In a new, in-depth interview with British magazine Sight & Sound, Quentin Tarantino, who I had the pleasure of meeting at this year's Sundance, goes into all his upcoming and most of his past projects, and gives a detailed update on exactly where he is with his next feature, a war movie called Inglorious Bastards. "I've got tons of material and a lot of stuff written but now I've figured out what to do, I gotta start from page one, square one," Tarantino says, seemingly putting to rest any notion that this thing will be going before the cameras in the next year or so. "I started just before I came on this trip and brought the stuff with me but I haven't had a chance to continue yet. But maybe on the flight back home I'll come back into it. I love writing in other countries." No further details about the plot or potential casting is given, just that quasi-confirmation that the film is in his cross-hairs at the moment.

Tarantino also talks at length about Grindhouse, admitting to being depressed and disappointed over how the film was received at the box office, but defending his longer, original cut of Death Proof as the definitive one and arguing that it stands on its own quite well. Tarantino also talks about the process of getting involved with the double feature in the first place, and reveals that he first wanted his contribution to be a Candyman-style horror film about the ghost of a slave that terrifies a group of white girls. "The first idea was a bunch of young college history students that were going through a tour of the plantations of the old South. And there's a ghost of an old slave that is part of negro folklore. Jody the Grinder actually went down and bested the devil, by f**king him. And so the devil put him on earth for all eternity to f**k white women."

So why didn't this idea make the cut? "I would probably have had Sam Jackson playing that part," Tarantino continues," and it was really good, but then I didn't have anywhere to go with it, because if you have a story about a killer slave with supermacho powers done in the style of a slasher film, then even if he's doing it today, and even if the white girls are innocent, how can you not be on the slave's side?" Tarantino goes into many other areas in the interview, talking about his writing process, the books he's reading, the British movies he'd like to make one day, and even his plans for eventual retirement.

I loved Grindhouse. Well, I loved Planet Terror, loved the ads, and liked Death Proof. But I loved, loved, loved the Machete trailer. Being a huge fan of Danny Trejo, Machete gave me just what I wanted -- a silly movie focused on someone I love watching. Of course, after Grindhouse came out, there were tons of rumors about Machete getting his own feature film. Some believed it. Some didn't. I just hoped.

The other day, The Movie Blog threw up the poster to the right, which you can see on their site in all of its full-sized glory. Is this really an official poster for Machete? Is it really on its way? Was a script completed before the strike? I would hope that "yes," is the answer to all of those, but I'm trying to reign in my excitement for now.

In the meantime, we can fangirl and fanboy away. What do you think of the poster? Me, I like it, but it would lose a lot of its charm if its grainy artwork was shown on a shiny, slick new poster. My thought: keep it as-is, but send it to all theaters folded where the folds are, and printed without gloss. That would be sweet, but not as sweet as the decent man who was living a decent life, but now he is a brutal savage who must slaughter to stay alive!

I do love a good trailer. I'm one of those people who gets to the theater in plenty of time for the previews, and if I see a movie that has one or fewer trailers playing with it I feel gypped. It's as much part of the experience as overpriced popcorn and ill-timed cell phone usage. Man, did I see a lot of trailers this year. 2007 was my first full year of doing the Trailer Park feature here on Cinematical and the experience has strengthened my appreciation for the form. I'm not placing these in any particular order, but here are ten trailers that really got my attention this year. Some of the movies I've seen, some I haven't, some have yet to be released, but all (in my humble opinion) do an exceptional job of selling the film. My choices, of course, are purely subjective and will undoubtedly conflict with yours, so please add a comment and let us know what your favorite trailers of 2007 were.


Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (teaser)
This one may have dropped in late 2006, but I''m including it here for two reasons: I mentioned it in a Trailer Park last January and it kicked serious ass. Sure, the full length trailer had a little more meat on its bones, but it's the teaser trailer for the Fantastic Four sequel that had people talking, myself included. The wedding of Mr. Fantastic to The Invisible Woman (a pivotal moment from the early Lee and Kirby issues of the Fantastic Four comic) is interrupted by the arrival of The Silver Surfer. The Human Torch gives chase across the skies and through the tunnels of New York. One of the first movie's biggest problems was that the Torch wasn't able to fully exercise his powers until near the end of the film, but this time we get it up front in the trailer.

