Previously known as Stuff and Things, Stuff We Missed is exactly that: stuff we missed. Consider this the Costco of blog posts, where you save time and read your movie news in bulk. Yum.
-- Will Watchmen hit theaters on March 6th, as scheduled, or will those evil demons at 20th Century Fox prevent fans from seeing their beloved film on time simply because they hate human beings and everything they stand for? Okay, maybe there's a little more to it, but good news is both sides have agreed to let a judge settle this on January 20th. It's complicated, but we'll know then whether the film will arrive on time or not.
-- Our friends over at io9 came across a few images of early concept art for that new Judge Dredd flick (see them below). These come from comic artist Jock, who also worked on Losers, 2000 A.D and Green Arrow: Year One. The images are all tagged with the name Rebellion, which is the company behind the 2003 Dredd video game, and is also producing the new film.
-- The ASC (American Society of Cinematographers) have dished out their nominations for best of the year, with nods going to Revolutionary Road, The Reader, Slumdog Millionaire (my choice) and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
The lovely Lena Headey is a favorite with just about everyone here at Cinematical -- click on her tag and you'll see many love letters devoted to her films both past and upcoming. Now she's adding a new credit to her resume, as Headey will be taking the director's chair for her film Kill Drug.
Formerly titled Retribution, it's a project Headey has been attached to for some time ... and when you want to get a movie done, you tackle it yourself. Starring Headey, the formidable Charlotte Rampling, and Jason Flemyng, it centers on an underground group of Longon vigilantes. Headey will star as Sally, a woman recruited into by its founder ... who just happens to be her mother, Sue, who murdered her abusive husband back in the 1970s. However, Sally discovers that all is not as it seems, and that absolute power corrupts absolutely ... and probably that working with your mother is a really bad idea.
"My ambition to direct has been fuelled over the last fifteen years, by working alongside great directors. It has also been my film education," Headey told Empire. "Kill Drug is smart, articulate, compelling, sexy, fun, dark, deeply poignant and not afraid to laugh at itself. Above all it is a gripping and compelling journey, a study of humanity's darkest flaws and purest innocence."
Headey has been slowly making her mark as one kickass chick in films and television -- and it's pretty darn cool that she's going to join the rare, elusive breed of female directors. Hopefully Kill Drug will be the first of many on her resume.
Several films are heading into next week's Sundance Film Festival with a giant helping of buzz, and one of those is Paper Heart (pictured above) -- starring Charlyne Yi (Knocked Up) and Michael Cera -- which comes served with this description: "Combining elements of storytelling, reality and fantasy, Paper Heart brings a fresh perspective to the modern romance and redefines the classic love story." Since I kinda dig the randomness that defines the humor of both Cera and Yi, I've been waiting for a teaser of some kind to hit prior to the festival -- and while one has not found its way online, Karina over at Spout discovered Yi's YouTube page which is just packed with little nuggets of hilarity.
Karina highlighted a few videos in her post, but the ones that stood out for me were a series of conversations between Yi and SNL's Fred Armisen. It all started with an audition tape Yi made for Saturday Night Live, which she posted to YouTube in the hopes that it would become popular enough that Lorne Michaels would see it and put her on the show. Well, Michaels didn't see it, but Fred Armisen did and so was born a pretty funny series of videos featuring both Yi and Armisen communicating with one another -- with the last being my personal favorite. Are these real? Are these fake? What's the deal? Nevertheless, it gives us a better look at Yi, and the type of humor we should expect from Paper Heart (see images below).
If you watched Horton Hears a Who last spring and immediately thought "This is exactly how I see Jonah Hex," I would have demanded to know what narcotic you were on. Then, I would have had to apologize because you clearly weren't alone. Someone at Warner Bros was thinking the same thing, because according to The Hollywood Reporter, Horton's helmer Jimmy Hayward has stepped in as the director of Jonah Hex.
After losing Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, the studio has been frantically searching for a replacement, as they hope to begin shooting in March or April. McG and Andy Fickman were both on the short list, and back in December, Lexi Alexander was reportedly interested in the script. Instead, they chose a former PIXAR man, who made his directoral debut with Horton Hears a Who.
From all reports, they're keeping the Neveldine/Taylor script, so there is that, but Hayward is expected to give it his own mark. Who knows, maybe it's a smaller step from Dr. Seuss to a scarred cowboy than I'm able to picture. You can even argue that animated films and comic books have a lot in common, so you can't really judge ... but it's still a surprising pick, all creative differences considered.
