The BIg Screen Bulletin 04.17.06: Worst Movies Never Made
Posted by Chad Webb on 04.17.2006
The worst films that were never made, The new Henry Rollins show, studios attacking the FCC, Tom Hank's favorite films, All the Kings' Men delayed, movie dictionary, new releases, and the forgotten Spice Girls!
The Big Screen Bulletin
Intro
Worst Movies Never Made
Obviously there are thousands of bad scripts that are not taken each year, so I not aware of all the bad ideas people have had. This is mainly sequels that I have read about. Some of which may surprise you. These are in no particular order.
Roger Rabbit Two: The Toon Platoon - Someone had the wacky idea to make a sequel to this film. This was to be a prequel of sorts with Roger being left on a doorstep by his parents. He then would travel to find them with a human, while in the process meeting his future wife Jessica (when she was a radio actress), and going to war against the Nazi's. Many of the same characters would have been included along with some new ones such as Swifty Turtle and Blackie Cat. Nat Mauldin's "Roger Rabbit Two" was apparently "too important to get made." I enjoyed the Who Framed Roger Rabbit? very much, as well as the shorts, but I do not think a sequel would have improved on anything. It would have made them worse.
Casablanca 2 - That's right, there was to be a second film. In 1943, Warner Brothers announced a sequel called Brazzaville, but it was ultimately abandoned. Thank goodness! In this story, Ilsa and Rick's son go to Morocco to find his dad. Bogart, Sydney Greenstreet, and Geraldine Fitzgerald were set to star. Yes, there are a lot of questions that could have been answered from the first one, but that is the beauty of the film. Sometimes we don't need these questions to be answered. This is a classic that should be left alone, and hopefully no fool in Hollywood tries to make this today.
The Adventures of Fartman - Does anyone remember the time Howard Stern flew down from the ceiling of the 1992 MTV Music Video Awards? That was Fartman, and supposedly, Stern's theatrical debut was to be himself starring as this character. Jonathan Lawton, who wrote Pretty Woman was ready to do the script. The character had started when Stern was doing radio in Washington D.C., and while it might have been funny, it also could have been a complete disaster. I agree with the studio on this one. Private Parts was a perfect film debut for Howard, and I'm glad he left it at that. Stern and the studio disagreed on many things. He wanted it to be an R-rating, and the studio wanted a PG-13 rating. I think this would have sucked big time.
Terminator 4 - This one was mentioned not too long ago after the third film was released. I loved the ending of Terminator 3, and I thought the book should be left closed. This was rumored to star The Rock, of all people, to fill Arnold's place. No no no no. This would have been absolutely terrible in every way. Terminator and Arnold go hand in hand. You can't have on without the other.
Conan the Barbarian 3 - I am not totally sure whether this project has been completely bagged or not because I have heard that the Terminator people and the Conan people could be waiting for Arnold to be done with politics in hopes that he will make some more sequels. This film should not be made because I do not think enough people would want to see it. The originals are too old for this franchise to reach a new audience. I heard a dirty rumor that Vin Diesel might have played Arnold's son. Oh the agony!
Escape from Earth - This was to be the third and final film starring John Carpenter's Snake Plissken. The plot is obvious from the title name. Don't get me wrong I loved the first one, and I even liked the second one because of how cheesy it was, but this would have been a waste of time. That is why the studio passed on it. After the flop of Escape from L.A.>, they decided to scrap this idea. I liked the plots that revolved around him escaping a certain city, but Earth? Dumb Dumb Dumb.
If you would like to read more about films that were never made I recommend checking out these books. In closing remember this: some sequels are bad ideas, no matter how good they might sound.
The 50 Greates Films Never Made by Chris Gore
The Greatest Sc-Fi Movies Never Made by David Hughes
They are interesting reads solely for the fact that you find out about certain films that could have been great, and to see some of the films the authors mention that actually have been made by now.
