Zack Galifianakis is in talks to join the cast of Jay Roach's "Dinner For Schmucks" starring Steve Carrell, Paul Rudd and Lucy Punch. A remake of the French film "Le Diner de Cons" (literally, "The Dinner Of Idiots"), 'Schmucks' will center on a weekly dinner party where regular attendees are challenged to bring the most pathetic guy possible with a winner decided and championed at night's end. Galifianakis will presumably play one of these subjects, a mattress-store assistant manger dating Carrell's character's ex-wife, with shooting for the project set to begin this fall for a July 2010 release. [THR]
Like vultures swooping in on a dead carcass, Drew Barrymore's "Whip It!" and Ruben Fleischer's "Zombieland" have both been moved up to the weekend left vacant by the barely-day-old delay of Martin Scorsese's "Shutter Island." The two were scheduled to showdown on October 9th but will now go head to head a week earlier alongside the Coen Brothers' "A Serious Man." [RiskyBizBlog/BloodyDisgusting]
Here's another glimpse at Mark Wahlberg and Amy Adams on the set of David O. Russell's "The Fighter." Filming is due to wrap up next Wednesday. [Boston.com]
Another staggering three films are reportedly planned for Summit's "Twilight" franchise, according to some tween actor apparently named Boo Boo Stewart who will debut in "New Moon." That will take the grand total to five, one more than exists in the current book series. We don't condone these films in any way but we have to admit, it'll be amusing watching the irony of geeks and nerds alike complaining about Twilighters for the next 5 years, especially come Comic-Con. [IESB]
A new image of Sam Rockwell in Jon Favreau's "Iron Man 2" has been released. Rockwell plays fellow industrialist, Justin Hammer. [MTV]
McG's "Terminator" franchise is facing the prospect of an early goodbye after the company behind the reboot, Halycon, recently declared bankruptcy and are now in the midst of a host of court case battles over financial issues. The company are reportedly just a few "young fly-by-night playboys who arrived in Hollywood in 2006 with some play money from Wall Street hedge funds and private investors" and now find themselves in dire financial straits. After what happened to the economy last year, isn't there a sense of rough justice that a few Wall Street playboys are copping the hard end of the recession? And don't worry, that's not harsh, they're in the financial industry for god's sake and probably have millions in off shore bank accounts that they'll live off of. Long and short: hopefully "Terminator" is dead. McG's version didn't do shit to advance the quality of the storyline. Let's all just forget it even happened. [ThompsonOnHollywood]
8/22/2009
Zach Galifianakis Set To Join 'Dinner For Schmucks,' Drew Barrymore's 'Whip It!' And Ruben Fleischer's 'Zombieland' Moved Up To October 2nd
Gene Simmons To Voice 'The Wolf Man,' Quentin Tarantino Shares Personal Music Playlist, Dead Man's Bones To Tour In October
KISS' Gene Simmons is reportedly set to voice the title character in Joe Johnston's "The Wolf Man." The iconic rockstar was asked by director Johnston to record the creature's "howling voice" which he duly accepted, being a fan of the original Lon Chaney Jr. film and of Lon Chaney Sr., whose nickname 'The Man Of A Thousand Faces' was used by Simmons for a song on his 1978 solo album and for his production company. The KISS bassist will also be voicing the Dragon Spirit in M. Night Shymalan's "The Last Airbender" and has an upcoming role as a sleazy attorney in Mike Judge's "Extract." [ContactMusic/GeneSimmon.com]
Quentin Tarantino recently shared his personal music playlist on Sirius XM. Here are his choices, of which many tracks are probably not what you'd associate with the director (then again, dude does love "American Idol"): WuTang Clan's "The Rulez," KT Tunstall - "Hold On," Bob Dylan's "Political World," Barbra Streisand's "Stony End," Robin McNamara's "Lay A Little Lovin' On Me," Sir Douglas Quintet's "Mendocino," David Bowie's "Cat People (Putting Out The Fire)," Jay Z's "S. Carter," Roy Orbison's "There Won't Be Many Coming Home," Jason Mraz's "I'm Yours (Acoustic)," Maroon 5's "Wake Up Call," Steve Poltz's "Waterfalls" and Britney Spears' "My Prerogative" [NYPost]
Ryan Gosling's musical project Dead Man's Bones will be touring stateside throughout October in support of their upcoming self-titled album due October 6th. The album was recorded with the Silverlake Conservatory Children's Choir who will be stood in for by a new children's choir brought on board by the band for each city they perform at. Cities and dates are available at the source with opening acts at each performnace to be a show of local talent organized by the band themselves. Here is a creepy, but nostalgic old-school-horror-throwback promo video for the band's album. [Pitchfork]
8/21/2009
'Avatar Day' Report: Likely A Fun, Fantasy Adventure And Nothing More; But Will It Connect With Mainstream Audiences?
What's apparent, if it wasn't before, is that Fox understands they have an enticing, but potentially niche-project on their hands — a mix of yes, "Delgo," "Ferngully," but also "King Kong," and at times, Mel Gibson's "Apocalypto" transposed onto a fantasy world — so "Avatar Day," seems like the first piece of a carefully thought out awareness campaign. Yes, for a 7:oo p.m. screening in New York City, it felt odd that the theater was not packed to the gills (but still probably 2/3rd to 3/4 full which isn't bad). And some are already noting that according to Tweets across the country, "Avatar Day" attendance seems to be half-full at most, or at least at several, IMAX theaters.
