Movie News: Monday, October 23

MPAA Develops An Evil Of Piracy Program For Boys Scouts
   

I have never been a boy scout, so I can't claim to have a total understanding of what the program is really all about... but I do know that you can get badges. And come on... who doesn't like to get badges. My Sunday School once gave me a badge for HUMILITY... but later they took it away from me for wearing it. HAHA... get it? Oh never mind.

So now the Boy Scouts have a new program in the Los Angeles area that scouts can earn a badge for... learning about the evils of piracy... from the folks at the MPAA. Yeah, I thought it was a joke at first too. The good folks at Yahoo give us this:

Scouts will be instructed in the basics of copyright law and learn how to identify five types of copyrighted works and three ways copyrighted materials may be stolen. Scouts also must choose one activity from a list that includes visiting a movie studio to see how many people can be harmed by film piracy. They also can create public service announcements urging others not to steal movies or music.

Harrison says he is Fit Enough for Indiana Jones 4
   

With all the buzz and anti-buzz about the fourth Indiana Jones movie, at least ONE person involved is trying to put a positive spin on things.

SciFi Wire says:

Harrison Ford, speaking to the press at the Rome Film Festival last week, said that he feels "fit to continue" to play Indiana Jones, despite growing older, the Associated Press reported. Ford, 64, said that he was delighted to team up again with director Steven Spielberg and producer George Lucas for the film.

"We did three films that stay within the same block of time," Ford told reporters. "We need to move on for artistic reasons and obvious physical reasons. I feel fit to continue and bring the same physical action."

Harrison says he is fit enough to do the movie, and considering they are going to move the timeframe up a step, that wouldnt be hard. This is supposed to be an adventure of an older Indiana Jones. So he is just admitting that he is as 'unfit' as the character they are writing for him. Now to add some flavour to their monthly planned Indy4 tidbits, Ford admits that Connery may reprise his role too, calling Sean a "part of the emotional fabric of these films"

This movie will be forever in "pre-production". We should start a poll for which month they will declare they are NOT doing this movie after all.

Rachel McAdams is the Time Traveller's Wife
   

Rachel McAdams is easily one of the most distractingly attractive women in Hollywood today. This is not only her physical looks, but her personality as well. Shes proven herself with strong roles in Mean Girls, The Notebook and Wedding Crashers. (I still prefer her as a brunette) and she is not slowing down.

CinemaFusion gives us:

Rachel McAdams will be joining the ranks of the Time Traveler?s Wife, a film based on the 2003 novel by Audrey Niffenegger, according to Coming Soon. The movie will be penned by screenwriter Jeremy Leven (The Notebook) and the studios are in talks with a few directors, but haven?t come to a decision yet.

The movie ?is the story of Clare, a beautiful art student, and Henry, an adventuresome librarian, who have known each other since Clare was six and Henry was thirty-six, and were married when Clare was twenty-three and Henry thirty-one. Impossible but true, because Henry is one of the first people diagnosed with Chrono-Displacement Disorder: periodically his genetic clock resets and he finds himself misplaced in time, pulled to moments of emotional gravity in his life, past and future. His disappearances are spontaneous, his experiences unpredictable, alternately harrowing and amusing.?

No word yet on who her co-star will be. Of course many of the news sites are already hoping for Ryan Gosling, which I agree would be a good pick. The boy can act, and they clearly have great chemistry.

See Stan Lee and Kevin Smith LIVE!!
   

This is one event that I am truely dissappointed that I could not attend. This ranks up with some of the greatest opportunities in the entertainment industry.

FilmThreat reports:

Hollywood's Master Storytellers series presents Stan "The Man" Lee and Kevin Smith LIVE! On Monday, October 30th at 7:30pm, Hollywood's Master Storytellers will be presenting a screening of Spider-man 2 at the Grauman?s Chinese Theatres Complex in Hollywood. After the screening will be a live Q&A with Spider-man creator Stan Lee and filmmaker friend Kevin Smith. On top of seeing a comic book God live, come dressed as your favorite Stan Lee character and potentially win "Best Costume."

"Any time there?s a chance to share a podium with the always provocative, ever unpredictable, never dull Kevin Smith there?s no way I can refuse; especially when the function is an evening at Hollywood?s Master Storytellers which is one of the most enjoyable and thought provoking sessions any writer can find himself trapped in!" says Stan Lee. "The only negative about the whole affair is the fact that everyone?s saying I?m the one guy who won?t need a Halloween mask! I wonder if they?re tryin? to tell me something!"

