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Thursday
19Nov2009

Strange Trailer for Zhang's 'Blood Simple' Remake

DateThursday, November 19, 2009 at 5:17AM

There was a lot of outrage when it was announced that there would be a remake of Blood Simple, the breakthrough film from the Coen Brothers, even though the new version was being directed by Zhang Yimou, who is at least on the same level as the Coens, if not a better director.

I cautioned the naysayers - as I always do with movies that are transported to different cultures - that you really have no idea what that kind of remake will be like. Take Kurosawa's Macbeth adaptation, Throne of Blood or the master's Ran, an appropriation of King Lear (he's now in the Shakespeare Hall of Fame, incidentally). A good story is a good story, and if you're careful enough or inventive enough in the re-telling, there's no issue with trying to breathe new life into it.

As you will see from the first trailer for Zhang's film, retitled The First Gun - also referred to as Three Guns - it bears very few physical similarities to Blood Simple. Even if not for the Chinese dialogue, there's no way you'd identify this as having anything to do with Joel and Ethan Coen. Now, the trailer is terribly manic, and that could just be the way it's edited and might not have any real relevance to the film itself. But is this just some retread of a great movie? Sure doesn't look like it.

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AuthorColin Boyd | | in , , , , | Print ArticlePrint Article | | CommentPost a Comment |
Thursday
19Nov2009

How Many Actresses Will Be Rumored for Black Cat?

DateThursday, November 19, 2009 at 2:36AM

Ever since Rachel McAdams laughed off the rumors that she would be cast as Black Cat in Spider-Man 4, the role has become one of the hottest topics around. McAdams never auditioned or met with producers about it, but Romola Garai did. I like Garai (the grown-up Saoirse Ronan in Atonement), but there's not a whole lot of name recognition there.

Then there was news that Julia "Furious" Stiles had a chat about the role, although I just have a hard time seeing that. I certainly can't see that selection over McAdams, at any rate, who apparently was never asked. And now Nikki Finke has learned that Anne Hathaway has been "approached" for the part of Black Cat. Hathaway...Dunst...way to stock up on overrated actresses, Sam Raimi.

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AuthorColin Boyd | | in , , , , | Print ArticlePrint Article | | Comment8 Comments |
Thursday
19Nov2009

Will Ferrell: Hollywood's Most Overpaid Actor of 2009

DateThursday, November 19, 2009 at 12:12AM

Once again, Forbes has unveiled the list of the most overpaid performers in the movies, and once again, it was a bad year for Will Ferrell. He cracked the top ten in 2008, but this year, Will was he worst gamble a the movies, with his films earning a little over $3 for each dollar he was paid.

That's substantially better than Nicole Kidman's figure last year - her second year of ignominy - when she was dollar-for-dollar with her production costs. That means, in essence, she made all the moolah her films brought in. Good for her, not for the films. For Ferrell, you can look right at Land of the Lost as the chief culprit; big bomb, that.

Below is the list of Hollywood's worst offenders, along with how much they return to producers in exchange for their fees. Before we get to that, though, you might want to know how Forbes tallies the list. Each actor had to have three films in wide release over the past five years, no animated films are considered, and then the "operating income" (budget, box office, DVD sales, TV rights) of a performer's past three movies are divided by that star's earnings.

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AuthorColin Boyd | | in , , | Print ArticlePrint Article | | Comment2 Comments |
Wednesday
18Nov2009

Spike, Fuqua Enjoy 'Better Living Through Crime'

DateWednesday, November 18, 2009 at 9:43PM

Antoine Fuqua will be teaming up with Spike Lee for an adaptation of the graphic novel Miss: Better Living Through Crime. Variety indicates Fuqua will direct and the Knicks' biggest fan will produce, but this still qualifies as a Spike Lee Joint, I believe.

Vigilante Entertainment still has that the new production company smell, and will develop the film with Lee and Fuqua. If you've never heard of Better Living Through Crime, it's a period action piece about seemingly mismatched characters named Nola and Slim. Miss is set in prohibition-era New York, a great time and place for any kind of crime story.

"Nola is a poor white girl who has learned to survive by hook or by crook since being expelled from the orphanage. Slim is a black pimp with an uncertain past, trying to keep one foot out of the grave. Story revolves around a poor white girl and a black pimp who forge a partnership as killers for hire."

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AuthorColin Boyd | | in , , | Print ArticlePrint Article | | Comment1 Comment |
Wednesday
18Nov2009

Oscar-Eligible Documentaries Announced

DateWednesday, November 18, 2009 at 7:23PM

Keeping up with the awards circuit, here's the official shortlist for the Best Documentary category, as released by Oscars.org. This isn't everything submitted, obviously, and there were plenty more that could have been in the running, but now that I think about it, it hasn't been a big, big year for docs. Michael Moore's Capitalism, while not a great film, was probably the most heavily promoted documentary you can think of. But it's not on the list.

Whether or not it would have made it on its own merits may be a moot point: It's possible the film wasn't released in time to be considered. The Oscar year for documentaries runs from September 1 to August 31, barring an extension by AMPAS through the end of September.

