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To the Calendar! Comic-Con 2009 Schedule Released
Filed under: Fandom, Movie Marketing, ComicCon
Cinematical will be hitting Comic-Con 2009 in San Diego again this year, bringing you the sights, highlights, and lowlights of the four-day geek mecca. A mecca that now officially has a schedule. Since cloning machines still haven't been invented, if anyone manages to do that in in the next couple of weeks please let us know. We're going to need to be at multiple locations during multiple simultaneous times.
But, that just about sums up the entirety of Comic-Con: dashing from panel to panel, catching a glimpse of the millions of costumes, stopping by booths, hitting parties, and then repeating. You can check out the full schedule right here (eventually -- it's Thursday only for now), and we'll be posting some of what's on our Cinematical Must See list as we work our way through the schedule with a highlighter, but here's a couple of standouts for Thursday:
- 11:00-12:30 Disney: 3D Panel- Walt Disney Pictures presents key filmmakers, select cast members and previously unseen footage from its upcoming slate, including Disney's A Christmas Carol, Alice In Wonderland and Tron. Special guests include Robert Zemeckis, Tim Burton, Sean Bailey, Steve Lisberger, and moderator Patton Oswalt. Hall H
- 12:45-2:00 20th Century Fox and James Cameron present Avatar- In this first public screening of footage in 3D from his much-anticipated action/adventure/fantasy, James Cameron, producer Jon Landau, and cast members take you to a spectacular new world beyond imagination. Conceived 14 years ago and over four years in the making, Avatar breaks new ground in delivering a fully immersive, emotional story and reinvents the movie-going experience. Hall H
Ricky Gervais Clumsily Introduces Ralph Fiennes in 'Cemetery Junction' Teaser
Filed under: Comedy, Sony, Movie Marketing, Trailers and Clips
Having co-created "The Office" (the original) and "Extras" (which I've had sitting on my shelf to watch for ages now), Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant have most recently seen fit to co-write and direct their first film together, the seventies-set Cemetery Junction. With filming just having begun less than a month ago, though, the duo has nonetheless whipped up a brief but funny teaser trailer with the help of star Ralph Fiennes -- an actor not exactly known for his comedic prowess...(You know what? Scratch that: all his guff served In Bruges and that Wallace & Gromit movie quite well.)
Also starring Emily Watson, Matthew Goode, and (yes) Gervais and Merchant themselves, Cemetery Junction should hit theaters at some point in 2010 (the UK has an April date, so here's hoping the US release is similarly spring-like). With any luck, maybe they'll coax their colleagues into similarly amusing appearances before the film's finished.
Watch the teaser trailer after the jump
'Funny People': New Trailer and Adam Sandler's Prank Call, Circa 1991
Filed under: Comedy, Drama, Fandom, Movie Marketing, Trailers and Clips
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The summer movie season has already past its half-way point, but my two most anticipated films still haven't arrived: District 9 and Judd Apatow's Funny People. We talked about the former yesterday, and now today it's time to plug a film that looks to bring it all: laughs, tears, Australian accents, Seth Rogen's weird cough-laugh, sarcastic Australian accents, Jason Schwartzman looking stoned, Jonah Hill being a d*ck, tons of stand-up comedy -- seriously, what more could you want from a movie?
Two new pieces of Funny People marketing have arrived today. We have a red-band trailer that premiered over at MySpace and a piece of viral awesomeness that premiered over at Moviefone. The red-band (or restricted ... which sounds so mean, doesn't it) trailer isn't all too bad (with the exception of an oral sex joke), and it definitely shines a light on the finer aspects of Apatow's films, which include real, human moments, or, as some would say, the little stuff.
Meanwhile, the viral piece is something pretty unique. Back in the early '90s, Judd Apatow and Adam Sandler were actual roommates, who, apparently, filmed ridiculous things like prank calls. So ... this video is Apatow filming a very young-looking Sandler prank-calling the local deli as an old lady to complain about a sandwich while wearing underwear on his head. Check out both the trailer and the viral video after the jump.
Funny People hits theaters on July 31.
