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SXSW 2010 Announces Its Panels
Filed under: Comedy, Documentary, Horror, SXSW, Quentin Tarantino, Comic/Superhero/Geek
Just last week, the South by Southwest Film Festival revealed the majority of its 2010 line-up, and now they've announced the guests scheduled to attend for their always-informative panels.Jeffrey Tambor is returning with his popular Acting Workshop; Michel Gondry will turn up for a conversation about his work to date and his latest documentary, A Thorn in the Heart (playing there); David Gordon Green (Pineapple Express) will talk about his role in the success of HBO's "Eastbound and Down"; and the casts of Kick-Ass and MacGruber will each host a panel about their respective films.
I'd be remiss if I omitted two of the panels in particular: One sees our own Scott Weinberg moderating a horror panel attended by the likes of Ti West, Quentin Tarantino, Eli Roth, Matt Reeves and Ruben Fleischer, while another sees our own Erik Childress taking to task hyperbole in film criticism. We don't want to shamelessly promote either of them, obviously, but I will just say that I've heard Erik's will be "the best panel of the year" and "a total laugh riot!"
So... take that for what you will. Check out descriptions of the fest's main panels after the jump, and the rest over on their official website.
'Big Top Pee-Wee': The Original Benicio Del Toro Wolfman
Filed under: Comedy, Horror, Casting, Stars in Rewind
Is Joe Johnston's The Wolfman a new spin on the 1941 Universal classic or is it a shocking, gorier reboot of Big Top Pee-Wee? Benicio Del Toro seems to be working hard to compete with Marmaduke, Marley, and the Beverly Hills Chihuahua for the title of Hollywood's hottest canine actor. He first appeared in a full fur face in the 1988 Pee-Wee Herman vehicle in a small part as circus freak Duke the Dog-Faced Boy.His role as Lawrence Talbot in The Wolfman represents the curse of type-casting at its worst. It's clear now that Del Toro will only be considered for roles that call for a half-puppy/half-man hybrid. I'm expecting him to tackle the role of Snoopy in a live-action version of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown very soon. (I'm also kidding.)
You don't think The Wolfman is even remotely similar to Big Top Pee-Wee because one is a gothic horror and one is a silly comedy? Consider this -- Pee-Wee Herman makes out with both Valeria Golino (whatever happened to her?) and Penelope Ann Miller in the film. Pee-Wee's tongue in your mouth? That's scarier than anything that happens in The Wolfman.
Is Tracy Morgan in 'Jaws 3D' Really That Ridiculous?
Filed under: Horror, RumorMonger, Remakes and Sequels
When we hear a ridiculous rumor, it's quite easy to become either incensed at the sheer audaciousness of the claim, or laugh it off as too stupid to be true. Take this latest goodie: Cinema Blend reports that a source at Universal Pictures claims that since audiences are expecting more from their movies, the studio wants to tap into the franchise pile for 3D magic, and are "strongly considering" a remake of Jaws "in hopes of dazzling younger audiences with new special effects."
The notion makes sense. If there's one movie that would look downright gorgeous in Real D 3D, it's Jaws. However, folks, that's not all. That same insider claims that Tracy Morgan has been considered for the role of Richard Dreyfus' Matt Hooper, but it's "uncertain" whether he's still in the running. To hedge their gossip bets, Cinema Blend states that this is a new source and could be hooey just as much as it could be truth.
It's easy to shudder when thinking of a comedic Jaws led by Morgan, because the thought sounds downright terrible, but let's back up. See that shark up there with the super-visible robot metal in his mouth? That's the big beast of Jaws 4. After that monstrosity of moviemaking, is it really that ridiculous to imagine Morgan facing off against a 3D shark?
It's either the stupidest, most moronic rumor of the year, or a sad reminder of where Hollywood is heading in the future. You make the call ...
Writer Says 'Saw VII' Will Mark the End of the Franchise
Filed under: Horror, Newsstand, Remakes and Sequels
Just when we started to get used to what could become a really fun Halloween box office to-the-death match-up between the Saw franchise and the up-and-coming Paranormal Activity franchise comes word that in all probability Saw VII will mark the final installment in the franchise. Speaking to a UK radio show, Saw IV, V, VI and VII co-writer Patrick Melton revealed that while the plan was to continue making Saw films until at least part eight, the lackluster box office showing for Saw VI has pretty much put the nail in this franchise's coffin.
Melton says (via Latino Review), "I think it's going to end with Saw VII. I have a very strong feeling its going to end with Saw VII. That's something we're debating now. You saw in previous interviews or discussions where we thought Saw VIII would be the last one where we had the first trilogy and the second trilogy and then sort of a grand finale wrapped up in two films. But frankly because Saw VI hasn't performed as well as we anticipated, the idea is well why make two movies when we can make one really excellent movie that wraps up as best we can? And it's going to be in 3-D which sort of adds to the spectacle. So if you had to ask me, I don't own the franchise, nor do I run the studio, but I have a feeling, a strong feeling that it's going to be Saw VII which will be also known as Endgame. And nothing's official yet, but that's where we're hoping things will go."
When Good Directors Happen to Crappy Franchises
Filed under: Action, Horror, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Remakes and Sequels
Since damn near everything that opens in wide release these is either a sequel or a remake, and since I feel some obligation to at least sample anything that qualifies as a "cultural phenomenon," whether or not I like it, I usually find myself hoping for the best from franchises that haven't much impressed me in the past. One reason for optimism – or at least for less existential dread – about the 2010 release schedule is that a number of thus far middling-to-terrible franchises appear to have been taken over by obviously talented filmmakers who stand a chance of making this year's installments of their respective series at least tolerable. Certainly any doubts I had about whether I was going to watch these latest franchise entries disappeared once I found out who was directing them.
