Nov 5 2009 The Weekend's New Moving Picture Releases
Don't just sit at home playing your CD-ROMs; enjoy a film this weekend. Here are some options:
A Christmas Carol
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Starring: Jim Carrey, Gary Oldman, Bob Hoskins, the leads from The Princess Bride
Good if you want to see: disgusting near-humans acting out the well worn tale of Scrooge yet again
The Men Who Stare at Goats
Director: Grant Heslov
Starring: Ewan McGregor, George Clooney, Jeff Bridges, Kevin Spacey
Good if you want to see: Coen Brothers-esque comedy from non-Coens; George Clooney killing goats with his BRAIN
The Fourth Kind
Director: Olatunde Osunsanmi
Starring: Milla Jovovich
Good if you want to see: aliens! Or something like that.
The Box
Director: Richard Kelly
Starring: Cameron Diaz, James Marsden, Frank Langella
Good if you want to see: a Twilight Zone episode stretched out an extra hour; whether or not they're going to push that box button for a million dollars (they're totally going to push that box button for a million dollars)
Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (limited)
Director: Lee Daniels
Starring: Gabby Sidibe, Mo'Nique, Mariah Carey
Good if you want to see: the depressing story of an obese, illiterate teen twice impregnated by her father and abused by her mother; future Academy Award recipients; whatever Oprah and Tyler Perry want you to see, as usual
Oct 29 2009 'The Box' Poster: Cameron Diaz by Carnival Airbrush Artist
How did this happen? She looks like Ann from Arrested Development as a colorized prison tattoo.
New Poster For The Box [Empire]
Jul 17 2009 Final 'The Box' Poster: Less Diaz, More Cyclops and Skeletor
Looking much like its poster predecessor, which already looked like the From Hell poster, the final The Box one-sheet turned up today on director Richard Kelly's Twitter machine.
If I were less mature, I'd try to make some joke about Cameron Diaz's "box" and the bloody streak down the image's center, but since I'm no longer in junior high, I'll just say "vagina" and "period stains" and let you connect the dots.
Jun 25 2009 'The Box' Trailer: Deal... or MURDER?
Exploiting America's eternal love for the simplistic mechanics of Howie Mandel's Pick-a-Box, Donnie Darko director Richard Kelly has made a new film involving idiots pressing a plunger for a million dollars. Similar to the game show in more than just its button pushing, The Box asks its players to answer a tough yes-or-no question: if Frank Langella-with-a-bite-out-of-his-face told you that a single button push would kill someone far away that you don't know, and that pushing it would make you a millionaire, and also you're Cameron Diaz, what would you do?
Personally, my policy has always been to immediately push any button put within reach before anyone can explain its function, thus exonerating me from any possible moral dilemmas, but maybe you'll come up with another plan after seeing this trailer:
Apr 7 2009 'The Box' Poster Came From Somewhere...
Sometimes the most effective design strategy will be to add Cameron Diaz's head to the From Hell poster. That's one of the first things you learn in art school after pencils and drawing three-dimensional cubes.
'The Box' Poster [[Richard Kelly's]Space]
May 20 2008 Boy, Things Sure Have Changed: Two Things That Have Changed
1. A few weeks ago, the rumor was that Jonah Hill was in talks for Transformers 2, likely playing LaBeouf's college roommate. Speaking to MTV, Hill has since confirmed the rumor, but says he decided to turn down the chance to co-star with CGI robot cars:
I just think like I have to prove myself more in what I’m doing now, making comedies and stuff before I do the big action movie or something, you know? I’m not proven yet. I’ve only been in one movie that people have seen that I’ve been the lead in so like, um, I could still suck in people’s minds, they don’t know yet!
So the official reason for Jonah Hill turning down Transformers 2 is "fear of sucking in people's minds." I imagine, upon hearing this rationale, Michael Bay had no idea what was being said.
2. Last week, when I said Arcade Fire was scoring Richard Kelly's The Box, I made a slight error: it turns out Arcade Fire is not scoring Richard Kelly's The Box. From lead singer Win Butler's blog:
Hi everyone. Just to let you all know that (internet-based fact checking aside) Arcade Fire is NOT doing the soundtrack to any film. We are all off for the summer, writing songs, reading books and keeping our plants alive. Regine, Owen Pallet and I may do an instrumental piece or two for Richard Kelly’s new movie…we met at a show this year and hit it off, but we are not planning on doing any major work for a while, and this would not constitute a soundtrack or a release.
Oops! I suppose I'll stop work on my "Arcade Sell-Outs!!!" sign.
May 13 2008 Arcade Fire Scoring Richard Kelly's 'The Box'
As mentioned yesterday, Richard Kelly's cult hit Donnie Darko has managed to infect many a college campus movie night with its particular brand of "that shit's f***ed up, man." But that's not enough for him. How can he get to those few remaining hold-outs that "don't get it"? What to do about the dorm rooms that still prefer a Big Lebowski? (That's still big, right?) Kelly finally has the answer: get Arcade Fire to score his next film. Surely marrying those college chart toppers and more of his signature "f***ed up shit" will make his newest thriller the talk of the quad. It should also help that it's called The Box. You know what that means, braw.
Arcade Fire Scoring Donnie Darko Dude's New Movie [Pitchfork]