Cloverfield (teaser)
No one knew what to expect when this trailer showed up with Transformers last summer, but it has since inspired all kinds of speculation as to what this movie is all about. A hand-held home video of a farewell party in New York City is interrupted by a power failure. A massive roar can be heard off in the distance and a gigantic fireball engulfs a large chunk of the city. Huge pieces of shrapnel fly everywhere, including a large chunk of metal that turns out to be the Statue of Liberty's head. This is one of those trailers that is so good you find yourself saying, "the hell with that movie I just paid to see, I want to see this one right now." To further tantalize audiences, producer J.J. Abrams and company didn't even tell anyone what the title was at first. The full length trailer that followed added more footage, but failed to be as engaging as the original teaser.

Lame because: Big budget B-flicks are a contradiction in terms. Not to mention that making excuses for bad box-office is never cool. Who releases two straight-up horror flicks on Easter weekend anyway? How to turn it around: Maybe leave it to the midnight madness crowd boys, because no one should ever take bad movies that seriously. Tarantino and Rodriguez are so in love with themselves, they've kind of forgotten what we used to love about them.

Next up: Um ... time for a new agent!

Where did they rank?

Every Friday morning, when I'm surfing the new movie reviews and I flip over to Ebert's site, I'm always a little surprised to see a new review for some movie that came out back when he was sidelined by cancer. Atop each of these retro reviews -- which I think I own the copyright on -- he affixes the following simple tag: "Doubling back to pick up some titles I missed while ill." This past Friday, he panned Spider-Man 3, giving it a weak two-star review. He cites his displeasure with the film's lack of a compelling villain and goes into detail about his problems with the symbiote, which he didn't enjoy at all. He also doesn't like Mary Jane anymore.

Children of Men and the Dixie Chicks documentary Shut up and Sing have both been retro-awarded high marks -- I agree with the latter verdict. The Fountain, a movie that was on my top ten list of that year, is mildly panned although what's most interesting about the review is that Ebert spends much of it musing on the concept of a retro review in itself. "Although as a doctoral candidate in English I was advised to be familiar with the existing criticism on a work before venturing to write my own, as a film critic I am usually writing before other reviews have even been published," he writes.

The Lives of Others and Zodiac get four stars -- Ebert's been a little too generous with the four star rating since his return, by the way -- while Grindhouse is panned for being "an attempt to recreate a double feature that never existed for an audience that no longer exists." I haven't pinned down the exact dates that Ebert was absent, so I have no idea how long his retro-reviewing will go on, but it's fun to read.

So it seems the majority of you agree with Robert Rodriguez in wanting Rose McGowan to star in the Barbarella remake, even though Universal isn't willing to risk $100 million on her name. And I don't blame them. Why Rodriguez needs $100 million to shoot the remake of a campy sci-fi flick is beyond me, but furthermore -- even if Universal got their wish, and Rodriguez ditched McGowan -- are there any females in Hollywood who can carry a film with a $100 million pricetag? This is nothing against women at all (heck, I love all women just as much as the next guy), but I'm really struggling to come up with the last film to gross over $100 million with a female in the lead role (not counting romcoms since credit is also due to the male lead). While you think about that, here's how the last few McGowan films have done: 1. Grindhouse (part of an ensemble -- $25 million gross). 2. The Black Dahlia (part of an ensemble -- $22 million gross). 3. Vacuums (couldn't find anything -- was this even released?). 4. Monkeybone (part of an ensemble -- $5 million gross). Don't force me to continue ... it gets even worse.

Based on those stats, it appears as if Rodriguez would have to shoot Barbarella, with McGowan in the lead role, for roughly $15 million in order to make money. Universal is willing to do it for $60 million. Rodriguez wants somewhere between $82 and $100 million. And for that kind of money, Universal wants someone else in the lead role. So, in your opinion, are there any female actresses out there capable of carrying a film with that high a budget? Because we're always game for the multiple choice answers, Cinematical put together a gallery full of women who we think would be good in the role of Barbarella. Are any of them better than Rose? You decide.

The good news: We are still in fact giving away a trip for two to India to the winner of last week's Darjeeling Limited contest. The bad news: Contrary to what some ill-informed stooge (me) stated in last week's post ("Winner will be announced Friday, October 11 12 @ 4:00 PM EST), we are still in the process of confirming our winner and will most likely not announce his or her name (and caption) until next Friday. As the expression goes, with free trips to India for photo caption contests comes all sorts of legal technicalities the average stooge doesn't take into account. But thanks to the thousand-plus of you who entered, we were rooting for you.

