In this episode of The Film Feed , the guys celebrate their 20 episode with two special reviews. First up, Clark and Will take a unique position on the summer’s massive blockbuster Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen . Due to their similar thoughts on the film, each takes a differing opinion and tries to make sense of the mindless escapist fun. Afterwards, the guys rave about one the year’s finest films, 500 Days of Summer . Also found in this episode, an engaging discussion regarding the recent changes to the Oscar’s Best Picture category. Be sure to also tune in for a review of Public Enemies on next week’s episode of The Film Feed! Download or Listen Now: [See post to listen to the podcast] Subscribe via: RSS or iTunes Voicemail Line: 310-668-1982 Will’s Twitter: twitter.com/willschiff Will’s Blog: willschiff.com Sean’s Twitter: twitter.com/instanthunter Sean’s Blog: instanthunter.tumblr.com Clark’s Twitter: twitter.com/clamson Clark’s Blog: lamtalks.blogspot.com Timeline & Links: 0:00-1:00 - Introduction 1:00-19:00 - Movie News & Trailers
Two more actors have joined the cast of Guillermo del Toro’s Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark to be directed by his protege Troy Nixey. Guy Pearce is in final negotiations and 9-year-old actress Bailee Madison is set to star with Katie Holmes (who we announced in May). Madison will play a young girl who moves in with her father and his girlfriend (Holmes) and discovers they are sharing the house with demonic creatures. She discovers and is fascinated by the creatures - until they prove dangerous. Pearce will play the father, an author frustrated by his daughter’s tales of monsters, not believing her even when his girlfriend backs her. Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark is based on the 1973 ABC TV movie . Guillermo del Toro co-wrote the updated script with Matthew Robbins ( Dragonslayer , Mimic ). Del Toro first discovered director Troy Nixey after watching his short film titled Latchkey’s Lament ( watch the trailer online ) that captured the tone del Toro wanted for this project. I love the story, I love the cast, I love Guillermo del Toro, this is easily one of my most anticipated horror projects in the works. Its got a bit of a Pan’s Labyrinth feel to it, but I imagine it won’t be anything like that in the end. Shooting is scheduled to start next month in Melbourne, Australia. Discover More: Casting News , Movie News
Une installation sensible et poétique sur la notion de présence. Une vidéo de l’artiste Djeff Regottaz, chercheur à l’Université Paris 8 et fondateur du studio de création numérique Dekalko Studio . L’apparence du spectateur est révélée sur un écran de paillettes. Le but de cette installation ? Faire prendre conscience que tout geste et toute présence provoquent une modification de l’environnement et de son état originel.
Earlier this month it was discovered that the IMAX debut of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince , with roughly 12 minutes of 3D footage, was going to be delayed two weeks due to Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen’s contractual 4 week IMAX run. However, IMAX did promise that it would open in three of their theaters starting on Wednesday, July 15th , the same day it hits regular theaters. Which three theaters? Collider has confirmed that these theaters are: AMC Century City 15 (in Los Angeles), Henry Crown OMNIMAX (in Chicago), and AMC Loews Lincoln Square (in New York). Click any of those to buy tickets. Starting on July 29th , all remaining IMAX screens will start showing Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince . Collider says that the opening 12 minutes were converted to IMAX 3D, which seems a bit odd, as it was the final battle in the last movie that was converted. Though as a warning, the AMC theaters (both in Los Angeles and New York) listed above do not contain “real” IMAX screens - according to Aziz Ansari . I chose not to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in IMAX when it came out in 2007 and I don’t expect to see this in IMAX either. If you’re not in NY, Chicago, or LA, you’ll have to wait until the 29th. Discover More: Hype , Movie News , Opinions
