Don’t try to conceal how wildly ecstatic you are over the forthcoming Birdemic 2: The Resurrection , “filmmaker” James Nguyen’s sequel to his micro-budget 2010 “classic” Birdemic: Shock and Terror . Weep, already. Don’t hold back — especially now that there is a teaser trailer. Nguyen’s no-mage to The Birds has acquired a slightly more contemporary spirit, invoking the post-credits scene from The Avengers despite apparently setting to rest Nguyen’s insistence that his sequel would be in 3-D . Like I said, weep, already . Anyway, these 30 seconds may be light on screeching avian terror, but they do quietly portend the barely watchable joys to come. [ Bleeding Cool via Filmdrunk ]
An amusing-looking (and harmless) independent film called Iron Sky is hoping to make some noise at Comic-Con. The noise they’ve picked is that of goose-stepping — a publicity march of hot women dressed as pseudo-Nazis marching around the convention this Saturday. And you can hashtag your pics, too! Iron Sky is a Grindhouse -y tale about Nazi descendents (led by Udo Keir!) living on the far side of the Moon , poised to invade Sarah Palin’s America. A little campy, but it’s in good enough fun, plus the special effects look remarkable for a low budget affair. So far my grandparents aren’t spinning in their grave. Oh, wait, my grandparents don’t have graves. They were incinerated. Anyway, Saturday at the Con, the producers of Iron Sky invite you to “Catch the hot Iron Sky army girls marching in full formation for photo ops in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter and outside the Convention Center Concourse.” Catch the hot IRON SKY army girls marching in full formation for photo ops in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter and outside the Convention Center Concourse on Saturday, July 14th from 8:30am to 7:00pm! Tweet your photo with the IRON SKY babe army #IronSky #ComicCon #SDCC and come visit the film’s official booth on the convention floor to claim your prize! Prove you found our army by showing us your photo on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram and win some sweet IRON SKY swag! The Iron Sky trailer: A publicist confirms that Iron Sky ‘s “Army Girls” will, in fact, be dressed like the female character on the film’s poster – a Nazi invader played by actress Julia Dietze – and are meant to evoke the lost band of Aryans who, in the film, used rocket technology to wait out the post-war years. (Wernher von Braun you have some splainin’ to do!) Now, I’ve no doubt that the film’s producers aren’t dumb enough to have a gaggle of Eva Brauns jackbooting outside the Hilton Bayfront Hotel – surely the swastikas and Death’s Heads will be kept to a minimum. (A representative of distributor Entertainment One tells Movieline the Iron Sky marchers will be wearing military costumes, with armbands similar to the one in the poster bearing the film’s title treatment in lieu of a swastika/logo.) But if these babes lining up for TwitPics are actually secret “in-Universe” Space Nazis, isn’t that just a little bit creepy? And maybe the obfuscation makes it even worse? Maybe the CSU-Bakersfield dropouts who answered a Craigslist ad for “women with hairstyles that can be pinned to look 1940s/also likes crowds” will have no idea that the costumes they’ll be handed actually represents, you know, genocide? I mean, I get it. It’s the sort of marketing idea you spitball in a meeting, then, hopefully, someone quickly comes to their senses and says “Naaaaah.” I suppose we’ll just have to take a wait and see. I’ll be on the scene in San Diego, wondering where my sense of humor and sense of decency intersects. Follow Jordan Hoffman on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
Be safe this week at Comic-Con, folks — according to reports out of San Diego, a 53-year-old woman who had been camping out with fellow Twilight fans ahead of Breaking Dawn ‘s Thursday panel was struck and killed by a car while crossing the street near Hall H. “Police said she was in a crosswalk and tried to run across Harbor about 9:20 a.m. She tried to stop when she saw an oncoming Subaru but ended up tripping into the car,” reports the San Diego Union-Tribune . The Examiner ‘s Amanda Bell has more on the identity of the woman, known as Gisella G., whose death has shaken the Twilight community and those on the ground at Comic-Con. Police closed off portions of Harbor Blvd. this morning following the accident. The death lends a somber mood to the event, which runs Thursday through Sunday, as thousands pour into downtown San Diego. Police and security are typically omnipresent inside and around the convention center directing foot traffic around the busy surrounding street and train crossings; take this as a reminder to be patient and safe around town — and be extra nice to those Twi-hards. [ Examiner , San Diego Union-Tribune ]
