Cinematical

SDCC Update: 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine' Poster!

Erik Davis — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 22:28:00 EST

Filed under: Action, Fandom, DIY/Filmmaking, Movie Marketing, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Images, ComicCon, Posters

Walking around Preview Night here at San Diego Comic Con and, well, we kinda stumbled upon this poster (click image to enlarge) for X-Men Origins: Wolverine. The film wasn't supposed to have a major presence here at Con, so it's nice to at least see a poster for the flick, which hits theaters on May 1, 2009. We'll have a whole bunch of photos for you from Preview Night here at Con in just a little bit -- in the meantime, what do you think about this poster? Does it get you excited for the film? Starring Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber and Danny Huston, X-Men Origins: Wolverine will claw its way into theaters next summer.

For complete coverage of the 2008 San Diego International Comic Con, check out the official Cinematical Comic Con Hub.

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Did Joss Whedon Steal 'Dr. Horrible' from Dr. Steel?

Eric Kohn — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 20:36:00 EST

Filed under: Action, Comedy, Music & Musicals, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, New Releases, RumorMonger, Celebrities and Controversy, Fandom, DIY/Filmmaking, Home Entertainment

Whenever a good idea comes along, it doesn't take much time for people to claim they thought it up first. That seems to be the case with Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog, the Joss Whedon-created miniseries that streamed online last weekend and is now available on iTunes. Spout reports that legions of commenters calling themselves the Army of Toy Soldiers have been pummeling the site with complaints that Dr. Horrible is a direct rip-off of Dr. Steel, an online show that's several years the senior of Whedon's program. Wired spoke to Dr. Horrible co-writer Mauria Tancharoen, who said they've never heard of Dr. Steel, but don't mind that it exists. The Toy Soldiers, however, appear to be gearing up for a confrontation, possibly one that will go down this week at Comic Con.

Whatever. Dr. Steel offers plenty of entertainment value in its own right, and it does feature a maniacal supervillain with a catchy singing voice (see above). But it also contains more razzle-dazzle weirdness than plot, and Dr. Horrible is pretty much a straightforward narrative. One Toy Soldier member has argued that if they don't speak out, their silence will imply that Dr. Steel stole its concept from Dr. Horrible. That logic holds up -- but either way, we're dealing with two very separate programs here. If anything, the immediate exposure of Dr. Horrible can only help Dr. Steel gain more attention. Once noticed, people should be able to tell the difference.

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McG Talks 'Terminator: Salvation' Story and Design

Erik Davis — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:02:00 EST

Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Fandom, DIY/Filmmaking, Remakes and Sequels

Here's hoping this whole "Christian Bale arrested for assaulting his mother" thing will go away soon (or at least be explained more) because I was getting excited for Terminator: Salvation next summer. And after absolutely adoring The Dark Knight, I really don't want to have to dislike this dude. I'm a big Bale fan, and call me a traditionalist, but I'd like it if my favorite celebs didn't assault their family members. So we'll see ...

But in the meantime, McG is back talking up Terminator: Salvation over on the official production blog. And in all honesty, I'm really starting to come around on this flick. I have faith in McG, I'm loving what we've seen and read so far and I have total confidence in this film kicking lots of ass. That said, McG talked a bit about the way it's all being shot; he says, "We're shooting the film on color stock but are using a method inspired by the Oz process which was developed at Technicolor by Mike Zacharia and Bob Olson. Basically we are adding three times as much silver. It creates a surreal texture that is in keeping with the notion of the entire picture - feeling detached from the world we know today."

It all sounds very trippy, and I look forward to the stuff we're shown at Comic Con later this week. Cinematical will be at the panel, and we'll be speaking with McG and his cast ... so stay tuned ....

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SDCC Exclusive: 'Bitch Slap' Poster and Photos

Erik Davis — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 12:02:00 EST

Filed under: Action, Fandom, DIY/Filmmaking, Movie Marketing, Images, ComicCon, Posters

Love it! Cinematical just received this poster and a whole slew of photos from the upcoming flick Bitch Slap, which will definitely have a presence at this week's San Diego Comic Con. Described as "a post-modern, thinking man's throwback to the "B" Movie/Exploitation films of the 1950's - 70's as well as a loving, sly parody of the same," Bitch Slap stars folks like Kevin Sorbo, Michael Hurst, Lucy Lawless and Renee O'Connor, as well as Julia Voth, America Olivo and Erin Cummings.

