In Contention

Category: Daily

  • Jolie tops female-powered Forbes list

    Angelina JolieI must say I’m always somewhat fascinated by the annual Forbes 100 Most Powerful Celebrities list, not least because I’ve never really understood how they arrive at it.

    I have no doubt the financial publishing behemoth has some sort of intricate formula that factors in earnings and media exposure to somehow arrive at a rank order, but as a total idiot in such matters, I remain bewildered by a list that compares the wholly disparate (to me, at least) achievements of such  figures as Rush Limbaugh, Ryan Seacrest and Roger Federer.

    But compare them they have, and this year’s number-crunching informs us that Angelina Jolie is officially the most powerful celebrity in the world.

    I suppose I won’t argue with that: while I wouldn’t call Jolie the most influential actress in the game at the moment (surely that title goes to Meryl Streep in her newfound incarnation as summer-movie titan, which landed her at #64 on Forbes’ list), “celebrity” is a very different animal, and the number of magazine covers Jolie graces weekly at a newsagent’s near you speaks for itself.

    Clearly that kind of exposure is a more crucial factor in Forbes’ estimation than earnings, as I’d reckon Jolie’s personal fortune is meagre compared to that of runner-up Oprah Winfrey. Interestingly, the top four spots in the list are held by women, which belies more than a few media perceptions.

    (more…)

  • Eastwood goes head-to-head with Jackson this December

    Clint EastwoodIt’ll be Clint Eastwood in one corner, Peter Jackson in the other for round two this Oscar season.

    Tuesday we broke the news that Clint Eastwood’s untitled Nelson Mandela/1995 World Cup film would be titled “Invictus.”  Now comes word form Variety that the film will be released December 11, the same day as Jackson’s “The Lovely Bones” (featured this week in Guy’s Page to Screen column).

    “Invictus” follows Mandela’s attempt to use the 1995 Rugby World Cup to heal his nation following his release from prison, the fall of apartheid and his election as president of South Africa…

    Eastwood drew the title of the film from a short poem often recited by Mandela. “Invictus,” penned by William Ernest Henley, speaks to the will to survive in the face of adversity.

    “Invictus” isn’t the first picture to claim Dec. 11. Also opening that weekend is Peter Jackson’s “The Lovely Bones,” from Paramount and DreamWorks.

    The Dec. 11 release puts “Invictus” and “Lovely Bones” in the heart of awards season.

    Also note the utter lack of sourcing our story from two days ago. Nothing new there, but you roll with the punches in this racket.

  • Is Conan’s new backdrop Mario-inspired?

    Lots of “Tonight Show” talk this week.  I would apologize but, at the same time, come on, it’s transition week.  Plenty to discuss.

    The guys over at Serious Lunch (via Joe Quesada’s Twitter page and Gizmodo) have either stumbled onto a coincidence or an awesome ode to the Mushroom Kingdom.  If you’ve been watching the show this week, you’ve probably noticed the nifty stained glass backdrop that appears during O’Brien’s opening monologue. It seems the design may have been inspired by elements from the Super Mario Bros. video game series.

    I don’t know, I think it’s way, way too similar to be a coincidence.  You have a look and decide:

    Conan O'Brien backdrop

    This animated gif really seals the deal for me.  AWESOME.

  • Julia Louis-Dreyfus wants her Oscar

  • What the $%@& is up with all the rehashing, Tinseltown?

    Arnold Schwarzenegger in Total RecallDoesn’t it just feel like you’re Arnold over there lately, strapped into that chair and force-fed the disgusting mindwipe that is Hollywood product these days?

    Patrick Goldstein has written a piece that touches on something that has been digging further and further under my skin the last couple of weeks: Hollywood’s disgusting rehashing of previous material.

    It’s nothing new, of course,  Remakes and sequelitis have plagued the industry from its earliest days.  When it comes to economics and brass tacks, the fact is, these places are run by business-minded individuals who look to capitalize on public interest at every turn.  And in an economy such as this, it simply spells disaster for moviegoers who long for something new.  It doesn’t even have to be GOOD but FRESH would be appreciated.  But what’s rather sad is the fact that a number of the pipelined reboots, remakes and sequels have ties to projects that never lit up the box office to begin with, clearly lost touch with audiences over the years, or in some cases, never even found much interest on home video.  How does that math compute?

    For some, it might seem like the oldest complaint in the book, but have you taken a look at what we have in store lately?  Just in the past few weeks a slew of titles have popped up either as newly announced projects or projects landing writers, directors, etc.  Do we really need a remake of “Total Recall” 19 years later?  Is America so deprived of the “Short Circuit” franchise that it needs a reboot as well (no doubt some weird capitalization on “WALL-E”)?  And a new “Scream” trilogy?  Really?

