Okay, for this story I need you to try to remember something that happened, like, two years ago. Can you do that for me? Can you take your brain back that far, or do we need to call in McFly and the Doc? Anyway, remember all the hoopla surrounding James Frey's very popular book A Million Little Pieces? How Oprah used the so-called "memoir" to re-launch her book club, and how it turned into this huge success -- so much so that Warner Bros. desperately wanted to make a film out of it -- and how it later came out that Frey made up a good portion of the book ... and then Oprah smacked him around on TV ... and then the film went bye bye. Remember?
Well, that's what happened -- and now, two years after the fact, comes a film called A Million Little Pieces, based on the book by James Frey and directed by Nigel Tomm. And no, it's not being developed -- it's actually done ... in the can ... and available on DVD. Who's in it, you ask? Well, unlike the previous in-development adaptation, you're not going to see stars like Jake Gyllenhaal, Orlando Bloom, Josh Hartnett or Ryan Gosling (all of whom were interested in starring in the other flick). Nope, this one, according to its tagline, is -- wait for it -- "70 minutes and 41 seconds of pure turquoise screen. Nothing more, nothing less." On a budget of $345. Ahem. Confused?
Happy New Year to all my brothers and sisters. May 5769 kick a whole lot more ass than 5768. While over 98% of Hollywood takes the day off, here's what's happening:
Variety reports that Michael Bay has taken a page from Christopher Nolan and will shoot "at least three action set pieces" using IMAX cameras during Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Usually I'd reserve this spot for a Bay joke, but I truly think this is a great thing for a film like Transformers. The action scenes in the last one felt claustrophobic (especially toward the end), and so utilizing IMAX would allow Bay and Co. to open it up and really have fun with the thing. Visually, this could add a lot to the film. Hopefully they'll use it for some massive robot battle. Other films also mentioned in the article as possible contenders for a similar IMAX approach include Iron Man 2 and Y: The Last Man.
Looks like the old gang is making a play for Spider-Man 4 (and 5?), as Kirsten Dunst told MTV that she's "in" when asked whether she'd be returning to the mega-franchise as Peter Parker's old lady, Mary Jane. However, she did follow that up with "I'm not saying anything. I know there's rumors ..." -- which, in actor-speak, means "We're still negotiating and I'm not really allowed to open my big mouth." I'd expect a big announcement soon stating the return of Sam Raimi, Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst for a back-to-back shoot of Spider-Man 4 and 5.
Thomas Dekker (aka that dude who stars in Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) is in talks to snag a lead role in MGM's remake of Fame, so saysThe Hollywood Reporter. The original 1980 film, which was nominated for six Oscars, follows several aspiring young performers and teachers at the prestigious New York Academy of Performing Arts. Considering the times we live in, I envision this update to feel like a mix between Step Up, You Got Served and American Idol: The Movie.
Though the film is not quite finished yet, a post-production teaser/behind the scenes video for Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus has arrived online via QuickStopEntertainment. Watch as Gilliam introduces his fantastical new world -- showing artwork, set design and brief glimpses of actual scenes -- all while briefly explaining the film's bizarre storyline ("it feels like some of the films I made when I was younger," he notes).
Gilliam says, "The film begins in modern London. Parnassus (Christopher Plummer) is a thousand years old. Parnassus as the power to expand your mind beyond anything you've ever dreamed of. For centuries he's been traveling the planet with his traveling theater, The Imaginarium. Parnassus is a prophet; he has a secret he made once long ago with the devil -- and that secret will possibly destroy all their lives or possibly save them. It depends on who they meet ... and who they meet is a man named Tony (Heath Ledger, Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, Jude Law), hanging from a bridge in London. They save his life. Is he there to save them? Or is he working for the devil? These are the things we unravel as the story unfolds."
Yup. Makes about as much sense as most of Gilliam's work, but the visuals he reveals in the video look amazing and beautiful and definitely pique my interest. Not to mention the Tim Burton-esque score quietly playing underneath it all. Check it out above, and thanks to Matt for sending it our way. The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus is due in theaters next year.
It's the end of the world as we know it ... and I have a good feeling about Chris Pine.
Terminator Salvation: Will the Governator show up in the new Terminator film? While Arnold won't be officially reprising his role in the flesh, word has it the legendary action star turned Governor of California was on set providing voice work so that those Hollywood effects wizards could take his old face and put it on someone else's bulked-up body ... and still have the Arnold we all know and love. Latino Review is currently hosting a photo that shows Arnold talking to Christian Bale behind the scenes. Is it a real photo? A photoshop job? We can't tell, but I wouldn't put it past McG to have more than a few surprises up his sleeves. Terminator: Salvation hits theaters on May 22.
