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Red Band Trailer for Broken Lizard's 'Slammin Salmon'
7 January 2009 6:12 PM, PST
Maybe this isn't a sign of trouble, but I wasn't encouraged by my own reaction to the new Red Band trailer for Broken Lizard's The Slammin' Salmon. "Well at least Michael Clarke Duncan is funny," I said to myself, realizing how far down that is on my checklist of sentences I'd never gotten around to saying.
I don't get the Broken Lizard thing anymore. Liked a lot of things about Super Troopers, waded through Club Dread, barely endured Beerfest, and now we're facing this movie about the dysfunctional wait staff at a restaurant owned by a retired boxer (Duncan). Like a lot of movies that come out of sketch comedy troops, this probably would've made a great skit or even a series of sketches with the same characters, but that doesn't make it a movie.
And The Slammin' Salmon doesn't look like much of a movie.
Trailer courtesy of Movie
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Colin Boyd
Rourke, Rockwell Join 'Iron Man 2'
7 January 2009 4:22 PM, PST
A year ago, you probably wouldn't have said, "You know who's going to blow up? Mickey Rourke." Of course, the year before that, you could've said the same thing about Robert Downey, Jr. And now both reformed bad boys will be in Iron Man 2.
The Hollywood Reporter reveals that Rourke, within 24 hours of the announcement that he'll join Sly Stallone's The Expendables, will play "a tattooed Russian heavy named Ivan who becomes Whiplash, a man with deadly, technologically enhanced coils." Without giving away the entire script, which has been kept very hush-hush, this tells us quite a bit about where Marvel is heading. It also fits the casting sides we reported a month ago.
But that's not the only blockbuster casting for Iron Man 2. Sam Rockwell, kind of a slightly younger Downey in a lot of ways, has also signed on as the villainous multibillionaire Justin Hammer, one of Tony Stark's big rivals.
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Colin Boyd
'Dark Knight' Grabs Key Nominations from WGA, Cinematographers
7 January 2009 3:40 PM, PST
Two more rather meaningful lists of nominations have been released, and much like the Producers Guild, these candidates are likely to have their names read on Oscar night. The Writers Guild of America and the American Society of Cinematographers have spoken on the best in their respective fields for 2008.
First the Cinematographers: They've nominated Roger Deakins twice, just like last year. He is a previous winner for The Shawshank Redemption and The Man Who Wasn't There. This time around, it's for The Reader and Revolutionary Road, which were good examples of his work, but not really award-worthy. However, if there's a guy who deserves an Oscar who's never won one, it's Roger Deakins. He's the best at what he does.
Claudio Miranda - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Wally Pfister - The Dark Knight
Roger Deakins - The Reader and Revolutionary Road
Anthony Dod Mantle - Slumdog Millionaire
Colin Boyd
'New Moon' Update for Teams Jacob and Edward
7 January 2009 2:10 PM, PST
We haven't had a Twilight update in a while, and now there's news that concerns both Team Jacob and Team Edward.
Taylor Lautner played Jacob in the first movie, but there has been plenty of discussion that the 16-year-old simply isn't enough of a wolfman or a lothario to take the character where he needs to go next in the story. But "insiders" say that Lautner will probably be back for New Moon, telling Cinema Blend, "We're not even looking at anyone else."
Screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg repeated that sentiment to Entertainment Weekly. "Everyone would love to keep him. We all think he's the loveliest person ever." Mother Theresa was unavailable for comment about that last platitude.
Colin Boyd
'Love Guru,' Stallone, Paris Lead Razzie Nominees
7 January 2009 11:48 AM, PST
I love The Razzies. I love that there's complete balance with the good films and the bad films, or at least, what we're supposed to value as the good films and devalue as the bad ones. I love that the ceremony is the day before the Oscars, and I love that Halle Berry showed up to collect the awards for Catwoman. She's a bit loony, that one, but I gained a lot of respect for her because she was willing to bite the bullet and make fun of herself.
