Posted Dec 2nd 2008 2:32PM by William Goss
Filed under: Documentary, Drama, Independent, Awards, IFC, Sony Classics, Oscar Watch
Sure enough, the first week of December brings the first formal slew of awards nominations, today's coming from Film Independent's Spirit Awards.
The Hollywood Reporter bring us the list of nominees, with dramas
Ballast,
Frozen River and
Rachel Getting Married each tied for the most nominations (six a piece, including Best Feature; the other two nominees there are
Wendy and Lucy and
The Wrestler).
Now, these awards aren't necessarily Oscar precursors or anything -- some of these films are just too small -- but it's difficult to deny that the likes of
Milk,
The Visitor,
The Wrestler,
Rachel,
River and documentary contender
Man on Wire are all looking at the first of many nominations in the coming weeks, most of which I can safely say are or will be deserving. I can't speak for
Ballast, but it's been earning attention in the indie world for months and months, so do as I do and keep an eye out for it.
The greatest assurance can only be taken once the Spirit Awards are awarded on February 21. See the full list of nominees after the jump.
Continue reading 'Ballast,' 'Frozen River,' 'Rachel Getting Married' Lead in Indie Spirit Noms
Posted Dec 2nd 2008 12:15PM by Peter Martin
Filed under: Action, Animation, Classics, Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, New on DVD, Family Films, Home Entertainment, Cinematical Indie
White Dog
Samuel Fuller's follow-up to The Big Red One was shelved by Paramount Pictures before its scheduled release in 1982 because of fears that its premise -- a white dog has been trained to attack black people -- would stir up more controversy than box office. Fuller was understandably outraged; in his autobiography, A Third Face, he wrote: "The studio has used me as a scapegoat for their lack of determination and courage." The film, co-written by Curtis Hanson (LA Confidential), with a score by the legendary Ennio Morricone, later received acclaim when it was released in Europe but never received a home video release in the US and has rarely been seen here. Kristy McNichol plays an actress who adopts the dog; Paul Winfield is as an anthropologist who tries to reverse the training. The Criterion Collection DVD includes a featurette with Hanson, producer Jon Davison, and Fuller's widow, plus a print interview with the dog trainer and essays by J. Hoberman and Armond White. I'm buying, but even if you're not a huge fan of Samuel Fuller, you'd want to check it out. Rent it.
Step Brothers
Combining Will Farrell, John C. Reilly, Richard Jenkins, and Mary Steenburgen under one roof, Step Brothers mines familiar territory with sharp timing and plenty of belly laughs. Mine is, admittedly, a distinctly minority opinion. Available on DVD (single-disc rated, single-disc unrated, two-disc unrated) and Blu-ray, with an audio commentary by Farrell, Reilly, director Adam McKay, and a score by Jon Brion. Other features include deleted scenes and alternate takes, a gag reel, 'making of,' and a couple of gag featurettes. Rent it.
Much more on Wanted, The X-Files: I Want to Believe, and The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian after the jump, plus Indies on DVD, Blu-ray Picks, and Collector's Corner.
Continue reading Spin-ematical: New on DVD for 12/02
Posted Dec 2nd 2008 11:30AM by Erik Davis
Filed under: Action, Drama, RumorMonger, Fandom, DIY/Filmmaking
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When
Cinematical visited the
set of Sherlock Holmes last month, we certainly wanted to learn a lot more about this much-anticipated film (which we did), but we also wanted to find out once and for all whether the classic Holmes villain Moriarty would make an appearance. Up until this point, Lord Blackwood (
Mark Strong) was the only villain on record, and so far folks behind the scenes have managed to
successfully dodge the big Moriarty question. That is, until now.
Note: Watch for spoilers below ...While we received a number of shady answers (followed by evil smirks) from the cast and crew regarding Moriarty during our set visit,
IGN managed to get someone to talk: Mr. Mark Strong. At the British Independent Film Awards over the weekend, Strong said this about Moriarty's involvement: "Moriarty's in it ... but you don't really see him. I think he's there because if the franchise carries on, there's a possibility that he will appear in a larger guise. But for the purposes of this one and the detective narrative, I'm the guy that Sherlock's after, Lord Blackwood. And he's a cultist/Satanist lord who is the ultimate cad." So he's there, but you don't see him? Hmmm. I guess we'll take that as solid confirmation ... until we find out who's playing him (ahem, Russell Crowe?).