Bitch Slap was inspired by films like Dragstrip Girls, Faster Pussycat, Kill, Kill and Kung Fu Nun, and a cool fun fact is that the very awesome Zoe Bell (Kill Bill 1 & 2, Grindhouse) did all the stunt work on the film. Check out the flick's official website for more information and a trailer, and definitely check out the totally rad photos in the gallery below with the synopsis after the jump. (Warning: Lots of cleavage in below gallery. Might be NSFW.) All three of the main girls will be at The Con along with the filmmakers, so we'll try to get you some more sweetness later this week.

Who's ready to get slapped?

Gallery: Bitch Slap

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Oh No! 'Top Gun 2'?

Erik Davis — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 11:32:00 EST

Filed under: Drama, Romance, Deals, RumorMonger, Fandom, DIY/Filmmaking, Tom Cruise

Honestly, by now, I think we've all lost that lovin' feeling.

It wouldn't surprise me in the least to hear that folks were mulling a sequel to the 1986 romantic fighter jet flick. Not only are sequels to older films hot these days (see: Indiana Jones 4, Rocky 6, Die Hard 4), but Tom Cruise could provide a real boost to his rep if he were to revisit the character that kinda made him. Whether or not it would actually turn out to be a good movie is a whole different conversation. First off, according to those extremely reliable cats at The Sun, a script outline for Top Gun 2 is done and "movie bosses" want Cruise to star.

Apparently a source said this about the plot: "The idea is Maverick is at the Top Gun school as an instructor - and this time it is he who has to deal with a cocky new female pilot." Ooohh, original ... and spicy! It's like Karate Kid 4 meets A Really Big Paycheck for Tom Cruise! And yet ... we'd all still see it. Why are we such suckers? We currently have no idea how real this rumor is, so for the time being I wouldn't exactly break out into song and dance. Maybe it'll happen, maybe it won't.

What say you? Could this be the sequel we've subconsciously been waiting for our entire lives?

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New JibJab Video Debuts Online!

Eric Kohn — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 20:02:00 EST

Filed under: New Releases, Distribution, DIY/Filmmaking, Home Entertainment, Politics

And you thought Wall-E was political. JibJib, the interactive e-card site founded by brothers Evan and Gregg Spiridellis, have returned to the scene that originally brought them fame. The duo first received national notice during the 2004 presidential campaign, when their riotous spoof This Land presented the two candidates (and a variety of secondary players) as rotund heads on animated bodies spouting rhetoric in rhythmic harmony. Since then, the JibJab site has placed more focus on the e-card business, but now it's back to the good old days with Time for Some Campaignin', a jolly tune to set the stage for the Obama/McCain face-off in the weeks to come.

The new video is similar to This Land in that it opts not to spoof either candidate more than the other, instead focusing on the larger campaigning process. It's hard not to laugh at the goofy visuals and smartly composed lyrics (especially those involving the Clintons), but it seems to me that the Spiridellis' work will never attain the degree of insight offered by the satire on The Daily Show (or The New Yorker, for that matter) because of this resolutely non-partisan approach. What do you think?

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Finally! 'Wicked' to Get a Movie Makeover

Erik Davis — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 17:31:00 EST

Filed under: Music & Musicals, Deals, Fandom, DIY/Filmmaking

It wasn't too long ago that I was talking about how Jersey Boys should be adapted for the big screen. In that same post (and in another one as well), I said how Wicked was one of Broadway's best (if not the best) and yet it still hadn't gone the movie-musical route. Fans of the musical finally have a chance to rejoice, however, because Variety tells us that as part of producer Marc Platt's (Wanted) new, extended five-year contract with Universal, he'll be working on a movie version of Wicked, along with a sequel to Wanted and a remake of the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar.

