What’s in ‘The Mist’?
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: MGM, Adaptation, Horror, New Releases,
Actual mist is created with suspended droplets of moisture, and is not to be confused with fog (which has greater visibility) or haze (which is a different color altogether). And Stephen King, pop kitsch horror writer-turned movie mogul, is not to be confused with a writer who actually offers some value. If weather phenomenon frighten you and you’re at all interested in seeing yet another movie about losing visibility and being beset by scary occurrences, go see The Mist. If you started to get bored with King, stay away.
So, here’s the setup. Bunch of people living in Maine, everyone’s just doing their thing. All of a sudden, a strange mist (not a fog, mind you, a mist) rolls into town. Frightened and dismayed, citizens hole up in a grocery store to escape this ever-encroaching mist. How likely is that, honestly? You’re out and about, you’re shopping, a thick mist rolls in. Do you lock the doors, batten down the hatches and wait it out? Or do you just take your groceries home? Honestly now. Anyway, the film takes place
entirelyin the grocery store and features CGI effects which at least saves the movie from being a complete waste of time. Did I mention there are some sort of weird monsters living in the mist? Mist monsters?
Click to continue reading What’s in ‘The Mist’?
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J.K. Rowling Writes Harry Potter Spinoff
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Family, Celeb News, Celebrity Gossip,
Despite several press conferences and comments that she would like to branch out into writing new things, J.K. Rowling has completed the first Harry Potter spinoff. So much for the integrity of writing.
The book – an illustrated collection of fairy stories – is The Tales of Beedle the Bard, and only seven copies will be printed. One will be auctioned for charity, the others given away as gifts. Rowling drew the illustrations in the book herself and provided the handwriting for five of its stories. The book is mentioned in Rowling’s last Harry novel, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
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Kurt Cobain Story Hits the Silver Screen
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Universal, Adaptation, Drama, Filmmaking, Scripts, Upcoming Releases,
David Benioff (Troy screenwriter) has signed an agreement to write a movie about former Nirvana singer, Kurt Cobain. A Universal project, the movie will be based on the 2001 book Heavier Than Heaven, written by Charles Cross. Details are still up in the air on the film, which may or may not contain an on-screen appearance from Cobain’s widow, Courtney Love. She will, however, serve as an executive producer.
After Cobain’s 1994 death, rumors and innuendo abounded regarding the mysterious circumstances of how he died. Whenever a celebrity is involved, gossip circles will often repeat the same question: ‘Was it murder or suicide?’ From Marilyn to Anna Nicole, no one wants to believe their favorite stars would take their own lives (or attempt to). It’s unknown at this point which side of the story the movie will tell. In any event, it’s a death that will continue to remain question-rich and somewhat unsolved in the minds of fans…like many other Hollywood deaths before and since.
Read More 
| Yahoo! News
‘Thank You for Smoking’ Now A TV Series
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Adaptation, Drama, Books,
The 2006 film, Thank You For Smoking, will now see itself repackaged as a USA Network series. A television version of the Christopher Buckley novel version had been swirling around for some time (it was once considered by NBC) and has now found a home on cable.
The film adaptation starred Aaron Eckhart as Nick Naylor, a spokesperson for tobacco industry. His M.O.D. squad (‘Merchants of Death’) friends included Maria Bello and David Koechner (lobbyists for the alcohol and gun industries, respectively). Naylor did a great job doing what he was paid for, yet had a slight change of attitude by the movie’s end. The Eckhart-free series would see Naylor supporting those ‘more deserving’ while continuing to ride the moral fine line.
My love for anything Aaron Eckhart has biased me against any remakes—though Dirty Sexy Money’s Peter Krause might have been a good option here. What do you think? Do you think this could be pulled off?
Read More | Variety
UPDATE: ‘The Kite Runner’ Delayed Due to Controversial Scene
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Paramount, Adaptation, Drama, Upcoming Releases,
As reported earlier, controversy surrounding a violent scene threatened the big-screen premiere of The Kite Runner. The adaptation of the popular Khaled Hosseini novel will now be delayed six weeks.
The family of the young Afghan actor raped in the film wanted the segment removed because it would be considered culturally offensive. They feared they would become victims of retaliation in their own country once the movie premiered. The family claims 12-year-old Ahmad Khan Mahmidzada would never have participated in the production had they been given a script and/or advance warning of the scene.
Although director Marc Forster (Monster’s Ball, Finding Neverland) and the producers all insist Ahmad’s father was briefed on the situation, they have expressed concern for those involved. In hopes of retaining the crucial scene—and because of increased violence in Kabul—Paramount Vantage is finalizing plans to temporarily move Ahmad and two other actors out of the country. The movie, originally slated for a Nov. 2nd release, will now be released on Dec. 14th…. several days after the boys finish school. It’s believed they may return sometime in March—after their summer vacation ends and the movie dust clears. This decision appears to be something Ahmad’s father is comfortable with.
The movie’s new premiere date will now pit it against another highly-anticipated film, Will Smith’s I Am Legend.
