It’s Thursday and Oz The Great and Powerful has topped $300 million worldwide at box office, according to Deadline . So, the Franco File is going to celebrate with a clip of what is arguably the best part of the movie: the black-and-white pre-CGI opening credits sequence. Alas, there’s no footage of our hero, the artist James Franco half-assing it through the Emerald City, as David Edelstein might put it , or yelling “Look at this shit!” over and over at the Alamo Drafthouse. But his name is prominently displayed in old-school fashion right at the beginning of this thing, with lots of hypno-wheels spinning in the background — which is exactly how we think of James. Enjoy. Previously, on The Franco File: WATCH: Look At This S#&t! James Franco Inspires ‘Oz’-‘Spring Breakers’ Mash-Up James Franco Has A Great And Powerful Smile [ Deadline ] Follow Frank DiGiacomo on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
Whether Benedict Cumberbatch is Robert April, Khan or some other canon character entirely, he’s going to be awesomely evil judging from this new international Star Trek Into Darkness trailer. He’s also going to speak in a measured and lordly British accent that will surely have him competing with Ben Kingsley’s the Mandarin for Affected Villain Voice of 2013. That said, he does get some good lines in this clip. My favorite: “I will walk over your cold corpses,” although the “I am better” exchange with Kirk is pretty effective, too. There’s plenty to look at in this trailer, including glimpses of Peter Weller in an alarming hairstyle, Alice Eve in black lingerie and some white-knuckle space-travel scenes: Kirk and crew thread the needle in a shuttle and the video climaxes with some new shots of that starship — hard to tell if it’s the Enterprise — making an unplanned water landing on Earth. More on Star Trek Into Darkness : New ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ Photos: To Boldly Go Where Every Man Has A Thousand-Yard Stare ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’: Benedict Cumberbatch’s Identity Revealed? WATCH: Spock And Uhura Steal A Kiss In Action-Packed ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ Video Follow Frank DiGiacomo on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.
It’s the first day of spring and a perfect time to celebrate young love of the parasitic alien variety. And how do we do that? By giving away a prize pack for Open Road’s adaptation of Twilight creator Stephenie Meyer’s novel, The Host , to one budding poet out there who can capture the spirit of the movie in an original haiku. First, some inspiration: one winner will receive the following bag o’ swag: 1. The Host T-Shirt 2. The Host Buttons 3. Signed Poster 4. A copy of Meyer’s novel 5. Movie Companion with Behind-The-Scene Photos If that’s enough to turn your brown eyes an eerie shade of blue, all you need to do is reside in the United States and submit an original haiku ( using the 5-7-5 format ) inspired by the plot of The Host or an actual parasite. I’m crossing my fingers that we get at least one entry involving bedbugs. Deadline is 6 p.m. Pacific Time on March 28 . A winner will be chosen on March 29, when The Hos t opens in theaters. In the event that you’re going to completely wing it for this contest, some background follows. Good luck. The official synopsis: What if everything you love was taken from you in the blink of an eye? “The Host” is the next epic love story from the creator of the “Twilight Saga,” worldwide bestselling author, Stephenie Meyer. When an unseen enemy threatens mankind by taking over their bodies and erasing their memories, Melanie Stryder ( Saoirse Ronan ) will risk everything to protect the people she cares most about — Jared ( Max Irons ), Ian ( Jake Abel ), her brother Jamie (Chandler Canterbury) and her Uncle Jeb ( William Hurt) , proving that love can conquer all in a dangerous new world. The trailer: Follow Frank DiGiacomo on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.
