Day: October 22, 2010

Robots & Alien Plantlife Attack! + Sexy Russian Spies & Weekend Hollywood Round-up, 10/22

Steven Spielberg is set to adapt "Robocalypse."

By Jason Apuzzo. • Steven Spielberg has apparently committed to directing Robocalypse, the as-yet unpublished novel from Daniel H. Wilson that’s described as an “epic novel about the human race’s attempt to survive an apocalyptic robot uprising.” Since robots are typically close kin to aliens in the world of sci-fi (at least thematically, in terms of being threatening ‘Other’ figures), we will file this project as yet another in the burgeoning Alien Invasion genre. And on that same front, Sam Raimi is apparently quite serious about doing a remake Day of the Triffids in 3D; by the way, I recently watched the original film and was surprised at how well it held up, so I hereby reverse my initial skepticism toward this Triffids redo. Go Triffids. In related news, Warner Brothers just picked up what appears to be another alien invasion-esque project (this one playing out on the moon) called Dark Moon; also, Aaron Eckhart does an interview today about Battle: Los Angeles; there are also some interesting rumors floating around about the Alien prequel (see here and here); Paranormal Activity‘s Oren Peli more or less lets the cat out of the bag today that Area 51 will likely be his next project; the Vulture blog has just created an ‘obsessive’s’ guide to what’s known about J.J. Abrams’ Super 8; and the plotline for Transformers 3 has leaked. That film from Michael Bay will apparently have a kind of neo-Cold War subtext involving the U.S. and Russia in a new space race. Cool by me.

• James Cameron is now everywhere, attached to everything. Apparently he’s going to be producing a Fantastic Voyage remake (the original film had a very strong Cold War subtext, by the way); he’s also about to announce some new venture with Governor Schwarzenegger (probably something political, rather than filmic); and you can read his latest thoughts here, here and here on subjects ranging from the future of 3D … to the Avatar sequels … to the ‘hotness’ of Angelina Jolie and how perfect she would be as a star for Sony’s Cleopatra, to which Cameron may or may not be attached. Also: you can catch part of the deleted Earth-opening from Avatar here, which is just about to hit Blu-ray. At none of these links, however, will you read about an actual start-date for shooting Cameron’s Avatar sequel – which is surely what has Fox sweating bullets right now.

Raging hormones: the cast members of "Glee."

• In other Sci-Fi news, M. Night Shyamalan’s next project is apparently going to be a sci-fi flick called One Thousand A.E., which will be a vehicle for Jaden Smith; Ron Howard, Will Smith and Leonardo DiCaprio are collaborating on bringing The Twilight Zone to the screen again; Colin Farrell may star in a Total Recall remake; and the Tron marketing machine now encompasses a new poster, a video game, a clothing line, and even Oakley 3D glasses. Plus, you can read some new interviews with the cast here. This film better be good, or Disney is going to have not an egg but an entire omelette on its face …

• On the Trolls/Dwarves/Elves front, the casting for Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit has been announced, and the ugly labor situation in New Zealand is cooling. Those films may still not be shooting there, though, due to the endless bad blood and greed involved. We’ll see. In somewhat happier news, it seems that Universal has picked up foreign distribution rights to Troll Hunter, that little Norwegian indie flick we talked about earlier this week. Can’t wait to see that one!

• The cast of the teen TV series Glee apparently got themselves in a lot of hot water over their racy spread in GQ magazine – and one of the show’s cast members has already apologized, more or less, for the provocative shoot (even though everybody involved in the shoot was safely over 18). I decided to investigate the matter, because I knew that Libertas needed to take a position on this important controversy … and having reviewed the photo spread thoroughly, I can confirm that in my professional opinion the pictures are, indeed, hot.

• In Superhero/Christopher Nolan related news, Warner Brothers apparently wants a sequel to Inception – although there’s no word on whether Nolan wants that. Perhaps the sequel can involve President Obama having his memory of the 2010 election season wiped – he might want that, frankly. Elsewhere: Zack Snyder may actually be looking for an ‘older’ Superman (35-40) for his forthcoming reboot, and he’s still not sure whether the film will be shot in 3D. [By the way, Iron Man 3 now has a release date: summer 2013.] I’m not getting the vibe that the new Superman is going to be worth the wait, frankly; this new one is feeling like a rush job designed to simply keep the series legally in Warner Brothers’ hands, and unfortunately with the wrong talent involved (again).

• You know what’s even hotter than the Glee photoshoot for GQ? Russian spy Anna Chapman’s photoshoot for Russian Maxim. I can’t even show it to you here, frankly. [I had no idea there was a ‘Russian Maxim,’ by the way – did you?] This photoshoot – and the accompanying video – remind me of why I miss the Cold War so much: the Girls of Al Qaeda can’t really pose for Maxim in a burqa, can they? [Read here, by the way, about how Muslim countries vary in their cinema censorship.] The pity of it is that we don’t deport known terrorist sympathizers in this country, yet we did deport Ms. Chapman. What a shame! Why did we give such a valuable ‘asset’ back to the Russians? Maybe we can get her back in a one-for-one deal involving Valerie Plame. [By the way, on this note, HBO is currently developing a new Cold War CIA drama.]

