To further prove that people with lots of money still care about people who used to have lots of money, The Daily Express reports that Johnny Depp may help bail actor Nicolas Cage out of his growing financial problems. Cage, as you may or may not know, is in some serious debt. He's already had two of his homes go into foreclosure, he owes something like $6 million in back taxes and he's currently suing his former business manager for $20 million claiming he sent "him down a path toward financial ruin."
Now, though, things may be looking up for Cage as Depp could be coming to his rescue. The Daily Express says that Depp has contacted Cage and told him not to worry, that he'll sort everything out. Why Depp, you ask? Isn't that sorta random? What, was Depp a big fan of Con Air or something? Actually, no -- Depp feels like he owes his career to Cage in a way since Cage reportedly recommended Depp to his agent wayyy back in the day when Depp was a struggling musician. The story goes that Cage's recommendation led to Depp nabbing a role in the original Nightmare on Elm Street (his first), and the rest is history.
So, is Johnny Depp really going to pony up some crazy cash to bail Nicolas Cage out of trouble? And can Hollywood somehow find a way to turn that into a movie with both power actors starring opposite one another? And would you go to see it?
Channeling the same rebel spirit as the recent Verizon adverts for the Motorola Droid, this viral for the Nokia N900 injects the nucleus of a narrative into what could be a fun campaign.
The turn to grittier aesthetics makes sense. Attempts to unseat the incumbent iPhone using the same glossy look as Apple only confuses customers; the trick is to differentiate the brands somehow. Trouble is, Nokia and Motorola have struck the same chord at more or less the same time.
The recently posted Droid “Stealth” spot directed by Rupert Sanders aims at creating the same sense of epic mystery as the Nokia N900 campaign, albeit with a much slicker production value. It’s the J.J. Abrams school of advertising, with phones instead of “mystery boxes.”
Who will win? At this point, it’s hard to say: but it seems that they’ll still be fighting for second place.
“Focus group” was directed by Jack Masters and conceived by agency Jack Morton. The Mill’s Bif (Fabrice Le Nezet, Jules Janaud and Francois Roisin) helmed the post-production efforts.
(A typical scene of nuanced, intimate human drama from "2012")
It's the end of the world as we know it, and America's moviegoers feel fine. "2012" raked in $65 million over the weekend by giving audiences what they want: unparalleled global disaster in which no one really important (John Cusack, for example, or that cute l'il dog) gets hurt. The movie played on 6,500 screens in 3,404 theaters (that's a $19,000 per-theater average and a still-impressive $10,000 per-screen average), so there was no place to run. Imagine if "2012" had been released in 3D, as will no doubt be the norm within a few years' time -- we'd all be ducking as Africa sailed past our heads.
That said, the opening take for Roland Emmerich's latest Ragnarok-o-rama washed up just short of "The Day After Tomorrow" ($68.7 million in 2004) and doesn't compare with "Independence Day," which back in 1996 opened with $50 million in less than half the theaters "2012" did.
In second place, the returning "A Christmas Carol" dropped only 26% of its opening week take, both a sign that the 3D extravaganza might have decent legs and an indication that holidays are upon us, no fooling. Coming in fourth, after "The Men Who Stare at Goats," was the surging "Precious," which went art-house wide and expanded from 18 theaters to 174, pulling in an astonishing $6 million and $35,000 per-theater average. Reviews help, and so does Oprah, but the buzz is building from the film itself. It opens (finally) in Boston this Friday; not sure what took it so long. or why Texas is getting the movie before we are.
"Pirate Radio" sank like a rusty tub in a North Atlantic gale: $3 million at 900 theaters. Things look good for Wes Anderson's stop-motion Roald Dahl adaptation "The Fantastic Mr. Fox," though -- it opened at four theaters and averaged $65,000 at each. Again, we're going to have to wait a few weeks for the film to open here, but mostly because Fox (the studio, not the character) wants to take advantage of the long Thanksgiving break. Good luck selling the film to families -- it's as flaky, if not as morose, as "Where the Wild Things Are." That's not to say it isn't very good. I've seen it, and it is. But more on that later.