Here's what Uni's production president Donna Langley had to say about Wicked: "Our goal now is absolutely to make the 'Wicked' film, but much like Judy Craymer wouldn't give up screen rights to 'Mamma Mia!' until the stage show had reached its pinnacle, Marc and Stephen Schwartz are very mindful of the right timing. But we're dying to do it." Wicked, for those not in the know, is based on the best-selling novel about the two witches in the Land of Oz -- Elphaba, the future Wicked Witch of the West, and Glinda, the Good Witch of the North -- and is set mostly before The Wizard of Oz, kinda like a prequel. It'd also be an interesting adaptation because there's that fantasy element that hasn't really been present in the last round of movie-musicals; thus, I'll be curious to see how they pull this one off.

What say you? Is it time for Wicked to hit the big screen? Down for Wanted 2? Itching for more Jesus Christ Superstar?

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Keanu Reeves and Wachowski Siblings Reunite for 'Plastic Man'?

Erik Davis — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 10:31:00 EST

Filed under: Casting, RumorMonger, Fandom, DIY/Filmmaking, Comic/Superhero/Geek

What do you do after Speed Racer fails to bring in the Matrix-like crowds of fan freaks, auto nuts and Ricci stalkers? Well, apparently, if you're the Wachowski siblings, you reunite with Keanu Reeves and bring Plastic Man to the big screen. According to CHUD (who received a tip they're skeptical on, so take this all with a grain of salt), a scooper from Berlin says Joel Silver announced the aforementioned news during an interview on German radio. Now since the Wachowskis had already written a Plastic Man script prior to their Matrix films, that's becoming the foundation for what we imagine will be a hot-to-trot PG-13 flick featuring Keanu Reeves saying "Whoa" every time his arms or legs stretch out. "Whoa, my arms are like plastic. Whoa."

This certainly seems like the logical place to go for the Wachowski individuals, especially since it's a comic property (hot), a script is already written (even hotter) and they can market the whole Matrix reunion with Reeves (hotter than the hottest hot you've even touched). Personally, I'm not a big fan of Reeves and I don't think he has the personality to play someone like Plastic Man, but maybe he'll have fun with it, we'll have fun with it and they'll make seven sequels. Joel Silver will be at Comic Con next week, so if nothing is announced before then, look for several folks to hound him until the man gives.

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Megan Fox Wants to Film an Entire Movie Naked!

Erik Davis — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 13:21:00 EST

Filed under: RumorMonger, Celebrities and Controversy, Fandom, DIY/Filmmaking, Newsstand

I was just about to eat lunch when Cinematical's Christopher Campbell IM'd me the following ... "your dream movie ..." with a link to an article over at Daily Star featuring a quote from Megan Fox (who's no longer getting married to what's his name from Bev Hills 90210, by the way) in which she says her dream is to film an entire movie in the nude. No joke. And if I somehow had the money to fund such an experiment (donations? anyone?), I'd do so in less than a second. Strike that -- I'd do it in less than less than a second. (What do you want from me? It's Monday ... I'm alone ... writing about Batman for the 7,654th time. I'm allowed to geek out over my girl Megan just a little, right?)

Here's the quote: "I would love to do a movie naked - it would be beautiful. No one dares make that kind of film today. They did it in the 1930s in an arty way, so why not now?" Sh*t, why not now? I'm sure Brett Ratner would make that film for no money -- heck, I'm sure Ratner would pay someone else out of his own pocket if it meant he could direct that movie. I can almost see it now: Arty: The Movie, starring a naked Megan Fox and directed by Brett Ratner. And you thought The Dark Knight was popular? Wait until you see the viral sites for this one!

(And don't even pretend not to care -- the gallery below is our most popular on the site.)

Gallery: Megan Fox

Continue reading Megan Fox Wants to Film an Entire Movie Naked!

