You'll recall that a few months ago we reported on the "film within the film," of Quentin Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds." Titled, "Pride Of The Nation," the meta-picture is a propaganda feature within QT's ambitious WWII tapestry that stars Daniel Brühl's German hero soldier character, Fredrick Zoller and was actually directed (or at least the few scenes that appear in 'Basterds') by actor/filmmaker Eli Roth, who also stars in 'Basterds' as a ruthless American Jew battalion officer. Got that? Good.
As we wrote back then, "essentially, Brühl's character in 'Basterds' is known and celebrated for killing many Russian soldiers in combat and the movie re-enacts his own sniper abilities as Leni-Riefenstahl-like German propaganda cinema." Well, Tarantino Archives naturally has the meta poster for the meta-film that was created by 'Basterds' art department (they just recently unveiled another meta-poster for Diane Kruger's character earlier this week).
Yes, it's called, "Stolz Der Nation," cause that's "Pride of the Nation" in German and yes, that's Brühl's 'Inglourious' character in all his glory.It's neat stuff and this picture is the front cover of a six-page booklet that appears in 'Basterds' when they screen the, oh, it's very meta, you'll just have to see the film...(or read the script).
1/24/2009
Another Meta 'Basterds' Poster: Propaganda Film 'Pride Of The Nation'
Short Cuts: Sacha Baron Cohen's Flamboyantly Gay 'Bruno' Pushed To July
-In what's expected to be a continuous game of musical chairs regarding release dates, Sacha Baron Cohen's "Bruno" has moved from a May release date to July 10th, taking the place of the recently-vacated "2012" slot. Also moving to July is the Katherine Heigl/Gerard Butler dream pairing "The Ugly Truth," which lands on the 24th. Expect more dominoes to fall in the coming weeks. [BoxOfficeMojo]
-With a hot summer release coming, Cohen's not resting on his laurels. He's also rumored to be involved in the development of an American remake of the popular Spanish cop franchise "Torrente," about a racist, right wing cop busting up a drug ring. A grain of salt with this news, people- the news comes from series creator Santiago Segura. [CHUD]
-In the realm of hypothetical casting decisions, MTV recently got Billy Bob Thornton to reveal that he was in brief talks to star as Iron Man. Downey Jr., Thornton, Rourke- do they scout for these movies in dive bars? [MTV]
-There's a lot we don't know about "Halloween 2," but at least we know that it will sound just as shitty: composer Tyler Bates, who's material for "Watchmen" sounds pretty neat but has otherwise composed some deeply mediocre, vaguely-metal scores, is returning for the sequel after having scored the original film. [Upcoming Film Scores]
-Director Tarsem Singh ("The Fall") is talking up his next film already, and saying some pretty intriguing things. He describes "War Of The Gods" as "Carravagio meets Fight Club" in a bit of an interview posted by Empire Online. Originally, "War of the Gods" was set to be a big 2010 release competing with another swords-and-sandals epic, Louis Letterier's "Clash Of The Titans," but no news for either has been released, so perhaps the studios are noting the recession and planning production cautiously. [Empire Online]
-Interested in picking up some Criterion releases but not sure what to go for? Why don't you listen to Monte Hellman? The iconoclastic filmmaker behind Criterion release "Two Lane Blacktop" weighed in with his ten favorite Criterions at the Criterion main site, the latest in an impressive collection of top tens. [Criterion]
Killshot Finally Sees The Light Of Day... In Phoenix
Curious about the long-delayed, long-finished Elmore Leonard adaptation "Killshot"? The formerly mid-profile suspense thriller, starring the likes of Tom Jane, Diane Lane, Mickey Rourke, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Rosario Dawson, has languished on the shelf for the Weinstein Company for almost two years now. A release date of January 24th was finally announced months ago, but we never really found out exactly how wide it was going to go.
The NYTimes claims the five theater release in Phoenix is, in the words of a Weinstein Company employee, "a test." Likely the "test" is to figure out how much they should promote the likely-soon DVD release for a film that really has no business being such a turkey. In addition to the medium-level star power an ad campaign for this film could have utilized, there's the presence of director John Madden, who previously directed the Weinsteins' big Best Picture success, "Shakespeare In Love." The film's gone through so many re-edits that they've even eliminated a major role originally played by Johnny Knoxville. What say you, Phoenix viewers: does the film blow?
1/23/2009
P.J. Harvey Scores Mary-Louise Parker's Broadway "Hedda Gabler"
Broadway is bringing us the perfect storm of three crazy women in one play: P.J. Harvey, Mary-Louise Parker and Hedda Gabler. Jim Farber reports that P.J. Harvey has written the score to director Ian Rick-son's new production of "Hedda Gabler," opening in New York this Sunday.
The score is reportedly based on the idea of a hiss - created with mashed up guitar feedback. Amazingly enough Harvey tells Faber, "I've wanted to do theater or film music since I first began writing music. I’ve just never been approached before.” Granted, Harvey does have a reputation for being a difficult and temperamental artist (or, if she were a man we'd probably say "particular and unpredictable") but she seems from the interview to grasp the basic idea of bending her musical vision to work with that of the director and/or with the material. With the way Harvey's musical output has been evolving in this particular decade alone we'd say she's moving more and more towards the kind of ideal artist to score films, specifically those on the darker end of the spectrum.
Until such time as Christopher Nolan finds a nice, dark non-superhero film for Harvey to score you can catch "Hedda Gabler" and wait it out for her next album, which is to be released this spring.
