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News/Commentary
Josh Brolin and Eli Roth Make the Worst Movie Ever
In MySpace’s latest “Artist on Artist” post, friends and horror film fans in arms plan how to make the worst movie ever .
Check it out at: http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=23806812
December 12th, 2007 | Category: News/Commentary | By Jennifer M. Wood
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' . $phpAds_raw['html'] . ''; } ?>Are You the Last Fan on Earth?
User-created content is here to stay, and studios are having no trouble leaping on the bandwagon. In the latest attempt to include fans in the promotion of a film, fan fiction Website fanlib.com is hosting a contest based on the posters for the new Will Smith movie, I am Legend. Aspiring designers can submit their own poster designs following the theme of “The Last Fan on Earth.” The posters will then be voted on by visitors to the Website, who will also be able to write a short review of the design. The designer of the winning poster will receive an Alienware Notebook, a $500 gift certificate to Blick Art Materials as well as a Life Gear survival kit, while four finalists will win other assorted movie swag. The contest will even award a few people who don’t create a poster at all, as IMAX gift certificates will be given to both one random voter and the author of the top review as deemed so by the event producers.
The submission period ends Friday, December 14 at 3:00 pm (PST), but the voting period extends one week later.
Log on to http://www.IAmLegendContest.FanLib.com to check it out!
December 12th, 2007 | Category: News/Commentary | By Andrew Gnerre
Jodie Foster Accepts the Sherry Lansing Leadership Award
On Tuesday, December 4, actress, director and producer Jodie Foster was presented with the Sherry Lansing Leadership Award at the Hollywood Reporter's 16th annual Women in Entertainment breakfast.
December 7th, 2007 | Category: News/Commentary | By Andrew Gnerre
2008 Sundance Film Festival Lineup Announced
The Sundance Institute announced the lineup of films selected for competition in the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, which runs January 17-27, 2008 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah. 121 films were selected from a record-breaking 3,624 feature film submissions. Feature-length films will screen in four Competition categories including drama and documentary films, featuring domestic and international moviemakers.
The variety of subjects range from media and culture, with Alex Gibney’s Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson and Steven Sebring’s Patti Smith: Dream of Life, to political examination and allegory with Eric Schmid’s American Son and Veit Helmer’s Absurdistan.
Besides screening 87 world premiere films, 14 North American premieres and 12 U.S. premieres, the 2008 Sundance Film Festival will also feature panels and discussions with industry leaders throughout its 10-day run.
For more information, visit http://www.sundance.org/festival.
November 29th, 2007 | Category: News/Commentary | By Daniel Fritz
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' . $phpAds_raw['html'] . ''; } ?>Rhino Pops Up in Los Angeles
Warner Music Group’s Rhino Entertainment, a pop culture staple for nearly 30 years, will be offering limited edition boxed sets of everyone’s favorite movies this holiday season.
The catch? These precious collector’s items will only be available for one month, beginning this Saturday and ending December 31, 2007.
Rhino will be opening a “pop-up” retail store to celebrate the gift-giving season. The outlet will open at 8032 West Third Street in Los Angeles, near The Grove shopping complex. Think of it as another version of Halloween Adventure.
“For those of us old enough to remember, Rhino started as a record store—so now [we’ve] come full circle, even if for only one month at the holidays,” says Scott Pascucci, president of Rhino Entertainment. “If you’re in the neighborhood, we hope you will stop by.”
Visit www.rhino.com for more info.
November 28th, 2007 | Category: News/Commentary | By Mariel DiSibio
2008 Spirit Award Nominations Announced
Despite the current writers strike and a looming threat of awards shows being cancelled, Film Independent is putting on its 22nd annual Spirit Awards February 23rd. Nominations for this year’s awards were announced this morning in California and include multiple nominations for Best Feature nominees The Savages, directed by Tamara Jenkins, Jason Reitman’s Juno, Julian Schnabel’s The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Gus Van Sant’s Paranoid Park and Michael Winterbottom’s A Mighty Heart.
November 27th, 2007 | Category: News/Commentary | By Mallory Potosky
James Ivory Receives the French Institute Alliance Francaise Trophee des Arts Award
Director James Ivory will be honored with a French Institute Alliance Francaise Trophee des Arts Award by actress Uma Thurman on Nov. 27th at New York City’s Gotham Hall.
The moviemaker is known for directing and/or producing such movies as Quartet (1981), with Isabelle Adjani; Mr. and Mrs. Bridge (1990), with Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward; and A Soldier’s Daughter Never Cries (1998), with Kris Kristofferson and Jane Birkin.
“With this Trophee des Arts, the French community in New York celebrates the most Parisian of all New York filmmakers and salutes the 50th anniversary of James Ivory’s first film,” notes Marie-Monique Steckel, FIAF’s president.