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Video Fix: Saying Goodbye to 'Four Eyed Monsters'

Erik Davis — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 20:02:00 EST

Filed under: Independent, IFC, Fandom, DIY/Filmmaking, Trailers and Clips

It's been a wild run for the duo (Arin Crumley and Susan Buice) behind Four Eyed Monsters. They first premiered their little gem of an indie back at Slamdance in 2005, and since then the flick has just taken on a life of its own. Arin and Susan have been everywhere with it -- multiple film festivals, premiering it on YouTube, in Second Life, self-distributing it to theaters around the country, answering questions in this forum, in that forum -- and in the process they've created 13 brilliant video podcasts (or diaries), which not only document their experience as filmmakers, but also as lovers.

I can't even begin to explain how much they've accomplished in the three years since finishing the film (feel free to visit their website, their YouTube page and check out this two-part interview with Arin on Cinematical), but I'm proud to call them friends and I'm happy IFC decided to put out their DVD (which apparently comes with all 13 video podcasts and a compilation CD). That said, Spout is hosting a final Q&A with Arin and Susan now that their DVD is out and in Borders stores -- and in typical Crumley/Buice fashion, the two artists are providing answers via video.

So in honor of this final Q&A, we present to you Episode 1 of their 13-episode video podcast/diary. Seriously folks, if you've never watched them and have no idea what I'm talking about, head on over to IFC and check out the episodes in order. Or, better yet, buy the DVD and make a weekend out of it. These two are f**king brilliant, and we here at Cinematical wish them all the luck in the world moving forward.

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Interview: 'August' Director Austin Chick

Eric Kohn — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 14:02:00 EST

Filed under: Drama, Independent, New Releases, DIY/Filmmaking, Interviews

The world changed on September 11, but Austin Chick's second film, August, focuses on the moments right beforehand. Starring Josh Hartnett as a young start-up entrepreneur deluded by power trips, the movie moves along with a subtle pace, letting the natural drama emerge from a situation about to veer out of the control with the crash of the stock market. Chick's first feature, XX/XY, explored a three-way relationship; August, which opens in New York on Friday, explores the relationship between money and power during a key time in American history. Supporting performances from Rip Torn and David Bowie elevate the movie, while Howard A. Rodman's script keeps its conceits in check. Chick spoke with Cinematical about envisioning August's themes and working with his talented cast.

Cinematical: The film uses a very specific setting -- August 2001 -- immediately before 9/11. What interested you about that time?

Austin Chick: It captures a moment on the eve of change. If Howard (Rodman) and I were to move it to any other time, we would probably move it further back. The market really started crashing about eighteen months prior to when the movie is set. But I feel like there was still a certain amount of momentum in New York up until 9/11, this sense that things were going to turn around. The market had completely crashed, but there was still this crazy sense of decadence. All that really changed with 9/11.

Continue reading Interview: 'August' Director Austin Chick

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Was 'Hulk' Director Offered New 'Superman' Gig???

Erik Davis — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 11:32:00 EST

Filed under: Action, Deals, RumorMonger, Fandom, DIY/Filmmaking, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels

There was an interview with Incredible Hulk director Louis Leterrier over at AlloCiné (via AICN) in which someone threw out a number of different sequels (Spider-Man, Superman, Indiana Jones), and (I think) asked if he'd be interested in directing any of them. Now, according to someone who wrote in to AICN, Leterrier stopped at Superman and said something like ... "maybe they have already asked me." We here at Cinematical have watched the video in question (you can too over here), and he definitely does look at the camera, smile and say something regarding the Superman sequel. I don't speak French, though, but it appears as if that's the correct translation.

So, has Warners already talked to Leterrier about possibly directing the next Superman movie? And is Leterrier the big-name action director Wanted's Mark Millar mentioned when he recently talked up his own Superman project? As AICN points out, Leterrier is currently working on the Clash of the Titans remake for Warners, so it seems reasonable for them to also talk to him about Superman. Is DC trying to steal a Marvel guy? Interesting development ...

What say you? Would Leterrier do a better job than Singer on Superman?

UPDATE: Leterrier contacted AICN and said the following: "What I meant was that I had been told about a possible reinvention of Superman. Not that I was offered the job." Take that as you will ...

