Archive for August, 2009
For those of you who aren’t paying attention to the barrage or recent advertising and promotion, ABC will begin airing a new television series called FlashForward on September 24th at 8pm. Based on the 1999 novel by Robert J. Sawyer, the story involves a global event which causes everyone to simultaneously experience, for two minutes and seventeen seconds, his or her life six months in the future. Everyone who survived is left wondering if what they saw will actually happen. Many people are already calling it the new Lost. That said, there is the concern that the creators might not know how to deliver on this initial concept.
Well, not only does David S Goyer claim to have a plan for the entire series, something he says is a must when presenting a pilot pitch in this post-Lost era, but he also knows when the endpoint should happen. The plan is to have the story told over the course of five seasons. It could, however, be shortened down to three, or “accordioned” out to last even longer. Five years is a good length for any series, any more is usually overkill. Especially with a non-sitcom television show, with a story that is less episodic and more serial/concept based.
If you haven’t seen the initial trailer that was released in early August, check that out below. ABC has also released a new two and half minute sneak preview from the pilot, a scene where the team compares what they saw and plan their course of action. That video is embedded below, second video down.
Trailer:
Sneak Preview:
source: tvovermind
I find it funny that 20th Century Fox waited until the day when Disney revealed that they would be acquiring Marvel to announce the next step in the Fantastic Four film franchise. Or perhaps the information somehow leaked out when everyone was trying to gather all the details of what properties Disney would have and not have feature film rights to. Either way, tonight it was revealed that Akiva Goldsman has been hired to produce a new Fantastic Four film, a complete reboot.
Variety reports that a screenwriter has been hired to reboot the franchise: Michael Green, a producer/writer for Smallville, Everwood and Heroes (ugh…) who co-wrote the upcoming big screen adaptation of The Green Lantern. No other details are known at this time, as Fox has not commented about its plans. But one would assume that the creative talent (and I use that term loosely) from the original 2005 film and the 2007 sequel, will not be a part of this new attempt. And that includes director Tim Story and stars Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans and Michael Chiklis.
One can only hope that Fox takes a cue from the recent superhero films (The Dark Knight on one extreme, and Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk on the other) and allows a less corny take on the series. I’d likely be happier with a film even if they took a slightly more adult (yet still comic) tone of a film like Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2. What would you guys like to see?
Goldsman got his start in Hollywood as a screenwriter, and at one point wrote the bad Batman movies (Forever and Batman & Robin). More recently he has made the transition into producer of such films as I Am Legend, Hancock, and the upcoming comic book films Jonah Hex and The Losers.
While promoting Sorority Row, actress Jamie Chung has been talking about Zack Snyder’s upcoming film Sucker Punch, in which she is featured alongside Emily Browning, Jenna Malone, Vanessa Hudgens, Abbie Cornish and supporting players Carla Gugino and Jon Hamm. We know a few things about the film: Browning plays Baby Doll, a girl confined to a mental institution by her stepfather. She escapes into outlandish, violent fantasy to deal with her predicament. Chung gets a bit more specific, though, and her comments follow the break. Are they spoilers? Not really, if you’ve been reading what we’ve covered so far.
ComingSoon has the roundtable talk, in which Chung reiterates that each of the girls cast in the film have one character in the real world and another in fantasy. The core is this:
[Baby Doll] goes into these fever dreams to escape. Somehow her alternate reality affects her reality, just like in ‘Alice in Wonderland.’ All of the characters in her fever dreams are from her real life. And the girls plan to escape and they come up with a plan and things go terribly wrong and it really does affect her reality.
The ‘things going terribly wrong’ sections will likely be seriously violent, and the stunt team Snyder used for 300 are on board, which we already knew. Chung says the film “puts 300 to shame! It’s the same stunt guys, 87Eleven. Damon (Caro) and Logan, the trainer. But it really is ‘300′ but with a female cast.” That being the case, I’m trying to figure out how this will make a PG-13. Not because of the level of violence, but because other reports have said that Baby Doll envisions at least part of the asylum as a brothel, and she’s trying to escape some level of sexual threat. The MPAA is fine with rating violent stuff PG-13, but when sex is brought into the equation everything changes.
