This time for two weeks starting December 24.

"We thought 'Che' would have a great deal of interest, but to sell out in Los Angeles and New York City was even beyond our expectations," IFC distribution VPrez Mark Boxer told the Hollywood Reporter.

"Che" was originally released one early to simply qualify for Oscars (like that's gonna work), but audience demand is bringing it back as one entire body of work before it reappears Jan. 9 in limited release as two separate films, the Cuba-focused "The Argentine" and Bolivia-based "The Guerrilla" (honestly, it's ok to see them as two films and we actually kind of recommend it because then you're not fatigued by the experience and can't appreciate the second half).

January 9 the film will be out in Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco as two films and then January 23, its expected to open up in 50 additional markets. Be on the lookout for your city.

Is Dreamworks Dying Amidst Global Credit Crunch?

Steven Speiberg's production company, Dreamworks, has been hit with a major setback due to the world-wide financial crisis. Dreamworks is now being forced to come to terms with the idea of loosing their distribution deal with Universal as well as the majority of their planed features. The studio was expecting to be floated $500 million by India's Reliance Big Entertainment who was putting their money up against $750 million from banks, with the ultimate aim of producing 36 films in 7 years. Though with the current inhibitions banks are having about giving out loans, its unlikely they will be able to secure the financing they need to function.

A lot of economic specifics comes into play here, that we honestly don't really understand, but ultimately, Dreamworks has had its face slammed in the doors of the financiers and is surviving on bridge loans until January, when it is expected to fork over $20 million as collateral to secure more loans.

Dreamworks is now struggling with the fact that their goal for producing multiple massive budgeted productions is looking unlikely and they will now be forced into making smaller, more financial viable films or surrender their autonomy and revert back to a studio-backed company. Whatever their fate, it is probably a safe bet that Dreamsworks founders Steven Speilberg and Stacey Snider wish they wouldn't have left their cushy positions with Paramount, where they were able to secure all the financing they needed, because now it appears Speilberg's bloated, highly unnecessary movies are a phenomenon not fit for a recession.

Stephen Chow No Longer Helming 'Green Hornet' For Seth Rogen

Over the summer, it was announced that the "Kung Fu Hustle" star/director, Stephen Chow, would be directing and co-starring along side Seth Rogen in the upcoming 'Green Hornet' film. However, Variety has the scoop that Columbia Pictures has dropped Chow as director in order to keep the film on schedule for a summer 2010 release.

According to Variety, Chow got up from the director's chair due to creative differences. A new director will likely be brought on before the new year, but Chow will still be playing Kato in the film. [Variety]

Amazing

"When I was a kid, I always wanted to kill Hitler." — Tom Cruise during the "Valkyrie" junket speaking to MTV.

You gotta love the shit that comes outta that guy's mouth sometimes. Genius. Where's his Cerberus-like PR people when you need them?

Variety Trashes 'The Spirit,' Calls It "Disposable Miller Lite Excercise"

In case you just think we were just being snobby bitches, Variety has just weighed in on Frank Miller's "The Spirit" too and oof, they fucking trash the film and rightly tear it to shreds.

"A slain cop is resurrected as a masked crime-fighter in 'The Spirit,' but Frank Miller's solo writing-directing debut plunges into a watery grave early on and spends roughly the next 100 minutes gasping for air. Pushing well past the point of self-parody, Miller has done Will Eisner's pioneering comicstrip no favors by drenching it in the same self-consciously neo-noir monochrome put to much more compelling use in 'Sin City.' Graphic-novel geeks will be enticed by the promise of sleek babes and equally eye-popping f/x, but general audiences will probably pass on this visually arresting but wholly disposable Miller-lite exercise."

Damn, kudos to Variety's Justin Chang for not pulling any punches and going in fierce. "The Spirit" is total garbage and he's right to take its head off like this. You should probably be openly embarrassed if you're endorsing it or writing something remotely positive about this, geek blogger or otherwise. We'll be watching...

Darren Aronofsky Had To Drag Mickey Rourke Out Of Bed On 'The Wrestler'?

Ok, so if you're a big fan of "The Wrestler" and or are greatly anticipating for when it hits your city (currently it's in limited NY/L.A. release), you've probably already read all the stories about Darren Aronofksy and Mickey Rourke on this blog and tons of other places.

There's definitely no bad blood between them, but both of them are candid. Rourke has essentially called Aronofsky a taskmaster onset and Aronofsky has hinted that he had to keep Rourke inline and focused. Again, you've read all that, but man this interview with the filmmaker and the L.A. Times is a perhaps way more revealing than most.

Aronosfky describes this working relationship as both a "battle" and a "collaboration" (check today's earlier piece about music of the film and how Rourke got pissed because he didn't get his way about the placement of a Guns N' Roses song for more examples).

For one, Aronofsky says most of Rourke's stories about their experiences together onset are an exaggeration. "Mickey's a storyteller, if you haven't figured that out," he said -- but the director also believes that "the ends justify the means" for all it took to get the performance from Rourke.

