In the last installment if The Audio Edition I made the comment that it’s just a myth to believe that on average “Indie films” were as good as Hollywood films. This however raised a very good question for some people… not if my hypothesis was correct or not… but rather an even better question. What is an “Indie Film”?

Some people make the very good argument that an Indie film is any film not directly produced by one of the major Hollywood Studios. However, I personally believe it has come to mean something more specific. I believe in a definition that mean a film made outside of the Sphere of Hollywood (Many films are made by all Hollywood people with just almost as big budgets… but get their money from somewhere other then the major studios). I don’t count those as true “Indie Films”.

I think both sides have good arguments… but I thought I’d ask you guys. How do YOU define an Indie Film? When you think of an “Indie Film”… what first comes to mind?

I know I’m a total geek, but this totally made my day. The good folks over at The USA Today have featured The Movie Blog today in their “Hot Sites” section. The little blurb they wrote about us is:

There is a place for the movie pundit who has an opinion. That place is the Movie Blog. Reviews, comments and critics are all you need to plan your next visit to the theater.

Well that was a nice way to start my day. I know I’m a loser… anyone else would see that and think to themselves “that’s nice”… but me… I’m freaking out and calling my mom to show her.

No surprise really, the rumour round the Internet that we thought was pretty sceptical, is indeed, pretty sceptical. According to Cinematical:

Alba claims that she’ not going to play Jeannie after all. After last night’s VMAs, she told The Daily News that she just agreed to star in The Wake (“a little artsy movie”) with Hayden Chistensen and Sigourney Weaver, and that as far as she knows that whole I Dream of Jeannie thing ain’t happening.

Well there’s no surprise, they even had another actress cast in the lead on IMDB for some time. Just vain hope of seeing more of Alba I think! The funny thing about the story is that she’s also starting her own range of baby clothes…no, she’s not pregnant. Ermm, okay…it’s going to be along the lines of…

“clothing similar to what their stylish parents wear.”

That all too familiar sound of Richard slamming his head off of the keyboard again. Really, what are these stars up to these days? Anyway, she’s not in the Jeannie remake, and quite frankly who wants to see that?

The talks over the merger of the two formats of the new high definition DVD’s failed a little while back between the main parties Sony and Toshiba. Sony is running with BluRay DVD and Toshiba with HD-DVD. According to IMDB Toshiba blame Sony:

A spokesman for Toshiba has accused Sony of taking an intransigent position on high-definition DVDs…Mark Knox told Red Herring magazine on Friday, “The picture has been painted that Sony is open to discussions and it’s Toshiba that’s shutting the door. … It is Sony that is not willing to negotiate evenly.” Toshiba heads a group of manufacturers and studios favoring the HD-DVD standard, while Sony heads a larger group favoring the Blu-ray system. “Blu-ray said they won’t compromise on the disc structure,” said Knox. “In effect they are saying ‘my way or the highway’ and that is not the way to come to a compromise.”

Worth noting that the group on the side of Blu-Ray is quite a large group indeed, and with Sony implanting the technology in every Playstation 3, they may be the clear winner. However, does it mean that they should be taking a Microsoft style position like this, or have they gained enough ground to say “tough luck” to Toshiba?

It’s the end of an era folks, and a huge sign of the times, but according to IMDB the rental chain Blockbuster has dropped VHS, and let’s face it, who watches rental VHS anymore, especially with DVD’s costing less than a night out!

Blockbuster has virtually banished videocassettes from all its outlets, with the exception of some children’s and Spanish titles, Home Media Retailing reported on its website Monday. It quoted a Michigan Blockbuster employee as saying, “It’s definitely phasing out.” However, a company spokesman denied that Blockbuster is dropping its VHS rental business, telling the trade publication that it is continuing to appraise product and format allocations on the basis of customer preference.

Yeah, aka “We’re dumping VHS for DVD”, but what’s the deal with Spanish and Kid’s movies? Why are they still needed on VHS? Are you still using VHS (apart from recording TV programmes to watch later)?

Oh good grief… someone tell me this is all just a bad joke. Apparently studio execs are set and ready to green light a Dukes of Hazzard 2. Yes, the crap just keeps on rolling. Yes, they managed to trick enough people into seeing the first one to make almost $75 million at this point… but the vast majority of people who saw it hated it. You think they’ll be back paying $10 to see another one? Not me.

