Movie News: Thursday, November 02

Movie Happening - South Asian International Film Festival in New York
   The festival exhibited a wide variety films including Manish Jha's Matruboomi: A Nation Without Women and Anwar. 21 films had their world premiere including the Bollywood musical Jaan-E-Mann starring Salman Khan, Preity Zinta and Akshay Kumar.

Interview - Koel Purie
   "Acting makes me real actually. All the emotional chaos that is building up inside me. acting gives vent to it and an artistic vent. It channelizes me. I feel most alive and most real when I am playing someone else. It is the most beautiful form of expressing everything that is going on within. "

Profile - Ayesha Takia
   Bollywood is full of aspiring starlets who, in their first interview, claim that they will not expose or kiss. However, they forget their resolve as soon as the next happening director or a big banner film comes their way. Ayesha Takia comes as a breath of fresh air in such an industry. She said she won't kiss and she won't. Not even for a leading director like Nagesh Kukunoor.

Santa runs out of steam in "Clause 3" (Reuters)
   Reuters - Sometimes the third time is the charm. Other times it's three strikes and you're out.

Actress Adrienne Shelly dead in New York (AP)
   AP - Adrienne Shelly, an actress best known for her roles in the Hal Hartley films "Trust" and "The Unbelievable Truth," was found dead in her office by her husband, her agent said Thursday.

Deneuve, Rowlands lend voices to Iranian saga (Reuters)
   Reuters - Catherine Deneuve and Gena Rowlands have signed on to voice characters in the English-language version of the French animated film "Persepolis."

"Clause" will have greatest effect at box office (Reuters)
   Reuters - Sacha Baron Cohen's Kazakh reporter Borat may well receive the most media attention when his mockumentary "Borat" opens in theaters across North America this weekend.

Hollywood writers, studios spar over digital works (Reuters)
   

Reuters - Hollywood's rush to offer programs on the Web, iPods and cell phones may be slowed by growing resistance from writers and actors who want a bigger slice of revenues from digital media.

Penguin cartoon overcame blizzard of obstacles (Reuters)
   Reuters - Seven years ago, "Happy Feet" was just a gleam in the eye of Australian filmmaker George Miller, who produced both "Babe" movies and directed the 1998 sequel "Babe: Pig in the City."

Denzel's book gives credit to mentors (AP)
   AP - Denzel Washington says his path to becoming an Academy Award-winning actor was paved by people like an English teacher and a barber he knew as a child.

Music Happening - Monograph on Ustad Bismillah Khan released
   His admirers can browse through a monograph on the legend that was Ustad Bismillah Khan. The autographed monograph was launched to mark the last day of rituals following his death. . The foreword in the monograph is by veteran Hindustani vocalist Rita Ganguli.

Music Happening - Anand-Milind: Together and Thriving
   Music composer duos who give great hits seem to get along for, say, a decade. Then, it is splits Ville. Now, horror of horrors, will Anand-Milind split too? They came into their own with the super hit Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak. They complete 25 years in the industry in 2006. Milind emotionally says that he hopes he gets another lifetime with his brother.

Movie Happening - Rahul for the safety of 'Gentle Giants'
   Bollywood stars are constantly contributing to charity and lending their names to good causes. The latest to join the good-hearted star crowd is Rahul Khanna. The actor heard from PETA about an elephant which was badly injured by a truck in Chembur, Mumbai recently. He immediately wrote a letter requesting the Chief Minister of Maharashtra to stop entry of elephants into Mumbai.

Profile - Prabha Atre
   Dr. Atre, a legendary music maestro, winner of Padmashree, Padmabhushan, celebrated her 75th birthday. Dr. Prabha Atre has been performing for more than 55 years making Indian music popular the world over. She is a brilliant thinker, performer, composer, academician, author, poet and guru. She is the pioneering vocalist to popularize the Indian art music in the West, along with Pt. Ravi Shankar in early 1970s giving full length classical vocal music concerts.

Profile - Suchitra Pillai
   Remember Suchitra Pillai? The dusky stunner who was seen in Dil Chahta Hai and Pyaar Ke Side Effects? After marriage to a handsome Dutch man, she is now singing for a film.Suchitra Pillai is singing a song in the film Marigold - a number called Yaara. Is she planning to turn singer?

