Empire Magazine has the first official photos from Michael Mann's highly-anticipated crime drama. Everything about this movie has me excited--Michael Mann doing not just gangsters but 1930's gangsters, Johnny Depp and Christian Bale headlining, Marion Cotillard and Channing Tatum in supporting roles... Set to hit next summer, the film is based in part on Bryan Burrough's fact-based book
I have to admit--this movie has my interest. First, the marketing campaign has been pretty nifty, putting out a cool poster (see right). Second, it stars the immensely likable Gerry Butler, alongside the equally likable Katherine Heigl. Third, it's an R-rated romantic comedy, which gives me hope that we won't have to watch the awkward hijinks usually found in such movies made even more awkward by the lack of profanity, dirty jokes, or gratuitous nudity to ease the tension. And finally, we now have a surprisingly fun trailer to give us our first taste of the movie. It opens April 3, 2009.
A new trailer has come out for the star-studded He's Just Not That Into You. Watch the likes of Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, Scarlett Johansson, Jennifer Connelly, Drew Barrymore, Justin Long, and more play relationship round-robin with each other. Based on Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo's best-selling book
Hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving! We're still playing catch up here at RRIB from a busy week leading up to the holiday, so we'll kick off our post-Thanksgiving updates with some more new trailers. First up, Tony Gilroy, writer/director of last year's Michael Clayton, is back with the new trailer for Duplicity. The movie reunites Clive Owen and Julia Roberts after 2004's Closer, and seems to carry quite a bit of spunk in spinning a fun corporate espionage story. Both actors know how to carry their swagger and this is looking like it could be a very charming movie. Tom Wilkinson and Paul Giamatti also join in on the fun. The movie opens March 20, 2009.
Coming Soon has confirmed with Fox that the trailer for Wolverine will debut before the December 12th remake of The Day The Earth Stood Still. Word is that the trailer will remain exclusive for theater-goers for some time, not arriving online or on TV until a later date. I'm not sure how I feel about this project. Recent rumblings of director Gavin Hood and studio head Tom Rothman butting heads are less than reassuring, and Hood's own reputation seems to have lost a good deal of steam after last year's mediocre Rendition. Still, Wolverine is one of the most engaging characters in the Marvel universe, and the project sure has enough talent behind it. December 12th will give us our first real look at the movie since the Comic Con sizzle reel. Here's to hoping it's a good one.
Fans who didn't get enough out of the trailer of Star Trek that debuted a little over a week ago can now get a second helping. Ain't It Cool News brings us an exclusive that Paramount Pictures has released a re-cut trailer, this one with much more action and a special appearance at the end that is sure to get fanboys worked up into a frenzy. For my money, it's a better trailer that would get even non-Trek fans excited. Thoughts?
The world of movie posters is changing. Still images printed on heavy paper stock are now being overtaken by digital displays, often with motion capabilities (Step Brothers is a movie I remember seeing earlier this year employing this kind of marketing). Now, Sony has released the new motion poster for Terminator: Salvation. You can see the full flash version over on Sony's website, but I've posted the end image above. Pretty sweet, no?
Those who have yet to see I Am Legend (though I can't imagine why--Will Smith is the biggest movie star in the world and the movie was very good, in my opinion) should be aware of spoilers in this post. An AICN tipster is reporting strange things about a potential follow up to Smith's 2007 sci-fi thriller. While rumors of Smith mulling a prequel have circulated in the past, AICN's tipster is now reporting that Warner Bros. is considering making a direct sequel. Those who saw the first film will remember Smith's Robert Neville dying in a fiery explosion (though the alternate ending has him surviving), so a Smith-driven sequel seems flat out strange. Will they rewrite what most folks saw in theaters and have the fan-preferred alternate ending serve as what actually happened in the story's continuity? Or is there another device they'll employ to bring Smith back? Or is this simply another rumor waiting to be debunked? We'll keep you posted on how this develops.
Twilight grossed a whopping $69.6 million over the weekend, so it's no surprise that Summit Entertainment has decided to move forward on the sequel, New Moon. You can read the press release over at Cinematical. I haven't seen the movie yet, but a friend who did some post production work on it said it wasn't as bad as he expected (though to be honest, he was expecting very bad things). It's 44% rotten rating over at Rotten Tomatoes seems to suggest that most critics found it a lackluster adaptation, so let's hope the filmmakers take that to heart as opposed to the box office turnout when approaching the second film.
