"Real Steel" Has Real Heart

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 8 (of 2012) by Leroy Douresseaux


Real Steel (2011)
Running time: 127 minutes (2 hours, 7 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for some violence, intense action and brief language
DIRECTOR: Shawn Levy
WRITERS: John Gatins; from a story by Dan Gilroy and Jeremy Leven (based upon Richard Matheson’s short story "Steel")
PRODUCERS: Shawn Levy, Susan Montford, and Don Murphy
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Mauro Fiore
EDITOR: Dean Zimmerman
COMPOSER: Danny Elfman

SCI-FI/DRAMA/FAMILY with elements of action and sports

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Dakota Goyo, Evangeline Lilly, Anthony Mackie, Kevin Durand, Hope Davis, James Rebhorn, Karl Yune, and Olga Fonda

Real Steel is a 2011 science fiction boxing drama from director Shawn Levy (Night at the Museum), and Steven Spielberg and Robert Zemeckis are among this film’s executive producers. Real Steel’s screenplay is based upon Richard Matheson’s short story, “Steel,” which was also adapted into a 1963 episode of The Twilight Zone. Although the film’s boxing sequences offer plenty of action, Real Steel’s heart is a gripping father/son story that will jerk a few tears from some viewers (as it did with me).

The film is set in the near future, the year 2020. By then, robot boxing has replaced human boxing as a top sport. Charles “Charlie” Kenton (Hugh Jackman) is a former boxer turned robot boxing promoter. Charlie’s most recent robot boxer, a robot named “Ambush,” is destroyed in a fight, and his erstwhile partner/girlfriend, Bailey Tallet (Evangeline Lilly), thinks that it is time for Charlie to make a change. Then, Charlie’s life takes a stunning turn. He learns that his ex-girlfriend has died, and that means he must show up in court to decide the custody of his 11-year-old son, Max (Dakota Goyo), whom Charlie has not seen in a decade.

Max’s Aunt Debra (Hope Davis) and her wealthy husband, Marvin (James Rebhorn), want custody of Max, which Charlie is more than happy to give. Charlie makes a $100,000 deal with Marvin that would have Charlie keep Max over the summer. Charlie and his estranged son are at odds; then, Max discovers a second generation robot, called Atom. Suddenly, Max has dreams of the Real Steel Championship, but can an old boxer and an old robot climb up from the bottom of the heap?

I would not describe Real Steel as a robot version of the Oscar-winning film, Rocky, although Atom the robot is also a little guy/underdog in a world of elite boxers. Real Steel is about a father-son conflict, and before there can be hope of reconciliation, the screenplay makes father and son fight their way back to each other. I honestly bought this film’s conceit that Charlie and Max might not ultimately make it. Yes, the loser father reunited with his chip-on-shoulder son has been done to death in Hollywood films, but when done right, as it is here, it seems so fresh and new. Real Steel is exceptionally well-written because it makes the characters really work for that happy ending, while also offering science fiction/action set pieces that had me jumping out of my seat and cheering on the heroes.

Director Shawn Levy gets everything right. The character drama has excellent character and drama, and the sci-fi is fantastic. As the father, Charlie, and as the son, Max, Hugh Jackman and Dakota Goyo, respectively, carry this film in way that seems effortless. They may not be Oscar-worthy, but they’re close. Although I’m a big fan of Hugh Jackman, I ignored Real Steel when it was first released to theatres. I was so wrong, but now I can do right with my Real Steel movie review by recommending it.

8 of 10
A

NOTES:
2012 Academy Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Achievement in Visual Effects” (Erik Nash, John Rosengrant, Danny Gordon Taylor, and Swen Gillberg)

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Review: New "Fright Night" is Sexy and Mean

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 104 (of 2011) by Leroy Douresseaux

Fright Night (2011)
Running time: 106 minutes (1 hour, 46 minutes)
MPAA – R for bloody horror violence, and language including some sexual references
DIRECTOR: Craig Gillespie
WRITERS: Marti Noxon; from a story by Tom Holland (based upon the film, Fright Night, written by Tom Holland)
PRODUCERS: Michael De Luca and Alison R. Rosenzweig
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Javier Aguirresarobe
EDITOR: Tatiana S. Riegel
COMPOSER: Ramin Djawadi

HORROR/COMEDY/ACTION

Starring: Colin Farrell, Anton Yelchin, Toni Collette, David Tennant, Imogen Poots, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Dave Franco, Sandra Vergara, and Chris Sarandon

Fright Night is a 2011 comic horror film. It is also a remake of the 1985 film of the same name from writer/director Tom Holland. Like the original film, the new Fright Night is about a teen boy who believes that his new next door neighbor is a vampire and tries to stop the monster’s killing spree.

Charley Brewster (Anton Yelchin) has a new neighbor, Jerry Dandrige (Colin Farrell), who claims to work construction at night. Charley doesn’t like the way Jerry looks at his mother, Jane Brewster (Toni Collette), and his girlfriend, Amy Peterson (Imogen Poots). Charley’s former best friend, Edward “Evil Ed” Lee (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), claims that Jerry is the reason people have been disappearing from all over the Las Vegas suburb where they live… because Jerry is a vampire. After Ed disappears, Charley realizes that he needs help, so he turns to Las Vegas magician, Peter Vincent (David Tennant), whose Vegas stage show, Fright Night, chronicles his vampire-hunting adventures. But can the reluctant Vincent really help Charley fight a powerful vampire?

I like to distinguish how movies mix laughs and chills. A horror comedy is a comedy that tries to act and look like a horror movie. A comedy horror is a horror movie that desperately wants to have it both ways – be funny and scary, usually with disastrous results. The best is the comic horror film. This type of movie is truly a horror movie. It looks and acts like a horror movie because it is a horror movie. It is scary, violent, and thrilling, but there is humor of some type: sarcasm, satire, slapstick, and camp. Successful comic horror films include a classic, The Evil Dead, and the more recent Zombieland, and of course, the vampire send-up, the original Fright Night.

The new Fright Night is a superb comic horror film. In fact, it’s batshit crazy with its gleefully vicious villain and its hero – some kid trying to be the protector, rescuer, and savior. I like how screenwriter Marti Noxon re-imagines the original film into a story of a large transient and disconnected population that is easy prey to the monster next door. It’s as if these people don’t notice that their friends, neighbors, classmates, and sometimes even entire households have seemingly disappeared into thin air (or that there is a small war going on between a vampire and a kid). I cannot help but believe that this film is a biting commentary of our foreclosure and alienation society.

Director Craig Gillespie offers so many exciting action set pieces, and he imaginatively stages some of the wackier elements of the screenplay in ways that create a comic edge vampire films rarely have. The action in this film is also aggressive. In the first Fright Night, the part of the plot that dealt directly with the vampire was like a mystery story, and the villain was a suave ladies’ man. In the new film, there is little pretense about what Jerry Dandrige is; thus, the conflict between boy hero and vampire becomes practically a small war. In this way, Fright Night 2011 is more visceral than the original. It is a wild, bloody ride with generous helpings of jest and sarcasm.

This comic horror film has a few key, droll and witty performances, but first, I have a complaint. Christopher Mintz-Plasse as the new “Evil Ed” is an insult to Stephen Geoffreys as the original. It’s not Mintz-Plasse’s fault; the new version doesn’t seem to care much for the character, and it seems as if Ed is included out of a sense of obligation. Conversely, David Tennant’s loutish spin on the Peter Vincent character is a winner; early in the film, this interpretation seems as if it will be a disaster, but, by the end of the film, I wanted more.

Colin Farrell’s Jerry Dandrige is part bully, part predator, and pure carnivore. Farrell is funny, and this performance testifies to his largely untapped talent. Farrell’s Dandrige is similar to a description of baseball pitcher Roger Clemens by a commentator: a big white Republican who believes that he can do whatever he wants – damn the rules.

However, the new Fright Night hinges on Anton Yelchin, and he is fantastic. In the new Charley Brewster, Yelchin creates a complex, layered teen. When the story focuses on Brewster as the reformed nerd, his stubborn determination to be the cool kid, no matter the cost to his soul, to say nothing of the cost to his former friends, is painfully realistic. That is why Brewster’s transformation into teen warrior also rings true. The new Fright Night is a delight, and the reasons are many for this well-made film – with Yelchin being the most important one.

