James Toback Pissed At 'Tyson' Oscar Doc Snub; Suggests Irregularity In Selection Process Akin To "Extortion"

Who wee, James Toback is pissed about his documentary, "Tyson" getting the snub from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences who announced their Oscar documentary short-list earlier this week and left off his raw portrait of once-boxing great Mike Tyson.

15 docs were picked on the shortlist ("Anvil! The Story Of Anvil" was another very-deserving doc that got shafted as was R.J Cutler's Anna Wintour doc, “The September Issue”) and "Tyson" didn't make the cut so the New York Times called up Toback to get his reaction and he's hopping mad.

And he wouldn't give exact details, but apparently the doc was snubbed because of an irregularity that he says is tantamount to "extortion." “How is some tiny, dirty covert weirdly protective little group within the Academy going to be immune?” he posited to the Times reporter about the funny business that goes on behind-the-scenes in everything from presidential elections to award selection committees.

What happened exactly? Toback won't say, but when pressed said the experienced had something to do with the selections process, “which I put fully in the category of extortion that I did not go along with.” He adds that he was “furious” at himself for “having chosen to be passive and quiet in the face of that extortion.”

The chairman of the executive committee of the documentary branch was asked if he knew what Toback was alluding to his response was, “I have no idea. It certainly hasn’t come before me.”

Apparently the selection process is different. The Times explains:

Unlike contenders in other categories, candidates for best feature documentary are winnowed from a field of eligible films that this year numbered 89. Mr. Epstein said most of about 150 members participated in one or both of two committees that review feature-length and short documentaries.

Because of the way films are distributed for viewing among members, who do not see all submissions, a very small number of people can determine the fate of a film. Mr. Epstein described the process as being fairer than an earlier one, under which a Los Angeles-based committee drawn from all Academy branches reviewed documentaries.

So what is this all about? Toback has a long-standing reputation for being a loose cannon, so who knows, surely more of it will come out in the next few days. Meanwhile, the small consolation the snubbed documentaries receive — which includes, "Capitalism: A Love Story," "Crude" and "We Live In Public" to name a few —is that they are all still eligible for the Best Picture category. But that's obviously not much reassurances as none of these picture unfortunately probably have a shot there. Our own personal thoughts? We didn't find the snub a huge personal affront. "Tyson" was fascinating, but necessarily a bonafide Oscar contender. Should it have at least made the shortlist? Yes, probably? But something of value is always going to get cut when you start measuring art, no?

Update: So is Toback just a nutter spouting off? He apparently released a statement after his NYTimes interview that read, "I regret that I didn’t bring my concerns to the attention of the Academy sooner but I have now done so and I have been reassured that they are looking into the matter."

What is that matter? An Academy’s executive director told the Wrap that the director's “concern was that one of the documentarians voting to pick the shortlist bore him a grudge and should have recused himself/herself from the balloting.”

Apparently they have investigated and that one vote wouldn't have made a difference.

The accounting firm, he says, quoting PwC’s report, “has assured us that ‘no single voter was responsible for [“Tyson”’s] failure to make the shortlist….’”

Sour grapes, being a sore loser, etc.?

Chris Weitz Says New Line Treated Him Like Dirt On The 'Golden Compass'; 'New Moon' On The Verge Of Mega-Opening As "Revenge"

Not being huge fans of Coca Cola or CGI-'d polar bears we'll admit any drama behind the scenes of Chris Weitz's 2007 film, "The Golden Compass," aside from the anti-religion-themes or lack thereof controversy, sort of passed us by.

But in a candid interview with DealMemo which perhaps explains his depressive, almost-quitting quote this week, Weitz says he was basically fucked over by the studio New Line and it was a brutal, ignominious experience. Evidently New Line cut 30 minutes of footage and blunted any of the edge from the original novels (like the anti-religious themes that New Line was afraid would turn off mainstream audiences). Suffice to say it sounds like Weitz will never work with them again.

"It was an utter violation of my status as a director, and the worst thing that has happened to me professionally" he said.

But apparently Weitz didn't say anything at the time out of respect for all the other creatives who worked on the film (which explains why we probably never heard about it before). "I practically bit through my tongue, but I would be very happy to see 'New Moon' surpass ''The Golden Compass.' Now, that dish is cold, and I’m ready to eat. I was treated badly, it was almost like they never read the books. They seemed frightened of offending the Right. This was a wonderful experience by comparison. I got to work with terrific young actors at the top of their game, and see Taylor Lautner perform so well.”

While it remains to be seen whether any of the 'New Moon' cast were acting at the top of the game (at least for this writer; and our review today sure doesn't indicate otherwise), what is perfectly clear is that "New Moon" will not only surpass any 'Golden Compass' box-office records ($372 million worldwide which is not bad, but only $72 million domestically), but it will likely shatter them.

Summit Entertainment announced today that "New Moon" completely trounced midnight opening records by "Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince" ($22.2 million) and "The Dark Knight" (previous record holder with $18.5 million) by taking in a whopping $26.27 million in midnight screenings from 3,514 theaters last night. Predictions for box-office receipts this weekend are ranging in the $90-$100 million range which is outrageously good numbers if they can hit those targets and pretty good indication that no matter how much critics and many adults hate "Twilight," it is here to stay.

Earlier this week we wondered if fickle tweens would still be interested around the time of "Eclipse" and "Breaking Dawn," the third and fourth installments of the series and the answer will surely be — much to our chagrin — yes.

Now that he can taste vengeful success on his lips, apparently Weitz is not holding back in several interviews. Talking to the Wrap, he reiterated that New Line abused him and went over the line.

