The negative press on the reported "extensive reshoots" on the "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" film must have made 20th Century Fox or its star nervous cause Wolvie, Hugh Jackman, has come out of the Vancouver woods to respond.
"I wanted to reach out and let you know that due to scheduling conflicts with certain cast members and location/weather considerations, we had to wait until now to shoot a couple of scenes. Please rest assured that WOLVERINE will be badass and hopefully meet all of your expectations. I am stoked by the positive response to the teaser, which clearly reflects the tone and scope of the film. If you like that, we've got much more in store!"
Hmm, what if we thought it was far less than badass and kinda corny? Even Harry Knowles sounds hopeful, but a little dubious as he alludes to the set problems he's heard about as well. Btw, this "response" means absolutely nothing and anyone appeased by it is naive as hell. We mean, what does that say at all? Nothing. BTW, "badass" is the worst adjective to describe a film. It's the lexicon of the inarticulate and basically it's short form for another meaningless term, it's "kick-ass" I.e. shit flies around, blows up, people are clobbered, action is awesome! and oh, the story and the drama? Yeah, it's kinda present too. Both those words generally make us run to the hills and usually confirm we're going to hate a film.
We personally like Hugh Jackman a lot. He's a charismatic guy, probably will be much better at the Oscars than most expect, and people don't give him enough credit as an actor, but from what we've seen so far of 'Wolverine,' we're not at all convinced.
Ironically just a few hours ago, the New York Times' CarpetBagger blog was saying this about Antoine Fuqua's crime drama, "Brooklyn's Finest."
"[Some] film distributors actually hope the movies they view at Sundancewon’t be too commercial. A chief executive for one such distributor, who spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid tipping his own poker hand, explained exactly that a few minutes before the screening of 'Brooklyn’s Finest,' directed by Antoine Fuqua ('Training Day'), on Friday evening. 'I’m very interested in this one,' the potential buyer said. 'I’m hoping it won’t be commercial enough for the studios.'
Does that mean the film isn't very commercial then, because it's justbeen bought by Senator Films, the same company that's also putting out the indie, "The Informers," according to the Hollywood Reporter for a low- to mid-seven figures.
The reviews on the film have been decidedly mixed. The Times says there was a strong buzz around the film, but ultimately, it's a "pretty much a standard-issue cop drama, like, say, 'Pride and Glory'," which was pretty forgettable.
Variety's Anne Thompson didn't love it either. She said the film was "a creative noble failure, one of those damn-the-torpedoes passion projects that flounders on its own ambition" (and note she had noble failure in her headline and then later changed it, softening it up a bit, you can tell in the still existing URL name).
The cast stars on Don Cheadle, Richard Gere, Wesley Snipes, Ellen Barkinand Ethan Hawke, who Thompson singled out as being "stellar."
Apparently the film is long* though and Thompson says its mixed response included, "both hisses and applause after the finale." Thompson also said the film is gorgeous to look at and praised certain elements, but Jeffrey Wells was even less kind. "Forget it," he said in his dismissive headline [*according to THR, the Seantor deal states that Fuqua will still have to do some editing on the film].
"I can't imagine any prospective buyer feeling any genuine enthusiasm for it," he grizzled. "It's a right-down-the-middle, seen-it seventeen-times-before urban crime movie -- bitter cops, angry cops, street homies, drugs, shootings, desperados, etc."
Even less discerning geek sites weren't exactly kind either calling the film, "brutal, but bloated." Though they ultimately were the kindest, giving the picture a B+ grade (naturally). Still its one of Sundance first big sales, though most oulets failed to note that Sony Pictures Classics bought Carlos Cuaron's "Rudo Y Cursi" before it even had a chance to screen at Sundance, but perhaps the deal and numbers weren't high enough for them to really take notice.
Movies, even fantasy, sci-fi, or dark comic book adaptations, are much more than just nailing the visuals. Sure, that's the first step to convincing the geek constituency a studio is on track, but these films like all pictures, are also about capturing the right mood tenor and tone which infinitely more abstract and sometimes ineffable.
"The Dark Knight" was as super successful and genuinely great as it was not only because it was thrilling, dramatic, well-acted and realistic, but because it carefully zeroed-in on and calibrated the exact right atmosphere and timbre of the goth-y caped crusader. It entrusted high caliber people in all realms of filmmaking to bring their world and character to life.
In recent weeks we started believing "Watchmen" could be... maybe not as good as a super hero movie (that's far too much to ask), but at least strong and genuinely entertaining escapism in the vein of "Iron Man." But listening to a quick preview clip of Tyler Bates' "Watchmen" score (pinched from an amazon mp3 preview) and this thought sounds like it could be extremely wishful thinking. A tasteful and powerful Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard score this is not. In fact, quite the opposite. The bad techno-metal score herein this preview clip, called "Prison Fight" sounds straight out of "Ghost Rider" courtesy of the corny testosterone techno rockers, the Crystal Method. Isn't this something you'd hear in "Doom" or some flick like "Mortal Combat"?
