Movies/TV's 3R’s 08.25.09: Megan Fox, The Wizard of Oz, Supernatural, Caprica, John Landis and More!
Posted by Shawn S. Lealos on 08.25.2009
From Inglourious Basterds being awesome, Family Guy vs. The Office, the status of a new Jason Bourne movie, and a Wizard of Oz sequel to Meadow Soprano dating a fat guy, Megan Fox hosting SNL and Jon Gosselin considering a new reality show, 411's Shawn S. Lealos breaks down the Right, wRong, and Ridiculous from the week in Movies/TV!
Welcome to Week 09 of The 3 R's for the Movie/TV world.
To the people who believe the studio's when they claim the economic conditions are hurting Hollywood (all numbers are worldwide):
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince: $886 million
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen: $824 million
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs: $798 million
Angels & Demons: $480 million
Up: $430 million
The Hangover: $414 million
Night at the Museum 2: $403 million
Star Trek: $380 million
Monsters vs. Aliens: $373 million
Terminator: Salvation: $369 million
Wolverine: $364 million
Fast & Furious: $348 million
That is 12 movies for a total of over $6 billion in worldwide box office. I guess their version of hardship and mine are two different things.
The Wizard of Oz is coming...: On Wednesday, September 23 you can see The Wizard of Oz at a theater close to you for one showing only. At 7:00 (local time), NCM Fathom, Warner Home Video and Turner Classic Movies will present the first ever theatrical showing of the High Definition version of The Wizard of Oz. In addition to the movie, there will be a special introduction by a film historian and it will be followed with the feature "We're Off to See the Wizard", a look at the adaptation from book to screen. Also included is an exclusive clip of the Scarecrow, Ray Bolger, dancing in High-Definition for the first time. This is an awesome event and you can find which theaters are showing this in your area by CLICKING HERE.
The Expendables gets even more awesome: The greatest B-movie to ever be made gets another addition to its cast. Shooting a cameo for the movie is Die Hard's own Bruce Willis. He will be joining the film's director Sylvester Stallone and California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. This will mean the three biggest action stars of the eighties will all be appearing in a movie together for the first time and it appears to actually be sharing the scene. John McClain, Rambo and the Terminator are just the icing on the cake that is The Expendables. Every B-movie lover's head should explode when this movie hits theaters next April. The rest of the cast includes Jason Statham (Crank), Jet Li (Kiss of the Dragon), Dolph Lundgren (Universal Soldier), Eric Roberts (Best of the Best), Randy Couture (UFC), Stone Cold Steve Austin (WWE), Terry Crews (Street Kings), Mickey Rourke (Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man), David Zayas (Dexter), Brittany Murphy (Sin City), and Charisma Carpenter (Buffy the Vampire Slayer). I'm still holding out hope for an appearance by Steven Seagal (Under Siege), Wesley Snipes (The Art of War) and Carl Weathers (Action Jackson) to ensure every fan of action movies can realize their life has been fulfilled.
A Master of Horror Returns: It has been eleven years since John Landis directed a hit movie and since that was Blues Brothers 2000, I am reluctant to call it a hit. Before that he directed the very interesting Mad City, but it has been over twenty years since he directed a movie that was universally liked (Coming to America). That is rough for the man who brought us Three Amigos, Trading Places, The Blues Brothers and Animal House. However, with the continuing disappointment of the Wolf Man remake (see this week's wRongs), I am more than ready for the man who directed An American Werewolf in London to come back and show everyone how it's done. It is going to happen with his next directorial project Burke and Hare, the true stories of the West Point murders of 1827 and 1828. The murders were attributed to Irish immigrants who sold the seventeen victims to the Edinburgh Medical College for dissection. Even better, Simon Pegg has been pegged to star.
The wRong
A fourth Bourne movie gets a new writer: George Nolfi, the man who worked on The Bourne Ultimatum, was hired to both write the fourth Bourne movie as well as direct The Adjustment Bureau, an adaptation of a Philip K. Dick story starring Matt Damon. With that movie starting to film in September, Nolfi stepped aside and allowed Josh Zetumer to step in and write what is called a "parallel script." What that means is Zetumer will write his script and then the producers and director will take both men's work and make a movie out of it. What makes this scary is other movies using a parallel script include Star Trek: Generations, Fantastic Four: The Rise of the Silver Surfer and Wolverine. I'm not really interested in seeing it if it will not be as great as its predecessors and Ultimatum had such a great conclusion, there is no need for a fourth.