"It was a terrible experience because I was able to shoot what I wanted to — and then the cut of the movie was taken away from me and any reference to religion or religious ideas was removed. And the darkness and threat at the end of the story — anything that made it not a happy, popcorn-type movie — was removed. The voice of the key character was redone, all of this against my will."

Revenge is sweet payback — if you want to look at it that way, it's not as if Weitz stole money out of New Line's pocket or anything — but apparently he has to say, "In your face, New Line," as a satisfying way to get over the experience and we suppose we get that. Though it is a bit funny that Weitz is going to be congratulated and awarded for delivering from what most accounts is a piece of shit movie. Ah, irony. Meanwhile, who's got that "Facepunch" poster already?

Is Fede Alvarez The "New Neill Blomkamp"? Watch Robot Invasion Short, 'Panic Attack!'

Ok, this is actually pretty great and gotta say the use of John Murphy's apocalyptic "28 Days Later" score (still one of the best from this decade), really puts this one over-the-top into the "wow, this kinda rules" category.

Apparently Uruguayan filmmaker Fede Alvarez has taken Hollywood by storm this week thanks to his almost five minute short film, "Panic Attack!" ("Ataque de Pánico!") that has drawn some comparisons to Neill Blomkamp's "District 9" because of its lo-fi, shaky-cam, documentarian depiction of a random and terrifying robot invasion (very "Iron Giant") on Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay. It actually feels like a crazy cross between "28 Days Later," "District 9" and a terrorist attack ala footage from 9/11.

The video is so damn impressive, apparently every agency in L.A. is taking meetings with him in hopes of snatching him up. Then surely, someone is going to attach him to some high-concept science-fiction film, no? Or in the meantime, he can surely get steady work as a commercial director while he develops project. It appears that footage of the short has been used in the music video for the band, Snake, but really, it's nowhere near as cool as the original clip which is admittedly, very arresting. You need to see this.

What The What? Richard Linklater Talks Top Secret 13 Year Project With Ethan Hawke & Patricia Arquette

That Richard Linklater is one sneaky fella. Here we thought he was shit out of luck, what with the plugs being pulled on his various projects left and right, and then he lets it slip to a Collider correspondent that he's got a long-simmering project with Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette simmering on the back burner. Apparently, the 13-years-in-the-making project is about childhood, with Hawke as the eventually-divorced dad and Arquette as the mother, and Linklater has filmed it on eight separate occasions, including as recently as last week. The filmmaker wasn't psyched that IMDB listed the project, because now he has to answer questions about the project that's still in the writing process.

Linklater tells Collider that he, "wanted to make a film about childhood but couldn't pick one specific moment." The long-gestating film is a constant work in progress over a significant amount of time, and Linklater seems to embrace this passage of time as a contribution to the film's evolution. In fact, the child actor in question was cast at age 6 and is now 14 years old. He says,

"Every year I get a year to kind of gestate that year. I always think, 7th grade,

what’s going on given the history. It’s set in a contemporary setting and I play

off what we did last year and how the actors are maturing and what’s going on.

So it’s a combination of the architecture I’ve already mapped out for the whole

film and then the specifics are often worked out at the last minute. A lot of improv.”

Definitely sounds interesting and unlike anything we've ever heard of, but who knows when we might actually get to see this on the big screen. Maybe with his schedule clear of "School of Rock 2" and the "Dazed and Confused" sequel, it will be full steam ahead for this top secret film. Linklater proves you can't keep a good filmmaker down, and we're glad to hear he's got something original and interesting in the works.

Here's a link to the video interview with Linklater talking about the project. Ps, when's the next installment of the 'Sunrise/Sunset' projects starring Hawke and Julie Delpy coming 'cause that we really wanna see (and you left us on suuuuch a cliffhanger, dude).

'True Grit' Is... Gritty, Not As Funny As Advertised, Probably Genius Anyhow

So the Coen Brothers are re-making "True Grit," an adaptation of a Charles Portis' Western-type revenge novel that's evidently set to star Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon and Josh Brolin which was also made into a film starring John Wayne in 1969. They've been threatening to film this for several years now, but now it's seemingly happening and shooting in March if all goes according to plan.

The story's true protagonist is the precocious, defiant and indefatigably resolute teenager Mattie Ross (not cast yet, Kim Darby in the original) whose father is double crossed and killed by a cowardly helping-hand turned outlaw (Jeff Corey/Josh Brolin). Seeking revenge, she convinces and pays a drunken, old and broken down U.S. Marshal (Wayne originally, Bridges now), who is later joined by a Texas Ranger (countrypolitan singer Glen Campbell/Matt Damon) to track the man down and bring him to justice. They essentially all detest one another, but through their voyage slowly learn the value and worth of one another.

Here's the thing. The matter-of-fact Coen Brothers script (like all their scripts, terse, to-the-point) is very much like the original film, which wasn't very good to begin with. Though that has much to do in part with Henry Hathaway's boring, flat, all master-shots direction. It's an interesting story, but that '69 film didn't win John Wayne an Oscar because of an amazing performance. He took the Academy prize because he, much like the character he plays Rooster Cogburn, was long in the tooth, and he was due his lifetime achievement award.

Yes, the Coens' screenplay is more faithful to the novel, but the original wasn't drastically different either. And yes, it has more humor as the Coen Brothers promised, but it is sawdust dry, understated and sometimes a bit of a slog to read. If one is trying to figure out the tone of this one it's easy: "No Country For Old Men" meets "A Serious Man" but even the latter was much funnier than this very dark tale. Maybe 'Country' with a bit more humor.

