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Greetings American friends. HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY. I’m in Los Angeles today heading to Newport Beach to celebrate the day’s festivities with my friends… personally I’m celebrating a belated Canada’s Day… but I won’t mention that out loud. Celebrate hard, celebrate wild… and celebrate safe everyone!
Thanks for checking out our Forgotten Fridays feature. This weekend is a Holiday for our American cousins (and an extended holiday for us Canadians) and so I am going to throw this out to the International Friends to lend a hand for the Forgotten Fridays Feature
So if you have an idea for a Forgotten Fridays Film to review, feel free to Email me directly with your requests. Do not leave your request in the comment section, but rather Email Rodney
This is something we want to try out to review some older films that maybe you have forgotten about or maybe never got around to seeing that we just want to share.
Some things to consider for a Forgotten Friday movie:
The movie doesn’t have to be that old, but likely not something from the last 5-6 years.
The movie doesnt have to be unheard of, but maybe something that isn’t that well known, or “forgotten”
The movie should be really good! I want to be able to rate it on the TV/RentBuy scale.
So this is your chance to share. If I haven’t seen it but it appeals to me, I may rent it to check it out.
And to you Americans have a great Independence Weekend!
Eminem has a cameo appearance in Adam Sandler’s Funny People and we have our first look at his meeting with Sandler’s character.
Now this is the appropriate use of a non-actor in a film. I am not opposed to having these “non actors” be in movies, I just don’t think they should be burdened with carrying the whole film. Eminem’s role in 8 Mile being a small exception as he essentially was playing a role modeled after .. well Eminem. He just had to be himself and he did a great job at it.
I do like the revelation that Film School Rejects shares about Apatow on directing Eminem:
“I was scared to pitch jokes to him then I realized his songs are as nasty as anything that has ever been spoken. There is no way to offend him.”
After seeing his staged gag with Bruno, I would assume that Eminem has a great sense of humour and thick skin about these things. You would have to in a genre of music that revolves around boasting about what you have, and battling against people verbally telling them what they don’t have.
I can’t wait to see Eminem and Sandler play off each other.
So because someone out there asked the question “What could be the dumber than a movie based on the Atari Video game Asteroids?” today brings us an answer!
A movie based on the Viewmaster toy.
Fringe co-producer/writer Brad Caleb Kane will be writing a movie based on the stereoscopic Viewmaster toy for Dreamworks. Created in 1939 as a way for money challenged tourists to enjoy 3D stereo-grams of colorful and picturesque locations from around the world, the Viewmaster was later marketed as a toy in the mid-1960’s.Brad revealed the info on Twitter, saying that he is developing the script for Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, and that the hope is for it to be in the vein of the old 1980’s Amblin movies like Goonies and Young Sherlock.
That descriptive is longer than any script I could conceieve on a movie based on a Viewmaster.
And I have NO CLUE what it means to say it will be “in the vein of Goonies and Young Sherlock” and what that has to do with a viewmaster. But we all know these vague connections to nostalgic toys are just to tie some otherwise unrelated script to a marketable slice of a recognized property.
The best part of X-Men Origins Origins for me was Wade Wilson. Notice I didn’t say Deadpool. WADE WILSON!!
Ryan Reynolds hit that so hard that the comic book character got a bruise. And now that he seems to be beind the whold direction of the Deadpool spinoff movie, we hear its headed in a good direction. The one looming question has always been whether the character would follow his comic book quirk of breaking the fourth wall.
FirstShowing shares:
We’ve heard a lot about where the story might go and other ideas from Reynolds, but one point he hasn’t addressed yet is if Wade Wilson will break the “fourth wall” as he has done in the comics. “Break the fourth wall? Oh yeah, he’s got to. I want to see him break the Great Wall,” Reynolds told Empire today. And as for his decapitated head at the end of Wolverine, well, “that we won’t speak of.”
It seems that a Deadpool movie would be an easy one to make since its already clear that all they have to do is write down every concept attached to the Deadpool name used in X-Men Origins.
And do the opposite.
And it looks like that is what she is trying to do. Yay!