Juno and Thank You For Smoking director Jason Reitman is filling out the cast for his next movie, Up In The Air quite nicely. We first got word a few days ago that Anna Kendrick, who has a small role in Twilight, landed a role playing a young woman who gets entangled in the world of a "career transition counselor" (or professional firer), played by George Clooney. Word is that dozens of young stars read for the part, including Ellen Page and Emily Blunt, but Kendrick nailed the audition. The movie centers around Clooney's character, whose otherwise aimless and crumbling life is given some definition by his goal of reaching one million frequent flier miles.
Now we're hearing that The Departed and Nothing But The Truth star Vera Farmiga has been cast as well, playing the part of a businesswoman who gets romantically involved with Clooney's character as they keep bumping into each other at airports across the country. The story was adapted by Reitman from Walter Kim's novel of the same name
The New York Times, along with several other media outlets, reported over the weekend that the federally appointed mediator was unable to facilitate an agreement for a new contract between the Screen Actor's Guild and The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. SAG will now ask its members to vote in favor of authorizing a strike, and will preface that with an education campaign to encourage them to do so. SAG members have been working without a contract since June 30, and it seems like a large part of their disputes with AMPTP revolve around how actors will be paid for videos streamed online and other new media.
A vote to authorize the strike would allow SAG leaders to begin a strike at any time. The Writer's Guild of America began their strike just a little over a year ago, on November 5, 2007. I don't know if SAG will be able to get its members to back a strike at this point, though, given the vastly different economic landscape. If a strike were authorized, however, it could mean another awards season marred by an ongoing strike, and another disrupted television season as well.
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Superbad director Greg Mottola's latest comedy, Adventureland, has a new trailer.
The film stars Jesse Eisenberg, Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig, Ryan Reynolds, and Kristin Stewart. Set in 1987, the film follows a fresh-out-of-college kid who's a little lost in life, and, obviously, gets a job at an amusement park! The film looks like fun though, and I'm always down to see anything with Kristin Stewart, Kristen Wiig, or Ryan Reynolds - let alone all three.
I am beyond excited for this movie. Darren Aronofsky is among my favorite filmmakers, and after the (undeserved, in my opinion) critical hate-fest on 2006's The Fountain, I'm glad this movie is getting as much love as it is (I'm also glad we don't have to wait another 6 years for a new Aronofsky film). Don't believe the hype or unfamiliar with the director's work? Check out the new trailer for The Wrestler to get your spandex shorts all bundled up in excitement. Mickey Rourke (turning in what everyone is saying is a career-defining performance), Marisa Tomei, and Evan Rachel Wood star in the movie, set for limited release on December 17, 2008, and then expanding to wide on January 16, 2009..
Apple Trailers has unveiled another teaser for Ice Age: Dawn Of The Dinosaurs, the third installment of 20th Century Fox's highly successful animated franchise. In usual Ice Age fashion, the second teaser trailer for the movie (the first one played before Horton Hears A Who and can be found here) features the further adventures of Scrat, the Laotian rock rat/chipmunk thing that's always obsessing over an acorn. The movie is set to open in theaters in Digital 3-D on July 4th, 2009.
Moviefone has posted a teaser trailer for the upcoming Astro Boy (and we mean real upcoming--it's not due out until October of 2009). The movie, being made by Imagi Animation Studios and directed by Flushed Away's David Bowers, is an adaptation of the iconic manga series from the 1950's. Series was created by Osamu Tezuka (often regarded as the "god of manga") and debuted as an animated program in Japan in 1963. It was later adapted for overseas audiences in the 1980's, and remade again in 2003. This latest version will feature the voice talents of Freddie Highmore, Bill Nighy, Nicolas Cage, Kristen Bell, and Donald Sutherland.
This one deserved a post of its own. It looks like the long-in-gestation Arrested Development movie is closer than ever to becoming a reality. THR is reporting that series creator Mitch Hurwitz and narrator/executive producer Ron Howard have finalized deals to return for the movie. Hurwitz will write and direct the movie, with Howard presumably filling the same dual role as narrator/executive producer for Imagine Entertainment and Fox Searchlight. The increasing popularity of stars Michael Cera and Jason Bateman likely had a lot to do with the project moving forward, but neither have signed on yet. I can't imagine either of them being unwilling to return, but let's hope the original cast, which also included Jeffrey Tambor, Will Arnett, Portia de Rossi, David Cross, Tony Hale, Alia Shawkat, and Jessica Walter, get signed on soon. Loyal fans like myself have been clamoring for the critically acclaimed but ratings-challenged show to get the feature length treatment for years; I'm excited to see this project finally get moving.
