In the grand tradition of the late, great Robert Opel : “It’s long been rumored that Opel’s streak across the screen was not necessarily a unilateral act of transgression by Opel, and that he may have had a co-conspirator or two. The facts that he gained access to the backstage area in order to stage the streaking, and that he was given a post-show press conference, give rise to the suspicion that the event was set-up by the producers of the broadcast, maybe to give the long-venerated institution a little jolt.” [ The Awl ]
Next month brings the launch of The Hunger Games , one of the most-anticipated releases of the 2012 calendar and the first installment of a hopeful franchise based on Suzanne Collins’s bestselling young-adult adventure trilogy. In selling their film, studio execs at Lionsgate have ramped up all manner of marketing to immerse fans in the experience — and, in doing so, have made the least-populated jursdiction on the planet a financial beneficiary. The Hunger Games series features teenaged heroine Katniss Everdeen and concerns a North America remade into a dystopian dictatorship, renamed Panem and ruled by the governing body called The Capitol. As Lionsgate has expanded its promotional campaign, a wide array of affiliated websites has sprung up in an effort to make Panem as real as possible, many of those bearing obscure web addresses (e.g. www.Capitol.pn) to imply that the sites originate in the nation depicted in the film. This unique designation is not a studio fabrication, however. The .pn modifier is the domain offered up by the very real government of the Pitcairn Islands, a collection of four land masses comprising 18 square miles in the middle of the southern Pacific Ocean. This British territory rests over a thousand miles west of Easter Island and just as far east of Tahiti. So how did Pitcairn, with barely over 50 residents and intermittent electrical services, become the Internet home of a major Hollywood franchise? “It’s a happy coincidence,” Bill Haigh, governmental registrar for the island’s domain offices, told me in an e-mail correspondence. “Lionsgate have found .pn useful to them, and it has been helpful for bringing benefit to the island.” As the movie studio looked into creating an online presence for the film’s fictional nation, a functional domain was already in place. The Pitcairn government offers up these domains primarily for corporations to establish and/or protect their brand, and Haigh explained that the proceeds go a long way toward the islands’ infrastructural upkeep. “The sale of domain names is of great benefit to the 50 or so inhabitants of Pitcairn Island,” he said, “because revenue thus gathered is used to bring modern telecommunications to this extremely remote spot on the globe via satellite. This is quite an expensive process. And it is not only for telecommunications but generally for supply shipping, children’s education, medical care etc.” The result is that The Hunger Games has become a boon for this tiny territory, one that lacks a movie theater and receives but two cable channels — CNN and Turner Classic Movies. While Haigh declined to divulge the number of Web addresses purchased by the studio (Lionsgate reps did not respond to requests for comment), he did direct me to an online registry where one can inquire about the availability and ownership of various selections. Along with already established Capitol.pn, and CapitolCouture.pn, there are registrations for Panem’s various districts (District1.pn, through District13.pn), and each of the main characters have their own addresses (e.g. PresidentSnow.pn). Ultimately it’s impossible to deduce exactly how many Hunger Games characters, phrases and permutations thereof have staked a .pn claim. After browsing the registry for a while, however, it seems safe to assume that Lionsgate may have vastly more addresses collected than there are Pitcairn residents. And based on the fee of $100 NZ (appx. $75 US) per registered address, Hunger brings in revenues well into the thousands of dollars — a tidy supplement to the islands’ steady tourism business. As geographically remote as the Pitcairn Islands are, this Hunger Games dalliance does not make for their sole involvement with Hollywood. Most of the surnames found on the island are shared by characters from the oft-adapted novel Mutiny on The Bounty ; the book and numerous films are based on historical events that occurred on and around Pitcairn. For this reason cruise ships are a common sight in Bounty Bay, where visitors will find the outpost isle’s own capitol. However, as much of a windfall as Hunger Games may prove for the islands, it is doubtful “Everdeen” will appear anytime soon in the area phone books. Read Movieline’s full Hunger Games coverage here . Brad Slager has written about movies and entertainment for Film Threat, Mediaite, and is a columnist at CHUD.com . His less insightful impressions on entertainment can be found on Twitter .
