Goodbye, Mr. Bernie Mac.

More terrible news. Please pray for Mr. Mac's family and friends. I am really tired of losing great actors this year. I know this is life, but this year seems really hard on me emotionally. Goodbye, Mr. Mac, I really enjoyed your presence on screen. You were a Hallmark of great comedians and a legend of Black Actors and Comedians.

The Friday Night Rave

Leave your bullshit at the door...

Ok, let's talk film. Welcome once again to the Friday night rave! Let's let the muddled brain flow. Paramount Vantage was disassembled a while ago, well two weeks ago. Here is the article. Please read it. Its about what I have been talking about just about every blog. Its about the specialty divisions in Hollywood. The Paramount Vantage. The Warner Classics, the Fox Searchlights. These companies were created a little while ago to handle the Art films, the ones Hollywood doesn't want to take full responsibility for. The Junos and the There Will Be Bloods. Why? Well because they don't take gazillions to make and they make money when done well. They don't rake in the millions, but Hollywood needs them for Oscar competition.

Hollywood knows that they need to make films that can compete in the Oscars. They know they have Scorsese's, Coen Bros. and Paul Thomas Anderson to employ because they don't want to be left out of the Oscar race. How important is the Oscar race really to Hollywood execs? Not one friggin iota. A Hollywood exec cares about the Oscars NOT. They don't have a need to win an Academy Award. It used to be a prestige thing. It means nothing now. It's all about the numbers. It's all about making 300 mil in three weeks. That is all it is about. Hell, it's not even about Superheros or Romantic Comedies. If war movies or French Documentaries were making 300million right now, that's what we would see. A summer of French Docs! It's not hard to think like these people.

Imagine Hollywood is one big football league. The execs are the quarter backs. But these quarterbacks, these execs, want to throw a touchdown pass every time. That's all they want to do. This article I am referring to, say basically what I just said, or I said what the article says, either way, I have thought of this analogy before also. I think the article uses baseball actually. But the Vantage, Searchlight, and Classics, were made to do just that. They made ONE small film at a time with a very talented director. Well this buffoon at Paramount, this knucklehead, John Lesher, he takes over Paramount Vantage and refuses to stick to the business model of making one film at a time. They were throwing short passes. Not with this knucklehead, he decides to hire a bunch of talented directors and shoot for the touchdowns with each one. In essence, he made too many films, Like There Will Be Blood, A Mighty Heart, N Country For Old Men, Into The Wild, and An Inconvenient Truth. I think anyone with half a brain can weed out that list in a hurry. But this guy buries the company with this decision.

Now I do call him a Knucklehead, cause this guy will never be happy. He has no talent. All he is going to do is make stupid decisions to make quick money. In fact this bozo flew the coop to Paramount Mainstream so that he can "help" focus on Iron Man 2 and GI Joe. Cause that's where the real prestige is nowadays. I will build you one even better, I think this was Paramount's plan all along, yes Vantage was demolished to focus on low budget horror and crass comedy pieces. That's what worked for New Line and Michael Bay. But I think this was their plan the whole time. I think they wanted to kill good films completely so that one day we won't even need the Academy Awards. I think Hollywood is happy having the MTV Movie Awards to glorify Hollywood.

I suspect in ten years that the Academy Awards will cease to exists. The ratings are down anyway. Justin Timberlake is slated to host next year to get ratings up. I think they will one day cease to exist entirely. I think MTV will pick up the slack and dumb down movies for us. Not because we want it, but because it's fast and its easy. That is what the film world is about and has been about. Now, the small companies that once gave us good film are obsolete. It doesn't exist anymore. It's gone. Let's get rid of Hollywood execs and MTV. If we get rid of those two ENTITIES, Hollywood with integrity will survive and flourish.

On with the rave, Lars and the Real Girl was really good. Emily Mortimer is up and coming. Rent that. GO see the Dark Knight for God's sake! I am tired now. I am going to live my boring life. Until Monday, Let's talk film!

The Rom Com Dilemma

They meet and they fall in love...

Ok, let's talk film. If you live in reality which I think most of you do, you will know that there is no such thing as finding the "perfect" Boyfriend or Girlfriend. Relationships between a man and a woman are based on best friendship and physical attraction. I think that is indisputable. I am sure Dr. Phil will agree on that basic concept. YET, Infatuation is concept that drives feature film, such as Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story. Those were just the beginning.

Well in the LA Times review of The Sisterhood of The Traveling Pants 2. And thank God the title stops there, I am sure it could have gone on forever. Well the reviewer here says this

In the current popular culture, female friendships -- at any age -- are generally considered secondary to life's "important" relationships, the romantic bonds between men and women.

Nowhere is this depressing trend more evident than in Hollywood, where story lines putatively about women's friendships tend toward the saccharine ("Mona Lisa Smile"), the malicious ("Mean Girls") or the boy-crazy (take your pick).

Which is why it's such a pleasure (and a relief) to encounter movies such as "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2." Like the first "Pants" movie, it presents its heroines' relationships as complicated, challenging and particularly rewarding, and not simply as a vehicle for finding the perfect boyfriend.

This is obviously painfully true for a lot romantic movies. It's all about finding the perfect girl or guy. Where is the reality in Hollywood regarding real relationships? Don't make me pull the SATC card! I haven't seen it and I probably never will but at least you have to give that film KUDOS for delivering reality in male/female relationships. Well it's Hollywood. So, you have you remember that there is a formula to all of this.

A man meets woman in some sort of High Concept matter. Old writers called it a "meet Cute". If you saw Nancy Meyer's The Holiday, you know that term. Then, there is a problem, maybe and most likely the man or woman has lied or pretended to be something they are not, got into a situation they should not have, and herin the comedy ensues. Then, in the third act, the truth comes out and someone gets hurt. Then they realize that this person is the ONE and they fall in love finally at the dramatic end.

Some are really remarkable

If you saw 27 Dresses this year, I did cause I like James Mardsen, and it was the MOST formulatic Rom Com EVER! It was actually so formulatic, it should have been painted by numbers. My Best Friends Wedding, What Happens in Vegas, and the list goes on. I know! What's the problem. Where are the real films that challenge our way of thinking an living. Films are supposed to do that. Films can and do challenge us, they can save our lives if we let them and if we watch the right ones.

Well I may be babbling now and pleading toward a formula that will never be broken. It would be easy to say that Hollywood makes these films for people with short attention spans. However I do not think so. I give the film fans out there FAR more credit than that. I think Hollywood thinks its safe. Hollywood likes safe. The Rom Com formula is very safe. How do they keep selling the same formula and why does the same formula keep looking semi appealing? I am glad you asked. They just interchange the actors. They try to get chemistry out of thin air.

Do you wanna see real chemistry film fans! Rent Before Sunrise. It has two of the most non mainstream attractive people, Ethan Hawk and Julie Delpy and it WORKS. It is chemistry perfection and it is a very very effective romantic film, because it is real. Hollywood knows that chemistry between two actors is what makes the formula effective. So the next question is, can we have a film that adapts to the chemistry or lack of chemistry between two good actors. If you have seen Frankie and Jonnie, you will know they tailored chemistry around Al Pachino and Michelle Pheiffer, and it worked.

