Posted Aug 27th 2008 6:33PM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Fandom
And I thought that Star Trek apartment was pretty insane. Our fellow Weblogs site
Green Daily has posted about a fully-functional
Hobbit house. Talk about uber fandom. I mean, it would've been a feat to just replicate a Hobbit house, but to make it an actual home? That's super-cool and environmentally friendly dedication.
It seems that Wales resident Simon Dale wanted his family to live greener lifestyles and be closer to nature. What else is there to do but envelope yourself in bright green moss, and every little bit of nature? The new home is made from mud and rocks found right there. Solar panels store juice for computers and other electrical needs. Underground air keeps the fridge cool. Water is run, by gravity, from a nearby spring. Their loo contains a compost toilet. And it's damn beautiful inside. Check out the house's details
here.
Methinks Guillermo should get this guy to help with the new film. How cool would it be if they just made a real community of Hobbit homes for future residents, rather than making sets to strike down and waste?
Posted Aug 27th 2008 1:33PM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Fandom
Yeah, okay. So this isn't the first Fan Made post about carbonite. Erik has already shared
George Lucas frozen in the tough stuff, but this new Fan Made is a whole lot tastier (I presume). I mean, George could be a conversation starter and all, but it's also a little bit scary, I imagine very pricey, and you can't eat it.
But you can eat the above.Today a friend sent me a link to
Michele's Confectionary Delights, where I found the super-awesome cake above. While it's not a spitting image of Han Solo, I just love this cake -- it's a good example of a little ingenuity trumping over exact replicas. That being said, I can't imagine how hard it would be to cut into the sucker -- not because it's covered in carbonite, but because it looks so darned good.
Have any of you ever received a cake so cool? Maybe if you live near that Ace of Cakes dude...
[via
Boing Boing]
Posted Aug 27th 2008 1:03PM by Elisabeth Rappe
Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Fandom, Scripts, Dreamworks, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels
I'm not one of those waiting for
Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen with a whole lot of anticipation. I feel bad about saying that, but let's face it, Transformers passed me right by as I was playing with Strawberry Shortcake. Many have tried to re-educate me on the awesomeness of Optimus Prime, and failed.
Nevertheless, even I have to admit it's pretty cool when a screenwriter drops in among their fans for a good sequel chat. That's what Robert Orci, one of the scriptwriters for
Transformers 1 and 2, has done over at
Transformer World 2005. The dedicated can sift through what is currently 82(!) pages of script Q&A, by the time you read this, it will probably be 182. Much of it is hints as to which robots might factor into the sequel -- including a tease that Arcee, the girl Transformer, might appear. On the other hand, he's careful to remind fans that anything you hear about the film is probably careful disinformation, but well meant. "It is fun to 'play' with fandom, not to toy with fandom -- I do not hand out disinformation."
But there's a few reliable sounding bits in here. According to Orci, the sequel will be more "global" in scale, and that there won't a lot of re-introductions. "The first movie is all about the mystery and reveal of the Transformers as a concept and a species, which means we had to hide them a lot in the first hour. In the second movie, now that everyone believes in the universe, we can jump right into the world of the Transformers." The movie will be firmly rooted in Transformers mythology, but will also maintain the "liberties" taken with it in the first film.
He insists they're listening to fan input, so anything you want to see, now's the time to demand it. I'm going to go ahead and demand Arcee, if only to ponder how Transformers can have gender, and whether she will be pink.
Continue reading Screenwriter Dishes Some Early Tidbits on 'Transformers 2'
Posted Aug 27th 2008 9:03AM by Elisabeth Rappe
Filed under: Horror, Romance, Fandom, DIY/Filmmaking, Newsstand
No,
Twilight fans -- it's ok! This is
good news and it isn't going to result in a delay of the movie. Summit wouldn't break your hearts like that. Even though the clock is ticking, the studio is taking a bit of time to smooth out the movie's kinks. According to
MTV, they're going back and filming some extra scenes, months after principle photography wrapped -- a move planned long before
Twilight snagged the vacant
Harry Potter date.
