The flashy advertisements, the curving of bullets and Angelina Jolie make it pretty difficult to remember that Wanted was originally based on a series of graphic novels by Mark Millar. From early reports (including a review from Cinematical), the adaptation is a loose one, so you might be surprised to hear that Millar actually felt it was an improvement on his work.
He posted his enthusiastic response on his official message board. (If you choose to click, be warned, the place abounds with spoilers.) "Even the biggest change -- the loom stuff in the middle Timur wrote -- works really well. I think the fate thing really made the character more empathetic as the 'killing for fun' stuff would have made him a little hateful. They kept all the best bits and junked my over-indulgences. So I feel very happy as it was a kind of perfected version that made it to the screen. Could not be happier."
Millar also added that he's been approached by Universal about concocting a sequel. "They've asked me how I can develop some of the other stuff from the book into the sequel. We'll see what box office is like at the weekend, but everyone knows this is going to make a LOT of dough. Wall·E permitting." (He actually has a few choice words for the hapless robot, who really shouldn't be held accountable for his release date.)
After the disappointing box office of both Speed Racer and The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspianlast month, it's apparent that May was too busy a month for all its blockbusters to succeed. Last week, Eric D. Snider initiated a discussion about Caspian's release date and many of our readers agreed that it should have been released in December, or any other month, for that matter. Couldn't it have been a success in February or October, too? As part of an initially popular franchise, you'd think it could stand to be released anytime of the year.
Earlier today, I responded to an interview in which two cinema industry honchos argued that big movies should be released 12 months in the year. Or, at least, the summer movie season should begin earlier, in April. Imagine, the first blockbuster of the year being released on Easter weekend. Or, when Easter is in March, April Fool's Day weekend. Unfortunately, the month doesn't have any Monday holidays with which to capitalize on a three-day-weekend release, but a two-day weekend didn't seem to hurt Iron Man's enormous opening.
One commenter on my earlier post noted that moving the summer season up to April will only make that month the busiest release month, just as May is currently. But there's a good chance Hollywood will recognize, after May 2008, the benefits of staying spread out. Plus, Memorial Day weekend will continue to be prime real estate, so tentpoles might be better spread out, as they should be according to their name (imagine going camping and placing all your literal tentpoles in one corner).
What do you think? Should the summer movie season begin earlier? Or is it just fine as is? Or did you think it actually began on April 18 with the release of the fantasy martial arts flick The Forbidden Kingdom?
This week's Sex and the Citymovie is hardly the first cinematic continuation of a TV show, but there really haven't been that many. Usually when we think of film adaptations of TV series, we're thinking of remakes. But there are a few movies that pick up where their respective show ends, whether as a resuming story, a prequel or something totally random and barely connected.
And of course, we keep hearing about other possible series-to-film resumptions: Lost, 24 and Arrested Development movies have all been discussed, and they may indeed happen. So, while there isn't a long list of predecessors to model their transitions on, I've compiled seven titles that did it right in some way or another. Hopefully, for the sake of the fans of Carrie and co., Sex and the City will be enough of a success to make number eight.
People may enjoy the second installment best, but this is the one that started the film franchise, officially reigniting a series that had been canceled ten years prior. Though the original show had its share of fans, enough to eventually get this film produced, it wasn't initially considered a success. And interestingly enough, neither was the movie thought of as a complete hit, despite its $80 million gross and the fact that it spawned another ten film installments (and additional series).
In the event that an Arrested Development movie gets made, it could be seen as similar to Star Trek, since the TV show was initially a failure yet it has gained a larger following since its cancellation, enough to call for production of a feature follow-up. However, there's also a good chance that it will also be a failure on the big screen, like was Serenity, the cinematic continuation of the TV series Firefly. tion more than simply an adaptation.
After a long, hard-fought battle, the second official trailer for The Dark Knight took home top honors at this year's Golden Trailer Awards (with a margin of victory of 44%). The contest, held over at USA Today, tallied votes on films from several different categories -- all of which were chosen as this year's Golden Trailer winners earlier in the month. Among the top trailers users had a chance to vote on were Enchanted (Best Animation/Family), Tropic Thunder (Best Comedy), Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden? (Best Documentary), No Country for Old Men (Best Drama), I am Legend (Best Horror) and Iron Man (Summer 2008 Blockbuster), among others. While there are certainly other trailers I would've picked to win their respective category (Pineapple Express, for one), I think we can probably all agree that The Dark Knight trailer is definitely tops.
