First round upsets. They may make for an entertaining NCAA Tournament for viewers, but they can have quite the opposite effect on university beat writers. Just ask Dennis Latta. The freelance reporter for Rivals.com’s Loboland has resigned his 33-year post after New Mexico was stunned in the first round by Harvard. In his farewell article, Latta says “it was a lot easier to take [losses] when expectations were lower.” But “after the pitiful performance UNM put up against a team that doesn’t even offer scholarships, I’ve given up. Having all five starters back next season means nothing on a team that can just disappear like that. I’d be back to wondering when it would collapse, have a terrible game and lose to an inferior team again.” So the writers has “had it,” he concludes. “I’ve been to my last Lobo basketball game after covering the team for much of the last 33 years. “Good-bye Lobo basketball.” Who do you think will win this year’s NCAA Tournament? Indiana Louisville Duke Kansas Michigan State Gonzaga Other [Cite in Comments] View Poll »
We’ve got Sarah Hyland in short shorts and a bikini on the Modern Family set today, and I’m glad to see that Sarah’s taking after her co-star Sofia Vergara in the hottie department. And if you ask me, the writers should really play that up more. Maybe next time, her character could work at a bikini car wash, or enter a Jello wrestling competition, or run off to a nudist colony. What? Don’t tell me those ideas are any lamer than 20 straight episodes about Sofia’s accent being hard to understand. » view all 11 photos Related Articles: Sarah Hyland In Some Tight Jeans Sarah Hyland Gets Perky For The Community Sofia Vergara Because She Is Hot Sofia Vergara Needs To Release The Tatas Photos: PacificCoastNews
For the latest movie news , turn to Mark Hamill himself apparently. The last Jedi standing recently opened up to ET about his possible return to Star Wars in Episode VII, and weighed in on many other topics regarding the film. Hamill says there aren’t any deals in place for himself, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford returning to Star Wars yet, but Lucasfilm is negotiating with them. “They’re talking to us,” Hamill said, and they have for some time. “George [Lucas] wanted to know whether we’d be interested. He did say that if we didn’t want to do it, they wouldn’t cast another actor in our parts.” “I can tell you right away that we haven’t signed any contracts. We’re in the stage where they want us to go in and meet with Michael Arndt, who is the writer.” “They want us to meet Kathleen Kennedy, who is going to run Lucasfilm. Both have had meetings that were postponed – on their end, not mine. They’re more busy than I am.” What does Hamill, now 61, think Star Wars: Episode VII holds for Luke Skywalker, the character he made iconic more than three decades ago? “I’m assuming, because I haven’t talked to the writers, that these movies would be about our offspring … like my character would be sort of in the Obi-Wan range.” “[Luke would be] an older, influential character.” “When I found out [while making the original trilogy] the ultimate good news/bad news joke – the good news is there’s a real attractive, hot girl in the universe. The bad news is she’s your sister – I thought, ‘Well, I’m going to wind up like Sir Alec [Guinness]. I’m going to be a lonely old hermit living out in some kind of desert igloo with a couple of robots.'” He also has some reservations about returning without his costars, and about the new trilogy and any Star Wars spinoffs being too reliant on CGI. “Another thing I’d want to make sure of is are we going to have the whole gang back? Is Carrie and Harrison and Billy Dee and Tony Daniels, everybody that’s around?” “I want to make sure everybody’s on board here, rather than just one.” “I also said to George that I wanted to go back to the way it was, in the sense that ours was much more carefree and lighthearted and humorous.” “In my opinion, anyway… I hope they find the right balance of CGI with practical effects. I love props, I love models, miniatures, matte paintings ̬ I’m sort of old school.” “I think if you go too far it winds up looking like just a giant a video game, and that’s unfortunate…. If they listen to me, I’d say, ‘Lighten up and go retro with the way it looks.'”
