Oh, God, here we go again : “‘Katniss’s act of self-sacrifice [volunteering to take her sister’s place in the games] is a trigger for an entire revolution. She draws an ethical line that she won’t cross over and it serves as such a beautiful example for people,’ [director Gary] Ross said. ‘That assertion of her own individual ethics ultimately triggers a revolution just as it was one Tunisian flower vendor that led to the revolt that rifled through the Middle East last year. Or Rosa Parks refusing to sit in the back of the bus. It usually comes down to an act of individual ethics that can trigger something like that.'” [ LAT ]
The stirring 2009 documentary Waking Sleeping Beauty took us behind the scenes at Disney Animation to reveal what it’s like when good things happen to good people. But before that, there was The Sweatbox , the 2002 doc that exposed how bad things happen to good people at the notoriously demanding studio — a revelation that virtually ensured the film would never see the light of day. The crackdown worked once and may yet work in the future, but for now, YouTube has all 95 unfinished minutes available for a rare look. John-Paul Davidson and Trudie Styler were granted full access to the Disney process — the dark-arts cauldron comprising writers, directors, animators and executives — as it applied to the doomed project Kingdom of the Sun . The results featured below aren’t especially flattering (particularly to the executives), and Styler’s husband Sting walks his customary line between introspective and pretentious, but as a cautionary tale of snuffed-out Hollywood idealism alone, this one’s worth viewing. What the hell else are you doing with your Friday? [via /film ] Follow S.T. VanAirsdale on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
The stirring 2009 documentary Waking Sleeping Beauty took us behind the scenes at Disney Animation to reveal what it’s like when good things happen to good people. But before that, there was The Sweatbox , the 2002 doc that exposed how bad things happen to good people at the notoriously demanding studio — a revelation that virtually ensured the film would never see the light of day. The crackdown worked once and may yet work in the future, but for now, YouTube has all 95 unfinished minutes available for a rare look. John-Paul Davidson and Trudie Styler were granted full access to the Disney process — the dark-arts cauldron comprising writers, directors, animators and executives — as it applied to the doomed project Kingdom of the Sun . The results featured below aren’t especially flattering (particularly to the executives), and Styler’s husband Sting walks his customary line between introspective and pretentious, but as a cautionary tale of snuffed-out Hollywood idealism alone, this one’s worth viewing. What the hell else are you doing with your Friday? [via /film ] Follow S.T. VanAirsdale on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
Some years from now, after the dust around the megabudget John Carter debacle settles, and the heads that do wind up rolling in its aftermath come to rest, some expert arbiter of Hollywood travails will survey the carnage and write the definitive tale of what went wrong with Disney and director Andrew Stanton’s sci-fi gamble. And you know what? I’d bet $10 right here and now that the real story won’t deviate much from the one depicted in this no-budget animated retelling. If there’s any justice in the world, Disney’s special-edition DVD/Blu-ray of John Carter will showcase this video among its special features — not so unlike The Battle Over Citizen Kane accompanies its own classic subject. This is history! [ NMA ] Follow S.T. VanAirsdale on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
Biggest . Bust . Ever : “In light of the theatrical performance of John Carter ($184 million global box office), we expect the film to generate an operating loss of approximately $200 million during our second fiscal quarter ending March 31. As a result, our current expectation is that the Studio segment will have an operating loss of between $80 and $120 million for the second quarter. As we look forward to the second half of the year, we are excited about the upcoming releases of The Avengers and Brave , which we believe have tremendous potential to drive value for the Studio and the rest of the company.” [Disney via Deadline ]
Jennfer Love Hewitt is on this kick to not be seen as the fat chick who can’t land a man or keep a fiance around cuz she’s clearly annoying as fuck…cuz with her level of fame, you’d think there are hundreds of weird, awkward fan boys, and perverts, who would do more than just marry her, marriage is easy, that shit involves consent….real love is when a motherfucker will kidnap her and lock her in the basement, starving her, making her too weak to scream during “playtime”…. I like that she’s by tapping into the only thing that really mattered in her youth….before her metabolism slowed down…her big tits on her small frame became overall fatness…. I like that she didn’t just kill herself, but found a second life….. But most importantly…I like that she’s slutting up and showing some tit….
These are some screenshots from a paparazzi video of MIley in no bra, with her wonky inbred hick face cropped out, cuz she looks better that way….especially when she’s showing off her inbred hick tit in a t-shirt…that same tit that made her a fortune when it was just a budding breast on her young girl frame in a Disney Exec’s office…but more importantly…in a Disney Exec’s mouth…..cuz nothing comes easy…sometimes you gotta whore….
