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Friday Box Office: The Christmas Season Starts Slowly
7 November 2009 12:30 PM, PST
After lugging a train around the country all year in an attempt to hype its expensive holiday investment, Disney was rewarded with a $8,960,000 Friday for its version of A Christmas Carol, which falls into the low end of expectations. (The studio has long-range plans for this one and inflated 3D prices will help, but it's a soft start). Meanwhile, The Fourth Kind managed to convince your mom that it was Paranormal Activity and wound up in second place, while The Men Who Stare at Goats and The Box opened merely Ok in light of conservative expectations for both. Full figures after the jump: »
Nobody's Perfect
6 November 2009 6:00 PM, PST
And so we've reached another Friday at Movieline, where your editors welcomed all cultural creatures large and small into our peaceable kingdom. How about that view of Lax, eh? All right, well, anyway, try to focus on only the happiest, most rewarding and satisfying happenings and developments from the last week -- I can help you with that after the jump. Have a wonderful weekend! »
Forgotten Performances: Tom Hanks As Brainwashed D&D Nerd
6 November 2009 5:30 PM, PST
· Topless Robot reminds us that before Angels & Demons, Saving Private Ryan, and Philadelphia, there was Mazes and Monsters -- a made-for-tv movie starring Tom Hanks as an RPG enthusiast who lurks in alleyways, stabbing stuntmen in really shoddy-looking lizard suits. The climax takes place on the roof of the Wtc, further underscoring the movie's underlying message that virgins cause terrorism. »
Our Commenters of the Week Win a Facebook Tag from David Fincher!
6 November 2009 4:30 PM, PST
Congratulations to our winners this week, as they're about to get Facebook tagged in David Fincher's heavily annotated behind-the-scenes pictures from the set of his new movie, The Social Network. Just understand that the notoriously demanding director has his own technique, and don't be surprised if your inbox fills up with emails as Fincher tags and detags you, unable to satisfy his perfectionist streak on matters as simple as which smattering of pixels to click on. So who won? »
Gwyneth Paltrow to Play Nicole Kidman's Wife
6 November 2009 3:30 PM, PST
No, it's not a typo. Your Friday trade-news dump is one of the more exotic in recent memory, as Gwyneth Paltrow will join Nicole Kidman in The Danish Girl, featuring Kidman as the first post-operative transsexual. Paltrow will play his/her wife, a painter whose request for her husband to fill in for an absent female model -- stockings, frocks and all -- resulted in a popular series of portraits that came to permute his sexual identity. Drama ensues -- as will about 100 glossy cover stories and an inevitable Goop blogging hiatus while Paltrow is shooting. Enjoy it. [Bf Deal Memo] »
The Jeff Dunham Show's Worst Sketch This Week: Sweet Daddy D.O.A.
6 November 2009 3:00 PM, PST
Normally it wouldn't be fair or even fun to scavenge a TV show each week for its worst moment, but The Jeff Dunham Show has already proven itself a true anomaly. In the third episode of Comedy Central's multi-phobic hit, our favorite "non-ventriloquist" (his manager never uses the word) visits a barbershop with his puppet (which resembles any number of sculptures traded between racist collectible enthusiasts on eBay) named Sweet Daddy Dee to discover how to win a black following. He has just a million non-white races to go after that. »
The American Film Market: 10 Mindblowing, Modestly Budgeted Movies to Watch
6 November 2009 2:00 PM, PST
Perusing the trade papers during the yearly American Film Market, when thousands of buyers from all of the world descend upon Santa Monica to pick over a buffet of independent, straight-to-video, and international movie fare, is a real treat, as both Variety and The Hollywood Reporter are glutted with ads for low-budgeted curiosities propped up by recognizable talent that you may one day stumble across at the multiplex, or, much more likely, in the deepest, darkest corners of your Netflix recommendations pages. (There was a time we would've said "on the shelves of your local Blockbuster, but, uh, yeah.) To save you the time of thumbing through the trades yourself to pan for obscure cinematic gold, Movieline has assembled the best of this year's Afm ads so far, leaving you with nothing to do but pray that each finds the completion financing or distribution it needs to one day land »
In Theaters: Disney's A Christmas Carol
6 November 2009 1:40 PM, PST
You know who would have hated Disney's A Christmas Carol? Walt Disney. Because what Disney knew -- and any animator worth his salt knows -- is that the language of animation is "the language of caricature," as he put it. Realer, in other words, isn't necessarily better, and detail, it follows, doesn't trump simplicity. As a surface display of cutting-edge technical wizardry, the endeavor succeeds. But at its core, this Carol is soulless. »
Eric Cartman Might've Botched His Progressive Anti-Gay Rally With Misplaced Vulgarity
6 November 2009 1:00 PM, PST
Following Wednesday's episode of South Park in which Cartman and the crew try to re-brand the word "faggot" as a way to describe "annoying and inconsiderate" riders of Harley-Davidsons, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) released a statement saying that Trey Parker and Matt Stone's intentions were noble, but their methods awry. "The creators of South Park are right on one important point: more and more people are using the F-word as an all-purpose insult. However, it is irresponsible and wrong to suggest that it is a benign insult or that promoting its use has no consequences for those who are the targets of anti-gay bullying and violence." Clip of Kyle and Stan's attempt at a sociological shift after the jump. »
Buzz Break: Fresh Hamm
6 November 2009 12:30 PM, PST
· Other sites are going mad for this picture of Jon Hamm as a high school jock, but I'm getting a real Andy Samberg vibe from him here. Am I nuts?