On the road again with the Dodgers. This time Denver and Cincinnati – two cities that are incredibly similar in that neither is near an ocean. The most absurd moment happened even before we boarded the plane in Los Angeles. An overzealous TSA agent was patting down Vin Scully. Yeah, it’s common knowledge terrorists like to hide explosives in World Series rings.Stayed at the Ritz-Carlton hotel downtown (or, as they call it – “LoDo”). I had a beautifully appointed room with a spectacular view of the Greyhound Bus Terminal. (How convenient for all the bus travelers that there is a Ritz-Carlton across the street so they have somewhere to crash before moving on to Utah.)
Was walking distance to the 16th Street Mall, where red oak trees and fountains line this showpiece pedestrian mall featuring a thousand Verizon and AT&T stores and great local dining from Chili’s to the Cheesecake Factory.
Also walking distance is the ballpark, Coors Field. It’s a Camden Yards clone combining modern conveniences (luxury boxes, stadium clubs, lights) and retro features (brick exterior, and uh… brick exterior). But because of the thin air baseballs travel farther there. So to compensate they moved the fences back to where they’re now beyond the horizon.
In early July Vegas oddsmakers estimated the chances of the Rockies winning the pennant were the same as DONKEY PUNCH winning an Oscar. And yet there the Rox were, fighting with the Dodgers in a crucial series for first place. You’d think the whole town would be abuzz and they would were it not for the more important Denver Broncos pre-season game on Sunday.
John Elway is to Denver what Andy Taylor is to Mayberry and Jesus is to Rome.
Nearby is Red Rocks, an outdoor amphitheater cut into a mountain. It’s a breathtaking setting. If John Denver were still alive this is where he’d be playing every week, sharing the bill with Harry Chapin if he were still alive. Red Rocks also has the distinction of being the only U.S. venue in which the Beatles didn’t sell out.
There is new meaning to “Rocky Mountain High”. Authorities have seized nearly 20,000 marijuana plants from Colorado national forests. It’s bad enough rangers have to deal with bears stealing pic-i-nic baskets, now they have to contend with international drug cartels. I bet if those plants were there in the 60s that Beatles concert would have sold out.
Denver is the most sexually active city in America. Contraceptive sales are 189% higher within the city limits than the national average (sales of female contraceptives are a whopping 278% higher). Coincidentally, Denver also has the world’s largest brewery (Coors).
And easily the best, most dramatic thunderstorms! Huge bolts of lightening create a thrilling panorama, and what better place to view them than a radio booth at a baseball stadium surrounded by electronic equipment and light towers?
Locals say the best way to prepare is to take note of the wind kicking up and the first cow blowing across the sky.
There is now only one newspaper in town, THE POST. THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS (my favorite of the two because it once gave ALMOST PERFECT a decent review) folded in February after 150 years of service. And it’s now an all-too-familiar scenario in most major cities. Did Al Gore have any idea of this when he invented the internet?
Traffic is still backed up from last year’s Democratic convention. And there are still people walking to their cars after attending Obama’s acceptance speech.
And if you’re driving from “LoDo” to the I-70 with kids and you’re looking for a fun thing for them to do, have them count the number of gun shops they see. The kinder will be occupied the entire trip!
You gotta love the name of Denver’s mayor – Hizzonor John Wright Hickenlooper.
Things not to miss: The Butterfly Pavilion insect zoo, the “Mind Eraser” rollercoaster at Elitch Gardens, the giant cement slide at Bear Valley Park that looks like a vagina, the Buckhorn Exchange restaurant with 500 stuffed animals (it’s how I imagine Elizabeth Hasselbeck’s bedroom), the stone marker that claims to be the birthplace of the cheeseburger, the Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, and any CVS pharmacy for contraceptives.
The Dodgers won two out of three and we beat a hasty retreat to the Queen City.
Tomorrow: Cincinnati
Filed under: Action, Independent, Thrillers, Casting, Lionsgate Films, Tech Stuff, DIY/Filmmaking, Newsstand
Every day, I get up and I wonder why the movie gods have never seen fit to grant us a Nicolas Cage movie in 3D. I can think of no flaw in The Wicker Man that a 3D bear suit punch couldn't fix altogether, and I know I'd be ten times more interested in The Sorcerer's Apprentice if we got some 3D trenchcoat swishing. But at last, my wish has been granted, though it probably won't be until 2010, 2011 or something, as The Hollywood Reporter has announced Cage will Drive Angry in three-freaking-D!Directed by Patrick Lussier, who co-wrote the script with Todd Farmer, Drive Angry centers on a man who is driven literally and figuratively by rage. What has filled him with such unquenchable anger? Why, a gang that killed his daughter and kidnapped her baby. He's hunting them down, one by one, and mile by mile. I'm just going to quote THR here because to paraphrase would be a sin: "The vendetta / rescue spins out of control as the chase gets bloodier by the mile, leaving bodies strewn along the highway." If you thought Vanishing Point was too boring and 2D, Drive Angry will be the film for you.
