Public Enemies - What Did You Think?
Five Behind The Scene Featurettes For The Princess and the Frog Spark Mild Controversy
Posted on Tuesday, June 30th, 2009 by Brendon Connelly
A series of promotional packages designed to hawk Disney’s The Princess and the Frog to its core demographic were broadcast during The Princess Protection Program TV movie on Sunday evening. As is always the way with these things, they found their way to YouTube. See all five embedded below the break.
What’s most interesting, at least if you’re not that fussed about The Princess and the Frog (though, in fact I am - I’m really quite fussed about it) is the mild controversy surrounding one newly unveiled character.
With only two feature films and one TV show to his name, writer/director Jody Hill, is now synonymous with ignoring the boundaries and “genre rules” of modern comedy and creating anti-heroes that laughably burble with nihilistic rage, scary faux pas and hot-air egos. But there is also an internal depth to these macho doofuses played by Hill’s longtime pal and writing partner, Danny McBride, and comedy star Seth Rogen, to surpass the high art of a perfectly-timed and pronounced “fuck.”
Hill’s work on Observe & Report, The Foot Fist Way, and his cultural breakthrough, HBO’s Eastbound & Down, contains more glass-darkly social commentary and life-lived expression than the work of any hotshot young novelist in recent memory. Rather than document the cold realities and indulgent pleasantries of another big city with bright lights, Hill is set on exploring the very place that so many creative-types vacate upon the arrival of their first Visa card or college acceptance letter: the American South. Moreover, as many middle-class and broke white American males face sobering, if inevitable, realizations and disillusions about the future, laughing at Hill’s moronic, unhinged versions as they champion outdated movie/sports star heroics atop small-town kingdoms is like homemade medicine. When it comes to countering the monotony of the average day-to-day? Eastbound is harder to beat still. The sight of Kenny Powers “dancing” in a middle school gym under the influence of eggrolls and ecstasy or ejecting a topless broad from his Jet Ski is priceless. Like cheetah-spotted gold or “a bulletproof tiger, dude.”
A native of North Carolina, Hill is the latest progeny of the North Carolina School of the Arts, alongside McBride and creative partner Ben Best, fellow EB&D director David Gordon Green (Pineapple Express), and EB&D cinematographer Tim Orr. In the first part of my interview, we discuss the show in-depth, including some of the surprising and vile admissions and special features on the Season One DVD. We also talk about what it’s like to be a young director coming from, and staying in, the South, why so many comedians today are from there, and why the region was overdue for a proper comedic depiction.
Hunter Stephenson: Hey Jody, how are you?
Jody Hill: Hey Hunter. Good, good, good. Hey man, I wanted to say that I was sorry I wasn’t there when you visited down in Wilmington [Eastbound & Down set, 2008]. I remember the piece you wrote, and it sounded like a really good time. [laughs] Sucks I couldn’t there, man; I was editing my film (Observe & Report), and Warner Bros. wouldn’t let me go. When you have to do a director’s cut, they want to lock you up for 10 weeks. [laughs] Everybody said they had a blast…and I was editing.
Yeah. I expected to interview you there. And I didn’t know about the change, that David Green was now directing the majority of the episodes while you were in L.A. But it all worked out, he killed it. My first question: Legend has it that when you, Danny [McBride], and Ben [Best] first conceived of Kenny Powers you were sitting in a kiddie pool in North Carolina drinking beers. [laughs] Is that accurate?
Jody Hill: [laughs] Yeah, this was before we made Foot Fist Way or anything. We were trying to come up with ideas for shows. I was between jobs; I had been working this really shit reality show job, doing motion-control for Behind the Music and shit like that. [laughs] It was pretty lame. And so, yeah, we were in Charlotte, in the backyard of Ben Best’s house. And yeah, we were literally sitting in a kiddie pool with a case of beer. And Kenny was one of the ideas that, uh, we came up with. [laughs]
Lawsuit Won’t Slow Down Spielberg’s Oldboy Remake
Posted on Sunday, June 28th, 2009 by Peter Sciretta
When it was first announced that Steven Spielberg and Will Smith were developing an American remake of Chan-wook Park’s Oldboy with the screenwriter of Poseidon, fans freaked out. It was later revealed that the remake wasn’t a remake at all, but an American adaptation of the original Japanese manga by Nobuaki Minegishi and Garon Tsuchiya, which Park’s film was based on. Even though the book and the movie deviate from one another, fans were still not pleased. A couple weeks back we told you that Japanese publisher Futabasga was suing the Korean film production company Show East over the rights to remake the story in Hollywood. But apparently the project is still proceeding despite the legal battle.
