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Watch This: A 'Twilight' Intervention
Filed under: Action, Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, New Releases, Trailers and Clips
"Team Jacob!" roars a trio of dudes in a bar. Drinks are flowing fast. "A typical horrible Monday just became amazing," gushes a woman who's about to go see a private screening of Twilight: New Moon. The crowd moves from the bar to what looks suspiciously like a high school theater to get amped up for some muscle-bound shirtless werewolf action."C'mon, get out of your seats! Are you ready?" The fans, who are all most certainly of drinking age, are definitely out of their seats and screaming. They're so ready!
"Too bad!" cackles the emcee, and the curtains part to show a young comedian named Skyler Stone who's there to stage an intervention, via FunnyorDie.
"Ladies and gentlemen, you are not going to see Twilight: New Moon tonight." For some reason (I think it has to do with alcohol), the audience is still cheering, but this statement brings a solitary "NO!" Stone continues, "This is a vampire intervention because you clearly don't know what the f*ck a vampire is!" Is that male laughter in the background? Wooing begins. Is this real or is it fake? Stone berates the audience and insults Rpatz with aplomb. Still, the cheering continues!
"Why are you cheering?!" he yells at them. "Do you understand you're not seeing Twilight tonight?"
Will there be a riot? Bloodshed? Will Stone leave the theater intact? Find out what happens after the jump.
Exclusive: Title Track for 'The Road' Soundtrack
Filed under: Drama, Music & Musicals, New Releases, Fandom, Home Entertainment
Cinematical has just received the following title track for Nick Cave and Warren Ellis' original and haunting film score for The Road. It's simple and chilling -- just as any accompaniment to a post-apocalyptic world should be -- full of violin and piano tunes, some wind instruments and sound loops. The soundtrack is being released digitally today over at Amazon, with further digital retailers tomorrow and a CD release to follow on January 12, 2010.We first alerted you to the score back in March, and then to the duo's Soundtrack Collection in September. As you might have gathered, some of us are big Cave & Ellis fans. And rightly so. They provided an award-winning score for John Hillcoat's earlier feature The Proposition (which Cave also wrote), and also scored The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. And of course, that's besides their work in Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, which has memorable cinematic ties to Wings of Desire (before Ellis teamed up with Cave).
Too often these days it's easy to get pulled out of movies due to overly imposing and grandoise film scores desperately trying to yank at emotions, rather than just lightly coaxing the right feel for a particular scene, and Cave and Ellis definitely know how to let simplicity reign. Check out the clip and track list after the jump and grab it over here at Amazon.
'New Moon' Smashes 'Dark Knight's' Opening Day Record!
Filed under: Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Box Office, Fandom, Newsstand
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According to ERC, The Twilight Saga: New Moon sold roughly $71 million (Variety is reporting $72.7 million) worth of tickets on its opening day -- a number that, if correct, far surpasses the current opening day box office record of $67 million set by The Dark Knight back in 2008. With its $26 million take in midnight showings, that gives the second installment in the Twilight franchise two pretty giant records: Best Midnight Opening and Best Single Day Opening. Next up for the franchise is the three-day opening weekend record, also held by The Dark Knight with $158 million.
So what does this say about us? Well, while it's not as critically acclaimed as, say, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (previous midnight opening record holder) or The Dark Knight, these numbers do show just how much of an impact the female audience can have on a box office take. Sure, when The Dark Knight broke records everyone wanted to single out the teenage male audience as having won that film its titles, but polls showed females were responsible for upwards of 50% of that film's opening box office too. And now, with New Moon breaking records attracting a younger female audience, here's hoping studios wake up and realize that, yeah, the female audience is a damn powerful force.
So kudos to all you Twi-hards for showing up to support the property you love. Is the film truly worthy of its new records? Probably not. Will another film break those records within the next year? Yeah, most likely. But dammit if the folks at Summit Entertainment aren't partying their asses off this weekend. They just won the World Series at the box office. Congrats!