So onward with more prizes... But following up a free trip to India is hard. So below please find a photo of "two hot chicks on a motorcycle." You may also know them as Rose McGowan (soon to be Mrs. Robert Rodriguez) and Marley Shelton, stars of Rodriguez's 1973 2007 zombie movie Planet Terror, released in theaters as one-half of Grindhouse. Writers of our favorite caption will win a framed poster signed by Rodriguez, as well as the DVD and an action figure (of McGowan, not Rodriguez). Two runners up will win the DVD and action figure.
Good luck!

UPDATE: WINNERS ANNOUNCED! Click Here

Last year, along with the buzz of blood and chaos, Grindhouse brought rumors of marital difficulties. Officially, Robert Rodriguez and Elizabeth Avellan have stated that they were split well before the making of the movie, and that all was amicable. Rumors, however, have also been circulating about Rose McGowan's involvement, which quickly went from a "professional relationship," to a hand-holding appearance at Cannes. Yet another case of the long-term partner getting dumped for the younger actress -- I guess not all men can be Maxwell Caulfield. Anyhow, Avellan recently talked with the New York Times about where things lay post-separation, both for her production company with her ex, Troublemaker Studios, and her future solo work.

The company will continue to run as-is, in accordance with earlier claims, but it looks like both are going to branch out to separate projects. For the first time, she's working with a director other than Rodriguez and is bringing Jonathan Jakubowicz's Queen of the South to the screen for Warner Independent Pictures. She says: "I didn't want Robert to feel like I wasn't giving 150 percent, like any producer would do. So I'd not talk about this or that. Now I feel free to mention some of the things that I'm doing."

It's both a freeing and eerie statement -- one that speaks well for her future, but sadly of her past. Hopefully this is the beginning of some time in the spotlight for Avellan. As the piece notes, The Hollywood Reporter had listed a Latino Power 50 this year, but while Rodriguez was listed third, she wasn't included, nor mentioned. She's functioned under the radar for many years now, so hopefully the time has come to see her shine.

Dark Horizons has spotlighted an interview with Quentin Tarantino that will have geeks everywhere bemoaning what might have been. Tarantino has turned down an offer to direct an episode of the hit NBC drama Heroes. His reason? He doesn't know what Heroes is. QT told The Sun, "They were trying to get me to do one. I haven't even seen the f***ing show. What the f*** is Heroes?" Well Quentin, if you're reading this, you ain't missing much. Heroes is probably the most overrated show on television right now. Somehow, it has captured the love of critics and audiences alike, but I watched the entire first season and found it punishingly dull. I know, I know, chew me out. I just don't get it.

Film directors dabbling in television has become quite the trend lately. The great Spike Lee directed the pilot of Shark. Kevin Smith directed the pilot for the soon-to-premiere (and very good) Reaper, and will write and direct an episode of the Heroes spinoff Origins. Tarantino is no stranger to television either, having shot episodes of both CSI and ER (maybe that's why he wasn't interested in Heroes -- he only does shows with initials for titles). I was about thirteen when Pulp Fiction was in theaters, and though I begged my parents, they wouldn't let me see it. I remember sitting down to watch the QT-directed ER (still the only episode of that show I've seen), trying to convince myself that it would be just as cool. Not quite. If you want your Heroes fix, the second season premieres Monday. If you want your Tarantino fix, the expanded version of Death Proof is in stores today.

A while back I posted about somethingawful.com's Photoshop Phriday feature in which Photoshop enthusiasts were invited to make grindhouse style posters for mainstream films. As cool as that was, I think this new one has it beat hands down. The latest Photoshop Phriday challenge was to design breakfast cereal boxes in the style of grindhouse movie posters (thanks to Boing Boing for pointing this out). Yup, two great tastes that taste great together: a healthy breakfast and exploitation cinema. You really have to see this. Head on over here to check it out, though be advised some are a bit risqué and may not be safe for viewing at work. These things remind me of Wacky Packages, but much naughtier.

One of the best is The Bran Eaters, which recycles artwork from 1958's The Brain Eaters. And of course there's Kellogg's Double Breakfast featuring a double feature of Crispix (Corn on one side, rice on the other, a world of sin in-between) and Mini-Wheats (Shameless youth willing to do anything for fiber!). There's a version of Trix that is definitely NOT for kids, and imagine if you will a grindhouse cinema take on Count Chocula. Sugar Smack (the prize inside is a hypodermic needle) gets extra kudos for giving the box the well-worn scotch-taped look of an old movie poster.

Summer's nearly over, school is about to begin and Hollywood is counting its money. Looking back, we could assume the studios made bundles this season; almost every weekend seemed to deliver a new record-breaking blockbuster. In order of enormity, there was Spider-Man 3, Shrek 3, Pirates of the Caribbean 3, Transformers 1 (it will have sequels), Harry Potter 5, 300, Ratatouille and finally another threequel, Bourne 3 (which should gain on at least that numberless Pixar movie). According to Box Office Mojo, the grosses for 2007 are up 7.2% over last year, and 13.7% over 2005 (aka the year of the slump).

