Hey there folks. Welcome to this week’s installment of The Movie Blog Uncut Roundtable edition. Today I’m joined by Doug Nagy and Darren Conley via Skype from Canada. I think I’m going to start every Podcast with an official countdown to when Transformers 2 opens from now on! :P
At any rate, take some time to download or stream this installment of Uncut as Doug, Darren and I discuss:
1) The uncertain future of Superman projects
2) Getting sick and tired of “Viaral Marketing”
3) Day of the Dead and What the hell happened to Ving Rhames’ career?
Rumors are bubbling in the heavens that another Poltergeist film may be under way. The gossip comes to us via an email exchange between Poltergeistiii.com and MGM, and was brought to our attention by movieweb:
Hi Mary, Congratulations on your new position with MGM! I run a fan web site dedicated to MGM’s “Poltergeist” franchise. I’d heard that there were plans for either a new sequel or a remake…do you know if this is still the plan? As a huge fan, I was hoping to see a new sequel. Thanks for any information you may be able to provide. Regards, David Furtney
And here’s what she wrote back yesterday (emphasis mine):
Hey David- Thanks for the email. Not quite two weeks into the new post so I don’t have a specific update but hopefully going forward there will be more to talk about. In the meantime, thanks for your enthusiasm.
Now this is a “we heard from a guy, that heard from another guy” source, so we cannot read too much into this. The reply email doesn’t seem to confirm and/or deny a Poltergeist film; It looks to be a polite email response revealing nothing. I can see how those excited about a project may view the lack of the word “no” as a yes. I simply don’t like to read into things and will err on the side of caution here.
I for one have no desire to see an “updated” Poltergeist film, but may be game for Poltergeist 4. A good ghost film is always a creepy delight. Recently The Orphanage scarred the hell out of me, and it is the current “ghost story to beat” in my books.
International friends do you think this email correspondence hints at a Poltergeist remake – or does it reveal nothing?
The viral website campaign for Batman: The Dark Knight has been impressive to say the least. But as I hear that tomorrow ClownTravelAgency.com will reveal its secret, I tripped over a list of all the viral sites launched to support this movie.
NBC is going to move forward with a complete series reports Variety saying the show was just added to NBC’s 2008-09 roster. Despite being horrible, the series did bring in solid ratings in a February that was filled with alternative programming such as reality television galore. On top of that, who wouldn’t want to see a new “Knight Rider”?
The thing I like about Pilots is that it gives the creators the chance to fix things to make the show better.
Many people are cursing this remake as the pilot was only luke warm as it was. But keep in mind that feedback has been heard and they likely will address those they feel have merit. I personally thought the show was ok. Not great but considering the original show was super cheesey even by 80s standards, are we really surprised?
My advice would be to get a more charismatic female lead. Or none at all. Mike Traceur should be a lone wolf. New babes every week.
That and give Kitt a stronger voice. As soft and proper as the original Kitt was, Val Kilmer’s voice was not a good fit. He needs a voice of authority and something that convey’s the superiority that Kitt represents.
I for one am looking forward to see what they do with it. I will wait to see what changes they make (if any) before making up my mind on it.
The book Maynard & Jennica has been tapped for film adaptation, we get wind of the news thanks to the hallowed halls of The Hollywood Reporter:
Scott Rudin has optioned Rudolph Delson’s novel “Maynard & Jennica” and attached scribe Liz Meriwether to pen the screenplay.
“Maynard” tells a whimsical story about the relationship between a filmmaker-musician and his more introspective girlfriend that is set before, during and after Sept. 11. It’s told from the points of view of several dozen narrators, including the people — and in some cases objects and animals (including a macaw and a subway-train brake) — familiar with the couple’s relationship.
I like the idea of many voices coming together to tell the tale of the couple. When describing a person, you not only include what the person thinks of themselves , but also what others think of them. We may miss or ignore unfavorable characteristics, about ourselves or loved ones; but a choir of critics helps to point the compass true.
I like the wacky list of narrators, from a Macaw to a Train Brake, there will be no shortage of unique opinions. I haven’t had a chance to read this book, but would love to hear opinions from those of you that have. Please share your thoughts about the book, and feelings on a film adaptation.
The hotly debated remakes of 80s classic horror films like Friday the 13th are currently in production. The question on everyone’s mind is who will play the iconic lead of Jason?
Derek Mears, who recently starred in The Hills Have Eyes 2 and has done stunts for the “Pirates of the Caribbean” films and the upcoming Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, will reportedly play Jason Voorhees in New Line Cinema and Platinum Dunes’ new Friday the 13th movie.