Profile - Shaad Randhawa
   He has the quintessential good looks of a Bollywood Star, but what sets him apart from his contemporaries is his natural flair for acting and so little wonder he has been roped in by none other than the articulate Mr. Mahesh Bhatt. Meet Shaad Randhawa, the nephew of yesteryear actress and heartthrob Mumtaz and actor in 'Woh Lamhe'. The film based on the life of the late Parveen Babi has been in the news ever since its announcement.

Music Review - Khosla ka Ghosla
   'Din din gin gin' is sung by Kunal Ganjawalla in an impressive low pitch. It begs to be heard. It reminds you so much of Gulzar's lyrics complicated subjective and requiring explanation!! Bapi Tutul and Adnan Sami team up in 'Ab kya karenge'. Sowmya Raoh's 'Intezaar aitbaar humse pyar' is by far the most listenable number in this album.

Music Review - Mere Piya
   With five albums behind her, Saapna Mukherji has tried to do gentle soulful melodies this time around. Non film number and a duet with Sonu Nigam make up the album titled Mere piya. Saapna has tried her best to make the album stand out from the usual non film fare. As she admits she sat through the writing, composing, and remixing. She was so keen that this one doesn't go the way of all non film albums.

Movie Review - Zindaggi Rocks
   The story has potential to appeal the audience emotionally and make them think about their life and relationships. The story tells you about a mother who sacrifices to save the life of her ailing son. The film is the story of a singer, rock star Kria (Sushmita Sen) who has a stern mother and a fun-loving mausi (both roles played by Moushmi Chatterjee). Sushmita Sen brings the intensity in her character and adds depth to her role.

Movie Preview - Mr. Hot Mr. Kool
   A story of two friends. Lucky Aka Laxman Prasad (Zulfi Syed) and Pat Aka Prem Amar Tripathi (Yash Pandit) are friends. They lead aimless lives, absolutely haywire and disillusioned. At one point of time Lucky tells Pat that they both have same girl in their lives. Pat thinks that Lucky too loves Pooja and hence things get more complicated between the friends. More confusion brings more laughter.

Movie Review - Bhoot Unkle
   Aimed at kids, It tries to entertain the kids through a fantasy. The plot revolves around a haunted lighthouse, a Lord Shiva idol, a dead pirate, and a kid. The screenplay (by Rajiv Agrawal and Veeru Shahane) fails to come out with any novelty that could attract today's young minds. BHOOT UNKLE does have some entertaining moments in the first half.

Gibson gets Latino vision award for "Apocalypto" (Reuters)
   

Reuters - Mel Gibson may have few friends left in the Jewish community but his upcoming movie "Apocalypto" could make him a hero with U.S. Latinos.

Movie Review - Woh Lamhe
   Film is based on a real life incident that said to have taken place in Mahesh Bhatt's life. The story revolves around his turbulent relationship with the late actress Parveen Babi. It is a hard-hitting, complicated love story between an aspiring filmmaker and a schizophrenic actress. Mohit Suri, with guidance from his mentor Bhatt, comes out with flying colors.

Interesting article on IPTV and VoD Developments
   

cNet has a pretty all-inclusive article outlining some of the bigger developments into IPTV and VoD technologies, as well as how some TV networks are starting to utilize them.

"In terms of the technology, all the elements are falling into place to deliver high-quality video from the Net directly to viewers in their living rooms. Software has been developed to ensure the quality of video distributed over the Net. And companies such as Microsoft and Cisco Systems' Linksys home division are developing products that enable Internet video to be viewed on TV sets instead of only on PC screens."

From The Internet and the future of TV.

--Sean

It's starting - niche online video production is gaining ground
   

Interesting article on how smaller, cheaper video production houses specializing in online content are starting to find their niche. Goes to show that there are now three 'screens' to think about in the video world. No longer is there only the big screen (film) and the small screen (TV), but now the very-small screen (computers) is starting to eat up a bigger piece of the pie. And if this year's massive box office slump is any indication, it's the big screen that's losing out as people spend more and more time with their home theaters and computers.

