Movies/TV's 3R’s 10.27.09: Paranormal Activity, James Gunn, Nathan Fillion, Scientology, Steven Seagal, More

Posted by Shawn S. Lealos on 10.27.2009

From Paranormal Activity chasing The Blair Witch, Jay Leno the ratings killer, the Steve Phillips sex scandal, and the new Wolfman trailer to Leo DiCaprio wanting to be The Third Man, Paul Haggis quitting the Church of Scientology, Joss Whedon directing an episode of Glee, and more, 411's Shawn S. Lealos breaks down the Right, wRong, and Ridiculous from the week in Movies/TV!



Welcome to Week 18 of The 3 R's for the Movie/TV world.

Without any further ado, here is...

The Right

Paranormal is Abnormal: Someone must have learned something from The Blair Witch Project. Paranormal Activity has a chance to beat out Blair Witch for the title of most profitable movie of all time and it is all thanks to the marketing. The two movies share many similarities. Both movies use footage to tell the story, Blair Witch a handheld camera and Paranormal a mixture of handheld and security cameras. Both movies relied heavily on Internet marketing to raise interest in their release. Paranormal Activity was made for even less than Blair Witch, at a reported $11,000-$15,000. It began as a never released Dreamworks project. When Par and Dreamworks split, Par was convinced to go ahead and release the film. The studio spent $10 million to market the movie, much less than usual, and only launched it in 33 midnight runs. Based on demand, the studio expanded the film to 160 runs two weekends ago and 763 last weekend. It hit third at $19 million at the box office. This weekend it did the impossible. Paranormal Activity beat out Saw VI with a $22 million take to raise its total to $62.5 million. Let that sink in. The original budget was under $15,000 and the movie has now passed $60 million. I don't care if the movie is good or not, that is simply amazing.

Blomkamp sets up for sophomore effort: Neill Blomkamp, the director behind the amazing District 9, has been set up to make his next film. Media Rights Capital has committed to the film based on Blomkamp's pitch. Blomkamp said he is going to be allowed to make the film he wants to make and it will be commercial but also be a very "singular film", coming directly from him. This is great news. Blomkamp made District 9 with much less money than many other sci-fi filmmakers work with and blew most contemporary efforts away. I just hope more money and a more secure backing won't soften the young filmmaker and he continues to make original content.

Be prepared to show fear: This week marks the arrival of Fear Clinic, on FearNet. For those who don't know, the show is 25-minutes and will be split into 5 episodes, one appearing per day from Monday, Oct. 26-Friday, Oct. 30. The series stars Robert Englund (Freddy Krueger) as a doctor who uses "unorthodox methods to cure his patients of their greatest fears." It also stars Danielle Harris (Halloween 4 and 5) and Kane Hodder (Jason Voorhees). I haven't seen it yet but I believe it will kick all kinds of butt. You can watch it here

See Hatchet in theaters: Oh yeah... Writer/director Adam Green and surprise cast and crew will be in attendance at the Fairfax Silent Movie Theater on Thursday, October 29th at 8pm as part of the Cinemafamily Slasherpalooza night. You will get a chance to see Hatchet on the big screen once again along with Shakma and Night of the Demon. The address is 611 N. Fairfax Avenue, Los Angeles, CA. The news only states "surprise guests" but you should know Robert Englund, Tony Todd and Kane Hodder all starred in the film and Dee Snyder of Twisted Sister had a lot to do with it getting made. If you want to see it, don't wait because it will sell out.

The wRong

Troy Duffy ... enough said: I like Boondock Saints. I don't care about who made the movie, I don't care what the actors in the movie do in their spare time. None of that matters to me when it comes to movies, TV, music, or any other piece of art. All I care about is whether a movie is good or not. I thought Boondock Saints was a good, fun movie. Now, Troy Duffy on the other hand seems to be a self-promoting, arrogant piece of work. Watch Overnight to get a good idea of what the guy is like. He made many great enemies: The Weinstein's. William Morris Agency. Willem Defoe said he needs to shut up and work. Well, Boondock Saints 2 is about to be released and Duffy is talking again. Among other things, he calls Overnight "a cleverly orchestrated smear job from two guys with an agenda." The documentary filmmakers say they simply followed Duffy and told the story as it happened. Duffy responds that he has learned things "but it had nothing to do with that film. I've learned that politics need to be played in this business." He also says he learned that "if your friends ask you for permission to follow you around with a camera, the correct answer is no." The most telling quote is from actor Billy Connolly who said "He hadn't learned an awful lot. But he was much more sure of himself." Wonderful.

