Continue Reading...

Where is the money going, you ask? Well, originally it was going to pay for all the werewolves.

Yes, werewolves.  The Lone Ranger and Tonto were going to fight werewolves.

Continue Reading...

Hollywood, perpetually on the verge of never making another movie for anyone but teenage boys, was in need of a slap in the face, reminding it that women buy tickets, fill theaters, tell friends they loved it -- and know men who are occasionally eager to see the opposite sex portrayed compellingly on celluloid. "Bridesmaids" delivered a wallop, bringing in more than $280 million worldwide, and drawing an audience reported to be a third male, and largely over 30.

But has it actually whetted the film business's appetite for more female-driven projects? Salon called Lynda Obst, producer of movies like "Sleepless in Seattle," "Contact" and "How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days," the television show "Hot in Cleveland," the author of "Hello, He Lied" and all-around movie sage, to see what, if anything, has changed in her town this summer.

Continue Reading...

Continue Reading...

I never noticed it before this mashup to "God's Away on Business," but the Sesame Street character does sound an awful lot like Tom Waits. 

"The piano has been eating cookies again." "Me want whiskey!" Something about Jim Jarmusch and Jim Henson! Jokes!

2. PBS discovers "memes":

Finally, you and your mom will be able to talk about Nyan Cat without your having to go back and explain what Buzzfeed is again.

3. Anne Hathaway raps about the paparrazi in a really scary way:

Continue Reading...

In fact, the studio's president Jeff Robinov -- not the screenwriters, and not director Martin Campbell, who may or may not be fired anyway -- has already promised us an "edgier," "darker" movie:

"To go forward we need to make it a little edgier and darker with more emphasis on action ... And we have to find a way to balance the time the movie spends in space versus on Earth."

I somehow doubt that the Earth-space ratio is what killed this movie. Perhaps Ryan Reynolds' face just doesn't translate well in foreign countries. Or maybe part of the issue can be found by looking at the huge push by DC Comics and Warner Bros. to remind their audiences who the Green Lantern is. (As long as you put it on a Subway cup, they will come.)

Continue Reading...

Sam Raimi and original producing partners Rob Tapert and Bruce Campbell (who also starred in the original franchise) are gearing up to remake their cult sensation THE EVIL DEAD through their long standing Ghost House Pictures partnership. Raimi and Tapert were such instant fans of Fede Alvarez’s short film "Panic Attack" that they set up a blind deal with the filmmaker and through that process have attached Fede Alvarez to write and direct the film. Alvarez wrote the script with Rodo Sayagues. Academy Award® winning screenwriter Diablo Cody is currently doing revisions on the draft.

The three producing partners commented, "We are committed to making this movie and are inspired by the enduring popularity and enthusiasm for the 'Evil Dead' series. We can't wait to scare a new generation of moviegoers using filmmaking techniques that were not available to us thirty years ago as well as Fede bringing a fresh eye to the film’s original elements."

Continue Reading...

So when people talk about how amazing Penn's performance is in "This Must Be the Place" -- where he plays an aging Robert Smith-type who decides to get all Roy Scheider in "Marathon Man" after his estranged father dies and goes on a cross-country trip to find his Nazi torturer -- I believe them. Sean Penn is a really good actor! He is even good when he has to pretend to be happy, like in "Milk" (first half) or "I Am Sam."

Continue Reading...

Though the sheer fact that Tom Green started the planking thing would be further evidence of its not being cool, right?

2. Planking to the oldies

Though if Richard Simmons is participating, it actually makes the whole thing seem way more legit.

3. Kathy Lee and Hoda on "Pooper Snoopers"

"Today" show red alert: Big brother is watching your dog poop, via doggy DNA.

Continue Reading...

Your answers to these questions are probably based on the 1939 MGM (now Warner Bros.) classic, "The Wizard of Oz," and not the 1900 fairy tale "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz." And unfortunately, this could mean trouble for Sam Raimi and James Franco's new star-studded project, "Oz, the Great and Powerful," according to a new ruling set by the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

See, for a while now the characters in "The Wizard of Oz" have been considered public domain, which is why there are so many strange adaptations  ("Return to Oz" being the most terrifying), since no one has to pay any royalties on the story. But the circuit is now clarifying that this doesn't include the iconic imagery that was created for the Judy Garland film:

Continue Reading...

