Aug 25 2008 'Tropic Thunder' is Still a Popular Film
Because you love it, the weekend box office results:
1. Tropic Thunder - Is there a Hi-C flavor based on this yet? Because Tropic Thunder Punch is at least as sound an idea as the Ghostbusters-based Ecto Cooler. ($16.1 million)
2. The House Bunny - Audiences made it clear which side they support in the battle between wretched comedy and cars with spikes and flames and shit. On the wretched comedy side. ($15.1 million)
3. Death Race - But there was a large, paying minority that said, "No, but seriously, cars with spikes and flames and shit." ($12.3 million)
4. The Dark Knight - Someone had to bring Batman down eventually, but Death Race and House Bunny? That's like letting a lame villain introduced in 1993 be the one to break Batman's back. ($10.3 million)
5. Star Wars: The Clone Wars - The Force is strong with this one. Because people have to be forced to see it! A'BOOSH! (Still, enough people saw it for it to make $5.7 million.)
Weekend Box Office [Box Office Mojo]
Aug 19 2008 'Tropic Thunder' Proves Itself the More Popular Movie Featuring a Guy in Heavy Makeup
Weekend box office results!
1. Tropic Thunder - $25.8 million, finally answering the question of if [the actor who played] Iron Man could beat [the movie] Batman in a fight [between their movies, one of which came out a month prior].
2. The Dark Knight - Oh, how the mighty have fallen... one spot... after five weeks... and after earning over $470 million. ($16.4 million)
3. Star Wars: The Clone Wars - $14.6 million, because it's terrible.
4. Mirrors - $11.1 million, a number that, when held to a mirror, remains the same. Spooky, huh? Except how the decimal point is in the wrong spot, and the dollar sign is reversed and at the end, and I rounded down the last 1 even though it was technically $11.16 million, so that's also not entirely accurate. Still, spooky.
5. Pineapple Express - Dropping three spots with only $9.8 million after many people planning to see it decided instead to finish this South Park then laugh at that channel where they sell all those knives.
Weekend Box Office Results [Box Office Mojo]
Jul 16 2008 'Star Wars: The Clone Wars' Has a Classic Poster, Hard-to-look-at Characters
Man, I was totally wrong to prematurely label The Clone Wars as just another disappointing extension of the Star Wars universe meant to sell new, stylized toys, video games, and ad time when the television version arrives. Look at this classic, Struzan-inspired poster! It reminds me of the posters of the original trilogy--those Star Wars things that I didn't hate to watch! So The Clone Wars will probably be equally as good as those, since it has a similar poster. Do the math; it checks out.
Another new poster here.
Jul 9 2008 'Star Wars: The Clone Wars' Featurette, Despite Appearances, Isn't a Video Game
Well, they found a way to make this thing both stupider and even cheaper looking. In this short preview, we learn that at George Lucas's insistence, explains the Clone Wars director who is indiscriminately wearing a fedora, the clone troopers now have tattoos and personalized hairstyles in an attempt to make them seem more like individuals. This utterly fails, and instead it looks like an online game where character customization is limited to picking your hair's degree of stupidity. And I can't wait to see how Lucas has given all of these identical clone troopers unique personalities. If the main characters the live-action films barely had personalities, how do these guys have a shot?
Continue Reading " 'Star Wars: The Clone Wars' Featurette, Despite Appearances, Isn't a Video Game "
Jun 12 2008 'The Clone Wars' Trailer Has Me Reluctantly Tapping My Foot to the Tune of Star Wars
Did you ever have a band you really liked that quickly declined into making really shitty music for many years, and you sort of forget about them being a current band until, one day, on the radio, you hear something vaguely familiar and not that terrible anymore--it's that old band you liked! And you're like, "While this is clearly well below the standards of their hey-day, it seems all right. I mean, I'd never, ever buy the album--they've clearly lost most of their early talent and the rest of the tracks are probably rubbish--but it's at least nice to know they're trying again."
That's basically how I felt with this new Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
May 29 2008 New 'Star Wars: The Clone Wars of 1996' Stills
Wow. Somehow I hadn't realized quite how stylized Star Wars: The Clone Wars was going to be. And by stylized, I mean in the style of a cut-scene from a Playstation game. And to answer a question a friend recently asked me that I think a lot of people are likely asking: yes, this is seriously going to be released in theaters. More evidence here, thanks to Tytus.