The Wolfman Trailer: Damn it, I wanted Wolfman to kick all kinds of ass and I told you a couple of weeks back I was worried since it was getting buried next year. Now the trailer is out and there is a scene at the end where The Wolfman races to the top of a building and howls at the full moon. That makes me believe that despite the interesting effects (the transformation in the trailer looks a lot like An American Werewolf in London) it is going to be another Sleepy Hollow or maybe just another Underworld. That is ok, but I wanted this to be a call back to the great horror movies of yesteryear and not another CGI horror film.
Inception Trailer: I saw the teaser for Inception before Inglourious Basterds last week and came away disappointed. Now don't get me wrong, I am very excited about this new movie from Chris Nolan. He has not failed me yet and his personal stuff (The Prestige) is just as good as his blockbusters (The Dark Knight). However this is a pretty underwhelming teaser and is selling the movie based on Nolan being the director of The Dark Knight and Leo DiCaprio starring in it, something not that big a deal based on the flop of his last big picture Body of Lies and the complete absence from the Oscars of Revolutionary Road. Hell, even his next picture has been pushed back (I will touch upon this later). My biggest problem is the trailer will make most fans think of The Matrix which is not good based on the fact everyone but me hated the two Matrix sequels. This is not a good way to sell interest in the new movie. Hell, I didn't notice any other name actors in the trailer (Michael Caine, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Marion Cotillard, Cillian Murphy, Ken Watanabe, Tom Freaking Berenger) so color me unimpressed.
The Ridiculous
The Wizard of Aliens?: While there is a big Right at the top about the re-release to theaters of the Wizard of Oz, there is also troubling news about a sequel in the works. Dakota Fanning (a great young actress) is set to star as Dorthy's granddaughter in the present day. The new film was supposed to be based on, of all things, Todd McFarlane's "Twisted Oz" toy line. McFarlane, also the film's producer, describes the change in personality of the lead character as being "closer to the Ripley character from Alien than a helpless singing girl." While it is no longer a straight "Twisted" adaptation, I don't see a McFarlane produced film being anything but twisted and dark. Go see the re-release and file this under unwanted releases.
Mysteries of Shuttle Island: Before Inglourious Basterds I saw the latest trailer for Martin Scorsese's new horror film Shutter Island. Despite the great trailers and the promising outlook for the film, it joins Wolfman as the latest movie to get pushed back to 2010. It looks as though it will hit in February and other than the current trend of horror films getting big money in the early months, I see no reason to push a Scorsese flick to that dead zone. There are various reasons why it is being moved. One insider says the studio had no potential hits in line for 2010 and they are moving it for economical reasons. Paramount claims the movie ranked in the high 80s/low 90s to test audiences (which is a horrible judge of movies) but non-Paramount sources say those numbers are very inflated. The movie is now eliminated from Awards season, usually a given for Scorsese and there was no competition in October for this type of movie, so I can only wonder if the bad word of mouth is accurate. I hate this and am now officially worried about another film I was looking forward to.
Family Guy looks at its Emmy competition: Family Guy has started its promotional campaign for Best Comedy at the Emmy's. I know a lot of commenter's don't like the show anymore but I do and it's my column. Below are three links to see various promos and I embedded my favorite, the one that Seth apparently believes will actually win the award.
What if Spike were on Battlestar Galactica?: Caprica, a prequel set in the 12 Colonies 50 years before the Sci-Fi original Battlestar Galactica reboot, has gained a new guest star. James Marsters (Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) has agreed to appear in at least three episodes of the new show, which will focus on the rivalry between the Graystone and Adama families. Marsters has been cast as dangerous terrorist leader Barnabus Greeley, a man described as "an unpredictable villain who often finds himself torn by his conflicting motivations, which are driven by moralistic and yet carnal desires." I don't care what he is cast as. I just want more Marsters on my TV. I saw him last on Smallville as Brainiac. Looks like he won't be making the jump to Dollhouse, but that's ok because...
Keith Carradine has invaded the Dollhouse: David Carradine's little brother Keith will be appearing on two shows this fall. Most people know him as Wild Bill Hickok from HBO's Deadwood, but I never watched the show and know him better as Special Agent Lundy from Showtime's Dexter. He will be portraying a businessman involved with the Dollhouse and is committed to at least two episodes. Carradine will also be pulling double duty as he is also returning to Dexter, tracking the serial killer played by John Lithgow in the fourth season of the show.