"I think the reality about Mickey is, he's so talented, he can coast through a film and actually be pretty good, and he's done that way too much," said Aronofsky. "I just had to push him every day. I had to, honestly, get him out of bed and fight to keep him on set to do the work. But . . . there was no one more natural and more giving. Just getting him to the starting line was probably the most difficult thing I've ever done in my career."

Rourke does seem difficult, but man, that's kind of nuts (and no he doesn't sound like he's being figurative there either). Aronofsky had to fight every single day to make sure Rourke's Randy "The Ram" character did not wear sunglasses in any scene.

"One thing Mickey does, he tries to protect himself from people looking into his eyes. You look into his eyes and he's an open wound, there's so much pain, there's so much struggle, so much wisdom, love and soul, but he hides it. If there's any accomplishment that's my greatest accomplishment in this movie it's the fact he never wears sunglasses in this film. I fought him every day about the sunglasses, because he wants to hide. I guarantee you, there aren't many movies where he doesn't wear sunglasses."

Furthering the point. Read what Marisa Tomei had to say about Mickey in this /Film interview.

"He’s like a freaky teddy bear. He’s definitely an eccentric. I mean, I love eccentric people. I adore him. He’s very, very sensitive, he’s vulnerable, he’s funny, he’s street wise, he uses his sexuality, he uses his machismo, he, you know, he’s an artist. He’s an artist to the core."

Sounds like he's one in a million for better or worse. Our random rhetorical question for the day: Is this truly Mickey Rourke's comeback? Or will he follow in the steps of John Travolta, Pam Grier and Robert Forster, and complete one amazing performance with one incredible director and then go back to B-Movie crap (like most of those actors have). Or will he be like Bill Murray and continue to ascend after his comeback? Something to think about.

Conformist Critics In Award Season?

Jeffrey Wells writes about the Florida critics.

"The Florida Film Critics Circle have shown themselves to be just as conformist, regimented and sheep-like as other award-bestowing critics groups, with each of their '08 winners well within the arena of safety. Best Picture -- Slumdog Millionaire. Best Actor -- The Wrestler 's Mickey Rourke. Best Actress -- Frozen River's Melissa Leo . Best Supporting Actor -- The Dark Knight's Heath Ledger. Best Foreign Language Film -- Let the Right One In. Best Animated Feature -- WALL*E. Best Documentary -- Man on Wire. Breakout Award -- In Bruges director-writer Martin McDonagh."

Then he writes about the Toronto film critics that awarded the much smaller indie by Kelly Reichardt, "Wendy & Lucy" as the Best Film Of The Year.

"Here's to the Toronto Film Critics Association for ignoring the Zelig impulse, standing up like men of character and cojones and giving their Best Picture award to Kelly Reichardt's Wendy and Lucy. The two runnners-up were Rachel Getting Married and WALL*E. Wendy and Lucy's Michelle Williams was named Best Actress, Jonathan Demme was named Best Director for Rachel Getting Married, [and] Rachel's Jenny Lumet won for Best Screenplay."

Sure, it's great that "Wendy & Lucy" got some love, it's a fantastic and deserving little film, but we take issue with a few of Wells' posits.

First off contrarianism for the sake of contrarianism is for 16-year-olds and not something that one should take place in any BEST lists as far as we're concerned. Secondly, hailing from Toronto, we feel (if we can speak on their behalf), that this is very much in keeping with the Toronto-crits-minded taste and not a contrarian move.

So what if everyone likes "Slumdog Millionaire" and Mickey Rourke for Best Actor. There's a simple reason why many people feel the same and it's because they're damn good and deserving. There's one thing to say, "hey, these people are deserving and should get some love and recognition too" (we've been doing that all year), but it's another to not vote for something simply because it's popular and you want to be "original" (frankly, that's childish). Now we're not saying that's what Wells is positing, but it sure seems like he's suggesting it. Our point is dogging on people for having herd-like taste, especially when those choices are pretty damn good and collectively regarded as such, is silly. What if they all picked, Wells' (and our) beloved, "Che" would a herds-like choice be OK, then? Just saying...a top 10 is supposed to be about what films you thought were the best/were your favorite, not a time to show off your "original" picks.

Baz Luhrmann To Direct 'The Great Gatsby'

Wow, Hollywood studios might be wary of giving Baz Luhrmann the keys to big-budget films after the (seeming) failure of "Australia" (recouping seems unlikely), but regardless the Ozzie filmmaker is undeterred when it comes to making throwback period pieces.

Nikki Finke is reporting that Luhrmann's next official project will be an adaptation (and remake) of F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic, "The Great Gatsby" which takes place in the jazz age of the roaring 1920s in New York's Long Island area.

What's more, it seems like 20th Century Fox has not soured on Luhrmann despite "Australia" likely going in the red financially and being ignored during awards season; they too will once again fund the theatrical director on this project.

"The Great Gatsby" has been made into a film several times, but the most popular and well-known version is the 1974 one, written by Francis Ford Coppola, directed by Jack Clayton and starring Robert Redford, Mia Farrow and Bruce Dern.

