SMAC - SHOWS, MOVIES & CHICKS

I WATCHED THE WATCHMEN

2009-03-13T00:43:00.005+01:00

I finally saw it. And what can I say? I thought it was awesome. I loved the graphic novel and I, like everyone else who read it, was very sceptical if ZACK SNYDER was the right man for the job. Can he do it? 300 was a nice flick, but it wasn't the most demanding piece of fiction to say the least. WATCHMEN on the other hand is a very complex graphic novel, with an almost insane amount of details and subplots and... well crazy shit going on. Can he do it? YES HE CAN!
WATCHMEN is one hell of a flick. SYNDER manages to stay true to the novel and still delivers a very entertaining blockbuster. Of course some things are missing, but it didn't harm the story at all.
As we could expect, the movie is visually stunning. And it's so violent and explicit, I still can't believe the amount of gore I've witnessed. But it's not like a BRUCKHEIMER-esque adaptation of good material, it's deep, it takes its time to tell the story and describe the characters (with the exception of Veidts character, which in my opinion should have gotten more attention) and embraces them properly. This movie is almost on par with THE DARK KNIGHT and I love how dark, explicit and badass Hollywood can be, if you let the right people do their job.

However, I can understand, that this movie isn't suited for everyone. It is not your average superhero flick. It's confusing at times (especially if you have not read the graphic novel), it's complex and it mixes sort of reality with very strange fiction and it calls on your imagination. You definitely have to let yourself go on this one.

When something as big as WATCHMEN gets adapted for the big screen, you alyways have those hardcore fans, that bitch about every little piece, that's missing from the original or they moan about changes, with no regard of how those changes work or fit for the movie. They bitch about LORD OF THE RINGS, they bitch about HARRY POTTER and of course they will bitch about WATCHMEN. Don't you believe em. This is a movie. It is not the graphic novel, it's an adaptation. And a great one, I might add. This movie comes as close to the original, as I can imagine a movie could get. If you read the graphic novel and expect that exact same feeling that you had when you first read it from the movie, than you're an idiot. Is it impossible to like or even worship a great novel like LOTR or WATCHMEN and STILL like the adaptations? No it's not, if it's done as good as this. All you hardcore geeks, should get your thumbs outta your ass and enjoy this motion picture version of one of the best graphic novels of all times. Let me tell you this: I even like the ending of the movie better than the version of the graphic novel! Yeah, I said it! I can imagine how ALAN MOORE sits at home thinking "damn, why didn't I come up with that twist?".
I tip my hat to all those involved in the making of this flick.

Can't wait to see the directos cut!

KEVIN SMITHS NEXT FLICK - FEATURING BRUCE WILLIS!

2009-03-10T01:09:00.002+01:00

Check this out: KEVIN SMITH will direct a movie, which he didn't wrote! Isn't that incredible? Chances are he might not bomb at the Box Office for once in his career. The cast sounds promising so far - BRUCE WILLIS and TRACY MORGAN (you know him as the crazy black dude in NBCs hit sitcom 30 ROCK, and of course WHO DAT NINJA...).
The movie is penned by MARK and ROBB CULLEN and comes by the name of A COUPLE OF COPS.
IMDB describes the plot outline as follows:

A comedy about two cops whose adventures include locating a stolen baseball card, rescuing a woman, and dealing with gangsters and their laundered money.

WATCHMEN SCORES BEST OPENING RECORD

2009-03-09T02:52:00.004+01:00

Yeah, I know... the headline is kinda exaggerated but it's true. WATCHMEN scored the best opening for an R-rated movie EVER. Although it even scored the best opening for the year so far, it still came in lower than expected with "only" $56 million. Check it out:

source: variety

WATCHMEN AIMING FOR THE #1 SPOT

2009-03-07T01:01:00.003+01:00

ZACK SNYDER topped the BOX OFFICE two years ago with 300. It took the first place with $70.9 million over the course of its first weekend. What's so interesting about those figures is, that 300 scored $2.5 million after the friday midnight screenings before the weekend and what's even more interesting is, that WATCHMEN grossed $4.6 million after the same time counting the early showings. So it's pretty save to say, that WATCHMEN will kick some serious box office ass this weekend! Yay!

source: EW

SEINFELD CAST TO APPEAR IN NEXT 'CURB' SEASON

2009-03-07T00:35:00.003+01:00

CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM is one of my favourite shows of all times. In case you have lived under a huge rock -or in Europe, where this awesome show never got recognized- and you don't know what the fuck I'm talking about. Get a clue. CURB is created from and about LARRY DAVID, who is one of the creators of the most successfull sitcom on Earth called SEINFELD. It's about LDs life after he became uber rich with SEINFELD and basically has nothing to do, but living his life in Hollywood and pissing off everybody around him. Sounds great, right? Anyways, the show is heading for it's seventh season this Fall (yes, you've been missing out a great show for over six years now) and EW has exklusive news on the new season. Check it out:

"The Seinfeld cast is making another must-see appearance. EW has learned exclusively that the four stars of NBC's long-running comedy -- Jerry Seinfeld, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jason Alexander, and Michael Richards -- will be featured in a multiple-episode story arc on HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm this fall. The cameos will mark the first time that all four actors have appeared together in a scripted TV show since Seinfeld went off the air nearly 11 years ago. [...]"

HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE TRAILER

2009-03-07T00:26:00.002+01:00

A new trailer for the new HARRY POTTER flick is out. I couldn't care less, since I despise the whole Potter-Universe, but I respect the fact, that it has A LOT of fans around the world, who go nuts when this little headgeek swings his magic wand (which -actually- he rarley does...hm).
So here it is:

HEROES NEW SEASON CONFIRMED

2009-03-05T16:26:00.005+01:00

Despite the disappointing ratings (the show just hit an all-time low with "only" 7 million people watching. That's 2 million people less than last year), despite the rumors that the show is getting axed and despite the fact, that the show has gone downhill quality-wise and basically sucks donkey balls now (and I LOVED the first season!), HEROES will survive for another season reports THR.
NBC ordered another 18-20 episodes confirmes ANGELA BROMSTAD, entertainment president of NBC.

Another point in “Heroes” favor is the show performs well internationally. Bromstad said she experienced the drama's global popularity first-hand in her previous NBC post, heading the network’s international efforts based in London.

"Every single place you go has heard about 'Heroes' -- whether you’re in China or Japan or Russia," she said. "And to me, that is global content."

PUBLIC ENEMIES - TRAILER

2009-03-05T01:35:00.003+01:00

Boy oh boy, PUBLIC ENEMIES and WATCHMEN are two of my most anticipated movies for 2009. So I'm glad to announce that the official trailer for MICHAEL MANNS (COLLATERAL, MIAMI VICE, HEAT) crime thriller has just been released. The flick features an uber cast: JOHNNY DEPP as legendary bank robber John Dillinger, CHRISTIAN BALE as FBI agent Melvin Purvis and MARION COTILLARD (won the Oscar 2008 for best female lead in LA VIE EN ROSE) as Dillingers girlfriend Billie Frechette.
PE will hit the big screen in July in the U.S. and August in Europe!

Click here to watch the trailer.

TERMINATOR SALVATION - NEW TRAILER

2009-03-03T19:36:00.002+01:00

If you happen to be a machine, than get ready to get you ass handed by John Connor! The new TERMINATOR SALVATION trailer kicks some serious butt and I am now officially hyped!

Ch-ch-check-it-out:

MARK WAHLBERG AND WILL FERRELL ARE "THE B-TEAM".

2009-02-27T23:02:00.003+01:00

SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT has acquired THE B-TEAM a ADAM MCKAY-directed action comedy that will team WILL FERRELL and MARK WAHLBERG as cops.
MCKAY and FERRELL who brought us the nothing but awesome ANCHORMAN, the decent STEP BROTHERS and the not-so-great TALLADEGA NIGHTS will also produce the flick. It's still uncertain, if the flick will be released as B-TEAM due to possible legal/name issues with 20th CENTURY FOX that is mobilizing a movie based on TV series THE A-TEAM.
I keep you posted on this one.

EDDIE MURPHY TO PLAY RICHARD PRYOR IN BIOPIC

2009-02-27T14:32:00.003+01:00

One of the greatest Stand-Up comediens of all-times RICHARD PRYOR will get a full feature biopic. Writer/director BILL CONDON (DREAMGIRLS) is likely to sell his script RICHARD PRYOR: IS IT SOMETHING I SAID? to FOX SEARCHLIGHT (SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE).
EDDIE MURPHY is attached to the project to play the late RICHARD PRYOR who died in December 2005 due to a heart attack.
He was 65 years old.

source: EW

TOTAL RECALL GETS TOTALLY NEW

2009-02-27T14:15:00.004+01:00

Another remake no one needs but who's counting, right?

TOTAL RECALL is coming back to the big screen. NEAL H. MORITZ, Hollywood producer and owner of a company called ORIGINAL FILMS who brought us movies like THE FAST & THE FURIOUS, S.W.A.T. or xXx (which sadly ain't porn but "triple x") is in final negotiations with COLUMBIA to direct and produce a new version of SCHWARZENEGGERS big hit TOTAL RECALL (1990).

No word on who's starring or what the script will be like...

HARRY POTTER RELEASE CONFIRMED

2009-02-27T14:06:00.005+01:00

HARRY POTTER has a date. Well not an actual date but a release date for THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PART 1 AND 2.

DEATHLY HALLOWS - PART 1:
November 19th, 2010

DEATHLY HALLOWS - PART 2:
July 15th, 2011

And for those who are confused about the HALF-BLOOD PRINCE:

HALF-BLOOD PRINCE:
July 17th, 2009

OSCAR RECAP

2009-02-23T17:30:00.007+01:00

So the 81st Annual Acadamy Awards are over. I have to admit, I was kinda sceptical beforehand and couldn't really get on the OSCAR-Hype-Train. There was just nothing that promised a spectacular or at least an interesting show. The nominated movies were quite unspectacular, boring or just wrong. With some exceptions of course. I loved FROST/NIXON, though I don't think this well crafted and well acted piece of work deserved a statue that says "this is one of the most important movies ever made". I was however disappointed, that THE DARK KNIGHT did not get a nomination for Best Picture. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a fanboy and I'm not basing my opinion on Box Office sales, BUT I doubt a Blockbuster can get any better than this. If you hand out 11 statues to TITANIC and don't even "nominate" TDK for Best Picture, you should not wonder why people lose interest in the Acadamy Awards. If the OSCARS aren't believable and credibile, than what's the point? That being said, of course I watched the whole show and... I enjoyed it.

