The UBS Evening Movie News 04.10.08
Posted by George H. Sirois on 04.10.2008
The “Studios Need General Managers” Edition…
Welcome everyone to the latest edition of The UBS Evening Movie News. I'm George H. Sirois, and although the rest of our news reporters mentioned this already, I would remiss if I didn't start off my report with a word about Charlton Heston. We've been losing these legends in the industry so quickly lately, and this one will definitely leave a lasting mark. After seeing him on the big screen two weeks ago at the Ziegfeld for the Planet of the Apes screening, you can definitely feel his charisma in his performance as George Taylor. Whatever Heston movie you have available, make sure you give it a look soon just to take in what we had in film, and what we've lost.
On a much lighter note, I have to give a salute to the thousands of Internet users who flooded the Mets' polls that selected the song to play during the 8th inning of every home game. For their final season at Shea Stadium, the Mets allowed the fans to vote on what song to play, but made the fatal mistake of having one of the choices being: Other. Internet users followed the example that YouTube set on April Fools Day and selected Rik Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up." Yes, the Mets got Rik-Rolled, and now they're "Together Forever." (A cheap pun, yes, but I couldn't resist.)
And now, on with the news!
TOP STORY
After years of relative reticence, the Mouse House is strutting over its animation slate once again. With Disney chief exec Robert Iger and the investment community looking on in New York Tuesday, John Lasseter presented an uncharacteristically detailed road map of the next four years of Pixar and Disney animation.
Two years after the pair's $7.4 billion merger, Disney is eager to tout the lineup and keep Pixar's momentum going after RatatouilleCars. Studio is also looking to pump up the fortunes of Disney's own animation unit, now under the control of Lasseter and former Pixar prexy Ed Catmull after suffering a string of disappointments, including last year's Meet the Robinsons.
The lineup includes a Pixar film every summer and a Disney Animation Studios toon every holiday season, save for 2011, when Pixar is releasing two films and Disney Animation Studios will take a breather. All of the films starting with this November's Bolt will be released in digital 3-D, except for 2009 Disney toon The Princess and the Frog, the only pic being made in traditional 2-D.
Disney studio chief Dick Cook said it was the first pure animation presentation for the Mouse House in more than a decade. "A few months ago, Ed and John and I realized we have a lot of stuff, and we haven't done anything like this since the Pixar acquisition," he told Daily Variety.
Among the pics unveiled for the first time were a sequel to Cars, an adaptation of a Philip K. Dick short story and two original toons from Pixar.
In addition, the studio detailed the new plan for DisneyToon Studios, the direct-to-DVD unit that has been left in an uncertain state since former topper Sharon Morrill left last year and Catmull and Lasseter brought it under their control. DisneyToon has four Disney Fairy movies starring Tinker Bell on its slate, with one set to be released each year starting this October.
"DisneyToon has a very robust slate of movies, and when (Lasseter) feels they are ready, we will be talking about others beyond 'Tinker Bell,' " Cook noted. He said the division will focus on spin-offs and original films but won't do any more sequels to Disney classics.
Taking the stage at NYU's Skirball Center for Performing Arts, Lasseter, chief creative officer for Walt Disney and Pixar, sported his trademark Hawaiian shirt ("What else did you think I'd wear?") and hugged each of the filmmakers as he brought them onstage.
Aside from 30 minutes from this summer's Wall-E, an affecting mashup of Blade Runner and Charlie Chaplin, little finished footage was shown, but designs, animatics and models were presented, and significant announcements were sprinkled throughout.
I had to make sure the part about not doing any more Direct-to-DVD sequels was boldfaced, since I was so relieved to read that. Thankfully, it wasn't the only piece of good news in this article.
What we're seeing here is a studio that has realized the mistake it made by thinking it could duplicate the same success that Pixar had with them earlier. After Disney released disappointments like Chicken Little, Valiant and the aforementioned Meet the Robinsons, they not only have a fully functional relationship with them again but they gave John Lasseter the control over their animation department. Now, all of a sudden, the prospect of Pixar and Disney switching off with their animated releases doesn't seem like a bad idea.
