Posted Feb 9th 2010 6:45PM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Music & Musicals, Fandom, Trailers and Clips
For the love of God please make that new Muppet movie a rock opera!!!! Arrrrrrgh!
Okay, now that that's out of my system, it's time to explain why I just had that little outburst. See,
MuppetsStudio has released another classic rock song with a Muppets edge. Oh, yes! First it was the brilliance of "
Bohemian Rhapsody," and now -- "Beaker's Ballad." No, it's not some random original song, but rather the ol' meeemer sharing his rendition of "Dust in the Wind" -- Kansas' 1977 hit. Unfortunately, Beaker's memeing is no match for Lynn Meredith's vocals, and the harsh, cruel internet world is ready to pounce. It seems that they only like silent (
pun alert!) memes.
If we can't get Jason Segel to switch his upcoming movie to a Muppet rock opera, maybe we can at least get a faux concert documentary from the MuppetsStudio? It could be the fan event to challenge
Rocky Horror! I imagine I'm not the only one who would stand in line to hear these guys go through all the classic greats.
Meanwhile, in related news,
The Playlist managed to nab a description of the new Muppet movie based on a script that's dated October 2009 that their source calls a "solid attempt at recapturing what made "The Muppet Show" and the first two Muppet movies so great" Check out the film description from The Playlist and the hilarious video after the jump.
Continue reading Watch This: Beaker is Just "Dust in the Wind"
Posted Feb 9th 2010 3:32PM by Jessica Barnes
Filed under: Music & Musicals, Sports, Fandom, Trailers and Clips, Scenes We Love
We've had some time to get used to the truly terrible idea of a 3D Stretch Armstrong flick with Taylor (Team Jacob) Lautner as the flexible hero in question. But on the upside, at least now I can hold out hope that maybe if Lautner's busy getting all bendy, he won't have time to ruin the memory of Louden Swain in a
remake of the sports/teen drama
Vision Quest -- which brings me to today's
Scenes (Songs) We Love, and while most people focus on Madonna's
Crazy for You as the musical highlight of the flick, I thought I would offer up a pretty viable alternative:
Lunatic Fringe from Red Rider.
Vision Quest was based on the novel by Terry Davis and centered on a high-school wrestler (played by
Matthew Modine) who decides to take on the top dog in a fight to do something meaningful with his life -- which I guess means rolling around on the floor with other guys. But, in the pursuit of his dream, he sacrifices his health and his love life with an older woman (played by
Linda Fiorentino).
The song was written by the Tom Cochrane (and I'm sure my fellow Canadians know that name), and was originally released in 1981 before making its way onto the soundtrack, and even though the song is actually about the rise of anti-Semitism in the 1970's, when I hear this tune I just think of Matthew Modine in a spot-lit gym.
After the jump: a slice of Canadiana... Continue reading Scenes (Songs) We Love: "Lunatic Fringe" from 'Vision Quest'
Posted Feb 7th 2010 11:02AM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Independent, Music & Musicals, Casting, Scripts
Old-school rock is hot these days. We're quickly approaching the release of
The Runaways, full of Joan Jett, Cherie Currie, and rock chaos, and now another project is on the horizon. But this time, however, it's a modern look back.
Twitch found out that
Bruce McDonald is heading back to his days of
Hard Core Logo rock with a new film called
Trigger -- news that's a nice way to finish off a week with two McDonald retro pieces
(Elimination Dance and
Pontypool).
According to
New Real Films,
Trigger was written by
Marion Bridge scribe
Daniel MacIvor and will star
Molly Parker and
Tracy Wright as two "rock 'n' roll women who once shared a friendship, a band, and a whole lot of chaos. Now, a dozen years later, they meet again, and over the course of one evening rediscover friendship, remember rock 'n' roll, and reignite chaos." Somewhere in that new chaos,
Don McKellar factors in as the third star. So, not only a return to
Hard Core Logo form for the female set, but also another feature for
Elimination Dance and
Monkey Warfare stars Wright and McKellar.
The above picture is only one of the many New Real shares of the production
right here. And don't worry -- Parker might look all sweet and awkward with that peace sign, but the gallery also includes a shot of Parker rocking out with an air guitar. I guess rock 'n' roll isn't dead!
Posted Feb 4th 2010 10:33AM by Elisabeth Rappe
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.
Posted Feb 2nd 2010 7:15PM by Jessica Barnes
Filed under: Drama, Music & Musicals, Fandom, Trailers and Clips, Scenes We Love
In 1992, we were in the tail end of the golden age of hip-hop. Dr. Dre had just released
The Chronic, and
G Funk was on the rise, but for fans of the east coast sound, there was still Eric B & Rakim. So as a nod to the good old days, today's
Scenes (Songs) We Love is all about Eric B & Rakim's
Know the Ledge from the 92 crime flick,
Juice. The 90's timepiece was directed by cinematographer
Ernest R. Dickerson (
The Wire and long-time cinematographer for Spike Lee) and centered on four friends in Harlem: Bishop (Tupac Shakur), Q (
Omar Epps), Raheem (Khalil Kain) and Steel (Jermaine "Huggy" Hopkins) as they wrestled with the usual urban tropes about making it out of the 'ghetto'.
