Movie News: Wednesday, November 29

Audio Edition - November 27th 2006
   On today's volume of The Audio Edition I'm joined by Doug Nagy, Serena Whitny and Jesse Bonner. Together we discuss: 1) Films for Food Fest 2) The Fountain flopping 3) Peter Jackson Lying to his fans 4) New Transformers images 5) Smurfs trilogy 6) Are we sick of Jack Black? 7) Why does no one buzz about Denzel Washington anymore? 8) Stuff we've watched on DVD and TV...

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Nicole Kidman Commands Top Dollar (E! Online)
   

E! Online - Nicole Kidman is sitting pretty. 

The $16 million-$17 million that the Aussie actress commands per film has landed her atop the Hollywood Reporter's fifth annual list of the 10 highest-paid actresses in Hollywood.

Will Borat Hurt Bruno?
   The phenon that is Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan has hit its high and looks like its hitting its low. This might mean bad news for Cohen Fans. Cinematical says:You knew the love feast about Borat had to end. The film has grossed more than $100 million, and audiences seem to find entertaining the news stories about the non-actors who were...

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Banderas gives back to Spain by directing "The English Path"
   The title of Antonio Bandera's new film is El Camino de los Ingleses which translated means The English Path. According to yahoo.com he is using the path that he took in English Hollywood to now help pay it forward to the next generation of actors from his home country of Spain. Here's the news: Antonio Banderas' second turn as a director is a far cry from cinematic romps like "The Mask of...

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Because No One Demanded it - Starship Troopers 3
   I guess I must be under a rock. I dont recall there being a Starship Troopers 2! MovieHole quotes ?Looks like - fingers crossed - Sony is moving forward?, Neumeier, who will write & direct the film, tells Moviehole. ?Plans are afoot to shoot next year. Casper Van Dien will be back as Colonel John Rico. There'll be a new bug or two. Also draft riots. Religion makes a comeback. And the...

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Independant's Spirit Awards nominations announcements
   Well it's that time of the year again, awards announcements time, Independent?s Spirit Awards have announced their nominations first. I picked up the list from monstersandcritics.com, here it is: Nominations for the 2007 Film Independent?s Spirit Awards were announced November 28, including nominations for Best Feature, which are ?American Gun;? ?The Dead Girl;? ?Half Nelson;? ?Little Miss...

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Sundance competition films offer hope, optimism (Reuters)
   Reuters - The Sundance Film Festival, the top U.S. gathering for movies made outside Hollywood, unveiled 64 competing titles on Wednesday for January's event that organizers said show a sense of optimism among their artists.

Sundance competition films offer hope (Reuters)
   

Reuters - The Sundance Film Festival, the leading U.S. showcase for movies made outside Hollywood, unveiled 64 competing titles on Wednesday for January's event that organizers said express a sense of optimism among their artists.

Regal to stand firm on movie, DVD window (Reuters)
   

Reuters - The "window" between a movie's theatrical release and its DVD release will keep shrinking, but the top U.S. movie theater chain will take strong measures to ensure it never collapses, Regal Entertainment Group Chief Executive Michael Campbell said on Wednesday.

Curse of the Golden Flower - Trailer 3
   The plot concerns the volatile balance of power between the King (Chow Yun Fat) and the Queen (Gong Li) and his three sons, which entails betrayal, deceit and passion, pitting the King against Queen and father against sons. The glorious canvas includes many of the creative team behind HERO and HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS.

Kidman tops list of highest-paid actress (AP)
   

AP - Nicole Kidman is the queen of Hollywood when it comes to money. The Oscar winner, who earns as much as $17 million per movie, tops the fifth annual list of highest-paid actresses released Wednesday by The Hollywood Reporter.

"Ice Age" hot atop DVD charts (Reuters)
   Reuters - In a rare feat for an animated family movie, "Ice Age: The Meltdown" debuted at No. 1 on both the national DVD sales and rental charts the week ending November 26.

Filmmaker Sofia Coppola gives birth to baby girl (Reuters)
   

Reuters - Filmmaker Sofia Coppola, who won a screenwriting Oscar for "Lost in Translation," has given birth to a baby girl with her boyfriend, French singer Thomas Mars, Coppola's representative said on Wednesday.