Drive Angry will be burning rubber and leaving its gasoline fumes all over Shreveport, Louisiana in April, courtesy of Nu Image / Millennium Films' new Louisiana studio. As we wait for Cage to pop out of the screen, you can revive our Love Him or Tolerate Him debate all over again!
Spike TV has released the list of nominees for the fourth annual Scream Awards, which is billed as “the first and only global event of its kind to honor the best in sci-fi, fantasy, horror and comic genres.” The award show will tape on Saturday, October 17 at The Greek Theater in Los Angeles, CA, and will be broadcast on Spike TV on Tuesday, October 27 (10:00 PM-Midnight, ET/PT). Presenters and musical performers will be announced shortly. The press release and list of nominees are avaialble after the jump.
Press release follows:
“Eight out of the 10 highest grossing films of all time are in the ‘SCREAM’ genres, which is due to the incredible passion and loyalty of these fans,” said Casey Patterson, executive producer of “SCREAM 2009″ and senior vice president of event production, talent development and studio relations for Spike TV. “We’re thrilled to once again to present the only global event honoring their heroes.”
Some of the nominees’ reactions include:
“Without all of the fans, the claws would have been sheathed a long time ago! Thank you so much,” said Hugh Jackman after hearing he was nominated for two “SCREAM” awards and “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” was nominated for 13.
“Everyone knows it’s the VILLAINS who have the most fun. Thanks to the ‘SCREAM’ team and congrats to everyone at ‘True Blood.’ This is very exciting for the whole show,” said Best Villain nominee and star of HBO’s “True Blood” Alexander Skarsgard.
“Thank you for the nomination and thank you for letting me frighten you. I look forward to doing it again sometime soon,” said Ryan Kwanten after hearing he was nominated for Best Horror Actor for his role as Jason Stackhouse on “True Blood.”
“Getting nominated for kissing a Vulcan is a better fate than logic,” said “Star Trek’s” Zoe Saldana after getting word she received two “SCREAM” Awards nominations for Best Breakout Performance: Female and Best Science Fiction Actress.
J.J. Abrams’ Sci-Fi action-adventure “Star Trek” tops the list with 17 nominations including The Ultimate Scream, Best Science Fiction Movie, Best Director, Best Ensemble, Holy Sh*t Scene of the Year and a nod in the all-new Fight-to-the-Death Scene of the Year category. Comic book-inspired blockbusters “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” and “Watchmen” each nabbed 13 nominations, while HBO’s vampire-themed television series “True Blood” garnered nine nominations. A full list of categories and nominations are included below.
Ballots were sent out to Spike TV’s “SCREAM 2009″ advisory board, consisting of some of the most respected and well-known members of the horror, sci-fi, fantasy and comic book worlds who were responsible for advising on categories and determining nominees in each category. All films, television shows and comic books were deemed eligible for inclusion if they were released between August 9, 2008 and July 15, 2009 and were representative of the genres listed. Winners will be determined by online voting at scream.spike.com.
Esteemed members of this year’s advisory board* include:
*A full list of Spike TV’s 2009 Advisory Board members can be found on spike.com.
Tim Burton, (writer/director/producer “Edward Scissorhands”)
Wes Craven (writer/director “A Nightmare on Elm Street”)
Roland Emmerich (writer/producer/director, “Independence Day,” “The Day After Tomorrow,” “2012″)
Neil Gaiman (writer/producer “Beowulf,” “Stardust,” “Mirrormask”)
Frank Miller (writer/producer/director “SinCity,” “300,” writer/producer “The Spirit”)
Eli Roth (writer/producer/director, “Hostel,” “Cell”, “CabinFever”)
Zack Snyder (director, “300,” “Watchmen”)
Beginning today, Monday, August 31 and continuing until Saturday, October 17 fans can vote for their favorites, as well as view exclusive red carpet and backstage coverage of the event, by visiting scream.spike.com.