Robert F. Chew, a Baltimore teacher and actor who portrayed one of TV’s most unforgettable characters as Proposition Joe on HBO’s The Wire, has died. He passed away Thursday of apparent heart failure in his sleep at his home in Northeast Baltimore. Chew, who also appeared in Homicide , was 52. Chew taught and mentored child and young adult actors at Baltimore’s Arena Players, a troupe he stayed with as his career blossomed through David Simon. With Chew’s help, Simon, creator of The Wire , enlisted new talent in the form of young actors who played students in the Baltimore City School system. “Robert was not only an exceptional actor, he was an essential part of the film and theater community in Baltimore,” Simon said Friday via email. “He could have gone to New York or Los Angeles and commanded a lot more work, but he loved the city as his home and chose to remain here working.” “He understood so much about his craft that it was no surprise at all that we would go to him to coach our young actors in season four of The Wire .” “He was the conduit through which they internalized their remarkable performances.” “The Wire cast was an embarrassment of riches and it was easy, I think, for outsiders to overlook some of those who were so essential as supporting players.” “Robert’s depiction of Proposition Joe was so fixed and complete that the writers took for granted that anything we sent him would be finely executed.” R.I.P.
The makers of Texas Chainsaw — or Texas Chainsaw 3D , as it’s being widely advertised — would like to you forget all about nearly 40 years’ worth of sequels, prequels, remakes and reboots, and pretend that only a couple of decades or so have passed since the events depicted way back in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974). Helmer John Luessenhop ( Takers ) and a small army of scripters go back to the bloody roots of the long-running franchise to concoct a better-than-average horror-thriller that relies more on potent suspense than graphic savagery or stereoscopic tricks. Don’t be surprised if it scores a B.O. killing. Pic begins quite literally where Tobe Hooper’s ’74 original left off, with a shrieking, blood-splattered beauty fleeing the homestead of a psycho-killer clan, pursued by a masked and humongous brute wielding a chainsaw. The new plot kicks off when angry locals arrive on the scene, torch the home of the fiendish family, and prematurely celebrate as they rashly assume they’ve destroyed Leatherface, the chap with the chainsaw, and all his creepy kinfolk. Flash-forward about 20 years: Lovely young Heather Miller (Alexandra Daddario) is thrown for a loop when she’s informed that the white-trash couple she’s always known as mom and dad really are her adoptive parents. Truth to tell, however, this revelation doesn’t appear to strike her as bad news. Besides, she’s perked up by what she thinks is good news: A recently deceased grandmother she never knew she had has bequeathed her a palatial home near a small town in Texas. Accompanied by her boyfriend (R&B artist Tremaine “Trey Songz” Neverson ), another fun couple (Tania Raymonde, Keram Malicki-Sanchez) and a too-friendly hitchhiker (Shaun Sipos) they pick up along the way, Heather drives deep into the heart of Texas to check out her inheritance. Unfortunately, the house isn’t entirely empty. Even more unfortunately, the sole, secretive inhabitant is a masked maniac with a penchant for heavy-duty garden tools. Luessenhop occasionally springs a wink-wink allusion to Hooper’s original pic — most notably during a scene involving a well-stocked freezer — and sprinkles a few darkly comical touches into the mix. (Heather, it should be noted, is introduced carving steaks in the meat department at a supermarket.) For the most part, however, Texas Chainsaw is deadly serious as it goes about the business of sustaining tension and generating shocks. And while Luessenhop and his writers respectfully adhere to many genre conventions (rest assured that, during the first two-thirds of the story, just about everyone you’d expect to get killed does), they’re surprisingly clever when it comes to subversively shifting audience sympathies during the final 30 minutes of their briskly paced 92-minute pic. Daddario — who’s given ample opportunity to flaunt the flattest stomach of any scream queen in recent memory — makes an impressively resourceful heroine. Standout supporting players include Thom Barry as a sheriff who disapproves of vigilantism; Paul Rae as a mayor who only thinks he knows where all the bodies are buried, and Dan Yeager as the still-crazy-after-all-these-years Leatherface. Sharp-eyed movie buffs may notice Gunnar Hansen, the original Leatherface, and Marilyn Burns, the heroine of Hooper’s ’74 pic, in cameo roles. To his credit, Luessenhop doesn’t linger on the gore in intensely violent moments. (What he does show is more than adequately effective.) Nor does he exploit the 3D gimmickry to startle auds with gushers of blood or severed body parts. On the other hand, the helmer can’t resist the urge to make it appear, every so often, that a chainsaw blade is jutting off the screen, understandably enough for a pic with this particular pedigree. Read More on Texas Chainsaw 3D : Trey Songz On His ‘Texas Chainsaw 3D’ Debut (And R. Kelly’s ‘Trapped In The Closet’) Follow Movieline on Twitter.
