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Posted on Tuesday, April 21st, 2009 by Peter Sciretta

In the latest issue of WiReD Magazine, which is guest edited by writer/director JJ Abrams, creature designer Neville Page talks about how creates cinematic monsters. Page calls the red snow-planet creature from Star Trek, pictured above ,”Big Red”. Click on over to see some of Page’s other artwork.

More stories after the jump.

Daniel Radcliffe tells Empire Magazine that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 ends “at a very tense cliffhanger”, and ending which producer David Heyman calls “very exciting” and “quite bold,” noting that “it’s not necessarily where one might expect.”

PixarBlog is reporting that Up has been given a PG-rating by the MPAA, making the film the second movie in Pixar history not to be rated G. The other film was Brad Bird’s The Incredibles.

in the loop poster

IFC Films has premiered a poster for the British comedy In the Loop. [The Huffington Post]

Producer William Petersen claims that a big screen version of CSI is being developed. [ropesofsilicon]

Academy Award-winning screenwriter Akiva Goldsman makes his directorial debut on tonight’s Fringe. [AICN]

A reader over at JoBlo has seen a test screening of Judd Apatow’s new film Funny People and said: “Adam Sandler gave a standup serious performance.” … “All the supporting cast was amazing too.” … “The only real bad part of the film was the run time. 2 AND A HALF HOURS!!!

Nick

I had a feeling "Funny People" would be long.

spikeshinizle

Yeah me too, as much as I loved Knocked Up, I felt there was a lot of stuff in the second act of the movie that could have been trimmed down a little.

gah

"Academy Award-winning screenwriter Akiva Goldsman"

Yeah, and he also wrote Batman and Robin, Batman Forever, and Lost In Space remake. And he won for A Beautiful Mind which is one of those wins that doesnt really count. Kind of like Crash. We all know it won, we just choose to ignore the facts.

C_Sozou

Who would've won instead of Goldsman for A Beautiful Mind?

Justin

Fellowship of the Ring, or Shrek? Anyone but the hack that ruined I Robot and I Am Legend.

Tercotta

As a fan of Beautiful Mind I must object to your statement.

FilmBuffRich

I always felt that BEAUTIFUL MIND utterly falls about in its third act. And that Goldsman has always had a problem with his third acts.

Brian

I second that.

Ryan M

Only bad thing about Funny People is that its two and a half hours long? I'm actually happy about that, I've always loved the long length of Judd's flicks. Sounds like another winner.

Nick

I mean the trailer it'self is 3:30 minutes. I think it might be fine with this one though since it has dramatic elements aswell, it might be able to sustain the length a bit more.

I like Knocked Up and The 40 Year Old Virgin's theatrical cuts, but the extended DVD versions, particularly T40YOV is excruciatingly long. I'm probably one of the few people who choose "Theatrical Cut" when given the choice on a DVD menu. Same with Pineapple Express and Superbad. These are good directors who are working with hard R ratings, the extended cuts are just marketing ploys.

William_Wright

the longer the better!
you can sit through Transformers 2 which is nearly that long, but not a comedy?

deluxo

yeah, but apatow is so freakin' self-indulgent with his run times that it nearly kills the overall tone of his work. comedy isn't supposed to be laborious. he should just stick to 2 hours and under.

William_Wright

I just don't understand how you can call Apatow self-indulgent when everyone else is just as guilty. Is it because it's a comedy? If there is a story to tell, then there is a story to tell regardless of time.

deluxo

not other comedically-driven filmmakers. and the 2 and halfhour plus films have only really resurged in genre films and event films as of late. before that, you would'nt have seen a dramedy that was over 100 minutes.

William_Wright

Why can't Apatow change the game? I would say that what it boils down to is it entertaining. If it tells a worthwhile story then what is the problem?

deluxo

i agree with you --it does squarely come down to the story. but, in my opinion, Apatow's longer run times take away from the film's entertainment value for me. and don't get me wrong, i love long films --so long as the story and the atmosphere can support that length of time.

but with apatow --a filmmaker so apt at improv and situation-- the longer those scenes roll on, it goes from being fresh and funny and feeling off the cuff to feeling tiresome and padded for no reason other than not having an editorial eye for when to punctuate a scene.

take freaks and geeks -- apatow's genius writing is fully served by both the entertainment value and the run time. the jokes go on only as long as they have to. the scenes feel fresh and leave me wanting more from the characters. and the results, in my opinion, are far more skilled than his 3 hour knocked up director's cut.

