terry zwigoff Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Clockwise from upper left: Splinterheads, Ghost World, An Education, House of the Devil.

Opening. Amiable and pleasant, Splinterheads revolves around a romance between Justin (Thomas Middleditch), an aimless small town dreamer, and Galaxy (Rachael Taylor), a gorgeous grifter who (literally) bumps into him at a gas station. She's more interested in separating him from his money than getting to know the lunkhead within, while he quickly decides that he's met the love of his life -- or, even better, a reason to leave his upstate New York world behind and start living for himself instead of his mother and grandfather.

Brent Sersen (Blackballed) is a better director than writer; the characters hold few surprises and the plot's trajectory threatens to die of old age before it reaches its pre-ordained conclusion. Still, he takes advantage of a visiting carnival and the grifter's obsession with geocaching, a variation on treasure hunting, to string together several lyrical interludes and enough laughs to deserve a recommendation. Dean Winters, Lea Thompson, and Christopher McDonald provide reliable support. Splinterheads opens in New York on Friday and expands to other cities the following week; check the official site for theaters and showtimes. Also opening in New York the same day: Collapse, Chris Smith's latest doc (more from last week and the exclusive poster debut).

On-Demand / Online Viewing. Terry Zwigoff's adaptation of Daniel Clowes' graphic novel Ghost World departs from the source material quite abruptly, but still remains faithful to the dark spirit of loneliness that haunts the characters. Thora Birch, Scarlett Johannson, and Steve Buscemi star. It's now available on FilmBuff, Cinetic's cable on-demand channel; check local listings to watch this essential indie at home.

After the jump: Who educated the devil?

I have to admit, I wasn't crazy about this idea when they first announced it -- basically, a take on The Six Million Dollar Man, except the government only throws a measly $40,000 into this experiment. Great. Will Ferrell, Jack Black -- throw one of them in there, and it's just another doofy spring comedy. But now that The Hollywood Reporter tells us Terry Zwigoff will be directing, my anticipation meter just shot up. Zwigoff doesn't take on just any project; he's not one of those directors who's shoveling out a film every year. I guess you could say he's somewhat of an odd fellow, but I've loved each and every one of his films for different reasons. They're all slightly off, slightly warped -- each finding its own cult audience over time, with one (Bad Santa) hitting the right chords with more of the mainstream crowd, yet even that film could be deemed "out there."

But the news gets even better -- apparently Zwigoff, aside from directing the flick, will help re-write the script alongside his Ghost World partner Dan Clowes (both were nominated for a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for their work on that film's script). For those that adored Ghost World (and I know there's a ton of you out there), this is probably wonderful news -- even if it does sound like an odd project for the duo to take on. As I alluded to before, The $40,000 Man centers on an astronaut who's injured in a horrific crash and then re-built by the government on a shoe-string budget of $40,000. Zwigoff last helmed Art School Confidential, which I remember starting out as this goofy, mainstream teen comedy before turning into something completely different. One thing's for sure here -- however you think this film is going to end up, it will most likely go in the exact opposite direction. And I cannot wait.

Odds and ends from Monday:

• Hey, what do you know -- a story about Johnny Depp that isn't pirate-related. (Does that mean I can't call him Captain Jack? Nah.) Captain Jack's production company has tapped director Terry Zwigoff (Bad Santa) to helm Happy Days (no relation to the popular TV show), based off the French novel. Zwigoff will also co-write the script along with Jerry Stahl, with Depp's Infinitum Nihil and Graham King's Initial Entertainment Group producing. Story revolves around a man who leaves his wife and children in order to check himself into a rest home. However, while there, he forges a special bond with a terminal cancer patient and ultimately helps to fulfill her last wish.   
• Here's one way to get people to go see your movie -- just compare it to The Da Vinci Code. P.J. Hogan has signed on to direct Chasing Vermeer, based off the best-selling children's novel which is said to be like The Da Vinci Code, but for tweens. Having never read Chasing Vermeer, I cannot say how similar the two are. But I can tell you the story centers around two sixth-graders who attempt to solve the mystery behind a stolen Johannes Vermeer painting. Last I checked, the Catholic Church had nothing against sixth-graders, right?
• So, it turns out those rumors about Gwyneth Paltrow teaming back up with the Farrelly brothers were completely false. Oh well, I couldn't see her playing a bride from hell anyway. She's way too sweet. Ya know, like an apple. Instead, Peter and Bobby Farrelly have signed newcomer Malin Akerman to star alongside Ben Stiller and Michelle Monaghan in Seven Day Itch. Not much is known about Akerman, except that she's best known for her role in Lisa Kudrow's horrific HBO show The Comeback. Yes, it was horrific. And if she somehow wins the Emmy, I will officially ban TV in my apartment forever. 

Talk about getting mileage out of a metaphor. On our Sundance video podcast, James Rocchi cracked that last year's Sundance hit Saw reminded him of David Fincher's Seven ... as performed by the Max Fischer Players, the grade school company spearheaded by the protagonist of Rushmore. I tried to come up with my own analogy to bring to the table, in discussing Art School Confidential, Terry Zwigoffs latest collaboration with Ghost World creator Daniel Clowes, but James' framework just seemed so very apt. So, in 25 words or less: Art School Confidential is exactly what would happen if the Max Fischer Players tackled Heathers. In other words, it's a stilted satire of teenage passion and apathy, sex and death and crime. And like a classic Max Fischer production (if such a thing exists), it's so concerned with aping style that it never bothers to consider its characters as people.