Lots of news in the land of television today. First up, The Hollywood Reporter has news on the 8th season of Scrubs, which will be making its debut on ABC on Tuesday, January 6th at 9:00 PM. It'll air two episodes a night for its first two weeks before settling into the slot regularly. Scrubs began its run on NBC back in 2001 on Tuesdays at 9:30 PM.
Next up is some bad news, I'm afraid. Dirty Sexy Money, Eli Stone, and the inimitable Pushing Daisies will not receive full season pickups from ABC past their 13-episode orders. The studio is avoiding the word "canceled" when talking about the three sophomore shows, but it's looking like a pickup at a later date is improbable. Bryan Fuller, creator of Daisies, remains optimistic, however, that the show will find a second life in other formats. He says the next step is to get DC Comics on board to finish the season's storylines out in a comic book format, and convince Warner Bros. to greenlight a feature-length film version of the show. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he can pull this off. No official word yet on whether or not this means that Fuller is headed back to scripting duties on NBC's struggling Heroes
Finally, Rob Thomas fans will be happy to know that the Veronica Mars creator's relaunched series, Cupid, now has a promo reel out. Viewers may recall the 1998 version that starred a pre-Ari Jeremy Piven and Paula Marshall. Follow the jump to check out the reel.
More animated goodness coming your way! Yahoo! Movies has added the full trailer for Coraline, Henry Selick's adaptation of the Neil Gaiman-penned children's novel
Mary and Max, the Philip Seymour Hoffman and Toni Collette-voiced claymated feature film from the creators of the Academy Award winning short animation Harvie Krumpet, will open the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.
Normally, I'd wait until there was a trailer up at least to report on this, but the art and style of Mary and Max looks amazing. Right now, I'd see the film on that merit alone.
From the film's official website:
"MARY AND MAX is a simple tale of pen-friendship between two very different people; Mary Dinkle, a chubby lonely eight year old girl living in the suburbs of Melbourne, and Max Horovitz, a 44 year old, severely obese, Jewish man with Asperger's Syndrome living in the chaos of New York. Spanning twenty years and two continents, Mary and Max's friendship survives much more than the average diet of life's ups and downs. Like Harvie Krumpet, MARY AND MAX is innocent but not naive, as it takes us on a journey that explores friendship, autism, taxidermy, psychiatry, alcoholism, where babies come from, obesity, kleptomania, sexual difference, trust, copulating dogs, religious difference, agoraphobia, and much much more."
You can also hear the hauntingly sweet theme on the official website. Be sure to check out the Characters section too - so much wacky lovableness!
Rod Lurie's Nothing But The Truth has a new trailer out now, embedded after the jump.
The film stars Kate Beckinsale as reporter Rachel Armstrong, who is imprisoned after her article outs a CIA agent (played by Vera Farmiga) and she refuses to name her source. Co-stars include Matt Dillon, Alan Alda, Angela Bassett, Noah Wyle, and David Schwimmer.
The film is based loosely on real-life CIA agent Valerie Plame, who was outed as a CIA Operations Officer by Robert Novak in his syndicated The Washington Post article. Novak was responding to an op-ed by Plame's husband, Ambassador Joseph Wilson, that charged the Bush Administration with manipulating intelligence to justify the preemptive invasion of Iraq.
Rod Lurie's 2007 Resurrecting The Champ was quietly impressive, albeit under-seen, and Nothing But The Truth looks like it could be pretty incendiary stuff. Let's hope more people will catch it this time around.
Cinematical has the exclusive on the final poster for Frank Miller's The Spirit.
Based off the Will Eisner comic of the same name, The Spirit finds rookie cop Denny Colt (Gabriel Macht) return from the dead to fight crime in Central City, facing off with the Octopus (Samuel L. Jackson), a baddy who kills anyone that sees his face. Along the way, Scarlett Johansson, Eva Mendes, Sarah Paulson, and Jaime King vie for a combination of Denny's affections/attention/life.
You can find the latest trailer here.
