Cinematical

(With American Teen opening in theaters today, we at Cinematical are re-running our review from Sundance.)

Nanette Burstein's documentary American Teen opens not far from John Hughes country, both geographically and artistically: we're introduced, in quick order, to four students at the high school in Warsaw, Indiana, on the first day of class. But while the camera work and voice-over has the glossy fizz of fiction, it's nonetheless a real school, and while the kids we meet all correlate roughly to the archetypal teens of fiction, they're real too. We meet Hannah, the plucky, artsy outsider; Colin, the star athlete with a heart of gold; Megan, the prom queen whose school-spirit high-fives hide an iron fist; and smart, insecure, dorky Jake, all in quick succession. And while part of your mind reels at the clichés -- we're just one Judd Nelson-type away from a straight flush, for heaven's sake -- as Burstein's film unfolds, we realize that if there ever was a place cliché's were true, it's high school.

We came, we saw ... Con kicked our ass. Here are some quick tidbits of interest:

• The first trailer for Saw V was released in conjunction with that film's panel here last night. It's over at Yahoo!, but thanks to the magic that is embed players, you fine folks can see if after the jump. Yes, Jigsaw is back ... but this time something's gotta be done about his kids, Marty! Wait ... back up ... puzzles, traps, blood -- that's more like it.
• MGM has confirmed via press release that Darren Aronofsky will officially helm a Robocop remake. And, no, I looked out my window and pigs were not flying. Also, in the same press release, they noted that Brett Ratner will be directing God of War. There's a potential for awesomeness in either project, but it's still too early to tell.
  
• The two Red Sonja posters unveiled during the panel yesterday (see our report here) hit the Cinematical inbox this morning, and, yes, I believe it is true what they say about redheads: They like to lick blood off of swords. See both above.
• Wolverine footage screened yesterday during the Fox panel, and it was pretty awesome. Dynamite teaser moment: Wolverine telling Sabretooth: "I'm gonna cut your goddamn head off!" Everything I'm hearing about this flick is that it's dark, sadistic and wicked ... and I cannot flippin' wait.
• IGN has the Punisher: War Zone footage from last night's panel.
• I heard the Twilight panel was absolutely off the charts as far as tween female geekdom goes. Never have so many mothers and daughters gone so ballistic in one area at the same time -- I'm not sure if anyone called Guinness, but some sort of record was definitely broken.
• We missed the paltry G.I. Joe panel, but JoBlo has a pretty good rundown of it in case you're interested. No footage was shown, just a slideshow of stuff we've already seen and maybe one or two action shots.
• Last but not least, The Masters of the Web panel was a good time. This was my first ever Con panel (as a panelist) and luckily I didn't throw up or accidentally spit on AICN's Quint (who sat next to me).I'd call that a success.
  

... and, ya know, it's pretty darn adorable.

Last night a special screening of Fanboys was held here in San Diego, and Cinematical was on hand to witness what producer Kevin Spacey (in attendance) called "the third annual screening of Fanboys -- next year, we're going to series!" Director Kyle Newman and writer Adam Goldberg were there -- as well as an assorted number of suits, one imagines -- and they were met by a packed house of nutty Star Wars fans. The theater had absolutely no air conditioning and it was standing room only, so you can understand these weren't ideal screening conditions. Nevertheless, the first words started scrolling up ... and the folks in attendance ate up every minute of the film from then on out.

Opening in theaters (either wide or in limited release -- Weinstein hasn't decided yet) on September 19 (a date announced by Newman last night), this is apparently the final cut of Fanboys. I won't go into the whole two-year-labor-of-love thing because Scott still needs to swing by here and throw out his review. I will say, though, that this is not just a film for Star Wars fans -- it's a film for any geeky dude or dudette who's ever horsed around with their friends, gone on a nutty adventure and inserted random movie quotes into every other line of dialogue. This flick has so many friggin' Star Wars references -- and movie references in general -- that it's just a ball to watch them all hit the screen at warp speed. And the cameos! All I'll say is that when Judd Apatow came on to help things move along, he brought with him a bunch of friends.

Oh, and one more thing: Out of all the dude sweat in this film, Kristen Bell totally steals the show. What a cutie.

Fanboys. September 19.

Six years have passed since "The X-Files" went off the air after nine seasons; fans agree that it left with a whimper rather than a bang, and ten years have passed since the first and only feature film. So the question of the day is: why a sequel? Why now? But perhaps a better question is "why not?" The fact is that FBI special agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) always had vats of chemistry; they arguably outstripped and outranked any other male-female couple in the history of television. Their pairing was perfect: Mulder believed -- or wanted to believe -- in the supernatural while Scully was a scientist, a doctor and a Catholic who believed in God but looked for reasonable, logical explanations in everything. In each episode, the team was called in to investigate some kind of paranormal activity, and they debated and discussed the various possibilities behind each. In the end, hardly anything was ever proved or disproved.

