Movie News: Tuesday, October 24

Infection hospitalizes Esther Williams (AP)
   

AP - Esther Williams is in the hospital for treatment of a minor infection and will stay there for the rest of the week, the actress' publicist said Tuesday.

"Body Heat" sizzles on DVD (Reuters)
   Reuters - "You're not too smart, are you?" the femme fatale says to the fall guy. "I like that in a man."

Uganda rolls out red carpet for Idi Amin movie (Reuters)
   Reuters - The first day of shooting on "The Last King of Scotland" was taking place in front of a hospital in the Ugandan capital of Kampala. Director Kevin Macdonald yelled "Action!" and the scene sprang to life.

Clooney, Coens reunite for third movie (Reuters)
   

Reuters - George Clooney is reteaming with filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen for their third film together, "Burn After Reading," a spy caper about a CIA agent who loses the disc of the book he is writing.

Playstation 3 vs. Nintendo Wii
   

Rodney showed me this this morning... not really movie related... but hilarious. It's like the "Hello, I'm a Mac, and I'm a PC" commercials. I suddenly want to get a Wii.

Val Kilmer joins West Texas Children's Story
   

When I read that Val Kilmer was "going west" I got excited to see him in another western! His portrayal of Doc Holliday in Tombstone was so entertaining. But sadly that is not the case, in fact, its not even the part of the article that I liked.

MovieWeb reports:

Val Kilmer has joined the cast of '60s indie drama A West Texas Children's Story, which Polly Platt, Ryan Howe and Thom Mount are executive producing, according to Variety.

Written and helmed by Brad Isaacs in his directorial debut, the movie stars Matthew Modine, Lara Flynn Boyle, AnnaSophia Robb and Cayden Boyd. The film is shooting in Albuquerque, N.M.

The story revolves around two precocious youngsters who embark on a cross-country trip in search of adventure and a better life.

But as for the kids, I had to look up the names and I was pleasantly surprised to see who they were. Cayden Boyd was last seen in an emotional scene in XMen 3:The Last Stand, as the young Angel trying desperately to grind off his offending wing sprouts. Previous to that Boyd was "Max" the boy who dreams up the world Lava Girl and Shark Boy came from (super dumb movie). AnnaSophia Robb was the prissy competitive Violet Beauregarde in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, as well as staring along side our very own John Campea in next year's "Jumper" (ok, John is just an Extra!)

Both of these actors show a lot of potential even in their youth. Hopefully the choice to move these two youngsters into a leading role in a dramatic film will only back up their skills. Someone clearly believes in these short people, and hopefully we will get a wonderful film about it.

First 4 minutes of Borat
   

Sal sent me this this morning. The first 4 minutes of Borat. I like. Is Nice.

Great Quotes From "The Departed"
   

Craig's Movie Blog posted up a few choice quotes from The Departed (my movie of the year so far). This movie is gold... and so are these quotes.

Mark Wahlberg's character (Dignam):

"I'm the guy doing my job. You must be the other guy."

"Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe fuck yourself."

"You may play a tough guy for your gangster friends, but you don't get nothing past me, you lace-curtain Irish fucking pussy!"

"No, you don't know. Because if someone like you knew what we did, that would make us cunts. Are you calling us cunts?"

Alec Baldwin's character (Ellerby):

"I'm gonna go have a smoke right now. You want a smoke? You don't smoke, do ya, right? What are ya, one of those fitness freaks, huh? Go fuck yourself."

"Yes, those. I don't know what they are. You don't know what they are. Who gives a fuck?"

"Marriage is an important part of getting ahead. It lets people know you're not a homo. A married guy seems more stable. People see the ring, they think 'at least somebody can stand the son of a bitch.' Ladies see the ring, they know immediately that you must have some cash, and your cock must work."

Together:

"Go fuck yourself."
"I'm tired from fucking your wife."
"How is your mother?"
"Good. She's tired from fucking my father."

Sneak Peek at Venom from Spiderman 3
   

It was announced that the Spiderman 3 trailer will be released in all its glory before the new James Bond movie Casino Royale. Last time I went to a movie because of the Trailer, I had to endure Wing Commander to see the Star Wars trailer! Never again shall I be lured, but Casino Royale looks good anyways.

FilmRot pointed out these links to some ad sheets for some of the Spidey3 collectables.

Click here to see the ad sheet for the Statues
Click here to see the ad sheet for the MiniBusts
Click here to see the ad sheet for the Busts

Around The Web - October 24th 2006
   

Here is some other movie stuff around the web today that you might find interesting:

- Naming sequels perform better than just calling them "part 2"
Maybe, but "Die Hard: Live Free or Die Hard" is still the most bloody ridiculous title I've ever heard

- Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3
The subtitle should be "The hunt for people who actually care"

- The HD Format wars

- The Documentary Blog Wants Your Input
Just go over and tell Jay to try to be more like John. :P

- Jigsaw's Assistant Talks Saw III

- Snipes to continue filming in Namibia
Yeah... we're never going to see him in North America again

- Online magazine: Clooney No. 1 man's man

- First 'Halloween' to return to theaters
That's cool!

New York Takes the Battle Against Piracy to the Source
   

It looks like someone finally turned on the light. After years of trying to chase down people with pirated content, charging music downloaders, and making public service announcements that equate downloading a movie to stealing a car. I dont disagree with any of that, but its not solving anything.

Cinema Blend

They report that nearly 40 percent of the world's pirated movies are recorded in New York theaters, and Mayor Bloomberg has had enough. The city will start using public nuisance laws to prosecute the owners of buildings where movie pirates organize and sell their counterfeits. The idea seems to be to take way the places where pirates hide, and in doing so make them easier to catch.