What makes this extra special stupidity is the following 2 facts. 1) Jessica Simpson (who was just HORRIBLE in the first one) is apparently getting a big raise to do the second. And 2) Simpson says it’s going to take place in London. The good folks over at MovieHole give us this:

Jessica Simpson, who will apparently get quite a hefty fee to reprise her role as sexy DD, tells the site that the next one could be set in London. They would be “Lost in London”, says the buxom crooner. “I think Daisy and those crazy boys will have a great time here in the UK.”

Someone just shoot me. It’s almost as if some studios are having a “who can be the most retarded” contest. I think we just found the winner.

Man, Steven Spielberg is a busy guy. Now added to that plate is the project When Worlds Colide. The good folks over at Cinema Confidential give us this synopsis of the project:

“When Worlds Collide” is based on the 1951 film when scientists discover that another planet is dangerously close and on a collision course to hit earth. A small select group of humans to keep the human race alive is selected and sent off before the destruction of planet Earth.

Hmmm… sounds a lot like Deep Impact or Armageddon. But if Spielberg is taking control then I’ll hold out some hope for it. It should be pointed out at this point that Spielberg is only slated to Produce this film… no word yet on weather he’ll get behind the camera and direct it as well.

I’m officially dying to see The Proposition. It’s appears to be one of those films based on an impossible situation that you have no idea how the main character is going to manage. From the trailer and from everything I’ve read about the film, here’s the impossible situation:

3 very close brothers are outlaws. The oldest one is the most wanted. The two youngest brothers get captured. The “police” captain tells the middle brother (Guy Pearce) that he’s going to execute the youngest brother. However, the captain makes the middle brother a proposition. He’ll let Pearce escape… and spare the youngest brothers life… if Pearce (after escaping) kills the oldest brother once he finds him.

If that premise wasn’t enough to get me excited about the project… check out this cast. Guy Pearce, Tom Budge, Emily Watson, Ray Winstone, David Wenham (Faramir from Lord of the Rings) and John Hurt (from everything). Yeah… sign me up.

You can catch the trailer for “The Proposition” over here at the film’s official site.

I first heard about “The World’s Fastest Indian” about a year ago (we posted about it here), and right away I thought is sounded like something special. But then again, almost anything that Anthony Hopkins attaches himself to has the potential of being something special.

In case you haven’t heard about this one yet, here’s a quick synopsis of the project:

After a lifetime of perfecting his classic Indian motorcycle, Burt Munro (Anthony Hopkins) set off from Invercargill to the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah where he set a new speed record. His 1967 world record remains unbroken.

I like the way the trailer puts it: “BASED ON ONE HELL OF A TRUE STORY”. Neat.

The trailer is quite good, although I’m not really big on the music they picked for it. The music makes it look like it’s an action adventure flick which clearly it’s not… even if it does have a lot of speed. But anyway, judge for yourselves. You can see The World’s Fastest Indian trailer here. Come back and let us know what you thought of it.

While I didn’t think Saw was one of the great thriller films of all time, I did enjoy it. The premise was fantastic… but I found the execution a little lacking… but overall it was a pretty solid film. Now, on October 28th, Saw 2 is being released. It’s never a good sign when studio bangs out a sequel this fast… but I’ll withhold judgment until I see it.

Some pictures from Saw 2 are now making their way around the interweb. I love that picture on the side. In case you can’t tell, the woman is crawling around in a room full on needles and two of them are already stuck in her back. CREEPY!

I’m also kinda excited to see Donnie Wahlberg (ex-New Kid On The Block) in the film. His small role in The Sixth Sense was fantastic, and his short lived TV show Boomtown never really got the ratings it deserved… it was a great show.

Like the picture? Well the good folks over at JoBlo have a bunch more! You can see them over here.

Unfortunately I missed Neve Campbell’s first nude scene in the movie When will I be loved? at the Edinburgh Film Festival this year, however that pales into insignificance if this rumour comes to fruition…another Scream?

Talking to IconsofFright, Wes Craven, director of Ghostface’s first three outings, announced that star Neve Campbell has had discussions with the studio about a “Scream 4″.

According to Craven, the Weinsteins might be keen on pitting Sidney Prescott against the masked maniac again and have sounded out Campbell, whose about as busy as a burger barn at Easter these days, to see if she’s keen.

From the sounds of it, and as he himself hasn’t been contacted about it yet, Craven won’t be involved in the film.