First Look: Ellen Page Ready to 'Whip It'
Filed under: Comedy, Drama, Independent, Fox Searchlight, Movie Marketing, Images
Call it Juno on Wheels. The first image of Ellen Page in the upcoming roller derby flick Whip It has been released, showing her strapped into a girl scout uniform as she skates around a track with Drew Barrymore and Kristen Wiig. The photo above, and several others, can be viewed at USA Today (additionally, check out two extra images below)
The film represents Barrymore's directorial debut. Page stars as 17-year-old Bliss Cavendar, who is tired of competing in beauty pageants at the insistence of her mother (Marcia Gay Harden). She rebels by joining the Hurl Scouts, a women's roller derby team in Austin, Texas, and finds her true calling -- or, at least, a good place to unleash some pent-up aggression. Barrymore skates with the Scouts, as does Saturday Night Live's Wiig and the great Zoe Bell (Death Proof). Juliette Lewis is described as the villain of the piece, an opposing player determined to defeat Page and the Scouts, and the players all have cool nicknames: Smashley Simpson, Maggie Mayhem, Bloody Holly, and so forth.
As Jenni Miller advised, Fox Searchlight will distribute the film, which is set for release on October 9. Roller derby vet Shauna Cross (AKA Maggie Mayhem) wrote the screenplay, based on her own novel, Derby Girl. A very good doc about the Austin roller derby scene, Hell on Wheels, is available to view at SnagFilms (we also embedded it after the jump), and if Whip It can approach that real-life excitement, it could break out of the fall pack. Since nicknames are de rigeur for roller derby players, what nickname will you choose if you decide to see Ellen Page Whip It?
'District 9' Unloads an Awesome Trailer and New Viral Videos
Filed under: Horror, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Fandom, Movie Marketing, Trailers and Clips
The new trailer for my most anticipated summer sci-fi flick, District 9, has just hit Yahoo, along with a PSA on the reproductive system of the aliens featured in the film and a new TV spot that I caught last night (the last two were found on YouTube). I like the viral angle they're taking with this film, even if it does feel a little Starship Troopers-esque. But I loved that film, and while the propaganda marketing move is fun and light, this new trailer clearly shows us a pretty scary freak-fest full of giant aliens protecting themselves from a government that doesn't know what to do with them. I won't go into all the different political undertones so obviously at play here, and instead will urge you genre fans to scope out this creepy little low-budgeted thriller that looks to be ten times more worthwhile than most of this summer's fare. This feels like smart, creative, original filmmaking at its best, and I know we haven't seen the entire movie yet, but I definitely have good vibes. You?
Check out the trailer and the viral videos over at SciFi Squad
'The Lovely Bones' Has a Blank Poster
Filed under: Drama, Mystery & Suspense, Paramount, RumorMonger, Newsstand, Dreamworks, Peter Jackson, Movie Marketing, Religious, Images, Posters
Bones has been dogged by bad rumors from day one. Mark Wahlberg replaced Ryan Gosling in very short order, and Susan Sarandon had issues with her role as Grandma Lynn. Flicks.co.nz reported that production shut down as Peter Jackson and art director disagreed over how to best portray Heaven, a story that was later denied by DreamWorks and Paramount. The rumor machine really went into overdrive when the release date of the film was delayed by six months, but the studio also brushed off any concerns, assuring the world they had always intended to release the film December 11, 2009 ... just in time for awards consideration.
But hey, now you have a poster to go with those initial images, and it's the kind of marketing you can project all your wishes onto. You can read its blankness as a sign of a disorganized production that doesn't have its poster art sorted. You can read it as a sign that they're keeping it under wraps because it's something very special. Maybe you see your own version of heaven there. (Mine is a really good film.) It's all things to all people. Really!
[via Dread Central]
Terrific Trailers: Casino Royale
Filed under: Action, Thrillers, Movie Marketing, James Bond, Daniel Craig, Trailers and Clips
If the true measure of a good trailer is that it makes you want to see the movie that's being advertised, my definition of a terrific trailer is one that makes you want to see a movie again -- after you've already seen it several times. The trailer for Martin Campbell's Casino Royale fits that definition to a "T."