· The Daily Beast rounds up Tina Fey's 10 favorite bits of 30 Rock dialogue.
· Stars came out to the Paley Center on Wednesday night to debate one essential question: Is Chad Michael Murray a douche?
· World of Wonder is pretty sure that General Hospital has already introduced James Franco's character. His hand, at least.
· The notoriously emotionless, uneffusive Paula Abdul cried three times while watching Precious, reports Page Six. Imagine the waterworks if the titular Harlem teen had been played by Adam Lambert! »
Inglourious Basterds Editor Sally Menke Talks Tarantino, Cannes Cuts, and Kill Bill 3
6 November 2009 11:45 AM, PST
There's one woman in the world who understands Quentin Tarantino better than anybody, and that's Sally Menke. Since her work on Reservoir Dogs, Menke has cut every single one of Tarantino's films, and for the last decade, she's eschewed almost all other jobs to devote herself solely to the genre-blending auteur. This Sunday, Menke will be receiving the Lifetime Achievement honor at the Hamilton Behind the Camera Awards, and as Inglourious Basterds begins its transformation from unexpected summer blockbuster to even-more-unexpected Oscar player, we thought there'd be no better time to talk to Menke about how she does what she does. »
Project Runway Recap: The Sarajevo Sayonara
6 November 2009 11:00 AM, PST
If you're a regular reader of Movieline's Project Runway recaps, you know that our examinations revolve around two tenets: 1) Tim Gunn wondering out loud if Logan had walked in off the street -- in particular a street with an Urban Outfitters; 2) Gordana Gehlhausen, the Yugoslavian-but-that's-not-a-country-anymore maiden who came a long way and through a lot of confusing pollution in order to get here. Now that she's gone, we're left with almost no reason to recap, and for that, our grief is larger than Althea's elevator shaft of hair. They also kicked off Christopher because come on. »
What's On: Rihanna and Chris Brown Face Off With Dueling, Album-Plugging Tell-Alls
6 November 2009 10:00 AM, PST
Remember that time in September when Chris Brown visited Larry King Live, and with bowtie and supportive mother in place, told America that he would never discuss the details of the Rihanna-beating fiasco "out of respect for her"? Well, Brown is forfeiting that solemn vow tonight for a sit-down with MTV's Sway Calloway, during which he will try to piece together the events of that fateful, Lamborghini-rented night while plugging his upcoming album. A few hours later, Rihanna closes out her two-part Basic Instinct-inspired exclusive with Diane Sawyer, and makes sure to mention her new record. »
But Will Antichrist Play in Panchkula?