I have to say that I saw the Scream series repeated on telly a little while ago and I was surprised at how much fun they actually are. Perhaps they’ve been helped by all the parodies made of them, but they just seemed a lot better than they had when I first saw them, particularly the later movies. So is it a bad thing that they’re looking at another? Crazy in one aspect if you think about the plot line carrying on to a fourth series of attacks and murderer(s), but then they are fun…aren’t they?

The star that is Eddie Izzard is rising in the west with the news from Coming Soon that he’s added to the cast for the Uma Thurman starrer Super Ex.

Anna Faris and Eddie Izzard have signed on to join Uma Thurman and Owen Wilson in Ivan Reitman’s Super Ex for Regency Enterprises, says The Hollywood Reporter.

The comedy centers on a man (Wilson) who learns that his girlfriend (Thurman) is a superhero and breaks up with her when she becomes too controlling and neurotic. She then uses her powers to torment and embarrass him.

Faris will play Hannah, the love interest of Wilson’s character. Izzard will play Professor Bedlam, the story’s villain.

The cast is fair hotting up for this one, and with Reitman directing it could well be a laugh and a half…or just the half! What do you say, do you think that the hot cast is an indication of a good comedy?

I think it’s fair to say next to no one is looking forward to the new Bond movie with any form of anticipation, perhaps until now. From Coming Soon

Oscar-nominated writer Paul Haggis (Million Dollar Baby, Crash) has been tapped to do a rewrite of Casino Royale, Sony and MGM’s 21st installment of the James Bond franchise, says The Hollywood Reporter.

Producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson have brought back Martin Campbell (GoldenEye, The Legend of Zorro) to direct his second 007 film. Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, who wrote Bond films The World is Not Enough and Die Another Day, penned the previous draft.

Now this could be exciting news, but if you consider the control that the Broccoli’s have over the franchise and all to readily use, it may not mean that much. What do you think? Higher hopes?

According to JoBlo, Pierce Brosnan is set to replace Richard Gere in the movie Seraphim Falls:

It was announced during the Cannes Film Festival that Gere would co-star with Neeson but the former since dropped out of the production for unknown reasons. Brosnan has stepped in to fill his shoes and join Neeson in the directorial debut of David Von Ancken (“The Shield”). The movie, written by Von Ancken and Abbey Everett Jaques, takes place during the Civil War and follows Army Colonel Carver (Neeson) who swears revenge on Brosnan’s character Gideon and pursues him across the West to meet that goal. Mel Gibson is producing the film through his Icon Entertainment production company.

Most of that just washed over me with a real big feeling of just another news story, the bit that really sticks out for me is the news that Von Ancken is set to direct a movie. The Shield is a superb TV show, and it’ll be really interesting to see how he moves to film, especially with the huge leap of subject matter.

This could honestly be the first movie for Brosnan totally away from Bond. I’d say now the rumours of him returning are wholly quashed, and there is no doubt he will not be the next Bond, despite those stories that he was holding out for a new pay deal.

According to Film247.net through Cinematical the son of John Huston, Danny Huston, is to play the great Orson Welles…

…in the film Fade To Black…Huston will play him as a still-vital 36-year-old as he worked to complete a thriller script before playing Othello in the 1952 film.

I’m a big fan of Welles, and despite what Cinematical say…

Welles was, in effect, a difficult One Hit Wonder doomed by his own ego whose legend would have been better served if he had walked away after crafting the perfect film because really, where do you go after that?

…he has a number of great films to his name, sure Kane is the biggest but he still has a number of great movies, particularly his Othello. There could be a lot of great material in this movie, depending where they take it. Fact based or total fantasy, or those dreaded words “based on a true story”? I’d love to see it based around his radio play days, and specifically War of the Worlds. Is anyone else interested in seeing a movie of Welles?

Memoirs of a Geisha is a film that has been whispered about for a LONG time. And with a cast like this (The fantastic Ken Watanabe, Zhang Ziyi and Michelle Yeoh) it’s difficult to imagine it going wrong. Here’s a synopsis for the film:

Based on the international best-seller by Arthur Golden, “Memoirs of a Geisha” is an epic story of love and betrayal set against the broad and rapidly changing social canvas of 20th century Japan. Nine-year old Chiyo, a poor fisherman’s daughter, is taken from her family and sold to a geisha house. From her start as a common household maid, she blossoms into one of Kyoto’s most renowned geishas, surviving the envy and treachery of the competition.