"Today, similar commercial and professional video is surging online. As Comcast and other cable networks have begun targeting broadcast ads as precisely as the plus-four Zip Code, the opportunities for precise, local targeting are creating market needs for these smaller advertisers to produce video."

From Mark Naples' Mediapost article, "The Trickle Down of Interactive Business Growth."

--Sean

New cell networks launch with a focus on data and multimedia
   

New mobile networks are launching that focus on broadband data services and multimedia. These networks are aimed mainly at Gen Y early adopters, and they are banking heavily on music and video content. Yep, video content streaming to phones is on its way! Since these networks are marketed to the young price will be a big issue, so hopefully they allow cheap data services and bank on charging incremental fees per video or per song downloaded. I hope they go this route because I'll never download a bullshhh ringtone in my life as a defiant stand against stupidity :-) I'll get that cheap data and actually use it for something productive.

New York Times article on new cell networks

--Sean

New Emmy award category for computer & mobile video
   

Well I guess I need a new 'thing' to talk about. Since the launch of this site I've been keeping a sharp eye on mobile video and other non-traditional uses of video technology. Now the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences is expected to announce a new award category for - you guessed it - mobile and computer based video. As if there were any better way to give this new medium a big, fat stamp of approval! The award is meant to recognize "original video content for computers, cellphones and other hand-held devices, like the video iPod and PlayStation Portable".

Note the word 'original'. This means that just shrinking down a TV show for an iPod Video isn't going to cut it. This means that niche content producers specializing in web, mobile, and other new uses of video, now have an award category. This means that the billions of dollars that will be available in the mobile and computer video space may not all go to traditional video production houses who plan to run their product through Sorenson or Media Cleaner and call it 'web content'.

So what will qualify for 'original' content for mobile devices? According to the New York Times, the NATAS says that, "Entries cannot be from television shows that have already been shown. Potential submissions include video blogs, web programs, event coverage, mobile phone serials and other video-on-demand content. They cannot exceed 20 minutes."

Thank God that excludes the latest episode of sluts in the suburbs...*ahem*..."Desperate Housewives" downloaded from iTunes for $1.99.

See you in the future.

Read about the new Emmy award in the New York Times

--Sean

Tom Cruise, MGM to revive United Artists studio (Reuters)
   

Reuters - Two months after his bitter break with Paramount Pictures, superstar Tom Cruise has teamed with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. to revive United Artists, the fabled but moribund studio founded by four of the biggest names in early Hollywood, MGM said on Thursday.

50 million podcast users in 2010? Yeah right.
   

User generated media is on a roll these days, and I too am a major proponent of the technology. I think podcasting, blogs, videoblogs, and all the other Web 2.0 glory is the future. However I don't think every part of the Web 2.0 utopia is actually going to be as big as some predict. I smell a little DotCom 2.0 going hand in hand with Web 2.0.

Take the latest report from eMarketer, Podcast Projections. 50 million podcast listeners in 2010? You have to be kidding me. I don't know *anyone* who listens to podcasts, and I'm a tech savvy guy living and working in online media in San Francisco. This is ground zero for Web 2.0, and podcasts simply aren't a compelling media format for me or anyone I've met.

And this goes for most of the Web 2.0 fever that seems to be almost universal these days. Sure, some tech savvy folks with lots of time on their hands are videoblogging away, but how many people are really watching? Sure Joe Techie can theoretically be heard worldwide by podcasting. Sure podcasts and videoblogs are democratizing media. But who's listening? Reminds me of a quote:

"If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it, does it really make a sound?"

In other words, users can generate all the media they want, but how valuable is it? Who really cares? I think some - not all - but some of the hype around blogs, MySpace and other Web 2.0 apps is just like the hype surrounding those who had their own webpages in the 90's. Remember in 1995 when anyone could have a webpage for the world to see? Guess what? Nobody visited 99% of those webpages. Just like almost no one will listen to the vast majority of podcasts, watch the vast majority of videoblogs, or read the vast majority of text blogs.

--Sean

Sprint to offer feature length films for mobile phones
   

For only $6.95 per month Sprint is offering full movie streaming downloads to its wireless subscribers. Great price, great concept, but even in the Reuters article I picked the story up from they caveat the statement with the question of whether or not people actually want to watch full length movies on their phones. Speaking only for myself, the answer is, "No."