First of all, I thought HUGH JACKMAN did a terrific job. I was really really sceptical if he could pull this thing. I was like "Wolverine? Really?", but credit where credit is due, I have to cut the man some slack. He was very likeable and the good thing was he didn't force himself to the audience. He sang, he danced, he shook some hands and hosted very smoothly. I have to admit though, that I still prefer a comedian like Jon Stewart, Steve Martin or Chris Rock. JACKMANN was good, but he was too clean for my taste. And what's with all the singing and dancing and "Musicals are alive" shit? Come on...

However I LOVED the idea of presenting the awards for best Actor/Actress by former winners. It was beautiful to see so many great actors together on one stage talking directly and in front of the nominated actors/actresses.
Another thing that was very nicely done was the way how they announced the categories and explained and showed what it meant. Like when they talked about Best Screenplay, they showed actual excerpts of that particular script and the scene as it was in the finished movie. Great!

What else...loved the JAMES FRANCO , SETH ROGEN and JANUSZ KAMINSKI(!) skit (Rogen takes one of Kaminskis two Oscars and wonders "can you make a pipe out of this?"), loved BEN STILLER not wanting to be the funny guy anymore (very funny), loved BEYONCÉ...

Let's talk HEATH LEDGER. Is it just me, or was the Oscar for HEATH kinda boring... or unspectacular. I don't say it had to be particulary "special" in any kind of way, but it felt kinda cold from my perspective. The mother and sister of HEATH seemed to really enjoy the Oscars and judging from the hair of LEDGERs sister and the dress of his mom, they put quite some time and effort to look nice on stage, whereas their speech was pretty dull. I expected more emotions and feelings. Not "faked feelings" mind you. Don't get me wrong. No one has to burst out in tears, if they don't feel like it, but I thought he wasn't praised and honored enough. But maybe that's just me...

As for the winners, there was not really a big upset or surprise. I'm glad that BUTTON didn't get away with too many OSCARS, because it just didn't deserve them. The only thing that was, well at least a littlebit surprising, was SEAN PENNs OSCAR for best ACTOR. I haven't seen MILK yet, but I can imagine that it was an Oscar-worthy perfomance by PENN. I mean it's SEAN PENN ffs... BUT I would loved to see the award go to MICKEY ROURKE. I love that guy, loved the movie and I'm not sure if he will ever get a shot for an Oscar again. Well I guess I have to watch his kickass acceptance speech of the SPIRIT AWARD over and over again and imagine how it would have been, if had won an Oscar:

AND THE OSCAR GOES TO...

2009-02-23T16:25:00.002+01:00

BEST MOTION PICTURE OF THE YEAR
Winner: "Slumdog Millionaire"
(Fox Searchlight) A Celador Films Production; Christian Colson, Producer

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Winner: Sean Penn in "Milk" (Focus Features)

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Winner: Kate Winslet in "The Reader" (The Weinstein Company)

ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING
Winner: Danny Boyle for "Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight)

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Winner: Penelope Cruz in "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" (The Weinstein Company)

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Winner: Heath Ledger in "The Dark Knight" (Warner Bros.)

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Winner: "Milk" (Focus Features); Written by Dustin Lance Black

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Winner: "Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight) Screenplay by Simon Beaufoy

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM OF THE YEAR
Winner: "WALL-E" (Walt Disney) Andrew Stanton

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
Winner: "La Maison en Petits Cubes" A Robot Communications Production; Kunio Kato

ACHIEVEMENT IN ART DIRECTION
Winner: "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.) Art

ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN
Winner: "The Duchess" (Paramount Vantage, Pathe; and BBC Films) Michael O'Connor

ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKEUP
Winner:"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
Paramount and Warner Bros.) Greg Cannom

ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY
Winner: "Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight) Anthony Dod Mantle

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
Winner: "Spielzeugland (Toyland)"A Mephisto Film Production; Jochen Alexander Freydank

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Winner: "Man on Wire" (Magnolia Pictures) A Wall to Wall Production, James Marsh and Simon Chinn

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
Winner: "Smile Pinki" A Principe Production, Megan Mylan

ACHIEVEMENT IN VISUAL EFFECTS
Winner: "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.) Eric

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND EDITING
Winner: "The Dark Knight" (Warner Bros.) Richard King

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND MIXING
Winner: "Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight) Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty

ACHIEVEMENT IN FILM EDITING
Winner: "Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight) Chris Dickens

ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES (ORIGINAL SCORE)
Winner: "Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight) A.R. Rahman

ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES (ORIGINAL SONG)
Winner: "Jai Ho" from "Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight) Music by A.R. Rahman; Lyrics by Gulzar

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR
Winner: "Departures" (Regent Releasing) A Departures Film Partners Production; Japan

S. DARKO - TRAILER - THE REAL ONE

2009-02-22T05:11:00.003+01:00

Okay, as promised I keep the DARKO goons posted.
The "official" trailer for the DONNIE DARKO sequel S.DARKO has been released.
And actually... I kind of like it.

You can watch the trailer on www.sdarko.com.

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA HEADING FOR THE BIG SCREEN?

2009-02-21T13:10:00.002+01:00

The folks over at IGN report about a possible big screen version of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA. It's still a rumor as UNIVERSAL hasn't confirmed anything yet. The rumor though seems pretty detailed. Check it out. :
“We were informed that the film will be based on the original BSG series from 1978-79 rather than the recent reboot from Sci Fi Channel. The story followed a band of humans who were the only survivors of a devastating attack on their colonial home world by the vicious cybernetic race known as the Cylons. The survivors, led by Commander Adama, embark on a journey through space aboard the military vessel Battlestar Galactica to find refuge on a distant planet called Earth.”

I keep you posted on this one.

A CHICK YOU MIGHT DIG #3

2009-02-21T12:49:00.006+01:00

Beautiful AMY SMART. I think I fell in love with her when I first saw her on ROAD TRIP seducing BRECKIN MEYER. I fell in love again when I saw her in the great and underappreciated INTERSTATE 60. She did another roadtrip in the mediocre RAT RACE and it seems to me, that AMY is the kind of girl you just want to bunk and go on an adventure. She has the perfect mixture of sweetness and toughness. If you saw CRANK you'll know what I mean...

So where is AMY now?
Well besides of giving her voice to several ROBOT CHICKEN characters, we will see her in CRANK 2: HIGH VOLTAGE. Also she just landed the lead in a new ABC pilot called "SEE CATE RUN", about a young attorney eventually running for President of the U.S.

Yes we can!

BASTERDS POSTER

2009-02-20T20:31:00.009+01:00

EMPIRE released a set of pretty interesting INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS posters. Something tells me you won't see them like that in Germany...

(click poster for fullsize)

TRANSFORMERS 2 - REVENGE OF THE FALLEN NEW TEASER TRAILER

2009-02-17T16:40:00.006+01:00

The new teaser trailer for MICHAEL BAYS TRANSFORMERS sequel is out. Looks like a decent blockbuster. At least the blow up and crash a shitload of stuff. Like buildings, cars and bridges and buildings and cars and shit.
Check it out:

You can find in HD here.

FIRST WATCHMEN SCREENING - DIFFERENT ENDING?

2009-02-12T14:04:00.003+01:00

Some lucky people in L.A. had the chance to watch a screening of the final cut of WATCHMEN yesterday. Lucky for us, some of them share their thoughts on Latinoreview.
Here is an excerpt:

2. The ending is different, no squid. I was one of the people who never really cared about squid/no squid, but I feel the ending will work better for mainstream audiences that have never read the book.

3. They do not imply a sequel anymore than the book does...

7. It was fantastically close to the book; even the framings of shots were lifted directly from the book.

8. Jackie Earl Halley is the shit in this. He IS Rorschach.

9. This movie is gory. I'm a gore hound and I was surprised at how graphic some scenes were. Really had people squirming.

10. NAKED Sally Jupiter. (CORRECTION NAKED Silk Spectre)

I have to say Snyder knocked this one out of the park. There is some gruesome, brutal stuff here that is hard to watch. The fight scenes are awesome, and, like in 300, Snyder continues the use of ramping the frame rate to accentuate the movements of the characters. I knew there was going to be some slo-mo, but I didn't think he overdid it. All in all, fans of the book are going to more than pleased with the film. For a book that was for years considered un-filmable, he certainly managed to hit almost every beat and did not compromise any of the material

I have to admit, that though the writer of the review sounds pretty amazed, I am kinda shocked, that ZACK SNYDER changed the ending... Let's just hope he didn't screw up!

Check the full review here.

NEW 'HOBBIT' INFOS IN MARCH ISSUE OF EMPIRE

2009-02-12T13:34:00.004+01:00

EMPIRE MAGAZINE has a pretty interesting cover-story on their march issue that's on sale this friday. Here is a scoop:

Inside, we’ll tell you how the film finally became a reality after years languishing in tangled rights hell; why Peter Jackson stepped aside from directing; what might be contained in the mooted second movie; and just what director Guillermo del Toro has in store for the whole shebang.

Here’s a taster of our exclusive interview with del Toro:

“Whatever The Hobbit ends up being, it has to ultimately blend seamlessly into the first movie of the trilogy. We have to respect the cosmology and the canon established by the trilogy and follow it.”

TOM CRUISE AND DENZEL WASHINGTON TO STAR IN "THE MATARESE CIRCLE"

2009-02-12T13:18:00.005+01:00

Script is penned by Michael Brandt and Derek Haas (WANTED) and the flick will be directed by no other than DAVID CRONENBERG (EASTERN PROMISES). The movie is an adaptation of ROBERT LUDLUMS (writer of the BOURNE TRILOGY) book by the same name. WASHINGTON and CRUISE are in talks not yet confirmed though.
Story is about two bitter enemy spies who, after spending two decades trying to kill each other, grudgingly team up against the Matarese, a powerful group at the root of a conspiracy.

This has blockbuster written all over it. More to come on this one...

S. DARKO - TRAILER

2009-02-12T02:48:00.003+01:00

This flick is a typical sort of "sequels no one needs". But since there are a lot of DONNIE DARKO fans out there, I guess it belongs here aswell. After all, there might be a small chance that it won't suck...
S. DARKO - A DONNIE DARKO TALE is basically the same story but now told through the eyes of Donnies sister Samantha. Of course no one that worked on DONNIE DARKO is involved in this straight to DVD release (meaning no JAKE GYLLENHAAL and no RICHARD KELLY). A real trailer is supposed to be shown at NYC ComicCon.
Anyhow, here goes the (fanmade-) teaser trailer:

INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS - TRAILER IS OUT

2009-02-11T22:33:00.003+01:00

Ok, without further ado. Click here to go straight to the BASTERDS trailer.

INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS - TRAILER SNEAK PEAK

2009-02-11T12:38:00.009+01:00

It's a wrap guys! That's right, QUENTIN TARANTINOS Nazi hunt INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS is in the can! Entertainment Tonight gave an exklusive first glimpse on the soon to be released BASTERDS trailer. (Check back soon, you'll find it here as soon as it hits the net!).
Check out the ET preview:

Update: The Trailer will be aired tonight! Check back soon...

NEW CRANK 2 POSTER

2009-02-10T13:46:00.003+01:00

JASON STATHAM back on track. Check out the new poster for CRANK: HIGH VOLTAGE!

BRETT RATNER TO DIRECT YOUNGBLOOD

2009-02-09T15:46:00.005+01:00

And here goes another comic adaption: BRETT RATNER (of RUSH HOUR fame) will direct ROB LIEFELDS YOUNGBLOOD comic book. It's about a fictional superhero team that made its debut as a backup feature in the 1987 one-shot Megaton: Explosion before later appearing in its own ongoing series in 1992 as the flagship publication for Image Comics (SPAWN). Through out their publishing history, they were originally published by Image Comics, and later by Awesome Entertainment. In 1998, LIEFELD hired ALAN MOORE (WATCHMEN) to relaunch and revamp Youngblood.
No word about the plot of the movie and whether it takes on LIEFELD oder MOORES vision of the comic.

RATNER to VARIETY: “Most of the great graphic novels are gone, and ‘Youngblood’ is one of the few comicbooks left with tentpole potential. It was a real personal passion project for me, and a lot of people wanted (‘Youngblood’), but the amazing thing about the guys at Reliance is the speed with which they’re able to move.”

CHRISTIAN BALE VS. THE INTERNET

2009-02-07T14:01:00.007+01:00

I guess by now you all heard about the infamous BALE OUT on the set of TERMINATOR: SALVATION. Looks like CHRISTIAN BALE is kinda the new STAR WARS KID. Probably as I am writing this, someone on the planet is uploading an new remix of BALES rant on youtube. Though I think it's funny and he kinda deserves to be mocked for being a cock, I still think he is a great actor and probably not half as much of an asshole, as the leaked audio suggests. I mean come on... I know a lot of people that have gone ballistic (or should I say "baleistic"?) over some shit and regretted it immediately. It's just human to sometimes lose your shit (pun intended). That's not an excuse and it doesn't make it right, but people should stop pointing fingers. If BALE wouldn't be a rich celebrity, no one would make a big deal out of it. But being famous does not change the fact, that you're still a human. And sometimes even an asshole.
That being said, CHRISTIAN BALE apologized on L.A.'s Kevin & Bean morning radio show on KROQ. Though you may still think he is a prick, I say cut the dude some slack and let bygones be bygones.
Listen to the apology here.
And besides all that: TERMINATOR: SALVATION will kick ass!

QUICK REVIEWS #1

2009-01-31T03:35:00.002+01:00

Since a lot of you guys write me and ask me what I think about this movie and that movie, I figured I could aswell post a short list of movies, that I watched recently and what I thought of them.
Since I don't have the time to write detailed reviews and sum up the storylines, I just give a rating from one to ten. One being pretty shitty and ten being on of my all-time favourites (hardly ever given).

If you don't know the movie, click the link and do some research for your own. You lazy ass!

Recently Watched:

The Fall: 8/10

Taken: 8/10

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist: 5/10

The Wrestler: 9/10

Frost/Nixon: 8/10

Let the right one in: 9/10

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: 7/10

Slumdog Millionaire: 8/10

RocknRolla: 7/10

Gran Torino: 7/10

Ondskan (Evil): 7/10

DARK KNIGHT SEQUEL - ALREADY IN THE MAKING?

2009-01-31T03:20:00.004+01:00

According to IESB Christopher and Jonathan NOLAN and DAVID GOYER have started writing the script for next BATMAN flick. Although it has yet to be confirmed officialy, IESB claims:

IESB was told by an extremely reliable source that the project has already gone into the writing stage with Christopher Nolan, Jonathan Nolan and David Goyer all hard at work.
[...]
We've double checked and we are definitely hearing the script is being written as we speak.

Of course no details about the plot and possible villains are known so far. As soon as there are any new informations, you'll find the here.

NEW BUNCH OF WATCHMEN PICTURES

2009-01-31T03:05:00.003+01:00

EMPIRE ONLINE has some pretty neat b/w style WATCHMEN PORTRAITS.

Check out Roarschach:

More of this can be founde here.

CRANK 2 TRAILER (LEAKED!)

2009-01-16T18:40:00.003+01:00

I'm not quite sure if this is supposed to be on the net already, but hell... who cares? I loved CRANK and I never thoght, they would make a sequel, because after all, the first one would be hard to top. But someone at LIONSGATE thought "fuck that, let's do another one" and obviously they did.
Check out the CRANK 2 trailer, that just leaked. But beware: "That kind of language is not gonna fly on tv"...

FOX AND WARNER REACH WATCHMEN SETTLEMENT

2009-01-16T18:36:00.004+01:00

Good news folks! It seems as if the feud between WARNER BROS and 20th CENTURY FOX came to an end. WATCHMEN will be released as scheduled in March (in the US that is...). Check this out:

"Warner Bros. and Twentieth Century Fox have resolved their dispute regarding the rights to the upcoming motion picture Watchmen in a confidential settlement. Warner Bros acknowledges that Fox acted in good faith in bringing its claims, which were asserted prior to the start of principal photography. Fox acknowledges that Warner Bros. acted in good faith in defending against those claims Warner Bros. and Fox, like all Watchmen fans, look forward with great anticipation to this film’s March 6 release in theatres."

More on this here.

GOLDEN GLOBE WINNERS

2009-01-12T19:54:00.002+01:00

Best Motion Picture - Drama

WINNER

Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

Other Nominees:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)

Frost/Nixon (2008)

The Reader (2008)

Revolutionary Road (2008)

Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy

WINNER

Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)
Other Nominees:

Burn After Reading (2008)

Happy-Go-Lucky (2008)

In Bruges (2008)

Mamma Mia! (2008)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama

WINNER

Mickey Rourke for The Wrestler (2008)
Other Nominees:

Leonardo DiCaprio for Revolutionary Road (2008)

Frank Langella for Frost/Nixon (2008)

Sean Penn for Milk (2008)

Brad Pitt for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama

WINNER

Kate Winslet for Revolutionary Road (2008)

Other Nominees:

Anne Hathaway for Rachel Getting Married (2008)

Angelina Jolie for Changeling (2008)

Meryl Streep for Doubt (2008)

Kristin Scott Thomas for Il y a longtemps que je t'aime (2008)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy

WINNER

Colin Farrell for In Bruges (2008)

Other Nominees:

Javier Bardem for Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)

James Franco for Pineapple Express (2008)

Brendan Gleeson for In Bruges (2008)

Dustin Hoffman for Last Chance Harvey (2008)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy

WINNER

Sally Hawkins for Happy-Go-Lucky (2008)

Other Nominees:

Rebecca Hall for Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)

Frances McDormand for Burn After Reading (2008)

Meryl Streep for Mamma Mia! (2008)

Emma Thompson for Last Chance Harvey (2008)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture

WINNER

Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight (2008)

Other Nominees:

Tom Cruise for Tropic Thunder (2008)

Robert Downey Jr. for Tropic Thunder (2008)

Ralph Fiennes for The Duchess (2008)

Philip Seymour Hoffman for Doubt (2008)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture

WINNER

Kate Winslet for The Reader (2008)

Other Nominees:

Amy Adams for Doubt (2008)

Penélope Cruz for Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)

Viola Davis for Doubt (2008)

Marisa Tomei for The Wrestler (2008)

Best Director - Motion Picture

WINNER

Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

Other Nominees:

Stephen Daldry for The Reader (2008)

David Fincher for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)

Ron Howard for Frost/Nixon (2008)

Sam Mendes for Revolutionary Road (2008)

Best Screenplay - Motion Picture

WINNER

Slumdog Millionaire (2008): Simon Beaufoy

Other Nominees:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008): Eric Roth, Robin Swicord

Doubt (2008): John Patrick Shanley

Frost/Nixon (2008): Peter Morgan

The Reader (2008): David Hare

Best Original Song - Motion Picture

WINNER

The Wrestler (2008)("The Wrestler")

Other Nominees:

Bolt (2008)("I Thought I Lost You")

Cadillac Records (2008)("Once in a Lifetime")

Gran Torino (2008)("Gran Torino")

WALL·E (2008)("Down to Earth")

Best Original Score - Motion Picture

WINNER

Slumdog Millionaire (2008): A.R. Rahman

Other Nominees:

Changeling (2008): Clint Eastwood

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008): Alexandre Desplat

Defiance (2008): James Newton Howard

Frost/Nixon (2008): Hans Zimmer

Best Animated Film

WINNER

WALL·E (2008)

Other Nominees:

Bolt (2008)

Kung Fu Panda (2008)

Best Foreign Language Film

WINNER

Vals Im Bashir (2008)

Other Nominees:

Der Baader Meinhof Komplex (2008)

Maria Larssons eviga ögonblick (2008)

Gomorra (2008)

Il y a longtemps que je t'aime (2008)

Best Television Series - Drama

WINNER

"Mad Men" (2007)

Other Nominees:

"Dexter" (2006)

"House M.D." (2004)

"In Treatment" (2008)

"True Blood" (2007)

Best Television Series - Musical or Comedy

WINNER

"30 Rock" (2006)

Other Nominees:

"Californication" (2007)

"Entourage" (2004)

"The Office" (2005)

"Weeds" (2005)

Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

WINNER

"John Adams" (2008)

Other Nominees:

Bernard and Doris (2007)

"Cranford" (2007)

A Raisin in the Sun (2008) (TV)

Recount (2008) (TV)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for
Television

WINNER

Paul Giamatti for "John Adams" (2008)

Other Nominees:

Ralph Fiennes for Bernard and Doris (2007)

Kevin Spacey for Recount (2008) (TV)

