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David Poland

By David Poland poland@moviecitynews.com

BYOB 41112

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135 Responses to “BYOB 41112”

  1. JS Partisan says:

    Why can’t you be a Bronie and put Ponies in these BYOB pictures?

  2. cadavra says:

    Because he’s Dancin’ With The Man, Son!

  3. SamLowry says:

    I saw Rex Reed’s name on the front page so many times I had to google him just to see if he was still alive.

  4. SamLowry says:

    “Nobody’s interested in making a living. They only want to make a fortune. Where are the prestige pics? Where are the ’70s, where are people taking chances?” sayeth Whedon.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/15/movies/joss-whedon-directs-the-avengers.html?_r=2&hpw=&pagewanted=all

    Yes, he does depricate himself in the next line, but it’s nice to see that someone else notices that most of the movies being made today will be as well-remembered as Airport and Love Story and The Greatest Show on Earth, big money-makers all.

  5. movielocke says:

    So who’s going to win the Catching Fire directing lottery?

    My money is on Lawrence flexing her muscles and Debra Granik landing the multi-million $ gig.

    Or maybe they’ll take the Harry Potter route and go for a very cheap to get TV director with no visual sensibility?

    Snark about Yates aside, it would be humorous if they make the safe bet and hire Yates.

    But I still say that Granik gets the job.

  6. Don R. Lewis says:

    Man, just finished reading that article about how Joe Esterhas realizes NOW that Mel Gibson is an anti-semite. I can’t wait till he finds out wrestling is fake.

  7. SamLowry says:

    WHAT?

  8. sanj says:

    fashion television cancelled after 27 years with 1 major host…this was way before all these fashion reality tv shows came out …

    check out teen fashion reporter interview .

    FT: Tavi Gevinson for FashionTelevision

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SG35YZJm5-w

  9. Don R. Lewis says:

    If that WHAT? was directed at my comment:
    http://www.thewrap.com/movies/article/joe-eszterhas-explodes-mel-gibson-you-hate-jews-36957?page=0,1

    (**Apologies to DP for Waxmanning it up in here)

  10. bulldog68 says:

    Mel Gibson is an anti-semite? Shut your mouth boy. Wrestling is fake? What are you smoking? Next thing you’re gonna say is that America has a black president, the most trusted news source is on the Comedy channel, and Osama Bin Laden is dead. You’re such a comedian Don.

  11. SamLowry says:

    “He had a religious awakening after contracting throat cancer…”

    Can’t remember who said “No one becomes a born-again Christian on prom night.” Perhaps Dennis Miller, back in his funny days.

  12. Don R. Lewis says:

    Oh man, they posted the whole 9-page letter now. WTF?! Is Eszterhas RETARDED?!? That might be the funniest yet most harrowing thing I’ve ever read. But it also seems really, really suspect. like…why are those red lines under misspelled words there? Those don’t show up when you print a Word doc, do they? Green underlines too. Seems weird.

    I do hope “we thought of leaving and getting a hotel” becomes a new internet meme. Like…”We went and saw PROJECT X and it was awful. We thought of leaving a getting a hotel but instead, decided to stay.” Or…”after we joined Kony in Uganda, we saw the worst of him. We thought of leaving a getting a hotel but instead, decided to stay.”

  13. FilmBuffRich says:

    And in her rush to take a swipe at Waxman, Nikki Finke finds herself seemingly siding with Gibson…

  14. sanj says:

    some Kristen Stewart art …

    http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/muchos-kstew

    i’m guessing K-Stew and Jennifer Lawerence are now
    too famous and rich to do more dp/30’s .
    i guess thats the upside of doing comic book / vampire movies you can choose like 50 + media friendly outlets.

  15. JoeLeydon'sPersonalPornStar says:

    Rex Reed is alive, SamLowry, and was complaining about the service in the restaurant where I ran into him at last year’s Toronto film fest. Seems appropriate, eh?

  16. scooterzz says:

    rex reed is a pretty interesting guy with an extremely storied past, a great apartment in ‘the dakota’ and a rolodex to die for….jus’ sayin’….

  17. sanj says:

    Simon Reeve does travel shows and now they are
    on youtube for free.

    there’s like 6 hours of video –

    http://www.youtube.com/user/shootandscribble/videos

    they used to show these on bbc and tv stations worldwide
    and now they just exist on youtube .

    i would think this content is good enough for discovery
    channel but they won’t show it … they are too busy
    with reality tv shows .

    so try watching a few … my favorite is places that don’t exist. really good stuff about how world governments work and don’t work.

  18. Yancy Skancy says:

    Wait–David Yates, no visual sensibility? Disagree. I think he has a good eye and very strong sense of screen space (though I admit I have no idea how much of that may be due to the CGI fx team).

  19. sanj says:

    dozen reactions from twitter / movie critics – it’s postive…. no major spoilers

    Early Buzz: First Reactions From ‘The Avengers’ Hollywood Premiere

    http://www.slashfilm.com/early-buzz-the-avengers/#more-124999

  20. movieman says:

    Rex is–and has always been–a hoot in person and in print.
    While I’ve always admired his smart, sassy writing style (he’s certainly more readable than, say, dire, dreary Armond White), his taste in movies is pretty much crap.

  21. movieman says:

    Who else was pleasantly surprised by how amiable the new Stooges flick is?
    Favorite gags? (Semi spoiler alert):
    the agelessness of nuns; the pseudo PSA at the tail-end (with “celebrity impersonators” subbing for the Farrellys); and watching Moe pulverize Snooki and “The Situation.”
    And Craig Bierko is an extremely gifted farceur.

