EugeneLevy Tagged Articles at Cinematical
'American Pie' Keeps On Going With the Trailer for 'The Book of Love'
Filed under: Comedy », Universal », Remakes and Sequels », Trailers and Clips »
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I know the demographic who watches all of the American Pie Presents films is quite narrow, but when I came across the trailer for American Pie Presents: The Book of Love, I had to step back and give them a bit of a golf clap. Who would have ever thought that a little high school sex comedy from 1999 would go on to spawn two theatrical sequels and four straight-to-video titles? Were there any among us who saw Jason Biggs get intimate with an apple pie and thought, "My God, there needs to be seven of these movies"?Yet here we are with the trailer for The Book of Love, the seventh entrant to the canon of Pie. And in case you're not a die hard fan of the last three films, they were a trip to Band Camp, a lap running The Naked Mile, and a Beta House whose crowning accomplishment was playing a game of rugby against some aggressive midgets. While the makers of those all found various tie-ins to the original films, mainly through the lineage of Stiffler, the biggest thread tying the franchise together has been Eugene Levy, and Book of Love shows no intention of letting him out of his seemingly eternal contract as Jim's Dad.
This time around, the male populace of East Great Falls High have once again stumbled upon the Bible hidden in the school's library, which you'll recall is the sex guide Casey Affleck gifted to the gentlemen of the first film. Only the book gets ruined in a freak accident, causing the amorous youngsters to track down the Bible's original creator in an attempt to recreate all of the sexual secrets contained therein.
Note: as should be expected from a sex comedy, the following trailer is not work place friendly:
Review: Astro Boy
Filed under: Action », Animation », Comedy », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Theatrical Reviews », Family Films », Comic/Superhero/Geek »
A feature-length adaptation of the classic Japanese manga, Astro Boy now comes equipped with a recycling message, both in its story and with its screenplay. Parts feel pieced together here and there from other, better, sometimes darker films, aligning the film itself less with our young protagonist and his knack for salvaging old robots and more with the villain's ability to simply assimilate other devices until it becomes one ungainly mass. That said, there's plenty of color and spunk to keep the kids interested; they'll just have to wade through some atonal waters in order to get to the fun.
'Taking Woodstock': An Ang Lee Comedy?
Filed under: Comedy », Focus Features », Trailers and Clips »
When I last posted about Ang Lee's Taking Woodstock, I called it a "gay-themed project" and speculated that the film might be about how the main character's involvement in Woodstock "served as redemption for giving up his own artistic ambitions and living most of his life in the closet." Now that I've seen the trailer, which you can watch below, that pompous description seems laughably wrong-headed. This won't just be "lighter" than much of Lee's previous work, as I also wrote; it's a full-on slapstick comedy, complete with a classic underdog storyline, and showdowns between hippies and uptight old fogeys.Mainstream comedies tend to be under-directed. Even the Team Apatow films, while generally outstanding, don't exactly distinguish themselves formally or stylistically. But Lee is so damn deliberate and meticulous, with every shot and every cut calculated just so, that I'm really curious to see how he handles something this lightweight and apparently raucous. It certainly looks like a new Ang Lee mode; his last film that could be called a comedy was 1993's wistful Eat Drink Man Woman, and Woodstock seems to be worlds away from that film. Before that, Lee made a Taiwanese film called The Wedding Banquet that sounds like it might be closer, but I haven't seen it.
Anyway, I think Demetri Martin, who stars and introduces the trailer, is an extraordinarily funny guy (anyone seen his show on Comedy Central?), and how awesome is it to see someone other than Christopher Guest cast Eugene Levy in an actual movie as opposed to the latest direct-to-DVD American Pie "sequel"? This looks like fun; it's set to be released August 14th.
Teaser and Photo Premiere: 'Astro Boy'
Filed under: Action », Animation », Fandom », Family Films », Movie Marketing », Comic/Superhero/Geek », Images », Trailers and Clips »
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Click image to enlarge
Cinematical has been given an exclusive look at the first official still for Astro Boy (see above), while our very good looking cohorts over at Moviefone have just debuted the first teaser (see below or over on Moviefone in glorious HD). Based on the popular Japanese manga and television series, this computer-animated 3-D version of Astro Boy is being produced by those wizards over at Imagi Animation Studios, and stars the voices of Freddy Highmore, Kristen Bell, Nicolas Cage, Bill Nighy, Donald Sutherland, Nathan Lane and Eugene Levy.