The scope of this project looks breathtaking. So much story… so much depth. The trailer only got me more excited. You can catch the trailer for Memoirs of a Geisha here.

I just finished watching the new Capote trailer with Philip Seymour Hoffman. It looks just fantastic and I can’t wait to see it at the Toronto Film Festival later next week. Here’s a synopsis for the film:

On November 15, 1959, the brutal murder of a family in a small Kansas town sent shockwaves through the nation - and captured the attention of one of the most distinctive minds of our time. One-of-a-kind author Truman Capote was sent to Kansas to pen an article about the crimes for The New Yorker magazine. He ended up writing one of the most celebrated books of the century.

Capote follows Truman Capote (Hoffman) on his odyssey to create the landmark bestseller In Cold Blood. With signature style and mordant wit - and his friend Harper Lee (Keener) in tow - Capote attempts to charm the locals and work his way into the story behind the murders. He’s soon shocked, however, to find himself forming a friendship with one of the killers, Perry Smith (Collins). As the book nears completion and execution day approaches, Capote finds himself torn in directions he never anticipated and is forever changed by his experiences.

The trailer for Capote seems to suggest it looks at the multi-dimensionalism of human experiences. Most films like to just make the bad guys bad… and the good guys good (especially in films based on true stories). I appreciate films that look at the bigger picture… this looks like such a picture.

You can go see the trailer here.

This has not been a great year for film… and by looking at the Fall Movie Preview lineup… it’s not looking much better. out of the 40+ films slater to still come out this season… there are maybe 5 I’m looking forward too. I’m sure there will be some surprises in there… but still.

The good folks over at Jam have put up a great little article looking at the Fall Movie Season. You can read the article here, but the ones I’m looking forward to (in no particular order) are:

1) THE NEW WORLD
2) JARHEAD
3) WALK THE LINE
4) IN HER SHOES
5) HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE
6) SERENITY

Here’s a rundown of the release schedule:

It was a very slow week at the Box office. However, strong word of mouth and a total lack of any quality competition has kept Steve Carell’s fantastic comedy, The 40 Year Old Virgin, at the top spot taking in $16.4 million. Yeah that’s right… the #1 movie only took in $16.4 million.

But I mean seriously… look at what’s out there! The Brothers Grimm was a terrible movie. The Cave was almost as bad as Grimm, and third film opening was yet another Music Star trying to be a movie star film called Undiscovered with Ashlee Simpson which only took in…. are you ready for this… $690,000. Just over half a million. Wow!

And guess what… it’s not about to get any better. This coming week is going to be another box office bomb. All we have to look forward to is Underclassman (yuck), A Sound of Thunder (Yuck… hands up for people who have even heard of this), The Constant Gardener (which doesn’t look horrible… but had ZERO marketing support) and the only film this week that looks like it may had a shot at breaking $20 million, The Transporter 2 (I’m looking forward to this one).

Once again Hollywood… don’t you dare talk about how illegal film downloading is killing your business. Crap films like the ones we’re being subjected to over last week and this next week is what’s keeping people away.

I think it’s fair to say that the Star Trek fanbase has been dealt a severe blow with the cancellation of the very good Enterprise series. So what’s in store with the show they promise to revitalise the franchise? Coming Soon has some news on it from the writer Erik Jendresen no less.

He says he has turned in the first draft of the script to Paramount Pictures.

“This would take place just a couple of years after the end of the events in ‘Enterprise’ but well before the original series, and it would look at the inciting incident that started everything,” he said. “The story is big and epic, and it isn’t as antiseptic as the television stories had to be.”

Jendresen adds that “The Beginning” would also not be centered around the traditional “Star Trek” model of a captain, crew, and starship.

“We’re looking at a very small group of men and women, particularly focusing on one character,” he explains. “There are a couple of ships, including a principal ship, but this is not a traditional captain and crew of a starship story in the least.”

What inciting incident that started everything is that? I thought that with Enterprise we were getting to see everything evolve towards the Federation? Is there something I missed? Oh, and what’s with calling the stories “antiseptic”? I’m not a huge Star Trek fan, I mean I do like the films but until Enterprise, and the latter stories of Deep Space Nine and Voyager, I wasn’t really interested. I was a Babylon 5 man. Yet calling the shows “antisceptic”, isn’t that rather harsh? Would you agree with him, and what of the idea that this is not about a Captain and crew?