Those who remain convinced that The Onion ‘s controversial Oscar-night tweet about Quvenzhané Wallis was really about the Beasts of the Southern Wild star and not about Hollywood hypocrisy should check out the below tweet from comedian and filmmaker Paul Provenza . Last week, I posted The Aristocrats director’s thoughtful deconstruction of The Onion’s joke, why it wasn’t about Wallis and why the fake news organization’s subsequent apology was problematic. The story got a lot of reaction and, in the wake of yesterday’s announcement that Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio had been elected the new leader of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis I , Provenza took the opportunity to riff on The Onion brouhaha, and to drive home the point that the joke is not about whoever is named being a cunt. Everyone else seems afraid to say it, but that new pope is kind of a cunt, right? @ TheOnion — Paul Provenza (@PaulProvenza) March 13, 2013 If you disagree and your ears are smoking like the Sistine Chapel’s chimney, sound off in the comments section below. More on The Onion controversy: ‘The Aristocrats’ Director Paul Provenza: The Onion’s Apology To Quvenzhané Wallis Was ‘Problematic’ Follow Frank DiGiacomo on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
Like the drip, drip, drip of blood from a freshly mutilated corpse, the producers of Evil Dead have released two new video clips that reveal a little bit more of Uruguayan filmmaker Fede Alvarez’s super-gory remake of Sam Raimi’s horror classic. And, despite some disappointed critics, the movie is looking increasingly review-proof. What The Critics Are Saying About Evil Dead Alvarez’s blood-soaked Version 2.0 has generated a lot of buzz since its SXSW premiere, even if it didn’t universally wow the critics who’ve written about it. The headline of Chris Tilly’s IGN review called Evil Dead “A Brilliant New Take On A Horror Classic,” and Variety’s Joe Leydon wrote that “The rare remake that likely will be enjoyed most by diehard fans of its predecessor.” But other reviewers weren’t so generous. SlashFilm’s Russ Fischer groused, “look away from the gore and you’ll see a confused movie that lurches in different directions from one step to the next.” And Indiewire’s Eric Kohn wrote: “With simpler aims and oodles of blood, the new movie is a watered down scare-fest that works in spite of its formula by constantly frightening audiences into submission.” And yet, with the exception of Fischer, the aforementioned critics seem to agree that, whether or not Evil Dead holds up under their critical scrutiny, it is going to put asses in seats. As Kohn wrote: “The enthusiasm from SXSW may help kick off solid word of mouth, but this movie more or less sells itself with the trailer. ” The big question, as Leydon pointed out, is whether the gore factor “could literally scare off [audiences] accustomed to less explicit, PG-13 fare.” That could mean the difference between a great box-office take and merely a good one. New Videos Generating More Buzz As for the clips, the first is a relatively tame TV spot that’s more about ratcheting up tension than chainsawing off limbs. The second is a teaser for Wondercon, (where the film will be screened next) that features an intro by Alvarez and producers Bruce Campbell and Rob Tapert. [ Variety , IGN , SlashFilm , Indiewire ] Follow Frank DiGiacomo on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.
I’d love to see a graphic representation of the intersection of two subsets: moviegoers who saw The Avengers , directed by Joss Whedon , and those who plan to see his interpretation of William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing . I wouldn’t be surprised if there was no intersection at all, just one big circle ( The Avengers ) and one little circle ( Much Ado ) sitting next to each other, but I give Whedon credit for taking time out of his blockbuster career — 12 days, to be exact — to make this labor of love and present the Bard in a contemporary setting. And yet, based on a handful of viewings of this trailer, Much Ado looks self-conscious and pretentious. Shot in black-and-white and — at least on this trailer — adorned with a jazzy soundtrack, the movie looks like Whedon’s interpretation of a Woody Allen film, and a lot of the actors do their scenes with a look in their eyes that says, I’m doin’ Shakespeare, bitches! The cast includes The Cabin In The Woods star Amy Acker as Beatrice, Alexis Denisof as Benedick, late S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Phil Coulson, Clark Gregg , playing Leonato, Nathan Fillion , of Serenity , in the role of Dogberry, and Sean Maher as Don John. Follow Frank DiGiacomo on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