I think, and I have said this before, we as an audience are hungry for real stories and not just the generic formula. I think we want to be emotionally challenged while watching a film. Heck, I know a dozen girls that broke up with their boyfriends after watching Jerry Maquire. So you can't say that film doesn't affect life. It does. And it isn't a shortage of female writers. Last year 2007 we saw the most nominations for female screenwriters: Diablo Cody for Juno, Tamara Jenkins for The Savages, and Nancy Oliver for Lars and the Real Girl, and Sarah Polley for Away From Her. Put that in your blog and smoke it! The talent and demand is out there. What is stopping us? You guessed it, Hollywood studio execs that went for What Happens in Vegas and originally passed on Juno. Execs will always be the thorn in the side of Hollwyood. Until tomorrow, let's talk film!

The Fine Line Between Funny and Offensive

Whatever you do, don't call us "retarded"...

Ok, let's talk film. Now is funny, ironic, strange, true, what have you. Well. the National Congress for Down Syndrome has a point. However, reading between the lines here is worth the while. The new film, Tropic Thunder with Ben Stiller, is already being criticized for its use of the word "retard". Ben Stiller's character is apparently accused of or is Mentally Disabled in the film, which takes place in the 70's before PC was invented. Well PC was uninstilled in the minds of Americans. I am trying to fully understand the problem with this. I know there is a fine line. I know this. There is a very fine line between funny and offensive. But, let's just brainstorm here.

I saw Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay the other night. I laughed very hard. There are a lot of racial jokes in there. Tons. It is wall to wall racial humor. This is how we survive in our society. We are supposed to laugh at ourselves. Well I believe those of us that are healthy do. Some people don't though. Some people go through life miserably. They don't smile at anything.

Offensive humor anyone?

Well, these may be those people or this thought. I think I know what National Congress for Down Syndrome is trying to do. They are trying to make sure that they have a say. I don't think they are really trying to censor anything. I think they are trying to just put their two cents out there. I actually don't even believe that these people really care. They know Hollywood sometimes makes fun of everything and everyone to just sell a ticket. And like is just said, it is healthy for us as a society to laugh at serious things once in a while to keep us sane.

No I am not condoning total degradation. I don't believe in that. But what you have here is Ben Stiller, Jack Black, and Robert Downey Jr. I don't believe any of these actors are or would get into anything malicious. Consider the source. Well here is the secret, I think they do consider the source. I think they are making waves here in an ocean that they know is not deadly. Its much ado about nothing! These are people are just saying "oh yeah, you're making fun of Mentally Disabled Americans! Uh Stop it!" I don't even think they are making fun. Why am I even talking about this in this much detail. I am glad you asked.

Because we are going to run into the grapevine factor with this rumor. This accusation will inflate if it isn't already. I am sure in about a week, some people will not see it because the will think the whole film makes fun of "retards". I'm quite sure that is not true. Ben Stiller raises money for Lou Gehrig's disease, among others. These are actors and filmmakers who are trying to mame us laugh. I don't think they are purposely doing cruel humor, I think they are trying to push the envelope of humor without totally offending. Yes it is a fine line. I remember what my friend Ralf always told me. "An ametur comedian dresses up like an old lady and gets pushed down the stairs, a Professional comedian pushes an old lady down the stairs." There is a lot of truth to that.

Now, this is insulting

Let's take this to another level. If you haven't guessed, I am not offended by racial humor. I am a Mexican American and I do not take Mexican jokes offensively. I like Carlos Mencia. I am not offended by Cheech and Chong. However, I am offended by fart and dick jokes. I get really offended when someone gets kicked in the balls in a film. I am offended when someone gets hit in the head or falls down the stairs. Why? Because it offends my intelligence. I think we as a society should rise against the "whatever" Movie. (begin Patriotic music) You know Date Movie, Superhero Movie, Epic, and such. They might as well have a self parody called Shit Movie. Why not. It could be a farce of a farce. That makes fun of all the very non funny parodies. They are not funny. At all. Not one of these films are funny. And the writers of these films throw together 80 minutes of awful humor (not even the standard 90 minutes for Feature Film) And then they charge 11.50 a ticket. What a waste! That is an insult. These are the films that insult me! And they should insult you! Rise against them! And I honestly hope Ben Stiller goes easy on the Mentally Disabled. Why? Because he is Jwish anyway! AND Because we all had to sit through Cable Guy. That film was retarded enough. Until tomorrow let's talk film!

Hello, My Name is ...And I am a recovering Hollywood Executive..

Hollywood Execs Anonymous...

Ok, let's talk film. Two things are happening in Hollywood now. Well they have been happening, I am just going to lay it out here for you, my savvy Hollywood player who is already aware of this. The first thing that is happening is that the Golden stars of today are rebooting sequels that happened in the 80's. With Rambo, Indiana Jones, Terminator Salvation, and Star Wars, the one that started this trend, we know that to be old news. But this new trend is the one that irks me. If in a trilogy, Like Spider Man or The Mummy specifically, the third installment sucks or is not up to critical par, do a forth one. I am not sure what is propelling this thinking thought. With the Mummy a 4th one is already greenlit and the numbers are not even in. Maybe they are going off the 42 mil opening weekend? Possible, but 43 mil opening does not make a sequel.

Well here is my thought on this. I will try to stay on topic here cause I am going to talk about the Fast and the Furious 4, also. For Hollywood, the first successful tent pole in a franchise is like a drug. Its like the first time a person tries cocaine. I have never tried illegal drugs and I know you haven't either, but I wanna use this scenario because I think it best fits Hollywood exec thinking. The first film in a tent pole is like a dose of cocaine. It's the best it's gonna get. Duplicating that rush is impossible. I think you know you know this analogy pretty well. And that's the thing. Success is addicting with execs. A true statement for anyone, but for execs that is the only addicting thing. They have no real talent besides crunching numbers, so they can't be addicted to performance or writing or directing, they can only be addicted to big opening weekends. I mean imagine that. You have all this money and all this power like Michael Eisner, and you have no talent. None. Its gotta be frustrating.

Wonder Drug

So you have to live through other people. You're an exec and you hear that critics don't like the third installment? You do it again. You make it one more time. Even if the directors or actors who have talent, want to move on, you don't care. You do a forth one. And I have to say this goes for some actors too, even though they may be in it to really honestly play a character again because they loved it, like Harrison Ford or Stallone. Everyone is out to prove something. Everyone now in Hollywood wants to top what they one did half assed. I think it is a noble thing. But its a pissing contest now.

I mean Kevin Costner wants to do Bodyguard 2? Eddie is doing Beverly Hills Cop 4. There is a Spider Man 4 and Fast and Furious 4. There is something to prove here. There is a relapse factor if you will. A need to repeat the first rush. Can it ever really be repeated? No. Can we ever truly get another Raiders of the Lost Ark or Beverly Hills Cop? No. We need a recovery group for greedy talentless Hollywood execs. Until tomorrow, let's talk film!

Recover Morgan and Terminator Needs Real Juvination

I dare you. Go ahead and try to spot him in The Dark Knight...

Ok, let's talk film. Who is Anthony Michael Hall in the Dark Knight? I saw it again for the 4th time last night. I know I skipped Xfiles and Mummy 3 to see the Dark Knight again. And I keep forgetting to look and see who he is. A certain someone could point him out and she knows who she is, but alas with anyone else or my lonesome, I cannot tell. Well I finally looked his character up last night on IMDB and realized that he is the guy who interviews the guy who plays Bruce's Attorney. Well I don't do spoilers, so that's all I can say, but look for him and he looks nothing like his Breakfast Club days. Totally crazy.

