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15 articles
Margot Kidder Writing a Morbid Chick Flick
12 hours ago
During a Q&A session at Minneapolis' Crypticon horror convention this weekend, guest Margot Kidder revealed she's writing a script for what could be a badass chick flick. The revelation was quite a treat for this Kidder fan. I've enjoyed her work since I was in Superman Underoos and loved the shit out of her performances in a trio of '70s horror classics: Sisters, Black Christmas and The Amityville Horror. Kidder said her script-in-progress is "about a group of women helping an elderly woman get out of the hospital to die somewhere nice and peaceful, without doctors around her." The women conspire to smuggle their friend out of the hospital and spirit her away to a remote cabin, where she can die amidst nature. Sounds like it could be a depressing-ass flick, but Kidder described it thusly: "It's sort of a romp and a middle-aged babe sisterhood kind of thing." "It's »
- J.L. Sosa
Culture Warrior: Slow Isn’t Boring
12 hours ago
Pacing is a tricky thing to pull off in movies. It takes a truly talented filmmaker (and editor) to maintain a rate of movement, events, or forward-moving plotting that sustains audience interest while avoiding the potential to overwhelm. In an era where Adhd music video editing has become a decades-worn norm (with, admittedly, a great deal of its own unique artistic merit), a fast pace can become a fruitful means for audience engagement or an all-too-evident handicap trying to cover up a film’s inadequacies through distraction—in other words, it could run the gamut between Trainspotting and Crank 2, or from Martin Scorsese to recent Tony Scott, or…well, you get the picture. But what’s even harder to pull off is the effective slow-paced film. It’s not something that comes around very often, but when it works it can result in some magnificent cinematic revelations. I’ve been guilty of this just as much »
- Landon Palmer
Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland Gets a Trippy Poster
16 hours ago
The Mad Hatter is assembling his army, and Tim Burton is getting ready to bring a wicked vision of Alice in Wonderland to the big screen this coming spring. And with that in mind, Disney has released a brand new teaser poster -- and it is quite a trip. It features a creepy smile from the Cheshire cat, as well as the über-creepy Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen. And some other characters you might recognize. Give the poster a look for yourself below (click to enlarge), followed by the film's official synopsis: Want to see more? Join The Disloyal Subjects of the Mad Hatter on Facebook and help prepare his army! The Mad Hatter is giving his army the first look at exclusive images, but you have to follow his orders to receive them. From Walt Disney Pictures and visionary director Tim Burton comes an epic 3D fantasy adventure Alice In Wonderland, a »
- Neil Miller
Boiling Point: Whiskey Bites
17 hours ago
Listen, I can respect the actor's trade. Not everyone respects it. How hard is it to make believe, after all? But not me, I get it. It can be hard to channel the right emotion at the right time. Arguing with a tennis ball on a stick for a CGI movie is probably not only a little difficult, it's also mighty embarrassing. But there are a few things I can't ignore when it comes to the craft. Number one is that no actor ever insists on having something actually in their cup. I ranted against empty cups before. No actor can sell drinking out of an empty cup. It fights physics and loses. My second major gripe comes right back to cups, but this time, what's in them - alcohol. Liquor, specifically. Every character in every show and movie ever, unless they're comically nerdy, can handle the hard stuff without so much as a squint. I »
- Robert Fure
Mad Men Finale Review: Shut the Door. Have a Seat.
21 hours ago
Synopsis: The season finale begins with Don ending his business partnership with Conrad Hilton and ends with him starting a new job somewhere else; Betty wants to go forward with divorce proceedings. Review: Season 3 of Mad Men is now in the books. First let me discuss the season as a whole before going into the finale. There were lots of great moments in this year's season. I loved "My Old Kentucky Home" and how much fun it was seeing Pete and Trudy dancing, Peggy getting high, and Joan playing the accordion. "Guy Walks Into an Ad Agency" was another homerun. Hilarious, well-written, and some juicy character tidbits from Joan, Don and others -- essentially, what Mad Men should always be about. Though some portions of the season were without much in the way of conflict, we still took in the lives of Don Draper, his family, and his co-workers. Peggy's independence was displayed a little more each »
- Josh Radde
Will Smith Buying Flowers for Algernon?