Plus, there's the news of a Disney 2-D animated film being made for a 2009 release. Granted, I seriously doubt this would be a return to the most recent 2-D Golden Age that Disney enjoyed from 1989 – 1994, but it's nice to see they haven't forgotten how to make these kinds of movies.
All this good news AND TOY STORY 3??? No wonder Mickey's got a little extra strut in his step.
Credit: Variety
SYBIL THE SOOTHSAYER
UPCOMING FILMS
Young @ Heart: Prepare to be entertained by this New England senior citizens chorus that has delighted audiences worldwide with their covers of songs by everyone from The Clash to Coldplay.
This looks like it could be one of the most fun times to have at the movies this year. Each time I saw the trailer, I was laughing. Whoever came up with the concept for this is a genius!
Street Kings: A veteran LAPD cop (Keanu Reeves) seeks the killer of his former partner, forcing to go up against the cop culture, ultimately leading him to question the loyalties of everyone around him.
If someone starts saying how King Kong doesn't have shit on him, I'll be really disappointed, but I won't be surprised. It doesn't look like it will completely suck, but at the same time, I just feel like I've seen this before and it was better that time.
Prom Night: Donna's (Brittany Snow) senior prom is supposed to be the best night of her life, though a sadistic killer from her past has different plans for her and her friends.
After extensive research (Wikipedia), I thought I'd mention to anyone who may not know that this is NOT a remake of the Jamie Lee Curtis classic. They just took the title; the rest is their own story. It still looks like crap, though, but at least it's somewhat original crap.
Credit: TheMovieBox.net
DVD NEWS
Here's some news that Will Helm has waited many years for, and hopefully this will become a reality.
If you're a reader of "Misunderstood Masterpieces," then you know how much of a fan Will is of the 1981 horror comedy classic Student Bodies. And you also know how much he has been begging and pleading for a DVD release. Well, his prayers have finally been answered, because on June 3, you get to see what all the fuss is about when Student Bodies makes its long-awaited leap to DVD. I've seen this movie once when I was a teenager, and I can't wait to see it again. You want to talk about a movie that was ahead of its time? Writer-director Mickey Rose came up with something that puts the current spoof films to so much shame. (Well, actually Rose didn't have to do anything to put the current spoof films to so much shame since they do that pretty well on their own.)
Anyway, I won't spoil the plot. Just put in your pre-order to amazon.com and see it for yourself. I only wonder if they're going to release a gift set complete with horsehead bookends.
MOVIE TRAILER OF THE WEEK: The Pineapple Express
And here's the latest YouTube video from me. I'm having a lot of fun doing these. Enjoy…
JIM WEBBING AND HIS IT'S-THE-HONEST-TRUTH-DEPARTMENT
"It's Mikey, Bitch.": Party on, Mike Myers. The star of the Wayne's World, Austin Powers and Shrek films will host the 2008 MTV Movie Awards.
The 17th annual show will air live from the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City on June 1. Nominees will be announced in May.
Myers, star of the upcoming film The Love Guru, hosted the show in 1997.
"Mike Myers blew us away last time he hosted the MTV Movie Awards with his 'Lord of the Dance' and over-the-top musical productions," Van Toffler, president of MTV Networks Music, Logo and Films Group, said Wednesday.
"He keeps creating iconic film characters that have been etched in the minds of MTV's audiences forever," Toffler said. "'The Love Guru' is sure to spur yet another cultural movement, so we're elated to have Mike back as our host."
Mark Burnett is executive producing the show.
"Hosting the MTV Movie Awards is like a party, but without having to do beer runs in your mom's minivan; we do beer runs in Will Smith's four-story motorhome," Myers said.
I have absolutely no idea how good The Love Guru is going to be, but I can only hope that it's better than the last couple times I've seen or heard Myers on the big screen. Shrek the Third was a bit of a let-down for me after the colossal successes that 1 & 2 were, and the same can definitely be said of Goldmember, which had me anxious to leave the theater despite enjoying the first two.
I did enjoy his hosting of the MTV Movie Awards in '97, but I also have no idea how this awards show will be considering the format MTV tried for their VMA's this past year. Will the awards be secondary to the musical performances again? Will Britney show up and give another "performance" to kick off the spectacle? We'll just have to see in a couple months.