Osar-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman has been cast to play Plutarch Heavensbee, Head Gamemaker for The Hunger Games, studio Lionsgate said. Hoffman recently wrapped his gig playing Willy Loman on Broadway in the revival of Death of a Salesman , which earned him a Tony Award nomination. He will next been seen in Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master and indie film A Late Quartet , also starring Catherine Keener and Christopher Walken. The second installment of The Hunger Games franchise is based on Suzanne Collins’ smash hit series of novels that have sold 36 million copies in the U.S. Francis Lawrence will direct the latest pic, which also stars Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth, Josh Hutcherson, Elizabeth Banks, Jena Malone, Woody Harrelson and Stanley Tucci. Lionsgate released its latest synopsis of the film, which it will release November 22nd: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire begins as Katniss Everdeen has returned home safe after winning the 74th Annual Hunger Games along with fellow tribute Peeta Mellark. Winning means that they must turn around and leave their family and close friends, embarking on a “Victor’s Tour” of the districts. Along the way Katniss senses that a rebellion is simmering, but the Capitol is still very much in control as President Snow prepares the 75th Annual Hunger Games (The Quarter Quell) – a competition that could change Panem forever. Lionsgate appears to be going all the way with The Hunger Games series, and why not? The first one has made over $404 million in the U.S. alone. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay is likely to follow Catching Fire and a fourth installment may follow.
Osar-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman has been cast to play Plutarch Heavensbee, Head Gamemaker for The Hunger Games, studio Lionsgate said. Hoffman recently wrapped his gig playing Willy Loman on Broadway in the revival of Death of a Salesman , which earned him a Tony Award nomination. He will next been seen in Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master and indie film A Late Quartet , also starring Catherine Keener and Christopher Walken. The second installment of The Hunger Games franchise is based on Suzanne Collins’ smash hit series of novels that have sold 36 million copies in the U.S. Francis Lawrence will direct the latest pic, which also stars Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth, Josh Hutcherson, Elizabeth Banks, Jena Malone, Woody Harrelson and Stanley Tucci. Lionsgate released its latest synopsis of the film, which it will release November 22nd: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire begins as Katniss Everdeen has returned home safe after winning the 74th Annual Hunger Games along with fellow tribute Peeta Mellark. Winning means that they must turn around and leave their family and close friends, embarking on a “Victor’s Tour” of the districts. Along the way Katniss senses that a rebellion is simmering, but the Capitol is still very much in control as President Snow prepares the 75th Annual Hunger Games (The Quarter Quell) – a competition that could change Panem forever. Lionsgate appears to be going all the way with The Hunger Games series, and why not? The first one has made over $404 million in the U.S. alone. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay is likely to follow Catching Fire and a fourth installment may follow.
With two weeks to go until Christopher Nolan ‘s The Dark Knight Rises hits theaters, Warner Bros. has made available nearly 50 pages of detailed production notes online that offer behind-the-scenes tidbits on character, plot, costume design, the crazy practical stunts Nolan & Co. pulled off, Batman ‘s new toys, and some of the new faces joining the trilogy. The question is, how much do you want to know? (Bonus: Get the new IMAX poster after the jump!) Given TDKR ‘s set-up — it takes place eight years after the events of The Dark Knight , with Batman in semi-retirement/hiding — and the two new adversaries joining Bruce Wayne/Batman straight from the pages of the comics (i.e. supervillain Bane and super-minx Selina Kyle/ Catwoman ), some of this is already familiar to Bat-fans. And while the production note dossier includes only a few semi-spoilery details on certain scenes and characters, unless you’re committed to going into TDKR with as pure and spoiler-free a mind as possible, the doc is fairly safe to peruse, and chock full of geeky details. The bigger discoveries here concern the supporting characters in Batman/Bruce Wayne’s life, including Gary Oldman’s Commissioner Gordon and new characters Miranda Tate (Marion Cotillard) and Gotham City police officer John Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). Below, read a few