Well Arnold Our Governator was shown clips of the new Terminator Movie and he says the following:

"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."

Well, Arnold is very right. He says that they, Terminator Execs, need to define the characters. Arnold says, that he didn't see enough coherent footage. I am going to take the liberty of filling the blanks in Arnold's quote. I know what he is trying to say. He didn't see a story, he saw one) Christian Bale, the savior of rebooting, Second) a darker tone to the film, and Three) bigger robot things around Christian Bale. So what did Arnold see exactly? Well he saw The Dark Knight disguised as a Terminator Movie.

No this is true. Don't make that noise like I am crazy! This is what this is. This is what execs want. They don't care about the story. I know they don't care about the story because they didn't put one together. The probably don't have a cohesive story. All they want to do is sell Christian Bale in a huge franchise. It's nothing less than all spectacle. Is this the right thing? I don't think so. Hollywood execs are notorious for not doing the right thing. The right thing to do in this case is to sell a story. Get us excited about a story. We want to know who is the Hero and who is the Villain. We as a moviegoing audience need to know who to root for and who to boo for! Sure it can be fun to see Christian Bale in a reboot. But he is not the answer. He is not the Jesus Christ of sequels as execs think. We need a good story to root for. We need a smart villian who is as smart as our hero. Until we have that we will never run out to see Terminator Salvation. Never. You may have one big opening weekend. But you'll never own the prize. So until we get a good story. No one will be interested in this film.

Please get well soon!

Morgan Freeman is in serious condition in the hospital. He was in a major car accident, and Thank God is going to make a full recovery. Please pray for his family and Morgan. Please pull through. We need your soft voice for narration! Among other great roles to come! You are one of the best out there. Please recover fast!

Until tomorrow, Let's talk film!

The Friday Night Rave

Ok, let's talk film. Ok so I truly blog four days a week and no one reads this shit, so I have half stop caring about the content. But If I do have a steady stream of readers one day I would like to experiment now to see what works and what doesn't. So I had this idea to change up the Friday blog. So I have this amazing idea, you know how amazing my ideas are. Gawf. So I am going to do what is called the Friday Rant or I so coolly call it, The Friday Rave. I know I am trying to be like MTV and look and write and write super cool. Hey we can try that. Let's write cool like MTV! We can pretend we are cool! MTV is soooooo coooool. So it's Friday Rave, anything regarding my chosen topic of film. But instead of talking about the current topics, anything goes. Maybe one day I can respond to comments. But I HAVE NO READERS!!! So not now. But I will for now just self invade my mind.

Here we go. I just saw 21 tonight. The one with Kevin Spacey and the MIT card counters. Man was that a crappy movie up until the last ten minutes. To sell this film to you, I have to say that the last ten minutes were akin to Oceans 11. There is a great twist that makes the whole film totally worthwhile. But until then there is cliche after cliche. I mean its like they pull out the cliche playbook and NEVER TURNED THE PAGE! I mean "Do you want to join our club" "NO I never will" Cut to: He goes to a club meeting late and solves the equation no one else will solve. AND there is NO chemistry between Bosworth and the lead actor.

Hubba Hubba Hubba

And how much do I love Surfer Girl. Those who know me personally know I have a major thing for Kate Bosworth in Blue Crush. But then she got skinny like a coffee stirrer. WTF is all can say about that. In this film it looks like she has a cheeseburger for lunch so that is good. So I recommend this for the ending. The jokes are standard. The acting is ok, sans Spacey and Fishburne. So check it out.

Oh yeah Vegas has been done in movies to perfection by Scorsese and Soderberg. So why does this director use every stock shot he can find? Is he not up to the challenge? Even the script calls for a "old school hustler" for Fishburne's character. And the location is in Vegas about Vegas hustling! Rain Man!Casino! Oceans 11. Even Goodfellas for tone is something to look at! And Robert Luketic does NOTHING with this challenge. The films before about Vegas are works of PERFECTION. Masterpieces of cinema. And this director with an engaging story can't manage ONE interesting shot! It is ridiculous and sad. I mean watch a Scorsese film man! Go to Blockbuster. Its like 4.35 a film plus tax. Robert, if you're gonna do a Vegas Hustle film. LOOK AT THE MASTERS of the genre!!! Its been done before to perfection. Just try man! Holy Cow man! My Gosh!

Plus the tension in this film is a 1. The tension and intrigue could have been a nine. But NAYE it is not. Though the ending is very Oceans 11.

Harold and Kumar escape from Guantanamo Bay is pretty funny. I laugh till I cried at a few parts. Some parts are cruel, some are not. I always like seeing Missy Pyle in a funny role cameo. Special features are cool on blue ray.

Vantage point sucked. Stop Loss is one of the best films of the year. Damn that was good. Wow, that was good for a beginning rant. Let's try it again next week. But, alas until Monday, Let's talk film!

Actors Are Passionate People Too...

The Passion of the Costner...

Ok, let's talk film. I like this article. I think it is great. I think this says a lot about the so called decision makers in Hollywood. The LA Times has an article today about A List actors putting their own money into projects. LA Times calls it the Passion of the A list which directly refers to Mel Gibson's self financing of the Passion Of The Christ. A move that was laughed at until Mel made all him money back and of course then some. It seems, Now here we go...I need to say this again I am just a blogger. I know this. I am not a reporter. I am not a journalist. I don't expect to be a journalist anytime soon. I just happen to have a knack for knowing what goes on the business. That's why I write this crap. Cause year after year I can predict how these Hollywood execs think. And I do it year after year. Every year at the Academy Awards time, I can predict what films will get nominated without even seeing one. I just know how these people think. I was, well let's just say away from access to films last holiday season and without seeing one film, predicted 4 out of the 5 nominees. Its documented, ask Kelli. I think she may be the only one who reads this anyway.

Had I seen all the films I would have picked Michael Clayton over Into The Wild. Michael Clayton is one of the best films I have ever seen. I can say that for sure. ANYWAY, enough babble. I think its better that no one reads this anyway, there is more freedom in my voice for such. So many A list actors have thrown their own money into films and/or taken a pay cut so that certain films can get made. Lets quote the article here so that I may save my delicate fingers.

"A-list actors are increasingly willing to defer their multimillion-dollar salaries to help get difficult movies made, usually taking a bigger cut of the film's profits in exchange. George Clooney slashed his fee for "Michael Clayton," Sean Penn worked below his normal rate for the upcoming “Milk” and Julia Roberts hardly got rich costarring in the new independent movie “Fireflies in the Garden.”

There's only a handful of top stars, though, who are willing to go beyond a salary deferral and actually place their own money at risk. Mel Gibson famously pulled $25 million out of his bank account to fund 2004's “The Passion of the Christ,” and Al Pacino spent some of his money to produce 1996's "Looking for Richard.""

Ok so there have you the details. Swing Vote is the catalyst for this article. Kevin Costner dropped 25 mil of his own cash for this film. And I do hope it pays off. I don't think it will do well in theaters. I think it will do well on dvd. It may have that Borne Identity effect. Borne did not get popular until dvd.
Back to actors and their works of passion. I think swing vote will be a late bloomer. I am pretty sure about that..Now what is wonderfully painful about this is that, there are indeed passion projects because these actors have found inspiration. How do execs greenlight projects? Its not passion I can tell you that. Execs that make decisions don't have passion. And this is entire point here I don't know how much I have to hammer this down. Execs look at numbers. They look at focus groups. They have no passion. I don't even know if studio execs have the capacity for passion. I have to totally hand it to the actors here. They are showing Hollywood that films are about the passion of one person.

