18 articles from 2009
7 October 2009 2:18 AM, PDT | Rope of Silicon | See recent Rope Of Silicon news »
Top Ten Working American Directors
A list like this is tricky to the point of madness. However, I'm going to save you the trouble by saying it right here, right now: Most of the choices on this list are obvious. There's a reason why certain names continually pop up whenever conversation drifts toward great American films. So there. I said it.
Yet, how do you weigh the likes of Francis Ford Coppola, a genius who delivered some of the all-time greatest films, but fizzled out 25 or so years ago, against a filmmaker like Woody Allen who has worked consistently for decades churning out both brilliant gems and disposable time wasters? How do you compare either of these directors against an auteur such as Spike Jonze who has only opened two films so far, but both are masterpieces?
In the end I just went with my gut. I knew there were »
- David Frank
24 September 2009 2:00 PM, PDT | EW.com - PopWatch | See recent EW.com - PopWatch news »
Today is National Punctuation Day, the most important non-religious nerd holiday that doesn't involve talking like a pirate. Just think how different our lives would be without the comma, not to mention the semi-colon; we'd be lost without the period. Or the exclamation point! What about the question mark? (Seriously, we'd be screwed: see here.) To celebrate, we've assembled a list of our favorite punctuation marks in movie titles. Call them the Punctuaties (pronounced "Punk-shoe-Ay-shees" [on second thought, don't call them anything]). Best use of a comma in a bad movie by a great director White Hunter, Black Heart Lust, Caution Best use of a comma in a great movie by a great director Sex, Lies, and Videotape One, Two, Three Best use of a comma in the weirdest movie ever: O Brother, Where Art Thou? Best use of a possessive apostrophe: Schindler's List Jacob's LadderAdam's RibPrizzi's Honor Ocean's 11 Best use of a colon: Dr. Strangelove: »
- Darren Franich
8 September 2009 5:59 AM, PDT | MovieWeb | See recent MovieWeb news »
The 13th Annual Hollywood Film Festival and Hollywood Awards, presented by Starz, are pleased to announce their craft honorees for this year's Hollywood Awards. The festival and awards will mark their return on October 21 for a weeklong series of screenings, competitions and awards.
Cinematographer Roger Deakins, A.S.C., will receive the "Hollywood Cinematographer Award," Composer Alexandre Desplat, Bmi, will be given the "Hollywood Film Composer Award," editor Dana Glauberman, A.C.E., will be honored with the "Hollywood Editor Award," production designer Rick Carter, A.D.G., will receive the "Hollywood Production Designer Award" and costume designer Colleen Atwood, C.D.G., will be honored with the "Hollywood Costume Designer Award."
The Hollywood Awards Gala Ceremony will take place at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills on October 26, 2009.
"We are honored to have these exceptionally talented artists honored for their outstanding work and creative vision at this year's festival, »
27 August 2009 6:08 AM, PDT | Atomic Popcorn | See recent Atomic Popcorn news »
Steven Spielberg has a rare form of Hollywood sway, with the ability to develop pretty much any project he’d like to see come to the screen. It’s the sway that comes with a career of absolute blockbusters with failures few and far between. Sometimes, as in the case of A.I.: Artificial Intelligence, he uses it to fulfill the wishes of his friends like Stanley Kubrick, finishing a project from beyond the grave.
Now, he’s working on development for author Michael Crichton (Jurassic Park, Timeline), a film version of his posthumously released novel Pirate Latitudes. The script will be written by David Koepp (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull), while the actual novel will be available on November 24th.
Spielberg is producing the film, and may also direct.
The description of the book is actually a very detailed glimpse into what we’ll be seeing on screen:
“The Caribbean, »
- John Cooper
3 August 2009 7:00 AM, PDT | Fast Company | See recent Fast Company news »
Caveat parentis: Nanovor is coming. Something akin to the Pokemon phenomenon, it may soon sweep the world, seizing kids in its grip and voraciously sucking cash from your wallet. The secret sauce is in the game's online/real world mashup.
