By Jason Apuzzo. • Members of an Islamic radical group called the ‘Islam Defenders Front’ staged rallies in Jakarta, Indonesia on Tuesday, demanding the termination there of the gay/lesbian Q! Film Festival – indeed, demanding that the festival be shut down within 24 hours. The group has apparently threatened several venues in Jakarta associated with the festival, including the Goethe Institute, Erasmus Huis Dutch Cultural Center, Centre Culturel Francais Jakarta and the Japan Foundation – thereby effectively making this an international incident. This is one of those ugly little episodes that should remind everybody of who really persecutes gays and lesbians nowadays – namely, thuggish Islamic theocrats, not middle American Christians. [I’ll be waiting for Hollywood’s ‘tolerant’ liberals to make a movie about this story, by the way. Wachowski brothers, are you listening? Or Kevin Smith?] Let’s see how many film sites outside of Libertas pick up this story.
• On a more positive note, MTV is debuting the new poster for The Taqwacores (see left). We’ve been talking about this film for months, because of the hopeful tendencies it portends among today’s Islamic youth, and we’re very excited about its debut. The film opens in New York and LA on October 22nd.
• Everybody’s buzzing about Titanic 3D and Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace 3D opening within 2 weeks of each other in 2012. Frankly, I think this is great – I plan on seeing both. Both films have their strengths and weaknesses, and both have earned spots in pop culture lore for having pushed the boundaries of cinema spectacle – while also telling compelling stories. Of course, who am I rooting for in the box office race? Do you need to ask? I’ll be jogging later today in a Darth Maul T-shirt.
• Incredibly, there’s even more news on the Alien Invasion Front – some of it big. Apparently Sam Raimi is prepping a new film called Earth Defense Force, that involves America skirmishing with the communist Chinese … as a prelude to a far larger and more lethal invasion from visitors from outer space. So this film will combine two recent cinema trends of: anti-communism and alien invasion. Nice. Getting kind of crowded in those skies now, though! At a certain point, some of these alien invaders are probably going to start fighting each other. Why? Because rumors are now circulating about the possibility of two sequels to Roland Emmerich’s original Independence Day, although Emmerich had better hurry up with those because some of these other films will be stealing his thunder. One such film is Skyline, which we’ve previously registered some reservations about here, but which just debuted a fantastic new trailer. Bear in mind that this film was made for under $10 million. Phenomenal. And, ironically enough today: Ridley Scott apparently wants a $250 million budget for his Alien prequel, and he wants the film to have a ‘hard-R’ rating. Fox, obviously, is balking on both counts. Honestly, Sir Ridley may want to consider retiring. He’s been blowing an enormous amount of other peoples’ money for years on films that are underperforming at the box office, and if these demands are true as reported he must be living in a Matrix-style dream state. He should see the Skyline trailer and see what can be done for pennies nowadays. In other alien invasion news: Emma Thompson is apparently circling Men in Black 3D; Rihanna is getting rave reviews from her fellow Battleship cast members; some intriguing set photos have leaked from the J.J. Abrams/Steven Spielberg Super 8; Comic-con will be staying in San Diego for the next 5 years; Tom Hanks is debuting a futuristic new web series called Electric City; and MTV is running a great list of The 10 Scenes from The Star Wars Saga We Can’t Wait to See in 3D – but for some reason they forgot the Death Star trench scene! No Death Star?!
• A new poster has debuted for the Jolie/Depp/von Donnersmarck The Tourist. I like it – especially the tag line.
• Did you know that in 2012 we’re likely to have the ‘whitest’ Oscar season in years, due to the fact that so few minority actors are getting any award-season buzz? How is this happening? I thought our Betters in Hollywood were equitably distributing roles! I don’t understand this at all … except as the flower of hypocrisy.
• Here are details of the Tony Curtis tribute on Turner Classic Movies. That will be a bittersweet day. His daughter, Jamie Lee Curtis, talks today about what a mensch her Dad was. Prepare a funeral for a Viking.