Execs passionate side

That's what Frank Capra said so many years ago. He said that a film should be the passion and vision of one man. I am para phrasing here, sorry, but THAT IS the JIST. And the above examples show that there have been only a few film that have the passion of actors. Now writers and directors are passionate also. I mean Spielberg with ET, James Cameron with The Abyss, and Jon Favreau and Doug Liman had enormous passion for Swingers. And Kimberly Pierce for Boys Don't Cry. Speaking of her, if you haven't seen Stop-Loss, my gosh, by all means go see it. That is a great film. I will talk about that later.

But there are a couple passionate projects that get made every year. They are out there. But isn't it sad that Passion and Burning creativity is NOT a factor for films being greenlit? Its not even a concern. The factors for Greenlighing are based entirely on Super Heroes and looking for the next Lord of the Rings. This is all that factors greenlighting. It should not surprise any of us. But don't execs wish they had talent. They don't. They have money, but will never be truly original. I would rather be original and talented anyday. That is something money will NEVER buy. Until Tomorrow, let's talk film!

Harry Potter By The Numbers

Why couldn't PJ have picked me instead of those freaking Hobbits!?


Ok, let's talk film. Well the new Harry Potter trailer is up and running. Its now the Half Blood Prince. I guess they are trying to finish this series before they all get married and have kids of their own. You have to wonder if the biggest thorn in the side of this Project is JK Rowling herself. I mean she stopped writing Harry Potter books. I am certian Warner Bros. would keep this going forever if it wasn't for Rowling stopping the series. Well execs wish they had the talent to come up with idea like this. They would write them forever. If a Warner exec wrote Harry Potter the books would go in indefinitely. Why not? Well that would be an example of the huge difference between creative people and Hollywood execs. Creative people know when the well is run dry. Execs don't know when to say when. That's why we have too many superhero movies now. They don't know when to quit.


Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince Trailer. On this site and every site in the world.

Well let's talk about these films. They are the most inconsistent film series ever. You can't do a marathon of these films without seeing that each one is a completely different film. I like these films. I know I am super critical about film. That's my job in my head. But I really do enjoy them. Yet I am going to tear a few things about them apart. First, yes, is the inconsistency of all the films. Well that one is easy to guess why. Different directors for almost each one. Chris Columbus brought us the first two. They were labors of length. They had a formula to them. Watching them was fun, yet it felt like an entire school year had gone by with the length of 2 and 1/2 hours for each. Wow that was tough at times. And still people complained that too much was left out of the book. How long do you want these films to be people! Goodness!

The third film was wonderful. It was directed by a super talented Alfonso Cuaron and it was the best one. It was the only Harry Potter film that had magic in it. None of the other films felt magical. The whole time travel thing felt very spirited and in the fashion of true wizardry. It was refreshing. I loved it. The whole time travel sequence was clever. I think that is the problem with the whole series. There is a lack of cleverness in every film execept the 3rd one. That is what is missing so that we as an audience can go WOW! That was clever.

Alfonso Cuaron, The only one with talent

The whole series wants to be so plot heavy that it doesn't allow itself clever moments. Every scene one after the other is laden with the contrived wizard sequences of the wand and a magic spell talk. That can get only quick. In the third one with the memory conjoration, I think (patronus spell) was clever. It was something that was unique. That idea carried itself over to the other films. But one clever moment does not make up for all the standard ones.

The director changed yet again as Alfonso Cuaron was still working on post production when The Goblet of Fire was ready for lensing. This prevented our talented directed to move on with that one. So they got a Britsh TV director David Yates to helm. Now, this is not a bad idea. If you can't find a visionary or don't want to roll the dice on one, like one studio rolled with Spike Jonze on Where the Wild Things are, then get someone who paints by numbers. Why not. There are directors out there that do everything textbook. They are usually TV directors like Mimi Leder, an ER director who went on to do features and Jeannot Szwarc who has done TV forever and stepped in to do Jaws 2 when Steven moved on. These directors are highly talented and efficent. They don't get stalled in creativity, they are professional and on time.

I prefer a creative director of course like Alfonso or Gulliermo, but these efficent directors like the one they hired, David Yates work beautifully cause they will get the job done. And this is what Yates did. The fifth Harry Potter was good. It wasn't wonderful and clever, but it was serviceable. And I am pretty sure Warner Bros liked him for the job. He gets the film done on time and doesn't exhaust too many creative juices. In fact he is slated to do the rest of the series.

The final film will be split into parts one and two, but don't expect that decision to be based on creativity. Its Warner doing a two for the price of one for sure. Why make one, when you can make two and double your money. Well, The Lord of the Rings has large fantasy ideas and it managed to get nominated will all its films. So why hasn't Harry gotten nominatied at all? Well the ingenuity is not there. The third film is the only one Oscar nominated for visual effects. The set decorators get Noms often for their work. But the only director that had potential for an Oscar was Cuaron. He could have or someone as creative could have propelled the films to Oscar status. But instead of searching for another visionary, they put their tail between their legs and opted for a paint by numbers director. Now there is no chance for a nomination for this direction. Not that its bad, it's just standard. It ordinary. And it may never be truly magical again.

Until Tomorrow. Let's talk film!

Un-American Hollywood

Ok, let's talk film. Let's start off with that. It's that kind of day. It's a beautiful day. Despite the earthquake. You want a standard late night joke? Ok fine. Huge earthquake today. Some damage. Amy Winehouse's bed collapsed. 15 people were injured. What? Come on! Aw I could do that all day. And I have made the top ten list twice in my life. Sound triumphant? NO! All I got was a T-shirt. No kidding. Anyway I am fired up today. Totally fired up anyway, God knows why. I want to talk about the new GI JOE film from every one's favorite billionaire extremist, Steven Sommers. He brought us the Mummy and The Mummy Returns, Van Helsing. And now he was hired on the spot for GI JOE. A Real American Hero! Well now GI JOE stands for Global Integrated Joint Operating Entity.

Take everything American out of this in case we offend someone in the WORLD!

How is that for reaching? And to top it all off GI JOE is not even American anymore. I think that is what affects me the most about this. They took the American aspect completely out of this new film. That's the basis of the whole idea. But somehow Hollywood does not care if you take the American-ness out of something. Because I don't think Hollywood wants to be American anyway. I mean Jolie had her kids in France. They are not even American. A great deal of our A list are not even American, Heath Ledger, Christian Bale, Hugh Laurie, among others. So who really in Hollywood really cares about being American?

Way too American for an American movie...

No one that is right. Not even the Candidates this year have given a truly American pride speech. American-ism is being ripped out of Hollywood and here is the proof. They are taken a historically American Icon and stripping him, well its not even a him anymore. Its an entity. An entity is a separate thing. That's the definition. Melissa thinks its PC to not being American and I say what is PC about not being American. I mean what if Angelina's kid wants to run for president one day. What if one the twins is going to be a great Liberal president. But No they can't cause Jolie wanted them born in France. Thanks Mom for killing my dreams.

