VOTD: “Hi, I’m A Marvel… And I’m A DC” The Musical By Peter Sciretta/May 31, 2010 12:00 am EST We’ve featured many of the “Hi, I’m a Marvel… and I’m a DC” videos in past editions of Video of the Day. Sadly, the “I’m a Mac, and I’m a PC” television advertisements have officially come to an end, but thankfully that won’t stop ItsJustSomeRandomGuy’s comic book movie television commercial parodies. In the 100th episode, we have a musical spectacular....
VOTD: The Wilhelm Scream By Peter Sciretta/April 25, 2011 8:30 am EST As you probably know, the Wilhelm scream is a in-joke which has appeared in many many movies over the past 60 years. The stock sound effect first appeared in the 1951 film Distant Drums, and has since been used in many blockbuster films, television programs and even video games. /Film reader Joseph Demme has put together a 12 minute video compilation of almost every single instance where the Wilhelm Scream has been heard in movies....
Zombieland Helmer Ruben Fleischer To Direct Mike White’s Babe In The Woods By Peter Sciretta/June 22, 2010 2:00 pm EST Ruben Fleischer got his start in commercials and music videos, but his feature film debut Zombieland made Hollywood pay attention to the filmmaker. Columbia Pictures is trying to keep him in the fold, announcing today that Fleischer will develop and direct Babe in the Woods, a screenplay written by Mike White....
‘Knowing’ Scribes To Write And Direct Universal’s Low-Budget ‘Ouija’ Movie By Angie Han/July 16, 2012 3:30 pm EST Last year, Universal Pictures decided to ditch its adaptation of the Hasbro game Ouija, and for a time it looked like Paramount would be the one to make the movie. But Paramount couldn’t get it off the ground either, and it was Universal itself who eventually picked it back up this past spring, albeit in a rather different, lower-budget form....
‘Let The Bullets Fly’ Trailer By Russ Fischer/Feb. 7, 2012 12:30 pm EST Over a year ago Peter highlighted the Chinese action film Let the Bullets Fly as one of the better movies of 2010, and the film is finally edging towards a domestic release. Jiang Wen’s film features the director as a bandit who poses as the mayor of a town in order to bleed the place dry, but he runs afoul of the local crime boss, played by Chow Yun-fat....
‘Quartet’ Trailer: Dustin Hoffman Directs A Cute Old-Timers Romp By Russ Fischer/July 2, 2012 10:00 am EST Dustin Hoffman has long been established as one of the most significant actors of his generation, but he has never directed a film until now*. His directorial debut, Quartet, is based on an acclaimed play by Ronald Harwood (who also scripted Hoffman’s film) and it stars some real luminaries: Maggie Smith, Billy Connolly, Pauline Collins, Tom Courtenay and Michael Gambon....
‘Rubber’ Teaser Trailer: A Film About A Killer Tire With Psychic Powers By Russ Fischer/May 3, 2010 11:49 pm EST Yep, a killer tire. Yes, it seems like a joke, but is not. Rubber is a film written, shot and directed by Quentin Dupieux, and it will play as a special screening in the International Critic’s Week competition (La Semaine de la Critique) at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival later this month....
‘Safety Not Guaranteed’ Is The Most Ridiculously Awesome Misfit Time Travel Relationship Dramedy Ever Made [Sundance 2012] By Peter Sciretta/Jan. 23, 2012 5:00 pm EST Was it a joke? Or is the guy crazy? Intern Darius Britt (Aubrey Plaza) is sent in to try to uncover the true story. Darius joins Kenneth Calloway’s (Mark Duplass) time travel mission and forms a friendship with this seemingly delusional man. With Government-style suited men in hot pursuit, Darius is unsure if she has been implicated in something illegal or if Kenneth is actually telling the truth....
20 Minutes Of Behind The Scenes B-Roll Footage From Wes Anderson’s ‘Moonrise Kingdom’ By Peter Sciretta/May 4, 2012 6:00 am EST If you’ve been reading /Film for even a few minutes, then you know that I love watching ans posting fly-on-the-wall footage from the making of films, especially when it comes to projects from my favorite auteurs. Most of the behind the scenes documentaries included on DVD/Blu-ray fail to provide anything more than a glossy advertisement-style look at the making of a movie....
Alamo Drafthouse Aims To Save ‘Bottle Rocket’ Location With Screening And Mondo Poster By Germain Lussier/July 6, 2011 11:15 am EST Just when you thought the Alamo Drafthouse was done with their 2011 Texas Rolling Roadshow, they’ve added one more stop and this one has a higher purpose. The Days Inn in Hillsboro, Texas was a major location in Wes Anderson’s feature debut Bottle Rocket and it’s in danger of shutting down....