In five decades, James Bond has racked up many feats from babes to bombs, but one figure 007 hasn’t charmed is Oscar, though that will begin to change this year. 007 will receive a full tribute at the 85th Academy Awards . [Related: Steven Spielberg Hoped To Direct James Bond – But Got A ‘No’ ] Oscar organizers will fete the franchise in celebration of its 50th anniversary during the telecast on Sunday February 24th. The original secret British operative was played by Sean Connery, starting with Dr. No in 1962. Connery stayed on for five Bond films when the mantle was handed off for one film to George Lazenby for 1969’s On Her Majesty’s Service before returning to Connery for 1971’s Diamonds Are Forever , Since then Roger Moore took on the role for seven installments, followed by Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan. Daniel Craig is 007’s latest manifestation with three features under his belt, including the franchise’s latest and most successful film yet, Skyfall , which became the 14th film to hit the $1 billion mark in its worldwide theatrical run. Despite not being a big seducer of Oscar, Bond has scored some wins over the decades, including seven nominations and two wins. Goldfinger (1964) won a Best Effects, Sound Effects Academy Award and 1965’s Thunderball took another for Best Effects, Special Visual Effects. Noted Oscar telecast producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron: “We are very happy to include a special sequence on our show saluting the Bond films on their 50th birthday. Starting with Dr. No back in 1962, the 007 movies have become the longest-running motion picture franchise in history and a beloved global phenomenon.”
Oscar heavy-weights Zero Dark Thirty , Argo , Lincoln and Silver Linings Playbook are among the titles nominated for screenplay recognition by the Writers Guild. Documentary shortlisted films The Invisible Man , Mea Maxima Culpa and Searching For Sugar Man are also among the nominations in the non-fiction category for the 2013 Writers Guild Awards, which will be held Sunday February 17th in simultaneously in Los Angeles and New York. [ Related: Academy Names 15 As Best Documentary Oscar Contenders; ‘Central Park Five’ Snubbed ] The nominations follow: Original Screenplay Flight , Written by John Gatins; Paramount Pictures Looper , Written by Rian Johnson; TriStar Pictures The Master , Written by Paul Thomas Anderson; The Weinstein Company Moonrise Kingdom , Written by Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola; Focus Features Zero Dark Thirty , Written by Mark Boal; Columbia Pictures Adapted Screenplay Argo , Screenplay by Chris Terrio; Based on a selection from The Master of Disguise by Antonio J. Mendez and the Wired Magazine article “The Great Escape” by Joshuah Bearman; Warner Bros. Pictures Life of Pi , Screenplay by David Magee; Based on the novel by Yann Martel; 20th Century Fox Lincoln , Screenplay by Tony Kushner; Based in part on the book Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin; DreamWorks Pictures The Perks of Being a Wallflower , Screenplay by Stephen Chbosky; Based on his book; Summit Entertainment Silver Linings Playbook , Screenplay by David O. Russell; Based on the novel by Matthew Quick; The Weinstein Company Documentary Screenplay The Central Park Five , Written by Sarah Burns and David McMahon and Ken Burns; Sundance Selects The Invisible War , Written by Kirby Dick; Cinedigm Entertainment Group Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God , Written by Alex Gibney; HBO Documentary Films Searching for Sugar Man , Written by Malik Bendejelloul; Sony Pictures Classics We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists , Written by Brian Knappenberger; Cinetic Media West of Memphis , Written by Amy Berg & Billy McMillin; Sony Pictures Classics
