The Big Screen Bulletin 03.01.10: No Copping Out For Shutter Island!

Posted by Steve Gustafson on 03.01.2010

Oscar season is here and what kind of controversy is Hurt Locker in? Variety finds itself in hot water over a movie review! Find out what Joss Whedon is up to and what decision has Michael Bay made about Transformers 3 that gets my approval? Plus, my EXCLUSIVE interview with George Sirois and I get him to open up about 411mania, Excelsior, and what's next for him! The box office results, DVD releases, and much more inside!

Welcome back to the Big Screen Bulletin! My name is Steve Gustafson and this is the best way to start the week! Tell a friend! First, my deepest condolences to Scott Siegler, a veteran of the industry, who lost his 13-year-old daughter, Julia, on Friday. A horrible tragedy for anyone to go through.

So what else do I do around these parts? Let's take a look at all things Steve:
Monday: Big Screen Bulletin. Avengers fantasy casting!
Wednesday: The Silicon Valley 10 & 1. Top 10 DC Comic Characters That Should Be Video Games! Wonder Twin powers...ACTIVATE!
Saturday & Sunday: The Hollywood 5 & 1. Marilyn Monroe vs. Lindsay Lohan. Plus the usual. If you missed it, shame on you!


So over the weekend I had the privilege of interviewing George H. Sirois. This past Thursday marked his last UBS report for 411mania. A staple of the Movie/TV section, it was the number one Thursday news report and a must read for anyone wanting their fill of information out of Hollywood.

George has been writing since 1985. Since then he's been building a portfolio that would make most writers envious. In 1996, he wrote his first feature-length screenplay titled Seeking Retribution. He graduated from Marymount Manhattan College in 1998, with a BA in theatre arts, and has since then, created a steady stream of screenplays, comedic sketches and short stories.

In July of 2002, he completed his first novel, From Parts Unknown, based on one of his screenplays. That same year, his first play, a musical he co-wrote called Halloween at Belvedere: A Monster Musical Adventure, was produced by the Central Park Conservancy, and was performed at Belvedere Castle on every Halloween weekend until 2004. But all these were rehearsals to the main show that he know stands center stage in. Excelsior. Here, for the first time ever is George's thoughts on writing for 411mania and his newest book.

Thanks again for taking the time to do this. Let's start with how you first heard about 411mania and your involvement?

George: My story's pretty much the same as a lot of other writers and readers that came to know and love this place. I was bored one time at work and wanted to read some wrestling articles outside of WWF.com, and I eventually discovered Wrestleline and Scott Keith's work. After following his rants for a while, I switched over to 411 wrestling when he made the big move here.

Once I made myself comfortable here, I started following all the other "star" writers on the site during that period, all the way up to the name change to 411mania and beyond. Between ‘03 and ‘04, I got acquainted with all the newer writers in all the new zones, such as Will Helm, Larry Csonka, Tim O'Sullivan, Scott Rutherford, etc. In April of ‘04, I saw the post stating that new writers in the Movies Zone were needed, so I took the plunge and… well, the rest is history…

And what a history it is! Do you remember your first piece for the site?

George: Sure do, it was the piece that I used as my submission to the post. The scene I broke down for the first edition of "Scene Anatomy 101" was the inspiration for the whole column, the scene from X2 where Magneto and Pyro have their discussion on the jet. A year later, I looked back at that first column and was so disgusted by it, I gave it a complete makeover for my one-year anniversary edition.

Nice. What have been some of the highlights writing for 411mania? Some of your favorite pieces that you've written?

George: There are definitely some favorites that come to mind, especially from the Scene Anatomy 101 days. When I started 2005 with a column for Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, I compared two scenes in the theatrical cut to two from the unreleased Producer's Cut and that caused a stir among readers. They were flipping out when they read about this cut and begged to know where they could get a copy. The column I did for Superman was really cool because I got an unexpected e-mail from Jeff East, the actor who played Young Clark Kent, thanking me for writing it and wishing me luck in the future. Also, when I covered The ‘Burbs, Joe Dante sent me an e-mail that accomplished three things: He thanked me for writing about the film, he corrected me on his middle name since Wikipedia got it wrong and he wished my wife a happy birthday.

