Oct 15 2009 Bill Murray Still Not That Hot on 'Ghostbusters 3'

Does the promise of a Ghostbusters 3 fill you with the same emotional mix of childlike excitement and fear of failure that you get when you realize a girl will actually sleep with you? (Is that just me?) Worry less, worrier: we have a self-appointed protector of the Ghostbusters legacy.

In this brief red carpet interview with Bill Murray, he reveals that he's not as on-board as Harold Ramis would like us to believe. He says he won't commit to anything until he reads a script, and even then it has to be good--better than mediocre Ghostbusters 2 good--before he'll consider it. Also, I think he attempted to make a reference to Snood:

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Sep 30 2009 New 'Fantastic Mr. Fox' Trailer: The Cuss You Won't Watch This

New trailer for Wes Anderson's The Fantastic Mr. Fox, people. Let it wiggle into that fox-in-a-corduroy-blazer-shaped hole in your heart and fill it with stop-motion love:

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Sep 18 2009 'Get Low' Poster: This Paper is Burning with Celebrity Holograms

I have no idea what this movie is, but it seems like the kind of epic drama that would end up getting nominated for Oscars or something later, and I didn't want you to be left in the dark about its existence. Because I care about you. I... I love you. Shhhhh. Don't say anything back. Just know it.

'Get Low' Poster [IMPA]

Jul 30 2009 'Fantastic Mr. Fox' Trailer: Kids' Movies Are Suddenly Really Great

Oh, if only to be a child again. Not me as a child--I was an idiot who spent most of his time re-enacting scenes from Ghostbusters--but a child with discerning enough taste to recognize and enjoy that this fall marks a quality family film renaissance. In October comes Spike Jonze's Where the Wild Things Are, and in November we get Wes Anderson's adaptation of The Fantastic Mr. Fox--a film that places the director's wit and stylized direction in a realm more accepting of abstraction: the world of Rankin/Bass-like stop-motion animation.

We've already seen how good Wild Things looks, and now a trailer for Fox has finally been released. It's basically Roald Dahl's Bottle Rocket:

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Jul 28 2009 New 'Fantastic Mr. Fox' Photos: Bill Murray is Hollywood's Most Powerful Dozer

The official Fantastic Mr. Fox site has been updated with new production stills and behind-the-scenes photos, revealing some new characters from the film and, more importantly, that Bill Murray's contract still includes the proviso that allows him to pass out anywhere he pleases, any time he pleases. I would do anything to command that power. So long as it wouldn't be one of those bet-with-the-Devil scenarios, where I get the power to nap as I please but it's because Satan turned me into a cat. I know your game, Ol' Scratch.

Mar 6 2009 'Limits of Control' Trailer: It's a Jarmusch Alright

Nothing like a new Jim Jarmusch movie to make a Friday feel like a Saturday, you know? Just that he usually makes good films, and The Limits of Control, with a guitar string-based killer and Bill Murray, looks like it will be good too. This trailer is our second Saturday:

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Sep 8 2008 Harold Ramis Gives 'Ghostbusters 3' Update, Understands Email

Harold Ramis emailed Chicago Tribune writer Mark Caro confirming that Ghostbusters 3 is being made, and suggesting we'll probably see some Apatowians involved, as is the likelihood in every modern comedy:

yes, columbia is developing a script for GB3 with my year one writing partners, gene stupnitsky and lee eisenberg. judd apatow is co-producing year one and has made several other films for sony, so of course the studio is hoping to tap into some of the same acting talent. aykroyd, ivan reitman and i are consulting at this point, and according to dan, bill murray is willing to be involved on some level. he did record his dialogue for the new ghostbusters video game, as did danny and i, and ernie hudson. the concept is that the old ghostbusters would appear in the film in some mentor capacity. not much else to say at this point. everyone is confident a decent script can be written and i guess we'll take it from there. best, harold

Yeah, Bill Murray, you'd better be involved "on some level." You were in Garfield. You were in Garfield 2: A Tail of Two Kittes. You were in Osmosis Jones. You were in Get Smart. You were in Larger Than Life. As much as I don't want there to be a third Ghostbusters, you'd better be in a third Ghostbusters, because you definitely aren't better than that.

Aug 4 2008 Bill Murray Makes 'City of Ember' Seem Palatable

Bill Murray is the Lawry's Seasoning Salt of movies. I'm not sure City of Ember will be at all worthwhile, but I am positive that Murray's presence will make it at least slightly more so--just like Lawry's Seasoning Salt makes that burnt popcorn just palatable enough (salty enough) to choke down so you don't have to go back to the store. Just look at that expression. Couldn't you force down the film equivalent of some week-old KFC with enough of that? Sure you could.

More new City of Ember shots here. Trailer here. Bizarrely sexual Lawry's commercial under the cut.

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May 16 2008 'City of Ember' Trailer: Like 'Escape from New York' but Less Criminal Statey

The problem with American-made underground bunker cities is that the generators always seem to die after a couple hundred years. Unfortunately, it looks like it's about that time for Ember--a city whose only source of electricity comes from a failing hydroelectric unit--when a young girl finds a clock counting down to nothing. "What would count down to nothing?" she asks. "Sounds like doomsday." Or an egg timer. Now it's up to her, her friend, mayor Bill Murray, and Tim Robbins to find a way out. If you've seen Shawshank Redemption, you know this won't be an issue for Tim Robbins, so relax and enjoy this new trailer. (Thanks, Joe.)

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Dec 13 2007 Technology Retroactively Ruins 'Lost in Translation'

Want to ruin one of the most beautiful and poignant moments in recent cinematic history? I guess this is relatively old, but I've just been made aware that someone has used digital stuff to make the whispered final moment of Lost in Translation somewhat decipherable. It's under the cut, for those who want questionable closure.

I'm a bit dubious if this is really what he's saying; it seems kind of suspect that his final line is, "Don't forget to see The Dark Knight, in theaters July 18th."

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Sep 27 2007 Schwartzman and Murray Predictably Join 'Mr. Fox'

Speaking to MTV Movies, Wes Anderson revealed some details about his upcoming adaptation of The Fantastic Mr. Fox, including the addition of Jason Schwartzman and Bill Murray to the voice cast. The director said:

George Clooney is going to be Mr. Fox. Bill Murray has a part. Jason [Schwartzman] is doing a voice. That’s our team.

It will take a couple years to do the animating. It’s stop-motion. It’s like ‘Nightmare Before Christmas’ or those Christmas specials. These [characters] have fur, so it’s not like claymation.

The settings will be very natural. We want to use real trees and real sand, but it’s all miniature.

Now, if I'm not mistaken, I do believe Wes Anderson has used these actors before. If this entire week hadn't already been spent tearing him apart for making movies with the same themes, actors, and style of deadpan comedy, I'd probably have more to say about this, but now it just seems like shooting fish in a barrel. Will Owen Wilson play the estranged father character's voice, Wes?

Wes Anderson Enlists Bill Murray For ‘The Fantastic Mr. Fox’ [MTV]