  22. Wilder says:

    Rex Reed officially lost all credibility as a critic after MYRA BRECKENRIDGE. Remember, he was also a regular on THE GONG SHOW. I put him in the same show biz league as Charro.

  23. Krillian says:

    Maybe if Charlie had changed the swastika to a MS Windows icon…

  24. movieman says:

    “Myra Breckinridge” is a seminal New Hollywood title; and one of the most criminally underrated films of its era.
    Just ask Mike Nichols who’s one of the movie’s biggest fans.

  25. christian says:

    Yeah, it’s a wonderfully horrible film that truly reaches a “nadir in major studio bad taste” as John Simon noted but there’s nothing “underrated” about it. How do you underrate a scene with Rex Reed masturbating?

  26. JS Partisan says:

    By saying; “Hey, that scene where Rex Reed is jacking it… totally fucking underrated.” That’s how you do it, sir.

  27. christian says:

    More like…totally fucking horrifying. That’s how I’d do it. If forced.

  28. movieman says:

    I’ll make no apologies for my lifelong love of “Myra.”
    It’s a film that was years (decades even) ahead of its time.
    And I’m betting that most of the folks who trash-talk it have never seen it (e.g., “Heaven’s Gate,” “Ishtar,” “Howard the Duck”).
    When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.

  29. christian says:

    movieman, I’ve seen MYRA BRECKINRIDGE more than once. It’s a fascinating car wreck, absolutely. But outside its sheer camp horrorshow value, what’s underrated and ahead of its time? And I’ll take HEAVEN’S GATE or ISHTAR sure. But defending HOWARD THE DUCK is taking revisionism to the brinks!

  30. JS Partisan says:

    I have seen all of those. Howard is the one one that I can re-watch. Mostly it’s for Lea Thompson but still, that’s the only one of those I can watch more than once.

  31. anghus says:

    Howard the Duck was the first movie i walked out of. I think i was 11. And there was no internet. And three television networks.

    And still it wasn’t worth 90 minutes.

    I doubt age has done much for Howard the Duck.

  32. christian says:

    I watched HTD on Netflix recently and tried to imagine the silence of the opening night audience. I still like the duck suit tho.

  33. Foamy Squirrel says:

    My two memories of seeing Howard the Duck in theatres:

    We saw it an a beach theatre in the middle of nowhere. My sister, me, 3 other kids, and The Parent. We were the only 6 people in the theatre.

    I was very young at the time (the youngest of our group) and the Dark Overlord freaked me the hell out – I couldn’t watch the bit where Jeffrey Jones came out of the Nuclear Reactor. The fact that Aliens posters were all over the lobby really didn’t help.

  34. JS Partisan says:

    Wow even at 11 you were a grumpy gus :D! I kid I kid but I own that movie on DVD because of my complete marking out to Lea Thompson and the ridiculousness of HOWARD THE DUCK!

    ETA: Foamy, seriously, that freaked me out as well.

  35. David Poland says:

    I saw Howard The Duck on opening night on the upper east side of Manhattan. That audience liked it. But they went in liking it.

  36. JS Partisan says:

    People in Manhattan went into a theatre already liking Howard the Duck? Wow, New York in the 80s must have been really freaking weird.

  37. Joe Leydon says:

    I have not seen it since its H-Town press screening back in the day, but I remember thinking Howard the Duck was pretty damn funny.

  38. JS Partisan says:

    Joe, it’s an hodge podge of stuff and it’s still a fucking weird funny movie. Duck tits. That’s all one has to state or say.

  39. Joe Leydon says:

    Of course, you have to remember: Back in the day, I paid three times to see Oh Dad Poor Dad Mama’s Hung You in the Closet and I’m Feeling So Sad. And not just because I had a thing for Barbara Harris.

  40. bulldog68 says:

    Joe if I had a dollar for every actress you had a thing for, I’d be a rich man, 🙂

  41. sanj says:

    i watched the howard the duck on tv . it was weird and i
    don’t remember much of it .

    Top 10 Most Disturbing Howard The Duck Moments

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6hDf5cCUJw

    Guillermo del Toro should spend 100 million and remake this movie.

  42. christian says:

    “Wow, New York in the 80s must have been really freaking weird.”

    Massive amounts of cocaine will do that.

    Ans HTD is hilarious if you’re idea of wit is adding the word “duck” or “quack” to every pronoun. It was just weird to make a film version of a character and literally jettison everything, including the character, from the comic. The duck condom scene is something tho.

    My favorite awful thing about OH DAD etc are the lame Jonathan Winters inserts padded through the film, clearly post-production.

  43. JS Partisan says:

    Well DUCK you, Christian! That’s a QUACK response :P!

  44. christian says:

    Duck Off, MotherDucker.

  45. Joe Leydon says:

    Christian: Oh, yeah, that was the crazy thing about Oh Dad — it was fairly well known (even back in the pre-Internet era) that the movie didn’t test well with audiences, so they went back and shot stuff with Jonathan Winters, and actually had him narrate the film. Funnily enough, however, his bits were my favorite parts of the movie, as I recall.

    I wonder if Robert Morse even includes that one on his resume anymore?

  46. sanj says:

    James Cameron on Colbert Report talking about titanic 3d ..

    awesome quote :

    “I’m Canadian, mother-****er” James Cameron on Colbert Report

    watch the interview on tv or wait 24 hours when it hits
    comedy central site

    Colbert can do a dp/30 interview style in 5 minutes.