Like most Coen Brothers scripts, they're aren't exactly a joy to read and are damn plain and straightforward (kinda like they are in person, dry and soft spoken), and more prose-y than steadily moving screenwriting. But even then that prose is unsentimental and very plain (fitting as Portis' novel is the same).

Much has been said about how the Coen Brothers' films barely change from script to screen, that they shoot and storyboard what's on the page. But what's not on the page — and very much on the screen when the pace and the attack is matches the style - 'No Country,' 'Serious Man,' 'Lebowski,' 'Hudsucker,' 'Arizona' — is their acute sense of timing, their ability to inspire their cast, their visual sense (brought to life by extremely talented DPs), and their excellent editing abilities (they are their editor, Roderick Jaynes).

So there's a disconnect there, and so based on the script alone... it doesn't do a lot or rouse much of anything inside. But visualizing and imagining what the Coens will ultimately bring to it, it's probably going to be full-realized and alive. It does take a leap of faith, imagination and perhaps the experience of having read several Coen Brothers scripts, having then compared them to their much-more-interesting final product, to say this will be another solid Coen's effort.

There is some great writing here, dialogue rich scenes that we could imagine actors chewing up, especially for the Coens. Thickly worded scenes that could be a lot of fun if the tone and mood don't drag. Hopefully the editing will be economic, because the pacing isn't exactly quick.

The plum role here really though is Mattie Ross, though Bridges as the tired, lazy, Cogburn could potentially be great too (and he can keep his weight and worn-down look of "Crazy Heart" if he's still got it; the character does have some good speeches). Ross is tireless in her demands and is a severe pain in the ass to everyone. A brat to the adults, she must get her own way and she seems much more single-minded and tough than the cardboard way Kim Darby played her. If they fudged the age a little, we could see Mia Wasikowska, Alison Pil, Saoirse Ronan. There aren't a lot of very remarkable teenage actors who could pull this off. An average girl here won't do, so casting here is more crucial than any other part.

The other parts are small though and surely the only reason Damon and especially Brolin want to be in this picture is because it's a Coen Brothers film. If someone walked (perhaps Damon because his schedule is nuts), someone like Chris Hemsworth could possibly fill his shoes, but probably not deliver the comedy. We won't spoil it, but an accident effects the Texas Ranger's speech in the second half of the film and this could provide the most serious laughs; something that Damon would be perfect for.

In fact, if this script came on to an execs desk, didn't have the Coen Brothers name on it and these stars attached, they would likely pass. It's a testament to the Coen Brothers' work. Everyone knows they add so much unspoken and mysterious depth to their work and "True Grit," should probably fall in line with the tenor of 'No Country' mixed with 'Serious Man': dark, unadorned with flashes of comedy and brilliance, but you wouldn't know it from reading the script blind.

While there's a lot here for another potentially great effort by the brothers Coen it's nowhere near as tense and tight as 'No Country,' not as comedic as 'O Brother,' and not as lazy (in a great way) as, say, 'Lebowski;' this is another new animal for them while at the same time familiar. Think "Unforgiven." Think Ron Howard's, "The Missing," but made by people who understand detail, subtly, nuance, credibility, and realism -- additional reporting by Andrew Hart (we read it at the same time and compared notes).

Robert Pattinson Period Film Trades In Nicole Kidman For Uma Thurman

And now, in more news about our favorite future Oscar winner, Robert Pattinson is no longer slated to unlace Nicole Kidman's corsets in "Bel Ami." We previously announced the pairing, but The Hollywood Reporter shares that the corset lacings (and other assorted period accoutrement) will now belong to Uma Thurman. Pattinson will play George Duroy, a (supposedly) sexy social climber in turn-of-the-century Paris, while Thurman will play the wife of one of Duroy's friends. Her character later marries Pattinson's seductive schemer. THR also announces that Kristin Scott Thomas will appear in "Bel Ami" as a woman who overestimates Duroy's attachment to her. Theater director Declan Donnellan is at the helm for the film that will shoot in the French capital. We hear that France loves loves loves "Twilight," so we wish the "Bel Ami" crew luck in shooting around scores of swooning fans.

We took Pattinson to task for his "soulless" (his word, not ours) turn in our review of "New Moon," and we're not confident he can handle the material in this adaptation of a Guy de Maupassant story. If he's playing a vacuous beauty, he might be believable, but then, that's not really acting. Thurman is obviously a more accomplished actress who has appeared in a number of period films with varying degrees of success ("The Golden Bowl," "Vatel," "Dangerous Liasons"). However, her last two films — "The Accidental Husband" and "Motherhood" — have been the caps on a string of movies that haven't impressed filmgoers or critics. We're pleased she's moving away from comedy — aside from "Ceremony" which she seems perfect for — but this still seems like it will be laughable.

Meanwhile, we're still hoping for a return to a certain yellow jumpsuit for Ms. Thurman. Pretty please?

Steven Spielberg 'Dome's Stephen King + Other King-Related Tidbits

Stephen King is currently making the promotional rounds for his new, phonebook-sized novel "Under the Dome" (we just started it and it's fucking fantastic), and while on tour for the book he had mentioned that it was being developed as an HBO miniseries.

Well, today comes word that none other than Steven Spielberg will be executive producing the "limited series" which Variety says is "likely for cable," which we hope refers to HBO or Showtime and not Sci-fi (excuse us, Syfy) or TNT.

Spielberg has been itching to adapt King for the longest time. As Variety notes, Spielberg has long wanted to do a film (or, a few years ago, television miniseries) version of King's 1984 book with Peter Straub, "The Talisman." The pair seem like a perfect fit, in terms of their singular love of telling stories where extraordinary things happen to very ordinary people. (This was particularly true of both of them during their respective 1980s heydays.)