21 hours ago
It wouldn't be Monday without a rumor or two. We kick off today's spinning of the rumor-mill with a story from the folks at Pajiba, who seem to be more than on top of Hollywood lately. According to their "inside source," multi-hyphenate Will Smith is developing an adaptation of the classic Daniel Keyes story Flowers for Algernon, in which he will star as well as produce. For those who missed the fifth grade, Algernon follows the story of Charlie, a mentally handicapped man who is the first human test subject in an experimental surgery that artificially increases intelligence. After seeing his Iq go from 68 to 185 following the surgery, Charlie loses the ability to socialize normally and becomes alienated from those around him. As Charlie begins to learn the truth behind the effects of the surgery -- as seen through the reaction of a mouse test subject named Algernon -- he is struck with the weight of how »
- Neil Miller
David Fincher to Bring About ‘Peter Proud’ Reincarnation
22 hours ago
Sure, David Fincher is currently working on the much talked about Facebook origin story The Social Network. But he's also working on several other things. For one, THR's Heat Vision is reporting that the director of Se7en is reteaming with screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker for an adaptation of Max Ehrlich's novel The Reincarnation of Peter Proud. The film centers on a college professor who begins having recurring dreams and nightmares and, realizing they are images of a past life, decides to search out the source of the visions. With his girlfriend in tow, he discovers a woman and her grown-up daughter who are keys to his past life. This will be the second cinematic adaptation of the novel, which was released in 1975 along with a film directed by J. Lee Thompson, and starring Michael Sarrazin and Margot Kidder. The original thriller drew heat due to its subplot involving incest. Fincher »
- Neil Miller
‘Clueless’ Director Amy Heckerling Jumps on Vampire Bandwagon
22 hours ago
As if! Director Amy Heckerling -- whose credits include 80s/90s faves Clueless and Fast Times at Ridgemont High -- is jumping in with the likes of Twilight and True Blood, taking on a vampire franchise of her own. According to Screen Daily, Heckerling is currently attached to the developing project Vamps, a romantic comedy about two young female vampires living the good life in New York until love enters the picture and each is forced to make a choice that may jeopardize their immortality. It's certainly a different take on the current vampire craze, one that sounds like it could be delivered with a lighter touch. The film is set to star Krysten Ritter (pictured above), who has appeared in such films as Confessions of a Shopaholic and on various television shows (Veronica Mars, Breaking Bad). As much as this vampire movie craze annoys me, there is no denying that Amy Heckerling has made some fun »
- Neil Miller
‘Man on Wire’ Director Gets Supernatural with ‘Vatican Tapes’
22 hours ago
Director James Marsh, who brought us last year's best documentary (in my opinion) Man on Wire, is taking the jump to genre filmmaking with the upcoming supernatural thriller The Vatican Tapes. Lionsgate and Lakeshore Ent. are producing the flick, according to THR, which follows the story of a series of events that unfold after a tape gets leaked from the Vatican displaying an exorcism that goes wrong. It's the kind of story that will bring the Da Vinci Code protesters back out into the streets. It will be interesting to see how this one turns out. The script is coming from Chris Borrelli, who is making his feature script debut. His major credit is serving as a miniatures videographer on Michael Bay's Armageddon. Marsh is a solid director though, with not only Man on Wire to his credit, but also the 2005 indie drama The King, starring Gael Garcia Bernal and William Hurt. »
- Neil Miller
Official Blu-ray and DVD Details for Duncan Jones’ Moon
23 hours ago
A few weeks back, director Duncan Jones revealed some of the DVD and Blu-ray release details for the import release of his highly acclaimed film Moon via his twitter account (@ManMadeMoon). And ever since, we've been waiting for official word from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Today, we have that official word in the form of the press release below. The film will hit Blu-ray and DVD here in the states on January 12th, and it will include what appears to be a solid amount of special features. This includes two commentary tracks, two Q&A featurettes and two behind the scenes featurettes. Not bad for a smaller release. I for one will be keeping an eye out for Moon and picking up this release, as this film is certainly on my list for year end awards. See the official press release below: Culver City, Calif. (November 9, 2009) – Sam Rockwell (Frost/Nixon, upcoming »
- Neil Miller
Win a Copy of the Pirate Radio Soundtrack!