Does casting news this late really make a difference? The new Kevin Smith comedy, A Couple of Dicks , which has been shooting in New York for the past month, added a few more actors to its cast this week. SlashFilm was the first to confirm that Kevin Smith regular Jason Lee , who last appeared in Clerks II , had joined the cast. Variety also announced today that Michelle Trachtenberg would play the daughter of Bruce Willis’ character, with Jason Lee playing her stepfather. Let’s also throw in comedian Jim Norton (of Opie & Anthony fame), who said via Twitter that he has a small role in A Couple of Dicks as well. A Couple of Dicks is a comedy about two cops (Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan) whose adventures include locating a stolen, mint-condition, 1952 baseball card, rescuing a Mexican beauty queen, and dealing with gangsters and their laundered money. In addition to Willis and Morgan, the cast includes Seann William Scott and Adam Brody. I don’t have much to say about Jason Lee or Michelle Trachtenberg joining the cast, but I am looking forward to this. As a reminder, the script was written by Robb and Mark Cullen , not Kevin Smith, but it should still be hilarious. We’ll let you know when we have some new photos or otherwise. Discover More: Casting News , Movie News
Amy Adams is in final negotiations to star opposite Christian Bale and Mark Wahlberg in The Fighter , which David O. Russell is directing for Relativity Media and Paramount. Adams will play Charlene, a tough, gritty bartender and former college high-jumper from Massachusetts who ends up dating Mickey, the boxer played by Wahlberg. Melissa Leo has also joined. It was only confirmed just a few weeks ago that David O. Russell would be directing this instead of Darren Aronofsky. Adams’ casting only sweetens the deal, I just really hope that Russell doesn’t screw this up like he did Nailed . Hopefully he just sticks to the script. The Fighter follows the true story of Mickey Ward (Wahlberg) and how he went on to win the lightweight championship with the help of his half-brother Dicky (Bale). Eklund once fought Sugar Ray Leonard and nearly went the distance against the boxing legend before forfeiting his career to drugs and crime. He redeemed himself by training Ward through his Rocky-like run to the title. I really love Amy Adams and usually go out of my way to see her (except in movies like Night at the Museum 2 or Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day ). I’m glad she is challenging herself with a “gritty” role this time. Shooting starts this summer. Discover More: Casting News , Movie News
“It’s sick, offensive comedy - and I love it,” says Megan Fox. The very last time we wrote about Jennifer’s Body , the horror comedy starring Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried, was a year ago during Comic-Con when the first teaser poster (seen above) came out. Yep, it’s literally been almost a year since that poster debuted, and we’re just now getting to see the first official photos. I don’t think I need to say anything else besides that you’ll get to see Megan Fox in a cheerleader uniform below courtesy of the latest Empire (via Film School Rejects ). Hopefully this means we’ll finally get to see a trailer soon? Check these photos out! Described as a Heathers-like dark comedy, Jennifer’s Body tells the story of a seemingly-perfect cheerleader whose life is thrown into disarray when she gets possessed by a demon, begins eating boys in her small town, then faces off against her best friend and the Satan-worshipping band that made her evil. Jennifer’s Body is directed by visionary filmmaker Karyn Kusama , of Girlfight and Aeon Flux previously. The screenplay was written by Oscar winning screenwriter Diablo Cody of only Juno previously as well as the book Candy Girl . Fox will finally bring Jennifer’s Body to theaters on September 18th later this year. Discover More: First Look , Hype , Photos
It’s probably not a good idea to bring this up again, but it’s going to happen, whether you want it to or not. Overture Films is remaking the brilliant Swedish horror film Let the Right One In and has brought on Cloverfield director Matt Reeves to helm the remake. This was all announced in September last year , but we haven’t heard much about it since then. However, the LA Times now has an update from Reeves, and it doesn’t sound so bad. First off, the title has been changed to just Let Me In and it’s being set in Reagan-era Colorado, mainly to localize it for US audiences, while also keeping it set in a dark, snowy environment. Reeves explains his experience with the original. Overture asked him to check it out. “I was just hooked ,” Reeves recalls. “I was so taken with the story and I had a very personal reaction. It reminded me a lot of my childhood , with the metaphor that the hard times of your pre-adolescent, early adolescent moment, that painful experience is a horror.” So at least he understands the finer aspects of Tomas Alfredson’s film, but will he will be able to translate that into an Americanized remake? Let me remind you that they’re going back to John Ajvide Lindqvist’s novel for this and won’t be just redoing what Alfredson did in his film. “There’s definitely people who have a real bull’s-eye on the film,” Reeves said, “and I can understand because of peoples’ love of the [original] film that there’s this cynicism that I’ll come in and trash it, when in fact I have nothing but respect for the film. I’m so drawn to it for