DeathAtAFuneral Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Discuss: Does Screen Gems Care Too Much About Black People?
Filed under: Drama », Thrillers », Casting », Sony »
Yesterday's New York Times featured a rather flattering profile on Screen Gems president Clinton Culpepper and how his Sony studio arm reliably turns a profit on its comedy and thriller titles. Despite Culpepper declining to be interviewed for the piece, it goes noted amidst "past and present associates" that the man has a preference for "the white comedy, done black," a supposed genre brought up with regards to Chris Rock's forthcoming remake of Death at a Funeral with an all African-American cast.The minority-cast likes of You Got Served, Stomp the Yard and This Christmas have certainly proven profitable for Screen Gems, but do any of you out there refuse to see Funeral or The Big Chill, and yet may fork money over if those films were done with a more superficially familiar ensemble? Or do you personally wish for more out of niche filmmaking meant to appeal to the African-American audience than the wacky antics of Martin Lawrence and Madea?
And with regards to this Friday's Obsessed, is there a double standard with regards to a white woman (Ali Larter) interfering with the happiness of a black couple (Idris Elba and Beyonce Knowles)? If the roles were reversed (and if the alleged working title of Oh No She Didn't were kept instead), would everyone be up in arms about stereotyping and such? On the flip side, would anyone argue that having a white villainess is maybe being too politically correct? Let us know.
Tracy Morgan and Martin Lawrence Join 'Death at a Funeral' Remake
Filed under: Comedy », Gay & Lesbian », Casting », MGM », Scripts », Newsstand », Remakes and Sequels »
Back in January, we all recoiled a little bit at the news that Neil LaBute was remaking Death at a Funeral -- a nice little British movie that only just came out in 2007, making a remake seem even more superfluous than they usually are. The fact that he was making it with Chris Rock made the whole thing seem even more cheesy. (Not that we don't like Rock ... it's just that we like him in original, edgy stuff.)Well, the remake just got a lot more over the top. The Hollywood Reporter has announced that Martin Lawrence and Tracy Morgan have joined, along with Loretta Devine, Ron Glass, Danny Glover, Regina Hall, James Marsden, Zoe Saldana and Columbus Short. (Who wants to bet money that Marsden is the gay lover? Anyone? Anyone?)
It's keeping the exact same plot of misplaced cadavers, gay blackmail, hallucinogenic drugs, and family secrets, though Rock cowrote the script with Ayesha Carr, so we can expect some changes. It's just not clear yet what they might be ... but at least it probably won't involve bear suits or misogyny. I'm still not convinced this needed to be remade, but I suppose if you're going to do one, it ought to feature Danny Glover. Let's just hope Tyler Perry stays a million miles away from the set.
ETA: Yes, the title originally read Tracy Jordan. I watch way too much 30 Rock.
Neil LaBute to Remake 'Death at a Funeral'
Filed under: Comedy », Casting », Deals », Remakes and Sequels »
An American remake of Death at a Funeral might be a new low. Consider: this would be a remake of an English-language film, two years after it received a considerable Stateside release. (I mean, I saw it in my local suburban multiplex at the time.) At least Nine Queens (which quickly became Criminal) and Funny Games were in a foreign language and barely saw the light of day here.At least the remake of the quintessentially British farce may not turn out to be the anodyne Hollywood studio comedy you might otherwise expect. It'll be directed by Neil LaBute, who, with the bizarre exception of the Gwyneth Paltrow snoozer Possession, at least consistently makes interesting films. (And yes, I'll defend his Wicker Man redo if called upon.) On the other hand, I have no idea what to make of the fact that the remake is going to star Chris Rock. I can't really think of a more jarring replacement for the amiably goofy Matthew MacFadyen.
LaBute seems to have gotten back into at least some critics' good graces with last year's Lakeview Terrace, which (not for the first time) wrapped the writer-director's trademark edginess in a genre film cloak. It seems a shame to stuff a whopping hunk of subtext into something as droll as Death at a Funeral but it probably won't be boring. On the other hand, the remake will be written by Rock, not LaBute, and if Rock's previous screenplays are any indication, maybe it will be boring.
Variety reports that LaBute has also signed on to direct a rom-com called Here Comes the Sun, but we don't have any details about that one.