As I've said in many previous posts, the screen is too small, the experience too far removed, and the fact that the average phone battery will probably die before it can even finish playing a two hour film aren't going to help it much either.

Despite the shortcomings it is a large step forward for the idea of mobile video content.

--Sean

Advertising Age verifies my predictions about mobile video.
   

Today Scott Donaton, editor of a major ad industry magazine 'Advertising Age', proclaimed that "TV CAN'T BE YOUR TEMPLATE FOR THIRD-SCREEN CONTENT - Repurposed TV Sitcoms and Dramas Aren't the Answer". Can anyone say, "I told you so?" This has been more or less the overall theme of this blog since I launched it last April. I first started to get into the subject in June with my Future of Online Video post, and I then followed up with my predictions for the Future of Mobile Video over 6 months ago.

So, much like Steven Colbert is on a crusade to claim the word 'truthiness' as his creation, I too would just like to say that you heard it here first!

Read the Ad Age article here

--Sean

Upload your video and share it with the world
   

A video is nothing if it's not seen. To get your video out there I've put together a quick list of sites that you can upload to for free. Beyond uploading to free sites, hosting your video on your own site with a Media RSS (mRSS) feed is also a really good idea. Anyway, the sites I recommend posting to are:

Current.tv
Kill Some Time
OurMedia.org
Blip.tv
DailyMotion.com
vSocial
Revver
ClipShack.com
Grouper.com
CastPost.com
Blinkx.tv
iFilm
YouTube
Vimeo
Google Video

I'm now on a new server!
   

If you can see this post then you're on the new Sean Mulholland site! I've upgraded my backend software and moved to a new server, and I've tested the site and things look good. Of course, if you notice anything please contact me and let me know the problem. I'll try and resolve it ASAP.

Thanks!

--Sean

Crowe takes swipe at U.S. legal system (AP)
   AP - Russell Crowe, who pleaded guilty last year to third-degree assault for throwing a phone at a hotel clerk, says the incident would be downplayed in his home country of Australia.

Generation Y / Millenials are changing the world already
   

I'm on the upper end of Gen Y. At 25 I'm in the older spectrum of this generation that is loosely defiened as the people currently in their mid 20's down to about 12 years old. Some definitions of Gen Y actually exclude me, and others go all the way up to 30 years old. But that's besides the point.

The point is the generation that was raised by the Internet is changing the world. Socializing, communication, formality, attitude, and various other aspects of our generation are in many ways inventions of our generation. I don't mean to suggest that Gen Y invented IM - many older people likely wrote that code - but the way that IM is coming to be a major part of communication among Gen Y is an invention of ours.

Internet forums and blogs are another example. Now this arena isn't all Gen Y, many participators are clearly older. But the social mores of this culture are strongly influenced by the Gen Y millenial culture. The emoticons, the LOL ROFL WTF OMG 1337 abbreviations, etc. Many of these originated at least in part from Gen Y, especially the older end of the culture, as we started to integrate the 'net into our lives in the mid 90's.

Then there's the looser attitudes about formality, the lessened sense that one needs to make an impression through physical appearance. Sociologists attribute this to several things. One idea is that our Boomer parents were of a generation that stressed individuality and freedom, so Gen Y is a product of that. Others think that millenials are so loose because our increasingly virtualized forms of communication through cell phones, text messaging, social networks, online video sites, IM, and email are making physical contact - and thus appearance - less important.

In an article in USA Today, one teacher blames society as a whole and puts it this way, "I don't think we're requiring civic responsibility anymore - the social graces, ceremony and ritual, dress codes, social mores and manners," ... "My students seem to be saying, 'I can separate myself from whatever experience I'm in and create my own bubble.' "

Is that such a bad thing - the removal of traditional ceremony and ritual? Some see those as bonding elements of a society, a common thread if you will, that holds society together, and the loss of these elements is a dire sign. There's no doubt that many traditions are being marginalized. But what is the effect? Is the Internet and other shared, virtualized communities replacing the old world with a new one, a new thread to hold people together?