Yes, it's only one song and it's only thirty seconds of that track, but Bates isn't exactly known as a Academy Award winner like Zimmer and Howard for example and this just reminds us we're working with a different, and lower frankly, class of film. A lot of "Watchmen" elements out there so far like the trailers and whatnot and their obsessive use of slo-mo and terrible Smashing Pumpkins rock (their worst era too) had seemed pretty corny to us, but we'd sort of forgotten about it a bit and been a bit more forgiving. This quick clip is a fast slap to the face and a wake-up call. This film is probably still fine for the geeks, but likely wont have a Christopher Nolan-like Batman wide appeal. Here it is, it's pretty damn troublesome and would probably make Alan Moore violently wretch.
And we just found (and downloaded), this tracklist for a purported "pre-release" 'Watchmen' soundtrack online. Obviously it could be fan made, but it's worthwhile to note. Could these songs not already called out by Snyder be in the final cut? If you saw that preview screening in Portland and can confirm, email us, but as of right now, we're hoping "Watchmen" isn't any corny as this track.
01 Billie Holiday - You’re My Thrill 02 Nat King Cole - Unforgettable 03 Bob Dylan - The Times They Are A-Changin' 04 Jimi Hendrix - All Along the Watchtower 05 Bob Dylan - Desolation Row 06 Simon and Garfunkel - The Sound Of Silence 07 Iggy Pop - Neighborhood Threat 08 John Cale - Sanities 09 Elvis Costello - The Comedians 10 The Police - Walking On the Moon 11 Devo - Jocko Homo 12 Smashing Pumpkins - The End Is The Beginning Is The End
Hmm, it's what we expected, a little ghey, but then again, it is a movie trailer. The verdict is still out on "500 Days of Summer," the Marc Webb directed video built on the stock boy meets girl, boy falls in love, but girl doesn't premise only with some musical interludes to be extra cloy and ingratiating to the swoosh of dreamy romance. Many bloggers seem to be over the moon over the film already, but man, it looks really precious and twee in a pretty saccharine and sentimental manner (and yes, it looks like a music video). Do twenty something men really just want to be swept off their feet too? Are you all just Ben Gibbard and dying to lay your heart on your sleeve too? It's hard not to be sugary twee when Zooey Deschanel (and Joseph Gordon-Levitt) are starring, but we dunno. Procced with excessive caution. This one could give you gut rot from its syrup.
The song in question is a remix from Australian band, Temper Trap and the track is called, "Sweet Disposition." We sound like cranks, but those blind to this films glaringly fey qualities are a little annoying. However, we will give it an honest shot free of baggage when this thing eventually comes out June 24, via - you guessed it, the indie-emo-friendly Fox Searchlight.
Man, beautiful. Another "Where The Wild Things Are" photo. Nice, someone is finally noticing our handiwork, thanks, man.
Here's another shot of Carol (voice actor James Gandolfini's role) and Max (Max Records) walking through a desert. We guess that magical 'Wild Things' land that Spike Jonze and Dave Eggers is going to have all types of tundras and climates. This is an another image related to Jonze's, Girl Skateboards, btw.
The Wallride/Girls skateboard catalog also give us a first look at some upcoming 'Wild Things' t-shirts already in the making and a short interview with director Spike Jonze.
"Carroll" is a reference to skater Mike Carroll and Mark Gonzalez is obviously another pretty famous skater).
Hmmm, we were sure that the bromance comedy, "I Love You, Man," starring Paul Rudd and Jason Segel was going to be a PG-13 watered down, Apatow-lite affair, but this trailer, it's f-bombs, potty and sex humor has us pleasantly surprised. It doesn't look like it's going to reinvent the wheel by any stretch of the imagination, but it does seem at least mildly funny and that's all we're simply asking for. Anything has to be better than, the Apatow-like, "Role Models" which wasn't terrible, but was largely forgettable. It's nice to see Segel and Rudd flipping their roles with the former being the jackass dude and the latter playing the wuss. Sure they've both played these parts before, but you'd expect from their recent casting for things to be switched. "I Love You, Man" hits theaters March 20.
It makes sense that an actor as spacey and distant as Keanu Reeves would make his living in the science fiction world. The expressionless automaton has seen his thousand mile stare benefit him in science fiction movies lauded ("The Matrix") and unbearable ("Johnny Mnemonic"). He's jumping back into outer space again: unperturbed by middling returns on "The Day The Earth Stood Still," Fox has hired scribe Peter Craig to pen a live action film adaptation of the popular anime series "Cowboy Bebop," with Keanu set to star.
While even anime fans will acknowledge the genre is made up of unbearably esoteric, ridiculous claptrap, 'Bebop,' which ran for 26 episodes, is a decidedly Western combination of elements from space operas, urban action films, lone gun westerns, noir and New Wave cinema, and the show readily wears its inspirations on its sleeve. More notable is the musical flavor- like most anime, it was episodic and often disjointed, but it benefited from colorful work from composer Yoko Kanno, who melded jazz, funk and blues into a free-form stew that captured the fluid nature of the series.
Reeves will star as Spike Spiegel, a space-hopping bounty hunter with amnesia in the year 2071, more or less a pretty broad action avatar for Reeves to project his blank features onto. The other main roles from the series include a bruiser named Jet (think Ron Perlman, Ving Rhames, that sort) and an Asian seductress named Faye Valentine (try not to google image search her at work- she's not the only, ahem, Faye Valentine). Series creator Shinichiro Watanabe is part of the creative team from the show onboard as producers.