"Under the Dome" concerns a small, fictional Maine town that one day finds itself trapped under a see-through dome, which comes down "like an invisible guillotine" causing all sorts of trouble, not to mention cutting off the good (and not-so-good) townsfolk from electricity, food, etc. (No, it's nothing like "The Simpsons Movie." King's book is actually occasionally funny. Zing!)

There have been some other interesting news tidbits that have come out of King's promotional/reading tour for "Under the Dome."

• While at a signing in Maryland, King also let slip that he has written a screenplay for the adaptation of his 2006 apocalyptic horror novel "Cell" (it's quite good). This is interesting news, considering that the film, which is set up at the Weinsteins' genre shingle Dimension Films and originally set to be directed by Eli Roth right after "Hostel: Part II," already had two high profile writers attached - "Ed Wood's" Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski. The pair previously adapted King for the underrated John Cusack ghost story "1408." King says that he changed the ending of the novel for the screenplay, since everybody hated it.

• Work progresses on his Broadway-bound musical, "The Ghost Brothers of Darkland County," which he co-wrote with John Mellencamp. His update (courtesy of the Toronto Star) "It's there ... it's in the editing studio right now. We've got a lot of people from the music world who agreed to do parts — Elvis Costello, Sheryl Crow, Roseanne Cash ... it should be like an old-time radio show and then it's scheduled to go on stage in Atlanta next fall." Kris Kristofferson is also scheduled to be a part of "Ghost Brothers ." The album is going to be produced by T. Bone Burnett, who we'll be talking to in the next couple of weeks in anticipation of "Crazy Heart," so we'll try to get more info about this.

• Also, the "Carrie" musical (one of the more infamous Broadway flops), based in equal parts on the Stephen King novel and Brian De Palma's split-screen-y adaptation, is coming back to Broadway .

Be afraid. Be very afraid. Some exciting things happening in the Stephen King adaptation world, or at the very least enough to offset J.J. not doing "The Dark Tower" anymore.

Wright Wripped Off; Tarsem Takes War To 'Dawn'; Jeanne-Claude Passes Away; Macca Goes 'Home'

The TimesOnline hit a new low for journalistic standards this week, when they cut, paste and edited Edgar Wright's touching tribute to the late Edward Woodward from his blog without his permission and then tried to play it off as he penned the tribute for them. The director hit Twitter to express his outrage and we don't blame him. News reporting has taken a disappointing slide of late as even the most ephemeral bits of information are spun into "stories." But to hit a prominent director's blog, take his work and publish it as if it was written for your own paper is not only lazy but unethical. The TimesOnline has since issued a pithy apology — We have been asked to make clear that this article appeared in the newspaper in an abridged version on Tuesday November 17 — but it's far too little, far too late.

And speaking of Twitter, Production Weekly has twittered that "The Cell" and "The Fall" director Tarsem Singh has set up offices at La Cité du Cinéma in Montreal and is preparing to shoot "Dawn Of War" (working title: "War Of Gods"). The place is sort of a Quebecois Cinecitta and if we recall, has been home to films like "300." The film will mark the first big, meaty lead film role for Henry Cavill while the visually creative director has described the look of the film as "Caravaggio" meets 'Fight Club'" which actually sounds pretty cool. The film will go in front of cameras in March.

With "Precious" expanding to 1000 screens this weekend (because nothing says Thanksgiving like a ghetto porn drama), Lionsgate has released a new poster that puts Oscar contender Gabby Sidibe front and center, and then plasters her face with critical plaudits. With all the talk of soaring spirits and stolen hearts on the poster, there are going to be a lot of Oprah and Tyler Perry fans walking out of the cinema feeling more emotionally abused than they were expecting. "Precious" is about as uplifting as a soggy cheeseburger.

The "retired" Sir James Bond Sean Connery has been quietly executive producing "Sir Billi," an CGI animated film that has been in the works for the past five years. The actor will lend his distinctive brogue to the film about "a retired, skateboarding veterinarian who lives in a remote Scottish village and who spearheads the rescue of an illegal fugitive who also happens to be a beaver." The film's central song, "Guardian of the Highlands" will be sung by Connery's "Goldfinger" cohort, Shirley Bassey. The independent production is deep in post-production and is set to be completed sometime next year.

The art world lost one of its greatest and most celebrated artists, Jeanne-Claude who passed away on Wednesday after complications from brain aneurysm. She was 74. Along with her husband Christo, they erected massive, visually arresting public installations that often involved altering the look of prominent public spaces. Whether you feel their work — which sometimes involved wrapping buildings in plastic or peppering landscapes with beach umbrellas — is "art," it can't be denied they were a popular, powerful force that made abstract concepts at least accessible (if not entirely understood) to the general public. Their last major work was "The Gates" in which they put 7,503 rectangular orange rectangular structures draped with fabric throughout Central Park in 2005 and it was captured in all it's glory in a 2008 HBO doc simply called, "The Gates" by Antonio Ferrera, Albert Maysles, David Maysles and Matthew Prinzing. For a still post-9/11 rattled New York City, the work was a major force for bringing travellers from around the world back into the city.

Werner Herzog, who has more energy that directors half his age, is wrapping up on busy year and quickly starting another. In Janauary, the director's Rogue Film School will have its first seminar in Los Angeles and then a couple of weeks later, the filmmaker will be off to Germany to head the jury of the Berlin Film Festival which runs from Feb. 11-21. The director completed two lengthily titled films this year festival year, "Bad Lieutenant: Port Of Call New Orleans" and "My Son, My Son What Have Ye Done." The former opens in limited release today, while the latter will hit screens sometime in December.

