I'm starting to feel a bit bad for Eli Roth, because I don't think he deserves all the negative vibes being thrown his way. Granted, I haven't seen any of his films, but I respect the fact that he's clawed his way to the top and, at the same time, managed to make films his way. He understands the business better than anyone (having worked practically every Hollywood job there is), knows which battles to fight ... and almost always wins. Unfortunately for him, Hostel: Part II arrived at a time when R-rated horror films (specifically those in the "torture porn" genre) were beginning to cool off. Add to that the fact that they took a huge chance releasing it right smack in the thick of summer blockbuster season -- coupled with a ton of illegal downloads -- and it was simply destined to fail. But taking a hit and moving on to bigger and better things was not in the cards for Roth, as a number of film personalities have taken cheap shots at the guy for no apparent reason.
The latest in a long line of folks eager to say something bad about Roth is 28 Days Later director Danny Boyle. Out promoting his latest flick Sunshine, Boyle told The NY Daily News that he isn't too fond of Roth's films. "His movies aren't even particularly well done," he says. "They're not even scary. They're horrible, but that's not scary. It's not suspense. And if you watch my films in detail, there's actually not a lot of violence in them. You get numb with violence very quickly." Of course, The Daily News does not provide the question which led to this answer -- I can't imagine the guy just began ripping Roth a new one out of the blue. But I am surprised to hear Boyle (a director I admire, and one who also happens to be a very nice guy) blatantly knock a fellow director. It makes me wonder whether there was ever any bad blood between the two.
Following the Hostel: Part II box office meltdown, Roth has decided to take a breather, recently saying that he won't be directing Cell (the Steven King adaptation reportedly scheduled to begin shooting later this summer) anytime soon. He added: "... I most likely will take the rest of the year to write my other projects. Which means I wouldn't shoot until the spring and you wouldn't see a film directed by me in the cinemas until at least next fall." What say you -- does Boyle have a point? Or is it unfair for all these people to knock a guy who's just trying to give fans what they want?
From the mighty Scrappleface:
(2007-07-05) – Al Gore, the concert organizer and former U.S. vice president, today defended his son, Al III, after the younger Gore’s arrest for speeding and drug possession, applauding his use of the hybrid Toyota Prius to offset the carbon emissions of his smoking marijuana.
“Even at 100 miles per hour,” said the […]
1. Don’t EVER try and cop a feel off John McClane’s daughter! What are you, stupid?
2. Bald is the new hair.
3. What? You’ve discovered that the government’s defence network is susceptible to computer attack? Nobody will listen to you? You’re concerned about the welfare of your fellow Americans? Well, why not SCARE THE SHIT out of them all and kill hundreds of innocent people?
4. The nerdy computer hacker ALWAYS gets the girl.
5. The girl is ALWAYS the daughter of a crazy mutherfucker that just saved your life ten times. But if you save his life, you might be in with a shot at boning her.
6. People who insist on calling themselves ‘The Warlock’ will inevitably live in their mother’s basement.
7. It’s ok to beat up women as long as they know kung-fu.
8. Jet-fighter pilots will blow up entire bridges and as many civilian cars as they can until they get their man!
Dave Corkery Thanks to an increasingly worrying trend of 80s regurgitation (McGyver film…. go ooooon), Die Hard is back. But rather than shy away from numbered titles like Rocky 6 (Rocky Balboa) and Rambo 4 (John Rambo), McClane is proud of his roots and so we have the simple and effective title of Die Hard 4.0 (or the wanky Live Free or Die Hard in the US.)
Something I didn't have the opportunity to explore in writing about Michael Bay's "Transformers" was just how much better the Dino De Laurentiis-produced animated epic was. Not only was "Transformers: The Movie" about the Transformers themselves, at the time (the year was '86) it was dramatic and, for a young fan of the toys and the cartoon, moving (more dead pivotal characters than the last four episodes of the "Sopranos")
Anyway, over at Slate the excellent John Swansburg has crystallized my feelings in a fine essay praising the glories of the 1986 movie, starting with the reality that it was, indeed, the final film of Orson Welles. Swansburg was as blown away by it as I was when it was originally released, and he understands that Bay's movie doesn't risk nearly as much as this beautifully animated spectacle. It's less than meets the eye.
When you're reading an interview with Dennis Hopper, you expect him to admit things like the following: that he once sold a priceless Lichtenstein painting for a thousand bucks, attended an orgy with Natalie Wood, and used to drink "half a gallon of rum and 30 beers a day." We're talking about Dennis Hopper, here. In order to surprise us, he's going to have to do a lot better than that -- and so he has. During an interesting interview with the Guardian that went up yesterday, Hopper held forth with some super-cryptic mumblings about his possible appearance in Speed 3 (!)
To back up a bit, it's the inteviewer who first brings up the topic, claiming to have some insider knowledge about it. He tells us, the reader, that the film is "due to include" a performance by Hopper, and that it's his intention to ask Hopper "plenty of questions" about it. I certainly hope so. When he finally gets around to it, however, the only thing Hopper will say is this: "It's a river of shit from which I have tried to extract some gold." Huh? The Speed series is a river of shit? The process of resurrecting your character for a third film when he clearly died in the first film is a river of shit? What are you talking about, druggy?
