Flixens - Movie News

Harry Potter:OOTP One-Sheet Revealed!

Thu, 16 Nov 2006 13:27:00 -0800

It's been a while since we had a Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix update... but Warner Bros. has released the teaser poster for the upcoming fifth film in the film franchise based on J.K. Rowling's wizarding hero.

The poster features Ralph Fiennes as none other than the insidious Lord Voldemort warning us that "you will lose everything."

Hoping to entice people to go see the animated penguin 2D 3D film, Warner Bros. will debut the OOTP trailer before Happy Feet tomorrow (Nov. 17).

LaBeouf Watch, Dateline November 15, 2006

Wed, 15 Nov 2006 11:16:10 -0800

It's been quite a while since we had an update on the trials and tribulations of Shia LaBeouf. May 4th, to be exact. Long-time readers of this site will know that I have a special plase in my heart for that cutie. But today is a new day and we have news that young Master Shia has signed on to Transformers 2 and 3.

Now, now... don't get all excited. These trilogy deals are pretty standard these days. What's interesting though is that Shia seems to think that the Transformers feature film will be his ticket on the Lord of the Rings Gravy Train. In an interview with About.com, Shia compared his work on Bobby with his work on Transformers:

Again, that’s exactly what that is. If anyone tells you they do that for the art value, that’s bulls**t. It’s f**king painful. To go from Emilio Estevez to Michael Bay is like walking out of, you know, like in a hammock in the sky, hanging out drinking Pina Coladas with Jesus and then getting smacked in the face and thrown in the devil’s s**pile and having to make a movie. I swear to God.

Huh wha?? He goes on....

I was thinking about quitting this industry. And Michael Bay will tell you that. He’s so hard on his actors, and not in the way that Emilio might be, in that he’ll push you to be something better. Mike is just f**king a hard a**.

OMG, what a whiny, foul-mouthed little wimp! How could I have been so wrong?

Look, the four, five months of pain I went through might buy my mom a house and that’s forever, so I’m all right. People go to f**king war, it’s not like I have a hard job. I’m an actor. It’s not the worst thing. We’re sitting at a pool, I didn’t pay for those shoes, I didn’t pay for this. It’s not a bad life, and for a guy that didn’t have s**t going on. There’s certain pains; it’s a tradeoff like anything. There’s things you don’t want to do in your industry... You get lost in a f**king weird depression, man... I barely made it out of that movie. I was going to a heart specialist; I was having anxiety attacks, losing my mind. And you know, you’re doing physical s**t all day. It’s tough, man. And even Mike at the end, he was like, ‘Look, I know I’m hard on you but you’ll never get this again. If you can go through this with me, you can do anything.’ Sort of like the whole, ‘If you can live in New York you can live anywhere,” type thing. Whatever doesn’t kill you.

Yeah, yeah... whatever, pansy-boy. I am SO done with you. Oh yeah, and the thing about LOTR...

You don’t get bigger than $250 million robots blowing up the world. I don’t plan on making any other – I mean, I’m going to do Transformers 2 and 3 so that will be my Lord of the Rings.... Yeah, I’m gonna do it. That will be my Lord of the Rings and then I’ll just make indies the rest of my time, for a long time. Elijah [Wood’s] straight. Elijah can do whatever he wants. Why? Because he’s in one of the biggest, the top five grossers ever. People in China know who he is and people in Iceland know who he is. He can do whatever he wants. That’s my whole thing is I’ve got to get to the point where people in Iceland will go see Guide to Recognizing Your Saints. That’s what I’m trying to do... It’s a tough deal but again, it was tough to go from the kid thing to the adult thing. That was the toughest jump you can do in this business.

Sheesh... he sounds like Drew Barrymore coming off her E.T. gig. Who would have known? You know what? He's not even THAT cute...

"Grbavica" Grabs Festival Juries

Mon, 13 Nov 2006 03:44:35 -0800

The Bosnian film Grbavica has been one of the year's most discussed films as far as film festivals are concerned. Along with Volver from Spain and The Lives of Others from Germany, it has a chance at being one of this year's Academy Award nominations for Best Foreign Language Film.

Most recently, Grbavica was awarded the grand jury prize at the AFI Fest (news HERE), but otherwise it has been receiving very positive reactions from several of the year's festivals, including the awarding of the Golden Bear for "best film" at the Berlin Film Festival (more HERE).

