Paul McCartney once claimed, “If anyone was the Fifth Beatle, it was Brian.” He was talking about Brian Epstein, the Fab Four’s discoverer and manager from 1961 until his early death in 1967. Like many other famous people who died young, Epstein is finally being given his own biopic, Variety reports. Titled “A Life in the Day” -- a play on the title of the classic Beatles tune, "A Day in the Life" -- the project rests in the capable hands of producer David Permut (“Face/Off”) and screenwriter Tony Gittelson.
Permut, who is also working on biopics about Sam Kinison and John DeLorean, will try to get the rights to as many Beatles songs as possible for the film, but he says the focus will be on Epstein and the formation of the band, so a lot of famous tunes aren’t necessary. Still, the roles of John, Paul, George and Ringo will have to be significant. Maybe not big enough to warrant big stars portraying the iconic figures, but considering there’s never been a straight and comprehensive biopic about any of the actual Beatles, I’d love to see some familiar faces take on those roles.
The interesting thing about an Epstein biopic is that it does continue the idea that The Beatles were so huge they require a whole bunch of little biopics that may eventually all come together to cover the guys’ entire lives and careers. For example, this movie is like a sequel to 1994’s “Backbeat,” which concentrated on former Beatle Stuart Sutcliffe during the early days of the band.
There’s also “Birth of the Beatles,” which centered on the same period, “Chapter 27,” about the death of John Lennon and the made-for-TV movies “John and Yoko: A Love Story,” “Two of Us” and “The Linda McCartney Story” providing cinematic depictions of little snippets from the nearly 70 years of Beatle existence. Plus, there’s a new movie coming out in the UK this December about Lennon’s childhood titled “Nowhere Boy.”
And let’s not forget that the Beatles’ own films are now being remade, too. Just one so far, “Yellow Submarine,” though it’s doubtful anyone could find good reason to redo any of the others.
Anyway, it will be interesting to see how much “A Life in the Day” focuses on the Fab Four, since Epstein was so instrumental in making them famous. Not to mention the fact that his death was a big factor in the band’s breakup, according to Lennon. Expect to spend much of the film's running time immersed in the businessman’s personal conflicts, such as his drug and gambling addictions and his somewhat closeted homosexuality.
But the audience will probably be hungrier for scenes dealing with Epstein’s career with The Beatles, climaxing with his frustrating lack of influence on the band in the final year of his life and, of course, ending with his accidental Carbitral overdose.
Do you hope this biopic focuses mainly on Epstein’s time as The Beatles’ manager? Who do you think should play the Beatles, including the honorary Fifth member?
Don't ever let anybody tell you that fighting for freedom wherever there's trouble is easy. Despite becoming the fourth biggest August debut of all time thanks to a strong $22.3 million Friday opening, "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" only earned $18 million on Saturday, a 16% drop from its opening day figures. The result is a projected $56.2 million opening weekend according to studio number-crunchers.
Deadline Hollywood Daily points out that the movie's solid rankings -- it scored a B+ CinemaScore rating and an A- for viewers under 18-years-old -- are deceiving given the hefty price it cost to film "G.I. Joe" in the first place. With some high profile pictures coming out in the next two weeks, including "District 9" and the long-awaited "Inglourious Basterds" from Quentin Tarantino, it's unlikely that "Cobra" will rise to Paramount's $300 million projection. Still, where the film could fail in ticket prices, it's likely to pick up in action figures and related merchandise.
While "G.I. Joe" got tangled in the trenches, "Julie & Julia" cooked up a surprising amount of success. The film opened to $7.5 million on Friday, increasing to $7.8 million the following day. Current estimates peg the Julia Child biopic at a $20.1 million opening weekend. One of the key ingredients to "Julia's" success is the specific audience that's flocking to theaters. "This was maybe the oldest audience I can remember," a rival studio executive told Deadline Hollywood Daily. "55% of the moviegoers were over the age of 50."
The bottom three contenders remain in place, with "G-Force" yielding $4.1 million on Saturday and a weekend total of $9.8 million. "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" and "Funny People" raked in $3.7 million and $3 million on Saturday respectively with a weekend total of $8.9 million and $7.9 million.
Have you gotten out for "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" or "Julie & Julia" yet? Have their performances matched or diverged from your own predictions? Let us know in the comments section or on Twitter!
