Happy Birthday, Negromancer the Blog

Three years ago, Negromancer returned on Blogger.  Yeah, it should have returned earlier, as the Bin wanted and suggested several times.  Oh, well...

Producers Guild Names "Argo" Best Picture of 2012

The Producers Guild of America gave Ben Affleck's film, Argo, "The Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures," which is essentially the guild's 'best picture" award.  Right now, it seems as if Argo is just rolling its way to the best picture Oscar next month.

 

The 24th Annual Producers Guild Awards winners were announced last night, Saturday, January 26, 2013 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. This year, the Producers Guild also presented special honors to Bob and Harvey Weinstein (Milestone Award), Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner (David O. Selznick Achievement Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures), J.J. Abrams (Norman Lear Achievement Award in Television), Russell Simmons (Visionary Award) and BULLY (Stanley Kramer Award).

 

I've included the winners in the television categories along with the winners in the theatrical film categories.

 

2013 Producers Guild Of America Award Winners:

 

The Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures:
"Argo” (Warner Bros.)
Producers: Ben Affleck, George Clooney, Grant Heslov

 

The Award for Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures:
"Wreck-It Ralph” (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
Producer: Clark Spencer

 

The Award for Outstanding Producer of Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures:
"Searching For Sugar Man” (Sony Pictures Classics)
Producers: Malik Bendjelloul, Simon Chinn

 

The Norman Felton Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Drama
Homeland (Showtime)
Producers: Henry Bromell, Alexander Cary, Michael Cuesta, Alex Gansa, Howard Gordon, Chip Johannessen, Michael Klick, Meredith Stiehm

 

The David L. Wolper Award for Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television
Game Change (HBO)
Producers: Gary Goetzman, Tom Hanks, Jay Roach, Amy Sayres, Steven Shareshian, Danny Strong

 

The Danny Thomas Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Comedy
Modern Family (ABC)
Producers: Cindy Chupack, Paul Corrigan, Abraham Higginbotham, Ben Karlin, Steven Levitan, Christopher Lloyd, Jeff Morton, Dan O’Shannon, Jeffrey Richman, Chris Smirnoff, Brad Walsh, Bill Wrubel, Danny Zuker

 

The Award for Outstanding Producer of Non-Fiction Television:
American Masters (PBS)
Producers: Prudence Glass, Susan Lacy, Julie Sacks

 

The Award for Outstanding Producer of Competition Television
The Amazing Race (CBS)
Producers: Jerry Bruckheimer, Elise Doganieri, Jonathan Littman, Bertram van Munster, Mark Vertullo

 

The Award for Outstanding Producer of Live Entertainment & Talk Television
The Colbert Report (Comedy Central)
Producers: Meredith Bennett, Stephen Colbert, Richard Dahm, Paul Dinello, Barry Julien, Matt Lappin, Emily Lazar, Tanya Michnevich Bracco, Tom Purcell, Jon Stewart

 

The Award for Outstanding Sports Program
Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel (HBO)

 

The Award for Outstanding Children’s Program TIE
Sesame Street (PBS)
“The Weight of the Nation for Kids: The Great Cafeteria Takeover” (HBO)

 

The Award for Outstanding Digital Series
“30 Rock: The Webisodes” (www.nbc.com)

 

 

Review: "Ice Age: Continental Drift" - Same Old, Same Good

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 7 (of 2013) by Leroy Douresseaux


Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012)
Running time: 88 minutes (1 hour, 28 minutes)
MPAA – PG for mild rude humor and action/peril
DIRECTORS: Steve Martino and Michael Thurmeier
WRITERS: Michael Berg and Jason Fuchs; from a story by Michael Berg and Lori Forte
PRODUCERS: Lori Forte and John C. Donkin
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Renato Falcão
EDITORS: James Palumbo and David Ian Salter with Christopher Campbell
COMPOSER: John Powell

ANIMATION/COMEDY/ADVENTURE and FAMILY/FANTASY

Starring: (voices) Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, Seann William Scott, Josh Peck, Peter Dinklage, Jennifer Lopez, Keke Palmer, Wanda Sykes, Alan Tudyk, Aubrey “Drake” Graham, Josh Gad, Nick Frost, Aziz Ansari, Nicki Minaj, Heather Morris, Joy Behar, with Queen Latifah and Chris Wedge

The subject of this movie review is Ice Age: Continental Drift, a 2012 computer-animated film from Blue Sky Studios and 20th Century Fox. This comedy-adventure movie is the fourth film in the Ice Age series. Continental Drift follows the original Ice Age trio of Manny, Diego, and Sid after they are separated from the rest of the herd.