San Francisco for example has many radically individualized people - people who don't really associate with any 'thing' and define themselves almost entirely from within. While FOX News might comment that the society in SF is the root of all evil, the strangely scattered culture of San Francisco still manages to work depite the lack of a strong common bonding element. People find common ground in a diverse range of places. The SF Giants, political views, music, drinking, career, clothes, neighborhood, dogs, bikes, or whatever. Even though the old, traditional, and almost universal social codes, such as dressing up for church on Sunday, might be largely forgotten, people are still finding ways to have a common ground.

I have some opinions, but I haven't considered the topic enough to be confident that they really represent how I feel. What are your thoughts?

Slivercasting - Niche video content channels find a place on the web
   

Been a long time since I posted here! I've been spending most of my time on my other site lately. Too bad - I have a big backlog of posts I meant to do...most are probably old news now.

But one that is fairly recent is slivercasting. I'm not so sure I like that name, but that's what the NY Times is trying to dub it. Basically, it's niche content channels finding an audience on the web. Not exactly groundbreaking, but given that recent stats put US broadband penetration at 66% the market is finally ripe for streaming video. Broadband penetration has literally been the infrastructure that iTunes, YouTube, and other media sites have been built upon.

Looks like my thoughts about web specific video production might have been on point. For you video guys out there who aren't down with Hollywood, it's an interesting avenue to consider.

Steven Spielberg to produce equivalent of 'American Idol' for Filmmakers
   

Interesting to 1) see Spielberg get into something as 'low' as reality TV and 2) see how a one hour show can possibly showcase filmmaking talent, even if they're doing little five minute shorts. The public at large would only be seeing little bits and pieces of the filmmakers work in such a short format. My guess is that there will be an online component where viewers can watch the pieces in their entirety and vote from there.

If they cut the voting and make it an 'America's Next Top Model' style show where judges do the work that would be more fair in my opinion. The public chooses horrible films in the People's Choice Awards, so if that's any indication, I'm a little worried about their ability to judge great filmmaking talent... I'm looking forward to seeing how the show turns out.

http://news.independent.co.uk/media/article356465.ece

Guess I picked the right industry after all...
   

MSN / Careerbuilder along with Robert Half International Inc. put together a list of the four hottest, cutting edge jobs of 2006. Robert Half, which bills itself as, "...the world's first and largest specialized staffing firm with a global network of more than 330 offices throughout North America, Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand," is a large HR research firm which recently named 'Search Engine Optimizer' as #2 on its list of cutting edge jobs.

Check out the full article here

And another article from the Wall Street Journal. According to Jeremy Cornfeldt, VP at Carat Fusion (a large interactive agency), "For the next few years, search should remain white hot."

WSJ Career Journal Article

AOL Search Data Release
   

So I've been following this story like any good search marketer should, and it raises some interesting questions. For those not familiar with the story, read this:

http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/15325521.htm

In short, it has proven that users' identities can be deduced from anonymized search data. This means that even if my search queries aren't marked 'Sean Mulholland', they still have a shot at figuring out who I am from my search queries alone.

Makes you wonder just how much info the feds can deduce from the search data they've been given. Makes me glad I'm a Google user as they're the only engine that resisted the subpoena.

Government Supoenas Search Data from Major Search Engines

The Power of Video Editing
   

Doesn't matter what you shoot, the editor can completely change the look and feel of the piece! Check out this example...

Movie "Bobby" painful for Kennedys, Bobby Jr says (Reuters)
   Reuters - The son of Robert F. Kennedy said he probably won't see "Bobby," the new movie about his father's assassination in 1968, because it would be too painful.

A look at United Artists' notable films (AP)
   AP - United Artists has released many notable films since it was formed by a group of Hollywood stars in 1919. Some of them:

Audio Edition - November 2nd 2006
   Ok folks, here we are... the last REGULAR installment of the Mail Bag. As you'll hear in the...

"This is only a sumary of the Movie Blog article. Please visit us at www.themovieblog.com for the full post"

Actor Heder says learning to handle fame (Reuters)
   

Reuters - U.S. actor Jon Heder says one of the biggest challenges that came with his new-found fame was being recognized in public but he is learning how to handle this.

Review: `Santa Clause 3' a ho-hum time (AP)
   AP - Down the chimney St. Nick comes with a thud in "The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause," the needless third — and hopefully last — time Tim Allen will suit up as the jolly old elf.

