The Halo movie project has been a total disaster from almost day one. Joke after joke has followed in its footsteps since its inception and today the final nail was put in its coffin (for now anyway, like a zombie it will return at some point in the not too distant future I’m sure).

Yup, from cancelled release dates, the hiring of a director who has never worked on any movie in any capacity in his life, more moved release dates, claiming they loved their script only to scrap it later and hire a totally different writer, refusing to budge on their own profit numbers in order to accommodate Fox and Universal, getting dumped by the studios, failing to find another studio… and now this. They’ve officially announced that all pre-production on Halo has been stopped and the film is on the shelf. The good folks at AICN give us this official press release from Wingnut Film (Peter Jacksons company) and Microsoft:

“As was previously confirmed, we deeply regret that both Universal and Fox did not choose to move forward with financing the Halo film under the original terms of the agreement. At this time Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh, along with their partner, Microsoft, have mutually agreed to postpone making a feature film based on the Halo video game universe until we can fulfill the promise we made to millions of Halo fans throughout the world that we would settle for no less than bringing a first class film to the big screen. We are fully supportive of Director Neill Blomkamp’s vision of the film. Neill is a tremendously gifted filmmaker and his preliminary work on Halo is truly awe-inspiring. While it will undoubtedly take a little longer for Halo to reach the big screen, we are confident that the final feature film will be well worth the wait.”

So there you have it. It’s done. There is so much BULLSHIT coming from Bungie and Microsoft… and I’ll say it… Peter Jackson, that it makes the head spin. So here is the 4 great BULLSHITS coming from the Halo camp:

BULLSHIT #1 - BUNGIE REP SAYING THEY WANT PARTNERS WHO ARE MORE CONCERNED ABOUT THE ART OF THE FILM THAN THE “NUMBERS”

Remember this bullshit line last week that Bungie made when Fox and Universal pulled out? So here’s my question for the bullshiters: If you’re not concerned about “the numbers” yourself… then why didn’t you agree to Fox’s and Universal’s request to give them a bigger percentage to lessen their financial risk and lower your own percentage? Oh that’s right… BECAUSE YOU’RE CONCERNED ABOUT THE NUMBERS TOO! Hypocrites.

BULLSHIT #2 - THEY BELIEVE IN NEIL BLOMKAMP’S VISION

This is such a joke. What vision? They did the script without Blomkamp’s input. They started pre-production without him. They did the freaking storyboards without him. So if you did the script, structured the story and even began work on the movie all before you even hired the guy… HOW THE HELL IS IT HIS VISION???? Nice attempt at spin.

BULLSHIT #3 - THEY BELIEVE IN THE PROJECT

This is a huge bullshit. If they believed in the project so much… then why don’t they PAY FOR THE DAMN THING THEMSELVES??? Microsoft has more money than Fox and Universal combined. Don’t believe the bullshit, if Microsoft actually believed Halo the movie could be a financial success, they would have put their own damn money up for it and production would already be well underway. But instead they wanted other people to pay for it who wouldn’t care about “the numbers”.

BULLSHIT #4 - “WE ARE ALREADY IN NEGOTIATIONS WITH OTHER STUDIOS”

Remember when they said this just last week to make it sound like other people were just waiting to step up to the plate to replace Fox and Universal? Yeah… well that was all bullshit too. They weren’t in negotiations… they were out BEGGING other studios to pick the project up. And as I predicted just last week, no one was stupid enough to bite.

Look, I love Indiana Jones… but I call bullshit when I see it. And everything we’ve heard from Lucas, Speilberg and Ford has been bullshit. Indiana Jones 4 ain’t ever getting made. I don’t hate Halo at all… as a matter of fact I love all sci-fi… but I call bullshit when I see it, and this whole Halo mess has been bullshit from day 1, and I’ve called it the whole way.

So now ladies and gentlemen, I’m going to take on the character of “arrogant jackass prick” and say something a few commentors have suggested I say since last week. Ready? Ahemmmm…..

I TOLD YOU SO!

Ok, that felt good.

I have no doubt Halo will return at some point. But maybe they’ll get it right and just do it as a full 3D animated kick ass action sci-fi flick. I think that would be better suited, but maybe not. It’s just a sugestion.

I can honestly say that I tend to avoid movies that revolve around the glorification of smoking pot. Generally the type of humour that goes along with it is something I dont find entertaining. I dont recall why or how, but I ended up watching Harold and Kumar go to Whitecastle and I ended up finding it rather funny.

Cinematical says:

John Cho (Harold) and Kal Penn (Kumar) have officially signed on to star in Harold and Kumar 2, with screenwriters Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg (who penned the first flick) set to make their directorial debut on the sequel. Now, before there was word that a sequel would find the boys traveling across Amsterdam, however we’re not certain whether it will take place abroad or here in the States. PR describes the pic as a cross-country adventure that “follows the pot-smoking duo as they try to outrun authorities after being suspected as terrorists when they try to sneak a bong on board a flight to Amsterdam.”

So now it seems that its been long enough that we can make jokes about people being mistaken as terrorists in movies. And though Harold and Kumar may never actually make it to the mythical safehaven of legal marijuana, we are sure to see a lot of hilliarious antics on their way.

I wonder if the cheeta will make a cameo. Or Patrick Harris.

