ZackAndMiriMakeAPorno Tagged Articles at Cinematical

I just came across the new poster for Whatever Works on IMP Awards (check it by clicking the image below), and beyond the too-perfect Larry David pose, I'm struck by the utter lack of Woody Allen on the thing. Beyond the billing block and maybe an especially sharp sense of font, how would anyone know that this was the latest film from the guy who made Annie Hall and Manhattan?

It was the same thing with Vicky Cristina Barcelona, and I'm wondering if potentially interested people would find themselves turned off upon finding out just whose movie they've been lured into. It's the same sense of un-branding (non-branding? anti-branding?) that kept most passersby from realizing that Zack and Miri Make a Porno was a Kevin Smith joint, and really, if you're already past that title, is his presence in the trailers and posters going to keep you away?

If anything, might the name recognition lure a couple of more people to either film (not that Larry David fans probably aren't already fans of Woody Allen, and not that Kevin Smith films probably already know which new movie is his)? Have you ever been sold on a movie until you got a glimpse of the name at the helm? When? Where? Why?

So maybe I was a little late to the party, but over the weekend I finally caught a screening of Observe and Report and as I wandered from the theater in a misanthropic haze, I began to wonder: Just how funny is Seth Rogen? Being hailed "the new hero of comedy" is a lot of pressure for anyone -- and don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I don't like the guy; I know he's a great writer and a whiz at improv, but after getting a load of the darker side of Rogen's range as Ronnie Barnhardt I was kind of happy to see that maybe he wasn't the soft and fuzzy stoner (not to mention one-note wonder) that Hollywood would like us to believe.

Think back to 1999 when Rogen made his acting debut in Judd Apatow's Freaks and Geeks as the acid tongued 'freak', Ken Miller; it was a role that was perfect for Rogen's sarcastic laid back style, and he's been doing a variation of it ever since. Whether it was Cal from 40 Year Old Virgin, Ben in Knocked Up, or Zack Brown in Zack and Miri Make a Porno, each character wasn't necessarily someone you wanted to bring home to Mom, but they charmed audiences nonetheless. Sure they were all kind of jerks, but they were all loveable jerks, and more importantly they were relatively 'toothless' when it came to their bad behavior -- compared to Ronnie, Officer Michaels was practically a choirboy.

If nothing else I guess you can never say that Kevin Smith doesn't learn from his past. Just a couple of days after Erik brought us the news that Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan were rumored to be starring in Smith's action comedy, A Couple of Dicks, Variety has confirmed that Willis and Morgan are on board, but there's been a slight change. The film has now been given the much more 'billboard friendly' title of A Couple of Cops (doesn't exactly have the same ring to it, now does it?). I mean, we're all adults here, has it really gotten to the point where even a pun as vanilla as a variation on 'Private Dicks' is too much for audiences?

I would've thought after all of the MPAA's prudishness over Zack and Miri Make a Porno that Smith would surely be headed for another battle royale. Remember, last summer, there were fights over Zack and Miri posters, the title, and even the film itself. Heck, there was even trouble when it came out on DVD thanks to the family-minded folks at Wal-Mart. But I guess Smith (and Warner Bros., for that matter) isn't interested in another fight with theater owners or enraged special interest groups, and this time he's just going to go with the flow (or maybe this time he's just a little tired of tilting at windmills). But, it shouldn't come as too much of a surprise if you consider the fact that he's making a lot of changes in his career lately. Not only is he directing someone else's script, but he's working with a major studio and his longstanding relationship with The Weinstein Co. seems to be a little on the rocks.

Zack and Miri Make a Porno
Kevin Smith has finally broken out of the Jay and Silent Bob circle and made a romantic comedy that didn't crumble like Jersey Girl. It's cuter than Clerks 2, but thrives on brief, scene-stealing moments from high-school reunion cameos and Jason Mewes. Rent it on DVD or Blu-ray.

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
Most of our beloved teen fare comes when music is mixed with turmoil-filled romance and adventure, and Infinite Playlist is no exception. In fact, it hits a lot of different themes all in one -- the gross-out factor from flicks like American Pie, the quirky music loving of Empire Records, ex meddling like Some Kind of Wonderful, and a rather refreshing attitude towards sexuality. Buy it on DVD or Blu-ray.

The Secret Life of Bees
A film that joins Dakota Fanning, Jennifer Hudson, Queen Latifah, Sophie Okonedo, and Alicia Keys, Kim Voynar said Bees is "a sweet, mostly charming coming-of-age tale that, while it doesn't particularly break any new ground with regards to the filmmaking, does an able enough job of adapting a bestselling book of the 'women's bookclub' variety for the screen." Rent it, if you like that sort of thing, on DVD or Blu-ray.

Also out: Space Buddies and Private Valentine: Blonde & Dangerous

Zack and Miri Make a Movie
Zack and Miri Make a Wholesome Film About Furthering the Population
Zack and Miri Make a Naughty Movie

None of those have the same ring as Zack and Miri Make a Porno, do they? Since the film has come, lathered the world in posters and buzz, and faded away, you'd think the title brou-ha-ha would be over now. Not so fast. Since Kevin Smith's latest is about to hit DVD shelves on February 3, a new controversy is brewing.

Canoe reports that Wal-Mart is getting all nervous-like abut the title. Smith says that they want him to remove the word from the cover of the DVD, and he has complied with the request. (Hey, times are rough, a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do.) But as he so rightly worries: What happens when one of the unsuspecting few buy it and then get the rude awakening of a movie alllll about sex and porn? As Smith told Erik last year: "By calling it Zack and Miri Make a Porno, you're drawing a line in the sand that kinda says, anyone who's remotely interested in a movie like that with that title, come on in. If you're offended by the word porno, stay the f*ck away. This ain't for you."