Back in December, Keanu spoke to MTV about adapting the series at length, discussing melding the story of the first and last episodes (even though story was not one of the show's strong points). Still, whatever passion he's got to have for the project has to be ignored considering a live action 'Bebop' will be a copy of a copy- the show was created as a riff on popular cinematic ideas and motifs, so if you're even remotely film literate, you will essentially have seen a live action 'Bebop' in any number of movies. Not to mention this has been done already, and well, with 2001's in-continuity animated movie "Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' On Heaven's Door." Download - Tank! (Cowboy Bebop Theme)- The Seatbelts
/Film are at it again. On the ground floor of Sundance they're getting great access to spankin' new clips from films. We're envious. What they have now are never before scenes from Michael Cera's not-so "secret" (anymore) quasi-documentary about himself and his girlfriend, comedienneCharlyneYi. The film, described as "combining elements of storytelling, reality and fantasy, 'Paper Heart'brings a fresh perspective to the modern romance and redefines the classic love story" (more synopsis, details and photos on the film here).
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Relative unknown Nicholas Jasenovec, who had a small part in "Superbad" is directing. He also directed this Funny or Die skit featuring many of the regular Apatow-players, plus Sam Rockwell. He co-wrote the film with Yi and stars in it as well. 'Paper Heart' is sure to get a buyer at Sundance and is already on almost everyone radar.
We told you this amazing Heath LedgerEW piece had a lot of fascinating elements to it. If we can get corny for a second it's honestly left a lump in our throat. Obviously we're inclined to snark and cynicism, but there's little to be jackass-ish about here. In fact, all one can do is mourn. We digress.
Terry Gilliam worked with Heath Ledger on two films, the commercially unsuccessful, "The Brothers Grimm" for Miramax (when the Weinsteins were still in power) and the upcoming "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus," and by all accounts in the aforementioned feature, the two became extremely close (which is probably why Ledger worked with him again, despite the box-office bomb the film became), with Ledger calling him during the making of "Brokeback Mountain" to complain about the atmosphere on the set (even 'Brokeback' people claim that Ang Lee is pretty icy with the actors onset), because the 'Grimm' crew were so warm, inviting and supportive.
Gilliam says when he first heard of Ledger's death his immediate reaction was to just close down the film (which did happen initially) and the only reason he stuck to it was because everyone said he should do it for Heath. When he came up with the crazy idea to replace him with three other actors [eventually Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude Law], all of them were onboard instantly (all of them cut their fees to a bare minimum too).
"For me, it was like, Let's just close up shop here, because without Heath I don't want to continue on this project. He was so central and so important. And everyone just kept beating me up, saying, 'No, you have to keep going for Heath. He wanted to see this film.'' Then we made the quantum leap: What if we get three actors to replace him? Johnny was the first person I called. I said, ''Would you consider helping finish Heath's part?'' And he said, 'Done, I'm there.' Same with Jude and Colin. I had no confidence that it would work. It was just that I didn't know what else to do, so let's just gamble and do it. Because I was determined that Heath's role was not just going to disappear."
Gilliam says 'Parnassus', Ledger's last onscreen role is being edited as we speak.
"We're cutting Parnassus now, so it's like I work with Heath every day. He's in fine shape, at least in the world I’m inhabiting at the moment. It just doesn't make sense. Every day goes by and I think, He'll be back in a second."
It's interesting to note that Gilliam's cinematographer Nicola Pecorini seems like he became very close with Ledger as well. More on that later.
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Jesus, we just spent the last hour going through this incredibly long, 28-page EW feature and tribute to Heath Ledger (he died one year ago on January 22, 2008). It's amazing and an incredible read (really emotional in spots too) with super candid interview with friends and filmmakers that worked with him. But here's the first thing (of many) that caught our eye.
Ledger's CAA agent Steve Alexander (quoted thoroughly and extensively throughout the piece) says he's surethe Joker would have returned for a sequel to "The Dark Knight." Everyone who worked on the film was convinced that Ledger had achieved somethign extraordinary, rare and special.
"The Dark Knight when Heath's hanging upside down and he says to Batman, 'You and I are destined to do this forever.' It's a very sad moment. A sequel certainly would have happened. I cringe when I read that he was a tortured soul or a Method actor who couldn't get out of his own way because he'd played this dark character. It's just not true."
Seriously, if you have any doubts that Heath Ledger might not win the Oscar, read this piece and you'll be convinced. Not necessarily because it makes his performance any less (or more) great, but because you know everyone in Hollywood is going to read this feature and we dare you (or them) to not be affected by it. It's really sad, overall. To think what could have come. The piece also notes that the day after his death, Ledger was scheduled to meet with Steven Spielberg to discuss a role in a now defunct project (for Spielberg anyhow).
"The day after he died, he was going to meet Steven Spielberg to explore the idea of playing Tom Hayden in a movie about the Chicago 7. This wasn't a guy who was even for a second thinking about checking out in any way, shape, or form."
