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Christopher Campbell

- http://www.cinematical.com/bloggers/christopher-campbell/

Christopher Campbell recently received a Bachelor of Arts degree in film studies from Brooklyn College. Prior to (finally) finishing his undergrad, he studied film production at NYC's School of Visual Arts and then dropped out for an exciting career (on and off) in movie theaters. His writing has appeared in READ Magazine, Where Y'At New Orleans and Lo-Fi Magazine and on YCraze.com, Cinescene.com, BlogCritics.org, The Reeler and his own (mostly defunct) site, LowExpectation.com. He also currently writes for SpoutBlog.

Pitch of the Day: 'Superman Returns 2'

by Christopher Campbell Feb 9th 2010 // 7:25PM

Filed under: Classics, Comedy, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels

Today's pitch is sort of a last chance grab at any possibility of Warner Bros. not rebooting the Superman franchise yet again and instead letting Bryan Singer, or someone else, simply move forward from the underrated Superman Returns. I'm sure to be in my own boat here, especially since all the geeks are celebrating Christopher Nolan's reported involvement with version 3.0 of the superhero on film (if we're talking theatrical releases, isn't this version 5.0? And if we're talking all adaptations it's like version 10.6.2). Still, I'm going to once again make the case for...

Superman Returns 2

Of course it wouldn't be titled that. What an awkward title. But my point is that I'd like to see Singer's installment get a follow-up rather than another reboot. As I noted in my take on the pseudo Mr. & Mrs. Smith reboot yesterday, and as some commenters agreed, sequels are usually more desirable than reboots. I know, go on about Nolan's Batman franchise reboot. Well, a sequel can go in a new direction, too, without the lame connotations of a reboot. Or, it can be a combo like Singer's movie was. Superman Returns continued the original Superman series while also rebooting it. I'll admit I'm a wee bit torn on the idea, as I'd like to see Brandon Routh return but I could certainly do without Kate Bosworth -- though, if Nolan can switch it up with the female lead in his Batman films, they can do it with this, as well.

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8 Comments

Damon, Winslet Lead Soderbergh's 'Contagion'

by Christopher Campbell Feb 9th 2010 // 4:45PM

Filed under: Action, Drama, Thrillers, Casting

Once again, our friends at The Playlist have the inside scoop on a Steven Soderbergh film. Having previously been the go-to site for updated casting info on the filmmaker's current project, Knockout, they now bring first word on what will be his next effort: Contagion. The ensemble action-thriller, which is reportedly being called a "terrifying" cross between the Bourne movies and Soderbergh's own Traffic (with some obvious reference to Outbreak), involves interweaving stories set on four continents during the outbreak of a deadly virus.

Contagion will star now-regular Soderbergh lead Matt Damon along with Oscar-caliber thesps Kate Winslet, Jude Law and Marion Cotillard. The script was penned by Scott Z. Burns, who wrote Soderbergh's The Informant! and co-wrote The Bourne Ultimatum. According to an earlier posting by The Playlist, the idea for Contagion actually spawned from the scene in The Informant! when Damon's character rants about germs. It's possible this film will therefore treat the central virus metaphorically, as does Damon's speech. If the film does contain subtext commenting on the travel of information and misinformation, though, it would certainly bring about comparisons to Babel.

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Pitch of the Day: 'My Way: Killer Karaoke'

by Christopher Campbell Feb 8th 2010 // 7:15PM

Filed under: Documentary, Foreign Language

I know some people who are crazy for karaoke, but I can't imagine any of them going homicidal over the pastime. Not like the half-dozen or more people in the Philippines who've murdered fellow singers as part of a decade-long crime trend dubbed the "My Way Killings." A popular New York Times article reports on the killings, which are based around the controversy of a single song, Paul Anka/Frank Sinatra's "My Way," and now I'd love to be exposed more to this world of machismo-based karaoke. So moviemakers, get to work on...

My Way: Killer Karaoke

The title/subtitle combo fits best with a documentary, and really the story would best be told in the non-fiction format. I guess I wouldn't mind a minimal, realist Filipino drama, particularly one directed by Brillante Mendoza (Serbis; Kinatay). Yet for the full details, including the history of the crimes and responses from all kinds of Filipinos, from police to men who fight over karaoke to outsider perspectives, I think a doc is the best method.

