I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again… American Teen is my favorite film of 2008 so far. Jason Reitman was raving about it at Sundance, and two sold out screenings later, I finally got to see it. I’ve seen the movie twice now, and even skipped out on a movie I really wanted to see at South by Southwest just to see this again. It’s just such a wonderful film.
It’s Fast Times at Ridgemont High meets The Breakfast Club, but non fiction. It’s the first documentary that has true mainstream appeal. It’s a film that anyone who has gone to High School will have no trouble relating to. Remember when a break up was the end of the world? When getting a date to the senior prom meant everthing? This is American Teen. Paramount Vantage has finally released a movie trailer for the film, which can be seen below, and I think it perfectly captures the spirit of the film. Tell me what you think in the comments below.
[flv:http://media2.slashfilm.com/slashfilm/trailers/americanteentrailer.flv 470 260]
You can also watch the trailer in High Definition on Yahoo.com. Here are some quotes from the critics:
“If you seek out American Teen looking for an engaging, stylish and surprisingly smart piece of non-fiction entertainment, you’re going to be completely won over.” James Rocchi, Cinematical
“it was often hilarious, even at parts I’m sure I wasn’t support to laugh; it brought out intense emotions, including frustration and sadness; and got me thinking about our society implications more than any other movie in the last few years. This is a brilliant documentary that explores the American high school system in an unforgettable way.” Alex Billington, FirstShowing.net
“American Teen is a documentary that is easy to watch and even easier to fall in love with. The students are real people with whom we can connect, the director’s vision is spot on and her end product caries with it both immense insight and a genuine midwestern charm. To be short: this is one of the best films of the Sundance Film Festival, hands down.” Neil Miller, Film School Rejects
“It would be embarrassing to admit being so emotionally involved with these stories if they were part of a trashy teen-based reality show like “The Hills” or “Laguna Beach.” But “American Teen,” while superficially similar to those shows, is far more respectable. As a documentary, it’s extraordinarily well produced, directed, and edited. It’s also fantastically entertaining, dramatic, and even uplifting, a perfect encapsulation of what it is to be an American teen. Its optimistic final moments will leave you smiling, not just at having seen a great movie, but at having warmly revisited the wonderful world of high school.” Eric D Snider
“For years filmmakers have tried to capture the essence of being in high school and no film has been as successful as the documentary American Teen.” Zack Haddad, Film Threat
American Teen hits theaters on July 25th 2008.
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“Did they bring babes, man?”
After a long drought, original sci-fi seems to be back in the studio eye thanks to Cloverfield and I Am Legend (the latter was a remake, yes, but felt fresh). Producer Neil Moritz (IAL, xXx) and Columbia Pictures are gearing up to make a (space) alien invasion movie called Battle: Los Angeles from a spec script by Chris Bertolini (The General’s Daughter). There are shades of Starship Troopers and Cloverfield, as the film will follow a “Marine platoon’s encounter in the battle against an alien invasion on the streets of Los Angeles” and like J.J. Abrams monster smash, it won’t carry a heavy price tag according to Moritz, who, btw, loves it all…
“I love the idea, and I love the script. I like it all,” Moritz said to THR. “We are going to be in production within six months. What’s attractive to me is that it’s a huge event movie that can be done at a modest scale.”
Apparently, there won’t be much, if any, shaky cam. The title is definitely no Earth Vs. Moon and the premise sounds like it could leave the brain passed out on the beach nude, but I’m willing to give Moritz the benefit. Hopefully the locale, which Variety reports will start in Santa Monica and move to Los Angeles, opens up plenty of cheesy, mouth-agape celebritard cameos.
Indiana Jones is featured in the next issue of MAD Magazine (issue #490). The god guys at MAD have sent over a couple scans from the issue including “The Top Secret ‘Indiana Jones‘ Memo’ from George Lucas to Steven Spielberg“. Funny stuff. I haven’t read MAD (or Cracked) in years, but I have to admit, I’ve always loved the illustrations. Especially the details like Spielberg eating the mashed potato sculpture from Close Encounters, or the Hook from Hook on top of one of the Oscars he just has lying around. Click on the image below to see the two-page spread at full size. And check out the memo from George Lucas, it’s worth a read.
Walt Disney Studios has released a new concept art rendering and logo art from their upcoming Christmas 2010 animated feature film Rapunzel. Click on the image to see it in super high resolution. It should be noted that the image below is an older image of Rapunzel, before they revamped (the project was originally titled Rapunzel Unbraided).
Directed by Glen Keane and Dean Wellins, this new telling of the classic fairy tale, will transport audiences “to a stunning CG fantasy world complete with the iconic tower, an evil witch, a gallant hero and, of course, the mysterious girl with the long golden tresses. Expect adventure, heart, humor, and hair…lots of hair.”