  47. JS Partisan says:

    Christian, I really do wish we could keep on DUCKING AROUND with this DUCKIN SHIT. Seriously, it’s good DUCKIN times! Also, does one ever get used to saying or typing; “QUACK QUACK QUACK MOTHERDUCKERS!” I don’t think so.

  48. christian says:

    You’re Quacked in the head.

    Joe, watch OH DAD now — Winters’ face is superimposed with a still image in the corner with VO lines like, “She looked like Godzilla” and so forth. A strange film. Austin Pendleton told me he never saw it (he starred in the original stage version). Morse had an unusual film career.

  49. JS Partisan says:

    Christian: hh.

  50. movieman says:

    Christian- For starters, the way Sarne plays with gender conventions (and gender reversal), the daring-to-go-there black humor, the use of vintage film clips to “comment” on the action (very meta for 1970), the mainstreaming of underground/”camp” gay culture (and remember the film was made during the summer of Stonewall)…

  51. Don R. Lewis says:

    They filmed parts of HOWARD THE DUCK here in Petaluma when I was a little kid. I got to watch alot of it. That film was kind of the first time I realized that films can really suck and that there are actual PEOPLE trying to make them, etc. Also around that time I got to watch much of EXPLORERS being made here and it really piqued my interest in filmmaking. Great summer!

  52. anghus says:

    So Battleship is starting to get Transformers type awful reviews. I think the lane is clear for the Avengers to hit 300 million without breaking stride.

    I was originally thinking Battleship could 2/3rds of Transformers money. Now half is feeling more accurate. MIB 3 will end Battleship in week two. And is anyone seriously considering Dark Shadows anything other than counterprogramming? 100 million dollar counterprogramming, but at this point id have to think May shakes out like this

    1. Avengers
    2. MIB 3
    3. Battleship
    4. Dark Shadows

  53. Paul D/Stella says:

    Do reviews matter at all for Battleship? They didn’t for Transformers. Does anyone who plans on seeing Battleship in theaters care what critics say about it? I think it’s going to make at least $250 million.

  54. Tuck Pendelton says:

    Hulk has been on STARZ a lot. Having rewatched it for the first time in a long time….

    it’s even worse than I remember. Conceptual, casting, effects, the ending, the flashbacks. It’s an amazing squandered opportunity.

    I couldn’t be more bored with the Avengers clips, tv spots, trailers. I’ll still see it. but I’ll bet it’ll do Iron Man 2 numbers. Battleship won’t bomb, but I doubt it’ll rule the summer, same with MIIIB.

  55. anghus says:

    I could be wrong on battleship. Transformers had more of a hook for kids. People keep applying Transformers logic to Battleship which is a good jumping off point in terms of qualifying box office potential, but Battleship doesnt benefit from thirty years of toys and tv shows. Theyre trying to borrow that goodwill for Battleship. I think it buys them 175 million at best.

    There has to be a casualty for May. The question is can Avengers, Battleship, and MIB 3 conceivably all clear 250 million? If one of these films falters, which of three would it be.

    I think its Avengers at 300+, MIB 3 at 250, and Battleship at 175+.

    I could see scenarios where Battleship and MIB swap places but it would involve MIB 3 being critically savaged and the word of mouth on Battleship being strong.

    Battleship is Transformers w/o a kid friendly component and no marketable hook. Where the “welcome to earth” moment in Battleships marketing?

    One week later you got Will Smith showing up with a family friendly alien movie that has four quadrant appeal.

  56. christian says:

    I’ll give you the sexual politics of MYRA were brazen for the day but that’s solely due to the huge best-selling source novel – and Michael Sarne is a genuinely inept director as every single person who worked on the film attests.

    I’m a fan of all cult films, and I get MYRA’s weird charms but it commits the worst sin of being boring, compared to something wonderful like SKIDOO.

    But a mummified Mae West making passes at Tom Selleck means something to different people…

  57. Paul D/Stella says:

    Transformers did probably have a better hook for younger viewers, but Battleship seems to be selling the spectacle effectively. Despite Smith’s track record I can see MIB 3 underperforming and not doing as well as Battleship. I can also see both of them doing well and finding a wide audience. People like watching soldiers battling aliens and watching shit blow up real good.

  58. christian says:

    A conversation bouncing between TRANSFORMERS and MYRA BRECKENRIDGE? Irony!

  59. movieman says:

    Christian- I’ve always considered Sarne a criminally underrated director. Yes, I’ve heard stories–mostly ones posited by Reed–of how over-his-head he was on the set of “Myra.”
    But the results, for me anyway, are lightning-in-a-bottle terrific. And Sarne’s “Joanna” from 1968 is a tiny masterpiece.
    Funny you should mention “Skidoo” because that’s a film I’ve always found to be pretty darn tedious. And I’m a huge Preminger apologist, lol.

  60. christian says:

    You’re no Preminger apologist if you don’t worship SKIDOO.

    David Giler talks at length about MYRA in one of Richard Walter’s screenwriting interview books. Pretty much says it all.

    JOANA is a better film I’ll grant that.

  61. JS Partisan says:

    I don’t get how anyone gets a spectacle from the Battleship trailers. It’s shit being blown up and destroyed by death spheres. Transformers at least has robots, when your spectacle comes from hurling DEATH SPHERES at buildings is that really a spectacle?

    Battleship is going to be kneecapped. People still love Will Smith, he’s doing a role they enjoy him in, and that alone should get more people in the theatre than a faux-formers movie.

    I also have to disagree with Tuck a 100 percent about Hulk. The Hulk dogs are still a bit silly but that Hulk captures parts of the Hulk yet to be captured on film (hopefully Joss used them for the Avengers) and the cast is tremendous. Crazy Nic Nolte as Absorbing Man still works but the only thing that undermines it is that muddied and dark final battle. Still, it’s an under-appreciated film for what it is and when it came out.

