Hollywood Blogslap - Movie News

'Brokeback' canceled at Utah theater; shrieking harridans applaud the move

nospam@example.com (Eric D. Snider) — Sat, 07 Jan 2006 17:42:09 -0700

I am delighted by the comedy of errors surrounding "Brokeback Mountain"
and the Jordan Commons theater in Sandy, Utah.

As locals know, Jordan Commons is owned by Larry Miller, a
car-dealership tycoon who also owns the Utah Jazz. A devoted Mormon, he
has also financed production of some LDS-themed films such as "The Work and the Glory" and "States of Grace."

Well, "Brokeback Mountain" was scheduled to open at Jordan Commons this past Friday. It was
already playing to record-setting crowds at the Broadway Centre in
downtown Salt Lake City (Sandy is a suburb 20 minutes south), and was
set to open in two other area theaters on Friday, too.

On Thursday, Miller was being interviewed by KCPW-FM reporter Jonathan
Brown, who brought up the imminent showing of "Brokeback Mountain." I
haven't heard the interview, which aired on the NPR affiliate Friday,
but I gather from Miller's quoted response that Brown was expressing
surprise that Jordan Commons, which has occasionally shied away from
controversial movies, was showing it.

Miller said, "It's something that I have to let the market speak to
some degree.... I don't think I'm qualified to be the community censor."

But here's the thing: Turns out Miller didn't actually know what "Brokeback Mountain" was about until Brown told him.

Two hours after the interview was conducted, Jordan Commons told the
local papers to pull "Brokeback Mountain" from its Friday ads, because
they weren't going to show it after all.

Continue reading "'Brokeback' canceled at Utah theater; shrieking harridans applaud the move"

National Film Registry says: No shirt, no shoes, no dice!

nospam@example.com (David Cornelius) — Tue, 27 Dec 2005 10:41:13 -0700

The Library of Congress today announced the 25 films selected as the 2005 entries into the National Film Registry, the collection of "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" movies (features, shorts, newsreels, etc.) that are now guaranteed the proper preservation due. Among this year's titles, you'll find an alien transvestite, talking toys, a couple of basketball hopefuls, con men who touch their noses, con men who sing about trouble, a prisoner who enjoys a failure to communicate, rough cops who love a good car chase, and even Kris Kringle himself. Oh, and Spicoli got in there, too. Looks like that long talk with Mr. Hand finally paid off.
Continue reading "National Film Registry says: No shirt, no shoes, no dice!"

PosterWatch: Vice, Date, Firewall, and The Hills Have... Hands?

nospam@example.com (David Cornelius) — Sat, 17 Dec 2005 22:48:32 -0700

Four new teaser posters for your viewing pleasure:

Firewall features Harrison Ford, his family, and a tagline that suggests another Panic Room. Date Movie (Alyson Hannigan and Fred Willard: yay! Eddie Griffin: boo!) gains points for taking a jab at the unfunny Scary Movie. Miami Vice showcases the look familiar to anyone who's visited the movie's website lately. And the artwork for the Hills Have Eyes remake shows more hand than eye (kudos to the designer for not going the obvious route).

Full-sized images behind the cut.

Continue reading "PosterWatch: Vice, Date, Firewall, and The Hills Have... Hands?"

Larry Fishburne takes on The Alchemist. Yikes.

nospam@example.com (Oz) — Fri, 16 Dec 2005 15:02:16 -0700

Just about any college student, hippy, self-help guru and aging renaissance man has read Paolo Coehlo's The Alchemist, and most likely commited it to memory. Call it an international version of Jack Kerouac if you will, but it's widely considered to be a phenomenal book, about a boy who decides he needs to travel to figure out what life is all about, and in doing so realizes that the biggest treasure of all is sometimes right under your nose. Legions of men and women, lost in the everyday blah of life, have found meaning in the pages of this book... but it's one of those tomes that very much fit into the category of "this shit would be impossible to put to film."

Enter Laurence Fishburne, who wants to not only star in it, he wants to direct as well, according to Production Weekly. Jinkies!

Hey, I'll give the guy a chance to prove me wrong, but I can't see a seasoned director doing this book justice, let alone an inexperienced actor-turned-director, who will be too busy acting to concentrate on helming the shoot. I predict disaster.

The flick is due to be shot in Dubai and Jordan in 2006. Good luck!

Life imitates art. Art gets raped by censors.

nospam@example.com (Oz) — Fri, 16 Dec 2005 11:30:01 -0700

Doco director, Kirby Dick

When Kirby dick decided to investigate the Motion Picture Association of America's ratings system by doing a documentary about it, part of him must have known that if he dug up anything worth exposing, the MPAA would rate his film into the toilet. And shock, horror - it's done just that.

"This Film is Not Yet Rated" has been rated NC-17 for "some graphic sexual content." An appeal is underway, and you can bet the cameras will be rolling as that appeal is heard.

Kirby, who was nominated for best documentary for his film "Twist of Faith", spent a year investigating what goes on behind the secretive doors of the MPAA, and his decision to include clips from movies that have been rated NC-17 was apparently what led to his own film being kyboshed.

The filmmaker told Reuters, "We encountered what many indie filmmakers encounter [...] There are a great many inequities and inconsistencies in the rating system, in part because it is so secret. The ratings board is reluctant to be specific, which can be maddening."

An NC-17 rating is generally considered to be a kiss of death for a feature film in the US. Films with that rating are effectively (and often contractually) banned from many mall-based cineplexes, they don't end up on the shelves at Blockbuster, and they end up unseen in 75% of US towns.

Irrespective of what rating the film ends up getting, rest assured, this site will lead the charge in telling people to go see the thing anyway, should IFC Films decide to release it with rating intact.