From that picture, Derek certainly has the lumbering goliath look to pull of Jason Voorhees. His near six and a half foot stature will fit the physical bit, though it is expected he will wear the hockey mask and burlap sack, so the face doesn’t matter much.
This role is not something that needs a master thespian, but rather a phsyical presence. That New Line and Platinum Dunes are going with an actor who’s body of work consists of stunt work and extras such as thugs and goons.
This is good news for those worried that the remake would dig too deeply into the backstory of the tortured mind of the protagonist. Many would prefer to leave the “why” as a mystery and focus more on the terror at hand. Getting an actor who likely isnt going to be in deep insightful scenes of emotion. But more likely scenes of deep physical impact and bloody killing.
The word on a possible X-Men 4 went back and forth even before X-Men 3 (which I thought was the weakest of the 3 films, but still kinda fun… and had the best battle scene of all 3) even hit the theaters. The word was that after X-Men 3 Fox was going to be finished with the X-Men. Then, after it made over $100 million on it’s opening weekend, we started to heard Fox execs talking about how there WOULD be an X-Men 4.
So is there or is there not going to be an X-Men 4 in the near future? Well… the answer is yes and no.
No, there probably won’t be an actual movie with the title “X-Men 4″ anytime soon. As a matter of fact, actor Shawn Ashmore (Iceman) just talked with ShockTillYouDrop and basically said he’s heard nothing about a possible fourth installment:
I would love to do another film, but I think they’re doing these spin-offs and origin stories, so I can’t see in the near future there being an “X-Men 4″ but I have no idea to tell you the truth, it’s really hard to say. I’m holding my breath, waiting for it to happen, but I’m not sure if it will or not.
But here’s the thing… it really all is just a matter of semantics. When the whispers of an X-Men 4 started coming up, it was pretty much understood that it would focus much more on Wolverine (an obvious decision since he is the most popular character in the X-Men universe). And now we have that movie already filming. Oh it’s not called “X-Men 4″, but it does have the same guy as Wolverine back again, with other characters from the X-Men universe in the film with him. We also have a Magneto movie coming… all in the same universe in the same timeline as the X-Men movies.
So will there be an actual X-Men 4 film anytime soon? I wouldn’t hold my breath, but anything is possible. To me Wolverine is X-Men 4, so either way is doesn’t really matter to me.
We have news today of a direct to DVD follow up to Joy Ride thanks to our friends at cinematical:
Joy Ride 2: Dead Ahead is a video-store follow-up to the surprisingly solid 2001 thriller Joy Ride. The semi-sequel comes from first-time scribe James Robert Johnston and one of the guys who penned Dumb & Dumber. The director is Louis Morneau, well-known to schlock-fans as the man who helmed The Hitcher 2, Bats, and Carnosaur 2.
I remember watching the origional film on TV a few years back, and was entertained. A creepy trucker that chases down his enemies, slaughters them and communicates via CB radio is a formula for success as far as I am concerned. Joy Ride was not an amazing film, but it certainly wasn’t a waste of time. I am not sure it deserves a sequel, but a direct to DVD follow up seems to be appropriate. What tickles my fancy is that the guy who directed Bats is on board to helm this. Bats was an over the top B – Movie that I had the honor of seeing in the theatre. It is so bad – its awesome and you need to add Bats to your list of films to watch before you die.
This film may be worth a gander upon release in October. I will hunt the local bargain bins for the film and gladly review it, if I can track it down.
It doesn’t matter if you loved or hated Grindhouse (personally, I LOVED Planet Terror and just hated Deathproof) I think most of us agree that the fake trailer for “Machete” was one of the absolute highlights of the while Grindhouse experience. It was actually a little bit of a let down since I thought the Machete footage was the best stuff in all the Grindhouse trailers… only to then find out it was just from the fake trailer. Oh well.
Some time ago we all got excited when we heard that they were going to go ahead and produce an actual “Machete” movie. Well, actor Danny Trejo just came out and said that not only are they still doing a Machete movie… but that they’re looking at making it a full Machete trilogy! On top of that, Trejo claims that Robert Rodriguez is personally going to direct the flims (or at least the first one).
Now, take all this with a grain of salt since this is coming from the non-A-List actor who would personally stand the most to gain if this happens, and it is possible this may just be wishful thinking on his part. But lets assume for a moment that he’s correct. How wicked would that be?!?!?! I’ve been dying to see that Machete movie ever since I first saw it in the Grindhouse trailers… and a full trilogy of slash em up fun would be killer!
