Good news! The Dark Knight is in the running for Best Soundtrack again. You might remember William Goss' story last month that reported it had been disqualified due to it having "too many composers."
According to the Patrick Goldstein on The Big Picture, the Academy reversed the decision last Friday. It's a surprising move, because mere days ago Bruce Davis, executive director of the Academy, was still defending the decision. arguing that the music branch "sees this as an award, like cinematography or directing, where you want to award a single creator. This isn't like visual effects. Except for extraordinary circumstances, it's an award that should go to one person."
Well, you may wantto, but that doesn't always mean you should. Shouldn't we honor collaborative effort? Isn't that where the whole "There's no I in team!" phrase comes from? Nothing about a film is created in a vacuum.
While it the decision has yet to be officially confirmed, it will certainly be a pretty nice victory for Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard, since they were also disqualified in 2005 for Batman Begins. While it's a small step for The Dark Knight, let's hope it's a greater one for film in general. The Academy often gets so hung up on their rules and regulations that they forget the point of their existence is to recognize cinematic achievement.
Fired Up - Trailer 1 Shawn Colfax (Nicholas D’Agosto) and Nick Brady (Eric Christian Olsen), the stars of the Gerald R. Ford High School football team, are dreading the prospect of another summer at football camp. When Nick hatches a scheme for the two to join their school’s cheerleaders at cheer camp instead, they find themselves awash in a sea of gorgeous young women. It all goes great until Shawn falls for Carly (Sarah Roemer), the beautiful head cheerleader who sees right through them. Directed by: Will Gluck Starring: Nicholas D’Agosto, Eric Christian Olsen, Sarah Roemer, Molly Sims, Danneel Harris
Terminator Salvation - Trailer 2 CHRISTIAN BALE stars as John Connor in Warner Bros. Pictures’ action/sci-fi Terminator Salvation. Directed by: McG Starring: Christian Bale
Here's the short answer: Um, like, Robert Pattinson is still in it, right?
By now a majority of the universe is well aware that Catherine Hardwicke will not be returning as director on the next two Twilight films, New Moon and Eclipse, which may or may not be shot back-to-back so that Summit Entertainment hits it core audience before they grow up and have better things to do. Today, as Twilight has crossed the $150 million mark in worldwide box office grosses, folks wondered why Summit gave Hardwicke the boot, whether she was being difficult in demanding a little more time than, I dunno, a week to develop and plan out the next two sequels, or if there were other, more sensational reasons behind her exit. Needless to say, everyone (and their sexy vampire boyfriend) in our gossip-obsessed society wants to know what happened, and whether fans will drive a stake through Summit's wallet should they hire a male director to continue the franchise.
But does it really matter who directs the Twilight sequel? I mean, for something in the neighborhood of a twelve-dollar budget, Twilight hit the freakin' jackpot at the box office. Heck, New Moon could be all hand shadows and the flick would still pull in, like, 20 times more than Punisher: War Zone. Since Summit wants to introduce the Saw style of filmmaking to the series and churn out New Moon in one year (they're targeting a release date of late 2009, early 2010), chances are the film will feel rushed and rough around the edges no matter who's at the helm.
So here's our question: Does it matter who directs the Twilight sequel(s)? Does it need to be a female in order to retain the audience, or does gender not matter? Sound off below ...
There's really no one quite like Bettie Page. Less than a decade of work made her an indelible icon. But unlike Marilyn Monroe or James Dean, who lived in the public spotlight, Page became a mainstream icon through exotic fetish photography. Her decade of posing spawned a movement that thrives to this day in film, merchandise, and wide-spread spirit. Now Variety reports that the 85-year-old Page is critically ill.
Page was hospitalized three weeks ago for pneumonia, and just as she regained her health and was about to be released, she suffered a heart attack that has her in a coma in intensive care (the coma hasn't been officially confirmed, but it was not denied).
I hope she can pull through this. It's a rare person who can not only overcome terrible hardships, but also find a way to reconcile their current and past selves. Not every born-again Christian would autograph sexy pictures of themselves and say: "After all, when God created Adam and Eve, they were stark naked. And in the Garden of Eden, God was probably naked as a jaybird too!" Our thoughts are with you, Betty.