7 of 10
A-

Friday, December 16, 2011

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Review: Can't Do Without "The Help" Movie

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 103 (of 2011) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Help (2011)
Running time: 146 minutes (2 hours, 26 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for thematic material
DIRECTOR: Tate Taylor
WRITER: Tate Taylor (based upon the novel by Kathryn Stockett)
PRODUCERS: Michael Barnathan, Chris Columbus, and Brunson Green
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Stephen Goldblatt (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Hughes Winborne
COMPOSER: Thomas Newman

DRAMA with elements of comedy

Starring: Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Bryce Dallas Howard, Octavia Spencer, Jessica Chastain, Ahna O’Reilly, Allison Janney, Anna Camp, Eleanor and Emma Henry (twins), Chris Lowell, Cicely Tyson, Mike Vogel, Sissy Spacek, Brian Kerwin, Aunjanue Ellis, Leslie Jordan, Nelsan Ellis, and David Oyelowo

The Help is a 2011 historical drama that is based on the 2009 bestselling novel, The Help, from author Kathryn Stockett. Set in Mississippi during the 1960s, the film focuses on an aspiring author who decides to write a book detailing the experiences of the Black women who work as maids in the homes of White families.

After graduating from Ole Miss, Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan (Emma Stone) returns to her hometown of Jackson, Mississippi. She takes a job at a local newspaper writing a “homemaker hints” advice column. However, Skeeter’s mother, Charlotte (Allison Janney), wants her daughter to (1) be a southern society girl and (2) find a husband. Skeeter reconnects with her vacuous childhood friends who are all now young mothers and form a clique led by the snooty Hilly Holbrook (Bryce Dallas Howard).

Two things change Skeeter’s life. She does not believe her mother’s story about why Constantine Bates (Cicely Tyson), the beloved black maid who raised Skeeter, left the family. Skeeter also becomes uncomfortable with the attitude of her friends towards “the help,” the African-American maids who cook and clean for white folks, as well as parent their bosses’ children. Hilly becomes obsessed with the notion that the help not use their bosses’ bathrooms, so she launches the “Home Help Sanitation Initiative” a law that would require that homes have separate bathrooms for the help.

In response, Skeeter approaches Aibileen Clark (Viola Davis), the maid of her friend, Elizabeth Leefolt (Ahna O’Reilly), and asks her if she would mind being interviewed about her life spent taking care of other people’s homes. Reluctant at first, Aibileen consents and is also able to convince another maid, the sassy Minny Jackson (Octavia Spencer), to contribute. As the women forge an unlikely friendship, they get caught in a turbulent time of change and the Civil Rights Movement.

Writer/director Tate Taylor often plays upon the proverbial “quiet dignity” of the Black maids, but his film comes on like a locomotive, because behind the quiet dignity is steely determination. This movie has such power to convey its messages and its ideas that I sometimes felt physically unprepared for the emotional toll it had on me – whether those emotions were happy or sad. I say that The Help is well-written and directed and has a number of exceptional performances because of its ability to convey with authenticity story, character, and setting.

As for the performances: Jessica Chastain is a scene-stealer as Celia Foote, the naïve young wife with child-bearing issues. Chastain crafts Celia as a struggle between the strength underneath and the soft-hearted nature that is the candy-coating. Bryce Dallas Howard is white-hot evil as the snotty racist, Hilly Holbrook, but she frequently and subtly reveals the character’s humanity at surprising moments.

Sadly, I see Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer’s bravura performances getting lost during the movie critics and film industry awards season. Emma Stone’s Skeeter is The Help’s bridge between the two separate worlds of Black and White, and she is a player on all sides of a class conflict. However, Viola Davis’ Aibileen Clark is this movie’s true anchor. Not only does Davis give a great performance, but she also embodies in Aibileen the toughness that makes an oppressed people both survive the evil ruling class and have the true grit to fight that evil.

Octavia Spencer’s Minny Jackson is simply one of those great supporting characters whose fight and spunk define the central conflict in a movie. At the end of the day, she’s not going to take anything from anyone that is the wrong thing, and The Help is about getting to what is the right thing. While Emma Stone gives a good performance, it is easy to see how she gets lost in a sea of superb performances, although Skeeter is the most important player – the central character that connects the disparate parts.

If I had to point to the one thing that makes The Help a grand film, it is that the emotions are genuine; they feel real. Writer/director Tate Taylor and his cast create a series of moments and scenes that come together to weave a narrative, one which comes to life with a sense of authenticity. When Aibileen talks about her son’s tragedy; when Minny fights her husband and employers; when Aibileen has to step to the side while grocery shopping; when Celia Foote yearns for a child; when Skeeter angrily explains to her mother the wrong done to Constantine, it all feels real. It is as if The Help were a true story. In a way, it is a true story, one told with fictional characters from a real time and place. That is why The Help is a bona fide standout in a field of fantasias and made-up stuff movies.

9 of 10
A+

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

"The Help" Passes $200 Million in Worldwide Box Office

DreamWorks Pictures and Participant Media’s “The Help” Surpasses $200M Worldwide

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--DreamWorks Pictures announced Dec. 8 that its empowering film “The Help” has surpassed $200 million in worldwide ticket sales. “The Help,” directed and written for the screen by Tate Taylor, is based on the New York Times best-selling novel by Kathryn Stockett.

“The Help” has resonated with audiences around the globe, sparking conversation and comments across all media platforms from such notables as Oprah, Scott Fujita, Tyler Perry, Russell Simmons, Katy Perry, Diane Sawyer, Jason Whitlock, Jackie Jackson and others.

“The Help” stars Emma Stone (“Easy A”) as Skeeter, Academy Award®–nominated Viola Davis (“Doubt”) as Aibileen and Octavia Spencer as Minny—three very different, extraordinary women in Mississippi during the 1960s, who build an unlikely friendship around a secret writing project that breaks societal rules and puts them all at risk. Also starring Bryce Dallas Howard (“Hereafter”), Allison Janney (“Juno”), Academy Award®–winner Sissy Spacek (“In the Bedroom,” “Coal Miner’s Daughter”) and Jessica Chastain (“Tree of Life”), “The Help” is deeply moving, filled with poignancy, humor and hope—a timeless and universal story about the ability to create change.

Rounding out the cast are Ahna O’Reilly (“Forgetting Sarah Marshall”), Cicely Tyson (“Sounder,” “Fried Green Tomatoes”), Chris Lowell (“Up in the Air”), Mike Vogel (“Blue Valentine”), Aunjanue Ellis (“Ray”) and Mary Steenburgen (“Did You Hear About the Morgans?”).

From DreamWorks Pictures and Reliance Entertainment, in association with Participant Media and Imagenation Abu Dhabi, “The Help” was produced by Brunson Green, Chris Columbus and Michael Barnathan.

“The Help” is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.

Steven Spielberg's "War House" Presented to Veterans

DreamWorks Pictures Invites Veterans to Advance Screenings of Steven Spielberg’s “War Horse”

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In honor of Veterans Day, DreamWorks Pictures has contacted select veterans organizations in 50 cities across the U.S. to extend a special invitation for veterans to attend one of the advance screenings of Steven Spielberg’s epic adventure "War Horse." The feature film, which opens in theatres in the U.S. on December 25th, is a tale of loyalty, hope and tenacity set against a sweeping canvas of rural England and Europe during the First World War. Based on the best-selling book by Michael Morpurgo and the Tony Award®–winning stage play by Nick Stafford, “War Horse” is one of the great stories of bravery and friendship, brought to the screen by one of the greatest directors in film history.

Veterans groups interested in attending are invited to e-mail warhorseveteransinvite@yahoo.com and include the name of their nearest city for further information on screening dates, times and locations in their vicinity.

DreamWorks Pictures’ “War Horse” begins with the remarkable friendship between a horse named Joey and a young man called Albert, who tames and trains him. When they are forcefully parted, the film follows the extraordinary journey of the horse as he moves through the war, changing and inspiring the lives of all those he meets—British cavalry, German soldiers, and a French farmer and his granddaughter—before the story reaches its emotional climax in the heart of No Man’s Land. The First World War is experienced through the journey of this horse—an odyssey of joy and sorrow, passionate friendship and high adventure.

“War Horse” stars Emily Watson, David Thewlis, Peter Mullan, Niels Arestrup, Tom Hiddleston, Jeremy Irvine, Benedict Cumberbatch and Toby Kebbell. It is produced by Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy, and executive producers are Frank Marshall and Revel Guest. The screenplay was written by Lee Hall and Richard Curtis and is based on the book by Michael Morpurgo and the international hit stage play by Nick Stafford, originally produced by the National Theatre of Great Britain and directed by Tom Morris and Marianne Elliot.