Casting Bits: Jay Baruchel In ‘The Rebel Kind’, Saoirse Ronan In ‘How I Live Now’, Kaya Scodelario In ‘Emanuel And The Truth About Fishes’ By Angie Han/Dec. 14, 2011 4:30 pm EST Jay Baruchel has built a nice career playing lovable nerds, but for his newest role he’ll be transforming himself into a full-on rock star. The former Undeclared actor has signed on to star in The Rebel Kind, based on a memoir by John Armstrong....
Casting Bits: Sacha Baron Cohen In ‘Les Misérables’, Selena Gomez In ‘Spring Breakers’, Holly Hunter In Diablo Cody’s Directorial Debut By Angie Han/Dec. 9, 2011 10:00 am EST There’s still no word on who’ll be playing Éponine in Tom Hooper’s Les Misérables, but the project has landed yet another well-known star to play her father. According to LondonNet, Sacha Baron Cohen is set to join Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, and Eddie Redmayne in the musical, in the role of the villainous inn owner Monsieur Thénardier....
Cinema Had Too Many Sequels And Remakes In 1976 By Germain Lussier/Aug. 10, 2011 6:00 am EST In 2011, saying that Hollywood releases too many sequels, remakes and reboots is so common place, it’s gone beyond cliche into a whole new category that doesn’t yet exist. Still, the sentiment remains an irrefutable fact. Of the top ten highest grossing films of the year so far, only one isn’t based on a previous property and that’s Bridesmaids, which – one could argue – is a spin-off, at least in tone, to several other movies....
Cool Stuff: New Mondo Posters For ‘Star Trek’ And David Cronenberg’s ‘Rabid’ By Russ Fischer/April 27, 2011 8:54 pm EST The last Mondo poster, created to celebrate Guillermo del Toro’s film Pan’s Labyrinth, sold out in seconds. I expect the same fate for two of the three posters the company will release tomorrow. Mondo’s Star Trek series continues with images for the 1967 episode Mirror, Mirror, and the 1966 two-parter The Menagerie....
Darren Aronofsky Wants ‘Noah’ To Be A Big Event Film By Russ Fischer/June 20, 2011 2:53 pm EST The precise choice for Darren Aronofsky’s follow-up to the award-winning audience favorite Black Swan has been a bit question mark over the past six months, and especially since the director walked away from Fox’s The Wolverine. (Which is now looking to James Mangold to direct.) We know that he’ll helm the pilot episode of HBO’s very intriguing-sounding show Hobgoblin, which Michael Chabon and Ayelet Waldman are writing and producing....
DJ Caruso May Direct ‘A Walk Among The Tombstones’ By Russ Fischer/July 1, 2011 1:33 pm EST An adaptation of Lawrence Block’s novel A Walk Among the Tombstones is something that has been knocking around Hollywood for more than a decade. There was a point when Danny DeVito was producing and Harrison Ford almost starred as alcoholic ex-cop Matthew Scudder, a sort of problem fixer who explores the underside of New York City....
DreamWorks Animation Wins Bidding War For ‘Captain Underpants’ By Germain Lussier/Oct. 20, 2011 8:00 am EST Another popular series of children’s books has just been purchased for adaptation and this one features an old man walking around in his underwear. On Wednesday, DreamWorks Animation won a bidding war for the rights to the Scholastic book series Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey. The eight book series is about two fourth graders who hypnotize their evil principal into becoming a superhero named Captain Underpants however, being as he has no superpowers, the boys have to stealthy follow him around to make sure he doesn’t get into trouble....
Early Teaser Clip: Emma Stone In Easy A By Peter Sciretta/April 19, 2010 5:05 pm EST /Film reader Kelly E alerted us to this early teaser clip for Screen Gems comedy Easy A starring Emma Stone (Superbad, Zombieland). After a little white lie about losing her virginity gets out, a clean cut high school girl (Emma Stone) sees her life paralleling Hester Prynne’s in “The Scarlet Letter,” which she is currently studying in school – until she decides to use the rumor mill to advance her social and financial standing....
Hollywood Picks Up Two Sci-Fi Pitches After ‘Battle: Los Angeles’ Wins Weekend By Germain Lussier/March 14, 2011 3:30 pm EST First up, Variety is reporting that Sony bought Agent OX, which will be produced by Neil Moritz and written by Daniel Kunka (12 Rounds). The script follows “a human spy living on an alien planet who must stop an invasion of Earth.” We can all agree it looks really bad and lazy that basically hours after Battle: Los Angeles (which isn’t even a very good movie, by the way) was branded a hit, two studios buy pitches in the same genre....
How Did ‘The Muppets’ Originally End? By Germain Lussier/Nov. 28, 2011 3:00 pm EST Over its first five days, The Muppets pulled in over $40 million, making it a bona-fide success for Disney. That’s in large part to the simple fact that the movie is just plain good. Angie gave The Muppets a great review on the site and it’s still kicking at 98% on Rotten Tomatoes. But the film wasn’t always a rainbow connection....