Lots of news has come out as to who was involved in the upcoming Jackie Chan and Jet Li project. It hasnt even got a name yet, but its got a script, director, producer, etc.

Coming Soon.net

Jackie Chan and Jet Li will star together for the first time in a $70 million action-adventure that Relativity Media will finance and Casey Silver produces, reports Variety.

Robert Minkoff (The Lion King, Stuart Little) will direct, while martial arts expert Yuen Woo-Ping (The Master) will create the action sequences. Shooting is set for April.

The trade says that the film is one of two new big-budget projects that Relativity will be offering to buyers at the American Film Market starting Wednesday. The second is Brian De Palma’s $70 million prequel The Untouchables: Capone Rising, which Paramount will distribute domestically.

Chan-Li starrer, known as the untitled J&J project, has been rumored for some time, but Relativity, headed by Ryan Kavanaugh, boarded only recently. The John Fusco (Hidalgo) script is based on the legend of the monkey king and his quest to achieve immortality.

Li is set to play two roles, that of the monkey king and the silent monk. Chan will play the monk T’sa-Ho.

I can hardly wait for this movie. And just imagine, its only costing them $70 million to make? Thats peanuts! You cant even make a movie with Tom Cruise for that kind of money. Oh wait, now you can.

Either way, this looks like it will have some great action, Chan’s personal charm, and a team up that good or bad will be talked about for a long time.

Well, not quite, there have been some rumors about a Se7en prequel, but from what slashfilm.com shows us, there is probably very little truth to it:

According to BD, a treatment titled Virtue is being sent out to potential scribes. The horror website claims that the movie would be released and marketed as “it’s own entity, but when the finale comes to light we are hit with a revelation that we’re watching the next Se7en film.”

This one quote makes me doubt the validity of the scoop. Would a movie studio keep a prequel/sequel a secret even in the marketing phase? I seriously doubt it. And how could any movie studio expect such a secret not to leak out onto the internet and become widely known to the mainstream public before release? But we’ll see.

The original 1995 film follows two detectives (Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman), one new to the district and one about to retire, investigating a series of ritualistic murders inspired by the seven deadly sins. Over the course of the following days the two try to track down the killer through the bleak streets of the rain-soaked city that is the backdrop of the story. The film was written by Andrew Kevin Walker (8MM, Sleepy Hollow) who is currently working on a screenplay for the Universal remake of The Wolf Man.

David Fincher has in the past talked about a sequel: “I read a script two or three years ago that they wanted to make the sequel to Se7en. It didn’t make a lot of sense to me. They wanted Morgan to have become clairvoyant in some way and that was the way he was now solving serial-killer cases! And I was like, ‘Well, that’s handy!’ Its the kind of high concept you worry about. So I don’t know that there is going to be a sequel. I do know that they have to call me if they’re going to do it…”

A 7-part comic book series based on the movie is currently being released.

Yeah, this story smells worse than a wet dog on a hot day. Seems like maybe someone who is hoping to sell their screenplay decided to get some buzz going about it on the net. Too bad they didn’t make it a bit more subtle.

To be honest I just don’t care about Se7en anymore. If they made a prequel to Se7en five years ago I would have been interested but now…I just don’t think so. The movie was good, I liked it, but I don’t own it, I don’t rent it and I don’t think about it.

However that being said I would like to add that if there was a prequel in the works it I think should follow either the killer and how he began, maybe the detectives that never caught him. Or perhaps as suggested in the above the story could follow Morgan Freeman’s character, though medium like abilities are just a tad bit over the top.

In reality the thing I got most excited about was the idea of Se7en comic books. It’s quite possible that I could be punished for sloth while reading those.

I guess you can file this under “Releases we weren’t expecting” or perhaps”Releases I won’t notice.”

To be fair, I might be jumping the gun on that one, but looking at history gone by, this can’t be a good idea. (Although the guy who wrote it, Justin Marks, just finished a “Voltron” script, which I find terribly funky.)

You may remember “Street Fighter” being released 12 years ago - but, let’s be realistic: - No you don’t. Geez, I’ll be honest, I had to look it up. That may work in their favour as the “remake” / “re-attempt” is slated for your eyeballs sometime in 2008 - apparently marking its irrelevant 14th year anniversary.

I may be committing what the filmmakers don’t want - which is a comparison. As the new film has nothing to do with the first one - as far as I’ve read. They’re keeping the plot line [smirk] under wraps because, I’m guessing it’ll just, like, completely blow your mind. Although we do know the film will center around Chun Li, y’know, everyone’s favourite female character in the game - who will also, no doubt, have cleavage that practically covers her face. Lara Croft who?

Source: Variety & Movieweb

L.A. Confidential is one of those movies that really rocked my world, but it’s also one that I feel could handle a sequel, if put in the right hands, like Joe Carnahan’s. The good people over at moviehole.net give us this

:Joe Carnahan, the talented brains behind the acclaimed thriller “Narc” (2004), has signed to direct a sequel to the 90s hit, “L.A Confidential”.“The film I’m doing next is White Jazz, the sequel to LA Confidential,” Carnahan tells CHUD. “My brother and I wrote the adaptation,” he said.

“That script is one of my favorites. It’s heartbreaking. It’s, to me, what that book always was – the point of departure from the Eisenhower 50s to the psychedelic freakshow, Manson 60s. It’s a total combination of the two with a heavy, heavy voice-over narration, this kind of classic noir. I love the script, dude. I’m going to get it out there – once it’s done I’m going to get it on the internet so people can read it.”