Viola Davis Justified! "The Help" Skips Past $100 Million Mark

“The Help” Surpasses $100M at Domestic Box Office

DreamWorks Pictures and Participant Media’s Empowering Film Engages Audiences Nationwide

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--DreamWorks Pictures announced today that its inspiring film “The Help” has surpassed the $100 million mark at the domestic box office. “The Help,” directed and written for the screen by Tate Taylor, is based on the New York Times best-selling novel by Kathryn Stockett.

Ever since opening in the U.S. on August 10th, “The Help” has been a strong contender for the top spot on the domestic box office chart and has resonated with audiences around the country, sparking conversation and comments across all media platforms from such notables as Oprah, Scott Fujita, Tyler Perry, Russell Simmons, Katy Perry, Diane Sawyer, Jason Whitlock, Jackie Jackson and others.

Commenting on the widespread popularity of the film, Director Tate Taylor says, “We never imagined this film, which began its journey inspired by the enthusiasm of a small group of Mississippi friends, would ever even get made. Now to have it seen and embraced by so many people is just beyond our wildest dreams.”

Adds Dave Hollis, Executive Vice President, Motion Picture Sales & Distribution, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, “This achievement is a testament to an amazing ensemble cast and a wonderfully told story that has played well to men and women, young and old, resonating in a cross-section of all theaters be they urban, upscale or heartland. The viral power of word-of-mouth has us hopeful that we’ll continue to see ‘The Help’ exposed to as broad an audience as possible in the coming months.”

“The Help” stars Emma Stone (“Easy A”) as Skeeter, Academy Award®–nominated Viola Davis (“Doubt”) as Aibileen and Octavia Spencer as Minny—three very different, extraordinary women in Mississippi during the 1960s, who build an unlikely friendship around a secret writing project that breaks societal rules and puts them all at risk. Also starring Bryce Dallas Howard (“Hereafter”), Allison Janney (“Juno”), Academy Award®–winner Sissy Spacek (“In the Bedroom,” “Coal Miner’s Daughter”) and Jessica Chastain (“Tree of Life”), “The Help” is deeply moving, filled with poignancy, humor and hope—a timeless and universal story about the ability to create change.

Rounding out the cast are Ahna O’Reilly (“Forgetting Sarah Marshall”), Cicely Tyson (“Sounder,” “Fried Green Tomatoes”), Chris Lowell (“Up in the Air”), Mike Vogel (“Blue Valentine”), Aunjanue Ellis (“Ray”) and Mary Steenburgen (“Did You Hear About the Morgans?).

From DreamWorks Pictures and Reliance Entertainment, in association with Participant Media and Imagenation Abu Dhabi, “The Help” was produced by Brunson Green, Chris Columbus and Michael Barnathan.

“The Help” is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.

Critic Not Sure Why He Likes "I Am Number Four"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 63 (of 2011) by Leroy Douresseaux


I Am Number Four (2011)
Running time: 110 minutes (1 hour, 50 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, and for language
DIRECTOR: D.J. Caruso
WRITERS: Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, and Marti Noxon (based on the novel by Jobie Hughes and James Frey writing as Pittacus Lore)
PRODUCER: Michael Bay
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Guillermo Navarro
EDITORS: Vince Filippone and Jim Page
COMPOSER: Trevor Rabin

SCI-FI/FANTASY/ACTION/DRAMA with elements of romance

Starring: Alex Pettyfer, Timothy Olyphant, Teresa Palmer, Dianna Argon, Callan McAuliffe, Kevin Durand, Jake Abel, and Jeff Hochendoner

I Am Number Four is a science fiction teen drama released earlier this year, distributed by Walt Disney Pictures and produced by DreamWorks. The film is based upon the bestselling novel of the same name and follows an alien teenager living on Earth and hiding from another alien race bent on killing him and others like him.

I Am Number Four is a movie meant to appeal to the young audiences that love the Twilight movies. I Am Number Four is not as good as any of the Twilight films, but it is a better than average action fantasy that has familiar, but likeable characters.

Early in the film, we meet an extraordinary teen going by the name Daniel Jones. He was born on the planet, Lorien, and like eight other children from this planet, he has special powers and is part of a group known as the Garde. He and the other eight children had to leave Lorien in order to escape an invading race, the Mogadorians. Daniel lives in hiding on Earth with a Warrior/Guardian named Henri (Timothy Olyphant).

Circumstances force Henri to take his young charge to a new home in Paradise, Ohio. Once there, Henri changes Daniel’s name to John Smith (Alex Pettyfer). Although he is supposed to stay quiet and not get noticed, John falls for amateur photographer and fellow high school student, Sarah Hart (Dianna Argon), and he befriends a UFO conspiracy theorist, Sam Goode (Callan McAuliffe). John also draws the ire of local football stud, Mark James (Jack Abel), who once dated Sarah and bullies Sam.

John’s high school drama becomes complicated when he begins to make connections with people who share his destiny and when the Mogadorians get closer to finding him. The Mogadorians must kill members of the Garde in a particular sequence, and they’ve already killed the first three. John Smith is Number Four.

Hackneyed plot, clunky pacing, clichéd characters, and an overall story that seems familiar: that is how I can describe I Am Number Four. Still, I liked it. For the comparisons it may draw to Twilight, I Am Number Four belongs more to the boy-savior genre and is closer to the Harry Potter franchise. I also found the movie to be longer than it needed to be. Not only are the characters clichés, but the actors act as if they are determined to deliver clichéd characters.

Still, for some reason, however, I liked this movie. Perhaps, it is the action movie pyrotechnics, which make alien characters here seem like quasi- superheroes and super villains. Maybe, it is the screen charisma and natural charm that Alex Pettyfer exudes. I liked I Am Number Four, and can’t really tell you, dear reader, why. My enjoyment is why I give this mediocre to sometimes barely above-average film this particular grade.

6 of 10
B

Friday, July 22, 2011

DreamWorks Pictures Has "Fright Night" at Comic-Con 2011

DreamWorks Pictures Throws “Fright Night” Fan Frenzy at Comic-Con 2011 with Cast Appearances, Party and Advance Screening

Feeding Frenzy contest kicks off Friday, June 24th for chance to win prizes and trip to Comic-Con with admission to all “Fright Night” events

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--DreamWorks Studios is pleased to present a special insider look at its upcoming, 3D reimagining of the horror classic “Fright Night” at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con International Convention. On Friday, July 22, a panel presentation will be held in Hall H of the San Diego Convention Center. On the dais will be talent from the film, including Colin Farrell, Anton Yelchin, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, and Imogen Poots, director Craig Gillespie and screenwriter Marti Noxon. Activities also include a fan appreciation party as well as a screening in advance of the film’s opening in theaters on August 19th.

On Friday, June 24th, the film’s social media campaign; “The Fright Night Feeding Frenzy” kicks off with a chance to win a VIP trip for two to San Diego Comic-Con in partnership with Yahoo! Movies. The trip includes travel, accommodations and admittance to all “Fright Night” scheduled events. “The Fright Night Feeding Frenzy” encourages fans to use their social feeds on Facebook, Twitter and blogs to share movie content and check in to real world events to collect points. At the end of each week, the fan who has spread the frenzy the farthest wins a killer prize. Prizes are awarded weekly beginning July 1st through the film’s release on Friday, August 19th. More information about the “Fright Night” Feeding Frenzy and how to join can be found at: http://www.welcometofrightnight.com/


ABOUT THE MOVIE:
Senior Charley Brewster (Anton Yelchin) finally has it all — he’s running with the popular crowd and dating the hottest girl in high school. In fact, he’s so cool he’s even dissing his best friend Ed (Christopher Mintz-Plasse). But trouble arrives when an intriguing stranger Jerry (Colin Farrell) moves in next door. He seems like a great guy at first, but there’s something not quite right — yet no one, including Charley’s mom (Toni Collette), seems to notice! After witnessing some very unusual activity, Charley comes to an unmistakable conclusion: Jerry is a vampire preying on his neighborhood. Unable to convince anyone that he’s telling the truth, Charley has to find a way to get rid of the monster himself in this Craig Gillespie-helmed revamp of the comedy-horror classic.

DreamWorks Pictures’ “Fright Night” is produced by Michael De Luca and Alison Rosenzweig, with screenplay written by Marti Noxon from a story by Tom Holland, based on the film “Fright Night,” written by Tom Holland. “Fright Night” opens in theaters on August 19, 2011.

About Comic-Con 2011:
Comic-Con International is a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to creating awareness of, and appreciation for, comics and related popular art forms, primarily through the presentation of conventions and events that celebrate the historic and ongoing contribution of comics to art and culture. This year’s annual San Diego convention runs July 21-24 at the San Diego Convention Center.

