The Big Screen Bulletin 02.06.06: Moving Day and the Oscars
Posted by Chad Webb on 02.06.2006
My thoughts on some Oscar categories, news on Indiana Jones 4, lots of skin in Basic Instinct 2, the agony of When a Stranger Calls, and some forgotten hotties.
Intro
Welcome to my first Monday column. I am grateful to take the place of Scott for awhile, and hopefully everyone enjoys my news report and opinions as much as they did his.
Wrestling- I have stopped watching wrestling all together recently. I went over to a friends house and watched the Royal Rumble hoping that something worth while would occur, and nothing did. Yes, it is great that Rey won the Rumble and maybe he'll get a title shot, but everyone knows he cannot hold the title for very long if he even does get it. Benoit was great as a champ for his time, but if Rey should get that far, his title run would be just as short lived. Cena winning the title back was so disappointing, and that was really the nail in the coffin. I will watch the PPV's and read the latest news on this site, but I will not be watching Raw or Smackdown because it became a burden for me to tape it or watch it. Might I add that Bobby Lashley is a guaranteed star if he is used properly, and thus far he is being used like they use Scotty 2 Hotty. Wake up Vince!
Below you will see my thoughts on some of the less popular Oscar categories. Please look out for my future column that analyzes the Best Actor and Best Actress categories in depth. If this will be your first time reading my news report, please feel free to send feedback.
The News Bulletin Dissection
Oscar-winning "Shrek" director Vicky Jenson is in final negotiations to direct "Four Christmases" for New Line Cinema. The holiday comedy revolves around a young married couple, both children of divorced parents, who have to attend four different Christmas Day family celebrations. Spyglass Entertainment is producing based on a spec screenplay by Matt Allen and Caleb Wilson. "I've always been a big fan of dysfunctional family comedies in (the) vein of 'Annie Hall,' 'Home for the Holidays' and 'Flirting With Disaster,' " Jenson said. "I come from a big, messed-up family, so I get that big, messed-up family world with all its humor and discomfort; it's right up my alley." Jenson is the latest animation director to tackle live action following impressive boxoffice results with "Shrek," which grossed $267.6 million, and DreamWorks' Oscar-nominated "Shark Tale," which captured $160.8 million.
Coming from a divorced family myself, this sounds like an interesting idea. Unless you have divorced parents, it is difficult to realize just how much running you have to do on Christmas day just to see and please everyone. At the end of the day, you want to just fall on your bed and never wake up. Hopefully this gets a decent cast like The Family Stone did. We have seen our fair share of Christmas flops like Surviving Christmas or Christmas With the Kranks. With luck this will be funny.
"Sideways" star Virginia Madsen so impressed co-star Harrison Ford in new thriller "Firewall", she's now the frontrunner to play his love interest in the fourth Indiana Jones adventure. Madsen plays Ford's wife in the new movie and admits they both found an unusual chemistry on set - after the ageing action man handpicked her for the role. And now Madsen is a clear favorite to play the leading lady in "Indiana Jones 4." Ford tells movieline.net, "She was an absolute delight - professional, very talented and simply, very sweet. She also took what could have been a fairly one-dimensional damsel in distress role and added so many layers to it - there isn't many who could do that. I'd work with her again in a heartbeat. I'm actually hoping she'll come over for Indiana Jones. We've talked about it."
There are varying opinions on whether or not a 4th Indian Jones movie should be made, but I am looking forward to it personally. At the same time, I think Madsen could be a commendable love interest in the film, and she seem like she would fit in well to an action/adventure flick. Of course she impressed everyone with Sideways and hopefully she has as much chemistry with Harrison Ford as they say. Firewall looks to be a decent action flick that Ford usually delivers.
The sequel to erotic thriller "Basic Instinct" has been given an R rating in the US, after several sexy scenes were cut. "Basic Instinct 2", which sees Sharon Stone reprising her role as novelist Catherine Trammell, was originally hit with an NC-17 rating, meaning 17s and over could see it unaccompanied by an adult. But the movie has since been edited by director Michael Caton-Jones and editor John Scott to allow for a younger audience. A Sony spokesman tells the New York Daily News, "It is a hard R. It's a graphic psychological thriller. The official MPAA designation is, 'Strong sexuality, nudity, violence, language and some drug content.'" The film sees Tramell seduce a criminal psychologist played by David Morrissey.
This can only increase the box office success of this. Whenever I see "strong sexuality, nudity, and violence" in the same sentence of an upcoming movie, I am there. On the other hand, this is a sequel, and I have grown to detest sequels so this will probably blow goats.
