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Watch This: Brilliant Oscar-Nominated Short 'Logorama'
Filed under: Animation, Shorts, Trailers and Clips
I was glad I opted to watch the opening night shorts program at this year's Sundance Film Festival because it was packed with four fantastic short films. One of those (arguably the favorite of the bunch) was an animated film called Logorama, written and directed by the French duo of François Alaux and Herve de Crecy. Now nominated for a Best Animated Short Oscar, Logorama takes place in a world full of corporate and brand logos (in which roughly 2,500 appear), and it follows a few different stories that all intertwine with one another. Honestly, it's bloody brilliant, and I guarantee it'll be the best thing you watch all week.
At Sundance, a bunch of us wondered how these guys could get away with making something like this without facing hundreds of lawsuits, and then we wondered whether legal matters would ever stop it from existing in some form online. Perhaps someone with a law background could chime in here, but in the meantime you simply must head after the jump to watch this film. My favorite part is the Joker-esque Ronald McDonald, but it's also the tiniest details that truly make this film a work of art. You may normally not pay attention to the short film categories at the Oscars (partly because they're not as widely distributed as the feature films), but after watching Logorama I think you'll be rooting for it come March 7th.
Check it out after the jump and let us know what you think.
Trailer Park: Bending Losers at the Junction
Filed under: Action, Animation, Comedy, Drama, Horror, Trailer Trash
The Last Airbender
This TV spot that will be playing during the Super Bowl shows some epic grandeur and way cool special effects. Based on the animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender (hmmm, wonder why they changed the name) this represents a serious (and welcome) change of style for director M. Night Shyamalan. This one hits on July 2.
The Losers
It takes guts to call your film The Losers because if it tanks even the least talented film critic in the world will have an easy joke to fall back on. Based on a comic book but not having a particularly comic booky feel this is the story of a group of mercenaries out for revenge against the government that framed them. The resemblance to The A-Team wouldn't be so annoying if there wasn't already an A-Team remake on the way. Watch for this on April 9.
Heartless
A young man with a large birth mark on his face learns there are demons living in London and is offered an irresistible deal for helping them. Looks like an interesting modern take on the pact with the devil story. This opens in the U.K. on May 21. No U.S. release info yet.
'Last Airbender' and 'Robin Hood' Superbowl Spots Already Online
Filed under: Action, Animation, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Paramount, Family Films, Newsstand, Movie Marketing, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Trailers and Clips
Hey, kids and Avatar: The Last Airbender fans! If you want to see the tv spot for The Last Airbender, but you don't want to sit through the Superbowl due to a dislike of the teams, football, or the obnoxious people in your household, you're in luck! UGO has been lucky enough to obtain the top secret, ultra-exclusive television spot. They were kind enough to let us embed it here so that you can watch it again and again.
You'll definitely have to do that, because it's over in a flash. (Ponder how much they spend to air this during Superbowl Sunday, then giggle at getting to see it for free.) Those of you familiar with the Nickelodeon series will be able to spot lots of references to the show. According to UGO (I'm quoting them because I only have a Wikipedia based knowledge of this series), you get scenes of "achieving Avatar State, waterbending, earthbending and firebending, and of the Fire Nation Navy in battle. Sharp eyes might even catch a glimpse of Gran Gran!" One of their really eagle-eyed readers says that Appa the Sky Bison is in there, too, but I must need my eyes checked because I don't see anything that looks like a bison in that scene.
To a newbie, it looks like quite the fantasy film, and I'm reminded for the millionth time that I should watch the series one of these days. I've got until July 2, 2010 so maybe I will. In the meantime, what do you fans think of this first real teaser? Did M. Night Shyamalan get it right?
Additionally, we've also added the Robin Hood Superbowl spot after the jump. Which summer film looks more appetizing to you?
Disney Conjuring Up An 'Enchanted' Sequel
Filed under: Animation, Comedy, Music & Musicals, Romance, Deals, Disney, Scripts, Family Films, DIY/Filmmaking, Newsstand, Remakes and Sequels
Disney has never made a film it didn't want to return to at least once or twice, and (usually) spin off into direct-to-DVD sequels. The latest to receive a Mouse House double dip is Enchanted, and Variety reports the film has already attracted Anne Fletcher to the director's chair. Jessie Nelson will pen the script. At this point, none of the original actors are signed to return, though Disney is hoping they'll all sign on for a sequel. I absolutely loved the original Enchanted. It was delightfully self-aware for a Disney film, and yet it wasn't slick or modern enough to lose any heart. As romantic comedies go, it's a pretty empowering one for females of all ages. Giselle fights a dragon, finds her own willpower, and starts her own business. She could survive just fine without Patrick Dempsey. I love it. It's just one of the sweetest, funniest movies I've seen, especially from Disney.