Mary J. Blige Pens and Records Song for "The Help"

Super-Star Mary J. Blige Records Original Song for DreamWorks Pictures and Participant Media’s “The Help”

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--DreamWorks Pictures and Geffen Records announced today that multiple Grammy® Award–winning recording artist Mary J. Blige wrote and recorded an original song for the soundtrack of DreamWorks Pictures and Participant Media’s THE HELP, a film based on the New York Times best-selling novel of the same name, opening in theaters August 12, 2011. “The Help” soundtrack - music from the Motion picture, will feature the original song from Mary J. Blige “The Living Proof.” The soundtrack, from Interscope Records, will be available Tuesday, July 26 at select Starbucks locations.

The song, “The Living Proof,” was written and recorded by Blige especially for THE HELP after she saw a screening of the film, which takes place in 1960s-era Mississippi and chronicles the journey of three very different women who come together and embark on a secret writing project that breaks societal rules and puts them all at risk. “The beautiful thing about these women is that they were very smart,” says Blige. “They chose to walk in love and forgiveness.”

The film really celebrates the courage to inspire change, “To speak to so many women with this song means a lot to me,” says Blige. “I wanted to be involved with this film, because I think we need to encourage each other more, we are here to tell a story.”

Blige has received 9 Grammy® Awards and four American Music Awards as well as recorded eight multi-platinum albums. Mary J. Blige has sold over 50 million albums worldwide and her next album "My Life Too....The Journey Continues" will be released Sept 20, 2011.


ABOUT THE MOVIE:
Based on one of the most talked about books in years and a #1 New York Times best-selling phenomenon, “The Help” stars Emma Stone (“Easy A”) as Skeeter, Academy Award®–nominated Viola Davis (“Doubt”) as Aibileen and Octavia Spencer as Minny—three very different, extraordinary women in Mississippi during the 1960s, who build an unlikely friendship around a secret writing project that breaks societal rules and puts them all at risk. From their improbable alliance a remarkable sisterhood emerges, instilling all of them with the courage to transcend the lines that define them, and the realization that sometimes those lines are made to be crossed—even if it means bringing everyone in town face-to-face with the changing times. Deeply moving, filled with poignancy, humor and hope, “The Help” is a timeless and universal story about the ability to create change.

From DreamWorks Pictures and Participant Media, “The Help” is directed by Tate Taylor and produced by Brunson Green, Chris Columbus and Michael Barnathan, based on the novel by Kathryn Stockett, with screenplay by Tate Taylor. “The Help” releases in theaters August 12, 2011.

THE HELP Mary J Blige VNR is also available at http://www.epk.tv/

Meet Bill George VFX Supervisor on "I Am Number Four"

BILL GEORGE - Visual Effects Supervisor "I Am Number Four"

Bill George joined Industrial Light & Magic in 1981. Since then, he has worked as model shop supervisor, art director, matte painter, commercial director, and visual effects supervisor.

Some highlights of his career include miniature construction and design on Blade Runner, art direction and design for five of the Star Trek films, directing over 30 commercials at ILM and overseeing model construction on Ghostbusters 2 and Alive. In 1988, he received an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects for his work on Innerspace. In 2002, director Steven Spielberg entrusted George to update the beloved character E.T. using digital character animation for the 20th Anniversary Edition of E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial.

George has gone on to earn nominations by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the British Academy and the Visual Effects Society for work on Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, as well as an additional VES nomination for Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

ILM CREDITS
Feature Films
2011 I AM NUMBER FOUR – Visual Effects Supervisor
2011 STAR TOURS II – Visual Effects Supervisor
2008 TWILIGHT – Visual Effects Supervisor
2007 EVAN ALMIGHTY – Visual Effects Supervisor

2006 PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN’S CHEST – Additional Visual Effects Supervisor
Academy Award – Best Visual Effects
British Academy Award – Best Achievement in Visual Effects
Visual Effects Society Award – Best Single Visual Effects of the Year

2004 HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN – Visual Effects Supervisor
Academy Award Nomination – Best Visual Effects
British Academy Award Nomination – Best Achievement in Visual Effects
Visual Effects Society Award Nomination – Best Single Visual Effects of the Year

2003 STUCK ON YOU – Visual Effects Supervisor

2002 HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS - Visual Effects Supervisor
British Academy Award Nomination – Best Achievement in Visual Effects

2002 E.T.: THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL 20th Anniversary Edition - Visual Effects Supervisor
2001 PLANET OF THE APES - Visual Effects Supervisor
1999 GALAXY QUEST - Visual Effects Supervisor
1999 STAR WARS: EPISODE I: The Phantom Menace - Matte Painter
1998 DEEP IMPACT - Co-Visual Effects Supervisor
1994 STAR TREK: GENERATIONS - Art Director
1992 ALIVE - Art Director/Landscape Model Construction
1991 STAR TREK VI - Spacecraft/Prop Design & Construction
1990 JOE VS. THE VOLCANO - Large Scale Miniature Boats & Realistic Set Pieces
1989 ALWAYS - Miniatures, Flying Rig, & Practical Effects
1989 GHOSTBUSTERS II - Models & Effects
1989 THE 'BURBS (Opening Sequence)- Combined Motion Control, Matte Paintings & Models
1988 CADDYSHACK II (Gopher Puppet Sequence) - Art Direction & Design

1987 INNERSPACE - Design & Construction of Miniature Submarines & Interior Body Sets
Recipient of Academy Award for Best Achievement in Visual Effects

1987 STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION (Television Series) - Model Construction
“Journey to Farpoint” Episode

1985 EWOKS: THE BATTLE FOR ENDOR (Two Hour TV Movie) - Production Art Direction
Recipient of Emmy Award for Best Achievement in Visual Effects

1984 STAR TREK III: THE SEARCH FOR SPOCK - Spacecraft/Prop Design & Construction

1984 THE EWOK ADVENTURE (Two Hour TV Movie)- Production Art Direction
Recipient of Emmy Award for Best Achievement in Visual Effects

1983 RETURN OF THE JEDI - Spacecraft Design & Construction

Commercials
1997 BERGER BANK “Smiley Face,””Irish Ball” - Director
1997 DORITOS “Thrilling” - Director
1996 NORTHROP “Shadows II” - Director
1996 BERGER BANK “Ball” - Director
1996 US WEST “Fireworks,” “Stars” - Director
1995 VIRGIN ATLANTIC AIRLINES “Nose” - Director
1995 PETER PAN PEANUT BUTTER "Evolution" - Director
1995 SOUTHERN BELL “Man in Chair,” “Woman in Chair” - Director
1995 INTEL “Mobile” - Director
1995 HEWLETT PACKARD “Small Business” - Director
1995 INTEL “Samba” - Director
1995 HUNT-WESSON JUICY GELS “Cartoons” - Director
1994 INTEL “I Want,” “Warp Power” - Director
1993 CARVEL ICE CREAM “Ice Creamation” - Director
1993 PEPSI “Chorus,” “International,” “Gliding Bottle” - Director
1993 INTEL “Windows” - Art Director
1992 TIMEX “Firefly,” “Crickets,” “Lightbulb” - Director
1992 AIR MILES “Fliers” - Director
1991 LIQUID IVORY SOAP “Stork” - Director
1991 KELLOGG'S “Double Dip Crunch” - Director
1991 HEINZ “Catapult” - Art Director
1990 CALIF. MILK ADVISORY BOARD “Real Cheese” - Director
1990 NEC “Turbografx” (Tag) - Director
1990 MATTEL - CORPORATE IMAGE “Echoes” - Direc­tor
1990 CEDAR POINT (Amusement Park) “Disaster Teaser” - Visual Effects Supervisor

OTHER CREDITS
1990 CONTROL “Trixie & Alice” - Visual Effects Director
1990 CHANNEL 4 NEWS (KRON-TV/SF) “Bring it Home” - Model Director
1986 ATARI GAMES “Rasteroids” - Game Designer
1981 BLADERUNNER - Model Design & Construction
1981 ONE FROM THE HEART - Miniature Neon Signs & Street Set

"I am Number Four" on DVD and Blu-ray Today

FROM THE DIRECTOR OF DISTURBIA AND PRODUCER MICHAEL BAY

I AM NUMBER FOUR

On Blu-ray™ Combo Pack, DVD, Movie Download And On-Demand May 24th

Disc Extras Include Never-Before-Seen Bonus Features, Six Jaw-Dropping Deleted Scenes, Special Featurette on “Becoming Number 6”, Bloopers And More!