Finke says, Luhrmann recently acquired the rights to the book and says, "My insiders confirm that Luhrmann is actively searching for a young actress to portray his Daisy, Jay Gatsby’s unrequited love" and she recommends Amy Adams which is not a bad choice at all.

Soderbergh On The 'Che' Approach: "I’m A Big Believer In Paying Attention To What People Do As Opposed To What They Say"

Actions speak louder than words. That's Steven Soderbergh's motto on his approach to "Che" a film that has polarized critics expecting to see a more traditional, spoonfeeding info biopic.

Soderbergh refuses to spell it out or have his character, Che Guevarra as played by Benicio del Toro, give you long monologues about what he's thinking. Some critics have complained you don't receive access to Che's inner thoughts; but that's kind of the point.

"I’m a big believer into paying attention to what people do as opposed to what they say," Soderbergh recently told MTV in an interview (written by yours truly) about the absence of all expository dialogue in the film.

The process and approach to creating the "Che" movies is a fascinating one. Having only so much money, the director shot extremely quickly, covering both four-hour-plus films on five different countries in exactly 81 days (less than 3 months of a shoot; by comparison, “Apocalypse Now,” filmed for over 16 months).

The production went by lighting fast. del Toro who also co-produced the film said he just had to dive in, not overthink it and not worry too much about what couldn't be included.

“So there’s only so much an actor can play, there’s only so much I can play,” he told MTV. “You just play the moment, that’s all you can do. I think that whatever the polarizing things are about it, they’re hinted in the movie, but you could do never cover it all.”

Fully aware in advance how fast he would be shooting, Soderbergh told every actor that there would be no hand-holding and each person would just have to know their part by hand - he wouldn't be available for questions. He wasn't fucking kidding either, some of the actors barely saw him! Check out what actress Franke Potente [who appears in Part Two: "Guerilla' told Vulture about the director on set.

"When we were working, he was almost invisible, in a sense. He always stayed in the forest. He was like a chameleon. He was hidden behind leaves and stuff. He almost made himself dissolve to get the result that he had. Sometimes I would ask, like, “Where’s the camera?!”

For those still interested in "Che" and curious about the seven-year incubation of the film, David Poland has a terrific 30-minute interview with del Toro on his site (unfortunately you can't embed it). We've seen a bunch of interviews with the actor recently and he's a bit more lucid and articulate in this one (much less rambling).

PS, here's some music from the "Che" films and some heated exchange footage of Soderbergh and audience at the opening night of the IFC Roadshow Release in case you missed it (we highly recommend).

Lastly, if you have to see this film in two parts. Do not worry or fret. We know it's antithetical to the doctrine, but we'd recommend that you (if you can), see them one day apart after another. We saw the full, five-hour version and fatigue did set in. Not because they're dull at all, but that's because it's just a long time to sit in a theater, even for obsessives like us. We talked to others on their first spin of the film (we already saw them individually at the Toronto Film Fest), and they too felt fatigued afterwards, simply because of the length, not the content.

The SAG nominations sort of render most Critics polls obsolete (to a point anyhow), but in case you're still curious, The Chicago Film Critics Association named "Wall-E" the Best Picture, Danny Boyle the Best Director, Anne Hathaway the Best Actress and Mickey Rourke the Best Actor. Heath Ledger and Kate Winslet (for "The Reader") nabbed the Best Supporting Actor prizes.

The London Critics’ Circle Film Awards announced their nominees and gave Best Picture nods for, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," "Frost/Nixon," "Milk," "Wall-E," and "The Wrestler."

"I’ve Loved You So Long" scored a Best Foreign Picture nom and Josh Brolin surprised with a Best Actor nod for "W," but otherwise the list is like most (British categories aside). We should also probably note that "Slumdog Millionaire" is the big leader here having nabbed the most nominations (six), including the Richard Attenborough award for British film of the year.

Will Smith's 'Seven Pounds' Roasted In Early Reviews

The embargo on "Seven Pounds" has been finally broken. Reviews have hit from Variety, the Village Voice and Timeout New York (who incidentally don't get enough love) and the prognosis is not good.

Variety: "Given Emily's (Rosario Dawson) vulnerability, Ben's (Will Smith) gentle patience with her, Smith's and Dawson's attractiveness, the lushly intimate widescreen images devised by [Gabriele] Muccino and lenser Philippe Le Sourd, and Angelo Milli's literally incessant button-pushing score, "Seven Pounds" offers either seductive emotional appeal or indigestible mawkishness, according to taste."

Like us, the Village Voice greatly respected Muccino's "The Pursuit of Happyness," but they write: "Writing at the time, I praised the film for Smith's superb performance and for its willingness to honestly address the social and economic realities of America's underclass. Watching Smith and Muccino's latest collaboration, Seven Pounds, I marveled (to paraphrase the great Jermaine Jackson) that something so right could go so wrong."

TimeOut is particularly brutal, but still pretty much correct in their analysis: "Seven Pounds is otherwise a prototypical gimmick movie: All interest rests in the big twist, which you may well guess on your own. (If you do, much tedium awaits.) Still, even by the standards of gotcha flicks, Seven Pounds seems especially somnolent and pretentious. Smith struggles valiantly to remain compelling while keeping most facets of his character secret, but the romance between him and Dawson moves so slowly, it’s a miracle they don’t fall asleep on camera."