Fox and Josh Schwartz are in negotiations to have the Gossip Girl and The O.C. creator write a new installment in the X-Men franchise, with the option to direct as well (though Schwartz appears to have opted out of the latter role for now). The project is tentatively titled X-Men: First Class and would possibly draw from the limited-run comic series of the same name that Marvel launched back in 2006. The series focuses on the early years of the supergroup, and was geared toward younger audiences, which might explain the choice to bring Schwartz in to pen the script. No word yet on how the project would fit into the continuity of the movies, though. The film follows in the footsteps of other X-Men spinoffs that Fox is prepping, including the upcoming Wolverine movie as well as the Magneto and Deadpool projects that are in development. X-Men producer Lauren Shuler Donner and Mr. & Mrs. Smith and X-Men: The Last Stand scribe Simon Kinberg will produce.
I'm actually a fan of Josh Schwartz's work. Sure, his projects tend to be flawed and kind of clunky at times, but he knows how to sell to a young audience. He's also a pretty smart guy and a talented writer with a biting wit and great self-awareness. Hopefully that all translates into him writing a good movie for this franchise. Not sure how this will affect his attachment to Looking For Alaska, the coming-of-age dramedy based on John Green's award-winning YA novel of the same name
Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, the writing team behind the Narnia movies, indie crime-comedy You Kill Me, and HBO movie The Life and Death of Peter Sellers, are in negotiations to tackle Marvel's The First Avenger: Captain America. The movie, if you'll remember, signed Joe Johnston on as its director last week, and it looks like the remaining talent is beginning to fill in as well. It's set to come out on May 6, 2011. Now that a script is being worked on, the producers can likely focus more seriously on casting. Which begs the question, who would make a good Captain America? Rumors have mentioned everyone from Leonardo DiCaprio to Matthew McConaughey to Dr. Who's John Barrowman. Personally, I'm intrigued by the recent suggestion of Channing Tatum. The only thing bothersome about that idea for me is that he's a bit on the young side. Leave us a comment with any of your suggestions.
Universal is planning a remake of Bong Joon-ho's 2006 monster movie The Host, with Gore Verbinski producing and commercials director Fredrik Bond making his feature-directing debut.
Smart People scribe Mark Poirier will pen the screenplay. Normally I'd be decrying yet another American remake of a good foreign film, but I'm feeling a little optimistic about the talent attached here. Gore Verbinski's got a knack for balancing story and spectacle, as he has shown with the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. Fredrik Bond is an unproven director, but he's done some interesting work in commercials. You may remember his JCPenney Christmas commercial "Aviator" from last year's holiday season, and his work with Carling's Belong brand of beer has shown that he has the unique sense of humor that a movie like The Host would require.
Check out his full "Aviator" commercial below, and his two Carling commercials after the jump. His reel and biography are available at MJZ.com.
JCPenney - "Aviator"
Carling - "Space"
Carling - "Outpost"
Note: Trailer can be seen after the jump.
Acclaimed Hong Kong filmmaker Wilson Yip is teaming again with acclaimed Hong Kong action star Donnie Yen, this time to bring us the semi-biographical tale of Yip Man (presumably just another way to romanize Ip Man), the first martial arts master to openly teach the Chinese martial art of Wing Chun. Among other accomplishments, Yip was also master to Bruce Lee. The film appears to follow Yip through the turbulent years of Japanese occupation. I hadn't been following this project very closely before, but this trailer certainly promises a good deal of bad-assitude. Consider me interested. Check it out after the jump (though be warned that it's all in Chinese), or head on over to Twitch for more teasers/trailers/information.
It's a shame Donnie Yen never became quite as big a star stateside as some of his other Chinese compatriots. He does have some visibility here though, having appeared (albeit in minor roles) in movies such as Blade II, Shanghai Knights, and Hero. Any big martial arts film buffs who haven't already should check out some of his past work. He's definitely among the most intriguing action stars of his generation.
Bloody Disgusting has 18 new photos up for Duncan Jones' sci-fi thriller Moon, starring Sam Rockwell.
Moon follows Sam Rockwell's astronaut Sam Bell, who, at the tail end of his 3-year solo lunar mining assignment, begins to unravel and suspect a sinister plot regarding his planned replacement. The film co-stars Kaya Scodelario (as Bell's wife Eve, even though IMDb lists her as 16 years old), Benedict Wong, and Kevin Spacey as the voice of a robot companion.
The images look amazing, oozing atmosphere and general creepiness. Moon hasn't been on my radar before at all, but now it's definitely got my full attention.
AICN has an exclusive, epically-long interview with Spike Jonze and two brand spankin' new images from his Where The Wild Things Are.
It looks like the long-delayed Wild Things is finally moving forward, and we might even get to see the version that Spike intended us to see. Check out the full interview and pics here.
