Cinematical

Kudos to Cinematical reader Kashif Pasta for sending this our way. On the latest episode of the Creative Screenwriting Magazine Podcast (which I didn't know existed, but now do and will totally listen more often), Up and Monster's, Inc director Pete Docter revealed the original pitch for Monsters, Inc. -- which was very different from what eventually hit the screen, and kinda reminded me of Where the Wild Things Are in a sorta-ish way. On this blog, Kashif separated the segment of the podcast where Docter reveals the original pitch (which came at about 22 minutes in), and it went something like this:

"Well, my idea was that what it was about was about a 30 year old man who is like an accountant or something, he hates his job, and one day he gets a book with some drawings in it that he did when he was a kid from his mom, and he doesn't think anything of it and he puts it on the shelf and that night, monsters show up. And nobody else can see them. He thinks he's starting to go crazy, they follow him to his job, and on his dates, and all this- and it turns out these monsters are fears that he never dealt with as a kid. And each one of them represents a different kind of fear. As he conquers those fears, the guys who he slowly becomes kind of friends with- they disappear as he conquers those fears. It's this bittersweet kinda ending where they go away, and so not much of that stayed

[...]

it sounds better as a pitch than it did at the time- anyway. "

Sounds like a pretty cool punch-in-the-gut kinda movie to me; something with real intense emotion. I like Docter in that way. I feel he likes to create these beautiful child-like movies with some pretty intense adult emotions behind them. It's part of what makes that Pixar crew so great and unique and powerful. You can listen to the audio from the Docter podcast over here.

While it came as little surprise to the fans of Stephenie Meyers' original books, the success of Twilight caught Hollywood and the rest of the world by storm when the first adaptation arrived in theaters late last year. A big part of the credit for the movie's crossover success must be attributed to screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg, who rendered the romance of Bella and Edward in dimensions that more than die-hards (or more accurately, Twi-hards) could understand and appreciate.

The Twilight sequel New Moon comes to theaters next Friday and offers even more tortured teenage romance than before, as well as a wealth of mythology about vampires, werewolves and other monsters that inhabit the series' supernatural universe. Cinematical recently spoke to screenwriter Rosenberg at the film's press day in Los Angeles; in addition to discussing the process of putting together a satisfying sequel, she talked about subjecting Bella to the universal disappointment of a bad break-up, and examined what audiences might take away from this latest installment in the series.

Cinematical: Is there an emotional core or some central theme that was guiding you through writing New Moon, or do you see this more as an installment in a larger narrative?

Kick-Ass
Why don't people in real life put on a costume, get a few gadgets and fight crime? Because the idea is completely bonkers. This flick based on a comic book by Mark Millar features a group of young people putting on the spandex and, as the title suggests, kicking some ass. This looks pretty cool, but we'll find out for sure on April 16.

Extraordinary Measures
Brendan Fraser stars as a father whose children are dying from a genetic disorder. Desperate to save them he funds the work of an eccentric but brilliant researcher (Harrison Ford) in hopes of finding a cure. I suspect this will be a good old fashioned tear-jerker. If that's your cup of tea you can check it out on January 22.

Grown Ups
A bunch of SNL veterans (Adam Sandler, Rob Schneider, Chris Rock and David Spade) along with that guy from King of Queens (Kevin James) play old friends reuniting for the first time in 30 years. The "reunion" formula is one of those cliches I remember my Writing Arts teacher warning me away from, and it doesn't look like they're doing anything especially original with it. This will be out on June 25. (Watch the trailer after the jump)

By: Alison Nastasi

Gotta love those dark Germanic fairy tales. They are ripe with strange folklore, the supernatural, and some of the most grotesque creatures ever imagined. These stories are intrinsically woven into the fabric of horror culture. You would think there would be more amazing fairy tale film adaptations, but only a few immediately come to mind: The Company of Wolves, Little Otik, Snow White and the Seven Dwarf and Labyrinth. Perhaps they hold more magic on paper, but it's inevitable that filmmakers will continue to turn to these tales for inspiration.

Earlier this year it was reported that Tommy Wirkola, the Norwegian director behind the Nazi-zombie flick Dead Snow will make his first U.S. feature with Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters. The film is being produced by Gary Sanchez Productions--the Paramount company run by Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, Chris Henchy and Kevin Messick.

Read the rest over at Horror Squad

We have television to thank for a serious dance renaissance. TV shows like So You Think You Can Dance and Dancing with the Stars have introduced a new generation to the joys of the samba, the waltz, and the quickstep, while High School Musical (and now, Glee) brought song-and-dance production numbers back into vogue. Suddenly it seems like the world's gone dance crazy. Of course, geeks like me, who grew up watching the great movie musicals, have been dance crazy for most of our lives.

On this week's episode of SYTYCD, show producer/judge Nigel Lythgoe lectured a pair of dancers about the importance of telling a story through choreography, instructing them that technical proficiency isn't enough --the audience wants to understand who the characters are, what the relationship is, and what they're trying to convey. Well, if he'd wanted to illustrate that concept, Lythgoe could do worse than to point his young contestants at 1953's The Band Wagon, starring Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse. Directed by the great Vincente Minnelli, the musical tells the story of an aging hoofer who hopes to reinvigorate his career by starring in a hilariously awful musical interpretation of Faust, which turns out to be such a disaster that he and his comely co-star, along with the show's writers (Oscar Levant and Nanette Fabray), have to create an entirely new show on the fly to replace it.