The re-release of The Phantom Menace opens with that exhilarating blast of John Williams’s famous theme, the Star Wars title zooming off into the distance in 3-D before the familiar text crawl creeps across the starry backdrop, revealing the words we’ve all been longing to see back on the big screen: “Turmoil has engulfed the Galactic Republic. The taxation of trade routes to outlying star systems is in dispute.” Ah, yes. Rewatching this film (for me, the first time since it opened in theaters over a dozen years ago) really makes you admire the gutsiness of returning to one of the most beloved franchises of all time only to open with stalled galactic taxation negotiations. It takes you back, like some three dimensional Proustian sci-fi madeleine, to that feeling of slow deflation shared by so many back in 1999 as they fought to keep up their levels of enthusiasm as Episode I herked and jerked along. As an admirer of select Star Wars films but no serious devotee of the series, I don’t have quite the complicated relationship with George Lucas experienced by some fans, the emotional complexity of which is generally only otherwise seen in memoirists writing lyric essays about their loving but abusive fathers. And from a business perspective, the Star Wars films are a great candidate for the callous but surely profitable enterprise of transferring classics to 3-D and dumping them back into theaters with pricier tickets. But The Phantom Menace , in any number of dimensions, is an exercise in disappointment, a film filled with enough callbacks to the first trilogy to remind you about what you loved about them without adding much of note in all the new material. The 3-D looks fine, if subdued enough that you forget about it for long stretches. A few sequences do get a boost — the fraught journey through a planet’s sea monster-heavy core, for instance, and even more so the podracing sequence, which look particularly great in the Anakin’s-eye-view shots as camera darts through the rock formations. But 3-D tends to highlight spectacle, and much of The Phantom Menace is anything but: Senate or Jedi council debates, wooden exchanges between Jake Lloyd and Natalie Portman that are meant to indicate some deep (and future romantic) connection, and the parade of bizarrely racialized aliens, including freakin’ Jar Jar Binks. The film features some greatly imaginative worlds and scenarios, from watery Naboo’s hidden bubble-encased Gungan cities to the insectile droidekas to Tatooine’s ludicrously dangerous sport of choice (“Looks like a few Tusken Raiders have camped out on the canyon dune turn!” as the crowd cheers). Darth Maul (played by Ray Park and voiced by Peter Serafinowicz) still makes a major impression, pacing like a caged tiger during a force field-mandated pause in his duel with Liam Neeson’s Qui-Gon Jinn and Ewan McGregor’s Obi-Wan Kenobi. Queen Amidala’s outfits are still ridiculous and awesome, and Portman’s trade-offs with Keira Knightley as the royal bodyguard/stand-in are easier to spot now that the latter’s face has become just as familiar. The rest of The Phantom Menace tends toward the dull — not always the terrible (though early in the film a lot of the dialogue sounds like a badly dubbed Google translation of something originally written in a language other than English), but the legitimately wan and colorless. The film serves as a feature-length extrusion of exposition for what’s to come in later installments, with a few livelier sequences inserted as payoff for sticking around this space opera. It’s both a shame and unavoidable that Episode I was re-released first in this planned 3-D roll-out of the entire series, but if you’re going to splurge on the extra for a 3-D ticket you might as well wait for A New Hope in 2015. Even if the conversion doesn’t add all that much overall to the experience, as is the case here, that one’s going to be much more fun to see on the big screen and with a crowd. Follow Alison Willmore on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