Just in time for summer break comes the ultimate action-packed, thriller I AM NUMBER FOUR, on Blu-ray, DVD, Movie Download and On-Demand May 24th. Starring sensation Dianna Agron (TV’s “Glee”) and heartthrobs Alex Pettyfer (Beastly) and Timothy Olyphant (TV’s “Justified”), I AM NUMBER FOUR will be available to own as either a 3-Disc Blu-ray Combo Pack (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy), a 1-Disc Blu-ray, and/or 1-Disc DVD that comes packaged complete with never-before-seen bonus features, including deleted scenes, a special featurette, bloopers and more.

From mega-producer Michael Bay (Transformers franchise) and the director of Disturbia, D.J. Caruso, I AM NUMBER FOUR takes viewers on a suspense-filled ride that keeps them on the edge of their seat as they follow the extraordinary story of a young man who is hiding his true identity to evade a deadly enemy that seeks to destroy him.

Bonus Features:
DVD:
· “Becoming Number 6” Featurette
· Bloopers

Blu-ray:
Everything on the DVD plus…
· 6 Deleted Scenes with Introductions by Director D.J. Caruso
o “Strangers in Paradise” (Extended)
o “Sam’s Mom”
o “Worth Mentioning”
o “Power Prank”
o “Trying to Connect”
o “Extended Warsaw Basement”

Movie Download:
Everything on the DVD plus…
· 1 Deleted Scene: “Power Prank”


About The Film:
Three are dead. Who is Number Four? From director D.J. Caruso (Disturbia), producer Michael Bay (Transformers) and the writers of TV’s Smallville, comes this gripping, action-packed thriller. John Smith (Alex Pettyfer) is an extraordinary teen masking his true identity to elude a deadly enemy sent to destroy him. Living with his guardian (Timothy Olyphant) in the small town he now calls home, John encounters unexpected, life-changing events — his first love (Dianna Agron, TV’s Glee), powerful new abilities and a secret connection to the others who share his incredible destiny. Complete with deleted scenes and more, I Am Number Four is an explosive, suspense-filled ride that will take you to the edge of your seat and beyond.

About DreamWorks Studios:
DreamWorks Studios is a motion picture company formed in 2009 and led by Steven Spielberg and Stacey Snider in partnership with The Reliance Anil DhirubhaiAmbani Group. Upcoming releases include Cowboys & Aliens, The Help, Fright Night, Real Steeland War Horse.

DreamWorks Studios can be found on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/DreamWorksStudios and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/dw_studios.


I Am Number Four (Three-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy)

Tommy Lee Jones Among Actors Slated for Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln"

Steven Spielberg Adds Key Members to His "Lincoln" Cast

Tommy Lee Jones Among Those Joining DreamWorks Studios Film About Abraham Lincoln

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Tommy Lee Jones, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Hal Holbrook, James Spader, John Hawkes, Tim Blake Nelson, Bruce McGill and Joseph Cross are in negotiations to join the cast of DreamWorks Studios' "Lincoln," it was announced today by DreamWorks partners Steven Spielberg and Stacey Snider. Also in negotiations to join the film are David Costabile, Byron Jennings, Dakin Matthews, Boris McGiver, Gloria Reuben, Jeremy Strong, and David Warshofsky. This group joins the previously announced casting of Daniel Day-Lewis and Sally Field in the Spielberg directed film about the 16th President of the United States.

Based on the best-selling book, Team of Rivals, by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, the screenplay has been written by the Pulitzer Prize winner, Tony Award winner, and Academy Award nominated writer Tony Kushner. It will be produced by Kathleen Kennedy and Steven Spielberg.

The film will focus on the political collision of Lincoln and the powerful men of his cabinet on the road to abolition and the end of the Civil War.

Oscar winner Tommy Lee Jones will play Thaddeus Stevens, a Republican leader and powerful congressman from Pennsylvania in the U.S. House of Representatives. Stevens was a staunch supporter of abolishing slavery and was critical to writing the legislation that funded the American Civil War.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt, known for his roles in "Inception," "(500) Days of Summer," and next year's "The Dark Knight Rises," will take on the role of Robert Todd Lincoln, eldest son of President Lincoln and the only one to live past his teenage years.

Other announced cast will take on various supporting roles in the film.

Doris Kearns Goodwin won her Pulitzer Prize for “No Ordinary Time,” the story of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt and the home front in World War II. Kushner's prize was for his play “Angels in America,” which later became an Emmy Award-winning television special. He had previously worked with Spielberg on “Munich” for which he was nominated for an Oscar in the Adapted Screenplay category.

Filming is expected to begin in the fall of 2011 in Virginia for release in the fourth quarter of 2012 through Disney’s Touchstone distribution label.


About DreamWorks Studios
DreamWorks Studios is a motion picture company formed in 2009 and led by Steven Spielberg and Stacey Snider in partnership with The Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group. Upcoming releases include “Cowboys & Aliens,” “The Help,” “Fright Night,” “Real Steel,” and “War Horse.”

DreamWorks Studios can be found on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/DreamWorksStudios and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/dw_studios.

Sally Field Cast in Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln"

Academy Award Winner Sally Field to Star as Mary Todd Lincoln for DreamWorks Studios

 

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Two-time Academy Award winner Sally Field will star as Mary Todd Lincoln, wife to the 16th President of the United States, in DreamWorks Studios’ “Lincoln” to be directed by Steven Spielberg. The announcement was made today by Spielberg and Stacey Snider, Co-Chairman and CEO of DreamWorks Studios.

Sally Field joins Daniel Day-Lewis, who has been cast to play Abraham Lincoln in the Spielberg film.

"I'm excited to be working with Sally for the first time,” said Steven Spielberg. “I've admired her films and she has always been my first choice to portray all the fragility and complexity that was Mary Todd Lincoln."

“To have the opportunity to work with Steven Spielberg and Daniel Day-Lewis and to play one of the most complicated and colorful women in American history is simply as good as it gets,” said Sally Field.

Based on the best-selling book, Team of Rivals, by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, the screenplay has been written by the Pulitzer Prize winner, Tony Award winner, and Academy Award nominated writer Tony Kushner. It will be produced by Kathleen Kennedy and Steven Spielberg.

It is anticipated that the film will focus on the political collision of Lincoln and the powerful men of his cabinet on the road to abolition and the end of the Civil War.

Sally Field is a two-time Academy Award winner as Best Actress in a Leading Role for her roles in “Places in the Heart” and “”Norma Rae.” Field won an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama or Comedy Special for her role in “Sybil.” She won her second Emmy for her guest starring role on the long-running drama, “E.R.” Her other film credits include “Steel Magnolias,” “Mrs. Doubtfire,” and “Forrest Gump.” Field currently stars in the ABC series “Brothers & Sisters” for which she won an Emmy in 2007.

Doris Kearns Goodwin won her Pulitzer Prize for No Ordinary Time, the story of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt and the home front in World War II. Kushner's prize was for his play Angels in America, which later became an Emmy Award-winning television special. He had previously worked with Spielberg on Munich for which he was nominated for an Oscar in the Adapted Screenplay category.

Filming is expected to begin in the fall of 2011 for release in the fourth quarter of 2012 through Disney’s Touchstone distribution label.


About DreamWorks Studios
DreamWorks Studios is a motion picture company formed in 2009 and led by Steven Spielberg and Stacey Snider in partnership with The Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group. Upcoming releases include “Cowboys & Aliens,” “The Help,” “Fright Night,” “Real Steel,” and “War Horse.”

DreamWorks Studios can be found on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/DreamWorksStudios and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/dw_studios.

Review: "Sweeney Todd" is Bloody Good" (Happy B'day, Dante Ferretti)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 21 (of 2008) by Leroy Douresseaux

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)
Running time: 116 minutes (1 hour, 56 minutes)
MPAA – R for graphic bloody violence
DIRECTOR: Tim Burton
WRITER: John Logan (based on the musical by Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler; originally stage by Harold Prince)
PRODUCERS: Richard D. Zanuck, Walter Parkes, Laurie MacDonald, and John Logan
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Dariusz Wolski, ASC
EDITOR: Chris Lebenzon, A.C.E.
2008 Academy Award winner

MUSICAL/DRAMA/HORROR

Starring: Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall, Sacha Baron Cohen, Jamie Campbell Bower, Jayne Wisener, and Edward Sanders

Tim Burton (Beetlejuice, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) brings the music and lyrics of Stephen Sondheim to life in his wonderfully gruesome film, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, based on the Tony Award-winning musical by Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler. Burton keeps most of the songs from the musical and joins his frequent leading man, Johnny Depp, for the sixth time to make fantastically macabre movie magic, one that demands that the audience accept the gory reality of murder if it’s going to be entertained by bloody revenge.

