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Discuss: Sci-Fi/Fantasy in 2009
7 January 2009 7:03 PM, PST
Continuing with our 2009 preview series, I've got an overview of what awaits us (non-comic-book) sci-fi/fantasy geeks this coming year.
Salivating:
- Coraline (Feb. 6) - Henry Selick + Neil Gaiman + some awfully creepy button-eyes.
- Push (Feb. 6) - Solely because Paul McGuigan (Wicker Park, Lucky Number Slevin) makes lovely, elegant films.
- Star Trek (May 8) - I'm kind of a Trekkie. Plus, that trailer.
- Game (Sep. 4) - Neveldine/Taylor are genre geniuses; if anyone can breathe new life into the futuristic-video-game genre, it's them.
- Pandorum (Sep. 4) - No pedigree, but that concept is right up my alley.
- 9 (Sep. 9) - Looks like beautiful, hyperstylized, post-apocalyptic sci-fi; sold.
- The Box (Nov. 6) - Because "extended Twilight Zone episode" isn't a criticism, it's a compliment.
- Avatar (Dec. 18) - You know why.Filed under: New Releases
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Eugene Novikov
Stuff We Missed: 'Watchmen' Release, 'Judge Dredd' Art, and More
7 January 2009 6:32 PM, PST
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.
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Erik Davis
Good News, Jacobites: Taylor Lautner Will Be in the 'Twilight' Sequel
7 January 2009 6:02 PM, PST
That's good news if you loved him as Jacob in Twilight, anyway. If you didn't, well, I guess it sucks to be you, because he ain't going anywhere.
Taylor Lautner was one of the youngest Twilight cast members, not quite 16 years old when the film was shot (he turns 17 next month), making him essentially the same age as his character -- a rarity in teen films. His character, Jacob Black, is the Native American boy whose forefathers' anti-vampire streak, coupled with his own fondness for Bella (Kristen Stewart), made him wary of dreamy teenpire Edward (Robert Pattinson), and while Jacob played only a minor part in Twilight's story, he becomes much more important in the sequel, New Moon. I haven't read it, but evidently (and this is no spoiler) he goes through some physical transformations befitting a lad of his werewolfy ancestry.
Lautner's youth and baby-facedness made some people question
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Eric D. Snider
Lots of Familiar Names in the WGA Nominations
7 January 2009 5:32 PM, PST
Nominations for the 61st annual Writers Guild of America awards are in, with a lot of names that will probably come up again in two weeks, when the Oscar nominations are announced.
In the original screenplay category, the films and their authors are Burn After Reading (Joel Coen and Ethan Coen), Milk (Dustin Lance Black), Vicky Cristina Barcelona (Woody Allen), The Visitor (Tom McCarthy), and The Wrestler (Robert Siegel). The Coens won WGA awards for Fargo and No Country for Old Men, and Allen has won four times, most recently for 1990's Crimes & Misdemeanors.
For adapted screenplay, the nominees are: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Eric Roth), The Dark Knight (Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan), Doubt (John Patrick Shanley), Frost/Nixon (Peter Morgan), and Slumdog Millionaire (Simon Beaufoy). Roth previously won this award for Forrest Gump, and Shanley won for Moonstruck. If you're wondering, The Dark Knight counts as
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Eric D. Snider
Garrett Hedlund Takes the Lead on 'Tron 2'
7 January 2009 4:45 PM, PST
Hold on to your glo-suits, because Tron 2 has finally kicked into high gear. Just one month after Olivia Wilde signed on to star in the much anticipated sequel, The Hollywood Reporter has announced that Disney has chosen Eragorn's Garrett Hedlund for the lead in the sequel to the cult sci-fi flick. Plus, if you were like me and were less than thrilled with the working title TR2N, it looks like Disney has made it a lot easier on all of us and the film will now go by the much simpler title of Tron.