To All Those Whiners Complaining About The Oscars That Haven't Figured It Out After All These Years
As two wise characters once said: " 'Deserve' ain't got nothin' to do with it."
Aka: life isn't always fair otherwise known as, lots of great films, filmmakers and actors got the shaft this year. It happens.
The 5 Most Overrated Films Of 2008
With the 2008 Academy Award nominations just announced, we thought this was as good a time as any to finally post our belated 5 Most Overrated films of 2008. Why not, we're late as it is, no? Plus we like to have a record of everything. Don't worry, we're basically done with '08 retrospectives now (or at least we're pretty sure we are). We've already done a list of the most Disappointing and most Overhyped films of 2008, but we're all about distinctions and Most Overrated is something a little bit different. Note, aside from 'Button,' most of these films were decent to good, but even a strong film can still be overrated.
1. "The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button"
We waited and waited for the highly anticipated David Fincher's supposed masterpiece about love, live, death and everything in between all year, but when it finally arrived were were vastly underwhelmed at what was a laboriously longwinded, unconvincing and molasses-paced film. All the hype and all we get is an almost three hour snooze fest with a love story that doesn't being until hour two in a cliched, flashback narrative device? This is the big Oscar-contender, like "A Beautiful Mind," that we were completely out of synch with the Academy on. It's a pretty film we suppose, but worthy of all those Oscars and all that praise (though admittedly some of it was mixed)? We hope Fincher gets back to doing what he knows best frankly. This sleepy and mostly unemotional nap was also in need of some serious editing.
2. "Chop Shop" - We loved "Ballast" and all, but there was a significant trend towards gravitas/gritty (usually poverty-stricken) indie reality via no music and stripping away all elements of "movieness." Poetry through rawness as it were. It was almost a move towards the Dogma genre, but not quite as raw and amateurish as say the mumblecore movement. "Chop Shop" was a good example of this trend. There's not really a lick of music in it (and yes, that's ok) and this austere tale of a poor brother-and-sister family scraping by in Queens was well handled, but was so distant and matter-of-fact, it left you to infer everything. It was as if the filmmakers wouldn't editorialize a thing and you had to make you're own judgement. We saw this in "Ballast" and we saw this in "Che" and in both instances they mostly worked, but in "Chop Shop," a film Roger Ebert put on his Top 10 of 2008 list, it left us yearning for a whole lot more.
3. "A Christmas Tale" - Yes, it made our Top 20 list, but people loooved it which made it somewhat overrated in our minds. It's definitely a vibrant and unique film, but it was also pretty prickly and difficult - which it had to be - it was about a dysfunctional and mean spirited French family (and man, they make fucked-up North American families look like a walk in the park). But points had to be subtracted for the jarring, almost arrhythmic editing and strange. abrupt use of music out of nowhere. It's definitely a film we recommended, but the sometimes random, dyslexic nature of the filmmaking and the quantum level of praise were in slight disconnect in our minds.
4. "Paranoid Park" - So many respectable critics had this lyrical murder mystery film by Gus Van Sant as their #1 pick of 2008 and we had to think, really? The film was in no way terrible (we liked it), but was the 4th time really the charm? Up until "Milk," Van Sant had been making the same elliptical, time-overlapping/jumping experimental film for almost six years, starting with "Gerry" and ending with 'Park.' The film is not without value, especially the gorgeous cinematography by Christopher Doyle, but wasn't this a little more of the same with the exact same techniques? Maybe to some he finally perfected the formula, but wasn't it just that? To almost the stress the point of repetition in his own work GVS re-used two Elliott Smith songs he had already featured in a previous film. It just all felt too... familiar.
5. "Flight Of The Red Balloon" - We tend to like ponderous arty films with a wandering narrative, but this balloons fanciful flight was well named as the film felt like a cloud in a breeze lazily flying around and dipping every-so slightly and joyfully with the change in the wind. We didn't hate it , but it had a listless narrative that went nowhere and said little. It was pretty too look at too, but #1 by the IndieWire critics poll. Seriously?
Breaking! G.I Joe Director Insists Sienna Miller's Baroness Boobs Are Real
Thank god we got to this before we went home for the weekend. You'll remember a few months ago that "G.I. Joe" actress, Sienna Miller, told reporters she had been forced to wear breast enhancing cutlets to fill out the bosom of her Baroness character in the upcoming adaptation of the children's action figure toy. Miller described them as "chicken fillets," and was quoted as saying, "The director said, 'I'm gonna be honest, I like girls with big boobs,' and I don't have them so we made them bigger."
But not so fast, "G.I. Joe" director Stephen Sommers (the auteur behind masterpiece theater classics like, "Van Helsing" and "The Mummy Returns"), denies this ever happened or was ever said.
"Everybody here laughed because they know I would never say that to an actress," the filmmaker who squeezed Kate Beckinsale into extra tight "Van Helsing" corsets insisted. "I guess the costume department gave her a tight fitting bra, but no one gave her rubber breasts or whatever. It is 100 percent Sienna Miller."
The cinema aesthetes at JoBlo could not be reached for comment in time, but presumably they're incredibly bummed. Last time the fake boobs story was reported, they were positively thrilled and defended the director's choice of alleged breast augmentation for the sake of sexy.
"You can say what you like about Stephen Sommers but homeboy can make a girl look good, no? Kate Beckinsale in VEN HELSING, Rachel Weisz in THE MUMMY RETURNS and now he's putting Sienna Miller in skin-tight leather with an enhanced chest. His films might be horrible, but I think we can all agree this guy is a freaking hero to the working class of this planet." Classy.