Kiefer Sutherland for 24: Redemption (2008) (TV)

Tom Wilkinson for Recount (2008) (TV)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television

WINNER

Laura Linney for "John Adams" (2008)

Other Nominees:

Judi Dench for "Cranford" (2007)

Catherine Keener for An American Crime (2007)

Shirley MacLaine for Coco Chanel (2008) (TV)

Susan Sarandon for Bernard and Doris (2007)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy

WINNER

Alec Baldwin for "30 Rock" (2006)

Other Nominees:

Steve Carell for "The Office" (2005)

Kevin Connolly for "Entourage" (2004)

David Duchovny for "Californication" (2007)

Tony Shalhoub for "Monk" (2002)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy

WINNER

Tina Fey for "30 Rock" (2006)

Other Nominees:

Christina Applegate for "Samantha Who?" (2007)

America Ferrera for "Ugly Betty" (2006)

Debra Messing for "The Starter Wife" (2008)

Mary-Louise Parker for "Weeds" (2005)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Drama

WINNER

Gabriel Byrne for "In Treatment" (2008)

Other Nominees:

Michael C. Hall for "Dexter" (2006)

Jon Hamm for "Mad Men" (2007)

Hugh Laurie for "House M.D." (2004)

Jonathan Rhys Meyers for "The Tudors" (2007)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama

WINNER

Anna Paquin for "True Blood" (2007)

Other Nominees:

Sally Field for "Brothers & Sisters" (2006)

Mariska Hargitay for "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (1999)

January Jones for "Mad Men" (2007)

Kyra Sedgwick for "The Closer" (2005)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

WINNER

Tom Wilkinson for "John Adams" (2008)

Other Nominees:

Neil Patrick Harris for "How I Met Your Mother" (2005)

Denis Leary for Recount (2008) (TV)

Jeremy Piven for "Entourage" (2004)

Blair Underwood for "In Treatment" (2008)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

WINNER

Laura Dern for Recount (2008) (TV)

Other Nominees:

Eileen Atkins for "Cranford" (2007)

Melissa George for "In Treatment" (2008)

Rachel Griffiths for "Brothers & Sisters" (2006)

Dianne Wiest for "In Treatment" (2008)

WHO OWNS THE WATCHMEN - A LETTER FROM THE PRODUCER

2009-01-09T21:41:00.005+01:00

In case you haven't noticed: There is an ongoing feud between WARNER BROS. and FOX about who owns the distribution rights for the upcoming blockbuster WATCHMEN. Without going into too much detail, the bottom line is: FOX SUCKS ELEPHANT BALLS!
Lloyd Levin, one of the producers of WATCHMEN now published 'an open letter' to give the world an insight on whats going on. Pretty interesting stuff. Here's a snippet:

[...]
From my point of view, the flashpoint of this dispute, came in late spring of 2005. Both Fox and Warner Brothers were offered the chance to make Watchmen. They were submitted the same package, at the same time. It included a cover letter describing the project and its history, budget information, a screenplay, the graphic novel, and it made mention that a top director was involved.
And it's at this point, where the response from both parties could not have been more radically different.
The response we got from Fox was a flat "pass." That's it. An internal Fox email documents that executives there felt the script was one of the most unintelligible pieces of shit they had read in years. Conversely, Warner Brothers called us after having read the script and said they were interested in the movie- [...]

You can read the whole letter at Hitfix.com

TRANSFORMERS 2 - TEASER POSTER

2009-01-09T18:30:00.006+01:00

Well...

ROURKE AND ROCKWELL IRON MAN 2 VILLAINS?

2009-01-09T00:03:00.003+01:00

MICKEY ROURKE (SIN CITY, THE WRESTLER) and SAM ROCKWELL (CHARLIES ANGELS, FROST/NIXON) are in talks for roles as villains in the IRON MAN sequel. ROURKE is supposed to play Crimson Dynamo a heavily tattooed Russian arms dealer who battles the superhero in a nuclear-powered suit of armor that can control electricity.
ROCKWELL is considered to play Justin Hammer, a multibillionaire British businessman and a rival of industrialist Tony Stark. The flick will of course be directed by JOHN FAVREAU (again). Kickass!

NEW (japanese) WATCHMEN TRAILER

2009-01-07T22:35:00.003+01:00

In case you're not yet hyped, check out the new japanese trailer of WATCHMEN with a lot of new footage!
WATCH:

New BADASS TAKEN Poster

2009-01-04T20:44:00.008+01:00

LIAM NEESON will hurt you. No he will hunt you down first. Than he will hurt you. He will shoot you right in the face and than feed you to a filthy dog. Than he will cut the dog open to get your leftovers and he will feed them to a living dinosaur that he held captured in his living room. He'll then kick the dinosaur in his nuts. That's how badass LIAM NEESON is!
TAKEN is the best action flick I've seen in years. This movie is so badass, that FOX is messing with its release date for over a year now. It's probably to dangerous to be shown to the public.

TAKEN will be the fastest 90 minutes of your life. Its so fucking great it makes flicks like CRANK and THE BOURNE TRILOGY look like a walk in the park. You know... like... boring? It makes them look boring... BECAUSE ITS SO GREAT! GET IT?!
Anyways check out the new badass poster, it's promoting the 31th January release of the flick. Let's just hope TAKEN get's the boxoffice it deserves!

And yeah... SMAC is BACK, like LIAM NEESONS FISTS!

The new Coen, the next Lebowski? Burn After Reading. A review.

2008-09-13T06:45:00.008+02:00

I love the Coen Brothers. They are like Stanley Kubrick or Wes Anderson: Their movies have a unique style that you will always be able to pick out. Rather than special FX, they rely on a good story, strong characters and dialogue. Burn After Reading is very Coen.

The Coens have done quite a bunch of comedies by now. Raising Arizona is a classic, while films like O Brother and Ladykillers dissapointed me. The Big Lebowski is in my opinion one of the best not only in the genre, but also one of the best films of all time. The love of detail in that movie is extraordinary. Yet, Lebowski had too many interwoven plots which was confusing for many people. Also Lebowski was a follow-up to an Oscar winning, more serious, film so expectations ran very high. This does make it very similar to Burn After Reading.

I also fear a lot of critics will have the same problems with Burn After Reading.

Where the film really differs from the Lebowski is, that it doesn't really have a central character. Or at least one that is that obvious. Which actually fits perfectly with the whole spy/agent theme of the film. So here is the plot in shortcut:

Osborne Cox (John Malkovich) works for the CIA but gets the boot from his current assigment. Because of that he quits his job altogether. Unfortunately his wife Katie (Tilda Swinton), is not too happy with the situation because she is having an affair with womanizer Harry (George Clooney) and ultimatly wants a divorce. She secretly recovers all data from her husbands computer, which also contains his memoirs about working at the CIA, to give to her divorce lawyer. All this data however, ends up in the hand of fitness trainer Chad (Brad Pitt) and his co-worker Linda, played by Francis McDormand, who needs money to get some plastic surgery done. So they put a plan in motion to blackmail Osborne. And of course, that's where all the trouble starts.

As I mentioned earlier, the biggest problem of the film is, that there is no obvious central character that takes you by the hand throughout the movie. But that really remains the films only problem, if you will call it that. Other than that, I have to say this is definitely one of the best Coen movies so far. And that says a lot. Every single person you see in this film, and I really mean that, is so perfectly cast and detailled. The dialogue is incredibly funny and smart. Seriously, if you like Coen films, you will laugh your ass off at some of the things being said on screen. This movie also showcases the formidable acting of all the participants. All the actors in the film just drew me in and didn't let me go.

This film is a gem. Many people will not get it, just like the Lebowski, because the humor happens on many different levels and doesn't hit you blunt in the face. And while being funny, in that Coen kind of way, it also has dark and brutal moments, also in that Coen kind of way, that remind me of Fargo. Once again, the Coens prove that they are the masters of showing the human tragedy. Burn After Reading is not as heavy as No Country but you can defintely watch it more often. I know I will. This is a Coen Classic.

SCHWARZENEGGER IN T4: SALVATION?

2008-09-10T22:39:00.003+02:00

Some weeks ago we reported about TERMINATOR - SALVATION and the new T-800, that will be played by austrian bodybuilder ROLAND KICKINGER. Though this is still confirmed, new rumors see the light of day. According to a source of LATINO REVIEW, director McG is planning to use the Body of KICKINGER and a digital mapped face (and voice) of SCHWARZENEGGER. This technique has been used several times in movies, the most famous that comes to mind was THE CROW, where they used the same technique for BRANDON LEE, who died during the film shoot.

Of course it's only a rumor, but this rumor gets backed up by a picture, that shows ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER and CHRISTIAN BALE on the set of T4.

Get the full story on LATINO REVIEW.

NEW BOND TRAILER IS OUT

2008-09-10T01:55:00.002+02:00

007 kicking ass again. Here is the new QUANTUM OF SOLACE trailer:

And you can get it in QuickTime HD here.

WHO YOU GONNA CALL? GHOSTBUSTERS 3 IS COMING

2008-09-05T02:08:00.003+02:00

This is almost breaking news. Variety reports that COLUMBIA PICTURES hired the co exec-producers of "THE OFFICE" to pen a new GHOSTBUSTERS sequel with THE ORIGINAL CAST consisting of HAROLD RAMIS, DAN AYKROYD, ERNIE HUDSON and BILL MURRAY.

The scribes LEE EISENBERG and GENE STUPNITSKY just finished writing YEAR ONE a movie that HAROLD RAMIS directed. RAMIS on the other hand co-wrote the first two GHOSTBUSTERS movies with DAN AYKROYD. This indicates how close all the people involved are and that this is the real deal. Get the full story here.

BRUCKHEIMER IS "KILLING ROMMEL"

2008-09-03T22:41:00.002+02:00

Producer JERRY BRUCKHEIMER (PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN) is planing a movie about German WWII general Erwin Rommel called KILLING ROMMEL. The movie is based on a recently released book with the same title, written by STEPHEN PRESSFIELD. There isn't a trailer out for KILLING ROMMEL, but AICN posted a little video about PRESSFIELDS book that might help to imagine what the movie would be like. Check it out:

NEW 'ZACK AND MIRI' TRAILER

2008-09-03T22:31:00.003+02:00

Over at IGN they have a brandnew trailer for KEVIN SMITHS upcoming comedy ZACK AND MIRI MAKE A PORNO. I love KEVIN SMITH and think the trailer is hilarious. The Cast is great. SETH ROGEN and ELIZABETH BANKS play ZACK and MIRI, JUSTIN LONG is in the flick aswell as JASON MEWES ("JAY" in the JAY AND SILENT BOB flicks) and JEFF ANDERSON ("RANDAL" in CLERKS). Can't wait for this one. Here's the trailer:

NEW SUPERMAN TRILOGY COMING?

