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Sean Connery Ditches Retirement to Play ... a Skateboarding Veterinarian?
Filed under: Animation, Independent, Casting, Family Films, DIY/Filmmaking, Newsstand
Good actors never really retire, they just find new and easier ways to work. Sean Connery loudly proclaimed his intention to retire from the silver screen, but he's decided to make a bit of a return. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Connery will lend his voice to the CGI animated movie Sir Billi, an independent film created by husband-and-wife team Sascha and Tessa Hartmann. Connery is an executive producer on the project, and has been heavily involved with its production. The movie will have Connery playing "a retired, skateboarding veterinarian" who rescues an illegal fugitive who just happens to be a beaver. (I now wish this could cross over into The Beaver.) The Hartmanns have been working on the project for five years, and it's now set for a 2010 release.
The final touch is apparently a Shirley Bassey tune, and THR reports that she's signed up to record a song titled The Guardian of the Highlands for the film. Let me repeat that: Bassey singing a song called The Guardian of the Highlands. It's now my favorite song of all time, and I haven't even heard it.
So, if you've been lying awake wondering what Connery has been up to, now you know. He's been overseeing a charming Scottish cartoon, and lending his slurry brogue to a skateboarding veterinarian. But I don't this heralds a return to acting -- remember, Connery was able to literally phone in this performance and head back to the golf course, enjoying the fruits of retirement.
Jerry Bruckheimer and Disney Developing 'Alien Legion'
Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Deals, Disney, Scripts, DIY/Filmmaking, Newsstand, Comic/Superhero/Geek
Comics never really die. They become cult classics, cherished until they're revived, republished, and optioned by Disney. Such is the tale of Alien Legion, which is soon to enjoy a revival that'll have many a comic fan claiming they were there from the beginning. (I won't be one of them -- I'll openly confess that it passed me right by.)Creator Carl Potts described Alien Legion as "the Foreign Legion in space," and it's probably best described as melting pot of military and sci-fi, as Star Trek, Star Wars and The Dirty Dozen all influenced its vision of intergalactic soldiers banding together for honor, fortune, and adventure. It was one of Marvel's longest running series under their Epic Comics' banner, and it's been one that fans have continued to champion. Now it's being republished in a beautiful Dark Horse omnibus (which means out-of-the-loop losers like myself can finally read it), and getting four brand new issues from Dark Horse starting in 2010.
It's also on its way to the big screen. USA Today sat down all its creators, and Potts revealed that Jerry Bruckheimer and Disney were currently developing a feature film out of the series. Derek Haas and Michael Brandt are currently working on the third draft of the script, and Disney is undoubtedly hoping it could become another blockbuster franchise. I'd love to see the Mouse House actually develop a viable sci-fi franchise of their own, and Alien Legion is certainly a very promising series. Let's hope its cult of fans are rewarded with a good adaptation after all their years of devotion, and they don't resent the rest of us for coming to the party so late.
'Captain Nemo' Is Dead in the Water at Disney
Filed under: Action, Classics, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Executive shifts, Disney, Scripts, DIY/Filmmaking, Newsstand, Remakes and Sequels
The klaxons are sounding for the Nautilus and Captain Nemo's origin story. Variety reports that Disney has quietly shelved the project, and McG has been released from duty in order to seek better fortune ashore. The project was scheduled to begin production this February, and was on a fast track under Dick Cook. But as you probably remember, Cook was shown the door a few months ago. Many of Disney's big projects seem to be left dangling as stars like Johnny Depp decide whether they're sailing or staying ashore. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Captain Nemo is just the latest, though Disney insists big popcorn flicks will still be a focus for them.
Leagues had already been a revolving door of rumors, with Will Smith said to be in the running to play Nemo. Justin Marks was originally penning the script, but was replaced by Randall Wallace this past July. Variety reports that the project was being penned by Bill Marsilli, so presumably Wallace was off as well. While it's not unusual to have three screenwriters on a project, it doesn't sound like this submarine had a reliable captain. Perhaps the Nautilus will sail again as a proper steampunk picture that explores his romantic Indian past, and not a slapdash summerfest.
MGM Studios Officially For Sale
Filed under: Deals, Executive shifts, Lionsgate Films, MGM, Warner Brothers, RumorMonger, Distribution, DIY/Filmmaking, Newsstand, James Bond
MGM Studios' financial troubles will soon be coming to a sad end. Back in September, it was reported that MGM was in such poor shape that they might be forced to auction off their assets, including James Bond and The Hobbit. That day has come to pass. Variety reports that MGM Studios is officially on the auction block.MGM has been given a month of breathing space from their interest payments, time they plan on using to begin "a process to explore various strategic alternatives including operating as a standalone entity, forming strategic partnerships and evaluating a potential sale of the company."