This picture is from Johnny-Depp.org, and appears to be the first image of Depp as The Mad Hatter in the upcoming Tim Burton version of Alice In Wonderland. No official confirmation yet on whether or not this is legit, so just be aware that it could be fan made or an internet hoax of some sort (though personally, it looks fairly real). As for the look, I think it's a pretty intriguing direction to go, and not totally unexpected considering Burton's aesthetic tastes. But there's also part of me that thinks it's kind of ugly and over-the-top. I'll withhold a final judgment until I see the rest of the world that Burton is building, though.
What do you guys think of the look? Too much? Or perfectly bizarre? Either way, I'm still really excited for this movie. Burton doing Lewis Carroll is enough to get me behind any project, but add to that the stupendous cast he's assembled, and I'm officially amped for this film to come out. Most people nowadays know the material not through Carroll's original book
Fox Searchlight has released a poster for Darren Aronofsky's new film The Wrestler, which has had everybody and their mamas gushing about Mickey Rourke's turn in the title role.
The pic co-stars Marisa Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood. The Wrestler opens in select theaters December 17th.
A trailer for Disney's Race to Witch Mountain has been posted up at Yahoo! movies.
The remake of 1975's Escape from Witch Mountain finds the infinitely watchable Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as a cab driver trying to help two out-of-this-world kids (played by talented young gun AnnaSophia Robb and Alexander Ludwig) find their spaceship, while enlisting the help of UFO expert Carla Gugino. Brought to us by Andy Fickman, the same director as Johnson's previous kid-friendly flick The Game Plan, Witch Mountain looks like promising family-friendly fun.
The Rock, kids with super powers, and snarky one-liners? I'm there!
**UPDATE**
The wait is over! The new trailer has landed in Quicktime!
Note: I ran into some glitches when trying to get the trailer to play in HD. The links for the HD version of the new trailer all pointed to the old teaser instead, and the links for the HD version of the older teaser instead pointed to the Cloverfield trailer. Weird. Hopefully, this'll be fixed soon.
originally posted on Saturday, November 15, 2008 at 5:39 PM
In light of the upcoming relaunch of Star Trek, we here at R&RsIB! are going to take a look at the larger trend of relaunching movie franchises in general and determine what 3 keys are essential to a successful relaunch.
To begin with, we'll first define what qualifies to us as a relaunch:
(1) the title in question must be part of a larger franchise (be it in film or print);
(2) the relaunch must take the story of the franchise in a new direction;
(3) the title must have a widely-released movie in the franchise that predates it (porting it over from another medium like TV, direct-to-video, video game, or print does not count);
and finally,
(4) the relaunch must intend to spawn a sequel or a series of sequels, a continuation of the franchise in the new style established by the relaunch.
Now that we've laid some of the ground rules, here's a look at the five titles that we will be drawing examples from today, whether they turned out successful or not: Batman Begins, Superman Returns, The Incredible Hulk, Casino Royale, and Rob Zombie's Halloween.
So what makes for a successful relaunch? What is it about a specific relaunch that will excite fans and send the industry buzzing with anticipation? We here at R&RsIB! have come up with the following 3 points that a relaunch must do well in order to find the way into the heart of franchise fans:
1. Attaching The Right Talent
The operative word here is "right." Franchises have dedicated legions of fans (usually, anyway), and they need to be assured that the characters they know and love are in good hands. Typically, this starts with casting. The actor not only needs to be good, but they need to feel like they fit. Case in point is Christian Bale's casting in Batman Begins. For the first time in the Batman film series, I felt like we had an actor that could pull off both the charm of Bruce Wayne and the physicality of Batman. He FIT the part.
Another example is Brandon Routh's casting in Superman Returns. His All-American good looks and 6'3" figure epitomize what we have come to associate with Superman. Tack on a more-than-passing resemblance to Christopher Reeve, and you have a solid casting choice for Superman.
Getting cast is one thing - proving you can actually wear the boots is another matter entirely. Routh, a relative unknown when he was cast, ended up being one of the shining beacons of redemption in an otherwise critically-panned movie. Edward Norton, while well known for the quality of his performances, still had to prove to some fans he could pull off a convincing Bruce Banner. With a little help from modern CG graphics to fill out the Hulk-side of things, Norton was free to deliver a layered and emotional portrayal of the long-tormented Banner. Daniel Craig faced perhaps the biggest uphill battle, but he quieted many naysayers with his physical and surprisingly affecting turn as 007.