File under “Duh”: Summit and new overlords Lionsgate say they’d totally be interested in making a sixth Twilight movie , y’know, if author Stephenie Meyer is into it. I get it! It’s hard to pass up another shot at making hundreds of millions of dollars, not to mention fortunes in merchandising. And it’s not like we didn’t see this coming; with a first trailer for Breaking Dawn Part 2 set to be attached to Lionsgate’s Hunger Games in theaters next month, the studio’s pushing hard to make the most of its newfound YA synergy. How can it not try and keep the Twilight cash train rolling? Well, for starters, there’s a very good reason that a sixth, post- Breaking Dawn Pts. 1 & 2 sequel hasn’t been developed yet: With the exception of a supplemental novella ( The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner ) written to coincide with events of the third film, Eclipse , Meyer moved on to other properties like The Host , which is also being made into a film. A fifth Twilight novel, Midnight Sun , was once set to retell Twilight from Edward’s point of view, but Meyer herself spiked it when portions of her manuscript leaked online. (Meyer then posted it here .) Ever since then she’s kind of seemed done with writing more Twilight , even if the door has never been closed completely . And with Meyer so intrinsically linked to the film franchise, a sixth Twilight film would necessarily have to involve Meyer writing a fifth story (her fourth and final Twilight novel, Breaking Dawn , was split into a two-part film adaptation, the second of which hits screens this year). But even if Meyer agrees to a fifth book and sixth film, the motivation of continuing an otherwise concluded series might seem terribly transparent, and opportunistic, to a fanbase that adores the author as much for her vampire fantasy as for her openness with them over the years. Would Twilight fans eat up another chapter of Bella Swan’s life? Without a doubt, especially given the events that conclude the series in Breaking Dawn . But would it somehow cheapen the billion dollar franchise and the dedicated fandom that drives it? The question becomes less about the studios chasing sequels and more about how much Meyer is willing to risk signing off on, and how much her fans will care about the integrity of the franchise if it means they get another Twilight book and film. For many, I’m sure, the series could happily go on forever, manga-style, until the end of time. But as much as Lionsgate could conceivably milk Twilight for years and years to come, I’d like to think Twi-hards, who’ve had to defend themselves from global scrutiny for years and have been gleefully marketed to and squeezed of cash by savvy suits ever since 2008, would draw the line at some point. It’s a debate that J.K. Rowling faces, too, now that the Harry Potter saga has ended, on page and screen. But just as Daniel Radcliffe and Co. are moving on with their careers, so too do the Twilight kids seem ready to spread their wings. The end, it’s seemed for a while, is welcome in many regards. Their time with the franchise has been good — and has made stars of them all, considering that even previously unknown actors like Ashley Greene , for example, are now fronting their own films — but you get the feeling even the actors might dread another go-round (not to mention the fact that some of them are aging past the point of believable onscreen immortality). And so there are new franchises ready to follow the Twilight pattern of success, which brings us to The Hunger Games . Suzanne Collins only wrote three novels in her dystopian bestseller series, and yet, as confirmed last summer , Lionsgate plans on making four films from the series. Unlike Breaking Dawn , which contained a fairly obvious plot break at which the story could be divided, the third Hunger Games book, Mockingjay , seems less conducive to being split into two parts. I’d rather see it all go down in one part, personally, but here Lionsgate’s thinking is more conspicuous. Now that Summit has been slurped up by Lionsgate, I’ll be even less surprised if that cash-grabbing thought process is applied to Twilight . (Incidentally, Breaking Dawn Part 1 hits DVD and Blu-ray tonight.) Let’s just hope someone up there shows some restraint, sooner or later, whether it’s the suits, the stars, or Stephenie Meyer herself. Follow Jen Yamato on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
Focus Features and the good folks at WNYC are going all out for first-time Oscar nominee Gary Oldman , lining up a six-film retrospective of the actor’s work that will culminate Feb. 8 in Manhattan with a screening and Oldman Q&A for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy . The best part: It’s free . Which naturally means you’d better act fast to reserve your seats. The screenings commence Monday at the Landmark Sunshine, comprising a nifty selection of Oldman’s best work over the last quarter-century including Sid and Nancy, Prick Up Your Ears, JFK and The Contender . (And, uh, Bram Stoker’s Dracula , which my memory perhaps betrays, but you tell me.) The complete schedule is below; you can book your seats over at OldmanRSVP.com . Tell him Movieline said hello! Feb. 6 at 6:30 PM : Sid and Nancy (1986) Feb. 6 at 9:00 PM : JFK (1991) Feb. 7 at 6:00 PM : The Contender (2000) Feb. 7 at 9:00 PM : Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992) Feb. 8 at 5:00 PM : Prick Up Your Ears (1987) Feb. 8 at 7:30 PM : Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), followed by Q&A with Gary Oldman [ OldmanRSVP.com ]
