The Big Screen Bulletin 8.30.10: The Last Exorcism Possesses First Place!
Posted by Steve Gustafson on 08.30.2010
Is the Fantastic Four reboot already doomed? Mission: Impossible 4 gathers some steam! What does Sylvester Stallone have in store for Expendables 2? The full rundown of the extra 8-minutes in the Avatar re-release! Are you ready for Zoolander 2? Plus, the box office breakdown and more!
Welcome to the Big Screen Bulletin! My name is Steve Gustafson and this is where we hit the big movie news from the weekend and anything else going on in the world of Hollywood!
Have you read the newest sci-fi masterpiece by George Sirois'? Check it out right HERE!
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Check out Chris Lansdell in The Game Zone 5 & 1! Then check out The Music 5 & 1 by Adam Hill. Afterwards finish up with The Wrestling 5 & 1 by Larry Csonka!
Oh yeah, besides writing about the zany lives of famous people, I cover movie news! Yes, that's right. Each and every Monday I do the Big Screen Bulletin. Also, peep my old Game section column, The Silicon Valley 10 & 1 by Justin Weinblatt! Great stuff!
Due to technical difficulties, I was unable to run my review of George's book AND Tony Acero's Die Hard review. Both will be in next weeks edition!
Second Verse, Same as the First!
Marvel is trying to keep the momentum train rolling! But when it comes to the Fantastic Four, it's different names but the same feel as the first time around. The rumor mill has it that they're putting together another motley assortment of mid-level Hollywood talent and well liked TV actors looking to make the jump into film. Last week I talked about Adrien Brody and Jonathan Rhys Meyers as being in the running for the movie's lead role, Reed Richards. Now the latest rumor is that Stephen Moyer, who plays the vampire Bill on True Blood, may be up for the part of villain Victor Von Doom.
Dust off your memory because in the first series of movies the character was played by Julian McMahan, who was making waves off of Nip/Tuck, back when it was the hot, edgy, sexy, it show on television. See where they are going? Comic Book Movie says an offer is currently out to Moyer, which probably means we'll find out in the next few weeks whether there's any validity to their rumor-mongering.
While I'm a fan of all the names involved so far, I really wouldn't mind if they took a few risks when it came to filling roles. I'm not asking for Steve Martin as the Mole Man or Vin Diesel as Dr. Doom, but have some fun with it. Maybe next week I'll pull out the Casting Quarterback and have my picks for the Fantastic Four relaunch!
Expendable Villain.
While The Expendables wasn't the SUPER SMASH HIT that rewrote the way we see action movies, it's done very well and sequel talk is already underway. Talk is already going on about who else they can cram into the sequel and Cinema Blend readers have already been enthusiastically nominating who they'd like to see added to the sequel here and it's safe to say Seagal and Van Damme are at the top of the list. Sylvester Stallone too to Twitter where he revealed, "Had dinner with Bruce Willis last night. I want him in EXPENDABLES II as a super villain. What do you think?"
I'm all for Willis as the "super villain"! And can I take a minute to toss out what I wish had happened at the end of Expendables? How bad ass would it have been if they guys were sitting around, laughing it up, when they get an emergency call that they are needed on a small island that's being overrun by terrorists. They scramble and arrive, only to be met with flames and dead terrorist bodies scattered on the beach. Close up shot of Stallone saying, "Damn. How did I know this was your work?" Then pan over to Chuck Norris wiping his hands clean, "I was in the neighborhood." Then have him fly away like Superman. All right, maybe lose the flying part.
Avatar: Reloaded
Are you excited about the 8 NEW MINUTES in Avatar? Or are you like me and shrug, remembering how let down you were when George Lucas added some scenes to the original Star Wars trilogy? To help you decide if you want to give James Cameron more money, here's what those added minutes contain. Oh, SPOILER WARNING for those who want it to be a surprise:
* A brief shot of a herd of dinosaur-like creatures walking through the forest as Jake, Grace, Trudy and Norm head out for their first jungle mission. They'll come into play later.
* In one of the longer added scenes, Grace, Norm and Jake visit Grace's old schoolhouse, now abandoned with a copy of The Lorax lying on the floor. Grace says that the Omaticaya "learned as much about us as they needed to," and some bullet holes in the wall fill in the rest. This explains how Jake knows about Grace's school when he meets Neytiri, and also clarifies that the Na'vi didn't kick Grace out by choice, but the violent behavior of the other humans forced them to.
* After the elders agree to let Jake stay in the village, he and Neytiri walk through a crowd of Na'vi surrounding a campfire. The scene goes on slightly longer than it did originally, showing a young Na'vi girl staring at Jake, and Neytiri introducing herself to him wit her full, long, unpronounceable name.
