Good Marketing

So far, the marketing for The Dark Knight Rises has been damn near perfect.  We've only received information about the film in small bits, all providing for just the right about of space to imagine and speculate.  The asthetics of what we've been given have been awesome as well, creating an epic motif of complete distruction, giving us something to associate with newcomer villain Bane.  And now...they had to give us this as our (allegedly) final poster.

The recent announcement of an Anchorman sequel will go down as one of the news highlights of the year, and with good reason.  The film that jumpstarted Will Ferrell's film career is one of the big cult classics of the 2000's, and Hollywood's inexplicable refusal to finance a sequel has crept up again and again.  Now, two teaser trailers for the film have popped up onine, and they tease us well.

Does it feel like we have a 50 year wait between Bond films?  It sure as hell does to me, as a long time super fan of the franchise that's seen more than one actor play 007.  A teaser trailer for the Ian Fleming crafted super spy's next film Skyfall triumphantly crashed on the scene today, and has me all the way fired up.  Sad that a minute and 23 second teaser is all it takes nowadays.  Check out the synopsis and trailer after the jump...

Paul Feig was able to round up a hilarious group of women for his comedy Bridesmaids and has Reese Witherspoon headlining his next film Wish List.  His casting fortune continued last night when Variety reported Feig and 20th Century Fox got Academy award winner Sandra Bullock and Bridesmaids standout Melissa McCarthy signed on to star in his future, currently untitled buddy cop movie.  Apparently they had to pull out all the stops to land this trio too due to scheduling, dollar signs, etc.

Will Forte has forever earned my undying love for the vastly underappreciated film MacGruber.  The movie is balls out funny.  But it seems that Mr. Forte has just been called up to the show courtesy of Alexander Payne.  It seems that Payne see’s something that Forte hasn’t really shown off before…his acting chops.  He has been cast in Payne’s upcoming film Nebraska.  This is kind of a big deal.  Given that Payne’s track record is pretty high quality, being cast in one of his movies can be a huge game changer

Three weekends in a row and The Avengers takes the cake.  Yes, after some “competition” from Battleship and What To Expect, The Avengers succeeded in coming out on top.  Some knew it deep down inside but I was unsure.  I guessed it would beat out the rest of the films this weekend but I did so hesitantly.  The film has only been out for seventeen days in the US and has already made over $457 million. 

Starring: Taylor Kitsch, Liam Neeson, Alexander Skarsgard
Directed by Peter Berg
Rated PG-13

Michael Bay’s new film Battleship….err…sorry, Michael Bay didn’t direct Battleship.  But you wouldn’t know that from seeing the trailers, or watching the actual movie.  The real director, Peter Berg, seems to have a Bay fascination (note to Peter Berg…aim higher dude).  Bay himself might even start to wonder if he actually directed this movie.  No wait, he wouldn’t think that because he would realize that his movies aren’t as good as Battleship.  So did I like Battleship?  Do I like staring at a 20 foot screen while bursts of exploding light and sound penetrate my senses?  Well, that depends.

In reality, Battleship’s DNA has more in common with Independence Day.  Aliens come to earth, want to take over earth (or so is perceived, that wasn’t really explained, more on that later) and we, the human race find the will and the spirit to overcome when we are clearly outgunned.   The Will Smith of Battleship, Taylor Kitsch, doesn’t have the charm of Big Willie, but he is our protagonist and gosh darn it, Brooklyn Decker likes him.  Taylor’s Alex Hopper is a bit of an underachiever and decides to enlist in the Navy, where his brother Stone (Alexandar Skarsgard), is a commander.  How do we know this?  Well one scene Taylor is arrested for trying to retrieve a chicken burrito for Brooklyn Decker’s Samantha Shane, the next he’s a Lieutenant in the Navy.  Thanks for not getting us involved in all that icky character development Pete.  Only distracts us from watching shit blow up.

Ian Fleming created the fictional James Bond character as his literary avatar and beginning on April 13^th, 1953, when Casino Royale was first published, his creation became a permanent fixture of pop culture.  Fleming went on to write 14 novels of the “shaken, not stirred” loving secret agent and those books have spawned 22 films (and counting).  Now, according to Variety, K5 Films, PalmStar Media Capital and Liberty Films are planning to give the legendary spy scribe his own big screen treatment and have signed Duncan Jones (Moon) to direct the feature. 

I've always found Bill Murray to be considerably underrated as an actor and comedian, even though half of his films command major publicity.  It seems you could only see his true acting chops in Lost in Translation or a Wes Anderson movie, but with the new film Hyde Park on Hudson, Murray is truly going for the gusto as former president Franklin D. Roosevelt.  And by going for it, I mean a long deserved Oscar nomination for Best Actor.  ]]>http://www.getthebigpicture.net/blog/rss-comments-entry-16338692.xmlCasting CouchHighlanderRemakesRyan ReynoldsGet The Big PictureFri, 18 May 2012 21:03:15 +0000http://www.getthebigpicture.net/blog/2012/5/18/ryan-reynolds-is-immortal-lead-for-highlander-reboot.html217610:2233382:16333168If there can be only one, I hope it's not this guy...

Word of a Highlander reboot isn't exactly an earth shattering news break.  There's been movement on a remake of this popular 80's movie for years without any fruition, unless you count the TV series.  As a fan of the original movie, I would be more encouraged by Variety reports of a new leading man atop the studio's wish list if it wasn't Ryan Reynolds.  Apparently, lessons weren't learned with his poor performances in Green Lantern, Smoking Aces, etc.  Plus we're still waiting on that Deadpool feature film, the Reynolds vehicle people actually want to see him headline.