White Jazz”, the film, has been in development hell for quite a while. At one stage, Nick Nolte was set to play the films lead character, a corrupt copper named David “Dave” Klein, and John Cusack was attached to play his partner, Junior Stemmons. Just weeks before she was arrested for shoplifting, Winona Ryder was reportedly in talks to play a role.

Film Noir, hippy style. That works, it’s different and interesting. What I really think is great is that Carnahan wants to put up his finished script on the internet, now that’s a writer who loves his work. I don’t think it will actually happen, because if there is a production company involved they may have a little something to say about the ending coming out before the movie is even in production.

One thing is certain though; between Smokin Aces and White Jazz Carnahan’s career is getting hotter by the moment. He’s being smart too, he’s still working on projects that have a least some of the flavor that Narc had. He isn’t trying to direct slap stick comedy, he’s sticking to guns and tension with the occasional smart mouthed line. This movie could possibly make his name very well known if it’s done right and I think he knows it.

If he’s able to get the many factors together to make this movie a success, the script, the location, the costumes, the music, the talent and of course the tone then this movie has the potential to rock even more worlds that it’s predacessor.

Of all the superhero movie news we have been reporting lately, it seems the Green Lantern franchise seems to be the most overlooked iconic character of all. Mostly because news hit last July that Jack Black had been slated to play Hal Jordan. This would be the second time Black played a guy named Hal. But it looks like the Watchers have spoken and Jack Black is losing his Power Ring.

IESB.net Reports:

A dreadful script this site reviewed a few months back totally reinvented the beloved Green Lantern superhero into a bumbling idiot who, with his “Fear Factor-like” tactics, receives the power ring and the battery (lantern) to become the Green Lantern.

I for one am ECSTATIC that they are going in a different direction with this character. Aside from the major trinity of DC Comics (Batman, Superman and WonderWoman) Green Lantern lists among my favourite characters.

But to see Jack Black go all School of Rock with this would just be embarassing. I thought maybe we would see a serious side to Jack Black considering the character, but it was confirmed that they were going for “zany”. I said it in July and I will say it again. Making this movie slapstick and goofy will accomplish one thing. A crappy movie.

It just improved 1000% with this one peice of news.

If you would like to see Jack Black comment on it himself, you can go to this link and click PLAY.

After seeing this video, Id sooner see him play Wonder Woman than Green Lantern.

Now if they want to do PlasticMan and cant afford Jim Carey, call Black.

Intelligent Crime Shows are the popular kids in the cafeteria lately. Your just not cool if you are not into them. So its no wonder that Hollywood wants to put them out on the big screen. This one seems to stand a head above the others and has me really interested.

Cinematical says:

The Cleaner, a thriller scripted by Matthew Aldrich. The Cleaner, Jackson, playing an ataxaphobic neat-freak who cleans up crime scenes for a living, must overcome his compulsive fear of untidiness in order to solve a murder that he helped cover up while doing his job. As he investigates the crime, he eventually uncovers secrets of his past that threaten to change his life forever.

I love these sort of movies. In every crime movie you see the cops struggling to find the killer, catch the badguy and show just how clever and resourceful they are when they figure it all out. Thats all great, but its very cool to see them do something like this where he is not just fighting against odds to catch the badguy, he is fighting against himself.

Indiana Jones had to deal with snakes to get the prize. He faced his fear. But he had a gun and a whip. Jackson is just a highly trained janitor who works for the cast of CSI. Looks like he “cleaned” some evidence and now has to deal with his compulsion to solve the case himself.

Im calling my mom. She said there is no such thing as “too clean”. Im gonna tell her shes wrong!

I have to say I was never quite enticed to watch March of the Penguins. It seemed a little TOO National Geographic to me. I know that was the point, and I know a lot of people liked it. I just couldnt muster the attention span to watch it. But THIS I might watch!

SlashFilm.com reports:

Bob Saget’s spoof of the popular documentary March of the Penguins will now be headed straight to DVD.

Farce of the Penguins was originally scheduled to be rushed into theaters to quickly parody the original March, but the movie fell behind schedule and will now hit store shelves on January 30th 2007.

The film is a very adult-oriented live-action comedy which features shots of penguins overlaid with voiceovers from Jason Alexander, Dane Cook, Christina Applegate, James Belushi, Jason Biggs, Lewis Black, Whoopi Goldberg, Gilbert Gottfried, Alyson Hannigan, Jamie Kennedy, Jon Lovitz, Norm McDonald, John Stamos, and Penn Jillette. Samuel Jackson offers narration, parodying Morgan Freeman’s original track from March.

And for the love of God, its got BOB SAGET as the director!!

We talked about this a while back and I share every bit of enthusiasm now as John did when it was first posted. Bob Saget has a WICKED sense of humour and the cast he has backing him up on this just guarantees some laughs.

The only thing bad about this movie is that we wont be able to get it until January. Would have made a great stocking stuffer for my Grandma. She loves old reruns of America’s Funniest Home Videos.

Smokin Aces just jumped off of my computer screen and slapped me in the face with their new trailer. Directed and written by Joe Carnahan the same guy who did Narc, there is something about this movie that reminds me of Reservoir Dogs, in all the right ways.

