‘Stargate Atlantis’ TV Series Cancelled
We knew this day would come, and the SCI FI Channel has officially announced that Stargate Atlantis is airing its fifth and final season.
However, all is not lost for diehard fans of Atlantis, with SCI FI similarly announcing that a 2-hour Atlantis movie would also be coming our way in 2009.
(Geeks of Doom)
Images With Impact, and With a Debt to the Late 1980s
The twins Danny and Oxide Pang were born in Hong Kong, directed their first movie together in Thailand and now work in English, but it’s hard to think of filmmakers for whom language is more profoundly beside the point.
Their new movie, “Bangkok Dangerous,” opening Sept. 5, is a remake of their 1999 Thai-language debut, which was about a deaf-mute hit man and was, appropriately, kind of light on dialogue. In the remake the killer, Joe, can hear and speak, presumably because the character is now played by a Hollywood star, Nicolas Cage, who expects some lines.
(New York Times)
Independent films change tactics
Indie film's easy-money era is over, but new opportunities are emerging.
These days, any seller hoping to land a distribution deal at a fest or market like Toronto in September realizes that only a few lucky winners will land a seven-figure minimum guarantee from a studio specialty division.
(Variety)
Untouched by Botox or plastic surgery, Melissa Leo’s looks in ‘Frozen River’ put a wrinkle into the relentless pursuit of youth
The face in the photograph that accompanies this story is Melissa Leo's. Leo is an actor and her face, unlike some of her far more famous peers, is naturally aged. Cosmetic tinkering doesn't do it for her. "I'm not that kind of girl," Leo said recently during a blunt and boisterous conversation in a downtown Boston hotel. "If they need to have bigger boobies, then I can just stuff the bra. I have definitely lost work over the years because my chest isn't bigger than it is and because I don't have platinum blond hair."
For most of this decade, Leo has been playing women whose age falls somewhere along the spectrum of 40. (She's 47.) And if you caught her as Benicio Del Toro's beleaguered wife in "21 Grams," you're aware that Leo can exceed the spectrum.
(Boston Globe)
Warner Bets on Fewer, Bigger Movies
Emboldened by this summer's success with "The Dark Knight," Warner Bros.' movie studio is setting a new strategy.
The Time Warner Inc. unit, like some other Hollywood studios, is planning to release fewer films into the crowded marketplace. But the studio, known for making more big, expensive movies than most rivals, plans to make even more of those -- some centered on properties from its DC Comics unit, such as Batman.
(Wall Street Journal)
The Murky Side of Movie Rights
How could this happen? The question springs to mind as 20th Century Fox claims it has the rights to the graphic novel on whichWarner Brothers is basing “Watchmen,” its giant superhero movie.
Peer deeper into the murk of Hollywood’s business practices, though, and the question becomes: How could it not?
The film industry was buzzing last week after a federal judge here allowed Fox to proceed with a lawsuit contending that Warner had filmed “Watchmen” without bothering to acquire rights that Fox says it has owned for 22 years. This eagerly anticipated movie is directed by Zack Snyder, of “300” fame, and is based on the illustrated series (republished as a graphic novel) by Alan Moore and David Gibbons.
Warner, of course, begs to differ with Fox. So the studios are squared off for battle. Fox wants an injunction blocking the movie’s planned release on March 6. Warner wants Fox to go away.
(New York Times)
Brit Steve Coogan reveling in comedies on entertainment
In his native England, Steve Coogan is a big star, known for his hilarious portrayal of nitwit radio presenter Alan Partridge, among other characters.
He also has appeared in the United States as a guest on such TV shows as Curb Your Enthusiasm, as well as in Night at the Museum and other films.
But it's hard to imagine a bigger couple of weeks for Coogan. He appears as the desperate director in the huge comedy Tropic Thunder and has the lead role in the decidedly smaller (but still hilarious) Hamlet 2, about a failed actor, now teaching drama in Tucson, who writes a sequel to Shakespeare's masterpiece to save the school's drama department.
(Arizona Republic)
Smoking in the movies
Ear-shattering explosions? Check. Gore splattered across the screen? No problem. Graphic sex scenes, or maybe a little torture porn? Bring it on. In Hollywood, anything goes these days -- except cigarette smoking.
Rarely in the history of motion pictures have the forces of censorship been as successful as anti-smoking crusaders have been recently. Last year, after congressional hearings on the issue and a public call for a crackdown by 32 state attorneys general, the Motion Picture Assn. of America agreed to consider tobacco use along with sex and violence when determining a film's rating. Most of the major studios, meanwhile, have promised to either discourage or forbid smoking in youth-oriented films.
(LA Times)
MOVIE OPENINGS – August 22, 2008
HAMLET 2
Director: Andrew Fleming
Stars: Steve Coogan, Elisabeth Shue, Catherine Keener
Studio:
The Plot: High school drama teacher Dana Marschz (Coogan) looks to bring his Shakesperian sequel to the stage despite the obstacles in his path -- namely, a classroom full of disinterested students, potential budget cuts, and his own lack of talent.
DEATH RACE
Director: Paul W.S. Anderson
Stars: Jason Statham, Joan Allen, Tyrese Gibson
Studio: Universal Pictures
The Plot: Former NASCAR champ Jensen Ames (Statham) is framed for the murder of his wife, and subsequently sent to a notorious prison overseen by a warden (Allen) who has created the country's most popular sport: a kill-or-be-killed car race in which her inmates compete for their freedom.
THE HOUSE BUNNY
Director: Fred Wolf
Stars: Anna Faris
Studio: Columbia Pictures
The Plot: A Playboy bunny (Faris) who was recently booted from the mansion winds up becoming the new house mother for a sorority in jeopardy.
READ REVIEWS OF 'THE HOUSE BUNNY'
THE LONGSHOTS
Director: Fred Durst
Stars: Ice Cube, Keke Palmer
Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
The Plot: Eleven-year-old Jasmine Plummer (KeKe Palmer) looks to become the first female to play in the Pop Warner football tournament in its 56-year history.
READ REVIEWS OF 'THE LONGSHOT'
THE ROCKER
Director: Peter Cattaneo
Stars: Rainn Wilson, Josh Gad
Studio: Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation
The Plot: Two decades after he was kicked out of his famous rock 'n' roll group, Robert 'Fish' Fishman (Wilson), an over-the-hill drummer, pounces on a second chance at coercing his way into a garage band fronted by his newphew (Gad).
INTERVIEW: Jason Statham on ‘Death Race’
Only a few hours before I sat down at a roundtable with Jason Statham to talk about Death Race at Comic Con, I had left the Masters of the Web party, been thrown out of a Hard Rock Hotel room (with a bunch of other people; San Diego's Hard Rock is the weak sister of that hotel chain) and eventually had a fully insane man threaten to cut my face off before claiming to be a cop. That led to me and Devin jumping in a cab to get out of dodge while Ryan Rotten watched our back.
Hell of a night.
With little chance to rest, I had to meet a bunch of the same people that had been busted at the hotel earlier, in a parking lot under a pop-up tent, to talk about movies. Not the worst job, really. It's worth mentioning that while he hadn't been in the last suite (and he didn't threaten me) Jason Statham had been at the same party with us, and probably drinking much harder. (It was his birthday.)
He sat down with a handful of hungover editors, peering at us from behind massive shades, and, like a pro, gave it a shot.
(CHUD)