Music was a big part of the film, and if you are of a certain age, the songs in this movie will seem like the best house party you never got to attend. The soundtrack was a relatively big success, landing in the top 20 of the Billboard 200 with songs from Naughty by Nature, Big Daddy Kane, EPMD and the ambassadors of
New Jack swing: Teddy Riley and Aaron Hall.
Probably one of the things that stood out in this film was that it tried to highlight the shift to a new kind of star in the world of hip hop: the gangster. In Dickerson and Gerard Brown's script, an idea emerges about the price of street cred' and the moral of the story falls on Epps' decision to put the guns down. But here we are almost 20 years later and when you take a quick look at the current state of hip hop, it looks like we haven't quite learned that lesson yet.
After the jump; "In a puddle of blood, I lay close to the edge..I guess I didn't know the ledge...."Continue reading Scenes (Songs) We Love: "Know the Ledge" from 'Juice'
Posted Feb 2nd 2010 3:15PM by Christopher Campbell
Filed under: Documentary, Music & Musicals, Johnny Depp, Cinematical Indie
The Rolling Stones have collectively been the focus of some great music documentaries (
Gimme Shelter;
Shine a Light;
Sympathy for the Devil). Now it's time for the band's guitarist,
Keith Richards, to go solo with his own doc. And none other than
Johnny Depp will direct it,
according to The Playlist. They got the info from
a Serbian website featuring an interview with the actor, who was apparently in Drvengrad last month for the unveiling of a statue in his image, the ceremony for which opened this year's Kustendorf Film Festival.
It's been 13 years since Depp last went behind the camera for the Native American drama
The Brave, but in a translated statement Depp said that he's wiser now and ready to direct again. He noted that while he was in Serbia, his editor was going through "kilometers" of footage of Richards. That was a few weeks ago, so the actor has likely now joined in on the process, which will surely be very different from the fiction filmmaking involved with his directorial debut. He also said that he's "very touched that Keith agreed to show up in front of my cameras." Whether that means Depp has already shot Richards or if filming is commencing soon is unclear.
Continue reading Johnny Depp to Direct a Keith Richards Biopic
Posted Feb 1st 2010 8:15PM by Christopher Campbell
Filed under: Music & Musicals, Casting
A whole bunch of music artists
gathered today to record a new version of "We Are the World," the iconic charity single from 1985 that featured a who's who of singing stars from the '80s, including Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder and, most memorably for me, Cyndi Lauper. The song's co-writer Lionel Richie, who penned the tune with Michael Jackson, had already planned a 25th anniversary redo with producer Quincy Jones, but now the resultant cover will also be a charity single benefiting Haiti.
But today's pitch isn't for a film about the new recording, which will feature Lady Gaga, Bono, John Legend, Usher and others. It's for a dramatic feature based upon the making of the original song under the collective name USA for Africa, to be titled...
We Are the World: An All-Star Portrayal
We love watching celebrities portray famous singers and musicians. Just today we heard that Zachary Quinto may be playing George Gershwin. It may not be as exciting as the idea of Joaquin Phoenix doing Johnny Cash or a whole slew of actors portraying Bob Dylan, but it's a whole lot more accessible than having a nobody in the role -- would
Last Days have been a bigger hit with Leonardo DiCaprio rather than Michael Pitt? Of course.
Continue reading Pitch of the Day: 'We Are the World: An All-Star Portrayal'
Posted Feb 1st 2010 7:15PM by Jette Kernion
Filed under: Documentary, Music & Musicals, Home Entertainment
I've been hearing all week about an upcoming Flaming Lips concert here in Austin, and while I'm unlikely to go (it's up against the opening night of SXSW Film), I do have an urge to see the Flaming Lips perform again. Fortunately, I can do this right from the comfort of my computer. SlashControl has the 2005 documentary about the band,
The Fearless Freaks, available to stream online for free.
The Fearless Freaks is directed by
Bradley Beesley (
Okie Noodling, Sweethearts of the Prison Rodeo), who grew up in the same hometown as the Flaming Lips -- Oklahoma City. Beesley has also directed some Flaming Lips videos and helped out with Wayne Coyne's feature film
Christmas on Mars, and is able to provide an intimate portrait of the band, not just a standard music biopic.