Director Glen Keane wants this computer animated film to look and feel like a traditional hand-drawn Disney Classic, but in 3D. A short clip of test footage was shown at Siggraph 2005, where is gained a lot of attention. Apparently they will be using a non-photorealistic rendering technique which will make the surface look like it is painted but still containing depth and dimensions. The movie’s visual style is being based on French Rococo artist Jean-Honore Fragonard’s painting “The Swing”.
Our friends at FilmSchoolRejects have three new photos from the still untitled X-Files sequel. The new photos reveal shocking plot spoilers (of course, all of the plot spoilers take place slightly off screen). For example we have a photo of Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) and a team of bewildered FBI looking down at… something. And in the next photo we have Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) looking at a Werewolf… or it could be just a door or television, we don’t know because it’s off screen.
The third photo features both Mulder and Scully looking off at something in the distance while snow falls from the sky. I imagine that something is probably Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk having an epic battle in a snow covered landscape. I mean, that’s the obvious answer.
Discuss: What do you think Mulder and Scully could be reacting to? What’s going on?!
For those who thought my asinine TWBB rant was insanely lowbrow, here’s a bit of high brow genre fare to level out the horror. Toasted author Michael Chabon‘s unused screenplay for Spider-Man 2 is now online over at McSweeney’s as a PDF. Grab it here, and do so quick because the site says it will only be up for a short duration. You may recall that Chabon received a writing credit on the second and top Spider-Man film, but his screenplay has never been made public until now. Good deal.
Discuss: Peter and I haven’t had a chance to read it, but if you’re playing hookie, don’t feel like working or simply don’t “get” the job thing, write a mini-review of the script in the comments! Appreciated.
For the record, mastermind James Cameron want us to know that he refers to 3D as “stereo.” The director behind one of the most anticipated movies ever, AVATAR, just did an epic interview with Variety on the future of cinema (3D theatrical and 3D home viewing) and tossed in a fresh announcement about his follow-up to the 2009 sci-fi thriller. It won’t be Battle Angel (sigh). The man is on a mission, namely blasting the “3D is eye candy porn” stigma and naysayers into outer space…
Q: Right now, 3-D is pretty much being used for films that have some spectacle in them, whether it’s “Journey to the Center of the Earth” or “U2 3D”; nobody’s talking about using it for domestic dramas. But there are people wondering whether it will actually enhance the impact of character-driven stories. What are your thoughts on how 3-D changes the experience of watching actors act?
A: I plan to shoot a small dramatic film in 3-D, just to prove this point, after “Avatar.” In “Avatar,” there are a number of scenes that are straight dramatic scenes, no action, no effects. They play very well, and in fact seem to be enhanced by the stereo viewing experience. So I think this can work for the full length of a dramatic feature. However, filmmakers and studios will have to weigh the added cost of shooting in 3-D against the increased marketing value for that type of film.
Perhaps this next film will be even more revolutionary than AVATAR? I can’t fathom how There Will Be Blood or, let’s say, The Puffy Chair could benefit from the technology, but Cameron is dead set on it. Earlier on, he said he wished 300 was a 3D film, and the same goes for…Atonement. Imagine the bookcase thrust. Sorry, we’re dispelling 3D as eye-candy porn, I forgot. This makes a nice seg into Cameron’s notions on the 3D home viewing experience…
“As for 3-D in the home: The only limitation to having stereo viewing in the home is the number of titles currently available. When there is more product, the consumer electronics companies will make monitors and players. The technology exists and is straightforward. Samsung has already shipped 2 million plasma widescreens which can decode an excellent stereo image. There’s just no player to hook up to it right now.”
We’re edging a little too close to the home entertainment in Fahrenheit 451 with a 3D Cops in suburbia, no? Sounds like fun.
Discuss: Are you guys and gals ready for a world that paints all movies, even the gushy costume dramas, in 3D? Anyone bummed that Battle Angel won’t be next? Who’s taking up Cameron’s “it’s stereo, hombre,” campaign? Sexman is not.
Last week set photos from Frank Miller‘s big screen adaptation of Will Eisner’s The Spirit leaked online, leaving some fans disappointed.
Update: Today Lionsgate has released two new production High Resolution photos, both of which desperately scream “See, the movie looks like Sin City, I swear it really does, don’t look at those other unauthorized unfinished photos!”. Click on the photos to enlarge.
The first photo features Scarlett Johansson as Silken Floss, a jewel thief with dangerous curves. The second photo features Samuel L. Jackson as The Spirit’s arch-enemy The Octopus. The teaser trailer will premiere on April 19th at 7:00pm eastern, 4:00pm pacific, so keep a look-out.
Discuss: Will The Spirit be the next Sin City / 300 or the next Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow?