Check out the trailer one more time above, then head on over to USA Today to see what else was nominated (as well as the official site for The Golden Trailer Awards). In your opinion, does anything beat The Dark Knight?
Just when you thought it was over, we have even more Incredible Hulk clips to show you! Moviefone has unveiled some brand new footage from the flick (watch it above or in HD over on Moviefone); this time, we're at the very beginning of that field sequence when the military folks trap Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) in a glass tube thing. Once he's in there, they shoot some sort of smoke gas stuff in to try to flush him out. Only ... they look a bit surprised with what actually comes out. This clip follows several others that have made their way online in the past few days; for more, check out this post and this post. Additionally, Dark Horizons has a great write-up on a recent Hulk edit bay visit, where they were shown the opening sequence. I know a lot of you are coming down on the special effects, the way the Hulk looks, what have you -- but I'm diggin' what I've seen from this film so far. The all CG superhero is a hard one to pull off, so my fingers are crossed this works out for everyone. The Incredible Hulk debuts in theaters on June 13.
Update: MSN has also debuted a pretty cool clip as well.
Lara Croft learns the trade from a very old Indiana Jones
Most Hollywood blockbusters spawn their share of low-budget ripoffs, but only a few really successful movies are influential enough to be followed by big-budget copycats. Usually these followers get media-infused taglines such as "Die Hard on a ... " or "Aliens in a ... ", with the labels likely originating at the studio pitch stage.
Though Raiders of the Lost Arkand its sequels were already derivative and referential works, the Indiana Jones franchise also inspired derivatives of its own, some that were exploitive, some that paid homage and some that are only linked through minor elements. So, in celebration of the latest Indy movie, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, here's a look back at all the "Indiana Jones as a ... " knock-offs that Hollywood has delivered in the last few decades:
The real source of this and its 2003 sequel, Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Cradle of Life, were the Tomb Raider video games, which were clearly inspired by the Indiana Jones films. In the movie we have an archaeologist who seeks a mystical object, which she must keep out of the hands of an evil society. There's an Asian temple, a reunion with a disappeared estranged father and a finale involving the crumbling self-destruction of an elaborate set piece. It's like all the initial three Indiana Jones films wrapped up in one, with added sex appeal in casting Angelina Jolie in the Harrison Ford role. Yet Jolie as Croft is too serious to be the female counterpart to Ford's Indy. Also, while the Indiana Jones films deal with some level of magically religious fantasy, they're at least grounded by "real" or familiar artifacts such as the Holy Grail and the Ark of the Covenant. And they tend to remain just realistic enough to avoid things like giant six-armed statues that come to life.
Remember serials? I don't, because I'm too young, and by the time I began going to the movies, it was already the practice for cinemas to stick to single, self-contained, feature-length fare. With the way screenings are arranged today, scheduled so that both theater owners and studios can get as much money from as many showings as possible, there's just no room for any accompanying shorts, especially the kind that don't end in a conclusive manner.
I'd probably be okay with being left out of that experience from the moviegoing past, but each time another Indiana Jones movie is released, I can't help but think I'm at least a little less appreciative of George Lucas' intent than some of the older folk in the audience. When Lucas thought up the original Raiders of the Lost Ark, he partly meant the film as homage to the serials he remembered from his childhood.
Yet Raiders didn't end with a cliffhanger, as most serials had on a weekly basis. And with the third sequel to that film, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, arriving in theaters this week, I still wonder why at least two installments couldn't have been connected with the serializing device. Lucas had already somewhat shown us, through the uncertain ending of The Empire Stikes Back and continuation/resolution beginning of Return of the Jedi, that it could be done.
Man, I am absolutely loving the posters they're creating for The Dark Knight. Sure, there's been like 9, 10, 357 of them, but each one packs a solid punch. Batman On Film have debuted the latest of the batch, which, obviously, showcases the film's big villain: The Joker. Only thing I don't get about this poster is why they would put the words 'Coming Soon' underneath? Why not show off the film's July 18th release date?