May 9 2008 'Clone Wars' Trailer: Star Wars LIKE YOU'VE NEVER SEEN IT BEFORE
I've seen a stylized animated version of The Clone Wars; I've seen countless 3-D animated sequences in the Star Wars films. So I really have no idea what this trailer is referencing when it says, "Prepare to see Star Wars like you've never seen it before." How is this like I've never seen it before? That it lazily merges two ways I've already seen it before? That watching it is a joyless exercise in stretching my childhood nostalgia to its limits? That any mild excitement it creates is only a pavlovian response to hearing the hum of a lightsaber? None of that is a new way to experience Star Wars. In fact, that's sort of become the standard.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars Trailer [Yahoo!]
May 7 2008 The Star Wars: The Clone Wars: The Poster
This poster seems to portray four robed characters, equipped with glowing swords, hip-deep in star wars. Behind them, a group of small, near-identical characters appear to also be warring, possibly in a sub-war of the larger, aforementioned star war. As evidence of previous epic battles, the tile floor is scuffed.
The Trailer & Poster for Star Wars: The Clone Wars [Official Site]
Apr 22 2008 'Star Wars: The Clone Wars' Trailer Leaked
In a blunder that will surely birth many a nerdy racial joke, the Polish division of Warner Bros. has let leak the new trailer to Star Wars: The Clone Wars, meant to be screened before Speed Racer. It looks surprisingly entertaining--probably because it doesn't show any of the forced romance or stilted comedy--so hurry up and watch the lightsaber-filled contraband before "the man" finds out we've got it. Thanks to DANY for the tip.
Apr 21 2008 NYCC Report: 'Star Wars: The Clone Wars'
This weekend, a cloud of nerdiness loomed darkly over New York's Javits Center, bringing with it a storm of body odor, sword salesman, and more costumed, overweight versions of famous characters than Frank TV. It was the New York Comic Con, and I braved the crowds and movie panels to bring you special reports.
After showing up horribly late, the first panel I attended was on the upcoming animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars. It was a packed room, eager to find how how Lucas would further dilute their cherished series. Here's what I learned:
- Anakin's padawan--a new character named Ahsoka Tano--was described as "a feisty, fiery, and very funny character." As funny as Jar Jar? We could only hope.
- The producer or whatever (I came in late and didn't catch who was speaking) said the new film is so immersive that "it will almost be like the clone troopers walked off the screen and into your living room." At this point, several fully-costumed clone troopers walked onto the stage, simulating the claimed effect. It would have been more impressive if I hadn't already seen forty other guys walking around dressed as Star Wars characters.
- Lucas was originally going to be only marginally involved in the production; now he's gotten hands-on, stopping by to monitor progress once a week. Take this as you will (it's probably bad).
- Just as the previous Star Wars episodes attempted to create a new battlefront environment with each film (ice planet for Empire, jungle for Return of the Jedi, etc.), The Clone Wars does the same: this time it's fighting up a sheer cliff. The clips I saw weren't as Wile E. Coyote-inspired as it sounds, and it looked reasonably entertaining.
I don't think the preview has arrived online yet
Feb 19 2008 'Star Wars: The Clone Wars' Reveals 'Crazy Eyes' Obi-Wan
If you're excited about the new Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated series, enjoy this first look at Obi-Wan. If you're not, just enjoy the mad look in his eyes.
Expect The Clone Wars in theaters August 15, followed by a series on Cartoon Network and TNT, followed by complaining.
George Lucas Bringing 3D Star Wars to Theaters [Rotten Tomatoes]
Feb 12 2008 'Star Wars: The Clone Wars' Reveals Nearly Sleek New Anakin
Lucasfilm has released the first shots of Anakin Skywalker from the new animated Clone Wars series, and like many hoped for in the prequel films, the animators have stripped nearly all elements of Hayden Christensen from the character. He's become stylized to the point that he's nothing but a sleek, chiseled, ultimately forgettable jawline with hair--like how you'd describe Casper Van Dien. With the pictures came the announcement that Star Wars: The Clone Wars will be coming to theaters August 15, preceding the series that will run on Cartoon Network and TNT.
Now, if you're like me, you're getting worried. Not that George Lucas has stretched the Star Wars franchise to the point that he's making video games based on toys based on the movies (Lego Star Wars made perfect sense), nor that the sheer number of Star Wars products has turned the hum of a lightsaber into the horrific screams of your dying childhood. No, if you're like me, your concern is simply this: can the epic thrills of a Star Wars movie possibly be contained in a traditional, 30-minute television episode? Thankfully, Lucasfilm has pacified those fears, explaining that, although Clone Wars will be televised with brief, regular commercial interruptions, they are not episodes. Rather, "Each week, viewers will see a thrilling, 30-minute 'mini-movie'". Phew!
One more image below the cut. Thanks, Joshua.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars in Theaters and on Television in 2008 [Official Site]
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