Critically Acclaimed IMAX® 3D Co-Production From Warner Bros. Pictures and IMAX Corporation Returns for a Special Limited Time Engagement
Warner Bros. Pictures and IMAX Corporation (Nasdaq:IMAX) (TSX:IMX) today announced that Under the Sea 3D, narrated by Jim Carrey, will return to select IMAX® theatres for a special limited time engagement beginning Wednesday, August 19th. Last February, Under the Sea 3D opened to strong reviews in 49 IMAX theatres domestically and three locations internationally and has since grossed more than $15 million in worldwide box office.
Under the Sea 3D offers a uniquely inspirational and entertaining way to explore the ocean wilderness. Moviegoers will be able to experience face-to-face encounters with some of the most mysterious and stunning creatures of the sea. In IMAX® 3D, the images literally leap off the screen and float around the theatre, putting the audience IN the movie.
Under the Sea 3D follows the 2006 box office hit Deep Sea 3D, which has surpassed $80 million in worldwide box office receipts. Deep Sea 3D continues to draw audiences after 150 weeks in release, demonstrating the strong legs and significant appeal for which original IMAX 3D productions are often known.
“We are delighted to offer more audiences in more places the opportunity to experience this breathtakingly beautiful and inspiring original IMAX 3D underwater adventure from the talented filmmakers behind Deep Sea 3D,” said Dan Fellman, President of Domestic Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures.
“Under the Sea 3D is a must-see for audiences of all ages. This is a shining example of what IMAX and this esteemed filmmaking team does best. We’re thrilled that more moviegoers can now take the plunge and experience up-close some of the most extraordinary marine creatures ever filmed — all in amazing IMAX 3D,” said Greg Foster, Chairman and President, IMAX Filmed Entertainment.
Under the Sea 3D was filmed in IMAX 3D by award-winning Director/Cinematographer Howard Hall, produced by Toni Myers, executive produced by Graeme Ferguson, and produced for Howard Hall Productions by Michele Hall. In addition to Under the Sea 3D and Deep Sea 3D, Hall, Ferguson and Myers were all part of the accomplished filmmaking team behind IMAX’s first underwater 3D adventure, Into The Deep, which has grossed more than $70 million since its 1991 release.
Under the Sea 3D is scheduled to play at the following IMAX theatres beginning August 19th.
Arizona
Mesa – Gateway 12 IMAX
Phoenix – AMC Deer Valley 30 with IMAX
California
Aliso Viejo – Edwards Aliso Viejo Stadium 20 & IMAX
Arcadia – AMC Santa Anita 16 & IMAX
Burbank – AMC Burbank 16 & IMAX
Camarillo – Edwards Camarillo Palace Stadium 12 & IMAX
El Dorado Hills – Regal Cinemas El Dorado Hills Stadium 14 & IMAX
Emeryville – AMC Bay Street 16 & IMAX
Fairfield – Edwards Fairfield Stadium 16 & IMAX
Long Beach – Edwards Long Beach 26 & IMAX
Los Angeles – AMC Century City 15 & IMAX
Rowland Heights – AMC Puente Hills 20 & IMAX
San Diego – AMC Palm Promenade 24 & IMAX
Santa Clara – AMC Mercado 20 & IMAX
Simi Valley – Regal Civic Center Plaza 16 & IMAX
South Gate – Edwards South Gate Stadium 20 & IMAX
Stockton – Regal City Centre Stadium 16 & IMAX
Torrance – AMC Del Amo 18 & IMAX
Woodland Hills – AMC Promenade 16 & IMAX
Nevada
Henderson – Regal Sunset Station Stadium 13 & IMAX
Las Vegas – Regal Red Rock Stadium 16 & IMAX
North Las Vegas – Regal Aliante Stadium 16 & IMAX
New Hampshire
Hooksett – Cinemagic & IMAX in Hooksett
New Jersey
Hamilton – AMC Hamilton 24 & IMAX
New York
Albany – Regal Crossgates Mall 18 & IMAX
Brooklyn – UA Sheepshead Bay Stadium 14 & IMAX
Deer Park – Regal Deer Park Stadium 16 & IMAX
New York City – AMC Empire 25 & IMAX
New York City – AMC Loews 34th Street 14 & IMAX
Stony Brook – AMC Stony Brook 17 & IMAX
Washington
Bellevue – Lincoln Square Cinemas IMAX Theatre
Kent – AMC Kent Station & IMAX
Lacey – Regal Martin Village Stadium 16 & IMAX
Seattle – Regal Thornton Place Stadium 14 & IMAX
Tukwila – AMC Southcenter 16 & IMAX
Robert here, intrigued by one of the small-market releases this week. Andrew Bujalski'sBeeswax is the latest of the uber-indie movement known (sometimes pejoratively) as Mumblecore. As a fan of Bujalski though with little knowledge of the movement outside his work, I often wonder how much exposure the Mumblecore films have really achieved.