For those who haven't stopped in to hang out here for awhile, The Dark Knight has been a subject of debate lately. First, Elisabeth wrote a Fan Rant on the selling of that Joker toy, and how some folks are cleaning out the supply, jacking up the prices and selling it on eBay -- profiting off Ledger's death and the increased demand for a collectible. Meanwhile, I pondered whether Ledger may get himself an Oscar nod out of this role; how it's about damn time we start recognizing the wonderful performances in these fanboy flicks, instead of focusing solely on special effects and sound editing. So feel free to chime in here or on those other posts. Unlike the poster, we'll tell you The Dark Knight arrives in theaters on July 18.
Welcome back to another edition of Insert Caption -- the game everyone in Narnia was talking about a thousand years from now! Last week we asked you to dust off that pimpin' fedora and come up with a caption for a photo from Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull -- which, for those who've been counting down the seconds (looks away in shame!), hits theaters in less than one week! Congrats to Anthony T. (who won the first three Indiana Jones films on DVD) for a caption that was, well, a real hidden treasure.
1. "We've finally made it to the tomb of the ... Goddammit Nicolas Cage!!!! What are you doing here?!!" -- Anthony T.
2. "Unbeknownst to the two adventurers, the shadowy figure behind them had just enough silly string left to seal their doom..." Sean A.
3. "Geez, Dr. Jones. I know I told you I'd help you clean out your attic, but I'm going to need more than $10 an hour..." -- Pete M.
This week we're all returning to the land of Narnia in honor of the highly-anticipated sequel to The Lion, the Witch and The Wardrobe: The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. We're not asking you to take out the villains and save a prince, mind you, but we would like a funny caption for the photo below. In return, you see, three lucky winners will be awarded one Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian cast-signed poster, one Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian soundtrack and one Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian illustrated "making of" book. You know the drill ...
It is the wee hours of the morning here in the Colorado Rockies -- and when they said the teaser trailer was to debut Friday, they weren't kidding. They wanted you all to wake up to it. How nice of them!
It is up courtesy of Yahoo! Movies (along with a bunch of new photos), so unfortunately we can't embed it. While it looks better than I expected it would, there isn't much to inspire a lot of excitement for me. I thought the one thing this movie would have in its favor was a new location. But despite being located in China, it manages to boast as many desert battles as the previous two installments. Now, I know there are deserts in China, but that isn't exactly the geography the country is most famous for. Wouldn't you take advantage of the beautiful mountains and bamboo forests? Unless, of course, you were banking on using those dissolving sand effects again, already evident on the poster. (They do venture into the Himalayas at some point from the looks of things. Dissolving snow effects?)
Still, it looks like there are some impressive action sequences. Those terracotta soldiers have always given me the creeps, so bonus points for managing to play on one of my archeological fears. And its nice to see Brendan Fraser again -- like Johnny Depp, he must have a portrait of himself aging in an attic somewhere. His movie son looks older than he does.
The Mummy: The Tomb of the Dragon Emperor will be released August 1st. What do you think -- a good way to spend the end of the summer, or are you just going to buy another ticket to Indiana Jones?
(In addition to the trailer, Universal released a slew of new Mummy images. Check those out in the gallery below.)
Just when I thought the day would end without a single bit of funny ... The Promotiontrailer has finally arrived! You've probably heard us talk about this movie a good gazillion times already, but if you haven't, listen up: It's really good and stuff. Yes, a bunch of us here at Cinematical saw The Promotionwhen it premiered at SXSW in March and we absolutely fell in love with its characters, its story, its performances and its charm.
Written and directed by Steve Conrad (writer of The Pursuit of Happyness), The Promotion stars Seann William Scott and John C. Reilly as two guys who REALLY want to land the new managerial job at the supermarket across town. In fact, both will go to great lengths to get that job -- and, while the premise sounds sort of played, silly and uninteresting, the execution is wonderful. This is truly one of my favorite films of the year so far, and we hope you like it too. Moviefone just premiered the new trailer (see above), and they did a pretty good job setting the film up for you, tone and all. As I've said, it's Election set in a supermarket -- so when you watch the trailer, keep that in mind.
Both of the upcoming animated releases that aren't Wall-E or Space Chimps got new trailers yesterday. Here's one for Igor (and here's a link to the poster we premiered a few weeks ago), and here's one for Kung Fu Panda.
