Public Enemies - What Did You Think?
Did you know: Michael Jackson likes to dance with “his good friend” Brett Ratner while driving through Miami traffic? And no Brett, that is not “a good shot.” Thanks to Danny T for sending this over.
Another Brett Ratner-directed Guitar Hero Commercial
Posted on Wednesday, November 5th, 2008 by Peter Sciretta
A couple weeks back, we told you that Brett Ratner was directing a series of commercials for Guitar Hero World Tour. Last week we posted an article slamming the first, which featured sports stars Alex Rodriguez, Kobe Bryant and Michael Phelps recreating the scene from Risky Business.
We called Brett Ratner a hack (as we often do), and our good friend Danny T reminded us that Ratner might not have had anything to do with the concept. But that doesn’t mean the commercial still doesn’t suck worse than a hoover.
And this morning we found a second commercial in the new series directed by Ratner. Its the same concept, but this one features Heidi Klum in her underwear. As expected, its a lot better than the spot with the sports stars for two obvious reasons. However, I’m still not sure it could be considered “good”. Why hire a big Hollywood director to produce this? It seems rather pointless.
I can just imagine Ratner off to the side yelling at Hedi to shake her top more. And yes, there is something really sleazy about that thought.
In Defense of Brett Ratner’s Guitar Hero Commercial
Posted on Sunday, November 2nd, 2008 by Peter Sciretta
Last week I made a post mocking the cheesy Guitar Hero World Tour commercial directed by Brett Ratner. /Film friend Dan Trachenberg sent me an email in defense of the Rat. You may know Danny T as the co-host of The Totally Rad Show or his appearances on the /Filmcast, but what you might not know is Dan is actually an accomplished commercial director. What I’m trying to say is he knows something about the subject. I asked Dan if I could reprint his email on the site, as I found the perspective, especially the video example, to be interesting.
—-
Hey buddy,
Just in comment to your post about the Ratner spot, I wanted to play devil’s advocate (as you now know I love to do :)
First of all, commercial directors never come up with the concept for the commercial (though it’s possible Ratner’s link to the GH game may mean he DID have something to do with it….possible, but very unusual). I really don’t think you not liking that commercial had much to do with Ratner. And to argue my point are offer this example:
That is directed by Zack Snyder.
Unrelated
By the way, he also did this superbowl spot you may recognize:
Brett Ratner Directs Guitar Hero World Tour
Posted on Thursday, October 30th, 2008 by Peter Sciretta
Brett Ratner took yet another paycheck and has filmed a series of advertisements for Guitar Hero World Tour. The first of the advertisements which premiered earlier in the week, features Kobe Bryant rocking the mic, Alex Rodriguez and Michael Phelps “dancing while ripping it up on the exhilarating new guitars, and Tony Hawk sliding in on a skateboard to play the drums.” Talk about lame…
It’s funny that even in a short form medium like television advertisements, the difference between a hack director like Brett Ratner and a master filmmaker like David Fincher (see Fincher’s Nike commercial here) is clear.
Almost Confirmed: Brett Ratner To Direct Conan
Posted on Friday, October 17th, 2008 by Peter Sciretta
Aint It Cool News is kinda, sorta, may be, confirming the rumor that Brett Ratner will be directing Conan for Lionsgate. Written by Outlander scribes Dirk Blackman and Howard McCain, the $100 million R-rated tent pole is neither a remake or a sequel, as they are starting over from the original stories.
Conan was created by Robert E. Howard in a series of fantasy pulp stories published in Weird Tales in the 1930s, later popularized in the 1982 John Milius film Conan the Barbarian, which starred Arnold Schwarzenegger and James Earl Jones.
Why must Brett Ratner keep attaching himself to beloved film properties? Why can’t he direct something original, a stupid spec script that no one cares about. Why must he ruin it for the fans? Ratner, please, if you’re reading this - go direct your Hugh Heffner biopic, and leave Conan, Beverly Hills Cop IV, and God of War to a better suited filmmaker.
Ratner Rumor: Brett Ratner in Talks For $100 Million Conan Reboot?
Posted on Thursday, September 18th, 2008 by Hunter Stephenson
Before I shower, thought I’d get this item out of the way. Dread Central is reporting that director Brett Ratner—who is reeling from having his lifelong dream of Guitar Hero: The Movie dashed by Activision—is being sought by Nu Image for their Conan reboot. As of now, this is merely a rumor for us to smirk at. Last month we noted that Lionsgate was having the $100 million R-rated tent pole fast tracked, using a script rewrite from Dirk Blackman and Howard McCain (Outlander). One of the producers compared their uncompromising vision to The Dark Knight. Soon thereafter, Slashfilm learned that a giant R was shot into the sky over Hollywood. Luckily, Ratner was passed out on a rug made from a live zebra. Until today?