To those unfamiliar, the Mumblecore movies are made on shoestring budgets and mostly feature non-professional actors portraying inarticulate post-college 20-somethings as they wander through the financial and romantic tribulations of young life. Fans suggest that at a time when "realistic" means artificial studio-contrived shaky cam nonsense, the pointlessness of these films (which mimics the meandering lives of their subjects) is a breath of fresh air. Truly they make a Fernando Meirelles drama look like a Douglas Sirk picture. Dissenters suggest that movies and subjects so aimless they make Antonioni characters seem like go-getters do not make for interesting cinema.
Either way, most reviews for Beeswax (which as with all Mumblecore are mixed) suggest the movement is reaching a bit of a turning point. So here is my question to you dear readers. Has the movement hit enough turning points to make its way to your television? And if so, is it wonderfully pointless or tragically pointless?
Tags: cinema, film, movie, movies
Hello, all. Kieran here (aka the Know nothing Know it All). Ten years ago today, M. Night Shyamalan's The Sixth Sense hit multiplexes to massive audience and critical acclaim. Massive (it bears repeating). Shyamalan was essentially unknown, as was little Haley Joel Osment (the film's star, even though he landed a supporting actor Oscar nod). Still, the film spent five weeks at number one spot at the box office—no small feat these days for films not about Batman. 2009 is more than half over, and only two films have managed to remain number one for two or more consecutive weeks—Paul Blart and Transformers (yikes). The Sixth Sense achieved a lot of cultural capital.
Revisit it. It's still utterly watchable, not for the moments where it genuinely scares you (of which, there are plenty) but for its moments of true human drama. Plus, I love a film that's both a zeitgeist hit and a showcase for its actors. The scene where Osment talks to Toni Collette about her dead mother still brings tears to my eyes a decade later (and probably brought Collette her Oscar nod). Alas, Shyamalan has been struggling to find the magic again. He has yet to match its success, both critically and financially. Will he find it again? His next effort, The Last Airbender, due out sometime in July 2010 doesn't look promising. But who knows? The Sixth Sense showcased Shyamalan as a gifted storyteller, and though he may continue to disappoint, I'm thankful for an industry that allows him to try, rather than turning him into Michael Cimino.
Another 1999 horror offering, The Blair Witch Project, which had its ten year anniversary sometime last week, may not have aged as well, but they both remain clear cultural markers for the movie industry, n'est pas? Blair Witch iscredited as the first film to utilize Internet marketing on a grand scale, and there was even talk of how said technology would reinvent the film industry (yawn). It definitely helps to spread the word about smaller films that might have been a just-miss otherwise, but viral marketing is now so commonplace that (like all marketing) it mostly helps those with a lot of money make...more money. Where were you in 1999 when you first saw The Sixth Sense and The Blair Witch Project?
P.S. Can anyone think of a year in recent memory besides 1999 that was a bigger year for event moviemaking? 1999 brought us the two aforementioned hits, plus (deep breath now) Fight Club, The Matrix, American Beauty, Being John Malkovich, Magnolia and the beginning of the new Star Wars trilogy, each cinematic events in their own right. Kind of makes you wonder how The Cider House RulesandThe Green Mile managed to worm their way onto the best picture shortlist that year...
IMAX returns to profitability; reports second quarter net income of $2.6 million, or $0.05 per diluted share
Second quarter revenue of $41.0 million nearly doubles last year’s second quarter
Strengthens balance sheet with successful equity offering that generated $76.3 million in net proceeds
Gross box office from IMAX DMR(r) titles increased 346% to $84.2 million in the second quarter of 2009
IMAX Corporation (Nasdaq:IMAX) (TSX:IMX) today reported net income of $2.6 million, or $0.05 per diluted share for the second quarter ended June 30, 2009, compared to a net loss of $12.2 million, or $0.29 per diluted share for the second quarter of 2008. Total revenues increased 94% to $41.0 million, compared to total revenues of $21.2 million last year. The Company generated operating income of $6.5 million, a turnaround of over $14.0 million compared to an operating loss of $7.7 million in the year-ago period.