Long before Pope Benedict XVI stepped down as the head of the sexual scandal-scarred Catholic Church, the 18th-Century novelist and dramatist Matthew G. Lewis’ was inspired to write The Monk , a gothic supernatural novel about a man of the cloth who is tempted and corrupted by (cue ominous music)…Satan! More than two centuries later, filmmaker Dominik Moll ( Lemming , With A Friend Like Harry ) has brought the cult classic to the screen starring Vincent Cassel as Brother Ambrosio, the titular Capuchin monk who is led way astray. Here’s the synopsis: Abandoned at birth at the gates of a Capuchin monastery in Madrid, Brother Ambrosio (Vincent Cassel), raised by the friars, grows up into a preacher admired far and wide for his fervor. Ambrosio is feared for his righteousness and believes he is immune from temptation – until the arrival of a mysterious apprentice undermines his convictions and leads him down a dangerous path of sin, corruption and murder. First up, is the film’s Red Band trailer which has a bit of a vampire vibe initially — the actress is Deborah Francois — and then gets all sexy and stuff. One corrupted, Ambrosio sets his wolfish eyes on the virtuous Antonia (Joséphine Japy), who, in this clip, does not seem to be interested in finding out what’s beneath the monk’s itchy cassock. Click here to view the embedded video. Why do I think this ends badly for Antonia? The Monk opens Friday, March 8 in select theaters and on VOD. Follow Frank DiGiacomo on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
Disconnect , which is the latest effort from Murderball director Henry Alex Rubin, looks like it could be the Babel of the wired world based on this trailer. The synopsis also indicates that we’ll be getting a series of intertwining stories with one thing in common: the perils of our digital society. The cast includes Jason Bateman , Hope Davis, Frank Grillo , Michael Nyqvist, Paula Patton, Andrea Riseborough , Max Thieriot and Alexander Skarsgard . The synopsis: A hard-working lawyer, attached to his cell phone, can’t find the time to communicate with his family. A couple is drawn into a dangerous situation when their secrets are exposed online. A widowed ex-cop struggles to raise a mischievous son who cyber-bullies a classmate. An ambitious journalist sees a career-making story in a teen that performs on an adult-only site. They are strangers, neighbors and colleagues and their stories collide in this riveting dramatic thriller about ordinary people struggling to connect in today’s wired world. Intriguing. The poster is cool, too. Follow Frank DiGiacomo on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
Where was Jimmy Kimmel before the Oscars? Kathryn Bigelow could have used him. On Wednesday night, the late-night talk-show host gave a comic lesson in marketing when he showed this trailer for the DVD release of Zero Dark Thirty that re-positions the movie as a romantic comedy instead of a pro-torture CIA procedural. All it takes is a little voiceover magic and some creative editing to depict Jessica Chastain as a workaholic in search of “the man of her dreams.” Pretty, pretty funny, as is the movie’s new title, Zero Dark Flirty , and tagline: “Sometimes it’s good to be a little bit Abbottabad.” For those who limited their consumption of Oscar-nominated based-on-a-real-story CIA thrillers to Argo , that’s the name of the town in Pakistan where Osama bin Laden’s compound was located. Speaking of Kimmel, he should be the next host of the Oscars. Hollywood loves him, and he’s got the perfect tone for the evening. In fact, Seth MacFarlane left me with the impression that he was trying to be Kimmel on Sunday night. What do you think? Follow Frank DiGiacomo on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
A new Iron Man 3 trailer will hit the Internets on March 5. In the meantime, Yahoo! has posted this exclusive new poster, which depicts an army of iron men rising behind a clearly cheesed-off Tony Stark ( Robert Downey Jr. ) whose armored suit is behaving like an iPhone that was accidentally dropped into a toilet. According to SlashFilm , this reveal may be a reference to the rumored climax of the movie in which Stark summons some multiple metal wingmen to kick some Mandarin pu pu platter, or whoever it is that’s causing all the trouble in his life. CHECK OUT MOVIELINE’S GALLERY OF IRON MAN 3 POSTERS The website also reports that a snippet of that iron-army scene will likely be featured in the trailer that drops next week, which will be the last one before the movie opens on May 3. Meanwhile, Yahoo! offers this interpretation of the poster. But what’s even more intriguing than the damaged suit he’s wearing are the seven he’s not. Streaking into the sky behind him are more armored suits, and while we don’t get a very clear look at them, they don’t appear to be any we’ve seen in the previous films. The one directly above Tony’s right arm has a grey and gold finish with spiky shoulders. Another directly behind his left shoulder is a bulkier suit with a gold, white and black appearance. Could this be the rumored “Deep Space Suit” fans have been buzzing about? A photo of an upcoming toy was released in late January with that description, which lead some Marvel acolytes to wonder if Tony might take a trip out into the cosmos, perhaps to meet up with the Guardians of the Galaxy , another comic-book team that will be getting their own movie in 2014. I don’t see Rocket Raccoon or Groot, who are both supposed to be part of the GOTG standalone, so I’m skeptical, but what do you think? Let me know in the comments below. Follow Frank DiGiacomo on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter . [ Yahoo! , SlashFilm ]