The official sponsors of Spike TV’s “SCREAM 2009″ are Subaru and Taco Bell.
Following are several of the categories and nominees for Spike TV’s “SCREAM 2009:” For the full list fans can go to scream.spike.com.
THE ULTIMATE SCREAM BEST FANTASY MOVIE
-”Drag Me to Hell” -”Coraline”
-”Let the Right One In” -”Harry Potter and the Half-Blood
Prince”
-”Star Trek” -”Twilight”
-”Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” -”Up”
-”Twilight” -”Watchmen”
-”Up” -”X-Men Origins: Wolverine”
BEST HORROR MOVIE BEST SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE
-”Dead Snow” -”Knowing”
-”Drag Me to Hell” -”Moon”
-”Friday the 13th” -”Outlander”
-”Let the Right One In” -”Star Trek”
-”My Bloody Valentine 3D” -”Terminator Salvation”
-”Splinter” -”Transformers: Revenge of the
Fallen”
BEST ACTOR IN A FANTASY MOVIE OR TV SHOW
-Ed Asner; “Up”
-Hugh Jackman; “X-Men Origins: Wolverine”
-Robert Pattinson; “Twilight”
-Brad Pitt; “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
-Daniel Radcliffe; “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”
-Michael Sheen; “Underworld: Rise of the Lycans”
BEST ACTOR IN A HORROR MOVIE OR TV SHOW
-Bruce Campbell; “My Name is Bruce”
-Michael C. Hall; “Dexter”
-Kare Hedebrant; “Let the Right One In”
-Justin Long; “Drag Me to Hell”
-Ryan Kwanten; “True Blood”
-Stephen Moyer; “True Blood”
BEST ACTRESS IN A HORROR MOVIE OR TV SHOW
-Jennifer Carpenter; “Quarantine”
-Jaime King; “My Bloody Valentine 3D”
-Lina Leandersson; “Let the Right One In”
-Alison Lohman; “Drag Me to Hell”
-Anna Paquin; “True Blood”
-Monica Potter; “The Last House on the Left”
BEST ACTRESS IN A FANTASY MOVIE OR TV SHOW
-Scarlett Johansson; “The Spirit”
-Jaime King; “The Spirit”
-Rhona Mitra; “Underworld: Rise of the Lycans”
-Kristen Stewart; “Twilight”
-Emma Watson; “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”
BEST COMIC BOOK BEST COMIC BOOK MOVIE
-Green Lantern -”Dragonball Evolution”
-Hack/Slash -”Punisher: War Zone”
-Kick-Ass -”The Spirit”
-Thor -”Watchmen”
-The Walking Dead -”X-Men Origins: Wolverine”
-Wolverine: Old Man Logan
BEST DIRECTOR
-J.J. Abrams; “Star Trek”
-Tomas Alfredson; “Let the Right One In”
-Michael Bay; “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”
-Pete Doctor & Bob Peterson; “Up”
-Duncan Jones; “Moon”
-Sam Raimi; “Drag Me to Hell”
BEST VILLAIN
-Eric Bana as Nero; “Star Trek”
-Cam Gigandet as James; “Twilight”
-Lorna Raver as Mrs. Ganush; “Drag Me to Hell”
-Liev Schrieber as Victor Creed/Sabretooth; “X-Men”
-Alexander Skarsgard as Eric Northman; “True Blood”
THE HOLY SH*T! SCENE OF THE YEAR
-The Death Eaters Attack London; “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood
Prince”
-The Destruction of Manhattan; “Watchmen”
-Space Dive onto Orbital Drill; “Star Trek”
-The Seance; “Drag Me to Hell”
-The Subway Crash; “Knowing”
-The Swimming Pool Scene; “Let the Right One In”
MOST MEMORABLE MUTILATION
-The Arm Removal Surgery; “Splinter”
-Arms Cut Off by Rotary Saw; “Watchmen”
-The Eyeball Cake; “Drag Me to Hell”
-Head Ripped Apart by Nazi Zombies; “Dead Snow”
-The Pendulum; “Saw V”
-The Swimming Pool Scene; “Let the Right One In”
BEST ACTOR IN A SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE OR TV SHOW
-Nicolas Cage; “Knowing”
-Josh Holloway; “Lost”
-Shia LaBeouf; “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”
-Chris Pine; “Star Trek”
-Zachary Quinto; “Star Trek”
-Sam Rockwell; “Moon”
BEST ACTRESS IN A SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE OR TV SHOW
-Moon Bloodgood; “Terminator Salvation”
-Eliza Dushku; “dollhouse”
-Megan Fox; “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”
-Lena Headey; “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles”
-Katee Sackhoff; “Battlestar Galactica”
-Zoe Saldana; “Star Trek”
Peter Jackson's new film 'The Lovely Bones' Production Featurette.