Do we feel dumb for sort of defending it? Nope, it's not like we loved it, a review seems doubtful at this time (cause we just don't feel inspired about it at all), but it wasn't terribly mawkish. We'd probably have given in at B-/C+ grade, but what we were saying initially is that it wasn't brutally bad (like some films we've seen recently). The film has a very poor 29% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, so perhaps we did like it better than most. We still will ascertain that Rosario Dawson is quite good in it.

We'll leave the full-on defense to respectable critic David Poland who seems to be leading that charge.

"Seven Pounds" opens this weekend and will face off against Jim Carrey's "Yes Man." As corny as it can be at times, we'd rather people go see 'Pounds' before rubberface's retarded shtick.

Sarah Silverman And Dave Attel Join Stand-Up Comedian Cameos In 'Funny People'

We've already mentioned that Judd Apatow's stand-up comedian dramedy, "Funny People" will host a bunch of cameos (Norm MacDonald and Andy Dick have already been mentioned and even Owen Wilson will appear, albeit only in poster form).

Now it appears that comedians Dave Attell and Sarah Silverman will be joining the fray as well. Attell was on Howard Stern yesterday and broke that bit of tiny cameo news.

Don't expect all laughs though, "Funny People" has a lot of drama and tears in it as well. It might be the most mature thing Judd Apatow has ever made if he commits to its direction with seriousness.

The film stars Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, Leslie Mann, Eric Bana, Jason Schwartzman, many of the Apatow regulars, (plus Wu Tang's RZA!) and is already set for a July 31, 2009 release.

WB Chief Says: Nolan's Batman Franchise Will Not Rush Itself, Green Lantern May Be The Next D.C. Comics Property To Hit Screens

Further proof those Batman rumors are total horseshit. Warner Bros. Chief Alan Horn spoke to Collider briefly yesterday and they got some answers on the future of "The Dark Knight" sequel, Green Lantern and other D.C. Comics film properties that WB is producing.

First off, it sounds like the Batman franchise will take a break and won't be back in theaters anytime soon. Ok, Horn doesn't say break explicitly, but it's heavily implied that there will be no rush. It sounds like they will let Nolan take his time so he is comfortable in coming back. This is a smart move.

"We’ve been talking to Chris Nolan and what we have to do is get him in the right place and have him tell us what he thinks the notion might be for a great story, but Chris did a great job and we’d love to have him come back and do another one. The story is everything and we are very respectful of Chris. We have a wonderful relationship with him and we are going to be respectful of his timing and we want to get it right. Also, I think the fans expect that – they want us to make a terrific movie – we have to give them another great movie.”

And the Green Lantern project (rumored to star Ryan Gosling) which nerds seem to be extremely geeked about?

"Also on the board. On the runway. Hasn’t taken off yet, but we’re close. I think Green Lantern is probably the best guess but I can’t promise it at this moment."

The maligned 90210 Justice League movie seems a ways off though. "Not yet," is Horn's terse reply to an inquiry about the project. Superman also sounds like it's a few years off, so Brandon Routh better line up some work in the meantime.

I finally ask what he thinks the next Superhero property might be from Warner Bros. He says “I think Green Lantern is probably the best guess but I can’t promise it at this moment.”

Tim Robbins To Play Tony Stark's Dad In 'Iron Man 2'; Hawkeye And Black Widow To Make Cameos?

Is Tim Robbins going to play Tony Stark's (Robert Downey Jr.) father in "Iron Man 2"? That's the rumor circulating over at LatinoReview.

Wait, Howard Stark the character is dead by the time "Iron Man" the first movie began. How does that work? Apparently Robbins will play the billionaire tycoon in an "important flashback sequence" that apparently sets up The Avengers and Captain America movies.

Wait, didn't some other actor appear as Howard Stark in "Iron Man" at least in pictures? According to LR, yes (we didn't pay that much attention). "[Director] Jon Favreau wanted to get a good actor because he didn't think the guy who played Howard in the last film could carry such an important scene."

Sure, whatever. Apparently the Avengers super heroes Hawkeye and Black Widow will have cameos in the film as well. "Iron Man" was a lot of fun and perhaps the best popcorn film of the year, but we're worried if the franchise starts to take itself too seriously it'll begin to lose its endless charm. Time will tell, we guess.

Actor/writer Justin Theroux is penning the screenplay with Favreau and the film will hit theaters on April 30, 2010.

This Is Why He Is Better Than You

Our fucking hero and a true god of unintentional comedy:

"It takes me an hour and a half to get ready to go out. I meditate for a bit. Then I pick out an outfit that takes 20 minutes. Then I shower, and when I get out of the shower, I don't towel dry, I air dry. I have air dry fans in my room. Then I do some push ups and crunches. Then I dance around the room a bit." — Sean "Diddy" Combs [Starpulse via Vulture]

Aronosfky On 'The Wrestler' Music: "Two People Connecting Over Ratt — That’s So Much More Unique"

Darren Aronofsky talked to Vulture yesterday and there's a graph about the music in "The Wrestler." The NYMag blog notes while there are big bands like Guns N' Roses are used in the film, there's also lesser hair and cheese metal bands like Ratt and Accept in the film. Aronofsky's pretty damn funny in this graph about Mickey Rourke and the music used in the film. (check the Brad Pitt 'Inglourious' 'stache, someone has started a trend).