Posted Dec 1st 2008 8:02PM by Elisabeth Rappe
Filed under: Drama, Horror, Thrillers, Deals, Mystery & Suspense, Newsstand
Michael Marshall is one lucky writer -- he published a well-received trilogy, which was adapted into a comic series by Zenescope, and now
The Straw Men are coming to the big screen. According to
Variety, Benderspink has snatched the rights to the to the novels and the comic books, presumably in order to adapt some combination of them.
Unfortunately, I can't rustle up a preview of the comic -- but you can check out the gorgeously creepy covers on
Zenoscope. I'm not sure I could have these laying beside my bed, they're pretty nightmarish.
It sounds like the book is, too. The story begins with two men calmly opening fire at a McDonald's in Palmerston, Pennsylvania before jumping ahead ten years to meet up with Ward Hopkins, who is convinced the death of his parents was no accident. Elsewhere, a 14 year old girl is kidnapped by a serial killer, and two FBI Agents are on the manhunt to find him. These events are no coincidence, they're the first clues to the nightmarish individuals known as The Straw Men. Marshall's thriller has received nothing but praise -- Publisher's Weekly squeamishly noted its "dismemberment scenes," Stephen King praised it, and
Newsarama is calling it "one of the best horror thrillers ever written."
There's no director or screenwriter attached yet -- and Benderspink is adapting every other graphic novel known to man, so this could sit in pre-production for awhile, which gives us all time to read the book. Has anyone out there read it or the comic? Tell us everything (well, not
everything, but give us a good review) in the comments below.
Posted Dec 1st 2008 3:20PM by Peter Martin
Filed under: Drama, Independent, Box Office, Focus Features, Fox Searchlight, Cinematical Indie
After a couple of weeks off (I had a bad case of Twilight fever), Indie Winners returns with a look at the best-performing independent films at the box office this weekend. As Indie Spotlighter Eric D. Snider noted before the long holiday weekend began, precious few new releases have entered the marketplace recently, so let's focus on two that distinguished themselves financially.
1. Milk (Focus Features)
2. Slumdog Millionaire (Fox Searchlight)
Avoiding the fall festival circuit, and even drawing some criticism for not opening in time to possibly influence California's vote on Proposition 8, Gus Van Sant's Milk finally debuted to very strong numbers, earning $38,361 per screen (36) in 19 cities, according to estimates compiled by Box Office Mojo. Milk opened last Wednesday and has been riding a wave of critical acclaim (93% positive, per Rotten Tomatoes, including our own James Rocchi). It will expand its theater count over the next couple of weeks.
In contrast, Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire followed the fall festival circuit, generated glowing early word, and continues to perform well in (slightly) expanded release in its third week, scoring a per-screen average of $27,898 at 49 locations. Slumdog Millionaire also has received extremely positive reviews (92% at Rotten Tomatoes) and is likewise inspiring good word of mouth.
The old, if not profound, lesson? Specialty audiences have been responding to intelligent films that resonate emotionally, ones that sound different from the usual art house fare. Stars like Sean Penn and Josh Brolin may snare some viewers, but I'd bet it's the rousing treatment of important (and pertinent) subjects that drives Milk to a solid success as it expands. Lacking recognizable stars, Slumdog Millionaire definitely is building momentum because of its underdog tale and looks primed to be a crossover success.
Posted Dec 1st 2008 2:02PM by Erik Davis
Filed under: Comedy, Drama, Independent, Fandom, Home Entertainment, Trailers and Clips
Cinematical has received this exclusive clip from the film
Let Them Chirp Awhile, directed by Jonathan Blitstein, and starring a pretty impressive cast of indie talent like Justin Rice (
Mutual Appreciation), Brendan Sexton III (
Welcome to the Dollhouse), Zach Galligan (
Gremlins) and Anthony Rapp (
Dazed and Confused).