The film is directed by newcomer Jasmila ?bani?, and is about (from the website):

Single mother Esma lives with her 12-year-old daughter Sara in Sarajevo’s Grbavica neighborhood, where life is still being reconstructed after the 1990s Yugoslav wars. Unable to make ends meet with the meager government aid she receives, Esma takes a job as a cocktail waitress in a nightclub. Working all night is difficult for Esma physically and it also forces her to reluctantly spend less time with her daughter.

The film's English title appears to be Esma's Secret, and will be released in the UK and Ireland on December 15. If it does receive an Oscar nomination, I guess that North American audiences can expect it around the holiday season.

I had a chance to see this film, but sadly could not attend and all the positive talk it has been receiving in the festival world is making me really regretful that I missed the opportunity!

The Trailer Sony Doesn't Want You To See

Sun, 12 Nov 2006 17:46:05 -0800

I kind of like seeing the unfinished and unrendered material in this trailer. Amazing to see the way blockbuster movie trailers are put together. I wonder how many revisions a trailer goes through before it sees the light of day?

Anyhow, enjoy. The last 3 seconds shows the lunging Venom in full tongue BTW.

UPDATE: Looks like Sony got to the Google Video folks after all. Though I'm sure it can be found elsewhere on these internets.

EXCLUSIVE: Animated Hellboy Triple Play?

Sun, 12 Nov 2006 16:35:30 -0800

A couple of weeks ago, Nina and I were fortunate enough to interview director Tad Stones just before the world-premiere of his Hellboy: The Sword of Storms on the Cartoon Network. Hopefully you were one of the lucky ones to see the film, which offered up a totally new take on Hellboy and his trippy cohorts, fish-man Abe Sapien and fire-starter Liz Sherman. Personally, I'm looking forward to the DVD release, which will arrive soon enough, commercial-free and chock full of extras.

I had an opportunity to chat with Tad after the premiere about The Sword of Storm's reception by the fans, the upcoming DVD, and the second animated Hellboy feature, Hellboy: Blood and Iron. Imagine my surprise when Tad dropped a little scoop right into my lap about a third animated Hellboy film... and more! Read on...

Movie MILF: Hello Tad! It's so nice of you to take time out of your busy schedule to chat with us again. I take it your family survived the premiere?

Tad Stones: Nice to talk to you again. Family’s fine except for the fact our water heater decided to break at 2am and spill forty gallons of hot water on the floor. Luckily my wife was up working on a writing project. Much sponging and mopping followed but the wood floor will never be the same. The repairman turned out to be a Darkwing Duck fan but we didn’t get a break on the bill (I will avoid any puns). Sooner or later that has to pay off for me.

MM: About Hellboy: The Sword of Storms... I did think it was strange that the Cartoon Network didn't really promote the film. That's a shame, as I know a lot of people (judging from internet forums) didn't even know it would be on. We DID tried to do our part by getting the word out!

TS: And I appreciate that, the bribe is in the mail. As to promotion on Cartoon Network, they're in a weird spot. They've bought some older skewing movies like Hellboy and the Ultimate Avengers but the rest of their line up is much younger. So from the programmers point of view, advertising a red demon who says, “Screw you,” during Pokemon or My Gym Partner is a Monkey is inviting trouble. So they only advertise where it fits the audience... which turned out to be not very many places.

MM: Hopefully response to the DVD will be good and CN will be encouraged to beef up promotion for the 2nd film.

TS: Well, the same restrictions will apply but I’m really encouraged that so many people who were talking about it online and mentioned they wanted to buy the DVD. We’re trying to pack it with extras. We’re hobbled by not having had cameras shooting the work as we were in productions but there are lots of interviews. If you’re a fan, it’s a place to find lots of Mike Mignola talking about Hellboy in all his forms.

MM: You mention in your online production diary that Mike is on the commentary track as well.

TS: Yes, Mike, Phil Weistein and I recorded it weeks ago. Mostly me saying "What I should have done is..." Mike had only seen part of the movie when he did the commentary so you get some of his first reactions to the final film. I trust Starz will put enough promotion bucks into the marketing so no fan will miss hearing about the DVD.

MM: So what's happening with the second animated Hellboy film then?

TS: We’re editing Hellboy: Blood and Iron right now. I’m working on getting permission to make the movie a couple of minutes shorter. That may sound like you’re getting less value for your money but it’s the opposite. We don’t have the extra camera coverage that a live action film has so if I want to trim frames from a scene or cut a scene completely to improve the action I’m hard pressed to replace the footage. My goal is to get the longest film possible, but I don’t want it flabby.