How To Train Your Dragon - Trailer From the studio that brought you “Shrek,” “Madagascar” and “Kung Fu Panda” comes “How to Train Your Dragon.” Set in the mythical world of burly Vikings and wild dragons, and based on the book by Cressida Cowell, the action comedy tells the story of Hiccup, a Viking teenager who doesn’t exactly fit in with his tribe’s longstanding tradition of heroic dragon slayers. Hiccup’s world is turned upside down when he encounters a dragon that challenges he and his fellow Vikings to see the world from an entirely different point of view. Directed by: Chris Sanders, Dean DeBlois Starring: Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, America Ferrera, Craig Ferguson, Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Kristen Wiig
A Town Called Panic - Trailer Audience Award Winner at Fantastic Fest 2009 and the first stop-motion animated feature selected to Cannes, A Town Called Panic follows the wacky, hilarious and often surreal adventures of three plastic toys named Cowboy, Indian and Horse who share a rambling house in a rural town which never fails to attract the weirdest events. Each speedy character is voiced—and animated—as if they are filled with laughing gas. With hysteria a permanent feature of life in this papier-mâché burg, will Horse and his equine paramour—flame-tressed music teacher Madame Longray (Jeanne Balibar)—ever find a quiet moment alone? A sort of Gallic Monty Python crossed with Art Clokey on acid, A Town Called Panic is zany, brainy and altogether insane-y! Directed by: Stéphane Aubier, Vincent Pata Starring:
Across the Hall - Trailer A quiet night takes a dangerous turn when Julian receives a frantic phone call from his best friend, Terry. Terry claims to have followed his unfaithful fiancée, June, to a seedy hotel on the other side of town. To make matters worse, he’s staked out the room across the hall from her, a bottle of whiskey in one hand and a revolver in the other. Julian pleads with his friend to stay put while he rushes to avert disaster. Directed by: Alex Merkin Starring: Brittany Murphy, Mike Vogel, Danny Pino, Brad Greenquist,, Natalie Smyka
The White Ribbon - Trailer A village in Protestant northern Germany. 1913-1914. On the eve of World War I. The story of the children and teenagers of a choir run by the village schoolteacher, and their families: the baron, the steward, the pastor, the doctor, the midwife, the tenant farmers. Strange accidents occur and gradually take on the character of a punishment ritual. Who is behind it all? Directed by: Michael Haneke Starring:
Bitch Slap - Trailer BITCH SLAP is a post-modern, thinking man’s throwback to the “B” Movie/Exploitation films of the 1950’s - 70’s as well as a loving, sly parody of the same. Inspired by the likes of Dragstrip Girl;, Faster Pussycat, Kill, Kill; Kung Fu Nun and the pantheon of Blaxploitation films, BITCH SLAP will mix girls, guns, outrageous action and jaw-dropping visuals with a message… don’t be naughty! At its core, BITCH SLAP follows three bad girls (a down-and-out stripper, a drug-running killer and a corporate powerbroker) as they arrive at a remote desert hideaway to extort and steal $200 Million in diamonds from a ruthless underworld kingpin. Things quickly spin out of control as allegiances change, truths are revealed, other criminals arrive for the score, the fate of the world hangs in the balance and they are forced to confront a villain much worse than they ever expected… themselves. It’s the ultimate morality tale as, one by one, they realize the whole she-bang was a set-up and one of them may not even be human… What also makes BITCH SLAP different is a complicated “B” story device that runs throughout the film to illuminate character, backstory and relationship histories not previously revealed. Like the film Memento, these scene flashbacks take place in reverse, so by the end of the film, you have a wholly different take on who these women are and why they are behaving so badly. Bet you never saw THAT in Jailbait Babysitter! Directed by: Rick Jacobson Starring: Julia Voth, Erin Cummings, America Olivo, Michael Hurst, Ron Melendez, William Gregory Lee, Minae Noji
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