And my other two favorite moments were when The Boss and Leonard sent me the e-mail in February of 2007, inviting me to take over the Thursday news slot, and when I interviewed Stan Bush. This guy was a major part of my childhood, since he performed "The Touch" during TransFormers: The Movie, and here I was actually trading e-mails with him and asking about that song and his other additions to TransFormers lore. He was a really cool guy and the experience was something I wouldn't have had if I didn't have a platform like 411Mania to put my voice out there.

Stan Bush is a great guy. Any comments particularly stand out from a reader or two?

George: Well, during the UBS run, the readers' contributions to the "Defending the Bleep" were hilarious, since they were putting in their favorite edited for television dialogue changes. One guy wrote about how the line "Jesus Christ!" was changed to "Cheese and Rice!" I still feel kinda guilty about how one of my rants threw Jeff Garlin's stand-up comedy special under the bus since, looking back on it, it was an unnecessary dig at someone whom I normally appreciate. I've always liked Jeff and I like how he took the same material that didn't work in his stand-up and made it work with I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With, so I felt a little guilty about that when he responded to it and said it was okay.

But the main thing that will stand out for me was Butler-Gate. I wrote in one of my Scene Anatomy 101 columns that Gerard Butler was a huge problem with the 2004 Phantom of the Opera. I didn't think he fit the role at all and he didn't have a strong enough voice to come off as a credible teacher for Christine. This review got out to the teeny-boppers around the country and you would have thought I outed Robert Pattinson. Such hatred was coming from these girls, with some of them thinking I was jealous that he got chosen to be the Phantom and I wasn't. Gotta love that logic.

I remember Butler-Gate well. When did you first feel it was time to step down?

George: Getting into grad school had a lot to do with it. I was also finding it more difficult to come up with something to rant or rave about without repeating myself. I've had a terrific time doing this, but thanks to the progress I've been making with the book, the drive to write more fiction has come back to me so it just seemed like the right time to step away since the love for my work on 411Mania was starting to wane. I've always loved being a part of the site and being a part of this stellar writing staff, but I wasn't too thrilled with my own work as of late. So I felt it best to take at least a hiatus while I concentrated on other projects.

I can understand that. As sad as it is to accept. Tell us about Excelsior. If someone didn't know what it was about, how would you describe it?

George: Excelsior is a science-fiction young-adult tale about Matthew Peters, a high school senior who has spent the last seven years developing his web comic, which features a character called Excelsior, the savior of a faraway planet called Denab IV. One day, Matthew is visited by a beautiful older woman who not only claims to be from the planet Matthew's been writing about, but she also informs Matthew that Excelsior's lifeforce is living inside him. With both of Excelsior's greatest enemies coming back to power on both Denab IV and Earth, Matthew has to make the necessary steps to become the hero that he once thought was just a figment of his own imagination.

Sounds awesome. I read that one of your biggest creative bursts came when you were nine years old, in Mrs. Matheson's fourth grade classroom at St. Mary's Elementary. How would you compare it to the creativity you're experiencing now? Do you still have that childlike excitement?

George: It's actually greater now than it was back then. When I was in 4th grade, the original version of this universe was something to pass the time with friends and see how many characters we could come up with to fill that universe. Nowadays, I have to figure out how to take this black & white character I added to my universe in 1992 and fill him with a dimension comparable to some of the more famous science-fiction heroes. Getting the mini-breakthroughs that come along every now and then are signals to me that I'm going in the right direction. Hopefully, when you get to read the novel, you'll agree.

No doubt. You're finishing up now. How has this experience writing compare with your first novel, From Parts Unknown?

George:The first book was more of a challenge to myself to see if I could make that story work. It started off as a video game summary and then moved on to a treatment, a screenplay and finally, the novel. I really enjoyed writing it, but this one has been more of a challenge since I've been working very closely with my editor JeriAnn. She's asked me questions about this character that's been in my head since 1992 and I had to come up with those answers. It feels like every time we work on each chapter, I'm finding out more about this slowly building mythology than I ever thought.

Exciting stuff. Any other future projects we should be keeping our eyes on?