Wow, this would be amazing news, although it’s so late in coming. The prospect of having the two greats Paul Newman and Robert Redford on the same screen, in the same film, is just superb. Obviously the material will still have to be good, but these are two of the greatest actors out there, how could it not be badgood? From Coming Soon:

“All these years went by and nobody came up with any ideas that were anything but corny and kind of low grade so we just decided probably that wasn’t going to happen,” Redford said.

“But now there’s something rolling around that we’re talking about it, and the real question is whether he can remember his lines or not,” the 68-year-old Redford said in a dig at Newman who turned 80 this year.

The two will reportedly pair up in an adaptation of Bill Bryson’s travel book A Walk in the Woods, the story of the author’s hike through the American wilderness with a friend…

…”I think Paul and I are probably alike in that we’re reluctant to talk about something that is not real yet, but we are talking about it,”

How great is that news? Would you be looking forward to seeing these two on screen again?

Well I’ve been behind in writing up the 59th EIFF days, but I’m catching up.

Have a look at Day Three where I caught Thumbsucker, the awful Battle in Heaven, the superb Voices of Iraq and finally Gunner Palace.

Then there’s Day Four with a screening of Radiant, a poor sci-fi film.

Finally for this update Day Five with the viewing of Serenity and a rather mad bunch of cinema staff.

Only a few days left…

Well once again I can’t see these clips at all, hear them yes, see them, no. I’ve heard say that’s no good when you’re trying to watch a clip from a movie…so I shall leave the reviewing of these once again to you dear readers.

From Yahoo movies through dtheatre there are a couple of short clips from the movie itself, expanding on the hype coming out from the trailer.

Have a look at them, and if you see them, give us a short review in the comments.

Bruce Almighty was a really fun film. It was one of those films I had low expectations for, and ended up loving it by the time I walked out. Now it appears that the producers were keen to make a Bruce Almighty 2… however… Jim Carrey took a pass on the project and decided to not get involved. So thanks to the timely popularity of Steve Carell, all may not be lost.

The producers had the script reworked to have the film revolve around character Evan Baxter (Carell) from the first film and redub it “Evan Almighty”. No, I’m not kidding. And honestly… I could see this working. The good folks over at Empire give us this:

They’ve come up with the idea that God somehow winds up calling on Evan to build an ark in preparation for a great flood. Don’t ask, because we don’t know any more than that yet, but there’s more good news - Morgan Freeman is set to return as God, and Tom Shadyac will make himself comfortable once again in the director’s chair.

If this is indeed all true, then you can count me amongst those looking forward to it.

In the best news I’ve heard all day, Mr. T is set to reprise his role as Clubber Lang (the only man to defeat Rocky during his championship reign in the movies) in Rocky 6.

Now, I’m a little bit torn over this. I’m one of the only guys on the plant who actually really liked Rocky 5 (it was a very different Rocky film… and it had it’s weaknesses, but I still thought it was a solid movie). However, I think the notion of a Rocky 6 is a stupid idea. You can only go back to the well so many times. I think this is a mistake. But now I’m excited about seeing it just because I want to see Mr. T on the big screen again! Oh yeah baby! I PITY THE FOOL THAT DOES DRUGS.

The good folks over at MovieHole give us this:

The former “A-Team” star will reprise his role as boxer Clubber Lang in “Rocky 6″, opposite Sylvester Stallone. The tough-talking 80’s icon confirmed his involvement in the sequel on radio’s Howard Stern show. In the new movie, Clubber Lang - who played Rocky Balboa’s opponent in “Rocky III” - will now be a commentator.

Ok, it sucks that he’ll just be a commentator… but still, it’s awesome that he’s in there at all. Oh the nostalgia of it all.

The sheer volume of bad decisions coming out of Disney over the last few years is staggering. The only thing more shocking is the total lack of any quality whatsoever coming out of their corporate bowels.

So here’s their latest brain fart. First, they’re so desperate for something that will attract an audience they’re going to mess with a classic and actually produce a Bambi 2 (which for some reason Patrick Stewart has signed on for to do the voice of Bambi’s father). Then, they say to themselves: You know what really rocked? The Emperor’s New Groove and Brother Bear! (wrong and wrong) Let’s so sequels for them both! The people will love it!” (wrong).