Star Trek: While we won't be getting a brand new re-booted Star Trek movie for Christmas (thanks for nothing Santa!), the new look Trek will eventually touch down next May. However, one filmmaker has seen the almost-finished product and he's spilling only one or two of the beans. Speaking to MTV, Kevin Smith said "It's really strong. [J.J. Abrams] was rejiggering the opening few scenes. It's one of those things where you first heard about it and were like no they're not going to redo 'Star Trek'! And then you see the movie and you think, wow he did pull it off! He turned it into a viable renewed franchise." According to Smith, Chris Pine steals the show as the young Captain Kirk and Zoe Saldana is "really great" as Uhuru too.
After the jump: Paging Dr. Watson, a cocky Irish chain-smoker is waiting to see you in the lobby ...
Fox has not had a good year -- and as with most drama-filled issues, they really have only themselves to blame. Varietypoints out that they were the only studio this summer that didn't have a $100 million domestic earner. What they did have was a lot of widely-derided flops like The Happening, Space Chimps, and Meet Dave. They also had films that might have done well, had they chosen to actually sell them, like The X-Files: I Want to Believe. They were also dealt a bit of bad luck when it came to X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which was supposed to come out this summer, making it the greatest superhero year ever, but was delayed due to Hugh Jackman's commitment toAustralia. (A film which the studio is really hoping bails them out come fall, along withMarley and Me.)
Faced with so much failure and drama, what is a studio to do? Well, turn to superheroes, of course! As you read this, they're holding strategy meetings to dust off or create some new franchises off their comic book properties. They're looking at more X-Men spinoffs, including a young X-Men project that might just be X-Men First Class. They're also looking at giving Deadpool his own movie -- which seems a no-brainer when you have Ryan Reynolds playing him in Wolverine. Why, they're even looking at reviving Daredevil. (Frank Miller and Jason Statham, call on line two.) It's enough to wind up any Marvel fan.
I'm in the camp of people who enjoyed the recent big-screen CGI version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but some fans complained it was too kiddie and cartoony, while others demanded a return of the live-action heroes. Good news is everyone might just to get to have their cake and eat it too, as MTV spoke to TMNT co-creator Peter Laird who claimed they're close to making a deal to create a "hybrid" film -- meaning part CGI and part live action. Remember Alvin and the Chipmunks? Yeah, like that ... except more pizza and more kick ass.
Laird explains, "As it stands now, there is no intention of doing another live-action film like the first three, with actors and stuntmen in actual Turtle suits, contrary to what was said by Kevin. We have pretty much decided that the next "TMNT" movie should be what we've been calling a "hybrid" - that is to say, live-action humans and sets combined with very realistic CGI Turtles (and possibly some other CGI characters)." Check our more over on MTV's Splash Page.
This seems like the best way to go about things, because you have to admit that guys in turtle suits just won't work today like it did back then. A combination of live action and CGI could look cool assuming the right budget is in place, and while old school fans will want a more serious and adult storyline, there's certainly a way to give everyone a traditional TMNT story that's equal parts strong, slick and silly.
What do you think? Ideally, where would you want to see the TMNT franchise go?
The 2008 Toronto International Film Festival is officially underway, and as always Cinematical is your one-stop-shop for all things TIFF. Our reviews, galleries, interviews and scene coverage will begin to populate the main page soon, but in the meantime we've been sharing some great exclusive clips, images and posters from some of the more talked-about flicks screening in Toronto this year. Below, feast your eyes on a clip from Picasso & Braque Go To The Movies, produced and narrated by none other than Martin Scorsese. The film, from art dealer-producer-director Arne Glimcher (The Mambo Kings) delves deep into the relationship between film and the visual arts, and it features folks like Scorsese, Chuck Close and Julian Schnabel. For more on Picasso and Braque, see the film's official summary over on the TIFF website.