I do hope that some unsuspecting people buy it, see it, and get ticked off. It's ridiculous to say that the film is okay for the shelves, but only if the title is changed -- who cares if it misleads people? I'd think that they'd rather have the random few brassed off about the title, than customers buy it thinking it's a wholesome romance and then getting a rude awakening. Can you imagine if they made it all the way to Mewes' final scene?

This next bit slides into the realm of TV Squad, but has enough cine cred to make it worthy: Variety reports that Seth Rogen isn't done with the world of pornography yet. After shacking up with Kevin Smith for Zack and Miri Make a Porno, Rogen got inspired -- he is cooking up a porno-based comedy for Showtime with production partner Evan Goldberg.

Rather than delving into the woes of making rent, Rogen and Goldberg are developing a story about "three twentysomethings who learn about life and love while running a pornography shop." Oh, the romance of pornography -- flower and handholding on the backdrop of blowup dolls and mastubatory aids.

There's no word on when this could possibly get made, or who would star. All we know is that Rogen and Goldberg will act as executive producers. Seeing that Showtime also has Secret Diary of a Call Girl, I hope that the comedy will be balanced with smarts and modernity, rather than tired retreads of porn cliches, but we'll have to wait and see.

Are you ready for more widespread porno?

I'm not exactly sure where IMP Awards dug up this alternate poster for Kevin Smith's Zack and Miri Make a Porno, but for my money, it's an equally creative and eye-catching way to sell the stars compared to the current stick-figures-and-'Porno'-free campaign ... a campaign which, it should be said, hasn't stopped the flick from grossing $20 million by this past weekend, which is about on par with most of Smith's recent work and (again) not bad for an advertising angle that didn't push either his name or the faces of leads Elizabeth Banks and Seth Rogen.

Besides, I really don't think the bright colors and cute animals would have led anyone to believe that the (admittedly sweet) Zack and Miri falls in line with, say, Happy-Go-Lucky, but we'll honestly never know if swapping colors for controversy would've had the same effect. (Hey, I still think that the Canadian poster would've done just fine.)

Check out this new (cutesy?) poster after the jump ...

If you woke up this Saturday and looked at the box office returns from Friday, you probably noticed something strange. Saw V was cheerfully occupying the top spot despite having slid a whopping 78% from the previous Friday. Last weekend's winner, High School Musical 3, was sitting at number five with $1.7 million, a 90% drop. Ninety percent? What the hell is going on here?

Then you probably thought about it for a second and palm-smacked your forehead. Friday, of course, was October 31st, which meant that virtually all of HSM's target audience was out trick-or-treating. Some comparatively smaller percentage of Saw fans was out partying, or whatever it is the kids are doing these days. HSM recovered admirably, leapfrogging back into first, but Halloween still hurt: that 65% drop isn't great for a kidflick, though it's more in line with the pattern of eagerly awaited franchise sequels. We'll see what happens next week.

As for Saw V, it's currently running about $5 million behind its immediate predecessor, although the Halloween Friday took its toll here too -- it's probably fair to call them even at this point. Even if Saw V continues the franchise's declining trend, it's still a cash cow. My guess is we'll see a couple more theatrical sequels, and then infinite direct-to-DVD entries. Jigsaw will never die.

There were some newcomers. Zack and Miri Make a Porno's $10.7 million take was roughly in line with Kevin Smith's best showings; only 2001's Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back fared better, and barely at that. (It's probably worth noting that this is also by far the worst opening for a film starring Seth Rogen.) Changeling respectably, if unspectacularly, expanded to 1,850 screens, landing in fourth with $9.4 million. That would be more auspicious if the film were expected to be an awards player, but that doesn't seem to be the case. The Haunting of Molly Hartley, a horror offering for the tween set, actually managed an okay $6 million -- not bad when you don't even have a real distributor.

The full estimates after the jump.

What does Zack and Miri Make a Porno get right, and wrong, about the world of adult films? What do adult films get right, and wrong, about sex? Why are most Hollywoood films so very, very un-sexy? What's the MPAA's problem with sex? And, with it being Halloween, what does this week's guest Violet Blue -- author, San Francisco Chronicle sex columnist and horror fan -- find scary about Ils, Dead and Breakfast and Daughters of Darkness? You can listen to the podcast here at Cinematical by clicking below:



As ever, you can download the entire podcast right here -- and those of you with RSS Podcast readers can find all of Cinematical's podcast content at this link.

It's Halloween weekend, and while you can certainly take in a new spooky flick (The Haunting of Molly Hartley) or two (Saw V), it seems the weekend's biggest film is a comedy. Kevin Smith's hilariously raunchy Zack and Miri Make a Porno finally arrives on the big screen today, for those who'd rather spend this ghoulish holiday laughing at two fools from Pittsburgh who desperately try to create a DIY porno for money to pay the bills. I've seen the film and if you dig a lot of potty mouth in your comedy, then you won't walk away disappointed.

You're on your own for the other two, though word is RockNRolla is very similar to Guy Ritchie's other Brit gangster flicks, only the faces in the cast have changed. Look for several badass characters with and without accents all vying for some sort of whatever that's worth a lot of money. I'm sure it's entertaining, if you don't mind Ritchie's repetitiveness. I know nothing of The Haunting of Molly Hartley, except that practically no one has seen it (typical for a Hollywood horror film). That said, it probably brings the creep factor and if you're itching for some spoonfuls of spooky on Halloween, this might be the way to go.

Of course, if you live in and around New York City, I will instead urge you to go see my favorite documentary of the year (which goes into limited release today), Dear Zachary, which is currently sporting a whopping 100% at Rotten Tomatoes. Yay!

So, what will you be watching?



Note: We've left off the Changeling, "all of the above" or "none of the above" options, so feel free to write those in the comments if that's your choice.