release Tagged Articles at Cinematical

We knew something was just a tad off when the only poster for the soon-to-be-released indie horror flick All the Boys Love Mandy Lane hit streets only two weeks before the flick was supposed to land in theaters. Not to mention the marketing campaign was non-existent (Cinematical has spent more time hyping up this film than The Weinstein Co. or Dimension Films). And so I'm not surprised to hear (via Shock Till You Drop) that rumor has it Weinstein/Dimension has officially dropped Mandy Lane from its July 20 slot. Keep in mind this hasn't been confirmed, and there's no information on whether the film will be released at a later date instead, but all signs are pointing to ... Mandy Lane getting screwed, but not loved.

The film, which first premiered at last year's Toronto Film Festival (to rave reviews from our own James Rocchi), focuses on a pretty girl (Amber Heard) who's invited to a weekend party at a secluded ranch. However, once there, partygoers begin mysteriously disappearing one by one -- and, well, so it goes. Could this hesitation on Dimension's part have something to do with the negative attention horror films have been receiving lately, and/or the box office failure that was Grindhouse? And what does this mean for the other fantastic horror-related films The Weinstein Co. picked up from various festivals throughout the year -- like, say, Teeth (which is a film I absolutely loved and haven't heard a peep about since seeing it in Berlin back in February)? Chalk this one up as rumor for now; we'll let you know when more info is revealed.

Do you realize that it's been almost a year since Southland Tales first debuted (or should I say, bombed) at the Cannes Film Festival? Since then, director Richard Kelly has been hard at work editing his "masterpiece" so that everyone (or should I say, Sony) is comfortable enough to release it in theaters. There was awhile there when we assumed the film would magically disappear, only to secretly show up on DVD with little to no marketing backing it up. However, the release of a big batch of stills recently -- coupled with a brand new message from Kelly via his MySpace page -- make it appear as if we might see Southland Tales finally hit theaters this fall.

According to Kelly, "we have finally gotten the greenlight from Sony for the additional round of visual effects for Southland Tales. This is VERY GOOD NEWS for the film! We will now be able to finish the film properly. Phew! The film will be completely finished for the first public screening sometime mid-summer." It's great that he'll be allowed to add in some additional special effects (when the food looks ugly, just smother it in ketchup, right?), but will they be enough to change those initial opinions of folks like Cinematical's James Rocchi who called Southland Tales "sprawling, messy, willfully self-indulgent and incomprehensible?" Like Donnie Darko, I'm sure the film will find its die hard fans. And hey, if anything aren't you just a bit curious to see what the heck Kelly did with a cast that includes The Rock, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Seann William Scott and Mandy Moore?

After months of reporting on the internet phenomenon that is Snakes on a Plane, those pesky little critters finally attack theaters this Friday. Thank God. I'm not sure I could go too much longer -- fact is, these mother-f***ing snakes are getting on my mother-f***ing nerves. And I know I can't be the only one who feels this way.

If there's one aspect of this film I'm actually looking forward to, it's seeing just how much influence the absurd amount of internet buzz will have on the flick's box office numbers. I'm also curious to see if the recent terrorist scare will keep folks away from this type of film in its opening weekend. Sure, it has built up a substantial cult audience prior to its release, but will that be enough to catapult it out of the gutter? After all the marketing nonsense, let's see if we can't predict how well Snakes on a Plane will do.

So, I ask you: Will you be seeing Snakes on a Plane this weekend? If not, why? And how much you think it will make?

Films are never marketed as just "live-action," because that wouldn't make sense. Is the "live-action" movie a drama, a comedy, horror, or something else? This is obvious, but I mention it because it's exactly the kind of approach used to market and distribute animated features. When the Best Animated Feature Award was introduced for the 2002 Academy Awards, it seemed to give some legitimacy to animated features, but it also gave the wrongful impression that animation is just animation, and not, as is clearly the case, a method of making a film that can be scary, or dramatic, or weird, or funny, or any other adjective you can come up with. Animated features run the same gambit as any live-action flick, but when it comes to marketing and distribution they're often crammed under the "Animation" rubric.

When Steven Soderbergh released Bubble simultaneously (more or less) in theaters, on TV, and on DVD, I opted to rent the DVD. This was due more to laziness than anything, but it did give me a chance to listen to the audio commentary where Soderbergh and fellow director Mark Romanek discuss the philosphy behind the movie, which was shot using non-professional actors who ad-libbed much of their dialogue. Soderbergh also used only available light for scenes and worked without monitors. I immediately grew affectionate toward the movie itself, the concept behind it, and the way it was released. I would go on, but Karina pretty much echoed my sentiments with her review.

Josh Oakhurst has transcribed much of the commentary on his blog, and you can read it here. It's not as funny as Soderbergh's commentary for Schizopolis where he interviews himself and insists the last half of the movie is an homage to the inside of his mouth, but for a movie as unique as Bubble it's nice to get some real insight into the mind behind it all.

[via HD for Indies]

Strangers with Candy was snatched from the airwaves just as its small clan of devoted followers was starting to grow in ranks. Snapping up stars like Winona Ryder and Paul Rudd to appear in the series finale was but one example of how popular this goofy little show about a 40-year-old high school freshman was becoming, but like a lot of the best shows out there, enough people weren't watching for the network to keep it on the air. Nevertheless, the Strangers with Candy movie will be coming to theaters this June, or so Amy Sedaris tells AmySedaris.com. Paul Dinello, who played the art teacher Mr. Jellineck on the show, will be directing. David Letterman and his barely-contained crush on Amy Sedaris will serve as executive producer. Celeb cameos, at least according to IMDb, will include Matthew Broderick, Philp Seymour Hoffman, and Ian Holm, among several others. I assume this will be a limited release, as these films with a built-in audience tend to be, so I'll be setting out with the rest of the fanatics with my pith helmet and bullwhip to track this one down come June.