So while most details about the film have been kept under wraps, Sci Fi Wire recently got the chance to sit down with Wilde and she gave us a little tease of what we should expect from the sequel. Don't worry, the interview is spoiler free but Wilde was willing to share a few tidbits,
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Jessica Barnes
Lena Headey Makes Her Directing Debut With 'Kill Drug'
7 January 2009 4:02 PM, PST
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
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Elisabeth Rappe
Breaking: Mickey Rourke, Sam Rockwell to Play 'Iron Man 2' Villain(s)!
7 January 2009 3:08 PM, PST
Talk about a comeback -- Mickey Rourke has gone from wrestling his way back into our hearts to getting cast in what is perhaps the biggest blockbuster of 2010: Iron Man 2. Variety tells us that Rourke is in talks to play a villain that's described as "Tony Stark's Russian alter ego, a heavily tattooed bruiser who is in the arms trade and battles Iron Man in his own nuclear-powered armored suit." Though the script isn't finished yet, most likely the character will be that of Crimson Dynamo. From Wiki: "The first Crimson Dynamo was also the creator of the armor: Professor Anton Vanko. A Soviet scientist of Armenian birth with a PhD, Vanko was the world's foremost expert on electricity. He built a suit that was wired up to perform electric miracles, making him a human dynamo. The Crimson Dynamo battle-suit allowed him to control electricity in all of its forms,
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Erik Davis
Box Office: War of the Broken and Unborn
7 January 2009 3:02 PM, PST
No, I'm not just recycling lists here. Since there were no new releases last week, this week's top five is the same as last week's, so that sense of deja vu you're experiencing is nothing to worry about.
1. Marley and Me: $24.2 million
2. Bedtime Stories: $20.5 million
3. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: $18.6 million
4. Valkyrie: $14 million
5. Yes Man: $13.9 million
We've got three new releases and two films going into wider release starting with:
What's It All About: Anne Hathaway and Kate Hudson star in this comedy about best friends who become bitter rivals when their weddings are scheduled for the same day.
Why It Might Do Well: We've got two highly charismatic leads and a cute premise that should appeal to women.
Why It Might Not Do Well: Men will run screaming from this one.
Number of Theaters: 3,000
Prediction: $21 million
Filed under: Box Office Predictions
Continue reading
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Matt Bradshaw
Watch This: Fred Armisen Chats Up Charlyne Yi
7 January 2009 2:25 PM, PST
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
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Erik Davis
Confirmed: Arcade Fire Scoring Richard Kelly's 'The Box'
7 January 2009 1:45 PM, PST
Well, now I just feel silly -- thanks a lot, Win Butler. Back in May, rumors began to circulate that Arcade Fire members Butler, Regine Chassagne and Owen Pallet were working on the score for Richard Kelly's The Box, but Butler had insisted there was nothing to those rumors. Now it's eight months later, and as it turns out he was just messing with us. In an interview with Pitchfork, Butler finally fessed up that he had been working with Kelly on the orchestral score for the Twilight Zone-inspired drama. He says, "We didn't really think we were going to do the whole thing, and then it just kind of was easier once we got in. It was like, 'Oh well, we'll just keep going.' It has so much to do with the editing, and your job is just to help the director. It's a very different experience.
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Jessica Barnes
Poll: Should George Lucas Retire?
7 January 2009 1:02 PM, PST
Sean Connery did it, Joaquin Phoenix apparently did it, and countless other actors, actresses and filmmakers have talked about it at one point or another -- leaving us, along with the pages of People Magazine, to wonder when, how or what if. It's funny, too, because you don't find many people who want to retire from the entertainment business, simply because most either never make it, fall out of the spotlight or wind up overdosing on drugs, their own ego or something along those lines wayyy before they'd ever reach an age to retire at. But here's a good question: Could the fans at home ever force someone into retirement?
Our good friend Jenna Busch wrote a little thing for Sci Fi Wire on nine reasons why George Lucas should retire ... like, now. Say what you want about Lucas and his career choices, but the man definitely still has his
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Erik Davis
Um... When Did Romeo and Juliet Have Babies?