From the synopsis:
"Let Them Chirp Awhile follows three twentysomething artists as they juggle their careers, relationships and emotions in New York City. Bobby (Rice) is a struggling screenwriter who tries to get romantically involved with a woman by agreeing to take care of her dog. His friend Scott (Sexton III) is a depressed, womanizing musician with a sweet and innocent girlfriend while Hart, (Galligan) Bobby's nemesis, is a successful playwright whose campy play about 9/11 has won awards and a run at an off-Broadway theater. What begins as a quirky comedy about relationships and writer's block becomes a coming-of-age tale about competition and self-reliance among the "me-generation."
Let Them Chirp Awhile opens in New York on December 5 (Cinema Village), Chicago on December 12 (AMC Loews Pipers Alley) and Los Angeles on January 2 (Laemmle Sunset 5).
Posted Dec 1st 2008 12:40PM by Elisabeth Rappe
Filed under: Action, Drama, Deals, RumorMonger, Scripts, Newsstand, Religious, War
Maybe all roads
do lead to Rome. According to
The Hollywood Reporter and creator
Bruno Heller, there's actually talk of continuing the brilliant HBO series on the big screen to wrap up all the historical loose ends caused by the series' abrupt cancellation. (Something which HBO now thinks was a big mistake. Between that and
passing over Preacher, they're rather low in my esteem right now.)
Heller admits the talk is, at the moment, just talk. "It's moving along. It's not there until it is there. I would love to round that show off." Heller wouldn't discuss movie plot plans, but the next step for
Rome was Augustus Caesar having to deal with a certain carpenter from Judea -- with a twist typical of the series.
Fans of the show will probably weep a little at Heller's unrealized plans -- Lucius Vorenus' off-camera fate wasn't as definite as we might have thought, and we would have gotten a whole season of Egyptian debauchery. "I discovered halfway through writing the second season the show was going to end," Heller said. "The second was going to end with death of Brutus. Third and fourth season would be set in Egypt. Fifth was going to be the rise of the messiah in Palestine. But because we got the heads-up that the second season would be it, I telescoped the third and fourth season into the second one, which accounts for the blazing speed we go through history near the end. There's certainly more than enough history to go around."
A
Rome movie is probably nothing but a dream -- anything more than a whisper, and it will vanish, it is so fragile. But cancellation is no longer a death knell, and while they can't give me back the lost season of Antony and Cleopatra, I'm
always up for more bread and circuses.
Posted Nov 30th 2008 12:32PM by Erik Davis
Filed under: Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Fandom, DIY/Filmmaking, Remakes and Sequels
Looks like Summit Entertainment isn't wasting any time with the next
Twilight movie,
New Moon, based on the second book in Stephenie Meyers' ultra popular series. Not only has it been reported that both
Kristen Stewart and
Robert Pattinson are receiving a giant pay raise for the sequel (somewhere around $12 million each), but while appearing on Ryan Seacrest's radio show, Stewart said
New Moon would start shooting in March, 2009. Is Summit trying to turn the next flick around in time for Christmas, 2010 ... or do you think they're eying a major Summer 2010 spot?
As far as budget is concerned, according to Stewart the production value should be going up. She says, "A lot of the book takes place in Italy, and I think we're going to get to go to Italy, which is so cool. For a while there, they were like, Oh, we don't know if we have the money, but now I think we may have the money!" Um, yeah, I think they have the money.
For those who saw
Twilight, what would you like to see the sequel do differently?
[via
Shock]
Posted Nov 29th 2008 3:02PM by Matt Bradshaw
Filed under: Action, Comedy, Drama, Romance, Trailer Trash
Time to kick back, have a turkey sandwich and dig into some post-Thanksgiving movie trailer goodness.
The Ugly Truth
Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler star in this romantic comedy. Butler is an abrasive, chauvinistic TV personality and Heigl is his romantically challenged producer. The story looks fairly predictable and this one is going to have to rely heavily on the charisma of the cast. The release date is April 3.
What Doesn't Kill YouCrime drama starring
Mark Ruffalo and
Ethan Hawke as childhood friends from Boston whose life of crime puts a strain on their personal lives. This looks reminiscent of other Boston-based crime flicks like
The Departed and
Gone Baby Gone, but looks like it has a passion all its own. This will be one to watch for and it goes into limited release on December 12.
New in Town
A fish-out-of-water comedy starring
Renee Zellweger as a Miami businesswoman who relocates to Minnesota in the middle of the Winter. Having witnessed a Minnesota Winter firsthand, I can sympathize.