Vulture posted this hilarious image and very amusing piece today suggesting why Kate Winslet got snubbed from a Best Actress nod in "Revolutionary Road." As we say at home, muy divertido!
They note with her 'Road' Actress snub, this "[sorta] marks the first time in history that a solo winner for the Best Dramatic Actress prize at the Golden Globes has not been the recipient of a Best Actress Academy Award nomination for the same role" [ed. basically].
They list three possible reasons why Winslet might've been snubbed.
1. The Harvey Weinstien Factor, based on what Nikki Finke says, "This is a sympathy vote for Scott Rudin and Stephen Daldry and Kate Winslet for having to put up with that nasty oaf during the tortured post-production and release of the movie." Seems like reverse-flawed logic to us. If you really hate Harvey Weinstein, you don't vote for "The Reader" at all and you vote for 'Rev Road,' instead, but Finke is crazy, but still very amusing.
2. Her Lack of Composure at the Golden Globes Cost Her - Some are suggesting she cried too much at the Globes. Funny when Vulture puts it into funny context. Unintentionally funny (and sad) when places like EW write it up with a straight face.
3. The Tabulating Process Requires Too Much Math - Weighted math, math, math, "In theory, this means that Winslet's Revolutionary Road performance may well have received more total votes across the board, but a smaller, more vocal minority of voters conspired to give Winslet's performance in The Reader their top vote. " Hilariously, Rope of Silicon tries to use the math logic to claim that 'Dark Knight' is much like Al Gore - the film won the popular vote, but not the Academy electoral college.
CONSPIRACY! Oh you kids...
James Gandolfini Hints At Possible 'Sopranos' Movie?
Following the conclusion of "The Sopranos," the series that changed the way dramatic television is made, we assumed that was that and despite the mumbles and rumors about the possibility of a film that have been circulating since the series' fourth season, it seemed that creator David Chase and star James Gandolfini had said all they had to say about the troubled North Jersey Mob boss.
But when NYMag's blog Vulture interviewed Gandolfini at Sundance on his upcoming satirical film, "In The Loop" the actor strayed from his usual no comment stance on the subject of 'Sopranos' film.
"If I was broke I would do it," was the Jersey natives initial response. But as the interview went on he softened to the subject and let it be known that it was all about the quality of the script, "Obviously it is the writing of the script, and if David [Chase] and them come up with something, then that would do it for me. I'm very happy doing different things right now. But obviously it would be great to bring everyone back together."
Its obviously not a definitive yes, but it does make one wonder if Chase is bored and currently working on a script for a film. We aren't exactly excited about the possibility of a movie, we (I) feel the ending of the series was perfect and they don't need to milk it any more than they have already, but god knows most the actors could use the work and Chase is most likely bored with life after "The Sopranos," so who knows. Its a possibility they could bring Tony back, but we wouldn't bet on it.
'Dark Knight' Oscar Snub Hysteria Continues
Yesterday, we tracked reactions around the web from the comic-book friendly website and fans that were appalled that "The Dark Knight" failed to capture a Best Picture nomination at the film industry's annual meat parade –
the scientifically proven, historically infallible and artistically qualifiable Academy Awards.
Despite having scored eight nominations, a ringing endorsement for a film if there ever was one, outrage and threats of Oscar boycott wrath were in the air. Also, the terrorists may have already won.
Steve Mason from /Film asks (warns?), if the 'Dark Knight' snub will make for the lowest-rated Academy Awards in the history of Oscar. He also uses a lot of math to suggest that biggest $$$ equal best movies, which is always a frightening tactic. Hmmm, he's not suggesting that the Academy should have voted for the film to ensure good ratings now is he?
For our response, we go to the great David Poland, who doesn't mince words and we love him for it.
"The notion that The Dark Knight or Wall-E being [best picture nominated] would improve the ratings more than a quarter point was an idiotic notion to begin with. With all due respect, mega-hit that it is, 'TDK' is not the cultural phenom that Titanic or 3 years of Rings was. The Academy Awards ratings will continue to dip no matter what films are nominated. The shows that pander to audience loves are and have been doing less that a fifth the viewership that the Oscars have. But Oscar ratings will keep slipping because the season is too long and the marketing efforts often eat the heat. Even the brilliant Dark Knight DVD push... it ate all of the remaining heat around the film and what else is left? There are only so many calls to action that people will respond to."
Jonathan Nolan one of the writers of the 'Dark Knight' wrote into the Dark Campaign today, they themselves apparently boycotting the Oscars this year, because $1 billion dollars in box-office, the highest DVD sales of the year and eight nominations is apparently just not good enough. Nolan, obviously the brother of 'TDK' director Christopher writes:"Any nominations for a comic book movie is a thing of beauty no matter how you slice it, and that takes the sting out a bit. Besides, I’ve been to the big show before, and, like any of these things, it’s a little disappointing. Did you know it’s not even an open bar once the show starts? At least this time I would have remembered to bring a little cash so I could buy myself a drink after losing."The amazing thing about awards shows like the Oscars is that they illustrate our national strength and courage to celebrate banality in the face of post-tragedy like this Dark Knight snub. Somewhere in heaven, Heath Ledger is glad he won't have to attend and put up with all this nonsense.
Darren Aronofsky Is Not Exactly The Only Patron Saint Of Mickey Rourke
Congratulations to Mickey Rourke on his "comeback" that culminated in an Oscar nomination for Best Actor. It's well deserved, but if we read one more time how Darren Aronofsky brought Mickey Rourke back from the dead we may involuntarily throw up all over ourselves. Aronofsky, a fine director, did no such thing. What he did was actively hire Rourke for a lead role he knew he would be well suited for and his instincts paid off, but Rourke's been back in Hollywood for a good 8 years now and the first people who actually took a chance on him were many.