These are all no doubt slated to be direct to DVD projects. Even the lowest guy on the moron totem pole wouldn’t be stupid enough to try to release this crap in theaters. But then again… this is the new Disney we’re talking about.

That title just seems bizarre enough on it’s own, Anthony Hopkins and Demi Moore together in a film about Robert Kennedy? Stranger things have happened. From Coming Soon:

Anthony Hopkins is set and Demi Moore is in final talks to star in Emilio Estevez’s ensemble political-cultural drama Bobby, reports Variety.

The film, written and to be directed by Estevez, revisits the night Robert F. Kennedy was gunned down at the Ambassador Hotel in 1968. The story is about how the lives of those at the hotel that evening intersected.

The trade adds that the movie will take place against the backdrop of the cultural issues gripping the country at the time, including racism, sexual inequality and class differences.

Actually it sounds like a really interesting premise, there’s not really been a movie covering Robert Kennedy, but the idea of intersecting stories makes me wonder if he’s going to be more of a MacGuffin, a plot device just there to pull the stories together. Sounds an interesting project though, does it interest you?

“Aye, we’re all doomed!”, no, not Dad’s Army but the latest Doom trailer, and in a watchable format this time.

The first person gimmick is gonna wear real thin I can tell. What do you think of this one, any better? The opening on Mars (they’ve definitely changed back to Mars now) is quite nice, and the creatures are well done. It’s also dark, very dark!

Check out the trailer at Yahoo movies through Coming Soon.

If you ever had any doubt how well respected Tom Hanks is in the film community, then you shouldn’t anymore. Hanks has just been elected as the Vice President of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. A huge honour to be sure.

I still marvel sometimes at the career this guy has had. Who would have ever thought the guy dressed in drag for that short lived TV show “Bosom Buddies” would end up being a multiple time Oscar winner, Vice President of the Academy and probably one of the most powerful men in Hollywood? I didn’t. Congratulations Tom.

This has HUGE Potential written all over it! Ricky Gervais of “The Office” fame is starring in the new film For Your Consideration to be directed by the awesome Christopher Guest.

Guest’s last two directoral endeavors, A Mighty Wind and Best In Show, are two of the funniest comedies I’ve seen this decade. Both unlike another film and truly original. Guest has an approach all his own, and it looks like For Your Consideration is bringing back most of the cast he used in his previous two films… which is also great news because that cast has fantastic chemistry. Richard posted about this about 2 months ago… but there were very few details… now a few more have come out.

The concept of For Your Consideration sounds just killer. The good folks over at Ananova give us this:

Ricky Gervais has signed up to play a studio boss in a new film about the movie awards season. The Office star will play a man convinced his awful film is going win an award in For Your Consideration. Written and directed by Spinal Tap star Christopher Guest, the film will also feature American Pie’s Eugene Levy.

Sadly that probably means the film is a good year away from being released, but I’ve got a feeling that it’ll be well worth the wait.

The Brothers Grimm is a one of the last couple of summer movies that I’ve been looking forward to. The story concept lends itself to almost endless possibilities and with Terry Gilliam involved I think almost anyone could be forgiven for going into the theater with high expectations.

Sadly, the early reviews are coming in for The Brothers Grimm and they’re leaning rather strongly towards the negative side. A number of the critics are actually especially hard on Gilliam himself. A few positive reviews here and there, but the majority of them are negative. Here’s what some of them have to say:

“Gilliam’s film is trapped somewhere between fable and comedy. It’s as if he is so entranced by his own visual inventiveness that he completely loses sight of his storytelling.”
Frank Houston, PALM BEACH DAILY NEWS

“Mr. Gilliam has no clear idea what he’s doing, so the movie is nothing more than noise, costumes and disjointed special effects that do not make an acceptable substitute for the sense of tempo the rest of the film sorely lacks.”
Rex Reed, NEW YORK OBSERVER

“…the most nakedly commercial and impersonal film that Gilliam’s ever made.”
Moriarty, AIN’T IT COOL MOVIE REVIEWS

“…a ragged, sloppy patchwork quilt -but there’s magic in it. The movie is a compromised, semi-mangled visit to a very special place.”
Sean Burns, PHILADELPHIA WEEKLY

Hmmm… not really what I was hoping to hear. As of this moment, The Brothers Grimm are carrying a 38% on Rotten Tomatoes. Not the worst rating I’ve seen… but certainly bad enough. Look for my review on Monday.