This movie is soooooooooo different from the first it makes me nervous.

MM: Can't wait! I really enjoyed Hellboy: Sword of Storms. What do you have planned after Blood and Iron? Taking a much-deserved rest I assume...

TS: I’ve been approved to work on the script of the next Hellboy movie. Mike and I know the villain story which is chock full of cool stuff and evil plans. There will be many characters from the comics and you’ll see the animated version of Hellboy’s origin. We still have to work out how we will tell the story and the emotional elements that will affect our heroes. We know Hellboy, Kate and Broom will be in it, we’re not sure who else. But there’s no green light on the actual production. I’m assuming that will have to wait for the reports of DVD sales.

In the meantime, I’ve been approached to guide the animated adventures of another comic book hero, one of the biggest in comics in fact. But no deals have been signed yet.

MM: "Biggest" as in popular, or as in size? I mean, are we talking "Wolverine" big or "Galactus" big? And a third Hellboy film? Hmm... I think I just figured out the angle for our next chat! Until then, thanks for the scoops!

TS: Always fun talking to the Flixens! Say “Hi” to Nina for me.

MM: Hey, she can get her OWN interview... this is so MY moment! Toodles!

Spidey 3 Trailer Weaves Web of Destruction

Thu, 09 Nov 2006 07:57:54 -0800

Talk about your massive media blitzes...

An all-new, full-length, 2 1/2-minute trailer for Spider-Man 3 is about to be unleashed on the world today, broadcasting across a number of Viacom's media networks on TV as well as the Internet.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, on CBS the trailer will air after CSI and before the Shark. On Comedy Central, the trailer will run before a new South Park episode, while MTV will show the spot before a new Real World/Road Rules Challenge. Other TV networks airing the trailer include BET, Logo, MTV2, Spike TV and VH1, with each supporting the event with custom promotions.

In addition, 14 online destinations from Viacom's networks are supporting the airing, including AddictingGames.com, AddictingClips.com, BET.com, MTV.com, IFilm.com, Nick.com, ComedyCentral.com, GameTrailers.com, LogoOnline.com, Neopets.com, SpikeTV.com, The-N.com, VH1.com, and Xfire.com.

Immediately after the television premiere, a high-definition version of the trailer will be available exclusively on IFilm.com.

Sniff... news like this reminds me of Jenny From Canada and her Spidey-Loving ways... we miss you Jenny, wherever your parents have you locked away.

"Piccolo" Hits the Right Note for Weinstein Co.

Thu, 09 Nov 2006 07:35:15 -0800

The Weinstein Co. has purchased the North American distribution rights to Piccolo, Saxo and Company, a CG-animated French film about a group of instruments who band (HAHA!) together to rescue other instruments and musical notes from a mad scientist trying to build the perfect instrument.

Sort of like Sonic the Hedgehog but with music. And no cute furry animals.

The Hollywood Reporter says it is based on the 1950's album Les Aventures de Piccolo Saxo by "space-age pop" musician Andre Popp. I spent some time in France during the 80s and I remember what French pop music was like then... I shudder to think at the horror that would be 1950's French space-age pop music. Sorry, France, but let's be honest.

Come to think of it, I wonder if Zahra knows anything about this? I might be unwittingly insulting her favorite album, nay, a cornerstone of her childhood! Sorry Sweetie...

Anyway, the film opens in France this month, and new actors are expected to dub the film into English, although it's not clear whether the film will get a theatrical release in North America or go straight to DVD.

Film School Confidential, Part 3

Wed, 08 Nov 2006 12:26:44 -0800

Hi Everyone, Nina here with another installment of Film School Confidential.

When I found out that our favorite UK correspondent Dougie was going off to film school, I thought that it might be interesting for him to post his perspectives on it as he progresses his way through the program. I thought this might serve as inspiration (or warning) to anyone who was also considering film school. This would also help to keep Dougie honest, because if he drops out, we can all publicly chastize him.

Part 1 | Part 2

Film School Confidential
Episode 3: Confessions of A 20-Something Film Student

So in the time that has passed since my last entry, our group has started, and finished, shooting. The recording studio was a fairly successful move, if chaotic, as there was no rehersal, dry run, or real discussion about each scene, to enhance the awkward nature of the bands actions and words towards each other. It worked well enough, and each member of the team has now retired to our own machines to put together our film.