The Green Lantern movie seems to be creeping very slowly to the pre-production line, but at least it isn't dead. You probably remember that we had a tiny update back in June that it was happily shaping up into a proper origin movie, rather than a slapstick version starring Jack Black. Now, courtesy of illustrator Brian Murray, comes concept art he created for scriptwriter (and potential director) Greg Berlanti. This art helped seal the deal, and win the franchise for Berlanti Television. A glance through the gallery below tells you why -- it's exciting and cinematic, the kind of thing your mind starts filling in and speeding up. If this is what is floating around at Warner Bros, Green Lantern could be shaping up to be something on par with Iron Man. But my desperation to talk about another DC character other than Batman may be showing. The diehard Lantern fans may have a different take than I -- is this the look of Hal Jordan to you?
No, Twilightfans -- it's ok! This is good news and it isn't going to result in a delay of the movie. Summit wouldn't break your hearts like that. Even though the clock is ticking, the studio is taking a bit of time to smooth out the movie's kinks. According to MTV, they're going back and filming some extra scenes, months after principle photography wrapped -- a move planned long before Twilight snagged the vacant Harry Potter date.
It isn't because anyone's dissatisfied with the film -- the cast insists the opposite is true. "They liked it so much, they are bringing us back for some encore time - to beef it up," says Peter Facinelli, who you all know better as the vampire Carlisle Cullen. "A little salt and pepper." Taylor Lautner, the head of this whole "Team Jacob" thing, says that rehearsals for the new scenes were "a ton of fun" and that they're just to clarify a few plot points. "I know they've been showing it to some people, and some people go, 'I want to see a little more of this,' or, 'I don't quite understand this,' " he explained.
None of the cast members could reveal what the new scenes were, but you Twilight fans can probably guess from the hints, such as Facinelli's being a flashback. "It gives us a little bit of history of the Cullen family. They are just shooting a couple of different added scenes, and the scene I'm in, I can tell you it's me and Robert Pattinson ... Rosalie and Emmett are in that scene."
The ending is also being tweaked to include Lautner. "I am going to be in the prom scene now, at the very end of the film," he said. "At first we didn't film that, and now some people are saying they want to see a bit more of Jacob, and they want him in the prom scene at the end."
It drives me nuts not to know what any of this means, which means it's time to borrow the book from someone. In the meantime, Twilight fans, discuss these developments among yourselves.
If ever there was a pairing to hipster fan-boys everywhere; it is Michael Cera and Edgar Wright. Think about it, Cera made a name for himself being the awkward hero, and who can write an unlikely hero better than the man who helped write the Blood and Ice Cream trilogy? In an interview with Wizard Universe, Wright got the chance to update the status of his indie-comic feature, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (if you have also been waiting with bated breath for news on his Ant Man adaptation, there are a few tidbits to be had as well). So if you were worried that Pilgrim would fall by the wayside in the light of some of Wright's other projects, fear not, all is well in Pilgrim-land.
The original series was about a young Canadian and wannabe-rock star who falls for an American girl with the memorable name of Ramona V. Flowers (aka, the perfect girl). But in order to win the lady fair, our slacker must defeat her seven evil ex-boyfriends in hopes of winning a date with his dream girl. Cera plays Pilgrim, the bassist for the terribly titled band, Sex Bob-Omb, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead will star as Ramona. Wright isn't counting on making any more sequels the film as the comic was originally a 6-part series. Instead, Wright told Wizard that, "The script that we've written essentially covers all six. If it was at the level of Harry Potter we might be able to talk about doing six films but in this case our film is very much an adaptation of the entire six."
I know what you're thinking -- "Well, that's just silly. Why would I want to watch the opening credits of a film?" Well, because these opening credits were designed by Danny Yount. I'm willing to bet you've watched and marveled over his work before. He did the opening credits for Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Six Feet Under, and the closing credits of Iron Man. His latest masterpiece is RocknRolla, and he's put it up online for you to enjoy on his official site. As far as I'm concerned, Yount is resurrecting a lost art, a care that used to be lavished on movie titles in the glorious golden days of Hitchcock. Watch it, enjoy, and wish that more movie productions would take the time and trouble to hire an artist like him.
Above: Rainn Wilson lets his hair down for The Rocker.
Fans of Rainn Wilson's offbeat, hilarious and strangely endearing performance as Dwight Schrute on NBC's The Officemight expect him to transition into film work with straightforward comedy, and The Rockerconfirms that suspicion. However, they might not realize the serious professional motives behind his choice. In the movie, directed by Peter Cattaneo (The Full Grown Monty), Wilson plays a grown-up dolt named Fish with a scary fixation on classic rock. Abandoned by the band Vesuvius in his teens -- before they became a commercial phenomenon -- Fish spends the next twenty years working deadbeat jobs and wishing things happened differently. Naturally, he gets a second chance: When the opportunity rolls around to drum for his nephew's high school, Fish goes for it. Ageism and slapstick humor ensue.