So, will the choice of Hayward tip the balance for Josh Brolin or not? THR is still listing him as attached, but last we heard, he was still undecided as to whether or not to take the lead -- and it all hinged on who was sitting in the director's chair. Will he approve of Hayward over Neveldine and Taylor? Or will he depart for the open prairie, leaving Hayward without a cowboy?
With the R-rated comedy becoming one of the hottest trends of the past couple years (thanks, in part, to a dude named Judd Apatow), we're starting to see a bunch more creative, down-to-earth (albeit foul-mouthed) comedies hit theaters -- with some, like Tropic Thunder, Burn After Reading and Knocked Up, fighting for awards consideration. But what will 2009 bring? Are we on a similar path as both 2007 and 2008, or will the new year bring back the boring, familiar plot threads and idiotic characters? Here's what we're looking at:
*Film(s) to watch that month ++Apatow involvement # Best comedy of the year
January: Bride Wars, Paul Blart: Mall Cop, New in Town (Grade: C-) February: *++Fanboys, He's Just Not That Into You, Pink Panther 2, Confessions of a Shopaholic, Miss February, Fired Up, *Youth in Revolt (Grade: B) March: All About Steve, *I Love You, Man, This Side of the Truth, The Accidental Husband, Adventureland, The Janky Promoters, *Monsters vs. Aliens (Grade: A-) April: The Ugly Truth, *Observe and Report, 17 Again (Grade: B+) May: Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, My Life in Ruins, Next Day Air, *Bruno, Night at the Museum 2, *Up (Grade: B) June: Land of the Lost, The Hangover, *++Year One (Grade: B+) July: Ice Age 3, *I Love You Beth Cooper, 500 Days of Summer, G-Force, *++#Funny People, *They Came from Upstairs (Grade: A) August: Julie & Julia, *Shorts, Dance Flick, Post Grad, Max's Mardi Gras (Grade: C) September: *Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (Grade: B) October: *Toy Story (3-D), Zombieland (Grade: B) November: Tooth Fairy, *The Fantastic Mr. Fox, Three Stooges, Old Dogs (Grade: B) December: Alvin and the Chipmunks 2, *The Princess and the Frog (Grade: B)
So based on early buzz, trailers and so forth, I'd say the best months for comedy in 2009 will be March and July. What do you think about the upcoming slate, and which comedies are you looking forward to the most?
"DE is a way of doing. It is a way of doing everything you do. DE simply means doing whatever you do in the easiest most relaxed way you can manage which is also the quickest and most efficient way, as you will find as you advance in DE." -- William Burroughs
You might already be a fan of the fabulous William Burroughs essay/short story Do Easy, but did you know that Gus Van Sant (Good Will Hunting, Milk) adapted the essay for the screen in the form of a short film called The Discipline of DE(which also happened to be the director's first project wayyy back in 1982). The short, while on YouTube, is also part of the new Wholphin DVD, which is a quarterly DVD magazine from McSweeney's that showcases -- what they like to call -- "unique and ponderable films designed to make you feel the way we felt when we learned that dolphins and whales sometimes, you know, do it." Not only is this a really quirky and fun film to watch (read the essay too!), but it's message is a timely one -- what with the new year and all. So check it out below and enjoy.
Near the end of the closing credits for Clint Eastwood's new Gran Torino is a disclaimer that caught my attention. It reads as follows: "No person or entity associated with this film received payment or anything of value, or entered into any agreement, in connection with the depiction of tobacco products."
In other words: Some of the characters smoke in this movie, but that was our choice. The tobacco industry didn't pay us off.
According to the site Smoke Free Movies, which makes some excellent points but tends to go overboard (they think any film with smoking should automatically be rated R), the disclaimer is a recent addition to Warner Bros. products. It started appearing on Warner DVDs of movies that contain smoking at the beginning of 2008, and was added to smoky theatrical releases this fall. Gran Torino was the first time I'd noticed it, but I don't always stay for the credits.
The site also reports that Universal Pictures (at the behest of its parent company, General Electric) has started including a somewhat weaker disclaimer on its movies that contain smoking: "The depictions of tobacco smoking contained in this film are based solely on artistic consideration and are not intended to promote tobacco consumption." Note that they don't say they weren't paid off by the tobacco industry, only that they didn't intend for it to encourage people to smoke.