Well Hollywood wants it all to be separate entities. I love it when Liberals want to say that they are pro American. How can they be? They are too busy ripping out anything American in Movies. Anyway back to the Sommers film. So everything American is being ripped out. We have to deal with that. GI JOE is somehow now some UN organization that stops Internet terrorism. How is that for a contemporary take? I say if all of this is needed change, why bother in the first place? Why even bother with the GI JOE concept? Get another idea. I think this is just another example of false advertising. Its a MC Donalds Bag with the food of a new Chinese restaurant inside. It having something familiar given to you and then having something new in reality. It's lying. Its another example of what I talked about last week my blog entitled, "False Advertising in Hollywood". That's what it is. It is lying. Paramount is lying to us because there is no GI JOE in GI JOE. There is no MC Donalds in this new MC Donalds. That's the truth. Sure Paramount can tell us that this is a "re-imagining". But it's not. It's flat out lying. And I hate to be lied to. I am sure you do also. Leave it to Hollywood to live under our country's laws and be lying people who don't want to be American. Hollywood is telling is how they really are. This is who they are.

More news on the "Nottingham" front. A new article says just what I said yesterday about the delay. The article says, "So what are the reasons behind the delay? I've heard nothing but good things from people behind the scenes - they were very excited about how things were shaping up. Other rumors have also reached my ears and I have begun to wonder if it isn't 'script concerns' that are slowing things down but rather 'script changes.' I can't print what I've been told (yet), but there may be some changes to the concept that will set the whole film on its ear... in a very interesting way. This new take on the story would require a very large rewrite on the script, and thus the delay."

That's what I said. There is nothing new with this idea. It is boring it is drawn out. Some one somewhere, said how about this... And that probably shut down everything. I would consider it akin to Peter Jackson's experience when he decided to do motion capture instead of animation for Gollom. With that change they had to literally fire a lot of people and bring in a whole new crew to do Motion Capture on Andy Serkis. I think something like that happened here. There was a large and better idea. I hate to think they landed Christian Bale and are waiting for his schedule to open up. Wouldn't that be so Hollywood exec thinking? I actually would like to make that bet. Maybe I will go to Vegas on that one. Until tomorrow, let's talk film!

No New Robin Hood and The Old School

Geek is the new cool

Ok, let's talk film. I don't know about this Comic Con thing. It's prett much turned into a circus. It is trying to be a good spring board event to launch projects and now, it appears to be out of control. There are tens of people who are there specifically trying to video tape trailers so that they can rush to put them on you tube. I say to all this, does it realy matter? Some of the film that is getting hyped at Comic Con will have a small shelf life as it is. I mean Pineapple Express? At Comic Con? The target audience for that film with most likely wait for DVD. Superman Returns was at Comic Con a while back, they released some secret footage for FANS ONLY. However now that film is all but forgotten. So I can say is that it is a way for Comic Book fans to indulge, but as a launching pad for other ideas, its a lot of fluff. I may be wrong, if so please comment. Whoever.

BBC We we we!

Here's a nice story. Ridley Scott, the really talented director of Alien and Gladiator has posponed his project Nottingham indefinitely. I am not suprised about this. I was surprised the thing got greenlighted in the first place. I mean this idea of another Robin Hood was a much needed as a new Paris Hilton film. Why are we wasting polyethelene for film on her anyway amazes me. Anyway, yet the studio and Scott blame other factors than the obvious factor of the script having problems. They say that is not green enough yet to film in the forest in England. Now since when has backround location ever been a problem for filmmakers? We can film space films with ease and yet Scott is worried about the greenery.

Well this too is fluff. This two is nonsense that is used to cover up what is really going on. Remember they will never tell us the truth in fear up us laughing at them. Yet we as Hollywood players know way better and we can read between the lines. Well the article does say that the script has problems. But they cover it up with these other excuses. I wish they would just say that they have a crappy script not because the writers suck, but because there is nothing new to say about this subject. Yes that BBC show is cool to watch, I have seen it and it is good. But the success of that is no reason to dip into a tired subject. It is just too painful for everyone involved.

This use of shadow is no accident

I saw a great show over the weekend on my new favorite channel, Ovation TV. The show was a special where Martin Scorsese talks about his favorite moments in film that have infulenced him. I don't remember the name, but he talks about film pre 70's. i don't really follow film pre 70's film so this was an education for even me. I know imagine that. Well there is a bunch of things to say about this. One, Scorsese mentions that film is just a manipulation of light. And it is. The first thing that comes to my mind about this is the use of shadow. Directors to now use shadow like they can. If you remember the teaser trailer for Indiana Jones 4, you see Spielberg use a shadow when he introduces Harrison Ford. Now this is no accident. This is careful directing. More directors need to use shadow.



One of the best directed films in my opinion ever, is Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds. This film is a marvel in directing. It is fiercely wonderful in its manipulation of the camera. These birds are not dangerous. They are just a lot of birds flying around making noise. Yet, due to the sound, camera and performances, we are made to believe that these birds are deadly. And man does this work. I am going to start to talk about pre 70 film. That is film before the revolution of the 70's where Jaws changed everthing. Film was an art form at one time. It took time, care and effort to produce a qualit work of art.



In the clip above Frank Capra, the lengendary director of It's a Wonderful Life and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. He says that film should be the work of one man. Its should never involve a committee. This is the way it should be I think. Film should be one person's vision. Now we have focus groups and execs that direct the film more than the director does. Execs listen to the Miley generation before they listen to the director. And this happens all the time. As a filmmaker, you have to study the classics and learn to use your shadows and light. It may not make you rich, but it will make you better than them. Cause THEY are ruining the art of film. And I would like to believe it still exists. Until Tomorrow, Let's talk film!

MTV Horror Reboot Show

Ok, let's talk film. It's a status thing. It is a prestige thing. It is a LOOK AT ME. LOOK AT ME thing. MTV has announced that they are rebooting Rocky Horror Picture show. Yes, the cult classic. Now the film itself was lightning in a bottle. And we all now that lightning in a bottle cannot be duplicated. Well MTV is brash enough to try. I am sure they will ask Johnny Depp and Christian Bale to star. I don't know any big name star who is going to dress as a tranny. It's probably beyond their reach. But, I am not upset as you may be (or maybe you don't care)for this rebooting news. Because that is not the news anyway.

You have to think of Hollywood studios as a little sub burb. Everyone is interested in everyone's business. And the bigger your business, the cooler you are. And MTV is the wanna be king of cool. So this is what this is. This is all that it is. It is look how cool we are! That's what it is. This has nothing to do actually with the quality of the film. They are trying to improve the first idea because the first idea is now a cult film that people have MEMORIZED. If MTV truly cared about the quality of the film, they would not even attempt this. Why bother? Film Fans out there have memorized this film, back wards and forwards. They only thing they could get away with diplomatically is a shot by shot replica of the film like Gus Van Sant did with Psycho. Because they will literally throw off the rhythm of the avid fans if they have to pause even for a second as the remake has a new or different scene.

So if they cared about the film itself, they would not even consider this. They are stepping on toes here. They are slapping fans in the face. That is why I say this reboot idea has nothing to do with the film itself. Nothing. This is for MTV's prestige. This is for MTV to walk into parties and premieres and get wild press people hounding them for a glimpse into the remake. This is all about the execs glory. That all it is.