Because I'm not the best at constructing long reports of any kind, I choose just now to answer a couple questions that have been semi-raised in comments. The school I'm attending is the SAE Institute in Glasgow. They were originally only an audio engineering school, but now have expanded to include film, and have schools located across the world. I chose this particular school because of how hand's-on the lessons are. While one of my other choices, Stirling University, may have been cheaper, what with bursarys and SAAS helping with tuition fee's, it's very much a theory-based couse, with no real practical work till the 15th month of the course. SAE emphasize the importance of learning by doing, and although expensive, I feel confident I made the right choice.

Because I'm not officially in the film making part of the course yet (this is an introductory mini-course in Photoshop, Flash, Dreamweaver, 3D animation, digital sound and video editing), the tools available to us in class are limited to iMac's with iMovie. I'm don't like relying on the college's resources at the stage however, and have been working on my projects at home, on a PC. For the movie project, I'll be using either Sony Vegas or Adobe's Premier Pro.

If anyone has any other questions about the course I'm on, either comment or email me, and I'll let you know.

So, having set up my own web design business a couple years ago, the Flash, Dreamweaver and Photoshop projects were fairly easy passes, and with that coupled with me going into the film course, the rest of my team are expecting something special from my edited movie. I have a confession to make.

I have NEVER done any film editing prior to this course. Apart from a few vacations, and a couple consensual dirty tapes (not my idea, not something I'd ever want to view, and I 100% blame Paris Hilton for the resurgence of the popularity for the act), my video camera sits in the the drawer, gathering dust. I've never really had the inclination to grab a bunch of friends, head out and film Mad Max 4. In my defense though, my decision to go to film school was born from a fairly recent idea that it would be something I'd enjoy doing.

It does put you, dear readers, in an interesting position though. If I make anything of my education at film school and become a big shot director, you will have been witness to all the horrible mistakes I made in my career infancy. Bragging rights you'll be proud to own, I'm sure.

Which leads me rather neatly to this, the first glimpse at my first movie. It's the teaser trailer that appeared on my website project for school.

http://dougieonline.co.uk/movies/theshortcon/

Lohan Lines Up Next Production to Cause Problems In

Wed, 08 Nov 2006 03:16:31 -0800

Lindsay Lohan, fresh off a media scolding for her behavior on the set of Georgia Rule, has already lined up her next project where she can act like a child and delay production and be threatened by the producers and then have her mother complain that she's being "singled out".

The Hollywood Reporter says that Lohan has agreed to star in I Know Who Killed Me, a suspense thriller about a woman who is rescued after being abducted and tortured by a serial killer. Upon returning home, she claims to be someone else, leading to questions about whether she is suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or whether something more insidious is happening to her.

Lohan is reportedly preparing for her role by binge-drinking and staying out late partying every night.

Producers expect her to arrive late to the set starting next month.

Hulk Smashes on June 27, 2008

Tue, 07 Nov 2006 04:23:00 -0800

Marvel is looking to the summer of '08 to release The Incredible Hulk on 6/27/08, two months after it unleashes Jon Favreau's Iron Man on the world.

Variety has an interesting article about the company, where it reveals that the company is scrambling to show that its film business is running smoothly despite the departure of Avi Arad, and that while its overall revenues have dropped nearly 44% for the year (the cost of movies in development, I would imagine) it's publishing business has increased revenue by 20% to push overall sales revenue to 13% for the third quarter.

Ah, the power of marketing.

Wall Street has been happy with the direction Marvel has been taking, as evidenced by the fact that their stock price is up 6%. And the company expects to make a boatload of cash from the release of the two films, which have been highly anticipated by fanboys and fangirls everywhere.

Trying to distance itself from Ang Lee's take on the green behemoth, Marvel has promised in a press release that "you WILL like the Hulk when he's angry." Hee-hee... cute.

Dunst's "Jealous Ghost" Sees Green

Tue, 07 Nov 2006 04:01:15 -0800

Kirsten Dunst will star in and produce the supernatural thriller A Jealous Ghost, a story about a woman studying in London who begins dating one of her professors, after which she begins seeing demons, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

The film is based on a book by author A. N. Wilson, but is expected to deviate from the book with the adaptation consciously dropping some characters and plot points in favor of some created specifically for the film.

Dunst was reportedly interested in starring in a supernatural suspenseful film like The Shining or Repulsion, probably after seeing how films like that have kept Sarah Michelle Gellar in business, most likely thinking about life AFTER Spider-Man.