IMAX Chief Executive Officer Richard L. Gelfond stated, “We are very pleased with our second quarter financial results. The strategic and operational groundwork laid over the last two years came together in the second quarter and resulted in a significantly larger theatre network and strong film slate, which drove our return to profitability. While one quarter does not make a trend, we believe this quarter is an early indication of the benefits of our new business model and that the pieces are in place to continue to deliver revenue growth and profitability for fiscal 2009.”
Included in the Company’s second quarter 2009 financial results are several notable items, including a $3.4 million increase in share-based compensation expense primarily due to the Company’s increased stock price over the course of the second quarter and its impact on variable stock-based compensation such as stock appreciation rights; $1.0 million in fees associated with the early termination of a service contract; a favorable foreign exchange translation adjustment of $2.5 million; and a one-time gain of $0.4 million due to the early retirement of debt. The net impact of these items was a $1.5 million reduction in net income, or approximately $0.03 per diluted share.
IMAX systems revenue increased 33% to $8.3 million versus $6.3 million in the prior year period. The Company installed and recognized revenue on five theatre systems, including two digital upgrades, that qualified as either sales or sales-type leases in the second quarter of 2009, compared to two theatre systems recognized in 2008.
Revenue from joint revenue sharing arrangements increased significantly to $7.2 million compared to $0.4 million last year. In the second quarter, the Company installed a total of 24 systems under joint revenue sharing arrangements, including two digital upgrades, compared to zero installations in the year ago period.
For the second quarter of 2009, total film revenue increased 145% to $16.1 million, compared to $6.6 million in the second quarter of 2008. This included significantly higher Production and IMAX DMR(r) revenues of $12.1 million compared to $2.5 million a year ago, reflecting both the success of the second quarter film slate and the Company’s larger theatre network.
Mr. Gelfond continued, “DMR film revenue and our joint revenue sharing business combined to represent 47% of revenue in the second quarter. We showed a record four DMR titles in a single quarter which illustrates our ability to seize opportunities that digital projection brings. Our second quarter film slate was among the strongest we have had in a single quarter, and we continued to consistently drive box office results that far outpaced our percentage of screens, reflecting the consumer appetite for The IMAX Experience(r).”
Gross box office from DMR titles increased 346% to $84.2 million in the second quarter of 2009, compared to $18.9 million in the second quarter of 2008. Four DMR titles drove the Company’s significant box office growth in the quarter. DreamWorks Animation SKG’s Monsters vs. Aliens: An IMAX 3D Experience, generated $19.8 million in gross box office during the second quarter and a total of $26.5 million over the course of its run, for a per screen average of $129,000. Paramount Pictures’ Star Trek: The IMAX Experience was released to the IMAX network on May 7 and generated $26.6 million in gross box office during the quarter, for a per screen average of $140,000. On May 22, Twentieth Century Fox’s Night at The Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian: The IMAX Experience arrived in theatres and generated $15.5 million in gross box office, for a per screen average of approximately $79,000. In addition, the quarter reflected one week of Paramount Pictures’ Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen: The IMAX Experience, which generated $21.9 million in gross box office during the second quarter and $43.3 million to date, for a global per screen average of $189,000 and a domestic per screen average of $195,500. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen ranks as the third highest grossing DMR title in IMAX history, behind The Dark Knight: The IMAX Experience and Polar Express: An IMAX 3D Experience.
Second quarter gross margin increased to $20.7 million, from $5.9 million in the year-ago period. Included in gross margin for the second quarter was $1.5 million of non-recurring launch costs associated with the 22 new theatres opened under joint revenue sharing arrangements during the quarter.
Selling, general and administrative expense as a percentage of revenue declined significantly to 29.9% as compared to 53.1% in the second quarter of last year. Overall, SG&A expenses increased to $12.3 million in the second quarter compared to $11.3 million a year ago. Reflected in second quarter SG&A expense was the previously mentioned net increase in share-based compensation, contract termination fees and favorable foreign exchange translation adjustment, as well as lower operating expenses resulting from the Company’s cost-cutting initiatives. Research and development costs decreased to $1.2 million in the second quarter of 2009 as compared to $2.0 million in the second quarter of 2008. Last year’s research and development expenses reflected the costs associated with the development of the Company’s digital projection system that launched in July 2008.
At the end of the quarter, 102 digital systems were in operation, compared to zero as of June 30, 2008. The number of IMAX(r) theatres in operation under joint revenue sharing arrangements also grew significantly, to 91 theaters, compared to 11 at the end of the year-ago period. Primarily reflecting an increased level of digital system upgrades, the Company now expects to install approximately 95 to 105 systems in 2009, including 25 to 30 sales and sales type lease systems and approximately 70 to 75 joint revenue sharing theatre systems. Included in the installation guidance are the 12 system upgrades which occurred in the first six months of the year. At this time, the Company expects to end the year with approximately 120 joint revenue sharing theaters in operation.