Aronofsky:

"Well, let’s just say that those [bands, Ratt and Accept] are the rewards of not really having a music budget. [Laughs] The original script had these bigger songs in it, but there was no way we could afford them. In fact, in the bar scene where Marisa [Tomei] and Mickey bond over Ratt’s “Round and Round,” Mickey really wanted it to be Guns ‘N Roses. He hates hair metal. And I knew there was no way we could get “Sweet Child O’ Mine.” Mickey said, “I’m friends with Axl, I’m friends with Axl!” And he was on the phone every day leaving messages for Axl to let us have the song. Finally, we just had to shoot it, and Axl came through at the last minute, let us have it for a fraction of the amount they would have ordinarily charged. But I decided I couldn’t change it. I had to go to Mickey and tell him that. He was furious. But it wouldn’t have worked — two people connecting over “Sweet Child O’ Mine” isn’t anything special. Two people connecting over Ratt — that’s so much more unique."

Release Schedule
"The Wrestler" is now in NY/L.A. limited release. We believe it goes wide in January which is weird because we thought the original plan was wide December 19. Ahh, the film goes wider December 26, when it hits Boston, Chicago, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. It then goes wider again in spurts on January 9th, 16th, etc. /Film has a good schedule of the rolled-out release, check it to find out when it will hit theaters in your city.

'Doubt' Leads Screen Actors Guild With Five Nominations

Now, we're talking. Finally some real (and concrete) love for "Doubt." Forget the critic awards, the Globes, etc. Anyone worth their salt in Oscar predictions knows the closest true bellwether to Oscar nominations are the guild awards and the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) has just announced their nominees. Topping out the list in John Patrick Shanley's "Doubt," with five nominations including Best Ensemble (often considered the precursor to Best Picture), Best Actress (Meryl Streep), Best Supporting Actor (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and two nominations for Best Supporting Actress (Viola Davis and Amy Adams).

"Doubt" might be the best Oscar-bait film of the year, so we're pleased ("Slumdog" is a surprise and not really traditional "Oscar-bait" per se).

"Milk" and "The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button" earned three nominations each including Best Ensemble and nods for Sean Penn and Josh Brolin and Brad Pitt and Taraji P. Henson (Cate Blanchett is not so curiously absent).

On an individual level, Henson has to be seen as the most formidable actor. She earned three nominations, two for her work in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" and one as a member of the "Boston Legal" ensemble (we purposely omitted the TV picks).

Look at these as the strongest indications of who will be nominated in the Oscar acting categories. There's always some deviation come Oscar nomination time, but generally, the two final lists are very similar.
Surprises
Perhaps the biggest surprise to us is seeing "Slumdog Millionaire"s Dev Patel scoring a Best Supporting Actor award. Another huge coup is Richard Jenkins beating the odds to grab a nomination for Best Actor for his quiet and reserved performance in "The Visitor." Another shocker is Robert Downey Jr. nabbing a Best Supporting Actor nomination for "Tropic Thunder," we never thought it would happen. We're also pretty surprised to see Kate Winslet take a Best Supporting Actress nod for her just ok turn in "The Reader." Someone more deserving should have taken that slot, frankly.
Snubs?
Clint Eastwood not earning a nomination for "Gran Torino," will be seen as a snub to some, but not us. He wasn't that good. Kristen Scott Thomas not earning a nomination for "I've Loved You So Long," is a fucking travesty, but we think SAG only nominates American films, so she still might have a shot. Leonard DiCaprio did not earn a nomination for "Revolutionary Road," which is a bit of a shame. He deserves a nomination long before Brad Pitt does. Sally Hawkins not scoring a Best Actress nom for "Happy-Go-Lucky" is unfortunate too, but again, it might be an U.S. thing (it's a British film). Many will see Marisa Tomei absence in the Best Supporting Actress category for "The Wrestler" as a snub, but she's not amazing or anything (though she is good). A major major snub, that keeps happening is Michael Shannon in "Revolutionary Road." Months ago, he seemed like a lock for a nomination, but somehow RDJ got in their first [ed. ridiculous]. It's also unfortunate that Rosemarie DeWitt couldn't take a Best Supporting slot for "Rachel Getting Married," she was the only great thing about that mirthless film.

BTW, we're not the only concerned with Shannon's blatant snub. Jeffrey Wells goes off: "What is the blockage that people have about Shannon and this film? It's simply unconscionable to blow off a performance this lightning-bolt vivid and searing." Well fucking said.