Here are the official nominees for the 29th annual Razzies:
Worst Picture:
Disaster Movie and Meet the Spartans
The Hottie & The Nottie
Dungeon Siege
Postal
The happening
Worst Actor:
Larry the Cable Guy
Al Pacino
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Colin Boyd
Josh Brolin Calls New 'Jonah Hex' Director Amazing...Over and Over Again
7 January 2009 10:32 AM, PST
So Jonah Hex is going forward, and it's one of those out-of-left-field projects that you'd think would be off the radar in an economy like this once things start to go awry. What went awry in this case is the departure of the directors, Crank creators Neveldine and Taylor.
But earlier in the week, it was announced that Horton Hears a Who! director Jimmy Hayward would step in and take over. He's been an animator on big projects for over a decade, and he showed with Horton that he also understands how to take a story to the screen. That's pretty much as good as you could hope a Dr. Seuss movie to be.
But Jonah Hex is a different kettle of fish. It's live action. It's effed up. It's not family friendly. Hayward will apparently use the original script and add his own touches to it.
Now, for his part,
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Colin Boyd
Zack Snyder's Dream Project: 'The Dark Knight Returns'
7 January 2009 5:42 AM, PST
If we weren't in the middle of the biggest BatRenaissance we've ever seen, I think this idea might have a lot of support.
Zack Snyder (300, Watchmen) was asked by IFMagazine what his dream project would be, and he didn't even hesitate before saying he'd love to take a crack aat Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns. "That’s really my favorite comic book," admits the director. "However, the studio has this massive franchise and I don’t think they’ll let me make a Batman movie where he’s fifty years old and Ronald Reagan is president."
It would certainly be a movie worth making, if you could condense all that you'd need to in a mere two hours. Two-Face is present, The Joker's in the series, oh, and Batman's identity is revealed. But only after he defeats Superman in a fight, has a heart attack and dies (or does he?
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Colin Boyd
'Tron' Sequel Gets New Face, Old Name
7 January 2009 3:16 AM, PST
There are a couple of new Tron updates. The sequel, due out in 2011, will reunite Jeff Bridges and Bruce Boxleitner nearly 30 years after the original, and will pair them with a trio of actors who weren't even born when the first Tron was released.
We already knew that Olivia Wilde and Beau Garrett will be the eye candy, and now The Hollywood Reporter says that Garrett Hedlund will take over the lead role, playing "a man who finds himself pulled into the world of a computer and retracing the steps of a character from the original movie named Kevin Flynn." Hedlund has appeared in Troy, Friday Night Lights, Four Brothers, and Death Sentence in recent years.
The Hollywood Reporter also reports that Bridges' character, the aforementioned Flynn, will now be the CEO of a software company, which seems like a natural progression. Oh, and apparently, the film is dropping the number in its title.
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Colin Boyd
U.S. Trailer for 'The Legend of Chun-Li'
7 January 2009 1:00 AM, PST
If you're looking for a silver lining, I guess it's this: The new American trailer for Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li is better than the Japanese trailer. And the American poster. It still doesn't look good per se, and I'm at the point that I really have no idea what the goal is with this movie.
Because it's based on an old video game, there are fight sequences the likes of which you'd find in video games, but it also appears to have the storyline and grit of a more serious movie. I'd vote campy for this. But you can't go half-campy, so we'll see if they've made the right decision here or not.
I believe it's generally accepted that Kristin Kreuk isn't the next Cate Blanchett, so I wonder if she'll be able to carry the drama and action. Again, if it didn't appear to take itself seriously,
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Colin Boyd
McG to Venture '20,000 Leagues Under the Sea'
7 January 2009 12:04 AM, PST
McG will set sail for Disney, leading the studio's upcoming family film reboot, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Captain Nemo. Variety reports that because of the director's Terminator-heightened profile, he had "multiple studios vying for his next slot." His compensation? $8 million against 7% of the gross, which is a pretty equitable deal, I think. Of course, nobody in Hollywood really gets a deal based on gross dollars, but that's a story for another time.