I personally think what we have here is an over-zealous reporter trying to make some news where none exists. Speed 2 more or less bombed at the box-office, when you consider its sizeable budget and the expectations that everyone had from the previous film. I've certainly heard nothing about a Speed 3, and as far as I know, no one is even thinking about it. So unless the movie is currently being filmed in complete secrecy under the title All About Steve (or Cloverfield), I think we can disregard this.
First reported figures are indicating that Michael Bay’s Transformers has taken in over $8.1 million on its opening day and a further $29.5 million dollars on Tuesday. Which, for the calculator-less among us, amounts to a total of $38 million in it’s first 28 hours on screen and furthermore, has bagged Bay and his robots the biggest Tuesday opening of all time, topping the wretched Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man’s Chest by nearly $14 million.
Now the bad news: we in the Republic of Ireland and the UK can’t open our wallets to Michael Bay along with the rest of America until the 27 July. That’s a depressing 3 and a half weeks of robot-free time to pass. However, there are ways for the super-nerdy among us to pass the time (presuming you’re a big enough Transformers fan not to have a job or social life):
1. Rewatch the original Transformers movie once a day and pour a bit of your beer onto the carpet every time Optimus Prime dies, whilst saying ‘for my homes.’ (If you’re too young to drink beer, then…. How have you even heard of the Transformers? You should be watching… Pokemon or something)
2. Make a mixed tape in honour of Soundwave.
3. Bring out all your old Transformers toys and arrange them in hilarious sexual positions. Then laugh to yourself, sigh and utter ‘I’m so alone.’
4. Change your name to Rodimus Prime by deed pole.
There’s been a lot of internet buzz about a JJ Abrams monster movie going under the working title of Cloverfield. This film has been kept a major secret and nobody had heard of it before a teaser trailer was screened before showings of Transformers in the States.
No official trailer could be found online… until now. Some camera-armed super-pirate has caught it and uploaded it onto YouTube for all to enjoy. The quality is obviously pretty poor, but the effect still comes across. Check out the trailer below (and hurry before it’s taken down)
This top-secret hype building is marketing at its best and already me and the rest of the internet excited about what the hell this film could turn out to be. Rumour has it that the entire film will be shot in the Blair-Witch handy-cam method that is employed in the trailer, but I personally think that these rumours are as substantial as a silent fart. The technique is much more suited to this teaser trailer.
AICN are reporting that the as yet untitled film will be directed and written by Abrams collaborators Matt Reeves and Drew Godard respectively. According to the trailer, we can expect it to hit cinemas on the 18th January 2008. Get excited.
**UPDATE** Paramount got to it and the trailer has been taken down.
Without a doubt, Michael Bay’s latest film, Transformers will please many of the built-in fanbase, and it is really tough to hate a film which says it will deliver giant robots smashing into buildings and each other, and then proceeds to do as promised. I am not the biggest Bay fan. Aside from the first half of The Island, in fact, I believe I have despised every film this guy has directed. Yet given Bay’s ADD methods of filmmaking, he is the right director for this live action pile of mayhem. (more…)
In Hollywood, hot young stars come and go like truckers at a rest stop. Only a handful will ever crack the A-list, a destination reserved for those who've climbed the ranks thanks to an extraordinary combination of talent, charisma, looks... and luck.
Predicting the stars of tomorrow is no easy task, but it helps when we can look at their present-day role models: Is John Krasinski the next Tom Hanks? Is Shia LaBeouf the next Harrison Ford? Or maybe LaBeouf is the next Hanks, and Krasinski the next George Clooney. Check out who Moviefone predicts will be the next generation of movie stars. then tell us what you think.
I'm starting to feel a bit bad for Eli Roth, because I don't think he deserves all the negative vibes being thrown his way. Granted, I haven't seen any of his films, but I respect the fact that he's clawed his way to the top and, at the same time, managed to make films his way. He understands the business better than anyone (having worked practically every Hollywood job there is), knows which battles to fight ... and almost always wins. Unfortunately for him, Hostel: Part II arrived at a time when R-rated horror films (specifically those in the "torture porn" genre) were beginning to cool off. Add to that the fact that they took a huge chance releasing it right smack in the thick of summer blockbuster season -- coupled with a ton of illegal downloads -- and it was simply destined to fail. But taking a hit and moving on to bigger and better things was not in the cards for Roth, as a number of film personalities have taken cheap shots at the guy for no apparent reason. 
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When you're reading an interview with 
There’s been a lot of internet buzz about a JJ Abrams monster movie going under the working title of Cloverfield. This film has been kept a major secret and nobody had heard of it before a teaser trailer was screened before showings of Transformers in the States.
Without a doubt, Michael Bay’s latest film, Transformers will please many of the built-in fanbase, and it is really tough to hate a film which says it will deliver giant robots smashing into buildings and each other, and then proceeds to do as promised. I am not the biggest Bay fan. Aside from the first half of 