So "Avatar Day" seems an important first step in getting the word out and spreading buzz for the film to an audience that's wider than just the Comic-Con one (where this footage first played). What Fox should have done in retrospect was launch the trailer after Avatar Day hit because they've already been assaulted with a sea of bad buzz, mediocre thoughts and skepticism. So even if this teaser day goes over like gangbusters, it's a Friday night, no one's reading, so will even great word-of-mouth (if it appears) or the (blech) "Twitter effect," really change any one's minds? Is it too late? Certainly not, but Fox knows they have their work cut out for them. So this is step 1 and not the step they were probably hoping for. But to call the reactions so far a wash on the entire picture is counting it out far too soon. It doesn't hit until December 18 and there's plenty of time to attempt to correct that good to bad signal to just noise buzz ratio.
But fair is fair, and we have to admit that the trailer, which many, including us, scoffed at, doesn't do "Avatar" justice and in that context it did seem incredibly silly and goofy-looking. In the context of 16-minutes of footage? It seemed decidedly less silly, but that's not to say it looked like breathtaking genius either.
So here's what we saw:
The James Cameron Intro: Blah, blah, welcome to the special world of "Avatar." It takes place on an inhospitable jungle planet, Pandora, that is inhabited by an indigenous people called the Na'vi (the silly looking blue elves borrowed from "Final Fantasy"). From everything that Cameron and the Fox guys said at the beginning, it seems like they're doing everything to please, assimilate and educate your entrance into this foreign world. I.e., "Avatar" is not a well known product — it's not a franchise, it's not based on a toy, you didn't grow up with it and it's not a video game. It's an originally conceived idea (yes, a novel idea these days), which is why 20th Century Fox has shelled out shitloads of money to rent IMAX theaters across the country so audiences can become acclimated to the idea of "Avatar" for free. It's a smart move on the studio's part, but one that's wholly necessary to protect their investment. "Avatar" cost, what, some $300 million? They'll spend even more to ensure this thing is at least a semi-decent hit and by the time December rolls around, everyone will know what "Avatar" is, even your mom. Or at least that's what they're hoping for.
Scene 1: Here's what's immensely clear, this 3D technology really underwhelms when it comes to live-action and real actors just talking and acting. It feels almost distracting and unnecessary and the only parts that "look cool," are when futuristic LCD screens are being touched and played with by the scientists on Pandora (the world where "Avatar" takes place). This first scene shows Stephen Lang (with Na'vi scars across his face) as a Colonel introducing the soldiers (and audience, it's purposely expository) to who the Na'vi are and the hostile environment of the planet they're about to face. "My job is to keep you alive," he says. "I will not succeed with everyone of you," he said, portentously describing what's in store and just how dangerous the planet is. We see Sam Worthington, a paraplegic, wheel up in his chair and listen to the speech midway through. The Col. warns that the Na'vi have neurologically tipped arrow heads that will kill or paralyze you within under a minute. This ain't no "Aliens" marine sequence with charm and humor that's for sure.
Scene 2: Worthingon's character muscles himself onto an MRI Avatar transfusion bed where Sigourney Weaver’s doctor/scientist character belittles his decision to come to Pandora without any training. The bed of the door is closed, crazy worm-hole-like special effects whiz by as we're to understand that he's undergoing the process to be hosted within a Na'vi body. Weaver's character seems like she has some chip on her shoulder. Worthington appears as if he feels like he has something to prove.
Scene 3: Worthington's character awakes now in his Na'vi avatar host body to mild disorientation, with doctors hovering above him in suits asking him how he feels and testing his aural and mental reflexes. He sits up on the gurney (as you've seen in the trailer) and all seems fine, but Worthington just seems too enthusiastic to finally be able to walk and ends up smashing much of the clinical procedural room with his new-found tail and largess body. The doctors try and sedate him, but it's too late, he bounds around the room, rips off a door and runs out into the wild. Seeing him seconds before and then seeing his goofy grinning face transplanted onto the Na'vi body is where the most unintentional humor derives from.
Scene 4: Well, apparently Sigourney Weaver becomes an Avatar/Na'vi character as well (spoiler?), but why and how we're not sure (Worthington did it as a means to escape his crippled body, Weaver's doctor character appeared fine early on). A team of Worthington, Weaver and Joel Moore (all Na'vi blueish elves) are on some kind of reconnaissance mission, where they come across gigantic, stegosaurus-like creatures that seem fearsome, but are actually more like hippopotamuses or water buffalo — not entirely actively aggressive unless scared or provoked. They stand their guard and the animals back down (Worthington's character actually boasts, "yeah, you're my bitch!"), but then some kind of sabertooth-like creature attacks Worthington and Weaver screams for him to run. Lots of action, chasing and hiding ensues. This reminds us of some of "King Kong," with lots of near misses, lunges and escapes.
Scene 5: Worthington's Na'vi character is on his own and gets attacked by a pack of wild dog-like creatures, almost smaller-looking versions of the sabertooth-esque animal that attacked him earlier. Zoe Saldana's native Na'vi character (who speaks in foreign tongue) saves him with her weapons expertise, shooting down the dogs with arrows and spears. She saves his life, but then scolds him for "being like a baby," naive and new to this world (and body). Their confrontation is somewhat sexual, or at least you can see some flirtation going on. If he's such a dumbass, "Why did you save me then," Worthington asks. "You have a strong heart," she says seeming to melt, before raising her ire once more and insulting his artlessness as a Na'vi. It's a bit difficult to take seriously, but it's not quite embarrassing either.
Scene 6: With a native Na'vi tribe in tow (other skeptical males we haven't seen so far), we see Worthington's character have to go through some rite of passage in taming a lizard-like pterodactyl creature. "How will I know which one is mine?" he asks of taming the winged monster. He will try and "kill you," Saldana says. He mounts the creature, almost gets killed (while the tribesmen chuckle to themselves in their native language, "watch this moron get killed") and then finally breaks in the savage beast like a wild horse. The flying sequences are vivid and kinetic and the footage of all the soaring creatures looks like a cross between the winged Nazgûl things in "Lord Of The Rings," and some of the off-world action in "Attack Of the Clones" (when Obi-Wan rides the dumb lizard thing).