Film on Miami drug trade is bootleg hit (AP)
   AP - When Billy Corben and Alfred Spellman learned their new documentary was a top seller at a Miami flea market, they were surprised — and confused, because the film wasn't out yet.

Tom Cruise, MGM form new United Artists (Reuters)
   

Reuters - U.S. movie superstar Tom Cruise and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. are resurrecting United Artists, the movie studio founded more than 80 years ago by screen legends including Charlie Chaplin and Mary Pickford, MGM said on Thursday.

Tom Cruise, partner, to run film studio (AP)
   AP - Tom Cruise and producing partner Paula Wagner have been put in charge of United Artists, a film studio that was formed by Hollywood actors including Charlie Chaplin and Mary Pickford.

Robert De Niro Partnering Up With 50 Cent
   

Robert De Niro is one of the all time great actors. Not many people would disagree with that statement in general. But let's be honest with each other. The man's career has been horrible for 10 years straight. Not only has he been in horrible movies... but really... he has not performed up to his high standard. Maybe it's because his attention is on more important things in this world right now, maybe he's distracted with the Tribecca Film Festival... or maybe he's just losing it (although I doubt it), but there is no denying this great man's career is in full throttle decline. Want more proof? It looks like he about to co-star with... ug... 50 Cent.

Yes, that's right. 50 "I'm a rapper, not an actor" Cent. Apparently they're going to be partners in a new cop movie that uses the events of Hurricane Katrina as the background. Yeah... cause I'm sure 50 cent, who couldn't even convince me he could play himself, is going to be a believable cop. Good grief.

Let's look at the De Niro films of the last 8 years:

Hide and Seek - Please... who didn't see that ending coming from a mile away?
Meet the Fockers - Crap crap crap compared to the first one
Shark Tale - Do i have to say anything?
Godsend - Mystique looked hot... and.. .umm... that's about it
Analyze That - On my top 10 worst sequels of all time list
City by the Sea - Yaaawwwnnnn
Showtime - William Shatner outperformed them both
The Score - With that cast it should have been 10x better, but it's like none of them even tried
15 Minutes - How sad is it when Oleg Taktarov (UFC Champion) gives the best performance in it?
Meet the Parents - A great film... the only one on this list
Men of Honor - Not sure how this even got made
The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle - A total embarrassment
Flawless - Even with Philip Seymour Hoffman joining him, this movie was garbage

De Niro needs to focus on acting again and find a role to really sink his teeth into... much like Al Pachino did with Angels in America and The Merchant of Venice (which I still say is the best performance he's ever given). BUT WHAT HE SHOULD NOT DO, IS SIGN UP FOR ANOTHER CRAP MOVIE WITH 50 FUCKING CENT. Yeah... that'll reinvigorate the old career.

I'm not big into Hip Hop, so I can't comment on "fiddy"'s musical ability, although people tell me he's quite good. BUT THE MAN CAN'T ACT TO SAVE HIS LIFE. Did you see Get Rich or Die Tryin??? The man couldn't even play himself?!?! He's a musician... not a freaking actor!

WHY OH WHY OH WHY would De Niro do this?!?! Has his career really gotten so pathetic that he needs to resort to this? Does he think this will attract a new generation to be his fans? What the hell is he thinking?!?! Robert... PLEASE... for god's sake... for the sake of all of us who have been your fans for years... GET A GRIP!

Source: Cinema Blend

Batman VS. Superman Still Alive
   

Batman Vs. Superman is I believe what ever single self respecting comic fan wants to see (ok, I'm exaggerating, but I know an awful lot of people who want to see this movie get made). In the last year, there have been a lot of on again / off again rumors and rumblings about the projects chances.... mostly negative... but they just won't seem to go away.

The good folks over at Cinematical give us the following:

(It is being suggested that) the desire for such a film (Batman vs. Superman) was part of the motivation behind Warner Brothers offering Bryan Singer another go-around with the Man of Steel despite their obvious dissatisfaction with his first performance. Warner has been angling hard at a versus movie for the two titans for a number of years now, and the recent successful relaunch of the Batman franchise with Begins certainly had to encourage them. When the Superman hype machine geared up and everyone expected it to be even bigger than Batman, Warner had to be simply salivating over the possibilities. Superman may not have blown the doors off the box office, but it certainly didn't flop, and so Warner isn't willing to give up yet.