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2 Comments

'Days of Thunder' Isn't Being Remade

by Christopher Campbell Feb 8th 2010 // 5:45PM

Filed under: Action, Drama, Romance, Paramount, Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman

It wasn't a huge hit. It didn't receive good reviews. And it's not really considered a classic by any measure. But Days of Thunder has its fans, and those people would be really pissed if Paramount decided to remake their beloved NASCAR movie. That's why it's surprising that the studio is not following with the traditional Hollywood procedure of redoing, rebooting or otherwise diminishing the original. Instead, according to Variety, Paramount is celebrating Days of Thunder on its 20th anniversary.

No, it's not getting a special theatrical re-release nor is it likely that Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman will be reunited for a big occasion. Simply, the studio has made a number of licensing deals related to the film's anniversary. Kohls will be selling men's t-shirts with the tagline "You Can't Outrun the Thunder" and Robert Duvall's signature line, "Rubbin' is Racin.'" Also, there's reportedly a downloadable videogame on the way this summer!

It may not sound like much, but there's something to be said for Paramount's idea to spotlight a 20-year-old property. Are they interested in giving back to the small, loyal fanbase? Or, do they hope to acquire new fans -- a new generation of racing fans, for instance -- by promoting the heck out of an archive title with a continued niche audience? The reasoning from the studio is officially thus: "Days of Thunder is a timeless racing film that has maintained a strong following 20 years after its theatrical release."

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3 Comments

Memo to Brangelina: Don't Let Them Reboot 'Mr. and Mrs. Smith'!

by Christopher Campbell Feb 8th 2010 // 1:32PM

Filed under: Action, Comedy, Romance, Thrillers, RumorMonger, 20th Century Fox, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Remakes and Sequels

I'm sure I'm not the only person who likes Doug Liman's Mr. & Mrs. Smith. But I might be the only person who considers it a masterpiece. The problem is, I don't really know how to defend it without sounding like a bad combo of fanboy and academic. Saying it's the best action movie interpretation of the comedy of remarriage subgenre since Twister surely isn't bringing anyone to my side, even if they are fans of both Twister and classic screwball comedies of the '30s and '40s.

Regardless of my inability to properly convince people of how perfect Mr. & Mrs. Smith is, I'm sure I can get enough people to agree with me that Fox should not dismiss the film by trying again with a sort of remake/reboot. According to Vulture, the production company New Regency, which operates out of the Fox lot and through its distribution, and original producer Akiva Goldsmith are hoping for a new franchise this time around with a prequel/origins movie (now titled Mr. and Mrs. Jones) that recasts the title characters, originally played by Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt.

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7 Comments

Pitch of the Day: 'Fast and the Furious' in Space

by Christopher Campbell Feb 6th 2010 // 5:32PM

Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, James Bond, Remakes and Sequels

It's day-old if not month-old news that there's another Fast and the Furious sequel on the way. It's called Fast Five, which cuts out the "furious" this time so as not to get sued by Grandmaster Flash or Kung Fu Panda. But I'd like for Friday installments of the Pitch of the Day to be unofficially "Franchise Fridays." This means that all pitches on Fridays will be suggestions on what to do with a franchise. This is different from "Part Two Tuesdays," which will only be pitches for a first sequel -- a part two -- of a film. So with that clarified, let me present my preference for the next F2F film to be...

Fast and Furious in Space

Guess what it's about. I'll give you one hint: there are no cars this time. Give up? Vin Diesel and Paul Walker are racing space ships! How'd their characters get into outer space and the future? Maybe they're cryogenically frozen? Maybe Paul Walker is really an immortal android? It doesn't really matter. It's science fiction, after all. And whatever method of explanation used won't be any more ridiculous than the rest of the series anyway. And the audience won't care as long as they get to watch some awesome space ship-racing action.

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3 Comments

'Death of a President' Director Works With 'Last King of Scotland' Writer

by Christopher Campbell Feb 6th 2010 // 4:07PM

Filed under: Documentary, Drama, Foreign Language, Independent, Thrillers, Casting, Celebrities and Controversy, Cinematical Indie

In spite of all its controversy and its Emmy and Toronto Film Festival awards, the faux documentary Death of a President was not worth all the hype it received four years ago. I won't say it was terrible, because I've come around to respect some of the positive things said about its purpose, but I certainly did not enjoy watching the film, which depicted the hypothetical assassination of George W. Bush using real footage of the former U.S. president.