2008-09-03T01:17:00.006+02:00

Comic genius MARK MILLAR (WANTED, KICK-ASS, THE ULTIMATES) might start working on a new SUPERMAN franchise. In a 10-minute interview with G4 the comic author said that he has been asked to write a SUPERMAN movie.

“A director approached me about three months ago,” Millar said. “and he said ‘look, [Bryan Singer's] The Man Of Steel might not be happening. If that doesn’t happen, it has been spoken about the possibility of me coming in, would you like to write it?’ And I was like Yeah.”

In the interview he talks about his idea on how this new SUPERMAN franchise might look. He wants to do a seven hour version of SUPERMAN split in three different movies.

“I’ve had this plan for like 10 years for a big three-picture Superman thing, like a big Lord of the Rings epic, starting over from scratch again with a seven-hour Superman story. And hopefully release them one year after another,” continued Millar. “If it works out, we’ll have to start shooting next summer.”

MILLAR already penned a SUPERMAN spin-off called RED SON. In RED SON SUPERMAN did not land in Kansas and grew up on a farm, but instead he crashs into the Soviet Union. The comic follows the common concept of "alternate histories", which is often found in Science-Fiction ( lots of comics deal with storylines like "what if the Germans won WWII or what if the South won the Civil War etc.). It's not a parody, more like a dark scenario with known (superhero) characters. It was a very interesting shot at a wellknown franchise, kinda like FRANK MILLERS "THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS".
Since the SUPERMAN -just like the BATMAN- franchise is based in the D.C. comic universe, this could be "the next big thing" to hit the big screen. IF it happens.

Check out the full interview MILLAR gave G4:

BOOOOOM - AN EXPLOSION FROM TRANSFORMERS 2

2008-09-03T01:11:00.005+02:00

Well it's kinda well known, that director MICHAEL BAY likes to blow shit off. But this looks really...real. Well, it is real. Someone filmed "behind the scenes" an explosion that was shoot for TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN. It kinda looks impressive and one have to wonder: What if they didn't get the angle they wanted? Anyways, take a look:

NEW MAX PAYNE TRAILER

2008-08-29T18:36:00.003+02:00

The new MAX PAYNE trailer looks nice. My only fear though is, that the movie will last five hours, because everything is in slow-motion, which makes it so much longer to tell a story...

'Max Payne' Theatrical Trailer @ Yahoo! Video

GERMAN VERSION OF "THE OFFICE" - STROMBERG - TO HIT THE BIG SCREEN

2008-08-29T18:21:00.003+02:00

When RICKY GERVAIS invented THE OFFICE who would've known, that this will become one of the biggest comedy franchises of all times? Over a half dozen countries have their own version of THE OFFICE. In Germany it's called STROMBERG and is without a doubt one a the very few examples of great German comedy.

Now the Hollywoodreporter.com reports, that German production company BRAINPOOL is working on a STROMBERG release for the big screen.

Great news for all German OFFICE fans. Can't wait to see BERND STROMBERG molesting his co-workers for two hours!

CNN HAS A CLIP OF OLIVER STONES ''W"

2008-08-29T16:45:00.004+02:00

Wanna see JOSH BROLIN as GEORGE W. BUSH? Check out this little clip:

I'm so curious about this flick. Will they mock Bush, will they honor him? Maybe both? Fact of the matter is, JOSH BROLIN is a kick ass Bush!

VROOOOOOOOOOOOOM - FAST AND THE FURIOUS 4 TRAILER OUT

2008-08-27T02:06:00.002+02:00

PAUL WALKER and VIN DIESEL do it again. Will this flick win an Oscar? Probably not. But it can't be worse than the MUMMY 3... that's at least something. The Trailer goes something like this:

WOODY HARRELSON TO STAR IN 'ZOMBIELAND'

2008-08-26T15:03:00.006+02:00

I'm always up for Zombie flicks. There can never be enough of good old head-smashin', blood-spillin', gut-shootin' undead bashing.
I guess that's what WOODY HARRELSON thought, as he signed up to star in ZOMBIELAND directed by a pretty unknown dude called RUBEN FLEISCHER. Well that's not the worst name, to direct a Zombie-Comedy, is it?

The Plot revolves around a mismatched pair of survivors who find friendship and redemption in a world overrun by zombies. Harrelson plays one of the men, a zombie fighter named Albuquerque.

Source: Hollywoodreporter

TRANSPORTER 3 TEASER OUT

2008-08-26T01:33:00.001+02:00

JASON STATHAM driving around and kicking asses. Business as usual...

NEW SET OF "W" POSTERS

2008-08-22T18:43:00.004+02:00

Check out the a new bunch of posters for OLIVER STONES biopic "W" about GEORGE W. BUSH! (click to get the bigger picture...)

NEW MAY PAYNE AND TRANSPORTER 3 POSTERS

2008-08-21T22:48:00.004+02:00

New posters for MAX PAYNE AND TRANSPORTER 3 (Click to enlarge):

BEN AFFLECK AND MILA KUNIS IN EXTRACT

2008-08-21T22:27:00.002+02:00

BEN AFFLECK will most likely star in the new comedy by MIKE JUDGE (OFFICE SPACE, IDIOCRACY, BEAVIS & BUTTHEAD). I really dig MIKE JUDGE. OFFICE SPACE is without a doubt one of my favourite and IDIOCRACY one of the most underrated comedies. The flick is called EXTRACT and besides AFFLECK, MILA KUNIS (THAT 70's SHOW, 'MONA SAX' in MAX PAYNE)and JASON BATEMAN (HANCOCK, ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT) will join the cast aswell.

The plot is about a flower extract factory owner dealing with workplace problems and a streak of bad luck, including his wife's affair with a gigolo. Sounds kinda strange... but hey, it's MIKE JUDGE.

More on this at Variety.

NEW RIGHTEOUS KILL TRAILER

2008-08-19T18:18:00.005+02:00

ROBERT DE NIRO and AL PACINO team up in RIGHTEOUS KILL to kick some criminal ass. Both actors starred together in two films, never spend really much screen-time together though. In GODFATHER PART 2 you could see both actors, but since ROBERT DE NIRO played AL PACINOS father until MICHAEL CORLEONE was born, they didn't share the silver screen in a single scene.
In HEAT they were on opposite sides of the law, but only had a few scenes together. So basically RIGHTEOUS KILL is the first movie in which both will act together FOR REAL. So for me, being a huge DE NIRO and PACINO fan, this is a big deal. I hope they don't screw it up.
Here is a new trailer of RIGHTEOUS KILL (redband, meaning R-rated trailer, meaning foul language and hopefully violent).

And if you just watched the trailer, then this is really funny (and true...).

POLL TALK - GOONIES SEQUEL

2008-08-18T16:48:00.007+02:00

The POLL TALK is a new feature, where I will discuss the poll and it's outcome.

I did not see this coming!
The first POLL about the rumored GOONIES SEQUEL revealed a shocking truth: TOO MANY OF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE GOONIES!
This is shocking, as GOONIES is without a question one of the few classics, I thought EVERY PERSON ON EARTH knows. I guess it's a different thing, when you've just not been around when it came out. Maybe if you'd watch it now for the first time, you might wonder, what's so cool about that movie? Well, THE GOONIES came out in December 1985. I was 7 years old. Imagine it trough the eyes of a boy that thinks the greatest thing that could possibly happen in his life is getting a BMX bike for christmas...

The movie was written and produced by STEVEN SPIELBERG and CHRIS COLUMBUS. SPIELBERG had just reached the rank of the most talked about director in Hollywood, after hitting big in the Box Office with E.T. and the first to INDIANA JONES flicks. COLUMBUS on the other hand had huge success with his first flick GREMLINS. Since the INDY flicks where not rated for a younger audiences, they joined forces to create something like an INDY for kids. But not in a bad-let's make 'em sing songs and shoot rainbows out of their belly-way, but in a cool way. THE GOONIES was everything you could dream for if you saw it as kid. It was funny, scary, thrilling, fast, mysterious, adventerous. In short: It was a blast! It made every kid go up to grandpa's attic and search for treasure and secret maps. It made you believe, that deep down, under the house of your weird looking neighbour, there lies a secret passageway to some great cavern that hold truckloads of gold. Or candy.

For those of you, who haven't seen it: I can not guarantee you, that you will love it as much as my generation did, but I guarantee you a hell of a good time and storytelling the oldschool way. RENT IT, BUY IT, FUCK DOWNLOAD IT, I DON'T CARE... BUT WATCH IT.

As for the poll outcome:

Only 13% would love to see a sequel. 36% would rather pass on a sequel, because they fear it would destroy a classic. And 50 fucking % haven't seen the first one.
I think I'm a 13% guy on this one. Reason is: I don't see how even a bad sequel will affect my memories on the first one. It's a win to win situation. If it's cool: YAY.
If not: Who cares?
It's kinda like the recently released LOST BOYS SEQUEL (it's called THE TRIBE, but you really really shouldn't bother with this one...). Of course it's sucked donkey balls, but I still love the first one. I just don't consider the second one a "real" sequel. But maybe... they somehow make GOONIES 2 a great sequel, back to the roots and just like the old one. Maybe they'd do it. And if they'd do, I wouldn't want to miss it. So go on. Make GOONIES 2 and if it sucks, I'll pretend it never happened. Kinda like with MATRIX 3...

SIMON PEGG NOT A BASTARD

2008-08-18T16:35:00.003+02:00

Every day another news about INGLRIOUS BASTARDS. According to the SIMON PEGG BLOG on MySpace, PEGG will not be part of QUENTIN TARANTINOS WWII flick. Here is what he wrote:

Much to our mutual disappointment, I won't be appearing in QT's forthcoming Inglorious Bastards due to insurmountable scheduling difficulties. We really tried to make it work but in the end, it just was not possible without severe ramifications elsewhere.

I'm trying to remain upbeat, as Tom Selleck said "Who the hell is Indiana Jones anyway?"