So why do so many people want to see these two duke it out? It's not just because they're the two most popular characters ever created in the DC universe... but because they represent two totally opposite views of the world and how to engage it. Superman is all ethics, total pure morality... often called "The Boy Scout" for good reason. Batman is more shades of grey than black and white. Darker, more twisted in his thinking and pessimistic about human nature as a result of his past history.

The collision between the two on screen would be fantastic... not just because of the fight... but the opportunities for conflict, verbal barbs, and the colliding and expressing of those two different world views would be a hell of a lot of fun to see.

The reality is that this film probably won't happen in the next 10 years. But man I hope I'm wrong. I'd love to see this.

Blockbuster Allows Returning Mail Movies To Stores. Brilliant!
   

I'm not the most positive cat around, and quite often I'll blast companies on this site for doing stupid things (which they often do). But give credit where credit is due. Blockbuster has just announced a BRILLIANT move for their online order mail delivery service that competes with Netflix. Starting Wednesday, you can actually return your mail order movies right at a Blockbuster if you want instead of mailing it back (which you can still do.

There are a couple of major benefits to this move.

1) For Blockbuster, it takes advantage of the one thing they have Netflix doesn't. Actual stores.

2) Returning the videos to my local store (walking distance to my place) means I get my new movies faster, since these companies don't send out the new movies in your queue until the other ones are returned. The day you turn them in at the Blockbuster, they are immediately listed in the system as "returned" and your new movies get shipped out

3) This one is AWSOME! When you return a mail movie directly to the store, they immediately give you a FREE in store rental THAT DOESN'T COUNT AGAINT YOUR QUEUE OR AGAINST YOUR MAXIMUM MOVIE COUNT! You still have to returns this free movie like you would any other regular rental... but it's free!

4) When you return a mail move to the store you ALSO get 1 free movie rental coupon. This also doesn't count against your queue or your maximum movie count.

I have never used any of these online order mail delivery movie services, but this new move by Blockbuster may have just sold me on the idea. I think I'm going to try it out. Why on earth would I use Netflix now?

Your thoughts?

Pedophile priest film vies for documentary prize (Reuters)
   Reuters - "Deliver Us From Evil," which examines the sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic church, and "Iraq in Fragments," in which Iraqis recount life during wartime, are among the films nominated for the 22nd annual Distinguished Documentary Achievement Awards.

Metcalfe gets "Loaded" in new film (Reuters)
   Reuters - "Desperate Housewives" hunk Jesse Metcalfe is set to star as a rich club kid in "Loaded," an indie project being sold at the American Film Market underway in Santa Monica.

Brian De Palma confirms that he will touch The Untouchables in prequel
   

In it's name as well as it's caliber many people feel that The Untouchables should remain that way but it will be touched, by the original creator of the movie Brian De Palma. The people over at cinematical.com give us this:

Although the rumor had been lingering around for over a year now, Brian De Palma will officially begin production on a prequel to The Untouchables this June. The Untouchables: Capone Rising will be based off a script written by Brian Koppelman and David Levien, the same duo who brought us films like Rounders, Knockaround Guys and the upcoming Ocean's Thirteen.

Story will revolve around Al Capone's early days on the mob scene, and how his rise to power was due, in part, to the seedy, corrupt side of law enforcement. Pic will also focus on Capone's relationship with detective Jimmy Malone (played by Sean Connery in De Palma's 1987 film), a dirty cop who vows to turn his life around after exposing himself to Capone's violent, illegal and dangerous behavior. If De Palma plans to start shooting this thing in June, a cast should be announced fairly soon.

However De Palma must work diligently, and I mean be pristine if he is going to get away with going back to this perfect crime. Because if he gets lazy and just wants to ride on the name of The Untouchables for some cash he is going to loose big time. Fortunately I don't think that's his intention. I can understand wanting to do this style of film again if I was De Palma, to do it twenty year later with that much more experience.

I say good luck to him.

The story sounds good, that is a key factor, the other is the casting. One thing is certain in my mind; if they pull any weak actors this movie will be wearing some major cement shoes.

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