Sad. Read the EW piece in full no matter how long it takes. It makes one wistful, for sure.
Normally, we'd be "another day (or another six months), another Terry Gilliam story on how he wants to resuscitate his plans to bring the Don Quixote story to the bigscreen."
Gilliam obviously failed miserably in his attempt to shoot, "The Man Who Killed Don Quixote" in 2000 (which we feel we've documented more than once). The production seemed hexed and the unsuccessful attempts to shoot the film were painfully recounted in the 2002 documentary, "Lost In La Mancha." But Gilliam ain't a quitter (and or a huge sucker for punishment) as every few years or months, it seems that the director talks up his plans to revive the project.
We're always skeptical frankly. 'La Mancha' is almost evidence enough for no studio to ever fund his project and his recent films have done so poorly, he's had trouble scraping up budgets higher than single million digits (seemingly way too small for the Quixote story).
But a small glint of hope is this recent Empire story, wherein Gilliam claims that a new script is finished. Oh wait, not that optimistic, a new version has started (awesome and you know what? We just thought of an awesome new idea for a film too, stop the presses!). “[Longtime writing collaborator] Tony [Grisoni] and I have started rewriting Don Quixote just this last week. [We] finally got the script back. I re-read the greatest script ever written and realise we gotta get rewriting! I really wanna knock that one out in the next month or so.”
Gilliam didn't want to reveal too much but said there are, “some very different ideas” and he hasn't lost his zeal for the project either.. “[I’m] starting to think I was lucky, because maybe the film will be better seven years later. It will have matured a bit longer.” The good thing for Terry Gilliam is Johnny Depp has still expressed interest in starring again. Or at least he once did.
We just hope it ends up being about 10,000 times more intelligible than the script for "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus" which was probably the worst screenplay we read last year [ed. OK, it wasn't all bad, but man, that first 20 pages - the 20 pages that are supposed to count and draw you in - were a fucking mess].
As the city council of Playlistville, we declare this 'Drama-filled Divas Up for Movie Roles Day.' We've already discussed the dubious prospects of Amy Winehouse starring in a Universal Pictures film, now we set our sights on the dirty south at America's favorite pop star (at least in terms of gossip), Britney Spears. The latest issue of Britain's Heat magazine states that Spears is being considered for a role in the second "Sex and the City" film.
The magazine claims Sarah Jessica Parker told her friends, "It's time to inject some young blood into the movie. My idea is to have someone like Britney Spears move to New York as my cousin or niece and Carrie would show them the ropes."
If this is true, which we aren't saying it is, then Sarah Jessica Parker clearly never watched "Crossroads." It was one thing to have Jennifer Hudson in the first 'SATC' movie. She has proven herself to be a capable actress. But bringing Spears into the mix might be a bit much. The whole rumor reeks of desperation, not to mention a reason for critics to sink their teeth into the film. Of course, 'SATC' is a story centered around sex, troubled relationships and girl talk. Maybe Spears would be the perfect fit.
Yes, the "Watchmen" case was settled between Fox and Warner Bros. last night, but for particular anal nerds like us, the Variety and many other report shines a much brighter light on the details than the early Hollywood Reporter piece from last night. We're completists for better or worse and what's more Warner Bros. sounds like they got pretty ass-raped in the deal (excuse our language, but you'll see and plus, it figured, their backs were against the wall).
As we (and you) assumed, the March 6, release date of the film will stick (it wasn't confirmed in last night's report). Fox's logo will be nowhere on the film or its marketing campaign. The New York Times says the 8.5 percent box office that Fox is now entitled to could ultimately amount to a "total in the tens of millions of dollars." Not only that, the studio will also bereimbursed all "costs in developing the movie as well as legal fees that total in the millions of dollars. " Didn't someone already report that Fox had spent at least $15 million in development costs? That number is probably unknown to the general public right now, but surely it will come out. Anne Thompson says, ultimately, everyone's a winner as Fox gets its cash, Warners gets to keep its release date and fans are able to see the film as originally scheduled, but when it comes to money side of things WB certainly sounds like the loser. She also notes that producer Larry Gordonmight have to give up his percentage of the gross to make up for what WB loses (if he doesn't get sued outright for more).
Nikki Finke notes that the 8.5% Fox takes from the box-office alsoentitles them to a piece of any spin-offs or sequels (you laugh, but studios see this baby as a cash-cow, comic-books be damned, hello Minutemen movie?).
Finke also notes that WB has to already split the money pie as it is. "Legendary Pictures already owns a chunk of 'Watchmen.' So cutting Fox in now as another partner really plays havoc with Warner Bros' economics on the movie. Studios hate when that happens." Finke also has the official statement from both studios, but it's pretty boring and says nothing. Lastly, the DE writer says that WB did want to initially fight the case and appeal as they had suggested in earlier statements, but WB boss Barry Meyer apparently squashed that tactic quickly. Variety's sources say that Fox will receive an "upfront cash payment pegged between $5 million and $10 million."
All and all this adds up to a lot of loses for Warner Bros., but good thing they just came off the massive success of "The Dark Knight" otherwise they'd really be screwed. But WB is now banking on "Watchmen" to be a $100-million-plus grosser to be sure (yeah, they were anyway, but the stakes are much higher now).