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Michelle Williams Supposedly Plans Heath Ledger Film

Eric Kohn — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 14:02:00 EST

Filed under: RumorMonger, Celebrities and Controversy, Fandom, DIY/Filmmaking
Citing an unnamed source -- you know, one of those reliable anonymous types -- Showbiz Spy is reporting that Michelle Williams plans to make a movie about her late ex, Heath Ledger, in order to provide a record of him for the former couple's toddler, Matilda. No details have been released yet, which leaves a lot of questions up in the air. Is it going to be a straightforward documentary? A biopic? Some mixture of both? If this source is to be trusted, it seems unlikely that Williams simply wants to assemble family footage to screen privately for her daughter when she gets older. A Ledger film made for general audiences would probably reveal his unrealized career intentions and help solidify his posthumous James Dean-like reputation, but it's hard to say what approach Williams would want to take, since we don't even know what role she'll have in the production (producer? director? consultant?).

Based on the skimpy information provided by Showbiz Spy, Williams' idea sounds somewhat similar to a recent documentary project that's been riding the festival to great acclaim in recent months: Kurt Kuenne's devastating Dear Zachary: A Letter to his Son About His Father, which begins with the documentarian planning to collect the memories of his murdered friend for the departed man's young child (the story takes a shocking turn after the first hour or so). Whatever the final product, surely Williams wants to avoid letting E! True Hollywood Story have the final say on Ledger's myth. Who can blame her?

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Get Ready for a Massive 'Dragon' Tale

Jessica Barnes — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 16:35:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Deals, Family Films, DIY/Filmmaking
I don't mean to sound like a grumpy old critic, but sometimes the movies do get a bit carried away with technology. Luckily for me, I haven't succumbed to my inner-curmudgeon, and I'm going to give Flight of the Dragon a fighting chance. The Hollywood Reporter announced that Super 78 productions has green lit the IMAX fantasy film, with the added bonus that it will shoot in '4K'. What is 4K? Well, the short version is that it uses four times the amount of picture information used in digital-cinema production. The technique has been used sparingly in the past, but Dragon is touting that it will be one of the first films to use it exclusively.

Dragon was written by Super 78's Brent Young, who will also direct, and is described as "a hybrid documentary and fantasy that tells the story of a young boy's desire to discover China from the sky while flying with a mystical dragon over exotic and mysterious landscapes." Principal photography is already scheduled to begin in mainland China this September with Sean MacLeod Phillips (Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D) as director of photography, and Peter J. McKernan (Land of the Lost) serving as the aerial coordinator.

4K might be the future of filmmaking, but I'm just going to keep my fingers crossed that Flight of the Dragon isn't going to turn into a hi-res Dragonheart.

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There Are Other Ways to Make Money for a Film -- Sell Frames!

Monika Bartyzel — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 18:02:00 EST

Filed under: Comedy, Romance, DIY/Filmmaking, Cinematical Indie
You can go to a studio for money, get a grant, or put yourself into massive debt to make a movie. Or, you can reach out to the world via the Internet. Jam! reports that Canadian television director Casey Walker (Adrenaline Project) has hit the net to get funding for his new film -- Free For All...but you!

Citing the difficulty new Canadian filmmakers face when trying to get funding through Telefilm (and you thought the tax credit issues were the only challenge...), Walker decided to sell frames of his film. For $10 a pop, you can buy a frame of the movie, get a credit in the film, advertisement rights on his website, and part of the profits if the film is a success (My Million Dollar Movie.com). So far, the man has made almost 200 grand, so he's doing something right.

I'm thinking this funding technique should also help in the wake of Bill C10. See, this project isn't the type to appeal to those allergic to alternative lifestyles. It's the story of a young geek who does his friend a favor and moves in with the friend's new crush. Of course, he starts to fall for the girl ... but wait! She has a 7-way relationship. The "7-sided relationship seems ideal -- casual sex with anyone inside the group -- anytime, anywhere. It's been ten years and no one has ever cheated." But things start to change -- the girl deals with her interests outside of the group while the geek deals with orgies in his home. Basically, if Young People F**king caused a ruckus, this definitely should.