However, I'm willing to give director Gabriel Range another shot, especially now that I've learned his next film comes from a script by one of the writers of The Last King of Scotland, Jeremy Brock. Though Peter Morgan may have been the better screenwriter involved in that adaptation, Brock's involvement with other decent British films, such as Charlotte Gray and Driving Lessons, which he also directed, are indicative of his talent. He also scripted Kevin Macdonald's upcoming sword-and-sandals flick The Eagle of the Ninth.

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3 Comments

TOLDJA! Hollywood Looks to Blogs for TV and Film Projects

by Christopher Campbell Feb 5th 2010 // 2:45PM

Filed under: Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Mystery & Suspense, Dreamworks, Home Entertainment

"It's only a matter of time before the 2010s do for blogging what the 1930s did for newspapers." That's what I wrote yesterday in a Pitch of the Day post, and I didn't realize how immediately prophetic it was. Only hours later The Hollywood Reporter announced a new HBO series in the works centered on a character who is ... a blogger. Specifically the show, titled Tilda, will be about a "no-holds-barred" entertainment journalist who works online. And she's female, so she's being compared to real-life Hollywood bloggers Nikki Finke, Sharon Waxman and Anne Thompson.

Given the clear Finke connection, I just had to use her signature "TOLDJA!" in the headline, but in all honesty I had no idea anything like this was on the way, nor did I truly want it to be. It might be interesting, though, given that I can't imagine it resembling my own bloggery life at all. Coming from wrier/director Bill Condon (Dreamgirls; Gods and Monsters -- which would be a fitting title for a show about bloggers, IMHO) and writer/producer Cynthia Mort (The Brave One; HBO series Tell Me You Love Me), I expect something a little more glamorous than is the reality for most entertainment bloggers.

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2 Comments

Pitch of the Day: 'Shattered Glass' (Remake)

by Christopher Campbell Feb 4th 2010 // 7:45PM

It was bad enough for film criticism when we were dealing with scandals involving fake movie reviewers. Now real "critics" are doing great damage to the integrity of the field, particularly the online segment, as plagiarizing has become an increasing offense among writers. While it's not the same as completely fabricating articles (it may be considered worse), the issue is ripe for a remake of the 2003 film...

Shattered Glass

Of course, the title makes less sense if not about a person named Glass, but remakes can go with title changes. Perhaps Shattered Fischer? Shattered Rotella? These both refer to two individuals who've been dragged through the mud on blogs, Twitter and The Vancouver Sun recently. Paul Fischer, who apparently retired from journalism today in response to the scandal, was found to be lifting plot synopses for his reviews directly from press notes and film festival guides (he's also legendary for his dumb quotes, but that's now the least of his crimes). Lisa Rotella, on the other hand, claimed to be a columnist for radio network Westwood One and posted film reviews on her blog that were completely plagiarized from pieces from other blogs, newspapers and Hollywood trades. Interestingly, Fischer contributed to the site Dark Horizons (which has deleted his reviews there), and Rotella lied about writing for them.

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3 Comments

Discuss: Isn't Ferris Bueller a Bigger Geek Than Cameron Frye?

by Christopher Campbell Feb 4th 2010 // 6:03PM

Filed under: Classics, Comedy



Like all of you, I've been following our Geek-Off Tournament with great zeal. But through the whole competition I've been doubting the inclusion of Cameron Frye (Alan Ruck), who to my surprise made it all the way to the penultimate fifth round before finally being knocked out -- in a landslide victory -- by Egon from Ghostbusters. I guess the success he did have throughout the tournament means most of you have not been doubting his qualifications for geekdom. But is he really a geek? Or is he just a nebbish?

Maybe it's been too long since I last watched Ferris Bueller's Day Off, but I honestly can't recall any moment that gives direct evidence or even implies that Cameron is particularly smart or over-indulgently interested in any kind of geeky hobby. He's certainly no more intelligent than Ferris is when he comes up with the idea of running the Ferrari in reverse. I think a geek would have immediately known and pointed out why that wouldn't work.

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