Highlights among the eligible films include The Cove and Food, Inc., but I don't have a gauge on what the favorites might be at this point. I would say Tyson, based on what I've seen, but that's conspicuous by its absence. Here's the list, guaranteed to tickle your serious bone.

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AuthorColin Boyd | | in , | Print ArticlePrint Article | | Comment3 Comments |
Wednesday
18Nov2009

Three New Final Season Posters for 'Lost'

DateWednesday, November 18, 2009 at 4:02PM

The final season of Lost begins in January, and six seasons might be one too many, based on a few throwaway episodes here and there over the previous five years, but it should definitely not go any further than the end of this season. There are enough lines to reel in now as it is; I don't think I could take any new angles.

That isn't to say I'm not genuinely excited about the return of the show, because I am, and I actually think the writers strike-imposed delayed start of the 2007-2008 season might be the best thing to happen to the series since the introduction of Benjamin Linus. Ever since, Lost has run almost uninterrupted for 20-odd straight weeks from January to May. Because of the nature of the show, you can't really afford to take too many weeks off of you'll just get confused.

To warm you up to the sixth and final season, here are some new Lost posters. Not sure I get the Polariod concept in the second one, exactly, but the other two are nice and familiar.

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AuthorColin Boyd | | in , , , | Print ArticlePrint Article | | Comment2 Comments |
Wednesday
18Nov2009

Video - New Human Hunting PSA for 'Daybreakers'

DateWednesday, November 18, 2009 at 1:44PM

Thanks to Lionsgate for keeping up in the loop on that other vampire movie destined for theaters pretty soon, Daybreakers. No glistening here, no emo soundtrack, and to be fair, no Ashley Greene, but Daybreakers still has my interest more than a usual early January release would.

But this one gets us back to a more fearsome vampire, a breed that, in the future, practically runs the planet. One small problem: To become the majority, that means mortal humans are the minority. And that means a food shortage for bloodsuckers. Enter Ethan Hawke, a scientist charged with finding a solution to the vampires' problem. But at what price? He asked again, but at what price?

Here's a new faux-PSA about blood farming in the year 2019 and the worldwide shortage of fresh stock. There are tiny bits of the movie contained in the video, too, but not much Hawke and no Willem Dafoe.

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AuthorColin Boyd | | in , , | Print ArticlePrint Article | | Comment2 Comments |
Wednesday
18Nov2009

Danny Boyle Wants Cillian Murphy for '127 Hours'?

DateWednesday, November 18, 2009 at 11:30AM

Director Danny Boyle's next film will be the story of mountaineer Aron Ralston, famously trapped during a solo expedition for five days and left with no other alternative but to cut off his own arm to escape the situation. It's called 127 Hours, and there was talk Boyle was interested in Ryan Gosling for the role, but now he has apparently shifted his focus to a more known quantity.

News of the World says Boyle's 28 Days Later and Sunshine star, Cillian Murphy, is now the top choice to land the coveted role. I don't know where they got that information or if it's reliable, but I have little doubt that Murphy can bring about as much desperation and emotion to the role as Gosling could, so if it comes down to either actor, that's not a bad problem to have.

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AuthorColin Boyd | | in , , | Print ArticlePrint Article | | Comment5 Comments |
Wednesday
18Nov2009

New French Poster (and Editors) for 'The Wolfman'

DateWednesday, November 18, 2009 at 9:13AM

I have good news and bad news. I was going to show off this new Wolfman poster on its own. This is the French version, and it's better than any of the ones for the US release, in my estimation. So, that's the good news.

The bad news is that the production woes for the film are still ongoing. The long-delayed monster movie now has new editors, according to Dread Central. Horror vet Mark Goldblatt and legendary editor Walter Murch have taken the case, replacing Dennis Virkler. That might not seem like a big deal, but editing is not just putting this shot with that one, and there's a lot more artistry to it than you might think.

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AuthorColin Boyd | | in , , | Print ArticlePrint Article | | Comment1 Comment |
Wednesday
18Nov2009

Golden Globes Animation Category Expanded

DateWednesday, November 18, 2009 at 6:52AM

The Golden Globes are expanding (is expanding?) the animated film category this year from three movies to five. Of course, since it's the Globes, they could always go to eight one year, you know, just for the hell of it. The move comes a week after the Oscars announced the 20 films in the running for its award, and anything over 16 eligible movies guarantees five nominees, according to new Academy rules. So this provides a little awards season symmetry, which I'm sure you were worried about.

I doubt it's a coincidence; MovieWeb tells us that the vote to expand was taken last week among members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, and as always with these awards show, the more movies you can get involved, the better for everyone involved. It shouldn't matter a whole lot this year, with Up the biggest favorite of any nominee in any category, but if it holds for the future, it could be a good thing. Of course, if the HFPA (or the Academy, for that matter) ignores more daring animated fare like Coraline in favor of more sizable studio stuff in every case, that won't be any fun.

If you're interesting in the specifics of the Globes category now, here's the way the rules are written now:

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