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John August Blogs on the Harsh Realities of Indie Filmmaking

Eric D. Snider — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 15:02:00 EST

Filed under: Sundance, Distribution, DIY/Filmmaking, Cinematical Indie
As with so many successful screenwriters, John August's work might be more familiar to you than his name. He wrote Go, Charlie's Angels, and a trio of Tim Burton films -- Big Fish, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Corpse Bride -- before making the mind-bending indie flick The Nines (pictured). He directed it, too (his first feature in that capacity), so he had even more personal attachment to it when it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2007.

A few days ago, August posted an entry on his blog in which he dissects his experience with The Nines and uses it to shine some light on the nerve-racking, dog-eat-dog world of independent filmmaking. Clearly this business is not for the faint of heart. He lists what he calls "the Graduating Class of 2007," 21 buzz-generating films from Sundance that year, including his own. All but one were bought by distributors ... and almost all of them totally tanked at the box office.

That's not very encouraging, especially considering these were the cream of the Sundance crop. Only five on his list made more than $1 million in theaters, and many didn't even crack $100,000. The Nines (which was pretty decent, by the way, definitely worth checking out) got a cursory theatrical release in a couple cities, where it made a paltry $63,165, then eventually found its way to DVD.
Continue reading John August Blogs on the Harsh Realities of Indie Filmmaking

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Discuss: Are Studios Ruining Older Films on Blu-ray?

Kim Voynar — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 18:15:00 EST

Filed under: Tech Stuff, DIY/Filmmaking, Newsstand, Home Entertainment
There's a very interesting discussion going on over on Hollywood Elsewhere today about whether studios re-releasing older movies on Blu-ray are going too far in tweaking the originals to make them look "better." At the center of the discussion is the Dirty Harry Blu-ray DVD. Glenn Erickson, writing for film.com, points out that the Patton Blu-ray DVD was "enhanced to minimize the natural grain," but that in that case, the altering makes it look more like the theatrical 70mm presentation, so he doesn't take issue with that one. The Dirty Harry Blu-ray, however, Erickson considers "more complicated." He notes:

"The Blu-ray disc shows heavy tweaking to minimize grain, sharpen contrast and brighten colors. Sunny exteriors haven't changed much but heavy processing has given most night shots an almost unnatural look -- detail and bright color in what were once dimly lit areas, with everything else falling into inky blackness. "

Jeff Wells doesn't have a problem with this -- if it makes Dirty Harry look better, who cares? But in the discussion thread on the post, folks are getting down into the nitty-gritty of the issue: studios doing digital remastering for Blu-ray transfers, sometimes without consulting the cinematographer as to why scenes where shot as they were. HE commenter TheVicuna links to an excellent interview at cameraguild.com, the website for the International Cinematographer's Guild, with cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond; in part of the interview, he talks about the DVD transfer of Robert Altman's The Long Goodbye, for which he was not called in to supervise the transfer; the resulting transfer, Zsigmond says in the interview, was "terrible."

Continue reading Discuss: Are Studios Ruining Older Films on Blu-ray?

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Cinematical Visits MOMA's "Dali: Painting and Film" Exhibit

Eric Kohn — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 22:02:00 EST

Filed under: Animation, Classics, Comedy, Documentary, Drama, Foreign Language, Independent, New Releases, Noir, Mystery & Suspense, Celebrities and Controversy, Fandom, Scripts, 20th Century Fox, DIY/Filmmaking, Politics, Obits, Images, Stars in Rewind

Even the weirder artists of the twentieth century have been attracted to the allure of Hollywood filmmaking, and Salvador Dali was no exception. In the fall of 1941, the surrealist painter hosted a masquerade party at Pebble Beach during one of his regular visits to the town. Called "Surrealism Night in An Enchanted Forest," the fundraising event, intended to assist European refugee artists, brought out a number of stars, including Bob Hope and Ginger Rogers. It was here, the story goes, that Dali became attached to a major studio production called Moontide. The great German emigre Fritz Lang was hired to direct the movie, and asked Dali to create a three-minute nightmare sequence for the film. Unfortunately, after the incident at Pearl Harbor later that year, Twentieth Century Fox deemed the project too bleak. Lang was replaced, and Dali's nightmare sequence went with him.