As of June 30, 2009, the Company’s backlog consisted of 171 theatre systems compared to 246 theatre systems in backlog as of June 30, 2008. Included in the 2009 and 2008 system backlog totals were 67 and 139 theatres, respectively, under joint revenue sharing arrangements and 104 and 107 theatres, respectively, under sales and sales-type lease arrangements. During the quarter the Company signed contracts for seven new systems, all of which were under sales and sales-type lease arrangements, compared to six system signings during last year’s second quarter, four of which were under joint revenue sharing arrangements. Since quarter-end the Company has signed contracts for another eight theatres, including a six theatre deal signed with Vie Show Cinemas in Taiwan, which was announced last week.
At the end of the second quarter, the Company’s cash position was $49.0 million, compared to $27.0 million as of December 31, 2008. During the second quarter, the Company raised $76.3 million in net proceeds through a common stock offering of 11,270,000 common shares. A portion of the proceeds was used to repurchase $44.3 million aggregate principal amount of its 9.625% Senior Notes due December 2010 which resulted in a one-time gain of $0.4 million due to the early retirement of debt. Offsetting the Company’s cash position were investments related to its joint revenue sharing digital projection systems, which amounted to approximately $5.7 million in the second quarter compared to $3.6 million a year ago. Subsequent to quarter-end, the Company repurchased an additional $6.0 million of aggregate principal amount of its 9.625% Senior Notes.
Turning to the remainder of the 2009 film slate, the two-week delayed domestic release of Warner Bros.’ Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: An IMAX 3D Experience is currently in theatres, and has generated approximately $15.0 million in worldwide box office through Tuesday, August 4. Domestically, the film was widely distributed to IMAX theatres on July 29 and has generated approximately $6.3 million through Tuesday. On September 18, Sony Pictures and IMAX plan to release Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs: An IMAX 3D Experience day-and-date to IMAX theatres. On October 16, Warner Bros. Pictures and IMAX will release Where the Wild Things Are: The IMAX Experience day-and-date purely to domestic IMAX theatres, which will then be followed by Disney’s A Christmas Carol: An IMAX 3D Experience (Walt Disney Pictures and ImageMovers Digital, November 2009) and James Cameron’s Avatar: An IMAX 3D Experience (Twentieth Century Fox, December 2009). In total the Company will show a record 12 DMR titles in 2009.
The Company’s announced 2010 film slate to date includes Avatar: An IMAX 3D Experience, which is expected to carry over from its December 18, 2009 release, Disney’s Alice in Wonderland: An IMAX 3D Experience (March 2010), DreamWorks Animation’s How to Train Your Dragon: An IMAX 3D Experience (March 2010) and Shrek Forever After: An IMAX 3D Experience (May 2010), and an IMAX original film in partnership with Warner Brothers, currently titled Hubble 3D. The Company is in the process of finalizing its 2010 release slate and is in discussions regarding potential titles for release as far out as 2012.
Mr. Gelfond concluded, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: The IMAX 3D Experience, is tracking in-line with our expectations and we are pleased to have finalized our 2009 film slate with Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs and Where the Wild Things Are. With the compilation of our 2010 slate progressing very nicely, and given the smooth roll-out of our digital projection systems to date, we can focus on additional strategic priorities like the continued growth of the network and other business opportunities such as our multi-picture deal with Huayi Bros. in China. Our business model is beginning to generate tangible results, and we are optimistic about our ability to deliver growth over the long-term.”
The Company will host a conference call today at 8:30 AM ET to discuss its second quarter 2009 financial results. To access the call via phone, interested parties should dial (866) 322-8032 approximately 10 minutes before it begins. International callers should dial (416) 640-3406. A recording of the call will be available by dialing (888) 203-1112 or (647) 436-0148. The code for both the live call and the replay is 1482081. The Company will also host a webcast of the conference call, which can be accessed on www.imax.com by clicking on ‘Investor Relations.’
BeRightBack here, visiting from the Wordsmoker collective at Nathaniel's kind invitation to gab about one of my most fervently-held obsessions: Japanese cinema. "Mezamashii" (目覚ましい) is a Japanese word for "eye-opening," and I'm going to be using this feature to look at some revelatory and memorable moments that have opened my eyes to the distinct pleasures to be found in Japanese films.