By Todd Gilchrist (reprint from 11/3/09 -- AFI Film Festival)

It's not hard to like any movie that uses the Beach Boys' music, but Wes Anderson makes it especially easy. As Hollywood's foremost purveyor of hipster drama, his pedigree as a reliable selector of appropriately wistful, poignant and all-around unforgettable songs is virtually unrivaled, but Fantastic Mr. Fox exceeds even the work of his earlier films, using "Heroes and Villains," and later, "I Get Around" as populist punctuation that manages to be both specifically relevant and substantively rousing.

As an animated opus, the film is by necessity his most controlled to date, a painstakingly-designed dollhouse where he no longer controls just the music, sets, and costumes, but the performers themselves. Ironically, however, it feels like his loosest as well - a gloriously unwieldy comedy of manners submerged in the minutiae of Anderson's madcap creativity. All of which makes Fantastic Mr. Fox a celebration both of its stop-motion medium and Anderson's aesthetic, while still managing to fully document the spectacular fun in original author Roald Dahl's daffy, distinctive imagination.

If you were anxious for another free dose of Sergio Leone after last week's suggestion of For a Few Dollars More, you're in luck! The third and final installment of the Dollars / Man With No Name Trilogy just happens to be up on SlashControl right now. I can't think of a better gang to spend Friday the 13th with than The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly is an epic, dizzying adventure set in the middle of the Civil War, and circles around three unsavory fellows and their hunt for a fortune in Confederate gold. It's probably the most famous and the most popular of Leone's westerns and Ennio Morricone's soundtracks. Every moment of this film is iconic. But the best part of the film isn't the sweeping battles, the mournful soldiers, or the explosive shoot-outs; it's the hateful alliance between Blondie (Clint Eastwood) and Tuco (Eli Wallach). I heard once that Eastwood and Wallace shared a single room and a single bed that they used in shifts in order to maintain their thorny attitude toward each other. I'm not sure if it's true, but it would certainly explain a lot.

Incidentally, though it's the last installment, Ugly actually comes first in the Dollars trilogy, something supported by the fact that Blondie obtains his signature look by the film's end. I'm pretty sure that first flip of the serape is what inspired a million "Let's delve into his origin!" stories, and certainly must have led Steven Spielberg to giving Indy's fedora an origin.

Go stand off with The Good, the Bad, and The Ugly on SlashControl

Welcome back to another edition of Insert Caption -- the game that's always wondered why vampires don't carry any nasty diseases with all the blood they drink. Last week we asked you to churn out some pirated captions for a photo from the new film Pirate Radio (in theaters now). Congrats go out to our three winners for broadcasting their unique sense of humor across these fabulous internets.

1. "Everyone thought it would be a great idea if he changed his name to Phillip Claus Hoffman. They knew it was time to stop drinking..." -- John R.

2. "The chances of two of them showing up with the same hairstyle was one thing, but all three? That called for another round." -- Charles P.

3. "It took a while to decorate, but it was all worth it when he got them drunk enough to believe it was Christmas." -- Ben M.

See full image and all captions

This week we're celebrating an upcoming vampire spoof comedy called Transylmania (in theaters December 4th), which follows a group of college kids who decide to do a semester abroad in Romania (who wants to go to school in Romania?), and learn that if strange eclectic food won't kill them, a hungry group of vampires will. The blood suckers behind our three favorite captions this week will limp away with one Transylmania hat, one Transylmania button and one Transylmania mini poster. Sound off below ... and try not to, um, suck.



Read the official rules for this contest

Several months ago while Quentin Tarantino promoted Inglourious Basterds, he mentioned that he might only make a few more films before he retires because, as he said, he didn't want to make "old man" movies. If anyone is unclear as to precisely what an "old man" movie is, they need look no further than Everybody's Fine, Robert De Niro's latest film, about a father trying to reconnect with his adult children after the death of his wife.

De Niro, once an indisputable fount of actorly integrity and hard work, has in recent years played a series of characters that either demanded little of his oft-discussed commitment, or exploited his persona as an intimidating figure both on and off screen. And while the character he plays here indicates a return to the kind of character work that made him a screen icon, there's no denying that the film itself is the cinematic equivalent of career achievement award, which is why Everybody's Fine is well-done and effective but too treacly to be truly powerful.

Dear Alamo Drafthouse or any other movie theater that serves food with movies,

I just saw Fantastic Mr. Fox and afterwards I realized something that no one seems to have mentioned so far: This is totally a foodie movie. It's not foodie like Julie & Julia, where the characters are baking desserts and decapitating ducks and invoking the spirit of Julia Child ... but food is a central part of the story . The three main bad guys each are rumored to only consume a single type of food or drink, and Mr. Fox is obsessed with getting his paws on some of these delicacies. There are feasts, there are large plates of French toast and desserts, there is a significant cider incident -- in short, this movie is awash in food and drink.

Therefore, I strongly suggest that you offer a feast to accompany some screenings of Fantastic Mr. Fox. It took me days to recuperate from Alamo's feast for The Simpsons Movie, but boy was it worthwhile. Alamo does feasts for all kinds of fancy foodie movies, and any other movie it likes ... this is one I hope is not forgotten, even though it is opening in Austin around Thanksgiving, when people have turkey feasts on the brain.