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Archive for the ‘Movie News’ Category
Wednesday, May 16th, 2007
For many different reasons authors who adapt their own books into screenplays are not so common. I would appeal to the reknown saying: “zapatero a tus zapatos”. Even though there are some like Nicholas Pileggi (Goodfellas, Casino), Michael Blake (Dancing with Wolves).
It would be unfair to say that an adaptation can not be as good as an original screenplay, I guess because it is a specialty to write one.
In Colombia that country at the south of America where i was born, (I will be mentioning it a lot) Film industry is being possible in our movie theaters. To give an idea of what I´m talking about: 24 movies were produced in the past 3 years and growing (that much ha). Most of the stories come from adaptations. A movie like Maria Full of Grace which screenplay is an original by Joshua Martson, a californian writer, producer, director is an 80% american movie.
Visa U.S.A 1986
http://movies.aol.com/movie/visa-usa/1083347/main
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Wednesday, May 16th, 2007
Filed under: Horror, Thrillers, Site Announcements, Lionsgate Films, Celebrities and Controversy, Movie Marketing  So finally after all the hoopla caused by the MPAA's blustering about sanctions and withholding a rating for the horror flick, Captivity is finally on its way. And now they've launched a new website that if nothing else, won't have Lionsgate fending off charges of indecency. In promoting the story of a supermodel and a limo driver who are kidnapped and tortured by a faceless madman, you probably remember that After Dark caused a stir with their giant billboards of Elisha Cuthbert in a variety of unpleasant situations -- although I guess unpleasant is a bit of an understatement when you have a hook through your nose. It might be a little late in the game for the film after the accusations of misogynistic billboards, and the bad press of a delayed release date. Can a snazzy website really have that much of an effect? And it is a snazzy little site, but you would think that after all the complaints about the movie, they would have put an age disclaimer at the beginning. In the end, they don't need one, because despite all the bells and whistles, (or I guess clanking chains and dripping water to be more accurate) there is not all that much to the site. We get another look at the slightly anti-climactic trailer that Scott told us about last April, and you can't help but notice that after the accusations of violence against women, they felt the need to pack the trailer full of scenes of escape rather than the pronounced torture theme the print advertising seemed to focus on. There are also some extra clips of the film sprinkled around the site and the usual array of photos and downloads. Now that Captivity will finally make its way to theaters later this June, we'll get to see if the movie was worth all the fuss. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Wednesday, May 16th, 2007
The Lotus Eaters. The Sirens. The Cyclops. Presumably "The Odyssey," the screening/reading/concert/multimedia happening that the Brattle's hosting tonight at 8:00 pm, will include these all-time Homer hits. The brainchild of writer Andrea Lawlor and filmmaker Bernadine Mellis, the project includes 24 short films by different artist collectives -- mostly queers, trans, and women -- corresponding to the 24 chapters on Odysseus' peregrinations. (I'm not sure, but I believe that's Nausicaa pictured above.)
Accompaniment on the accordian and saw by Ryder Cooley, and, no, I'm not making that up. If you can't get to the show, there's a zine available with a companion DVD containing all the films.
No word on whether Circe will show up to turn any Harvard men in the audience into swine.
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Wednesday, May 16th, 2007
 | | Oceans 13 - Featurette
Danny Ocean (George Clooney) and the gang would have only one reason to pull off their most ambitious and riskiest casino heist—to defend one of their own. When ruthless casino owner Willy Bank (Al Pacino) double-crosses one of the original Ocean’s eleven - Reuben Tishkoff (Elliott Gould) - Danny and the gang team up one more time to see if they can break “the Bank.”
Directed by: Steven Soderbergh
Starring: George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Andy Garcia, Don Cheadle |
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Tuesday, May 15th, 2007
Moving from Asia to South America, producer Roy Lee, found a colombian film to shot in a U.S. version, starring well known actress, Nicole Kidman. The film “Al Final del Espectro” has had a good box office and let´s say an acceptable review from the critics in my beloved country Colombia. The movie a terror film “au la colombien”, shows a young woman Vega who suffers agoraphobia moves into an apartment to live on her own. Mysterious things start to happen. A dramatic and psychological enigma that Vega tries to bare by placing cameras all over the place.
