The old British horror studio which last drew a scream way back in the 70s has been re-opened by a Dutch producer, John de Mol.
The old Hammer horror films are fondly remembered by fans and they made stars of Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee as Van Helsing and Dracula respectively. They also brought to life countless other classic horror stories like The Mummy, The Wolf-Man and Frankenstein’s Monster.
The Hammer label could breathe a bit of forgotten class into modern day horror flicks, which are perhaps bordering a bit close to gratuitous violence and sex due to Eli Roth and the new wave or gorenography. Not that there’s anything wrong with violence and sex, of course. (I hope you’re not reading this, God)
MTV are reporting that the Cage-inator will play the moblord in a prequel to Brian de Palma’sThe Untouchables.  This sounds like good news, except that it’s called The Untouchables: Capone Rising. That’s a rubbish title really. May aswell call it The Untouchables: Drink Justice. Or Capone: Zero Hour. Our scepticism-ometer is off the charts!
But is it a case of too little too late for the man who had it all and then threw it away on a film starring his wife, which we don’t like to talk about here? The new film, titled RocknRolla, follows a Russian mobster who orchestrates a crooked land deal and puts millions of dollars up for grabs, attracting all of London’s criminal underworld. Could be a return to form for the Lock Stock director.
And now I present you with the day's most awesomest story: Peter Iliff will write and direct a Point Break 2! Ever since watching Hot Fuzz last month, I couldn't help but began craving more Point Break. Though it's been a whopping 16 years since the original arrived in theaters (wow, I feel old), Iliff, who was anxious to move from writing to directing, decided the best way to do so would be to use the sequel to his very first script as his directorial debut. While in Singapore scouting locations, Iliff talked up the long-awaited sequel admitting that "there was some worry that re-visiting the characters I wrote back in 1987 would infuriate fans of the original chapter." Nah, I dig it -- my only concern is that Patrick Swayze might be a bit too old to kick some serious ass.
In the original, Keanu Reeves played a law enforcement agent who goes undercover as a surfer dude in an attempt to expose a gang of bank robbers, led by that hunk from Dirty Dancing. The film itself felt long (even though it was only 2 hours), but some of the action sequences (tell me you don't love that skydiving scene toward the end) rocked. For the sequel (which will be produced by the Singapore-based company RGM films for roughly $30 million), Iliff says it will pick up with Bodhi (Swayze's character) on the run and hiding out in South-east Asia. Yeah, I didn't think that stupid wave killed him at the end of the last one either. As far as Reeves and Swayze go, Iliff says they've been contacted, but there's no word on whether they'll star; as of now, the plan is to cast Asian actors in the main roles. Hey, I'm fine with that, so long as Bodhi doesn't all of a sudden become Asian. That would be odd. Supposedly, Point Break 2 will be released toward the end of next year.
As expected, "Spider-Man 3" continued to rule the box office, with $60 million in ticket sales this weekend; as expected it dropped off a sizable 60% from the week before. This is the classic summer scenario: a frontloaded event movie with no legs to speak of, and why should the studio care when it broke records the first week out and will make a killing on DVD? Expect more of the same when "Shrek the 3rd," "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," and "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" open. (Warning: Links lead to resource-hogging corporate megasites that may eat your computer and possibly your soul.) With luck, some of them might even be good.
The other new movies ducked and covered, mostly. The surprise was British zombie sequel "28 Weeks Later" (pictured above) making $10 million mostly on the strength of expectations and very favorable reviews. It's worth noting, though, that the first movie, "28 Days Later," made the same amount of money in half the theaters in 2003.
"Georgia Rule" deservedly tanked with $5.9 million, and the latest from Zach Braff, "The Ex," performed even more poorly ($1.4 million -- ouch). At $3.9 million, the Larry the Cable Guy "comedy" "Delta Farce" fell in the middle, but at least there'll be a DVD aftermarket for that -- expect to see it on sale in bait shops and truck stops in about a week. I doubt they'll be able to give "Georgia Rule" away in rehab centers.
The Scientologists are not happy. However, they've got a different Hollywood spokesman leading the revolt this time. I guess crazy ol' Tom Cruise is needing a break from his role as Hubbard poster boy, and John Travolta has taken the torch. He's trying to get the BBC to stop a documentary they are doing on the Church of Scientology, after the reporter got into a yelling tirade. Travolta has written to the channel's execs as part of a campaign that has sent 100,000 copies to MPs, civil servants and business leaders, as well as throwing the clip up on YouTube.
In the footage, BBC journalist John Sweeney is screaming at Tony Davis, because the Scientologist accused him of giving easy interviews to critics of the organization. Raising his voice just a smidge, Sweeney ranted: "You listen to me. You were not there at the beginning of the interview. You were not there. You did not hear or record all the interview." The journalist has since apologized and describes the outburst as "a fine example of how not to do it. I look like an exploding tomato and shout like a jet engine." For 6 months, Sweeney has been researching Scientology, and he says that his efforts have resulted in spying and hotel invasions that he likens to be rougher than his time in Chechnya, where he lost his voice but not his mind.
