reno 911 Tagged Articles at Cinematical

The news about upcoming movies and other exciting stuff just keep flying fast and furious here at Comic-Con International in San Diego. During Thursday and Friday, we've tried to bring you as much info as we can and now that its Saturday, there's even more stuff to share. This time around I'm hanging out in gigantic Hall H at the San Diego Convention Center to bring you news and information about the Rogue Studios / Focus features presentation.

Before I get to the meat, I just want to acknowledge the help I received from a few Elite security personnel and two Comic-Con volunteers inside Hall H. Their help was invaluable and I thank them. Why am I saying this? Well, because without them I probably would not have had a great seat for all the festivities and would have had to deal directly with attendees determined to steal my chair the moment they spotted any opening.

These guys and gals (some of which don't even get paid) work very hard so I just want to thank them for doing a great job controlling people I'm sure are very hard to control. Of course, if the Con had a designated area for the press to sit so we could cover the events that might make things easier. But that's another story for another time.

Anyway, on to the important stuff. First up for the Rogue/Focus features panel was a surprise visit from Neil Gaiman and director Henry Selik with a little surprise announcement of a screening of footage from the still-in-production Coraline movie. According to Gaiman, Coraline, his "scary little story for kids of all ages with people who have button eyes who really want to eat people's souls" which is really "something you need in children's fiction" is now a stop-motion masterpiece with script and direction by Selick -- who is best know for films such as The Nightmare Before Christmas.

I've been told more than once that I have a passion for the bizarre. The subject usually comes up when someone asks about the life-size statue of Anson Williams in my living room, or why my rottweiler is wearing a French maid costume (it's only when he's vacuuming). Donnie Darko and the films of David Lynch are great for many reasons, but I love the fact that they're so unabashedly weird. They wear their weirdness like a red badge of -- well, weirdness. None of the trailers in today's Trailer Park are quite that odd, but each has a quality that puts it about half a bubble off center.

Reno 911: Miami
I know what you're thinking. What's so weird about Reno 911? Isn't that the Cops parody show from Comedy Central? True enough, but if you've ever seen Thomas Lennon as Lieutenant Jim Dangle wearing those horrifically tiny shorts, you wouldn't be asking "what's weird about this one?" If you like the series -- and I think it can be hilarious at times -- I imagine you'll like the film as well. The incompetent members of the Reno Nevada Sheriff's department are invited to a police convention in Miami Beach. When a biological threat quarantines the entire Miami Beach Police Department, our heroes (such as they are) are pressed into service. Amping up the weird quotient is the fact that there's an option to view the trailer with audio commentary from the cast, speaking in character. Martha Fischer first mentioned this film here on Cinematical about a year ago. The film opens February 23.

Kaw
I suppose it speaks well of Alfred Hitchcock's talent that his films are still being ripped off so long after his death. Sean Patrick Flannery of Boondock Saints fame plays a small town sheriff with only one day left on the job when his town comes under attack by a conspiracy of ravens (not to be confused, mind you, with a murder of crows). Much pecking and gouging ensue. Seagulls they ain't, but this still plays a lot like The Birds. Strictly B-movie fair, the trailer has a dark creepy look to it, and I suspect this will go straight to DVD.

It's a good thing for people who have nothing better to do at three in the morning since they're the folks snatching pics from the set of Spider-Man 3, currently shooting in Brooklyn, New York. It appears the Brooklyn Record has a category set aside for all things Spidey, logging a number of photos from production in the Cobble Hill neighborhood. (Coincidentally, I was just looking for an apartment in the same spot and the prices are outrageous!) In the latest crop of pics, you can check out a sexy Kristen Dunst attempting to catch a cab. Also, in case you missed them before, there's a great catalog of images from last month's New York City shoot available online as well. [via Superhero Hype and The Movie Blog]

Screw Snakes on a Plane (Speaking of, did you catch the new trailer yet?), I'm all about Christopher Walken in Balls of Fury. I mean, the dude is playing a crime boss involved in the high-stakes world of underground ping-pong tournaments. Does it get any better than that? Seriously, does it? I don't think so. And, if these new images of Walken as said crime boss are any indication, this movie is going to rock. Seeing as Balls of Fury was written by the guys who brought us Reno 911!, I'm not surprised by the ridiculous outfits they have Walken wearing. If anything, it makes me want to see the film, like, right now.

Reno 911!, the brilliantly stupid Comedy Central cop series that make people who think they're above that sort of thing laugh until milk comes out of their noses, is coming to the big screen. Thank you, Paramount and Fox. The movie, which starts shooting later this month, will take our heroes to a police convention in Miami Beach - during spring break, of course. It's not all boobs and beer, however: "When the convention center is bio-attacked, it's up to Reno's "finest" to save the day." Woo hoo! I may be alone in this, but I cannot wait for this sucker - forget Snakes on a Plane, man, this is now at the top of my list.

Directing the movie will be Robert Ben Garant, who co-created the series; he and the other co-creators also wrote the script. All of the stars from the series seem to be on-board so don't worry, friends, Dangle will appear in all his glory.