Sx

TROPIC THUNDER DETHRONES THE DARK KNIGHT

2008-08-18T16:25:00.003+02:00

Finally! It took five weekends to dethrone THE DARK KNIGHT at the U.S. Box Office. BEN STILLER and his TROPIC THUNDER made it possible.
Oh and STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS grossed only $ 15 million... reviews are even worse. It's not that I care too much, but it makes me sad to see, how they kill a lovely franchise.
And by "they" I mean GEORGE LUCAS...

PUNISHER: WARZONE - PG-13 ? BULLSHIT

2008-08-18T16:20:00.002+02:00

There have been several rumors about PUNISHER: WARZONE being PG-13 rated. I didn't write anyting about it, because it was clearly bullshit. Anyone who's seen the trailer would agree, that a PG-13 PUNISHER:WARZONE would probably be 15 minutes long... Now the cinematographer of WARZONE, Steve Gainer, put those rumors to bed. Aintitcool has more on this.

THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE PUSHED BACK TO 2009

2008-08-15T13:03:00.003+02:00

The new HARRY POTTER flick has just been pushed back for a July 17th 2009 release, reports Variety.
Allegedly WARNER BROS. wants to heat up their summer Box Office income. However this will not have an effect on the release of DEATHLY HALLOWS, the final chapter of the Potter franchise.
Hallows will still be split in two movies, the first coming in Fall 2010 and the second aiming for a summer 2011 release.

THE DARK NIGHT RETURNS

2008-08-15T12:28:00.004+02:00

Don't get psyched too much. Firstshowing.net had a contest to write a plot-outline for a possbile DARK KNIGHT sequel. There have been a great deal of good story concepts, most of them dealing with THE RIDDLER as villain. Some people even made movie posters and this one in particular looks pretty good:

(click to enlarge)

A DARK KNIGHT sequel, though very likely to come, has yet to be announced.

TINA FEY AND STEVE CARELL TO STAR IN "DATE NIGHT"

2008-08-15T11:46:00.003+02:00

STEVE CARELL (GET SMART, 40-YEAR OLD VIRGIN, THE OFFICE) and TINA FEY (30 ROCK) will team up for a 20th Century Fox comedy named DATE NIGHT.
Both actors are very successful with their NBC shows and are competing for the EMMYS in the category "Best Comedy".
DATE NIGHT is directed by SHAWN LEVY (NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM) and written by JOSH KLAUSNER (SHREK THE THIRD)

MIKE MEYERS TO STAR IN TARANTINOS "BASTARDS"

2008-08-15T11:39:00.003+02:00

This is actually not a casting rumor, but a definite decision according to Variety.
MIKE MYERS (AUSTIN POWERS) will join the cast of INGLORIOUS BASTARDS.
Myers will play British Gen. Ed Fenech, a military mastermind who takes part in hatching a plot to wipe out Nazi leaders.
Shooting for BASTARDS will start on October 13th in Germany.

ENTOURAGE SEASON 5 TEASER CLIP

2008-08-12T11:29:00.005+02:00

My favourite TV show is coming back in September. It's the only show I can honestly say. It's done from men for men. This is the manly version of SEX AND THE CITY. There is no other show, that makes you feel so good and in the same time makes you wonder "Why is my life not like this?".

Season 5 of ENTOURAGE starts on September 7th:

MEET THE PRINCE OF PERSIA

2008-08-12T10:39:00.005+02:00

JAKE GYLLENHAAL is THE PRINCE OF PERSIA. Literally. Take a look:

PRINCE OF PERSIA: SANDS OF TIME, based on the same titled videogame, is directed by MIKE NEWELL (DONNIE BRASCO, HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE) and features BEN KINGSLEY and ALFRED MOLINA. It's due for a release in May 2010(!).

More pics of half-naked GYLLENHAAL can be found here.

A CHICK YOU MIGHT DIG # 2

2008-08-11T21:36:00.008+02:00

In respect to the letter "C" in SMAC, I hereby present you a CHICK. Of course not just "a" CHICK, but A CHICK YOU MIGHT DIG...

#2

AMBER HEARD

She is one of the hottest new chicks Hollywood has to offer. You might know her from the actually pretty neat Slasher ALL THE BOYS LOVE MANDY LANE. She was one of the cute chicks in ALPHA DOG and she's is currently storming the U.S. Box Office with PINEAPPLE EXPRESS. Oh and let's not forget she starred in NEVER BACK DOWN, that recently hit Germany as THE FIGHTERS. The name kinda sums the plot up pretty good. It's about some guys, that fight. Innit.
Nevertheless AMBER HEARD is on her way to fame and stardom in Hollywood. I fell in love with her when I saw MANDY LANE a couple of weeks ago. I was hypnotized by her performance and boy am I looking forward for her in THE INFORMERS (written by BRET EASTON ELLIS' [AMERICAN PSYCHO]).

FAR CRY TRAILER

2008-08-11T21:26:00.005+02:00

The German Trailer to FAR CRY has just been released.
Check it out here:

The videogame adaption starts October 2nd is directed by UWE BOLL and features TIL SCHWEIGER. Do the math...

ACTOR AND COMEDIAN BERNIE MAC DIED AT AGE 50

2008-08-09T18:19:00.007+02:00

The comedian suffered from sarcoidosis, an inflammatory lung disease that produces tiny lumps of cells in the body's organs, but had said the condition went into remission in 2005. He recently was hospitalized and treated for pneumonia, which his publicist said was not related to the disease.

BERNIE MAC was known for his appearances in movies like OCEANS ELEVEN, BAD SANTA or CHARLIES ANGELS: FULL THROTTLE. He also had his own Show called THE BERNIE MAC SHOW.

He passed away this morning from complications due to pneumonia in a Chicago area hospital. MAC was 50 years old.

BERNIE MAC may have not been the greatest actor, but I really liked his comedic style a lot. He was great alongside BILLY BOB THORNTON in BAD SANTA. I thought he was a rather good replacement for BILL MURRAY in CHARLIES ANGELS 2 and not to forget he was a great StandUp Comedian:

R.I.P :-(

Don't bogart that joint: Pineapple Express Review

2008-08-09T07:19:00.001+02:00

Ever since I saw the trailer to Pineapple Express, which is perfeclty edited to MIAs Paper Planes, I had wanted to see that film. But trailers can often fool you. When you see Pineapple Express you might get a lot more then you bargained for. And that is not necessirally a good thing. What I mean is, that Pineapple Express isn't just an ordinary stoner comedy, it is actually more of a stoner action flick.

Rogen plays once again the role he does so well: the likable underdog with flaws but is good at heart. Mostly stoned out of his mind, he goes about his everyday job. It all goes wrong though once he buys a special kind of weed called Pineapple Express from his dealer Saul (James Franco). As Dale (Rogen) smokes a joint in his car before he can call it a day, he becomes witness to a brutal murder and flees the scene. The only evidence left behind is the joint he threw out. In shock of what he just saw, Dale ends up at Sauls place. But as luck might have it, the people who Dale saw murder someone, happen to be supplying that weed to Saul. And since Saul is the only one selling Pineapple Express, they find out pretty quickly who to look for.

This film heavily relies on the two main characters. And they do have their funny moments. There are the typical stoner conversations that you will catch yourself chuckling at, though the acting at times can be quite amateurish. Franco plays the pothead a bit too over the top to be really believable. Overall, the relationship between Saul and Dale doesn't feel natural though. Their friendship seems too forced and therefore moments that show emotions are not really touching.
As I said in the beginning, Pineapple Express is also packed with action. Some of it is so gruesome that you can't help but laugh. The two killers played by Kevin Corrigan and Craig Robinson share some great onscreen time and even have more chemistry than Franco and Rogen. And then there also is Red played by Danny McBride - who certainly is the secret star of the movie - the middleman between Saul and the headhoncho Ted (Gary Cole from Office Space). Some of the stuff that McBride delivers is just freaking hilarious.

Besides some of the acting I felt that the editing of the movie wasn't that good. Some of it feels chopped together without a right sense of direction. But that could also be attributed to the script of the film.

In the end Pineapple Express isn't the supergrow of stonerflicks it would like to be. It is more of a constant mellow trip. But besides the flaws I did feel entertained. Not laughing-my-balls-off entertained but entertained nonetheless. But if you are going to see only one movie this summer with Judd Apatow's name attached to it, I would make it Step Brothers.

COMMENTS FOR EVERYBODY

2008-08-08T21:29:00.003+02:00

Something is about this website. I finally figured out how to enable the comments for people that don't have a blogger account. In short:

YOU CAN NOW USE THE COMMENTS TO SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS!

LUCAS: NO MORE INDY WITHOUT FORD

2008-08-08T21:06:00.003+02:00

There have been quite some rumors about a MUTT WILLIAMS spinoff or a SHIA LaBOEF as new INDIANA JONES. As horrifying as this might sound, apparently GEORGE LUCAS has no plans to continue the INDY franchise without HARRISON FORD, he told Time.com:

"He is Indiana Jones," Lucas said of Ford. "If Indiana Jones wasn't in it, you'd have to call it Mutt Williams and the search for Elvis. ... "Yeah, it's Mutt Williams and the search for Elvis."
[...]
"The franchise really depends on me coming up with a good idea," Lucas said. "And that series is very research-intensive. So we're doing research now to see if we can't come up with another object for him to chase ... hopefully we'll come up with something."

Well, I kinda feel like I've been waiting for a good idea by LUCAS for quite some time too...

GOONIES SEQUEL - FOR REAL?

2008-08-08T20:46:00.004+02:00

Rumors of a sequel to THE GOONIES go way back. I think the first came up when GOONIES 2 the videogame came out for the NES back in 1987. Ever since fans of the first movie, mostly people around my age that were kids when the movie came out, are longing for a sequel. Allthough there have been several reports of people that have worked on scripts and stuff like that, a GOONIES sequel has never officially been announced. It still hasn't to this day. BUT there are new rumors. Clint from Moviehole.net has a bunch of new info from a "secret source". Check it out:

A very, very, very good source – if I revealed his name, you’d know straight away this was a solid bit of news – informed me a few days ago that “the sequel Corey Feldman has been telling media will never happen”, one “Goonies 2”, is indeed… happening. (And I don't blame the Felddog for assuming it's never going to happen either - this one's been rumoured longer than the talking fridge).

Now I don't know when it's going to happen, because it has been on the drawing boards for a good decade now ("Star Trek" and "Transformers" scribe Robert Orci told me today that he was involved in a draft in about 1998), but it does seem to be inching forward.