While not exactly a classic, The Rocker proves Wilson has the charisma to carry a movie. The script could use some polishing, but Wilson manages to play a completely dysfunctional human being without ever becoming an annoyance. It's a testament to his skill as an actor with calculated timing. The humor emerges from the naturalism of his performances, which make you believe in the outlandish characters he portrays. In a conversation with Cinematical recently, Wilson elaborated on his particular strategies as his career advances, reminisced about his days as a New York theater actor, and shed some light on a few upcoming projects.
What if someone took the video game Pac-Man and turned it into an independent live-action, horror-thriller? Well, check out the video above, because that's exactly what these fine folks did on what looks to be a budget of about twenty bucks. This time, however, we're seeing things from the ghosts POV and Pac-Man is the hunter, instead of the hunted. The Pac-Man graphics are on the cheap, and they even cut in scenes from the video game to use as a substitute for at least one kill, but as a whole -- with a solid, heart-pounding score and clever acting -- this thing is definitely worth a watch. Loved the ending!
Whaddya think? CGI feature-length Pac-Man movie in 2011, starring ... who?
Today will be partly cloudy with a chance of kick ass!
The Hobbit: Not long ago Guillermo Del Toro told fans that his next move was to begin work on The Hobbit script very soon. Well guess what? To our complete shock and surprise, the dude actually followed through on all this "writing script nonsense" and -- wait for it -- started working on the script (along with LOTR partners Frank Walsh and Philippa Boyens). YES! And this is, like, the BIGGEST news online today. "NEWSFLASH: Del Toro is on page 12 and he's already introduced 750 new creatures!" I give up ... call me in 12 years when the film is finally complete and ready to hit theaters.
The Dark Knight: You've watched the movie countless times, followed hundreds of viral sites, read thousands of stories on Heath Ledger and why he deserves to square off against Jesus up in heaven for a chance to be God's new (and much more well-liked) son -- so, what's left? Well, if you still haven't overdosed on The Dark Knight and/or are in desperate need of another Batman fix, feel free to feast your eyes on the film's script. Yes, JoBlo managed to snag a copy of the entire thing (read it here) for you to save, print out and do whatever it is you freaks do with stuff like that. Personally, I enjoyed reading it to see where they trimmed and cut and called Wonder Woman a whore. Kidding! Just wanna make sure you're paying attention.
Poltergeist remake: Because in this one she's watching a reality show, gets pulled into the television and subsequently bores herself to death. [Writes down notes for Poltergeist 2 pitch ...] Anyway, THR tells us that Boogeyman writers Juliet Snowden and Stiles "I wonder how many Teen Wolf jokes he got growing up" White will pen the script for the remake of this classic spooky flick. "Too soon!" yelled a nobody movie blogger, but alas it was too late.
What's really going on over at Warner Bros. regarding their superhero properties? Is Justice League still moving forward? Has Christopher Nolan already signed on to direct a third Batman film? Will they attempt a move similar to what Marvel is doing and plot out solid solo flicks before combining worlds? Well, Variety recently spoke with Warners Chief Alan Horn, production prexy Jeff Robinov and Gregory Noveck, senior VP of creative affairs for DC Comics, and they brought back a few answers regarding all this fun stuff.
Firstly, a deal is officially on the table for Chris Nolan to (we assume) co-write and direct a third Batman film, however he hasn't made a decision yet. Horn said, "We have no idea where Chris is going with this. We haven't had any conversations with him about it." Hopefully an announcement on that front will arrive soon. With Justice League, Warners does eventually want to make it, but it definitely seems the early bad buzz from within the fanboy community is what put the breaks on this one.
Originally, it looked as if Warners was going to use JLA to launch solo efforts for a bunch of DC properties. Now, however, we're hearing a different tune. Horn notes they want to turn "the properties into viable movie product in an intelligent way so that we introduce them like planes on a runway. They have to be set up the right way and lined up the right way and all take off one at a time and fly safe and fly straight." So then what does this mean for the future of Justice League ... ?
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It's the end of the world as we know it ... and I have a good feeling about Chris Pine.
Fox has not had a good year -- and as with most drama-filled issues, they really have only themselves to blame. 
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If ever there was a pairing to hipster fan-boys everywhere; it is 
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