...and try and try again: Remember a few years back when the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie was coming? No? I remember being very excited after seeing the extended trailer and realizing how freaking cool it looked. Then it came out, flopped, and no one ever mentioned it again. Now, Viacom Nickelodeon is taking a $60 million chance that they can revive the franchise again. For one thing, they are making a new animated TV show, which is pretty cool and might work. Second of all, they are going to make another movie, scheduled for release in 2012 (the same year the world will come to an end, interestingly enough). The last movie did not bring back the good memories and nostalgia of the original movies and cartoon. I have no faith in this movie project. None...

A New Wolfman Trailer: I still don't like the CGI look of the movie. Why couldn't they just leave Rick Baker's Effects work alone?



no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no...: This is a rumor I do not want to come true. I like Leo DiCaprio but this is something that I will not support. DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire (Spiderman) might be starring in the remake of Carol Reed's The Third Man. The original movie is one of the greatest movies ever made and no one will ever top Orson Welle's performance in that film. The new script is penned by Steven Knight (Eastern Promises) and how hard must it be to rewrite a perfect script (originally wrote by Graham Greene). The best remakes are of bad movies. This is a perfect movie, made at a perfect time, with a perfect mood and perfect acting performances. Can you tell how perfect the original is? There is NO reason to remake it.

Paul Haggis writes a ... letter?: Paul Haggis has resigned his membership in the Church of Scientology. While I don't like delving into religion in my columns, part of his resignation letter to Tommy Davis, the "celebrity wrangler for Scientology" surprised and angered me. Here is what he said: "I was online doing research and chanced upon an interview clip with you on CNN. The interview lasted maybe ten minutes – it was just you and the newscaster. And in it I saw you deny the church's policy of disconnection. You said straight-out there was no such policy, that it did not exist. I was shocked. We all know this policy exists. I didn't have to search for verification – I didn't have to look any further than my own home. You might recall that my wife was ordered to disconnect from her parents because of something absolutely trivial they supposedly did twenty-five years ago when they resigned from the church. This is a lovely retired couple, never said a negative word about Scientology to me or anyone else I know – hardly raving maniacs or enemies of the church. In fact it was they who introduced my wife to Scientology. Although it caused her terrible personal pain, my wife broke off all contact with them. I refused to do so. I've never been good at following orders, especially when I find them morally reprehensible. For a year and a half, despite her protestations, my wife did not speak to her parents and they had limited access to their grandchild. It was a terrible time. That's not ancient history, Tommy. It was a year ago. And you could laugh at the question as if it was a joke? You could publicly state that it doesn't exist? To see you lie so easily, I am afraid I had to ask myself: what else are you lying about?" What kind of religion does that to anyone? If this is true, bravo to Paul Haggis for stepping away.

Eighties Action Fans Unite!: This past week, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone and Bruce Willis filmed their scenes together for the upcoming action orgy The Expendables. Just so you all will remember, this is a gift from God given to us and we should be grateful.

