May 19 2006Fast Food Nation Trailer
Writer/Director Richard Linklater has taken the popular non-fiction book by Eric Schlosser, Fast Food Nation, and somehow transformed it into a fictional narrative starring Patricia Arquette, Luis Guzman, Ethan Hawke, Greg Kinnear, and others. To see how, check out the trailer above. After reading the book, hearing its criticisms of the fast food industry, I was driven to give-up McDonald's. We'll see if the film is dramatic enough to ween me off the rest, particularly my favorite, KFC, where my portions are controlled only by the number of buckets I'm able to purchase. I don't like it when anyone tells me how many chickens I can eat.
May 19 2006First Shot From Pirates of the Caribbean 3
Pirates of the Caribbean 2 hasn't even been released yet, and already what's being reported as the first shot from the third film has turned up online. In it, Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow has donned what appears to be some sort of Asian garb, raising his scores in math and science by nearly ten points. We'll have to wait until 2007, the film's release, to see why his hat has a reservoir tip.
May 19 2006Lots of New Nacho Libre Stills
Even with the the trailer that's been released, I've been a little on the fence on whether Jack Black's priest-turned-luchador tale, Nacho Libre, will bring the laughs or not. That is, until I saw this shot of a monk hosing down a fat kid in a mask. The only thing I think I could like any more than seeing this image, is seeing it in real life. And maybe participating, either by spraying him myself or by cruelly mocking him. And if I could kick him a few times, or poke him with a stick, that would be great.
See more new shots here.
May 18 2006Original Star Wars Trilogy DVD Covers
Starwars.com has given fans a glimpse of the September 12th release of the DVD theatrical release of the original Star Wars trilogy by providing the first look at the cover art. Each cover is an imitation of the classic, painted, original posters for the films, remade in a pieced-together, photo-montage style. These reinterpretations are nearly as good as when that middle-aged Creedence Clearwater Revival cover band at the bar down the street plays "Fortunate Son," but without the overweight dancing man who sometimes takes his shirt off.
I don't know why they've chosen to ruin the posters instead of just using the originals, but I can only assume it will somehow make George Lucas millions of dollars.
See the other two under the cut, then look at your walls to compare them to the original posters. Then look at that awesome poster for "Dark Side of the Moon," because we both know you have that one right next to it.
May 18 2006Ramis on Ghostbusters 3: Ghostbusters in Hell
Rumors of another Ghostbusters film have started up again, with star and writer Harold Ramis saying that Dan Aykroyd has written a script, entitled Ghostbusters in Hell, and wants Ben Stiller to star:
What Danny had originally conceived was sending us to a special-effects hell--a netherworld full of phenomenal visual environments and boiling pits.But what works so well about the first two (films) is the mundane-ness of it all. So my notion was that hell exists in the same place as our consensus reality, but it's like a film shutter--it's the darkness between the 24 frames.
So we create a device to do it, and it's in a warehouse in Brooklyn. When we step out of the chamber, it looks just like New York, but it's hell--everything's grid locked; no cars are moving and all the drivers are swearing at each other in different foreign languages. No two people speak the same language. It's all the worst things about modern urban life, just magnified.
With all the controversy surrounding The Da Vinci Code right now, I can only imagine what the Catholic Church will say about a Ghostbusters film dealing with the concept of hell. The only way they'll approve of this one is if the Ghostbusters are sent there for trying to marry each other and performing too many ghost abortions. Actually, now that I think of it, I think I'd like that, too. Part of me wants to see them use one of those ghost traps to do an abortion. Just have a willing lady-ghost squat over it, push the button, and watch that kid fly out like the Concorde. The only part I don't look forward to is the horrible shrieking.
May 18 2006Flushed Away Trailer
Dreamworks has released the trailer to Flushed Away, their collaboration with Wallace & Gromit creators Aardman, telling the story of a haughty, upper-class, possibly homosexual mouse's adventure into the dangerous world of public sewage systems. If you're thinking this is the Flushed Away where people have sex while their partner forcefully shoves their head in a toilet, prepare to be as disappointed as I was. What you want is Bathroom Ballet IV. Trust me.
May 17 2006World Trade Center Trailer
The trailer to Oliver Stone's World Trade Center, starring Nicolas Cage as a New York City police officer who gets trapped in the rubble of the collapsing towers, is available to view online. Even if you're really interested in exploiting national and personal tragedies, I think this looks pretty bad; a boring balance between domestic life and blue-collar heroism. Like Ladder 49, but more offensive, and with more mustaches.
World Trade Center, coming to theaters August 9, pushes Nicolas Cage just slightly into the lead in his race with Kevin Coster for who can leave the worst acting legacy. If Costner wants to get serious about taking the title, he's going to have to really get on it with some more Waterworlds.
May 17 2006Superman Returns One-Sheet
The new Superman Returns poster has been released, showing a beautiful scene of the Man of Steel descending gracefully to earth. I assume to gather more hair pomade.
May 17 2006Bratz to See Live-Action Debut
To the joy of promiscuous eight-year-olds everywhere, Variety reports that a live-action Bratz feature is in the works, based on the dolls of the same name:
MGA Entertainment, Crystal Sky Pictures and Avi Arad are teaming to produce the live-action feature "Bratz," based on the popular doll line. Crystal Sky will finance the film, while Arad -- topper of Marvel Studios -- will produce...
