May 17th, 2008
On the TV Addict:
It was star sightings galore as the TV Addict attended the 2008 UpFronts in New York City. Spotted: 90210’s Jennie Garth, newcomer Shenae Grimes and GOSSIP GIRL Blake Lively
On the REEL Addict:
We posted a first look at the upcoming X-FILES movie, revealed some really cool Captain America cameos in IRON MAN and applauded Hollywood for their ‘creative renaissance.’
May 16th, 2008
Back when I was writing my Top 15 Bleakest Film Endings list, I scanned the internet for similar lists, and I found one film kept on coming up: Isao Takahata’s GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES. After trying to track down the movie for some time, I was excited to finally find it at the great rental store Film Fest DVD in Toronto. So last night I sat myself down, curious to see why the film was not only so highly regarded by critics and fans, but why it was considered so bleak. The premise about two children trying to survive in World War II Japan sounded sad, but it couldn’t be that bad, right?
It destroyed me.
I don’t say things like that lightly. I’m usually not prone to over-praise or hyperbole, but there’s frankly no other way to describe what that film did to me. It just emotionally obliterated me. What’s interesting – and rare – is that it did so on both ends of the emotional spectrum. The film features some of the most graceful and beautiful moments I’ve seen in a film, and yet also some of the most emotionally devastating. It’ll hurt. Bad.
May 13th, 2008
People think I’m strange, but whenever I watch a film on DVD, I watch it with subtitles turned on. My friends give me a lot of grief about it, mainly complaining that it’s distracting while watching, and wondering why I even need them when I have two perfectly working ears attached to my head. After all, I do just fine in theatres and watching regular television shows on TV, so what gives?
I suppose I have a couple of reasons. First - and I’m going to sound like an old fuddy-duddy - but I find that a lot of actors mutter and mumble sometimes, making their dialogue unintelligible, or other times their words get drowned out by bombastic scores and sound effects. When it comes to dialogue I just don’t like to miss anything - for whatever reason - and subtitles ensure that I actually hear everything I’m supposed to (and sometimes not supposed to). There are some times additional benefits too, as - depending on the extent of the closed captioning - you often get to read background dialogue you can’t actually make out, or get to see the lyrics to those deliberately selected songs that accompany scenes.
May 12th, 2008
Over at G.L.I. Press, they have an excellent article analyzing thirteen films that “[take] an assumption about how American movies are supposed to be made and [change] it, sometimes resulting in something truly memorable.” Lists like these are often very subjective, and accessible to intense scrutiny, but I have to say this list is a pretty dead-on compilation of innovative films. Whatever oversights there were, are easily and politely corrected by those who comment on the article.
As for my own comments, I might slightly debate the selection of EMPIRE STRIKES BACK for a rule-breaking film involving the good guys losing. I’m sure there are other earlier examples, but the one that readily comes to my mind is CHINATOWN where the good guy loses… really badly (it even earned the No. 1 spot in my Top 15 Bleakest Film Endings because of that fact). Also, it’s hard to really feel that the bad guys really win at the end EMPIRE STRIKES BACK because you knew there was going to be another film that would inevitably lead to the heroes’ victory.
I can’t resist the urge to suggest some additions as well. I might be inclined to throw in LONE STAR and UNFORGIVEN in the already excellently selected “re-imagined Westerns category.” I’d maybe nit-pick that Christopher Nolan started playing with reverse order narrative in his earlier film, FOLLOWING, and I’d nominate SUNSET BOULEVARD for being a film that not only told you (and showed you) in the opening scene that the protagonist would die, but would also go on to be narrated by the deceased character.
May 10th, 2008
Though by now those who cruise the blogosphere are probably quite accustomed to the snarky remarks of bloggers complaining about Hollywood’s tendency to remake anything that is even remotely remakable, this particular rant is going to take on a bit more of a literary slant (finally, that English BA is getting put to use!).
