The UBS Evening Television & Movie News 09.24.09
Posted by George H. Sirois on 09.24.2009
Starting off with some pre-order information about the upcoming novel, a glance at Warner Home Video’s plan to squeeze out some Hogwarts money, news about the latest remake, and a guest appearance by Steve Gustafson AND Chris Lansdell! All this and Andy Critchell in The “Memo to Michael Bay” Edition…
Welcome everyone to the latest edition of the UBS Evening Movie News. I'm George H. Sirois, and if you're on Twitter, you can find me HERE! And don't forget, for all of you who are new to 411Mania.com, make sure you check out all of our zones. We have some of the best writers on the Internet right here, and we love to hear from all of you! So keep coming back to read what we have for you, make us your homepage and if you have Facebook, make sure to join our group HERE!
Guys, I got some exciting book-related news to share. After pounding away at this story for nearly two years, my novel "Excelsior" is finally nearing completion. The final batch of chapters is with my editor as we speak and the cover design will be coming together within the next couple weeks. We're looking at a release date of early 2010, just in time for…. well, St. Patrick's Day.
Needless to say, it's a very exciting time for me right now and I wanted to give YOU - my readers, or as Stan Lee always says, my "true believers" - the chance to reserve your copy. Just click on the "Buy It Now" button below and you'll be directed to the PayPal page where you can send in your $2 deposit. This will guarantee you a place at the head of the line to get your copy when the book is released. (Final price is currently pending.)
So make it happen, guys! I'm sure you're wondering what all the fuss has been about, so send your deposit in and I won't let you down…
And with that plug out of the way, on with the news! If you're a Steve Gustafson fan or a Chris Lansdell fan - or a fan of them both, as I am – you'll be happy to see their guest appearances in the latest edition of "Re-Writing Miss-tory." I was glad to see your reactions to my Spider-man 3 memo, and Steve & Chris have quite a target lined up for your reading pleasure this week. So enjoy!!!
SYBIL THE SOOTHSAYER
UPCOMING MOVIES
Surrogates: Set in a futuristic world where humans live in isolation and interact through surrogate robots, a cop (Bruce Willis) is forced to leave his home for the first time in years in order to investigate the murders of others' surrogates.
I never read the comic, but I am interested in checking this out. Can't guarantee I will be seeing it, but it looks like a fun sci-fi mystery that should take the number 1 spot at the box office this weekend. Thank God Bruce keeps his bald look for most of the movie because the shots of him with the blonde wig make him look laughable.
Credit: TheMovieBox.net
DVD NEWS
Okay, Potter fans. I got some big news for you regarding the Half-Assed Pri…. I mean, Half-Blood Prince DVD, as well as some news regarding the rest of the franchise, including the not-yet-completed Deathly Hallows Part I & II.
First, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is coming to DVD and Blu-ray in December. A single disc version will be available as well as a two-disc version on DVD. The two disc DVD will come loaded with six minutes of additional scenes and featurettes on the cast and crew. You'll be able to see the documentary "J.K. Rowling: A Year in the Life," interviews, and a sneak peek at the new Universal Theme Park. The Blu-ray will contain all of the above with the addition of BD-Live and Maximum Movie Mode.
And then the other news. These discs I just mentioned? Yeah, they haven't come out yet and they're already announced as obsolete.
If you were wondering how much more money can be squeezed out of this franchise, Warner Home Video has the answer: they will be releasing all eight films as Ultimate Editions. The first two films will be receiving the ultimate treatment first, coming as five disc sets. For Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, the first disc will contain the theatrical cut of the film, while the second disc will contain an extended version (as seen on ABC). Both versions will include an In-Movie Experience (BD only), Maximum Movie Mode (BD only). Sadly, neither version will include the option to watch the film as released in the United Kingdom and other parts of the world.
The third disc will include several featurettes on Diagon Alley, Hogwarts, Classrooms, the Sorting Hat, the Library and interviews. The fourth disc includes an introduction by Daniel Radcliffe, a 2001 television special, deleted scenes and trailers. The disc also contains the one hour documentary Creating the World of Harry Potter, Part 1: The Magic Begins. This will be the first part of an eight-hour documentary spread over the Ultimate Editions. The fifth disc is a digital copy.
Chamber of Secrets includes the theatrical cut on disc one and an extended cut on disc two, with the same sort of Blu-ray extras during the film as year one.
