A new screenplay blew up in Los Angeles Thursday. Literally. In an almost absurdest twist of events, a Los Angeles bomb squad blew up a briefcase that an aspiring screenwriter left at a Beverly Hills Talent Agency in the hopes someone would read the script inside. The man left the case in the lobby, a security guard moved it out back, and the unmanned case was then reported to police. All of the adjoining office buildings were evacuated and the bomb squad destroyed the case. Inside was a laptop computer and the script in question. Read more after the jump. Read More »
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In 2011, saying that Hollywood releases too many sequels, remakes and reboots is so common place, it’s gone beyond cliche into a whole new category that doesn’t yet exist. Still, the sentiment remains an irrefutable fact. Of the top ten highest grossing films of the year so far, only one isn’t based on a previous property and that’s Bridesmaids, which – one could argue – is a spin-off, at least in tone, to several other movies.
This trend of remaking and repackaging the same material over and over isn’t anything new but putting a start date on it is difficult. One site might have a good place to start though: the 1970s, arguably the greatest decade in cinema history. In 1976, that’s 35 years ago, a year before George Lucas released Star Wars and only one year after Steven Spielberg created the “summer blockbuster” with Jaws, legendary film critic Gene Siskel felt the same way we all do now. Hollywood was making too many sequels and remakes. Really? In 1976? Watch the clip and get a little background after the break. Read More »
In 1995, two scientists published a report listing sixteen short film clips most likely to elicit specific emotions. There are clips for everything from amusement and anger to surprise and sadness. Scientists show these clips when they want a subject to feel a specific way in a controlled environment. And while it’s hard to crown the most “angry” movie of all time or most “surprising,” tears make sadness a bit more quantifiable. The clip that’s most often use to bring someone to tears, and can therefore be referred to as the scientifically proven “saddest movie in the world,” is Franco Zeffirelli’s 1979 film The Champ. Watch the scene, read more about the study and see what other films are part of the report after the jump. Read More »
Though there’s evidence that the audience’s appetite for 3D films could be diminishing, some companies are taking entertainment one-step further: the fourth dimension. A 4D film is simple. It’s a 3D movie with physical effects in the theater for that extra dimension. A good example is Muppet Vision 3D at Disney-MGM Studios in Florida where you watch a 3D movie, but things brush up against your legs. Internationally, a South Korean company called CJ 4D Plex is currently converting regular theaters to 4D and, reportedly, will test the technology in Los Angeles later this summer. After the jump, check out photos from a 4D Plex theater, read more about it and find out how Samsung might have finally perfected Smell-O-Vision. Read More »
Would you want to see a Superman movie where he can’t wear his iconic costume? It could happen. Variety printed a fascinating article Friday about how the legal rights behind the Man of Steel could result in the biggest severing of the character since he met Doomsday. This doesn’t affect the current film; that Zack Snyder movie will be moving along as planned. But if it doesn’t succeed, another origin story could be impossible. Basically, come 2013, the rights to key elements of Superman break into two where the heirs of the character’s original creators, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, retain elements such as his costume – red cape and boots, blue leotard – plus his ability to “leap tall buildings in a single bound” while DC Comics will keep the rights to most of the villains and the ability to fly.
How is that even possible and what does it mean for the future of the franchise? We try and make sense of the legal jargon after the break. Read More »
If someone tells you Peter Jackson‘s The Hobbit is blowing up, they might mean it literally. According to The Sydney Morning Herald, via the New York Times, an explosion occurred Tuesday in one of the production workshops of the fantasy prequel, resulting in minor injuries to two people. The fire department was on the scene at Stone Street Studios in Wellington, New Zealand, where production is taking place, and the two people were taken to the hospital. Read more after the break. Read More »
Michael Bay knows that a good many people hated the racist caricature Autobots, Skids and Mudflap, in the second Transformers film — really, are there any characters more generally despised in a blockbuster from the last decade? – and he’s willing to pay a huge bounty to prove that they’re not in Transformers: Dark of the Moon.
Over the weekend, AICN ran the first review of Transformers: Dark of the Moon, and though the review as it stands now has been edited, the original copy mentioned comic relief ‘street’ robots. Combined with the fact that one trailer has shots of characters that appear to be Skids and Mudflap, that led to the expectation that the characters really do reappear, despite previous insistence to the contrary. Now the director has posted a couple messages throwing down the gauntlet with respect to the duo. Get the challenge details below. Read More »
For the better part of two decades, three letters defined home entertainment: VHS. The video format carved a very important niche in movie history and then, in what seemed like an instant, disappeared. Phrases like “video stores,” “be kind rewind,” “tracking” and “late fees” were simply removed from the film geek lexicon. Thanks DVD. As most of us threw out our VCR’s in favor of the newer, cheaper, more reliable format, others were simply too attached and invested. They craved the days when buying a movie wasn’t as cool as getting a blank tape and recording off HBO. As it stands now, VHS is a dying – and therefore collectible – format.
Best known for their incredibly popular posters, Mondo has decided to bask in that ’80s and ’90s nostalgia and launch their very own VHS label called Mondo Video. Their first release comes out this week, the 1983 cult horror film Sledgehammer which was shot on tape. The VHS release coincides with not only the film’s DVD release but a screening at the Drafthouse in Austin. Check out the box art, a clip from the movie and much more after the jump. Read More »