Other details that came to light via Variety. "Warner Bros. acknowledged that Fox acted in good faith in bringing its claims, which were asserted prior to the start of principal photography." The potential deals that were being made before the settlement are interesting to note too.
"Though it was denied by both studios, sources said that in recent weeks that WB and Fox discussed several intriguing horse-trading scenarios after WB choked on Fox’s initial ask of 10% gross and distribution in some overseas territories. One scenario had WB moving "Terminator Salvation" away from its Memorial Day weekend opening on May 22, because it collides directly with Fox’s launch of "Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian."
Like we've said all along. Larry Gordon could be fucked.
"The next chapter in the saga might come when WB seeks some redress from producer Larry Gordon, who has been at the center of the maelstrom and who has a gross participation comparable to the one that WB will be giving to Fox, according to sources."
We wonder what Alan Moore thinks of all this? We can't wait til he eventually sees the movie and eviscerates it, warranted or not, cause it's sure to be a hilarious and uber-scathing screed.
Update: THR has the final (or their final) official, case-over story. Lawyers for both sides officially said the case was "resolved." Fox's attorney said that a stipulation for dismissal would be filed later in the day. The Judge apparently made a crack at Warner's expense (noting that as above, they got the raw end of the deal obviously and said, "It may be over between the two of you, but who knows what else will show up one day?" Studios take note.
The ever cranky, but very discerning Jeffrey Wells just saw a "viewing booth*" screening of the new Tom DiCillo'sdocumentary on '60s acid rock group, The Doors, called "When You're Strange" (*on a laptop in a booth? whatever that means) And he's not feeling all of it.
Wells says the film is "engaging because Jim Morrison is still a fascinating wild man, and at the same time a little more average-human than he seemed in the [Oliver] Stone pic"[ed. a biopic that is so terrible, it's actually pretty laugably enjoyable].
The obsessive movie writer likes it, but has issues with some key elements. "It's stymied time and again by DeCillo's trite narration. And I mean 'give me a fucking break' trite."
"I began to go crazy listening to DeCillo's litany of pat cliches," Wells fumed. "It's not that the narration gets it 'wrong' per se, but it makes one of the most electric and tumultuous times in American history sound so damn tidy and sorted out...almost vanilla." We were basically worried from minute one when DiCillo wrote on the Sundance page for the movie that, "The Doors are probably my favorite band." Ew. We loved the Doors in high school, but hey, that was high school, we forgive you for your funny looking haircut too*. Apparently the film has a lot of rare footage that has even stumped the most obsessive of Doors archivists.[*ed. ok we do have a soft spot for their super schmaltzy and self-serious ballads, but there is a little ironic enjoyment going on there]
Nice.Spike Jonze's skateboard company, Girl Skateboards have provided the first real look at the monsters of his upcoming "Where The Wild Thing Are" adaptation. Sure, four or five images have already leaked, but this is the first real and true look at their faces and expressions and they tell so much. They're pretty creepy and scary, so maybe this is why kids were reportedly freaked out the notorious early 2008 test screenings? No matter. They look fantastic and Jonze and co. look like they're on track with the look, tone, feel and aesethetics of the film. We're not ones to salivate and pant, but we're almost there. We're excited. Kudos to /Film for digging. One must note though, the first glimpses of Alex the goat were actually revealed through Jonze's sneaker line in August.
If there are a few certainties in the film industry, one is this; Hollywood loves the underdog. Mickey Rourke's acting resurrection in 2008 has made that crystal clear. If you believe the sources at The Sun, who we'll humor, then it appears Universal Pictures wants to take the troubled artist challenge and multiple it by 10, as sources are reporting that singer Amy Winehouse has been offered a role in a film.
Winehouse would play a music teacher in a public school, taking advantage of her singing skills. The film, which is compared to "Dangerous Minds", would possibly co-star Jonathan Rhys Meyers. Insert your version of a joke where the students ask Miss Winehouse why she is snorting all the chalk here.
The Sun also claims that Winehouse has been offered lessons from acting coach Matt Ryan of the Royal Academy of Music Theatre Department in London, not to be confused with the Atlanta Falcons quarterback. But wouldn't it be more fun it were?
Winehouse would only be offered the role if she were to continue drug rehabilitation and maintain a healthy state of mind. "You can't have a teacher looking like a scrawny crack addict ," the source stated. Maybe it's just us but doesn't Winehouse seem like the perfect candidate for subject of an Oscar-caliber biopic a decade from now? It would be this generation's answer to "Sid and Nancy." No doubt young actresses like Miranda Cosgrove are keeping their fingers crossed that a script is sent their way soon.
"X-Men Origins: Wolverine" might be scheduled for a May 1 release via 20th Century Fox, but it looks like reshoots are in the cards according to Collider.
Reshoots aren't uncommon in films and are not an immediate sign of disaster, but these are apparently "extensive" reshoots and enough to seemingly worry the comic-book enthusiasts at Collider."We're not talking about a few days of pick-up [shots either]," they warned.