Now, normally about this time of year, we can also look back and see a number of disappointments, bombs and otherwise failed releases. In fact, Entertainment Weekly should be giving us its annual rundown (my favorite) any week now. But Business Week has already announced the biggest losers of the season: Evan Almighty and Stardust. And as dishonorable mentions, it points to The Invasion, Grindhouse, The Reaping and The Number 23. Of course, the latter three were released much earlier in the year, and shouldn't be counted -- they seem to be thrown in as other mistakes of the year in general.

From the lurking corners of the internet, sometimes called LiveJournal, comes a sneak peek at the DVD cover art for the Grindhouse separately released films Planet Terror and Death Proof. Based on these pictures, it looks like they'll be housed inside of collectible tins, with a regular snapper case underneath. But, as always with things on the web that don't come straight from the source, take it with a grain of salt.

You can read all about the special features that will be included after the break, but I'm most excited about Vanessa Ferlito's restored lapdance scene in Death Proof. Hopefully that'll be worth the price of admission alone. Rodriguez' Planet Terror will include mainstays from his DVD releases, including the 10 minute film school and cooking school entries, as well as a feature-length commentary track.

Thankfully, Death Proof will have a built-in special feature on your remote called the "fast-forward" button that will let you skip through all of those interminably long talking scenes. The shots of these DVDs look like they might have been taken at Comic-Con, where they had a real amputee dressed up like Cherry Darling. I didn't get close enough to check, due to the throngs of fanboys taking her pictures while she gyrated on a pole.

This second entry in BCI/Navarre's Welcome to the Grindhouse series of double features contains a pair of European horror films from the days when the grindhouse was king. As with the previous entry in the series (The Teacher and Pick-Up, which I reviewed here), both features are surrounded by trailers for schlocky flicks from the Crown International library.

The first film, Black Candles, is a Spanish flick from 1982 that was released in its native Spain as Los Ritos sexuales del diablo. This one grabbed my attention as soon as I realized it was directed by Jose Larraz who was also responsible for Vampyres, a 1974 film that was one of the best entries in the early 70s lesbian vampire craze. Unfortunately, Black Candles doesn't (forgive me for this) hold a candle to the other Larraz film, with a meandering story that cribs from Rosemary's Baby and with sex scenes so frequent the story grinds to a halt every time one of the characters is in the mood.

I want to start this off by saying that I love Grindhouse. I was anxiously itched for it to come out, and I absolutely adored Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror, as well as the Danny Trejo faux trailer, Machete. (I enjoyed Death Proof as well, especially the end, but not nearly as much as the other.) Of course, I was thrilled when Trejo said that El Machete had been greenlit by the Weinsteins. Now, I'm not so sure -- at least, not sure if Rodriguez's nieces are to be believed -- the movie might not be a feature on its own.

While chatting with Bloody Disgusting, Electra and Elise Avellan said: "Robert said he'd do it [Machete], and asked for us to be in it," and "Robert wants to do Grindhouse 2 with [the two films being] Machete and The Babysitter Twins." I'm sure fans of the twins will love this news, but it just isn't working for me. Although Rodriguez is currently working on Barbarella, the twins say that they already know a bit about the potential plot. Electra said: "Robert mentioned something about the end of the world and Hollywood action films, where we'd be trained in Mexico to come back here and fight," while Elise says: "Hollywood starts f*cking with us, so we start killing... we [would] kill Harvey Weinstein in the movie, although that's just talk [right now]." This is all just the rumor stage, so I'm hoping it stays that way -- or, that they morph it a little. Maybe machine-gun-leg Rose McGowan trains them and they're her right-hand women or something. Otherwise, let Trejo shine on his own.

We're adding a new feature on Cinematical Indie: The (Mostly) Indie Film Calendar. Each week, we'll give you a round-up of what's going on in indie film (and sometimes just cool film news and screenings) in cities near you. If you know of cool stuff happening that's related to film -- a local fest, a series of classic restored films, lectures, workshops, open calls for casting of an indie film -- send your tips to me at kim(at)cinematical(dot)com and we'll add them to the calendar.

Here are this week's happenings in film from New York to LA and points in between ...