Although
The Fearless Freaks shows the progression of the band and contains scenes of them on tour, it is really rooted in their hometown and family lives. Wayne Coyne walks around the neighborhood telling great stories about his experiences there, and the movie includes some wonderful Super 8 footage of the Coyne family. They called their family football team the Fearless Freaks ... thus the title. The documentary also gets very dark at times -- one scene with drummer Steven Drozd in which he discusses his then-addiction to drugs is especially chilling. This is not a movie for kids, but for everyone else, definitely a way to satisfy any Flaming Lips cravings.
Watch The Flaming Lips: The Fearless Freaks for free at SlashControl.Posted Feb 1st 2010 1:32PM by Elisabeth Rappe
Filed under: Drama, Music & Musicals, Casting, RumorMonger, DIY/Filmmaking, Newsstand, Dreamworks, Steven Spielberg
Unlike Captain Chris Pine,
Zachary Quinto hasn't gone crazy signing onto action films and franchise characters like Jack Ryan. That probably has something to go with his Heroes commitments, but perhaps he's just picky, or no one has sent him the kind of brawny material they've sent Pine. Or perhaps he was brushing up on his musical skills, because according to
Deadline Hollywood Daily, Quinto may be playing the legendary
George Gershwin in a biopic directed by
Steven Spielberg.
A Gershwin biopic would definitely be a quiet, melancholy kind of film. The famous composer studied piano up until the age of fifteen, and left school to sell songs on New York's Tin Pan Alley and briefly worked in vaudeville. His songs, classical pieces, and operas like
Porgy and Bess are more striking than his life was, which ended at the tragically young age of 38 due to a brain tumor. But his wasn't the kind of dramatic, crazy life that usually produces biopics so it'll be interesting to see how they handle it.
As you probably know, trying to guess Spielberg's next project has been a twisty sort of game. He's dropped them as fast as we could write about them, and this one could be no exception. But he's reportedly quite eager to get back into the director's chair, and a Gershwin biopic is one of three projects he's very interested in. The project is basically set to go with a script from
Doug Wright, with
Marc Platt and
Michael Feinstein producing. Apparently, nothing is official, but DreamWorks has been prepping Quinto for the role. They've hired accent and dialogue coaches for the actor, and shooting could begin in April. Providing this actually goes before cameras, do you think he'll be a good Gershwin?
Posted Jan 27th 2010 7:16PM by Jenni Miller
Filed under: Comedy, Drama, Foreign Language, Independent, Music & Musicals, Home Entertainment, Trailers and Clips, Scenes We Love
While a different French bad boy is terrorizing Sundance with his latest movie (that would be Gaspar Noé and
Enter the Void), I'm at home watching a slightly more romantic French movie by Christophe Honoré -- a weird and wonderful hybrid of a musical, love story, and drama,
Les chansons d'amour (Love Songs).
Ismaël (
Louis Garrel) and Julie (
Ludivine Sagnier) have been together for eight years, and, as we learn from their
chansons, their relationship is getting rather rocky; adding a third party to the mix, Alice (
Clotilde Hesme) certainly complicates things even more. The story and its songs are occasionally playful and sexy, or, as the movie progresses, plaintive and sad. I love this strange little French film and its audacity to turn a story about a ménage à trois into a musical, despite some frustrating twists.
My favorite songs from the movie, "De Bonnes Raisons" and "Inventaire," are on YouTube.com (but without lyrics), so after the jump I've also put the subtitled trailer on there for you to (hopefully) enjoy. "De Bonnes Raisons" is a quirky, bittersweet song where Ismaël questions why he is really still with Julie after so long ("Is it your lovely pair of buttocks / The fear of loneliness / Chance and laziness / Or a bad habit?"). "Inventaire" is more of a typical fight between lovers -- he leaves his pubes in the shower, she found mysterious panties on the floor, and her mom calls too often. Will they last? Both are upbeat and catchy, the characters playful and sensual, despite the lyrics.
Continue reading Scenes (Songs) We Love: Les chansons d'amour
Posted Jan 27th 2010 9:46AM by Monika Bartyzel
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!
Posted Jan 25th 2010 6:47PM by Christopher Campbell
Filed under: Music & Musicals, Remakes and Sequels
Now that the rock biopic
The Runaways is a hit at Sundance (see our review
here), and since it will probably also be a success in theaters thanks to
Twilight star Kristen Stewart's involvement, it's time to think about a sequel. Wait, to a biopic? Yes, to a biopic. I haven't seen the movie yet, but I hear it ends just as all the girls went their separate ways -- Joan Jett (Stewart) beginning a solo career, Cherie Currie (Dakota Fanning) going off to be in the movies, etc. -- so why not keep following the lives of these characters?
However, I also hear that Michael Shannon, as producer Kim Fowley, is the best thing about
The Runaways, and therefore instead of making a movie like
Bad Reputation: The Joan Jett Solo Story or
Cherie in Hollywood: The Making of Foxes, I propose that the makers of the first film continue Fowley's adventures in...