    The “Alien” prequel and “Predators” project (a sequel) have glimmers of promise but they also represent franchises that need to die a quick and merciful death.  Ditto “Robocop,” also getting the reboot treatment.  Did the box office nose dive of “Terminator Salvation” not teach these people anything?  Fox needs to buy the “Terminator” rights (which will be on the market soon) and end it all for us with “Predaterminalien.”  Just get it over with.  Smothered in the night.  There are other stories, folks.

    (more…)

  • R.I.P. David Carradine

    David CarradineBig, cold bucket of water to the face this morning.  Here’s the “just the facts” story from the AP, in part:

    Actor David Carradine, star of the 1970s TV series “Kung Fu” who also had a wide-ranging career in the movies, has been found dead in the Thai capital, Bangkok. A news report said he was found hanged in his hotel room and was believed to have committed suicide.

    A spokesman for the U.S. Embassy, Michael Turner, confirmed the death of the 72-year-old actor. He said the embassy was informed by Thai authorities that Carradine died either late Wednesday or early Thursday, but he could not provide further details out of consideration for his family.

    The Web site of the Thai newspaper The Nation cited unidentified police sources as saying Carradine was found Thursday hanged in his luxury hotel room.

    It said Carradine was in Bangkok to shoot a movie and had been staying at the hotel since Tuesday.

    The newspaper said Carradine could not be contacted after he failed to appear for a meal with the rest of the film crew on Wednesday, and that his body was found by a hotel maid at 10 a.m. Thursday morning. The name of the movie was not immediately available.

    It said a preliminary police investigation found that he had hanged himself with a cord used with the room’s curtains. It cited police as saying he had been dead at least 12 hours and there was no sign that he had been assaulted.

    I can’t say I grew up with “Kung Fu” but Carradine was one of those actors that had me in awe just at how damn busy he stayed.  And now he’s gone at 72.  Many of today’s generation will of course remember him as Quentin Tarantino’s diabolical Bill from the “Kill Bill” movies, but for most, he’ll always be Kwai Chang Caine:

  • 6/4 Web Round-up

    (from left) Danny McBride, Will Ferrell and Anna Friel in Land of the Lost• Chatting with “Land of the Lost” producers (1970s series and 2009 film adaptation) Sid and Marty Krofft. [Washington Post]

    • Seven actors who need to return to their roots. [Cinematical]

    • 12 movies to make men cry. [Entertainment Weekly]

    • Peter Sohn: the Korean face of “Up”‘s Wilderness Explorer Russell. [Chosun Ilbo]

    • Anne Thompson finds a parallel between “Britain’s Got Talent”‘s Susan Boyle and French import “Sraphine.” [Thompson on Hollywood]

    • Kim Voynar taps into her inner Bill Maher for a rant against the economics of a night at the movies. [Movie City News]

  • Hirsch to join long line of movie Hamlets

    Emile HirschWith three major film adaptations in the latest two decades alone, I wouldn’t have thought “Hamlet” was crying out for another big-screen treatment, but apparently I was wrong. (What’s wrong with Shakespeare’s other plays? Not too shabby, some of ’em.)

    Anyway, news came yesterday that Catherine Hardwicke is to helm the latest outing for the Prince of Denmark, in a film being developed by the rapidly rising Overture Films. No word yet on whether the “Twilight” director’s involvement signals a tween-generation take on the Bard, though Overture has confirmed that the film will refashion as a “suspense thriller” set in contemporary America. (I guess because that 2000 thriller-ized American update with Ethan Hawke never happened? Help me out here.)

    Emile Hirsch will be the latest thesp to step into the role, with Oscar-winning producers Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen (“Milk,” “American Beauty”) boasting that he’ll be the first age-appropriate actor to play the role on film. Oscar nominee Ron Nyswaner (“Philadelphia,” “The Painted Veil”) is handling script duties.

    I can’t say the triple-H combo of Hardwicke, Hirsch and Hamlet has me salivating, but I’ll do my best to keep an open mind. Still, forgive me if I think this joins the mooted “Total Recall” remake as the week’s least necessary announcement. Press release extract after the jump.

    (more…)

  • Put to bed?

    Though I’m sure there will be those who want to peg this as damage control.  From the AP:

    Eminem says he knew full well what he was about to face at the MTV Movie Awards — including Sacha Baron Cohen’s bare butt.