It seems to be a week for Oscar songs leaking to the web. The latest is Paul McCartney's "(I Want To) Come Home" for the forthcoming Robert DeNiro dramedy "Everybody's Fine." If that film gets any nominations, it will probably just be for the song which you can hear below. It's fairly standard, easy on the ears, later years Macca. Meh.

In Theaters: 'New Moon,' 'The Blind Side,' 'Bad Lieutenent: Port of Call New Orleans'

There's a little something for everyone opening wide this week — unless you actually like good movies, that is. But don't fret, there are some very interesting options opening limited this week including new films from a couple of our favorite all-time directors. Whatever you fancy, this will be a huge weekend at the box office. With "New Moon" occupying all the brainpower of the country's teenage girl population, maybe you'll actually be able to sit through a movie without any incessant giggling and texting this weekend.

In Wide Release: Beating out "Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith" as the top advance ticket seller of all time, "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" hits over 4,000 screens today. Opening a year after the first film in the series, the sequel looks to be an ever bigger smash as the cult of "Twilight" keeps increasing. Directed by Chris Weitz ("The Golden Compass") "New Moon" is the story of hormone-addled teenage girls and the vampires they love. I think we saw a really buff, young werewolf in the trailer too, although we weren't paying much attention. We reviewed the movie just yesterday and predictably weren't impressed (it stinks), but we know that's not going to keep you away if you want to see this thing. Not that it matters in the slightest, but if you must know, the movie has a dismal 29% rating from Rotten Tomatoes and a 45 score from Metacritic.

If you watch football at all on Sundays, chances are you've seen the trailer for "The Blind Side" at least three dozen times. The true story of a homeless young man adopted by a well-to-do family and the challenges they face adapted to each other's very different perspectives. Oh, and the kid grows up to become an All-American offensive tackle and first-round NFL draft pick. Sandra Bullock stars, in what feels like her 1000th film this year, alongside Tim McGraw and Quinton Aaron. Director John Lee Hancock is in familiar territory here, having previously directed uplifting sports films such as "The Express" and "The Rookie." A family-themed inspirational drama like this should do quite well this holiday week and re-emphasize Bullock's status as a huge draw ("All About Steve" notwithstanding). The film has a pretty decent 65% rating from RT and a 49 score from Metacritic.

Finally, for the kiddies too young for "New Moon" is Sony Pictures' animated "Planet 51." The story of an American astronaut who lands on Planet 51, finding it happily inhabited by green people in a world reminiscent of innocent 1950s America. Directed by Jorge Blanco and produced by Madrid-based Ilion Animation Studios, the film's voice talent includes Dwayne Johnson, Jessica Biel, Sean William Scott, Gary Oldman, and John Cleese. We have to admit to being pretty turned off by the Shrek-looking aliens featured in the film and would happily get a second dose of "Fantastic Mr. Fox" for our animation kicks this weekend. Actually a first dose for most people as "Fantastic Fox" actually opens up wide this weekend. "Planet 51" currently has an awful 19% rating from Rotten Tomatoes and a 40 score from Metacritic.

In Limited Release: Your willingness to celebrate the ecstatic absurdity of a Werner Herzog/Nic Cage collaboration is put to the test this weekend with the highly-anticipated "Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans." We've been following the film since inception, as Herzog is consistently interesting and the stories of his films are sometimes more entertaining than the finished product. Cage stars as drug-addled New Orleans cop trying to stay afloat amid the city's ruthless underbelly. Plot points don't really matter much when you've got Herzog willfully encouraging Cage to go even more over the top than normal and a cast that also includes Val Kilmer, Eva Mendes, and Xzibit. We saw the movie in Toronto a couple months back, and found it satisfying as a comic oddity, but those looking for a fully-realized Herzog picture should rightfully be disappointed. The film is opening on 27 screens this weekend, so if you have any interest at all, go support the picture and help it expand. The populist RT shows the film with an excellent 89% rating, meanwhile the more critical-faculties aware Metacritic gives it a more reasonable score of 69.

One of the most consistently brilliant and enjoyable filmmakers of the past couple decades, Pedro Almodovar returns this weekend with "Broken Embraces." The film reunites him with his recent muse, Penelope Cruz in a four-way tale of dangerous love, shot in the style of a hard-boiled 1950s American noir. We saw the film at Cannes, calling it largely competent but ultimately soulless, yet still rife with the expected convoluted secrets and plot twists. While it may not be anywhere close to his best work, Almodovar is one of the greatest living filmmakers on the planet and his minor work is way more interesting and exciting than 99% of what you'll find at the multiplexes. It's stylish, sexy and memorable. Alongside Cruz, the cast includes Lluis Homer, Lola Duenas and the great Blanco Portillo. Rotten Tomatoes rates the film at 81%, while Metacritic has a score of 69.

Swedish filmmaker Lukas Moodysson ("Lilya-4-Ever") sees his film "Mammoth" opening on a few screens this weekend. The film premiered at the Berlin Film Festival ages ago to fairly mediocre reviews and we were wondering if it would ever show up on these shores. Starring a couple of our favorite young actors, Michelle Williams and Gael Garcia Bernal, it is the story of a successful New York couple whose lives become divided as one travels to Thailand for extended business. Much has been written comparing the film to a less-melodramatic "Babel" and indeed both films star Bernal. Despite the mixed notices, we're fans of all the talent involved here and can't wait to check it out for ourselves. RT tracks the film with a 55% rating, Metacritic a 50 score.