Credit: Hollywood Reporter
The winner between this and The King of Kong gets to play The Wizard: Lakeshore Entertainment has picked up "Thundercade," a comedy spec from "Fanboys" co-writer Ernie Cline.
Lakeshore's Tom Rosenberg and Gary Lucchesi are fast-tracking the project and producing it along with Cline's manager, Dan Farah of Farah Films.
"Thundercade" follows a video game junkie facing a midlife crisis who learns that a young punk had broken a record he set as a teen. He and two lifelong friends embark on a quest to reclaim his place in video game history and win the world's ultimate gaming championship, Thundercade.
Cline, a self-proclaimed lifelong video game addict, said he was inspired to write the screenplay by his nephew, who would trash talk him while the two played Xbox games.
"I fell in love with the idea of pitting older 'classic arcade era' gamers from the '80s against teenagers -- the Atari 2600 generation vs. the Xbox 360 generation," Cline said.
A spotlight has been cast on Cline's "Star Wars"-themed Fanboys because of a public dispute with the Weinstein Co. and filmmakers over competing versions of the film and whether it will see a theatrical release. Supporters of Fanboys, including the "Star Wars" fan club known as the 501st, staged demonstrations at screenings of the Weinstein Co.'s Superhero Movie in March to protest the latest version.
Farrah's producing credits include "Armored," from Screen Gems, which is in postproduction.
Cline is additionally repped by attorney David Feldman.
Interesting. No word in this article at all about The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters, which is a fantastic documentary that only came out last year in theaters. Granted, that film deals with much older players who could appreciate the sort of game that Donkey Kong is, but the premise of rivals looking to break arcade records is juuuuuust a bit too similar to be dismissed.
I do, however, like the concept of younger kids playing classic arcade games; it's like the scene in Billy Madison where the kids were talking about how Mortal Kombat was the best game ever and Billy said that Donkey Kong was the best. "Donkey Kong sucks!" "You know something, you suck!" (Yes, an early Adam Sandler quote found its way into my news report.)
Credit: Hollywood Reporter
FILM MUSIC NEWS
In This Week's Film Music Weekly:
* More than 6,000 Artists from 15 Countries Rally for Radio Royalties
* Ableton Releases Session Drums Update
* Manhattan Producers Alliance Announces Spring Pro Seminars
* New Stargate CD by Joel Goldsmith Released
* The Scoreboard: Hundreds of Composers and Their Projects
* Signings and Projects: Joel Goldsmith, Mychael Danna and more
* The Chart Doctor - by Ron Hess, "Anatomy of an Arrangement Part 2"
* Music Technology and You - by Peter Lawrence Alexander, "Best Service Galaxy II Piano Collection"
* Soundtrack Review - by Daniel Schweiger, "Doctor Who - Season 3" by Murray Gold
* CURRENT FILM & TV MUSIC JOB LISTINGS From The Film Music Network
Much thanks to reader Todd V for telling me about these twin models CJ & Raquel Gibson. This was the first time I had heard of them, and all I can say is… well, you just have a look…
As a sports fan for most of my life, I've seen and heard many different things that have made heads spin. I've listened to so many other fans ready to declare general managers insane over the decisions they make. Hell, I went through the 2006 Giants' season with the fans chanting "Fire Coughlin" all around me in Giants Stadium. They wanted Eli's head on a pole, and every last minute of the off-season HAD to be used coercing Jimmy Johnson to come to our sidelines.
Things really got heated when Jerry Reese stepped in as General Manager, and got rid of LaVar Arrington after only one season, and – GASP! – kept Tom Coughlin on as Head Coach. Several months later, Coughlin is holding the Vince Lombardi Trophy over his head and everyone loves both the Head Coach and General Manager.
The moral of the story: team owners don't always have to listen to the fans.
What we need to do is have the film industry take this hard-learned lesson and apply it to their filmmaking. Why is that? Well, because over the past couple of decades, the one constant that studios are doing is "listening to the fans" through their screenings and surveys. Only they're not as much listening to "the fans" as they are listening to average moviegoers that may or may not be suitable for what's on the screen.