It's no secret that Martin Scorsese likes his gangster flicks -- and judging from box office numbers, best-of lists and Academy Awards shoveled out, something tells me moviegoers like them just as much. Ever since The Departed won Oscars, folks questioned whether Scorsese and his crew would ever attempt either a prequel or a sequel (especially since the film it's based on, Infernal Affairs, was part of a trilogy). While that's looking less and less likely, word out of Boston is Marty might want to return to the city to once again adapt the true-life story of a dangerous mobster for the big screen.
According to the Boston Herald, Scorsese secretly met with Winter Hill Gang hitman John Martorano while in town shooting Shutter Island, then had Departed producer Graham King acquire the hitman's life rights. That last part we already knew about, as it was reported in Variety earlier in the month, but we did not know that this all came about from a secret meeting with Scorsese. The Boston Herald says that most likely Departed screenwriter William Monahan will write the script, which will tell Martorano's story -- one that includes murdering 20 people before flipping for the feds after learning other members of his gang -- like James Bulger, who some say Jack Nicholson's character in The Departed was based on -- were government informants.
This, of course, wouldn't be the first time Scorsese took on the life story of a famous mob snitch -- not only was The Departed all about sniffing out "the rat," but the film Goodfellas told the real-life story of gangster Henry Hill, who eventually flipped on his guys and entered the witness protection program. No official word on whether Marty is involved with Martorano's story -- or if this would replace any Departed follow-up -- but I don't think any of us would be surprised.
Everything old (or at least "old" in the Hot Topic sense) is new again -- and so The Crow is going to be reborn. Variety reports that Stephen Norrington has signed on to write and direct a "reinvention" of The Crow, based on the comic written by James O'Barr.
Norrington is hoping that resurrecting The Crow will do something similar for his career, which has been dead in the water since The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. (Tangle with Alan Moore at your peril, directors.) He was once attached to direct Clash of the Titans for Warner Bros, but fell out with the studio over his inability to "excite" the studio with his take. Louis Leterrier got the job instead.
Norrington promises the film will be a different take than Alex Proyas' version -- which, you remember, went down in cult-Goth history for claiming the life of its star, Brandon Lee. "Whereas Proyas' original was gloriously gothic and stylized, the new movie will be realistic, hard-edged and mysterious, almost documentary-style." Now I've never read O'Barr's book -- but isn't it quite gothic and stylized? There's a lot of agony, and despairing self-mutilation, and the titular crow plays a bigger part. Does the material lend itself to the approach Norrington wants to take?
I know I should be more annoyed that they're actually remaking The Crow because it's not that old ... but in a world where Hulk was rebooted after a mere five years, fourteen years between "reimaginings" is an eon. You have to wonder, though -- after the original launched so many forgettable sequels, will audiences even pay attention to a remake?
If you were looking for an official confirmation, direct from the Shakespearean's mouth that Kenneth Branagh is directing Thor -- well, here it is. MTV caught up with Branagh at a Valkyrie junket, and he was all too happy to declare yay, verily. "I am directing Thor, or The Mighty Thor as you might like to call it. I think [the title] will be Thor."
Not surprisingly, it sounds like it was those rather Shakespearean elements of the comics that appealed to him most: "To work on a story about one of the immortals, Gods, extraordinary beings, inter-dimensional creatures. There's science fiction and science fact and fantasy all woven into one. It's based on Norse legends which Marvel sort of raided in a brilliant way ... It's a chance to tell a big story on a big scale. It's a human story right in the center of a big, epic scenario."
He refused to comment on all things casting and Kevin McKidd, though: "There's been lots of talk [about casting] - I sound like a politician - but we are too early at this stage. We're getting the story and the visual effects together and all of that is very exciting. Someone sensational is going to play the part but it is early days."
I'm still weirdly optimistic about this choice -- you couldn't have mentioned a Thor movie to me, Matthew Vaughn helming or not, without my snickering ... but Branagh's flair for the dramatic says this Thor will be hugely entertaining. I freely admit that could be in a bad way, but hey, ambitious failure is almost as much fun as epic success. The Son of Asgard deserves no halfway effort.
The second image of Brad Pitt (here's the first one) from Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds has arrived online via filmz.ru, and once again we get a nice look at that mustache. And what's up with the mustache in 2008? George Clooney's sporting one for his new flick, Pitt's got one -- Urlesque seems to think 2008 is The Year of the 'Stache; go figure. I think they itch too much. ANYway, in Basterds, Pitt plays the leader of a group of Jewish-American soldiers whose job it is to spread fear throughout the Third Reich. Check out another image below of Diane Kruger in a bar with what looks like a group of drunken soldiers.