Escaping two decades of false imprisonment in Australia, Benjamin Barker (Johnny Depp) returns to London and vows to kill the evil Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman) and his nefarious henchman, Beadle Bamford (Timothy Spall), who framed him on trumped-up criminal charge in order to steal his wife. However, Barker has learned that his wife, Lucy (Laura Michelle Kelly), poisoned herself, and his now grown daughter, Johanna (Jayne Wisener), is Turpin’s ward.

Adopting the guise of Sweeney Todd, Barker resumes his trade as a barber. He sets up his business in his old Barber Shop above the pie-making premises of Mrs. Nellie Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter), who falls for the mad barber. After killing a rival who threatens to expose Sweeney’s real identity, Todd devises with Mrs. Lovett an inhuman scheme that will both get rid of the body and save Mrs. Lovett’s ailing meat pie business. Todd begins to murder his customers, cutting their throats, and Mrs. Lovett uses their flesh as the filling for her pies.

Meanwhile, Anthony (Jamie Campbell Bower), the young sailor who rescued Sweeney from the sea, has fallen madly in love with Johanna and becomes the target of Turpin’s ire, for Turpin wants to marry his young ward. Mrs. Lovett’s pies soon become the talk of London, and as business booms, she dreams of respectability and a life at the seaside with Sweeney as her husband and her young charge, Toby (Edward Sanders), alongside as her adopted son. Sweeney Todd has only one thing on his mind – cutting Judge Turpin and Beadle Bamford’s throats so severely that their arterial sprays will paint his walls.

While it may be true that Johnny Depp doesn’t have a quality singing voice, he is a great actor, and his frequent collaborator Tim Burton is a great director. In Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, the two of them make a splendid film musical, as good, and in some ways better, than recent screen musicals Chicago, Dreamgirls, and Moulin Rouge.

Depp, all brooding, smoldering, and quite mad, as Sweeney Todd is mesmerizing on screen. His Todd is a rich character capable of so many moods and so very capable of feigning civility and humanity when there is never a moment in this movie when Todd isn’t at heart, a freaking homicidal maniac. It’s no wonder that Depp earned his third Oscar nomination as a lead actor. His colleagues in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences can see how wonderfully fertile this character is, simply because this amazing actor can create a profound character, almost out of thin air.

Burton, often criticized for focusing on whimsical, macabre, and almost pop gothic films instead of “serious” subject matter, seems to distill everything he has done thus far in cinema into this one gruesome, luminous jewel. Burton’s creative and technical collaborators have fashioned some of the most imaginative and decorative costumes and sets. His cinematographers, editors, and lighting crews have made inventive uses of the tools and equipment of their trades and crafts. Burton is not only able to get the best of his technical staff, he is also able to get them to go out of the ordinary when it comes to creating visual splendor. Sweeney Todd is the movie where everything he has done has come together to produce the epitome of his visual style. It’s like an astonishing colorful ode to Italian filmmaker, Mario Bava, an influence on Burton.

That’s not to say that this is the Burton/Depp show alone. Stephen Sondheim’s music is not only divine, but is also excellent at storytelling, character defining, and mood making. Helena Bonham Carter, a thoroughly underrated and underutilized actress, is a surprisingly spry singer with a beautiful voice. She’s a scene stealer here, and one can argue that the film is as much her Mrs. Lovett’s as it is Depp’s murderous Todd. To put it simply, the people who made this movie made a great movie, a deliciously demented great movie.

9 of 10
A+

NOTES:
2008 Academy Awards: 1 winner for “Best Achievement in Art Direction” (Dante Ferretti-art director and Francesca Lo Schiavo-set decorator) and 2 nominations: “Best Actor in a Leading Role” (Johnny Depp) and “Best Achievement in Costume Design” (Colleen Atwood)

2008 BAFTA Awards: 2 nominations: “Best Costume Design” (Colleen Atwood) and “Best Make Up and Hair” (Ivana Primorac)

2008 Golden Globes: 2 wins: “Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy” and “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy” (Johnny Depp); 2 nominations: “Best Director - Motion Picture” (Tim Burton) and “Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy” (Helena Bonham Carter)

Friday, April 25, 2008

-------------------

Daniel Day-Lewis is Lincoln in Spielberg Movie

Press release:

Academy Award Winner Daniel Day-Lewis to Star as Lincoln for DreamWorks Studios

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Two-time Academy Award winner Daniel Day-Lewis will star as the 16th President of the United States in DreamWorks Studios’ Lincoln to be directed by Steven Spielberg. The announcement was made today by Spielberg and Stacey Snider, Co-Chairman and CEO of DreamWorks Studios.

“Daniel Day-Lewis would have always been counted as one of the greatest of actors, were he from the silent era, the golden age of film or even some time in cinema's distant future. I am grateful and inspired that our paths will finally cross with Lincoln,” said Steven Spielberg. "Throughout his career, he has been exceptionally selective in his choice of material," added Stacey Snider, "which makes us feel even more fortunate that he has chosen to join with us for Lincoln."

Based on the best-selling book, Team of Rivals, by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, the screenplay has been written by the Pulitzer Prize winner, Tony Award winner, and Academy Award nominated writer Tony Kushner. It will be produced by Kathleen Kennedy and Steven Spielberg.

It is anticipated that the film will focus on the political collision of Lincoln and the powerful men of his cabinet on the road to abolition and the end of the Civil War.

Doris Kearns Goodwin won her Pulitzer Prize for No Ordinary Time, the story of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt and the home front in World War II. Kushner's prize was for his play Angels in America, which later became an Emmy Award-winning television special. He had previously worked with Spielberg on Munich for which he was nominated for an Oscar in the Adapted Screenplay category.

Filming is expected to begin in the fall of 2011 for release in the fourth quarter of 2012 through Disney’s Touchstone distribution label.


About DreamWorks Studios
DreamWorks Studios is a motion picture company formed in 2009 and led by Steven Spielberg and Stacey Snider in partnership with The Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group. Upcoming releases include “I Am Number Four,” “Cowboys & Aliens,” “The Help,” “Fright Night,” “Real Steel,” and “War Horse.”

DreamWorks Studios can be found on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/DreamWorksStudios and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/dw_studios.

Dark Horse and TNT Team Up on DreamWork's "Falling Skies"

DARK HORSE AND TNT TEAM UP ON COMIC BOOK PREQUEL "TO FALLING SKIES"

THE EAGERLY ANTICIPATED NEW SERIES STARRING NOAH WYLE, PRODUCED BY DREAMWORKS TELEVISION AND EXECUTIVE PRODUCER STEVEN SPIELBERG WILL APPEAR IN COMIC FORM ONLINE AND IN PRINT!

TNT is teaming up with publisher Dark Horse Comics to create a comic book and webcomic prequel to FALLING SKIES, the eagerly anticipated new series starring Noah Wyle (ER, TNT’s The Librarian movies) and produced by DreamWorks Television and executive producer Steven Spielberg. The comic book and webcomic are slated to be unveiled at New York Comic Con in October. FALLING SKIES, which is set to premiere on TNT in summer 2011, is a gripping drama that envisions a world where aliens have invaded, and the fate of humanity lies in the hands of a few survivors.

During New York Comic Con (Oct. 8-10), TNT and Dark Horse will distribute an exclusive, special-edition 12-14 page comic book that tells the harrowing backstory of the alien invasion. Beginning Nov. 1, fans will be able to download an extended webcomic version through tnt.tv, darkhorse.com and iTunes, with new installments posted every two weeks.

“The FALLING SKIES comic book and webcomic provide a great way for TNT to ramp up excitement for FALLING SKIES, while also providing a thrilling backstory to the series’ intriguing premise and characters,” said Tricia Melton, senior vice president of entertainment marketing for TNT, TBS and Turner Classic Movies (TCM). “We look forward to working with Dark Horse Comics as we begin the FALLING SKIES invasion.”

In addition to the comic book and webcomic, Dark Horse is collaborating with TNT on the FALLING SKIES presence at this month’s Comic-Con International in San Diego. The event will include appearances and autograph sessions with series stars Wyle and Moon Bloodgood (Terminator Salvation), along with co-executive producer and writer Mark Verheiden (Heroes, Battlestar Galactica). On Friday, July 23, from 2-3 p.m. (PT), the three will appear at Dark Horse’s Comic-Con International booth, where they will sign exclusive FALLING SKIES posters. Then from 4:45 p.m. – 5:45 p.m. (PT), Wyle, Bloodgood and Verheiden will participate in a Q&A panel session in Room 6A.

