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Saturday
21Nov2009

'Underworld 4' Hires 'Shield' Writer, No Word on Kate

DateSaturday, November 21, 2009 at 6:05AM

In January 2011, the Underworld franchise will try once again to make a good movie, which has proven difficult since the first one, which got plenty of mileage out of Kate Beckinsale in a bodysuit. Even as loud as the third movie was, it still put me to sleep. Literally. And whenever that happens, which isn't often, it's always the movie's fault.

I might not have been the only one, as it turns out, because Underworld 3: No, That's Not Kate Beckinsale was not the success the first two movies were. Still, with vampires back in vogue - particularly when combined with werewolves - Screen Gems really has nothing to lose by dipping in the well once again. To that end, John Hlavin (The Shield) has been brought in to right part four, with or without Beckinsale, who The Hollywood Reporter reveals has not signed anything to return.

Even still, Hlavin revealed that it won't be a prequel, which makes you think Beckinsale would be involved. He says,"It will satisfy old fans and excite new audiences, meaning that we don't want to redo the first three movies, so steps are being taken to honor what fans have loved but at the same time introduce fresh elements."

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Saturday
21Nov2009

Snubbed 'Tyson' Director Claims Oscar Extortion

DateSaturday, November 21, 2009 at 3:23AM

Earlier this week, the Oscar shortlist for documentaries was unveiled. It's the fifteen films that can wind up making it to the final round of five. There were omissions: This Is It doesn't qualify because it was released too late. The other music doc, Anvil was excused for no reason that anyone can figure. Capitalism, contrary to our best guess at the time, did file an extension to get past the August 31st deadline but still wasn't nominated, and then there was Tyson.

One theory was that Mike Tyson's recent punch-out in Los Angeles hurt its chances, but I don't buy that. Too close to the announcement of the semi-finalists to have that kind of impact. The other theory, propagated by no less than the movie's director, James Toback, is that the Academy is guilty of chicanery. You don't hear that everyday.

Toback tells The New York Times that something in the connection process didn't quite sit right with him and he declares it falls "fully in the category of extortion." He adds that he was "furious" for "having chosen to be passive and quiet in the face of that extortion."

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Saturday
21Nov2009

New 'Nine' Poster From South Korea

DateSaturday, November 21, 2009 at 12:47AM
Now that I think about it, I don't believe I've seen another poster for Nine before this. As it happens, it's not the first poster; there's a Japanese version. And strangely, the second one we get is from South Korea. What gives? The film opens here first.

Anyway, I'm a bit surprised that the posters aren't anywhere near as well-photographed as every inch of every trailer we've seen. So that's a tad disappointing. Otherwise, it's a nice enough design. Tough to make a case for all eight stars being featured, though; it just makes it too busy.


Poster courtesy of IMP Awards

Nine opens December 18th, and by then we'll have a handle on whether it's really a contender or just another pretender.

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Friday
20Nov2009

Schlocksters The Asylum Cash In on 'Paranormal'

DateFriday, November 20, 2009 at 10:32PM

I think we kind of knew this would happen, but The Asylum, makers of fine products like Transmorphers and The Day the Earth Stopped, has aimed its direct-to-DVD business model at Paranormal Activity. Worst Previews writes that Paranormal Entity will be in stores on December 29th. That's right: Paranormal (Insert Word that ends in "ty").

Now, in most cases, The Asylum, the company that brought us the mockbusters Snakes on a Train and The Da Vinci Treasure, releases its films days before the mainstream release that it's ripping off. It usually shows up in video stores the prior Tuesday.

So because Paranormal Activity has basically run its course in theaters, you might be wondering what the rush is to get Paranormal Entity on DVD before the end of the year. Simple: It's coming out in stores the same day as Activity.

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Friday
20Nov2009

Idris Elba Guards the Bifröst Bridge in 'Thor'

DateFriday, November 20, 2009 at 8:02PM

Kenneth Branagh keeps gobbling up talent for Thor. The last time we talked about the Marvel movie, arguably the trickiest of any Marvel flick so far because a fair portion of it plays in another plane and the leads are relative unknowns, we remarked that Branagh was actually putting together one of the better casts any of the brand's superhero movies has seen. And it just improved yet again.

Idris Elba (Rocknrolla, Obsessed, The Wire) has been added to the ensemble, portraying Heimdall, the guardian of Asgard who protects the Bifröst Bridge. That comes to us from The Hollywood Reporter. It might seem strange that Elba is playing a Norse God, but not to me; I'm the guy who thought Will Smith would make a better Captain America than any other choices being bandied about and campaigned for 2012's Chiwetel Ejiofor to play Dr. Watson in Sherlock Holmes.