Its no secret Kevin Smith idolizes Stan Lee, and is an avid comic collector himself. For anyone to achieve the credit to now be considered a close friend of your idol has to be a dream come true.

"An Evening with Kevin Smith" is incredibly entertaining. If you are a comic book fan/Kevin Smith fan or just a Movie nut, you should see this open discussion. Its incredible Kevin Smith is not just a Master Storyteller, but he is one of the finest communciators in our time - period. And now he teams up with a legend just to watch a movie and chat with people.

If you are richer than me, or live in the Hollywood area, and want to attend this event you can buy tickets at Hollywood Master Storytellers or at Mann Theatres

Michael Sheen hopes for Underworld prequel
   

Michael Sheen is doing a lot these days but apparently he hasn't forgotten where he started and wouldn't mind going back there. The people of cinemablend.com give us this:

Michael Sheen has been a busy little bee these days with no less than three projects up in the air, and that's just on the big screen. In an interview with Coming Soon about his current PR child The Queen, in which he plays British PM Tony Blair, CS took the opportunity to squeeze for a little fan boy juice. Here's what they came up with regarding that Underworld 3 prequel we told you about a while back.

When asked if he'd like to go back and play Lucian he said, " Oh, yeah, absolutely! I love playing that character. It's great, and I'm always amazed by how popular the character is with people who are into that sort of genre thing. He adds, "It's an incredibly popular character, so I think the idea is that we're trying to work out the whole idea of doing a third film. It would be a prequel and it would be about Lucian, the third film. Hopefully, we'll get that together.

Reasons against doing the prequel: Many prequels are not successful. Yes of course we hear about the winners like Star Wars but what about the poorly executed cash grabs that were Ginger Snaps back: the beginning or Tremors 4: the Legend begins or Butch and Sundance: the Early Days. Also Sheen has moved on in his career, he did a wonderful job as Tony Blair in The Queen, opposite Helen Mirren, he has the role of Nero Caesar in Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire and he will no doubt be getting better offers for interesting role that he hasn’t played before. Finally, there is just doesn't seem to be a lot of interest for another Underworld movie.

However there are reasons for this flick to go on ahead and beneficial parts to Sheen doing his role again. First is the fact that there is a new twist on the Underworld if it is delving into the life of Lucian may get fans interested in another movie. Also since Sheen’s role will have more screen time that means there will be more cash involved, probably quite a lot more. And also it does show respect for a film that really put Michael Sheen on the map.

Do I think it’s enough? Nope. It’s possible the Underworld Prequel will be a box office hit. But It think it will more likely be a blow to Sheen’s career.

What does everyone out there think, if Sheen goes through with this movie will it help or hurt his career?

Audio Edition - October 23rd 2006
   

On today's installment of the Audio Edition, Bruxy, Doug, Darren and I discuss:

1) Terminator 4 with no Arnie

2) More Halo stuff... this time Bungie wants someone to pay the bills without being "concerned about the numbers". Then why don't they pay for the damn movie themselves?

3) Wesley Snipes... have we seen the last of him?

4) Toronto After Dark Film Festival

5) Seinfeld Bee Movie

6) MPAA teaching Boy Scouts not to pirate

7) Hellraiser remake

8) Advertising to kids

All this an a few things more.

Subscribe to The Audio Edition on iTunes! iTunes will automatically download each new episode for you as soon as they go online! Just click this button. iTunes will open to the Audio Edition page. When it does, just click "subscribe". It's that easy!

Or you can manually download this installment of The Audio Edition here.

Bruxy Cavey's Site
Darren Conley's Site
Doug Nagy's Site

Climates
    ( Release: Oct. 27, 2006   Rated: Rating Pending    Details  ) —

Mini's First Time
    ( Released: 10/24/2006   Rated: R - for strong sexual content, language, drug use and a scene of violence   Avg. Score: 2/5     | Trailers | Photos | Reviews  ) — A rebellious girl (Nikki Reed) joins an escort service, only to discover that her stepfather (Alec Baldwin) is a client.