I don’t watch Grey’s Anatomy or Private Practice or whatever boring medical soap opera Kate Walsh is on these days, but as an avid viewer of bikini pictures, I’m enjoying these of Kate getting a little chilly on the beach. If only the writers could figure out a way to incorporate something like this into the show. Maybe dedicate a few episodes to Kate’s character at the beach. The rest practically writes itself. Photos: PacificCoastNews
Also in Monday afternoon’s round-up of news briefs, Len Wiseman is being tapped to direct a classic thriller reboot. Innocence of Muslims actress is heading to federal court. And Benicio Del Toro eyes his latest project. Lee Daniels’ The Butler Heads to The Weinstein Company TWC picked up U.S. rights to the film by Oscar-nominated director Lee Daniels. Forest Whitaker stars in the true-life inspired story about an African-American man who served as a butler in the White House under eight U.S. Presidents. The film also stars Oprah Winfrey, Mariah Carey, John Cusack, Jane Fonda, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Terrence Howard, Minka Kelly, Lenny Kravitz, Melissa Leo, James Marsden and Vanessa Redgrave. The film traces the dramatic changes that swept American society, from the civil rights movement to Vietnam and beyond, and how those changes affected this man’s life and family. “Lee tells stories in a way no one else does,” said TWC head Harvey Weinstein. “What struck me most about this story is the perspective it comes from, which in this case is the butler- a man who was a fly on the wall for decades in the world’s most powerful home.” The Butler is currently in production in New Orleans. Around the ‘net… Jake Gyllenhaal Eyes Prisoners Gyllenhaal is in talks to star opposite Hugh Jackman the the gritty thriller, being directed by Incendies director Denis Velleneuve. The story centers around a small town carpenter (Jackman) whose young daughter and best friend are kidnapped. He in turn kidnaps the man he believes is responsible for the crime, THR reports . Len Wiseman to Direct The Mummy Universal Pictures has tapped Wiseman to direct the reboot of the franchise that took in $1.25 billion over three films. Jon Spaihts is writing the script for the studio which is looking at a possible Summer 2014 release, Deadline reports . Innocence of Muslims Actress to Sue in Federal Court Cindy Lee Garcia named YouTube, Google and the film’s supposed producer Nakoula Basseley Nakoula in a law suit alleging fraud and emotional distress. Claiming a copyright issue, her lawyer Cris Armenta said on the Today show that they will dismiss the state court lawsuit and head to federal court, Deadline reports . Benicio Del Toro Set for How the Light Gets In Del Toro and producer Laura Bickford who partnered on Traffic and Che are partnering on How the Light Gets In , described as a “contemporary love story set in New York, London, Paris and Berlin.” In the film, Del Toro will play a Chilean novelist living in Paris who falls in love. Variety reports .