I see no reason for a sequel. The point of Enchanted (and any fairy tale, modern or medieval) is that it ends happily ever That's it! They've overcome their drawbridges and dragons, and now they get to chill out. This is what Shrek failed to grasp a dozen times over, and what Ever After miraculously dodged. Considering Fletcher's uneven resume (The Proposal, 27 Dresses), one assume they'll undo "happily ever after" and force Giselle to make some traumatic choice between New York and Andalasia. Perhaps Dempsey will get to save her, just to even things up. Whatever they cook up, it's just an unnecessary twist for a feel good movie.
Indie Roundup: Fests Beyond Sundance
Filed under: Animation, Documentary, Foreign Language, Independent, Thrillers, Distribution, Exhibition, Home Entertainment, Other Festivals, Cinematical Indie
Indie Roundup is your weekly guide to what's new and upcoming in the world of independent film. This week: a special festival edition. Pictured, clockwise from upper left: One Too Many Mornings, International Film Festival Rotterdam, El Sol, Red White & Blue.
Fest Scene. As our extensive coverage of Sundance 2010 reflects, the festival has kicked off the year in style, inspiring genuine enthusiasm for new American independent films. Sundance is not the only place to discover exciting new work, though, and relatively few of the festival's selections win distribution deals, leaving everyone else to fend for themselves.
Enter The Film Collaborative, a new "non-profit, full-service provider." As reported by indieWIRE, the outfit "aims to provide a range of what it describes as 'affordable' distribution, educational and marketing services to independent filmmakers, but it will not take film rights." The latter is an important point for filmmakers, obviously. The Film Collaborative says it's "opening up a new landscape of distribution opportunities free of extraneous middlemen and unfair contract terms." Hmm, if I'm reading this correctly, The Film Collaborative is a middle man, and most of their services are fee-based, but I guess the idea is that one middle man is better than many middlemen.
Meanwhile, Cinetic Rights Management's FilmBuff, self-described as a "digital movie label," has launched a channel on the Babelgum mobile platform, according to a prepared statement by the company. Babelgum has a downloadable app for phones (if they happen to be smart, like iPhone and Android), and FilmBuff will make available past Sundance titles such as Slacker, The Order of Myths, and The Unforeseen on their channel; 'indies to go,' as it were.
After the jump: The YouTube experiment! Strange cartoons and slacker revenge at Rotterdam!
George Lucas is Prepping a CGI Musical About Fairies?!
Filed under: Animation, Music & Musicals, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Deals, Scripts, George Lucas
Get ready, folks -- George Lucas is bringing us a musical, and no, it's not Star Wars: The Musical. The Hollywood Reporter's Heat Vision Blog reports that Lucas and Skywalker Ranch are in preproduction on an "untitled, top-secret CGI-animated film." The only plot details that have been released: fairies are featured. David Berenbaum (Elf, The Spiderwick Chronicles) penned the secret screenplay, and Kevin Munroe (TMNT) will direct. There's no word as to whether Lucas came up with the story, or if this is an original idea by Berenbaum.So, some sort of musical CGI world that includes fairies. That's really not saying too much since the film will be animated -- but considering the creative backgrounds of those involved, this probably won't be a straight, modern tale of some regular kids who meet fairies. I imagine it will be heavily stylized fictional world full of all those fancy cinematic elements available to those over at the Skywalker Ranch.
For the most part, all that Lucas does these days is Star Wars projects, but remember -- this project isn't his only vacation from that. He's also got Red Tails on the way -- the WW2 adventure movie about the Tuskegee Airmen.
Excited for an animated fairie musical? Wishing it was Star Wars? Wishing Lucas wasn't entering musical land? Weigh in below!
James Marsden Injures the Easter Bunny
Filed under: Animation, Comedy, Casting
Last year, there was a run for the bunnies. Not a sporting event mimicking the bulls at Pamplona, mind you, but rather dueling Easter Bunny features. While the rush was on, neither was able to hit the finish line for release this year, and only now is one moving forward. According to The Hollywood Reporter, I Hop, the live action comedy, is mixing a little CG into the recipe and has added James Marsden to a roster that already includes Russell Brand.Marsden will play the jobless slacker who accidentally hits the Easter Bunny (voiced by Brand), breaks his leg, and renders the fluffy one unable to fulfill his candy duties. Much like Santa Clause, the slacker must, well, pick up the slack and save Easter as the bunny mends. As an added bonus: the bunny recovers at the slacker's abode, being "the world's worst houseguest."