The trailer has that same sort of fast paced, smart mouthed feel to it as RD’s had and as an added bonus we have a very hot Alicia Keys looking badass with a gun.

Here’s the plot: When a Las Vegas performer-turned-snitch named Buddy Israel (Piven) decides to turn state’s evidence and testify against the mob, it seems that a whole lot of people would like to make sure he’s no longer breathing. It has a great cast with Andy Garcia, Ray Liotta, Ben Affleck, Jeremy Piven, Jason Bateman and Ryan Reynolds.

Click here to see Smokin Aces.

Will Ferrell must be getting into great shape because the next two movies he is in are sport’s themed flicks. This one is called Semi Pro, and he has another in the works called Blades of Glory. The folks over at monstersandcritics.com give us this:

Will Ferrell is lacing up his high-tops for “Semi-Pro,“ a basketball comedy from New Line Cinema. New Line executive Kent Alterman will be stepping down from company duties to make his directorial debut on the picture, which will co-star Woody Harrelson.

Written by Scot Armstrong, who worked with Ferrell on “Old School,“ the fictional story is set in the last year of the now-defunct world of the American Basketball Assn. and follows Jackie Moon, the owner-coach-player of the fictional Flint Michigan Tropics. Moon must lead his team on a desperate attempt to make it to the big leagues.

I smell something rotten, like a hack premise. So basically the story is about an underdog sports team that must work hard to make it to the big time. Sounds like.. .A league of Their Own, Dodgeball, The Bad News Bears and many more.

Hey, we all know that Will Ferrell is a great comedic actor and I’m dying to see Woody Harrelson in something but this story just leaves me numb inside.

It’s not that Scot Armstrong , hasn’t done good work, he’s written winners like Road Trip, Old School and School for Scoundrels, all very funny movies. However, usually Armstrong writes with his writer/director buddy Todd Phillips. I wonder if it was the premise that kept Phillips away from this one.

I can see the reasoning behind Ken Alterman choosing this movie for his directorial debut. A nice light comedy, a resonably high budget and experienced, reliable actors. I can even see him likeing the story because really when it is a paint by numbers plot the editing room is far less daunting. But it certainly doesn’t float my boat as an audience.

Semi Pro seems to have a lot going for it, a good writer, great cast and a new director with a lot of experience and enthusiasm with films. But I can’t help feeling that this movie is going to flop harder than a chubby man flying face first into a pool.

I loved Superman Returns. It’s not what a lot of people were wanting from a Superman film, but I believe that once you look past what you were “wanting” or “expecting”, then you end up with a great film on it’s own merit. Many people disagree, and that’s fine, but to me Superman Returns was a great flick.

Well, according to the reliable guys over at IESB, all the “t”s have been crossed and the “i”s have been dotted and the next Superman films is greenlit and already scheduled for production starting next fall (possible September filming date”. This time the budget will be slightly smaller (which is SHOULD be) at around $175 million tops, and there will be a significant DC universe villain with a ton more action.

Second, more action, tons more action is expected this time around. The studio was quite happy with the way Supes was reintroduced to the world and next time around expect to see him in full action battle mode. We’ve been told that Superman will have the battle of his life in the sequel and audiences can expect one of the ultimate baddies in the D.C. universe to come to Metropolis to pick a fight with the Man of Steel.

Well… start the speculation on who one of the “ultimate baddies” they’re referring to is. I know I’m in the minority, but I was wanting to see Zod so that we might all kneel before him. But I don’t think he was ever a significant comic presence, so that probably rules him out.

WHo do you think it’s going to be?

The very first Hostel 2 trailer is up and online. Well, it’s a teaser trailer. It’s quite short, doesn’t really show us anything from the movie itself, but they do a pretty good job of setting the tone. And what on earth is more creepy than a narrator talking in German? I submit that there is nothing more creepy.

The best part of the video though it director Eli Roth’s introduction. He’s laying in a bunch of blood and introduces the trailer… then looks away as if they’re getting ready to film… and says “Action…. MORE BLOOD!”. That was pretty funny. Anyway, you can check out the Hostel 2 teaser trailer over here.

I’ve been saying for months that there was just something about Marie Antoinette that didn’t appeal to me. I don’t know if it was because the trailers were horrible or if it was because of Kristen Dunst who I lost almost all interest in after Elizabethtown or if maybe it was something else.

But the fact of the matter is Marie Antoniette has been marketed, its got a big name star and a big name director (Sofia Coppola). So how on earth does this $40 million dollar film only make $9 million after its first 2 weeks of release? The real question here is: “Why is no one going to see Marie Antoinette”???

So, assuming that you didn’t go to see the film (most of you haven’t) tell us why you skipped this one:

The Jesus Camp documentary may have been made to expose some insight into the evengelical church environment, but it looks like it may have spurned more than just an interesting look.

Christian Post reports:

A woman whose summer camp for children near Devil’s Lake, N.D., was featured in a documentary called “Jesus Camp,” says all the attention led to her decision not to continue camps there.

“I have a responsibility to keep the children safe,” the Rev. Becky Fischer said.

Fischer said the camp, which is owned by the Assemblies of God and rents to a number of groups, was vandalized after the release of the movie about her Kids on Fire camp. The Assemblies of God church also was vandalized, she said.

The camp’s windows were broken and it had about $1,500 worth of damage. Police figure the church was vandalized the same night, said the Rev. Winston Titus, the camp administrator.

