Prestige Tagged Articles at Cinematical

The Academy has shortlisted another seven finalists for one of its award categories, and at least one movie on the list was a surprise to me. Click, which is considered by many critics to be one of the worst movies of 2006 (though is popular with "the people"), has been recognized for its achievement in makeup, and depending on how the Academy's makeup branch votes on January 20, it could even garner an Oscar nomination.

Of course, a lot of bad movies are nominated for Oscars, particularly in specific artistic and technical categories like Best Makeup, but typically with this category the nominations are obvious. 2000 winner How the Grinch Stole Christmas, for example, is perfectly apparent as having distinguishable makeup, if little else of worth. What does Click have in the way of significant makeup? Well, there is some special aging makeup -- designed by the master, Rick Baker, no less -- but does anybody, including the voting makeup professionals, really pay attention to aging makeup anymore? As I think should be the case with any Oscar category, the award should honor outstanding, innovative, monumental and pioneering work. Nothing less.

Geek news culled from the great harvest of the internet while I was watching Angry Beavers reruns:

• It just wouldn't be a Geek Bytes without some new eye candy from 300, now would it? Okay, maybe it would, but it wouldn't be a good Geek Bytes. Swing by CanMag for a new 300 video journal showcasing some of the creatures which will appear in the film. As always, be warned: viewing the material will only make you more hungry for the full film.
• Speaking of movies we love to talk about, Sci Fi Wire has a new chat with director Chris Nolan in which he breaks down the structure of The Prestige. As always, Nolan is entertaining and instructive.
• Still at Sci Fi Wire, Henry Czerny says his new horror/comedy Fido is "the thinking man's zombie movie." I only point this out because there seems to be an irony there, what with zombies loving to eat brains and all. Zombies would feast on the thinking men who watch this film.
• Looking for some classic Transformers action? Dig the 20th anniversary DVD website, where they're offering some new downloads. (via Comics2Film)
• For those of you who share Cinematical's love of all things Muppet, you may want to know they've released a new CD of Christmas music this week. Yeah, yeah, it is way to early for Christmas ... but it features new music from Rowlf the Dog and Doctor Teeth and the Electric Mayhem -- characters who have been sadly silent since the passing of Jim Henson. Familiar muppeteer Bill Barretta has worked long and hard on the voices, so it oughta be interesting to hear what he has to say.

Geek news I stumbled across while cursing the inept Pittsburgh Pirates management for passing up on Jim Leyland this past off-season:

• Remember that enormous blue Optimus Prime head? There are new pictures of it. It is still large and blue ... and that's really about all. But if you're interested, you can have another look. After all, what would a day be without some news from the Transformers camp?
• Check out KryptonSite for a nifty look at "the many faces of Jimmy Olsen." You can see all the actors who have portrayed Superman's pal on film over the years.
• Remember, remember, the 31st of October ... Specs on V For Vendetta HD, hitting shelves the end of this month!
• Sci Fi Wire: Presenting Ed Speleer, savior of cinema!
• IGN Filmforce gives you a look at the other Chris Nolan/Christian Bale/Michael Caine team up flick, The Prestige. If any of you out there are not excited for this movie, I simply do not understand your existence.
  
• Hellboy animated movie? Yes, please! Check out Comics Continuum for a passel of stills from the production. I love Hellboy in any and all media, and this looks to be no exception.
  

Bits and pieces for a lovely Tuesday:

• Another Sundance success, Patricia Foulkrod's The Ground Truth: After the Killing Ends, has scored a theatrical run, this one thanks to Focus Features. Foulkrod's film examines the lives of six soldiers fighting in Iraq, from "recruitment and training" through "their experiences in combat, coming home and struggling to reintegrate into society." It sounds profoundly depressing, and is expected to hit theaters this fall.

• If Jessica Simpson really is in the running for all the roles we've been hearing about lately, she's got an awfully busy couple of years ahead of her. And today, there's another one -- according to an interview Simpson recently gave MTV, she's had meetings with Sony personnel about playing Lucy Ewing in the Dallas movie. If that idea frightens you, consider this: Lindsay Lohan is also interested in the part, so it's really a question choosing the lesser of two evils.

• Thanks to New Line, yet another magician movie -- that's three, if you're counting -- is now in the works: the studio has picked up the rights to a spec script called Burt Dickenson: The Most Powerful Magician on Planet Earth. Taking a page from The Prestige, this one is also about rival magicians, only they're in modern-day Vegas rather than Victorian England, and one of their partners dies early-on, leaving his ex to "find a way to rediscover his love for magic." And it's a hilarious comedy. Actually, apart from the magicians, it's not like The Prestige at all.
  

• The Weinstein Company has acquired the English-speaking-territories distribution rights (whew) for Wilson Yip's Chinese-language martial arts thriller, Dragon Tiger Gate. Based on a comic book, the movie "follows three young Chinese martial arts masters who emerge from the back streets of Hong Kong to help the powerless fight injustice" and stars the outrageously pretty Nicholas Tse, among others. While this chance to see the film on a big screen normally would be great news for American lovers of Asian film, given the TWC Promise debacle, God only knows what's going to happen with this one.