As Ice Age: Continental Drift begins, the herd is living in peace in the vast land they call home. Manfred “Manny” the mammoth (Ray Romano) is at odds with his teenage daughter, Peaches (Keke Palmer), with mother, Ellie (Queen Latifah), caught in the middle. Family strife isn’t the only rumbling in the land. The continents are dividing, and an earthquake separates Manny, Sid the giant sloth (John Leguizamo), and Diego the saber-toothed tiger (Denis Leary) from Ellie and the rest of the herd.

Lost at sea, Manny, Sid, and Diego begin an epic journey to reunite with the herd, their family. Standing in their way are a vicious primate, Captain Gutt (Peter Dinklage), and his band of pirates, who sale the seas using a floating iceberg as their ship. Meanwhile, the prehistoric squirrel/rat, Scrat (Chris Wedge), continues to chase that acorn.

I expected Ice Age: Continental Drift to be more of the same when it comes to the Ice Age franchise, but that is not a bad thing, anyway. The Ice Age films have been entertaining, if not great, because the franchise’s shtick is both funny and familiar. Each Ice Age film is basically a prehistoric, domestic situation comedy featuring talking animals, and the situation always involves some adventurous mission.

Still, Continental Drift offers its own inventive high points: icebergs as pirate ships, a group of tricky sirens, and Scrat’s treasure hunt come to mind. Captain Gutt and his pirates are, in my estimation, the series’ scariest villains to date, with Peter Dinklage giving a wonderful, layered voice performance. The film actually has a number of good voice performances. Wanda Sykes delivers her funniest voiceover as Sid’s Granny, and Jennifer Lopez is just shockingly good as Shira, a saber-toothed tiger and one of Gutt’s crew.

Continental Drift underutilizes some characters, such as Louis the mole hog (Josh Gad), Peaches’ love-interest-of-sorts. Sometimes, the film is too laid back, but overall Ice Age: Continental Drift is quite good. I found myself laughing at and with the characters, and ultimately, I cared enough to cheer them on.

7 of 10
B+

Friday, January 25, 2013

Jordan Flaherty Names "Beasts of the Southern Wild" as 2012's Best Film

One of my favorite writers is journalist Jordan Flaherty, who is also a staffer with the Louisiana Justice Institute.  If there is a better journalist in Louisiana than Flaherty, he or she isn't better by much.  He has written a must-read piece on the year in movies for Truthout, "Best Films of 2012: Top Ten Picks From a Bumper Crop of Bold Creations."

You can read it here, but I am cheating and printing here, "Jordan Flaherty's Top Ten Movies for the Year 2012:"

1. Beasts of the Southern Wild

2. The Central Park Five

3. United in Anger: A History of ACT-UP

4. Middle of Nowhere

5. The Master

6. Red Hook Summer

7. Moonrise Kingdom

8. 5 Broken Cameras

9. Killing Them Softly

10. The Paperboy

New "Power Rangers Megaforce" Debuts Feb. 2, 2013

(Ciara Hanna, John Mark Loudermilk, Andrew Gray, Azim Rizk, and Christina Masterson as the Power Rangers Megaforce. Courtesy of Business Wire.)