    Enimem told the Web site RapRadar.com that the much-talked about stunt was all rehearsed, right down to Eminem’s mock disgust. Says the rapper: “I’m thrilled that we pulled this off better than we rehearsed it.”

    Eminem says when he left the show, he went back to his hotel and laughed for three hours, including as he watched the playback.

    The rapper calls himself a “big fan” of Baron Cohen, who he said approached him about the gag while he was in Europe.

  • ‘Family Guy’ Emmy pitch

    The Family Guy

    (Courtesy: Gold Derby)

  • POLL: the most influential films of all time, round three

    (from left) John Travolta and Uma Thurman in Pulp FictionAnd we come to the third and final round, which will decide the ranking order of your chosen 10 most influential films of all time.  For background on this series, go here.

    Unfortunately, a number of our readers are apparently unaware of the influence films like “Battleship Potemkin,” “The Birth of a Nation” and “Metropolis” have had on the film medium.  Both were able to squeeze out enough votes in the early rounds to make it through to last week’s survey, but they join “Annie Hall,” “Apocalypse Now,” “Casablanca,” “The Godfather Part II,” “Gone with the Wind,” “The Matrix” and “Rashomon” on the list of runners-up to your definitive collective.  And if we’re being honest, a number of those films shouldn’t have even made it through to last week’s poll.

    I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was a bit disappointed by the way this series has turned out.  I don’t want to sound like I’m chiding the readership or anything, but it did become painfully honest rather quickly that the poll was being viewed as a popularity contest more than anything else.  At the same time, if you’ve only seen the popular titles, you can’t be expected to blindly know the impact of films like “Potemkin” and “Metropolis.”

    (more…)

  • First look at Josh Brolin as ‘Jonah Hex’

    You probably know we’ve been following the upcoming adaptation of DC Comics’ “Jonah Hex” pretty closely around these parts.  It’s the intersection of westerns and comic books.  How could I not be all over that?  Then again, despite having each of the 40-some issues of the recently re-booted “Jonah Hex” comics series, I’ve only read one or two.  Maybe I should dig into those things.

    Anyway, courtesy of I’m Not Obsessed today (via Cinematical), on the heels of some ooh-la-la shots of Megan Fox that landed a few weeks ago, we finally have our first look at Josh Brolin as the title character.  Check it out (one more image after the jump):

    Josh Brolin in Jonah Hex

    (more…)

  • Guillermo Del Toro pitches ‘The Strain’ on Craig Ferguson

    Guillermo Del Toro’s vampire novel “The Strain” (the first installment of a planned trilogy) has been hovering in my peripheral vision for a few weeks now, but I shot up and took notice when the filmmaker appeared on “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson” last night to promote the novel.  Sounds like a dark tale worth reading.  I love Ferguson’s reaction to the direction vampire fiction has gone at the beginning of this clip:

    Del Toro also recently discussed the new novel and more with Time Magazine.

  • 6/3 Web Round-up

    Steve• Steve Martin: banjo enthusiast. [CNN]

    • The complete “Terminator” timeline. [Empire]

    • Speaking of which, Ben Child spends some time with the best part of “Terminator Salvation,” actor Anton Yelchin. [The Guardian]

    • Nancy Utley and Stephen Gilula ascend at Searchlight. [indieWIRE]

    • Brooks Barnes on the swath of upstarts leaping into the CGI animation fray. [New York Times]

    • Revisiting the summer of 1997. [Cinematical]

    • Nathaniel Rogers does some Oscar predix clean-up, joins the “Precious” train. [The Film Experience]

    • John Horn previews this weekend’s Produced By Conference with a producers roundtable. [Los Angeles Times]

    • Top 10 hockey moments in non-hockey movies.  Yeah. [Premiere]

    • Alonso Duralde on the many faces of Vegas on celluloid. [MSNBC]

    • Patrick Goldstein wants to know why Israel’s biggest box office success of 2008 has yet to secure U.S. distribution. [The Big Picture]

  • EXCLUSIVE: Eastwood’s Mandela film titled ‘Invictus’

    (from left) Matt Damon and Clint Eastwood on the set of InvictusIt’s interesting how news bites trickle down.  A passing comment from our own Chad Hartigan over at Twitter stirred the stagnant buzz nest of Clint Eastwood’s still-filming Nelson Mandela project for me, so I did a little digging.

    Anyone who follows the film awards season is well aware of the project, which will star Morgan Freeman as the esteemed former president of South Africa and Matt Damon as Francois Pienaar, captain of the South Africa Springboks rugby union team that won an unlikely World Cup trophy in 1995 as the nation was in the midst of post-Apartheid transition.  The story was committed to print in John Carlin’s book “Playing the Enemy” in 2008.  Eastwood mentioned at the Santa Barbara Film Festival in January that Carlin’s book covered similar territory to his as-of-then untitled film but didn’t mention whether Anthony Peckham’s screenplay was a proper adaptation of the volume.