Considering that the last thriller she starred in was Interview With a Vampire, which launched her career (and rightfully so), I'd say it's about time she went back to her "roots."

The only thing is, with that plot synopsis and the title of the book/movie, don't we already know everything we need to know about the film? It's a bit like calling The Shining "Haunted Hotel," isn't it?

Summer in November

Mon, 06 Nov 2006 14:01:48 -0800

While Borat is reaching surprising heights in its box office earnings all across the world (see Box Office Mojo) and the awards-drawing films begin to be released, it seems that it's never too early to generate interest in a movie.

My favorite film industry misfits, the marketing people, have already begun work for the 2007 summer season. According to Empire, the full trailer for Spider-Man 3 will be available online this Thursday.

Spider-Man 3 is probably the most anticipated movie of 2007, and fans are certainly eager to get a clear view of the villain known as Venom.

Empire suggest going to them for the link to the trailer, but I personally suspect that it will be placed on the Apple trailers page.

Spider-Man 3 should be released on May 4 in North American cinemas.

Do you think it's too early (before the holiday season) to release this trailer? Will people remember to be excited when May arrives?

"Lola Wants" Belly Dancing

Thu, 02 Nov 2006 08:39:01 -0800

Looks like Laura Ramsey (She's the Man) is ready to give the "chick flick" genre a goody shimmy.

According to Variety, Ramsey is set to star in Whatever Lola Wants, where she will play a Brooklyn postal worker, who travels to Cairo, Egypt to be with her Egyptian lover, but after being spurned ends up taking belly dancing lessons from legendary-but-disgraced dancer Ismahan (Lebanon's Carmen Lebbos).

This story caught my eye because over the summer I started taking belly dance classes. I figured, I have these hips for a reason, I might as well learn how to use them.

Best. Decision. EVER!

Anyway, Ramsey spent 5 months learning how to belly dance, saying "the role's biggest challenge is the dancing. You need a couple of months to belly dance in your heart and soul." I hear that.

The globe-hopping production shot its NYC exteriors on location in early October, finishing up its interior NYC shots in Casablanca, Morocco of all places. It will head to Cairo for a final 10 days in mid-December.

De Niro's Career Officially Over

Thu, 02 Nov 2006 06:20:58 -0800

We've all witnessed the long, slow slide to mediocrity that is Robert De Niro's post-Goodfellas career. What was once the finest actor of his generation has now become a parody of his former self, most recently slumming in movies like Analyze This/That and Meet the Parents/Fokkers, and Shark Tale.

Well, the decline has finally hit rock bottom I think, with news from the Hollywood Reporter about De Niro's latest project, New Orleans, with a plot right out of The Simpsons' fictional "McBain" series of cop films.

De Niro will play a veteran cop whose partner was not lost in Hurricane Katrina, but gunned down, and he gets teamed up with a new partner, played by 50 Cent, to find the real killer, ultimately leading him to the world of... wait for it.... police corruption!

You can just hear McBain shouting "NOOOOOOOOOOO!" or "Mendooooooooooooozaaaaaa!" already, can't you?

And hasn't the old white guy/hip black dude buddy cop formula pretty much been beaten into the ground?

Go, Speed Racer, Go!

Wed, 01 Nov 2006 08:18:31 -0800

Way back in June, Samantha (remember her?) told you about the ongoing rumor of the Wachowski Brothers directing a live-action Speed Racer movie.

Turns out it's not a rumor anymore!

The Hollywood Reporter details the news that the W. Bros. will be directing the film, with Joel Silver producing, a la The Matrix, so if you feel the need for Speed, this should make you very happy.

Personally, I'm non-thrilled on many levels. First off, these guys lost so much clout with the Matrix Trilogy and then with the rather pedestrian V For Vendetta, that this just seems like boilerplate stuff to me. I also never really "got" Speed Racer. My brothers loved it and all, but honestly? I think this is one of those "guy things" that most chicks probably just can't grasp.

I mean come on... He has a cool car and a monkey. Those are completely guy things. If I ask my youngest son what he wants for his birthday, those are usually the first things out of his month, followed by "a jet-pack". But speaking as a woman, a guy with a cool car is hot, but the monkey just ruins the whole picture. Monkeys smell, they poke you in private places, and they fling poo. Sounds like my ex-husband.

Hey-oooo! I'll be here all week. Try the veal!

And to top it all off, the Wachowski Brothers have said that they want to make the film family-friendly. Great. That means I'll probably have to go see it.