Saban Brands Presents All-New Series, Power Rangers Megaforce, Premiering Saturday, Feb. 2, at 1 pm (ET/PT) on Nickelodeon

The Newest Installment Marks 20 Years for the Power Rangers Property and Features New Cast and Mega Action

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Saban Brands and Nickelodeon today announced Power Rangers, the number one show with Boys 2-11 and Boys 6-11 across all TV in its time period (Source: NMR, 4Q12 Premieres, Sat 1p-130p, Live + SD), will debut its all-new season, Saban’s Power Rangers Megaforce, on Saturday, Feb. 2, at 1 p.m. (ET/PT) on Nickelodeon. Power Rangers Megaforce marks the 20th anniversary of the franchise and kicks off its year-long celebration. Following the premiere, the show will air regularly Saturdays at 1 p.m. (ET/PT) on Nickelodeon, with encores airing Saturdays at 8 a.m. ET on Nicktoons.

“We are delighted to continue our partnership with Nickelodeon and introduce fans everywhere to a MEGA-installment of the 20 year franchise,” said Elie Dekel, President of Saban Brands. “Our collaboration will make the launch of the all new season, Power Rangers Megaforce, as strong as ever.”

Power Rangers Megaforce introduces a plot line that is sure to captivate audiences. The new series features Gosei, a supernatural guardian who for centuries has protected the earth with his robotic aide, Tensou. But when the evil Warstar aliens begin their massive invasion, Gosei calls upon five teenagers with talent and attitude to form the ultimate team...the Power Rangers Megaforce!

When the teens morph into Power Rangers, they gain superhuman strength, agility, and mastery over martial arts. With the aid of special Power Cards, the teens are able to control the earth’s elements to use in their defense, from crushing rock slides to powerful floods. The Power Cards also give them access to amazing combat moves, hi-tech weapons, massive Zord vehicles and the ability to combine these Zords into gigantic Megazord robots to help them battle their enemies. But defending the earth from the invading Warstar aliens is just the beginning of their heroic journey to save the world.

The all new Megaforce Rangers include Troy (Andrew Gray), the Red Ranger who is the new kid in town that loves martial arts; Noah (John Mark Loudermilk), the Blue Ranger who has a thirst for knowledge and a love for science; Gia (Ciara Hanna), the Yellow Ranger who is the prettiest, most successful yet toughest girl at school; Emma (Christina Masterson), the Pink Ranger who is a compassionate and charitable teen and Jake (Azim Rizk), the Black Ranger who is a fearless, fun-loving teen with a passion for soccer.

In addition to the series premiere, Saban Brands is launching its in-school emPOWER program for the third consecutive year in a row. The emPOWER program teaches kids and families how to put the Power Rangers values of teamwork, confidence, health and physical activity into action. The program provides free in-school healthy eating and exercise curriculum resources to more than 100,000 teachers annually, as well as resources, recipes, and tips online for parents through the website www.empower.powerrangers.com.

Beginning Feb. 18, fans can visit Nick.com to play the newest mini game, Power Rangers Megaforce: Never Surrender. In Never Surrender, players help their favorite rangers take on the pesky Loogies and fearsome Warstar Aliens. They can also form their own teams of two by choosing the ranger they wish to play with; from there they’ll battle their way through waves of oncoming enemies in familiar environments from the show. Each ranger has their own specialized combo attacks, augmented attacks and a team up Megaforce attack – along the way, players collect Gosei coins in order to redeem Megaforce Power Cards that grant their rangers enhanced weapon and elemental abilities.

For more information on Power Rangers Megaforce, please visit www.powerrangers.com.


About Saban’s Power Rangers Megaforce
Power Rangers Megaforce is the all-new season of the No.1 live-action kids action series on television. The new series, which airs Saturdays at 1p.m. (ET/PT) on Nickelodeon, delivers mega action, humor, excitement and entertainment, in addition to the core themes of friendship, teamwork, fitness, and helping others. Power Rangers Megaforce premieres as Saban Brands celebrates the 20th Anniversary of the Power Rangers franchise, which is helmed by Haim Saban, who created and produced the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers series in 1993. Following its introduction, Power Rangers quickly became the most-watched children’s television program in the United States. The series followed the adventures of a group of ordinary young people who “morphed” into superheroes. It was seen in more than 60 countries, translated into numerous languages, and was a mainstay in the most prominent international children’s programming blocks. SCG Power Rangers LLC, which licenses and merchandises the Power Rangers brand, is an affiliate of Saban Brands. For more information, visit www.powerrangers.com.