The 2008 SAG Nominations:
Best Ensemble
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
"Doubt"
"Frost/Nixon"
"Milk
"Slumdog Millionaire"

Best Actor
Richard Jenkins ("The Visitor")
Frank Langella ("Frost/Nixon")
Sean Penn ("Milk")
Brad Pitt ("The Curious Case of Benjamin Button")
Mickey Rourke ("The Wrestler")

Best Actress
Anne Hathaway ("Rachel Getting Married")
Angelina Jolie ("Changeling")
Melissa Leo ("Frozen River")
Meryl Streep ("Doubt")
Kate Winslet ("Revolutionary Road")

Best Supporting Actor
Josh Brolin ("Milk")
Robert Downey Jr. ("Tropic Thunder")
Philip Seymour Hoffman ("Doubt")
Heath Ledger ("The Dark Knight")
Dev Patel ("Slumdog Millionaire")

Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams ("Doubt")
Penelope Cruz ("Vicky Cristina Barcelona")
Viola Davis ("Doubt")
Taraji P. Henson ("The Curious Case of Benjamin Button")
Kate Winslet ("The Reader")

Winners will be announced at the SAG awards ceremonies on Jan. 25 in Los Angeles.

'Batman 3' Casting Rumors From The U.K. Press Gets Even More Desperate/Hilarious

Earlier this week it was Rachel Weisz as Catwoman. Now it's Eddie Murphy as the Riddler and Shia LeBouf as Robin.

Are the U.K. press trying to sell more issues to meet some 4th quarter quota? Is someone paid to come up with this shit? Christopher Nolan isn't even officially signed on for a third Batman film. Utterly laughable. [/Film]

Lucy Gordon Will Play Jane Birkin In Serge Gainsbourg Biopic, 'Heroique'

Relatively unknown American actress Lucy Gordon (small part in "Spider-Man 3") will play muse and wife, Jane Birkin in the upcoming biopic of debaucherous French music icon Serge Gainsbourg.

Tentatively titled, "Vie Heroique" (Heroic Life)," the film will be Universal Pictures first foreign language film and will be the directorial debut by French comic book artist Joann Sfar.

Already cast in the film which starts shooting in January is Eric Elmosnino as Gainsbourg, Laetitia Casta as Brigitte Bardot and Mylene Jampanoi as the eccentric singer's late-life muse, Bambou (deeper casting info here).

Birkin and Gainsbourg met and fell in love on the set of the 1969 film, "Slogan." So smitten was the French iconoclast, he quickly divorced his older wife and married the far younger Birkin; a heavily ironic move considering Gainsbourg's character does the exact same thing with Birkin in the film.

The duo went on to create many French pop song classics incuding, the international hit, "Je t'aime moi non plus." Choosing an actress to play Birkin was one of the last major casting pieces in the film, but ostensibly, actors still need to be found for the roles of ingenue Catherine Deneuve, French New Wave icon Anna Karina (she co-starred and sang in a the musical comedy Anna" with Gainsbourg, he wrote her songs), musicians Jacques Dutronc and Francoise Hardy, and Gainsbourg's daughter, Charlotte (all people who were prominent figures in Gainsbourg's life at one point or another). The film is expected in French theaters in 2010, and hopefully not much longer afterwards in the U.S.

Here's the "Slogan" trailer once more. The title track is fantastique!

Congratulations To 'The Spirit'! You've Instantly Earned Yourself A Spot On The Playlist's Worst Films Of 2008 List!

Wow, we were unprepared for just how laughably bad and preposterously retarded Frank Miller's "The Spirit" was going to be. We figured it wouldn't be good, but my god, this thing is likely going to figure in prominently when the 2008 Razzie Awards are finally announced.

Everyone is pretty much terrible in it, but Samuel L. Jackson achieves a new low or new high in ridiculousness, depends on how you view it, but his spectacularly absurd performance is a laugh riot of grandiosity. At this point in his career, we're pretty sure he just takes the roles that are the silliest, so he can just be completely over-the-top and have fun.

Eva Mendes was pretty horrible as well. We've wasted too many words on this cheesy, cornball and inconsistently stylised bomb already. Easily one of the worst we saw all year and if it wasn't a critics screening with PR there, we would have walked out after 20 minutes. Robert Rodriguez should pretend he doesn't know Miller after this and not take his calls. [F]

More Critics Awards Honor 'Slumdog,' 'Ben Button' And 'Wendy & Lucy'

Another day another round of film critic awards from various cities across North America. Let's waste no time getting into it.

The Dallas/Fortworth Film Critics Association have given "Slumdog Millionaire" the top prize in the Best 10 films of 2008 list. "Milk" came in second, "The Dark Knight," third. Danny Boyle scored Best Director, Sean Penn earned Best Actor and Anne Hathaway was given the Best Actress prize. [DFFCA]

The nearby Houston Film Critics Society gave the top prize to "The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button," but David Fincher was once again passed over in the director category for Danny Boyle. Best Actor and Actress went to Sean Penn and Anne Hathaway respectively. [The Envelope]

The rogue-ish Toronto Film Critics Association gave love to "Wendy & Lucy" which took the Best Picture prize. Best Actor and Actress went to Mickey Rourke and Michelle Williams. Rosmarie DeWitt took the Best Supporting female spot and Heath Ledger grabbed the Best Supporting Actor award. The mavericks also gave Jonathan Demme the honor of Best Director for "Rachel Getting Married." [TFCA]

Roger Ebert was given an honorary life member of the Directors Guild of America. [Associated Press]

First Look: The Heroine Of 'Inglourious Basterds'

Russian site Filmz.ru keeps leaking photos from Quentin Tarantino's "Iglourious Basterds." This new one give us our first look at the film's main heroine/protagonist Shosanna as played by French actress Melanie Laurent (last week it was new shots of Brad Pitt).