So what have I been told? well, Warner Bros are finally going to give it the respect it deserves – this will be a large-scale theatrical release.. a tentpole. It will not be a direct-to-video release.

(A source at Warner Bros has since confirmed this - saying they are developing it as a major movie, but won't share anything other than that. Nothing we didn't already know though).

I can't say how reliable this source is. It sounds great though. I'm not much into X-Files, but let me say this: I WANT TO BELIEVE!
I guess will figure out what it's worth sooner or later.
Check out Moviehole.net for the full scoop.

BRAD PITT CONFIRMED FOR INGLORIOUS BASTARDS

2008-08-08T19:52:00.003+02:00

BRAD PITT has officially signed on to star in QUENTIN TARANTINOS WWII drama INGLORIOUS BASTARDS, reports Variety.
While PITT is confirmed to play Lieutenant Aldo Raine, a Tennessee hillbilly who assembles a team of eight Jewish-American soldiers to take on the Nazis, several other names of people to star in the movie are coming up. It seems like NASTASSJA KINSKI is in talks to play one of the sole female roles in the film.
SIMON PEGG (HOT FUZZ, SHAUN OF THE DEAD), DAVID KRUMHOLTZ ("GOLDSTEIN" in the HAROLD & KUMAR flicks) and B.J. NOVAK (THE OFFICE - US) are in talks to join the cast and play PITTS underlings.
Also several german sources, like Der Tagesspiegel, report that german actors DANIEL BRÜHL (GOOD BYE LENIN) and TIL SCHWEIGER (KEINOHRHASEN) met TARANTINO in Berlin to talk about possible roles.

Shooting of "BASTARDS" will begin in Germany in October and Tarantino hopes to have the picture ready for next year's Cannes Film Festival in France, according to Daily Variety.

Double Feature: Mummy 3 & Stepbrothers

2008-08-07T06:20:00.002+02:00

Saw these two movies lately. I'm gonna cut straight to the chase and not waste too much time talking about the story of either movie.

Mummy 3
The first Mummy flick with Brendan Fraser was not too bad. It tried to follow the footsteps of Indiana Jones, but never reached the quality of any of the fims starring Harrison Ford. There were some good ideas but just too much CGI stuff. The second part didn't really improve the franchise and just got more ridiculous. And now part 3 is here...

...and sunk the ship once an for all. Rachel Weisz who played Brendan Fraser's love interest in the previous installments knew why she didn't sign on again: the script and story is just not good. First off, a mummy, for my part, is from egypt, lives in a pyramide and looks like it has a toiletpaperfetish. And I don't want to hear: "But other cultures have mummified their leaders too." When I go to see a movie like that, I don't really give a damn about history. And I bet when the word "mummy" is tossed into room full of people, they for sure as hell won't be thinking of an asian one made of clay.

Besides getting a mummy that's not really a mummy, Brendan Fraser and his "new" wife Maria Bello get in quarrels about rising their annoying meathead son. Most of the the jokes feel out of place and too constructed to really start a spark. Mummy 3 might not be horrible, it's just worse than the previous installment.

Stepbrothers
Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly meet in this over the top R rated comedy about two middleaged guys who all of a sudden become stepbrothers and end up living under the same roof. Of course they don't like each other and trouble ensues.

While many movies pick up a great idea but ultimately don't really execute it that well or are too tame. Neither can be said about this flick. This film would never have worked if it would have gotten a PG-13 rating. It is the the combination of Ferrell and Reilly not holding back yet acting like a bunch of mildly retarded idiots that makes this film so good. There are so many funny situations in this movie that it is hard to pick your favorite. You can actually tell they had fun filiming this one. It might not be as good as Anchorman but Ferrell and Reilly could be the new Sonny and Cher. And when they sing their tune, you will laugh your balls off.

TARANTINOS WEIRD CASTING COUCH - BRITNEY SPEARS TO STAR IN "PUSSYCAT"

2008-08-06T21:10:00.008+02:00

Well, if one man made a name for himself for his unpredictable casting decisions, it would be QUENTIN TARANTINO. He casted JOHN TRAVOLTA against all odds for PULP FICTION and revived his career. But at least TRAVOLTA was an actor...

TARANTINO officially announced that his director pal ELI ROTH (HOSTEL) will play Sgt. Donnie Donowitz, a Jewish Nazi hunter in his upcoming movie INGLORIOUS BASTARDS. Now, I won't say it's wrong to cast a director and friend instead of some talented actor, but at least I'm sceptical. Than again... it's QT.

BUT...

BRITNEY SPEARS?
This no joke. According to The Telegraph, TARANTINO wants the troubled Popstar in his RUSS MEYER remake of FASTER PUSSYCAT! KILL! KILL!

"Quentin is convinced Britney will be brilliant. She's delighted. She thinks it could turn her career around. It is perfect Tarantino material. He wanted to get Britney first. She's playing the most important character."

Spears' character murders the boyfriend with her bare hands before taking the girlfriend hostage. The singer will also have sex scenes with another girl before the drama ends in a blood-bath.

Sounds promising.
This is a tough one. Even for a QT fanboy like me...
I wonder though, how reliable this "source" is, that The Telegraph mentions.

KEVIN SMITH WINS FIGHT WITH THE MPAA - "PORNO" WILL BE R-RATED

2008-08-06T20:38:00.006+02:00

Director KEVIN SMITH (CLERKS) has been in quite some trouble with the MPAA for some weeks now. The MPAA is responsible for the movie ratings in the United States. After a first screening of SMITHS new movie ZACK & MIRI MAKE A PORNO, the MPAA rated the movie with NC-17, which could have been desastrous for the movies Box Office takings. NC-17 means, that anyone younger than 17 is not allowed to watch the movie. With an R rating, those under 17 can see it in the company of an adult.
In the past weeks SMITH had to recut several parts of the movie and yesterday was the day that KEVIN SMITH and producer SCOTT MOSIER were set for the MPAA’s appeal screening, in which they had the chance to watch the movie with a select audience of members, then make a verbal appeal for the film's "R" rating. As we know by now, SMITH and MOSIER won the appeal and "PORNO" will indeed be R-Rated.
More on this here.

And the DVD will hopefully be NC-17, if you know what I mean...

FAR CRY POSTER

2008-08-06T16:18:00.004+02:00

UWE BOLL is directing, TIL SCHWEIGER takes the lead and of course it's an videogame adaption: FAR CRY.
While the videogame kicked major ass, my guess for this flick is, it makes even previous BOLL movies look cool. This is a strong contender for worst movie of the year. Enjoy the offcial movie poster:
Haven't I seen this before? Like almost 20 years ago?

A CHICK YOU MIGHT DIG #1

2008-08-06T15:05:00.007+02:00

In respect to the letter "C" in SMAC, I hereby present you a CHICK. Of course not just any CHICK, but A CHICK YOU MIGHT DIG...

#1

ELIZABETH BANKS

Beautiful ELIZABETH BANKS will star alongside SETH ROGEN in KEVIN SMITHS new movie ZACK & MIRI MAKE A PORNO. Also we will see her as LAURA BUSH in OLIVER STONES biopic "W", where she plays the wife of GEORGE W. BUSH.

You might know her from...

SCRUBS, where she played Dr. Kim Briggs, the mother of J.D's child. Or from INVINCIBLE, where she fell in love with Football legend VINCE PAPALE played by MARK WAHLBERG. And let's not forget how she lost RYAN REYNOLDS to ISLA FISHER in DEFINETLY, MAYBE...

MAX PAYNE PG-13 RATING?

2008-08-06T11:21:00.002+02:00

Videogame adaption MAX PAYNE might get a PG-13 rating, making it more family friendly, than the game it's based on. According to a TotalFilm coverage, MARK WAHLBERG and the rest of the cast weren't allowed to cuss and drop die "F-Bomb". Here is a snippet:

Ludacris: "Just because it might be PG-13, doesn’t mean there won’t be action and excitement."

Wahlberg: "It’s like Sin City with a little more reality, but why swear? What are you trying to prove? Too much swearing would make it less – not more – adult. There was no need for me to drop the ‘F’-bomb, y’know? John and I just made sure that Max has an arsenal of weapons and cool dialogue – which is far more powerful than just cussing all the time. Neither of us wanted to hide behind bad language. We just wanted as many people to see it as possible."
[...] But there is gunplay, assassins, fist-fights, drugs, death, sex... In censor-board terms, there are definitely ‘adult themes’...Well, I think you can have all of that without showing too much blood,” shrugs Wahlberg. “It’s just not needed. We didn’t want to make some big gorefest."

Sounds more like SIN CITY without balls to me.
And what's up with that "we want as many people to see it as possible"-bullshit? Let them watch it, when they're old enough. I couldn't watch ROBOCOP when it came out...
Damn!

SCHWARZENEGGER NOT IMPRESSED BY NEW TERMINATOR FLICK

2008-08-05T20:48:00.002+02:00

The Los Angeles Times reports about a ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, who was recently shown some footage of TERMINATOR SALVATION. Here is what the Governor had to say:

"I still don't know how it will play out with this one. They showed me some footage, but I don't have a feel for the movie. I didn't see enough. I wasn't sure who the Terminator was. I don't know if there is one or if he's the star or the hero. These are the things that determine the success and how the strong the movie will be. I hope they do well, and I hope it is a huge hit. I do hope it creates a spectacle on the screen. That is what James Cameron created."

He was also asked, if he'd miss being in the movie or feel some sort of loss when he saw the footage.

"No, the same thing happened with bodybuilding. Seven times I won the Mr. Olympia title, a record, no one had done that. Then someone else [South Carolina native Lee Haney] won it eight times. Do I sit and say, 'Darn it, my record is gone' or 'Darn, I'm not up there on stage.' No, because I've moved into other phases of my life. I moved on from bodybuilding into entertainment. Then I moved on from entertainment into a political life. Now this is the most exciting experience of my life. When this movie comes out, I won't be sitting there saying, 'Why can't I do that?' I hope it makes a lot of money and is very successful."

Well, I don't know much about the Governors politics, but as far as TERMINATOR goes... it will be hard to step in those T-800 shoes. Even for CHRISTIAN BALE...

UPDATE MORGAN FREEMAN SERIOUSLY INJURED IN CAR ACCIDENT

2008-08-04T20:13:00.005+02:00

This doesn't sound good. Let's hope, that this great actor recovers well!