    But back to that Twitter message.  It read, quite simply, “Eastwood’s film called Invictus.”  So I called Malpaso, Eastwood’s production company.  I asked if this was indeed the case and was told, swiftly, “that’s still all in the works.”  No confirmation was forthcoming.  Fair enough.  I got Chad on the phone and tracked down his source, which was an internal industry email that read: “Please note, Clint Eastwood’s untitled Nelson Mandela film is now titled ‘Invictus.’”  A quick email to his source at Warner Bros. and I got the confirmation.  We have a title.  But what does it mean?  Read on to find out.

    (more…)

  • James Cameron talks ‘Avatar’ at E3

    As mentioned in this morning’s round-up, the first look we’re all getting at James Cameron’s “Avatar” comes in the form of screen shots from the accompanying video game.  Quite silly, of course, but anyway, Cameron talked briefly about the film and at length about the game at the on-going Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) yesterday.

    Cameron talked at length about the film’s plot, which I’ve steered clear from elsewhere but if you’re like me, it’s a gold mine of information.  When he begins discussing the “mother of all battles” that closes the film, the geek hairs stood up on the back of my neck.

    You can read a full transcript of Cameron’s lead-in address, right up until he begins discussing the Ubisoft video game, after the jump.  Here’s a video of the presentation, from G4:

    (more…)

  • John Ratzenberger: Pixar’s “good-luck charm”

    John RatzenbergerI’m glad someone finally got around to doing this story.  In the pages of USA Today this week, Susan Wloszczyna has written up a nice little feature on actor John Ratzenberger, who has provided voice talent to every Pixar film since the studio’s first ground-breaking effort “Toy Story” back in 1995.  Here’s a taste:

    The folks at Pixar, which has gone on to even greater success with such Oscar-winning titles as The Incredibles and WALL·E, decided to adopt the actor as their good-luck charm. And it seems to have worked. The tradition continues this summer with Ratzenberger as a kindly construction worker in Up, the studio’s 10th film and now No. 1 at the box office.

    Did he ever think being a pushy plaything would lead to long-term employment? “No, but I didn’t think that the first time I sat at the bar on Cheers, either,” Ratzenberger says. “People ask me, ‘What is the secret to Pixar’s success?’ About 80% of what comes out of Hollywood is angry and cynical, whereas everything from Pixar is heartfelt and hopeful. That is who these people are. That is their world view.”

    He has been the studio’s pet actor for so long, he is no longer sure why the animators decided to keep on hiring him. “I’m just happy they do.”

    I also like this aside with thoughts from “Up” director Pete Docter:

    Pete Docter, director of Monsters, Inc. and Up, says Ratzenberger’s vocal ability also has something to do with it. “He’s the ultimate Pixar character actor,” he says. “He’s someone so clear, I know that guy after only two lines of dialogue. Having him in every film is like our Hitchcock cameo.”

    What’s your favorite Ratzenberger/Pixar role?  I might have to go with “WALL-E,” actually.

  • O’Brien’s first shot at ‘The Tonight Show’ — How’d he do?

    conan3.jpgIn his first shot at hosting “The Tonight Show,” I think it’s safe to say Conan O’Brien has tamed things down from his “Late Night” antics of old.

    Tapping comedian Will Ferrell and musical guest Pearl Jam as introductory guests might be seen as indication of a “hipper” or younger direction, but came off as rather safe in hindsight.  The crowd got a “string dance” routine but only briefly and as merely a wink and a nudge.  And the overall atmosphere of the show was somewhat stiff, O’Brien appearing nervous to maintain a straight man’s routine throughout while seemingly longing for his 12:30 element.

    Of course, I’m not criticizing.  It will take O’Brien some time to warm to the gig and, perhaps, his new audience to him.  But what worked really worked.

    The cold open was probably the obvious play, but the commitment to a cross-country, Forrest-Gump-like sprint from Manhattan to Universal City was full, spirited and lots of fun.  The studio tram tour bit felt a little too old Conan for the time slot and might have been better saved for later down the line, but it’d be a hoot if “Cir-cle!  Cir-cle!” became an unintended tradition with studio audiences.  And that stage is something to behold.  Absolutely gorgeous.

    You can check out the cold open below or at the new “Tonight Show” website (with other goodies, of course).

    (more…)