Francis Ford Coppola gave him a supporting shot in "The Rainmaker" in 1997. Vincent Gallo also gave him a role in 1998's "Buffalo '66. Early aught roles include Sean Penn's "The Pledge"(2001) and Sylvester Stallone's remake of "Get Carter" (2000), which Rourke himself credits as a big deal (it's apparently one of the reasons he wants to appear in "The Expendables" - to payback his buddy Stallone).
Rourke had a pretty significant role in Terrence Malick's "The Thin Red Line" in 1998, and like many other actors (Adrien Brody, John C. Reilly), was left on the cutting room floor (Rourke apparently still holds a grudge, he thought it was some of the greatest work he ever did). In 2002 Rourke had a pretty sizable role as a a crystal meth cook in Jonas Akerlund's "Spun," and then in 2003 and 2004, he started working with Robert Rodriguez and Tony Scott in supporting roles again ("Once Upon A Time In Mexico," wherein he held his own Chihuahua in the film - we know how much he loves those furry things - and "Man On Fire," respectively).
In 2005, Rodriguez, a big fan of Rourke's 80s films, cast him as one of the principal leads in "Sin City." The actor received awards from the Chicago Film Critics Association, the IFTA and the Online Film Critics Society, as well as "Man of the Year" from Total Film magazine that year. Following that, Rourke has a sizable bounty hunter role in Scott's "Domino" (also 2005).
It could have even begun, even earlier. In 1994, Quentin Tarantino offered Rourke the part of the Boxer Butch Coolidge in "Pulp Fiction" that eventually went to Bruce Willis, because Rourke not-so wisely turned it down.
So yes, Aronofsky gave him a leading role shot and that hard work led to major press attention and eventually to an Oscar nomination (and possibly a win too), amazing, we're all happy for both of them, they both deserve it, sincerely, but at least give some credit where credit is due. Others paved the way for Rourke to be even considered for a lead role and gave him sizable lead roles at that. That's all. As you were.
Oscar Did You Know?
Bored with Oscar chatter? Good, cause we're not. Variety has an excellent rundown of Oscar statistics and oddities. We thought we'd rundown some of our favorites. There was actually another piece we spotted that tracked similar material, but it seems to have vanished. Ah well.
- France holds the record of more Best Foreign Oscar nominations then any other country. With "The Class," the number is now at 35.
- In one fell swoop, A.R. Rahman is a now a three-times Oscar nominee. He scored two original songs nods and one for best score for "Slumdog Millionaire."
- "The Reader" director Stephen Daldry has scored a Best Director Nomination for every feature he's made and three times in a row. "Billy Elliott" in 2000 and "The Hours" in 2002.
- Heath Ledger's Best Supporting Oscar nod the seventh posthumous acting nomination ever. It's been only won once, so far by the great Peter Finch in "Network."
- Viola Davis and Michael Shannon both scored supporting Oscar noms, but both of them only have about 10 minutes of screentime.
You're life is now that much better off. Aren't you happy you came to read today? [ed. that's a polite way to say, god, we love when we start post and realize halfway through it's a bit of a waste of time - maybe we just wanted to talk about "The Reader" once more. The collective knee jerk reaction to its inclusion - people its the fucking Oscars, not the Nobel prizes - leaves us amused].
For Fans of "Putney Swope." We had to post this Obama-inspired Swope poster we were emailed. The "Dr. Strangelove" of the advertising world film, directed by Robert Downey Sr., is so amazing. Did you know Paul Thomas Anderson tries to work in some 'Swope' reference into everyone of his films he's such a big fan?
BTW, for New Yorkers who missed the Robert Downey Sr. retrospective at Anthology Film Archives late last year (like we did), it's coming back at the beginning of February. It's a chance to see some very obscure work, by a mischievous and subversive director that's probably never going to come out on DVD.
The New York Times did an excellent preview on the retrospective and on RDSr. himself. Definitely worth a read.
This meta advertisement from 'Swope' and its song is incredible and one of our favorite parts of the movie. Remember this was 1969! Pay close attention to the lyrics, LOL.
Cesar Award Nominations Announced: 'The Class' And 'Christmas Tale' Up For Best French Film; 'Mesrine' & 'Seraphine' Score Most Nods
The 34 annual Cesar Award Nominations (France's Oscars) have been announced and leading the list of nominees are Jean-Francois Richet's "Mesrine" and Martin Provost's "Seraphine."
Both films are up for Best French Film of the year and they'll compete against Remi Bezancon's "The First Day of the Rest of Your Life," Cedric Klapisch's "Paris" and two films lauded by the North American and international press, Arnaud Desplechin's "A Christmas Tale"with Catherine Deneuve and Mathieu Amalric and Laurent Cantet's "The Class" which already won the coveted Palme 'd Or at Cannes last year and is France's Oscar contender in the Best Foreign Film category.
All the five directors of the films will compete for Best Director too.
"Mesrine," which stars excellent French actor Vincent Cassell (the thief in "Ocean's 12") as one of France's infamous 1970s public enemies, is a two-part biopic that scored ten nominations. "Seraphine" grabbed nine and "A Christmas Tale" scored eight nods. Casell also earned a Best Actor nomination. Pictures of him in the role look awesome and make us totally want to see this film when it comes Stateside (the svelte and attractive actor looks like he's put on a lot of weight and grimed himself up for the role).