Harry Connick Jr. plays the flannel-garbed, rough-around-the-edges hunk she falls for. This could be fun, and it comes out sometime in 2009.
Continue reading Trailer Park: Things Get Ugly
Posted Nov 29th 2008 1:03PM by Elisabeth Rappe
Filed under: Drama, Universal, Fandom, Movie Marketing, Trailers and Clips
Hollywood, please. Leave
The Fountain's soundtrack alone!
Somehow, in the course of my writing, I neglected to ever watch
the Frost/Nixon trailer, something now rectified thanks to it being attached to
Australia. I was into it right up until a familiar theme started playing ... and then I just felt an inexplicable disgust. I wondered what, exactly, Ron Howard (or whoever at Universal put together the trailer) was thinking. Why on earth would you use
The Fountain for that movie? What about the music is appropriate for the mood and story you're trying to convey? (A similar problem plagues Mansell's
Lux Aeterna piece from
Requiem for a Dream -- for every trailer that uses it beautifully, like
The Two Towers, there's one that just cheeses it up, like
Babylon A.D.)
I confess, I have a weird, protective feeling towards this soundtrack. It's one of my favorite films and scores, one I listen to constantly. I'm convinced that even if you didn't see the film, or hated it, Clint Mansell's score is music enough to stand on its own -- something few soundtracks really are. Honestly, if you don't own it, put it on your Christmas list -- you won't regret it.
Continue reading Fan Rant: Wrong Soundtrack for the Wrong Trailer
Posted Nov 27th 2008 6:02PM by Jessica Barnes
Filed under: Drama, Music & Musicals, Fox Searchlight, Images, Posters
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It really was about time that Christopher 'Notorious B.I.G.' Wallace received his own biopic. Unfortunately, judging by what I've seen so far, Notorious has been flirting with being one step up from a movie of the week -- and for someone so influential in music history, that's a shame. The latest poster for the biopic has just been released, and like most of the marketing for this film, it leaves you feeling a tad underwhelmed.
Before being crowned "the savior of East Coast hip-hop", Christopher Wallace could have been just another statistic. But, during his short career, he created some of the most influential sounds in hip-hop -- along with launching his producer, Sean 'Diddy' Combs into the spotlight. Notorious was directed by George Tillman Jr. (Barber Shop) and stars Jamal Woolard as Wallace, Angela Basset as his mother, Violetta, and Antonique Smith (RENT) as his ex-wife, Faith Evans.
A few posters have already been released, but in most cases they looked like rejected covers from Source magazine (if you don't believe me, take a gander at some of the previous one-sheets). By the looks of it, this latest poster is going for a decidedly more 'dignified' look -- and in this case, dignified seems to mean ripping off of the Ray poster. Luckily, no matter what the posters or the trailers may look like, at least this movie is going to have one hell of a soundtrack. Check out the full version of this poster after the jump.
Notorious arrives in theaters on January 16, 2009.
Continue reading Another 'Notorious' Poster for Biggie Smalls Biopic
Posted Nov 26th 2008 7:02PM by Scott Weinberg
Filed under: Classics, Drama, Foreign Language, Romance, Celebrities and Controversy
Toss this one right into the "unproven" files, but it's amusing enough to warrant some exploration: According to
this tabloid (along with
The Guardian and our pals at
Spout), it seems that spouses Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes may be gearing up to remake Bernardo Bertolucci's controversially sexy romance drama
Last Tango in Paris. The last time we saw Tom Cruise nail a spouse on camera was in 1999's
Eyes Wide Shut, and I'm sure he probably groped Mimi Rogers in a movie once or twice. (Say what you like, but the guy does have good taste in women.)
"They need to have sex on screen, to prove their love" is what
The Guardian's Xan Brooks had to say, which only serves to make the whole thing sound more like an April Fool's gag. The paragon of journalism that is
Now Magazine indicates that the couple simply wants to star together in something sexy. I believe the title
Basic Instinct was tossed out as an example. Yikes. In Mr. Brooks' tongue-in-cheek piece, he proposes a remake of
Betty Blue. Double yikes. But if this entirely goofball story turns out to be 100% true, and Cruise / Holmes
are intent on making a "sek-say" remake together ...