George: There will be a sequel to "Excelsior." In fact, the upcoming book is the first part of a trilogy that will lead to another series that will lead to another series to wrap the whole thing up. There are a lot of new characters – well, not new to me but new to everyone else – and the way things are going with this book has me feeling confident the rest of this little universe could translate just as well.

I believe that is a Big Screen Bulletin Exclusive! If fans want to keep in touch or find out more, where should they go?

George: I'll still be around here, doing the podcasts and keeping up with as many roundtable discussions as I can. Other than that, they can track the book's progress by going to excelsior2010.blogspot.com or on my Facebook and Twitter pages (@GHWriter1976).


I want to thank George for taking time out of his weekend to talk with me. It's no secret that I've been a fan of his from day one and wish him all the best. As the Emperor said to young Anakin: We shall watch your career with great interest!


If you're new to the Bulletin, I've classified the news by a symbol in front of the news segment. That way, if you're looking for certain information, just look for the logo. Easy enough to decipher but to ease your reading pleasure I've provided a legend for you. I've included the "legend" below.

Let's dive into the weekend!

Audiences Can't Leave Shutter Island!

1. Shutter Island $22,200,000 (-45.9%) ($75,076,000) Read the review!
2. Cop Out $18,565,000 (-) ($18,565,000) Read the review!
3. The Crazies $16,521,000 (-) ($16,521,000)
4. Avatar $14,000,000 (-13.8%) ($706,904,000) Read the review!
5. Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief $9,800,000 (-35.8%) ($71,214,000)
6. Valentine's Day $9,505,000 (-43.0%) ($100,358,000) Read the review!
7. Dear John $5,000,000 (-29.9%) ($72,624,000)
8. The Wolfman $4,123,000 (-58.3% ) ($57,244,000)
9. Tooth Fairy $3,450,000 (-20.8%) ($53,866,000) Read the review!
10. Crazy Heart $2,540,000 (-14.3%) ($25,087,000) Read the review!
11. The Blind Side $1,295,000 (-10.8%) ($248,813,000)
12. The Book of Eli $1,130,000 (-40.2%) ($92,524,000) Read the review!

Martin Scorsese's Shutter Island held to the top spot in its second week with an estimated gross of $22.2 million. The Kevin Smith directed buddy comedy Cop Out, starring Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan, as well as the horror-thriller movie The Crazies, turned in solid totals with $18.6 million and $16.5 million, respectively. Both movies exceeded studio expectations in what was predicted to be a soft weekend at the box office. Surprisingly it was competitive with the top three grossers all aimed at similar demographics and all three R-rated.

How did Avatar do? The Oscar hopeful continued to perform, making $14 million in its 11th week. So that's $706.9 million stateside and grossing an estimated $36.1 million, add everything up and you get a worldwide total of $2.55 billion. Good luck James Cameron on your next pic. You've set the bar way too high, good sir.

Next week brings new flavor to the mix with Alice in Wonderland (Another 3D to keep an eye on!) and the delayed Brooklyn's Finest

Will Smith, Chris Pine, Chace Crawford, John Krasinski, Scott Porter, Mike Vogel, Michael Cassidy, Garrett Hedlund, David Spade, Ryan Reynolds, Danny Devito...STOP! All these Captain America casting rumors are driving me nuts!

A Marvel spokesman told IGN that the casting rumors are entirely untrue, that Johnston remains aboard to direct and principal photography has not been delayed. I'm already getting tired of this movie and production hasn't even started yet!



Let's do a quick roundup of all this DC news! First, David Goyer and Jonah Nolan are writing The Man of Steel (Can't wait for THAT porn spoof) and Batman 3. Chris Nolan is overseeing things because (RUMOR) his bro will be taking the director's chair for the Superman reboot. No pressure, right? Another rumor is Chris will finish the next Batman and help guide the DC movie franchises towards a Justice League movie. It's a long shot to be sure, but an incredibly awesome one at that.


The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is considering action against a producer of The Hurt Locker who sent multiple e-mails urging academy members to vote for his movie in the Oscar best-picture race and "not a $500 million film," a swipe at Avatar. The e-mails by Nicolas Chartier, one of four nominated producers for The Hurt Locker and who put up the financing to make the film, violated the academy's rule against sending mailings that "attempt to promote any film or achievement by casting a negative light on a competing film or achievement," according to academy spokeswoman Leslie Unger. That's pretty cut-and-dry. Even though something like that should be common sense, it's good to have it in print. The initial e-mail was sent Feb. 19 and obtained by The Associated Press. Subsequent e-mails, posted by the Los Angeles Times, showed Chartier giving more specific instructions, asking Oscar voters to rank The Hurt Locker at No. 1 and Avatar at No. 10 on this year's preferential ballot for the newly expanded best-picture category.