select passages and get the pretty new TDKR IMAX poster: [BEWARE SPOILERS! WHO KNOWS WHAT YOUR VIRGIN BAT-EYES WILL DISCOVER!] On Gordon, who’s now wrestled with Batman’s secret for eight years: “Gary Oldman returns to the role of Gotham City’s top cop, Commissioner Gordon, who withheld the truth of Harvey Dent’s demise at great personal cost. ‘He respects Batman’s sacrifice, but allowing the citizens of Gotham to be fed a lie goes against everything that Gordon believes in,’ the actor says.” “…to a certain extent, Gordon was more useful to the political leaders of Gotham when the city was overrun by organized crime,” Nolan points out. “Now that is under control, so there are people eyeing his job, presuming he’s no longer needed. But Gordon has been struggling with the fact that all of this is based on a false foundation.” “It’s a secret that’s eaten away at him for years,” confirms Gary Oldman. “Crime is at an all-time low in Gotham, but Gordon knows that it’s tainted. Now he’s ready to come clean, but there doesn’t seem to be a right time or place, and he also questions if the city is ready for the truth. Then, because of Bane, he’s in the field again. I think he’s like a soldier who likes to be on the front lines, getting his hands dirty. He’s probably been doing a lot of paper pushing in the intervening years and that has dampened his spirits. Now you really feel like the old Gordon is back.” On John Blake, AKA the fresh-scrubbed idealistic young cop guy played by Joe Gordon-Levitt: Gordon finds a new protégé in policeman John Blake, whose devotion to the job impresses his boss. Emma Thomas says, “Gordon definitely sees something of himself as a young cop in John Blake. Everyone else seems to have lost focus because things have been so good, but Blake is the first to realize that something’s up, and Gordon recognizes those instincts by promoting him and putting him on his team.” Describing his role, Joseph Gordon-Levitt says, “John Blake is the kind of guy who probably always wanted to be a cop and dedicates himself to being excellent at his job. He is someone who believes in what he does and I admire that in anybody. In the midst of a lot of cynicism, he remains proud to be a police officer.” Nolan comments, “Commissioner Gordon and Bruce Wayne have become somewhat jaded, so we wanted to contrast that with a younger, more idealistic individual who, in a way, represents where they’ve come from. Joe really captured the strength and courage of a man who refuses to back down, regardless of the odds.” On Miranda Tate, a wealthy new love interest for Bruce Wayne played by Inception ‘s leading lady, Marion Cotillard: The character of Miranda Tate can also relate to Bruce, albeit from a place of affluence. Cast in the role, Marion Cotillard notes, “They both have a lot of money and are trying to use it in a good way, so they understand each other right away.” Bale agrees. “Miranda is somebody who is encouraging Bruce to use his resources for the betterment of Gotham through an environmental project. She is beautiful, smart and altruistic, and all the good that she aspires to earns his respect and also intrigues him a great deal.” A member of the board of Wayne Enterprises, Miranda’s affluence makes her a vital ally to Bruce when the company becomes the target of a hostile takeover. On a more personal level, Nolan says, “She is looked at by Alfred and Lucius as a woman who could perhaps bring Bruce out of his own exile and remind him that there is more to life than sitting alone in the Batcave. On Bane and his dastardly terrorist plans for Gotham City: “Working underground and undetected, Bane is plotting a multi-pronged attack on Gotham, involving firepower, finance and fear…” While the Scarecrow was a madman and the Joker an anarchist, “Bane is a terrorist in both his mentality and his actions,” says actor Tom Hardy, who plays Batman’s new arch-nemesis. “He is physically intimidating and he’s also very intelligent, which makes him even more dangerous.” Nolan relates, “In deciding on who the next villain would be, it was imperative that it was someone completely different from the Joker—that he be a brute force. The physical component of what Bruce Wayne does as Batman is of extraordinary importance, and we had not truly challenged that in the first two films. I really wanted to see Batman meet his match physically, as well as intellectually. Bane is raw strength with a fanatical devotion to duty, and that combination makes him unstoppable.” And finally, the newly unveiled IMAX poster for TDKR . It’s gorgeous in a painterly way, and in contrast to previous posters and promo images for the film, presents the Bat-sign in the sky as signaling a break in the clouds from all that chaos reigning down on Gotham City. Batman stands triumphant once more above his city shining his light through all the debris of Bane’s fiery terror, and stuff. Nice. For loads more on TDKR , including details on the 100+ piece Batsuit, Bane’s mask, the airborne new vehicle known as The Bat, and Nolan’s insane practical mid-air plane stunt, find the full production notes here . [via THR ] The Dark Knight Rises hits theaters on July 20. What do you make of these 50 pages of Bat-tidbits? (Did you cave in to curiosity?) Chime in below with your thoughts on the highly anticipated sequel. Follow Jen Yamato on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