Equally as important to the casting is the captain of the ship: the director. Sometimes, it's even more important - Rob Zombie is probably the most associated name with the relaunch of Halloween. Though nowhere as unique or focused (or talented, for that matter) a voice as John Carpenter, it is hard to imagine The Weinstein Company co-financing the film without the type of clout and particular fanbase that Zombie brings with him.
Chris Nolan and Bryan Singer had both proven themselves as indie darlings capable of delivering intriguing stories, and their names alone garnered a fair amount of credibility and excitement to their respective projects. 
Personally, I thought there was a lot to like about Superman Returns, and would like to see Singer take another crack it. Although far from a perfect film, I thought he did a good job re-establishing the character and the relationships around Superman. At one point, both Brett Ratner and McG were attached to the project, and that would've completely changed my interest in the relaunch. On the other hand, look at Batman Begins and The Dark Knight - can you imagine anyone else taking on Gotham City now other than Nolan? More importantly, would you want to?
2. Tell A Story Worth Telling
Typically, franchises have to relaunch for a couple of reasons: either the previous installment was so long ago that it needs to be reintroduced to a new generation of fans, or the last one was so terrible that the only way to get alienated fans back on board is to start over from square one.
For the latter, this means that the new approach to the story must be right. What is it about the new concept that makes it worth tearing down an established character/franchise and starting from scratch? For Batman Begins and Casino Royale, it was to revisit the roots of the character - the origin story. We had not seen either of them on film before, and perhaps that was what made the relaunches so refreshing - we were beginning the journey with the characters we loved.
For The Incredible Hulk, this meant dropping us right in the middle of the action in Bruce Banner's universe. 
This was especially important, as most fans' complaint about Ang Lee's 2003 interpretation was that it did just the opposite, spending too much time exploring Banner's inner demons and unresolved daddy issues. And this is where Superman Returns failed - an unbalanced character-development-to-action ratio paired with a two-and-a-half hour runtime. Halloween, on the other hand, never strayed far enough from the original, leaving us wondering if Zombie actually had something original to say or just wanted to stroke his ego by putting himself in the company of a true horror legend.
In addition to story, the tone has to be right. Batman SHOULD be dark because that's the nature of the character. I'm glad that WB is making another go at Superman, but this idea that it needs to be "darker" is ridiculous - that's not the vibe of Superman. Superman is a symbol of hope, strength, and good, and requires the clean cut image that goes along with that. To assume that the Batman relaunch was successful because the story took a darker turn is like saying Manny Ramirez is good because of his hair. I mean, it's an integral part of who he is and the image he projects, but it has nothing to do with him being a 12-time All Star. Likewise, Batman has been successful not because it's dark, but because it's compelling story-telling and flat out good.
And finally...
3. Escape The Shadow
The much-maligned 2003 installment of Hulk was seen by many to be too light on action, so Louis Leterrier turned the action way up in his 2008 version. However, the fan-favorite TV series that ran from 1978-1982 saw homage paid to it with the brief cameos of Lou Ferrigno (who played Hulk in the TV series) and Bill Bixby (who played Dr. David Bruce Banner) in the relaunch. Even the theme song from the series was referenced in Craig Armstrong’s score. Seeing a pattern here?
The intrinsic obstacle of relaunching a franchise is how to stay true to the original’s spirit while telling a new story. Superman Returns struggled with this the most, perhaps, as it was meant to be somewhat of a direct sequel to Richard Donner's first two Superman films. The whole point of a relaunch is to take the franchise in a new direction, so staying too close to the original can hurt a project more than it can help.
There has to be a certain reverence paid to the source material, but that doesn't mean there isn't room to be creative. The point is to keep the characters intact - what franchises are built on in the first place - while coming up with a story or situation that hasn't been seen before.
Look at Batman Begins and Casino Royale - both films more or less completely disregarded the other films in the franchise and rebuilt their respective worlds from the ground up. The only thing that was really kept intact were the names of the characters and the traits we loved most about them. Both films turned out extremely successful, creating fresh and dynamic stories that didn't resemble their predecessors much at all. Halloween, on the other hand, just felt like an empty imitation of the original, essentially retelling the same story with a different cast.
The only way to escape the shadow of the old franchise is to be bold; to be unafraid of crafting a wholly original adventure while understanding and retaining what it is about the characters that the fans fell in love with to begin with.
Now, which of the upcoming relaunches look to meet these key points?