But all hopes of survival may rest on what they sell off from their glorious history, including a library of 4,000 titles, the logo, the United Artists company, James Bond, and half ownership in The Hobbit. Time Warner, News Corp, and Lionsgate are said to be interested in all of the above.
As their library scatters to the four winds, it'll be really interesting to see what remakes and reboots it spawns. Remember, Robocop was on the MGM remake slate, and surely some hungry studio will snap that up. The Cannon Films and ITV Global Entertainment collections are just ripe for harvesting. Perhaps you'll finally see a Lifeforce movie, or a remake of Capricorn One, or an aspiring Tarantino type will buy up all those American International Picture rights and revive motorcycle gang movies. Sure, we all want to know who will wind up with James Bond, but it'll be far more fascinating if someone tries to remake Psych-Out. *
*It's possible this is considered one of AIP's "early" films, though it's unclear where that cut off date is.
Watch This: Wes Anderson Acts Out 'Mr. Fox' Storyboards
Filed under: Animation, New Releases, Celebrities and Controversy, New in Theaters, DIY/Filmmaking, Trailers and Clips
In this month's Fantastic Mr. Fox, Wes Anderson makes his first foray into animation with an adaptation of Roald Dahl's story about an upwardly mobile fox (George Clooney) whose drive to steal chickens threatens his family and community. While it's Anderson's first non-live action project, Mr. Fox nonetheless shares qualities with his other films, including a meticulous attention to detail, stylish design, and idiosyncratic characters. So how did the live-action auteur tackle the challenges of stop-motion filmmaking, especially considering that he spent much of the production in an entirely different country than his crew?
HitFix has a fun little glimpse of the director at work that shows us how Anderson collaborated with his animation team to bring the characters of Fantastic Mr. Fox to life. From his base in Paris, Anderson shot video storyboards of scenes and character movements by acting out scenes and blocking himself. He then emailed the videos to his crew in London, who took their visual cues from Anderson's performances. The end results, when viewed side-by-side with Anderson's versions, are near identical.
Hit the jump and watch Anderson as Mr. Fox, Kristofferson, Ash, and other characters from The Fantastic Mr. Fox.
'Make-Out with Violence' For Free in L.A.!
Filed under: Comedy, Drama, Horror, Independent, SXSW, Distribution, Exhibition, DIY/Filmmaking, Cinematical Indie, Oxford Film Festival
Indie movie lovers of the greater Los Angeles area, take note of a wonderful gem from this year's SXSW festival that's coming your way. Make-Out with Violence is an angsty teenage zombie horror comedy that I caught last year at the Oxford Film Festival, and tonight – November 12 – it screens in Los Angeles. For free!
Ok, technically it's screening in Alhambra. But this one-night only engagement will likely be your only chance to see the underappreciated indie film that our own Scott Weinberg called "pretty damn good" – and if I may add my own endorsement, Make-Out with Violence is original and gorgeously shot, a great alternative to mainstream (i.e. made with way more money) films about either teenage life or zombies. The best part? Make-Out with Violence is about both of those things. (It's also got the most attractive zombie hottie of the year, with apologies to Zombieland's Amber Heard.)
The World's Longest Film Is ...
Filed under: DIY/Filmmaking
... 150 hours long.You may have thought that Titanic was long with its 3 hour and 14 minute running time, but that's nothing. Ingmar Bergman's Fanny and Alexander is an impressive 312 minutes. Cleopatra lounges in a director's cut of 320 minutes. The 1968 Soviet film War and Peace boasts an impressive 484 minutes, and Fassbinder's Berlin Alexanderplatz had to be shown in segments on television since it's a whopping 15+ hours long.
But now all of those have been trumped, made to look like short films with this new sucker. As foreign sister site Moviefone Canada reports, there's a new film called Cinematon, which is the world's longest film. What length does it take to get such an honor? One hundred and fifty hours. In this short-attention-span world, that's pretty much unfathomable. But luckily, it's not one continuous story -- that would take almost a week without sleep to see all at once. The film is a bag of 3.5 minute segments shot over 30 years that feature celebs, journalists, artists, and philosophers. Turns out that filmmaker Gerard Courant was planning a collection of 100 shorts, but "it proved so popular that, what would have been a five-hour film, turned into 150 hours."
I don't know about you, but that sounds more like bad editing than popularity -- especially since sites like The Mirror say: "It is also arguably the DULLEST film ever made." They say the entire film is silent, going through, as Courant describes, "the whole spectrum of human emotions," like Samuel Fuller smoking, or a baby acting like a baby. Hit the jump to see one of the shorts and weigh in below: Would you sit through a silent, 150 hour anthology?