    Seriously though, I cannot wait til the Avengers comes out, with it’s more action than every Marvel film combined, and to read the reactions about it.

  62. bulldog68 says:

    JS, no matter the back & forths we have had on this blog, I am genuinely excited to see Avengers, and I am happy that you are truly anticipating this as a comic book lover and movie lover. The sheer joy of seeing heroes you grew up reading about come to life and in what will hopefully be an epic way, is the stuff every fan dreams of. I am happy for you. No bullshit.

  63. sanj says:

    if you watch avengers you should get into battleship for free. a nice 2 for 1 deal. DP use your movie critic powers
    to make this happen.

  64. JS Partisan says:

    BD, thanks, and you deserve a better spectacle movie.

  65. bulldog68 says:

    If Battleship doesn’t work out, there is always Prometheus. The thing is, I know I’m at the theatre for all of them, and will continue to be that way, as long as I have eyes and a few dollars in the disposable income fund.

  66. sanj says:

    this looks good – Joseph Gordon-Levitt needs a dp/30 ..
    DP should have gotten him when he was on 3rd rock from
    the sun…

    looper trailer –

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1ylkD2RetY

  67. Joe Leydon says:

    Has Joanna ever received any sort of legit US homevideo release? I remember loving the movie back in the day — I think I still have the soundtrack album on vinyl someplace — and Donald Sutherland was excellent in his last pre-MASH supporting role.

  68. Don R. Lewis says:

    Just saw CABIN IN THE WOODS and gotta side with the immense geek praise. It’s a great, great, fun film. I can’t remember the last time I had that much fun with a film in fact. While I think some of the execution was a tad off compared to the rather ingenious plot, I still loved it. See it before someone effs it up for you!

  69. Triple Option says:

    I like creatively plotted movies but I’m really not much for horror. I know I’m gonna have to suck it up for Prometheus.

    Wasn’t there skepticism before the first Tranny movie cuz it had been so long since those toys & series were actually relevant? I thought the “welcome to earth” moment in the marketing was when the big spaceship rises out of the ocean. I know it would be foolish to underestimate MiiiB but I could seeing it do meh business based on people feeling been there/done that. Sorta like some of these 3D remakes. They haven’t been getting slaughtered but people don’t really have that kind of money for repeat rides these days. It’s not like I think people are thinking “I’ll just save my money for Spidey” but I think there’s enough potentially appealing product there’s no need to jump cuz it’s the only thing out there.

  70. storymark says:

    JS:”…Hulk captures parts of the Hulk yet to be captured on film (hopefully Joss used them for the Avengers) and the cast is tremendous.”

    One of the set visit reports, AICN’s, I think, had a quote from Whedon, saying that he wanted this Banner to reflect the journey he had gone through in his previous 2 films, so it does sound like he is factoring it in.

  71. anghus says:

    Battleship doesnt have that will smith moment because they dont have anyone with an ounce of charisma in the trailer or commercials.

    Battleship is poorly cast. Plain and simple. Its Liam Neeson and a bunch of tv actors and Rihanna. Couldnt they get one guy to shout “get off my planet” before firing a machine gun?

    Battleship is the Josh Duhamel scenes from Transformers without a shia to bring it down to a more marketable level

  72. Paul D/Stella says:

    I don’t think Battleship looks particularly good. I doubt I’ll see it in theaters. But it looks like a hit to me. The cast seems as irrelevant as the reviews. If anything it’s got a better cast than Transformers. I’ll take Liam Neeson and Taylor Kitsch and Alexander Skarsgard over Shia and Josh Duhamel and Tyrese any day.

  73. movieman says:

    Nope, Joe.
    To the best of my knowledge, “Joanna” has never “officially” been released on dvd in the U.S.
    (I still have a VHS copy I made back when it was on Cinemax in the late ’90’s.)
    I don’t know, Christian.
    I’ve got serious love for both “Hurry Sundown” and “The Cardinal.”
    And while I don’t dislike “Skidoo” per se (I don’t even dislike Preminger’s ponderous and fairly dull “Rosebud”), it’s just not as fun (or as funny) as it should have been with a cast (and premise) so balls-to-the-wall insane. I adore Altman’s equally nutty “Brewster McCloud” which shared the same screenwriter (Doran William Cannon).
    I’d be curious to check out the Giler interview if it’s still in print. (I’m up for anything that might add to the “Myra” mythos.)
    This week, “Stooges” and “Cabin” confirmed my suspicions about the value/danger going into the theater with exaggerated/diminished expectations. I expected next to nada from the Stooges flick and wound up having a jolly good time. As careful as I was not to read any spoilers re: “Cabin,” the fanboy hype machine that had been working overtime in recent months led me to believe I was in for a groundbreaking new horror classic. Sadly, that wasn’t my experience. Maybe if I’d had the luxury of seeing it completely cold (how is that even possible in this day and age?), I would have been more impressed.
    As it is, I spent the first half of the movie trying to remember the last name of the actor Chris Hemsworth reminded me of in his non-“Thor” guise (“Matthew, Matthew…something–that guy from ‘Tigerland,’ “Blue Crush’ and ‘Legally Blonde’….”) before “Davis” finally hit me in the noggin Moe-style.
    Despite occasional flashes of brilliance, it felt like more of a metaphysical muddle than a “Scream 1”-style gamechanger to me.
    (And–***potential spoiler***–am I the only one who found Richard Jenkins, et al more interesting company than the rather dullish cabin quintet?)