John Woo returns to the East for his first film since 2003's awful "Paycheck," with the historical epic "Red Cliff." The film has been released in other parts of the world as two separate movies, much like "Che," but the US release is a single 148 minute experience. The most expensive Asian production of all time, "Red Cliff" stars the great Tony Leung as war hero Zhou Yu who finds his army vastly outnumbered against that of the Han Dynasty in 280 A.D. China. Takeshi Kaneshiro, Chang Chen, Zhao Wei, and Hu Jun also star in what looks like a big return to form for Woo and something we'd definitely like to catch on the big screen. Rotten Tomatoes gives it a rating of 87% and and Metacritic a 75 score.

Ethan Hawke, Vincent D'Orofino and Seymour Cassel star in "Staten Island" the directorial debut from James DeMonaco, scribe of "The Negotiator" and the "Assault on Precinct 13" remake. The Luc Besson co-produced indie drama follows three New Yorkers whose lives somehow intersect, presumably in the most beloved of all boroughs. Rotten Tomatoes only has 3 reviews up, but they aren't looking pretty and Metacritic doesn't even have a listing.

Also opening in limited release is "The Missing Person" starring Michael Shannon and Amy Ryan. Those two actors alone are enough to get us interested, so we hope to get a look at the "existential noir" sometime soon. It came and went at a few festivals earlier this year without much fanfare, so we're not holding our breath on this one. RT gives it a rating of 38% with a Metacritic score of 47.

Mia Wasikowska & Michael Fassbender In Talks To Star In Cary Fukunaga's 'Jane Eyre' Adaptation

Nice casting and a gooood luck. A few weeks ago it was reported that Cary Joji Fukunaga, the writer director behind one of the most auspicious debut features of the year, "Sin Nombre," had his next project on track and no it wasn't his musical with members of the Arcade Fire and Beirut, a sci-fi time travel film or the African child soldier adaptation, "Beasts of No Nation."

Nope, instead he surprised everyone, including some close associates that we know, by announcing he would now helm an adaptation of the classic Charlotte Bronte novel "Jane Eyre."

And now he has cast members biting. Apparently Ellen Page was attached at one point, but left even before Fukunaga was interested. Instead, he's got two excellent actors in negotiations to play the leads, Mia Wasikowska ("Alice In Wonderland," Gus Van Sant's "Restless") and Michael Fassbender ("Inglourious Basterds," "Hunger").

Apparently playing up the Gothic qualities of the novel, which follows a young governess in 19th century England, who falls for her employer, filming will start sometime next year, but no due date is given yet.

"Jane Eyre" has been the subject of several film adaptations including most recently by Franco Zeffirelli in 1996 starring Charlotte Gainsbourg. Ruby Films are producing with BBC Films and Focus Features (who distributed "Sin Nombre" in the U.S).

Fukunaga is a bright guy and"Sin Nombre" (a winner at Sundance) is an assured and penetrating debut that is still one of our favorite films of the year, so we're greatly looking forward to this and anything else he decides to tackle. But we must say that wood nymphs fantasy-sounding musical sounds pretty excellent and could be creepy/amazing in a Brothers Grimm kind of way (ok, we might be extrapolating too much there, but he did call it a "fantastical folk tale," which obviously excites us).

'New Moon' Review: Still Emo Tween, Still Sub-Par & Groan-Inducing

The teenage supernatural melodrama "New Moon" made us feel like we were back in high school. Frustrated, bored, and more than a little angsty, we haven't rolled our eyes this much since we were adolescents ourselves. Chris Weitz's take on Stephenie Meyer's second novel in the "Twilight series" may be marginally better than the first film, but it's still a movie filled with groan-inducing dialogue, awful characters, and sub-par special effects.

"New Moon" doesn't take any time in establishing the fact that its male leads — Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner — are supposed to be sexy. As Edward Cullen, Pattinson walks towards the camera in slow motion in one of the film's first scenes with a shot that would make the "Baywatch" cinematographers proud. And Kristen Stewart's Bella can't stop looking at — and touching — Jacob's (Lautner) newly muscled torso. In an industry that normally obsesses over female beauty and nudity, it's nice to see the tables turned, but it's not enough to distract us from the awful story that makes "True Blood" look like "Wuthering Heights" in comparison.

The film begins with Bella's senior year and a birthday party that goes horribly wrong. Bella's celebrated klutziness draws blood at the home of Forks' resident vampires, the Cullens. Her brooding beau, Edward, realizes that he and his family can only bring harm to Bella, despite their good intentions, and they skip town, leaving Bella to wallow in her misery in the woods. In fact, that's pretty much all Bella does in "New Moon," with only the location of her wallowing changing. She trudges through her high school days, ignores her friends in the cafeteria, and slumps in her chair at home, looking out the window in sadness. Sigh.

However, she realizes that spending time with her friend Jacob eases her pain, even though Jacob harbors a major secret (and a crush on Bella). Soon, Bella finds herself having to choose between an absent vampire and a very present werewolf (ha ha ha ha). She may find comfort in Jacob's friendship, but it's not enough to calm her daredevil streak. Every time she tries something dangerous — hanging out with a biker she's never met before, speeding on a newly restored motorcycle, or cliff-diving — Bella sees a cloudlike Edward urging her to be careful, and she's willing to risk her life just to see her visions of him. Meanwhile, her everyday life brings enough danger since the vampire Victoria (Rachel Lefevre) is eager to make a meal out of Bella to get revenge for Edward's role in her mate's death.