Although inspired by the movies, Dali didn't always have the easiest time making them. He would get another chance to inject his hallucinatory vision into American cinema with the hypnosis scene in Alfred Hitchcock's Spellbound, but it's his unrealized projects that truly indicate the scope of the painter's ambition. So many ideas, such little time. Dali: Painting and Film, a breathtakingly unique exhibit currently on display at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, surveys Dali's completed cinematic works in addition to tidbits from the ones that never came to fruition. Marvelously structured to show how his paintings were intentionally cinematic, the exhibit contains all the obvious highlights from Dali's movie career alongside lesser-known productions. The importance in film history of his collaborations with Luis Bunuel remain uncontested; two large screens in separate rooms showing Un Chien Andalou (where the opening eye splicing retains its original gross-out impact) and L'Age D'Or attest to that. Fewer visitors, however, might know about Dali's collaboration with the Marx Brothers on a deliriously strange movie that sounded too good to be true.

Gallery: Dali: Painting and Film
Continue reading Cinematical Visits MOMA's "Dali: Painting and Film" Exhibit

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Chris Carter's Top Secret Film

Jessica Barnes — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 13:32:00 EST

Filed under: Drama, Independent, Deals, RumorMonger, DIY/Filmmaking
When you think Chris Carter, you think spooky, right? Well, don't feel bad, most of us do. But as it turns out, Carter very well might have pulled a fast one and is already directing another film right under our noses -- and no, it's not X-Files 3. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Carter is already hard at work on a dark coming-of-age drama called Fencewalker, starring Natalie Dormer (The Tudors), Katie Cassidy (daughter to David), Xzibit (fresh from the set X-Files), Derek Magyar and Meckah Brooks.

So far there are very few details about the project, and reps for the actors and Carter have not confirmed whether or not the production was even underway (seems like an awful lot of effort for an indie drama, but who am I to judge?). Little is known about the story as well, but THR did say that it's "essentially a coming-of-age semiautobiographical character piece with no supernatural elements" -- well, you can't blame a guy for wanting to fight against type. Fencewalker was described as a "passion project" for Carter, who also wrote the script and independently financed the flick.

If you're familiar with Carter's M.O. when it comes to keeping secrets, then a covert project isn't exactly outside the realm of possibility. (Besides, if he's making a film about himself, why wouldn't he keep it secret -- he's a hush hush kind of guy!) Think about it, the man already managed to shock us once already this year -- what's one more surprise?

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Bateman Talks More 'Arrested Development' Movie

Erik Davis — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 11:02:00 EST

Filed under: Comedy, RumorMonger, Fandom, DIY/Filmmaking
While promoting Hancock over in the UK, Jason Bateman spoke a bit more about that planned Arrested Development movie. Not much has been said about the film in the past couple of months; last we heard, both Michael Cera and David Cross knew nothing about it. But Bateman (who's pretty damn good in Hancock) still seems confident it will happen -- and with the success of Sex and the City on the big screen, why wouldn't he be?

In an interview with The Times (who claim "a big-screen version of Arrested Development is planned for next year"), Bateman says of the transition from small to big screen: "When it was on TV, if you missed one word the whole third act could be blown for you. And TV is a different experience. You come home and you've got to finish a call so you miss the first ten minutes or you get snacky and you go to the fridge and you miss another two minutes, so it's a different experience to film." Bateman is currently making the press rounds, so hopefully someone will nail down something a bit more concrete. I mean, if a movie is planned for next year, don't ya think we'd know about it?

The interview itself is worth a read, and Bateman seems like a fun guy to talk to. On the cult-like TV show, he adds: "Arrested Development played late at night in England, so I got a lot of coke addicts and meth freaks. Great. So you've seen me but you just don't remember me."

With most of the cast a lot more popular now, would Arrested Development work as a movie? Or would it lose some of its -- I dunno -- smaller, quieter charm?

P.S. I should also mention that Bateman will be at the Sony Store in NYC (550 Madison) tonight at 6PM for a Hancock Q&A, and to show off some clips from the film. It's a free event and first come, first served. Get there early!

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