Developed by Smith & Tinker, which was founded by Seattle game producer Jordan Weisman (creator of the artificial reality promos for A.I. and the MechWarrior video game franchise), Nanovor centers on nanoscopic silicon dust mites that inhabit your PC. Taking the core of Pokemon, and mixing in a healthy dash of Spore, the main idea is that kids will collect different versions of Nanovor each with its own strengths and set them into battle with each other because, as the promo video puts it, "these little buggers love to fight."
Technology has moved on from the days of Pokemon, so Nanovors live in the online world, but also cross over into the handheld one. »
- Kit Eaton
24 July 2009 12:00 PM, PDT | MTV Movies Blog | See recent MTV Movies Blog news »
“Orphan.” Whether or not you plan on seeing this fright fest about a girl who terrorizes her newly adoptive parents, one thing is indisputable: that is one freaky lookin’ little girl. The dark, hooded eyes, the thick red ribbon bound across her neck, the do-you-feel-lucky-punk stare—this orphan named Esther is a shining example of the supreme creepitude that some pop culture children exude without saying a word.
In creepiness, if not narrative, "Orphan"'s little orphan Esther comes from a long line of hair-raising fictional youngsters. Here’s our list of the kiddies who, intentionally or not, get the chills running up and down our spines.
Vicki from “Small Wonder”: The unsettlingly cheery intro masks the horror that awaits in this half-hour ‘80s sitcom. The flesh on Vicki’s back pops open to reveal a tangle of wires, batteries, microchips and blinking lights. She’s a robot devoid »
- Eric Ditzian
24 June 2009 10:20 AM, PDT | HollywoodChicago.com | See recent HollywoodChicago.com news »
Chicago – “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”, opening June 24th, is the second film in the series based on the Hasbro toy/cartoon. Scott Farrar, whose long career has roots in the first “Star Wars”, supervised all the complex visual effects.
HollywoodChicago.com spoke to Farrar, who gave a precise overview of the challenges and proven results in upping the ante from the first Transformers film.
The Human Element: Megan Fox and Shia Labeouf in ‘Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen’
Photo credit: ©2009 Paramount Pictures HollywoodChicago.com: First things first for the geeks…What will be the most noticeable difference between the look of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen versus the first Transformers film?
Scott Farrar: The lighting is better, also the texturing on the robots and we’ve made big strides forward with more realism. There are sequences shot on IMAX so the resolution is 8 times higher than the first one, »
- PatrickMcD
23 June 2009 5:30 PM, PDT | FilmExperience | See recent FilmExperience news »
Tuesday Top Ten Returns
My friend txt critic sent me this note yesterday: Any interest in coming with me to tues midnight Transformers 2 on IMAX? Only drawbacks:
1. It's $20
2. We'd have to get there early
3. It's Transformers 2 After I recovered from the Lol'ing following #3, I said no. No way am I giving $20 to Michael Bay. I assume Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen will beat Up to steal that #2 box office hit of the year position and I weep for the (safely assumed) qualitative drop in that switcheroo. I don't understand the Transformers phenom. A lot of movies are good at blowing shit up and some of them actually have narrative and visual coherency to go with the pretty fireballs and lovely dust clouds. Why not line up for those? And as I bitched when the first Transformers picture rolled around, the only reason I ever enjoyed the robots in »
- NATHANIEL R
21 May 2009 1:30 PM, PDT | www.flickfilosopher.com | See recent FlickFilosopher news »
We all know how it is. You'd like to get out to see a new movie this weekend, but you fear leaving your underground bunker will draw the attention of the machines. But you can have something close to that multiplex experience at home with the proper application of rental DVDs. In fact, you might even be able to one-up everyone else at the watercooler come Monday, because while they're saying, "Hey, did you see that new Terminator flick?" you can respond, "No, I watched all the movies McG stole from to make it instead." Instead Of: Terminator Salvation, the latest installment in the long-running saga of humanity’s last great battle, against the very machines we created... Rent: Director McG and his screenwriters steal from so many sources for their killer-robot blow-’em-up that the only way to even come close to replicating the experience at home is with a whole bunch of DVDs. »
- MaryAnn Johanson
10 April 2009 11:31 AM, PDT | FilmExperience | See recent FilmExperience news »