Scene 7: A smash-cut filled sizzle reel that probably impressed audiences the most with its quick cuts, war-machine-like montages, "Star Wars" prequel-like sensory overload battle sequences and general flashiness meant to try and overwhelm. In this context it mostly works and is fairly effective.
Thoughts? "Avatar" on the big screen seems both impressive yet still somewhat silly. The 3D can seem really underwhelming in moments and looks best in the big battle sequences. While emotion is conveyed in the faces of the actors, there is fluidity and they don't look stilted like the Lucas-CGI characters, but it is still hard to take them seriously at times. It's entirely possible though at two and-some hours (which is what we believe the rumored length of "Avatar" is), cynical audiences will slowly become accustomed to the way the actors look and you'll be engaged by the film more than you will be laughing at how stupid it sometimes can look.
What it basically looks like is semi-fun, fantasy adventure film that will probably be — PG-13? — and nothing more, nothing less (it literally looks like a lot of natives in the wild running after each other, much like "Apocalypto"). It looks like an expensive thrill-ride and audiences who love escapist, adventure-action pictures should probably be well at home here. But whether it has an engaging cohesive story, real soul, or is the gigantic cinematic game changer that it has been heralded as remains to be seen. "Avatar" has said to have environmental and socio-political issues at its core as well (the ideas of imperialism and invasion of human's encroaching on a foreign land — and the Na'vi do resemble fantasy-like Native Americans; Wes Studi does have a part in this thing), but none of those issues were remotely broached in the footage we saw. "District 9," already said many of these things quite trenchantly without banging your head with the subject matter and it's already stolen much of the "Avatar" thunder, so Cameron better hope that if those elements and ideas are present that they're not any less superficial than they were in Blomkamp's film. What we're saying is that he has to be on par if he wants to survive in that arena and if not, he should just jettison those elements and stick with light fantasy fun.
Conclusion: "Avatar" is not really for us and not really up our alley, however we will go see it for the experience, as well as see how the story pans out. It does look visually impressive at times, mostly in action sequences, but it also looks ridiculous and underwhelming in other moments (and seriously the "Delgo" like sparks and wonder animation look a little ghey sometimes, frankly). We're curious, but not entirely intrigued and certainly not over the moon. But the geek community — who seem to already be sold on that mediocre trailer — will be fine and they'll probably enjoy the shit out of it. However, as we all know from things like, "The Spirit," "Max Payne," and to some extent, "Watchmen," that community isn't as gigantic as the buzz suggests and there can be a huge disconnect there. So clearly Fox has awareness work to do. For us, it's more a relief that we can mostly cross it off our list and concentrate on other films until the time of its release, but ideally we won't be following "Avatar" every step of the way between now and December 18, because it's just not really geared towards us. At the end of the day, "Avatar" feels like a cartoon for 13-year-olds and the make geek bloggers that generally enjoy that sort of thing. Would it be any really different than "Thundercats: The Movie"?
Trailer: 'Youth In Revolt' Is Relatively Darker & Funnier Than We Imagined
Recently, photos were released and now there's an official trailer for Miguel Arteta's adaptation of the cult C.D. Payne novel, "Youth In Revolt." And yes, it's Rated-R, but it's also a lot darker and funnier than we expected (relative of course, but still). Then again, Arteta's "Chuck & Buck," was crazy dark and hilariously twisted too. Maybe a return to form?
There's an interesting "Fight Club"-like twist to this one where Michael Cera's wimpy Nick Twisp character decides to invent a bad-boy evil half to get the girl of his dreams (newcomer Portia Doubleday). Or as Twisp put its, "I've decided to create a supplementary persona named Francois Dillinger. Bold, contemptuous of authority. And irresistible to women." Playing two personalities at once (one of them is essentially a big irreverent rebellious dick) looks like it might finally give Cera an opportunity to stretch his acting abilities.
Cera co-stars with Doubleday, Adhir Kalyan ("Aliens in America") and the supporting cast -- Steve Buscemi, Jean Smart, Ray Liotta, Justin Long, Ari Graynor and Zack Galifianakis -- is pretty outstanding. It can't be anymore innocuous than the toothless, "Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist," can it? It looks at least to provide some decent laughs and the R-Rating is always favorable when it comes to comedy. "Youth In Revolt" hits theaters October 30.
'Inception' Trailer Reactions
What's on the minds of everyone in the film world right now? Where in the hell is the teaser trailer for Christopher Nolan's "Inception," said to screen in front of "Inglorious Basterds" today. Though some first-hand IMDB reports today say that no "Inception," trailer appeared at the beginning of their 'Basterds' experience, we've been hit with two different reactions, one from Playlist contrib Jonathan Helm and one from a compatriot in Canada, and both saw the trailer for Nolan's latest in front of it. Let's start with Helm's experience, straight from Indiana:
"Well, it certainly has more to it than the 'The Dark Knight' teaser trailer from last year (since there is actually footage) but it's prolly the same length (can't be more than a minute) and does exactly what a teaser should do, and that's tease (or titillate in this case). Overall, the thing has the dark vibe to it like all of Christopher Nolan's work, and just seems very adult. Even if it turns out to have a plot like 'Paycheck' or some lesser sci fi films, it doesn't seem like it, similar to how 'The Dark Knight' glossed over the fact that it is a comic book film, by taking itself so seriously.