They do this on purpose to make sure that the film being screened will be enjoyed by as many people as possible. The mindset is that if regular people like it, then the fans are GUARANTEED to love it, right? Well, say that to the hardcore fans who are still pissed off over X-Men: The Last Stand. What I'm trying to say here is that the industry spends millions of dollars setting up these screenings to get as many different suggestions as they can to make sure that they wind up pleasing everyone. Unfortunately, this process has backfired more often than they'd like to say as each year, we get movies that beg to be liked by everyone and end up pleasing nobody.
The problem lies with who is running these studios these days. Back in the old days, there were people who loved film, who were absorbed by the art, and could tell what worked and what didn't. Now, we have top-level executives who started out as business majors and basically followed the money to Hollywood. So it makes perfect sense to them to have screenings and focus groups since this is the only way they know to get their products to reach the public.
This wasn't the case in the 70s. I've made my disdain for Rob Zombie's Halloween pretty vocal, but I do have respect for Rob as an entertainer. And I give him credit for knowing how things were in the industry and how they should be again. In the Halloween: 25 Years of Terror DVD, he says in regards to the screening process: "I wouldn't want someone to ask my opinion of how Jaws should have been re-edited when I was 17. I would have ruined the fucking movie. You know? ‘Gee, how could I have made The Wild Bunch better when I was 14?'"
Here's my idea. Instead of spending all this money on screenings and printing out suggestion cards, each studio should have its own general managers that would screen the rough cuts and help the director, producers and writers with what works and what doesn't. These managers would have to have at least ten years of experience as a writer or director. They have to be very familiar with the filmmaking process. They have to have a proven track record, with a considerable amount of critical AND commercial success. (They do exist.) And it would be up to them to provide suggestions and comments before the films are released.
Now, why more than one general manager? For each genre, of course. How many critics out there have you read that give a film a bad review because they don't like the particular genre? Same way of thinking here. A horror expert wouldn't be the best person to give notes to a comedy and vice versa.
Keep in mind that I said "suggestions and comments." I didn't say commandments, which means that the filmmaker is not required to take everything that the general manager says as gospel, but rather suggestions. The general manager could bring up possible problems that the director didn't think of when their film was in production. But at the same time, the director wouldn't be forced to bow down to the will of the studio; he or she would still be allowed to retain their vision.
By doing this, you're accomplishing two major things. You're getting people who know film giving suggestions and not forcing changes that don't make sense. And you're not allowing millions of anonymous cooks to get their hands into a film at its most vulnerable point. Of course, the most ironic thing in this rant is that I used a quote from a director that I completely agree with, yet this is the same man who decided to make one of my favorite horror movies better and wound up pissing me off. Only in Hollywood.
And that's a wrap for Chapter 60 of The UBS Evening News. I'm George H. Sirois, and I'll see you next week!
Ah yes, CJ Gibson I remember her from a few years ago.. She's very nice. She looked better then though. But eh, at least she got naked.
The media has finally picked up on the whole Rick-Roll thing with calling it a "new fad" even though it's been a year or more now?
Posted By: PHOENIXZERO (Guest) on April 10, 2008 at 06:17 AM
Awesome video...
Undertaker is and always will be the best
Posted By: Apollo22237 (Registered) on April 10, 2008 at 06:22 AM
George, all I can say is well done sir, well done.
By the way, Raquel Gibson was Playboy's Miss November 2005.
Posted By: DivasRGr8 (Registered) on April 10, 2008 at 08:26 AM
I guess Hef knows how to pick 'em just as much...
Posted By: George H. Sirois (Registered) on April 10, 2008 at 12:15 PM
Great Undertaker vid - proving that no matter what "zones" are on 411 it's the wrestling that brings us all here.
Posted By: Good (Guest) on April 10, 2008 at 12:28 PM
I forgot to say earlier that CJ and Raquel aren't twins, CJ was born in '83 and Raquel in '85. I'd still like to make a Double Mint commercial with them. _>
Posted By: PHOENIXZERO (Guest) on April 10, 2008 at 06:16 PM