Another French film we (and many others) adored this year, Philippe Claudel's "I've Loved You So Long" earned itself five nominations including best actress and best supporting actress nominations for Kristin Scott Thomas and Elsa Zyberstein respectively (at least they're getting some awards love somewhere).
Seven foreign films are competing for France's international category. They include Matteo Garrone's "Gomorra" (sweet justice?) Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne's "Lorna's Silence," Ari Folman's "Waltz with Bashir," Bouli Lanners' "Eldorado" and four American films, James Gray's "Two Lovers," Paul Thomas Anderson's "There Will Be Blood" and Sean Penn's "Into the Wild." Yeah, they're a little behind in France, give 'em a break. [THR]
Despite 13 Oscar Nods And Having Already Cleared $100 Million, 'Benjamin Button' May Not Be Ultimately Profitable
The L.A Times did a breakdown of the film's costs today, and it's looking bleak.
It's a little scary too because the overwhelming costs of the film make studio nervous to hand over the keys to auteurs to handle big concept projects (see Baz Luhrmann's "Australia" which is on track to recoup thanks to its global success, but it won't be a slam dunk).
Or as the L.A. Times puts it, "The [financial] hurdles facing 'Button' underscore how risky so-called 'prestige pictures,' even ones showered with accolades, have become for the major Hollywood studios.
Here's the math:
- Paramount and co-financing partner Warner Bros. spend $150 million to make the film.
- An additional $135 million will be spent to market and distribute the picture worldwide.
- Its Oscar campaign could exceed an estimated $10 million. This cost will probably rise.
- The breaking even point is said to the $300 million mark. That's probably impossible to achieve onscreen unless the film sweeps Oscars and the film is watched the world over once again.
To put things into perspective, "Slumdog Millionaire," cost $15 million, has already grossed and has already grossed $44 million in the U.S. (another $16.8 internationally and it's just starting to open up in India where they are freaking out over its 10 Oscar nominations). The L.A. Times suggests the film has an excellent shot at Oscar gold (which it does) and could easily double its $44 million in the U.S. (totally feasible).
Times are tough. Don't expect any ambitious, "Australia's" "Where The Wild Things Are" or 'Ben Buttons' in 2010 or 2011. Whatever becomes green lit this year, will probably be modestly budgeted at least until this economic crisis levels out.
Ryan Gosling Gets Cool Band, Cool New Movies, Kind of Rules Right Now
Generally speaking, when actors decide to have music side projects there are no amount of snide remarks that adequately capture the stunning self-indulgent, needless stupidity and absolute terribleness of their musical results. In the case of Dead Man's Bones, a new band featuring Ryan Gosling ("Half-Nelson" and "Lars and the Real Girl") and his best friend/normal person Zach Shields the opposite seems to be true.
The music is, against almost all logical expectations of a music snob like myself, really good. In an interview with Pitchfork the guys explain that over the several years they've been collaborating they've worked with several different producers who tried to make them more contemporary (which we'll assume means "sucky") and after hearing the results of these sessions, they opted for a more lo-fi sound, with Tim Anderson of semi-credible L.A. band ImARobot producing. The project also enlists help from a choir of precocious kids from the Silverlake Conservatory of Music, a music education project founded by Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers - amazing live performance video below with the choir dressed in all manners of Halloween costumes that gives the whole affair a very creepy, dark Nick Cave visual by way of a much less polished Arcade Fire musical feel.
Kudos to Gosling for his integrity in his acting choices for the last few years and now his promising music career. In other good new for acting integrity, IMDB indicates that we'll be seeing Gosling in two intriguing features at some point in the near future: "Blue Valentine," with Michelle Williams attached to co-star, which seems to be about time-traveling lovers and "The Dallas Buyer's Club" about a man in the 1980s who is diagnosed with HIV and starts toying around with underground drugs not approved for use in the U.S. at the time (the latter sounds completely amazing and we cannot wait to hear more). Until then we can and will continue to pretend Ryan Gosling is our boyfriend on the Fuck Yeah! blog.
Paramount Lets Rights To David Fincher's 'Torso' Lapse
You kind figured this would happen, right? Despite gracing Paramount with 13 Oscar nominations for "The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button," the studio let the rights to David Fincher's Eliot Ness, gangster project, "Torso," lapse.
There's been a longstanding "rumor" that the director and Paramount had butted heads in September over the exorbitant length of 'Benjamin Button' -- then reportedly, three-plus hours long. Their allegedly bitter feud didn't end there and more evidence of their beef started to raise its head - the studio purportedly dropped his remake of the animated "Heavy Metal" movie as a way to punish him. They then apparently kissed and made up, but soon after press reports said that Paramount people were once again sick of dealing with him and his notoriously obdurate ways in promoting 'Ben Button.'
Then his 'Torso' project was jeopardized when Paramount started dragging their heels. The film rights expired December 15th and Paramount was slow to give it a green-light, seemingly toying with the director (Around this time Jeffrey Wells reported that Paramount stalled because they'd rather him make that "Chef comedy" with Keanu Reeves instead).
Well as of today and according to the Hollywood Reporter, the rights to the project have officially lapsed. THR seems to blame it on the economy and "tight purse strings," but considering all the aforementioned evidence at hand that seems somewhat dubious.