This is pretty much perfect: “since i am blamed whenever people don’t like it, but never praised when they do, and since most critics forget that they liked or hated something two years ago and cite it as a strength or weakness two years later, i’ve come to be philosophical about the show. if people don’t like the comic who hosts, they hate the show. if no comic hosts, they hate the show and demand that a comic be summoned. when he’s edgier, like chris rock, we get slammed. when he’s bland, like ellen, we get slammed. but a few things are clear. this is the oscars. they still mean something after 83 years, at least in the industry. unlike the mtv awards, their audience is not exclusively 9-18 year olds. unlike the golden globes, the voters are people who actually make movies, not pretend to be journalists. some things are simply inappropriate. it’s a dance every year to figure out what those are. every single line on the oscar show is negotiated. unless you’ve been there, you have no idea how it is put together. it’s like nothing else on earth. i’m writing a book about it, but i have to throw in my sexual escapades to make sure it sells.” [ Filmdrunk ] [Photo: Helga Esteb / Shutterstock.com ]
“‘Metallica has always been a huge part of my life, and it’s an incredible opportunity when we get to work with our heroes,’ said Antal. ‘We are going to harness the powerful and almighty energy of Metallica’s live shows, inject a narrative into it, and shoot it in 3-D to elevate the entire experience.'” Of course they are. Whatever, it can’t be any worse than Lulu . [Press release]
While the latest chapter in the rapidly expanding mythology of Harvey Weinstein involves the mogul shooting down a pitch from President Obama (“I sent him an e-mail back saying he was the most overqualified book scout I’ve ever had”), I remain preoccupied with the saga surrounding Bully , the Weinstein Company doc still embroiled in a battle with the MPAA ratings board to overturn its R for strong language. The publicity clamor continued Wednesday with a young bully victim dropping off a petition with a reported 200,000 signatures to MPAA HQ and Ellen Degeneres discussing the “controversy” on her show. But it’s what quietly came the day before that seems the most intriguing. In an interview published Tuesday, Harvey confided to his LAT pal Patrick Goldstein that Bully ‘s ratings appeal — which the Weinsteins say they lost by one vote — was itself the victim of a mystery MPAA study on language in films. And what a study! These idiots make Harvey look like Clarence Darrow: “After the language in King’s Speech became a big issue, we did a survey to see if parents wanted us to overlook the language,” [MPAA ratings board chair Joan] Graves told me. “And what we discovered was that, overwhelmingly, parents said they wanted to know what kind of language there was in the film. We asked specifically about the F-word, which clearly bothers a large number of people. That’s just how they feel. Language matters.” According to Weinstein, Graves brought up the still-unreleased survey as an argument against “Bully” in his appeal hearing. “It was like a scene out of ‘Perry Mason,’” Weinstein recalled. “The news of the survey came out of nowhere. Joan summarized it in our hearing and it really hurt us. We lost our appeal by one vote and I think the survey cost us that vote.” Graves told me she would eventually make the survey public but wouldn’t commit to a specific timetable. Weinstein argues that there’s no time like the present. “If it says what Joan says it does, she should release it,” he said. “If it makes a strong point, maybe we could learn from it. But I’d like to see the scientific evidence myself.” I love it — this idea of the MPAA drawing up some Middle American focus group of parents and asking what alarms them most about contemporary movies. And that all these parents yelped, “It’s the language! All those F-words in the King’s Speech ! What about the children?” before sobbing into the survey-taker’s cardigan. Because “that’s just how they feel.” No wonder Graves won’t release the study: It’s trapped in her lower intestine with the rest of her shit. Anyway, if giving it a PG-13 means that none of us ever have to hear about Bully ‘s ratings imbroglio again, then fine. Do it. Who cares? Harvey’s 60th birthday is coming up in a couple weeks. I want Joan Graves to jump out of a huge cake clutching a big PG-13. Maybe those 200,000 kids can sign a card next. And Obama can clasp a Medal of Freedom around his neck to go with the French Legion of Honor designation , commemorating everything Harvey has done for those ravaged by the tsunami of caprice and illegitimacy known as the MPAA ratings process. Or whatever. Let’s put this tragedy behind us. We’ve got a P.T. Anderson movie to get to. [ LAT ]