Casting Bites: Chris Rock, Lauren Hutton, and More
Filed under: Comedy », Casting »
If you've seen Death at a Funeral, I'm sure you were thinking: Forget Ewen Bremner, Alan Tudyk, and the rest of them! I want an urbanized remake of Chris Rock! If you did, you should be overjoyed to learn that The Hollywood Reporter has posted that Rock is producing, starring, and co-writing (with Aeysha Carr) an "urban reworking" of the comedy. It's supposed to be "a hysterical, completely new reimagining" of the original, but while words like "hysterical" and "urban" are perfectly good for a film, I'm getting Guess Who twitches. But man, I'd love to be wrong.Meanwhile, after taking an almost decade-long hiatus from the big screen, Variety reports that Lauren Hutton has signed on for David Duchovny's The Joneses, along with Glenne Headly and Gary Cole. The movie is just like you'd assume it to be -- what life is really like for "The Joneses" -- that infamous family we all have to keep up with. They look all perfect with their trend-setting, but behind the surface ... hopefully the skeletons aren't of the sexual dysfunction theme.
And Kali Hawk, who last appeared in Lovers & Haters, has picked up a spot on the Couples Retreat.
And Brianne Davis, fresh off of Prom Night, has nabbed a lead in an indie called American Virgin, alongside Rob Schneider and Jenna Dewan.
Indies on DVD: 'Death at a Funeral,' 'Goya's Ghosts,' 'Silk,' 'Slipstream'
Filed under: Comedy », Drama », Independent », MGM », New on DVD », Home Entertainment », Cinematical Indie »
My indie pick of the week is Wes Anderson's The Darjeeling Limited; which our own Monika Bartyzel has already reviewed elsewhere. My next pick is a film that Cinematical's Scott Weinberg recommended: Death at a Funeral. The title may be misleading: it's a comedy directed by Frank Oz (Little Shop of Horrors, What About Bob?) and Scott described it as "a very broad, very British and very funny farce ... that will definitely appeal to people over the age of 30." MGM's DVD includes an audio commentary by Mr. Oz, another by screenwriter Dean Craig and actors Alan Tudyk and Andy Nyman, and a gag reel.New Oscar winner Javier Bardem also starred in last year's Goya's Ghosts, a bio-pic directed by Milos Forman; Ryan Stewart wrote: "It just comes across as odd and indicative of a serious lack of directorial focus." He further stated: "If it were not the work of a major director, it's hard to imagine why anyone would suffer the mental agitation of trying to figure out how its various pieces fit together ..." Ryan explained his disappointment very well, but if you're a glutton for punishment -- or a huge, huge fan of Bardem and co-star Natalie Portman -- you might decide to rent the DVD from Samuel Goldwyn, which includes a behind-the-scenes featurette.
Indie Weekend Box Office: 'Cheese' Stands Alone
Filed under: Comedy », Documentary », Drama », Box Office », Cinematical Indie »
Industry attention is still focused on the Toronto festival, but most moviegoers just wanted something good to watch this weekend. Of the four new indie films released in limited engagements, Jeff Garlin's I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With topped the chart, earning $14,000 at its single screen, according to estimates by Box Office Mojo. Garlin is best known for his role as Larry David's long-suffering manager in the HBO improv series Curb Your Enthusiasm (which returned for a new season Sunday night). Karina Longworth interviewed him at Tribeca last year. He wrote, directed and stars in Cheese, "based on his one-man show on being a fat, gig-less, and lonely actor in search of someone to love," according to Ella Taylor's review in Village Voice. The film scored an 80% approval rating at Rotten Tomatoes. The other three new releases were not far behind, each averaging about $10,000 per screen. Again taking a look at the Rotten Tomatoes approval ratings, In the Shadow of the Moon did best, at 91% positive (Cinematical's James Rocchi liked it too), with The Hunting Party and Fierce People trailing badly, at 41% and 33% positive, respectively. Shadow of the Moon is a doc about the surviving NASA astronauts, Hunting Pary features Richard Gere and Terence Howard as TV journalists chasing stories in war zones and Fierce People is Griffin Dunne's coming of age story, with Diane Lane and Donald Sutherland.
Among holdovers, Death at a Funeral ($2,183 average on 316 screens in its fourth week) and The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters ($1,717 per screen at 39 locations, also in its fourth week) continued to perform nicely. But everyone's favorite underdog, musical drama Once, is the real indie star of the summer. In its 17th week, Once made $1,595 per screen at 141 locations. Go, Once!
Review: Death at a Funeral
Filed under: Comedy », MGM », Theatrical Reviews »
It's not just because he provided the
After honing his directorial skills on The Dark Crystal and The Muppets Take Manhattan, Mr. Oz probably got the Little Shop of Horrors gig just because of his vast experience with complicated puppetry. Who knew the guy would deliver one of the slickest, silliest and most entertaining musical comedies ... maybe ever? Three more very solid comedies would follow -- Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, What About Bob? and Housesitter -- before Frank tackled family fare once more with The Indian in the Cupboard. Then he delivered Bowfinger, The Score and The Stepford Wives. After that last effort the man was primed for some redemption.
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