The Invasion Trailer

Well here it is.
Advance word is..well..not too good. This is a shame as Nicole needs a critical/box office hit and she needs it fast.
Apparently there were loads of reshoots to heighten up the action as the studios were not happy. Are they ever unless it rakes in a fortune, not matter how crap it is?
The trailer looks effective, and Nicole look lovely as always, and seems to be able to handle the action required of her, but we will have to wait and see.


It would be nice to see some more original horror/thrillers being made. The genre is slowly imploding on itself with needless remakes, and the new fad of turture porn which does nothing for me. Gore has it's place in film as long as it is not just for the sake of shock value and grossing the audience out. However it seems to be what all the kids are doing right now.
Sad that we live in a time where these torture films get the same rating as a movie about two cowboys in love.

Jason Statham = Hotness

Well it is the weekend, and the weather here in London is sunny, but with enough of a chill in the air to render your nipples tough enough to cut glass.

I order to heat things up I was trying to think of who would warm my cockles, but I did not want anyone pretty like the last guy I posted about, I wanted someone who looked a little...well...dirty.

There was only one real choice. I had to go for a nice bit of English rough and ready.

Jason Statham

The uber male. Testosterone at it's highest. Muscles, rugged looks and sexily hairy. The star of "Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels", "The Transporter", and "Crank" can come and rescue me any time he likes.

Two Trailers of Note

The First is “30 Days of Night” based on the acclaimed graphic novel (new trend I see) about an Alaskan town plunged into darkness for a month while being attacked by vampires.



The Second in Will Smith’s “I Am Legend” about the last man alive, who prepares himself. for a nightly attacks from the rest of humanity who are now all vampires (another new trend I spy with my little eye

I Am Legend Bande Annonce
Uploaded by lesfilms

Both look interesting, “30 Days” looks better, but we shall see. The Horror/Thriller genre needs a huge overhaul.
Also “The Invasion” trailer is out, but it is on crappy AOL media player and that just sucks. Curious to see something from the latest Nicole Kidman crapsterpiece.

Thundercats - a - go.

I just really do not know what to think about this. On one hand my inner child is jumping for joy at the thought of Thundercats The Movie, yet on the other hand my sensible and rational adult is sitting at his desk at work with his head in his hands crying “Why or why??”.

Warner Bros has optioned a script by Paul Sopocy which revolves around a group of humanoid cats (with feline names like Lion-O, Tygra, Panthro and Cheetara) who must flee their planet of Thundera after it's destroyed.
Once crash-landing on another planet, Third Earth, they must thwart Mumm-Ra, an evil sorcerer, bent on killing them off.

Ok….I am laughing uncontrolably at this. It just sounds like such a bad idea. I can see how He-Man would work, but Thundercats? Humanoid cats? Live action? Just make it stop.

You all know fully well that they will try and make this an all out action film and try to take it’s self seriously. Kids today do not care about walking talking kitties, I even doubt adults do. If they haven’t made that animated version of Cats the Musical (Oh please let it happen!!!) why would they bother with Thundercats??

Apparently Sopocy has written the script as an origin story expanding on the major heroes and villains from the animated series, with the plot focusing on Lion-O coming of age as the leader of the Thundercats.

Lion-O – ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha……Next you will hear they are going to include Snarf

The Thundercats franchise began in 1983 and spawned several animated series, with the most recent airing on Cartoon Network, and that is where it should rest.
Next you will be telling me they are going to make a Smurf’s movie……then again..

Lord of the Rings vs New Line....that saga continues

It really does seem that New Line has royally f*cked up once again.

With all their greed they are not only tarnishing the the memory of one of the greatest movie experiences of all time, they are also preventing “The Hobbit” from ever being made properly.

Sure Peter Jackson and Co. made enough off the films, but when it comes down to it they are just trying to get what was agreed to them. Fair is fair. Besides the money was owed to Peter Jacksons production company, and not Peter himself. The man has employees to pay you know!!!

It also seems foolish that New Line began to build a very respected name for themselves with the trilogy and other highly acclaimed films, only to tear it down with all this ugly greed. They really should just settle this and get it out the way.