Oscar-nominee Joaquin Phoenix was rescued from his car wreck last week by German cult director Werner Herzog. The 31-year-old "Walk The Line" star overturned his car on a canyon road above Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood after his brakes failed and he collided with another vehicle. Phoenix was saved because he was wearing his seat-belt, but has revealed he was helped from the wreckage by the 63-year-old, who has a home nearby. The actor says, "I remember this knocking on the passenger window. There was this German voice saying, 'Just relax.' There's the airbag, I can't see and I'm saying, 'I'm fine. I am relaxed. Finally, I rolled down the window and this head pops inside. And he said, 'No, you're not.' And suddenly I said to myself, 'That's Werner Herzog' There's something so calming and beautiful about Werner Herzog's voice. I felt completely fine and safe. I climbed out. I got out of the car and I said, 'Thank you,' and he was gone."
It pretty strange that those two ended up running in to each other like that. I heard at first that this wreck was no big thing, but its sounds like it was kind of a close call.
Screen Gems' "When a Stranger Calls" dialed in to the top spot at the boxoffice during the weekend, eclipsing the rest of the field as the horror-thriller from Davis Entertainment rang up an estimated $22 million. The Simon West-directed "Stranger," a PG-13 remake of the 1979 film, marked the first time any movie has grossed more than $20 million on Super Bowl weekend. For Screen Gems, it's the third year in a row the Sony genre label debuted at the top spot during the Big Game frame.
This will be the extent of my thoughts on this film because the film was so incredibly bad that I hate to waste too much time on it. I expected this to top the box office because for some unknown reason, people flock to the theater to watch dumb, pointless, and silly horror films that are anything but scary. This was not screened by critics for a reason, and not only is it a remake, but it is easily one of the worst films of the year. It is hard not even go with a friend and make fun of this because the boredom sets in right away when the movie starts.
Millennium Films has acquired the rights to Irvin D. Yalom's international best-seller "When Nietzsche Wept." Pinchas Perry will direct, based on a screenplay he is writing. Shooting is set to begin in March in Austria and Lithuania. Casting is under way. Perry will produce, while Avi Lerner, Trevor Short, Danny Dimbort, Boaz Davidson and John Thompson will executive produce. The novel, first published by Basic Books in 1992, sets up a fictional encounter between 19th century philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche and Josef Breuer, a Viennese doctor who is one of the founders of psychoanalysis. The story takes place in 1882, when Breuer decided to help Nietzsche fight his hemicrania and despair.
This sounds kind of boring, and when I hear about a fictional encounter between two people who really existed I think of that made for tv movie that showed what would occur if John Lennon hadn't died and he and Paul McCartney reunited. It just seems like a ridiculous idea to me. It is hard to make something like this look believable to an audience. Oh well, most people might not know who these two are so it might not matter.
Christian ministers who initially enthusiastically supported the Christian-themed "End of the Spear", produced by Every Tribe Entertainment, became deeply divided after they learned that one of the stars of the film, Chad Allen, is openly gay, the New York Times reported today (Thursday). Opposition to the film was led by the Rev. Jason Janz, who encouraged a boycott by fundamentalist Christians, saying that having a gay man play the role of a Christian missionary was "like Madonna playing the Virgin Mary." Every Tribe has pointed out that some of the criticism verged on threats. For example, it noted, Kevin T. Bauder, president of Central Baptist Seminary in Minneapolis, said on his website, "Granted, we must not overreact. And it would probably be an overreaction to firebomb these men's houses. But what they have done is no mistake. It is a calculated strategy." In a column for the Knight Ridder Newspapers, religion writer Jim Jones noted that the movie was "one of the most ambitious Christian films since "The Passion of the Christ" and that half of the profits go to missionary work. He quoted director Jim Hanon as saying, "We know that the character in our film and the actor are not the same. ... We do not agree with Chad Allen over homosexuality. "End of the Spear" is not about Chad Allen, but rather it's about remarkable people who lived their faith against all odds and dared to reach out, at the cost of their lives."
People will complain about anything nowadays. Did it ever occur to these idiots that the filmmakers wanted to pick the best actor for the job, and guess what, they did. Chad Allen was perfect for the part, and despite his sexuality did not change my view of the film at all. The part should go to whoever deserves it. That was the case with Memoirs of a Geisha, and that is the case here. These complaints do nothing but increase the sales of the film in the box office. As far as the comment about Madonna playing the Virgin Mary….well, that would be damn interesting if that were to happen ever. She might not be that bad.