In FALLING SKIES, Wyle stars as a former college professor who becomes the leader of a group of soldiers and civilians struggling against an occupying alien force. Bloodgood co-stars as Anne Glass, a therapist who works with the surviving children to help them cope with the traumatic situation. The series also stars Drew Roy (Lincoln Heights) as Hal and Maxim Knight (Brothers & Sisters) as Matt, Tom’s two sons; and Seychelle Gabriel (Weeds) as Lourdes, an orphaned teenager who helps run the group’s commissary. Will Patton (Armageddon, TNT’s Into the West) plays a fierce leader of the resistance.

FALLING SKIES is executive-produced by Steven Spielberg, along with DreamWorks Television heads Justin Falvey and Darryl Frank and screenwriter Robert Rodat. Rodat, who earned an Oscar® nomination for his screenplay for Saving Private Ryan, wrote the pilot from an idea he co-conceived with Spielberg. Verheiden and Greg Beeman (Heroes, Smallville) are co-executive producers. The pilot was directed by Carl Franklin (One False Move, Out of Time).


About Dark Horse Comics
Since 1986, Dark Horse Comics has proven to be a solid example of how integrity and innovation can help broaden a unique storytelling medium and establish a small, homegrown company as an industry giant. The company is known for the progressive and creator friendly atmosphere it provides for writers and artists. In addition to publishing comics from top talent like Frank Miller, Mike Mignola, Neil Gaiman, Gerard Way, Will Eisner, and bestselling prose author, Janet Evanovich, Dark Horse has developed such successful characters as The Mask, Timecop, and SpyBoy. Additionally, their highly successful line of comics and products based on popular properties includes Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Aliens, Conan, Mass Effect, Tim Burton, Serenity and Domo. Today, Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent comic-book publisher in the United States and is recognized as both an innovator in the cause of creator rights and the comics industry's leading publisher of licensed material.

About TNT
TNT, one of cable’s top-rated networks, is television’s destination for drama. Seen in 99.6 million households, the network is home to such original series as The Closer, starring Kyra Sedgwick; Leverage, starring Timothy Hutton; and Dark Blue, starring Dylan McDermott; Rizzoli & Isles, starring Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander; Memphis Beat, with Jason Lee; Men of a Certain Age, with Ray Romano, Andre Braugher and Scott Bakula; and Southland, from Emmy®-winning producer John Wells (ER). TNT also presents such powerful dramas as Bones, Supernatural, Las Vegas, Law & Order, CSI: NY, Cold Case and Numb3rs; broadcast premiere movies; compelling primetime specials, such as the Screen Actors Guild Awards®; and championship sports coverage, including NASCAR and the NBA. The NCAA men’s basketball tournament will appear on TNT beginning in 2011. TNT is available in high-definition.

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, creates and programs branded news, entertainment, animation and young adult media environments on television and other platforms for consumers around the world.

Sam Raimi Adapting "Earp" Comic Book to Film

SAM RAIMI TO DIRECT RADICAL’S EARP

Radical Publishing is proud to announce that director Sam Raimi (Spider-Man, Evil Dead) has signed on to produce and direct the film adaptation of EARP: SAINTS FOR SINNERS, based on Radical Publishing’s miniseries created by Matt Cirulnick and David Manpearl and written by Matt Cirulnick and M. Zachary Sherman. EARP: SAINTS FOR SINNERS will be produced by Mandeville Films partners David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman for DreamWorks with Matt Cirulnick attached to write the screenplay. Radical’s President and Publisher, Barry Levine, and Raimi’s partner at Star Road Entertainment, Josh Donen, will also produce with Radical Studios’ Executive Vice President Jesse Berger, Cirulnick and Manpearl signed on as Executive Producers.

In a world where the American economy has all but collapsed to the levels of the Great Depression, infamous bandits roam the country and the law is as corrupt as the criminals its sworn to stop. Yet one lawman remains a steadfast moral compass for the people: WYATT EARP. Earp has collared more most-wanted men than anyone in history – but after a violent assignment claims the life of his brother, Wyatt sets out to forge a simple life in the only boomtown left: Las Vegas. With gorgeous women and free-flowing money on endless tap, Sin City attracts more people than a modern gold rush. Though Earp no longer wears a U.S. Marshall’s badge, his past is about to catch up to him. With nearly everything to lose, Earp will have to beat the odds stacked against him in order to bring old-fashioned justice to Sin City.

“This is amazing news going into San Diego Comic-Con,” states Levine. “Both Cirulnick and Manpearl have created an exciting setting of Las Vegas in the near future to reinvent the Wyatt Earp legend that will excite fans around the world.”

EARP: SAINTS FOR SINNERS #0 is currently available to purchase for the premiere price of $1.00. A deluxe-sized issue #1 will go on sale in late 2010. Keep checking www.radicalpublishing.com for updates.

Cirulnick will unveil artwork and story details at Radical's creators panel at Comic-Con on Thursday, July 22nd at 2:00 P.M. in room 32AB.

Radical Publishing will also be having a special EARP signing at San Diego Comic-Con booth #3725 on Thursday, July 22nd starting at 5:00 P.M.

Fans are encouraged to visit the Radical Publishing website www.radicalpublishing.com to check out special webisodes and for more information.


About Radical Publishing
Radical Publishing is founded by Barry Levine (producer for Hercules, Caliber, Freedom Formula, Shrapnel, Abattoir, Oblivion, The Last Days of American Crime, Legends, Damaged, Earp: Saints for Sinners and executive producer for the in-development Rex Mundi movie for Warner Bros., written by Jim Uhls and starring Johnny Depp) and entrepreneur Jesse Berger (executive producer for Hercules, Caliber, Freedom Formula, Shrapnel, Abattoir, Oblivion, The Last Days of American Crime, Legends, Damaged and Earp: Saints for Sinners).

For their quality and excellence in 2008, Radical Publishing was granted the Gem Award for “Best New Publisher of the Year” from Diamond Comic Distributors. Radical brings the best writing, storytelling, and fully painted cover and interior art to the global comic book market, from prominent international talents such as Yoshitaka Amano, Keith Arem, Rain Beredo, Marc Bernardin, John Bolton, Darren Lynn Bousman, Ron L. Brinkerhoff, Bing Cansino, Matt Cirulnick, Tomm Coker, Clayton Crain, Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Flint Dille, Marko Djurdjevic, Ian Edginton, Warren Ellis, James Farr, Adam Freeman, E. Max Frye, Antoine Fuqua, Justin Gray, Paul Gulacy, David Hine, Taka Ichise, Joseph Kosinski, Clint Langley, Adam Lawson, David Lapham, Richard Lee, Rob Levin, David Liss, Alex Maleev, Leonardo Manco, David Manpearl, Stephan Martinière, Francesco "Matt" Mattina, Peter Milligan, Steve Moore, Arvid Nelson, Wayne Nichols, Steve Niles, Jimmy Palmiotti, Nick Percival, Troy Peteri, Vincent Proce, Steve Pugh, Patrick Reilly, Rick Remender, Terry Rossio, Luis Royo, Nick Sagan, Kirsi Salonen, Sam Sarkar, Stjepan Sejic, M. Zachary Sherman, Bill Sienkiewicz, Wesley Snipes, Jim Steranko, Arthur Suydam, Patrick Tatopoulos, J.P. Targete, Greg Tocchini, Andree Wallin, Rich Wilkes, Dave Wilkins, Concept Art House, Haberlin Studios, Meduzarts Digital Environment Studio, Weta Workshop, Zombie Studios, and many more.

Currently, Radical Publishing has production deals with Spyglass Entertainment and Peter Berg’s Film 44 for Hercules, with Johnny Depp's Infinitum Nihil for Caliber, New Regency and Bryan Singer’s Bad Hat Harry Productions for Freedom Formula, Ron Howard and Brian Grazer’s Imagine Entertainment for Legends as well as Dreamworks, Sam Raimi’s Star Road Entertainment and Mandeville Films for Earp: Saints for Sinners. .

New Book Unveils the History of "Shrek" Film

New Book Says Shrek Was Close to Never Being Made

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--According to a new book, The Men Who Would Be King: An Almost Epic Tale of Moguls, Movies, and a Company Called DreamWorks (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) by Nicole LaPorte, Shrek almost did not happen. LaPorte, who covered DreamWorks, the company founded by Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and David Geffen, for Variety, details many of the fascinating decisions that changed movie history in this new book.

As LaPorte writes, before Shrek, the company was floundering financially, largely because none of the studio’s previous animated films were working. Shrek was DreamWorks’s first, all-out blockbuster; it grossed $484 million worldwide. The fourth installment of the Shrek franchise releases on Friday, May 21.

