A Little Push - Thoughts on the Hollywood Machine 05.02.09

Posted by Rick Tym on 05.02.2009

New Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and H2 (not to be confused with P2) trailers, Benecio del Toro to play Bret Easton Ellis, Robert Zemeckis considering returning to the Hollywood of Roger Rabbit and more await you beyond the clicking of the link!

Let's Talk Transformers 2 For a Second

Right after we all watch this. Like many around the world sporting internet connections, A Little Push spied the early leaked version of the following trailer. As usual I said to myself, "Why don't they just put a good version online already? Is it really necessary to pretend that people come to the movie the trailer is attached to just to see said preview? Must this fantasy of "exclusivity" endure? Isn't the internet the best way to flash the goods?" And lo and behold, it was bequeathed unto me us in all it's clarified glory.


While the Push rails against unnecessary remakes (especially of its favorite horror films; see below for some more video goodness concerning this very topic) and just plain bad films, it does not discriminate against "dumb" ones. The first Transformers film certainly was dumb—from visual gags concerning robots peeing oil to Optimus Prime saying (actually speaking the words out loud) "My bad," it contains more than its fair share of eye-rolling fodder. But watching it on the big screen and hearing that trademark transformation noise for the first time made it all worthwhile. The Push likes to give anything a chance, and seeing things on the big screen enhances the possibility of swaying judgment from critical to "It'll all be alright." Certainly the robots were hard to make out sometimes since they consisted of roughly ten thousand moving parts, but it still played out impressively in the cinema, watching huge robot action interspersed with classic Mikey Bay sun-lit sweeping shots while being bombarded with surround sound, butter dripping down your chin. Some people hated the first film, citing the canon of the cartoons and other media devices that were employed to, you know, sell more toys. Wait! Stop! The Push is only joking…slightly. Seriously, some do take this stuff…well…seriously, and the joking mock-y tone implemented just now was not meant to offend. It's just one way to look at things, and obviously other's mileage may vary. Peace, okay?

Besides, the Push loves cartoons. Everybody knows this! Selling toys or not, it's hard to deny the power of the animated movie (which has the caveat that it was more mature than the half-hour installments shown on television at the time and carried some heavier emotional gravitas), especially Optimus' death scene.


In short, while watching the first live action Transformers I knew that it wasn't cinematic gold being unspooled up there on the big screen. That feeling was substantiated upon further home viewing. But when you want something loud, mindless and full of giant effing robots, who else are you gonna turn to? (‘Cause you know the DVD kicks surround sound ass.) Michael Bay is not the harbinger of the apocalypse many make him out to be. He and uncle Stevie seem to be enjoying themselves, so why can't we? The answer is that the Push can, and it is looking forward to seeing the next installment this summer, even if it includes sun-drenched shots of Megan Fox and a semi-hackneyed plot of Sam Witwicky having mysterious symbols embedded in his brain. It can't be any worse than those magic spectacles, can it?

Heck, even Bumblebee playing "I'm So Excited" through his sound system is excusable. Gotta have something in there for the kiddies. Sure, you have to check your brain (and about ten bucks) at the door, but isn't there enough of every genre coming our way this summer to go around? The Push says bring on The Fallen.


That's right. I said bring it.

H2 (No Relation to P2 Trailer Hits the Interwebs

Is it a doozy, or is there actually some promise lucking in the shadows?


Hmmm. This is…interesting, to say the least. I really don't like the Jason Voorhees vibe Zombie is establishing here—nothing against his wife, but did she really need to be included in the sequel (you know, the one he said he wasn't going to make because he had said all there was to say with the first re-imagining)? This business of determining the method to Mikey Myers' madness makes me squirm a little in my chair. Since the Push has already given its thoughts on this issue last time around, it'll be suffice to say that this could spell trouble for the proceedings. Too much explanation or exposition may lead to material that "so bad it's good" but that's not what Rob Zombie is aiming for.