Read More | USA Today
Mr. Skin Lists Greatest Nude Scenes in New Book
Posted by Johnny Mercedes Categories: Books, Home Entertainment, Lists,
Jim McBride has a great job. For the last eight years, he and a small group of dedicated employees (including his own mother) have fastidiously watched, pinpointed, and categorized female nude scenes in over 25,000 movies and television shows, and this Saturday McBride—or as millions know him, Mr. Skin—released a book chronicling the best of the best with Mr. Skin’s Skintastic Video Guide: The 501 Greatest Movies for Sex & Nudity on DVD. Of course, after nearly a decade of harmless pay-it-forward sexual decadence, one book would seem unfitting—this book is the second from McBride, after 2004’s Mr. Skin’s Skincyclopedia: The A-to-Z Guide to Finding Your Favorite Actresses Naked.
Those unfamiliar with Mr. Skin need look no further than this year’s outrageous comedy Knocked Up, where a group of men spend all of their time and money (what little they have) on the development of a website dedicated to nude women in mainstream film, only to find Mr. Skin has beaten them to the punch—a plug that, according to McBride, has increased the website’s hits by 35 percent.
The new book takes the same approach as the website, recording the length of time an actress is nude along with her name and which body parts are shown. But McBride is careful to draw a line between his craft and pornography, keeping his focus on mainstream film and television, and leaving the extreme sites to compete with each other.
If skipping all the artistic fluff (you know—plot, character development, soundtrack, cinematography, acting, etc.) and getting right to the debauchery excites you, pick up a copy of Mr. Skin’s Skintastic Video Guide today. Here at FilmCrunch, we’re inclined to watch the entire movie. But if we happen upon a nude scene or two, we’ll keep right on watching—everything is sexier with context.
Read More | Reuters
Box Office Breakdown: It’s Super To Be Bad
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, New Line, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Music, Musicals, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Books, Lists, New Releases,
The Judd Apatow train is bound to hit a roadblock at some point—but for the time being, it’s full steam ahead. Superbad opened impressively with over $30 million this weekend making it the third Apatow-related project in a row to accomplish this feat (the others being Talledega Nights and Knocked Up). This is, of course, not taking into consideration the uber-sleeper hit The 40-Year-Old Virgin.
Meanwhile, there was nothing super about Nicole Kidman’s latest outing. The Invasion, the latest version The Body Snatchers, scared up a dismal $5.9 million (and that’s despite Daniel Craig’s hunky presence). But I predict a much stronger outing for these two later this year with The Golden Compass.
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: It’s Super To Be Bad
Box Office Breakdown: Bourne Breaks Bank
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, Lionsgate, New Line, Paramount, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Family, Music, Musicals, Political, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases,
Matt Damon may still be vying for People magazine’s ‘Sexiest Man Alive’ title—but he has one thing that George Clooney and Brad Pitt don’t have: the biggest debut for an August opening ever.
The Bourne Ultimatum‘s $70 million take improved upon the previous Bourne installments and gave Damon his largest weekend to date (and that’s including all three Ocean’s movies).
Meanwhile, Lindsay Lohan should be happy that she’s holed up in rehab again—though seeing her movie kicked out of the Top Ten would have probably sent her there anyway. Apparently theatergoers can only handle one movie about Bratz at a time…
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Bourne Breaks Bank
Box Office Breakdown: A Homerun For Homer
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, MGM, New Line, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Musicals, Period, Political, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases,
Looks like Homer ain’t gonna be needing a deal on donuts anymore….
With a $74 million opening weekend, The Simpsons Movie debuted higher than most of the animated features released…ever. Only the two Shrek sequels did better. Quite a head-shaking number since we can still see the series for free on television. But viewers from every single Springfield in the US—plus a thousand other cities out there—love the family so much, they were willing to pay for more. Especially when it comes with nudity.
What theatergoers aren’t willing to pay for is more Lindsay Lohan. I Know Who Killed Me placed a dismal 9th, possibly due to lack of promotional work by the star. How ironic that in the end it was Lindsay who was responsible for killing the movie and possibly her career.
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: A Homerun For Homer
Read More | Variety
Box Office Breakdown: Almighty Only Does Alrighty
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Disney, MGM, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Political, Religious, Romance, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases,
Question: When is being the #1 movie just not enough? (Hint: You have three chances to answer this question correctly).
Answer(s):
- When the critics don’t really have anything good to say about you
- When you made less than 1/2 of what your predecessor did on opening weekend
- When it cost over $175 million just to create you
Apparently having God on your side doesn’t guarantee you heavenly box office numbers. Evan Almighty, the follow-up to 2003’s Bruce Almighty, failed to bring in a large congregation this past weekend. Although it did better than the rest of the flock, it’s $32 million take paled in comparison to Bruce’s $68 million opening. And then there’s that glaring $175 million bill…
Of course, we shouldn’t feel so badly about Steve Carell’s career. I have a feeling that God is providing for him in other ways.
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Almighty Only Does Alrighty
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