It starts with an affected WB logo, then goes to footage of a dreidel spinning. Shows a closeup of Leonardo DiCaprio (who looks way cooler than he does in "Shutter Island"...more like Ethan Hawke in "Gattacca") and has words, 'from Christopher Nolan, director of The Dark Knight.' It then cuts to footage above a city (very 'Dark Knight,' Michael Mann-esque) and then says something about the biggest battle taking place in the mind. Then comes the money shot of the trailer, with Leo DiCaprio fighting another guy in a hallway and they are flying all over the place as if gravity keeps changing directions on them (very 'Matrix'-esque, but looks quite good; was surprised to see effects shots completed). The soundtrack is really great (it's 'TDK's Hans Zimmer once again), with major bass booming at a very pulsated rate. Then the title comes up and Summer 2010.
It gave me goosebumps anyway, and made up for the big 'Avatar' letdown. Chris Nolan is officially a genius now in my opinion."
Whoa, hold the phone there Jonathan, big words! Clearly someone was impressed though, so we're looking forward to it.The report from our pal Eric in Canada is a lot more terse, but it does say a few things Jonathan's piece doesn't.
"It looks super suspenseful, and it was highlighted with Dicaprio on a plane having what looked like a clutter of hallucinations with this crazed and action-filled 'Matrix' running thing happens."Not sure what that last part means, but it's interesting to hear the word hallucination, as this puppy does take place WITHIN THE MIND! That tagline kinda cracks us up.
Another Playlist contrib simply writes, "It's very Leo heavy" and it doesn't appear that any other actors in the film, Ellen Page, Cillian Murphy, Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michael Caine or Tom Hardy are shown. We're sure the full teaser will be online soon enough and when it is, we'll probably just add it to this post.
Review: 'World's Greatest Dad' Disturbingly Funny, Yet Grounded
Bobcat Goldthwait's new film "World's Greatest Dad" is a pitch black comedy. And it's one that was met with raves at Sundance which lead us to believe -- like many of the raves at Sundance -- that it would be an average indie picture overrated by film festival intoxication. So it's nice to see this clever, little sly bastard of a picture live up to the hype.
It's delightfully twisted, subversive and wrong on oh-so-many perfect levels. And sure, we laughed a lot, but we also found ourselves so invested in the titular character that the emotional wallop surprised and disarmed in a very genuine way. It will make you hysterical, devastate you and bring you back again and it was nice to see comedy this fucked up have some tenderness and heart and soul; obviously just being gratuitously dark can be too easy.
Robin Williams gives his best understated performance in years (one of his best ever, really) as Lance Clayton, a frustrated unpublished novelist and single father trying to raise his porn-obsessed prick of a son in suburban Seattle. He teaches poetry at the local High School and dates the cute art teacher (TILF? "Teacher I'd Like to Fuck") but can't seem to get the ball rolling creatively, as the stacks of rejection letters swell his mailbox. A tsunami of emotions seem to rage underneath his melancholy smile and it's wonderful to watch.
His son Kyle, played with ruthlessly delicious disgust by Daryl Sabara (a revelation), is a witless homophobe, pervert, chronic masturbator, and all around adolescent misanthrope. You just want to throttle him and at the same time he's such an incredible source of comedy to the film; he's every father's worst nightmare. He is also most likely, much to Lance's dismay, developmentally disabled. Kyle thinks his dad is a major loser and isn't afraid to say it to his face, but he pretty much hates everyone else on the planet as well.
When a tragic event occurs in Clayton's life, he is forced to confront his dreams in a way that he's never imagined. The less you know the better, really, and though a lot of the basic plot "twist" was already revealed during Sundance, we'll let you discover it for yourself.
As a stand-up comedian, Goldthwait was often brilliantly raw and crass, but never much of one for subtlety or emotional engagement. In "World's Greatest Dad" he manages to bring that very raw, open sore worldview and give it a strong and deep emotional core. The humor here is dark, very dark, auto-erotic asphyxiation dark, but Williams performance is so grounded that it never tails off into the absurd. It is easy to forget what a thrilling presence he can be when he isn't afraid to expose himself (literally) and take risks. Most importantly, it never forgets it is a comedy.
It is great to see Williams working in this relatively low-budget character driven domain once again. He hasn't been this interesting since "One Hour Photo" years back. Goldthwait's script is funny, original and deeply unsettling and his direction deft and professional; not to mention it's very well-shot. With a few minor exceptions, the cast of mostly unknowns is solid and game. The only "flaw" per se are a few scenes of jarring editing that look like something a first-time filmmaker would do (crazy close-ups! smash cut! smash cut!), but overall, it's totally forgivable.
Goldthwait, like all great comedians, proves that comedy and tragedy are linked like fraternal twins, they may look different on the outside, but, in reality, are simply just different shades of the same emotion.
"World's Greatest Dad" is in limited release starting today and also available on VOD. [A-]
Trivia: Bobcat Goldthwait opened for Nirvana on some of their In Utero tour. Look for a cameo by bassist Krist Novoselic in the film. There's great music throughout too including a running gag with Bruce Hornsby and his music (which there is a lot of!). We'll write about that soon.
Scorsese's 'Shutter Island' Bumped To February 2010
If you read the script for "Shutter Island," by Laeta Kalogridis which starts out awesome and then.... well follows the book and then ends up being a little silly... you could easily tell that it was going to be a Marty Scorsese B-movie, or lesser work like, "Bringing Out The Dead."
Still, some insisted on keeping the picture and it's actors in their Oscar bubble predictions, to which we thought, "no friggin' way."