One thing's for sure though. Just like some of my colleagues around the 411 site have said, this ain't your daddy's John Carpenter's Halloween. While the Push abhors the first Zombie-led outing, H2 is intriguing because other than the use of a hospital set (which is not where the entire film takes place, btw), there's not much similarity evident between it and the Rick Rosenthal-got-fired-and-John-Carpenter-came-it-to-save-the-day "original" 1981 sequel. I even like the half-mask thing they got going on, and now that Zombie is veering into different directions there's not even much worry about the hoodie or the villain not wearing a mask at all.

Nope, there's only one major issue. Why can't this thing come out around, you know, freakin' Halloween instead of at the end of August? The Push knows it's all about the marketing and strategic release dates, baby, but there's room for both H2 and Saw in October. Even though I knew Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers was not going to be as good as the original, there was still some cool magicky goodness associated in going to see it when the leaves were falling and pumpkins were being carved. (A quick IMDB search tells me that the release date was October 21st, 1988 which means this memory holds no taint. Nice.) And the only reason to go see Saw MLXXVI is to behold how crazy the concept has become. (Unless they finally explain what happened to Dr. Lawrence Gordon. That would be pretty sweet.) Why can't horror fans have both? They're both gonna be better than The Uninvited or The Haunting in Connecticut, right?

Right?

I…Am…Iron Man!

Nah, just kidding—Robert Downey Jr. is. Here's a look at the first still pic released from the now in-production Iron Man 2: Subbing Cheadle for Howard, courtesy of USA Today…


Nice suits.
IM2 began shooting about three weeks ago. Director Jon Favreau told USA Today that the sequel picks up six months after Tony Stark revealed to the world that he was the man in the shiny suit, but remained mum on any other plot details. However, new actors to the Iron Man movie mythology include Mickey Rourke as Whiplash, Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow and Sam Rockwell as Justin Hammer. Not too shabby at all. The movie has a release date of May 7, 2010.

This is just the first of many teases to come from Favreau and company concerning the sequel to one of the better comic book films made recently—you know, at least until the weak third act containing the subpar fight with the Iron Monger. (I know Stane didn't actually call himself "Iron Monger." Just work with me here.) Even though Favreau maintains the "we've gotta keep things under wraps" stance, the man also loves him some Twitter; he's sending out tweets from the set as work progresses. As always with all things comic booky in the film world, the Push will keep everyone updated on the irony of it all.

Groans are now permitted.

del Toro to Play Easton Ellis?

Regulars know that A Little Push loves Bret Easton Ellis. More specifically, the Push loves the man's written works and the film adaptations haven't been so bad either. (Where's the nearest screening of The Informers around these parts, anyway? I've gotta go down to Ithaca or something, find me an art house screen or two.) Back in 2005 the author of American Psycho, Glamorama (a great book—just don't lend it out because according to my experience, you'll never get it back) and The Rules of Attraction penned a novel that was a hybrid of self-autobiographical novelization and ghost story. While the Push personally found the semi-autobiographical portions to be far and away the better part of the proceedings, Lunar Park was still another excellent work from the author. Similar to his other published works, it is getting the big screen treatment and is currently in "some state of pre-production." (Those are Ellis' words, courtesy of the MTV Movie Blog.) The oddest thing about all this? Benecio del Toro is being tapped to play Ellis.

Well, it's not really odd per say, just a bit unusual considering that Ellis is Caucasian and del Toro is not. However, Ellis thinks that's exactly why del Toro may end up starring in the film adaptation, quoted as saying, "I don't even think he read the book; I just think he read the script and said ‘Oh, this is an Anglo writer and you're not casting a white dude? You've come to me?' And I think that rarely happens for him. I think he's offered a lot of Spanish characters and ethnic types, and I think it's very rare for him to get offered Anglo parts."