Exclusive Interview: Paul Scheer on Piranha 3-D, Its Surprising Jaws Connection, “Rambo-level gore,” and Nude Wild Wild Girls
Posted on Friday, June 26th, 2009 by Hunter Stephenson
This summer, /Film considered traveling to the set of Piranha 3-D. Witnessing unlikely co-stars Richard Dreyfuss, Christopher Lloyd, Adam Scott, and completely naked bimbos battling (or getting devoured by) killer fish at the command of horror director Alex Aja is what the season is all about, no? Alas, it wasn’t meant be to be. The STD-insurance alone in the spring break hotspot of Lake Havasu, Arizona—where the film is shooting and set—is friggin’ outrageous. After informing us that we were not worthy, Piranha 3-D co-star and Human Giant comedian, Paul Scheer, offered up lots of funny, obscene and insane deets about next March’s horror flick. He also sent over this exclusive photo of his morally bankrupt character.
At times, our conversation went off the record into darker territory—a la shark viscera spilling onto a pier—but much is said below about a production that aspires to be the goriest and craziest 3-D movie ever. Paul discussed his role (it required method-acting and method-oogling), the precise amount of blood (a shit ton), Lake Havasu memories, and why Richard Dreyfuss’s sage character will seem, erm, pretty damn familiar. Chomp, chomp, chomp…
Hunter Stephenson: So Paul, I assume you wanted to do a broad family film and then you were offered Piranha 3-D. It was a matter of good timing, serendipitous.
Paul Scheer: [laughs] Yeah, well, I was trying to get Imagine That Too off the ground, where I become Eddie Murphy’s brother, and have my own adventure with my daughter. It was actually crazy, because when I first heard about this movie, it was like, “Elizabeth Shue is in Piranha 3-D, she’s awesome!” And then, you know, the title sounds cool and it sounds campy…
Sony Trashcans Moneyball Three Days Before Filming
Posted on Sunday, June 21st, 2009 by Brendon Connelly
Steven Soderbegh has been given the weekend to find a new home for his Brad Pitt baseball picture Moneyball. If another studio doesn’t step up by Monday, Columbia have the option to either fire Soderbergh and replace him or to stall the project indefinitely. The problem, according to Variety, is dispute over the shooting script. This latest draft by Soderbergh and Steve Zaillian has displeased Sony head honcho Amy Pascal so much that she’s taken the drastic measure of ditching what sounds like, to me, a golden opportunity. At the very least, this is a Brad Pitt vehicle from an Acadmey Award winning director and an equally Oscared screenwriter.
So, what doesn’t she like? Apparently that the script is innovative, that Soderbergh has some ambitious ideas and that the basic sport movie paradigm (yawn) simply doesn’t apply to this picture.
When it was first announced that Steven Spielberg and Will Smith were developing an American remake of Chan-wook Park’s Oldboy with the screenwriter of Poseidon, fans freaked out. It was later revealed that the remake wasn’t a remake at all, but an American adaptation of the original Japanese manga by Nobuaki Minegishi and Garon Tsuchiya, which Park’s film was based on. Even though the book and the movie deviate from one another, fans were still not pleased.
Well now fans can rest happy (at least for a bit) as AnimeNewsNetwork is reporting that Japanese publisher Futabasga is suing the Korean film production company Show East over the rights to remake the story in Hollywood.
Producer Frank Marshall Says “Don’t Spend Your Money” on IMAX Digital
Posted on Wednesday, June 17th, 2009 by Peter Sciretta
Over the last month, we’ve written quite a few times about the new Digital IMAX theatres and how we believe that the IMAX Corporation is ripping off moviegoers by placing the IMAX brand name on subpar sized cinema screens nationwide. Actor/comedian Aziz Ansari started the public fuss, Pulitzer Prize winning movie critic Roger Ebert publicly came out against the practice, yet IMAX ignorantly ignored the criticism, and insists that audiences are too stupid to notice the difference (obviously, they didn’t phrase it that way, I’m just giving you my interpertation — read the linked article for exact quotes). Now big Hollywood players are beginning to step up and take a stance on the issue.
