Babes, Bombs, and Blockbusters Movie News Report 08.25.08

Posted by Mike Gorman on 08.26.2008

Is Christopher Nolan considering Cher for a major role in the next Batman film? What’s wrong with “Hari Puttar”? Who are the ten Anti-Heroes Mike Gorman thinks you need to know? Find out this week in the 3Bs News Report complete with Hot Shot, Alana Curry, warming things up for you.




I call this week's news a good thing coming in a small package as there was not too much out there to report but what was available is pretty interesting. In this week's Trunk I take a look at just what is an "anti-hero" and then highlight ten of my favorites. Do you recognize this week's Hot Shot? Don't worry, I let you in on who she is by the end of the report.


The G Spot
The G Spot is your place for the day's movie news with the occasional cameo from the land of television.

Harry Vs. Hari
Warner Bros. Studios has filed a lawsuit this week to protect their intellectual property. At the core is the title of Mumbai based Mirchi Movies' upcoming film Hari Puttar – A Comedy of Terrors which Warner Bros. feels is too close to the Harry Potter franchise in title. Puttar is a comedy about a 10-year-old boy whose family moves to England. Seems clear to me that these films are almost identical and the machine that is Warner Bros. should stomp out this Bollywood effort. Odd though that they haven't done anything about the DVD classic, "Hairy Potter and the Philosopher's Bone". Hmmm....

Who does he want for Catwoman??
It is rumored that Christopher Nolan is eyeing 62-year-old Cher to portray Catwoman in the next Bat-sequel. Allegedly a studio executive reports that he "wants to her to portray her like a vamp in her twilight years. The new Catwoman will be the absolute opposite of Michelle Pfeiffer and Halle Berry's purring creations." All I can say is that if anyone could make this work it is Nolan. While my first instinct is terror that this film could then become a Cher come-back tour; I do remind myself that she is an Oscar winning actress in her own right. This could work out well in the end if it happens. Of course there is the little detail that they need to get the important cast and crew members back on board.

Can a remake be plagiarism?
Writer Adam Stone is accusing the producers of the recently released film, Death Race, of copyright infringement. He alleges that the film is not a remake of 1975's Death Race 2000 as the title may imply and is instead a rip off of Stone's film Joust. With all the stink I have seen coming off of Death Race mayhaps Mr. Stone may turn out to be a hero if he is able to get it pulled from theaters. Not going to happen but one can dream after all.

Drop what you're doing and get your Tivo ready
Charlie Sheen has announced that he is going to be a father again with his wife of three months, Brooke Mueller. While this is happy news for Charlie it seems inevitable that we will now be subjected to a new reality show on E! in about nine months titled something like, "Brooke Mueller: It's Even More Complicated This Time." I hope not.



The Trunk

I was thinking this weekend about what it means to be an "Anti-Hero." My research took me around the web and back again as I found literary references to the term first being applied in ancient Greek texts and from there it has bounced around from genre to genre with each user creating their own spin. The actual word Anti-hero did not enter dictionaries until the mid-Twentieth Century. The most common definition I was able to find described anti-heroes as possessing flaws because, according to a well thought out essay I found referenced on Wikipedia, "they have bad purposes and good methods, or bad methods and good purposes." Literature and film critics have adapted the term to refer to a character that you hate to love. This week I want to stay closer to the classical definition and look at ten characters who either rose from a darker side to portray heroics or at the very least is ensconced in a stereotype that would not lend you to describe them upfront as a hero initially.

Al in Die Hard
He is set up initially as your stereotypical fat, lazy cop. We see him enter the convenience store and by the rack of Twinkies for himself. This introduction leads us to believe he subsist solely in the comedic elements of the film. He will play the straight-man to Bruce Willis wisecracking hero. As the film progresses however we learn that there is more to Al than just his pudgy waistline and wisecracks. He is a character challenged by his past who emerges in the final moments of the film to capture his heroic moment. He overcomes his fear of his gun and takes down revived villain. His action received cheers from the film audience as any hero should.

V in V for Vendetta
This masked loner fits the definition of anti-hero to a "T". He utilizes violence and destruction, chaos really, as a means to right the wrongs he feels have been imparted upon society. The mayhem he produces is for a reason. He is the ultimate patriot who believes so strongly in the rights of men and the inherent good in his country that he finds he can do nothing else to save his comrades and culture than to destroy part of it. He makes the ultimate examples to wake up the sleeping citizenry. Natalie Portman's character is our vehicle into his world and through her eyes we see the truth behind the mask.

Freddy Krueger in the Nightmare on Elm Street series
He is a scarred evil man who has done terrible things; so why do we cheer for him? As the Nightmare on Elm Street films progressed Freddy moved from being the dark dream man haunting the shadows of the innocent teens nightmares to the ringleader of a comedic circus with horror elements. While I may not have agreed completely with how they made him more comical, I did begin to see him emerge as an anti-hero. He became more about how he could creatively kill these whiney cardboard-charactered teens than a true frightening menace and he became fun to watch. As an audience member, you counted the moments until the teenagers fell asleep so you could see what Freddy would dream up for them. He ended his run as the hero you clapped for and then felt a little bad about applauding a death.