Roy Lee producer (the Departed, Lake House, Eight Below, the Eye, the rings and the grudges and Dark Water) may hire the colombian director Juan Carlos Orozco but they are still in negotiation.Â
“Al final del Espectro” will be at the Cannes Festival 2007 in the non-competitive film programme Tous les Cinémas du Monde on may 24th.
http://www.alfinaldelespectro.com/
http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/festival/other_CinemasDuMonde
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Tuesday, May 15th, 2007
 This Turkish film describes life in a small mountain village, as seen through the eyes of three teenagers. Ömer, the imam’s son, his best friend Yakup and their female friend Yildiz all encounter different hurdles on the way to adulthood. Bes Vakit is a coming of age story with universal appeal: being a teen is an awkward experience, regardless of where you live. The alienation, the loneliness, the miserableness are apparently the same everywhere. (more…)
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Tuesday, May 15th, 2007
Filed under: Comedy, Documentary, Celebrities and Controversy, The Weinstein Co., Michael Moore  It has been four days since the New York Times published this article on the Michael Moore in Cuba controversy, but by Saturday I had already written on the story three times, and I figured I'd wait awhile before commenting more. The article doesn't report much that hasn't already been covered here -- Moore is in trouble with the U.S. Treasury Department because of a trip he took to Cuba for his latest film, SiCKO -- and it was actually written before Moore's rant-as-defense letter, but it does feature a response from Harvey Weinstein, whose The Weinstein Co. is distributing SiCKO this summer. Weinstein appears to be grateful for the extra publicity that the government is giving to the film, but he also addressed some concerns. He thinks the Treasury Dept. might try to have the Cuba footage removed from the documentary, and he mentions that if so, he has the resources to fight them on this. Speaking of resources, Chris Lehane was also quoted in response to the controversy. The spin doctor, who was hired by TWC last week to provide PR assistance for the film, states that the company feels comfortable with the terms in which Moore went to Cuba. So basically it seems that TWC and Lehane are backing Moore 100% on the issue, despite the fact that the trip seems obviously to have been in violation of the law. I think that if these guys really do want more publicity for SiCKO that they should just let Moore tackle this himself. He'd probably be struck with a huge fine, which he would then publicly reject. He would be put in jail for a short sentence, and while he's behind bars, millions of curious individuals will go see his movie. Sounds good: Weinstein gets his box office and we get to rid society of Moore for at least a month or so. In other news, Moore has issued a letter to Presidential candidate, and actor, Fred Thompson, in which he addresses the former senator's hypocritical purveyance of Cuban cigars. He also challenges Thompson to a debate, which the winner of could be decided on television a la American Idol. Moore points out that he won a big debate award in Michigan 35 years ago. Hopefully Thompson will respond to the request, at least to decline. Stay tuned for more on Moore this weekend, when he will premiere SiCKO at the Cannes Film Festival. Oh, and just to clear up any bias I have against Moore or the film before you guys leave me more assuming notes: I think Moore is irresponsible and foolish; I don't have any right-wing agenda in thinking this (I don't feel the need to give out my actual political affiliation here); I have for the most part enjoyed Moore's movies, even when I've disagreed with them or found them to be manipulative; I very, very much look forward to seeing SiCKO .Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Tuesday, May 15th, 2007
Filed under: Documentary, Independent, Deals, Cannes, Celebrities and Controversy, DIY/Filmmaking, Cinematical Indie  Remember that 700 hours of behind-the-scenes footage of Inland Empire that Chris Ullrich posted about last month? All of that was going to be whittled down into "the most current perspective on one of cinema's greatest directors and will bring to life his creative process and joy for living life to its fullest potential." The material has now been molded into a documentary called Lynch, which David Lynch is shopping around himself. Unfortunately, this time he is sans cow. The director is shopping the doc to international buyers at Cannes -- all areas but North America, which likely means that he will take on the distributing task once again. Interestingly enough, whoever directed