I don't know why it caught me as off-guard as it did. Surely this isn't that surprising, given the growing popularity, functionality and importance of these social networking sites to 21st century relationships. After all, we've already had a MySpace online movie and a Craigslist documentary. This is different, though, because the man behind it is The West Wing creator (and my personal messiah) Aaron Sorkin.
Starring: George Clooney, Brad Pitt, John Malkovich, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton
Written & Directed: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Produced By: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Music By: Carter Burwell
Plot Outline:
In Theaters September 12
World-premiering as the opening-night film of the 2008 Venice International Film Festival; a dark spy-comedy from Academy Award winners Joel and Ethan Coen. An ousted CIA official’s (John Malkovich) memoir accidentally falls into the hands of two gym employees (Brad Pitt and Frances McDormand) intent on exploiting their find. George Clooney and Tilda Swinton also star.
"Babylon A.D." Director Trashes Own Movie
Written by Arya Ponto
Tuesday, 26 August 2008
Unfortunate as it may sound, none of us are strangers to the idea that movie studios tend to interfere with a filmmaker's vision. With market testing and trend-hopping being such a driving force behind pop corn movies, sometimes when a filmmaker gets too ambitious in trying to elevate the norm, he or she will get a rude awakening of how the process works, and they better play along if they want another gig. Mathieu Kassovitz, the director of the upcoming Sci-Fi actioner Babylon A.D., is unafraid of burning bridges and is bashing his own movie on the week of its release, after refusing to promote the film.
One of the more fascinating aspects to watch in teen-gone-wrong movies is how each ethnic culture has their own view on rebellion. Though the catalysts and the repercussions are universal—it almost always involve gang violence, drugs, and blind-eyed parents—the way these teens carry themselves translate to each of them having their own unique stories to tell. In American movies, we typically see such disobedience end up with guns and death, as they like to portray teen gangbangers as just shorter versions of actual gangbangers. Royston Tan's 15, depicting the lives of teenage gangsters in Singapore, offers a portrait of the delinquent lifestyle that may seem tame and exotic to Western eyes, but it's in no way any less damaging to these individuals.
Yet Another Awesome Fan-Made "Batman 3" Poster—Deadshot!
Written by Arya Ponto
Sunday, 24 August 2008
SuperHeroHype board poster Chrisp85, who made that really cool Riddler poster that got everyone so jazzed up, is back again with a new teaser poster—this time with Deadshot as the villain. This poster is very simple in concept, but very well done. I'm especially fond of the INeverMiss.com website address (it doesn't exist, in case you were wondering).
I must confess that I like Deadshot as a villain selection much better than Riddler, for several reasons. First of all, he's just a crack shot, so he definitely fits into Nolan's "realistic" take. That might be problematic as a recognisable "supervillain," especially if he's not going to be wearing his full-body costume, but he's definitely a big enough threat that would still be believable in the Nolan world. The other reason why Deadshot's a good choice is his origin, which is the shadow reflection of Bruce Wayne's.
The trailer for the fourth Fast and Furious movie, this time simply called Fast and Furious, is playing in theaters right now before Death Race. While it has yet to be released online (even the series' official site is still the Tokyo Drift website), bootleg trailers are already hitting the web. The better known vid has some really, really crappy song dubbing over the sound, so I'm not going to post it here. Instead, I found one that, although cut off at the sides, at least still has the sound from the trailer intact.
UPDATE: I've replaced it with the official trailer.
The "Batman Begins" You Never Saw, Starring Spiderman
Written by Arya Ponto
Saturday, 23 August 2008
I was surfing the electronic surf as usual when I came across this photo of a Batman Begins trading card pack that is more than a little strange. It's old, from 2005, but funny is forever. As far as I can tell, this is a bootleg product from the Philippines that people have discovered in dollar stores. Obviously they didn't really care about what Batman picture they use, even a cartoon one.
The kicker, though, is this hilarious synopsis for Batman Begins.
He is now easily the hottest director in Hollywood with the biggest movie of the year, but Christopher Nolan remembers where it all began. Like the lead in his movie Memento, Nolan is returning to the beginning. The place where he first announced his arrival as a new voice in the movie industry: Slamdance. Two weeks from now, Nolan will hold a Q&A after a screening of his first film.
Warner Bros. Pictures Group President Jeff Robinov laid down the studios' plans for future superhero movies based on DC Comics characters to The Wall Street Journal. In keeping up with Marvel Comics' entry into the film business with their properties, WB is now looking to take more advantage of their sister comic publication. Following The Dark Knight's mega-success, Robinov wants to take the same approach Nolan did with Batman to all the other DC heroes. Even Superman.
Unfortunate as it may sound, none of us are strangers to the idea that movie studios tend to interfere with a filmmaker's vision. With market testing and trend-hopping being such a driving force behind pop corn movies, sometimes when a filmmaker gets too ambitious in trying to elevate the norm, he or she will get a rude awakening of how the process works, and they better play along if they want another gig. Mathieu Kassovitz, the director of the upcoming Sci-Fi actioner Babylon A.D., is unafraid of burning bridges and is bashing his own movie on the week of its release, after refusing to promote the film.
The trailer for the fourth Fast and Furious movie, this time simply called Fast and Furious, is playing in theaters right now before Death Race. While it has yet to be released online (even the series' official site is still the Tokyo Drift website), bootleg trailers are already hitting the web. The better known vid has some really, really crappy song dubbing over the sound, so I'm not going to post it here. Instead, I found one that, although cut off at the sides, at least still has the sound from the trailer intact.
He is now easily the hottest director in Hollywood with the biggest movie of the year, but Christopher Nolan remembers where it all began. Like the lead in his movie Memento, Nolan is returning to the beginning. The place where he first announced his arrival as a new voice in the movie industry: Slamdance. Two weeks from now, Nolan will hold a Q&A after a screening of his first film.
Kinda sad when a director doesn't ...