9 November 2009 4:00 AM, PST
We're back on the gravy train, headed for a freesville, baby. That's right, Fsr's elite team of covert operatives have returned with more sweet swag to give away to our most prized readers. This time, we're celebrating Richard Curtis' upcoming import Pirate Radio, previously known as The Boat the Rocked. And in order to do so, we're giving away soundtracks to five lucky American readers. Here are the details: Five (5) winners will receive: Official 2-Disc motion picture soundtrack see Amazon for details The official motion picture soundtrack includes music by The Kinks, The Turtles, John Fred And Playboys, Martha Reeves, Beach Boys, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass, Jeff Beck, The Who, The Troggs, The Hollies, Jimi Hendrix, Cream, Otis Redding, Easybeats and more! How to Enter Follow these simple steps: Head over to the Official Film School Rejects Facebook Page Click “Become a Fan” Done Other restrictions, rules »
- Neil Miller
Old Ass Movies: North By Northwest
8 November 2009 8:59 PM, PST
Every Sunday, Film School Rejects presents a movie that was made before you were born and tells you why you should like it. This week, Old Ass Movies presents: North By Northwest (1959) I swore when I started this column that I would do my best to protect you, the dear reader, from my incessant love of Alfred Hitchcock and his films. I've probably failed at this considering that I've still covered a lot of his movies, but with the release of North By Northwest on Blu-ray and the fact that it's my favorite Hitchcock film, I can't avoid it any longer. Everything about this movie is beyond perfection. Roger O. Thornhill (Cary Grant) is mistaken by a group of spies for a CIA agent who may have committed murder. While searching for the real agent, Thornhill meets Eve Kendall (Eva Marie Saint) who both protects him and gets him deeper into trouble. For »
- Dr. Cole Abaius
Tom Ford’s ‘A Single Man’ Gets A Beautiful Trailer
8 November 2009 5:59 PM, PST
Tom Ford is a stylish man who's been around a lot more naked women than I have. I'd cry foul, but he's also been around a lot more naked men so instead I'll just call it even. He's been near the top of the fashion world for years, but now he looks to be expanding his resume by directing and co-writing a film. A Single Man has already received quite a bit of acclaim from showings at various festivals and has finally had it's first trailer released. The film stars Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Matthew Goode (Watchmen, The Lookout), Ginnifer Goodwin ("Big Love", "Ed"), and Nicholas Hoult (About a Boy, "Skins"). Check it out below. The trailer doesn't give away much (or anything really) about the plot, but it looks absolutely stunning doesn't it? It shouldn't come as a surprise since Ford's other career involves his keen eye for fashion and beauty, but »
- Rob Hunter
Disney’s A Christmas Carol Scares Up $31 Million
8 November 2009 5:51 PM, PST
Here are my thoughts on what happened this weekend at the box office, with Disney's A Christmas Carol leading the way at $31 million. I know the $31 million is lower than some people thought it would do, and Nikki Finke was freaking out this weekend with headlines bashing Jim Carrey and implying he had another flop on his hands, but to be honest most movies would kill for a showing like this. I think the main reason it didn't make it up to $40 million had a lot to do with the fact that it was released the week after Halloween and not at the usual times that these Christmas movies are released (ie. Thanksgiving). I guess they were going after the post-Halloween fright crowd with the darker subject matter and so on -- but who's kidding who, here. This is a Christmas movie and the Disney folks were simply hoping Christmas would come early. The »
- John Cairns
Duncan Jones Will Direct ‘Source Code’ With Jake Gyllenhaal
8 November 2009 5:45 PM, PST
There's been plenty of speculation recently as to what director Duncan Jones would be doing for a follow-up to his excellent film Moon. It appeared for a time that it would be a film in the vein of Blade Runner, called Mute, that would be written by Jones as well. It seems that project, which Jones is still writing, will be postponed as the director has officially been announced to helm the new thriller Source Code. Also attached to the film is the Prince of Persia himself, Jake Gyllenhaal. Source Code is about a soldier named Colter (Gyllenhaal) who awakens on a passenger train in another man's body with no idea how he got there. He begins to explore his surroundings and finds a bomb... which blows up, killing him and everyone else on board. The end. Kidding... after the explosion Colter awakens in darkness, strapped to a harness with a monitor in front of him. He »
- Rob Hunter
15 articles