* When the team arrives at the remote camp in the Hallelujah Mountains, there's an added line of Jake's voiceover relaying Grace's explanation about what holds the mountains up. It's almost entirely tech jargon.
* The most elaborate added scene comes just after Jake has tamed his banshee; we see him, Neytiri, Tsut'se and the other hunters chasing down and killing the dinosaur-like creatures we saw before. It's the most extensive added action.
* The promised Na'vi sex scene for you preverts (I know that's not how it's spelled, but it's how I pronounce it!) out there. The additional footage adds up to about 30 seconds, and while most of it is just some PG nuzzling and kissing, the shot of Jake and Neytiri putting their braids together is, well, a little kinky. It's not just the shot of the tendrils wrapping around each other, but Jake's gasp as soon as it happens. The rest of the scene is relatively tame, and you can see why Cameron might have thought he could get away with the braid shot at first, but it's probably best for all but the most hardcore Na'vi cosplayers that it got cut the first time around.
* After the bulldozers come and knock down all the trees, the Na'vi counterattack and burn down the equipment, as seen in footage presented to Quaritch while he plans his counterattack. It makes the Na'vi seem a little less passive and helpless once the Hometree attack gets started, but it also slows things down as we ramp up the action, since we only see the aftermath.
* When Tsut'sey is shot during the final battle and falls off the human ship, we see him fall through the jungle and land, alive, on the ground. After Quaritch is killed and Neytiri rescues Jake in his human form, he returns to his avatar body to find Tsut'sey, be given permission to rule the tribe, then ritualistically stab Tsut'sey to put him out of his pain. It's somewhat important to see Jake given the blessing to rule the Omaticaya, but also totally jarring to see him return to his avatar body after the touching scene between him and Neytiri in the trailer.
There you go! All the information you need to decide if you want to see it again. The choice...is YOURS!
MISSION: POSSIBILITIES!
Casting rumors is the lowest form of news. I know that. But this is an interesting mix and gives me an excuse to beautify the Bulletin! Paramount is trying to keep thing moving along with Mission: Impossible IV and with Jeremy Renner as the male lead, their focus has shifted to finding a female lead. Deadline named Lauren German (Hostel: Part II, Dark Country), Paula Patton (Deja Vu, Swing Vote, Precious), and Kristin Kreuk (Euro Trip, Street Fighter, Smallville) as at least three of the actresses who are testing for the role. Who would you pick?
All three of the ladies could fit the role. I wouldn't mind if they brought back Maggie Q to the franchise, but I know they're trying to retool and relaunch it. If I can make one suggestion that I mentioned before. Bring the series to a circle and have Tom Cruise be the bad guy. Not only would it put a nice spin on things, but it would benefit Cruise by showcasing another side of him. Remember Collateral?
Blue Steel, Take 2!
This project has come and gone, so I'm not putting too much stock into this. A few months ago it sounded like Ben Stiller's long promised sequel to Zoolander was dead. He made some thinly veiled tweets which seemed to indicate they couldn't get funding, then went silent on the subject. But then writer Justin Theroux said he was still writing and hadn't heard they were calling it quits. Stiller took to Twitter to confirm that unlike Anchorman 2, Zoolander 2 still has life in it. When asked if Zoolander 2 was still happening he confirmed, "Yes. Working on it now with my buddy Justin." Of course they've been "working on it" now in one way or another for years and so far nothing concrete has actually ever come of it.
I enjoyed Zoolander but I wasn't raving for a new chapter. It has potential to be a flop and I'm sure Stiller has plenty of original ideas to focus on. Ever see The Ben Stiller Show? I might be in the minority here, but do you want more Zoolander?
Ben Affleck is Back!
I've been digging the trailer for The Town. Just thought I'd share that with you.
1. The Last Exorcism $21,300,000 ($21,300,000)
2. Takers $21,000,000 ($21,000,000)
3. The Expendables $9,500,000 ($82,010,000) Read the review!
4. Eat Pray Love $7,000,000 ($60,716,000)
5. The Other Guys $6,600,000 ($99,300,000) Read the review!
6. Vampires Suck $5,300,000 ($27,912,000) Read the review!
7. Inception $5,105,000 ($270,749,000) Read the review!
8. Nanny McPhee Returns $4,743,000 ($17,020,000)
9. The Switch $4,658,000 ($16,484,000)
10. Piranha 3D $4,308,000 ($18,272,000) Read the review!
The big winner this week? The Last Exorcism and Takers! While the box office total was down 11% from last year, these two rose to the top to take #1 and 2.
The loser? While it didn't make a dent last week, The Switch fell quick and has analysts wondering if Jennifer Aniston still has box office clout.
The Expendables continues to hang around, which is good news for those already planning a sequel. Vampires Suck had a quick fall from grace, but the damage was done. Expect more spoof movies in the future!