I am really starting to look forward to A Couple of Dicks. Even in spite of Tracey Morgan (who is growing on me as I have fallen in love with 30Rock at the recommendation of our commenters) the rest of the cast is shaping up to be great, and I am really curious about Kevin Smith directing a movie he didn’t write.
A few pictures from the set have found their way to the net.
Bruce Willis is looking ..well like Bruce. And that’s cool (When I loose my hair I hope I look like him) and Michelle Trachtenberg looks absolutely angelic in that whole bridal gettup.
ComingSoon has a huge gallery of pictures.
There’s just no getting around it. 300 kicked all sort of formidable ass. The movie was not only a beautiful and faithful translation from the printed page of Frank Miller’s brilliant graphic novel, but it was also breathtaking to look at, listen too and feel.
Now as most of you know (SPOILER for the 32 of you on the planet who haven’t seen the original movie), King Leonidas dies bravely at the end of the first movie by being shot by about 4298 arrows. He’s dead… not mostly dead… not sorta dead… DEAD.
Now here’s the strange part… we all know that Frank Miller is currently working on a graphic novel sequel to 300 that, if all goes according to plan, Zack Snyder would then turn into a sequel movie. Ok sure, sounds great. But now it’s being suggested by the movie’s producer that Leonidas (played by Gerard Butler) could be brought back from the dead for the story. The good folks over at Live For Film give us this:
“Frank Miller’s working on something,” revealed producer Mark Canton when MTV spoke to him, telling them that he’s onboard to return for Snyder’s 300 sequel. “That, Zack has said.”“Things are always looking good with ‘300,’ it’s a blessing and a gift. Zack’s a genius, and no matter where you go it’s the one movie that people around the world seem to somewhat identify with the most,” explained Canton “We’re thrilled for [a sequel]; it’ll be a blast. There’s a new Blu-Ray coming out all over again shortly, so that’s great. It’s like the gift that never stops giving.”
“[The key to the sequel] is about getting it right, you know,” the producer said of their dilemma after having killed off virtually the entire cast in the first film. “Frank is a perfectionist, and so is Zack. And I think they set the bar pretty high.” Canton had the surprising news that even Gerard Butler’s King Leonidas could be brought back from the dead. “Never assume anything; never assume anything,” he repeated when I asked if the original cast were gone for good. “It’ll be what it’ll be. But if we really do it, in this case, we have a visionary creator and a visionary filmmaker.”
Whoa… brining Leonidas back from the dead? Doesn’t that seem a little… I don’t know… Search For Spock-ish?
If (and that’s a BIG IF) this is true, I’m willing to give Miller (as a writer) the benefit of the doubt and wait to see what sort of plot device he comes up with… but I’m still a little skeptical. What do you think?
As some of you may recall, the other day put up a post letting you guys know that I was contacted by a PR person who informed me that the new movie “I Love You Beth Cooper” was NOT going to have press screenings. I basically said (correctly so) that not screening a film for press is essentially a studio admitting the movie sucks. It is the ultimate show of no confidence in a movie.
HOWEVER, a few days later i was contacted by a rep from Fox to assure me the movie is indeed screening for critics, and even sent me the date and times for the screenings. I forwarded this new person the original email I had received… I’ve still never been told what the deal was with that first email I got… but it doesn’t really matter. So, I thought it was only fair that I let you guys know that Fox is indeed screening “I Love You Beth Cooper” for press in advance. I still have no idea if the film is great or horrible, but at least the studio is showing some confidence in it.
Good freaking grief. I had to do a serious double take when I first saw this picture. It’s a shot of Kristen Stewart & Dakota Fanning in their new upcoming movie The Runaways.