It isn't because anyone's dissatisfied with the film -- the cast insists the opposite is true. "They liked it so much, they are bringing us back for some encore time - to beef it up," says
Peter Facinelli, who you all know better as the vampire Carlisle Cullen. "A little salt and pepper."
Taylor Lautner, the head of this whole "Team Jacob" thing, says that rehearsals for the new scenes were "a ton of fun" and that they're just to clarify a few plot points. "I know they've been showing it to some people, and some people go, 'I want to see a little more of this,' or, 'I don't quite understand this,' " he explained.
None of the cast members could reveal what the new scenes were, but you
Twilight fans can probably guess from the hints, such as Facinelli's being a flashback. "It gives us a little bit of history of the Cullen family. They are just shooting a couple of different added scenes, and the scene I'm in, I can tell you it's me and Robert Pattinson ... Rosalie and Emmett are in that scene."
The ending is also being tweaked to include Lautner. "I am going to be in the prom scene now, at the very end of the film," he said. "At first we didn't film that, and now some people are saying they want to see a bit more of Jacob, and they want him in the prom scene at the end."
It drives me nuts not to know what any of this means, which means it's time to borrow the book from someone. In the meantime,
Twilight fans, discuss these developments among yourselves.
Posted Aug 26th 2008 1:03PM by Elisabeth Rappe
Filed under: Classics, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Warner Brothers, Fandom, Family Films, Movie Marketing, Harry Potter, Remakes and Sequels, Images
Alejandro Martínez over at
BlogHogwarts has sent us a bunch of images from the just-released
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince calender. I know, it's hard to get excited about anything associated with a movie we won't see until July, but a calender can help alleviate your pain by giving you a little dose of Harry Potter all through 2009. Right? Ok, maybe not. You have to hand it to Warner Bros -- of all the franchises to be delayed, none works so well as Harry Potter. It doesn't matter that we don't know the film incarnations of the characters, because we've been living with the
Half Blood cast for years on the page. When you think of it that way, all this badly timed merchandise doesn't seem so ridiculous. There's some very cool stills here that I wish was bigger, particularly the troubled Draco Malfoy you can glimpse below. I've enlarged it, but at the cost of the quality -- if someone shells the bucks out for this (I'm looking at you, Emma Watson fans), feel free to send big scans along for your
Cinematical friends.
Continue reading New Calendar Images from 'Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince'
Posted Aug 26th 2008 11:03AM by Eric D. Snider
Filed under: Action, Drama, New Releases, Fandom
As I exited the screening of
Traitor, the terrorism thriller starring Don Cheadle that opens on Wednesday, I noticed something odd in the closing credits: story by Steve Martin and Jeffrey Nachmanoff. The second guy is the film's director. But that first guy ... Steve Martin?
The Steve Martin?
I knew the one-time Wild and Crazy Guy was a renaissance man. In fact, lately I've enjoyed his writing, which is clever, nuanced, and intelligent, more than I've enjoyed most of his movies. He apparently is not as selective about his film projects as he is about his writing. His novella
The Pleasure of My Company is one of my favorite recent books, and
Shopgirl (which was made into a
film) is another surprisingly emotional gem.
But a terrorism thriller about Muslim extremists and FBI investigations? Even with the understanding that "typical Steve Martin" territory extends much further than the casual fan might realize, this was not typical Steve Martin territory. Checking out the film's
website, I found this explanation:
"Traitor began its journey to the big screen when Steve Martin presented an intriguing idea to producer David Hoberman while they were working together on the blockbuster comedy Bringing Down the House. Martin's "what if?" scenario immediately captured Hoberman's imagination with its provocative contemporary themes and surprising final twist."The production notes go on to describe Nachmanoff and
Don Cheadle doing a lot of reworking of Nachmanoff's script, which had been based on Martin's original concept, so I don't know how much of Martin's idea is in the finished product. (He's also credited as an executive producer.) But either way, as a huge fan of Martin's, it's always exciting to see him do something new. It's also nice to know that something positive came out of
Bringing Down the House.