Kidman knocks Roberts off high-paid actress list (Reuters)
   

Reuters - Nicole Kidman was Hollywood's highest-paid actress in 2006, nudging America's sweetheart, Julia Roberts, from the top spot for the first time in five years, according to an annual showbiz earnings list.

Mel Gibson feels Michael Richards' pain (AP)
   

AP - Though he's lost many fans after being captured on video hurling racist epithets at a comedy club audience, Michael Richards has an ally: Mel Gibson.

Profile - Aishwarya Rai
   It is hard to ignore her if only for her looks. However, to give her the credit she deserves, she tries very hard to go beyond her looks and prove that she has acting talent too. Something, which she has partially succeeded in. Aishwarya Rai, one of the most beautiful actresses that Bollywood has ever seen, is back on the silver screen with Umrao Jaan at a time when India thought it had lost her to Hollywood.

Mr. Bean's Holiday Trailer
   Mr. Bean is just a shell now of his former glory. His big screen stuff has sucked, and aside from his role in Rat Race, Rowan Atkinson's film career has been a let down too. I'm not excited about Mr. Bean's Holiday in the least. The trailer looks kinda cute, I'll give it that... but nothing that made me laugh out loud. Check it out and decide for yourself.

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Writer's Guild Setting The Battle Stage
   I've said for some time that I believe the value of actors is overrated (not that they're not very important... obviously they are) and the role of the writer is VASTLY underrated when considering what makes a movie good or not. I have a lot of empathy for writers in that sense. They're the ones who create the stories, write the dialog the actors speak, conjure the characters that the actors...

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Sofia Coppola gives birth to a baby girl (AP)
   

AP - Sofia Coppola has given birth to her first child, a daughter named Romy, the filmmaker's spokesman, Robert Garlock, confirmed Wednesday.

Audio Edition - November 29th 2006
   Welcome to our mid-week Audio Edition. Today on the show, Jesse Bonner and I discuss: 1) More on the Films 4 Food Fest 2) MPAA Stupidity and no DVDs on your iPod 3) Writers Guild Strike 4) Problems caused by Borat 5) Mr. Bean 6) Is Drew Barrymore cute? Jesse says yes, John says no. What do you think? 7) Preacher to be developed for TV and the advantage TV has over Movies 8)...

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`Departed' stays put, `Flags' flagging (AP)
   AP - Timing isn't everything when it comes to the Academy Awards — but it helps.

NFL talks live sports with movie theaters (Reuters)
   

Reuters - The National Football League has had discussions with National Amusements Inc. and other movie theater chains about screening live sports in digitally equipped theaters, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said on Wednesday.

Introducing The Movie Blog Widget for Mac
   Movie Blog reader and Audio Edition listener Edward Collins wrote to me a while ago letting me know he had developed a Movie Blog Widget for the Mac OS and asked for my permission to release it. He sent me a beta version of it and I loved it. Edward has since submitted it, and you can now go to the official Apple site to download it for your Mac. You can get The Movie Blog Widget here. Thanks...

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Open Water 2
   I'm sorry... did that title just say "Open Water 2"??? Yep, it sure did. Now I know what you're thinking. "How the hell do you do an Open Water 2?!?" And that my dear international friends is a very good question. If you've seen Open Water (based on a true story) you know damn well you CAN'T have an Open Water 2. You just can't... the very notion is ridiculous right? Well... as my friends...

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Preacher Adapted For TV Instead Of Movie
   There has been a lot of talk for a couple of years of various attempts to bring the Vertigo comic "Preacher" to the big screen. One of the most notable attempts was by Kevin Smith with X-Men's James Marsden in the lead role (you know... I totally could have seen that work). But now word has come out that Preacher will NOT be heading to the big screen... instead... HBO is developing a TV series...

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Michael Douglas has near-miss in Bermuda (AP)
   AP - Actor Michael Douglas christened a new art museum by pouring rum on its roof in a traditional Bermudian ceremony.

The Host Takes Top Honors At Korean Film Awards
   I've been talking about "The Host" (also known as "Gwoemul") for a while now. I still haven't seen the film myself, but the stuff I"ve seen from it looks freaking amazing, and I have several friends who have seen it and swear by it. Well, it looks like they're not the only ones who dig the Asian horror/monster flick. The Host has just taken 6 awards at the Korean Film Awards, including Best...