7 January 2009 12:03 PM, PST
They may have been star-crossed lovers, and they might have tied the knot and spent a night together consummating their marriage (even if their warring families didn't know), but I don't think ol' Juliet had time to plop out Romeo's baby before dying. As we've all seen countless times: Romeo went off to banishment, Juliet faked her death, Romeo came back and assumed she was dead and killed himself, then she woke up and killed herself. There was no time for pregnancy and baby delivery.
Nevertheless, The Hollywood Reporter posts that Universal has grabbed the rights to a novel called Juliet, from Danish author Anne Fortier. To be published sometime next year, the novel "toggles from medieval Siena to the present day in a story about a woman who discovers she may be descended from the people who inspired one of the most popular and tragic love stories of all time.
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Monika Bartyzel
Fan Made: The Breakfast Cereal Club
7 January 2009 11:02 AM, PST
When was the last time you watched The Breakfast Club? And I mean really watched the film -- and not some cruddy edited version on TNT? The original version has been airing commercial-free on some cable stations recently, and I watched it the other day completely forgetting how much fun it is when the flick airs all in one piece, with its pot smoking and cursing and awesome '80s teen angst. Not long ago, the documentary American Teen recreated the classic Breakfast Club poster with its real-life characters, and now the above fan-created poster -- featuring our favorite breakfast cereal characters -- has popped up over on IronicSans. Maybe my nasty head cold has me a little stuffed up and not thinking straight, but I think I want to see that movie ... like, soon. The taglines on the poster crack me up -- definitely check out the full version down below,
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Erik Davis
Mickey Rourke Joins 'The Expendables'
7 January 2009 10:03 AM, PST
Right on the heels of word that Forest Whitaker was in talks to join The Expendables, Variety reports that Mickey Rourke has signed on. Holy machismo, Batman! The Sylvester Stallone-directed (and written) film will star Sly, Jet Li, and Jason Statham as badass mercenaries (according to the original news) who head to South America to overthrow a dictator, and this latest news adds that both Randy Couture and Dolph Lungdren are also title characters.
Rourke, unfortunately, won't be one of the mercenaries. Instead, he's "an unscrupulous arms dealer who becomes the go-to guy" for the Expendables. Mix all that testosterone with Whitaker possibly playing a CIA liaison for the group, and Ben Kingsley circling the project, and you've got one heck of an unconventional action film -- Ufc fighters*, action stars, has-beens, and praised actors. It also means that the dictator is screwed. I'm not sure any man could
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Monika Bartyzel
Discuss: Movies That Are Better Than the Books
7 January 2009 9:02 AM, PST
When a studio in Hollywood snatches up your favorite book, I think you die a little inside. How many fantastic novels have been rewritten, gutted, misrepresented, and utterly destroyed in their big screen adaptations? Too many to count, right? You could probably devote a film blog to documenting them all. But every once and awhile, a movie comes along that is actually better than the book. It's rare, but it does happen. As we have a fair number of film and book fans browsing our fair site, I'd like to know which adaptations you think make this elusive category.
I'll give you two of my own to start -- and I'll probably cause a flame war just for my opinions on T.H. White. I'm a medievalist at heart, and a junkie for the fantasy genre, who eagerly picked up a copy of The Once and Future King one summer
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Elisabeth Rappe
Oscars: Visual F/X and Makeup Contenders Narrowed Down
7 January 2009 8:03 AM, PST
The Oscars aren't until Feb. 22, and the nominations won't be announced until Jan. 22, but the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is steadfastly whittling away the contenders. Shortlists were announced Tuesday for the Best Makeup and Best Visual Effects categories, helping us narrow down which films will eventually be nominated.
For visual effects, the three nominees will be drawn from these seven choices: Journey to the Center of the Earth, Australia, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Dark Knight, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Iron Man, and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. Notably absent, at least in my estimation, are Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (Raiders and Temple of Doom both won this category), Cloverfield, and The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. Because seriously: Australia?