About Saban Brands
Formed in 2010 as an affiliate of Saban Capital Group, Saban Brands (SB) was established to acquire and develop a world-class portfolio of properties and capitalize on the company’s experience, track record and capabilities in growing and monetizing consumer brands through content, media and marketing. SB applies a strategic transmedia management approach to enhancing and extending its brands in markets worldwide and to consumers of all ages. The company provides full-service management, marketing, promotion and strategic business development for its intellectual properties including comprehensive strategies unique to each brand, trademark and copyright management and enforcement, creative design, retail development, direct-to-consumer initiatives and specialized property extensions. SB is led by a superior management team with decades of experience in media, content creation, branding, licensing, marketing and finance. For more information, visit www.sabanbrands.com.

About Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon, now in its 33rd year, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The company includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, online, recreation, books, and feature films. Nickelodeon’s U.S. television network is seen in almost 100 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for 18 consecutive years. For more information or artwork, visit www.nickpress.com. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB).

DreamWorks Begins Production on "WikiLeaks" Movie

Production Begins on DreamWorks’ WikiLeaks Project “The Fifth Estate”

Drama Will Open in Theaters November 15, 2013

Participant Media Joins Project

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Principal photography has begun on the WikiLeaks drama “The Fifth Estate,” it was announced today by DreamWorks Studios. The film about the controversial website stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Julian Assange and Daniel Brühl as Daniel Domscheit-Berg, as well as Laura Linney, Anthony Mackie, David Thewlis, Peter Capaldi, Dan Stevens, Alicia Vikander and Carice van Houten.

“The Fifth Estate” will open in U.S. theaters on November 15, 2013 and be distributed domestically by Disney’s Touchstone label. Distribution internationally will be split among Disney, DreamWorks partner Reliance, and deals made through the studio’s partnership with Mister Smith Entertainment.

Following Daniel Domscheit-Berg (Brühl), an early supporter and eventual colleague of Julian Assange (Cumberbatch), “The Fifth Estate” traces the heady, early days of WikiLeaks, culminating in the release of a series of controversial and history changing information leaks. The website’s overnight success brought instant fame to its principal architects and transformed the flow of information to news media and the world at large.

Joining DreamWorks as a co-financier on “The Fifth Estate” is Participant Media. This will be the fifth collaboration between the two companies who previously partnered on Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln,” the 2011 Academy Award-winning smash “The Help,” “The Kite Runner” and “The Soloist.” With a focus on real issues that shape our lives, Participant creates social action and advocacy programs to transform the impact of the media experience into individual and community action. Some of their other films include “An Inconvenient Truth,” “Good Night, and Good Luck,” “Food, Inc.,” “Charlie Wilson’s War,” “Waiting for ‘'Superman,’” “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” and the current Academy Award nominee for Best Foreign Language Film, “No.”

Bill Condon (“Kinsey,” “Dreamgirls,” "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn") will direct “The Fifth Estate” from a screenplay by Josh Singer (TV’s “Fringe,” “The West Wing”), based on “Inside WikiLeaks: My Time with Julian Assange at the World’s Most Dangerous Website” by Daniel Domscheit-Berg and “WikiLeaks: Inside Julian Assange’s War on Secrecy” by David Leigh and Luke Harding. The producers are Steve Golin and Michael Sugar, with Participant’s Jeff Skoll and Jonathan King joining Richard Sharkey as executive producers. “The Fifth Estate” is a coproduction between Afterworks and FBO, with Hilde De Laere co-producing for FBO. The film is supported by the Belgian Tax Shelter for Audiovisual Production.

Said director Bill Condon, “It may be decades before we understand the full impact of WikiLeaks and how it's revolutionized the spread of information. So this film won't claim any long view authority on its subject, or attempt any final judgment. We want to explore the complexities and challenges of transparency in the information age and, we hope, enliven and enrich the conversations WikiLeaks has already provoked.”