Hunger Games fans, here’s your chance to be among the first to see Lionsgate’s highly anticipated YA novel adaptation — Movieline is giving away a pair of tickets to the Los Angeles premiere of The Hunger Games , starring Jennifer Lawrence as teen warrior Katniss Everdeen, based on the novels by Suzanne Collins. To decide our winner, we’re holding a Cornucopia of words: A Hunger Games Haiku contest! Channel your inner mockingjay and get to composing in the comments below! To celebrate the 50-day countdown to the Hunger Games nationwide release on March 23 (Twitter hashtag #HUNGERGAMES50), Movieline’s Hunger Games Haiku contest will close February 22 at 5pm PT/8pm ET , so make sure to enter with your best, most inspired Hunger Games -themed haiku. Winners will be announced on February 29. [ Browse Movieline’s Hunger Games cast gallery here ] In order to be eligible, entries must follow these guidelines: – Haiku entries must follow the 5-7-5 syllable format (otherwise that ain’t a haiku, duh). – Entries must be original writings. Write it in Katniss’s voice! As an ode to the series! Compose a ditty about pretty baker’s sons! Run wild with it! – Entrants must be 18 years of age and must be able to attend the premiere in Los Angeles at the Nokia Live on March 12, 2012. – Entrants must register with their email address in order to be contacted if selected. – Only one entry per person. Now remember, candidates: Entries will be judged by Movieline’s editors so put your best haiku forward! Elegance, wit, and razor-sharp concision are key, along with a healthy dose of Hunger Games knowledge. Wow us, and as always — may the odds be ever in your favor. For more information on the Hunger Games movie and premiere info, head to Facebook . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
“We loved the witness protection concept from the second we heard it, but when Tyler cast comedy icon Eugene Levy and put him under the same roof with Madea and Uncle Joe, he took this movie to a whole new level.” [ Coming Soon ]
Happy Friday! Also in today’s edition of The Broadsheet: The Dark Knight Rises prologue peeks out… Ice Cube recycles some new Friday sequel hype… Guy Ritchie may cry U.N.C.L.E. … Arguably the most inspired Harrison Ford casting rumor ever… and more.
Internet stars Amy Heidemann and Nick Noonan say filming first major-label video is ‘a little bit different.’ By Jim Cantiello Karmin on the set of “Crash Your Party” Photo: MTV News LOS ANGELES — The Internet has launched dozens of stars in 2011 for the wrong reasons (see: Courtney Stodden, Rebecca Black), and then there’s Karmin , a scary-talented couple whose infectious and clever covers of hip-hop songs blew up your inbox back in April. Their reinterpretation of Chris Brown’s “Look at Me Now” got them on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” and, more importantly, snatched up by L.A. Reid as he took over Epic Records this summer. On the set of Karmin’s brand-new music video for debut single “Crash Your Party,” longtime lovebirds Amy Heidemann and Nick Noonan were still trying to wrap their heads around their up-and-up career trajectory. “We feel a lot different than we used to with [us] making the videos at home in the living room,” Heidemann told MTV News. “We were joking about it earlier, how we used to run over to the camera and push record and run [back] and be like, ‘OK, ready?’ ” “And then we had to turn the air off so it was always, like, 106 degrees in there,” Noonan recalled. “This is a little bit different.” “A little bit different” is putting it mildly. The set was packed with a massive crew, multiple sets, child actors and stage parents and wardrobe changes, and the air conditioning was keeping it all at a bearable temperature. No wonder Heidemann used the word “overwhelmed” to describe their feelings in the midst of a 21-hour shoot. The just-premiered clip, directed by Syndrome, features Heidemann and Noonan rocking out on YouTube before the pair climb into a magical suitcase that transports them to strangers’ kitchens, children’s birthday parties, karaoke bars and, ultimately, a massive stage where they are performing for adoring fans. “It’s kind of our story, in a strange way,” Heidemann said. What do you think of Karmin’s new video? Share your reviews in the comments below! Related Photos MTV.com Exclusive: Karmin Related Artists Karmina