As I was typing up some notes on Rob Zombie’s Halloween II, this CNN headline flitted through my newsreader: ‘Victims of repeated abuse suffer complex trauma.’ It’s a truth that might jokingly apply to fans of the Halloween series, as the years since John Carpenter’s standard-setting original film have seen so many pointless, insipid sequels.
More seriously, you can apply it to the characters in Halloween II. Zombie seems quite interested in the psychological effect of violence on his characters. No one touched by Michael Myers is ever whole again. Those not carved into physical pieces are broken into traumatized shards. But while Zombie’s movie has ideas and intent, it is no more expressive than Myers’ white mask. Despite heavy doses of extreme violence, the most frightening thing about the movie is that it is unremittingly dull and inert.
Zombie splits his story into three parallel lines: Laurie Strode (Scout Taylor-Compton) tries to recover from the trauma of encountering and killing Michael Myers. Dr Samuel Loomis (Malcolm McDowell) is working the PR circuit to promote a book about the Myers killings. Loomis is selfish and self-righteous; he scorns journalists and is unwilling to consider that he might be part of the problem. And Michael roams the countryside near Haddonfield, a Shape seemingly brought back to life through Laurie’s dreams. Mute, he expresses himself in artlessly vague dreams visions dominated by his mother.
Zombie’s primary failure with this, his fourth feature film, is an inability to recognize the point where his characters become worthy of attention and interest. Alone, Laurie, Loomis and Michael are at best dreary, irritating and inscrutable. Sparks almost fly when they come together, but that doesn’t happen until the film’s final minutes. If the three leads had any hooks when acting alone, I’d be a lot more willing to deal with the film’s other frequent failures.
Prior to H2’s climactic family reunion, we suffer an hour and a half of plodding ‘horror’ that flips between drama-free dialogue and violence that is brutally executed but frequently disconnected from the story. Brad Dourif livens up a few scenes as Sheriff Lee Brackett, Laurie’s adoptive father. But Taylor-Compton doesn’t make much of Laurie’s life in Haddonfield, and her friends are far less interesting. I’ve always gone to bat for Tarantino’s Death Proof; now I know how detractors felt during that movie’s extended conversations.
Rather than serving up some supernatural machinery to explain the resurrection of Myers, Zombie attempts to explain the motive that draws him back to Haddonfield with violent intent. Myers experiences frequent visions, in which we see that he remains an emotional child, development forever arrested as a kid in a clown suit. Mike wants to have his family back, but for reasons that I think are meant to be evident (they aren’t) can only express that through violence.
Zombie isn’t much more articulate than Myers. The dream sequences highlight the killer’s mother (Sheri Moon Zombie, lightweight and ineffective) and a white horse. The imagery is as juvenile as Michael’s core. An epigraph attempts to explain the white horse, but fails. The dream angle comes across as not even half-baked.
Same goes for a few scenes suggesting a psychological link between Laurie and Michael. The franchise is far from sacred territory, and creating an intriguing reason for Myers to attempt to stick a knife in Laurie at Halloween would be welcome. But the film plays like it was improvised more than written. The ideas Zombie is trying to get across here are, to be generous, completely elusive.
If the psychological context worked, it might make a better shell for the violence, which feels truly egregious, even in the context of a slasher sequel. I’m sure that’s the point, in some measure. Halloween II plays like it wants to filter the slasher genre through Funny Games. Indeed, where else do you take the genre now, if you’re going to play it with any awareness of the actual impact of violence? Yet the murders in this film feel like Zombie is rubbing our noses in blood even as he’s enjoying the act of spilling it. He can’t have it both ways (there’s a reason the Funny Games violence was off-screen) and that’s the point where I finally gave up on Halloween II altogether.
/Film score: 2 out of 10