The third disc includes deleted scenes, Lockhart's Classroom, Extra Credit, behind the scenes interviews and featurettes, galleries, games and a video game preview. Disc four contains the second part of the documentary Creating the World of Harry Potter, Part 2: Characters along with screen tests of the actors and trailers. Disc five again contains a digital copy.
The sets will also come with 48 page books, and other physical extras.
Warner has announced that all eight films will receive similar treatments. All discs (except for 7 & 8, of course) will arrive December 8th.
The Ultimate Edition DVDs will retail for $39.92, while the Blu-rays will be priced at $49.99. The Half Blood Prince is priced at $28.98 for the single disc, $34.99 for the two disc and $35.99 for the Blu-ray.
I've always been incredibly disappointed with the extras on the previously released 2-disc editions of 1 - 5, so this looks like Warners is trying to make up for that. Of course, they're also blatantly looking like they're going after every last dollar this franchise can give. I'm intrigued, and just might wait until the whole franchise is completed before buying the big Ultimate Editions box set, especially since I'm in no big rush to buy the sixth film and I'm already skeptical about the quality of the last two since HBP let me down so much.
Your thoughts?
JIM WEBBING AND HIS IT'S THE HONEST TRUTH DEPARTMENT
There can no longer be only one… first installment: Summit Entertainment has tapped Justin Lin to direct and Neal H. Moritz to produce its reboot of "Highlander," aiming at turning the title into a franchise.
Lin and Moritz teamed on Universal's "Fast and Furious." Summit acquired the "Highlander" remake rights from Davis-Panzer Prods. in May 2008.
"Iron Man" screenwriters Art Marcum and Matt Holloway are penning the script, and longtime "Highlander" producer Peter Davis is also producing.
Summit's plans to expand on the original "Highlander" premise of immortals battling amongst us and hunting each other through the ages. The new pic will center on an immortal Scottish swordsman who must confront a murderously brutal barbarian who lusts for a fabled prize.
I have to give credit to what Kevin Smith said about the Escape from New York remake that‘s been in development hell for a while now. To paraphrase what he said: "It‘s just too soon. When the original movie was made in the 80s and still holds up today, it‘s just way too soon." And I think this applies to the original Highlander.
You can say whatever you like about the sequels and the TV series and how the continuity is just all over the place. But the first one is still a great piece of work and doesn‘t warrant being remade.
Oh well, nothing I say is going to change their minds. So all I ask is that you don‘t explain the Immortals‘ origins. We saw that piece of catastrophic filmmaking already.
Credit: Variety
Two More Indie Powers Join Forces: New York-based Independent Filmmaker Project and London-based networking org Shooting People have formed a strategic partnership that provides complementary memberships to each other's organizations for the next year.
In an announcement Tuesday, IFP and Shooting People said the move brings their collective membership to nearly 50,000.
"Co-mingling memberships, and creating scenarios which support instead of duplicate services and programs have always been critical and are even more so today," said Michelle Byrd, IFP's exec director. "As organizations, it is in the best interests of your members to be a proactive player in the business of collaboration. The notion of doing it all, and well, needs to be dismissed."
"The tough times that challenge those in the independent film industry, demand that organizations such as ours act decisively", said James Mullighan, creative director of Shooting People.
IFP was founded in 1979 and has official international partnerships and collaborations with the Rotterdam Film Festival's CineMart/Rotterdam Lab, Berlin's European Film Market, the Cannes Market's Producers Network, and the Asian Film Market's Pusan Promotion Plan.
Shooting People was founded in November 1998, expanded into the U.S. in 2004 and now has 35,000 members. It estimated that over 300 films are cast and crewed each week using the service.
This is some incredibly smart thinking on both IFP and Shooting People‘s parts, and it‘s a strategy I hope the rest of the indie world is noticing. Putting their collective heads together and coming up with various scenarios to keep the new filmmakers‘ minds fresh and moving is a win-win scenario for all involved. Hopefully this will prompt other companies to bring their theories to the table, and the experience of filmmaking will only get better.
Credit: Variety
PGA See, PGA Do: The Producers Guild of America said Monday that it would double the number of slots for its Producer of the Year Award from five to 10, following the lead of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.
The news of the added slots for the group's top prize comes after several weeks of speculation that the PGA would replicate AMPAS' move. The Producer of the Year award is a somewhat accurate predictor of the Academy's best picture prize, which also goes to producers.
PGA Awards co-chair David Friendly said in an interview that there had been thought to expand to 10 -- a position that AFI and the Broadcast Critics also take -- before AMPAS' recent move. "It was certainly in discussion," he said. "No one wanted to get in front of the Academy, but once they did it, it made it easier and much more logical."