But DreamWorks Animation’s biggest, most lucrative franchise ironically almost didn’t get made and struggled along for years. As LaPorte writes, in the beginning (way back in 1994) when the project was just being discussed, Jeffrey Katzenberg hired four recent college grads, dubbed the “Propellerheads” who were experimenting with 3-D. The group, which included J.J. Abrams (who would eventually be called the “next Steven Spielberg”), Rob Letterman, Loren Soman, and Andy Waisler. After months of working on the film, their one-minute test so underwhelmed Katzenberg that he shut down production and threatened to scrap the project. Several millions in development costs were written off. As the movie floundered in oblivion, animators began referring to working on Shrek as being sent to “the Gulag.” Several writers (Ted Elliott Terry Rossio, Joe Stillman, Roger Schulman) and directors (Henry Selick) gave Shrek a shot but when Andrew Adamson took over, the film was finally set on the right path. At that point, Jeffrey Katzenberg had far less to do with the film, than with other movies he had micromanaged, such as Prince of Egypt and The Road to El Dorado--both flops.

Saturday Night Live actor Chris Farley was originally cast as the voice of Shrek. The animators relied heavily on Farley’s own looks and Tommy Boy hairstyle to draw the early versions of the ogre. After Farley’s death, Mike Myers was brought on to replace him. Myers decided near the end of production to give Shrek a Scottish accent and could not be dissuaded, which meant $4 million in reanimation for the ogre’s mouth and facial expressions.

The film also served as DreamWorks’ biggest ammunition in its battle against Disney. Shrek is essentially the anti-Disney movie, taking beloved characters like Snow White and the Gingerbread Man and turning them on their heads. And Lord Farquaad's pointed resemblance to Michael Eisner was icing on the cake for Katzenberg who was in a heated legal battle with Eisner. Eisner had once called Katzenberg a “little midget” publically during the trial, and as an inside joke, the Farquaad character was made to be very short.


About the Author
Nicole LaPorte is a former film reporter for Variety, where she covered the Hollywood movie industry for several years. She also wrote "The Rules of Hollywood" column for the Los Angeles Times Magazine, and has written for the New Yorker, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, New York Observer, Sunday Telegraph Magazine, and W Magazine. LaPorte is currently the West Coast Reporter for Daily Beast. She lives in Venice, California.

Review: "Anchorman" is Odd and Funny

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 121 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux 

 

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)

Running time: 94 minutes (1 hour, 34 minutes)

MPAA – PG-13 for sexual humor, language and comic violence DIRECTOR: Adam McKay WRITERS: Will Ferrell and Adam McKay PRODUCER: Judd Apatow CINEMATOGRAPHER: Thomas Ackerman (D.o.P.) EDITOR: Brent White

 

COMEDY 

 

Starring: Will Ferrell, Christina Applegate, Paul Rudd, Steven Carell, David Koechner, Fred Willard, Chris Parnell, Kathryn Hahn, Luke Wilson, Bill Kurtis, Monique McIntyre, and Danny Trejo with uncredited screen appearances by Jack Black, Missi Pyle, Tim Robbins, Stephen Root, Ben Stiller, and Vince Vaughn

 

Will the actor/comedian Will Ferrell make a nice, long run of being a comedic leading man? He has a few hits behind him, and even if he ever falters as the star, he’s funny enough to lift quite a few movies to that next level by playing funny and crucial supporting roles.

 

In Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, a film in which he co-wrote, Ferrell is Ron Burgundy. In 1970’s San Diego, he rules the city as the most popular anchorman of the most popular local TV news broadcast. He’s a legend, mostly in his own mind, and he’s God’s gift to women – if only they knew that he isn’t much of a journalist and his news skills rely heavily on a TelePrompTer.

 

Burgundy is also the captain of his station’s news team, a fellow cast of cads that includes a lecherous beat reporter named Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd), Brick Tamland (Steve Carell), a mentally challenged weatherman, and Champ Kind (David Koechner), a chauvinist, dude cowboy sports reporter. All is well in their world of ladies and parties until Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate), an ambitious female with her eye on being a network anchorwoman, arrives to rock their world. For Ron, it’s love at first sight, but all goes bad when Veronica becomes his partner both personally and professionally.

 

Anchorman is quite silly and filled with lots of belly laughs, but it also has a surprising number of satirical and sardonic moments. The humor recalls the mocking antics of Mel Brooks 70’s classics like Blazing Saddles, but the humor here is often deadpan and blunt. It’s also self-mockingly serious and also flat out hilarious. Too bad, the story is soft and the script is mostly a blueprint for jokes, gags, and general silliness.

 

Will Ferrell is his usual funny self, but the Burgundy character is a bit odd and off-putting. It’s not one of Ferrell’s more endearing characters, but he has a knack of making the most annoying characters very funny, even when they’re under your skin. The supporting cast is quite nice. Fred Willard embodies 70’s kitsch, and the three actors that make up Burgundy’s crew are fantastic, especially Carell and Koechner who play their parts with a frightening, scene stealing relish. Ms. Applegate’s performance is a bit odd; she plays Veronica in a never where between cardboard character dumb blonde and sly vixen, but with the gumption to make her character surprise us at every turn.

 

Anchorman will likely stand out as one of the year’s funniest comedies, but in the long run, it may be remembered as an oddity, perhaps a forgotten oddity. But I’m hoping it hangs around, even with some kind of cult status.

 

7 of 10 

B+ 

 

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Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds Arriving on Blu-ray

TOM CRUISE STARS IN A THRILLING RENDITION OF THE CLASSIC H.G. WELLS TALE DIRECTED BY STEVEN SPIELBERG

ARRIVING ON BLU-RAY FOR THE FIRST TIME, WAR OF THE WORLDS

Visually-Stunning and Action-Packed Sci-Fi Thriller Debuts on Blu-ray June 1, 2010 Featuring Over Two Hours of Special Features

HOLLYWOOD, CALIF. – When the Earth is suddenly invaded by menacing aliens in giant fighting machines, one family struggles for survival in the eye-popping adventure WAR OF THE WORLDS, directed by Steven Spielberg and landing on Blu-ray for the first time ever June 1, 2010 from Paramount Home Entertainment. A DreamWorks Pictures and Paramount Pictures co-production, WAR OF THE WORLDS stars Tom Cruise as Ray Ferrier, a father who is desperately trying to protect his teenage son (Justin Chatwin) and 10-year-old daughter (Dakota Fanning) from the relentless alien onslaught that is destroying everything in its path. Fueled by the desire to reunite the children with their mother, Ray battles to shepherd his family from New Jersey to Boston, all the while fending off the mysterious and deadly aliens.

Filled with stunning visual effects and non-stop action, the WAR OF THE WORLDS Blu-ray features the finest picture and sound quality to further enhance this sci-fi classic. The Blu-ray also features over two hours of bonus material including in-depth production diaries following the crew from the east coast to the west coast, featurettes on H. G. Wells’ legacy, scoring the film, the characters and previsualization, multiple photo galleries and more.


WAR OF THE WORLDS Blu-ray
The WAR OF THE WORLDS Blu-ray is presented in 1080p High Definition with English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital and Portuguese 5.1 Dolby Digital along with English, English SDH, French, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles. Special features are presented in standard definition except where noted HD:

· Revisiting the Invasion
· The H.G. Wells Legacy
· Steven Spielberg and the Original War of the Worlds
· Characters: The Family Unit
· Previsualization
· Production Diaries
o East Coast—Beginning
o East Coast—Exile
o West Coast—Destruction
o West Coast—War
· Designing the Enemy: Tripods and Aliens
· Scoring War Of The Worlds
· We Are Not Alone
· Galleries
o Sketches by Costume Designer Joanna Johnston
o Production Stills
o Behind the Scenes
o Production Sketches
· Theatrical Teaser Trailer (HD)


About Paramount Home Entertainment
Paramount Home Entertainment (PHE) is part of Paramount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment. PPC is a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), a leading content company with prominent and respected film, television and digital entertainment brands. PHE is responsible for the sales, marketing and distribution of home entertainment products on behalf of various parties including: Paramount Pictures, Paramount Vantage, Paramount Classics, Paramount Famous Productions, Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central, CBS and PBS and for providing home entertainment fulfillment services for DreamWorks Animation Home Entertainment.


WAR OF THE WORLDS Blu-ray
Street date: June 1, 2010
Pricing: $39.99 U.S.
Runtime: 117 minutes
U.S. Rating: PG-13 for frightening sequences of sci-fi violence and disturbing images
Canadian Rating: 14A