The Oscar Categories That Deserve More Attention
Best Achievement in Cinematography Batman Begins - Wally Pfister Brokeback Mountain - Rodrigo Prieto Good Night, and Good Luck. - Robert Elswit Memoirs of a Geisha - Dion Beebe The New World - Emmanuel Lubezki
My Thoughts: No question here, Emmanuel Lubezki towers over the rest, period. Anyone who has seen this film will feel the same.
Best Achievement in Editing Cinderella Man - Daniel P. Hanley, Mike Hill The Constant Gardener - Claire Simpson Crash - Hughes Winborne Munich - Michael Kahn Walk the Line - Michael McCusker
My Thoughts: Editing is a tough category because it is hard to settle on the best. Hughes Winborne or Michael Kahn gave the most notable and praiseworthy job of editing this year, and I really can't see anyone else standing out as a acceptable victor.
Best Achievement in Costume Design Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Gabriella Pescucci Memoirs of a Geisha - Colleen Atwood Mrs. Henderson Presents - Sandy Powell Pride & Prejudice - Jacqueline Durran Walk the Line - Arianne Phillips
My Thoughts: Oddly enough, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a huge candidate here, even thought the film was mediocre. However, my pick is Pride and Prejudice because those costumes greatly reflected the time period.
Best Achievement in Art Direction Good Night, and Good Luck. - James D. Bissell, Jan Pascale Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - Stuart Craig, Stephanie McMillan King Kong - Grant Major, Dan Hennah, Simon Bright Memoirs of a Geisha - John Myhre, Gretchen Rau Pride & Prejudice - Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer
My Thoughts: This is the group that King Kong was made to win because the art direction here was absolutely breathtaking. Any of these could come out on top such as Memoirs of a Geisha or Harry Potter, but King Kong was the best.
Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score Brokeback Mountain - Gustavo Santaolalla The Constant Gardener - Alberto Iglesias Memoirs of a Geisha - John Williams Munich - John Williams Pride & Prejudice - Dario Marianelli
My Thoughts: When I think of the best selection for a score, it should be the one that still sticks in your head over the rest. Honestly, Brokeback Mountain is the most memorable and should not have any problem taking the gold.
Best Achievement in Makeup The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - Howard Berger, Tami Lane Cinderella Man - David LeRoy Anderson, Lance Anderson Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith - Dave Elsey, Annette Miles
My Thoughts: I did not like Narnia and Star Wars did not have makeup that stood out, so Cinderella Man should win here.
Best Achievement in Sound The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - Terry Porter, Dean A. Zupancic, Tony Johnson King Kong - Christopher Boyes, Michael Semanick, Michael Hedges, Hammond Peek Memoirs of a Geisha - Kevin O'Connell, Greg P. Russell, Rick Kline, John Pritchett Walk the Line - Paul Massey, Doug Hemphill, Peter F. Kurland War of the Worlds - Andy Nelson, Anna Behlmer, Ron Judkins
And
Best Achievement in Visual Effects The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - Dean Wright, Bill Westenhofer, Jim Berney, Scott Farrar King Kong - Joe Letteri, Brian Van't Hul, Christian Rivers, Richard Taylor War of the Worlds - Pablo Helman, Dennis Muren, Randy Dutra, Daniel Sudick
My Thoughts: King Kong deserves to win both of the above categories, and that is all.
Best Animated Feature Film of the Year Corpse Bride - Tim Burton, Mike Johnson Hauru no ugoku shiro (2004) - Hayao Miyazaki Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit - Steve Box, Nick Park
My Thoughts: If Wallace and Gromit does not win I will be very angry and I will right a letter to the Academy.
What's Coming to DVD…Buy or Avoid?
Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were Rabbit - It's the best animated film of the year, and I would put it up against the animated films of past years. In other words, yes it is worth buying.
Doom (Unrated)- I did not get a chance to see this, even though I really wanted to. I didn't hear enough good things about it to rent it either.
Elizabethtown - Cameron Crowe delivers an average film here. It is worth renting just because it is decent, but that's it.
Just Like Heaven - Here's another one I didn't see. This will be Reese Witherspoon's year, but not for this film. This looked really dumb, but it got decent reviews. Ehhh, I don't care.
Bambi II - Oh joy! Another straight to DVD sequel of a classic Disney film. I honestly don't know why they are doing this. Leave the great cartoons alone for goodness sakes.
Waiting… - Ryan Reynolds just doesn't do anything for me. This movie was horrible in just about every way, and to top it all off, it wasn't funny.
WWE: Bloodsport - ECW's Most Violent Matches- I'm not sure if this is really going to be release or not. I have heard rumors of it being pushed back, but if it does, I will be buying it because there are some stellar matches one here.
Forgotten Hotties
Cindy Crawford
Sunny
Terri
Thanks for reading the whole way through, and make sure to tune in next week.