In this week’s Hobnobbing, we reflect on the movie’s milestones from the past year. By Amy Wilkinson Jennifer Lawrence in “The Hunger Games” Photo: Murray Close If any film caught Internet fire this year, it was most certainly the big-screen adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ young-adult novel ” The Hunger Games .” Though the film had been optioned by Lionsgate way back in 2009, 2011 was the year fans finally saw all the pieces come together, from casting the titular tournament’s 24 tributes to a teaser tidbit and full-length trailer. As such, MTV News is taking a look back at all things “Hunger Games” with a list of the franchise’s best moments from 2011 (in chronological order). Let the Games begin! X Marks the Release Date The year began with a bang when Lionsgate announced in late January that “The Hunger Games” would swoop into theaters March 23, 2012 . Lionsgate set that particular date in its crosshairs hoping to capitalize on spring breaks and Easter weekend for the (mostly) family-friendly release. Jennifer Lawrence Is Katniss Everdeen The Reaping then began in earnest, with seemingly every young Hollywood actress vying for the coveted role of District 12’s female tribute. Would it be Hailee Steinfeld? Kaya Scodelario? Abigail Breslin? In the end, MTV News had the pleasure of revealing that then-20-year-old Jennifer Lawrence, who nabbed an Oscar nomination for her work in 2010’s “Winter’s Bone,” would enter the arena as the much-loved heroine. But Who Will Play Peeta and Gale? Similar speculation followed the casting of Katniss’ two love interests — fellow District 12 tribute Peeta Mellark and hunting buddy Gale Hawthorne. Nine young actors were reportedly in contention for one of the two roles, including “Weeds” star Hunter Parrish and “Wizards of Waverly Place” actor David Henrie, but, ultimately, Josh Hutcherson landed the role of Peeta while Liam Hemsworth won Gale. First Look at Lawrence as Katniss Salivating fans didn’t have to wait too long for their first taste of Lawrence as Katniss, as she posed for the cover of Entertainment Weekly, flaunting the tribute’s soon-to-be-iconic uniform . The styled snap quieted many critics who’d said the actress was too blond, too tall, too pretty or too whatever for the role. Cinna Will Rock There were no shortage of casting announcements in spring 2011, but none seemed to catch watchful fans off guard more than that of Lenny Kravitz landing the role of Katniss’ stylist Cinna. But, really, it made a lot of sense, considering the musician’s fondness for fashion. “I like clothes, and I like playing with clothes. Every now and again, you go south. It’s all good. I enjoy fashion as an art,” he told MTV News . The Mockingjay Catches Fire In a nifty bit of promotion, Lionsgate released the first “Hunger Games” poster in July, and it was literally on fire. Well, sorta. The one-sheet depicted Katniss’ infamous talisman — a mockingjay pin — wreathed in glowing flames. The eye-catching motion poster definitely gave fans something to chew on while they waited for more first looks. We Spy Two “Hunger Games” Hotties Following in co-star Lawrence’s footsteps, the men of “The Hunger Games” landed their own EW cover story , in which Hutcherson took the opportunity to quiet a few nagging concerns about his stature.”Jennifer’s not 2 feet taller than me!” he told the magazine. “If anything, maybe she’s a half-inch taller.” November 2013 Is “Catching Fire” We hadn’t even seen a frame of the first film yet, yet Lionsgate announced a November 22, 2013, release date for the follow-up, “Catching Fire.” With “The Twilight Saga” taking its final winter bow in 2012, it looks like “The Hunger Games” is poised to be the new holiday tentpole. A Tasty Tease All those cover images and promotional stills went only so far to sate fans’ appetites. A cinematic preview was in order, and we at MTV were happy to deliver. During the closing moments of this year’s Video Music Awards, viewers were treated to a 30-second sneak peek , following Katniss as she sprinted through the arena’s blazing forest, with Gale’s words of encouragement resounding in her ears. Sure, the bite was short, but it was still satisfying. First Full-Length Trailer Nearly three lean months followed before the first full-length trailer made its entrance into the arena. And boy, was it worth the wait. From the tearful reaping to the Games’ taut opening moments, the clip was one of our top teases of the year , offering a promise of the big-screen awesomeness to follow. What were your favorite “Hunger Games” moments this year? Sound off in the comments below and tweet me @hollywoodcrush with your thoughts and suggestions for future columns! Check out everything we’ve got on “The Hunger Games.” For young Hollywood news, fashion and “Twilight” updates around the clock, visit HollywoodCrush.MTV.com . Related Videos Reactions To The First ‘Hunger Games’ Trailer