From the synopsis: "Set in futuristic Metro City, Astro Boy is about a young robot with incredible powers. Powered by pure positive "blue" energy, Astro Boy (Freddie Highmore) is endowed with super strength, x-ray vision, unbelievable speed and the ability to fly-not to mention the purest spirit on the planet. Embarking on a journey across the planet to discover his powers, Astro Boy encounters a netherworld of robot gladiators and other comic characters, and learns the joys and emotions of being human. When he learns his friends and family are in danger, Astro Boy marshals all his awesome super powers and returns to Metro City, in a valiant effort to save everything he cares about and to embrace his place in the world."
Astro Boy will soar into theaters on October 23, 2009.
First Look: 'Night at the Museum 2'
Filed under: Comedy », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Fandom », Family Films », Movie Marketing », Remakes and Sequels », Images »
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In anticipation of what's sure to be the first trailer (or teaser) for Night at the Museum 2, USA Today has unloaded the first official batch of photos -- most of which show off a few of the new characters, a couple of returning characters and a cameo from Jonah Hill (who plays a security guard). Above, you'll see Ben Stiller, returning as the bumbling guard, and Bill Hader, who's playing General George Custer. Director Shawn Levy and Stiller both chat up the film, claiming it's definitely better than the first one. And with a cast that includes Robin Williams, Dick Van Dyke, Owen Wilson, Steve Coogan, Ricky Gervais (all of whom are returning), Christopher Guest, Hank Azaria, Craig Robinson, Ed Helms, Eugene Levy, Bill Hader and Amy Adams, you can't really go wrong.
In the sequel, Stiller's Larry Daley goes in search of his friends (and museum pieces) Octavius (Coogan) and Jedediah (Wilson) after they're mistakenly shipped to the Smithsonian in Washington, DC. On whether this will turn into a franchise for the studio, Levy says, "There are rumblings of another installment. We would love to take this premise (further). But even to say there's a likely third film is premature. We're not going to jinx things." We've included a few more images below, then feel free to hop on over to USA Today for the rest.
Night at the Museum 2 hits theaters on May 22.
'American Pie' Franchise Returning to Theaters?!
Filed under: Comedy », RumorMonger », Fandom », Remakes and Sequels »
With filthy, foul-mouthed R-rated comedy making a huge comeback (thanks, in part, to the success of Judd Apatow's films) coupled with the fact that the original cast of American Pie aren't exactly A-listin' it up on the big screen lately -- well, it doesn't take a brainiac to imagine some folks might want to revive the popular teen sex comedy franchise and stick a new one in theaters. Seeing as the direct-to-DVD installments featuring Eugene Levy all did well for Universal, now might be the perfect time to reunite this cast -- all of whom could probably use the extra paycheck (ahem, we're looking at you Tara Reid).
According to Moviehole, that's exactly what Universal is looking to do. Though no one has officially joined the cast (I think it's easy to say Eugene Levy would do it for a credit and a gift certificate to the Olive Garden), but the site claims things are inching along and an announcement could be made soon-ish. One imagines any sort of theatrical sequel would revolve around the married lives of Jim (Jason Biggs) and Michelle (Alyson Hannigan), and perhaps they'll tap in to the recent big-screen pregnancy boom and churn out something like American Baby ... or whatever.
What do you think? Is there room for another big-screen American Pie film? Would you see it?
'Taking Woodstock' Gears Up for Production & Finalizes Cast
Filed under: Drama », Music & Musicals », Casting »
When Demetri Martin joined the cast of Taking Woodstock, it was set to begin production in late August. In a nice change of pace, the movie is still on schedule, and will begin shooting at the end of the month, SAG strike be damned. But that isn't the only reason to anticipate Ang Lee's project. Variety reports the ensemble cast has been set, and it's insanely good. Get ready for a film that includes the likes of Emile Hirsch, Imelda Staunton, Liev Schreiber, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Eugene Levy, Paul Dano, Zoe Kazan, Dan Fogler, Mamie Gummer, Henry Goodman, and Jonathan Groff. Martin stars in the memoir adaptation as Elliot Tiber, a closeted gay man and aspiring interior designer who gives up his Big Apple dreams to run the family business in a Catskills motel. In 1969, he offered the hotel as home base for Woodstock organizers while his neighbor Max Yasgur (Levy) offered his farm. Staunton and Goodman play Tiber's parents, Groff will be festival organizer Michael Lang, Hirsch will play a Vietnam vet just back on American soil, Schreiber is in talks to play a transvestite named Vilma, Morgan will be a closeted married man having an affair with Tiber, Dano and Kazan play a hippy couple going to the concert, Fogler will be the head of a local theater troupe, and Gummer will take on the role of Lang's assistant.