"But even with the success of Fincher's recent 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,' the studio allowed the rights option on 'Torso's' underlying graphic novel to lapse, leaving the project in limbo."Last month:
"Paramount's ability to extend the rights option as part of the original deal expired, which would have then required the studio to purchase the rights outright to retain them -- a price the studio apparently was unwilling to shell out. While the studio still owns Kruger's screenplay, it is in discussions potentially to strike a new option agreement with the comic's writers, to whom the rights reverted."Apparently Fincher and his producers are still attached and there could be hope one day, but because of the film's potential costs, the project is off the docket for now. Maybe it is a money issue, but the warring of fall '08 certainly couldn't have helped. We wonder how this will effect the 'Ben Button' Oscar campaign, even if they hated one another Paramount is still highly invested in the film winning awards and recouping its exorbitant costs. Fincher, however, is the type of principled person that would cut off his nose to spite his face if he felt he was wronged.
When EW Does Their Oscar Recount In 5 Years Will 'The Reader' Be At The Top Of Their List?
AKA Why the Weinstein's Are Still The Craftiest Bunch In The Biz
"The Reader" earning itself an Oscar nomination for Best Picture yesterday had many people stunned and shocked, the most apparent of those being 'Dark Knight' fans who growled like Christian Bale and howled like a lunatic Joker wolf in despair. We would be lying if we said we were expecting Stephen Daldry's film to take a Best Picture nod too, but after a few moments of observation, it made sense.
Let's back up a bit. Everyone remembers the recent EW Oscar Recount feature that earned tons of press, where the entertainment magazine picked (at random? we think not) some particularly contentious Oscar year outcomes and asked a large group of Hollywood insiders and industry players to re-vote on the big categories. The ingenious idea (which the AMPAS must not have loved) was a hit and EW got a lot of press for it, not to mention a lot of traffic for their website.
All well and good, and it was a very amusing and entertaining article, but what most everyone failed to note was: whenever there were major, major changes in the recount, and a new film or actor was retroactively "awarded" with a belated EW-sanctioned Oscar, 4 out of 6 times the film or person who was award stripped of their award was a Weinstein picture (back then known as Miramax).
2003's Best Supporting Actress winner was Renee Zellweger for "Cold Mountain," but with retrospect, the EW award was given to Shohreh Agadashloo for "House of Sand and Fog." 1998's Best Picture winner was John Madden's "Shakespeare in Love," but when EW asked voters for their recall vote, "Saving Private Ryan" emerged victorious, similarly with Gwyneth Paltrow's 'Shakespeare' Best Actress win and EW's recount winner of Cate Blanchett for "Elizabeth." Again, in 1998, Roberto Benigni took the Best Actor award for "Life Is Beautiful," but the after-the-fact honor went to Edward Norton's frightening transformation in "American History X."
Those are four of the six major changes in EW's recount and they're all Miramax (Harvey Weinstein) films.
What does that tell you? That Harvey Weinstein is the heavy weight champion of Oscar politicking and wining and dining his way into awards, merits of the film be damned.
Harvey knows how to woo 'em. And his method is rather obvious: Go for the easy and fat Golden Globes crowd (a notoriously corrupt organization which all those films they coincidentally loved) and bank on lazy Oscar voters to at least follow suit with nominations. Then kick the campaign into overdrive, pound 'em and pound 'em into submission and then a win.
Could this be the year of the "The Reader"? Probably not, it doesn't seem like its in the cards and TWC doesn't have the clout, muscle or dimes they once had. But if they do somehow sneak in there, look for the film year to be coincidentally selected the next time EW has a massive Oscar recount to show some less influenced results.
The Reason Behind Wolverine Reshoots: More Ryan Reynolds?
In a fit of fanboy excitement, IESB.net informs us that one of the chief (if not the) reasons why 20th Century Fox's "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" has gone into reshoot mode is so that they can beef up a character that was at one time relegated to "cameo status" alongside will.i.am. And that character is Deadpool, as portrayed by Ryan Reynolds (him?)
Previous excuses reasons for the reshoots were told to be of the weather and location variety. If anyone had any doubts that Hugh Jackman's letter to AICN was essentially a PR move, this ought to dispel that theory right quick.
Are those involved with 'Wolverine' thinking that they should hew closer to the team dynamic of the "X-Men" films? Possibly. That choice may be a good move that provides more action sequences than action-less ones that could be viewed as a "Kung-Fu" retread. Theories aside, expect a 'Deadpool' spin-off if this promotion from cameo to supporting character is any clue.
'The Departed' Scribe William Monahan Set For Directorial Debut With 'London Boulevard'
William Monahan is finally heading behind the camera with his latest script, "London Boulevard," a crime tale set in south London that will star Colin Farrell and Keira Knightly. A few years after breaking out with his award-winning script for "The Departed," and mainstream success with "Body of Lies," Monahan is finally taking the big step up to director.
'Boulevard' will follow an ex-con (Farrell) who in an attempt to live a straight life takes a job as a handy-man for a reclusive, young, actress (Knightly).
"London Boulevard" will add to the long list of scripts Monahan has coming out in upcoming months, including the Martin Campell directed drama "Edge of Darkness." 'Boulevard' is adapted from Ken Bruen novel of the same name and is set to begin shooting this summer in and around London.
One of These Things Doesn't Belong Here: MTV's Early '09 New Show Lineup
"Nitro Circus" starring skateboarder Rob Dyrdek
"The CollegeHumor Show"
"How's Your News?" - WTF!?!?!!!?!?