And it seems our posit was right. "Shutter Island" has now been bumped off its October 2nd release date and shuffled into the not-so-Oscar-worthy month of February. Ooof, no really, February 19, which means it'll go head-to-head with " From Paris with Love" which makes it feel like the special Olympics of box-office weekends. Guess Paramount isn't having a great year and they can probably thank Michael Bay's back end deal that probably sucked up all the profits made from "Transformers 2," which has grossed an astonishing, $825 million worldwide so far this year.
Or it's more likely that "Shutter Island" was simply just never an Oscar-quality film as many assumed and Paramount wants to focus on other Oscar contenders this fall (uhh, what films these are, we're not sure...) and let the Leonardo Dicaprio-starring film kill at the box-office in February. After all, it's all about filling holes in certain quarters these days and perhaps Q1 is empty over at Paramount.
But Nikki Finke says a source told her, " 'It tested in the high 80s/low 90s and Scorsese even brought it down to 2 hours.' So what's the problem? I hear that Paramount told the filmmakers it doesn't have the financing in 2009 to spend the $50M to $60M necessary to market a big awards pic like this."
Money is killing everyone these days, but we're still willing to bet "Shutter Island" isn't the Oscar pic everyone thought it was, regardless of $$$. After all, we did write a piece back in February, titled: Martin Scorsese's 'Shutter Island' Not Quality Quite Oscar-Bait For 2009? [Deadline Hollywood]
Exclusive: New Duplass Brothers Project Now Titled, 'Center of Attention'
Do we all remember the upcoming project by mumblecore mavens Mark and Jay Duplass starring Marisa Tomei, Jonah Hill and John C. Reilly, creatively known in the past as, "The Untitled Duplass Brothers Project" (or "Safety Men" as it was originally known as)?
It is said to follow an "obtuse love triangle" between a single mother (Tomei), her son (Hill) and a 40-something guy (Reilly) with a past defined by a failed marriage who begins a relationship with the single mother.
Well it now has a title and that title is "Center of Attention." Test screenings have begun in L.A. Here's the new description:
A divorcee (John C. Reilly) gets a second chance at love when he begins an affair with a free spirited woman (Marisa Tomei) only to realize that her close knit relationship with her son (Jonah Hill) is getting in the way. This is a fresh and unexpected dramedy about the complicated realm of love, relationships and family."[Reilly’s character] is very much out of his league," Duplass said recently in an interview about the film. "They light up an incredible relationship but she doesn’t really let him in and he finds himself on the other side of the coin, like wanting the snuggle and he can’t get it." Reilly soon discovers the grown Tomei's character has been hiding a son [Hill] which produces, "a very bizarre, codependent relationship" that develops into "some obtuse love triangle, as John and Jonah wrestle for the feelings of Marisa."
When will it hit theaters? We imagine sometime in 2010, as if it were coming out in 2009, it would probably be on most Fall 2009 calendars by now. We're keeping our eye on this one. Sounds like it has a lot of potential. Update: we're being told the release date will likely be late spring / summer 2010 and the film is aiming to hit at Sundance 2010.
In Theaters: 'Inglourious Basterds' 'Headless Woman' 'The Baader-Meinhof Complex'
Following up on last week's "District 9" and "Ponyo," film lovers across the country have even more reasons to celebrate as one of the most anticipated releases of the year opens at multiplexes nationwide. Late summer has never been so good.
In Wide Release: Opening on what has to be a record (for Tarantino) 3000+ screens, "Inglourious Basterds" has been on everyone's radar for years now. You've probably read the script, watched each little bit of media on the web, analyzed every ridiculous interview, and maybe even purchased the souvenir mug. It remains to be seen whether the film can do wonders for The Weinstein Company's bottom line, but a big release like this is great for cinephiles everywhere, so it certainly could use your hard earned dollar at the box-office. When we saw it earlier this year, we called it a misstep, but not a disaster, other critics have been more favorable as it has ratcheted up a remarkable 87% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
In a nice bit of counterprogramming, Quentin's best buddy (and "Grindhouse" co-director) Robert Rodriguez returns to family-friendly territory with "Shorts," about a boy who discovers a magical rock that grants wishes and the conniving townsfolk who try to steal it. The cast includes William H. Macy, Leslie Mann, and James Spader--pretty decent talent, but we're surprised the latter is even allowed near children. It doesn't look likely to replicate the huge success of many other kids' movies this summer, but Rodriguez always keeps the cost low, so it should see a tidy profit.
On about 1000 fewer screens, "Shrek" co-director Vicky Jenson gives us "Post Grad." A live action comedy about moving back home after college graduation and dealing with the wackiness of growing up. It stars Alexis Bledel of "Gilmore Girls" fame and poor Michael Keaton plays her father--can someone get this guy a new agent? The man's a great and hasn't done anything interesting since "Jackie Brown," which was over 10 years ago. "Post Grad" is sure to continue that streak with an awful 8% fresh rating on RT.
In Limited Release: We won't harp on it too much here, but Lucrecia Martel's "The Headless Woman" opens in very limited release this weekend and we think you should see it. It was No. 4 on our Top 20 Films of 2008 list and is definitely worth your time. A film this interesting won't please everyone, as evidenced with the 67% fresh score, but if you live near where it's playing, it's worth checking out.
"The Baader-Meinhof Complex" is director Uli Edel's controversial big budget film about the early origins of the Red Army Faction, West Germany's most violent and prominent left-wing anti-capitalist organization in the late 1960s. It picked up a Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations earlier in the year and is finally getting a release here in the U.S. Reviews have been mostly positive with a 79% fresh rating on RT. It features a ton of great German actors including the inimitable Bruno Ganz. What's more is that it's pretty good, mostly apolitical and fairly engaging. It does however feel a little long at around 2 and 1/2 hours. Not sure when we'll find some time to spit out a review, but hopefully soon.