the film is a mystery. The person is credited as "blackANDwhite," and is said to be someone who lived and worked in Lynch's home, hoping "to present to the world the unique experience of being with David Lynch for a prolonged period of time, watching him as he creates on a day-to-day basis." According to Eric Bassett of Lynch's Absurda -- it is not Lynch himself who directed the documentary. I wonder if that means it could be a family member, since it's pretty revealing to let someone come in to film you 24-7. That being said, Lynch must be prepared for the revealing aspects of such a shoot, since Bassett says that it "shows some rough stuff that I'm pretty shocked David let out. There are a lot of problems on the set. David admits he has no idea what he's doing sometimes." I'm wondering if these are Huckabees-level problems, or just general chaos? It'll probably be eons before we can see this, but in the meantime, a half hour of footage called Lynch 2 will be included on the Inland Empire DVD, which comes out on August 14. As for the other hundreds of hours of footage -- I wouldn't be surprised if bits get released here and there, on Lynch's site or his future DVDs. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Tuesday, May 15th, 2007
Filed under: Celebrities and Controversy, Cinematical Indie  Should a movie review include references to gossip or buzz surrounding the celebrities or filmmakers involved with that movie? That's the issue that the Alliance of Women Film Journalists (AWFJ) is pondering this week on the AWFJ blog. For example, a number of Georgia Rule reviews have included sly mentions of co-star Lindsay Lohan's personal life, or reminders about the rumors about her behavior on the set of that film. AWFJ isn't only considering salacious gossip, though, but also discussing whether references to the late actress/director Adrienne Shelly's life (and death) are appropriate when reviewing Waitress. The film critics and journalists responding on the AWFJ site have a variety of opinions that are well worth reading. Some reviewers note that Waitress may be receiving "softball" reviews because critics have been influenced by their feelings about Shelly's tragic death. The AWFJ members are more divided on whether it's appropriate to mention gossip about Lohan -- some feel that comparisons can be drawn between the actress and the character she plays. I'd argue that even though we are surely affected by rumors or news about a cast or crew member, and that it is impossible to be unbiased, we should at least try to be as fair as we can. Rehashing celebrity gossip seems to decrease the perception of fairness in the eyes of readers -- sometimes it even seems like a cheap shot. So what do you think? Does it bother you to read celebrity gossip, news or buzz in a movie review, or does that add welcome spice and entertainment to the piece? AWFJ doesn't have space for comments on their blog, but Cinematical does ... so feel free to share your thoughts about this issue here. Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Tuesday, May 15th, 2007
Variety reports that Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson are planning to join forces for a trilogy of digitally animated motion-capture Tintin movies. Blistering blue barnacles! Now, maybe the zygote movie-geeks at Cinemablend have no idea who Tintin is, but for those of us whose memory doesn't screech to a halt at 1993, this is interesting news. The Tintin books represent some of the best drawn comic art of all time and the stories have a weird boys-own-adventure coolness that remain untarnished after all these years. Plans call for Jackson and Spielberg to each direct one film, with the third film up for grabs at this point; Jackson's special-effects house, WETA Digital, has produced a 20-minute test reel that apparently has given the filmmakers confidence to move forward. Nothing's going to happen on this for a while, and, yes, maybe Herge is rolling in his grave, but full speed ahead, gentlemen.
Rumors are flying that Matt Damon may be out as the young James T. Kirk in the next "Star Trek" movie and that Ryan Gosling may be interested. A closer examination reveals that said rumors have the solidity of a Klingon taco-wrapper in an interstellar photon storm. Damon hasn't even been cast. J. J. Abrams of "Alias" and "Lost" is directing, though, and I do like the notion of James McAvoy ("The Last King of Scotland") as the young Scotty.
Cannes is gearing up. Wesley and I aren't going (chagrin) but Variety's there, of course, as is IndieWire, as is Premiere's Glenn Kenny, and a whole lot of blogs. We'll be posting the most interesting findings as the fest goes forard. Non, je ne regrette rien.
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