An exclusive preview of Ivory’s next movie, The City of Your Final Destination, starring Anthony Hopkins and French actress Charlotte Gainsbourg, will be screened during the gala evening.
November 25th, 2007 | Category: News/Commentary | By Mariel DiSibio
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' . $phpAds_raw['html'] . ''; } ?>Oscar Short List for Docs is Topical
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the 15 films that have made it to the “short list” in the category of Best Documentary Feature for the 2008 Academy Awards. Culled from 70 submissions, AMPAS’ Documentary Branch members will select five nominees from the short list, which includes:
Autism: The Musical, Body of War, For the Bible Tells Me So, Lake of Fire, Nanking, No End in Sight, Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience, Please Vote for Me, The Price of Sugar, A Promise to the Dead: The Exile Journey of Ariel Dorfman, The Rape of Europa, Sicko, Taxi to the Dark Side, War/Dance and White Light/Black Rain.
Final nominations will be announced on January 22, 2008.
November 21st, 2007 | Category: News/Commentary | By Jennifer M. Wood
Bill O’Reilly Spins--and Slams--Brian De Palma’s Redacted
Director Brian De Palma has turned his sights on the Iraq War in his new movie, Redacted, and it’s been met with another boycott demand by Fox News anchor Bill O’Reilly. The film covers the dirty work done by US soldiers in Iraq--including murder and rape--and is based on an actual incident involving a young Iraqi girl. It also criticizes the media for sugar-coated reporting instead of showing the true calamities of the war. O’Reilly claims De Palma will be responsible for more American deaths in Iraq by inciting Muslim hatred, even though Redacted is indisputably an anti-war film.
Not satisfied with blasting De Palma, O’Reilly is also going after billionaire Dallas Mavericks owner and amateur dancer Mark Cuban, whose Magnolia Films financed the film. The anchor got hopping mad, claiming in a scolding rant that General Patton would have “slapped the tar out of” Cuban. That would make a historical showdown for the ages, with Cuban firing back, “there is every bit of me that just wants to say, ‘Bill O’Reilly is a moron.’”
O’Reilly has called on Mavs fans to bring “support the troops” signs to American Airlines Center even though they’re probably more concerned with avenging this year’s playoff defeat to the Golden State Warriors. Let’s wait and see if Commissioner Stern will have to step in.
November 15th, 2007 | Category: News/Commentary | By Andre Ward
The Kite Runner Fans Deal With Delays
For movie with such positive pre-release buzz, the delayed opening of The Kite Runner, a film about a man’s return to his home country of Afghanistan, is somewhat surprising. The film, based on the novel of the same title, has had its recently been pushed back to December 14. But with the help of a few friends, and a little Internet savvy, you can secure an advanced screening of the film for your town. To do so, visit www.kiterunnermovie.com and either start your own Kite Runner Club or join somebody else’s.
The more people a group acquires, the better prizes its members will receive. To land an advanced screening, a club needs to acquire 100 members. Also, the captain of the most active club, a designation determined by tracking the group’s “Kite Club Activities,” can win a trip to Los Angeles for the film’s red carpet premiere or a trip to San Francisco to dine with Khaled Hosseini, the author of the novel. “Kite Club Activities” include tasks such as posting on “Kite Runner” message boards and placing trailers and banner ads on personal Websites. Basically, you’re giving the film free advertising, but with the chance to win your own advanced screening of the film, the contest just seems too good to pass up.
November 9th, 2007 | Category: News/Commentary | By Andrew Gnerre
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' . $phpAds_raw['html'] . ''; } ?>Writers Strike Is On!
Months after the threat was raised and less than a week after their contract expired, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) has gone on strike. Close to 12,000 screenwriters are expected to cease work in what is the first strike by the WGA since 1988. That strike lasted for 22 weeks, costing the film and television industry over $500 million. Economist Jack Kyser estimates that this strike could end up in close to $1 billion in losses.
Despite negotiations continuing late Sunday night, a contract could not be agreed upon, forcing WGA East to declare a strike at 12:01 a.m. EST, with the West Coast branch following three hours later. The two most significant points of contention have been the writers’ demand for larger portions of DVD profits as well as a new deal regarding their residuals for Internet downloads and replays. The WGA claims to have withdrawn its demands for a larger percentage of DVD revenues, but their desire for a better deal concerning Internet residuals continues to prevent negotiations from continuing.
The strike will immediately affect late-night talk shows, forcing shows like the “Late Show with David Letterman” and “The Daily Show” to go into reruns, as much of the writing for these shows takes place on the day of filming. Other scripted shows will soon be affected as well, requiring production to stop. Many films studios, on the other hand, have prepared for this event, stockpiling scripts to last into 2008. Reality programming addicts rejoice!
