The bleary-eyed minions at Movieline’s Institute for the Advanced Study of Kudos Forensics have shoved off for the long holiday weekend, leaving it to me to sort out the hectic awards scramble as we head into the third month of this year’s Oscar Index. And by “hectic,” I do mean hectic , with a lead change at the top of two categories, a neck-and-neck tie atop another and plenty of feverish competition foreseen in another. Read on for a closer look.
Once again, it’s that time of year to overeat, yell at family members and give thanks. For you though, dear Movieline family, I will cut back on the profanities and gorging and instead share the five movie-related things that I am most grateful for this year.
Edgar Rice Burroughs’ John Carter of Mars sci-fi series may have first appeared 100 years ago — and director Andrew Stanton’s Disney adaptation John Carter may be taking forever to come out — but EW ‘s new photo from the movie is fresh as ever: Friday Night Lights vet Taylor Kitsch yanks on a chain while a gigantic, extraordinary white ape bellows behind him. Shall we caption this big-budget brawn?
A Very Movieline Thanksgiving continues! Like Louis Virtel and Julie Miller , I’m quite grateful for the cinematic discoveries that came my way in 2011. Raise your glass along with me as I give thanks to five of the movie-related things that kept me going this year, including the sweet sounds of the Baby Goose, the best film fest-karaoke super fun time of the year, and — yes — Tyler Perry.
That poor Red Dawn remake just has not been able to catch a break, what with the MGM bankruptcy that stalled its initial release, the hubbub over digitally changing its baddies from Chinese to North Koreans, and the uncertainty in the air as it sat, waiting, for a new slot on the release calendar. But! It’s finally set to see the light of day November 2, 2012 — nearly three years after it was filmed — giving stars Josh Hutcherson , Chris Hemsworth , Isabel Lucas , and Adrienne Palicki more time to get even famous-er. [ Coming Soon ]
We rarely think of as great movies as breezy ones: Breeziness is supposedly only for disposable entertainment, though achieving filmmaking greatness in the way we normally think of it — with impressive sets, heavy-duty acting and ultra-polished cinematography — is probably easier than brushing a movie with just the right amount of gold dust. Michel Hazanavicius’s The Artist is a gold dust movie, a picture whose very boldness lies in its perceived lightness. This is a silent movie in black-and-white, and if it were only that, it would be a pleasant novelty. But The Artist isn’t a nostalgia trip, nor is it a scolding admonishment to honor the past. Instead, it’s a picture that romances its audience into watching in a new way — by, paradoxically, asking us to watch in an old way. The Artist is perhaps the most modern movie imaginable right now.
With J.J. Abrams finally all-the-way onboard for sure, the Star Trek sequel is moving firmly ahead, settling into a May 17, 2013 release slot. What’s more? Abrams and LOST veteran Damon Lindelof are co-scripting with Trek writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman. What’s even more-more? Star Trek 2 will reportedly be filmed in 3-D. Get ready for lens flares in yo’ face! Beam me up, Scotty — right into the freaking screen ! Bring your own vintage, pre-annihilation Romulan ale and Federation perfume come May 2013 and make it a 5-D experience. Now that’d be going boldly where no filmmaker has gone before. [ Deadline ]
Thank God it’s Wednesday. Also in today’s edition of The Broadsheet: Aaron Sorkin inches closer to Steve Jobs… Jeremy Renner shares his Bourne name… David Fincher doesn’t want to do The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest (for now)… Jimmy Fallon apologizes to Michelle Bachmann… and more.
God help filmmakers who become legendary: Even if they manage to avoid becoming prisoners of their own high standards, there’s no escaping those of their audience. And so Martin Scorsese has taken perhaps one of the biggest risks of his career — bigger, even, than making a radiant, low-key movie about the origins of the Dalai Lama — in adapting Brian Selznick’s subtle and wondrous children’s novel The Invention of Hugo Cabret . You just know there’s going to be some asshole at the dinner party asking, “Yes, but how does it compare with Taxi Driver ?”
“Starting today, the company will offer the features as part of its iPad application, letting users browse merchandise from shows and movies. [… Steve] Yankovich, 50, was inspired to develop the technology while watching the movie Something’s Gotta Give , which featured a toaster he wanted. ‘You’ll be able to buy exactly what’s there,’ said Yankovich, who runs mobile services at the San Jose, California-based company.” [ Bloomberg ]