personal and not mercenary reasons, my feeling about it is if I didn’t feel a personal connection and feel it could be its own film, I wouldn’t be doing it. I hope people give us a chance.” Reeves also adds that he’s working with casting director Avy Kaufman - who previously found kids for The Sixth Sense and The Ice Storm - to find the young actors for this remake. Reeves “vows will not be aged-up to make the film more of a smoldering Twilight -style romance.” Thank goodness for that! We don’t know too much more about this, including who is even writing the script, beyond that Overture is now aiming for a fall 2010 theatrical release. That means they better start shooting by the end of this year or early next. We’ll certainly keep you updated. And we’ll definitely let you know once Reeves finds his Oskar and Eli. Discover More: Movie News , Opinions
That’s an interesting question. A year ago, everyone would’ve instantly said yes, without a doubt. But it’s a whole different situation now. I can’t actually take credit for that question - it comes from Peter Sciretta at SlashFilm . Here’s how he looks at it: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen has earned an incredible $200 million in only 5 days at the box office. Sure that means most people saw it, but most hated it, or at least a majority of them did. It holds a steady 20% at Rotten Tomatoes and 6.7 on IMDb . There’s no doubt about it - Paramount will finish the trilogy with Transformers 3 , probably in 2011. But will Michael Bay return? Over the last six months or so, two other big Michael Bay projects have surfaced as his probable follow up to Revenge of the Fallen - most recently, the sci-fi story I Am Number Four , but also the bodybuilders comedy Pain & Gain . If you remember, Paramount preemptively announced Transformers 3 for 2011 (with Bay) back in March . But then Bay came out and said : “No way. My brain needs a break from fighting robots.” A few weeks ago, there was a big internet rumor going around that Bay wouldn’t return for the sequel at all. His response : “Hah, love press how they spin. Never said it - just wanted a vacation is more to the point.” We already know that writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci won’t be returning to write Transformers 3 , for better or worse, but as for Michael Bay, that’s still up in the air. But with a $200 million opening weekend, I’m sure Paramount will coax him to return one more time. But who knows if they’ll shift it to 2012 or stick with the originally announced 2011 release? Peter thinks that he’ll move onto that “small” movie Pain & Gain first before potentially returning to Transfomers . That seems possible - a Christopher Nolan-like break - but then it’ll be pushed to 2012. Now the question is if anyone wants Michael Bay back? Discover More: Discussion , Hype , Opinions
With up-and-coming British filmmaker Duncan Jones’ sci-fi movie Moon now out in theaters, it’s time to start looking forward to what’s next. We all thought it would be the submarine movie Escape From the Deep that got announced earlier this month, but apparently not. ScreenDaily has confirmed that Jones’ is gearing up to start a new project called Mute - which is the Blade Runner -like sci-fi project he first talked about in April . This time the budget will be a lot bigger - “probably something up to $25 million ” he says. Seeing just how much he pulled off for $5 million in Moon , I can’t wait to see what he’ll do with 5 times the budget. We’ve heard a few tidbits about Mute already, primarily that it’ll be a big sci-fi thriller mystery set in a futuristic Berlin. “ Moon is about alienation and isolation. The next one will have a different vibe. It’s not about one actor on their own, it’s an ensemble piece ,” he explains. Here’s the new plot as described by producer Stuart Fenegan: ” Mute is about a woman whose disappearance causes a mystery for her partner, a mute bartender. When she disappears, he has to go up against the city’s gangsters.” The project is officially a UK-Germany co-production and has finalized its funding. It’s expected to start shooting early next year. As for what else we can expect from Mute , Jones goes into it more in a previous io9 interview. “It’s a very human story, it’s about normal, normal people having to live in this future city. Science fiction is more of a backdrop, in some ways, than you might expect.” And what of the villains, the bad guys, there has to be some, right? “There’s a couple of villains in there which I’m really excited about. They’re so different than anything you’ve seen. I hope I get the chance to make the film because they’re going to be very unique, you’re not going to have seen anyone like these two guys before.” I’m already looking forward to this one! Discover More: Indies , Movie News , Opinions