Posted Aug 25th 2008 9:03PM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: RumorMonger, Fandom, Comic/Superhero/Geek
Just like films that keep us guessing in exasperation (I'm looking at you, Mr. Richard '
Before Sunset' Linklater!), television shows often tap into the curious determination of fandom. But often it's after a myriad of seasons and at least a few years worth of investment into a group of characters. But then there are shows that inspire rabid fandom without many years on the little screen, and not because of fan loyalty to a certain star, or director (like, say, Joss Whedon's
Firefly). I'm talking about
Spaced.
The show only has 14 episodes, dating all the way back to 1999, and yet it's become a huge phenomenon recently. Why? Because it's
just that good. Centered on the idea that two almost-strangers decide to pretend that they're a couple to secure a new apartment,
Spaced is a cornucopia of geek fandom, weirdness, and laughs. And intermingled in the buzz that the show has captured recently, there's been talk of a continuation. But the big question is: Will it continue on the boob tube, or on the big screen?
Continue reading Discuss: Should 'Spaced' Hit the Big Screen?
Posted Aug 25th 2008 3:03PM by Eric D. Snider
Filed under: Comedy, New Releases, Fandom, Fantastic Fest
It is called Fantastic Fest, and porn is pretty fantastic, so I guess it's a perfect match: Kevin Smith's new comedy,
Zack and Miri Make a Porno, will have its U.S. premiere as the opening-night film at the raucous genre fest in Austin on Sept. 18. Smith will be there to introduce the film and take questions afterward, so start coming up with good
Jersey Girl zingers now.
Afterward, they're holding the Air Sex World Championships there at the Paramount Theater, and audience members are invited to join. Air Sex is like Air Guitar, only dirtier, and requiring less musical ability. If you wanted more proof that Fantastic Fest is not your typical film festival, there you go.
Zack and Miri stars
Seth Rogen and
Elizabeth Banks as platonic friends who decide to raise money by making a sex tape; hilarity ensues. Smith has promised that the film is the filthiest thing he's ever done, which is no minor feat. The film opens theatrically on Oct. 31.
Fantastic Fest runs Sept. 18-25. The
Zack and Miri gala is part of the package for badge holders, and individual tickets will go on sale this Saturday. Check out the fest's
website for more details, then prepared to get really bummed if you can't go. I've only been to Austin for South By Southwest, and while that's always a raging good time, I'm jealous of the
Cinematical crew that gets to indulge in Fantastic Fest. Maybe if I ask Scott Weinberg really nicely he'll bring me back a severed-head prop or something.
Posted Aug 25th 2008 11:03AM by Eric D. Snider
Filed under: Comedy, Drama, Box Office, Fandom
Woody Allen's latest film,
Vicky Cristina Barcelona, has earned mostly rave reviews, and it's doing well at the box office -- or, that is, it's doing well for a Woody Allen film. It opened in 10th place for the weekend of Aug. 15-17, the first time an Allen film has cracked the top 10 at all (let alone opened there) since
Small Time Crooks, eight years and eight movies ago. And
Small Time Crooks was the first one since
Husbands and Wives, eight years and eight movies before
that.
I wouldn't say there's ever been a time when Allen's films routinely made the top 10 -- he's always managed to release a total flop here and there to break up the streak -- but it certainly used to occur much more frequently than it does now.
Manhattan opened at #1 in 1979, possibly the only Allen film ever to do so. (I can't find specific weekend data on
Annie Hall, which is the only other likely candidate.) Various others have spent at least a couple weekends in the top 10. Still, no Allen film has ever been what you'd call a "blockbuster." His biggest hit,
Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), made $40 million and never got higher than 5th place at the box office. Granted, if you adjust for inflation,
Annie Hall's $38 million would be about $120 million today, and that would be considered fantastic for a low-budget indie. But it's still not commensurate with how beloved and acclaimed Allen is.