  74. leahnz says:

    all i want to know is, does somebody say indignantly, “YOU SANK MY BATTLESHIP!” if not, well, forget it jack, waste of space

  75. FilmBuffRich says:

    Odd note about Rex Reed’s scene in MYRA… He prepared for it by reading his own reviews over and over.

  76. movieman says:

    Which scene would that be, Rich?
    Reed was in more than one scene since he played one of the lead roles.

  77. sanj says:

    nothing amazing about these videos Depp and Portman are in
    but Paul McCartney made it so it must be good .

    Paul McCartney unveils Johnny Depp and Natalie Portman-featuring ‘My Valentine’ videos

    2 videos – 3 minutes each –

    Portman video

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAApccf11hs

    Depp video ..

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35I6Iue_XDE

  78. christian says:

    I think Rich was joking, movieman.

  79. movieman says:

    Not funny.
    And Rich obviously has never seen “Myra Breckinridge.”
    Or read any of Reed’s (actually very good) early reviews–many of which are collected in his “Big Screen/Little Screen” compilation.

  80. Don R. Lewis says:

    That Rex Reed “review” of CABIN IN THE WOODS is L-O-L-worthy. It’s clear he hated the movie before it actually played and thus didn’t bother watching it.

  81. christian says:

    I laughed – Reed is staggeringly awful in MB. Part of the film’s “charm” I suppose.

  82. sanj says:

    another cop show on tv.

    nyc 22 – cbs – Leelee Sobieski – Adam Goldberg
    and a bunch of new actors …..

    what can this cop show do that hasn’t already been done before ?

    also – cabin in the woods – maybe the highest rated horror film of this year ? not high enough for the academy cause they don’t like the horror – so there shall not be any dp/30’s of this ..will there ? Joss Whedon is already famous but Drew Goddard not so much …but there’s a lot of unknown actors as well.
    this is a good choice for a dp/30 …..but since DP likes the three stooges movie maybe he’ll get them instead.

  83. christian says:

    Ira Parks is killin’ on HE.

  84. SamLowry says:

    Just saw the poster for “LOL”, featuring Miley Cyrus focusing intently on a phone with an utterly dull look on her face, and couldn’t think of an image more likely to alienate any straight guy who may have had any interest in attending.

  85. sanj says:

    watched girls on hbo …. somehow this seems like a show Greta Gerwig would be in – not that funny – not that dramatic … a few good lines – lots of new actors –
    Judd Apatow is part of this so the critics will be forced
    to love this …. without him this could easily fit right
    in lifetime network . i guess Dunham is too famous for a
    dp/30 ..

    waiting to see what lexG thinks of this series .

  86. sanj says:

    DP- what’s with no new dp/30 for a week ? aren’t there
    some sundance 2012 dp/30s that never got posted like Parker Possy ? free her from the digital jail you put her in …

    get rid of that meet the oscar winners banner – its been there for like 3 months.

    the JLaw dp/30 is nearly at 100,000 but should be 1 million views instead . i’ve seen 5 minute useless interviews that got 250,000 views just cause she talked about the hunger games . it’s amazing how much one movie can make a difference …

    the dp/30 factory should be on 24 hours a day providing fresh interviews daily … there’s way too many people
    that need to come back faster … and you need to get
    the actors outside in the sunshine… half the time your
    30 seconda away from a window to the street / grass / sidewalk.

  87. SamLowry says:

    Just a little something to think about before Titanic fades from theaters again:

    http://thechive.com/2012/04/04/daily-afternoon-randomness-50-photos-12/the-hump-7-2/

    Mash-ups may be cool and quirky, but there is no way I’m going to waste a moment trying to explain how or why Leo would lose both years and facial hair while dropping from the snow fortress to the Titanic to limbo.

  88. anghus says:

    So those Thanos rumors in Avengers persist. There are a half dozen rumors circulating about the post credits tease. Lots of them contain spoilers so i wont bother delving into them.

    Someone in here has already seen it right?

  89. JS Partisan says:

    Anghus, that rumor has been around for almost 2 years, and if he’s voiced by one of the greatest actors ever. I might have to get up and applaud after that scene. Also, the real stinger is supposed to involve two people driving off into the sunset together, which is another thing that might get applause from me.

  90. anghus says:

    i know the rumor has been around awhile, but these rumors are so often horseshit generated by eager fans. Remember the countless insider scoops about the first 6 minutes of Dark Knight Rises taking place right after the end of Dark Knight and featuring Bane breaking Batman’s back.

    We saw how that all worked out.

    That’s why the online sites are so annoying. Because they’re so likely to just unload any passing bullshit rumor as potential fact that you end up having to dismiss all of it because none of it is ever validated.

    I’d love to see Thanos in a movie. But my bullshit detector is on high.

  91. Krillian says:

    Is Thanos a running pedestrian? Because if so, IMDB can confirm that uncredited rumor.

  92. christian says:

    America: “Thanos Who?”

  93. JS Partisan says:

    I respond: “Yeah, use the Google, America. Stop being lazy. THANOS INFORMATION IS OUT THERE.”

    Seriously, Thanos is fucking amazing. He also wore overalls at one point. Seriously, he’s the shit.

  94. anghus says:

    it’s not that im against the idea of Thanos. I’m against the idea of introducing a character that hasn’t been referenced in any of the movies and is meaningless to anyone other than the most devoted of comic fans.

    Now, it could be said that by introducing him in a post credit tease that they are getting people interested in who he is and plating a seed for down the road.

    But my bullshit detector still says “unlikely”.

    It would be the most niche of niche moments. Then again, it is Whedon. Who’s more niche than Whedon?