Before I say GOODBYE!
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I can watch Zoolander 1000 more times and still laugh my ass off everytime. Its been one of my guilty pleasures for years. Im very excited about the sequel.
Posted By: Riggs (Guest) on August 29, 2010 at 11:28 PM
I'd be interested in seeing your Fantastic Four casting possibilities. I love playing that game. :)
Posted By: Guest#8998 (Guest) on August 30, 2010 at 01:06 AM
Okay, granted Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer wasn't the greatest movie in the world, but why do a reboot? Really the only person from the original cast you'd have to replace would be Chris Evans because he's off Playing Cap. I thought the original cast was good, I thought the first movie was great, there's no need for a reboot. You hear that SpiderMan? No need for a reboot.
Posted By: Michael (Guest) on August 30, 2010 at 03:34 AM
Zoolander is my favorite Stiller film...hell, maybe my fav comedy. Hope this lives up...it can't have a worse opening weekend than the first (it opened 3 days after 9/11).
Posted By: D. (Guest) on August 30, 2010 at 05:20 AM
is it now to the point where we will see a reboot of Twilight or Harry Potter immediately after these series end?
frankly, i am sick of reboots. i will NOT see the new Spiderman movies, nor will i see a rebooted Superman or FF series.
i don't know if anyone in hollywood knows this, but when you have movies that don't do well, but are franchise movies, the key isn't to just do ad infinitum reboots until you get a good movie again, the key is actually to stop making half assed installments.
Sony bowed to the fanboys, and forced Venom on Sam Raimi for Spiderman 3. Raimi gave the Venom story more time than it actually deserved, and it was obviously forced into the movie. So, instead of backing off and admitting that THEY fucked it up, Sony said 'well, that one was bad. let's reboot and start over.'
The first FF movie was actually pretty good, when you look at it unbiasedly. Silver Surfer suffered more from having the Silver Surfer who is arguably one of the weakest A list characters in the Marvel universe, but given what there was to work with...it was not bad at all. Certainly, the main cast pulled off a good enough movie to not have to press the reboot button on the franchise.
if hollywood could just green light good movies instead of the same shit all the time, then reboots wouldn't be necessary.
Posted By: Guest#7627 (Guest) on August 30, 2010 at 10:10 AM
I vote Kristin Kreuk for Mission Impossible.
Posted By: Guest#6641 (Guest) on August 30, 2010 at 10:30 AM
I'm with you Michael. I liked both FF movies. I wouldn't change the cast at all. I think they really screwed up on Doom and Galactus though. I think both can be salvaged. I like to think that there is a real Galactus behind those clouds we were given. Sort of like the ships in Independence Day were preceded by clouds.
Posted By: Joe (Guest) on August 30, 2010 at 11:05 AM
I been saying this for awhile and Im glad you agree, Ethan Hunt needs to turn heel in MI4. Cruise needs to change playing the same good characters (except Collateral) and turn rogue. MI4 would be a great start for his career change.
Posted By: Cotti (Guest) on August 30, 2010 at 12:12 PM
I thought Galactus was pretty cool, much more in line with the Ultimate version, which seems more logical to me. And I thought the Surfer was pretty awesome, to be honest.
Now Doom... there's no excuse for how awful he was.
Posted By: Guest#8881 (Guest) on August 30, 2010 at 12:32 PM
Considering that Avatar was boring overrated crap to begin with, the 8 extra minutes isn't about to make me watch it again, just make me loathe the people that do pay for it again even more.
Posted By: Guest#0494 (Guest) on August 30, 2010 at 01:10 PM
The "4" movies were fun. People just never gave them a chance.
Posted By: The Great Capt. Smooth (Guest) on August 30, 2010 at 02:33 PM
I think the two Fantastic Four flicks are cute and fairly entertaining in a way, but just seem so far out of place with the other big superhero movies...lacks the wit of Iron Man, the emotion of Spider-Man 2, the drama of Dark Knight, etc.
A third movie could work, but instead of rebooting, just make a second sequel thats more mature and dramatic. Evans and Chiklis are good in their parts, but the others, not so much. Alba looks great, but seems so wrong for Sue Storm. I always thought Kate Bosworth would be much more suited for Sue than she was as Lois Lane! I thought Julian McMahon was a great choice for Doom in theory...he was great on Nip/Tuck...but the character was pretty badly developed and there was nothing much McMahon could do with it. Stephen Moyer would be a good choice for Doom. How about Dominic West? Josh Brolin? Josh Holloway? hehe...Neil Patrick Harris??
Posted By: Earl (Guest) on August 30, 2010 at 08:02 PM
I would put KristineKreuk in my ground and pound and make her tap. But I would be using my cock
Posted By: TheR (Guest) on August 30, 2010 at 09:26 PM
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