The Ridiculous

James Gunn a victim of bad journalism: I have made it abundantly clear here that, as a professional journalist, the writers who don't know the first thing about Journalistic Ethics piss me off. When I talk shit about someone, I make sure you know that it is MY OPINION. However, there are cases where a "journalist" makes a comment and tries to pass it off as fact when it is actually complete bullshit. This happened this last week as an Internet writer from the website NewTeeVee wrote a column called Does James Gunn's Humanzee Reveal Xbox's Secret Prudishness? In the article, the author spoke about the fact that Xbox chose to reject Gunn's film from the Xbox Live Horror-Goes-Comedy series and questioned why. The reason his film was rejected is because Xbox found the entire thing to be offensive. They also went on to edit all the other films created for the series and, in the realm of horror, this made the project a complete waste of time. However, the author of the article stated the reason is not because of nudity, profanity or gore but because "probably" the Humanzee's appearance could be mistaken for mental disability. The author concluded all directors wanting a Microsoft deal can swear but don't you dare make fun of the mentally handicapped and physically deformed. This is great since Xbox announced that foul language is one of the reasons, despite the authors reluctance to believe that. And to be honest, the creature in the film is in no way a mentally challenged person. Did the author even watch the movie? It is shoddy journalism, an opinion piece passed off as fact and this week's proof that many writers don't research for shit before writing their columns.

For your pleasure: Humanzee! Watch for cameos from Michael Freaking Rooker and porn star Jenna Haze.



Just rename the franchise Stupid Movie: OK. We have seen the rebooting of Friday the 13th. The rebooting of Nightmare on Elm Street is right around the corner. They are stupidly rebooting Texas Chainsaw Massacre (for the second time this decade) in 3D with none of the dirty grime of the classic. All these are horror franchises that will probably still make a lot of money. Now there is a "reboot" that makes even less since then the Chainsaw reboot. The Scary Movie franchise is possibly getting rebooted. There have been four movies in the Scary Movie series, two produced by the Wayans and two produced by David Zucker. Why the hell would you reboot a spoof franchise? Why not just Scary Movie 5: Same Old Crap? Well, a reboot will probably mean no more Anna Faris (the only thing that made the four movies really funny). It is set to be released sometime after Scream 4 in 2010.

John Travolta extortion case called a mistrial: A politician announced in a publicly televised speech that one of the defendants was to be acquitted of the extortion charges. The judge declared the case a mistrial because it seems there might have been a leak from the still deliberating jury room of the case. This sucks because Travolta needs to finally put this tragedy behind him and, until the case is settled, he will have to keep reliving the moment through the trials.

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The Right

Joss Whedon to sing and dance once again: Maybe Joss Whedon is tired of only working on fantastic, original, groundbreaking shows that no one watches. He has created amazing shows like Angel, which had to fight to find its audience, Firefly, killed before its time, and Dollhouse, always on the cutting block week after week. Well, he is going to finally direct something that many, many people will see. Strangely enough, Joss Whedon is going to direct an episode of Glee. Yeah, the show about a high school glee club. This isn't the first time he has worked on a show about singing and dancing. He created the Emmy-winning Internet musical Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog and never forget the amazing Buffy episode, Once More, With Feeling. But why is he going to direct an episode of Glee? "Because I love cops, serial killers and gritty urban drama," said Whedon who pretends to have not seen the show yet. "Why me? Because they're struggling and can't afford real directors." He also promises to kill Principal Figgins. Maybe...

Speaking of Joss Whedon, I can't show you this enough - Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog:



Nathan Fillion gets what he deserves: One of the biggest crimes of network TV was the cancellation of the fantastic genre show Firefly. Everything about the show was GOLD and right at the top of the list of what is Right about it is actor Nathan Fillion. Fillion has since proven to be spectacular in such appearances as Joss Whedon's Internet movie Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, and both James Gunn's horror movie Slither and Internet special PG-Porn. Over the last few issues I have given those of you with high speed browsers (sorry dial up users) a chance to see both of these Internet specials, proving how awesome Fillion is. Most of the world does not know about any of those performances but still know how great Fillion is through his network television show Castle. The first season of the show aired ten episodes and proved to be great fun. The show has averaged between 9 and 10 million viewers an episode for its second season and has been rewarded with a full season pickup, which means 22-episodes for season 2. This is the best news I can think of right now!

Something cool...: Do you like Fringe? Do you like Trent Rezner? Check this promo out...