Spartan117

CSI Movie....yawn 2 years 2 late

Tercotta

What can it do that it couldn't on TV. Maybe some nicer effects but that's it.

mikeyclt

Especially now that Grissom is gone.

pmharrell

I'm kind of surprised Up got the PG rating. Maybe this is the cut of the movie they turn into the MPAA with all the messed up stuff so they can really get the G rating on the cut they want.

Joe

The PG might still help it. Kids will still go in droves dragging their parents (who will know enough to allow them to see it on the cuteness of Dug and Kevin), but the whole "I'm a mature individual and I enjoy seeing mature movies made for myself" 13-15 crowd might reconsider it with a PG.

(Wanted did well because it was counter-programming to WALL-E, for example; of the 4 friends I asked (17-year-olds), only 2 would go and one tried to convince us to see Wanted instead)

GreenValleyRanch

looks pretty cool the idea.

Captain_Howdy

Sounds like the new Harry Potter will be one of those 'wait til the next movie to find out what happens' endings. No, I'm not going to read the book(s). Ever. Looks like I can safely just wait for DVD and watch it right before I see the new one a couple years from now.

Brian

How bout The Simpsons movie, 2 decades 2 late

deluxo

but still AWESOME.

not defending a CSI movie by the way. just pointing out the greatness of the Simpsons movie.

Tercotta

That's a fair criticism, upon some mental reviewal I suppose the reason I really like it is the acting.

Brad

The acting was as awful as the writing. Ab beautiful mind is terrible across the board.

Tercotta

To each his own I suppose. I thought that Connelly was really good. And between this and Gladiatior, Crowe was at a level where I kinda doubt he'll ever return too.

Palmer

A big screen version of CSI? Why!?

Danisgod6491

It is one of the best and most popular shows on TV, but i too don't think it should be a movie.

Gordon

I'm really looking forward to Star Trek, but I have to admit I got a little chuckle that JJ Abrams and company think it makes sense for a BRIGHT RED MONSTER to evolve in a snowy climate.

I guess if all the other animals on the planet are blind, or something, maybe....

edc

how many oscars do you have, gah?

Jeremy

In the Loop poster is very reminiscent of that of Dr. Strangelove

/ambient

The red monster looks like a vagina.

John Guard

you need therapy, dude.....

Patrick

All of the films that Judd Apatow has written and directed always turn out to be long in terms of running time. Think about it. "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" is 2 hours and 13 minutes. "Knocked Up" is 2 hours and 13 minutes as well. That's the only thing I don't like about his films. It just seems like there more than there should be. Like there's scenes that don't belong in the film or are just seen as thrown in there. Like the earthquake scene in "Knocked Up." Why was that in there?

NIdWId6I8WI

The earthquake scene was in there because had it not happened "Alison" would have never known just how immature and bad off "Ben" was at the time. It serves a purpose, even if it isn't just stamped out for the audience to see right away. However, I do agree with you about scenes being thrown in. Probably the result of a "who can have the most quotable line" bet they have running during production.

schatsi

intresting bit on the FRINGE front...
he has some solid screenwriting under his belt alongside lamer ones

but the show has developed into total awesomeness so im eager to check his try at it

Ezekial

Up got a PG? Really?
And I think I'm a bit more pumped for Funny People. :)

DSAhawker

I don't give a rip about movie times...if its a good movie and I'm enjoying it then I could care less about how long it is

DSAhawker

I don't give a rip about movie times...if its a good movie and I'm enjoying it then I could care less about how long it is

my main gripe are movies that I love that end up being too short...I want more!

SaeseeTom

I hate him more than Bruckheimer. He also ruined 'In the Night, he Comes' - the Michael Mann project that would later become the annoying 'Hancock'.

Landfill

Page 2 short and sweet just like I like it. I guess I'm kinda wishing I stuck with Fringe instead of abandoning it like I did. I guess that's why they come out with the DVDs.

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