- Star Trek looks to have all the right pieces, with feels-right talent (Zachary Quinto's casting as Spock can only be described as spot-on) involved and a story that seems fresh, but still brings back the familiar names that we know and love.
- Punisher: War Zone seems to be a bit of a toss-up. I'm intrigued by Lexi Alexander at the helm and Dominic West cast as villain Jigsaw, but am otherwise ambivalent toward both Ray Stevenson and what little plot can be discerned from the trailer.
- Terminator: Salvation is another one I'm unsure about. The cast is pretty amazing, with the likes of Christian Bale, Anton Yelchin, Sam Worthington (who Cameron himself swears by), Bryce Dallas Howard, Moon Bloodgood, and Common involved, but McG still worries me. I feel as if he has become more confident a director as he has come along, but you can never really call the guy who brought us Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle a sure bet. The direction they're going in though is exciting, taking us away from the tired John-Connor-on-the-run shtick and finally bringing us Judgement Day. I remain hopeful.
- and finally, Friday the 13th. From Michael Bay's Platinum Dunes, the good folks who brought you the The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Amityville Horror, and The Hitcher remakes, I can't help but feel like this one's going to be hard-pressed to do anything but suck.
So there you have it. What relaunches do you guys think have been successful (or terrible), and why?
Not sure where this originally surfaced, but I came across it on Kanye West's blog, of all places. It appears to be an animated short that shows up in the extras on the WALL-E DVD coming out tomorrow. I loved this movie, and this short is pretty awesome too. Enjoy.
United Artists has signed Christopher McQuarrie, the Oscar-winning writer behind The Usual Suspects and the upcoming Valkyrie, for two upcoming projects. The first is The Champions, based on a 1960's British sci-fi TV show that follows three secret agents who are granted super powers after encountering an advanced civilization. Guillermo del Toro is helping with writing duties and will co-produce alongside McQuarrie, though no director is yet attached.
The second project is The Monster Of Florence, based on the best-selling book
Aaron Eckhart has been tapped to star in Battle: Los Angeles, a sci-fi action pic about a group of Marines who face off against an extraterrestrial invasion in New York. Okay, no, it's set in Los Angeles. The movie will be directed by Jonathan Liebesman, who brought us the sequel to the Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake a couple years ago. Kind of a goofy title, no? Anyway, it's good to see Eckhart getting some higher-profile roles after his turn as Harvey Dent/Two-Face in this past summer's The Dark Knight.
Ain't It Cool News has an exclusive on a possible 4-minute trailer for James Cameron's highly anticipated Avatar coming our way soon. Seems somebody spotted boxes of film rolls that are labeled as "Teaser A," with a marked runtime of 3 minutes and 57 seconds. No official word yet on whether or not this is real, but AICN's Harry Knowles is known to have a cordial relationship with Cameron and has sent an inquiry his way seeking confirmation, so expect an update soon. In the meantime, follow the above link to see a picture of the teaser boxes.
The Hollywood Reporter has a story up concerning the long-in-development big-screen version of Robotech, the popular anime series from the 80's. Looks like the project has hired Alfred Gough and Miles Millar to pen a new version of the script. Gough and Millar are better known for their work as creators and former showrunners on The CW's Smallville, but have also worked on features such as the Shanghai Noon/Knights movies and Spider-Man 2. A former draft of the Robotech script was written by acclaimed filmmaker Lawrence Kasdan.
To be honest, I didn't really follow the series growing up, so I'm not particularly attached to the project. The hiring of Gough and Millar is a bit of a mixed bag, though. They've done some good work in the past, but also some questionable stuff as well (the last Mummy movie the most recent example). We'll see how their version of Robotech turns out.
Note: This post contains SPOILERS
Rather than posting a review (which I'd already be late on, as it is), I'm instead going to turn this into a sort of response-to-general-criticism piece that happens to review the film at the same time.
First, let me just say this -- Quantum of Solace is not Casino Royale. A lot of people have been saying this, most of them disappointed with that revelation. However, I don't mean this as a negative. This is a film that is very much a natural progression of everything Casino Royale set up. Still, it's also a very different movie in many ways. Casino Royale had the unenviable task of reinventing a franchise. Fortunately, the film turned out to be something of a master work, at least in terms of redefining a decades-old series. And being the "first" movie in a franchise, it was also necessarily epic in scope.