The biopic of the 70’s all girl rock band “The Runaways” is ramping up to production and appears to have rounded out its cast. The band was comprised to some legendary names in the rock industry such as:
Lita Ford (to be played by Scout Taylor-Compton from Rob Zombie’s Halloween movies)
Joan Jett (To be played by Twilight’s Kristen Stewart)
Cherie Currie (To be played by Dakota Fanning)
Sandy West (To be played by Stella Maeve)
The Runaways as a band had a successful but short run from 1975 to about 1979 and has such hit songs as “Cherry Bomb,” “Queens of Noise,” “Neon Angels (On the Road to Ruin)” and “Born to Be Bad.” The Runaways movie is currently scheduled for a 2010 release. (source: BigPicture image: Queen Of Noise)
Found these picture… that just floor me… over at Just Jared
The poster for Bruce Willis’ Surrogates has hit the net.
I really like seeing Bruce in this kind of thing. The very premise of the movie (Everyone lives at home controlling a robot replacement of themselves in the real world) just means that Bruce can indiscriminately “kill” people as he would just be damaging their surrogate.
The poster looks hip, and captures that “not so distant future” feel. I am looking forward to this.
Check Superhero Hype to see a bigger version of the poster.
With the uberpopularity of Twilight and the dreamy freak show that is Robert Pattinson, it appears that he will be reprising his role in Harry Potter as they re-write the last movie to explain away his death scene from the 4th film to bring Cedric Diggory back from the dead.
Either that or a bunch of staffers at the MTV offices were just having too much fun with a Twilight standee and some Potter swag they received. Yeah, that sounds more likely.
A big box of “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” swag came in the mail and we got a little silly with it. If you’re a Twilighter, you will like this image. If you’re a “Harry Potter” fan, you will like this image. If you hate fun… well, you probably won’t like this image. But fun is FUN!
At least they are putting that free stuff to good use.
Planet 51 looks like a fun little movie with some great twist on the alien visitor genre.
But I would expect nothing less from Dreamworks. What? What’s a Ilion? Studio? Really? This quality from something that isn’t Pixar or Dreamworks? Colour me impressed! Check it out:
I like the clever tributes to pop culture with the “alien” dog and the pet Mars Rover. And the human in an alien world really puts a different take on the genre that promises a lot of fun.
NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO. Why is it when Hollywood needs a black actor for a role in a semi-big to big movie they incessantly look at bloody rappers for the roles???? I spend some time in Los Angeles, and I can tell you there are LOADS of talented young black actors here who have committed their entire lifetimes to developing their art. There are here! They are available! They are GOOD! They are just waiting for a break… give the role to one of these guys instead of fucking idiot rapper, or idiot rock star or idiot “famous for something else other than acting” person. GAAAA!!!!
The word right now is that rapper “The Game” is in serious contention to be B.A. Baracus in the upcoming A-Team movie. DAMN!
Ok… to be fair… it’s not like the role of B.A. will take a ton of talent to pull off. Even Mr. T himself just grunted a lot and didn’t have many lines and unless “Game” is a total moron I’m sure he could pull it off… hell I could pull it off. But come on… give this to an actor… not this guy. Please. Pretty please.
Ok, everyone who has been around The Movie Blog for any length of time knows that I generally don’t dig many animated films that aren’t produced by Pixar (which is the best movie studio, animated or otherwise, in the entire business). Yes, once in a while a non-Pixar movie like “Bolt” will come out… but that’s the exception. Most of them are crap.
Well another animated film that LOOKED like crap to me, now suddenly seems to have some promise. “Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs” just put out a new trailer that is VASTLY superior to the first one.
This one kinda makes it look like “UP” in a way. A sort of silly premise, but is all heart underneath it.
This trailer also highlight MR. T!!!!!!! What fool will not see this movie now? I pity them. Check it out:
The movie follows the story of a young aspiring inventor named Flint who tries to develop a machine that has the ability to turn water into food when his town falls on hard times with little to nothing to eat. Flint succeeds, sending the town into great celebrations, but when the machine starts to get out of controls, Flint must find a way to stop what he created.
Lending their voices to the film are performers such as Bill Hader (Superbad, Forgetting Sarah Marshall), Bruce Campbell (The Evil Dead movies), Andy Samberg (SNL) and Anna Faris (House Bunny). However, the name that excited me the most is the immortal Mr. T as the voice of the city’s law enforcement.