That's not all though. Bloomberg plans to push the New York state legislature to enact stiffer penalties against scumbags who sneak cameras into theaters. He wants it made a felony for repeat offenders.

Teaching these values in schools and through groups like boyscouts might illustrate the difference between right and wrong, but it doesnt stop them from doing it. They told me about birth control in highschool and I still ended up with two kids.

Mandatory Vasectomies at age 14! This will solve the teen pregnancy problem!!!

Ok, so not every solution can apply to every problem. But its a good start in the right direction.

Marketing Apocalypto
   

One of the films I'm really looking forward to is the new Mel Gibson flick "Apocalypto". I think it looks incredible from what I've seen so far. Apparently the film has cost Gibson about $30 million to produce. But one of the huge challenges for the film is not making it good... but rather how on earth to market it.

There are a couple of big challenges for the marketing of Apocalypto:

1) It's subtitled

2) Unlike "Passion of the Christ" there isn't really a built in audience. Not a lot of public interest in ancient Mayan culture

3) The recent Mel Gibson drama (which, as predicted, seems to be going away)

Here's an odd move that's so crazy it just might work... Disney is going to market the film as "Mel Gibson's Apocalypto." Conventional wisdom might have suggested the marketing try to ignore Gibson's involvement because of the controversy surrounding him... but they're doing the opposite and going right at it. I like the move.

The other thing they're going to try to do is market directly at the Latino audience. The folks over at Yahoo give us this:

Rice said Disney had plans to market the film to Hispanic audiences already familiar with the fall of the Mayan empire. "We think this movie plays to a wide audience and that there's going to be a tremendous amount of interest generated from the Latino community, especially the Mexican community, because this is a story about their ancestors," Rice said.

Latino moviegoers represent a growing portion of the moviegoing public and are more apt to attend movies on opening weekend, Newman-Carrasco said. They also see more movies per capita than other U.S. ethnic groups, she said.

Michael J. Fox plunges into election (AP)
   

AP - The symptoms of Parkinson's disease that all but ended Michael J. Fox's acting career are making him a powerfully vulnerable campaign pitchman for five Democrats who support stem cell research.

The Return Gets Bumped To January
   

Sarah Michelle Gellar's career and popularity will never be as big as it was back in her Buffy The Vampire Slayer days. The projects she's appeared in so far have pretty much made me lose any faith in her acting ability or interest in her films in general.

So it really comes as no surprise to me at all that her new supernatural thriller movie "The Return" just got pushed back into the graveyard of movie release dates... January. The good folks over at JoBlo give us this:

(The Return) has been bumped back from its original November 10th release date. Instead, the film gets to open up the dreaded month of January of next year. January 19th, to be exact. As most film fanatics know, the early months of the year as usually reserved for studios dumping projects that they really don't have much faith in

"Flags" could win box office prestige in long run (Reuters)
   Reuters - Although "The Prestige" beat out "Flags of our Fathers" at the weekend box office, Clint Eastwood's World War Two drama could do better in the long term, if exit polling scores are anything to go by.

Howard, Bana on trail of "BTK killer" (Reuters)
   

Reuters - Eric Bana and Terrence Howard are attached to star in "Factor X," a thriller about the capture of the so-called "BTK killer" in Wichita.

"Half Nelson" is top nominee at Gotham Awards (Reuters)
   

Reuters - "Half Nelson," a drama about the bond between a drug-addicted junior high school teacher and one of his students, led the list of nominees for the Gotham Awards, organizers said Monday.

Mob puts squeeze on UK top film spot (Reuters)
   

Reuters - Martin Scorsese's mobster movie "The Departed" held on to the UK top spot in the box office charts over the weekend, keeping "The Devil Wears Prada" down in second place, according to Screen International figures on Tuesday.

La. judge: Rapper can't be interviewed (AP)
   

AP - A rapper under house arrest can be photographed at his home but cannot give interviews to promote his latest album, says the judge supervising his case.

On the Net: Artist faves on Mog.com (AP)
   AP - Mog.com is one online community that isn't shy about embracing the list in its enthusiasm for music. Maybe lists can seem trite, but who among us hasn't numbered their favorite bands, concerts or CDs?

Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes to wed in Italy (AP)
   

AP - Hollywood's most high-profile engaged couple have finally set a wedding date. Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes will marry in Italy on Nov. 18, Cruise's representative, Arnold Robinson, confirmed to The Associated Press on Tuesday.

Films offer prelude to midterm elections (AP)
   

AP - President Bush is getting another big-screen close-up. Two films touching on Bush open the same day, one about a country trio ashamed the president's from their home state, the other chronicling his fictional assassination.

CNN, NPR will not promote Bush assassination movie (Reuters)
   

Reuters - Major U.S. news outlets CNN and National Public Radio will not air paid ads or sponsor announcements for a controversial movie depicting the assassination of President George W. Bush, citing the film's content, network spokeswomen said on Tuesday.

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes set wedding date (Reuters)
   

Reuters - After a whirlwind courtship and the birth of a baby, Hollywood's most famous unmarried couple, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, have set a date for their wedding.

Weinstein Co. joins anti-smoking fight (AP)
   AP - You've seen the no-smoking signs at neighborhood theaters. Get ready to install one in your TV set.

Review: 'Catch a Fire' a tense tale (AP)
   AP - "Catch a Fire" takes place in apartheid-era South Africa, but identifying the good guys and bad guys isn't always as simple as black and white.

Eragon - Trailer I
   Based on the best-selling novel, this epic fantasy-adventure centers on a young man named Eragon whose destiny is revealed with the help of a dragon. Eragon, now a Dragon Rider, is swept into a world of magic and power, discovering that he alone has the power to save or destroy an Empire.