Oh, what a coincidence! Here comes the trailer for Tom Cruise ‘s Jack Reacher (formerly One Shot ), the action film based on a novel by Lee Child that stars the soon-to-be-divorcé as an ex-army cop who apparently drives around town in muscle cars getting into fights. The kind of angry, controlled rage-machine who gets into brawls, specializes in strategically breaking bones, asks questions later, etc. The badass clothing doesn’t quite fit on Cruise, but you know. He’s Tom Cruise . Plot is incidental to this first tease of a trailer, which sets up the eponymous loner-hero in mythic terms. “There’s this guy,” bandaged beaten up hospital guy says. “He doesn’t care about proof. He doesn’t care about the law. He only cares about what’s right.” Then comes that reedy Cruise voice to ruin it all: “You think I’m a hero? I am not a hero. And if you’re smart, that scares you.” Well, I guess I’m not smart. Because, yeah. Yawn . I’m not one of those folks hung up on how wrong Cruise is for the role, physically speaking, though Reacher’s dimensions (posted helpfully at Child’s website ) do make you wonder which actors out there might have fit the bill a little better: Measurements: 6’5″, 220-250 lbs., 50″ chest Hair: Dirty-blond Eyes: Ice blue Clothing: 3XLT coat, 95 cm. pants’ inseam It’s not even that Cruise isn’t the physical ideal for Reacher. The wandering ex-military bruiser with no regard for the law doesn’t really sit well on him. But we shall see; with writer-director Christopher McQuarrie ( The Usual Suspects , The Way of the Gun ) behind the camera, Josh Olson ( A History of Violence ) on scripting duties, and Werner Herzog playing baddie , there’s enough promise left in this thing. Still, while a lot of folks are getting a Drive vibe from this, I get more of a Gone in 60 Seconds feel — the middle-aged action hero wearing leather jackets, racing around in classic cars, lounging around with hot ladies in their underwear. It already feels like the mid-life crisis wish-fulfillment movie of the year for older dudes. Verdict: Unless the next batch of trailers really wow me, I’m only hanging in for the Herzog. [via Yahoo! ]
Like many other feminist moviegoers, I was more than a little disappointed that Pixar’s long-awaited first female protagonist, Brave ’s Merida, is a princess. But what’s striking, even astonishing, about Brave ‘s treatment of princessdom is its historical honesty; even though Merida convinces her parents to abolish the tradition of arranged marriage, the film’s resolution essentially has our heroine accepting that she has to get married and that her nuptials will be used as a bond between rival clans. (Score one for the patriarchy.) Brave can boast some narrative complexity, if not much feminist bona fides, for having Merida occupy the role that real-life princesses have held for most of history — as insurance against war. This gloomy take on the purpose of royal females aligns Brave more closely with HBO’s medieval misery-fest Game of Thrones than with any other Disney princess movie that’s come before. The anti-princess backlash is nothing new. For decades, cultural critics have been decrying princess movies for overvaluing qualities like beauty, passivity, and femininity, not to mention wealth and social privilege. The studios have made some grudging concessions in recent years: heroines still wear crowns, but they also have more guts. The Guardian’s Jaclyn Friedman recently named this new trend of royal female ferociousness the rise of the “Action Princesses,” specifically citing Snow White and the Huntsman and Brave , though Tangled ’s Rapunzel would also qualify. These films, in which princesses are bold, beautiful, and betrothed, serve as a kind of “you can have it all” message for the 14-and-under set. Unlike Tangled , though, which merely offers a pluckier-than-usual heroine, Brave and Snow White and the Huntsman represent a more radical response to the anti-princess backlash. They feature princess protagonists, but offer serious critiques of the institution of princessdom — highlighting in particular its dangers. Nowhere has that been argument been more emphatically made than in Game of Thrones , which could virtually qualify as anti-princessdom propaganda. Virtually all of Daenerys Targaryen’s (Emilia Clarke) troubles, for example, are