Consider this:
Woody Allen has directed 38 theatrical features.
The Dark Knight has made more money than all 38 of them
combined. Isn't it strange that one of the most iconic American filmmakers of all time can barely scrape together a crowd to actually watch his movies?
Continue reading Random Facts: Woody Allen at the Box Office
Posted Aug 25th 2008 10:02AM by Erik Davis
Filed under: Comedy, Drama, Romance, Fandom, Home Entertainment, Movie Marketing, Trailers and Clips
Cinematical has just received this exclusive clip from the upcoming film
Choke, based on one of my personal favorite Chuck Palahniuk (
Fight Club) books.
Choke stars
Sam Rockwell as Victor Mancini, a snarky sex addict who cons well-to-do folks out of their money by fake-choking in restaurants while subsequently feeding off the sympathy of others. He then uses this money to help pay his mother's (
Anjelica Huston) mental hospital bills. In the clip above -- which is one of a few flashbacks in the film -- young Victor and his mother visit the zoo ... at night ... and they're not exactly there to buy cotton candy. You can learn more about
Choke over at its official website. I saw the film back at Sundance and liked it quite a bit -- especially Rockwell's off-the-charts performance as Mancini. Definitely see this one when you get the chance; it arrives in theaters on September 26. Additionally, watch the trailer and another clip over on
Moviefone. Enjoy.
Posted Aug 24th 2008 11:33AM by Peter Martin
Filed under: Horror, Lionsgate Films, Fandom, Movie Marketing
I'm glad to have seen The Midnight Meat Train in a theater earlier this month, even if it was a run-down dollar theater. But Lionsgate certainly made it difficult for horror fans, booking the film into only about 100 locations and carefully avoiding theaters anywhere near the city centers of New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Portland, etc.
When the limited release strategy became known, Clive Barker, who wrote the story upon which Ryuhei Kitamura's film is based, expressed his support for a fan-made viral campaign to get a wider release. Now that the limited release has come and gone, he told MTV News of his displeasure toward "small-minded" Lionsgate president Joe Drake. Barker believes that Drake shortchanged MMT to avoid competition with The Strangers, on which Drake had a producing credit. "You don't have to sh-- on somebody else's work to advance your own material," Barker said.
Barker feels that Kitamura made "a beautifully stylish, scary movie." He's convinced that "people will find it, and whether they find it in midnight shows or they find it on DVD, they'll find it, and in the end the Joe Drakes of the world will disappear."
In his review from Comic-Con, Scott Weinberg opined that The Midnight Meat Train would be a tough sell on 1,200 screens because it's such a dark, "horror fans only" experience. On the other hand, the apparently inferior Mirrors (as per William Goss' review) opened on 2,664 screens and made $11 million in its opening weekend. But Lionsgate took that decision out of (most of) our hands. The DVD should be out Real Soon Now.
Posted Aug 24th 2008 10:03AM by Eric D. Snider
Filed under: Action, Warner Brothers, Fandom, Movie Marketing, Comic/Superhero/Geek
It's kind of cute to see DC Comics and Warner Bros. getting all excited about making superhero movies again now that
The Dark Knight has been established as the greatest, most important film in the history of mankind. This comes after a decade of almost every DC-based movie being a failure while most of what has come from rival camp Marvel Comics has been successful. Now the tables have turned -- or they have for one movie, anyway -- and DC is emboldened. The next step? Find a way to ruin Superman again!
Word came
last week that DC and Warners will reboot the Superman franchise, similar to the way Marvel rebooted the Incredible Hulk. (And gee, look how great that turned out! This summer's
The Incredible Hulk did
just as well at the box office as 2003's supposedly disastrous
Hulk did.) Warner honcho Jeff Robinov said they plan to "reintroduce" the character -- but reboot, reintroduce, whatever you call it, are they forgetting that that's what 2006's
Superman Returns was? How many times do they think they can redo this character before audiences just give up altogether?