Personally I give this project a 50/50 chance of ever filming… but man it will be sweet if it does. (Source: BloodyDisgusting)
I’ve mentioned before that I’m one of the few people who actually really enjoyed “Superman Returns“. I thought it was a great character study, and even though I wanted more action and “cool stuff”, I still ended up having a great time with it. That being said, I’ve been quite anxious about the next Superman film. But that is looking more and more in question.
My friend Peter over at Slashfilm wrote an article outlining a legal issue that has arisen with the Superman character. The main idea is this:
a federal judge decided last week that Time Warner is no longer the sole proprietor of Superman. The court has ruled that the heirs of Jerome Siegel (of Siegel and Shuster) are entitled to a share of the US copyright to the character. The quick backstory goes like this: Siegel and Shuster sold the rights to Superman 70 years ago to Detective Comics for only $130. DC Comics has since given the creators each a $20,000-per-year annuity (later increased to $30,000). But then in 1997, Mrs. Siegel and her daughter served copyright termination notices which permits heirs to be able to recover rights to creations in certain situations (part of the 1976 Mickey Mouse copyright act). Compensation would be limited to any work created using the Superman character after their 1999 termination date.
But the bigger news is that this might put both the Bryan Singer-helmed Superman sequel The Man of Steel and the already troubled Justice League of America in jeopardy. With the relatives of Siegel now officially part-owners of the character, who knows what the future may look like. It’s also possible that in 2013 the entire Superman copyright will be yanked out of Warner Bros’ hands completely, as Joe Shuster’s estate takes the other half.
Studios with huge amounts of money have a way of making even serious potential problems like this go away and I won’t be surprised in the least if Warner Bros. does indeed make this issue disappear. Having said that, this is a serious potential problem in the near future for any Superman related projects.
The questions:
1) What does, if anything, this do to the next Bryan Singer Superman film? Will the new rights holders interfere? Will they demand too much money to the point that it makes the project unfeasible?
2) Will this kill or at least alter the new train wreck Justice League movie?
It looks like Kevin Kline will be speaking in other tongues with his new project Joueuse. We get the scoop this morning from the Hollywood Reporter:
In his first French-speaking role, Kevin Kline will star with Sandrine Bonnaire and Jennifer Beals in Caroline Bottaro’s drama “Joueuse (Queen to Play).”
Bonnaire plays a hotel maid captivated by a romantic couple (Beals and Francis Renaud) playing chess while staying at the Mediterranean island hotel where she works. The doctor (Kline) whose house she cleans reluctantly becomes her mentor in the game, leading her to a chess tournament and initiating major transformations in her life. First-time feature director Bottaro adapted the screenplay from Bertina Henrichs’ novel “The Chess Player.”
Kevin Kline is certainly spicing up his portfolio by starring in a film that’s not in his native tongue. Canada is bilingual, but I never fancied French class and didn’t pick up much of the language; I may be able to order a sandwich, thats about it. I think I may speak more Klingon than French which means I will fare better on a Bird of Prey than I will in Quebec.
This is cool news, but no word if this film will see a release in North America. We may have to wait for the DVD release to get our hands on it, time will tell.
A new Indiana Jones 4 TV spot is out and floating around. Really, it’s pretty much the same as the trailer we’ve all already seen with a few seconds of new stuff at the beginning. Check it out:
It was a couple of days ago that a story broke about Will Smith actually being a Scientologist and Sony Studios trying to kill the story. The good folks over at Defamer broke it, and here’s the short version of what went down:
- MSNBC broke a story that Will Smith was a secret Scientologist.
- Sony Studios (who is releasing Smith’s new film “Hancock“) allegedly flipped out and contacted MSNBC in an attempt to get them to pull or change the story.
– MSNBC refused to pull the story
– Sony released a denial statement from Will Smith about being a Scientologist.
– Smith’s Scientologist friends got upset about the denial
– MSNBC later updated their story to say that Sony never contacted them in an attempt to get them to pull the story.
– Defamer insists their story is accurate and is standing by it.
So is Will Smith a Scientologist? More importantly should it matter? Personally I don’t give two squats what religious philosophy a person holds too weather it’s Scientology, Hinduism, Atheism, Christianity, Islam or what have you. Your personal beliefs are your personal beliefs and as far as I’m concerned you’re free to have them and even express them if you wish no matter if I agree with them or not. When you’re on the screen you’re a different character and all I care about is if you play that character well or not.