I have a feeling this will be so very, very good.
David Fincher Chases 'Heavy Metal'
Filed under: Animation », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Deals », Paramount », Remakes and Sequels »
Funny story, actually: growing up, my dad would always take me to the movies, and sometimes he just wasn't all that concerned about those pesky MPAA ratings. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad he did. I got to see a lot of great movies. But it is also why I saw Heavy Metal at the tender age of six. My dad saw the voice cast of John Candy, Eugene Levy and Harold Ramis and thought it couldn't be that bad ... but boy was he wrong. So you can imagine my amusement when Variety announced that David Fincher is going to head a film 'inspired' by the cult classic.The original was released back in 1981 and was based on sci-fi and fantasy stories that were published in Heavy Metal magazine over the years. First published in the US in 1977, Metal was known for its over the top sex and violence. The update will definitely follow in the footsteps of the original film (and avoid the pitfalls of the 'sequel' in 2000), and will be an R rated animated film consisting of about eight or nine segments.
Fincher will only direct one of the segments in the film. Other segments will be helmed by Kevin Eastman (co-creator of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) and Tim Miller. Miller's Blur Studios will also handle the animation for the film. Fincher, Eastman and Miller will produce with Paramount, and the rest of the directors are expected to be signed soon. So what do you think about an update? Can Fincher pull this off? Or are images of chicks riding polar bears with flaming swords best left to van art?
The View from Abroad: Screen Daily in 60 Seconds
Filed under: Drama », Independent », Distribution », Newsstand », Cinematical Indie »
Notable among American films debuting in foreign territories this
weekend are The
Pink Panther, bowing on hundreds of screen across France, Germany, and Australia, and The
Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, which is moving on to China after a tremendously successful release in Japan.
Poor Tristan
Isolde, meanwhile, will stagger into Spain and New Zealand, hoping that somewhere on earth, people won't
have heard how bad it is.
- Catalina Sandino Moreno, an Oscar nominee for Maria Full of Grace, will lead an multi-national cast in The Heart Of The Earth, a Spanish-UK-Portugal co-production set to begin shooting in Spain and Portugal later this month. The story is yet another of those inspired-by-real-events, this one about an uprising at a British-owned silver mine in 18th century Spain. Among Moreno's costars will be Brits Sienna Guillory and Hugh Dancy, as well as Cuba's Jorge Perugorría.
- One of the increasingly rare children's book adaptation not being done by Walden Media is Aussie Unjoo Moon's version of The Wicked, Wicked Ladies In The Haunted House. Written by Pulitzer-winner Mary Close, the book, aimed at a grade-school audience, is "a suspenseful ghost story cum mystery in moody, atmospheric prose that blends dark magic and a dry wit occasionally reminiscent of Roald Dahl." Moon hopes that the film will be shot by Oscar winning Memoirs of a Geisha lensman Dion Beebe, to whom she happens to be married.
- Canada's own Walk of Fame is exploding with stars: it was announced recently that Pamela
Anderson, Brendan
Fraser, Eugene
Levy and Robert
Goulet are 2006's honorees, and will be inducted at a June ceremony. Surely Eugene Levey never imagined he's be
lucky enough to one day share a stage with both Pam Anderson AND Robert Goulet.
From Band Camp Straight To DVD
Filed under: DIY/Filmmaking », FanFilms », Home Entertainment »
So, this one time at band camp, I overheard news of a direct to DVD version of American Pie 4 and immediately wanted to take the filmmakers hostage to demand a reason why. In an attempt to drain whatever miniscule amount of funny is left out of a series that dried up a long time ago, American Pie: Band Camp will march straight onto shelves next month. However, most of the stars from the original three have jumped ship leaving only Eugene Levy and Chris (Sherminator) Owen left to piece together what's sure to be a major disappointment. As you can imagine from the title, this one uses the memorable band camp as a backdrop and revolves around the various antics Stifler's younger brother finds himself in after being forced to attend due to bad behavior. I'd expect there to be tons of meaningless co-ed nudity mixed with several different perverse ways of using a musical instrument. For those of you interested, Moviehole has the scoop on some of the DVD extras; as if watching the movie isn't enough torture for one night.
Peter Jackson Says Spielberg's 'Tintin' is Done Filming, but...
Interracial Harmony: 'Ninja Assassin' vs. 'Blind Side'
Spin-ematical: New on DVD for 11/24_thumbnail.jpg)
Exclusive 'Nine' Poster Premiere!
Exclusive: Title Track for 'The Road' Soundtrack
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