With her is her lover, the film projectionist Marcel, played by Jacky Ido.

Ever since photos were released of this film we've felt much more at ease with the project. It looks great and we can't wait for more.

According to a recent interview with Harvey Weinstein who is co-producing 'Basterds,' the film is still planning to premiere at Cannes '09 in May. Or at least, that's the intention if they can finish on time, which at this rate, sounds like it might be possible.

Who Got Snubbed From The Oscar's List Of Eligible Best Original Songs?

Ok, the AMPAs released their list of eligible songs in the Oscar Best Original Song category late yesterday. 49 songs written specifically for a film in total were deemed good to go including obvious picks by Bruce Springsteen ("The Wrestler"), Peter Gabriel ("Wall-E") and Beyonce ("Cadillac Records").

But there were som snubs, yes? No major drastic omission comes to mind at the moment, but we're surprised some of the Elton John-penned songs from "Australia" didn't make the cut considering how much the Academy has loved him in the past (yes, this is the first time we mentioned that there are four Elton John songs in the film, we forgot; we believe there's also a Imogen Heap in there as well, but we never really watched that closely). of it. Maybe the Infant Sorrow/Russell Brand songs from "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" are considered a minor snub? Or perhaps Huey Lewis' terrible titular track from "Pineapple Express" which some people actually liked (no accounting for taste).

Pop & Hiss notes that other snubs include LCD Soundsystem's "Big Mistake" from "21" and Vampire Weekend, who had a song, "Ottoman," from "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist."

Can you think of others? This has been a weak year for songs written specifically for films.

Clint Mansell Talks About Using GN'R's Slash For 'The Wrestler' Score

For a long time it was rumored that former Guns N' Roses/current Velvet Revolver guitarist Slash had done something for "The Wrestler," but what exactly since longtime Darren Aronofsky composer Clint Mansell wrote the score?

The L.A. Times' Pop & Hiss caught up with Mansell, and the answer kind of figures. Much like "The Fountain" score which Mansell wrote but Mogwai and the Kronos Quartet played, and for "The Wrestler" the moody guitar music was written by Mansell, but performed by Slash.

"We just thought it would be interesting, given that the character's favorite music is rock -- metal -- music," Mansell said. "We wanted that sensibility and wanted to bridge the gap between score and source. Slash is one of the world's great guitar players, and he was up for trying something different than what he's known for, but he could also bring his sensibility to what I was trying to do."

Coincidentally, a lot of the music that influenced Mansell's minimalist and mantra-like guitar score to the film was the stark early music of Bruce Springsteen, who of course wrote the title track.

"I had talked to Darren [Aronofsky] about Springsteen's Nebraska album. It's an emotional record, but it's quite restrained -- it keeps the emotion at a distance. I thought that this was the character that Randy Robinson was. That led me towards the guitar" (The fact that the film is set in New Jersey didn't hurt either).

Will There Be A 'Wrestler' Soundtrack CD?
We've been asking for weeks if a rock-centric soundtrack to "The Wrestler" is being released, but so far we haven't heard anything concrete. As previously mentioned in our original review, the film does feature Guns N' Roses, "Sweet Child O' Mine" (a track that Mickey Rourke personally procured from Axl Rose), Quiet Riot's "Bang Your Head") and Ratt's "Round and Round," and a boatload of '80s metal and rock classics, but it was impossible to mark them all down in the credits (and some were covers from new bands, but a lot of the music was written into the original script and we marked down all the songs). The L.A. rock band Rhinobucket does have a song in the film as well, but the title of the track is unknown right now. We'd love a soundtrack disc to come out, but we're betting clearing a lot of well-known '80s rock and metal classics isn't an easy thing to do, especially for a small, low-budgeted film like this one.

Mansell is apparently now working on the score to "The Rebound," a rom-com starring Catherine Zeta-Jones. "The Wrestler" is out today in New York and L.A. in limited release.

Academy Unveils List Of 49 Songs Eligible For Best Original Song; List Includes Bruce Springsteen, Peter Garbriel, Jon Brion, Zooey Deschanel; More...

The AMPAS have announced the 49 song eligible to be nominated in the Best Original Song category at the Oscars.