"New Moon" will likely appeal to its rabid fan base, but nonbelievers will be as likely to appreciate the film's, umm, merits as an atheist at a Pentecostal revival. The special effects are an improvement on its predecessor's visuals, but the werewolves in particular don't look up to the standards of a film that will easily make hundreds of millions of dollars.

The blame for the film's faults shouldn't rest solely on Weitz's shoulders, but this was another poor choice for the director (who is not quitting film, apparently). "About a Boy" was definitely a career high for the "American Pie" filmmaker, and "New Moon" and "The Golden Compass" are new lows. Fantasy doesn't seem to be his strong point, regardless of the strength or weakness of the source material. And since we're not ones to insult Philip Pullman, we've got to take on "Twilight." The dialogue in the books and the film seems like it was written by a not-particularly-intelligent teenager who spends her time shopping at Hot Topic and swooning over a boy. Melissa Rosenberg's script doesn't seem to diverge much from the sacred scripture of the novel, other than distilling 608 pages into a 130-minute film, which is good for the film's fans and bad for everyone with a sense of taste.

One of the film's improvements is the near-lack of Edward and, by extension, Pattinson. Edward calls himself "soulless" throughout the film, and Pattinson gives an emotionally dead performance that is draining to watch. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Pattinson joked (maybe?), "I sound so stupid, but in a lot of ways the hair is 75 percent of my performance." Yes, you do sound stupid, but we don't doubt that your hair--and your hair products--dominates your oh-so-emotional turn. Lautner is fine in his role as Jacob, but his abs seem to be his equivalent of Pattinson's hair. Stewart has been strong in other roles, but she seems dragged down by the material here.

Anna Kendrick (who is rumored to have smartly dumped the film's script in the trash) is deliciously shallow as Bella's "normal" friend, and she even earned our only laughs that weren't actually at the film. Michael Sheen seems to enjoy bouncing from high art ("The Queen") to low ("Underworld"), and his "New Moon" role as a high-ranking vampire fits well with that strategy. In a small part, Dakota Fanning sheds her usual good-girl persona to play a sadistic blood sucker, and she ends up giving the film's most interesting performance. She's always seemed like a precocious, slightly creepy child in her other roles, so playing a wiser-than-her-apparent-years vampire works surprisingly well.

We're the first to admit that we're not the target audience for "New Moon" (you know, because we have taste and aren't swooning teenage girls). But there's playing to your base, and there's making a bad film, and this is more a case of the latter. Even teenage girls (who have previously been responsible for the success of Hanson and "Saved by the Bell") are too smart for this movie. And if they're not, we're in trouble as a species. [D]

James Cameron On '60 Minutes'; Worthington Commits 'Crime'; Griswolds Sell Vacations; Pattinson Can Act, Really

Fanboys! Get ready to set up your Tivos for "60 Minutes" this Sunday when James Cameron discusses his Leona Lewis music video film "Avatar." The Hollywood Reporter has an excerpt from the show on their site, which includes this choice quote: "He shows off his office, where he keeps a special film prop, the ship's wheel from 'Titanic.' and says "I keep this in my office because I know what it feels like to be at the helm of a sinking ship." It's Friday, so we'll lay off that easy target of a comment.

Speaking of sinking ships, Sam Worthington, who has been a first mate on quite a few shipwrecks, has signed on to yet another project, "The Days Of American Crime." Based on a graphic novel, the film takes place in a near-future where the government is going to rollout mind control technology that kills the criminal impulse, and Worthington plays a crook looking to pull off one last heist. Stay with us, we haven't gotten to the lame part yet: his character's name is Kevin Cash. Worthington is currently "hot" in Hollywood so he's attached to several projects, but don't be surprised if half of them don't pan out.

Chevy Chase, who has made small inroads back into relevance with his role on "Community," is set to reprise his classic Griswold character along with Beverly D'Angelo for a Super Bowl ad. Naturally, they will be shilling for HomeAway, a vacation home rental service and the spot will also feature the "Wagon Queen Family Trucker" vehicle from "National Lampoon's Vacation." You couldn't pay us to sit through a five hour football game, so we'll just wait for this to appear on YouTube when the match is over

""Crazy Heart" has had an interesting ride to being an Oscar contender, but the first step was being passed on by Paramount, who eventually sold the film to Fox Searchlight. Should "Crazy Heart" build steam, Paramount are going to get ridden hard for letting an Oscar picture slip through their fingers. However, in all fairness to the studio, we don't think anyone could've imagined a $7 million Country Music Television production to end up earning the buzz the film is now generating. And it wouldn't be the first time a studio has passed on a major hit, hindsight is 20/10. Plus let's not forget that "Crazy Heart" is only in this position because of "Amelia" tanking so hard....

....in fact "Amelia" is performing so poorly in the UK, distributors are offering 2 for 1 ticket vouchers for the film. Ouch. Meanwhile, if there is one thing Paramount knows how to do it's make money, with "Transformers 2: ROTFL" and "Paranormal Activity" being the two biggest success stories of the year. Well, accountants are ready to start counting ticket receipts again, as the studio has revealed "Jackass 3D" on their production slate for next year. So, if you've ever wanted to see testicles being crushed in your face, your dream has come true.

The hack we love to hate, Brett Ratner, is set to lend his "no shot longer than 3 seconds" editing technique to a Bollywood film. Producers of the film "Kites," which was shot in both Hindi and English versions, have asked the "Rush Hour 3" auteur to shape the film for international audiences. We're sure Ratner has already figured out a way to work a Chris Tucker cameo in there.