Super Size Me director, Morgan Spurlock, goes after the Republicans.

nospam@example.com (Oz) — Fri, 16 Dec 2005 11:15:37 -0700

Super size this.

"I'll have the Tom Delay Corruption-Burger, and chase that with an Intelligent Design shake, thanks!"

Morgan Spurlock, who we all dig mightily at HollywoodBitchslap.com because we knew him back before he got all famous, and because his film caused several of us to lose serious weight, has announced that his next documentary project is going to be based on Chris Mooney's best-selling non-fiction book, the Republican War on Science.

The flick, according to the London Guardian, will investigate the Bush administration's efforts to railroad science and scientists for political objectives, from refuting the idea that global warming exists, to refusing to approve the morning after pill for over the counter use, to attacking the concept of evolution and forcing schools to teach creationism dressed up as 'intelligent design'.

And what's more, we'll each be buying a ticket. So there.

Golden Globe nominations announced. Hollywood Foreign Press remains weird.

nospam@example.com (Oz) — Tue, 13 Dec 2005 15:39:46 -0700

The Golden Globe nominations for 2005 are out, and the list is, how we say in French, le fucked up. In the Best Drama category, there's no sign of Syriana, Munich, North Country, King Kong, Capote or Memoirs of a Geisha. The Constant Gardener, which is good but not great, gets a nod, as does the largely floppish A History of Violence. Brokeback Mountain, Good Night and Good Luck and Matchpoint round out the category.

Despite Brokeback Mountain scooping much of the pool on nominations this year, Jake Gyllenhaal has been overlooked in the Best Supporting Actor category (George Clooney, Matt Dillon, Will Ferrell, Paul Giamatti and Bob Hoskins took the five available spots), and also disappointing is the fact that, apparently, the Hollywood Foreign Press don't watch Arrested Development. Bastards.

The full list of nominations follows the fold.

Continue reading "Golden Globe nominations announced. Hollywood Foreign Press remains weird."

The 2006 Horror Checklist

nospam@example.com (Scott Weinberg) — Tue, 13 Dec 2005 04:08:18 -0700

As the resident mega-horror geek at HBS, I thought my inaugural blog post should be something informative, entertaining, and coated with gore. So here's what 2006 looks like, horror-wise.

If you don't know that release dates are subject to change, then you're a monstrous idiot who probably doesn't even like horror movies. There, I said it. It's been brewing for a while, and I apologize.

Continue reading "The 2006 Horror Checklist"

A double shot of action geek madness!

nospam@example.com (David Cornelius) — Mon, 12 Dec 2005 23:24:54 -0700

So you've seen the supercool M:I:III teaser poster in theaters, and now you can catch the even cooler teaser trailer, which is currently exclusive to Yahoo! And if the mere fact of this movie's existence isn't enough to geek you out, then the appearance of Philip Seymour Hoffman will. You can watch it here.

Not to be outdone, that other big TV-to-movie event pic of next summer just had its own website go live. Michael Mann's Miami Vice was always about the style, and from the looks of the site, the movie will be true to form. You can also check out the brand new teaser trailer, although the site shoots you over to the 21-and-up-only Bacardi home page - because nothing says "let me see this preview!" than having to waste time entering your birthdate. (A system I'm sure is completely uncrackable.)

But the trailer's quite worth it, if only to see Colin Farrell in Don Johnson's snappy suits. Now if only we can get him to cover "Heartbeat."

(As for Mission: Impossible, that one also has its site up this week. You can find it here, although there's not much to see beyond the trailer link, the poster, and a whole bunch of "register for updates" junk. Oh, and Tom Cruise's giant mug, although he kinda looks glib.)

Continue reading "A double shot of action geek madness!"

Posterwatch: Mission: Impossible III Teaser

nospam@example.com (David Cornelius) — Mon, 12 Dec 2005 22:32:47 -0700

If you visited your local mulitplex this weekend, chances are good you caught a peek at the brand spankin' new teaser poster for Mission: Impossible III. Like the teasers for the first two films, this one's pretty basic: just the logo, the date, and that match. Just enough to get a fan (like me) all geeked out.

Love that logo.

Full size poster behind the cut...
Continue reading "Posterwatch: Mission: Impossible III Teaser"

Brokeback Mountain breaks per screen records... but will it play in Peoria?

nospam@example.com (Oz) — Mon, 12 Dec 2005 14:37:36 -0700

The opening weekend numbers for Brokeback Mountain have been awesome - $109,000 per screen in NYC, LA and San Francisco. As you can see at Box Office Mojo, that puts Brokeback Mountain in the position of having the highest grossing per screen average box office for a non-animated film - ever. Who did it beat? Evita ($97k), Memoirs of a Geisha ($84k - big weekend!), and Moulin Rouge ($83k).

It's been a big year for 'huge openers on a small number of screens' - Syriana, Corpse Bride, and The Aristocrats have all found great opening weekend success on a tiny number of screens, but none have exploded (at least not yet) across the landscape with any sort of huge impact.

So how does that bode for Brokeback Mountain? Are the early numbers indicative of something huge to come, or is this a case of a film finding its major audience all in the first weekend? Clearly, NYC, LA and San Francisco are primo locations to open a film about homosexual romance between cowboys, and the directorship of Ang Lee is no small deal in such parts of the country, but can an Ang Lee 'gay movie' push into the national consciousness the way My Big Fat Greek Wedding did? Will the distributors get pushy with exhibitors and 'force' the film into cineplexes, or will the major movie houses wait for a hard money return to be evident, like they did with Fahrenheit 9/11? Or will it fade into obscurity like My Own Private Idaho?
Continue reading "Brokeback Mountain breaks per screen records... but will it play in Peoria?"