I think the news from TV Guide’s Ask Ausiello through Coming Soon is pretty strong confirmation that Goran Visnjic is in the final run as the new Bond.

Question: Is it true that Goran Visnjic is among the finalists to take over as James Bond? And what does this mean for him on ER? — Sandy

Ausiello: Yes, it’s true. But should he get the role, it wouldn’t mean the end of Kovac. “We have a contingency plan,” says exec producer David Zabel. “We would film a bunch of stuff [with Kovac] at one time for later episodes. Or, depending on where the Bond film was shooting, he might be able to work on both at the same time.

The important part is the quote from Zabel there, he’s a Producer and Writer for ER and if he knows and is prepared to work around it then it’s pretty clear Visnjic is in the running. I mean he’d have to check with his current bosses.

At least this is the first concrete news we’ve had…now what about the others? I can’t see a date on that question, so was the answer gained before or after the London auditions? If after, does it mean he’s the one?

Want some information on the reasons why Bungie went for the deal they did, hiring their own script writer and taking it to Hollywood? Seems like it wasn’t always that way.

Back then the plan was to license the Halo universe lock, stock and barrel with no guaranteed Bungie collaboration…. but Hollywood has its own way of doing things. In the case of video-game properties that way is usually “throw me the idol, I’ll throw you the whip” - an all-or-nothing proposition in which game-developers accept a whack of cash in exchange for a “we know how to make movies, you don’t” assurance of quality.

Over at Bungie they’re talking about the history of how they got to where they are, and some talk of the new script.

How did that draft turn out? Let me put it this way: I wrote the script for both Halo games, but as Alex’s interpretation rumbled from one climax to the next I found myself wondering (sometimes aloud): “Damn! How’s the Chief gonna fight his way outta this?!” Only to follow-up a few pages later with: “Oh man, I can’t wait to see that on screen!” Good stuff. And it kept getting better with each successive draft.

It includes a couple of quotes from Garland himself, and a lot of reassurances that they are worrying over the script and movie adaptation but for the right reasons. They want to retain control to make sure it’s done right, and not like many of the other videogame adaptations. Not wrong like this three panel comic that shows what they really don’t want!

They give two reasons why this is going to work out well…

First, our community team…assembled an exhaustive “companion” that will accompany the script during the film’s production…to inspire and inform the filmmakers as well as serve as a point-of-reference for all parties in the event of creative disagreements…Here’s one of the companion’s reference pages. Imagine this level of specificity for every character, weapon, vehicle, environment - you name it - in the known Halo universe. That’s a lot of inspirational and argument-settling goodness.

Second, over the next month or so Peter Schlessel (who’s signed on as Producer), Parsons and I will be meeting with potential directors, and picking the best person for the job. I recently saw a list of “available and interested” candidates, and trust me: it’s an embarrassment of riches.

Definitely sounds interesting, read the whole story over at the Bungie news page through dtheatre.

How do you fans feel now?

From the Edinburgh Film Festival Premiere showing some clever person has taken video footage of the cast on the red carpet, and the entire Q&A session.

I’ll warn you that you need to boost the sound quite a bit on your PC, but when you start hearing clapping or Adam Baldwin starting to sing the Jayne song, you’d better turn them down a little.

Oh, and final warning, there are spoilers in the Q&A part if you haven’t seen the movie yet - check out my non-spoiler review.

Check out the videos over at Sci-Fi Heaven, through Ghani’s Michief to Data site.

Again Twitch have some exciting news, this time in the form of a review sent in from an early screening of Walk the Line. The overview is…great.

Phoenix provides an endearing performance as Johnny Cash, nailing the mannerisms, charm and of course, that voice. Cash’s descent into addiction is handled with care, without ever desending into melodrama…

…The scenes on stage roar with vital energy…

…Walk the Line is a vibrant look at one of the most important song writers of our times, capturing the essence and youthful energy of the man and musician in his prime of his career. Succeeding as both a heart warming drama and an authentic character study, this should prove a pleasure to both Johnny Cash fans, and those less familiar, alike.

Sounds excellent, and after seeing those superb stills and stunning trailer, I think this is going to be a highly rated film with an utterly amazing performance from Pheonix. Oscar perhaps? We shall see, the role certainly suits.

Over at Twitch they have a link to some production stills at NarniaWeb from The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

They look pretty damn fine, and as Todd says, they’ve hit it visually and with that rich source material, the money and talent they are pouring into it, can it fail?