Today marks the 80th birthday (80th!) of cinema legend Max von Sydow. This year, a fan site points out, retrospective celebrations of his work seem highly probable. I bring this birthday up because my interview with him a year and half ago is still one of my favorite events from my Film Experience journey. He was so interesting to talk to. Consider the diversity of his resume: The Exorcist, The Seventh Seal, Awakenings, The Virgin Spring, Flash Gordon, Three Days of the Condor, Judge Dredd, Hannah and Her Sisters. He's worked with everyone from Ingmar Bergman to Steven Spielberg. If I could have tied him up for hours with more questions, I would have, believe me. His next film is Martin Scorsese's Shutter Island (previously discussed) and then we might see him in the Ww II resistance fighter drama, Truth & Treason. He's not in the trailer so we assume »
- NATHANIEL R
20 March 2009 9:37 AM, PDT | FilmExperience | See recent FilmExperience news »
Though you wouldn't know it from my Knowing and Watchmen reviews (I meant them to be funnier but they're closer to grouchy), recently I've been newly devoted to genre material. Sci-fi and fantasy please. It started with a mad spree of fantasy paperbacks last year (including The Curse of Chalion discussed here) and television's sci-fi block on Friday really ramped it up with that Terminator / Dollhouse / Battlestar cluster-frak. So let's discuss a few nominees for the latest Hugo Awards which were announced yesterday.
Yes Virginia, people are still giving out awards for 2008.
Before we get to the movies here are the Best Novel competitors which one might add to one's kindle, library request or shopping list if one knows how to read.
Anathem by Neal Stephenson
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman the awesome.
Little Brother (download free) by Cory Doctorow. It's post-terrorist attack speculative sci-fi about a 17 year old in San Francisco, »
- NATHANIEL R
20 March 2009 4:32 AM, PDT | PopStar | See recent PopStar news »
We have some pretty famous birthdays to report to you today! Can you guess who they are based on the following facts? You can catch him playing in Ocean's Eleven, Ocean's Twelve, and Ocean's Thirteen playing the role of Saul Bloom. He's quite the Harry Potter star, first appearing in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Perhaps he was the prisoner? He may not be with us any longer, but he certainly left his mark on generations of children in Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood! She was a witch of a woman in Little Black Book who partially redeemed herself through Saving Grace. He's nothing if not a hottie! He started out on The O.C. before playing a recurring role on Smallville, but his most recent role is Charlie Hogan in Privileged. From Boston Public to The War at Home to Prison Break, he's a familiar face on television. Sued a »
- rsw@corp.popstar.com (Robert Samuel White)
20 March 2009 4:32 AM, PDT | PopStar | See recent PopStar news »
We have some pretty famous birthdays to report to you today! Can you guess who they are based on the following facts? You can catch him playing in Ocean's Eleven, Ocean's Twelve, and Ocean's Thirteen playing the role of Saul Bloom. He's quite the Harry Potter star, first appearing in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Perhaps he was the prisoner? He may not be with us any longer, but he certainly left his mark on generations of children in Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood! She was a witch of a woman in Little Black Book who partially redeemed herself through Saving Grace. He's nothing if not a hottie! He started out on The O.C. before playing a recurring role on Smallville, but his most recent role is Charlie Hogan in Privileged. From Boston Public to The War at Home to Prison Break, he's a familiar face on television. Sued a »
- rsw@corp.popstar.com (Robert Samuel White)
20 March 2009 4:32 AM, PDT | PopStar | See recent PopStar news »
We have some pretty famous birthdays to report to you today! Can you guess who they are based on the following facts? You can catch him playing in Ocean's Eleven, Ocean's Twelve, and Ocean's Thirteen playing the role of Saul Bloom. He's quite the Harry Potter star, first appearing in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Perhaps he was the prisoner? He may not be with us any longer, but he certainly left his mark on generations of children in Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood! She was a witch of a woman in Little Black Book who partially redeemed herself through Saving Grace. He's nothing if not a hottie! He started out on The O.C. before playing a recurring role on Smallville, but his most recent role is Charlie Hogan in Privileged. From Boston Public to The War at Home to Prison Break, he's a familiar face on television. Sued a »
- rsw@corp.popstar.com (Robert Samuel White)
13 March 2009 9:59 PM, PDT | newsinfilm.com | See recent newsinfilm news »
The South by Southwest Film Festival is officially underway and I’m camped right in the center of the action. This is my first festival, but I feel comfortable in saying it is my favorite one so far. I made the trek from North Austin (where I live) to downtown Austin where I’ll be staying for the full week and a half of screenings, panels, and general mayhem.