The News Bulletin Dissection
A member of the veteran rock group Queen has implied that he may have been used by the producers of "American Idol" to undermine the chances of one of the contestants. Guitarist Brian May said on his personal blog Thursday that an encounter between him and contestant Ace Young shown on Tuesday night's show did not occur as represented. He said that after his conversation with May was taped, "it was edited in such a way that it looked as if I was purely negative." May said that, as aired, it seemed that he was commenting on May's altered arrangement of "We Will Rock You" "after we had played together, which was not the way it happened, making me look like I was against the whole thing." He said that the conversation actually took place when May played him a demo of what he had in mind. "We then discussed how we could improve his ideas and ... came up with a kind of mixture of his thoughts and ours, which was the basis for the arrangement that you saw the house band play on the night! It was actually pretty damn good, I thought."
This is just further proof that this show is rigged in every way shape and form. This shows us all that they manipulate the highlight tapes when the contestants meet with the stars. Obviously they want Ace to be voted off soon, and this tells us that they will do whatever they can to get him outta there. Not that it will be surprising when he is cut because he is not that great of a singer anyway, but maybe he is getting a bad reputation for the wrong reasons.
Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks has hailed sci-fi adventure "2001: A Space Odyssey" as his favorite film of all time. The Forrest Gump star insists he "can't see enough" of the 1968 Stanley Kubrick-directed movie, because it involves the audience in a unique way. He says, "That's what I'm looking for when I go to see a film, just like any other cinema-goer. The period, the topic or the genre don't matter to me. The only thing that matters for me is: 'boy, what would you do if that were you?"' He also listed 1972 mafia movie "The Godfather", crime thriller "Fargo", violent high school drama "Elephant" and "Boogie Nights" among his top five all-time favorites.
I must say I am bit surprised that a film such as that is his favorite. Tom Hanks has always been my favorite actor of all time so it was interesting to see some of his favorites because if I ever met him, I would have asked him that question. 2001: A Space Odyssey is one my favorite Kubrick film. It is a classic, and definitely a worthy pick for Hanks. To see Boogie Nights was also unexpected. That is another superb film, which is a bit underrated if you ask me.
The Weinstein Co. is suing Columbia Pictures over the rights to a series of five books authored by Wang Du Lu, including "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon." The lawsuit, filed Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court, seeks a declaration from the court that the Weinstein Co. holds the option rights to the books. Plaintiffs attorney Bert Fields said his clients entered into a written agreement with Wang's heirs Dec. 12, giving them an option to acquire the movie, television, publishing and other rights of the books. The agreement was signed on behalf of the heirs by Hong Wang, who was authorized to represent them in such deals.
After we were given such a wonderful foreign film in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon from Ang Lee, it is enticing to see that there are more books by this author. Why is Hollywood wasting time on sequels and remakes when they have fascinating books like this waiting to be adapted into a movie. Hopefully this situation resolves itself so that these one or two of these books can be molded into a script. We need more films like Hero, House of Flying Daggers and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
Sony Pictures has scheduled the release of its delayed drama "All the King's Men" for Sept. 22, the studio said Wednesday. The Steven Zaillian-helmed film -- which features an Oscar-caliber cast of Sean Penn, Jude Law, Kate Winslet, James Gandolfini, Mark Ruffalo, Patricia Clarkson and Anthony Hopkins -- originally was slated for a Dec. 16 bow last year amid high hopes for awards-season success. But "King's Men" -- a remake of the 1949 film of the same name, based on Robert Penn Warren's 1946 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel -- was bumped less than two months before its release because the film's editing and music were not finished (HR 10/21).
I am going to have to refresh my memory on the original before this remake is released. The cast looks outstanding, but that does not always guarantee a success, especially when a remake is involved. However, it is hard to ignore the truly great talent that is apart of this film. Steve Zaillian has written screenplays for some good films, but he has not directed too much. He has a grand opportunity here.
