Movieline received many varied submissions in our John Cusack -themed 10-word review contest , inspired by films from Say Anything… to Grosse Pointe Blank to Bullets Over Broadway and beyond. “Alas!” quoth the raven. “There can only be one winner!” (That’s how the old Edgar Allan Poe saying goes, right?) Hit the jump to read the winning submission and congratulate the lucky Movieliner that gets to attend the L.A. premiere of Cusack’s The Raven next week. Hearty kudos go to Movieline reader Jen Austin, whose 10-word review of 1997’s action opus Con Air was truly inspired: “After Cameron Crowe, before Poe, Cusack brilliantly rescued Cameron Poe.” Slow clap, Jen. Enjoy the Raven premiere and after party, and receive extra bonus high fives if you find Cusack and recite your poetic entry to him!
Conrad Murray asks judge for a court-appointed attorney to appeal his involuntary manslaughter conviction. By Gil Kaufman Dr. Conrad Murray Photo: Frederick M. Brown/ Getty Images Just weeks after being sent to jail for four years following a conviction on a felony involuntary manslaughter charge in the death of Michael Jackson , cardiologist Conrad Murray is throwing himself on the mercy of the court. The doctor had been slated to earn up to $150,000 a month to act as Jackson’s personal physician before the pop icon’s death in June 2009 from an overdose of the Murray-administered surgical anesthetic propofol. But on Tuesday E! News reported that Murray filed a notice of appeal in Los Angeles Superior Court in which he claimed that he is “indigent and respectfully requests the appointment of counsel on appeal.” Murray, 58, is planning to appeal both his conviction and his sentence, but has not year filed papers with the California Appeals Court. He had hired two lawyers to handle his manslaughter case, but is now seeking attorneys with appeal experience. One of those former lawyers, J. Michael Flanagan, told E! that he was shocked at how his client is being treated in jail. “It is crazy and unbelievable how [the sheriffs] are treating” Murray in jail, said Flanagan, who claimed he waited over an hour to see Murray, who was brought out in handcuffs and leg chains. Flanagan was further shocked to see Murray handcuffed to the table for their meeting, something the lawyer said he’d never seen before in the case of a low-level, non-violent offender. Charles Peckham, who is handling civil cases against Murray, told the Associated Press that his client is under tight security and isolation that is more intense than other inmates at the Los Angeles Men’s Central Jail. “Treating him like Hannibal Lecter is offensive,” said Peckham. Sheriff’s officials defended the tight security, saying it was for Murray’s safety. “This man who saved lives made a mistake, and they’re going to him pay like a mass-murderer.” Related Photos Michael Jackson: A Life In Photos Related Artists Michael Jackson
At press day for ‘The Adventures of Tintin,’ director tells MTV News, ‘The only movie I’m interested in post-converting is the first ‘Jurassic.’ ‘ By Kara Warner, with reporting by Josh Horowitz Steven Spielberg Photo: MTV News With so many filmmakers and studios embracing the box-office potential of post-conversion 3-D these days, it seems there are no limits to the conversion and remastering possibilities for older releases. After all, Disney just had great success with its release of “The Lion King” in 3-D , George Lucas is hard at work on the 3-D conversion of his “Star Wars” franchise , and James Cameron is set to release “Titanic 3D” next year. When MTV News caught up with Hollywood icon and Oscar-winner Steven Spielberg recently during the press day for “The Adventures of Tintin,” which was shot in 3-D, we asked whether he’s considered applying post-conversion 3-D technology to any of his classics. “I’ve always said ‘Jurassic Park,’ the first one, would be really good post-converted in 3-D,” he said of his 1993 blockbuster. “I think James Cameron has done the greatest 3-D in history with ‘Avatar’: I don’t think anything has surpassed James Cameron’s ‘Avatar’ in terms of the 3-D experience, beyond the fact I love the movie so much, and so I figure that James is going to teach all of us a lesson how to post-convert. If we follow his precepts, more films will be post-converted, but the only movie I’m interested in post-converting is the first ‘Jurassic.’ ” After Cameron’s “Titanic 3D” arrives in theaters in April 2012, perhaps Spielberg will be more set on whether “Jurassic Park 3D” will follow. The director made it clear he doesn’t make those decisions lightly, however, speaking about whether he and George Lucas will make a rumored fifth “Indiana Jones” film . “I would not make a fifth movie to try to prove any point,” he said. “If we get a good story, I’ll make it. If George [Lucas] doesn’t think we should make any more, I’ll listen to him.” Check out everything we’ve got on “The Adventures Of Tintin.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com . Related Videos MTV Rough Cut: ‘The Adventures Of Tintin’
