Hey there guys. Really sorry about the lack of posting yesterday and today. Thing is, I’m still on the Hulk set… and I probably will be tomorrow too… so I don’t have a lot of opportunity to do much posting (Internet reception in this area is HORRIBLE and goes in and out). I think Rodney will be doing a couple of posts when he gets the chance.
YESTERDAY was a lot of fun. The scene I took part in was BIG. Much more grand scale than I thought it would be. I was actually a little bit surprised when I walked on set. It’s KILLING me not to tell you guys more… but I’m not allowed to at this point. All I’m going to say is that I think this movie is going to be a lot of fun.
So once again, sorry for the lack of posting… but I think you guys will forgive me :)
Ok, if you’ve come here looking for the pictures from the background area from The Incredible Hulk set, I have elected to take them down. Why did I take them down you might ask? Well here’s the thing.
I guess one of the producers saw the pictures online and threw a hissy fit. Now, before you get all mad at the producer, keep in mind they are trying to keep a tight lid on things before the movie comes out which is understandable. I want to respect their wishes on this matter.
As I said in my post, I only took pictures in the background area AFTER asking one of the assistant directors is photos back there were ok. They said there was no problem with it… so I took a couple of innocent shots and threw them up online (nothing at all that gives anything away about the film mind you).
Today, I got told that one of the producers was really upset about it… I instantly told them had no intent of going against their wishes, and when I was unclear about if the background holding area was ok to photo or not, I took the initiative and asked permission. Clearly there was some misunderstanding with the ADs as to what was ok or not, and they told me it was ok. So I put the pics up.
Today the word has come down that they don’t want them up there, so out of respect for their wishes (which was always my intent to follow) I’ve taken the pictures down.
The Hulk crew is a terrific bunch, and all I’ll say is that from what I’ve seen, the movie looks as exciting as hell. I said that before they asked me to take the pictures down, and I still think that’s the case.
So no one get mad at them… no one sent me a threatening letter… no one freaked out. Just a couple of ADs politely came to me and asked that the pictures be taken down. I am more than happy to comply with that request.
Lindsay Lohan has been getting a LOT of bad press lately, and I am not talking about the summer flop “I Know Who Killed Me” (such a let down. Lohan as a stripper? How could that fail?) Sometimes don’t you just hear about a celebrity so much you almost wish they would die?
Ok, I hope you don’t get to that kind of extreme, but if you think you have a good handle on how and when celebrities might kick it, here is a dark and disturbed way to win some money!
A morbidly delicious website called Ghoulpool.us lets users bet on when they believe celebrities will die — and win cash prizes if they’re right. Dead right!
Participants choose 25 celebs they think will die within the year. Each celeb is assigned a point value, based on how old they are and how they might die. The younger the star, and more extreme the death, the more cash participants receive.
It looks like the alleged recent drunk driving antics of little Miss Lohan has earned her a rapidly increasing rank on the Ghoulpool list.
Hey there guys. Well, I’m back from Comic Con… just got in a few hours ago. I was originally supposed to fly home this afternoon, but some scheduling changes for Hulk filming meant I had to come back a little sooner than I originally expected… so I caught a flight last night at 11:30pm… and arrived in Toronto at 9am. CRAZY! I am so tired you wouldn’t even believe it! Man I had so much fun at Comic Con… and on Sunday afternoon I was even asked by Lakeshore and MGM if I wanted to MC the Pathology Panel. There apparently were a lot of Movie Blog readers there, cause when I went on stage and said “Movie Blog” it got quite a reaction. I’ll post the video of it later.
Anyway… with me having to shoot over to the Hulk set this afternoon, it means we won’t be able to have our regular Monday Roundtable podcast. I’M SOOOO SORRY. In a feeble attempt to make up for it, fire me off some questions and I’ll do a “Mailbag” edition tomorrow.
Once again we get a clip shared through the wonders of eager fans attending the San Diego Comic Con, and this time its a 5 minute preview of the Golden Compass.
I have to say I am very eager to see this film. After I finish reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, I want to run out and pick up this book. I know that reading the book will make the film seem like so much was left out or done wrong, but I just can’t read a book about a movie I have already seen. My mind races to fit the written word with my memory of the film and it ruins it all for me.
When I first read this news about the former Wonder Woman star Lynda Carter coming down on the uber skinny obsession in Hollywood, I was about to throw the black pot at her kettle.
Lynda Carter has blasted “anorexic actresses”, saying Hollywood’s obsession with being thin is downright dangerous.
“I’m so sick of seeing these anorexic actresses,” the former Wonder Woman star told US TV show Extra, Extra!
“These people are crazy. Any place else in the country besides New York and LA and they would be in a hospital.”
Now if you check out the old school Lynda Carter in her blazing stars and stripes and impressive cleavage, you will notice that she is in fact rather slim. But “anorexic skinny? No. She actually looks quite healthy.
Then compare that to modern day Lynda Carter (who I have to say is aging VERY well) and you will see that she is a very model of a healthy woman. Sure, she is still slim. But healthy.
After seeing some tabloid shots of how boney scrawny some of these “superstars” are getting makes me see her point. Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen must share meals, and some of these supposed role models seem to stave off hunger with 7 day benders at LA’s hottest night clubs.
But it just isn’t pretty!
Just a tip to you starlet wannabe’s. When someone rates you a 10, they shouldnt be counting visible rib bones.