Next Thursday, members of the Academy's visual effects branch will gather at L.A.'s Goldwyn Theater
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Eric D. Snider
Guess Josh Brolin Is Jonah Hex After All!
7 January 2009 7:03 AM, PST
Yesterday, Jimmy Hayward was announced as the director of Warner Bros' Jonah Hex. The Horton Hears a Who helmer is a surprising choice, but an ex-pixar man really isn't anything to sniff at. As we wait to see what mark Hayward leaves on the Neveldine/Taylor script, MTV News caught up with Jonah's on again, off again star, Josh Brolin. He approves wholeheartedly of Heyward, which would suggest he is actually taking the role. "He's amazing," gushes Brolin. "He's an amazing, amazing guy."
And what does he bring to the project that Neveldine and Taylor didn't? "Brilliance." Yikes. Brolin was quick to temper that potential criticism though. "I think the Crank guys are great. They're wonderful, and Mark [Neveldine] still e-mails me, he's very much involved, but I just think Jimmy Hayward is going to bring something truly unique."
Already, Jonah Hex has inspired a lot more Internet discussion and drama
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Elisabeth Rappe
McG Heads '20,000 Leagues Under the Sea'
7 January 2009 5:03 AM, PST
Almost three years ago, there was word that New Line was going to remake 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea -- Disney's first live-action film that starred Kirk Douglas and James Mason. In 2007, Sam Raimi said he was looking over scripts (as producer, not director), and then nothing. The project just seemed to fade away. Well, while there's no remake on the immediate horizon, Variety reports that we are going to get an origin story courtesy of Disney and helmed by McG.
The project is called 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Captain Nemo, and will (obviously) feature Nemo as he creates the Nautilus. Bill Marsilli penned the screenplay, and Disney is fast-tracking this puppy to film sometime this year -- presumably before the director kicks the next Terminator into gear.
I wouldn't be surprised if this means that New Line (under Warner Bros.) gets that remake cooking to compete with, or go alongside Disney's creation.
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Monika Bartyzel
Discuss: The Dramas of 2009
6 January 2009 7:03 PM, PST
While I'm sure no film could compete with the drama that would plague the Earth if Fox succeeds in delaying Watchmen, there are still a horde of serious, troubling, tear-wrenching, and romantic dramas coming our way in 2009. The ante was increased tenfold in 2008 with films like the gut-wrenching Dear Zachary, but what of our new year?
2009 boasts:
January:
Not Easily Broken -- Struggling romance, re-evaluation, life-changing accidents -- the usual romantic and dramatic fare.
Yonkers Joe -- This is what happens when I Am Sam meets The Sopranos.
Notorious -- A "notorious" one of the B.I.G. variety.
Killshot -- A husband and wife (Thomas Jane and Diane Lane) get entangled with a con artist (Joseph Gordon Levitt) and over-the-hill hitman (Mickey Rourke).
February:
Free Style -- A race to a motocross title with a High School Musical star whose name sounds like a sandwich (Corbin Bleu).
New York,
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Monika Bartyzel
Asian Cinema Scene: 'Departures' and 'Detective Dee'
6 January 2009 6:15 PM, PST
Let's ease into the new year with a couple of news bites of interest for Asian film fans. First up: the Us distribution front: if you're like me, you'll have trouble naming more than two East Asian pictures that got any kind of theatrical release in the latter half of 2008; I'm remembering only the Japanese drama Love and Honor and Wong Kar Wai's meditative action remix, Ashes of Time Redux. Anything I'm forgetting?
This year, the release calendar looks pretty empty as well. Tokyo!, expected in March, compiles three short films set in the titular city, but only one from an Asian director, the very talented Bong Joon-ho (The Host). So it's welcome news to hear via indieWIRE that Regent Releasing has picked up the drama Departures (Okuribito) for Us release this summer. Directed by Yojiro Takita, the film focuses on a Japanese death custom, specifically, "a professional who cleanses and clothes a body,
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Peter Martin
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