We talked about the documentary Jesus Camp here on TMB. The documentary depicts a scary extreme “teachings” that is being called brainwashing. I found it a bit disturbing when the boy admits he accepted Christ at the age of 5 because he wanted a “fullness of life”. That doesnt sound like the words of a 5 year old. But that is not the issue here.

This documentary seems to have ruffled more feathers and has actually hurt some of these camps and organizations. Im all for teaching kids to live in a positive lifestyle, be kind to one another and to respect each other. Like John originally posted, these camps for the most part are fun positive events that promote these things. But when it gets to the point that they are being harassed and attacked for running a Bible Camp because of this documentary.

I am not saying Bible Camps are bad. I have attended Camps and Conventions in my time that have been much like you see on this trailer. I have left these events feeling uplifted and positive. I wasnt waging a physical war on anyone. I honestly don’t see this as the bad part of this story. The bad part is that people are taking to acts of vandalism, threats, and harassment to try and prevent this camp from running.

I would have thought this extreme depiction would cause people to be more cautious about where they send their kids for Bible Camp (making sure they are not serving the “special koolade”)

I wonder how many other camps are being affected by the publicity of this documentary.

When Steven Colbert issued a challenge to edit a video based on his Lightsaber skills, there were entries from all over the country.

Watch this video to see who wins. The contestants’ entries were both VERY well done.

The views expressed in this video are those of the individuals involved and do not neccessarily reflect the political opinions of those on this site

The above statement may or may not be entirely accurate

EDIT: The original video link was taken down, but I found a new one

Can’t wait for the next Hellboy Movie? Neither can I. Looks like we might get a fix. An animated fix.

My friend Terry Points out:

Hellboy: Sword of Storms, the first of the animated Hellboy movies, debuts Saturday at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT on Cartoon Network.

In Sword of Storms, “a professor of folklore opens a forbidden scroll and becomes possessed by the ancient Japanese demons of Thunder and Lightning, who seek to return and dominate our world. The Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense sends Hellboy and a team of agents to investigate, but when Hellboy picks up a samurai sword, he literally disappears into a weird wonderland of Japanese legends, ghosts and monsters.”

The movie will be available on DVD beginning Feb. 6.

Terry even found an image from the Hellboy Commercial.

Animated adaptations can be great, or not so great, but we will have to see how this one is. I am hopeful!

As you know, a little while back I reported that MGM was moving ahead with plans for making The Hobbit, which got all of us film fans totally buzzing, and well we should. News is that they’re going to break The Hobbit movie into 2 separate parts, which is also good news (to me anyway). So everything is right in the world… or is it?

Yesterday I was reading a news blurb on the whole thing from the good folks over at Moiveweb… and in the middle of chat about Terminator 4, this little bit appeared:

(MGM chief operating officer Rick Sands) is in discussions with New Line Cinema to get the rights to produce two prequel films to “The Lord of the Rings” series, based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, he said. Other projects he mentioned include a sequel to “The Thomas Crown Affair,” set to star Pierce Brosnan, and a remake of “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels”, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Wait a second. What was that?!?! He’s still “in negotiations”!?!?! The previous releases seemed to suggest this was a done deal. Now it’s “still in negotiations”? Oh good grief, please someone tell me we’re not looking at another Indiana Jones 4 situation here… talk and talk and talk and never get an actuall bloody movie. I have a bad feeling about this.

I’ve mentioned before that I”m a fan of the Shrek films (I’m even one of the few people who actually enjoyed the second one even more… it’s wasn’t quite as GOOD as the first one… but I was a little more entertained by it). From what I know, this is the first official image from Shrek 3 (AKA Shrek The Thrid).

To see an evenlarger and higher quality version, you can just go here.

Smoking is officially uncool, even if cool actors are smoking because now there will be a declaimer before movies telling us that the hip folks in our movies will actually become addicted and die from smoking. Bit of a downer, but then again so is cancer. Yahoonews.com gives us this:

BOSTON (Reuters) - Film industry veterans Bob and Harvey Weinstein will put anti-smoking video messages on DVDs of movies in which people smoke — a move sought by U.S. states to combat teen smoking.

“These messages will fight false film images of healthy and hip smokers with the real hard truth of addiction and disease,” Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said in a statement on Tuesday. The attorneys general of 32 states a year ago asked Hollywood’s major movie studios to place an anti-smoking message on DVDs, videos and other home entertainment products. The Weinstein brothers, founders of moviemaker Miramax Films, were the first to respond, Blumenthal said.

Beginning with December’s release of “Clerks II” by director Kevin Smith, Weinstein’s DVDs will include an anti-smoking ad aimed at discouraging kids from lighting up. “As a former smoker, I feel like it’s my responsibility to do everything I can to educate young people about the dangers of smoking,” Harvey Weinstein said in a statement.Anti-smoking groups have intensified pressure on Hollywood this year, calling in July for the Motion Picture Association of America to require an “R” rating for movies with a non-historical depiction of smoking
.

Well this won’t ruin the movie for most, nor will it do anything to stop smoking in my opinion. To me government implemented anti smoking stuff is one big conflict of interest and a waste of money. They want to appear to care while they cash in with taxes on the tobacco, it’s all about appearances here.