So enter Quantum of Solace. This is a film that relies heavily on the audience having watched the first movie, having understood the new direction they were taking Bond in. This a modern, realistic Bond, set in a modern, realistic world. And he is more than the super-suave Bond your parents are familiar with. He is a highly efficient killer, but still a man with his own flaws and weaknesses. He hurts when you cut him. Cut him deeply enough, and he'll scar. This man carries the baggage of his past.
This is how we find Bond when Quantum of Solace starts, mere moments after the events of CR. We follow Bond as he gradually unravels the heavy tapestry of a mysterious organization working to undermine global stability. And while this business with global conspiracies must sound fairly standard for a Bond film, where QoS departs from traditional Bond plot lines is that it is a movie concerned chiefly with the psyche of its main character. The action is just a backdrop.
Critics and viewers who have complained about the lack of a plot or any sense of real emotion need to give the film another viewing. The plot is definitely there (albeit some of their concerns may be founded, but more on that later), and to proclaim the movie is emotionless and lacking in character development is dangerously close to lazy film digestion. The entire film is about Bond going through a profound but subtle transformation. After he was left vulnerable, betrayed, and deeply hurt by the death of Vesper Lynd in CR, he has to at least act like he can't be touched again. But really, QoS is about a strongly shaken Bond seeking a very personal form of revenge, and not just that, but also validation that his love and faith in Vesper were not misplaced. He is reckless. This is the Bond from CR unleashed. He wants to destroy, wants to kill, wants to exert his muscle-fortified will on everyone because it failed him so spectacularly in CR.
But then, he begins to change. Very subtly at first, but it's a momentous shift. Key to his transformation are Olga Kurylenko as Camille, Judi Dench as M, and Gemma Arterton as Strawberry Fields. Camille gives him someone to commiserate with. Her similar fate gives him a means for introspection, and in guiding her through her rage and despair, he finds a way through his own. M gives him someone to be accountable to, and she is also someone who sees his quest for what it really is, but still finds a way to trust him. She grounds him, however slightly, when he's lost all concern for anything but his own interests. And finally Fields humanizes him. Her death is an epiphanic moment for Bond, the idiomatic last straw spurring forward the understanding that is at the heart of his metamorphosis. He finally realizes that his actions have very real consequences for other people. All of their deaths carry weight now. For the first time, he feels guilty, he feels responsible. And in turn, this change allows him to confront everything Vesper's death meant to him. Having found this measure of solace, he is able to move on and take care of business. That is what the movie is about--James Bond becoming the James Bond we have come to know. We witness the growth; we see past the polished veneer and discover the scar tissue lying underneath it--damaged but stronger than before.
Now to address the plot issue. It's unfair to say the film has no plot, but this criticism is getting at a real problem of the film. Be it the script or Forster's direction, much of the plot isn't properly revealed. We're unsure who Bond's real target is during the movie, never certain how far up the ladder we're expected to go. We also can't see, even in a vague sense, where the movie is headed. Because of that, each location change or new development grows more and more disorienting. The climactic action sequence doesn't feel climactic; it could just be another action sequence in an action-heavy movie. Which leads to another of the movie's problems--Forster's work with the action sequences are hit or miss. Sometimes, they come off as the gritty and intense personal struggles they're meant to be. But more often than not, they're dizzily shot and difficult to follow. All of these things muddle the plot, forcing us to have to piece it together either on the fly or in retrospect. And when we finally come to the final scene, it's hard not to be left with a sense of dissatisfaction. It's a great scene, and a powerful conclusion, but doesn't carry the weight it should because we weren't properly greased for it. It feels like it could be the ending to a completely different movie. And for those obstacles, the movie may come off as plot-less.
But those who manage to identify the film for what it is before the end--that is, a deeply personal story of transformation for Bond--will find the ending to be a very logical and distinctly satisfying conclusion for the film. It’s a powerful end to a movie carried by powerful scenes, though it's true that the film is a bit lacking in connective tissue. Flawed though it may be, the film still advances a new Bond that is incredibly gratifying and exciting to watch. Naysayers complaining that the filmmakers are trying too hard to make him into Jason Bourne are misguided. This isn't Jason Bourne. This is the making of James Bond as Ian Fleming intended him to be--charming, deadly, but ultimately human. This movie does the heavy lifting for the entire re-invented franchise, bringing us ever closer to realizing this new Bond. And it is the Bond that I hope to see for years to come. I could watch a million 007 films about this James Bond, and I'm hoping the success of Quantum of Solace ensures that we see Craig continue his work in the 007 franchise for as long as it stays this fresh. Love it or hate it, QoS is definitely a necessary step in the right direction.
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