King Kong in Kong Kong
He is the literal 50ft tall monster who eventually rampages through New York leaving a wake of damage behind him. But for what reason? Love. This giant ape is the most human character of all in the film and that is why we root for him as he stands atop the Empire State Building and we yell epithets at the planes as they mistakenly shoot him down. We mourn Kong's passing as we see that he has changed the lives for the better of those who found him. His animalistic behavior provoked fear but also deep emotion.

Riddick in Pitch Black
We were led to believe by our introduction to him that Vin Diesel's Riddick was the boogeyman we all feared might be hiding in the shadows. He was an unapologetic killer in transit to face punishment for his crimes. His first interactions with the other characters were cold and harsh. He cared only how they could be useful to them, or so it seemed. I really am bringing him into this discussion as he represents the anti-heroes who are transformed by circumstances. Once they discover exactly what will occur once nightfalls, Riddick becomes the de-facto leader that must be relied on if they want to live. He still maintains that this is not a roll he asks for or particularly enjoys but he takes it on nonetheless. Even in the film's final moments you are set up to question his moments regardless of how heroic he has proven himself to be.

Captain Jack Sparrow in The Pirates of the Caribbean
Far from your usual clean cut action hero, Jack Sparrow is a pirate through and through who haphazardly falls into the role of hero from time to time. He is cheered for as much for his heroic actions (ie. saving the damsel) as he for his dastardly deeds. He is the anti-hero who just can't seem to completely redeem himself and that is what makes him so likeable. The swashbuckling bravado of the pirate captain who can't seem to catch a real break is fascinating. This is of course helped along by how far Depp threw himself into the character. You know that in the back of his mind he is always working a new angle that will lead to his success and riches even when he is battling ghost pirates and old world goddesses alongside more straightforward hero types. At the end of the day it is all about Jack and it is clear that this is something that will never change... and we are lucky for that as viewers.

Nick Naylor in Thank You for Smoking
"Michael Jordan plays ball. Charles Manson kills people. I talk. Everyone has a talent." With that statement you have Nick Naylor, spokesman for "big tobacco" and loving father. He is the man with bad purposes and good methods. His syrupy sweet voice convinces you that the dangers of smoking are over exaggerated and that maybe something else was to blame for the child's cancer on the stage of Joan Lunden's talk show. He is not devious or evil, or at least he does not believe himself to be. When anti-smoking activists attacked him, you decried their behavior and prayed for his recovery. He is the golden boy with the golden smile who wants to get you smoking two packs a day while encouraging your kids to see how cool smoking can be. He may take a journey through his beliefs throughout the film but in the end he is still the best talker you have ever seen regardless of what he talks you into.

Leon in The Professional
When a professional assassin becomes responsible for the well being of a young girl it is a classic example of the anti-hero. Leon's cold dark killing side is balanced by the moments when Natalie Portman's character brings him into the light. He eventually accepts that he must help her regardless of the consequences and in that we see the true hero within him. Interesting to see Portman show up again in this group. Perhaps she is drawn to films of this nature?

Tyler Durden in Fight Club
Whether he is real or not is beside the point when it comes to this anti-hero. He wants to remove the blinders from the eyes of society and show them how their consumerist ways are leading to the downfall of mankind. Only he does not want to do it in a gentle, inspirational way instead he wants to blow the lids off of our dirty little secrets with bombs made from the discarded fat of a liposuction clinic. He is in your face chaos at its finest and persuasive enough to make disenfranchised men discard their identities and join his crusade. In the end he must be stopped but his manner and ways leave you wondering what if he had succeeded? How much better might things be?

The MacManus Brothers (Connor & Murphy) in Boondock Saints
They are humble Irish boys who wish only to protect their neighborhood... with guns, violence, and toilets that fall from the sky. Like modern day Robin Hoods the local citizenry and police applaud them even while they bring vengeance down upon the mob, which threatens to overrun them. This dynamic duo brought cult classic status to this little known film. You can't help but be thrilled when they finally reconnect with their father and they band together to continue their righteous crusade. Recent talk of a sequel has me curious to see what else these two might get themselves into and if their methods will continue to keep them firmly locked in a top the anti-hero heap.

Did I miss someone you had hoped to see on the list? Should John Rambo have made the cut? What do you think?




Tuesday Hot Shot
This week's hot shot is Alana Curry. She is an actress who appeared in such films as Terminator 3 and has several horror genre roles in postproduction as we speak so we are sure to see more of her in the future, literally and figuratively.



(All information and gossip gathered from Fark.com, Aintitcoolnews.com, Hollywoodreporter.com, Hollywood.com, Reuters.com, Variety.com, TMZ.com)