Kung Fu Panda looks like it'll be just a step or two above -- *shudder* -- Beverly Hills Chihuahua. Igor, on the other hand, looks like a charmer: the premise is inherently nerdy, requiring viewers to think back to the original Frankenstein films (or at least Young Frankenstein, or Van Helsing in a pinch) to get the joke, and the trailer has a few big laughs.
The biggest upside of Kung Fu Panda coming out on June 6th: those of us who frequent AMC Theaters will no longer have to endure the Kung Fu Panda-themed pre-movie interlude exhorting viewers to shut up. I'm not sure how many more times I can listen to Jack Black tell me that he can hear me texting before I have an aneurysm. But I guess I should be grateful AMC is no longer airing that horrid Three Doors Down "Citizen Soldier" video pimping the National Guard (because no one screams "role model" to teenagers like the lead singer of Three Doors Down). That thing gave me nightmares.
Isn't it pretty? I'm still alarmed by the squareness of Obi-Wan's beard though, even the Clone Trooper helmets have more softness. The poster has been released to herald the debut of the trailer, which will air May 8th simultaneously on Cartoon Network, TNT, TBS, CNN and Boomerang. It will air at 7:58 in all U.S. time zones. According to the official Star Wars site (where the poster can be purchased and press release can be found), Amidala will be on the front lines alongside Anakin and Obi Wan, and we'll also be introduced to Anakin's Padawan, Ahsoka. Does it surprise anyone else they let him have a Padawan? Way to go, Jedi Academy.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars comes to the big screen on August 15th, with the premiere of Cartoon Network's weekly series debuting sometime after. With all the big summer movies this year, it's really hard to remember this is coming out too. What a geeky year.
Well, as probably the biggest Speed Racer booster on this blog (I see the movie Tuesday night, and James's review was music to my ears), I guess it falls to me to report the bad news as well. If you believe tracking numbers -- and you might justifiably be skeptical about them (David Poland likes to hammer on the point that they don't capture the teen demographic) -- then there's good reason to think that the movie might come in a distant second to Iron Man when it hits theaters this Friday. The Hollywood Reporter's sources peg it at $25-35 million for the weekend, which would be perfect positioning for it to eat Iron Man's dust. Warner Bros.' efforts to control expectations notwithstanding, it would also be a pretty big disappointment for one of its major summer tentpoles.
I can't say I'm surprised -- as I warned a couple of weeks ago, this is an expensive brand-name release where the target audience has never heard of the brand name. As someone with a soft spot for the Wachowskis (I only abandoned ship on The Matrix after Revolutions rather than Reloaded, and one day I'll write up a defense of the latter film), I was hoping to see them return to the top of the A-list. But if we're being honest, the Hollywood Reporter's estimate seems right to me. So I'd settle for a bow that isn't embarrassing.
It was briefly leaked online last week, but now the new official trailer for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is online ... and you can watch it above or over on IndianaJones.com. This is the trailer that begins to explain the story; how, as per usual, Indy is off in search of some artifact (the crystal skull) which comes with a spooky-cool story (the person who has possession gains great powers), but there's an evil group (the Russians) who want to use said artifact to their advantage. Sound familiar?
But it's cool, because Indiana Jones is back. And Marion Ravenwood is back. And a whole new generation now gets a chance to enjoy one of my all-time favorite movie characters on the big screen for the first time. And, well, you got Steven Spielberg who, last I checked, makes some pretty good films. What's not to look forward to? In addition to this new trailer, you can check out two new TV spots for the film here and here -- both of which use a combo of footage we've seen previously, and there may even be some new stuff thrown in too.
With all this Iron Man talk, did you realize we're only a couple weeks away from Indy? May 22? C'mon! Am I the only one excited about this?
The flashy advertisements, the curving of bullets and Angelina Jolie make it pretty difficult to remember that Wanted was originally based on a series of graphic novels by Mark Millar. From early reports (including a review from Cinematical), the adaptation is a loose one, so you might be surprised to hear that Millar actually felt it was an improvement on his work. 
After the disappointing box office of both 
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1. "We've finally made it to the tomb of the ... Goddammit Nicolas Cage!!!! What are you doing here?!!" -- Anthony T.
Both of the upcoming animated releases that aren't Wall-E or Space Chimps got new trailers yesterday. 
Well, as probably the biggest Speed Racer booster on this blog (I see the movie Tuesday night, and James's 