Victoria Vetri, in better days.

• On the Classic Movie front, the Wall Street Journal has a great article out right now about the new Errol Flynn box set of action films; and both Francis Coppola (here) and Walter Murch (here) do some fascinating interviews about Apocalypse Now, coming soon to Blu-ray. Originally Coppola wanted to do that film in 3D – although there are no current plans for a conversion.

• On the Political front, Clint Eastwood is saying he’s “not a fan” of Barack Obama. Odd to say, but that’s actually the strongest statement of that kind I’ve heard from Clint in years. I’m still, however, allowed to be concerned about Clint’s J. Edgar Hoover project; and on that front, Wesley Snipes apparently also now wants to do a film that will take aim at Hoover’s legacy – and in particular at Hoover’s surveillance of MLK. It’s odd to me that Hoover is suddenly – all these decades later – so much under the microscope like this.  What gives? The man also fought the Mob and the communists. Does any of that count anymore? And speaking of people under the microscope: after an apparent cast revolt, Mel Gibson has just been dropped from appearing (in a cameo capacity) in Hangover 2 and replaced by the suddenly-everywhere Liam Neeson. I’m a little puzzled as to why people in the industry suddenly think this is such big news; was anybody following the news on Gibson in recent months? What were people expecting? Gibson’s been behaving badly – very badly – and he’s now suffering the consequences.

Morian Atias.

• Speaking of political news, forgive me but a favorite of mine from years gone by – Elvira, Mistress of the Dark – just did a hilarious (and gentle) spoof of the Christine O’Donnell “I’m Not a Witch” ad. It’s good to see Elvira still going strong after all these years – I’d almost forgotten how cool she was. And, speaking of Elvira, did you hear that Piranha 3D is indeed going to get a sequel – set for next summer (how is that possible?) – deliciously titled Piranha 3DD?! Could that title possible by any more puerile, adolescent … and wonderful?!

• Elvira and Piranha 3DD remind me that another favorite cult star of years gone by, Victoria Vetri (When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth, Invasion of the Bee Girls), just landed in a lot of hot water after a lover’s quarrel turned violent. We hope that situation works out; she was one of the top cult film sirens of her day.

• AND IN TODAY’S MOST IMPORTANT NEWS … Mad Men’s Jessica Paré does a new interview this week, and Israeli actress/model Morian Atias (who recently lent her talents to the cool anti-Soviet video game Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 – Uprising) poses this month for Men’s Health magazine. She does certainly look like she could contribute a lot to a man’s health …

And that’s what’s happening today in the wonderful world of Hollywood.

Posted on October 22nd, 2010 at 6:08pm.

LFM Review: Eastwood’s Hereafter

By Joe Bendel. That bright light must be significant. Near death researchers argue that since so many accounts agree on the particulars, there must be something to them. Some even hint at a conspiracy of silence in Clint Eastwood’s latest film, but the jazz-supporting actor-director thankfully never veers too far into such X-Filish territory in Hereafter, which expands nationally this Friday following its limited New York opening.

Frankie McLaren in "Hereafter."

Conversing with the dead made psychic George Lonegan nearly unfit for life among the living. Much to the dismay of his slick operator brother, he chucked it all in, despite the serious money to be made, preferring a quiet blue collar life. Yet, just like Pacino’s Michael Corleone, he keeps getting pulled back into his former life. French television talking head Marie Lelay got a glimpse of what haunts Lonegan. Caught up in a Southeast Asian tsunami, she briefly crossed over and back. Slightly preoccupied with the experience, her career and romantic relationship suffer as a result – while in a third story arc, young Marcus, an identical twin grieving his brother Jason, is desperately searching for a legitimate medium like Lonegan amidst all the charlatans of London’s New Age scene.

Eventually, these three twains will meet, but it takes an awfully long time to get there. Despite the supernatural themes, Eastwood strives for an elegiac tone throughout Hereafter, eschewing cheap chills. (However, it is truly horrifying when the action culminates at a publishing trade show.) Though a bit snoozy, the director’s string-heavy score sets the right mood. Indeed, Hereafter has a very Euro-art film sense of time and ambiance.

Arguably, Hereafter is one of those films of which the whole is less than the sum of its parts. The opening tsunami sequences are reasonably tense and realistic. However, subsequent scenes of Lelay moping around taking bad career advice are paint-by-numbers stuff. Lonegan’s relationship with his brother is also rather standard issue, but his aborted flirtation with a fellow student in his adult ed. cooking class is sharply written and finely turned, by Matt Damon and Bryce Dallas Howard, respectively. However, the most reliable strand involves the two twins, quite impressively played by Frankie and George McLaren. Completely natural in every scene, they are remarkably assured young actors.

Sensitively lensed by cinematographer Tom Stern, Hereafter is certainly a classy package. The discrete payoff might also grow on mature viewers upon later reflection. However, the overall presentation is a bit too long and much too self-serious. A respectable film but nowhere nearly as engaging as Gran Torino, Hereafter seems unlikely to be a major player come awards season. Earning a modest recommendation, Hereafter opens wide today.

Posted on October 22nd, 2010 at 10:57am.