Listen Brett Ratner, we have no problem with this rumor if it pans out, on one condition. You have to play Conan. You need to grow your hair out and allow yourself to be carried on a throne by minions and chained broads while double-fisting a goblet and a smoking contraption made out of an enemy’s skull. On camera, not just off. We’re sure John Milius would agree. Whaddya say brah?
From the producers of Paris, je t’aime, comes New York, I Love You, another anthology of 12-short films, this time focusing on the stories of love in New York’s five boroughs. Directed by Allen Hughes, Shekhar Kapur, Joshua Marston, Mira Nair, Brett Ratner,
Fatih Akin, Scarlett Johansson, Ivan Attal, Natalie Portman, Shunji Iwai, Jiang Wen, and Andrei Zvyagintsev. The film’s ensemble cast includes: Kevin Bacon, Maggie Q, Orlando Bloom, James Caan, Hayden Christensen, Blake Lively, Julie Christie, Chris Cooper, Drea de Matteo, Carla Gugino, Ethan Hawke, John Hurt, Shia LaBeouf, Natalie Portman, Rachel Bilson, Christina Ricci, Olivia Thirlby, Robin Wright Penn, Anton Yelchin, Burt Young and more.
I never got a chance to see Paris, je t’aime, but the idea always seemed appealing to me. While I live in probably the greatest city in the States - San Francisco, Manhattan has always been my favorite big screen city setting. New York, I Love You will screen as a work in progress at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival, and is expected to hit theaters in mid-february 2009.
Back in May, rumors ran wild that Brett Ratner might be directing a big screen adaptation of the popular video game series God of War. Bad news for video game fans, today’s MGM press release for the Robocop reboot contained the following juicy tidbit:
“David Self’s credits include 13 Days and Road To Perdition. He wrote God of War for Universal, to which Brett Ratner is attached to direct, and was a writer on Universal’s Wolfman currently in production.”
Is this official confirmation that Ratner is officially attached to the project? We hope not.
Get Outta Here: Brett Ratner’s Beverly Hills Cop 4 to be PG?
Posted on Wednesday, June 4th, 2008 by Hunter Stephenson
The PG-13 Effect: Brett Ratner’s officially “blowing ‘em where the pampers is.” The Miami-born maverick tells MTV that his Beverly Hills Kindergarten Cop 4 will be out to impress kids who can’t get into PG-13 movies. Is there another franchise that has ever consisted of three R-rated films (two of which are really good) and then had a PG sequel?
“Ten-year-old kids, 12-year-old kids don’t really know the old Beverly Hills Cop. So it’s an opportunity to make it new for kids,” Ratner said. “The same way it felt for me watching Beverly Hills Cop when I was a kid, that’s what I want to do for kids today.”
The youth have gone wild on Avenue Crazy. Ratner doesn’t go out and say it will be PG, no, but he didn’t include 13-year-old kids in that above quote either. But let’s say it’s PG-13. What is going on? Terminators blow smaller bullet holes into revolting humans, John McClane can’t say his signature line anymore because it will corrupt Justin Long, and now Eddie Murphy’s Axel Foley, a DETROIT COP/wiseass won’t ratatat purpled language?
This trend of teening down makes me appreciate Rambo even more, and that’s not even possible. It’s silly to get mad about ratings, I agree with some of you in the comments, but damn, this is not what Ol’ Dirty Bastard meant when he said he did it “for the children.” Seth Rogen and a bag of weed can only do so much for moviegoers of rollercoaster height. Don’t worry, though, Ratner knows Foley…
“We’re trying to revitalize the franchise. He was one of my favorite movie characters of all-time, Axel Foley, by far the coolest movie character,” he said. “It’s an honor to be able to direct another Beverly Hills Cop film.”
At least he didn’t bring up The Dark Knight. Some people have emailed to say he might have been kidding, to which I replied, so he’s not Brett Ratner afterall?
Discuss: Will this be worse than Cop and 1/2? This is not really applicable in this situation, but who cares: Nuke the Fridge.
In this episode of the /Filmcast, Dave, Devindra, Adam, and Peter, debate the merits of Sex and the City, lament the Universal fire, pore over the Lost finale, and discuss the nihilistic themes of Rambo. Special guest Myles McNutt joins us from Cultural Learnings and Alex Billington joins us from Firstshowing. Have any questions/comments/suggestions? Feel free to e-mail us at slashfilmcast@gmail.com.