I'm surprised to hear that Disney's heading back out to sea. I guess with the success the studio had with the Pirates trilogy, plus the recent strong showing of the Journey to the Center of the Earth remake, hitting this Jules Verne story again makes a lot of sense. This is actually closer to the sort of movie I'd peg McG to direct than a Terminator flick, and he's going to make at least two of those.
Disney
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Colin Boyd
'The Code' Poster with Freeman and Banderas
6 January 2009 11:01 PM, PST
Over the holidays, we came across a trailer for a new heist movie called The Code. The film, starring Morgan Freeman and Antonio Banderas, was once upon a time known as Thick as Thieves, which fits the concept better and is also just a better title in general.
What used to be Thick as Thieves is directed by Mimi Leder, who's done a litte bit of everything over the years, and although I like both Freeman and Banderas, it does seem as though they're falling into familiar routines, based on what I've seen.
I do like the sleek, simple design of the poster, even if they have the inferior title tattooed right across the middle:
There's no American release date for The Code yet, although if you're going to be in Rio for Carnivale next month and can spare the extra four weeks off work, you can see it in Brazil beginning March 20th.
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Colin Boyd
And Now Mickey Rourke is 'Expendable,' Too
6 January 2009 9:29 PM, PST
Oh, that tricky Sly Stallone. He told reporters that Forest Whitaker in The Expendables was a done deal and that he was hoping to get Ben Kingsley. We just reported on it earlier tonight.
And now there could be even more Oscar gold joining the mercernary movie: Variety reports that Mickey Rourke, projected to be among this year's Best Actor nominees, has inked a deal to join the cast as well...and Stallone was completely tightlipped about it.
And since we just wrote about the Kingsley angle a couple of hours a go, I'll repeat what I said then:
"It's Stallone, Jet Li, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Forest Whitaker, Ufc fighter Randy Couture, and Gandhi. Wow. That's strange."
Yep, and adding Mickey Rourke doesn't exactly swing the pendulum back toward the center.
The Expendables will begin shooting in Brazil in a couple of months, with an eye on a 2010 release.
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Colin Boyd
'Watchmen' Video Journal #10: The Minutemen
6 January 2009 9:09 PM, PST
...And apparently we spoke too soon. Earlier today, we brought you a Japanese trailer for Watchmen and wondered why there was no video journal. Every month on the sixth, there's a new one detailing another part of the production. We assumed maybe the mountains of litigation were to blame.
And then it showed up, better late than ever. So here's this month's Watchmen video journal, featuring director Zack Snyder and members of the cast talking about the Minutemen, the original Watchmen.
Trailer courtesy of Trailer Addict
As always, we'll warn you that this might not be in theaters on March 6th. But let's hope so.
Colin Boyd
Ben Kingsley Joining Sly's 'Expendables'?
6 January 2009 6:29 PM, PST
Add another name to Sylvester Stallone's wish list for The Expendables. The writer-director-actor-producer told videographers (a kind way of saying paparazzi) that he signed Forest Whitaker and that an official announcement is coming soon. Meanwhile, the rumors that Sandra Bullock would join the cast were just that, and Nu Image/Millenium refuted those claims on Monday.
But the new actor in Sly's sights is Sir Ben Kingsley, saying he thinks he'll be able to persuade the Oscar winner to join his ever-expanding ensemble. "At least I hope we do," Stallone added.
So let's examine this again: It's Stallone, Jet Li, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Forest Whitaker, Ufc fighter Randy Couture, and Gandhi. Wow. That's strange.
I think it goes without saying that Kingsley would play the heavy in this film - he certainly won't be part of the rogue group of mercenaries - but let's also remember that in
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Colin Boyd
Oscar Visual Effects Candidates Narrowed to Seven
6 January 2009 4:41 PM, PST
The first Oscar short list for the highly competitive visual effects award has been whittled from fifteen films to seven, and the three most likely winners, at least in my opinion, are still in the running.
This award is quickly becoming one of the biggest Oscars handed out every year. It's not in the Big Five - picture, actor, actress, director, screenply - but it has probably become the most coveted technical award every year. That prominence should only grow as visual effects become a more integral part of what we wouldn't traditionally think of as "effects" movies.