Wanna know what Michael Bay is shooting right now?: Who better to shoot T ‘n' A for a Victoria's Secret commercial?
Warehouse 13 continues on: Despite comparisons to both The X-Files and Friday the 13th: The Series, the show has continued to improve as the season goes on and has been rewarded with a renewal. Scy-Fy has ordered a new 13-episode second season for the show and I am very excited. This is a great genre show and there are just not enough of those on TV right now. I mean other than...
Another Supernatural Promo hits: These are just making me more and more excited about the upcoming season.
Oliver Stone exposes secrets: One of the most controversial filmmakers is moving to television. Oliver Stone is creating and executive producing a 10-part documentary series for Showtime called Oliver Stone's Secret History of America. The show will premiere in 2010 and Stone will narrate the series featuring historians and archivists who look at the under-reported events that helped shape America. Topics will include the dropping of the atomic bomb and the reasons behind the Cold War with the USSR.
The wRong
ABC News Reporter makes fat joke?: ABC News reporter Dan Harris made a big goof during a sit down interview with Jamie-Lynn Sigler (Meadow from The Sopranos). She is currently starring as herself in the HBO hit Entourage as someone dating Turtle (Jerry Ferrara). Harris casually asked her if she would ever date a fat person in real life. She laughed it off until she realized he was actually clueless that she is dating Ferrara in real life and responded that she does not think he is fat. You would think that might be something Harris would have discovered while researching the interview. He then made it worse when he said "you're giving hope to normal guys everywhere." Wow.
Heather Locklear coming back to TV?: I love Heather Locklear as much as any other red blooded male and thought she was great in Spin City but I am not really interested in seeing her return to her most popular role on the reboot of Melrose Place. Both Locklear and Grant Show are in talks to return to the reboot as their old characters in much the same way Jennie Garth and Shannon Doherty did for the 90210 reboot. I hate the idea of bringing back these VERY nineties shows. The new 90210 has been nowhere near as good as what came before and I don't see Melrose being any better. At least she's not coming back in a Dynasty reunion or is planning to be involved in the T.J. Hooker movie. Yet...
Saturday Night Live gets dumber?: I'm sorry, I just don't like Megan Fox. Horny teenagers everywhere can get excited though.
The Ridiculous
This week's I Hate Jon and Kate listing: Jon Gosselin has his sights set on a new reality show. He is in talks to appear on a new show called Divorced Dad's Club, a show chronicling the lives of famous divorced dads. First, what makes Jon Gosselin famous? Is he famous for putting money in front his own kid's privacy? He has the chance to make the jump because TLC believes he might be in violations of the morals clause in his contract for drinking and driving and going to bars ... Wait, these two despicable humans have morals clauses? Haven't they been breaking those for months now? Kate says Jon spent his entire half of last season's money while she put her half into her kids' college funds. She also says Jon is making extra money selling pictures and stories to the tabloids. Don't tell me Kate is the good guy here. Both are scum.
"I'm still holding out hope for an appearance by Steven Seagal (Under Siege), Wesley Snipes (The Art of War) and Carl Weathers (Action Jackson) to ensure every fan of action movies can realize their life has been fulfilled."
Agree...but you need to put Jean Claude Van Damm on the list (even if it for a one shot deal! [Sorry I had to go there])
Posted By: MydniteSon (Guest) on August 25, 2009 at 12:10 AM
I just got into Supernatural recently and man is that a great show. Like Warehouse 13, it could be compared to X-Files, but it does have a lot of the same people involved. I really need to play catch-up before Season 5, however.
Posted By: Joseph Lee (Registered) on August 25, 2009 at 12:30 AM
I like Megan Fox. I'm with you, you spoiled brat. I'm with you.
Posted By: Bryce (Guest) on August 25, 2009 at 12:49 AM
wow your going to get shit on with your comment about megan fox. And i disagree with you about the nolan film as well. I was very impressed and it was the best trailer besides Avator in the previews. I really want to like Werewolf so i'm hoping to give it a chance. Anyways thanks for the supernatural promo as well. Can't wait for it. :)
Posted By: Guest#0836 (Guest) on August 25, 2009 at 01:11 AM
This was the worst summer for movies.