• On the Chicks with Fangs front, MyAnna Buring, Casey LaBow and Maggie Grace have been cast as “a trio of Russian vampire sisters” in the next Twilight film! Perfect! When you hear the phrase “trio of Russian vampire sisters,” you can rest assured that Apuzzo will be there. Pretty newcommer Mia Maestro has also been cast in that film. Also: Guillermo del Toro and NBC are apparently thinking of reviving The Munsters. It’s being pitched as “Modern Family meets True Blood.” I couldn’t make that up if I tried. And finally: don’t forget to watch Christopher Lee and a bevy of gorgeous Hammer women in Turner Classic Movies’ Dracula-fest tonight.
• In Wall Street 2 news, Oliver Stone now says he was only able to afford his rather sumptuous, lavish film by way of product placements. Hilarious. Special public memo to Ducati, by the way: I’m happy to put your motorcycles in any film I make. Really. Even if it’s set during the Roman Empire. [We’ll make it work.] There was also an interesting article in the New York Times yesterday on the artwork on display in Stone’s film – Goya’s Saturn Devouring His Children was especially pivotal in the film, by the way. I should’ve mentioned that in my review. There’s also this warm and very candid interview with Michael Douglas in the New York Post right now. You get the sense from this interview that both he and Stone really respect the Wall Street guys, and were definitely not out to do a hit job on them. Douglas himself apparently grew up with a lot of guys who are now ruling The Street.
• Here’s a great clip of Francis Coppola interviewing John Milius about the writing of Apocalpyse Now, taken from a larger, brand new interview that will be appearing on the Apocalypse Now Blu-ray. It’s wonderful to see these two guys getting together again, and this new Blu-ray set looks absolutely phenomenal.
• Did you know that John Hughes was a conservative? If not, read this piece out from yesterday in which the New York Post’s Kyle Smith talks to P.J. O’Rourke about Hughes’ films and P.J.’s days with Hughes back at MAD Magazine.
• Other random news and notes: some set photos have leaked of Tom Cruise shooting Mission: Impossible 4 in the Czech Republic; the great Christopher Plummer has joined the cast of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (still processing my thoughts on that project); Whit Stillman is apparently gearing up for a new project (thanks to Jennifer Baldwin for alerting me to that) and we want to wish him the very best on that new film; Fox and Walden Media are worrying about whether audiences will show up for the next Narnia film (a reasonable concern); and more babes are being considered for the role of Spider-Man’s love interest in the Sony reboot, with the list now including Dianna Agron and Georgina Haig.
• AND IN TODAY’S MOST IMPORTANT NEWS … Piranha 3D’s Kelly Brook does a fashion shoot this week for The Guardian … and she certainly does look tasty, even if I’m not a fish.
And that’s what’s happening today in the wonderful world of Hollywood.
Posted on October 1st, 2010 at 10:51am.
Great round up! I’m excited about the Sam Raimi project. He always struck me as being a patriotic guy, so it’s pretty amazing that he’s going to make an alien invasion features with anti-Chicom themes. Wow.
That’s hilarious about Oliver Stone needing all those product placements. Now wonder the left is complaining “Wall Street 2” isn’t left-wing enough. Doesn’t it ever strike the media that they’re complete hypocrites for working for massive media companies and yet condemning capitalism?
I agree – I found it especially ironic that some of the high fashion magazines I read were promoting “Wall Street 2” and praising it for critiquing capitalism! And this in magazines that sell $1200 shoes and $5000 handbags!
It’s absolutely criminal how Hollywood treats conservatives as opposed to Islamists — the ones who actually kill homosexuals, follow a book that actually says women are only worth one fourth of a man, and it’s okay to beat them.
And all of this alien-invasion stuff has me excited — especially since I just completed a novel where such an even is the impetus of the story. In fact, that last shot looks exactly like something I describe in the book.
Speaking of leftist hypocrisy and capitalism, I remember seeing a gigantic display of Michael Moore’s “Capitalism: A Love Story” at my local Best Buy. I couldn’t help but feel bad for the poor sap who actually believes Moore’s line on how bad capitalism is after buying his film.
And, yes, I agree … I would put Ducati in my film any day — as long as I get to keep that Monster that was in Wall Street 2.