Did we miss the memo about IRA week, or is it just a coincidence? Two films concerning the militant organization open this weekend. First up, Sir Ben Kingsley and Jim Sturgess star in "Fifty Dead Men Walking," Canadian director Kari Skoland's drama that premiered at the 2008 Venice Film Festival. The film, an adaptation of Martin McGartland's autobiography of the same name, takes place in Northern Ireland during The Troubles. Word on the street is good with an 87% fresh rating. Next, is Liam Neeson in "Five Minutes of Heaven," "Downfall" director Oliver Hirschbiegel's film about a former IRA member forced to confront his violent past. Right now the picture holds a less than impressive 56% on RT.Finally getting a limited theatrical release (it is now available on PPV) is Bobcat Goldthwait's sophomore directorial effort "World's Greatest Dad." The blacker than black comedy stars Robin Williams as a High School teacher trying to bond with his enfant terrible son. We've been anticipating it for a while now and the buzz is good with an 82% fresh rating on RT. It's actually quite good. Hopefully a review later today.
Spike Lee brings the acclaimed Broadway musical "Passing Strange" to the big screen. Written by singer/songwriter and actor Stew, the musical is a rock ’n’ roll autobiography of a black musician leaving mid 1970's Los Angeles in search of himself in Europe. The film, chosen to launch the Sundance VOD series, is at a perfect 100% fresh.
Other options include Melvin Van Peebles' awesomely titled "Confessionsofa Ex-Doofus-Itchyfooted Mutha," in which the septuagenarian plays the titular mutha from boyhood to age 47. Currently it is N/A on RT with not enough reviews in. Also opening, Doug Gray's far-reaching advertising documentary "Art and Copy" isn't impressing much at 45% fresh.
Universal Starts A 'Bourne 4 ' Plan B By Hiring New Writer
Perhaps worried by recent publicity regarding the lack of developmental progress on the fourth installment of the "Bourne" franchise, Universal have now tapped Josh Zetumer to pen what is being described as a "parallel script" -- a back up plan if you will.
Original scribe George Nolfi is currently busy working with Matt Damon on "The Adjustment Bureau" and the studio is keen to have Bourne 4 on their 2011 slate, so now they've essentially given Zetumer the chance to beat Nolfi to the punch. If he doesn't get to it in time because of 'Bureau,' Zetumer's 'Bourne 4,' will be the one to get the green light.
But will Damon be on board with that version? Will Universal skip Nolfi altogether? Or are they just giving him a hand by getting Zetumer to map a narrative out? Or is this a hint that Universal thinks they can continue the Bourne series without Matt Damon if needed (which they've hinted at in the past).
Bringing a newbie on board a working collaboration doesn't sound good and perhaps reeks of the desperation to keep a popular franchise afloat no matter what. And hell, Universal is having problems this year. [THR]
Catherine Hardwicke To Helm Jonah Hill's '21 Jump Street'? Tommy Lee Jones And Samuel L. Jackson Team For Cormac McCarthy Adaptation
Catherine Hardwicke has added the Gothic version of "Little Red Riding Hood" -- produced by Leonardo DiCaprio's production company, Appian Way -- and the Jonah Hill scribed "Bad Boys" meets John Hughes film adaptation of "21 Jump Street" to her directorial slate. The director is currently working on a modern day adaptation of "Hamlet" starring Emile Hirsch. [Variety] *Update*: Hardwicke's reps tell MTV it's "too early" to say anything and that she isn't yet "attached" to the Jonah Hill project.
Billy Bob Thornton is attached to star in "Pound For Pound," a boxing drama based on an F.X. Toole ("Million Dollar Baby") novel. Ron Shelton will direct the project which centers on parallel lives of a retired and widowed boxer (Thornton) suffering from depression and an up-and-coming teenage Latino fighter from a difficult background. Their paths of course will inevitably cross. Yawn. [THR]
Tommy Lee Jones and Samuel L. Jackson will star in an adaption of the Cormac McCarthy play, "The Sunset Limited," for HBO which Jones will also direct. Production will begin next month where Jackson will play a man who saves another man (Jones) from a suicide attempt. This starts an exchange of ideologies as the two debate the worth of their own lives. [BFDealMemo]
Karl Urban's previously teased graphic novel role has been revealed to be that of the main antagonist in Scott Stewart's adaptation of "Priest." The film will be set in a world ravaged by war between man and vampires that features Paul Bettany as a warrior priest and vampire fighter, Cam Gigandet as a sheriff and Maggie Q as a warrior priestess. [THR]
Judy Greer has joined the cast of Ed Zwick's "Love And Other Drugs," starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway in their "Brokeback Mountain" reunion. The film will center on a salesman (Gyllenhaal) who competes in the cutthroat world of pharmaceuticals to hawk a male performance enhancement drug and enters into a relationship with a woman (Hathaway) with Parkinson's disease. Greer will play a pharmaceutical company trainee instructor. [Variety]
IFC Films has acquired rights for U.S. distribution to Corneliu Porumboiu's "Police, Adjective," Romania's entry in the foreign-language film race for the upcoming Oscars. Written and directed by Porumboiu, "Police" concerns an undercover cop who has a crisis of conscience and will debut at this year's Toronto International Film Festival and New York Film Festival. [Variety]
London Report: 'Avatar' Day Kicks Off; Footage Underwhelms
London, England — Following our fairly negative response to the "Avatar" trailer released yesterday, we've just got back from the first European screening of the Avatar Day footage at the BFI IMAX in London. And unfortunately, the longer look at James Cameron's sci-fi epic hasn't changed our minds.