Granted, any trailer for a James Bond movie has the advantage of familiarity. Yet that same familiarity can breed contempt, and the last two Bond flicks with Pierce Brosnan (The World is Not Enough, Die Another Day) had soured me on the spy that I once loved. The casting of blonde, undersized Daniel Craig did not inspire much confidence. But the Casino Royale trailer really raised my expectations, and the movie itself fully delivered on its promise. I've ended up watching the movie multiple times since its release.
In retrospect, the trailer gives away bits and pieces from the entire movie, but it starts smart by spending its first thirty seconds in black and white, then shifting to color and introducing everyone we need to know, squeezing in a bit of cheesecake (Eva Green in an evening gown), a touch of beefcake (Daniel Craig emerging from the ocean), and then revving up to full-tilt action, accompanied by a jazzed-up version of the James Bond theme music. Watching the trailer reminds me of all the high points and makes we want to see it again ... right now!
After the jump: Watch the Casino Royale trailer.
Fox Releasing 'The Paul Newman Tribute DVD Collection'
Filed under: Classics, Fandom, 20th Century Fox, Home Entertainment, Movie Marketing
It's tough to lose a legend like Paul Newman, and the rush of DVDs, biographies, and rumor mongering don't make it any easier. The rush of merchandising seems to walk a fine line between actually honoring the person, and pure graveyard profit. You can decide what category Fox's upcoming Paul Newman Tribute Collection falls into. I'm going to err on the side of classy, even at its steep price of $89.98, because it contains a total of 17 DVDs. The list includes:The Long, Hot Summer (the film that Newman Joanne Woodward met on)
Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys
From the Terrace
Exodus
The Hustler Collector's Edition
Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man
What a Way to Go!
Hombre
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid Collector's Edition
The Towering Inferno Special Edition
Buffalo Bill and the Indians Or Sitting Bull's History Lesson
Quintet
The Verdict Collector's Edition
The collection goes on sale on September 22. It's definitely a fine collection of films (and it's especially nice to include the posh Collector's Editions of films like Butch Cassidy, unfortunately the notes say nothing about the lesser known films like Exodus or Quintet getting the remastered treatment. Still, it's a chance for a lot of people to meet some gems of Newman's impressive career for the first time, and for longtime fans to rediscover a film they forgot all about. To sweeten the deal, the set comes with a 136 page softbound book with new photos of Newman, photos of cast, crew and sets of the film along with , movie excerpts, and personal quotes from the man himself. The book alone might help tip the balance -- he was possibly the most beautiful man to have ever lived! Who wouldn't want a nice book like that?
[via DVD Active]
New 'G.I. Joe' Trailer Gives First Look at Cobra Commander
Filed under: Action, Fandom, Movie Marketing, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Images, Trailers and Clips
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There's a new Japanese trailer for G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra making the rounds, and while it contains most of the same footage included in the previous trailer, this one does give us our first look at Cobra Commander (aka The Doctor), as played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, in all his weird masked glory. In the screencap above, The Doctor is standing next to Destro (Christopher Eccleston) and the two are plotting to destroy the world and whatnot.
Perhaps it's because this Japanese trailer cuts around a lot and doesn't remain too long on any one scene that I'm digging it more than I did the domestic version. I think Paramount should just cut together a trailer featuring only Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow since those are easily the two coolest-looking characters, and their sword fight will most likely become a highlight of the film. I dunno ... maybe this one will surprise us in some ways and let us down in others ... but isn't that what we've come to accept from all of these based-on-an-80s-toy-line-or-comic-book movies? G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra hits theaters on August 7.
Watch the trailer after the jump
Red-Band 'Jennifer's Body' Trailer Answers All Of Your Prayers
Filed under: Action, Comedy, Horror, Independent, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Thrillers, Newsstand, Movie Marketing, Fox Atomic, Trailers and Clips
Head to The Horror Squad for the red-banded fun
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Our Favorite Summers: 1981
To the Calendar! Comic-Con 2009 Schedule Released
Exclusive: Eli Roth Talks 'Thanksgiving'
Raja Gosnell to Direct Live-Action 'Smurfs'
First Look: Ellen Page Ready to 'Whip It'
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