Everyone is either looking forward to Wreck-It Ralph or still refers to video games as “those beeping boximacallits.” There are no other options. Gaming movies have a bad reputation, which is weird, because, despite what you may have heard and read, they have yet to materialize. We’ve seen dozens of action movies that share the titles of video games and little else, and run from reprehensible to ridiculously profitable — sometimes in the same series . We’ve also watched feature-length advertisements for video games that we’ve paid to see in hopes that there might be a movie in there somewhere. Case in point: Universal Pictures’ The Wizard. But that may be about to change. Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph could be the first true gaming movie — the first of a genre that could some day stand alongside war, horror and gangster movie genres. It’s a genre whose time has come. The children being brought to the latest Disney movie have grown up with games, while their parents have watched their kids — and the games — grow from simple noise-making bundles of reflexes to fully interactive 3D characters. I haven’t seen Wreck-It Ralph yet, but I already know one thing that’s smart about it. The movie doesn’t tie itself to a single franchise, but populates its world with characters and cliches from all of them. Imagine Super Smash Bros Brawl without being limited to Nintendo, then give them time off to chill between battles. That’s the level of world we’re looking at here. Wreck-It Ralph puts together a dream team of retro characters from a savvily chosen array of games: Zangief from Street Fighter , Q-Bert, Sonic, Kano and even a Beholder. If you’re not familiar with that last creature, he exists in video games the same way Captain Kirk exists in video games — he’s certainly been there but comes from a whole other world: Dungeons & Dragons . The Beholder is an extremely cool nod to gamers. Better yet, the characters are all rendered with such love that even the zombie — the most generic enemy in videogaming history — is recognizably from a specific game series. The double-fire-axe and torn beige shirt distinguishes him as a walker from House of the Dead clearer than a passport with his bite-marks on it. Wreck-It Ralph is stuffed with so many celebrity cameos that Chun-Li, also from Street Fighter , as a background character. Other companies have built entire films around her, although considering how that turned out, it’s probably a good thing the producers didn’t follow suit. The cruelest (but most accurate) gaming revelation was the presence of Sonic and Bowser, but no Mario. The writers told TotalFilm.com that Mario is such a powerful character that there would be no way to put him in the movie without him dominating it. But Sonic? Sure, stick him in there. There was never any doubt about who won the ’90s battle between him and Mario — and his inclusion removes any doubt that the writers really understand the games they’re referencing. Others have bitched about Zangief ‘s presence in the Bad Guys support group when he’s just one of many playable Street Fighters, but come on: he was a Russian in a fighting game in the 90s. He was also almost unplayable in the original, so the only way most people saw him was from the wrong end of a devastating Screw Piledriver. He’s become much cuddlier since, and a surprisingly effective character in Super Street Fighter IV multiplayer. This detailed attention to our old gaming friends is glorious, but could cause a hardcore backlash. The trailers’ focus has obviously been on these recognizable characters, but they’re just as obviously trailer-trash. We’ve probably seen fully half their screen time already. This retro-disappointment is going to be a big complaint for people missing the point, but put it this way: These are Expendables cameos, not Expendables 2 cameos. We can expect these old-school characters to turn up for a few seconds then get out of the way of the main story. Still, for any veteran gamer it’s mind-boggling to see so many different game publishers cooperating. That many intellectual properties overlapping means more legal wrangling than the average nuclear test. That also probably means that none of these characters will actually do anything for most of the movie, but it’s a real coup just to have them along for the ride. Besides, even though, after seeing the trailers, some people are expecting this: The movie has to be about these guys: And that’s a good thing. Because this isn’t a retro movie . It’s a gaming movie. Sonic and the Beholder will get asses in seats, but it’s the original characters, and the, I hope, original story that will make the faces on the other ends of those asses leave with smiles. One of the parody games featured in Wreck-It Ralph , Hero’s Duty, fuses Halo , Call of Duty , Battlefield 3 and every other action shooter, while another, Sugar Rush couldn’t be more of a Mario Kart clone if it featured an Italian plumber. The filmmakers can make all the pointed jokes they want about these and other video games without their publishers complaining. (And it’s not like every other gaming company hasn’t made a knock-off of Mario Kart already.) The new characters are well capable of carrying the movie. Ralph is entirely believable as an 1980s game villain (and already has his own game ). Sergeant Calhoun is a tough female soldier who kicks ass and actually wears sensible body-covering clothing, meaning Wreck-It Ralph is better at character creation than most modern video games. Wreck-It Ralph is important because games aren’t a niche market anymore. They’re everywhere and everyone, from casual Angry Birds players to 80th level World of Warcraft Paladins. It looks like the movie industry is finally ready to take video games seriously. And by that, I mean, have some real fun with them. Luke McKinney loves the real world, but only because it has movies and video games in it. He responds to every tweet . Follow Luke McKinney on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.