I'm not exactly sure how a scheduled block of round-table interviews turned into a half-organized two-headed press conference, but that's pretty much how it went down in this particular convention hall room. (Sounds like I'm complaining, but I'm just trying to give you a taste of the chaos that goes on here: Nothing's on time, nobody seems to have the right answers, and a lot of time is simply spent ... waiting. (It's fun AND frustrating!)

But to be fair, it's not every day you sit in a room populated by Mark Wahlberg, Keanu Reeves, Jennifer Connelly, and Mila Kunis (among others) -- but there we were! (We, um, weren't allowed to take photos -- at a press conference. Don't ask me.) After much waiting and friendly nerd-banter among patient movie folks, the cast and director of Max Payne walked in to share their thoughts on their upcoming videogame adaptation.

Mr. Wahlberg was quick to note that, while he wasn't much of a game player, he was very excited about playing a kick-ass action hero. Interviewers wanted to know why the actor chose a popcorn movie after The Departed, and one even poked a little fun: "So you won't be running away from the wind in this one?" (A cute quip, but a little classless.) When the questioners focused on director John Moore, he was his typically enthusiastic self, promising fans a gritty good time that delivers the mayhem. And just as the adorable Mila Kunis was about to explain how her character is actually a kick-ass assassin-type...

Above: Rose McGowan licking blood off a sword

The room was packed for the Red Sonja panel today featuring Robert Rodriguez, Rose McGowan and director Doug Aaroniokoski, and images of Rose McGowan in that skimpy metal bikini were everywhere (what you see above was one of around 2,000 t-shirts handed out. Below are easy-to-read notes on this particular panel:

-- Red Sonja will hit theaters in the fourth quarter of 2009 (one imagines for Christmas)
-- Robert Rodriguez is acting as a "hands on" producer, and will co-direct a good chunk of the flick. Not only is he doing this for Red Sonja, but he's also negotiating to produce a new Conan film. It seems as if they would eventually (if both are popular enough) cross promote between films.
-- The tone will be darker, like the book, and when asked if it would be R rated, Rodriguez said, "My name is double 'R'!"
--Also on tone and scope, McGowan (who's quite lively and quick-witted in person) said it's "hard, cold, dirty and bloody." And that she's looking forward to "taking a big giant sword and killing a lot of people."
-- Training is already underway, and McGowan is working with the same swords experts who helped out on Matrix and Ninja Assassin.
-- Rodriguez also admitted that Barbarella is officially off, and that Red Sonja has taken its place. He said financing of $70 million did come through from Germany for a shoot next year, but he's obligated to shoot something else for Miramax. He's negotiating right now to direct a "huge summer movie" -- but he wouldn't say which.
-- On the character, Rose McGowan said: "I will not have a mullet!" The crowd cheered.
-- Red Sonja will be shot on location (scouting now) and will use some green screen.
-- Asked who should star in the new Conan, RR shouted: "Danny Trejo!"
-- On Machete becoming a film, RR said they have plans to turn it into a Mexploitation triple feature disc (and somewhere on that disc will be a trailer for a sequel to Planet Terror.)
-- On Sin City 2, Frank Miller has finished writing the script, but no one knows whether or not that's going to happen with each working on different projects.

P.S. For those who think Rodriguez and McGowan aren't a couple anymore, check out this candid snapshot (taken right before RR kissed RM on the forehead).



Gallery from the panel below. My opinion: It looks pretty hot, and while I've bashed McGowan in the past, I'm willing to give her a chance to kick some ass here. This will be her time to shine.

What can I say about our first full day at San Diego Comic Con? First off, there are people everywhere -- I'm absolutely starving (because lines to get any sort of food are tremendous) and everywhere I look someone has fake blood on their body. It's the most surreal experience ever -- sort of like attending a Woodstock-like concert in Fantasyland. But I dig it, and we're trying to do as much as we can, see as much as we can, and bring it all back to you without absolutely losing our minds.

Below is a collection of costumes from the first day of San Diego Comic Con '08. (I don't think I have to tell you which one is my favorite ...)

More coming ... including word from Max Payne, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Red Sonja, Frank Darabont, Twilight and, well, more, more, more ...

Cinematical's Official Comic Con '08 Hub

Here's a round-up of today's news:

• Jamie Kennedy is going to produce an indie called In Northwood, which stars Nick Stahl as a man condemned to a mental hospital after committing murder. THR
• Cocaine Cowboys has picked itself up a scribe -- gonzo journalist and screenwriter Evan Wright. THR
  
• Everyone's favorite pot-smoking Jay, aka Jason Mewes, has nabbed a starring role in the indie slasher flick Silent But Deadly, which shoots in Ontario next month. Variety
• Phillip Noyce, meanwhile, is going to hit the plank and write the remake of Captain Blood. THR
• Check out Jennifer's blood-dripping lips, which just so happens to look like a certain television poster that was released recently. JoBlo
  
• Get ready for Robot Chicken: Star Wars: Episode 2! Coming Soon
• Posters: The Day The Earth Stood Still and Max Payne