David Fincher + TV = Awesome?: The premise sounds a bit boring. House of Cards, a new television show developed by David Fincher and Eric Roth (Benjamin Button) is based on the award-winning British series Cards. The British show is based on a novel written by Michael Dobbs, the former Conservative Party chief of staff, and his book is set "at the end of Margaret Thatcher's tenure as prime minister." Fincher's version will be set in the U.S. but will still maintain the focus on "issues of political ambition and blackmail." What more is to be said about politics after the amazing West Wing? But it is Fincher, and I will always give him the chance.

Jay Leno, Ratings Killer: Unfortunately, the ratings he is killing is his own. Jay Leno left his comfortable time slot and NBC decided they would save money by putting Leno on at 9:00 and cancelling their normal television shows to make room. For several weeks, every network show Leno faces off against has been KILLING him in the ratings. Things grew dire this last week when a cable network show also beat Leno in the ratings. FX's amazing Shakespearian drama Sons of Anarchy averaged a 2.05 rating in the key 18-49 demo. Leno did a 1.8 rating. Leno was not the only show to fall to Anarchy, as ABC's The Forgotten also lost out with a 1.9 rating, although they beat Leno as well (small consolation). Overall, Sons of Anarchy pulled in 3.7 million viewers. Want a taste of some Anarchy?

The wRong

Hopefully this won't FlashForward to crap TV: FlashForward is a great new TV show. There is not many times a broad idea like this becomes a TV hit. To give you an idea of the brainpower behind the sensation, look at the creators. David Goyer is a fantastic writer and a not-so-fantastic director. Marc Guggenheim created the amazing Eli Stone (another show I loved that networks killed). This is a great pairing for show-runners. Unfortunately, Guggenheim has left the team to work on developing his own shows under an overall deal with ABC. That leaves Goyer as the sole show-runner. His other television work includes Sleepwalkers, Threshold, and Blade: The Series. I hope FlashForward has a better lifespan then his prior works. I just don't have a good feeling about this.

Wait, what?: Steven Seagal is not just a bad actor! Apparently, he has been working as a fully-commissioned deputy with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office in Louisiana for almost 20 years. How the hell did I not know about this? Well, Seagal has announced a new A&E series called Steven Seagal Lawman, a new Real-Life series that will chronicle his "extraordinary life in law enforcement." The press release states that he has never sought attention for his work as a deputy but he now wants to show everyone how great the police work in post-Katrina Louisiana is. I think he may just need some money. I hope we get to see the time that he had to go undercover as a chef to stop Tommy Lee Jones from taking over that military ship!

This was expected: Dollhouse fans have to be exhausted from this roller coaster ride, but I have come to expect news like this. Dollhouse has been pulled from November sweeps and will return in December to fulfill its 13-episode order and then maybe disappear for good. The pull proves the network has no faith in the show and numbers are not high enough to warrant much hope for the future.

No Pete, not you...: Sam Jones III, the actor who played Clark Kent's best friend Pete Jones on the first three seasons of Smallville has been arrested on federal drug charges. He has been charged with conspiring and planning to deal about 10,000 tablets of oxycodone. The drug deals transpired from April through July of last year and Jones paid $27,000 of a grand total of $75,000 paid by two co-conspirators to DEA agents for the drug. He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. Maybe Clark can do that thing where he flies really fast and makes the world go in reverse and then bitch slap his former friend before he makes this stupid decision.

The Ridiculous

Remember when MTV played music videos?: It is an age old argument. I am old enough to remember when MTV was all about playing music videos. Now it is about The Real World and talk shows and music movies and everything EXCEPT music videos. Hell, last time I checked they only played snippets of music videos. I grew up loving Headbanger's Ball. I miss the old MTV. Now, I am not saying in twenty years I will miss the old Weather Channel but they are moving in the same direction. It has been announced The Weather Channel is adding movies to its lineup. Yep, the channel that exists to give weather information for the world is now going to interrupt the weather broadcast for The Perfect Storm on Oct. 30. They will follow that up by adding movies to their Friday night lineups and namedropped The Wizard of Oz as well (there was a tornado, doncha' know?) Following The Perfect Storm will be March of the Penguins (snow), Misery (more snow) and Deep Blue Sea (SHARKS!!!!! - uh, and a tropical storm). No one is going to watch this channel for movies.