PGA president Marshall Herskovitz added in a statement that the group was nodding to the Academy's earlier decision but said that wasn't his group's sole motivation. "The PGA board approved the expansion of our best produced picture category nominations to support our colleagues at the Academy, but also because we feel it better represents the unprecedented diversity of films being produced today," he said.
The PGA also confirmed late Monday that, like the Academy, it will use preferential voting not only for nominees but for the winner, meaning that the top 10 films will be ranked by voters, with the highest average ranking declared the winner.
Under the previous system, the film with the most No. 1 votes would take the statue. In the Academy's case this would have meant that a film could win with under 600 votes, while for Producer of the Year that meant a picture could have won with fewer than 400 votes (just over 10% of its approximately 3,500 members).
Under the new system, it's possible for a film to win producer of the year or best picture despite not even getting the most first-place votes.
I love how the PGA claims that they were thinking about doing this, but wanted to wait until the Academy did it first. If they really wanted to be ground-breaking, they would have pulled the trigger on this first before the Academy took all of their thunder. Were they just not as confident in the idea unless it was done elsewhere? This just doesn't come across as big news, and it's a shame because it could have been and it could have given the PGA some extra notice.
I just can't help but think of what Nicholas Meyer said years back, how the first man who said a woman's lips were like a rose was a genius and the second man who said it was an idiot.
1. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs: $30,304,648
Total: $30,304,648
2. The Informant!: $10,464,314
Total: $10,464,314
3. I Can Do Bad All By Myself: $9,877,436
Total: $37,749,545
4. Love Happens: $8,057,010
Total: $8,057,010
5. Jennifer's Body: $6,868,397
Total: $6,868,397
6. 9: $5,563,134
Total: $22,918,077
7. Inglourious Basterds: $3,818,142
Total: $110,116,807
8. All About Steve: $3,373,212
Total: $26,651,633
9. Sorority Row: $2,499,758
Total: $8,880,742
10. The Final Destination: $2,388,473
Total: $62,405,206
ANDY CRITCHELL'S INTERACTIVE BABE PHOTO NEWS BRIEF WITH ANDY CRITCHELL
This week I have for you redhead stunner Nichole Jackson. She is from Dallas so I assume she likes the Cowboys. That's pretty much all I know about her. She is very hot though and I am a big fan of the sexy secretary/schoolgirl/librarian whatever she has going on here. Of course, the fact that she is topless doesn't hurt. Let's check her out…
And that's it for this week. If you have a request, email me at andy(dot)critchell(at)gmail(dot)com.
RE-WRITING MISS-TORY
I have to once again thank all of you who sent in your comments on the first edition of "Re-Writing Miss-tory." Glad to see a lot of you shared the same sentiments about Spider-Man 3 that I had, and believe me when I tell you that I truly wish someone was available during the screenwriting to put in those changes.
This week, we have Steve Gustafson and Chris Lansdell sending in a double memo to Mr. Michael Bay. And these memos are for a film that deserved as many studio notes as they offered, the summer 2009 smash hit…
First, let's hear from Steve…
Michael,
It was great talking to you the other day. Like I mentioned, I love the script! LOVE IT! You're ideas are incredible and I have no doubt this will be another successful sequel and franchise. We are so lucky to be working with a talented director as yourself and this is another Michael Bay Blockbuster! I smell Oscar in your future!
I watched Iron Giant the other night. Have you seen it? It's a great story about a boy and his robot. They did a great job of showcasing the relationship and I was actually moved to tears by the end of the movie. Imagine that? Do we want that kind of reaction to Transformers 2? Not necessarily, but I do think we can tweak some things, just a few insights that I wanted to touch on. Nothing crazy, but something to think about. Just remember...We love you, Bay-by! You're the man!
First, let's smarten up the humans. I think we are falling victim to the "people are dumb" to advance the plot and skip to the action a bit too much. NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT, mind you, but let's see if we can trim it a little. A few things that stuck out. The gun that can take out a Decepticon yet isn't aimed at Megatron. The guy explaining where Megatron and the Allspark are located. The government trying to cover up the existence of the robots, yet we have them destroying who cities, villages, college campuses, and climbing pyramids...you see where I'm going? Shia LaBeouf's (Great guy, testing through the ROOF, kids love HIM!) Sam Witwicky needs a little work as well. Why hasn't he asked the government for help with hiding the Allspark sliver and will audiences really buy him leaving behind Megan Fox to go to college? Also, I wasn't being serious when I said we need to "Terminator this puppy up and put in a female transformer that looks like a chick!" Go ahead and cut that out. No one would buy it. Like I said, these can be fixed with a little rewriting.