UPDATE:In a press release tonight, both Summit Entertainment and Catherine Hardwicke jointly announced that Hardwicke will NOT be directing New Moon. She says, "I am sorry that due to timing I will not have the opportunity to direct NEW MOON. Directing TWILIGHT has been one of the great experiences of my life, and I am grateful to the fans for their passionate support of the film. I wish everyone at Summit the best with the sequel-- it is a great story."
Twilight set a record for the best opening weekend ever achieved by a female-directed movie, but that director, Catherine Hardwicke, won't be able to enjoy it for long. Nikki Finke, at Deadline Hollywood Daily, is claiming inside knowledge that Hardwicke is definitely not being re-hired for the sequel, and that an official announcement from Summit Entertainment is imminent.
Rumors about Summit replacing Hardwicke have been swirling ever since the sequel was officially greenlighted after that $70 million opening weekend. Finke quotes anonymous insiders as saying it was the film's cinematographer and editor who saved Twilight after Hardwicke's mishandling of it; indeed, some people wondered all along if Hardwicke -- whose prior experience was with small, intimate dramas, not vampire movies -- was the right choice.
If it's true that Hardwicke is out -- and Finke claims absolute certainty that it is -- then Summit will have to be careful how it handles replacing her. Getting a man to take her place might send the message that Summit thinks a woman can't adequately direct an action movie, and it would be a setback to an industry where there's already a ridiculous lack of feminine input. As Erik Davis reminded us a couple weeks ago, only 6% of the 250 top-grossing films of 2007 were directed by women. (More stats here.)
Two of the odd things about the After Dark Horrorfest 8 Films To Die For project is that while it may be a stamp of approval to help low budget horror and suspense films find more notice when it hits DVD, most of those films aren’t great, and then there’s always one or two that get lost in the shuffle and deserve a better fate altogether. The other oddity is that all of the 8 films roster, in a slightly edited for content form, wind up on the Sci-Fi channel within six to seven months of that DVD release. That sounds bad, but sometimes it can be for the good. Take the case of The Deaths Of Ian Stone, which has some extra boost due being one of the last credits for the late Stan Winston, who co-produced. Because of the After Dark Horrorfest format, it’s all too easy to have a few films such as Stone and the previous Horrfest year’s Gravedancers to slip under the radar. (more…)
... has died. Yes, Martha "Sunny" von Bülow, the American aristocrat who spent the last four presidential administrations in a coma, succumbed. Von Bülow, you might recall, was memorably played to a fare-thee-well by Glenn Close in Barbet Schroeder's 1990 black comedy, "Reversal of Fortune."
Even in hospitalized repose, Close was funny. In her alcoholic stupors, she managed gauze-thin humanity. It was a delicious piece of acting. Close shamelessly overdid everything -- even closing her eyes -- but she seemed to have a modicum of sympathy for this woman. Sunny, after all, was married to Claus von Bülow, the baron who was put on trial for trying to kill her in 1980. The movie was based on Alan Dershowitz's book and focused on the legal dissection of the case. Jeremy Irons won an Oscar for playing Claus. Close, who's only in about a third of the film but serves as its otherwordly narrator, deserved something. Even when she's not on screen, she's in the movie's air.
Here's some stuff (and things) to take with you into the weekend:
-- We'll be highlighting and previewing some of the films from the 2009 Sundance Film Festival real soon, but you horror hounds HAVE to check out this freakishly over-the-top trailer for the German Norwegian flick Dead Snow, which will premiere in the Midnight section in Park City. It's in Norwegian, but I believe some teenagers find Nazi gold during their snowy camping trip and then have to deal with its Nazi owners who rise from the dead ready to kick white-boy ass. That's a photo from the film above. [via Shock, who have more pics)]
-- And, ahem, speaking of Nazis, how would you like to take a trip to New York City with your entire book club? Well, in conjunction with the film The Reader, they're hosting a sweepstakes where the grand prize allows five people (or one book group) roundtrip airfare to NYC, hotel accommodations and lunch with The Reader author Bernhard Schlink. Visit the official website for more details.