You read correctly. MTV will air the six-episode series that picks up the "How's Your News?" banner from the acclaimed documentary and short film series about mentally and physically handicapped adults reporting on a random assortment of topics in the intimate, man-on-the-street format. The show will air starting February 8th, along with two other shows that amazingly have no ties to "The Hills," "The Real World," or Bam Margera.
'News' was originally created at Camp Jabberwocky, a Martha's Vineyard-based camp for handicapped adults. Trey Parker and Matt Stone caught wind of their short films and offered to executive produce a feature-length doc.
MTV's show synopsis says that their crew will report from the Grammys and SXSW on a few episodes. While we're excited to see the 'News' program gain more support and a wider audience, we wonder if MTVs main style of programming hasn't dumbed tweens down enough that they don't "get" the show and think they're just supposed to laugh at the reporters. Cross your fingers and pray that the youth of America's got a brain cell or two left lying around to help them appreciate the show.
'The Preacher' Finally Finds Writer In John August
Remember back in November when Sam Mendes said that he would love to direct an adaptation to the graphic novel, "The Preacher," if only he had a script? Well it now appears that the project has taken one more step towards actual development, because John August has been hired to pen the script.
The Burton groupie doesn't exactly have a the kind of track record that makes this comic-book adaptation any more appealing to us, as he was the mind behind "Big Fish," "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," and "Corpse Bride."
Although he has confirmed that Sam Mendes, fresh off "Revolutionary Road" is still planning to direct, August told reporters that no other details pertaining to the project have been set. "To answer your first four questions: there's no release date, no cast, no locations, no nothing. I'm writing a script which could become a movie if everything lines up correctly."
See you in 2011.
1/22/2009
Box Office: Did You Know?
If The Oscar Best Picture Goes By Populism: The five 2008 Best Picture nominees go like this so far:
- "The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button" - $104 million total
- "Slumdog Millionaire" - $44.7 million total
- "Milk" - $20.6 million
- "Frost/Nixon" - $8.8 million (note: still in limited release; goes wide Friday, Jan 23)
- "The Reader - $8 million
Best Actor Film Grosses
Brad Pitt - 'Ben Button' $104 million total
Sean Penn - "Milk" - $20.6 million
Richard Jenkins - "The Visitor" - $9.4 million (total for its now long-finished theatrical run)
Frank Langella - "Frost/Nixon" - $8.8 million
Mickey Rourke - "The Wrestler" - $5.6 million
Best Actress Film Grosses
Angelina Jolie - "Changeling" - $35.7 million (total for its now long-finished theatrical run)
Meryl Streep - "Doubt" - $25 million
Anne Hathaway - "Rachel Getting Married"- $10.7 million (total for its now long-finished theatrical run)
Kate Winslet - "The Reader" - $8 million
Melissa Leo - "Frozen River" - $2.3 million
Not A Bomb Or The Disaster Some Critics Suggested (from a bottom dollar point of view)
"Valkyrie" - $78.8 million total
"Seven Pounds" - $69.5 million total
Wow, Who Knew? Fastest 2008 Comedy To Almost Reach $100 million?
"Yes Man" - $94.3 million ($162.million worldwide!) Not yet 5 weeks in theaters.
Oscar Snubbed Because No One Saw It?
"Revolutionary Road" - $6.4 million total (note: still in limited release; goes wide Friday, Jan 23)
Still Puttering Along To An Eventual Loss? Not Internationally!
"Australia" - $48.4 million, plus $118 million= $166.9 million worldwide! Holy crap
Pacing Nicely, An Older Audience Clearly Satisfied
"Gran Torino" - $79.8 million total - this one seems poised to break the $100 million mark which seems unbelievable.
More Dollars For 'New Moon' And Almost At $200 Million Domestically
"Twilight" - $184 million
Highest Grossing Comedies of 2008 (that aren't "Yes Man")
"Four Christmases" - $119 million
"Tropic Thunder" - $110 million
"Step Brothers" - $100.4 million
"You Don't Mess With Zohan" - $100.01 million
"Pineapple Express" - $87 million
Watch for much of the nominated Oscar pictures to receive a big box-office boost this weekend especially the 13-times nominated 'Benjamin Button.' No, we're not suggesting the numbers are the be all end all for Oscar, we're just providing context.
*"total" means "total" so far unless stated otherwise
^all figures domestic unless stated otherwise
all figures: Box Office Mojo
'The Watchmen' Soundtrack Features My Chemical Romance, Dylan, Hendrix, Leonard Cohen, More; Due March 3
Remember that leaked "Watchmen" soundtrack we posted over the weekend? Well it was off, but it did have some similarities. My Chemical Romance's cover of Bob Dylan's "Desolation Row" (yes, heresy) is the lead track from the soundtrack and the movie and disc will feature counter-culture tracks by Simon & Garfunkle, Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin as director Zack Snyder suggested they would. The album comes out in multiple formats beginning March 3. Depending on how rabid a "Watchmen" fan you are you might want the soundtrack and the score by Tyler Bates ("The Devil's Rejects, "300," and "Californication"), which of which some of we've heard and it sounds like bad techno metal. Here's the deets.