I'm thinking that would make an even better documentary than just talking about the creative vision of L. Ron and all those personality profiles. Can you see it? John Sweeney -- a man torn loose from sanity due to the pressures of Scientologists. He is tortured at the hands of Hollywood thetan-fighters, in an environment more challenging than Chechnya. Eh, one can dream. In the meantime, the BBC doesn't seem fazed by the efforts and the documentary -- Scientology & Me -- will air tonight on the BBC.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Or, as I've decided to call it, Jessica Simpson Doesn't Wear A Bra: The Movie. The first trailer for Blonde Ambition (aka the movie people thought was a loose remake of Working Girl) has just arrived online and, while I often try to reserve judgment until the thing at least hits theaters, I have to say this is one of the worst trailers I have ever seen. God, it's awful. And it's not even Simpson that makes it look so horrible; it just has this direct-to-DVD smell that permeates my brain cells. How, again, did they get Luke Wilson to star in this thing? "Millenium Films presents a story about knowing who you are and where you belong." Heh, I'll tell you where this film belongs ...
In case you're curious, Simpson plays some sort of small town hick who, using advice given to her by Willie Nelson (there's an on-screen reunion we were all just dying to see), decides to pack a bag and head to New York City in an attempt to shack up with an old boyfriend .... or something like that. However, when she finds out he's no longer interested, she crashes with Rachael Leigh Cook and tries to find some work. Luckily, there's some big corporate types looking for a dumb blonde to "manipulate" (fine plot point if I may say so myself). Throw in yet another corny performance from Andy Dick (Wow! Two awesome on-screen reunions in one flick!), and you have yourself Blonde Ambition; a film that's, thankfully, nothing like Working Girl. Feel free to call me out if you think I'm wrong, but this flick has 'Razzie Award' written all over it.
You must be warned: Seeing gay cowboys can be very, very dangerous to your health. The Chicago Board of Education has been named in a lawsuit last Friday because a substitute teacher showed an 8th grade class Brokeback Mountain last year. The 12-year-old girl and her grandparents are looking for approximately $500,000 in damages because the girl suffered "psychological distress" upon viewing the Oscar-winning film. According to the girl's father, Kenneth Richardson: "It is very important to me that my children not be exposed to this. The teacher knew she was not supposed to do this."
Apparently the substitute, Ms. Buford, shut the door to the class when screening the film, saying: "What happens in Ms. Buford's class stays in Ms. Buford's class." When she closed the kids in and let the film air, Richardson claims that his young granddaughter was traumatized to the point that she had to undergo psychological treatment and counseling. (And to think the most troubling thing I ever had to see from a substitute teacher were some icky bikini pictures from one of her summer vacations.) This is the second round of complaints from the family, who previously objected to curse words in reading material: "This was the last straw. I feel the lawsuit was necessary because of the warning I had already given them on the literature they were giving out to children to read. I told them it was against our faith."
So, this is more of a religious thing than a question of over-all suitability. Personally, I'm surprised that any of the kids could stay awake long enough to get to the risque scenes, after all the picturesque time in the rolling countryside. While it was definitely a questionable move for Ms. Buford, I'm thinking that the Richardsons better get their grandkid some blinders. If some telling, but not graphic, scenes result in psychological instability, the world is going to drive her crazy in no time. Or, is this a Saved! situation?Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Zombie movies are a funny thing. Since their inception at the hands of George A (Zombie God) Romero, the large majority of modern living dead flicks have been predictable takes on a tried and tested formula. The dead rise/a virus is released/a spell is cast, then the plague spreads and soon there’s a mass of slow-moving rotting corpses that the B-list cast must deal with.
There's not a whole lot to see, but Warner Bros. has thrown up a teaser page for next summer's The Dark Knight; a sequel to Christopher Nolan's very awesome Batman Begins. So far, all we're getting is what looks to be the Batman symbol going through warp speed; it's a cool image -- one that's definitely a tease -- and you can't help but wish they gave us a little bit more. A release date, perhaps? Or how about a nifty tagline that went something like, "Bats eat spiders for breakfast?"
Thankfully, it appears all that commotion surrounding The Dark Knight's Chicago production has calmed down; there was a time not long ago when every day brought new spy photos from the set -- some of which (like those pics of Heath Ledger as Joker) were fake. Since then, however, things have remained fairly quiet. A little too quiet if you know what I mean. Some reports claim Warner Bros. will release their own photo of Ledger as Joker at some point this summer in order to beat out the eventual set leaks. Since The Dark Knight is set to be released on July 18, 2008, maybe they'll give us something on July 18th of this year? Who knows. But anyway, this time around Batman (Christian Bale) helps LT. Gordon (Gary Oldman) and newly appointed DA Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) track down a crazed killer who goes by the name of Joker (Ledger). Meanwhile, the very cute Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal) is lingering around, while Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman) returns to help Bruce Wayne collect cool gadgets and, of course, Alfred (Michael Caine) will be there to put him to bed each night.
The old British horror studio which last drew a scream way back in the 70s has been re-opened by a Dutch producer, John de Mol.
MTV are reporting that the Cage-inator will play the moblord in a prequel to 
But is it a case of too little too late for the man who had it all and then threw it away on a film starring his wife, which we don’t like to talk about here? The new film, titled RocknRolla, follows a Russian mobster who orchestrates a crooked land deal and puts millions of dollars up for grabs, attracting all of London’s criminal underworld. Could be a return to form for 
And now I present you with the day's most awesomest story: 
The Scientologists are not happy. However, they've got a different Hollywood spokesman leading the revolt this time. I guess crazy ol' 
Or, as I've decided to call it, 
You must be warned: Seeing gay cowboys can be very, very dangerous to your health. The Chicago Board of Education has been 
.jpg)
There's not a whole lot to see, but Warner Bros. has 
