The Buse is Loose: When Gary Busey Attacks Vol. 2

Oscar Sunday was not a banner night for Gary Busey, or maybe in his version of the universe, perhaps it was. Hard to tell.

First, there was the odd and slimy greeting of Jennifer Garner, whom Busey kissed on the neck as she approached red carpet reporter Ryan Seacrest (the real subject of Busey's interest that evening), and now there's this little showdown with a reporter over the antics of young Hollywood.

It might be one thing if Billy Bush or some red carpet veteran asked Busey a stupid question and he responded in kind, but this reporter...is 11 years old.


Back about 20 years ago, Busey fell off his motorcycle in Los Angeles. Nowadays, he pushes legislation for helmet laws. If he's the cautionary tale, I may start wearing a helmet around the house just to be on the safe side.

'Ratatouille' Director Brad Bird Puts Down the Crayons for '1906'

Brad Bird, a two-time Oscar winner thanks to The Incredibles and Ratatouille, is set to embark on his first live action feature. Following his Oscar win, Bird told The Hollywood Reporter about the historical drama, 1906.

Set against the backdrop of the San Francisco earthquake, 1906 is a pretty ambitious project, even for an ambitious guy like Bird. "At the time, Chinatown was coexisting with the Barbary Coast, which was like the Wild Wild West, and at the same time Nob Hill had the upper class," he said. "It was a time between two centuries. You had horses and cars existing simultaneously. It's just a volatile mix of things and then you throw in an earthquake. I mean, come on, if that doesn't buy popcorn ..."

The movie has been on Bird's back burner for a while and when you think about it, of all the filmmakers in the world right now, would you want to bet against the guy? His last three films have averaged a preposterous 96.3% approval rating at Rotten Tomatoes and $163 million at the box office (and that includes the studio-bungled release of The Iron Giant).

Storytelling is storytelling, whether you're using animated rats or an earthquake that cripples one of America's major cities. And if he's anything, Brad Bird is a storyteller.

Incidentally, we had a chance to talk to Bird before Ratatouille was released, so check out that Big Picture interview if you've got a few minutes.

The Stiller Effect Strikes 'Semi-Pro', Ferrell Comedy Only Makes $5 Million Friday

Our own expectations put Will Ferrell's new sports comedy Semi-Pro in the $30 - $35 million range for the weekend. That's not some blind number; Blades of Glory did really well its first week, as did Talladega Nights before it. Plus, with no other new releases really gunning for number one, it seemed like a pretty sure thing given Ferrell's box office history.

But Friday's numbers are not encouraging, with Semi-Pro making just over $5 million. Of course, this is the first R-rated movie he's made since Old School, but I don't think that's it. I think it's The Stiller Effect. Last year, Ben Stiller's Heartbreak Kid was a stiff at the box office (it was also his first R-rated flick in a while) and I believe this malaise for comedians tells you that audiences are pretty much over their acts.

Semi-Pro will most likely still be number one - although Vantage Point isn't too far behind it, actually - but the final number may be $18 million, maybe less. I'd be surprised if this one breaks the $20 million barrier, meaning that Semi-Pro will come in at roughly 60% of its expected earnings. That ain't good.

Elsewhere in the top ten, The Other Boleyn Girl did very well on Friday, considering it's in a third of the theaters Semi-Pro is. The costume drama was predicted to be in the low end of the $5 - $8 million range, and now it'll probably do $8 - $10 million. For a movie in 1,000-odd theaters, that's a pretty good weekend.

Whereas Semi-Pro can't do much with its $20 million from this point, Boleyn can expand its release into more theaters in the coming weeks and build considerable momentum as the only "serious" movie of its kind available to audiences.

Movie Trailer - 'Superhero Movie' Looks Terrible

I realize it's a parody and everything, but doesn't Superhero Movie look just like a bad early draft of Spider-Man? Apparently, there are some other references - to X-Men and The Fantastic Four - but I guess they're trying to push the Spidey angle pretty hard. Because outside of changing the names, the trailer doesn't reveal anything else this movie alters. Oh, the superhero's suit is green. OK. That makes everything better.

Yep, you're right: They'll never stop.


Superhero Movie will be in theaters at the end of March. It was written and directed by Craig Mazin, whose parents tell their friends he's working as a park ranger to save themselves the embarrassment.

'Pirates 4': Anti-Climax of the Caribbean

Knowing how much the major studios love money - and learning how much they have to play a little more give and take with audiences now between dumb popcorn fluff and smarter, smaller budget character driven pieces - it comes as no real surprise to hear rumblings of a fourth Pirates of the Caribbean movie.

Ain't It Cool News, which has been astoundingly prescient but also way off the mark in the past, has learned from one of their many insiders that Summer 2011 may mark Disney's next voyage on the seven seas. Disney loves, loves, loves sequels and will do them whenever they get the chance, but there was a sour taste left by the third movie in the series as well as the strong indication that almost everyone along for the entire ride wanted to get the hell out.

I don't know what Johnny Depp's contract situation is, but can you really see him doing another one of these? His career doesn't need it at the moment, I'm sure he'd like to focus on more original work, and Capt. Jack, which began as a parody of someone else, ended as a parody of himself.

Sparrow is still an option, according to the leak. Apparently, there are two sides of the argument...but not the argument as to whether or not making a quatro is a good idea, just how they should go about it. There's a camp that loves the idea of making it a smaller, more intimate Sparrow picture less reliant on special effects, and there's a camp that believes that the bigger you make it the better it is.

I vote no all the way around. And the only way I think Disney can ever bring the franchise or the character back - because I don't believe anyone wants to see Pirates without Sparrow (and possibly without Depp) - is to wait a few years and do a prequel or wait 10 years and do a Sparrow end-of-the-road blowout similar to Indy 4. Anything else would just be a waste of time and money.