Some of you don't believe me when I say that execs don't care about the audience or the quality of the film, well here is proof that they don't. This is a classic example of "Look at what we are doing" "isn't this cool". That is all this is. I think it is sad. The original fans will suffer in end for this.

Along with all the others...

We are very close to seeing a film released with the title, Not Another Superhero Movie. Remember the teen films of the 90's when we were tired of them. There was a limit to all that jazz about teen films that started with Clueless. Well everything is in cycles in Hollywood and there is a very good article in the NY Times that is predicting the end of the Superhero genre. I wrote an article last month about cycles in Hollywood. I now wonder what will be the next cycle. Well something new will have to come out that will have to launch the next cycle.

AO Scott has a great theory here about why this current cycle is boring. He says "But in both cases, as soon as the main character is suited up and ready to do battle, the originality drains out of the picture, and the commercial imperatives" That is very true. That is brilliant! Once the hero dons the costume and gets into the fights, its boring. Look at what happened to The Incredible Hulk, the first hour was great, then once the fights happened, it was awful.

So here is the main quote, "Still, I have a hunch, and perhaps a hope, that “Iron Man,” “Hancock” and “Dark Knight” together represent a peak, by which I mean not only a previously unattained level of quality and interest, but also the beginning of a decline. In their very different ways, these films discover the limits built into the superhero genre as it currently exists."

I mean that is right on the money. I don't even have to add to that. That says it all. This is the beginning of the end. What will be the next cycle? Well I am sure MTV will not find it, they are too busy patting themselves on the back for other people's ideas. Until tomorrow, let's talk film!

Leisure Rules!!!

Ok, let's talk film. Taking the day off. Until tomorrow! Let's talk film!

Shyamalan's ideas and The Dark Knight...Supersized Please!...

Taking a back seat...

Ok, let's talk film. There are very smart Hollywood players out there. Besides you, yes. Let's talk M. Night Shyamalan. Some execs out there put their thinking caps on and figured out what his problem is. Well I told you so again. I have said this before and it is repeated here in Variety.com. Media Rights entertainment is letting him come up with the ideas and let others write and direct. He is now forming Night Chronicles a production partnership that allows him to come up with a good idea like the Happening, but will not let him write or direct it. Thank God for this thinking. M. Night is not a good writer director. He is a great idealist. But in directing his ideas, something falls way short here. I a glad he is seceding his rights to his ideas. I would do that as painful as it may be.

I mean you have to consider how painful it must be for M. Night. People telling you that your ideas are good, but your execution sucks has got to tear you apart inside. I mean actors and directors kill themselves literally with drugs and alcohol when they are successful in the business. And here is guy who is failing at every idea he attempts and keeping his head up high. He is saying essentially, "you know, I just can't do this thing alone" and he is throwing in the towel. Granted no one will finance a solo effort again on his part, but it takes guts to do what he had now done.

He is just going to write the stories. How great was it when George Lucas did that? Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi were great because Lucas was forced to take a back seat. Lucas is the number one example of someone who has great ideas, yet no real talent to execute them. That's why Spielberg directed Raiders, that's why that worked. Lucas stubbornly helmed the first two Star Wars prequels and look what happened. It was like watching the history channel. Spielberg had to come in and Ghost direct Episode 3 for it to be any good. And it was.

So I have to say as painful as it may be for Shyamalan to give up his director's hat, how wonderful is it gonna be to get his great stories with someone who can translate them with style. Maybe he may find his directorial counterpart like Lucas did with Spielberg or Mike Nichols with Neil Simon scripts.

You have to look at it this way too. Shyamalan, though a troubled writer/director, still has good ideas and the execs want to milk that. They are not going to let him fully retire. They are still going to drain any creative juices flowing out of him. Well good luck Shyamalan, I am sure you will have more success doing this than that. So it will be nice to see this happen.

It was pretty unreal...

If you saw The Dark Knight in IMAX this weekend you were most likely totally blown away at the experience. It was a crystal clear picture. It was a huge screen. I mean you were in the film. There is not doubting that. Nolan filmed what seemed like more the half of the film in IMAX. The beginning scene with William Fichtner as the bank manager was unreal. Although I can think of a hundred other actors I would like to see in that much detail besides Fichtner. Jk, but you know. The truck being thrown on its end was unreal. And I jumped at that one part with the window. So in traditionally Hollywood form. It took The Dark Knight's 6.3 million in IMAX theaters to alert other film makers that this could be a trend.

Two for the Dark Knight? Would you like to Super Size that?

It's Super Sizing is what it is. Would you like your film super size? Well then IMAX it is. That is what this will turn into as if has not already. Yet filmmakers have a huge challenge on their hands. The cameras for IMAX are enormous, bulky, and really unfriendly. AND they are the f word, which is TOO EXPENSIVE! That's it! So how Hollywood will actually respond to this remains to be seen. The price tag for this format will throw this option right out the door. It's just gonna be up to the individual filmmakers to make the decision on this. And it will all depend on the weight of thier name. Only the popular ones will have this option. Bay should have thought about filming in IMAX for Transformers 2. Actually don't be surprised if he does. There is still time for him to do so. Until tomorrow, let's talk film!

Legendary Ledger and more Bay bashing!!!

Call it...Friendo...

Ok, let's talk film. It was an amazing performance. It was a inspired performance. It was a nothing less than legendary performance by Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight. I was completely blown away. I honestly thought it was up there with Anthony Hopkins and Javier Bardem. I do think that. It was surprisingly chilling. When I walked in to see it, I expected a great, eclectic performance. What I got was an inside look at a mad man. It was bone chilling. I was actually afraid at the character on the screen. This is a villain that will stand out when lists of villains are made. Anthony Hopkins, Javier Bardem, James Earl Jones, Alan RIckman, Heath Ledger...He has added himself to the list of all time frightening villains.

It was an incredible performance in a film that was akin to Heat with Al Pachino. This was not a Batman film at all. I felt the weakest link here was actually Christian Bale as the Batman. He was completely upstaged by Aaron Ekhart also. How about that performance? That was breathtaking and heartbreaking to see a villain who was really a good guy. He was quite honestly turned to the dark side. I believed it. Well no spoilers here. I don't do that. I don't so spoilers, I don't do lists. None of that nonsense. But what an amazing film. I believe that Ledger already won the Oscar. In my humble opinion, he would have been nominated if he were alive anyway. It is that good of a performance. But now that he is no longer with us, I believe he will win. How about them political apples?

Well today, Robert Orci one of the writers of Transformers 2 said that Michael Bay did not write any of Transformers 2 as Bay as told everyone on the planet that he did have some part of. Well the record is straight today. I am actually glad that Robert got the guts to come forward and say that about Mr Bullhorn. Mr Bay is an infantile director who is no better than an extra on ER who rides past the camera in a stretcher bleeding from the forehead. Well enough Bay bashing. The record is straight Bay does not write scripts.

Finding the hindsight...

Vin Diesel, the huge action star who's career stalled like a broken down VW bug trying to get on the Autobahn. About ten years ago Vin vowed to never do sequels. He was totally against it. No sequels for me he said. That is why he passed up sequels to Fast and Furious and XXX. Well the market for those sequels was hot at the time so the studios still pressed on with lackluster results. Well now Vin says he is more mature to make better decisions and now he is doing another XXX. He already is in pre-production with Fast and Furious 4. And now he is trying to salvage his career with sequels to films he once snubbed.