-- Back to the living dead, seems like Sigourney Weaver is talking Ghostbusters again -- but, unlike previous times, now she's interested in returning for another go-round. She told MTV that she's "supposed to get in touch with Bill Murray next week" regarding the sequel, and also offered up a potential new character: "I would hope that my little Oscar would be one of the Ghostbusters even if I'm not in it!" Oh, and the Ghostbusters video game is finally coming out this June; check out a trailer for it below.
After the jump ... Shia Labeouf's hand screws up again, Miley Cyrus needs a babysitter and more.
I’m working on a script that includes a few scenes where characters talk on police radios, or on megaphones.
So my question is this:
How do you write that? I suppose it’s just a matter of picking a format and sticking to it throughout the script, but I thought I would fire this question across your desk in case you’ve already standardized how it might look. Currently I’m toying with something that might go along the lines of:
INT. POLICE CRUISER - NIGHT
The radio crackles with three call tones. Perry grabs the receiver.
PERRY
Go for Perry.
DISPATCH (ON RADIO)
(filtered)
Your mother’s calling 9-1-1 again, Perr. Says you’re grounded.
PERRY
Tell her I’m working. I’ve got a job, and I’m working. I’m already on patrol, Walter...and I’m 30.
DISPATCH (ON RADIO)
(filtered)
She’s threatening the Playstation.
PERRY
Tell her I’ll be right there.
He tosses the handset, floors it, and cranks up the siren and lights.
The other format I’m trying to crack is when someone picks up a megaphone to address a crowd of people. So far I have something like:
EXT. PERRY’S HOUSE - NIGHT
The squad car screeches up in front of the house. Perry’s mom opens the top floor window and extends the Playstation over the ledge.
Perry jumps out, holds up a megaphone.
PERRY
(filtered)
Don’t do it, mom. Go back inside, and keep the Playstation where I can see it.
PERRY’S MOM
You’re a rotten kid, Perry. Rotten to the core.
PERRY
(filtered)
I mean it. I’ll use force if I have to.
I’m not sure if you need the word “filtered” in parentheticals in both examples, and if I do, should I put it on each line, or just the first? With the radio lines, I’ve put “ON RADIO” next to the name, and on each line. Do I need to include it on more than one, or is the first sufficient?
– Scott Benton Los Angeles
In both cases, I would drop the “(filtered)” tag on the second line of dialogue. We get it, and reminding us that it’s filtered is just getting in the way of the jokes.
While we’re on the topic, I’m a fan of how you used DISPATCH (ON RADIO) in the first example. I find myself doing that a lot in situations where the speaker is not physically present in the scene. In some cases, it indicates a character we’ll never really meet (perhaps your Dispatcher), or a character we do meet who happens to be on a speakerphone or similarly off-screen.
Putting the parenthetical as part of the character name helps reinforce that the person won’t be seen. That’s clarity for the reader and for 1st ADs when it comes time to write the shooting schedule.
Good news! The Dark Knight is in the running for Best Soundtrack again. You might remember William Goss' story last month that reported it had been disqualified due to it having "too many composers." 
Two of the odd things about the After Dark Horrorfest 8 Films To Die For project is that while it may be a stamp of approval to help low budget horror and suspense films find more notice when it hits DVD, most of those films aren’t great, and then there’s always one or two that get lost in the shuffle and deserve a better fate altogether. The other oddity is that all of the 8 films roster, in a slightly edited for content form, wind up on the Sci-Fi channel within six to seven months of that DVD release. That sounds bad, but sometimes it can be for the good. Take the case of The Deaths Of Ian Stone, which has some extra boost due being one of the last credits for the late Stan Winston, who co-produced. Because of the After Dark Horrorfest format, it’s all too easy to have a few films such as Stone and the previous Horrfest year’s 
I’m working on a script that includes a few scenes where characters talk on police radios, or on megaphones.