'Sgt. Rock' Looks to the Future with Francis Lawrence
Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Deals, Warner Brothers, Scripts, DIY/Filmmaking, Newsstand, Comic/Superhero/Geek, War
Once upon a time, Sgt. Rock was in the hands of Guy Ritchie, and many an Easy Company fan was upset. But you'll undoubtedly wish that Ritchie and Joel Silver had made it to the finish line, because Sgt. Rock will not make it to the big screen in a form you'll recognize. According to The Hollywood Reporter, he has a new director in Francis Lawrence and a whole new space-time continuum. Joel Silver is still on board as producer, and he's bringing Akiva Goldsman on board to help. They've hired newcomer Chad St. John to pen the script. As you may or may not know, Sgt. Rock is a WWII soldier. He's always fought in WWII. The poor guy has never even gotten to leave the European theater. (It was rumored in Swamp Thing that he was transferred to the Pacific, but never confirmed.) Any attempt at a movie adaptation has always gone forward with this central idea of keeping him in his element. But budget, politics, and popularity has always been an issue, and no one believes you can make The Dirty Dozen in this day and age unless you're Quentin Tarantino. So Warner Bros has decided to bypass the drama, and put Sgt. Rock in the future. CG is cheaper than Nazis, and a nondescript soldier of the future is less problematic than an American fighting a good fight. (While no war is a good war, I do think we can all agree that fighting Nazis was a good thing.)
Nothing else is known about this storyline, so I hate to jump to a knee-jerk conclusion as to who or what Sgt. Rock will face there, or whether he will be transported to the future from WWII. But I think this is an unfortunate thing to do to a character who resides in WWII for a very specific and honorable reason. The last thing he should become is a Universal Soldier or Terminator ripoff.
Robert Pattinson Talks 'Breaking Dawn' & 'Unbound Captives'
Filed under: Action, Drama, Independent, Romance, New Releases, RumorMonger, DIY/Filmmaking, Newsstand, Remakes and Sequels, Western
Good news, Twilight fans. You have the first official news for the fourth Twilight installment, courtesy of our own Jen Yamato, FearNet and the New Moon junket.* The magically-coiffed Robert Pattinson has confirmed that Breaking Dawn will begin filming in Fall 2010, and that it's penciled into his schedule for next year.Of course, Dawn remains unconfirmed by Summit. The most controversial installment of the Twilight series, rumors swirl that the studio is hesitant to take it to the big screen. If it is made, it seems likely that it could be split into two films a'la Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Personally, I don't see Summit risking the money they'd make on #4, and they'll find a way to steer around the gorier aspects of the book. But now you know when to look for it, though you still have the madness of Eclipse pre-production to get through.
Pattinson also dished on the movie I want to mark on my calender (Sorry, I dig boots and spurs more than vampires), a Western called Unbound Captives. The directorial debut of Madeleine Stowe, it stars Hugh Jackman, Rachel Weisz, and Pattinson. The young heartthrob revealed that it's tenatively scheduled to begin shooting in early 2010, and he sounds enthusiastic for a role that'll be miles away from Edward Cullen. "I'm playing a kid who is kidnapped by Comanches when he was four years old, and he is brought up by them. His mother spends her entire life trying to find me and my sister. When she finds us, we can't remember who she is and can't remember anything about the Western culture she grew up in. I speak Comanche the whole movie. You can't really speak more differently from Edward."
[Special thanks also goes to Collider who apparently pried the Breaking Dawn date out of Mr. Pattinson]
Fan Made: The Ultimate Batman-Related Man Cave
Filed under: Fandom, Exhibition, DIY/Filmmaking, Home Entertainment
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While tooling around online I came across a post over at Brobible on the 15 Best Man Caves on the Internet. A Man Cave, for those who do not know, is usually an area somewhere in the house (normally the garage or a spare room) designated for the guys to hang out in and do "guy things" like watch tons of sports or, in the case of one Australian homeowner, tons of The Dark Knight. I'm not exactly sure how much this cost, though Gizmag tells us the screening room won the highly commended prize in the 'above $100,000' category at CEDIA Asia Pacific annual awards, so more than likely this sucker cost a pretty penny to produce.
The room took about 20 days to piece together, while the installation of equipment and acoustic took another 8 days. Apart from very cool-looking and comfortable seats, as well as a big screen, the room also features a full wet bar and a bathroom that can be accessed via a remote-controlled sliding door.
From Gizmag: "Entry to the 'secret location' is via a remote-controlled pneumatic sliding door (unfortunately, not bat poles). A touch of the panel outside and the door opens, the lights turn on to a predetermined level, the projector and scaler come to life, and the processor goes into action. So, by the time you've chosen your movie and had your first mouthful of popcorn, everything is humming along, just like a well-oiled Batmobile."
Check out some images below and more stats on the equipment over at Gizmag. If you had the dough, would you put something like this in your home?
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