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3 Needles to star Lucy Liu
   . Thom Fitzgerald has created a movie worth watching, especially with Lucy Liu as the leading lady in his new movie 3 Needles. Liu was interviewed by comingsoon.net, here is the movie's description: The global widespread of AIDS is the main focus of the independent drama 3 Needles, in which the story is divided into three different parts of the world - South Africa, Canada and China. On each...

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MPAA Bans Putting Legal DVDs on Your iPod
   The immeasurable height and width of the total incompetence and stupidity of the MPAA never ceases to amaze me. This organization has their heads shoved so far up their nether regions that they don't even know it's not summer anymore. Taking their fight to the US Copyright office, the MPAA has ensured that the current rules as enforced mean that YOU CAN NOT PUT A DVD YOU OWN ON YOUR IPOD TO...

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6 Minutes of Pan's Labyrinth
   We've been talking for some time about Guillermo del Toro’s newest flick Pan's Labyrinth. The movie has been getting terrific reviews and buzz over the last couple of months which has only built the anticipation for it even more amongst rabid film fans. Now, the good folks over at Bloody Disgusting have posted up 2 clips from the movie that add up to about 6 minutes. The tension and...

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Tears of the Black Tiger Finally Gets North American Release
   The Thai action film "Tears of the Black Tiger" which has been collecting dust on the Miramax shelves for 5 years is finally going to see the light of day in North America thanks to Magnolia Pictures in early 2007. The good folks at Yahoo News give us this:Filmmaker Wisit Sasanatieng's spaghetti Western-style movie tracks Dum, a gunslinger who falls for a high-society woman but finds his gang...

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Groups to judge Madonna fitness to adopt (AP)
   

AP - Human rights organizations will help decide whether Madonna is fit to adopt a Malawian toddler, a judged ruled Wednesday.

Films 4 Food Fest Update
   Hey guys, John here with a quick update on the Films 4 Food Fest. Also, in the last point I have a question for you that I'd love for you to check into the comments section and answer for me. Ok, so here are your updates: 1) For those who don't know, the Films 4 Food Fest is a 1 day event to raise money for family food services. 2) The Date is set! Saturday January 20th in Hamilton Ontario...

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Fox and Marvel Fighting Over X-Men 4
   By far, my favourite type of films is Superhero films. I am a big comic book geek, and these guys get to have million dollar playgrounds re-enacting what me and my friends did when we were 8. That being said, the grandaddy of all superhero films, Xmen, has been my favourite franchise. So as far as I am concerned, they can keep making them and their spinoffs. But wait True Believers, there...

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Walmart Launches DVD Download Service
   Walmart is at it again. Setting the standards for video downloads they offer an exclusive deal you can't get anywhere else. But you cant buy rabid flesh eating weasles either, so are they offering something unique, or something no one needs? CNN says this about Walmart: With the purchase of the "Superman Returns" physical DVD, Wal-Mart said customers can also choose from three video download...

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Rumors confirmed for Poltergeist remake
   Poltergeist, great movie, scary, interesting, made me afraid of getting trapped in walls when I was a kid, now it will be remade, possibly frame by frame. Or says bloodydisgusting.com here: I've just received official confirmation that the original idea for "Kayeri" will NOT be used for the remake, instead the new film will be a straight-up remake of the first film... pretty much frame-for-frame....

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Good German not so good according to DGA crowds
   The Good German was recently screened in New York for the Directors Guild of America to a very poor reception. There have also been some screenings in L.A. and everyone around town is taking about what a terrible disappointment it is. Here is what cinematical.com had to say:the new Steven Soderbergh film was received pretty horribly at a recent DGA screening in NYC. And despite the director being...

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Indie world's Gotham Awards suffer identity crisis (Reuters)
   Reuters - When the Gotham Awards are handed out in New York Wednesday, the winners won't necessarily be independently produced movies with a local flavor.

Smart, Wilson taking "Flight" with indie drama (Reuters)
   Reuters - Amy Smart and Patrick Wilson are taking off for "Life in Flight," an indie drama that will shoot next month in Manhattan.