The "Shaun of the Dead" team is back, and this time the fuzz has caught up with them. Rogue Pictures has nabbed North American distribution rights to "Hot Fuzz," a police comedy featuring "Dead" stars Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, director Edgar Wright and producer Nira Park from Working Title Films in association with Big Talk Prods. The film is tentatively scheduled for release early next year. Wright and Pegg penned the screenplay for the estimated $12 million film, in which Pegg plays a successful London cop whose jealous co-workers transfer him to a podunk British town and place him with a hapless partner (Frost). The pair stumble upon a series of suspicious accidents.
I have not seen Shaun of the Dead, and I haven't heard much about this crew until now. Is Shaun of the Dead any good? You tell me because I am unsure of whether or not to rent it.
Peter Segal has come aboard to direct "Shazam!" -- an adaptation of a DC Comics' comic book series featuring Captain Marvel -- for New Line Cinema. Segal also will produce along with Michael Ewing via their Callahan Filmworks banner. The comic series focused on young Billy Batson, who becomes the superhero known as Captain Marvel when he utters the magic word "Shazam!" The name is an acronym for six gods and heroes of the ancient world as well as their attributes: the wisdom of Solomon, the strength of Hercules, the stamina of Aries, the power of Zeus, the courage of Achilles and the speed of Mercury. Writers on the long-gestating project include William Goldman and Bryan Goluboff.
Not to be confused with Kazaam, the epic tale starring Shaq. This seems like a stretch in some ways for Peter Segal because this is a jump into the comic book genre of films. It has the feel of a Segal project, but it is different for him. I think this plot sounds like a lot of fun, and it might be a decent live action kids film for once.
Goran Dukic's "Wristcutters: A Love Story" took home the $10,000 grand jury feature film award at the 11th annual Gen Art Film Festival Tuesday. The comic feature about suicidal souls in purgatory, recently featured in competition at the Sundance Film Festival, was one of several prizewinners at the New York fest. The audience award for best feature went to Scott Glosserman's serial killer mockumentary "Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon."
It is hard not read an article when the film title is Wristcutters. I am kind of intrigued about the plot dealing with "suicidal souls in purgatory", but if it getting attention at the film festivals then it is heading on the right track for now. You never know what to expect from some of the wacky ideas that come out of Sundance and other festivals.
Keira Knightley has slammed the Hollywood system for encouraging actresses to lose weight.
The skinny star insists she is curvy compared to most of the leading ladies she goes up against at auditions--and has called on studios to take a more responsible attitude. She says, "I'm twice the size, height and everything else of most of the other actresses who are going for an audition. It's mad, isn't it? When you realize that even at my size I'm one of the largest there. "It's at the point you start to say, 'I don't think it'd be healthy for me to stay here much longer.' "Are we surprised that there are people out there who feel they have to lose weight? "It's shocking for young girls. There is a lot of pressure--it's like you've got to be perfect."
She never struck me as being "one of the largest out there", but mabe I'm wrong. She is hot though, even with shorter hair. I commend her for that attitude. I'm not a fan of girls that are too skinny.
Major U.S. television stations and their affiliates said on Friday they have asked appeals courts to overturn decisions by regulators finding broadcasters violated decency standards by airing profanity. News Corp.'s Fox Television Stations Inc. and CBS Broadcasting Inc. asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York to declare the decisions by the Federal Communications Commission, or FCC, unlawful. The FCC decisions were "unconstitutional, contrary to the relevant statutes, arbitrary and capricious and contrary to law," the broadcasters said in their filing. Walt Disney Co.'s ABC Inc. and Hearst-Argyle's Kansas City affiliate filed a similar appeal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. General Electric Co.'s NBC filed to participate in the New York case siding with the broadcasters. The FCC last month ruled against Fox for the 2002 Billboard Music Awards during which actress and singer Cher said "f**k 'em" and the 2003 Billboard Music Awards when reality television star Nicole Richie said "s**t" and "f***ing." The agency said the word "bulls**t" on the ABC show NYPD Blue violated the decency limits. The FCC also found CBS stations in violation for the word "bulls**tter" on the morning news program The Early Show. The agency, however, decided against proposing fines against the stations that aired the shows. U.S. regulations bar television broadcast stations from airing obscene material and limit them to airing indecent material, such as profanity and sexually explicit content, during late-night hours when children are less likely to be in the audience.