  95. JS Partisan says:

    THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS A NICHE ANYMORE. USE THE GOOGLE! That’s in caps because look what happens when I type “THANOS” into Chrome: https://www.google.com/search?sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=Thanos

    If this is 2002, you might call it a niche move, but in 2012 you cannot refer to it as NICHE because everyone and their mother will be using their smartphones to google who Thanos is before some people ride off into the sunset.

    Thanos is being established in the Avengers. They are establishing him with this film. He’s a threat in the Avengers and his presence will probably build over the next three to four years before Avengers REASSEMBLED or whatever they will call the sequel.

    Seriously you can go on about your bullshit detector but guess what? Every post credit scene has gotten people excited for the next film and this will do the same for the future Avenger sequel.

    What people are also ignoring is this is a MID-CREDIT sequence and not the POST CREDIT sequence. The post credit sequence is apparently what they filmed at the premiere next week and ties into Iron Man 3. While the part with Thanos ties into the next Avengers film.

    Finally, wow, you dislike Whedon. How not shocking. You’re also blaming the wrong guy. Marvel made the decision for Thanos and that probably has to do with not having the rights to DOOM. Nevertheless, blame Kevin and not Joss in this situation.

    ETA: Oh yeah Whedon is so not niche. It’s not even funny. Especially when he’s on the cusp of being one big action director.

  96. anghus says:

    I dont dislike Whedon at all. Where did you pull that from?

    Call Whedon niche is not an indictment of the man. But his stuff in the past has had a very narrow appeal. Buffy, Firefly, Angel, Serenity (i won’t even mention Dollhouse). Even Cabin in the Woods is kind of a niche story/idea/concept.

    But you’re talking to a guy who can sing every song from the Buffy musical episode and who loves the niche that Whedon provides.

    Once again sir, you are far too quick to put a label on something. Because i call Whedon’s past work ‘niche’ you assume i’m not a fan. And once again, you only seem to be capable of ALL or NOTHING. There are those of us who can be fans but readily admit when something isn’t easily accessible to the masses.

  97. SamLowry says:

    “everyone and their mother will be using their smartphones to google who Thanos is”

    Are these the same ones who Tweeted their ignorance about whether “Titanic” was based on a real event?

  98. JS Partisan says:

    Ang, if you think you read like a Whedon fan, then excuse me for thinking otherwise. I just thought when you are giving crap to Whedon for a decision he clearly did not make. I am going to call you out because it does not come across as if you are a fan. It comes across as you slagging him because only an niche asshole like Joss Whedon would use a villain that’s been around for decades!

    I also love that you assume that your philosophy is the only way to live. It’s not. Why everything has to revolve around FINDING PROBLEMS with you folks is beyond me (It’s not critical thinking. It’s overly critical thinking), but please do not assume that your’s is the only way.

    Finally, Whedon hasn’t been niche in years. His work influenced countless other things and once you become an influence, you lose niche status.

    Oh yeah Sam, THAT’S THE FUCKING POINT! The internet is right there at these kids and adults fingertips, and they don’t use it. The info is out there. If people are too lazy to use it, then that’s on them.

    Oddly enough compared to Christian’s insisting, I’ve heard stories of how people see something in these films and use WIKIPEDIA TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT IT! SHOCKING, I KNOW, BUT IT HAPPENS!

  99. christian says:

    I wouldn’t equate googling “Thanos” with “HOLY SHIT THANOS IS IN THE AVENGERS!!!! “

  100. JS Partisan says:

    Yeah but you should. You also are not factoring into the equation that some of us, know who Thanos is, and actually live in the US!

  101. Drew McWeeny says:

    Anghus…

    It’s no rumor. It’s f’reals.

    But the tease that JS mentioned, the “drive into the sunset,” is 100% wrong. All that post-credits scene will be is a very slight joke that refers back to a running thread in the movie.

  102. JS Partisan says:

    Does that happen though Drew? Or something similar?

  103. Joe Leydon says:

    Is this dude any relation to Manos: The Hands of Fate?

  104. MIKE MG says:

    WHY IS THIS BLOG SO BORING?

  105. Joe Leydon says:

    Because blockheads with nothing better to do come in here and type in all caps.

  106. movieman says:

    I was shocked to discover the WB had released “The Magnificent Ambersons” on dvd a few months ago.
    Considering that it was one of the greatest “holy grails” of the dvd era, you might have thought the release would have gotten considerably more media traction.
    Weird.
    Even stranger–considering the amount of Welles scholars still alive who could have done yeoman work on a “special edition” (Peter Bogdanovich for starters)–is that it’s a no-frills disc with zero extras.
    I quickly purchased a copy on Amazon for under $10, but could there be a 3-disc collector’s edition in the works? Was that the reason this version received zero PR traction?

  107. movieman says:

    ***Minor spoilers (if anyone cares)***

    I’m still trying to figure out who the lucky one in “The Lucky One” is.
    It can’t be any of the characters because everyone mopes through the entire movie. And it’s certainly not audience members since the film’s a total drag.
    Yeah, it’s very pretty–almost distractingly so in a shampoo commercial kind of way. But there’s precious little chemistry between Efron (who I still think could become his generation’s Rob Lowe) and Schilling who looks more like his older sister than a viable love interest.
    Speaking of which, her character’s obsession with a dead brother felt borderline creepy. I kept waiting to discover they’d had an incestuous relationship (which might have explained her profound difficulty in “moving on”).
    Plus, the film has zero Louisiana atmosphere (nobody even has an accent). It might as well have been set in Maine or Vermont (and with patented “Patrician Yankee” Blythe Danner cast as the Schilling family matriarch, that setting would have made more sense).
    Jay Ferguson fares best, but even his character makes precious little sense. I never believed he was so hung up on his ex–someone who, if we’re to believe their backstory, he was never all that crazy about in the first place. You would have thought that with his badge/job, family connections/money and, yeah, good looks, he could have had his pick of any woman he wanted.
    Gotta feeling it’s going to be left in the dust this weekend by “Think Like a Man” (which isn’t very good either btw), and go down as one of the least successful Sparks adaptations (e.g., “Nights in Rodanthe”) at the b.o.