Lolita makes a little more sense. Or maybe
The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Seriously, that I'd go see.
But the question of the day is now this: Does it creep you out to see married couples "doin' it" in a movie? Hmmm, I think I smell a new Cinematical Seven topic.
Posted Nov 26th 2008 6:03PM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Drama, Foreign Language, Thrillers, Deals, Scripts
Could you see
Paul Scrader in Bollywood? See, this is much more than merely Hollywood delighting in all things Bollywood.
The Hollywood Reporter posts that Paul Schrader, the pen behind
Taxi Driver and
Raging Bull, is heading to Mumbai to helm a Bollywood action flick called
Extreme City.
What's convinced him to head overseas? He says: "I've been getting indie movies made for 20 years. But I take a good look around and what I see is a barren, barren place -- in terms of the financial community, in terms of audiences, in terms of distribution. It's cold out there." So in this non-barren Bollywood, what will he direct? It's the story of an American man who goes to India to aid in the resolution of a kidnapping case for his father-in-law, and gets stuck in a gangster plot. Schrader admits that there will be a mix of dialogue and musical numbers, but it's "not a Masala movie."
I wonder... Will this continue to be a trend? If indie filmmakers can't get love here, will they take it elsewhere? And if they do, imagine the headaches the Oscar committee will get with an influx of overseas projects with mixed dialog by Americans!
Posted Nov 26th 2008 5:22PM by Matt Bradshaw
Filed under: Action, Comedy, Drama, Box Office Predictions
The vampire romance
Twilight kicked serious butt with the fifth biggest November opening in history. Last week's other newbie,
Bolt, took a somewhat disappointing third place with
Quantam of Solace outselling the Disney feature by a mere half million. Here's the top five:
1. Twilight: $69.6 million
2. Quantum of Solace: $26.7 million
3. Bolt: $26.2 million
4. Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa: $15.6 million
5. Role Models: $7.3 million
This week, a historical drama, a holiday-themed comedy and an action sequel are vying for your Thanksgiving weekend box-office dollars.
Australia
What's It All About: Set in the months after Pearl Harbor,
Nicole Kidman plays an aristocratic British cattle rancher with
Hugh Jackman playing a cattle driver who helps drive her herd across hundreds of miles of Australian outback.
Why It Might Do Well: The cast is definitely a plus and Kidman and Jackman appear to have good chemistry.
Why It Might Not Do Well: 47% rotten at
Rottentomatoes.com suggests a less than bright future for this one.
Number of Theaters: 2,600
Prediction: $17 million
Four Christmases
What's It All About: When a couple played by
Reese Witherspoon and
Vince Vaughn find their vacation flight has been canceled, they are forced to visit all four of their divorced and remarried parents on Christmas Day.
Why It Might Do Well: The holiday season is almost here, so the Christmas angle may appeal to some.
Why It Might Not Do Well: The plot has a been-there-done-that feel, Vaughn appears to be playing the same character we've seen him do countless times before, and
Rottentomatoes.com gives it 23%.
Number of Theaters: 3,200
Prediction: $26 million
Continue reading Box Office: Transporting Christmas to Australia
Posted Nov 26th 2008 4:05PM by Erik Davis
Filed under: Drama, Fandom, Johnny Depp, Movie Marketing, Images
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We've seen a few photos
from the set, but
Empire has snagged the first official images from Michael Mann's
Public Enemies, starring Johnny Depp and Christian Bale in what has to be one of the most anticipated on-screen match-ups of 2009. In the flick, which is based on the book by Bryan Burrough, Bale will portray FBI agent Melvin Purvis, who, under the guidance of J. Edgar Hoover (Billy Crudup), waged a full-on war against the country's most notorious (and successful) criminals -- namely John Dillinger (Depp), Pretty Boy Floyd (Channing Tatum) and Baby Face Nelson (Stephen Graham). It's a pretty wild true story, and one Mann and his cast should have a ball with. Check out an image of Bale after the jump, and the full images in this month's issue of
Empire Magazine.
Public Enemies hits theaters on July 1, 2009.
Continue reading First Look: Johnny Depp and Christian Bale in 'Public Enemies'
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