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C’mon! Brett Ratner to Direct Beverly Hills Cop 4? God of War? Confirms Downey Jr. For Playboy
Posted on Wednesday, May 28th, 2008 by Hunter Stephenson
“Peace sign or eye gouge?”
Before we begin, there is something you must know about Brett Ratner. Similar to the combination of gremlins and water, when the moon is right and Ratner applies baby powder to his ass, out pop multiple epic-ly shitty movies. Tonight, it was thick. The trades are reporting that Ratner is attached to direct a Beverly Hills Cop 4 starring Eddie Murphy as Mr. Squirrel Axl Foley, the smooth talking, wisecracking character last seen with a gun near a Ferris wheel. Jerry Bruckheimer, who produced the first two, isn’t getting on board, but Lorenzo di Bonaventura (Transformers, Doom) has taken the ticket to see this ride, opening summer 2010, through for Paramount. Something tells me the only thing separating Ratner’s BHC4 from Metro 2 will be a lack of cornrows and, perhaps, Judge Reinhold.
This announcement sumo wrestles with an earlier report in Ad Age about Brett Ratner Brands, a new marketing/consulting firm he’s starting. [Shudder] His first client is Guitar Hero, and tacked on at the end, it says that Ratner mentioned he “might be working on a movie adaptation of the video game God of War” for Sony. I’m sure some of our readers are pissed. The hit vid game adventure franchise has received wide critical/fanboy acclaim for an engrossing and violent storyline/aesthetic entrenched in Greek mythology; it’s generally agreed that GoW has cinematic and box office potential along the lines of Metal Gear Solid. Inside word is that Ratner’s involvement is extremely loose right now, so don’t obsess over the premature mediocre visions that melt inside your head. However, Ratner will definitely be moving into Uwe Boll’s territory in the future. Death match of the lessers!?!
Earlier we reported that Robert Downey Jr. may star as American publishing legend, Hugh Hefner, in a biopic entitled Playboy. Ratner’s been involved with this one for quite some time, and while it’s not official that he’ll direct, it’s generally assumed he will if Downey signs on. Ratner confirms to EW that he’s met with the Iron Man star, they’re both enthusiastic about the project, and it all depends on his response to the script…
“We’re gonna hand him the script very shortly. He loves the character and the role and we’ve been meeting with him on it. So, if he wants to do it, we’re excited to have him. We wanted him before Iron Man so we were ahead of the curve.”
Personally, I think Ratner was born to direct the Hef biopic. Glitzy Hollywood stories and semi-annual Chris Tucker comedies suit him perfectly. Okay, you can put away your ponchos. That’s all the Ratner news we’ll expose you to for now.
Discuss: While we’re at it, why doesn’t Ratner just combine BHC4 and Rush Hour 4? Who’s the audience for Beverly Hills Cop 4 in 2010 anyway? Who should direct God of War? Are we too easy on the guy?
Additional Sources: Cinematical/Film Junk
Robert Downey Jr. to Play Hugh Hefner in Playboy?
Posted on Sunday, May 25th, 2008 by Hunter Stephenson
“Grotto!?!”
Over the last six months, I’ve had four unrelated sources tell me off the record that Robert Downey Jr. was a total lock to star in a Hugh Hefner biopic entitled Playboy. Of course, this was before Iron Man’s grosses went interstellar. Chicago’s Sun Times now reports that the actor is close to signing on, even though the original director, Brett Ratner, is purportedly no longer attached, but may circle back (I bet.) for producer Brian Grazer.
Would Marvel Studios be cool with Downey Jr. playing a porn magnate? The company recently tossed out the R-rating, so it might be iffy territory. In my view, Tony Stark is not exactly Clark Kent, and this role would only increase Downey’s mainstream visibility. Moreover, Hefner’s story is not mired in smut like a Larry Flynt or a Bob Guccinone–it’s by far the more mainstream rags-to-riches tale. But some people in the know have serious doubts. Is the box office there for this movie? Does Downey need to risk it? Will the film hold relevance in the quickening era of YouPorn and Xtube? They have a point (Playboy is venturing into the gay biz for a reason).
The Sun Times reports that Downey’s people have emphasized that nothing is final until a script and/or director is finalized. As you might expect, there are certain unprecedented benefits to playing this role. We’ll see what happens. Tropic Thunder, which looks to be a huge hit, will only strengthen Downey’s demands and demand.
Discuss: Should Downey take the role or pass? Are you interested in seeing the story of Hugh Hefner? Â