From the Hollywood Reporter:

Fifteen actors from the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy are suing New Line Cinema for breach of contract, claiming the company hasn't paid them their percentage of an estimated $100 million in profits from the sales of movie merchandise, their attorney said Wednesday.

The New Zealand actors were supposed to split 5% of the revenue after expenses from sales of caps, video games, mugs and other merchandise but New Line breached the contract by taking distribution and "gross participation" fees to which it wasn't entitled, according to the lawsuit filed May 30 in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

The fees weren't in the contract and they ate up all of the profits owed to the actors, said their attorney, Henry Gradstein of Los Angeles.

With those fees, "the expenses will always be approximately 104%. It's Hollywood accounting," Gradstein said.

The merchandise has created $100 million in net profits, including $22 million alone for items associated with Paul Norell, who played the "King of the Dead," the attorney estimated.

New Line does not comment on pending litigation, spokesman Robert Pini said Wednesday.

It's not the first suit against New Line stemming from the hugely successful movie series.

Director Peter Jackson's production company sued the distributor two years ago, claiming it was shortchanged on profits, including revenue from DVD sales, for 2001's "The Fellowship of the Ring."

Also in 2005, New Line reached an out-of-court settlement with Hollywood producer Saul Zaentz, who claimed he was owed an additional $20 million in royalties from the "Lord of the Rings" films. Terms were not disclosed.

Johnny Depp - Swoon

Johnny Depp has a very very interesting filmography. He has played drag, a boy with scissor hands, a pirate, a cross dresser, a ghost hunter, a strange and creepy connectionist and even Don Juan.

He has done almost every genre: Comedy, Musical, Horror, Suspense, Drama, Crime Thriller, Supernatural and Foreign Language.
And you know, he has excelled at all of them, he is a master actor able to communicate so many different and varied characters with ease, he is almost the male Meryl.

Aside from his great thespian skills the man is mighty fine! Today I want to bask in the glow of Johnny. GLOW JOHNNY, GLOW!

American Gangster Trailer

Not all too excited about this. Denzel Washinton + Russell Crowe + Ridley Scott x Gangster movie does not cause spontaneous soilings of my pants like it does some others, but I have to take seriously that is has awards pedigree.

In viewing the trailer, again, no skid marks, but it does look like a nice acting showcase for Denzel, but he has done dark before and been rewarded.

As for Crowe…meh.

View it here

El Orfanato

After “Pan’s Labyrinth” I was highly anticipating any new film by Guillermo del Torro. Well this isn’t a ‘directed by him’ film, but it still looks bloody creepy.

The film tells the story of a woman who returns to her childhood home with her family to open a refuge for handicapped children and her young son begins speaking of his new invisible friend he finds there.

Sure the premise has been done, but still I want to see this when it is released as if it is any good it will be badly remade by Hollywood.

Midnight Madness

” An American gold-digger finds herself penniless in Paris. But when impersonating a baroness, she finds several ways to make money. If only she can avoid stepping into the same trap she always does- falling in love with a poor man”

And so goes the premise for the 1939 comedy staring Claudette Colbert, Don Ameche and John Barrymore. Why do I mention this?
Well only because Reese Witherspoon will star in Universal Pictures' remake of it, which is being directed by 'Little Miss Sunshine' Oscar winning screenwriter Michael Arndt .

So what do you follow up you Original Screenplay Oscar with? A Remake.

Don’t get me wrong, I think adapting a novel or play to the screen take a tremendous amount of work to pull successfully, as does an original screenplay, but remakes?

Most of the ground work is done and the whole plot is layed out for you so it should be smooth sailing. Granted there are remakes that have worked amazingly well. ‘Freaky Friday’ was one of them and King Kong was another but I am stumped to come up with more (hung over so please help me out in the comments). With all these wonderful books to adapt and ideas to write about, can we not leave some of the classic films alone and concentrate on telling the stories that have not all ready been put on celluloid?

"Why don't you go take a poll"

"And shove it up your ass"

Madonna
Truth or Dare (U.S.A.) 1991

I love that movie so!!


So I have given in.
I am going to do the poll thing as I always do them on others blogs.
My polls will most likely be about Oscars/movies and such and my first one is no exception

Cast your eye to the right and your mind back to 1985 and the Best Actress race and vote who you think should have won!