I was reminded of today’s pleasure when Robert mentioned that the third film in director Shinya Tsukamoto's Tetsuo series will be showing at this year’s Venice Film Festival.
Tsukamoto’s Tetsuo movies are gritty and abrasive stories of men who begin sprouting metal from their bodies as if undergoing a form of post-apocalyptic puberty. But there's another side to the director, one that gets a bit obscured by Tetsuo's bristling, metal-engorged shadow. In his more beguiling, less confrontationally "avant-garde" films like Gemini and A Snake of June, Tsukamoto explores not the literal infiltration of the mechanical into the human, but rather the melding of gaze and camera. Filling the screen with ravishing images, he tells stories of hidden observers who try to possess this beauty through voyeurism and photography; in A Snake of June, not only is this character a cameramen, he’s played by Tsukamoto himself.
What makes A Snake of June memorable, though, is less Tsukamoto's shadowy turn as a voyeuristic photographer than the stunning central performance by Asuka Kurosawa (no relation to Akira or Kiyoshi) as the object of his obsession, a call-in crisis center therapist named Rinko.
Kurosawa grounds Snake’s intellectualized schematics by building a layered, believable portrait of Rinko as she transforms from a meek and self-sacrificing wife into a strong, beautiful, even fearsome woman who reclaims her sexuality as she stands up not only to the men in her life, but to the apparatuses they wield in their efforts to possess her, including cameras, vibrators, and phones.
The most eye-popping instance of this reclamation occurs about three-quarters into the film, when Kurosawa blazes with strength and sensuality in a scene that winkingly alludes to the robotic-yet-sensual False Maria's dance in Fritz Lang's Metropolis.
Stripping off her dress in the rain, Rinko takes back the machines that have victimized her, including a remote-control vibrator (initially controlled by Tsukamoto’s character, but now controlled by her), but also the gaze of the camera itself, not only the one held (and then, in the face of her ecstatic performance, dropped) by Tsukamoto's character within the movie, but the one he wields as the invisible but omnipotent director within whose movie Kurosawa is appearing.
A student of mine once wrote in a paper that in A Snake of June, "to be seen is to get wet." June is the rainy season in Japan, and Tsukamoto sets his film within its waterlogged heart; even when dry, everything his camera touches glistens a viscous midnight blue.
But Kurosawa's burning gaze cuts through this slippery sheen and pins the audience to their seats with its unflinching power. Rinko's rain dance refutes the filmic tradition that codes female desire as an averted gaze, an unwilling whimper of pleasure escaping the lips. Instead, she incorporates the machines of alienation, objectification, and male-centered desire and reverses their trajectory, using them to set the rain on fire.
Lots of variety from Variety today. See what I did there? Yeah? Long day. Almost over. Enjoy the Dailies.
-- "School of Rock" writer Mike White sold the script for his "Babe in the Woods," an action-comedy in which a new student at Yale University somehow becomes the target of the New Jersey mob. I envision this as a cross between "PCU" and "The Sopranos." (Variety)
-- The announcement that Steven Spielberg's next project would be an adaptation of the Jimmy Stewart classic "Harvey" led many to speculate that Spielberg pal Tom Hanks would step into -- or at least be approached for -- the Stewart role. Fox hasn't exactly put those possibilities to rest, but they did issue a statement saying that the actor "has not read the script and speculation about him and this project has been inaccurate." So there you have it. (Variety)
-- Thomas Pynchon's new novel (or novella, as it is apparently being referred to), "Inherent Vice," is being shopped around for a big screen treatment by Creative Artists Agency. If the adaptation happens, it would be the first Pynchon novel to be brought to the silver screen. (The Wall Street Journal, via The Playlist)
-- A red-band trailer for "Zombieland," starring Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin has hit the web. Let's give it up for the zombies, may they never find peace in their undeath. (Sci Fi Wire)
-- More vampires. Are we getting tired yet? Not when you're turning Ken Watanabe, John C. Reilly, Salma Hayek and Willem Dafoe in blood-suckers. That's why you should care about this trailer for "Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant." (Moviefone, via Cinematical
-- As advertised yesterday, there's now a full trailer for Peter Jackson's adaptation of Alice Sebold's "The Lovely Bones" available online for your viewing pleasure. (Movieline)
-- Rumor has it that "Ninja Assassin" star Rain is being eyed by Warner Bros. for a remake of the Bruce Lee classic, "Enter the Dragon." I'm usually not big on running rumors, but this one comes from Latino Review and those guys have a pretty solid track record. For now, I remain hopeful. (Latino Review)
-- In the world of TV remakes-as-feature films, it looks like "Gunsmoke" is our next contender to enter the ring. CBS Films nabbed Gregory Poirier ("National Treasure: Book of Secrets") to write a script and Craig Baumgarten ("Shattered Glass") to produce. The only question I have: why "Gunsmoke"? "Why not" being the most likely answer. (Risky Biz Blog)
Edgar Allan Poe is no stranger to the movies. His literature has been adapted to film as early as 1908 and he was first portrayed onscreen in a D.W. Griffith short a year later. So it’s not always that exciting to hear about another Poe project in the works. However, I am very intrigued by this new movie coming from “V for Vendetta” director James McTeigue, which will fictionalize the writer’s mysterious final days.