For example, I think Benjamin Button is the runaway choice this year. Last year, David Fincher's Zodiac was loaded with them, but you'd never notice. And because he's using effects to create more commonplace things, the challenge is much greater than making an army of skeletons.
Here are the seven potential nominees,
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Colin Boyd
What Will Be the Worst Movies of 2009?
6 January 2009 3:10 PM, PST
Now that it's a new year and we can forget all the bad 2008 movies - that is, if they haven't burned themselves into our psyches - we need to look ahead at even more awful movies. Early prevention is the key. It's the only way to avoid the Disaster Movie of 2009.
The first week in January is the perfect time to run this little experiment for two reasons, the most obvious of which is that we haven't seen any of the movies yet. You don't want to taint the study with anything like firsthand knowledge. But the second reason this is the right time to prognosticate the putrid is that we're faced with several candidates in just the next three weeks.
January is always one of the two worst months for movies every year, along with August. Hollywood is focused on other things, I guess. In January, the studios are
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Colin Boyd
Japanese 'Watchmen' Trailer
6 January 2009 12:55 PM, PST
It's the sixth of the month and I was hoping we'd have a new Watchmen video journal for you. This would be the tenth straight month for a new video journal released on the 6th, which would line up with the film's release date two months from today. Perhaps that video still on the way, but I wouldn't be surprised if they held off on those until the bitching over distribution between Fox and Warner Bros. stops.
The latest, in case you haven't heard, is a round of "Our studio is better than your studio" nonsense being filed in the Los Angeles courts. Because that's what is really important to the people waiting to see the movie - which studio is better.
But we're not without something new: Check out this new Japanese trailer for the film that shows us just a little new footage, courtesy of Trailer Addict.
We're
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Colin Boyd
New Images from the Sundance Drama, 'The Informers'
6 January 2009 11:01 AM, PST
One of the more anticipated movies coming up at Sundance this month is The Informers, an adaptation of the Bret Easton Ellis novel, which of course, means this is going to be the hap-hap-happiest movie on Earth.
It's an ensemble piece that stars Billy Bob Thornton, Kim Basinger, Winona Ryder, Mickey Rourke, the lovely Amber Heard, and the late Brad Renfro in what is unfortunately his last movie. The Informers is set against a backdrop of the go-go 1980s in Los Angeles. I'm betting there's more cocaine here than in Michael Irvin's car.
Here are some new photos from the film, snagged at Movie Gab.
Colin Boyd
Trailer - George Romero's '...Of the Dead'
6 January 2009 10:26 AM, PST
I don't know whether of not this title will stick, but I'm kind of hoping it does: George A. Romero's ...Of the Dead. He's made so many movies with the same last three words in the title, they've run out of first words. It's just the latest Of the Dead movie.
That's presumably just a working title, since this trailer says the film is still in production, but I remain optimistic. There's not much to know about this one, obviously: It's another zombie movie - surprise, surprise - only this time the action happens on an island, meaning you can't escape.
By the looks of the trailer, these folks better have lots of bullets.
Trailer courtesy of Trailer Addict
There's no official release date yet for ...Of the Dead, but the conventional wisdom is that it will come out this year.
Colin Boyd
'Monsters vs. Aliens' Super Bowl Gamble
6 January 2009 6:34 AM, PST
Over the weekend, it was announced that Monsters vs. Aliens would run the first-ever 3-D Super Bowl commercial. Of course, to watch it, you need to wear the glasses or it'll just be blurry. You might imagine that's costing DreamWorks a pretty penny, and you'd be right.
Jeffrey Katzenberg told Variety that the entire ad campain, including the 150 million pairs of glasses (go environment!) that will be given away at nearly 30,000 retail outlets, will cost his company "tens of millions of dollars," adding that it's "perhaps the biggest media-advertising event in history."
However, biggest doesn't always mean best. In fact, it doesn't occur frequently enough to even be the rule. And because I'm not sure the tens of millions in Super Bowl marketing will mean tens of millions in receipts for a film that's coming out two months later, you have to wonder instead why DreamWorks isn't saving money and
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Colin Boyd
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