Producer Frank Marshall agrees that IMAX Digital is false advertising. For those who might not recognize the name, Marshall has produced over 80 films over the last 30 years, including the Indiana Jones series, Poltergeist, Gremlins, Goonies, Back to the Future, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, The Sixth Sense, The Bourne films, Signs, Seabicuit, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and more. basically, he’s one of the biggest producers in Hollywood. So what did Marshall say about IMAX?
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According to a new report at The Wrap, Sacha Baron Cohen’s Bruno was reshot to appease the “Hollywood gay community.” Frankly, if this is true, I’m a little disappointed in the filmmakers for bowing to this pressure. Furthermore, I think it reflects very badly on this community if they are incensed by the movie. There’s absolutely no way that Bruno isn’t, wasn’t, and hasn’t always been a very passionately pro-homosexuality, anti-homophobia piece. The article mentions a few particular individuals that were apparently offended, from Year of the Dog’s Mike White to the actors Jack Plotnick and Peter Paige. It also includes a video, embedded after the break, in which numerous industry folk let their feelings be known.
Did Rupert Murdoch Leak Wolverine? Or Was It The Scientologists?
Posted on Monday, June 15th, 2009 by Russ Fischer
This story is too great not to post. According to an ‘unlawful termination’ suit that the lawyer for fired Fox columnist Roger Friedman will file in New York this week, the Wolverine leak can actually be traced back to News Corp. head Rupert Murdoch. Martin Garbus, Friedman’s lawyer, claims that Murdoch requested a DVD copy of the film, and “apparently, someone made another copy for themselves.” No shit? I’m still siding with Devin at CHUD, who explained how a post-production leak was probably the hole from which Wolverine wriggled onto the internet. But everyone hates Murdoch, so why not pin this on him, too. That’s not even the whole of the lawsuit, which claims that Friedman’s firing was actually the result of…whisper it…Scientologists! I told you this was great. More after the jump. Read More »
Comparing the BBFC and the MPAA, and How Antichrist Illustrates The Differences
Posted on Sunday, June 14th, 2009 by Brendon Connelly
On Friday, the BBFC announced their classification for Lars von Trier’s Antichrist and it became an instant news story that the film was to be released fully uncut in the UK. Indeed, Russ Fischer wrote /Film’s report on the matter. For greater context, however, I want to provide a discussion of how the BBFC work, how this is different (and to my mind, better) than the MPAA, and some very specific details of the Antichrist ruling. It is safe to proceed beyond the break, though those of you wary of Antichrist spoilers will want to opt out at the BIG SHOUTY warning below.
A couple weeks ago it was announced that Buffy movie director Fran Rubel Kuzui was developing a new Buffy The Vampire Slayer film without the involvement of Buffy creator Joss Whedon. The movie would be darker, and would follow a new vampire slayer who must step up to protect this new generation. The Whedon fan community were shocked. Making a new Buffy film without Whedon’s involvement seemed rather pointless.
The good news: Apparently the new Buffy producers did reach out to Whedon after all. Whedon tells EW: “I believe [the producers] did ultimately reach out to my agent after the news broke.”
The bad news: Whedon wants no involvement. Whedon says, “I think that’s something better left untouched by me. So, I wish them luck.”
Essay: Is Kevin, the Tropical Bird in Pixar’s UP, a Nod to the LGBT Movement?
Posted on Tuesday, June 9th, 2009 by Hunter Stephenson
Yesterday, CBS News aired a segment on an “ongoing blogger debate” over the representation of black people and negative stereotypes in Disney’s The Princess and the Frog. Of course, after previous and longer segments on the failing economy and Air France, even the way in which Katie Couric mentioned “bloggers” carried a decidedly trivial tone connoting birds-on-a-wire. Snob. However, given that hardly anyone has seen a near-complete version of the fourth-quarter film, I have to agree that any “chirped” anger, feigned or genuine, is premature. Also: the world is mad, get over it.
But heated discussions about Disney’s movies, especially in this case, do have precedent: clips from the studio’s infamous 1946 film, Song of the South, are forever available to support and fan the issues of political correctness. Moreover, theories about sociological, hidden and subliminal messages in Disney films and characters are so prevailing that I have enjoyed intriguing classes on the very subject in junior high (for free) and at university (for a repossessed Porsche).
Which brings me to Disney’s Pixar, where animated films are made to awe kids and—and arguably more-so—adults. Feted, beloved, and at times “progressive” as it may be, Pixar is not immune to similarly “bloggy” issues regarding political correctness; a debate over the absence of female lead characters in their films began earlier this year and remains a valid and popular talking point.