November 5th, 2007 | Category: News/Commentary | By Andrew Gnerre
Hollywood Writers Strike
After three months of back-and-forth negotiations, the Writers Guild of America Negotiating Committee recommended calling a strike against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. The decision, reached at a membership meeting in Los Angeles Thursday night did not include a beginning date, but WGA panels meeting today are expected to settle on Monday as the first official strike day. If a decision is not reached before weekend's end, it will only be a short while before the entertainment industry and television in particular is affected.
November 2nd, 2007 | Category: News/Commentary | By Daniel Fritz
Follow the Yellow Brick Walk of Fame
Marlon Brando, Clint Eastwood… the Munchkins? Believe it or not, they will all be enshrined together in immortality when the little guys from The Wizard of Oz receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on November 20, 2007. The event will be the culmination of a long campaign begun by independent theater owner Ted Bulthaup of Woodridge, IL, with the assistance of Warner Bros., Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and other major players. The ceremony will take place at 11:30 am in front of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, with a spectacular entrance promised when the Munchkins ride up in a horse-drawn carriage accompanied by the Hollywood HIgh School Marching Band. Dorothy would be proud. To find out more about the event, or attend a special screening of The Wizard of Oz on Monday, November 19, visit http://www.hollywoodheritage.org.
October 30th, 2007 | Category: News/Commentary | By Andre Ward
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' . $phpAds_raw['html'] . ''; } ?>Owen Wilson and Wes Anderson talk The Darjeeling Limited
Close friends and longtime collaborators Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson talk India, monkeys and The Darjeeling Limited on MySpace’s “Artist on Artist” series.
Artist on Artist: Owen Wilson and Wes Anderson
Roommates | Trailer Park
October 26th, 2007 | Category: News/Commentary | By Jennifer M. Wood
Star Wars Saga Continues…
For better or worse, George Lucas isn’t going to let Star Wars die. On Tuesday, October 15, Lucas announced that he has begun work on a new live-action television show that takes place in the Star Wars universe. Lucas, who will not shop the show to networks until it is closer to completion, says the show will not include film mainstays Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader. “The Skywalkers aren’t in it, and it’s about minor characters,” Lucas told the Los Angeles Times. The series was first mentioned by Lucas in 2005 during a Q&A session at Celebration III, a popular Star Wars fan convention. He has also started production on an animated Star Wars series that is slated to debut sometime in 2008. May the force continue to be with all of us… for a very long time.
October 19th, 2007 | Category: News/Commentary | By Andrew Gnerre
Give Til It Hurts This Halloween
The SAW franchise, unlike the characters in its films, is unkillable. But would you believe the slasher franchise is actually saving lives?
Lionsgate, the franchise's distributor, has once again teamed up with the Red Cross for its fourth annual “Give Til It Hurts” blood drive. Since the first SAW blood drive in 2004, filmgoers have donated 38,000 pints of blood that have helped save as many as 112,500 lives. Each year the amount of blood donated has nearly doubled. And the yearly tradition has become an integral part of the franchise, just like its yearly Halloween premiere.
October 18th, 2007 | Category: News/Commentary | By Brian Hickey
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' . $phpAds_raw['html'] . ''; } ?>Orson’s Oscar for Sale
On October 15, Sotheby’s announced the auction of Orson Welles’ Oscar for his 1941 masterpiece Citizen Kane. The statue, which was awarded to Welles and co-writer Herman J. Mankiewicz for Best Original Screenplay, will be put up for auction on December 11 and is expected to fetch between $800,000 and $1.2 million.
October 17th, 2007 | Category: News/Commentary | By Andrew Gnerre
Kal Penn And Andy Samberg Talk Namesake … Sort Of
Kal Penn, last seen as a creepy killer on Law and Order: SVU, next hits theaters as the star of The Namesake, directed by Mira Nair. The film, which spans decades in the life of an American-born son of Indian immigrants, may not automatically pop up on the radar of Penn’s legions of fans, who know the actor primarily for his work in the stoner classic Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle. So how do you bridge the gap between the art house contingent and the millions of kids who bought tickets for Van Wilder 2? If you’re Fox Searchlight, you create a viral video, featuring a cameo from the current top heartthrob of the YouTube set, SNL’s Andy Samberg.
The video, which is posted on Searchlight’s site, bills itself as an interview, but it’s really more of a sketch riffing on the fact that the audience that follows Penn is probably not aware of the epic novel on which the film is based. Definitely check out the video for a laugh, but if you’re looking for more info on the movie itself, a heap of reviews have already made it to Rotten Tomatoes.