After the jump -- the first images of Rachel McAdams inSherlock Holmes!
Darren Aronofsky's Noah movie is on every sensible film fan's wish list, and it seems to inch a little closer to reality every day. In September, he revealed that he had finished the script -- and now comes news as to what he's doing with it. Aronofsky told Ropes of Silicon that he's currently in the process of turning it into a graphic novel. Considering the one he did for The Fountain, we'll be in for a very special read.
But fear not, film fans, he's still planning to put it on the big screen: "Eventually we'll set it up, but we're just figuring it out. It's a very difficult film to get made and we're slowly working on it to get it put together." And how's this for a tease? "There is an actor attached, but I'm not going to say who, but he's a big movie star."
Cinematical's coverage of the 2009 Sundance Film Festival is already well underway, as we'll be highlighting a number of films (via images, clips, trailers and posters) for the next month leading up to the festival. This way it gives you at home a chance to become more familiar with the films, to pick and choose your favorites, and then let us know which ones you'd like to see covered here on the site. So, please, feel free to leave comments and help shape our coverage.
Today we have something real cool for you. Cinematical reader DJ S. pieced together this list of available trailers for a whole bunch of Sundance films. Check out the playlist below, then head after the jump for more info on each film. (And yes, we've covered a couple of these before, so please excuse the repeats.) The Sundance Film Festival runs from January 15 through January 25, 2009 in Park City, Utah. For more of Cinematical's Sundance coverage (including a complete list of films screening), go here.
This morning we learned that the Hollywood Foreign Press doesn't like The Batman very much, as they only awarded the film one gimme nod to Heath Ledger in the Best Supporting Actor category -- this despite the fact that the film has broken records at the box office and is about to smash some more on DVD. According to reports, The Dark Knight has sold 600,000 Blu-ray copies on its first day on the market, destroying the previous record held by Iron Man (260,000 Blu-ray discs). Additionally, the Bat-tastic flick sold three million DVDs on Tuesday, and will most likely catch up to Iron Man's one-week total of 7.2 million sold.
Okay, so obviously people are falling over one another to have at this piece of badass -- but when it's all said and done, what did you think of the disc(s). As previously mentioned in our review of the Blu-ray disc, I felt the special features were seriously lacking -- not only in the commentary department, but also in the character department. Personally, I wanted to see a special feature on Ledger's Joker, as well as Eckhart's Two Face. I wanted to hear more from the cast, I wanted them to extend their ridiculous viral marketing campaign to the DVD and send us on a wild goose chase. I felt like this was a blatant set up for a double dip, with Warners most likely releasing an Ultimate Deluxe Edition during the next holiday season, and that kinda frustrates me.
So, did The Dark Knight deserve more nominations? What did you think of the Blu-ray disc or DVD? And were you satisfied with the special features, or did this year's biggest home video release let you down?
While doing press forThe Curious Case of Benjamin Button, producers Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy talked up a couple sequels that have nothing to do with one another other than the fact that they probably don't need to be made. First up is the long-rumored Jurassic Park 4, which is a project that seemed to be permanently stuck in development hell. Finally, Kennedy admitted that we've probably seen the last of those dinosaurs: "No... I don't know. You know, when Crichton passed away, I sorta felt maybe that's it. Maybe that's a sign that we don't mess with it." Maybe ...
... but then that means Michael Crichton's life was worth more than Robert Ludlum's life, because folks have no problem continuing the Jason Bourne franchise. In fact, during the same press junket, Frank Marshall said that The Parsifal Mosaic (which doesn't include the Bourne character, and focuses primarily on the threat of nuclear war and a spy who falls for another spy) is a potential source for the fourth installment. Also, Marshall stressed that Matt Damon is not signed on yet, but said that once George Nolfi finishes the script, they hope Damon will hop onboard. Finally, the fourth film will not be based on The Bourne Betrayal, as it was written by a friend of Ludlum's. Says Marshall, "We want to stay true to the original character." Sooo, let's adapt a book that doesn't feature Bourne then and call it a Bourne story, right? Is that staying true to the original character?
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If you watched Horton Hears a Who last spring and immediately thought "This is exactly how I see Jonah Hex," I would have demanded to know what narcotic you were on. Then, I would have had to apologize because you clearly weren't alone. Someone at Warner Bros was thinking the same thing, because according to -(2).jpg)
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