  108. Paul D/Stella says:

    Lucky One Spoilers (No one should care)

    I suppose the movie has modest ambitions and does what it sets out to do. But I’m stunned that some of the initial reviews are positive. Efron, who I agree is pretty talented, is not for a second convincing as a troubled soldier. Throughout the entire movie he looks like he’s about to leave for an Abercrombie & Fitch shoot. He has fewer lines than Arnie in The Terminator and a blank stare on his face from start to finish. He’s a total cipher. But we’re supposed to like him and root for him merely because he’s a soldier just back from combat. Exploit the military card. And I love how they solve the mean ex-husband problem. Redeem him, and then kill him. No more ex to share custody with. Awesome. The only distinctive thing about the entire movie is the fact that it completely lacks a single distinctive characteristic. Bad even for an undemanding romantic drama.

  109. sanj says:

    watched cabin in the woods – this needed an extra 5 – -10 minutes at the end to get the full impact of the story…

    – the screen was way to dark in the theatre for me. harder
    to see details ..plus there was a couple in front of me making out throughout the movie . DP is always going on about how the theatre experience is the most amazing thing ever and i don’t think it is ..

  110. movieman says:

    ***Add’l “Lucky One” spoilers (well, kind of)***

    I agree that Efron wasn’t terribly convincing as a former Marine, Paul.
    But really–and you obviously concur–that was the least of the film’s problems.
    And Ferguson’s way-too-convenient “exit” might have been laughable if the entire thing hadn’t been so morose and funereally paced.
    (P.S.= I also thought that the kid was the most single annoying juvenile performer I’ve seen in a H’wood film in ages.)

  111. Paul D/Stella says:

    The kid is excruciating. Just another part of the checklist. “Quirky, adorable kid who says the cutest things.” Except he’s like fingernails on a chalkboard. And you’re right, Efron’s believability (or lack thereof) as a Marine isn’t the biggest problem. I just don’t care for the way it exploits that, as if it’s OK that he completely lacks substance because he served in Iraq.

  112. torpid bunny says:

    The trailers for Battleship make it seem like Neeson dies fairly early. It’s hard to lock on to somebody else when your biggest actor leaves early. Maybe he doesn’t die and he has an interesting story, but I’m not seeing it.

  113. christian says:

    I’m sure there’s a blu-ray of THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS in the works. I hope.

  114. SamLowry says:

    You almost get the impression the studio is determined to screw Welles over until the last person who ever heard of him dies.

  115. Joe Leydon says:

    But it’s not like they uncovered some lost-lost footage in an RKO warehouse, right? I mean, yeah, it’s a DVD of Magnificent Ambersons — but it’s still the studio cut that broke Welles’ heart, correct?

  116. SamLowry says:

    Pratt’s review ( http://moviecitynews.com/2012/04/dvd-geek-the-magnificent-ambersons/ ) gives the impression that the DVD release was the studio’s version of a contractual obligation: no extras aside from subtitles, not even a chapter guide…and it’s coming out NOW, when DVD is essentially a dead medium.

    It screams “Screw you and your little dog, too!”

    BTW, the last release of Ambersons was a colorized VHS in ’89. Still think the studio actually cares about this film?

  117. movieman says:

    …when you consider the # of film scholars–again, Bogdanovich would have been the most logical choice considering his relationship w/ Welles–who might have provided a blow-by-blow account of the movie’s backstory for a “historical record” type of thing, it really does seem like a supremely wasted opportunity.
    And aren’t there existing storyboards/script pages of the missing footage that might have provided, “This is what should have been….” ballast? (At least that’s what I’ve been hearing for decades.)
    Hugh “sigh.”
    I’m just grateful that I’ll finally have a dvd copy of “Ambersons” for my collection.

  118. movieman says:

    …speaking of Welles, am I the only one who finds it faintly unbelievable that nobody has been able to access the existing footage of Welles’ final (fiction) feature film, “The Other Side of the Wind,” by now from the Iranian vault it’s (legendarily) ensconced in?
    I mean, if it’s a matter of money, couldn’t a Spielberg or Scorsese have floated some cash to help free the captive celluloid? Since both are film preservation gurus, it seems commonsensical, no?
    Or, as I’ve long suspected, is the “Wind” footage actually nonexistent, and just part of the larger “Welles Mythos”?
    Paging Abbas Kiarostami.

  119. Ray Pride says:

    The most recent update of the state of WIND is here. Josh Karpf is writing a book about the saga, “An Adventure Shared By Desperate Men” coming in 2013 from St. Martin’s Press.

  120. Ray Pride says:

    Orson Welles’ MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS memos are being serialized here.

    April 15, 1942

    HAVE CALL IN FOR YOU. MEANTIME PLEASE WIRE FULL DETAILS LEGALITY OF STUDIO RETAKES AND STUDIO CUTS. MY POSITION IS I CANNOT ALLOW RETAKES. WHAT CAN SCHAEFER DO ABOUT IT? IS CONNECTION COORDINATOR OFFICE WITH THIS PICTURE STRONG ENOUGH TO KEEP ME FROM BEING RECALLED OR SUSPENDED?