/Film got the scoop on this project while interviewing McTeigue at San Diego Comic-Con. His latest, the upcoming “Ninja Assassin,” was screened at SDCC and it opens this November. The Poe project is titled “The Raven,” though it’s not exactly based on the writer’s avian-centric poem. McTeigue claims it’s like a cross between Poe’s “The Raven” and the David Fincher film “Se7en.” Scripted by Hannah Shakespeare (Kevin Bacon’s “Loverboy”) and Ben Livingston, “The Raven” follows Poe as he hunts for a serial killer inspired by his stories.
If you’re a fan of the Starz series “Party Down,” you may wish that a young Abraham Lincoln were involved, and that Poe was actually chasing a vampire. But this less ridiculous premise sounds pretty cool, even if it doesn’t feature Hollywood’s favorite trope du jour (hint: it rhymes with fampires).
The mystery of Poe’s death -- he was found delirious on the streets of Baltimore with someone else’s clothes and repeating the name “Reynolds,” but died shortly after without explaining what had happened -- has always been ripe for speculative fictions. Multiple works have been written about the potential circumstances that led to his delirium and subsequent death. Only a few years back there was another film, titled “The Death of Poe,” which proposed that the writer was lethally beaten during a robbery.
McTeigue’s movie is hardly the sole Poe project currently in the works. Sylvester Stallone has been developing a biography of the writer which he plans to direct while Clive Barker has been working on a Poe film for a young adult audience. Then there’s the upcoming adaptations “Tell-Tale,” starring Josh Lucas, a modern re-imagining of "The Tell-Tale Heart," and “The Ushers,” which will be a 3-D version of “The Fall of the House of Usher."
Are you ready for yet another Edgar Allan Poe movie? Who should play the writer this time around? Do you have a favorite Poe adaptation?
In honor of Penélope Cruz's recently announced pregnancy and the DVD release of Lindsay Lohan's latest Labor Pains (don't everybody rush out to snatch it up at once. I promise you they'll have enough copies) in which she fakes a pregnancy to keep a job, I thought a top ten list celebrating the miracle of childbirth -- or future childbirth rather -- was called for.
But first a bit more about Ms. Lohan. Rich at fourfour collected the Labor Pain lines that were more applicable to Lindsay the celebrity than the character she happens to be playing.
...not that Lindsay plays characters these days. The Actress wrapped things up with Mean Girls, only The Celebrity lives on. *
Ten Best Pregnant Movie Characters
10 Juno in Juno (2007) The general three act journey of zeitgeist movies goes like so... Act I: instant hype, audience love and acclaim births a new pop culture babe; Act II: media overkill curdles that hype, attempts to beat holdout audience members into submission spurring rebellions. Backlash turns pop culture darling into punching bag; Act III: Everything settles down until the darling/punching bag is just a movie again, neither the greatest nor the worst ever made. Are we in act three yet with Juno? I hope so because for all the swipes at its forced quirk and too widely adopted quotables, it's a good movie and Juno the character as written, and especially as performed by Ellen Page, should be appreciated as a pretty swell(ing) movie character, hamburger phones be damned.
But how do you think her baby turned out?
09Demi Moore in... Vanity Fair Magazine: The Movie. Don't even argue that that wasn't her best role.
08Holly in Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) That's a spoiler if you haven't seen Woody Allen's Oscar nominated classic. I love that Holly begins the movie as a bundle of cocaine snorting sister-dependent directionless neurosis and ends the movie aglow with the promise of new life and yet you never think to worry that she'll be a terrible mother. You're too in love with Holly to be anything but happy for her. Credit Dianne Wiest who is one of the most endearing actresses that the cinema has ever known.