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. The company’s recent releases include Spielberg's "Lincoln," starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field and Tommy Lee Jones. The film has grossed over $150 million at the U.S. box office and has been nominated for twelve Academy awards including Best Picture and Best Director. Other releases include “Real Steel,” starring Hugh Jackman and directed by Shawn Levy, Steven Spielberg’s “War Horse,” based on Michael Morpurgo’s award-winning book and was nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture, and “The Help,” which resonated with audiences around the country and earned over $200 million at the box office and received four Academy Award nominations with Octavia Spencer winning one for Best Supporting Actress. Upcoming films include the comedy "Delivery Man," starring Vince Vaughn, the WikiLeaks drama "The Fifth Estate," and car racing actioner "Need For Speed."

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

"Hansel and Gretel" Has Preview of G.I. Joe Sequel

EXCLUSIVE 3D FOOTAGE OF “G.I. JOE: RETALIATION” TO PLAY IN ADVANCE OF “HANSEL & GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS” IN THEATERS ACROSS THE GLOBE

THE 4-MINUTE PREVIEW WILL BEGIN PLAYING JANUARY 24TH IN IMAX 3D, REALD 3D AND DIGITAL 3D LOCATIONS AROUND THE WORLD

Paramount Pictures, MGM and Skydance Productions, in association with Hasbro, will release a 4-minute preview of the highly anticipated “G.I. JOE: RETALIATION” in IMAX 3D, RealD 3D and digital 3D theaters in advance of Paramount and MGM’s “HANSEL & GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS.”

This first-look at the film will play across the globe beginning January 24th and run throughout “HANSEL & GRETEL: WITCH HUNTER’S” theatrical engagement.

Based on the best-selling HASBRO characters, this follow-up to the 2009 release of “G.I. JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA,” which grossed more than $300 million worldwide, is di Bonaventura production and is presented by Paramount Pictures, MGM and Skydance Productions, in association with Hasbro.

In this sequel, the G.I. Joes are not only fighting their mortal enemy Cobra, they are forced to contend with threats from within the government that jeopardize their very existence. The film stars D.J. Cotrona, Byung-hun Lee, Adrianne Palicki, Ray Park, Jonathan Pryce, Ray Stevenson, Elodie Yung, Channing Tatum with Bruce Willis and Dwayne Johnson. Directed by Jon M. Chu, and produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Brian Goldner of Hasbro, from a screenplay by Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick, based on Hasbro’s G.I. Joe® characters.

“G.I. JOE: RETALIATION” is in theaters everywhere March 29th, 2013.

“HANSEL & GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS” stars Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton as Hansel and Gretel, who, after getting a taste for blood as children, become the ultimate vigilantes, hell bent on retribution. Now, unbeknownst to them, Hansel and Gretel have become the hunted, and must face an evil far greater than witches... their past. In addition to Renner and Arterton, the film stars Famke Janssen and Peter Stormare. Written and directed by Tommy Wirkola and produced by Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, Kevin Messick and Beau Flynn.

“HANSEL & GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS” opens in the U.S. and Canada on January 24, 2013 with show times beginning at 10 p.m.


About Paramount Pictures Corporation
Paramount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment, is a unit of Viacom (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), a leading content company with prominent and respected film, television and digital entertainment brands. Paramount controls a collection of some of the most powerful brands in filmed entertainment, including Paramount Pictures, Paramount Animation, Paramount Vantage, Paramount Classics, Insurge Pictures, MTV Films, and Nickelodeon Movies. PPC operations also include Paramount Famous Productions, Paramount Home Media Distribution, Paramount Pictures International, Paramount Licensing Inc., and Paramount Studio Group.

About Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (“MGM”) is a leading entertainment company focused on the production and distribution of films and television content globally. The company owns one of the world’s deepest libraries of premium film and television programming. In addition, MGM has ownership interests in domestic and international television channels, including MGM-branded channels. For more information, visit www.mgm.com.