When drag ruled the Oscars

To celebrate the U.S. release of "The Adventures Of Priscilla Queen Of The Desert" (come on U.K. get with it) I wanted to pay tribute to one of the funniest and wittiest movies ever! Thanks for the heads up Nat

We all know Terrance Stamp was amazing in it, but so were Hugo Weaving and Guy Pierce , the latter convincing me he was gay that to this day I expect him to open his mouth and an Australian accented purse to fall out by mistake.

What is even more amazing about this movie, aside from the fact it has not really dated, is it won the Oscar for Best Costumes design. And we all remember the dress the costume designer wore.

Well to celebrate it's beefed up release here is a rather fabulous blooper reel! Enjoy!

Should I see 'Knocked Up'?

So ‘Knocked Up’ is going to be one of the big comedy success’s of the summer. I hear that it is getting rave reviews, but won’t be out in the UK for a few months so I will reserve judgment.

I will say that I was not a big fan of ‘The 40 Year Old Virgin’, other than Steve Carell’s peformance. I am actually not much of a fan of Judd Apatow’s work. Then again I am not the target audience.

Straight men are the target, and most of the straight men I have spoken to love these movies.
They are bloke films.
I sometimes listen to a group of guys sitting around talking about sports, women, sex and beer, and laughing and shouting at passers by and doing stupid dares and I just do not get it. HoweverI have never found much humor in that moronic male bonding scenario. I find it kind of sexist and homophobic at times.

I had two sisters and hardly any male friends growing up (where I am from they don’t like gays much). Perhaps if I did I would find peeing in a water gun and shooting people funny, however I didn’t and I just think it is rude.

However I think I may go and see ‘Knocked Up’. The plot is about Slobby Ben (Seth Rogen) and up and coming career girl Alison (Katherine Heigl) who meet at a bar, and end up having a one night stand. Eight weeks later, Ben is shocked when Alison meets him and reveals that she is pregnant. Despite having little in common, the two decide that they have to at least try to make some kind of relationship work for the baby's sake.
This, to me, sends out a huge message to people about safer sex/parental responsibility and I hope it pulls it off with sensitivity. The reviews I have read have stated it does this very well, but I would like to hear from people who have seen it, so please leave a comment and let me know if I should spend my moola!

Bye Bye Battlestar Galactica

It is announced that the low-rated but critically and fan boy worshipped "Battlestar Galactica" will sign off next year after its fourth season, producers said Thursday.

This however is not very shocking news as rumors were rampant on the web that this would happen.
Also the last season was heading towards a conclusion at the end of season 4, and to drag it out would not be cohesive. Besides as I have always asked:
Isn’t it better to end something on a high note and wanting more, than to drag it out so long that no one is interested?

Despite some of the best reviews for any show on TV -- and a fiercely loyal fan base -- "Battlestar" is an extremely expensive show to produce, especially for a cable net. Sci Fi has tried to turn that buzz into bigger ratings, but the show never seemed to break out beyond a core niche. However there is always DVD. I am guessing that like " Firefly " , “Battlestar” will get a loyal and stronger fan base with DVD sales/rentals

Exec producers Ronald D. Moore and David Eick issued a joint statement saying it was their decision to end the series.

"This show was always meant to have a beginning, a middle and, finally, an end," producers said. "Over the course of the last year, the story and the characters have been moving strongly toward that end, and we've decided to listen to those internal voices and conclude the show on our own terms."
Producers promised to end the show "with a bang."

Sure I wish it would go on forever, but it can’t and it is probably one of the best TV shows to EVER grace the screen. I have raved about it so often that I have no words left aside from BRING ON SEASON 4!!!!!!!!!

Battlestar Galactica Season 3 Teaser
Uploaded by solid-snake56

It’s ‘Happening’ for Zooey

Zooey Deschanel will star alongside Mark Wahlberg in M. Night Shyamalan's The Happening for 20th Century Fox. Barry Mendel , who produced Shyamalan's ‘Sixth Sense’ and ‘Unbreakable’ (and thankfully not the rest), will produce with Sam Mercer .