I quote from Variety:

Morgan Freeman was seriously injured in a car accident in Mississsippi Sunday night.
According to the Associated Press, Freeman was hurt at around 11:30 p.m. outside of Ruleville, Miss., and was immediately airlifted to a hospital in Memphis. Police reports say Freeman was heading eastbound on Highway 32 when his car went off the road and flipped several times.
A spokesman for the Regional Medical Center says Freeman is in serious condition. The center where Freeman is being treated is a teaching hospital and medical facility.
There was also a woman passenger in Freeman’s car, but there is no word on her condition.
Freeman, 71, was said to be talking before being taken to the hospital. The Oscar-winning actor, currently co-starring in "The Dark Knight," lives in Mississippi.

*UPDATE*

Morgan Freeman has undergone surgery on his left arm and is expected to leave hospital later this week just days after he was involved in a serious car crash.

Freeman and a female passenger had to be cut free from the wreckage and airlifted to the Regional Medical Center (The Med) in Memphis, Tennessee on Sunday night, after the actor lost control of his vehicle on the highway near his home in Charleston, Mississippi.

The 71-year-old suffered a broken arm and shoulder when he flipped his car over in the crash.

And Freeman's publicist Donna Lee has confirmed The Dark Knight star is making progress and looking forward to returning home.

Source: IMDB

BOX OFFICE - DARK KNIGHT UNDEFEATED

2008-08-04T20:00:00.006+02:00

THE DARK KNIGHT is still regining the american BOX OFFICE.
Not even big franchise contender THE MUMMY - TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR
could claim the BO throne against BATMAN.
THE DARK KNIGHT is on top of the domestic box office for the third week in a row, taking in an estimated $43.8 million and edging out the debut of Universal's MUMMY, which took in $42.4 million.
MUMMY bested KNIGHT on a per-theater basis, however, coming in with an average of $11,303 at 3,760 theaters versus $9,939 for Knight at 4,266 theaters. The results left KNIGHT sitting on the edge of $400 million at $395 million after 17 days in release. Many analysts predicted the film could cross the magic number by today (Monday), it's 18th day in release, thereby setting yet another record.
Previously the record for hitting $400 million in ticket sales in the shortest amount of time is held by last year's SHREK THE THIRD, which did it in 43 days. Many analysts have also begun predicting that the movie has a strong possibility of surpassing TITANIC, which holds the record as the biggest earner of all time with $601 million.

source: imdb.com

TERMINATOR SALVATION TRAILER OUT

2008-08-03T23:02:00.005+02:00

Finally the trailer for TERMINATOR SALVATION has officially been released in HD. Enough with the crappy Comic Con cam-versions.... (I want TR2N next!)

Check it out at Apple's trailer booth

DE NIRO TO JOIN GIBSON ON EDGE OF DARKNESS

2008-08-03T15:01:00.004+02:00

Variety reports, that ROBERT DE NIRO "almost" signed to play with MEL GIBSON in movie called EDGE OF DARKNESS. The flick is directed by MARTIN CAMPBELL (GOLDEN EYE, CASINO ROYALE) and penned by WILLIAM MONAHAN (KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, BODY OF LIES).
It's the story about a Cop (GIBSON) who's daughter is killend on his own doorstep. The cop assumes he was the target, but his investigation leads in another direction and uncovers his daughter's secret life, a corporate cover-up and government collusion. DE NIRO will play an operative sent to clean up the evidence.

The movie is based one a BBC mini-series that CAMPBELL directed in 1985 and that goes under the same name.

BRAND NEW DRAGONBALL PICS

2008-08-01T10:51:00.008+02:00

DBThemovie.com published four new picutres of the upcoming Anime adaption DRAGONBALL. JUSTIN CHATWIN (THE INVISIBLE) will play GOKU in the live-action version of one of the most succesfull Animes of all time. Check out the pictures to get a glimpse of the pretty western-y look:

Goku:

Mai:

ChiChi:

SONY PLANNING VENOM MOVIE

2008-07-31T13:43:00.002+02:00

This is so overdue. One of the coolest and most vicious villains in superhero history is very likely to get his own franchise.

With Heath Ledger's villainous Joker drawing attention and boxoffice dollars, Sony is moving forward with VENOM a potential SPIDER-MAN spinoff based on a bad guy, reports The Hollywod Reporter.

This is great news, as I really loved the VENOM comics. Like most fans, I was greatly disappointed by the way the character was treated and dealt with in SPIDER-MAN 3. According to THR TOPHER GRACE will NOT play VENOM in the spinoff, as Sony is aiming for a bigger star.

I keep you posted as this will certainly generate more interest and exciting news in the future...

NEW WATCHMAN PICS

2008-07-31T13:15:00.008+02:00

In the next issue of Empire Magazine, there will be a big special about WATCHMEN with a bunch of new infos and pictures. Here's a little impression (click to enlarge):

NEW RIGHTEOUS KILL POSTER

2008-07-31T13:11:00.003+02:00

Empire Online has published the UK poster of the new DE NIRO and PACINO flick RIGHTEOUS KILL:

The movie starts September 12th i the U.S. and September 26th in the U.K.

MIKE MEYERS STARTED WRITING ON AUSTIN POWERS 4

2008-07-31T12:52:00.005+02:00

According to Deadline Hollywood, MIKE MEYERS picked up writing on a new AUSTIN POWERS SEQUEL.

As Myers has previously said, this fourth installment of the super spy spoof movie series will focus on Austin's arch-villain Dr. Evil and his son. "It's very personal with a father and son theme loosely based on his own life"

This could be MEYERS last chance for reanimating his Hollywood career, after bombing with the terrible LOVE GURU this summer. MEYERS is teaming up with MIKE McCULLERS again. Together they've penned the last two AUSTIN POWERS sequels.

HALF-BLOOD PRINCE TEASER IS OUT

2008-07-30T11:40:00.003+02:00

HARRY POTTER fans go nuts now: The teaser trailer for HALF-BLOOD PRINCE was just released in glorious HD. Click the poster to see the teaser.

TERMINATOR SALVATION TEASER POSTER

2008-07-30T00:15:00.004+02:00

A brandnew T-4 teaser poster was released at Comic Con. It shows the T-600 who seems to be coming right from the battlefield... Question is, how is the other guy looking? Hopefully not too good, because at Comic Con director McG said that T-4 is likely to be R rated.
The new ROBOCOP too btw...

INDIANA JONES 5? GEORGE LUCAS TALKS

2008-07-28T20:26:00.006+02:00

INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL is one of the most successful movies of all times, grossing $743 million worldwide.
If you earn that much money, not even counting DVD sales, another sequel is always an option. GEORGE LUCAS talked to the SUNDAY TIMES about a possible fifth INDY flick.
Here is a snippet:

"We were hoping for box-office figures like that, which is, ultimately, with inflation, what the others have done, within 10%," Lucas explains. "So, we squeaked up there. Really, though, it was a challenge getting the story together and getting everybody to agree on it. Indiana Jones only becomes complicated when you have another two people saying 'I want it this way' and 'I want it that way', whereas, when I first did Jones, I just said, 'We'll do it this way' — and that was much easier. But now I have to accommodate everybody, because they are all big, successful guys, too, so it's a little hard on a practical level.

"If I can come up with another idea that they like, we'll do another. Really, with the last one, Steven wasn't that enthusiastic. I was trying to persuade him. But now Steve is more amenable to doing another one. Yet we still have the issues about the direction we'd like to take. I'm in the future; Steven's in the past. He's trying to drag it back to the way they were, I'm trying to push it to a whole different place. So, still we have a sort of tension. This recent one came out of that. It's kind of a hybrid of our own two ideas, so we'll see where we are able to take the next one."

Read the full article here.

Dear George, no more of your "takin' it to the next level CGI iz the shizznit" bullshit. Didn't you learn anything from the DARK KNIGHT? Nothing? AT ALL? Ok... I give up.

DER BAADER-MEINHOF KOMPLEX - TRAILER OUT

2008-07-28T10:56:00.004+02:00

This could be the next contender for the Acadamy Award for best foreign picture. It's a german production based on the book by STEFAN AUST and a screenplay by BERND EICHINGER featuring MORITZ BLEIBTREU. It's called DER BAADER-MEINHOF KOMPLEX and deals with the german terrorist group The Red Army Faction (RAF), which organized bombings, robberies, kidnappings and assassinations in the late 1960s and '70s.

Check out the trailer:

"W" Trailer leaked

2008-07-28T00:18:00.002+02:00

The trailer to OLIVER STONES biopic about GEORGE W. BUSH, simply called "W", just leaked. The trailer was supposed to air on ACCESS HOLLYWOOD for the first time, but someone uploaded it to YouTube, which is... kinda nice.

Check it out here

SAM RAIMI ANNOUNCES EVIL DEAD 4

2008-07-27T16:49:00.002+02:00

Comic Con will soon be known as Sequel Con. Another franchise will be reactivated and this time it's really a suprise. SAM RAIMI (SPIDER-MAN) has talked about a possible EVIL DEAD sequel and that he's planning to work on it this weekend with his brother Ivan reports CinemaBlend. No word about when he expects to shoot the movie or about the cast (seriously, there is no way it can be done without BRUCE CAMPBELL, so I don't consider this as a something that has to be announced seperately).

RAIMI is currently working on a new horror flick called DRAG ME TO HELL featuring JUSTIN LONG (LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD). He is also planning to produce the REMAKE of EVIL DEAD 2. So it might take some time until we see EVIL DEAD 4. Nevertheless I'm already hyped!

PIXARS NEW ANIMATED FEATURE HAS A TEASER "UP"

2008-07-27T01:22:00.006+02:00

Besides TOY STORY 3, PIXAR ist currently working on UP. At the Comic Con in San Diego, DISNEY released a first glimpse of what you might call a teaser. It's not much, but at least we know now, that it's about a flying house, some balloons and an old dude hanging around on a porch...
Check it out here.

DARREN ARONOFSKY TO DIRECT ROBOCOP

2008-07-26T03:24:00.004+02:00

Great news. DARREN ARONOFSKY (REQUIEM FOR A DREAM) has officialy been anounced by MGM as director for the new ROBOCOP flick. This is very good news. ARONOFSKY, much like CHRISTOPHER NOLAN or DAVID FINCHER is one of the guys that can give a film a more dark'ish and raw feeling. DAVID SELF (ROAD TO PERDITION) will write the screenplay, so we're in for some serious shit. This could very well be great contender for THE DARK KNIGHT...

More on this over at Hollywoodreporter.