The superimposed caption says it all.
Benecio del Toro? Who cares about ethnicities? Just sign him up! del Toro has been a Push favorite since his Fenster character in The Usual Suspects. ("Who stole the f*ckin' truck?" Classic.) Interesting that he will be in the upcoming Three Stooges movie as well. Then again, the Oscar winner was never shy about branching out in all sorts of directions. (That reminds me; I still have to see Che.)

And for anyone interested in news concerning Bret Easton Ellis' written works, here's an abbreviated version of Rick Tym's Reading Corner: Ellis has been working on a sequel to his 1985 novel Less Than Zero, which was (of course) adapted for the screen. The movie version starred Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man! Continuity!) and James Spader and is considered as the pivotal launching point of both men's careers. Not coincidentally, Ellis thinks that his Less Than Zero sequel would also make a great film. But since this is the Reading Corner, we'll just stop there for now by letting anyone interested know that the book is slated for release in May 2010.

Just a Quick Blurb On…Roger Rabbit 2?

Once again the Push refers to the MTV Movie Blog to tell you all about something that caught its eye while surfing the internet waves this week. Robert Zemeckis is purportedly considering a return to Toontown—or, more aptly, a 1947 Hollywood inhabited by creatures both human and animated—and is extremely excited by the possibilities that newer motion capture and digital technologies hold as he mulls over a sequel to the successful 1988 film.


I told you. No contract negotiations.
This is just a heads-up about the possibility of seeing Roger and Jessica Rabbit onscreen again since Zemeckis sounds like he's just thinking things over right now. However, he is the guy to talk to in Hollywood when it comes to motion capture and the technology associated with it since he hasn't done a live action film since 2000's Cast Away, opting instead to work with Tom Hanks in the capture-animated world of The Polar Express and other Hanks-less examples of Zemeckis' desire to digitize cinema as we know it such as Beowulf and the upcoming A Christmas Carol. At this point only time will tell if any new Rabbit adventures may come our way.

Outtro

Well the Flyers are gone and, being a PA native there's also no Sixers to root for in the NBA playoffs anymore. Even though the Push is not a huge fan of the NBA it must admit obvious fascination with the Celtics-Bull first round series as it sets it sights on non-Pennsylvanian teams for a bit; those two clubs are putting on a b-ball clinic (as I type this up I am a bit blurry eyed from Thursday's 3 OT game—I swear I had all intentions of hitting the hay until my curiosity got the better of me). Can't wait for Game Seven, which may be happening even as you read this very news report.

For some reason my allegiances shift to the New York area when it comes to baseball. Yes, I am a Yankees fan (cue the obligatory boos) and while the Push maintains that the new stadium was not a vast improvement over the House That Ruth Built, I could've sworn I heard some actual noise coming from the stands last night as LAA came to town. Is the YES Network piping in crowd noise a la the WWE? Or has the ticket price drop been effective in putting some non-corporate asses in the seats? Here's praying for the latter; now all MLB needs to do is not have playoff games go into the early morning hours and perhaps the game can go back to being a sport for fans of all ages, not just poseur VP wannabees that can't even be bothered to buy a jersey to throw on over their collared shirts and ties.

No real segue way into this last bit of musing, so I'll just come right out and ask: has anyone read the reviews of Wolverine that have begun to proliferate the web? Man, it sounds just as bad as it did when the workprint leaked. After moving and finding a real-life still-operational drive-in theater only twenty miles away, the Push was all hyped up to grab a few snacks (and maybe a few beers) and go see the latest X-Men offering beneath the May starlight. Now I think I'll pass. While the second feature is Taken, the third (three movies in one night on the cheap!) is Bride Wars. No matter how tasty the meat of that movie sandwich may be, even my love of the drive-in cannot overcome the moldiness of its bread.


Ahhh yes. The Push will be visiting one of these soon—but perhaps it will wait for Star Trek.
That'll do it for this week. As always, enjoy yourselves this weekend and the days beyond until we meet again. Thanks for tuning in to this edition of a Little Push.

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