Music From The Motion Picture Watchmen Track Listing
1. Desolation Row - My Chemical Romance
2. Unforgettable - Nat King Cole
3. The Times They Are A-Changin' - Bob Dylan
4. The Sound Of Silence - Simon & Garfunkel
5. Me & Bobby McGee - Janis Joplin
6. I'm Your Boogie Man - KC & The Sunshine Band
7. You're My Thrill - Billie Holiday
8. Pruit Igoe & Prophecies - The Philip Glass Ensemble
9. Hallelujah - Leonard Cohen
10. All Along The Watchtower - Jimi Hendrix
11. Ride of the Valkyries - Budapest Symphony Orchestra
12. Pirate Jenny - Nina Simone* (* - used in the end credits of the "Tales From The Black Freighter" DVD).
Bates score disc has 21 tracks and there's little point it posting its tracklist, but it's here if you want it. Listening to some of the music on the newly launched "Watchmen" website, some of it isn't bad and some of the Rorschach-themed Vangelis-like "Blade Runner" music is pretty amusing for being a decent facsimile, but we're still worried about some of the aggro-testosterone music we've heard. Hopefully, the entire film is not like that.
The Happiest Man In Hollywood/The Least Happy Man In Hollywood
Here's the truncated timeline:
September 22, 2008: Distributor Harvey Weinstein and film producer Scott Rudin lock horns over the release of "The Reader." Weinstein fresh out of Oscar-bait hopefuls wants to rush the picture into December, Academy season. Rudin is apoplectic, this is cleary a 2009 film, one that he has shepherded since the passing of beloved cinema giants.
October 10, 2008: After weeks of public and ugly warring, in protest of Weinstein's bullish ways and assuming he's got a much better shot at Oscar with "Revolutionary Road" anyhow, Rudin takes his name off "The Reader" as its producer leaving it for Harvey to do with it what he can.
January 22, 2009, 8:30 a.m. EST: "The Reader" is nominated for five Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Actress (Kate Winslet) and Best Director. "Revolutionary Road" is nominated for three, the most important nomination being Best Supporting Actor.
Jan 22, 2009, roughly 2:30 EST: "[The film] is one of those rare movies that works on a three or four times basis. The more you see it, the more you get it and the more you understand the movie. That's what happened with me originally" - Harvey Weinstein subtly gloats, encourages voters to go see his movie one more time.
January22, 2009, evening: Somewhere in New York City, Scott Rudin is all Yosemite Sam.
Btw, if you want an in-depth look at "rags to riches" story of the 'Reader,' this Variety piece is fantastic and tracks the picture from the days when Nicole Kidman was supposed to star, but had to drop out because "Australia" was running over schedule she became pregnant.
6 Reasons Why 'The Reader' Should Win Best Picture At the 81st Oscar Awards
The contrarian viewpoint:
1. Not only will geeks be outraged, this will add insult to injury as many believe "The Reader" stole "The Dark Knight"s Oscar thunder. Think of the delicious hours of comment reading one could be endlessly amused by.
2. Have you seen Kate Winslet lately? Anything for her to take the stage all dressed up.
3. Good lord, anything but 'Benjamin Button.'
4. Watching Scott Rudin pop a gasket will be amusing.
5. We encourage the double standard of older women cradle robbing and getting away with it sans a trace of politically correct indignation.
6. Everyone loves to hate The Weinstein's. What would we do without them?
Happy To Be Nominated: Film World Reacts To Its Nobel Prizes Oscar Nods
Did you hear? The 81st Annual Oscar nominees were announced today. Fortunately no one was killed (yet). Many of the doctors and scientists actors and filmmakers who cured cancer were honored with an Oscar nomination were thrilled.
The Hollywood Reporter has many reactions.
"I'll go to the editing room and give him a hug," Anne Hathaway said of director Jonathan Demme who scored zero personal awards for "Rachel Getting Married." Maybe she means a consoling hug.
Viola Davis was equally thrilled for her nomination for "Doubt" yelling in her husband's poor ear before quickly realizing she needs work. "If you know anybody who can get me a job..." She's terrific, hire her.
Air Folman was happy to get Best Foreign film with his "Waltz With Bashir," nod, but he used it as an opportunity to bitch about the kids animated category. "I think that the animation nominee is about big studios and big money, and we're not in that game. We had a budget that was exactly 1% of 'WALL-E.' "
'Dark Knight' photographer Wally Pfister wants Roger Deakins to finally take the award for "The Reader." "Roger has been nominated eight times and hasn't won. So part of my heart wants him to win, because I wouldn't want to be in that position." Note: Deakins only did half the cinematography here because of scheduling, so this would be sort of an insult if he won. He deserves his own nod, not shared with anyone.
"You make me feel old," Roger Deakins said flatly when reminded he was nominated seven times before this, but had never won. Thanks asshole reporter. Way to go.
Eric Roth, the 'Ben Button' scribe nominated for his acute ability to mimic many of the Oscar-winning techniques in his own "Forrest Gump" script, was wide awake at 5 a.m. PST to hear his honor. "Anybody who tells you they were sleeping is a liar."
Asked why "Happy-Go-Lucky" was snubbed at the BAFTAs, but was given an Oscar nominations in Best Original script, director Mike Leigh suggested: "I think it's that the Americans don't genuflect obsequiously to Hollywood in the same ways the Brits do." The American translation of the British quip is: "Americans don't lick as much arse as we Brits." [ed. hardly]
Singer Peter Gabriel admitted he wasn't exactly sure how he would celebrate his "Wall-E" song nomination, but that "it will involve alcohol." We think someone is going to drunkenly cuss out co-songwriter nom Thomas Newman, "you make me wanna wretch!"
James Newton Howard ("Defiance") has become accustomed to the great tradition of watching the Best Original score award go to someone else seven times in a row now. "It's become a great tradition over these years now," he said diplomatically.
We can't seem to find 'Reader' director Stephen Daldry's reaction, but we're pretty positive he sent the Weinstein company a great big kiss, a gift basket and or at the very least, a singing stripper-gram.
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