"The FCC overstepped its authority in an attempt to regulate content protected by the First Amendment, acted arbitrarily and failed to provide broadcasters with a clear and consistent standard for determining what content the government intends to penalize," the broadcasters said in a statement. An FCC spokeswoman countered the legal challenges by noting that the Supreme Court 20 years ago upheld a decision that found indecent comedian George Carlin's monologue about the seven dirty words that cannot be said on television and radio. "Today Disney, Fox, and CBS challenged that precedent and argued they should be able to air two of those same words," said the spokeswoman Tamara Lipper. "The commission is reviewing their filings." The FCC rulings were part of a bigger decision that included $3.3 million in proposed fines against broadcast television stations in other decency cases. The fines are not final so court challenges have not yet been attempted. The FCC has not ruled on a two-year-old appeal of its ruling finding that decency limits were violated when U2 singer Bono said "f**king brilliant" during the 2003 Golden Globe Awards on NBC.
If you have celebrities swearing at awards ceremonies, there is almost no way to control it or punish anyone for it because it can happen at any time. The FCC needs to watch themselves. I don't see how they were going to dish out fines. I can understand complaints if the show was on when the kids are home and watching, but other than that, I would let some of these slip ups slide. I thought I would throw this in there because it was an interesting article.
Alicia Keys has signed on for a role in "The Nanny Diaries." The film already features a cast of Scarlett Johansson, Laura Linney, Chris Evans, Paul Giamatti and Donna Murphy. Based on the hit novel by Nicola Kraus and Emma McLaughlin, the movie tells of a young New Jersey woman who takes on a job as a nanny to a wealthy Upper East Side family in New York City. It is there that she witnesses all the scandal, lies, and deception of the affluent family.
Alicia Keys in a film? I love her music, but acting is quite the step. I officially want to see this film after looking at the stellar cast. The plot looks good too. Paul Giamatti has been doing terrific stuff in the past few years so it has to be decent if he is attached to the project.
Jeff Daniels, Jon Heder, and Diane Keaton are all set for "Mama's Boy." Heder plays a slacker living at home with his mother. He finds his life changed with his mother gets a new boyfriend, a self-help guru. Daniels will play the boyfriend, who tries to get boy to move out of his house through confrontation. Tim Hamilton will direct.
I never thought I would say this regarding Jon Heder, but he and Daniels would make a hilarious comedy duo. I can only imagine what sort of dialogue these two would be exchanging. An odder pairing could not be found.
Keifer Sutherland spoke recently with MTV about the upcoming "24" movie. "The 24 movie would be a two-hour representation of a 24-hour day. That would be the first time that we would not do something in real time, but the characters would obviously all be derivative of the show. The timing issue is something the writers are working on right now. But the sky's the limit at that point for them, because we would not be restricted by the time element."
Sometimes a movie from a television show can mean doom for the show in the long run, but this show is pretty safe at this point. It just recently signed on for three more seasons, and the ratings are still increasing as a whole. I think this movie could turn out well if they played their cards right. Political thrillers always have a cozy place in big screen cinema these days.