Highlights include Bruce Springsteen eponymous cut from "The Wrestler," Peter Gabriel's "Down To The Earth for "Wall-E," Zooey Deschanel and her Von Iva comrades (under the name Munchausen By Proxy) surprisingly having two songs eligible, Norah Jones' "The Story," from the otherwise unremarkable, "My Blueberry Nights," Jon Brion's "Little Person" for "Synecdoche, New York" and eligibility nods to Regina Spektor, Jenny Lewis, actor Jason Segel and M.I.A. and A.R. Rahman's original song for "Slumdog Millionaire."

The scary part of all this is that "High School Musical 3: School's Our For Summer And Abstinence Is Over" has eleven fuckin' songs eligible for nomination. God, does this mean those Jonas Bros. brats are taking over the Oscar song category? Lord, let's hope not.
Other original notable songs written for films made eligible by the AMAPAs committee include three songs from "Repo: The Genetic Opera," Clint Eastwood's growly-singy, "Gran Torino," written by his son Kevin Eastwood (and others), the Beyonce-sung original track from "Cadillac Records" (which will probably score a nomination), Robyn Hitchcock's excellent song from "Rachel Getting Married," Jack White and Alicia Keys' track from "Quantum of Solace," Will.I.Am's song from "Madagascar 2," and the Miley Cyrus and John Travolta sung number from Disney's "Bolt."

A someone odd inclusion is the Mariah Carey and Willie Nelson penned, "Right To Dream" song from the film "Tennessee." Heard of it? We only did a few short weeks ago. It's apparently out in theaters now in very-limited release, but we've heard jack about it.

BTW, is the Angela Lewis "Australia" song the one that sounds like the slowed-down ukulele version of the Postal Service's "Such Great Heights"? (it totally jacks the same melody) We're not sure, we can't find an audio sample.

This list provided by the AMPAS site does not list the songwriters, so whenever possible, we've done the legwork of noting the writer and performers and links to the music where applicable (keep that in mind if you're using the info and trying to get away with not linking you rat bastards).

The 49 Songs Eligible for Oscar's Best Original Song
“By the Boab Tree” from “Australia” (Angela Lewis)
“Barking at the Moon” from “Bolt” (Jenny Lewis)
“I Thought I Lost You” from “Bolt” (Miley Cyrus and John Travolta)
“Once in a Lifetime” from “Cadillac Records” (Beyonce

“The Call” from “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” (Regina Spektor)
“It Ain’t Right” from “Dark Streets”
“Too Much Juice” from “Dark Streets”
“Dracula’s Lament” from “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” (Jason Segel)
“Drive” from “Fuel”
“Gran Torino” from “Gran Torino” (Clint Eastwood)

“Rock Me Sexy Jesus” from “Hamlet 2” (The Ralph Sall Experience)
“The Boys Are Back” from “High School Musical 3: Senior Year"
“Can I Have This Dance” from “High School Musical 3: Senior Year”
“High School Musical” from “High School Musical 3: Senior Year”
“I Want It All” from “High School Musical 3: Senior Year”
“Just Getting Started” from “High School Musical 3: Senior Year”
“Just Wanna Be with You” from “High School Musical 3: Senior Year”
“A Night to Remember” from “High School Musical 3: Senior Year”
“Now or Never” from “High School Musical 3: Senior Year”
“Right Here Right Now” from “High School Musical 3: Senior Year”
“Scream” from “High School Musical 3: Senior Year”
“Walk Away” from “High School Musical 3: Senior Year”
“Di Notte” from “The Lodger”
“The Traveling Song” from “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa” (Will.I.Am)
“The Story” from “My Blueberry Nights” (Norah Jones)
“The Code of Life” from “My Dream”
“In Rodanthe” from “Nights in Rodanthe” (Emmylou Harris)
“Nothing but the Truth” from “Nothing but the Truth” (Colby Jones)
“Djoyigbe” from “Pray the Devil Back to Hell”
“Waterline” from “Pride and Glory” (Sage Francis)
“Another Way to Die” from “Quantum of Solace” (Jack White and Alicia Keys)
“Up to Our Nex” from “Rachel Getting Married” (Robyn Hitchock)
“Chase the Morning” from “Repo! The Genetic Opera”
“Chromaggia” from “Repo! The Genetic Opera”

“Zydrate Anatomy” from “Repo! The Genetic Opera”
“Broken and Bent” from “Role Models” (Peter Salett)
“Code of Silence” from “Save Me”
“Jai Ho” from “Slumdog Millionaire” (A.R. Rahman)
“O Saya” from “Slumdog Millionaire” (M.I.A. and A.R Rahman)
“Little Person” from “Synecdoche, New York” (Jon Brion)
“Right to Dream” from “Tennessee” (Mariah Carey and Willie Nelson)

“Forever” from “They Killed Sister Dorothy”
“Trouble the Water” from “Trouble the Water”
“Down to Earth” from “WALL-E” (Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman)
“The Little Things” from “Wanted” (Danny Elfman)
“Count on Me” from “The Women” (Lucy Schwartz)
“The Wrestler” from “The Wrestler” (Bruce Springsteen)
“Sweet Ballad” from “Yes Man” (Munchausen By Proxy: Zooey Deschanel and Von Iva)
“Yes Man” from “Yes Man” (Munchausen By Proxy: Zooey Deschanel and Von Iva)