Ok, well all know that video game movies suck… and suck hard (I have the slightest glimmer of hope that the upcoming Prince of Persia MIGHT break the trend… but I’m not holding my breath). My basic argument as to WHY they all suck, is that games are not built for narrative storytelling. They’re developed for gameplay. Even in the largest scale game, when you break it down there is very little narrative in them, even though it might FEEL like there is more… there’s not.
So here comes news that Universal studio just spent a bunch of money to buy the right to develop… are you ready for this…. a movie based on the classic Atari game “Asteroids“.
ARE… YOU… FUCKING… KIDDING ME!?!?!?!
You had to pay MONEY for the rights to a story about… well… NOTHING??? It’s a triangle shitting out little dots hitting rock like objects. You’re going to build a MOVIE around that? Seriously?
Matt Lopez (Bedtime Stories, Race To Witch Mountain) has been attached to write the script… which should be all of about 4 pages.
What’s next? Pong The Movie?
Hey guys… new installment of my video blog. This time I’m asking some (non-retorical) questions about Transformers 2. If you’ve guys got some answers to these… please do leave your thoughts in the comments section.
I’m a big fan of Ricky Gervais. I think his recent movie “Ghost Town” was sorrily under-appreciated and not nearly enough people went out to see it. His various Television shows are also top notch.
Now comes his directoral debut in “The Invention Of Lying“. The premise of the film is a simple one. Imagine a world where everyone told the absolute truth all the time, and then one man discovers lying.
The cast is huge and amazing as well. Ricky Gervais, Jennifer Garner, Rob Lowe, Jonah Hill, Louis C.K., Christopher Guest, Tina Fey and more.
I think this actually got online a few days ago… but somehow it flew under my radar, so I present it to you now. I think this looks hilarious:
Jessica Biel is one of those rare Hollywood super hotties that is also not a half bad actress. That in mind, it’s no surprise that she’s in demand these days. There is also a trend the last few years of bigger and bigger named stars taking roles in super hero films… so this news seems to fit just fine with current trends.
There is a report (rumor) going around that Jessica Biel is in negotiations to appear in the upcoming Marvel film “Thor”. The good folks over at Movie Web give us this:
if cast, Biel would play the title character’s love interest. The site’s source didn’t know the character’s name, the source said they believed it was a female character that appeared in the Hulk Vs. Thor animated DVD. Possible female candidates that appeared in that DVD are Amora The Enchatress or Sif.
WHY DOES THOR NEED A FREAKING LOVE INTEREST?!?!?! WHY!?!?! FOR THE LOVE OF ODIN WHY!?!?!?!?!?!
Don’t get me wrong… I really like Biel and I’d be thrilled to hear she’s participating in Thor, but why do writers constantly feel the need to give superheroes love interests? It distracts from the characters and pulls us away from the stuff we want in our super hero movies. Gaaa I hate this.
Bill Nighy just freaking rules the yard. Such a phenomenal who can effortlessly transition from comedy (Shaun of the Dead) to drama (Valkyrie) to fantasy (Pirates of the Caribbean 2 & 3) to action/horror (Underworld). His portrayal of Viktor in Underworld made him my all time favorite movie vampire.
Now he’s moving to Hogwarts. Although he’s not saying which role he’s just been given in the upcoming Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, he did mention he’s been cast and that he’s going to be a good guy.
I was not a Harry Potter fan for the first 3 films… but I’ve grown to really appreciate the last few and find myself really looking forward to the next one. Now I can say I’m already VERY excited about the beginning of the final chapter. Nighy rules!
Some of the International Friends may not know that The Movie Blog got it humble beginnings in Canada. I myself still live here in Ontario. As many celebrities in Hollywood have, our roots have expanded beyond our modest beginnings but as you have often heard, we remain Canadian in our hearts.
And who better than to illustrate this point than William Shatner. Canadian.
So on this First Day of July, I stand proudly and state that I AM CANADIAN, and will continue to spell colour with a U in it and drink my beer and watch hockey (and Pray we get the Coyotes in Hamilton)
Happy Canada Day!