07Sarah Connor in The Terminator (1984) If you give birth to the future savior of mankind you deserve a place on the list. I chose Sarah over Mary from any Jesus movie or Kee from Children of Men because I don't think they would have survived a robot apocalypse (too demure and too shell shocked, respectively). More on The Terminator and Sarah Connor herself.
06Dawn Lagarto aka 'Bloody Mama' in Series 7: The Contenders (2001) It's strange to me that Daniel Minahan's Series 7 never got its due as a prescient satire of the barbaric leanings of reality television and celebrity culture's fame fixation. In the movie, random citizens are selected to star in a show wherein they have to kill the other contestants before they're killed themselves. The final girl (or boy) is the winner. Did the black comedy arrive a year or two too early? Is it not quite as sharp as I remember it being? Either way, Brooke Smith's reluctant but efficient pregnant murderess still lingers in the memory with her big belly, flop sweat and bloody hands.
Is Brooke Smith cursed? Whenever you think her career is going to take off either the film doesn't (Series 7) or she's overshadowed by brilliant co-stars even though she's totally working it too (Vanya on 42nd Street and Silence of the Lambs) or she gets written out of the picture series (Grey's Anatomy, Weeds). If anyone in Hollywood had actually seen Series 7 maybe they wouldn't be so quick to write her off as a contender. Given the right opportunities, she's killer.
04Ruth in Citizen Ruth (1996) If you've never seen Alexander Payne's satire of America's eternal war between the pro-choice and pro-life forces, you should. The ever brilliant Laura Dern (in one of the best performances of 1996) plays the druggy dimwitted and frequently pregnant Ruth and both sides of the abortion divide seek to co opt her for their cause. It's worth seeing for Dern's amoral comedy alone but the political satire has real bite, too. Here I'll help you. Rent it from Netflix or Blockbuster.
03Marge Gunderson in Fargo (1996) Frances McDormand's Oscar win for her seven months pregnant police chief is one of the greatest atypical Oscar moments of all time. A memorably comedic portrayal of a truly original character wins? There is a god. That's as hopeful as Marge's innate goodness, which provides the wintry brutality of Fargo's comedy with its sole warmth.
And for what? For a little bit of money. There's more to life than a little money, you know. Don'cha know that?
And here ya are, and it's a beautiful day. Well, I just don't understand it.
Marge is a great cop. You know she's going to be an awesome mom in just "two more months. two more months."
02Trudy Kockenlocker in The Miracle at Morgan's Creek (1944) This Preston Sturges comedy about a girl who gets knocked up on a one night stand with the troops should be mandatory viewing in film schools. It's not that it's the greatest comedy of all time or anything that hyperbolic. It's that it does two things superbly that Hollywood has forgotten how to do well at all. First, briskly paced comedic storytelling and second, an endearing good time gal lead who doesn't feel like she's been assembled from pull down menus in a screenwriting program. Betty Hutton is a total dream as Trudy: funny, sexy, radiant and supremely silly. She's just wondrously fruity. And her loins are unexpectedly fruitful, too.
01Rosemary in Rosemary's Baby (1968) Roman Polanski's enduring chilleris among my personal holy trinity of horror: the father mother (Psycho), the son (Rosemary's Baby), and the unholy ghost (Carrie). Most horror movies play with our loudly admitted phobias: fear of the dark, monsters, death. Rosemary's Baby plays a more masterful game, exposing primal fears about things we're not supposed to admit we're scared of. Fears such as pregnancy, childbirth, unknowable offspring and the dread of identities subsumed by our children's. Mia Farrow's brilliant star turn channels these anxieties which are especially pronounced in new mothers, whether or not they've been knocked up by the devil.
Paul McCartney once claimed, “If anyone was the Fifth Beatle, it was Brian.” He was talking about Brian Epstein, the Fab Four’s discoverer and manager from 1961 until his early death in 1967. Like many other famous people who died young, Epstein is finally being given his own biopic, Variety reports. Titled “A Life in the Day” -- a play on the title of the classic Beatles tune, "A Day in the Life" -- the project rests in the capable hands of producer David Permut (“Face/Off”) and screenwriter Tony Gittelson.
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Lots of variety from Variety today. See what I did there? Yeah? Long day. Almost over. Enjoy the Dailies.
Edgar Allan Poe is no stranger to the movies. His literature has been adapted to film as early as 1908 and he was first portrayed onscreen in a D.W. Griffith short a year later. So it’s not always that exciting to hear about another Poe project in the works. However, I am very intrigued by this new movie coming from “
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