Expect long lines at your local box office this week thanks to Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen , Public Enemies , and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs . But remember you can always avoid the long line at the ticket booth by buying your tickets at a ticket kiosk instead. No, you don’t have to have already purchased your tickets online. As long as you have a debit or credit card, you can just walk up to a kiosk and get your tickets easily and quickly. Plus, you avoid at least one impolite theater employee. Certainly this isn’t a new concept, and you’re probably reading this and wanting to comment with something like, “how is this news?” But I find it surprising how many times I go to the theater and see people lined up down the block while the kiosks inside sit mostly unused. The lack of traffic to these ticket machines may have something to do with the fact that they’re so quick — those who use them are probably already in the theater, because it only took them a few seconds to get their movie ticket. Usually I feel very guilty using self-serve things like ticket kiosks. I hate ringing up my own items at the self-serve registers in supermarkets. And I wish I could still buy subway fare directly from an MTA employee in those booths. If you’ve ever read Kurt Vonnegut’s ” Player Piano ,” or if you’re simply against machines replacing human employees for any job, you probably feel the same way. Especially with unemployment rates as high as they are it’s hard to justify or encourage the concept of rendering any gig obsolete. But I can’t help but love the movie theater ticket kiosks. They’re friendlier, more efficient and, unlike the live ticket seller, the machine always asks me if I have a Crown Club Card (or MovieWatcher card or whatever cinema chain membership card that may apply). Also, the machine will always give me any due freebie coupon (free small popcorn, free movie ticket, etc) that that membership club awards me. Not to be paranoid, but I swear one live cashier kept one of these coupons for herself. As they stand, often ignored, ticket kiosks may seem frightening to some customers. I admit that at some of the cinemas I’ve worked at the machines weren’t always reliable. They were often out of tickets/paper and sometimes they didn’t work at all. But as a ticket buyer, I’ve never had a problem with purchasing tickets at a kiosk. Maybe it’s just that the theaters I frequent have more kiosks, so when one or two are out of service there are still plenty available. And when they’re working, they are so, so simple to use. If you were able to navigate a computer and the internet in order to read this column then you’re definitely skilled enough to buy your tickets from a kiosk. The only other explanation for why people don’t use the things is because they don’t have a debit or credit card. But I refuse to believe the majority of moviegoers only have cash or only prefer to use cash . I see plenty of people using their cards to pay at the box office, anyway. Why they wait in the line, even a small line, baffles me. Are these people really genuinely interested in keeping that cashier employed? Hey, there are always the other jobs at the cinema. No ushers seem endangered of losing their position because of robot auditorium cleaners (and moviegoers don’t seem to be interested in cleaning up after themselves anytime soon, either). And no concession stand could ever be completely run by computers and machines. I’ve seen vending machines and other alternatives, but nothing else ever catches on. The worst idea I ever saw at a theater (one I worked for) was the ability to buy concessions at the ticket kiosk. In theory it seemed smart, at least to the patron fooled into buying their food items on the same machine they buy their tickets on. And it would work in practice, too, if those kiosks had been connected to some computer at the stand, which alerted an employee to prepare the concessions for the prepaying customer. But that particular cinema never figured out a logical and efficient way to make the idea work. So the unknowing customers would purchase their items in advance and then still have to wait in line behind everyone else. Even if I don’t bother with Transformers (the first one bored me) or the third Ice Age movie, I’ll be thankful for the ticket kiosks to get me past the crowd and to that concession line quicker this week. And I don’t mind waiting in that second line, because I just couldn’t ever trust an automated popcorn maker/dispenser (they do exist) anymore than I trust a car that turns into a robot. Plus, I have more respect and admiration for the hardworking staff behind the concession counter. They get paid just as much as the cashier and have a much dirtier and more difficult job. Ticket kiosk photo courtesy of Doctor_Hu on Flickr . Discover More: Discussion , Editorials , Opinions