In looking at these two producers track records here is hoping that Mendel can sprinkle some magic back into Shyamalan’s work, as it has been…shall we say spotty…of late.
Mercer has a less attractive resume, but that could all change if ‘Things We Lost In The Fire’ turns out to be a critical darling.

The story of ‘The Happening’ is about a man who takes his family on the run when an apocalyptic natural crisis threatens to end civilization.

This sounds like it could be interesting, as long as the director/writer is not allowed to tag on any surprise twists in the end that do nothing but get a collective groan from the audience. It would be interesting to see him try and direct a straight forward movie.
Advance word on the script is very very positive, but we will have to wait and see how it is handled in the end. At least it is original.

Shooting stars in August. Deschanel will next appear in the 'looks brilliant and had a fantastic trailer' of ‘Surf's Up’ and (will it ever bee released) The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford’.

Paris and Mental Disability

I really did never want to mention this woman/thing/creature on my blog, as I feel she has far too much press coverage as it is and in reality she is nothing more than a talentless waste of space.

In fact she, and the Victoria Beckhams out there, serve no use and are the worst type of role models. Too skinny, lacking in personality and frankly they just look plastic and grim.

Perhaps if they did more in the world than pout and be skeletal than I would appreciate them.
Do some real charity girls! Go on SNL and take the piss out of yourself! Do something unselfish and get photographed looking horrid!

Even Barbie is more interesting as a human.

However in reading the news on line, I found the article that Paris Hilton checked herself into jail two days early. So what I hear you say.

That is not what interested me. It was this line from the Yahoo News article:

“Hilton will be housed in the facility's "special needs" unit.”

How appropriate 'special needs'. Keep her there!

Cannes

I have not mentioned the Cannes Film Festival at all, mainly because the buzz from there is sometimes so hard to read. Most films that go on to win the film festival's top prize do that and only that…Oscar seldom follows. Also true for the performances which hardly ever translate (hello BJORK !!!!)

What the festival does, is bring attention to wonderful films that may slip by and get missed in the Blockbuster and Oscar races and therefore allowing an interested audience knowledge of films that have an important global dialogue.

Check out a wonderful listing of Cannes honourees here, and then go to the ‘FESTIVAL ARCHIVES’ link at the top and select ‘All Awards’ and you can browse by year and update you DVD rental list.

Check out the wonderful Entertainment Weekly film critic Lisa Schwarzbaum’s take take on the festival and the films to triumph.

I LOVE Toni Collette!!!! Still

Why did she not win again?? I know all the talk was on Haley Joel Osment, but on repeated viewing she gets better and better. she does absolute volumes with so little. How very Meryl Streep of her.
Dumb Academy.

box - Love my box

Thinking about ‘Hairspray’ got me thinking about musicals and how most of them are throw backs to an era long gone. Set in times that have passed by (the majority of them) so we can feel the kitsch and campness, but also perhaps become familiar with musical styles we were not familiar with. I also love it when music artists experiment with genre and styles to bring back music from yester year and make it popular again. And this is the subject of my lovely box.

The Puppini Sisters – Wuthering Heights
The Puppini Sisters are a musical trio specializing in 1940's style vocal close harmony music. Members consist of Italian Marcella Puppini and English Stephanie O'Brien and Kate Mullins. One of the more unusual songs in their repertoire is Kate Bush's "Wuthering Heights", sung in the style of the Andrews Sisters. For some reason this should not work at all, but it really does. Check out their album as they also cover Blondie and many others, all in ’ The Andrew Sisters’ style.

Queen Latifah – Lush Life
I love the movie ‘Living Out Loud ’ and thought the cast (especially Holly Hunter) was superb. One thing that always got me was the opening credits with the Queen, in her jazz club stylings, crooning out this sultry ballad of heart break. Those who say she is not a great singer are mad I tell you. Her delivery of this song is perfect, and I cannot wait to see what she does in ‘Hairspray’. I am sure she will be fabulous as always.

Madonna – Back in Business Taken from the “I’m Breathless” album which was inspired by the 1930’s film ‘Dick Tracy’. Madonna starred in this movie playing the singer in the club, and she was effective in the role with her blonde baby doll hair, and seductress clothing. It was the album that truly captivated me, and this stand out track, all breathless and sexy. She plays a femme fatal purring into the microphone, and it even turned me on.