Next, let's liven up the robots. Give them more personality and development. The Special Effects guys (Have I told you how much I love these guys? I do!) are outstanding! They have brought to life these transforming robots like we never expected. But with all the action going on, they are hard to distinguish from one another. Besides physical characteristics, how about some personal traits? Likes, dislikes, things that help the audience attach themselves to the robotic aliens. Now, I'm not asking for a back story montage, but do these robots have a family? Do they go to school? What about when they aren't fighting? Do they hang out? Paint? Read? Go to church? I think we missed a big opportunity here. We could have had a movie set entirely on their planet of Cybertron (Idea: We can have marketing sell the naming of the planet to one of our advertisers! Cybertron is so 80s, don't you think?), but since we are already in the mix, let's add a little more variety to their weapons, look, and personalities. Think of the various toy possibilities!
Last, with all the awesome explosions and incredible effects, let's not lose the sense of wonder we have here. Remember how I mentioned Iron Giant? Personal interactions. A boy and his robot. Humans shouldn't treat the existence of aliens, much less TRANSFORMING aliens, like it's no big deal. This is another way to use Shia (kids love him!) as their gateway to this new and wonderful world! We can create something really special here that embraces old and new fans while making a boatload of money!
Or if all else fails, ditch the script and go with my discarded Go-Bots treatment and start with a black screen with the words "5 years later..." and have the world enslaved by the Decepticons and the only hope is the DINOBOTS! Marketing says if we can work those dinosaur juggernauts into the movie we have a 88% chance of a successful spin off! I'm CCing Senior VP Christopher Lansdell on this to see if he wants to weigh in as well. Remember...WE LOVE YOU, Mr. Bay!
Sincerely,
Steve Gustafson
VP of Creative Control and Janitorial Services
And now Chris…
TO: Bay, Michael (ikillfranchises@hotmail.com); Gustafson, Steve creative@dreamworks.com)
SUBJECT: Re: Revenge of the Fallen
Mikey! Baby! Great to hear from you. I read your script when Steve-O passed it on and I gotta tell ya, this is gold. Gold! I'm no director so I'm in bno position to tell ya that something needs fixing, but I'll echo Stevey's comments. Don't panic Mike, we love you and your movie and we're putting the full weight of our PR machine behind you. We're going to transform this script into dollar dollar bills! Man, that's good. Maybe we can work that in somewhere?
I got a couple of insights too. Testing shows that wisecracking "street" characters are all the rage with the kids right now, but I'm not sure we want twin robots. How does that even happen? I think we can keep the characters in as humans, because black people are funny and it ramps up our minority content. Can't have the civil rights groups on our backs! Maybe there's room for a gay robot too? Nah, ignore that Mikey. I think out loud.
I was telling my kids about this movie and they LOVED the first one (hitting that key demo, baby!) but they didn't understand why the Allspark only makes Decepticons out of appliances. Are there no benevolent machines on earth? I know I'm a little worried about my espresso maker turning into a bad guy! We gotta make sure the kids get it, man.
I'm really feeling the idea to change up some of the robots, give them more variety. We want kids to buy ALL the toys, not just one or two. They need different stuff man! Maybe you can have the special effects guys dial it back a bit on the detail, because it's gonna be hard to pick out expressions or distinguishing characteristics on these robots. I know in the first one, all the Decepticons looked alike
Like Stevie baby said, kids love Shia so I love that we're making him so important. If we're giving up on the fanboy audience (GREAT IDEA! They give me the creeps!) then he's the way to go, but I felt a bit weird reading about robots in a near-death experience. Why not have Sam's grandfather there? You know, they guy who found everything in the first place? We can still have the other guys appear as holograms or something.
Well Mike I can't wait to see the first cut of this sure-fire hit! I'm really stoked to see your great ideas on film and with a couple minor changes, this movie is going to break records! Take it easy!
Christopher Lansdell
Senior VP, Ass-kissing and Golfing
PS: When did robots get testicles?
And that's a wrap for Chapter 131 of The UBS Evening Movie News! For Steve Gustafson, Chris Lansdell and Andy Critchell, I'm George H. Sirois and we'll see you next week!