This week on Kate Plus 8: Kate answers your questions. What kind of losers care what Kate has to say about anything? Go away, Bitch. In other news, the grand-Duggar was born. And in further news, the Octomom is dressing her offspring up like little devils and herself as a pregnant nun for Halloween. I repeat: GO AWAY!

Letterman had it easy: When Dave Letterman cheated on his significant other, he made his confession and life went on. Steve Phillips, former general manager of the New York Mets and, more recently, baseball analyst for ESPN cheated on his wife with a 22-year old ESPN production assistant and his life has fallen completely apart. First, he broke off the relationship causing the 22-year old to send his wife a letter detailing their relationship. She then arrived at his house, "terrifying" his wife. The woman also contacted Phillip's sixteen year old son through Facebook. It was starting to look like Fatal Attraction, so Phillips reported it to the police and took a leave of absence from work when it became public knowledge. Since then, ESPN has fired Phillips, claiming the situation has made "His ability to be an effective representative for ESPN ... significantly and irreparably damaged." Phillips has since announced he is entering a treatment facility to "address his personal issues." The guy made a bad error in judgment and is now unemployed and on shaky ground. I hope he can pull himself together before it is too late.




NBC would think that it's too much promotion for Glee because Glee doesn't air on NBC. It's a Fox show. - Posted By: Guest1234 (Guest) - That would explain a lot.

thanks to my dial up. i don't know what god sent us or the last two ridiculous things were...i hate the new format...why no mention of the venture brothers? - Posted By: the danger stranger (Guest) - There is no new format, it looks the same as it always looked. However, the bosses want more videos and pictures, so there is that. As for the Venture Brothers, I missed the season premiere but if anyone wants to see it check it out here

Why didn't the TCM producer feel it pertinent to mention that the biggest change to the franchise is gonna be a PG rating? - Posted By: Propagandhi (Guest) - See this week's TCM news and just realize it is because the producer is an idiot.

Seth McFarlane sold out? Why, because he decided to briefly talk about Windows 7 and probably take home a fat check? - Posted By: Nick (Guest) - That is the definition of selling out. As for what is wrong with it, Family Guy often makes fun of people who do this kind of thing. This makes him a hypocrite.

Friggin' Mark Burg... He needs to learn to just be quiet about developing projects. Even when something he's producing has some good elements, all you'll be able to hear from listening to his comments is, "I want your money and to destroy everything good that I can get my hands on." - Posted By: Ash (Guest) - Amen.

Shouldn't a movie actually be good when you name it #1? - Posted By: Reggie Dunlop (Guest) - Yes it should, and that is why Inglourious Basterds is number one on my list.

The Thor and Green Lantern casting news is all still rumor, is it not? - Posted By: Todd Vote (Registered) - Looks like it was. I got the news from AICN, who reported it as fact.




2009, MY YEAR IN RANKINGS
** Click on movie to read the review **

1. Inglourious Basterds


2. Zombieland


3. Up


4. District 9


5. The Hangover


6. Where the Wild Things Are


7. Trick ‘r Treat


8. Star Trek


9. Drag Me to Hell


10. Watchmen



11. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince


12. Coraline


13. Extract


14. Adventureland


15. I Love You, Man


16. Monsters vs. Aliens


17. Public Enemies


18. Miss March


19. Race to Witch Mountain


20. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen



21. Saw VI


22. Terminator: Salvation


23. Angels & Demons


24. 9


25. X-Men Origins: Wolverine


26. Fanboys


27. No Impact Man


28. Push


29. My Bloody Valentine 3D


30. Defiance



31. He's Just Not That Into You


32. Dead Snow


33. The International


34. The Unborn


35. Outlander


36. The Uninvited


37. The Taking of Pelham 123


38. Whip It


39. New in Town


40. Albino Farm



41. Donkey Punch


42. Van Wilder: Freshman Year

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