Michael Fassbender Goes From One Bronte To the Next
Filed under: Classics, Drama, Independent, Romance, Casting, Mystery & Suspense, Focus Features, Newsstand
The Brontes are all the rage for adaptation right now. It's undoubtedly due to Edward and Bella bestowing their favor on Wuthering Heights, and had they chosen Great Expectations, perhaps we'd see Dickens adaptations flinging themselves to the big screen. I love corsets and cravats, so I'm not going to complain, and I'm certainly not going to whine if Cary Fukunaga gets this cast for Jane Eyre. Variety is reporting that Michael Fassbender and Mia Wasikowska are in talks to play Jane and Rochester for Fukunaga, and oh, how torrid it would be!This is actually the second time Fassbender has circled a Bronte adaptation. Last May, he was said to be in talks for Wuthering Heights, but Ed Westwick stepped into that particular waistcoat. It's a shame. I think Fassbender would have made an excellent Heathcliff, and may have been the first one to actually snarl, bang his head against a tree, and slap people convincingly. But he will make a very simmering Rochester, and is the only actor who could top Toby Stephens' wonderful turn in 2006.
Wasikowska is still a bit of a dark horse. She's becoming one of those much-discussed names, but most of us have yet to really meet her until Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland hits theaters. She's very pretty, but is just "ordinary" (if that doesn't sound too terrible) enough to fit the part of plain Jane, and as an Aussie, she'll be able to turn on an English accent better than Ellen Page. If this is the Jane Eyre that makes it to the screen, I'll be happy. Let the eerie screams, mysterious fires, and lingering looks commence.
Robert Pattinson to Star With Uma Thurman in 'Bel Ami'
Filed under: Drama, Romance, Casting
The rumor mill was buzzing earlier this month with news that Nicole Kidman was going to, once again, go for the younger guy and star opposite Robert Pattinson in the adaptation of Guy De Maupassant's Bel Ami. While it turns out that Kidman is not taking the project on, another famous blonde is. The Hollywood Reporter posts that Uma Thurman will star opposite Pattinson, and Kristin Scott Thomas has also joined the roster.
The film will star Pattinson as George Duroy, an aspiring journalist who finds his success by bedding many of Paris' rich and powerful women. Thurman will play Mme Forestier, the married woman who sparks his ascension and later marries him, while Thomas comes into the picture as "a socialite who falls for Duroy, becoming clingy in the process."
Now, much has been said, or argued, about Pattinson's talents as an actor, and I'd say this will be the ultimate test -- whether he can hold his own against Thurman and Thomas. Pattinson won't be able to hide behind sparkles or quirky, mustachioed mannerisms this time around! Both have considerable talents, although Thurman in particular is long overdue for some meaty and buzz-worthy dramatic fare (it's also about time she got into some retro wordy romance as well, a la Henry and June). The drama will shoot next year in Paris.
Brett Ratner to Americanize Bollywood for Us
Filed under: Drama, Romance, Deals, Distribution
Variety is reporting that Brett Ratner has been hand-selected by Reliance Big Pictures to re-edit a forthcoming drama of theirs, Kites, in order to make the film more accessible to international audiences. Yes, the man who made the Rush Hour trilogy has been tapped to once again crush cultural barriers (assuming that's what Reliance thinks he did with those films). The production is being filmed in both Hindi and English, so it'll be Ratner's job to make sure that the English-language cut is attractive enough for a sales market outside of India, which will only be getting the Hindi cut.And as odd as this news seems at first, the official synopsis for Kites does seem to fit Ratner's penchant for making broad-appeal films: "In the harsh terrain of the Mexican desert, a mortally wounded man is left for dead in the heat of the desert sun. This is J. Once a street smart, carefree young guy. Now, a wanted man. The only thing that keeps him alive is the quest to find the love of his life, Natasha. A woman engaged to another man, but surely destined for J. ... Kites is a story of love that goes beyond barriers, boundaries and cultures. It is a story of passion that defies every rule, of a relationship that takes two lovers on a thrilling journey filled with precious moments - and unexpected betrayal."
I say broad-appeal because that pitch reads an awful lot like Slumdog Millionaire, except without the mention of a game show. However it turns out in the end, it looks like this won't be the last time Ratner teams up with Reliance. Variety hints that re-editing Kites comes with the rights for Ratner to direct Youngblood, an adaptation of a graphic novel by Rob Liefeld... Ah, more films from the man who made X-Men 3, isn't that what we all need?
OMG! Rob Pattinson In the 'Remember Me' Trailer!