However, it is interesting that (at least according to this story) a major studio sees association with Scientology to be a potentially damaging thing. Perhaps they still see a Tom Cruise backlash and don’t want to be associated with it.
It would be hard to blame Sony for thinking this way. After all, Mission Impossible 3 was forecasted to take in about $205-220 million domestically. In the heart of the whole Tom Cruise craziness the film only managed to take $135 million. Cruises next film, “Lion for Lambs” only managed $15 million. So if the Tom Cruise Scientology thing is a part of that rapid decrease in Cruise bankability, you could understand Sony wanting to distance Will Smith from it (at least until after Hancock comes out.
So here are a couple of questions for you guys:
1) If it came out that Will Smith was a Scientologist, WOULD it effect (not SHOULD it effect) your interest or desire in anyway to see his projects?
2) Now, do you think Smith coming out as a Scientologist would effect the desire of OTHER PEOPLE to see his projects?
Mos Def has landed the honor of playing Chuck Berry in the upcoming musical biopic Cadillac Records. We get the scoop from the murky caves of yahoo:
Rapper-actor Mos Def will play legendary rock ‘n’ roller Chuck Berry in “Cadillac Records.”
The Sony BMG film is set in 1950s Chicago and follows the turbulent lives of Chess Records co-founder Leonard Chess (Adrien Brody), and the label’s artists, including Waters (Jeffrey Wright), Little Walter (Columbus Short), Howlin’ Wolf (Eamonn Walker), Etta James (Beyonce Knowles) and Willie Dixon (Cedric the Entertainer).
We mentioned this film a while back and discussed the glory of the man known as Howlin’ Wolf.
I think Little Richard is the innovator, the emancipator, the architect and the originator of Rock and Roll. But Chuck was one of the first artist’s at his side and really made the case for the electric guitar in Rock and Roll. Chuck Berry wrote outstanding riffs, and forever changed the face of rock with the way he played his guitar. He is a living legend, and all who love rock music owe him thanks and gratitude
I didn’t mind Mos Def in Be Kind Rewind, and think he’s a good casting choice for a young Chuck Berry. You want to make sure you find someone that is going to be believable, because Chuck will give you shit if you mess with his story.
I enjoy biopics about musicians and look forward to this film. No release date has been made available, but filming has begun in New Jersey, and we will keep you up to speed.
So I stumbled across this little trailer for a project called “Gingerdead Man 2: Passion of the Crust”. I don’t even know if it’s real or not… all I can say is that if this is indeed real… it looks so awful that I’m going crazy inside to see it. No really, I want to see this stupid thing… I can’t explain it, but I do.
Steve Martin and Diane Keaton will be together again in the family comedy One Big Happy. We get wind of this news from the professionals at Variety:
In a preemptive buy in the high six-figures, Paramount Pictures has acquired “One Big Happy,” a comic pitch from “Party of Five” creators Chris Keyser and Amy Lippman to which Steve Martin and Diane Keaton are attached to star.
Concept is being kept under wraps, but sources describe “One Big Happy” as a family comedy about a couple and a family reconnecting amid various obstacles. The material is a strong match for Martin and Keaton, who played a married couple in the Charles Shyer-directed “Father of the Bride” and its sequel.
I am a fan of Steve Martin. I think he is extremely talented and some of his films are amongst my all time favorites. I am not opposed to another feel good, family comedy …..but I long for another film akin to The Jerk or The Lonely Guy. If you have yet to see either of these two films, do so now!
Martin and Keaton did work well together in Father of the Bride, and I am not opposed to them teaming up again in this project; I just hope the characters are a bit different. Keaton could take Tom’s schtick from Valkyrie and wear an eye-patch, that would make her the coolest movie mom ever in my books. Daryl Hannah pulled off the look in Kill Bill, let’s see if Keaton can do likewise.
No word on when this picture is set to be released, but I will be on the lookout for further info, and will be sure to keep you posted.
It looks like Carmen Electra and Kevin Sorbo will be joining forces again in Art House Movie: There Will Be Farts. We get the sad, sad news from ropeofsilicon:
Last week we revealed the first two pages of the script for Art House Movie: There Will Be Farts. The silly scribblings had plenty of ways for the filmmakers to spoof such films as No Country for Old Men, Juno, There Will Be Blood and Once. Well, today we can exclusively tell you that two spoof regulars may be joining the production.