I have to say the badge system makes it pretty awesome to get tickets or stroll into a world premiere. I never knew how fun it was to flash a laminated printout of a bad picture at random strangers, but I’ve been doing it for a few hours now and I think I’m already addicted. A crowd formed on 6th Street as I was making my way across town, I showed them my badge, and they parted like the Red Sea. »
- Jeff Leins
26 February 2009 1:54 AM, PST | JustPressPlay.net | See recent JustPressPlay news »
Last night, someone informed me that my photo is featured on the official website for Nine Inch Nails. Of course, my immediate response was, "Why?" I mean, did I black out and downloaded their album sixty times?
As it turns out, it's not exactly true—I'm just on a webpage linked on the Nin site's front page. Whew. Remember the Alternate Reality Game that was based on their album Year Zero? It was created by the marketing company 42 Entertainment. They are also the geniuses behind The Dark Knight's "Why So Serious?" Arg campaign. These guys are up for the People's Choice at this year's SXSW Web Awards for that campaign, and Trent Reznor wants to make sure people vote for them.
If you remember, back in 2007 Jpp went to Comic-Con and yours truly inadvertently participated in something that would later become ground zero for The Dark Knight's entire marketing ploy. »
- Arya Ponto
17 February 2009 11:20 AM, PST | Fangoria | See recent Fangoria news »
Coming this June from St. Martin’s Press is a new horror novel that, thanks to additional media elements, will be much more than a simple read. Personal Effects: Dark Art also encompasses viral/alternate-reality elements such as websites, podcasts and voice mails that will keep readers immersed in its world.
The book, written by J.C. Hutchins and Jordan Weisman, tells the story of Martin Grace, a serial killer being investigated by art therapist, Zach Taylor. The story incorporates Zach’s personal writings as he tries to find the truth behind the slayings Martin is accused of. Martin claims to have foreseen his victims’ deaths, but did not cause them; the actual killings were the work of a “Dark Man.” In order to uncover the real story, Zach seeks help from his girlfriend Rachael, a gaming blogger, and his brother Lukas. His search into Martin’s past, however, »
3 February 2009 7:02 PM, PST | Cinematical | See recent Cinematical news »
Ever know one of those guys who's always working? Well, if you were able to list their output the same way you could film directors, they would look something like the resumes of these guys. Once the number of movies gets up in the hundreds, it's hard to count because the IMDb starts to list things like participation in documentaries and talk shows, individual TV episodes, uncredited work, etc.. But even if the numbers aren't 100% accurate, the output of these seven filmmakers is indisputable.
Love him or hate him, he's an uncanny businessman, a pure entertainer, and a genuine artist with a highly recognizable style (though he rarely transcends the middlebrow), and he has remained relevant for four decades. He has launched or at least aided some interesting careers, most notably Joe Dante (Gremlins), sometimes referred to as the anti-Spielberg, and Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future, Who Framed Roger Rabbit »
- Jeffrey M. Anderson
18 articles from 2009
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