Well I hate to say "I David Caruso you". But I will anyway. I mean as much as I bag on Execs, at least they have the good sense to follow the scent of success. I hate to maybe say it, but some actors are dumber than some execs. They turn away from the golden calf. Why Vin took such a ridiculous stance is very hard to say. But its nice to know he will be returning to to what he should have done a while ago. Then could have been spared Ice Cube and Tokyo Drift. Until Tomorrow, Let's talk film!

Heath Ledger's Final Bow

Always a Knight

Ok, let's talk film. Heath Ledger takes his final bow today. I have always been a huge fan of this actor. I was always so thrilled whenever he got a new role. It was always a pleasure to see him act. He was always so open and bright to watch. He was a future A Lister that would have been so after this weekend. His loss has been hard on me as a film fan. In many ways I have not even admitted to myself that he is gone. I don't want to write anything else today because ONE, yesterdays blog was pretty good, TWO there is nothing really to talk about and THREE I am now on my way to get my advance tix to the IMAX tomorrow night. Excited I am. But, I would like to dedicate this entire blog to Heath. I really loved him as an actor and his loss is felt within me. Goodbye Heath. It was always a total joy to watch you grow as an actor. God bless your family. Goodbye! We will miss the hell out you. Thank you for everything! Goodbye!

False Advertising in Hollywood

The savior of rebooting

Ok, let's talk film. Terminator Salvation is the name of the new film that gets released next year, Summer 2009. Terminator Salvation-The Future Begins it is called. Whether it is beginning or ending who knows. Yet, they don't want to call it T4 because then we as an audience would just say, "another one? Come on!" But who is the real salvation here? The execs believe it's Christian Bale. They believe he is the new Savior of franchise reboot. You have to remember that Hollywood does what everyone else has proven successful already. That's no secret. So execs think that since Bale resurrected the Batman franchise to now masterpiece status, why can't he do the same for Terminator? Well two things about there here. Number one, Bale is not he savior of the Batman franchise, Christopher Nolan is. Nolan is the mastermind behind the success of Batman. That is the obvious thing that execs don't realize.

Prequel or sequel? Who knows!

Well I take that back, what I think is really happening here is that they are trying to look at the marketing of the new Terminator film from our point of view. We all now that whenever execs try to look at film from our point of view, nothing but chaos ensues. Well, they think we are stupid. They really do! They think we think that Bale is the savior. If you look at the new trailer for it, you will see that Bale's name is right there at the beginning. It is there in front because they are trying to get us excited at his name since we as an audience are already excited at this new Batman film. It's dirty trick! It is. I found myself excited also at Bale's credit with the Terminator music. But then I remembered I was being tricked.

Execs are using his name to build false excitement. Why is it false excitement? I am glad you asked. It is false because we as an audience and you as a savvy Hollywood player, know that Bale is not the genius at work here. He is just a name. The excitement here in the trailer is nothing less than a sugar rush. It will not last unless the film is decent. We know the name behind the movie products we like. James Cameron was behind the good Terminator movies. Christopher Nolan is behind the good Batman movies. So who are execs trying to fool? Seriously? Who is the marketing department of the Terminator franchise trying to fool. No one. That is correct. They are fooling no one. No one really cares about the Terminator anymore. No one really knows what the hell is going on with the timeline anyway. What future? What past? Ask the execs, I am sure they don't have an answer either. I guarantee it.

Are you having trouble marketing a film? Well just deny what it is? Paramount picked up the independent film American Teen at Sundance last year and since then they have been trying to find a market. It's a documentary about five separate kids during their last year of HS. Sound interesting? Eh, I personally could take it or leave it. But, apparently its brought the house down at Sundance. Now I have a separate theory about Sundance. Things look way better at Sundance then they do in a regular theater. Industry folks cheering for a film there, is different than it performing well out in the actual market.

Lame. Says reboot to us...

Well Paramount is now stuck with this documentary and no way to market it. Who wants to go see a documentary? Seriously?! Well their releasing it under the umbrella of Paramount Vantage which is to be expected. Saves them from taking full responsibility for it's failure. Well their new strategy for marking this according to the LA times in in the article here says that Paramount isn't even going to tell you it's a documentary. Heck, the first poster for this thing is a mock up of the first poster for The Breakfast Club 20 years ago. They are making you believe it's a Breakfast Club rehash. So not only does Paramount not want to tell you what the film is, they are tricking you into thinking its something else.

Whatever still

Where is the honest thinking behind this? There is none. They are trying to deceive you. Not only are they being dishonest with you, they are flat out lying. Because also, they don't even know if they want to market this to current high schoolers or to the nostalgia crowd. It's sad to see this. Sad to see Paramount trying to straight up lie to people to get them into theaters. But that is the strategy and thinking of Hollywood, they will lie to you to get your money. I am sure the film is great. But let us decide. Well they won't, they think we are stupid. This is already not good. And I don't think this film will float at all. Nothing good comes out of a lie.

Well Tonight at midnight starts the Batmania propelled by the death of Heath Ledger. Its gonna be a huge film for that reason and the positive reviews. The best thing about this marketing strategy, Warner Bros, doesn't have to lie. Well all know and feel the loss of that great actor deep in our hearts. Until tomorrow, let's talk film!

A Great Writer and Guilty Pleasures...And Bay Bashing!

Miss Congeniality

Ok, let's talk film. Well Diablo Cody is living the dream. Living the dream baby! I guess that's what it's all about. Article here says that Cody is very busy at work. You know Tina Fey is jealous of her. Cody is hotter and more talented. Fey is spinning her head around like Linda Blair because she is not the favorite girl on the block anymore. But that is just me picking on Tina. But, one of my favorite subjects is Diablo. She is beautiful and talented. And apparently whatever comes out of her mouth turns into a project. Man would I like that to be me. Oh well, I think she deserves it. She didn't deserve an Oscar yet, but that's my humble opinion.

She met with Spielberg a while a ago and he told her to write one of his ideas. How insane is that! She also sold a pitch to Universal. A pitch! I don't think it was even a pitch. I think it was a conversation that now is getting labeled as a pitch. She is the golden child in Hollywood now. I am happy for her. Someone give her my number, tell her to call me between 7-9pm PST. Before CSI on Thursday. Not during Heroes either please. We can talk. Hang. Get coffee whatever. ANYWAY. I hope she stays strong in all her writings. Her scripts are all named with girls names, Juno. Jennifer's Body, Tara. Very cool. Go with what works. Pray that she doesn't go the way of the Do-Do (M Night Shaymalan).

Just here for the paycheck? I think not!

So let's talk about this Mamma Mia movie. How about that? This thing might have legs to it. I have seen the previews and it looks like a guilty pleasure. I would go see this film by myself and sit in the back and probably really enjoy it. Reviews say that this film is none less than a fun crowd pleaser. I can handle that. I may just be in the mood for that. Oh come on! You know deep down inside you want to see this too! It's a guilty pleasure. It is. I for one hate all ABBA songs. But aren't they catchy? Don't they get stuck in your head? This is the point here. I don't the story is going to be that interesting at all. A girl who doesn't know who her father is? Doesn't that happen every day anyway? Statistically that issue is a minority issue. No politics I am just stating fact here. Yet, this minority issue is being played by an all high class white cast. Well that's another blog. But just to throw that out there.