March 1st, 2007 | Category: News/Commentary | By MovieMaker Staff
This Day in Indie History: Fritz Lang
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World traveler, painter, soldier, actor—Fritz Lang was many things before he settled into his niche as a director and screenwriter. Born on this day in Vienna, Austria in 1890, Lang, along with director Robert Wiene of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari fame, defined the German Expressionist movement with movies such as Dr. Mabuse, King of Crime, Metropolis and M.
Filmmaker Factoid: In 1933, Lang was offered a position as head of the German Cinema Institute under the auspices of the Nazi-controlled government. Holding staunch anti-Nazi sentiments, Lang declined, and the position instead fell to Leni Riefenstahl, whose Truimph of the Will to this day epitomizes the genre of propagandist documentary.
December 5th, 2006 | Category: News/Commentary | By MovieMaker Staff
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' . $phpAds_raw['html'] . ''; } ?>This Day in Indie History: Good Will Hunting
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Gus Van Sant’s Good Will Hunting premiered in New York City on this day in 1997. Brainstormed and written by actors Ben Affleck and Matt Damon on numerous cross-country drives, the film brought both men into the Hollywood limelight. The script first gained attention from Rob Reiner’s production company, Castle Rock, before director Kevin Smith passed it along to Miramax. Though rumors still persist that screenwriter William Goldman doctored the Academy Award-winning script, Goldman denies any ties with the revision, saying that he would never write the “It’s not your fault†scene.
Film Factoid: In the shooting script, psychiatrist Sean Maguire (Robin Williams) relates this story about his wife: Every morning she would turn off the alarm clock while sleeping and thereby prevent him from getting to work on time. In production, Williams improvised the anecdote, the result of which is the memorable monologue about the wife’s tendency to fart indiscriminately while sleeping.
December 4th, 2006 | Category: News/Commentary | By MovieMaker Staff
“He’s Only a Demi-God”
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Arnold Schwarzenegger is a man who has had many dreams come true. From bodybuilding to acting to politics (three professions that have surprisingly similar skill sets), this Austrian powerhouse has ridden his macho persona all the way to the top of his various careers, embodying the American dream to an almost absurd extent. But let’s not forget where dear Ah-nold got his acting start: As the oiled up, muscle-packed star of Hercules in New York.
Surely you’ve seen this 1970 classic, in which the strongest of strongmen, dissatisfied with life on Mount Olympus, is sent by Zeus to the Big Apple in order to find out just how rough life can be outside the land of the gods (considering the landscape of ‘70s New York, that’s a pretty harsh lesson to dole out).
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But wait—there’s more. Not only can you now see this B-list gem with Arnold’s original voice-track (he was dubbed over for the theatrical run). But as of November 7th, you can bid for the rights to the California governor’s cinematic debut. Premiere Pictures International, which currently owns the film, has decided to auction off this little bit of moviemaking history via eBay, donating a quarter of the winning bid to the Metro Theatre Center Foundation, a nonprofit supporting local arts and film-related causes.
As of this writing, there are no bids for the film (the starting price is $550K), but the auction closes on November 17th—so those of you with a few hundred grand to throw around should jump right in. Is there anything better than a film that is essentially The Terminator meets Crocodile Dundee meets Jason and the Argonauts? We think not.
(Don’t believe us? Check out the trailer below.)
[mpeg width="320" height="255"]http://www.premierepicturesinc.com/images/hercules_trailer.mpg[/mpeg]
November 8th, 2006 | Category: News/Commentary | By MovieMaker Staff
Could It Be Thetan?
The Little Tramp. America’s Sweetheart. The Great Swashbuckler. The Man Who Invented Hollywood. The Star of Losin’ It?
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One of these things is not like the others… and it would be Tom Cruise. (Though I guess you could sort of play that game with Tom Cruise and anyone in Hollywood today.)
After being unceremoniously dumped in late August by Paramount Pictures after a 14-year collaboration that resulted in a number of box offices hits (including the Mission: Impossible franchise), it was announced on Thursday that Tom Cruise and his producing pal Paula Wagner are set to resurrect United Artists in a partnership with MGM Studios.
Cruise and Wagner will follow in the footsteps of legendary moviemakers Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin and D.W. Griffith, who originally established UA—known as “the company built by stars"—in 1919 in order to allow greater creative freedom for actors and directors.
In addition to a large ownership of the company, Cruise and Wagner “will have control of setting the company’s production slate, from development to production greenlighting ability, subject to certain parameters,†according to an MGM press release. Guess this means that Cruise won’t have the final word on Battlefield Earth II: Electric Boogaloo?
November 7th, 2006 | Category: News/Commentary | By MovieMaker Staff
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