As far as we can tell, the footage is a slightly trimmed version of what screened at Comic-Con, clocking in at just over 15 minutes, and all the clips come from the first half of the movie. After a video introduction from Cameron, we cut to black and hear a gruff voice: 'You're not in Kansas anymore.' The screen fades up to Stephen Lang's heavily scarred character, Col. Quaritch, giving the recruits, including Sam Worthington's wheelchair-bound Jake Sully, a speech, warning them that "My job is to protect you. I will not succeed. Not for all of you." In the second, technobabble-heavy scene, Sigourney Weaver's character, Grace, helps Jake into a machine, which enables him to connect to his ten-foot tall Avatar. Much of what follows can be glimpsed in the trailer, as he wakes up as an avatar for the first time. Following this, Grace, Jake and a third Avatar are on the surface of Pandora, confronted by a beast which starts to chase Jake.
Two final clips follow - the first involving Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) saving Jake from a pack of dog-like creatures, and leading him through a glowing forest at night (lit in a slightly naff 70s black-light style...), the second with Jake undergoing some kind of Na'vi initiation ritual - a sort of dragon rodeo, where he eventually tames the creature and flies it off a cliff. The package ended with a brief montage of money shots, most of which also feature in the trailer.
The audience reaction was very muted - when the lights came back up again, there was a sort of awkward silence, and then people started to shuffle out, like someone had died. Which is slightly unfair, as there was plenty to like in the 15 minutes. What impressed most was the sense of place - Pandora seems like a coherent world, with a landscape and ecosystem all of its own. In places, too, the effects are genuinely impressive - not revolutionary certainly, but the facial movement of the Na'vi is at least as good as Davy Jones, the current benchmark in the motion-capture field, and the stylized design of the characters gives real life t0 the eyes. If nothing else, Cameron seems to have escaped the uncanny valley.
But the effects work also seems inconsistent, at least at this stage (a problem that also plagued "Beowulf," where the impressive detail of the main characters was countered by the fact that the extras appeared to have been copy-and-pasted from Shrek). The night-time sequence looked rubbery and unconvincing, and the later scenes in the selection are entirely CGI. Obviously, this would be par for the course in a fully CGI-animated film, but once you establish that this is a world in which real, photographed humans exist, removing any live-action elements from it robs the film of any weight it might otherwise have, and your eyes start to glaze over a little bit.
Aside from this, the design work in the film seems unexpectedly weak. Yes, Pandora appears to be a coherent world, but it's also reminiscent of, as has been pointed out earlier, the likes of the Star Wars prequels, or the justifiably-forgotten "Ferngully: The Last Rainforest." Furthermore, the film's biggest problem may be the design of the Na'vi and the Avatars themselves. It's great that they are genuinely alien - no Star Trek-style latex foreheads here - but when set against live-action actors, the height of the creatures (they measure at about ten foot) is pretty awkward, and it seems like it's going to be hard to connect to them. When Fox's hopes for the film revolve around the romance angle connecting with mainstream audiences, that's going to be a huge problem. Both Neytiri and Jake seem unlikeable, the former coming across as aloof, the latter as arrogant, although Worthington is at least a charismatic presence in his live action moments, and doesn't seem to be replicating his globe-trotting accent from "Terminator: Salvation," which is strange, as Avatar was shot first.
More surprisingly is that for a 3-D pioneer like Cameron, the action sequences seem to have been shot and cut for 2-D. Because of the nature of the technology, the brain takes a fraction of a second longer to register the 3-D images, and the best uses of 3-D in the modern era (We'd point to "Coraline," and maybe Gil Kenan's "Monster House") have taken this into account. But the sequence where Jake is pursued through the jungle by an alien creature seems to be shot hand-held (or a digital approximation of the technique) and is full of rapid fire editing. Which is immersive, yeah, but it also means it's hard to tell what's going on. We're not against quick cuts as a rule, but it seems like Cameron isn't taking the drawbacks of the medium to heart.
This is based on five short scenes from early in the movie (and, in fact, it might have been better if Fox had showed fewer, longer sequences - the disjointed nature of the reel certainly didn't help matters), and our faith in Cameron is strong enough to justify the price of a ticket. But, in a summer when "Star Trek" put a real sense of awe and wonder back in the sci-fi genre, we were left wanting more from even this brief glimpse. Plenty of you will be catching the same footage later today, we're sure, including other members of The Playlist, so the debate'll be raging for the rest of the weekend...
Sony's Michael Jackson Film To Hit Theaters In October For 2 Weeks, American Idol's Adam Lambert To Provide Track For Roland Emmerich's '2012'
Kenny Ortega will helm the upcoming live music film based on Michael Jackson's final rehearsals for his 50-show run at London's O2 Arena before his tragic death. "This Is It" will see a global two-week-only release beginning October 28th and is being endorsed by the Jackson family. [DeadlineHollywoodDaily]
American Idol's Adam Lambert is set to record a track for Roland Emmerich's upcoming apocalyptic film "2012" which, according to Queen guitarist Brian May is "truly sensational" and "obviously a number one smash." Lambert also has a album due out in November when "2012" is due to hit theaters. You know what they say: any press is good press? [RockNRollDaily]
"Urgh! A Music War," a British documentary featuring musical performances from artists such as Devo, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, The Police and many more will finally receive a DVD release via Warner Archives. It follows the company's release of around two dozen new titles every month including the likes of cult films and TV movies, praise Jesus when the vaults open. [A.V. Club]
The trailer for the brutally bad looking, upcoming excuse to team Kristen Bell and Josh Duhamel, "When In Rome," clues us in on some details of the film's soundtrack including a new song by Jason Mraz ("Kicking With You"), The Academy's Is' lame cover of Sweet's "Fox On The Run," and a Katy Perry collaboration with 3OH!3 (who??) called, "Starstrukk." Yes, with two K's and no C. Awesome, right? You're super excited. [Trailer Addict]
8/20/2009
Bryan Singer Adds 'Excalibur' Remake To Busy Dance Card- Also Possibly Returning To 'X-Men'?