Sorry Miley, you weren't even considered...

I will not talk about that. I am sure everyone can draw their own conclusions on that one. And those offended please write Oprah about it. I am thrilled to see Meryl Streep remove the scowl and tears for once and let herself go. I totally love Colin Firth. And this is not the first time tough guys have sang. Don't forget Clint Eastwood in Paint Your Wagon. It's nice to see actors who normally play stoic faces sing and let go. Isn't this what performance is all about. Aren't movies and film make to made us feel ALIVE. Well, my film fans, this is going to be a guilty pleasure. Whether you admit to seeing it or not. Oh yeah, this article about the anticipation of Mamma Mia without my humble opinion is here.

I don't even know where to being with this next article. After I read it I had to pick myself up off of the floor. My jaw is still on the floor actually. This. Well the first line really made me faint actually. The title of this article is incredible and makes you want to invite all your friends over and read it aloud over and over again and laugh in hysterics. The title of the article is Michael Bay talks Transformers 2 and Friday the 13th remake. And it's by EW and it's beautiful. It's gorgeous. I want to put this up on my wall.

First quote the BayMeister himself when asked about Transformers 2, "When we were writing the script, I said to the writers, "I hate sequels that try to make it to the third movie. Pretend like we’re never having a third movie, so let’s go for broke on the second one. I hate those cliffhangers! Let’s just make this movie stand on its own." I really feel this movie is not a forced sequel. I think the script is really good, and I think it’s got a lot of new stuff in it. There are a lot of rumors out there, but we’ve released a lot of fake stuff. We’ve done a really good job of keeping things secret."

I'm David Hasslehoff...

When WE were writing Michael? You have never written a script ever! EVER! AND it's all about marketing for the third film. Any studio exec would tell you that. This is not a football game. This is the film industry. EMPIRE STRIKES BACK! Remember that cliffhanger that made everyone stand in line for days for Return of the Jedi? Apparently, Mike doesn't want that kind of grand anticipation or really long lines at his future films. Well at least we know what NOT to expect from Transformers 2. We can not look forward to a good cliffhanger to jump start excitement for a third film. Thanks Mike. We want to hear early on how lackluster it will be.

Next and final quote cause I have now gotten tired of his BS. When asked about the quality of the new Friday the 13th, "I haven’t seen the director's cut because he’s still cutting, but I know this one will really be scary; it’s also funny, as well. It’s a fun college adventure that goes awry. It’s not a movie I would ever show my mom! (Laughs) We don’t make these for our mothers; we make these for the fans out there."

He also made the Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake. Not scary. And like I always say with all this new backstory added in. It's even more not scary. NOT SCARY! He says its funny also...That I believe. He was also asked about a Nightmare On Elm Street remake. God help us all. I do vote for Ben Foster for Freddy though. THAT I would see. Until tomorrow, let's talk film!

Where the Bad Directors Are...

By the numbers is what Execs really want, don't let them fool you...

Ok, let's talk film. This is total comedy film fans. Total comedy. Where the Wild Things Are, the book by Maruice Sendak. The new film is By Spike Jonze. Yet, Partick Goldstein of the LA Times writes here that the film has been pushed back from an October 2008 release date to an indefinite release date. The reason? Well early test screening with kids have had them literally run out of the theater with frightened screaming. They think it is scary. What is Spike Jonze vision? Well it appears according to this article that he did not want to use CGI. He used people in Animal suits with animated faces. he also used puppets on strings. It turned out to be awful. Now let's take a look at a few quotes from the Warner's exec here first. I will show you how out of touch these execs are as if you didn't know already. Well, maybe it's just PR. Maybe I am being to harsh. I mean if a project fails, you have to expect execs out there covering their butt with PR. I understand that. Here is the PR.

"We've given him more money and, even more importantly, more time for him to work on the film," Horn said. "We'd like to find a common ground that represents Spike's vision but still offers a film that really delivers for a broad-based audience. We obviously still have a challenge on our hands. But I wouldn't call it a problem, simply a challenge. No one wants to turn this into a bland, sanitized studio movie. This is a very special piece of material and we're just trying to get it right."

"But I would not call it a problem", he says? Ok, you are all savvy Hollywood players. I think you can see through this like a newly cleaned, large window. When Horn says "Very special piece of material" and the word "Challenge" twice, this says to me the film is Handicapped. Something is very wrong. He said it. This is actually really bad PR. Horn is essentially calling this project "retarded". Look it's there. "Very special"..."Challenged"..Twice!

But like I said that is expected. PR is indispensable when you're going down in flames. Horn's project is in flames and he is calling it special. Fine. Save your butt Horn. You're not fooling anyone. The real problem I have with this article is Goldstein himself. He is stepping out in front of the material and saying that Warner Bros hires artistic directors to do big projects. Artistic directors? Aren't all directors artistic? Well according to Goldstein, no. He calls Chris Columbus a paint by numbers director in the same article. Here is the thing with this. Like any construction project, a studio goes with the lowest bidder.

It's not secret. A studio exec has an idea and whoever the lowest bidder is with the biggest name, they will hire. I have a problem with calling the Studios artistic. They are not where near artistic. Actually, I can tell you right now that Alan Horn here of Warner Bros. had no idea what he was getting into. He thought he was hiring a "quirky" director like Tim Burton. Did he even do research into Spike Jonze? I don't think so. If he has seen Being John Malkovich or Adaption, he would know he made a big mistake. Spike is a loon. He is a bad director. Those two films were bad. They were not good. They got labeled under the title of "quirky, independent film" but they in essence were bad. We know what Independent film is anyway. It is bad film that is given that title in order to be forgivable. What? It didn't appeal to all audiences? Well it's independent! That's what it is.

Well Goldstein is giving this Horn exec too much credit. He went with a big name and low bidder and he got stuck footing a bad film. Another quote here, by Horn, "We try to take a few shots," he said. "Sometimes they work and sometimes they don't. The jury is still out on this one. But we remain confident that Spike is going to figure things out and at the end of the day we'll have an artistically compelling movie."

"Artistically compelling"? It's a kid's movie Horn. It's Where the Wild Things Are. It's a kid's book. Since when is a kid's film compelling? It's absurd. Horn stepped in it here and he has taken the film off of the release schedule. He is using really bad PR to cover it up. AND Mr. Goldstein, please do not think these execs are thinking creatively. They are not. They are looking for fresh, big names with low salaries. This is the truth. And Goldstein here is saying that this is artistic. If Horn was thinking artistically, he would have story boarded the film himself and found a director that shares his vision. Execs are not artistic. They are number's people.

Moving on...So there are a few negative reviews for the Dark Knight. They are few and far between, but they are there. A few reviewers have said that the film is too overstuffed and too long. Well I think the same can be said with Braveheart or the Godfather. I cannot completely argue this cause I have not seen it. I am going Saturday night to see it in IMAX in Irvine. So after then I could comment. But I do know that a few reporters/reviewers like to say negative things just to say them. I have heard negative things about American Beauty and Toy Story two of the most loved movies ever. Reviewers say negative things just to hear themselves. Especially that New Yorker guy. My advice, don't listen to OVERSTUFFED or TOO LONG. That is total knit picking. Its gonna be an unbelievable piece and no one reporter will stop us from thinking that. I know film fans, a lot of senseless babbling, I will try to do better tomorrow. Until Tomorrow! Let's talk film!