    WILL TALK TO SCHAEFER RIGHT AFTER I TALK TO YOU ABOUT SITUATION HERE…

    REALLY DESPERATE…

    ORSON

  121. movieman says:

    Thanks for the “Wind” update, Ray.
    Much appreciated.

  122. anghus says:

    Apparently my bullshit detector needs some fine tuning

  123. SamLowry says:

    “Although The Hunger Games has made more in the US alone than John Carter has mustered altogether, John Carter is still out-grossing The Hunger Games internationally. Because The Hunger Games doesn’t have aliens in it?”

    Oh my. Is all that political symbolism in THG turning foreign audiences off?

    http://www.moviereviews.co.uk/features/hollywood-no-longer-making-blockbusters-us-market

  124. tbunny says:

    At least Magnificent Ambersons is available. Try getting Chimes at Midnight on DVD.

  125. sanj says:

    things i actually saw on cnn tv …

    “Kim Kardashian has designs on political office. More specifically, she’d like to be the mayor of Glendale, California”

    http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/19/showbiz/kardashian-mayor-run/?hpt=hp_c3

  126. tbunny says:

    Step inside my Hyundai
    I’m going to take you up to Glendale
    take you for a very good meal

  127. movieman says:

    tbunny- I actually bought a dvd copy of “Chimes at Midnight” off Amazon a few years ago. It’s available as an all-region-friendly import.

  128. tbunny says:

    Is it a good print?

  129. movieman says:

    Better than I was expecting.
    And definitely better quality than some of the other imports I’ve purchased over the years (e.g., a British dvd of Russell’s “The Devils” and a Russian “Zabriskie Point”).

  130. SamLowry says:

    I’m looking at Joseph Kahn’s IMDb page and trying not to snicker too loudly. Really, and he expects anyone to take him seriously?

    and…

    “OMG! Miley Cyrus’ ‘LOL’ gets no love from Lionsgate” ( http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2012/04/lol-miley-cyrus-lionsgate.html ) …gee, who was it who said on this page not even five days ago that the poster alone seems crafted to drive half the population away?

  131. JS Partisan says:

    Lionsgate is hiring a shit director for Catching Fire, so they aren’t exactly known for being all that capable in the HAVING A FUCKING CLUE department.

  132. cadavra says:

    Really? WATER FOR ELEPHANTS wasn’t a masterpiece, but it was a smooth, well-made film with very good work from its cast (it was the first time since the Potters that Pattinson gave a decent performance). Isn’t that what this franchise needs? A Curtiz, not a Welles?

  133. JS Partisan says:

    No a franchise like Hunger Games needs someone with action chops and Lawrence doesn’t have them. He’s also a man. Hunger Games needed a woman at the helm but apparently the men in La La Land just can’t give these franchise to female directors. Which remains fucking pathetic.

  134. arisp says:

    JS – if you so desperately want the film to be directed by a woman, maybe they should give it to you.

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It shows how out of it I was in trying to be in it, acknowledging that I was out of it to myself, and then thinking, “Okay, how do I stop being out of it? Well, I get some legitimate illogical narrative ideas” — some novel, you know?

So I decided on three writers that I might be able to option their material and get some producer, or myself as producer, and then get some writer to do a screenplay on it, and maybe make a movie.

And so the three projects were “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep,” “Naked Lunch” and a collection of Bukowski. Which, in 1975, forget it — I mean, that was nuts. Hollywood would not touch any of that, but I was looking for something commercial, and I thought that all of these things were coming.

There would be no Blade Runner if there was no Ray Bradbury. I couldn’t find Philip K. Dick. His agent didn’t even know where he was. And so I gave up.

I was walking down the street and I ran into Bradbury — he directed a play that I was going to do as an actor, so we know each other, but he yelled “hi” — and I’d forgot who he was.

So at my girlfriend Barbara Hershey’s urging — I was with her at that moment — she said, “Talk to him! That guy really wants to talk to you,” and I said “No, fuck him,” and keep walking.

But then I did, and then I realized who it was, and I thought, “Wait, he’s in that realm, maybe he knows Philip K. Dick.” I said, “You know a guy named—” “Yeah, sure — you want his phone number?”

My friend paid my rent for a year while I wrote, because it turned out we couldn’t get a writer. My friends kept on me about, well, if you can’t get a writer, then you write.”
~ Hampton Fancher

“That was the most disappointing thing to me in how this thing was played. Is that I’m on the phone with you now, after all that’s been said, and the fundamental distinction between what James is dealing with in these other cases is not actually brought to the fore. The fundamental difference is that James Franco didn’t seek to use his position to have sex with anyone. There’s not a case of that. He wasn’t using his position or status to try to solicit a sexual favor from anyone. If he had — if that were what the accusation involved — the show would not have gone on. We would have folded up shop and we would have not completed the show. Because then it would have been the same as Harvey Weinstein, or Les Moonves, or any of these cases that are fundamental to this new paradigm. Did you not notice that? Why did you not notice that? Is that not something notable to say, journalistically? Because nobody could find the voice to say it. I’m not just being rhetorical. Why is it that you and the other critics, none of you could find the voice to say, “You know, it’s not this, it’s that”? Because — let me go on and speak further to this. If you go back to the L.A. Times piece, that’s what it lacked. That’s what they were not able to deliver. The one example in the five that involved an issue of a sexual act was between James and a woman he was dating, who he was not working with. There was no professional dynamic in any capacity.

~ David Simon