The trailer for "Remember Me" the first post-"Twilight" "look at me, I'm a serious actor" project for Robert Pattinson has conveniently hit YouTube. Our moderate expectations for the film, which were based on a script credit to Jenny Lumet ("Rachel Getting Married"), were dashed when we actually watched this thing. It's your typical pre-teen swooner about adults who stand in the way of true love. The trailer also makes considerable use of the patented Brooding Robert Pattison Profile Shot:

Larry Fessenden Abandons 'The Orphanage'

Speaking to Arrow In The Head on the set of his latest producing effort "Stake Land," cult horror filmmaker Larry Fessenden has revealed that he no longer has a part in the remake of recent Spanish thriller "The Orphanage." The strange looking, gap-toothed auteur explains: "'The Orphanage' was two years of waiting. Working on the script with Guillermo [Del Toro] was a very exciting experience, but then I got into a casting miasma and that's where the thing is; I think they're gonna do it another way, actually. So I think I'm out of it. Hopefully they'll still use my script, but I'm not sure I'm directing it anymore. That's Hollywood for ya."

Fessenden, who wrote the remake with the original's producer Del Toro, goes on to sound fairly tuckered out regarding the entire experience, suggesting he'll be more than a little gun-shy about his next big project. The helmer has developed a reputation of proudly working small and under-the-radar, so it was a surprise to see him involved with the project in the first place. It's likely his pre-production work was met with a, "Great, but could you make it a little less like a Larry Fessenden movie?" The guy's not built for the multiplexes, and he seems to prefer it that way, even as his protege Ti West cashes in his chips.

Fessenden claims he's eying a few new directorial efforts, but in the meantime, he'll serve as a producer for the smaller films on his Dark Sky imprint, the latest being the post-apocalyptic thriller "Stake Land." In addition to smaller horror films, he's also set to produce the next film from Kelly Reichardt, which might possibly be a low-key western.

Stringer Bell Hits The Mean Streets Of Asgard: Idris Elba Joins 'Thor'

Early on, Marvel Studios made no bones about refusing to add strong star power to "Thor," preferring instead to use no-names to let the material shine on its own. While the movie will be carried by little-known Chris Hemsworth, producers have surrounded him with pretty able support from a very colorful cast. On the heels of the exciting additions of Townsend, Stevenson and Asano comes word that Idris Elba, soon to be seen in potential tentpole "The Losers," will be joining the cast.

Elba will be playing Heimdall, who in the comics was a brother to Sif (Jaimie Alexander in the coming film). He's essentially the toll cop for Asgard, protecting the realm from intruders until he's forced into a leadership position once Thor comes to Earth and his father Odin (Anthony Hopkins) enters what was called his (ahem) Odinsleep. Sadly, from the looks of it, if they stay close to the comics, Elba won't be a big part of the action, mostly watching from on-high. Still, it's cool to see one of the stars of "The Wire" in such a big position, especially a colorblind one, as he and Asano are playing fairly white characters. Those Marvel producers sure like their cable TV — they've employed the likes of FX stars Michael Chiklis, Julian McMahon and Leslie Bibb, HBO vets Ray Stevenson, Dominic West and Elba, AMC's John Slattery and even G4's Olivia Munn. Ian McShane for Kang?

We are a little bummed that, unless Elba's getting a huge paycheck, he's still affordable for such a secondary role in this sort of movie. Not only is he so great on "The Wire," but he's starting to become a name to audiences, especially after "Obsessed" pulled in pretty preposterous numbers earlier this year. We won't go on record saying that "Thor" won't be any good, especially because this supporting cast is pretty cool, but Elba probably is better than this small-sounding role. In fact, it would have been more than cool to see him as Thor himself, which would be off-the-charts awesome. Then again, it's not like he's going to out-do the original Thor...

Dustin Hoffman To Universal: 'Fock' Off

Universal is excited about their coming tentpole "Little Fockers," but fans of the first two films in the "Meet The Parents" series might not get the proper closure needed for their epic tale of spousal/parental conflict. Dustin Hoffman, who's presence was probably integral to "Meet The Fockers" and its success, has not been able to reach an agreement with the studio regarding his participation, and it looks like he may walk. The veteran Oscar winner was apparently slated to make a humorous cameo appearance at the close of the film, but negotiations have fallen apart, and it looks unlikely that he'll return, according to EW.

We are conflicted. On one level, we'd like to think this frees Dustin Hoffman to do more worthwhile things with his time. Perhaps feeding the needy, or starring in more important films, or maybe even a murder spree. Really, anything but this franchise. Then again, we can't help but admonish the writers and producers of this film for such an insult. You've got Dustin Hoffman, a big part of the second film's $516 million worldwide gross, and you've reduced him to a cameo in a film largely about the birth of his character's grandchild. One of the all-time greats, and he's likely been put to the side in order to provide more screentime to the likes of Jessica Alba and, we're guessing, jokes about homophobia, slapstick violence and dog reaction shots. Hey, give the people what they want, right?

Barbara Streisand, who played his wife his the second film, is likely returning in a sizeable role, so one wonders exactly how they'll write Bernie Focker out of the movie. We'd like to take this opportunity to remind people that Hoffman is opting out of a chance to share the screen with Robert De Niro and Harvey Keitel. If we said that in 1979, you would've shat a brick. "Little Fockers" stars De Niro, Ben Stiller, Teri Polo, Blythe Danner, Alba, Keitel, Streisand and Owen Wilson and is set to rape movie screens July 30th 2010. It's also directed by Paul Weitz the brother of I'll quit, just kidding I won't quit, Chris Weitz.