Since Park Chan-wook's South Korean revenge flick "Oldboy" won the Grand Prix at Cannes in 2004, producers have been trying to find a way to bastardize the project into a more American-friendly version. Steven Spielberg and Will Smith have both been attached to the title since 2008 (after director Justin Lin and Nic Cage dropped out of the running), though rumors have been swirling that the project has been dead in the water for at least a year.

There are basically two camps of thought on an "Oldboy" remake: the people who think that adapting the story of Oh Dae-Su -- a man locked in a hotel room for 15 years and then mysteriously freed in order to find his captors -- from either its original Japanese manga or its cinematic counterpart is a terrible idea ... and those who aren't familiar with the story.

Continue Reading...

2. Poker game of the day: Tobey Maguire was busted for illegal underground gambling in a card ring that included Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Leonardo DiCaprio! Now they'll have to go to celebrity jail!

3. Celebrity karaoke of the day: Jason Segel, Alison Brie, Emily Blunt and John Krasinski crashed a bachelor party in Ann Arbor, Mich. Insanity and singing ensues.  (Please let this mean Segel is dating "Community's" Brie!)

Continue Reading...

The first full trailer of "Bellflower" came out today:

And in case you still needed a full explanation of what the hell was going on in this mumblecore action-packed flick:

Continue Reading...

Continue Reading...

1. Alfred Molina's cinematic debut

That's right, the British thespian's first role wasn't as Doctor Otto Octavius in "Spider-Man 2" as so many people believe. A young Molina made his very first appearance on the big screen in 1981, playing Indy's treacherous sidekick in the opening sequence of "Raiders." Though he suffers a pretty bad fate in the film, nothing could prepare Molina for his next big American features, " White Fang 2: Myth of the White Wolf" and Mel Gibson's update of "Maverick."

Continue Reading...

The reason Hanks was so good as Father Gill was that he didn't play the character the way his own father would have; he has that naive, almost-moony face, but he's missing the sharp, neurotic tongue and witty charm of Tom. He aways come across as nice, but in the way that Norman Bates was "nice." There's nothing remarkable about Colin Hanks at all (save Hollywood nepotism), which is why he should stick to the creepier, darker roles than the ones he finds in romantic comedies or buddy films; nobody will see him coming.

Continue Reading...

Roger Ebert gave it "no rating," which is different than zero stars, and commented, "I am required to award stars to movies I review. This time, I refuse to do it. The star rating system is unsuited to this film. Is the movie good? Is it bad? Does it matter? It is what it is and occupies a world where the stars don't shine."

Continue Reading...

While my first reaction was to send that idea to Yikers Island for a life sentence, Berger's bold vision grew on me. Think of how many jokes there are to be made here! Lord Licorice bellowing from the Cupcake Commons, "NONE SHALL PASS ... UNTIL THEY PICK A PURPLE CARD FROM THE TOP OF THE PILE!" And that's just from the top of my head! I could think of so many more jokes by the time the film actually came out.

So anyone who thought Berger was going to try to backpedal from that grandiose claim was badly mistaken. If anything, the writer wants audiences to know how committed he is to doing a J.R.R. Tolkien thing for the Hasbro game. Also, how committed he is to candy:

Continue Reading...

Now that's a scary thought for a piece of cinema that our own Andrew O'Hehir called a "dumb, ugly and, most of all, painfully unfunny movie" with a lot more " homophobia and xenophobia" than its original. How did a movie that almost every critic agreed was awful become the biggest moneymaker in comedic history?

Continue Reading...

There's no need for me to explain the teaser trailer, as you've either read the books and recognize your favorite Stieg Larsson scenes and characters, or you don't. If you're part of the latter group, all you need to know for the sake of this trailer mystery is that Lisbeth, she of the dragon tattoo, is a pro at computer hacking and deception. Here's the trailer of the David Fincher adaptation, in all its shaky-cam glory:

Continue Reading...