Apparently first-time big-budget director Gavin Hood (known for his smaller work on the South African film "Tsotsi") has been struggling to get the movie he wants made and has been warring with the studio. Richard Donnner ("Superman I and II" and all the "Lethal Weapon" films) was spotted on set a few times which has led some to speculate that he might have been doing more than just standing around and watching.
Hood is at the helm of the reshoots, so the fact that he hasn't been replaced must be seen as good news, but as Collider puts it, "Fox and [the director] must have come to an understanding and are clearly trying to salvage one of the summer tent-poles of 2009."
The website also puts 20th Century Fox film choices into question and wonders if they're the right studio for what is supposed to be a gritty character study of someone who goes on to become a "super hero" (and an anti-hero at that).
Frankly, their concern seems valid. The 'Wolverine' trailer that appeared a few weeks ago were a joke and even we were big fans of "X-Men 2" (one of the top 3 comic-book films so far). It's almost like the original 1982 "Wolverine" four-part Marvel series (a classic) didn't even exist (and it sounds like that part of the story isn't even attempted, but couldn't they at least use the dark tone?).
The "good" news is that journalists are actually being invited to witness the reshoots which are usually done in as clandestine a fashion as possible, but perhaps they're convinced and or optimistic that the changes they've implemented will be for the better and will generate some more optimistic press (even the geeks have been semi-skeptical so far). Trying to capture new "weather conditions" is Fox's official reason why the reshoots are taking place. You sure it's not because they realized the whole endeavor was a really silly idea?
Oh yeah, and apparently Wolverine was at Normandy (this is probably why we stopped reading comics; that and the fact that origins on mysterious characters always ruin the mystique).
By now you might have seen this Hollywood Reporter piece about the fact that Casey Affleck is planning on directing a documentary on the "music career" of his buddy Joaquin Phoenix, now that he's quit acting.
*Cough,* yeah.But it gets waaay worse. And perhaps THR is playing some sick joke on all of us.
No, instead, the documentary will focus (we shit you not) on Phoenix's burgeoning hip-hop career. No joke, he's planning on making an album with our boy Sean Combs, aka Diddy. WOW [ed. cue our stunned face, jaw on the floor, but anticipating grin as well].
Best album of 2009? We don't think it's too early to call. Most entertaining documentary of 2010? Get your Oscar speech ready Casey. This thing is going to be a goldmine of wrong and amazing. Man, this sounds like something nutball director Tony Kaye ("American History X") should be involved in.
Phoenix has clearly been out of his mind for months, but he is scheduled to make his first public performance Friday at a Las Vegas club. If you happen to be there, PLEASE take photos, video and send us a report. Phoenix's "last" onscreen performance, "Two Lovers" alongside Gwyneth Paltrow, hits theaters February 13.
Time flies when you're having fun which, as you know, means yet another movie-going weekend has arrived. "Gran Torino," which won last weekend's box, will try to hold on to the top spot against an array of uninspiring challengers. The slate of dismal releases is par for the course for this time of year, but perhaps you'll find something to pique your interest out there. So, on the docket this week:
First up is "Defiance," which opens wide this week and stars Daniel Craig, a.k.a. James Bond, as the leader of a group of three Russian Jews on the run from the Nazis during the Second World War. LievSchreiber ("The Manchurian Candidate," "Everything is Illuminated") and Jamie Bell ("Billy Elliott") play Craig's brothers who join him as he seeks refuge in the thick Russian forests. Not content merely to hide from their antagonists, however, the brothers begin to carry out attacks against the Nazis pursuing them. Helmed by Edward Zwick("Glory," "Blood Diamond") the film seems to want to sell itself as a different take on WWII, showing an organized Jewish resistance to the atrocities facing them. The film looks moderately exciting and does offer a different point of view, but it currently sits at a 53% on Rotten Tomatoes right now. We didn't think it was as terrible as initially suggested, but it was probably around a B- grade for us. Apparently, much of the premise gets washed into another simple whiz-bang action flick. This weekend, though, you could do far, far worse.
Also going wide this week is "Last Chance Harvey" starring Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson. The film is a pretty standard romantic story focusing on Harvey, an aging jingle writer who travels to England for the wedding of his estranged daughter. While there, Harvey meets Kate (Thompson) and the two embark on a romantic relationship. The film offers a new take on an old formula, showing two people past the prime of life finding rejuvenation and redemption in each other. Thompson received a Golden Globe nom for her role in the picture and it seems like another solid turn for Hoffman. With a promising 71% at RT, this might be your best bet for the weekend.
Update: We almost forgot, Steven Soderbergh's two-part "Che" films, "The Argentine" and "Guerilla" are available in their full, road-show version in nine new cities that include Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Minneapolis, Seattle, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Washington, DC. It's fantastic to see such an experiment open up to cities beyond New York and L.A. in this economic climate and its success so far has been a testament to cinephiles in both cities. Hopefully, the expansion will only continue. You can tell by now that this sprawling, obdurate and ambitious piece of work is something we greatly admire (it made our top 20 list). We've experienced the whole 4 and 1/2 hour spectacle twice now and you should at least once. It's definitely a cinephiles wet dream.