Well, now that the "Avatar" trailer has been revealed to suck, Hollywood's genre filmmakers can get back to work without fear of "awe" and "spectacle" being monopolized by James Cameron. A week after being announced as onboard a "Battlestar Galactica" redo over at Universal, Variety reports that Bryan Singer has signed on to produce and develop a remake of John Boorman's "Excalibur." The original was a badass swords and sorcery epic revolving around the retelling of the King Arthur myth, embracing the magic and outlandishness of the original legends. Likely this would be a far cry from the unloved grim-n-gritty retelling of "King Arthur" spearheaded by Jerry Bruckheimer from earlier this decade- check the numbers though... $200 million worldwide! Christ, that Bruckheimer can spin any stupid shit into box office gold!
Singer's developing the project at Warner Bros. with an eye towards directing, but its believed he first has to deal with "Jack The Giant Killer," a retelling of the Jack and the Beanstalk legend left over from the New Line Cinema era with superproducer Neal Moritz ("Torque") attached. "Excalibur" has no script yet, but "Jack" is from the pen of Mark Bomback ("Race To Witch Mountain") and theoretically is ready to shoot. DJ Caruso ("Disturbia") was originally linked to direct "Jack" but it looks like this is the first time Singer will be working at WB/Legendary Pictures since he botched "Superman Returns" and produced "Trick r Treat," a movie that still seeks distribution years after completion. Just goes to show you how people in Hollywood are always willing to get back in bed with you no matter how bad the experience was.
But is Singer truly desperate? The Variety article mentions Singer flirting with Fox regarding "X-Men: First Class," which would be a surprise considering how badly Fox mismanaged Singer's original vision for the first two films in that series. Might this be a mea culpa, since "Wolverine" didn't exactly set the world on fire, diminishing prospects for further adventures in that world? Brett Ratner's third film in the series outgrossed the first two, but there's gotta be a reason why Fox immediately scuttled a fourth film instead of capitalizing on that momentum.
Singer took a lot of heat for "Valkyrie," but the movie was his fourth straight $200 million worldwide hit, so it's not a surprise to see him taking his sweet time between projects. For a brief time, he was also attached to "The Prisoners" with Christian Bale and Mark Wahlberg, but they've moved on. Singer's also long been linked to a movie called "U Want Me 2 Kill Him?" a conceptually-titled true story about an internet murder that never gained traction, probably because it was written by Fernley Phillips, who's first script, Jim Carrey's "The Number 23," was probably (thankfully?) his last. Regardless, the true story itself is really fascinating, and the movie was to be based on the Vanity Fair article that gave the story national coverage- you can read that fascinating account here.
UPDATE: An anonymous commenter (aren't they always?) suggested that the Bryan Singer "Excalibur" project and an untitled King Arthur project written by comic book super genius Warren Ellis were one in the same. We asked Ellis about this possibility this morning. His response? "No." So, there are parallel King Arthur movies being fast tracked, and while the proposal of this new "Excalibur" remake is that it's going to be a hard-edged retelling, well, then clearly they haven't investigated Ellis' project. Anyone who has read any of the author's comic book work, particularly his independent stuff (he also has a fairly regular gig with Marvel), or has seen his great "G.I. Joe" anime project, knows that he likes to keep things fairly outré. - Drew Taylor
Herzog Spoils 'Bad Lieutenant' Plot & Ending In EPK? More Photos With Xzibit, Val Kilmer
"When you look at America at this time, in a way it felt right: do the darkest film imaginable," Werner Herzog says about his decision to make "Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans" in this EPK, a picture he has called repeatedly a new form of film noir.
"I'm someone who has no idea what drugs do to you," he said regarding the film's excessive drug use. "So I had to ask the writer and more competent people, 'what does it do to you?' So I had to be advised. In a way I don't really care that much."
He adds that he's not the biggest cinemagoer in the world either and sounds positively naive, which is odd, but Herzog for you. "I've never seen a film with excessive use of drugs, I do not see that many films," he said straight-faced (you know he's probably telling the truth too).
But man, the editing in this EPK, which Jeff Wells also bitched about, is horrible, and it really tests your patience sitting through the whole thing.
We've also found some newer shots from the film that include, on top of stars Nicolas Cage and Eva Mendes, Val Kilmer and Xzibit (Fairuza Bulk and Jennifer Coolidge also co-star).
Like "ecstatic truth," Herzog is always making up terms to fit his films and for 'Lieutenant' the new colloquialism seems to be the "bliss of evil." Does Herzog spoil the film (careful now) when he says, "I don't care about this kind of definition, who is 'good,' who is 'bad.' Actually, his real evil, his real bad behavior solves an almost unsolvable case. He gets a result. He brings the murderers to justice, but he does it in very unusual ways." ? Does this thing even need a plot? Just yell, "action" and watch Nic Cage go nuts, right? It probably matters little if that actually is a spoiler.
Man, this thing is hard to watch. We bailed after 4:00 minutes and we challenge you to watch it all in one sitting (if you do let us know if anything else was said, but it's 16 minutes in total and slow as molasses, so good luck!). "Bad Lieutenant: Port Of Call New Orleans" still has no U.S. (or even international) distribution, but that may change after it plays the Venice and Toronto Film Festivals this fall.
Update: Anyone find it curiously odd that this EPK has been up for a few days and then once we write about it and its potential spoilers it's all of a sudden pulled down? Hmmm, smells like we were on the money.
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