a result of her royal lineage. Sold to a stranger by her brother as a teenager, the “mother of dragons” gained autonomy in her initially dehumanizing marriage, but remains exiled from her homeland after two seasons for her royal blood. Even more devastating is the plight of Sansa (Sophie Turner), a wannabe princess, who quickly discovers that life as a royal daughter-in-law would be an endless parade of humiliations and empty rituals — even if her would-be hubby weren’t the most evil character ever. Likewise, take Snow White and the Huntsman , in which the fairy-tale princess (Kristen Stewart) is doomed to imprisonment for her claim to the throne. For all these characters, being a princess confers uniqueness, but no privilege; it’s a liability, if not a customized bull’s-eye target. Interestingly, it’s no longer just cultural critics decrying the uniform blah-ness of princess narratives, but the cultural products themselves. By learning how to throw a punch and ride horses into combat, princesses win battles, but lose the war for narrative sophistication. After all, princesses may be less passive these days, but they continue to be morally unassailable. So while Snow White fights her usurping stepmother Ravenna (Charlize Theron) for the throne, the queen successfully launches a campaign to seize the hearts and minds, or at least the attention, of audiences. Ravenna doesn’t steal the movie because the actress playing her chews up the scenery more conspicuously than her younger co-star (though that doesn’t hurt), but because she’s a much more interesting and developed character than the “pure,” virginal Snow White. Not insignificantly, Ravenna gets as much screen time as Snow White, and the tragic nature of her back story rivals her stepdaughter’s; her thirst for power is born from a justified hatred of men in power, and her capture of the crown at the beginning of the film is actually easy to root for. The psychologically damaged and perpetually obsessed nature of Ravenna’s character makes her the female counterpart to the ethically perplexed antiheroes that are the de rigueur protagonists of cable dramas, like Mad Men ’s Don Draper or Breaking Bad ’s Walter White. Snow White and the Huntsman is far from the only example of princess movies receiving the Wicked treatment. Mirror Mirror , for example, tells the same tale from the POV of Queen Julia Roberts, who commandeers the film’s voiceover narration. And the anti-princess take will continue in 2014’s Maleficent , which will star a horned Angelina Jolie as the villainess of Sleeping Beauty . The appeal of these fairy-tale rewrites is, of course, the reorientation of sympathies. For example, the ability to understand, if not necessarily root for, the queen makes clear the audience’s fallacious identification with the princess. After a while, it seems eminently more reasonable to identify with Ravenna than Snow White, since she’s the one who more traditionally follows the hero’s path: a commoner with talent (in this case, beauty) who ventures into a strange land (the bizarro-universe of the aristocracy) and overcomes a weaker antagonist (the lovestruck king) to claim victory. Princess movies will be with us for a time yet, but it’s wonderful to see that even if princesses aren’t growing up, the movies about them certainly are. Now, if only we could convince studios that girls’ lives and experiences matter even if they don’t live in castles… Inkoo Kang is a Boston-based film journalist and regular contributor to BoxOffice Magazine whose work has appeared in Pop Matters and Screen Junkies . She reviews stuff she hates, likes, and hate-likes on her blog THINK-O-VISION .
Boy band Mindless Behavior flat out dissed Lauryn Hill on live TV last night, and the joke apparently upset Beyonce, one of the 2012 BET Award winners , to the point where she changed her acceptance speech to honor The Fugees singer. The diss went down womedian Mike Epps and the guys from Mindless Behavior were all getting set to co-present the award for Best R&B Artist. Mike, who can’t carry a tune to save his life, jokingly tried to sing. One of the dudes said, “You sing BAD … like Lauryn Hill’s tax accountant bad.” Mindless Behavior, Mike Epps Diss Lauryn Hill at BET Awards The zinger, a reference to Lauryn Hill’s felony tax evasion case, elicited gasps from the crowd, including Beyonce, who was far from pleased. Winning the award moments later, Bey said, “I want to thank all the talented R&B women that came before me like Lauryn Hill and Mary J. Blige.” As she walked off stage, she could be heard venting about the insult, saying the dude’s Lauryn Hill joke was “disrespectful” and “not cool.” When a BET handler complimented Beyonce’s shout-out to the maligned Hill, the “Halo” singer replied, “I just felt [the diss] was wrong.” What do you think of the Lauryn Hill diss?