Kevin Sorbo and Carmen Electra are in final negotiations to play Antwone Sugar and Dia-blow Cody in the film. A storyline hasn’t been revealed yet other than to say it will create a cohesive story made up of several art house pictures from recent years and films such as Cloverfield and United 93 may even be included.
I am saddened that after Sorbo and Electra participated in Meet The Spartans, they have decided to sign up for a film entitled Art House Movie: There Will Be Farts. Either times are tough for the two of them; or they are content to make poor life decisions. Meet the Spartans sucked as bad as a film could suck and I would hazard a guess that this film may be of like quality (we will wait and see).
I have no love for most spoof films and am saddened that they have become standard box office fare. We can now expect a number of these films throughout the calendar year and perfectly good viewing screens are subjected to showcasing shit for the duration of the run. I hope the appeal for these films dies off sooner rather than later.
It looks like Madonna wishes to prove herself as an actress by doing another remake, and this time out she wants to tackle Casablanca? We get the peculiar story this morning from our friends at aceshowbiz:
Madonna, the star of the Academy Award-winning film “Evita”, has reportedly planning to return to the big screen once again. According to reports, the 49-year-old Golden Globes-winning actress for her portrayal of Eva Peron has been considering to resurrect her acting career with a remake project of the 1942 classic movie “Casablanca”.
Daily Mail reported that a source at a major Hollywood studio said, “She wants to update the story and maybe set it in a modern war zone such as Iraq. There is no script yet. Madonna and her people are testing the waters to see if this is the right vehicle for her and if a major studio will get behind the project.” The Mail on Sunday claimed that Hollywood executives who consider the original film as the greatest film of all time didn’t accept her idea well. A studio source said, “The reception has been lukewarm to say the least. No one can understand why she wants to redo what many people consider the greatest film of all time.”
I hate remakes, especially when the films are considered classics. I don’t know what the hell Madonnna is high on, but not only does she want to remake Casablanca – she wants to modernize it? This strategy just makes a bad idea worse, and no one other than her will want to see this film.
If Madonna wants to continue acting, she can be my guest. I think a better strategy would be for her to star in films that she writes/produces herself, rather than imposing her will on beloved classics and pissing everyone off. Grow as an actress by funding your own projects, and try to make your own legendary film.
It is music to my ears that the Hollywood overlords are confused at her pitch; so are we. Chances are slim that this film will ever happen, but we will be sure to follow the story and keep you abreast of the situation. Madonna must be stopped!
Hello International friends. I have returned from vacation with gifts! Empire has obtained some exclusive pictures from the Tom Cruise WW2 project Valkyrie. The photos have been made available to us thanks to firstshowing.net:
I cannot say this film is on my must watch list, but Tom Cruise in an eye-patch is certainly reason enough to give it a chance. It will be interesting to see him in a film after that insane Scientology video that circled the web. I am starting to wonder if his peculiar behavior will effect his ability to put asses in theatre seats. International friends – what do you think?
Valkyrie is slotted for release October 3rd and we will be sure to keep you up to speed on the progress.
Rumors are bubbling in the heavens that another Poltergeist film may be under way. The gossip comes to us via an email exchange between 
The viral website campaign for Batman: The Dark Knight has been impressive to say the least. But as I hear that tomorrow 
As porly receieved as the Knight Rider TV Movie were, it appears that NBC is moving ahead with a new TV series using the movie as its pilot episode.
The book Maynard & Jennica has been tapped for film adaptation, we get wind of the news thanks to the hallowed halls of 
The hotly debated remakes of 80s classic horror films like Friday the 13th are currently in production. The question on everyone’s mind is who will play the iconic lead of Jason?
The word on a possible X-Men 4 went back and forth even before 
We have news today of a direct to DVD follow up to 
It doesn’t matter if you loved or hated 
I’ve mentioned before that I’m one of the few people who actually really enjoyed “
It looks like Kevin Kline will be speaking in other tongues with his new project Joueuse. We get the scoop this morning from the 
It was a couple of days ago that a story broke about 
Mos Def has landed the honor of playing Chuck Berry in the upcoming musical biopic Cadillac Records. We get the scoop from the murky caves of 
Steve Martin and Diane Keaton will be together again in the family comedy One Big Happy. We get wind of this news from the 
It looks like Carmen Electra and Kevin Sorbo will be joining forces again in Art House Movie: There Will Be Farts. We get the sad, sad news from 
It looks like Madonna wishes to prove herself as an actress by doing another remake, and this time out she wants to tackle Casablanca? We get the peculiar story this morning from our friends at 