6 November 2009 9:30 AM, PST
The foreign trades are full of all kinds of fun, weird surprises. Take this news that emerged Thursday from the Mumbai Film Festival: The city's Enlighten Film Society acquired Indian DVD rights for Lars von Trier's Antichrist. That would add the grim, gory, explicitly sexual film to Enlighten's catalog of world-cinema classics including The Rules of the Game, Bicycle Thieves, 2001: A Space Odyssey and more. There might be a slight hold-up in bringing it home, though: "We are currently talking to the sensor [sic] board for a clearance for the film; based on their response we will release the movie on DVD in India." Memo to India: If the entrails-devouring fox looks or sounds anything like this, then you've definitely got the censored version. [Business of Cinema] »
The Sterling Cooper Collection
6 November 2009 9:00 AM, PST
Have you ever spent restless Sundays nights considering how you too could seduce department store heiresses and your daughter's elementary school teacher if only you owned the right suit? If you have, consider your luck changed because Brooks Brothers is selling 250 Don Draper-inspired sharkskin suits through the season finale on November 8. Mad Men costume designer Jane Bryant created the updated ensemble, which features a two button jacket with narrow lapels, diagonal pockets, side vents and retails for $998. Or hold out for the Jon Hamm Varsity Collection -- coming to an Abercrombie & Fitch near you! [AP] »
Which of These Stars Has the Best Critical Track Record in Hollywood?
6 November 2009 8:30 AM, PST
You and I may lose hours of work every week addictively trolling the rankings and comments at places like Rotten Tomatoes or Metacritic, but one obsessive decided to make the latter site his job for the sake of science. The experiment: to find the most consistent critical voices working today (or at least posting to Metacritic), and the stars who benefit the most from those voices. Culled from reviews and films over the last decade, the results are certainly... interesting. »
In Theaters: The Box
6 November 2009 8:00 AM, PST
Based on Richard Matheson's short story "Button, Button," the same way neon Velcro tear-away pants are "based on" button-fly jeans, The Box does little more than nick Matheson's premise on its way through director Richard Kelly's formidable looking glass. Matheson (now 83), who removed his name from the 1985 adaptation of his story for an episode of The Twilight Zone because they messed with his ending, may have to be sedated when he gets a load of Kelly's operatic, involuted head-scratcher. Both high-flown and packed with knowing kitsch, The Box is a genre pastiche and an allegorical hash that fails as often as it succeeds in articulating its one core, coherent point: we are as moral as our options. »
Introducing Late-Night Highlights: A Guide to What You Missed After Hours
6 November 2009 7:50 AM, PST
These days, the late-night television landscape is as jammed up as the 405 at rush hour, with men and women of all ages, suit sizes and dialects competing for your post Top Chef, pre-sleep time. But even the biggest fans of monologue jokes, topical bits and celebrity anecdotes might only catch half of Letterman or Conan, let alone make it to Fallon or Ferguson. With your precious Z's in mind, Movieline presents a new weekly feature: Late-Night Highlights. Every Friday, we will give you a rundown of what you missed or thought you dreamed. Here is the first installment of the best and watchably worst of this week's witching hours. »
Dan Aykroyd, Justin Timberlake May Explore Ursine Sides in Yogi Bear
6 November 2009 7:20 AM, PST
· The inevitable live-action/CGI adaptation of Yogi Bear took a major step forward Thursday as Dan Aykroyd and Justin Timberlake closed in on deals to voice the title character and his sidekick Boo-Boo. Anna Faris is also on the hook to play a documentary filmmaker who chronicles their natural habitat in Jellystone Park, thus offering a much-needed, more authentic ursine counterpoint to the grocery-shopping grizzlies recently promised by Shawn Levy's own Berenstain Bears. [Variety]
Bradley Cooper goes a drug too far, J.J. Abrams considers returning to pilot school, and more Hollywood Ink after the jump. »
Richard Kelly: The Movieline Interview
6 November 2009 6:45 AM, PST
In his new thriller The Box, director Richard Kelly puts forth a thirtysomething couple (Cameron Diaz and James Marsden) with a spiritual crossroads to consider: accept a significant financial upgrade from mysterious benefactor Arlington Steward (Frank Langella) with the tiny catch that a stranger will die for it, or continue eking out a meager existence but do so with the knowledge that there are no favors owed or strings attached. It's a conundrum that the 34-year-old Kelly himself might be familiar with, since he rose to fame on the utterly independent, inevitably dystopic visions of Donnie Darko and Southland Tales, yet a financial lifeline is being dangled by a studio system (in the form of Warner Bros, which financed The Box) that can pad his future stories with budget, comfort, and potential compromise.
I talked to the writer/director last night about formulating his next move, his uneasy détente with »
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