Ah, Marsden acting alongside some CG animal. Fun for the family, and more welcome, anti-Cyclops fare. But before you think the actor is solidly on the Tim Allen career path, destined for fluff without any vacation, he's also in the upcoming, super-violent Straw Dogs remake, which hits theaters on February 25.
If Disney Animated Literary Drama Instead of Fairy Tales...
Filed under: Animation, Disney, Fandom, Images
Walt Disney was in love with the fairy tales. Well, to be more accurate, his own specialized versions of them. Most of the horror and sadistic twists of the epic yarns were tossed aside. No flesh-eating ogres or other horrors were allowed. The darkness was removed to make way for more romance and whimsy, and it's a habit that survived well beyond Mr. Walt. (I'm looking at you, especially, Pocohontas.)
It is, therefore, not much of a jump to wonder what the cinematic landscape would be like if Walt was inspired by other forms of dramatic literature. Artist Sam Nielson came up with some excellent alternative "Disney Princesses" -- specifically, Hester Prynne (The Scarlet Letter), Ophelia (Hamlet), and Jocasta (Oedipus Rex). Sure, it might seem weird, but take a moment to think about it. Fairy tales were stories overflowing with drama and horror, aspects washed away for the Mouse House, so why not other dramatic pieces? Maybe Ophelia was just floating on down a stream, letting the sun warm her face as she dreamed of Hamlet. Maybe Ms. Prynne joined a sorority. Maybe ... erm, maybe not on the whole mom-loving thing. (Unless one of you has an idea?)
Seeing these images, I can't stop wondering what Disneyfied versions of classic literature would look like, and likewise, what movies would be like today if our firsts bouts of epic animation weren't Snow White or Sleeping Beauty, but rather ...
Any ideas?
[via Super Punch]
Scenes We Love: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Filed under: Animation, Columns, Scenes We Love
Before Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs was released in theaters last fall, I had a couple of opportunities to preview footage from the film. It only hinted at the twisted and yet somehow purely earnest charms that directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller embedded in ambitious inventor Flint Lockwood's fantastical story. Suffice it to say that I loved the film as a whole -- although I'm not quite sure where I would have fit it in, in retrospect I would have included it in my Top Ten of 2009 -- but of all of these sequences I saw, one had me in stitches every time and ultimately became one of my favorite scenes in any movie released last year: the snowball fight.
The scene starts innocently enough as the town's top cop, Earl Devereaux (Mr. T) asks Flint (Bill Hader) for a favor for his son Calvin's (Bobb'e J. Thompson) birthday. Flint obliges and sends ice cream snowballs raining down from the skies in all sorts of colors and flavors (in a terrific visual gag, children invade rivers of vanilla and chocolate, while only one investigates strawberry). Calvin invites Flint to join in on their snowball fight -- a concept that he's entirely unfamiliar with -- but the scientist turns mad with enthusiasm as he embraces the challenge to decimate his adversaries.
Tim Burton to Attack 'Sleeping Beauty' Next?
Filed under: Animation, Classics, RumorMonger, Remakes and Sequels
There's a new rumor going around -- one that teeters very delicately on the fence between adoration and fear. But either way you fall, don't hold your breath because it's still very much a rumor: Harry over at AICN was talking with a contact who said that Tim Burton isn't done with Disney fairy tales, and now wants to zero in on Sleeping Beauty.Of course, the most beautiful girl in the land dancing and singing "Once Upon a Dream" isn't really the sort of theme Burton is usually attracted to. So, what's the deal? Supposedly, he doesn't want to focus on Aurora, but rather the other woman of the tale, the one I raved about just a few months ago: Maleficent. In "a quasi Live Actiony kinda way," Burton is said to want to tell the imposing woman's story from her point of view and call the project, aptly, Maleficent.
Part of me is excited by the idea of Burton taking a stab at horned one's life and giving us his thoughts on why she's the baddie -- what created the rift with the round and bubbly fairies and Aurora's parents. But the other part worries that this would be too much of an event. At times Burton himself is so larger than life that his presence and vision is almost a character in his films, and the only way I see Maleficent truly reigning on the big screen is in a form where that's diminished.
But maybe the better question should be: Do you want to see Helena Bonham Carter playing Maleficent?
'Big Top Pee-Wee': The Original Benicio Del Toro Wolfman
Spin-ematical: New on DVD and Blu-ray for 2/9
Watch This: Brilliant Oscar-Nominated Short 'Logorama'
Chris Nolan to Lead 'Superman' Reboot!?
Tim Robbins Joins 'The Green Lantern'
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