I’m sure that Harvey Weinstein is trying to do the right thing, he’s a former smoker after all and he doesn’t really have a choice if the government is pressuring him but there are other ways of inspiring people to not light up. Making movies like Thank You For Smoking or just not putting the element of smoking into movies in the first place is a better solution.

And the anti smoking groups have a point with the R rating for movies with smoking, it is a bit extreme but I bet of that if law was passed smoking would become out of fashion very quickly in Hollywood.

The best way to get kids to not pick up a pack, is to make it obsolete. Like an old PC, no kid wants last years model.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show is a classic, an amazing feat of music and creativity and it would be a shame to tarnish it with a bad remake/update, but if they are going to do it then I can think of no one more suited to play in it than Marilyn Manson. The people over at bloodydisgusting.com give us this:

although this next one I cannot confirm until I hear of some other people who happened to catch it on TV. B-D reader ‘Time Warper’ writes in to B-D, “In a recent interview with E!, shock-rocker Marilyn Manson revealed that 20th Century Fox has approached him to star as the sweet transvestite, Dr. Frank-N-Furter, in an update of the cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show, tentatively titled Rocky Horror.” Rumors about a remake have been floating around for months… and who better than Manson to join the horror? We’ll keep you posted and confirm as soon as we know, until then keep this under rumor.

Here’s the synopsis: A newly engaged couple have a breakdown in an isolated area and must pay a call to the bizarre residence of Dr. Frank-N-Furter.

Sounds exactly like the original. I guess they will have to update it with cellphones and breast implants, not story lines. This is one movie that I wouldn’t mind having a sequel of. It would be fun to see the continuing saga of sex, song and rock and role in the land of naughty transvestites. But it’s an updated remake and that has it’s appeal. There are a few things going for it and a few thing going against it.

What may go wrong: Manson’s acting, the guy likes to appear cool, too cool sometimes and for a role like this you have to be able to make an absolute jackass out of yourself. The envelope could be pushed too far and it may end up being gratuitously shocking in all the bad ways, also the music could be terrible, if is all new songs the chances go way up for badness. Finally people may riot in the streets at the mention of someone trying to outdo the original.

What I’m hoping for in this movie: cool new takes on the original music by Marilyn Manson, even sexier outfits with quality gender bending that pushes but doesn’t rip the envelope, seeing if Manson can act and, of course, dancing the Time Warp again.

My gut feeling says that it will be good, but not as good as the original.

Parodies come and go, some are funny some are not, this one sounds like it’s going to be funny, damned funny. monstersandcritics.com give us this

: HOLLYWOOD, CA, United States (UPI) — VH1 Films and Paramount Home Entertainment are planning to release ‘Totally Awesome,’ their parody of 1980s movies, in U.S. theatres. The release date is Nov. 4. Directed by ‘Chappelle`s Show’ co-creator Neal Brennan, ‘Totally Awesome’ will also be released in early November as an unrated DVD. VH1 said Monday the film lampoons a bevy of 1980s movies through a plot involving lovelorn high school students and plenty of dancing.

The cast includes Chris Kattan and Tracy Morgan of ‘Saturday Night Live’ as well as Ben Stein and Nicki Clyne.

A lost movie about lovelorn dance students? The eighties revisited? Ben Stein!? This sounds…wicked, gnarly and, like, totally awesome!

Eric Bana was great in Munich and I was beginning to wonder if he’d fallen into a well or something there has been so little news on him. Apparently he’s fine and is preparing for his new role in Factor X. The good folks over at comingsoon.net give us this:

Eric Bana and Terrence Howard are attached to star in Factor X, a thriller being written by Gregory Allen Howard for New Line Cinema telling the true tale of how the BTK killer was captured, says The Hollywood Reporter. Ridley Scott and Scott Free Productions president Michael Costigan will produce the project, which could become a directing vehicle for Scott.

The serial killer known as BTK murdered people in and around Wichita, Kan., from 1974-91 and was finally caught in 2005, turning out to be a mild-mannered leader at a local church. The acronym described his modus operandi, which was to bind, torture and kill.

Factor X, which takes its name from what the killer described in taunting letters to the police as his motive for murder, tells how a young, black counterterrorism expert from Washington teamed up with a Wichita police detective, who spent his career trying to chase down the killer.

Bana will play the detective and Terrence Howard would be the counterterrorism expert.

This sounds like a good movie, my kind of flick actually. There is something about serial killers that I find endlessly fascinating, their intelligence mixed with lack of conscience is baffling but so compelling to watch when it is done well. And the BTK killer is my favorite, a church leader who loves to bind torture and kill, that’s so……Godly. Wait! No, no it’s not at all, it’s actually very very wrong.

That’s what makes the story so interesting, a church man with a violently sadistic mind that kills for 17 years and then suddenly stopped murdering for no apparent reason. Then there are the detectives that never gave up on the case, following him for so many years must have taken a large toll.

It would be cool to see Ridley Scott direct this, he already directed a serial killer movie (Hannibal) and his style would be an asset should he decide to do Factor X. But with or without Scott this movie should be a success, the BTK killer is one of those stories that continues to shock plus it’s fresh from the news, the killer was only caught last year.

Add to the talented Eric Bana and Terrence Howard who no one has seen enough of yet and you can expect a great movie. I only wish that Bana was playing the killer.