So if you're a teenage girl with lips like sausages and eyes the size of fists, have I got the role for you.
May 16 2006Patrick Stewart Worries For X-Men Fans
Avoid reading this if you care about plot details to X-Men 3, because this is what the kids are calling a "spoiler." Maybe I'm just out of the loop, but apparently it's being said that Professor Xavier, the bald leader of the X-Men, will die in the third film:
PATRICK STEWART fears fans will be scarred by the end of the final X-MEN movie because his character suffers a demise that even disturbed him. PROFESSOR CHARLES XAVIER meets a grisly end at the end of X-MEN: THE LAST STAND and Stewart is concerned about the effect it might have on devotees of the comic book series.
I couldn't agree more with Stewart's concern about fan reaction to Xaver's death. I'm sure we all remember the great Spock Hunger Strike of 1982, following the death of the beloved character in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, when fans rallied together and starved themselves for upwards of four days, consuming only the occasional Mountain Dew. Or the great Obi-Wan Shower Strike of '77, which many fans still cling to by showering only after extended Dance Dance Revolution sessions. If there's one thing fanatical audiences won't tolerate, it's the untimely death of a character. That, and any form of physical exertion.
May 16 2006Gridiron Gang Trailer
In Gridiron Gang, based on a true story, probation officer The Rock creates a football team from a group of teenage criminals in a detention camp, helping to reform the youths. You can now take a look at the trailer online, along with a special introduction by The Rock. I always knew the way to control prisoners was by giving them thick, plastic armor and pitting them against each other. It just took The Rock's versatile acting abilities to articulate it for me.
May 16 2006Monster House Poster
An early teaser poster for the Robert Zemeckis and Steven Spielberg produced CG cartoon Monster House has been released. As you can see, the poster carries a strong message of vulnerability, with the boy in the image completely exposed, surrounded on either side by jagged, threatening shapes. At the same time, both the menacing tree and ferocious house itself are left dark enough that, with just a stick of chalk, parents will able to label them as "pedophiles" and "too much candy" respectively, providing a strong political cartoon for their child that might hopefully keep them away from the two greatest dangers of childhood.
May 16 2006Snakes on a Plane Helmer Ready For Asylum
With Snakes on a Plane already becoming a cult sensation based on the name alone, director David Ellis is set to push his luck with the dark thriller Asylum. The film, written by Ethan Lawrence, tells the story of some college freshmen who discover their dormitory is a former mental institution... For snakes!!!
May 15 2006Meg Concept Art Portrays Shark Eating Things
The makers of Meg, the upcoming film about the hunt for an 80-foot-long, 100,000 pound Megalodon shark, are hoping to create some more buzz for the flick, possibly increasing the funding, by releasing some more concept art. The rather creative concept to this piece is: There's this really fucking huge shark, and it's like attacking this boat or something (note: boat should have some kind of robot arm in the back), and this chick is like, "Shit, this 80-foot-long, 100,000 pound shark is trying to eat me," and this dude is like, "I'll try to save you, but fuck, that's a big shark."
I expect this to be the "thinking man's" Snakes on a Plane.
Peeking around the IMDB, I noticed they have a new piece of concept are there, as well. I won't go into detail about the concept, but the title at the bottom reads, "Attacking the helicopter." You can draw your own conclusions. See it after the jump.
Continue Reading "Meg Concept Art Portrays Shark Eating Things"
May 15 2006Lady in the Water Poster
The poster for M. Night Shyamalan's Lady in the Water is out. It looks like they've taken one of the Muppets from The Dark Crystal and made it an albino. Since Paul Bettany plays an albino in The Da Vinci Code, it must have become fashionable to include them in movies. And that's just one more reason Powder was light years ahead of its time.
May 15 2006You, Me, and Dupree Trailer
The trailer for the zany comedy You, Me, and Dupree, starring Matt Dillon, Kate Hudson, and Owen Wilson has gone online. In the film, Dillon and Hudson, a happy couple, allow Dupree (Wilson), Dillon's oldest friend, to move in with them, resulting in zany antics. I like this concept because it's something we can all relate to. Who hasn't let a friend move in to cause zany antics? Though only now that I've become comfortable with my situation can I calmly refer to herpes as a friend, and the intolerable break-outs as "zany antics."
May 15 2006O.J. Simpson May Juice You
For those who thought The Jamie Kennedy Experiment and Punk'd didn't have enough brutal double-homicides, how about Juiced? It's the prank show where O.J. Simpson plays hilarious pranks on unsuspecting "victims!"
As part of the pay-per-view show, Simpson pretends to sell the Bronco at a used car lot and boasts to a prospective buyer that he made the vehicle famous, according to a segment aired Thursday on "Inside Edition.""It was good for me it helped me get away," Simpson said, referring to the slow-speed, televised police chase that preceded his 1994 arrest on charges of murdering his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman.
Other pranks involved Simpson disguised in several costumes, including an Elvis impersonator, a hobo selling oranges, and an old man playing bingo. Unfortunately, only by watching the pay-per-view special will we know which disguise was most effective in murdering wives.