New York City: Film Forum, a hot spot for all things indie, has some interesting things going on. Filmmaker Jennifer Fox will be on hand for the screenings tonight at 8:15PM and Saturday at 1:15PM and 5PM of her film Flying: Confessions of a Free Woman. The film runs through July 17. Also showing: Woody Allen's Manhattan (through 7/19), and Jean Pierre Melville's Le Doulos (limited time only, so get on over there for that one!). Coming soon at Film Forum: Live-In Maid (7/18-7/31) and Metropolis (7/20-7/26).

Los Angeles: This week in Los Angeles, Outfest -- the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Film Festival -- is going on. With six galas and 70 features, there's lots to see, including a screening of a restored copy of Bill Sherwood's Parting Glances, outdoor screenings, panel discussions, and parties, parties, parties! Check out the full schedule for the fest on the official Outfest website, then get your butt off your couch and go see some films.

Seattle: One of the things I'll miss most about Seattle is Northwest Film Forum, which not only shows great movies, but does a lot of work to help make them as well. This weekend, Northwest Film Forum is showing the awesome (albeit deeply depressing) Raise the Red Lantern, Walking to Werner (held over through July 15), and L'Iceberg. Monday they're doing a one-night screening of the films of Seattle filmmaker Barbara Ireland, and Tuesday night they'll host the Filmmaker's Saloon, a "panel discussion and socializing event for the local film and dance community." For filmmakers and filmmaker wannabes, upcoming workshops at NWFF include Introduction to Flash and Garage Band for Directors. Check out their website for complete schedule of events.

Also upcoming in Seattle: On July 21 at 2PM (location TBD), The Film School's Speaker Series, by Warren Etheredge, will host Sandra Nettelbeck, whose film Mostly Martha has been remade into the upcoming No Reservations starring Catherine Zeta-Jones, Aaron Eckhart and Abigail Breslin. Nettlebeck will discuss her film the remake, and what's different between the two. July 28, TFS brings Oscar-nommed director Alex Gibney (Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room) into town to sneak-preview his latest doc, Taxi to the Dark Side, which played at the Tribeca Film Festival. Taxi is about torture practices used by the United States in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay, told through the story of an innocent taxi driver who was tortured and killed in 2002. Gibney's a sharp guy and a solid filmmaker -- that one's a must-see for you Seattle film buffs. Tix for both available at Etheredge's website, The Warren Report.


Austin: Austin's a great town for film, and this weekend at the Alamo Drafthouse is no exception. If you just haven't gotten enough of Michael Moore lately after his appearances on CNN and Larry King Live, you can catch his newest doc, SICKO, at the Drafthouse's Lake Creek location this weekend. Tired of hearing the name Harry Potter? Saturday and Sunday at noon, take the kid(s) in your life to a special screening of The Secret of Nimh, the movie that made rats cute years before Ratatouille. Coming up next weekend: A special midnight screening of one of my fave Hitchcock films, Rear Window, Daft Punk's Electroma, and another screening for the kids (or those of us who haven't quite grown up yet, Dark Crystal.

Dallas: If you live in Dallas, you know that the city has really grown in access to arts over the past decade, and there's a lot more going on with film down there than there used to be. The AFI Dallas Film Fest had great support from locals, but it only comes once a year. What to do the rest of the time? Well, for starters, on July 17 at 7:30PM, you can head over to Victory Park for an outdoor screening of everyone's fave friendly-alien flick, E.T. Bring the kids, a picnic dinner, and a box of tissues for that ending ("I'll be riiiiight heeeeere ...") and have a great time. On July 19, pop over to Studio Movie Grill in Addison for Mr. Weird's Grindhouse Volume 1, featuring a big-screen screening of Night of the Living Dead, preceded by an awesome 45 minute compilation of trailers and commercials from 1968 and trailers from zombie movies!

Oklahoma City: Yeah, Oklahoma City (my hometown, where I just relocated with my family) actually has some indie film happenings these days! Booyah! Every Thursday through Sunday, the museum screens independent, foreign and classic films. This weekend at the Oklahoma CIty Museum of Art, they're showing Alice Neel, a documentary about the painter by her grandson, Andrew Neel. Alice Neel painted portraits of such notables as Andy Warhol, Bella Abzug and Allen Ginsburg; her grandson's film explores her life and her work. Also at the Museum this weekend is John Ford's cheery and uplifting Grapes of Wrath. Coming soon: Broken English, Away from Her, Summercamp! and Once. Excellent selections, all. (Now if only we'd get a Landmark Theater here to give us a little more access to indie films ... nudge nudge ).

Want your city covered? Send your film news and links to me at kim(at)cinematical(dot)com ...