Finally… I always suspected it, but now hard solid proof has emerged that once and for all shows that J.K. Rowling (aka the great plagarist) stole her entire concept for Harry Potter from George Lucas’ “Star Wars”. For shame lady… for shame. The following document was taken from Rowlings purse at a London airport.

Many Bothans died to bring us this information. See for yourself

I guess Tom Cruise’s name is still popular in some film industry circles, because the guy has options, three to be exact. The folks over at cinemablend.com give us this on Criuse:

Variety says the now freelance actor is eyeballing three new projects: Two at Warner Brothers and Fox, and one indie.

The indie is supposed to be the one he’s most likely to sign up for. It’s a political drama called Lions for Lambs, about a platoon of soldiers in that other place we all forget about, Afghanistan. The really interesting thing about this one is that Robert Redford may direct and star in it. Cruise would play a congressman if he joins, and Meryl Streep is already involved to play a journalist.

The other two films are also interesting. One is another war movie called Ha-Ha. Cruise would play a Gulf War vet gone mute and charged with taking care of a 9-year-old boy. The third movie is a Spike Lee joint about a man who sells back chunks of time from his life in trade for a chance to relive the worst day in it.

Well those seem like rather decent options for any actor, let alone the publicity nightmare that is Cruise. So what gives? Why does the Scientology guy get all the action? Well to be fair nine times out of ten our Tom does make a lot of dough at the box office and he is a giving actor, he know how to share the screen quite well (Rain man, Interview with a Vampire, Magnolia, Jerry Maguire).

Tom Cruise is still a name, slightly tarnished but not even close to being ruined for good. Sure he is a loon, he’s a Kate controlling anti metal health meds nut but….he gets people into theaters, he’s professional on set and promotes the hell out of the films he’s in. If he chooses the right role (and all threeof these look promising) and does it well then he could be back on top in no time.

Let’s just hope it’s not the top of Oprah’s couch again.

From the say that he was cast, I’ve said that I like the decision to give the role of James Bond to Daniel Craig… and all the images and footage I’ve seen of Casino Royale only confirm I was right in being a fan of the casting. But that’s not to say that no one else could have made a good Bond instead.

Word is now coming out that the first choice for the new James Bond was Obi-Wan Ken…. umm… I mean Ewan McGregor. The good folks over at The Force.Net give us this:

Martin Campbell, the director of new 007 movie Casino Royale, is quoted in the Daily Mirror as saying: “I think he got another job or decided he didn’t want it.”

Other sources are saying McGregor didn’t want to get attached to another long running franchise that he would have to be committed to like he did with Star Wars.

Personally, even though I think McGregor would have done a fine job as Bond, I’m glad he didn’t take it. Whenever I would have looked at Bond… I think I would have just been seeing McGregor. Not to mention, I don’t think he was quite the right look for this new Bond. I really like the grittier and tougher Bond that Craig brings to the table. Still, it would have been interesting to see for sure. What do you think?

Sarah Michelle Gellar’s career and popularity will never be as big as it was back in her Buffy The Vampire Slayer days. The projects she’s appeared in so far have pretty much made me lose any faith in her acting ability or interest in her films in general.

So it really comes as no surprise to me at all that her new supernatural thriller movie “The Return” just got pushed back into the graveyard of movie release dates… January. The good folks over at JoBlo give us this:

(The Return) has been bumped back from its original November 10th release date. Instead, the film gets to open up the dreaded month of January of next year. January 19th, to be exact. As most film fanatics know, the early months of the year as usually reserved for studios dumping projects that they really don’t have much faith in

Gellar has 4 or 5 other projects in the works… but none of them really get my attention. I was quite curious to see how she would fair in her post-Buffy era… but I haven’t liked her at all since. Who knows… mabye “The Air I Breathe” will change my mind… but I doubt it.

One of the films I’m really looking forward to is the new Mel Gibson flick “Apocalypto“. I think it looks incredible from what I’ve seen so far. Apparently the film has cost Gibson about $30 million to produce. But one of the huge challenges for the film is not making it good… but rather how on earth to market it.

There are a couple of big challenges for the marketing of Apocalypto:

1) It’s subtitled

2) Unlike “Passion of the Christ” there isn’t really a built in audience. Not a lot of public interest in ancient Mayan culture

3) The recent Mel Gibson drama (which, as predicted, seems to be going away)

Here’s an odd move that’s so crazy it just might work… Disney is going to market the film as “Mel Gibson’s Apocalypto.” Conventional wisdom might have suggested the marketing try to ignore Gibson’s involvement because of the controversy surrounding him… but they’re doing the opposite and going right at it. I like the move.

The other thing they’re going to try to do is market directly at the Latino audience. The folks over at Yahoo give us this:

Rice said Disney had plans to market the film to Hispanic audiences already familiar with the fall of the Mayan empire. “We think this movie plays to a wide audience and that there’s going to be a tremendous amount of interest generated from the Latino community, especially the Mexican community, because this is a story about their ancestors,” Rice said.

Latino moviegoers represent a growing portion of the moviegoing public and are more apt to attend movies on opening weekend, Newman-Carrasco said. They also see more movies per capita than other U.S. ethnic groups, she said.

This film will make a lot of money when all is said and done. I’m predicting $200 million world wide by the end of the day. We’ll have to just wait and see… but I’ll certainly be in line to watch this thing when it comes out.