My rant is as follows: enough with bloody remaking Jane Austen and Brontë sister novels a kabajillion times! BBC gave us the quintessential adaptation of PRIDE & PREJUDICE with the Colin Firth mini-series, and yet we got the same story reworked in a modern setting (BRIDGET JONES), and of course someone somewhere felt that it’d be a good idea to still make a film starring Keira Knightly (who admittedly, to me, was the quintessential Lizzie Bennet). Look up WUTHERING HEIGHTS on IMDB and you’ll be flooded with adaptations of that novel, and yet we’re getting another one starring Natalie Portman that’s expected to hit theatres in 2010. If you’re still on IMDB, type in JANE EYRE and you’ll see things get worse. There are even more adaptations of that one than WUTHERING HEIGHTS. There was a theatrical film in 1996, a BBC mini-series in 1997 (with Samantha Morton), another BBC mini-series in 2006, and now they’re doing it again, this time with Ellen Page supposed to star as the famous literary heroine (which is also pretty poor casting, even if one could argue that Jane Eyre is a predecessor of sorts for someone like Juno).
May 8th, 2008
A while back I wondered aloud about the effectiveness of viral marketing (check it out here), especially in regards to THE DARK KNIGHT. Now, the other day, while reading about the increasingly frantic fictional happenings in the campaign for that film, I realized something. Whoever is conceiving, programming, developing, writing and generally involved with the campaign better get credit/acknowledgement. Sure, I understand conceding that somebody “planned” all this stuff might ruin the original intent, i.e. immersion in these fictional worlds, but given the amount of work and cleverness and creativity that is being invested here, somebody deserves to be recognized for it.
I guess to avoid bursting the immersive bubble, those involved could be revealed after the film has been released, but I think it’s important – as it is for any writer/creator – that these guys get some well-deserved credit for their creativity and ingenuity, and not be treated as simple extensions of marketing, or – worse – ignored like any other writers/creators that create original content for the internet.
May 4th, 2008
In this particular column I will highlight what I find to be the most interesting screenplay sales of the past month, whether they be original scripts, pitches, or proposed adaptations of existing material (books, previous films, etc). All information below and in future columns come courtesy of Done Deal Pro.
Most Promising Original Scripts
Title: RITES OF SPRING
Logline: A father, intent on avenging his murdered son, crosses paths with a serial killer targeting teens.
Writer: Padraig Reynolds
Comments: Though generally I’m really not a fan of the whole revenge genre, for some reason I find the notion of a grieving father going after not just some ordinary hoodlums but an actual serial killer kind of exciting and intriguing.
Title: THE HERETIC
Plot: A fallen priest-turned-hitman is sent by a rogue archbishop to assassinate Martin Luther, only to discover that not everyone is telling the truth.
Writer: Javier Rodriguez
Comments: I’ll admit I’m of two minds on this project. On the one hand the alternate-history sucker in me loves the idea of someone wanting to track down and kill Martin Luther. Then again, given the religious wars going on during that time period, maybe it’s not such a stretch. I also am a little intrigued by the basic concept of a priest gone hitman (seriously, how does one make THAT transition?). There’s also the fact that during this time hitman didn’t have the benefit of guns, silences, sniper rifles, etc. The thing that has me wary of this project though is that if I have to watch one more hitman movie where “not everyone is telling the truth” and either the hitman grows a conscience, or gets betrayed by his employers, or falls in love, I might become an assassin myself just to show ‘em how it’s done.
May 3rd, 2008
On the TV Adddict:
Between running over innocent bystanders in GRAND THEFT AUTO IV, the TV Addict still managed to say farewell to LAW & ORDER’s Detective Green and interview GOSSIP GIRL star Jessica Szohr [Vanessa].
On the REEL Addict:
We posted a mini-review of IRON MAN, listed our Top 10 Films about Writers and learned to stop worrying and embrace the deatt of HD DVD.
April 30th, 2008
If you’re anything like me, you may relish (even devour, depending on your ferocity) the opportunity to hear about how some of your favorite films are made, or what the filmmakers who made them think of them and others involved. Well, I’d recommend checking out SNAM’s “10 Days in L.A. Blog.”
Now at this point some of you may be shaking your heads, wondering what the heck I’m talking about with this blog, and why you’ve never heard of this show called SNAM. Well, for those of who don’t count yourselves among my fellow noble countrymen, a little explanation is perhaps necessary (Canadians in the know, can “Choose Your Own Adventure” and just skip the next paragraph).
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