If you're lucky enough to live in a city where it will open this weekend, your best bet will probably be "Serbis," the Filipino film that chronicles a family-run pornographic theatre where the clientele often arrange their own sexual adventures. The movie offers a number of alternately beautiful and grotesque vignettes that chronicle the lives of each member of the family. We saw this at NYFF and loved it--if you're near a theatre where you can take it in, you should definitely give it a shot.
From here, things get much, much worse. First, good news/bad news time. Good news: the Irish shoegazersMy Bloody Valentine reunited last year and played a smattering of shows to widespread enthusiasm. The group is now talking about recording a follow up to their classic 1991 album Loveless. Bad news: the cheap Canadian horror flick from which the quartet cribbed their name has been remade in 3-D for release this weekend. Bafflingly, the movie has an extremely positive 83% right now, though few reviews are in. Also: if the studio insisted on releasing a horror film with the word "Valentine" in the title out of season, why the hell release it a month before Valentine's Day? Ugh. The only reason to see this load is if you're really bummed that you missed the third "Friday the 13th" movie in theatres.
Somehow, though, there is an even less appetizing picture out there this week. "Paul Blart: Mall Cop," which stars the human marshmallow Kevin James as a hapless goon who wants to become an actual policeman but is too stupid to be anything but a mall cop. There seems to be some parallel there with the actual James, a lower-level comedic talent who would love to rise to Sandler's strata...whatever that may be. Produced by Adam Sandler's Happy Madison company, it looks about as dismal and unfunny as a comedy could possibly be. Unless, of course, you'd like to see a tremendous fatass trying to play his girthy frame from laughs in a shopping center in an effort to thwart some half-assed terrorists. Blech.
Elsewhere, hip-hop enthusiasts might find something worthwhile in the Biggie Smalls biopic "Notorious." Reviews have been middling and most critics seem to think that the picture wastes the compelling story of its subject matter. Frankly, the biopic is always a risk and this one doesn't seem to have enough wattage to outshine the formulaic nature of the genre, and we didn't care for it much it either. Speaking of formulas, there's also "Hotel for Dogs," a family movie that looks to be exactly what it sounds like and stars, regrettably, Don Cheadle. The 48% reviews don't do much to inspire confidence.
That's pretty much the scope of it...another slow weekend for film. Perhaps things will pick up soon?
Odd Nosdam Dives Into Soundtrack Half-Pipe for Elemental Skateboard Film You'll never confuse Anticon founder/former cLOUDDEAD musician Odd Nosdam with John Williams but that doesn't mean he can't bang out a musical score that's entertaining. That's what Element Skateboards is banking on when they asked him to take on the soundtrack for This is My Element: The T.I.M.E Soundtrack, an album that is the first "original, artist-composed score crafted to the beat of polyurethane pounding pavement." Give it to Odd Nosdam's publicist, he or she have mastered the art of alliteration.
We haven't heard the album yet, which is set to drop on March 10th, but the Anticon producer and musician/DJ gets credit for tailoring an album full of songs that specifically fit each particular skater. It's incredible someone hasn't tried this before. When you think about it, every skater has their own interpretation of how to ride their board. It would only make sense to layer a film with sounds that can match the poetry they make on the pavement. After all, not every skaters' style can be described in a 30 minute Sublime-filled montage. - Adam Sweeney
And more clips from another Sundance selection come rolling out. Expect plenty of trailers and clips from festival pics for the next several days, if today's any indication.
We've written about the Joseph Gordon-Levitt/Zooey Deschanel film "500 Days of Summer" a few times already, and we're skeptical that given its Shins-including indie soundtrack and semi-quirky plot (among a host of other semi-quirky elements), we could have another twee-emo "Garden State" on our hands.
If there's any good news to be gleaned from these clips, it's that it ain't 'State'. 'Summer' might have a breezy, confident humor to it, or we could be viewing the only two funny moments from the movie right here. (It's going to be one of those kind of movies, I guess - the kind where you second-guess the trailer to figure out if it's funny and/or whimsical throughout, or just sporadically.) We're cautious, but for Gordon-Levitt & Deschanel's sakes, we hope this turns out to have been a good move for the both of them.
Alternative rock band, They Might Be Giants, was hired to record the soundtrack for the massive stop-motion film, "Coraline," but in light of creative differences with the producers ended up with only one song in the final cut. "Coraline" is a stop-motion animated film based on Neil Gaiman's award-winning book. It follows a young girl who discovers a portal in her home which leads to a hostile alternate universe.
TMBG was originally hired to record an entire soundtrack for the film, but early in production they failed to find a rapport with the creative team and according to TMBG's John Flansburg "were basically cut out of the film." He went on to elaborate on the experience, "It was a strange experience. They basically wanted the music to be more creepy. It was unfortunate--we did a lot of sort of preliminary work, there were a lot of false starts, and we never really found a rhythm to work with them. I guess there's one of our songs in the movie momentarily, but it's sort of unfortunate."
However, the band and the studio have apparently patched things up and the original piano ditty called "Other Father Song," is still in the film, and the duo is planning on releasing the rest of the unused material in an later album, as they did with "Careful What You Pack," which was created during the "Coraline" session and was released on The Else.