Filed under: Drama, Romance, Fandom, Newsstand, Movie Marketing, Trailers and Clips
Ladies, I have important news: we've got another Robert Pattinson movie to "squeee" over. The New Moon heartthrob stars in Summit's romantic drama Remember Me, in which RPattz apparently gets to -- dare I say it? -- act his little butt off. By which I mean, throwing punches and yelling at James Bond and being sensitive and making out with Emilie de Ravin, all while rocking an American accent! Sigh. I can't wait.
Ok, so Remember Me is a gimme - of course every Twilight fan is going to run to buy tickets to watch
Watch the trailer debut for Remember Me after the jump, stat!
Free Flick of the Day: American Pop
Filed under: Animation, Comedy, Drama
The early '80s were an interesting time for controversial artist and animator Ralph Bakshi. His 1970s were filled with incendiary offerings like Heavy Traffic, Coonskin, Wizards, Fritz the Cat, and his (truncated) adaptation of Lord of the Rings. But once the 1980s rolled around, Mr. Bakshi was a little more sedate -- and absolutely intent on furthering the art of feature-length animation. The often misunderstood Bakshi would turn out Hey Good Lookin' in 1982 and collaborate with the legendary Frank Frazetta on 1983's Fire and Ice ... but I say the filmmaker's best work was his follow-up to the Lord of the Rings misstep...It's called American Pop and it strives to tell the story of American music over the course of four generations, from an immigrant who specializes in vaudeville to a modern-day rock star. (Well, modern for 1981.) Arguably Mr. Bakshi's most sincere film, American Pop often feels like the Rolling Stone version of The Godfather Part 2 ... and I don't think that was an accident. Backed by an amazing soundtrack and (of course) some dazzlingly offbeat animation, American Pop is our free flick of the day. You can enjoy this (decidedly R-rated) animated feature right here at Slash Control. And let me know what you thought of it!
Review: The Twilight Saga: New Moon
Filed under: Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, New Releases, Theatrical Reviews
Even the most egocentric or self-important film critic realizes that his opinions and insights aren't going to be agreed with or respected by everyone, but movies like New Moon offer a special challenge in both honesty and humility. Like with any other beloved literary franchise brought to the silver screen, there's already an impassioned fan base eager to see it realized regardless of its quality, and there's also an inherent distrust among them of nonfans who will eventually be analyzing the object of their affection. In which case, a critic must not only manage his own response to the film, perhaps filtering it through some designated demographic or specific audience that's potentially different than him, but gauge the reaction he'll get when he puts pen to paper, if only to be aware of the relevance of his reaction to what the filmmakers were trying to achieve and what those fans really want. Even if he's also got to be completely honest and unmerciful, too.
By virtually all technical measures, The Twilight Saga: New Moon is a superior effort to its predecessor – well-shot, efficiently told, and by all accounts faithful in tone and execution to its source material. But what filmmaker Chris Weitz makes up for in directorial proficiency he lacks in conveying emotional authenticity, which is why it fulfills the expectations of fans and followers of the franchise but nevertheless still falls short of forming something transcendent and meaningful to everyone else.
Interview: Carla Gugino
Filed under: Drama, Independent, Interviews
Carla Gugino has spent the better part of the last decade playing some of the most complicated and interesting female characters in Hollywood. After early roles in lighthearted fare like Son in Law, she played an appropriately combative counterpart for Michael J. Fox's deputy Mayor on Spin City before appearing in Wayne Wang's The Center of the World as a troubled seductress, Robert Rodriguez' Sin City as a tough-as-nails parole officer, Ridley Scott's American Gangster as Russell Crowe's exasperated ex-wife, and most recently in Zack Snyder's Watchmen as a sexpot superheroine with a pitch-black past. This month, she's acting in Sebastian Gutierrez' Women in Trouble, where she plays a porn star coming to terms with the news that she's pregnant.
Cinematical recently spoke to Gugino at the film's Los Angeles press day, where in between pointing out some of the bruises she earned while shooting Zack Snyder's Watchmen follow-up, Sucker Punch, she offered a few insights into her character in Women in Trouble.
Cinematical: What immediately jumped out to me about Elektra is that even though she's at her own crossroads in Women in Trouble, she seems to have the most certainty of the characters about who she is.
Exclusive: Title Track for 'The Road' Soundtrack
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'New Moon' Smashes 'Dark Knight's' Opening Day Record!
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