Now THIS is where he's really starting to go down a slippery slope. Hurt Locker distributor Summit Pictures said in a statement it was "completely unaware of any e-mails that were sent until we were alerted by the academy earlier this week." Chartier, after being confronted by Summit executives, worked with the studio and the academy to craft an apology for his actions, said Summit spokesman Paul Pflug. "My naivete, ignorance of the rules and plain stupidity as a first-time nominee is not an excuse for this behavior and I strongly regret it," Chartier wrote in an e-mail obtained by The Associated Press. "Being nominated for an academy Award is the ultimate honor and I should have taken the time to read the rules." But will ignorance save him? The motion picture academy itself will hold off on announcing how exactly it plans to discipline Chartier until Oscar voting closes at 5 p.m. PST on Tuesday. Possible measures include public censure, taking away Chartier's Oscar tickets, and the unlikely option of removing The Hurt Locker from best-picture consideration, according to several academy members familiar with the situation. At this point, most votes have been mailed. He did a stupid thing and the punishment should be directed at him. Even though he didn't read the rules, he should have respected the "ultimate honor" and observed the spirit of the awards.

What do you think the punishment, if any, should be?




What's life without spice? Without a little variety? And what's Variety's take on Joshua Newton's Iron Cross? Going to Variety.com won't help, the review isn't there. Apparently the film's producers didn't appreciate Robert Koehler's review and it was removed from the site. Using Google cache, you can still access Koehler's review. What it won't tell you is back in December, the LA Times reported that the producers of Iron Cross dropped $400,000 to have Variety run an ad for the film "every day until Oscar voters have turned in their ballots in late January." Oh really? Interesting. The deal also included booking the film into Variety's screening series, which would include Q&As with both Newton and his son Alexander who has a role in the film. I'm going to go on record right now. If you have $400,000, I'll praise your film and give you as much coverage as possible. Even if it's for Transformers. Gawker attempted to get in touch with Brian Gott, the Variety publisher who ordered the review to be removed, and he responded, "Unfortunately Variety does not comment on internal matters. I hope you understand." Efforts to reach out to the film's producers went unanswered, but Gawker did manage to get a hold of an e-mail Newton wrote to an anonymous tipster. Newton rambles on about how Koehler isn't a staff writer and that by not attending Variety's official screening and going to see it at a public theater, his actions were conniving and he "managed to sneak [the review] into the publication." He also points out that other viewers did not share his sentiments and if Koehler "bothered to check with his colleagues or get Production Notes from our publicists" he would have had a better understanding of the material. If this is true, this is a poor reflection on Iron Cross and Variety.


Earlier in February, it was stated in reports that Michael Bay has been debating with Paramount and ILM about going 3D for Transformers 3. Scheduled for a July 2011 release, this is no surprise since Avatar has opened the door for the 3D craze to crash through. Shockingly...SHOCKINGLY Bay is doing the smart thing and testing out 3D tech before deciding whether that's the route he wants to go with the three-quel. Bay has been quoted as saying he's not a big fan of 3D. He appeared on Starz' In the House and talked about Transformers 3.

"It's a process we're testing with some Transformers scenes.....How successful it is with my movie in terms of a lot of real stuff coming out of the frame, real dirt, real complicated little particles coming towards the lens, because hopefully that process will work. I've seen some tests that look great on other movies. I just want to see how it looks on my footage."

OK, I'm no fan of this franchise but I will give Bay credit for not blindly jumping into this. With his directing and editing style, I don't think this is a good fit. Can you imagine the sick kids losing their Goobers all over the floor from the jerking and twisting? Oh, and Bay went on to say this about the movie: "We're adding a lot of new elements. We're adding new characters. We're adding a lot of twists." Still no word about adding an actual story.