Plenty of questions remain. A reboot probably means an entirely new cast, and possibly a new director. Word on the street before last week's announcement was that
Bryan Singer could stay on board if he was willing to go in the new direction, but that's not very helpful right now, since no one knows what the new direction is yet.
Continue reading Discuss: What Sort of Superman Reboot Do You Want to See?
Posted Aug 23rd 2008 6:02PM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Comedy, Fandom, Newsstand
October 3 is quickly approaching -- the day that will bring Simon Pegg's
How to Lose Friends and Alienate People to the big screen. Since the countdown has begun, a series of Pegg-led blogs and vlogs are being released posted over at the
Guardian. The first video dips into the first day of shooting and working with a pig, and it looks more like a behind-the-scenes featurette than a blog, but that's okay. It's also teamed with Pegg's impressions of his experience on set. Ever wonder what they're like behind the camera? Here's some of the dirt:
On
Kirsten Dunst: "She was friendly and unassuming and got on well with Nick Frost, which is usually my benchmark for judging people."
On
Jeff Bridges: "a legend and an incredibly generous actor had me quivering with excitement every time he walked onto set" ... and Pegg says a future vlog will show him playing Pass the Pigs with Bridges.
On
Danny Huston: "a man who I don't recall ever seeing not smiling is like me, a giggler, a condition which always causes exquisite anxiety when the cameras are rolling."
On
Megan Fox: "an actress all too easy to underestimate, due to her striking beauty but one who definitely proves her worth as the 'so hot right now' ingenue Sophie Maes."
Will
How to Lose Friends and Alienate People be on your Fall must-see list?
Posted Aug 22nd 2008 8:03PM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Action, Drama, Fandom, Home Entertainment, Friday Night Double Feature
I have a confession to make. I used to be a rabid fangirl of Quentin Tarantino -- so much so that I went all sorts of nuts when introduced to my first college poster sale. My poor roommate ... she had to deal with one half of a room adorned with posters of John Travolta, Tim Roth, Samuel L. Jackson, and more. My guns and bad guys were balanced by her posters of funky black and white photos and art prints.
It wasn't that I was a huge fan of ultra-violent films; I just couldn't get enough of a film laden with insanely catchy conversations and even catchier music. I especially loved Pumpkin, and Honey Bunny. So, in honor of bad girls and guys who love each other while wreaking havoc on the world, I give you two Tarantino flicks from 1994 --
Pulp Fiction and
Natural Born Killers. (Well, to be fair -- he disowned the latter, but he's still a part of it.)
This is Tarantino we're talking about, so these clips might not be suitable for wee young things and work environments.Continue reading Cinematical's Friday Night Double Feature: Pumpkins and Honeybunnies
Posted Aug 22nd 2008 4:02PM by Erik Davis
Filed under: Fandom, Contests, Insert Caption
Welcome back to another edition of Insert Caption -- the game where we definitely rock it with sexy Jesus all night long. Last week we asked you to strap in Statham-style and race to be the first one to knock us over with a caption for an image from the flick
Death Race. Congrats to all three of our winners -- your thirst for speed, prison humor and bald men is quite inspiring to us all.
1. "You sank my battleship!!" --
Jason F.2. "Unfortunately, the Death Staring Contest proved unpopular." --
Dan N.3. "In the prisons of the future, its all about survival of the baldest." --
Ben K.See full image and all captionsThis week we're trading in our set of death wheels for a little fun with the theater kids as they rock it out in the new comedy
Hamlet 2. In the flick (which has been getting great buzz for a long time now), the hilarious
Steve Coogan stars as a failed actor-turned-drama teacher who rallies his students around an absurd, politically incorrect staging of, well,
Hamlet 2. The aspirings behind our three favorite captions will prance away with one
Hamlet 2 t-shirt, one
Hamlet 2 wristband, one sexy Jesus action figure, and one
Hamlet 2 car air freshener. I personally have the action figure dancing on my desk as we speak and -- um, yeah -- this Jesus is pretty sexy. (Do I go to hell for saying that?) Sound off below!
Read the official rules for this contest
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