scooby doo Tagged Articles at Cinematical

• Yvonne De Carlo (1922-2007) - Read Jennifer's tribute to the Ten Commandments actress here.
• Laurence Heath (1928-2007) - Writer and producer who co-wrote the screenplay for Triumph of the Spirit in addition to writing teleplays and multiple episodes of Mission: Impossible and Murder, She Wrote. He died January 9, in Los Angeles. (LA Times - no link)
• "Sneaky" Pete Kleinow (1934-2007) - Visual effects artist, stop-motion animator and model-maker who worked on The Terminator, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Gremlins, Holes, Army of Darkness and The Right Stuff. He also played steel guitar for The Flying Burrito Brothers and appeared as a member of the band in the documentary Gimme Shelter. He died of complications from Alzheimer's disease January 6, in Petaluma, California. (Variety)
• Steve Krantz (c.1923-2007) - Producer of the Ralph Bakshi films Fritz the Cat, Heavy Traffic and The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat, as well as Cooley High, Which Way is Up? and Jennifer, for which he wrote the story. He died from complications from pneumonia January 4, in Los Angeles. (Variety)

Look everyone - Freddy Prinze Jr. is still making crappy movies! Production Weekly reports that the Scooby Doo star has signed on to star in Dick and Jane vs. the World. Pic, which is written, directed by and starring Vanessa Parise will tell of two roommates who fall in love and then decide to write a manifesto that details their rules for life. However, Jane has a really big secret and, by hiding it from Dick, she breaks rule # 1: "Be Honest".

Okay, well I'll be honest instead - I don't need Freddy Prinze Jr. telling me his rules for life. In fact, if I were to write a manifesto, the first rule would probably go something like this: "Don't watch any film that includes Freddy Prinze Jr. somewhere amidst its cast." I'd imagine rule number two would have something to do with the fact that I'm sick of the names Dick and Jane and wish someone would change it up. Lou and Gina? Augustus and Sunshine? Help me out here.

While Parise is also acting in the film, it hasn't been said if she'll be playing the role of Jane, though it appears she will be. Shooting will begin this May in Los Angeles.

[via Coming Soon]

A couple weeks ago I pondered the question: does the opinion of a bunch of white film critics matter when it comes to a film like Madea's Family Reunion? Three weeks of box office later, the numbers tell me the answer is a resounding, "Hell, no!" To date, Madea has raked in an impressive $60 mill at the box office (although this week there was a serious drop off - the film only made $5 million in the last week), off an estimated budget of $6 million. Pretty darn impressive take for a film that has a less-than-impressive 30% over at Rotten Tomatoes. The film's success pretty much guarantees we'll be seeing a lot more Madea, and Tyler Perry, no doubt, is chuckling all the way to the bank. Big Momma's House and Big Momma's House 2, which also targeted primarily African-American audiences, also ripped up the box office in spite of being panned by critics. The original Big Momma, with an RT score of 30%, took in $117.5 million off a $30 million budget. Big Momma 2, with a dismal 6% over at RT, still managed to make a $27 million profit ($67 million on a $40 million budget).

If the success of Madea  and the Big Momma films are flukes, it would be one thing, but they aren't. Year after year critics and movie fans alike bitch and moan about how much crap comes out of Hollywood, and year after year the critics try their darndest to point audiences to what they consider to be good, even great films, only to watch, befuddled, as audiences flock to the dreck with relentless tenacity. Hollywood, meanwhile, continues to churn out heaps of mediocre (or worse) films, because all too often, mediocrity is what brings in the bank, and it takes lots of cash to support Hollywood in the opulent lifestyle to which it's become accustomed.