Posted By: MBD (Guest) on August 25, 2009 at 01:47 AM
most people don't realize that there was already a sequel to "The Wizard of Oz" it was called "Return to Oz". Return to Oz is a 1985 film which is the semi-sequel to Victor Fleming'sThe Wizard of Oz. It was made by Walt Disney Pictures without the involvement of MGM, the studio that made the 1939 film. However, no approval was necessary, because by 1985, all of the Oz books on which the film was based were in the public domain. A large fee was paid, however, to use the ruby slippers, which were still the intellectual property of MGM at the time (the rights to the 1939 film and all elements now rest with Time Warner). The film was directed by Walter Murch, and although it did not fare well at the box office and received mixed reviews from critics, it has attracted a cult following. The movie’s plot is a combination of L. Frank Baum’s novels Ozma of Oz and The Marvelous Land of Oz, both of which were written as sequels to the novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
Posted By: guest (Guest) on August 25, 2009 at 01:56 AM
most people don't realize that there was already a sequel to "The Wizard of Oz" it was called "Return to Oz". Return to Oz is a 1985 film which is the semi-sequel to Victor Fleming'sThe Wizard of Oz. It was made by Walt Disney Pictures without the involvement of MGM, the studio that made the 1939 film. However, no approval was necessary, because by 1985, all of the Oz books on which the film was based were in the public domain. A large fee was paid, however, to use the ruby slippers, which were still the intellectual property of MGM at the time (the rights to the 1939 film and all elements now rest with Time Warner). The film was directed by Walter Murch, and although it did not fare well at the box office and received mixed reviews from critics, it has attracted a cult following. The movie’s plot is a combination of L. Frank Baum’s novels Ozma of Oz and The Marvelous Land of Oz, both of which were written as sequels to the novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
Posted By: guest (Guest) on August 25, 2009 at 01:56 AM
And now you know the rest of the story...
Good Day...
Posted By: Paul Harvey (Guest) on August 25, 2009 at 03:01 AM
What's wrong with The Wolfman trailer? It looks good to me. It's people like you Shawn who think if a movie doesn't look good you knock it without even seeing it. Dude, check out the movie and don't base your opinion until you see it.
Posted By: The Fett (Guest) on August 25, 2009 at 03:44 AM
Is Todd McFarland any relation to Todd McFarlane?
Posted By: Richard Head (Guest) on August 25, 2009 at 06:31 AM
I agree with the poster who wanted JCVD in The Expendables, but, seriously, in the words of DMX;
"Fuck Steven Seagal, he's a stupid fucking fuck with spray-on fucking hair"
Posted By: The Hitcher (Guest) on August 25, 2009 at 07:04 AM
Megan Fox - The dictionary definition of "Overrated". And "skank whore"
Posted By: Guest#4093 (Guest) on August 25, 2009 at 07:31 AM
I'm with you 100% on Megan Fox the actress but I'll be damned if I don't fall victim to those blue eyes and porno "f-me" face she puts on in every picture shes in
Posted By: PUNK (Guest) on August 25, 2009 at 09:31 AM
I can't frickin wait for September 10th. This last season of Supernatural should be the tits.
Posted By: Todd Vote (Guest) on August 25, 2009 at 10:01 AM
Return to Oz freaked me out when I was a kid. I had hoped it was blocked from my memory. Strange, strange movie.
Posted By: Shawn S Lealos (Registered) on August 25, 2009 at 10:05 AM
John Landis didn't direct Mad City.
Posted By: EricG (Guest) on August 25, 2009 at 10:16 AM
Megan Fox - The dictionary definition of "Overrated". And "skank whore"
Posted By: Guest#4093 (Guest) on August 25, 2009 at 07:31 AM
And I'll take two please. Thanks. All day, every day. I'd go to Hell based on the sexual positions I'd put her in.
Posted By: RobertMenn (Guest) on August 25, 2009 at 11:02 AM
Jerry Ferrara may be "fat" but he's still better looking than Dan Harris.
Posted By: Propagandhi (Guest) on August 25, 2009 at 11:04 AM
I'm not saying I wouldn't **** her brains out, but it would be from behind. She is not the slightest bit attractive(amazing body though) and is nowhere near the sexiest woman in the world
Posted By: Guest#8976 (Guest) on August 25, 2009 at 11:36 AM
Megan Fox might be as smart as a chair but I'd still bang the hell out of her. It's not like she's appreciated for her thoughts or acting ability anyway.
And Jean-Claude Van Damme > Steven Seagal.
Posted By: Zingy (Guest) on August 25, 2009 at 12:45 PM
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