Joss Whedon is loyal. I'll give him that. While the TV series Dollhouse aired its final episode, it looks like Whedon and Dollhouse lead Eliza Dushku will be reteaming again for another feature project. Gossip site Hollywood Life has a quote from Dushku about the new project. "I would say that we would [be working on something new very soon] .....I think we're going to work on a kick ass feature together that we've been thinking about for a few years. SlashFilm has gone on record predicting that it will be a horror project called Goners that's been around since 2005. Word is Goners is a supernatural horror thriller of some kind, but Whedon has been very secretive about it and details are scarce. One quote says that "It's the story of a young woman's journey that involves a great deal of horror and some heroics." Whedon describes it another time as "a fantasy thriller, it is pretty dark and it's all me. So people will pretty much know what that means if they look at my body of work.....it's a new universe set in the present day with a new concept for me and a new bunch of characters. It's been a long time since I got to do that, so that's really fun."


Looking at what Whedon has on his plate, Goners is the most solid pick. The only other projects he's attached to currently are an untitled Comic-Con Documentary in pre-production and The Cabin in the Woods, which is in post-production. For Eliza "Fanboys Love Her" Dushku she is rumored to be involved in Ghostbusters 3. This coming from an interview she did but this is hardly confirmed news. The only other thing is her post-production voice work for Noah's Ark: The New Beginning. Other than that, her calendar is open!




I'm a fan of the original Karate Kid. It's a classic to me. When they announced the remake...my first reaction was, "WHAT THE?" But I let it sink in a bit and I'm now behind this movie. What's wrong with a movie with a positive message for kids? From what we see in the trailer "Karate Kid" is what the bully calls him to make fun. I can buy that. I'm very curious how this will do come June 11, 2010.

The film follows 12-year-old Dre Parker (Jaden Smith) who could've been the most popular kid in Detroit, but his mother's latest career move has taken them to China. Dre immediately falls for his classmate Mei Yin, but cultural differences make such a friendship impossible. Even worse, Dre's feelings make an enemy of the class bully, and kung fu prodigy, Cheng. With no friends in a strange land, Dre has nowhere to turn but maintenance man Mr. Han (Jackie Chan), who is secretly a kung fu master. As Han teaches Dre that kung fu is not about punches and skill, but maturity and calm, Dre realizes that facing down the bullies will be the adventure of a lifetime.





I think I'm going broke this week. Maybe not. One that I'm getting fersure is Where the Wild Things Are. Is it for children? No, not really. But it's a spot on reflection of childhood. Remember how hyped we all were about the trailer? Ah, memories! One that I WON'T be touching is 2012. Pass. And back to one that I am getting. Ponyo. The story of a young and overeager goldfish named Ponyo and her quest to become human. How can you lose? A guilty pleasure just might be Bitch Slap. We'll see. I've heard some praise for the quirky Gentlemen Broncos and have that on my list of buys at the store. What are you picking up this week?

What do the symbols mean by the story? Here you go:



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Other Stuff to Read...On 411mania!

*****The 411 Movies Top 5 Buddy Comedies by Trevor Snyder.
*****Ten Deep: The Top Ten Time Travel Movies by Mike Gorman
*****The UBS Evening Television & Movie News by George H. Sirois. For more info on his book go to http://excelsior2010.blogspot.com/. HIS LAST COLUMN! RESPECT!
*****Around the World in 24 Frames: Grave of the Fireflies by Len Archibald
*****411 Fact or Fiction Movies/TV by Ben Piper This week Ron Martin and Jason Chamberlain debate!

Have you ordered Excelsior! yet? 411mania's very own George Sirois has penned what many are already calling THE book of 2010. Sending in your deposit early not only guarantees you a personally autographed copy of this book, but it also guarantees your name will be printed in the acknowledgements section in the back of the book. Who doesn't want to see their name live forever? Don't be the one missing out when you go to pick it up and you hear the words, "Sold out."

Quantity

1 Copy $14.95
2 Copies $29.90
3 Copies $44.85
4 Copies $59.80

Pre-Order "EXCELSIOR" - $14.95

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That's all the time I have, I'll see you next week! Make sure you check out Jeremy Thomas and the Hush Hush News Report tomorrow so you don't miss the latest in movie news and opinions! See you next week!