The Runaways 2
Alternate titles may include
The Runaways Too,
The Runaways Down Under or
Young and Fast. The last of these is the title of a Runaways album that Fowley produced with a completely new roundup of girls he found in Australia and New Zealand in the mid-80s. Sometimes the recording is credited to "The New Runaways," especially since the original band members sued Fowley in the 1990s over ownership of the name.
Continue reading Pitch of the Day: 'The Runaways 2'
Posted Jan 24th 2010 9:02PM by Kevin Kelly
Filed under: Drama, Music & Musicals, Sundance, Theatrical Reviews
I'll be blunt about this: I really wasn't looking forward to this movie. I'm not the biggest fan of lip-chewing, hair-twirling
Kristen Stewart, or the wide-eyed, blank face expert
Dakota Fanning. I love rock and roll (so put another dime in the jukebox, baby) as much as the next person, but these two starring in a movie about an all-girl, teen sensation, flash in the pan band from the 1970s? I just didn't think they could pull it off. Hey, at least I'm big enough to admit I was wrong.
The Runaways rocked the Joan Jett / Cherie Currie backstory's pants off (literally), and I'll be buying the soundtrack, which features K-Stew and D-Fan singing the blasts from the past.
However, this movie really should have been called The Joan Jett & Cherie Currie Show, because the other Runaways are hardly featured in this movie at all. Sandy West (who co-founded the band with Joan Jett), and Lita Ford's stories aren't given much attention in the film, and Ford seems to exist just to cause drama. Additionally, The Runaways had six different bass players during their short four-year history (including Micki Steele who went on to The Bangles) so the filmmakers decided to create a fictional girl named Robin Robins. She's played by
Alia Shawkat of
Arrested Development fame, and she unfortunately gets only one or two lines.
Continue reading Sundance Review: The Runaways
Posted Jan 24th 2010 2:33PM by Jessica Barnes
Filed under: Music & Musicals, Fandom, Trailers and Clips, Scenes We Love
If you look back at the movies of the 80's, the lives of sex workers weren't the cautionary tales that have become the norm these days. But if you were making a list of 'happy hooker' movies, the 1982 musical comedy,
The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas would definitely be in the top five. So today, I decided to give a little love to the movie that gave me my first lesson on 'working girls' and a musical number that I had no right to sing along to as an impressionable little girl:
Lil' Bitty Pissant Country Place.
Whorehouse was the story of a plucky madam (Dolly Parton) and her fight to save her brothel, all the while dealing with a complicated romance with the town sheriff (played by
Burt Reynolds). The original Broadway show premiered in 1978, but the film was forced to undergo a few changes, and some states even demanded a title change before displaying the poster for the film. But it wasn't just the title that raised eyebrows, and minor changes were also made to the music, and in
Country Place, a verse surrounding the challenges of hiring 'married girls' was taken out in the theatrical cut. But there are still plenty of surreal moments in the song to enjoy -- with my personal favorite being Miss Mona sharing her theory on pimps.
The song was our introduction to the lovable hoes that work with Miss Mona, and reminds us that 'there's nothing dirty going on', so if you like what you see, head on over to SlashControl where you can watch the movie for free in all its glory. Besides, what's not to love about a movie starring Burt Reynolds, Dolly Parton,
Dom Deluise, and a chorus line of singing and dancing hookers?
After the jump; 'She pays the food and the rent and the utilities..."Continue reading Scenes (Songs) We Love: "Country Place" From 'The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas'
Posted Jan 22nd 2010 8:17PM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Music & Musicals, Deals, RumorMonger, Scripts, Remakes and Sequels
Remember how a star is
set to be re-born? A few months after hearing that the oft-used music story
A Star is Born would get another retelling courtesy of Warner Bros.,
Deadline Hollywood Daily reports that
Nick Cassavetes is in early talks to direct it, after reading a draft by
Will Fetters. As DHD points out, this comes after the director sued New Line -- sister studio to WB -- for being taken off the project
Elephant Orphanage. Change of heart? An apology? Bygones be bygones?
The filmmaker has had a pretty interesting career so far, dancing back and forth between grit and romance. He started with the romances
Unhook the Stars in 1996 and
She's So Lovely in 1997, before penning
Blow, directing
John Q and
The Notebook, writing and directing
Alpha Dog, and last giving us
My Sister's Keeper. He's currently working on a drug-centric dramatic indie called
Yellow, and should these talks work out,
A Star is Born will follow.
Reports have linked the likes of Beyonce and Will Smith to the long-gestating gig, and sources say Beyonce is still a contender along with Alicia Keyes and Rihanna. But instead of a little Fresh Prince, names circling the gig now include Jon Hamm and Robert Downey Jr. Who should take over the reigns from Babs and Kristofferson?
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