It looks like someone finally turned on the light. After years of trying to chase down people with pirated content, charging music downloaders, and making public service announcements that equate downloading a movie to stealing a car. I dont disagree with any of that, but its not solving anything.

Cinema Blend

They report that nearly 40 percent of the world’s pirated movies are recorded in New York theaters, and Mayor Bloomberg has had enough. The city will start using public nuisance laws to prosecute the owners of buildings where movie pirates organize and sell their counterfeits. The idea seems to be to take way the places where pirates hide, and in doing so make them easier to catch.

That’s not all though. Bloomberg plans to push the New York state legislature to enact stiffer penalties against scumbags who sneak cameras into theaters. He wants it made a felony for repeat offenders.

So they are going to the source. Cut off the head and the body will die!

Teaching these values in schools and through groups like boyscouts might illustrate the difference between right and wrong, but it doesnt stop them from doing it. They told me about birth control in highschool and I still ended up with two kids.

Mandatory Vasectomies at age 14! This will solve the teen pregnancy problem!!!

Ok, so not every solution can apply to every problem. But its a good start in the right direction.

Here is some other movie stuff around the web today that you might find interesting:

- Naming sequels perform better than just calling them “part 2″
Maybe, but “Die Hard: Live Free or Die Hard” is still the most bloody ridiculous title I’ve ever heard

- Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3
The subtitle should be “The hunt for people who actually care”

- The HD Format wars

- The Documentary Blog Wants Your Input
Just go over and tell Jay to try to be more like John. :P

- Jigsaw’s Assistant Talks Saw III

- Snipes to continue filming in Namibia
Yeah… we’re never going to see him in North America again

- Online magazine: Clooney No. 1 man’s man

- First ‘Halloween’ to return to theaters
That’s cool!

It was announced that the Spiderman 3 trailer will be released in all its glory before the new James Bond movie Casino Royale. Last time I went to a movie because of the Trailer, I had to endure Wing Commander to see the Star Wars trailer! Never again shall I be lured, but Casino Royale looks good anyways.

FilmRot pointed out these links to some ad sheets for some of the Spidey3 collectables.

Click here to see the ad sheet for the Statues
Click here to see the ad sheet for the MiniBusts
Click here to see the ad sheet for the Busts

When I read that Val Kilmer was “going west” I got excited to see him in another western! His portrayal of Doc Holliday in Tombstone was so entertaining. But sadly that is not the case, in fact, its not even the part of the article that I liked.

MovieWeb reports:

Val Kilmer has joined the cast of ’60s indie drama A West Texas Children’s Story, which Polly Platt, Ryan Howe and Thom Mount are executive producing, according to Variety.

Written and helmed by Brad Isaacs in his directorial debut, the movie stars Matthew Modine, Lara Flynn Boyle, AnnaSophia Robb and Cayden Boyd. The film is shooting in Albuquerque, N.M.

The story revolves around two precocious youngsters who embark on a cross-country trip in search of adventure and a better life.

At first thought after reading this article I thought “If this movie is about two kids, why are so many adults attached??” I love these impacting dramas like Stand By Me. This generation needs more stories like this. But one thing that made Stand By Me so consuming was how it dealt with the interaction of the kids with very few adults. Hopefully we will see some of that here.

But as for the kids, I had to look up the names and I was pleasantly surprised to see who they were. Cayden Boyd was last seen in an emotional scene in XMen 3:The Last Stand, as the young Angel trying desperately to grind off his offending wing sprouts. Previous to that Boyd was “Max” the boy who dreams up the world Lava Girl and Shark Boy came from (super dumb movie). AnnaSophia Robb was the prissy competitive Violet Beauregarde in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, as well as staring along side our very own John Campea in next year’s “Jumper” (ok, John is just an Extra!)

Both of these actors show a lot of potential even in their youth. Hopefully the choice to move these two youngsters into a leading role in a dramatic film will only back up their skills. Someone clearly believes in these short people, and hopefully we will get a wonderful film about it.

Craig’s Movie Blog posted up a few choice quotes from The Departed (my movie of the year so far). This movie is gold… and so are these quotes.

Mark Wahlberg’s character (Dignam):

“I’m the guy doing my job. You must be the other guy.”

“Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe fuck yourself.”

“You may play a tough guy for your gangster friends, but you don’t get nothing past me, you lace-curtain Irish fucking pussy!”

“No, you don’t know. Because if someone like you knew what we did, that would make us cunts. Are you calling us cunts?”

Alec Baldwin’s character (Ellerby):

“I’m gonna go have a smoke right now. You want a smoke? You don’t smoke, do ya, right? What are ya, one of those fitness freaks, huh? Go fuck yourself.”

“Yes, those. I don’t know what they are. You don’t know what they are. Who gives a fuck?”

“Marriage is an important part of getting ahead. It lets people know you’re not a homo. A married guy seems more stable. People see the ring, they think ‘at least somebody can stand the son of a bitch.’ Ladies see the ring, they know immediately that you must have some cash, and your cock must work.”

Together:

“Go fuck yourself.”
“I’m tired from fucking your wife.”
“How is your mother?”
“Good. She’s tired from fucking my father.”

Rodney showed me this this morning… not really movie related… but hilarious. It’s like the “Hello, I’m a Mac, and I’m a PC” commercials. I suddenly want to get a Wii.

Sal sent me this this morning. The first 4 minutes of Borat. I like. Is Nice.