An American Haunting
    ( Released: 10/24/2006   Rated: PG-13   Avg. Score: 2.25/5     | Trailers | Photos | Reviews  ) — Two hundred years ago in Tennessee, a demon called Old Kate takes up residence with the family of John Bell (Donald Sutherland). It torments them and even causes a man's death. A local schoolteacher, Richard Powell (D'Arcy), witnesses the events and writes them down for his daughter.

'Perhaps Love' top Chinese prize nominee (AP)
   

AP - Peter Chan's musical movie "Perhaps Love" racked up the most nominations in the 43rd Golden Horse Awards, but a fellow Hong Kong director's comeback film and a mainland Chinese newcomer's heist comedy also emerged as top contenders in the major categories.

Monster House
    ( Released: 10/24/2006   Rated: PG - for scary images and sequences, thematic elements, some crude humor and brief language   Avg. Score: 4.75/5     | Trailers | Photos | Reviews  ) — Three kids set out one Halloween to score loads of candy. When they visit a seemingly haunted house, which may be responsible for the disappearance of other trick-or-treaters, their innocent outing turns into a dangerous adventure.

Nacho Libre
    ( Released: 10/24/2006   Rated: PG - for some rough action, and crude humor including dialogue   Avg. Score: 4/5     | Trailers | Photos | Reviews  ) — A poor friar (Jack Black) struggles to make a good meal for the kids at his orphanage. But after a chance encounter with a street thug, it occurs to him that maybe he could earn extra scratch by entering a local wrestling match. Soon his masked alter ego, Nacho, is born. Can he defeat Ramses, the most popular wrestler in all of Mexico?

Slither
    ( Released: 10/24/2006   Rated: R   Avg. Score: 5/5     | Trailers | Photos | Reviews  ) — In the small town of Wheelsy, Sheriff Bill Pardy (Nathan Fillion) becomes suspicious after animals and livestock go missing. When the town's richest man, Grant Grant (Michael Rooker), begins acting strangely, Pardy knows something is seriously wrong. An investigation by his team reveals that an ancient organism, in the form of disgusting little worms, has been infiltrating the community by burrowing into people's brains, which turns them into flesh-hungry lunatics.

First 'Halloween' to return to theaters (AP)
   

AP - Horror-film fans with a taste for `70s-style slasher antics can indulge themselves next week when the original "Halloween" movie returns to theaters for the first time in 27 years.

Review: 'Babel' strongest when simplest (AP)
   AP - "Babel" begins with one character walking through the Moroccan desert to sell his rifle and ends with another character finding her footing on the balcony of a Tokyo high rise.

Africa's ready for Hollywood close-up (AP)
   AP - The title of the latest film out of Africa — "Catch a Fire" — might describe what's happening with cinema on the continent.

CORRECTED: Gibson's "Apocalypto" poses marketing challenge (Reuters)
   Reuters - Talk about a hard sell: this movie stars unknown actors speaking an obscure language and is directed by a man whose off-screen behavior has outraged many.

Gibson's "Apocalypto" poses marketing challenge (Reuters)
   Reuters - Talk about a hard sell: this movie stars unknown actors speaking an obscure language and is directed by a man whose off-screen behavior has outraged many.

Red Sox good luck charm de la Rosa dies (AP)
   

AP - Nelson de la Rosa, a 2-foot-4 actor and ubiquitous good-luck charm for the Boston Red Sox during their 2004 World Series run, has died. He was 38.

While others eye Oscar, Bening looks for good roles (Reuters)
   

Reuters - Actress Annette Bening's losing record at the Oscars epitomizes that old saying -- always the bridesmaid, never the bride -- and a big question this season is whether she may suffer the same fate again.

NYC starting crackdown on film piracy (AP)
   AP - Film pirates are about to find the sailing a lot tougher in New York City.

Magic wins weekend with 'Prestige' debut (AP)
   AP - Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale worked some tricks at the box office as their tale of dueling magicians, "The Prestige," debuted at No. 1 for the weekend with $14.8 million.

"Prada" dressed to impress at foreign box office (Reuters)
   

Reuters - In a relatively quiet session internationally, "The Devil Wears Prada" dominated for a third consecutive weekend, logging an estimated $19 million from 46 markets as its foreign total rose to $104 million.

Hollywood looking for box office miracles (Reuters)
   Reuters - Ever since Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" earned $370 million at the domestic box office in 2004, Hollywood has been genuflecting in the direction of the newly discovered faith-based audience.