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AuthorColin Boyd | | in , , , , | Print ArticlePrint Article | | Comment1 Comment |
Friday
20Nov2009

Full-Length Trailer for 'Season of the Witch'

DateFriday, November 20, 2009 at 5:21PM

Season of the Witch looks like it could be a pretty effective Dark Ages action movie...were it not for Nic Cage. There are things Cage can do really, really well, and in fact, he's getting his best notices in years thanks to Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, which opens today in some cities.

However, he looks suspiciously out of place here, along with Ron Perlman, as the only Americans in 14th century Europe, who are providing a kind of police escort to a witch believed to be responsible for the Black Plague. Witch though she may be, history will prove that she has nothing to do with the plague. Thanks, science.

But as I said, it looks like it has a lot of pieces in place, and the witch - Claire Foy - might be one of those surprising little breakout performances. But Perlman and Cage should have tried accents or the producers should have tried other actors. There's just simply too wild an inconsitency between the setting and the other characters and Hellboy and Memphis Raines. It might be fine in a movie that doesn't look like it has any life to it at all, but based on the limited amount of stuff we've seen, that doesn't appear to be the case here.

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Friday
20Nov2009

Dustin Hoffman Out of 'Little Fockers'?

DateFriday, November 20, 2009 at 2:16PM

If conditions hold, it looks as though Dustin Hoffman is out of Little Fockers. Entertainment Weekly says Hoffman wants a more sizable role in the threequel, in addition to squabbles about the shooting schedule.

Although Hoffman was not going to carry much of the action - he was only planned for an extended cameo - it does crack the shell of this movie just a little bit. Le Babs will still play Ben Stiller's mother, according to the report, which neither Hoffman's reps nor Universal would confirm nor deny.

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AuthorColin Boyd | | in , , , | Print ArticlePrint Article | | Comment3 Comments |
Friday
20Nov2009

Box Office: 'New Moon' Breaks $20 Million at Midnight

DateFriday, November 20, 2009 at 11:48AM

We knew New Moon would be headed for a great big weekend, but this big? Even that's a little surprsing. Deadline Hollywood cites sources from other studios saying that the Twilight sequel has debuted in the mid-$20 million range for midnight showings, slightly better than Harry Potter, and substantially more than The Dark Knight last summer.

Dark Knight set a towering 12:01 mark at $18.4 million, which lasted a year. Half-Blood Prince raised the bar to $22.2 million, and the estimates for New Moon are about a million bucks ahead of that. "It could break every existing record for Friday," one executive claimed. "But Saturday will be a different story."

And indeed, it probably will be. Twilight slumped 40% in just its second day, and dipped another 40% on Sunday, meaning its day three tally was only about one-third of the Friday high. Our own estimate for New Moon takes on a similar model, but the raw numbers are much higher - $51 million today, $31 million tomorrow, $18.5 on Sunday. Again, that's just our estimate, and for the Friday totals, I lumped midnight screenings in with the regular show times.

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AuthorColin Boyd | | in , , | Print ArticlePrint Article | | Comment3 Comments |
Friday
20Nov2009

Video - Inside the 'Fantastic Mr. Fox' Puppet Shop

DateFriday, November 20, 2009 at 9:52AM

I can't even begin to fathom how exacting the work is to make a film like The Fantastic Mr. Fox. A feature-length production that is literally shot frame-by-frame instead of scene-by-scene is grueling enough to consider, but then there's the mechanical setup required for every frame, which as you probably know, only constitutes 1/24th of a second. Now extend that amount of work over 87 minutes...that's over 125,000 frames, and each one (not counting credits, obviously) has to be completely engineered from the ground up.

There's a new featurette for Mr. Fox that goes inside the puppet shop with Wes Anderson, so you can see a little bit about the sort of determination and dedication required to make a film like this, to say nothing about making a film like this good or entertaining.

I do wish it were a bit longer - I know, I know: That would be even more work - because once you start watching something like this, it's so fascinating that you just want to learn more about it.

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AuthorColin Boyd | | in , , , , | Print ArticlePrint Article | | Comment2 Comments |
Friday
20Nov2009

'Jackass' Returns...In 3-D

DateFriday, November 20, 2009 at 8:06AM

Well, all I can say is I hope there's still enough story left to tell: Cinematical reveals that Paramount is pushing a Jackass 3-D into theaters next year. Clearly falling into the "better you than me" category, watching the Jackass stunt players risk life and limb in the most ridiculous, grotesque fashion imaginable has been downright huge business for the studio, which of course, always had an inside track thanks to the show's MTV roots.

The two films have combined for over $150 million and cost about one-tenth of that amount, and I apologize for calling them "films." A term like "geek shows" seems more appropriate, and I'm sure Johnny Knoxville and company would find that rather flattering. And after four long years, they'll be back with more things you can't bear to watch.

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