Following critical acclaim as IFC's outspoken host on Henry's Film Corner, a weekly series "The Henry Rollins Show" had premiered this past Saturday, April 1 at 10:00pm EST. Henry Rollins, the articulate and opinionated former lead singer of "Black Flag," front man of the "Rollins Band," actor, author and spoken
word artist, will continue to give us his unique take on the current state of pop culture, politics and everything entertainment, for better or worse. "The Henry Rollins Show" takes an uncensored approach to talk show programming with an independent voice that strikes a brilliant balance of humor, angst, art and intellect. During each 30-minute episode, the outspoken Rollins offers topical, subversive, no-holds-barred debates in IFC's uncut, uncensored environment. Previous visitors to the Film Corner couch have included Philip Seymour Hoffman, Billy Bob Thornton, Penelope Cruz, Crispin Glover, Rob Zombie and Don Cheadle. A wider range of guests on "The Henry Rollins Show" will include personalities from film, television, music, comedy and politics. Each episode of "The Henry Rollins Show" features a performance from some of the most respected and cutting-edge artists in music today. IFC offers artists the rare opportunity to perform their music completely uncensored, in its intended form.
He also has a segment called "Teeing Off" in which rants on just about everything from politics to everyday events. Then there is a segment called "Rollins Revenge/Rollins Rejoice" where he praises or criticizes something whether it is a film or person. This is a great idea and I can't think of a better personality to host an uncensored type talk show than Henry Rollins. He never holds anything back, and that's what I have always like about Mr. Rollins. Of course I have always enjoyed the music of "Black Flag", but he has been in some quality films over the years such as Heat and the vastly under appreciated The Chase with Charlie Sheen. I thought that film was great. Henry Rollins is pretty versatile in the entertainment industry. He has been seen on countless numbers of shows, and to me this new program well worth your time. If you want great celebrity interviews, quality music, and honest opinions, The Henry Rollins Show is for you. It airs Thursdays at 11 pm.
What's New on DVD…Buy or Avoid?
Hostel- I hated this film, and I recommend avoiding in any way shape or form. That is all. Avoid
Mrs. Henderson Presents-This was a funny and charming little movie with some great performances, but it is isn't quite worth buying. It is worth a rent though. Avoid
Breakfast on Pluto-Cillian Murphy had a big year in 2005, but this did not look very good to me. I did not see and I didn't hear enough good reviews to recommend it.Avoid
Thundercats: Season 2, Volume 1- This was one of my favorite cartoon shows growing up. It is expensive but well worth it. Go pick it up. Buy
Doogie Howser M.D.-Season 4- The final season of this quality show is being released. I need to pick one of these seasons up because this show was pretty good in its day. For the price, this isn't bad. Buy
The Complete Mr. Arkadin-Criterion Collection- Criterion keeps pounding out the great DVD's. If you like foreign films this will most likely be good. It's hard to rent these so buying is the only option. Buy
The Last Samurai (HD-DVD)-The HD-DVD's are on their way, and what better way to start. This is a fabulous movie, even though Cruise is an idiot in real life. Buy
Million Dollar Baby (HD-DVD)- I am a firm believer that this should not have won Best Picture. It was a great film, but not worth repeated viewings. Avoid
The Phantom of the Opera (HD-DVD)- A pretty good musical that should be well worth your purchase if your starting your HD-DVD collection. Buy
Movie Dictionary: Word of the Week
Film Noir:
a film style and mood primarily associated with crime films, that portrays its principal characters in a nihilistic and existentialist world. Film noir is primarily derived from the hard-boiled style of crime fiction of the Depression era (many films noir were adaptations of such novels) and the gritty style of 1930s horror fiction. Film noir is first clearly seen in films released in the early 1940s. "Noirs" were historically made in black and white, and had a dark, high-contrast style with roots in German Expressionist cinematography.
The term film noir (French for "black film") was unknown to the filmmakers and actors while they were creating the classic films noirs. Film noir was defined in retrospect by film historians and critics; many of the creators of film noir later professed to be unaware at the time of having created a distinctive type of film.
The use of the plural film noirs in English, is untrue to the French origin of the term. The plural form of film noir in French is films noirs (although the pronunciation is unchanged), which is sometimes used in English as is films noir.