Henry Selick ("The Nightmare Before Christmas") is directing "Coraline," which is slated for a February 6th release date.
There has been a decent amount of discussion about Diablo Cody's next script, "Jennifer's Body," though the truth is much of it came from a scene which is now cut containing a nude Megan Fox. It seems like the "Juno" scribe has an affinity for more than just pop culture trash (or so it seems).
The often-derided Oscar winning screenwriter is set to offer Hollywood yet another remake of William Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew." You should be afraid, should this veer into teen comedy territory (her milieu thus far), as we just got a teenage remake in "10 Things I Hate About You" not even a decade ago. Cody has yet to put pen to paper (nor are there any reports to the contrary), so we'll refrain from any further speculation on what her plans for 'Shrew' are. If you're at a loss for the plot of 'Shrew,' you can either watch '10 Things,' "Kiss Me Kate" (if you're in the mood for an old-school Hollywood musical), or you know, you can just pick up a book for a change.
This news came from Variety along with the news that Steven Spielberg was dipping into his personal bank account(s) to help Dreamworks pay Paramount for seventeen films they will be fully owning after the two split. Those movies include such future releases as children's lit series adaptation "The 39 Clues" and"The Trial of the Chicago 7." Poor Steve-o.
Cody's 'Shrew' adaptation will stay at Paramount, with Spielberg producing. Meanwhile, and just as fast as you can type OMG, Cody will continue her journey through teen culture with a cameo on the new "90210"alongside original Beverly Hills, 90210 alum Tori Spelling. Dreams really do come true, particularly when you hang out at The Peach Pit. - Christopher Adams with additional reporting by Adam Sweeney.
As we just mentioned in our "16 Anticipated Indie & Foreign Films" piece, Nicholas Winding Refn's "Bronson" stars Tom Hardy as the titular psychopath with delusions of fame and celebrity by way of violence and insanity. 'Bronson's receiving a good deal of buzz in a Sundance that's rife with content that will assuredly receive solid R ratings upon getting picked up and eventually released to U.S. audiences.
The trailer for 'Bronson' is now online and while the similarities between it and "Chopper" are there, the film looks to be heavily influenced by "A Clockwork Orange" (as one pull quote attests) and, in our opinion, bear a little trace of "Trainspotting" (that may just be Hardy's menacing grin working it's magic, though). We agree with those that have predicted this one to come out of Sundance with a handful of acclaim, some buzz, and a distro. deal.
Another reason why we may be feeling shades of "Trainspotting" in 'Bronson' is because of the ace choice of music playing during the trailer: the cheekily juxtaposed upbeat Pet Shop Boys' "It's A Sin." We call the 'Trainspotting' similarity again in this instance because of how great and chock full of memorable British music it was. Fingers crossed that the expert music supervision and licensing doesn't stop at the trailer for 'Bronson'.
We can't say it's the most exciting clip, no thanks to a lack of charisma on Kristen Stewart's part, but we still have faith in the quality of Greg Mottola's "Adventureland" at this point in the game.
Also, we hate to admit it, but we were pretty incorrect in assuming that 'Adventureland' was based on the Des Moines area theme park. Mottola based it on his experience at the Long Island Adventureland. Great - now we're clear. If you're reading this and are at Sundance, you already know that it's playing, due in no great part to it's pre-fest buzz. For those not attending, it's still set to come out on March 27th. [Slash]
It's over and done with (basically). 20th Century Foxand Warner Bros. have settled their bitter dispute over the Zack Snyder-directed "Watchmen" film.
Both studios will submit the terms of there resolution to Judge Gary A. Feesson Friday morning and they'll request that the case be dismissed. A joint statement from the studios is expected tomorrow.
Under the resolved terms, Fox has relinquished all rights, will not co-distribute the film, nor own any property of the film moving forward, but they are expected to receive a large cash payment, plus a percentage of the box-office. However, the terms of the deal will not be officially disclosed (look for the Nikki Finke's of the world to get whispers of the figures and report them, but also expect varying figures from multiple sources). The third line of the Hollywood Reporter piece is weird and seemingly contradictory. "A Warners spokesperson would not comment on the settlement. A Fox spokesman said no final deal had been reached." Sounds like neither side wants admit to much just yet.
As the L.A. Times suggested last week, "Watchmen" producer Larry Gordon might be fucked. WB are apparently going to seek reimbursement for the costs of the settlement.Gordon's past attorney has already admitted that "he negotiated Gordon's 1994 separation from Fox without knowing about a pre-existing 1991 agreement on which Fox has based its lawsuit." Yikes.
Most likely, the March 6 release date will stand. We'll know more tomorrow.[THR]
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The Playlist is a film site that sometimes places an emphasis on film soundtracks and movie music, when applicable, but we're also just a regular cinema-obsessed website that covers regular film news, writes reviews, tracks dvd releases, etc. Secondarily, The Playlist is the official home to the kind of now-dormant Playlist Soundtrack Series.
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The negative press on the reported "extensive reshoots" on the "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" film must have made 20th Century Fox or its star nervous cause Wolvie, Hugh Jackman, has come out of the Vancouver woods to respond.
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