The franchise: Twilight. So far, Catherine Hardwicke (Thirteen, Lords of Dogtown) and Chris Weitz (About a Boy, The Golden Compass) have delivered two dull-as-nails installments of this wuss-vampire franchise, though Weitz's New Moon did at least appear to pick up some steam as a teen soap opera, if not (at all) as a thriller or a horror flick.
'The Thing' Remake Casts Joel Edgerton and Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Filed under: Horror, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Universal, Remakes and Sequels
Some call it a remake, some call it a prequel, I call it a really slippery slope: Universal is planning another film in the (sorta) series that began in 1951 with The Thing (from Another World) and continued in 1982 with John Carpenter's The Thing. JC's remake was not exactly adored upon its theatrical release, but it has since gone on to become a true classic of the genre ... for those who have the guts to make it through the exceedingly intense and icky film. (Me, I freaking love it.) As noted by Heat Vision, our source for this story, all of the films were based on a 1938 John Campbell short story called Who Goes There? (I haven't read it.)We already know that first-timer Matthijs Van Heijningen Jr. will be directing the new version of The Thing, and that Eric Heisserer (A Nightmare on Elm Street '10) and Ronald D. Moore (lots of Star Trek, but even more Battlestar Galactica) are providing the adaptation ... but who will star? HV says it will be Joel Edgerton (King Arthur, Smokin' Aces) as a blue-collar (and no doubt heroic) helicopter pilot (that sounds familiar) and Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Live Free or Die Hard, Death Proof) as "a Ph.D. candidate who joins a Norwegian research team in Antarctica after it discovers an alien ship in the ice." Aha. So it is a prequel.
Production begins next month in Toronto.
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.
Cinematical On Demand: Pontypool
Filed under: Horror, Independent, Thrillers, Fandom, Home Entertainment
Welcome to Cinematical's new On Demand, where we review the latest in home entertainment -- on demand, on disc, on the web -- and detail the must-sees, maybe-sees, and never-sees available from the comfort of your own home.
Pontypool is the best recent film you haven't seen.
Adapted from Tony Burgess' novel by Canadian filmmaker Bruce McDonald, Pontypool arrived on the scene during the Toronto International Film Festival of 2008. It slowly hit markets and enjoyed a limited release last Spring, while slipping onto IFC Midnight, Canadian DVD last July, and finally U.S. DVD just last week. It dances just out of reach of the mass movie-going conscious, but it's a terrible shame. This psychological thriller offers thrills and bloody viral chaos for the horror folks, verbal banter and literary cues for the linguists and English fiends, tensions and oddities for those who like to think and question, and the irreplaceable Stephen McHattie to entertain us all.
'Saw' and 'Paranormal Activity' Creators Team on 'Insidious'
Filed under: Horror, Deals, Newsstand
Pictured: Saw creators Leigh Whannell and James Wan [photo credit: Sahlan Hayes]
While Paramount and Lionsgate battle it out for the top spot at the Halloween box office with Paranormal Activity and Saw sequels in 2010, the original creators of both those properties are actually teaming up on a new low-budget film called Insidious. Following the grassroots success of Paranormal Activity, producers Oren Peli (who also directed), Jason Blum and Steven Schneider signed a five-picture deal with Alliance Films to produce low-budget genre pics. As such, the first film under that deal will be Insidious, which comes from Saw creators James Wan and Leigh Whannell.
Wan will direct the film off a script by Whannell, and while they're currently keeping the story under lock and key, Wan said that Whannell's script "took a haunted house movie with all the usual conventions and twisted it on its head." Shock had reported at the end of January on the film when it was under the title The Further, and here's how they described it: "Further tells the story of a young family that makes the terrifying discovery that the body of their comatose boy has become a magnet for malevolent entities, while his consciousness lies trapped in the dark and insidious realm known as The Further."
No word yet on how low budget these films will be, but considering that Paranormal Activity clocked in somewhere around $11,000, there's a chance these could be really low budget genre films, which is good because, in my opinion, it'll force these folks to get creative and find ways to freak us out on the real cheap instead of having millions of dollars and endless amounts of special effects to cover up a weak script.
Review: Frozen
Filed under: Horror, Thrillers, Sundance, Theatrical Reviews
By Eric Snider -- reprint from 1/24/10 -- Sundance Film Festival
You can picture Adam Green, the writer and director of Frozen, sitting on a ski lift one day, idly thinking, "What if I fell off? How high above the ground am I? No! What if the lift stopped moving and they couldn't get it started? What if I was trapped here!" We all have our moments of morbid fantasizing, but what separates Adam Green from me and you is that he turns his dark "what if?" scenarios into movies. His Hatchet had tourists terrorized in the swamps of Louisiana; Frozen pits the heroes against Mother Nature herself, that wanton trollop.
The setting is a ski resort in New England, where three college students are trying to talk their way onto the lift without buying tickets. Dan (Kevin Zegers) and Joe (Shawn Ashmore), best friends since grade school, come skiing here regularly, but today Joe is miffed because Dan has brought along his girlfriend, Parker (Emma Bell), in a flagrant violation of the Bros Before Hoes policy.
No one likes being the third wheel; it doesn't help that Joe and Parker don't really get along, each jealous of the other's relationship with Dan. It's the same old story: "We haven't seen you at Fezziwig's for dollar pitcher night all semester!" Joe complains. What, Dan would rather spend time with his beautiful girlfriend than drink cheap beer? It's like Joe doesn't even know him anymore.
2011 Will Not Feature a Summer Pixar Film?
Tom Cruise and J.J. Abrams Reunite for 'Mission Impossible 4'
'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'
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