As you guys know, next summer is shaping up to be a HUGE one for the super-hero genre. There’s obviously the next Batman film “The Dark Knight”… then there’s the looking better and better Iron Man… and then there’s The Incredible Hulk! I’ve been pumped about this Hulk film ever since they announced it a while back. Yes, I really enjoyed the Ang Lee version… but even I longed to see a true “Hulk Smash” rendition as well. And it looks like that’s exactly what we’re getting.
At Comic Con, they released a concept photo of what the big guy will probably look like. Damn skippy…. now THAT’S the Hulk! Excellent look for the green man.
Not only did they release that poster… but they also announced that Ed Norton himself re-wrote the scipt! Our friends over at FirstShowing put up this report from the Hulk session:
Norton talked at length about his interest in the comic book and television series, stating “I was a Marvel kid, I had subscriptions to a lot of the Marvel comics.” Norton also said that “the whole idea of starting from scratch and re-conceiving the story as a mythic saga was really appealing” to him and that he “thought it was really an amazing opportunity.” Norton also said that his reasons for taking this project on were that the technology allowed for him to actually play both halves of the character, the regular half and the technological half, without losing his actual performance.
I’m not totally sure how I feel about Ed Norton messing with the script. Is he a good screenwriter? i don’t know… he hasn’t done anything in that regards so far that has made it to screen. Some people may think this is good news… and it might very well be… but it makes me nervous a little bit. I’m adopting a wait and see mentality for it right now. HULK SMASH PUNY HUMANS!
Hijacked straight from the cam of some over eager fanboy at the SanDiego Comic Con (No, not John Campea) we get a first look at the IRON MAN trailer.
I have to say it looks pretty damned good.
Its a little sketchy in the darker parts, but we get to see the main idea behind it all. I think Downey is going to do an incredible job as Stark. He plays the millionaire playboy thing SO well.
Now all we have to do is get him drunk so John will like the movie too.
Well it looks like the Terms of Service caught up with this guy. Hope you saw it while it was still up.
Last night was another VERY fun night. My friends over at IESB and LatinoReview organized and really pulled off a terrific party that they called “The Masters of the Web Party” and I’ve gotta tell ya, they really went all out for it as you’ll see in the pictures below.
I got involved with the party because (as you all know) I’ve developed something of a friendship with the Crank and Pathology guys this year, and they were looking to hook up a sponsorship thing for the party… and I worked with Robert Sanchez (IESB) to get it all set up. The party was fantastic, we showed the Pathology trailer and everyone seemed to love it, and the whole night everyone just had a good time.
It was nice to see and hook up with a bunch of the other web guys who were there the night before. So here are some of the pictures from the “Masters of the Web” party that took place on a hotel roof!
Me and Robert Sanchez from IESB getting the last details ready
It was quite a party
REALLY quite a party
Canadians Unite! Me and Berge from JoBlo.Com
Lauren Lee Smith and me. She stars in Pathology, and until she told me, I TOTALLY didn’t know she was also the telepath in Mutant X. I loved that cheesy show
Me and Michael Davis (Director of the new Clive Owen, Paul Giamati action flick “Shoot ‘Em Up”)
Have I mentioned yet that it was REALLY quite a party?
Me and Rachel from IESB
Remember those 2 greatest lightsaber battles of all time “Ryan vs. Dorkman I and II”? They were there.
Yeah… quite a party
After that party, the Pathology guys and I hit a club. Not as fun clearly. :)
So that was the Masters of the Web party. Today is my last day here and I fly home late tonight (I don’t get back till 9am Toronto time tomorrow morning… YIKES!).
Ok let’s call a spade a spade here. I’m at Comic Con right now. I’m looking at all these amazing comic strips. So it looks like fun. So I decide to try doing a little comic strip here on The Movie Blog. But I’m not funny… and I can’t draw. Who cares? I’ll try it anyway.
The reality is that I’ll probably do it once or twice… realize I suck at it and that it’s not as much fun as I thought it would be… and then never do it again. But it’s the weekend, so why not try it just for fun?
So now I present to you, “Adventures In Movie Blogging” #1 (and probably the last one)
I can not even begin to tell you how much fun I had tonight! Here’s the short version. I organized a little party for tonight here in San Diego for a few of the movie websites to get together and hang out, and to give everyone a chance to meet and hang out with the creators of Crank and the upcoming movie “Pathology” (Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor).
In the picture you can see (from left to right) Jessica (FirstShowing.Net), Peter (SlashFilm.Com), Me, in front is Kevin (Cinematical.com), Vic (Screenrant.com), John (Screenrant.com) and Alex (FirstShowing.Net). Other’s came late after the picture was taken. There was much drinking… a LOT of drinking… more than I’ve drank in years actually… and I had a WONDERFUL time. I’m pretty sure we all did.
As an added bonus, Milo Ventimiglia came to the party as well (Heroes, and stars in Pathology) and he brought along his Heroes cast mates Zachary Quinto (who is also the new Mr. Spock for the upcoming new Star Trek movie) and Masi Oka. Zach and I talked a bit about his new role as Spock and what it means to him. He’s such a laid back, humble and engaging guy… much like Milo. Masi is the world’s sweetheart right now, but you’d never know from chatting with him that he’s even aware he’s famous (other than people interrupting us asking for his autograph… which is totally understandable). All three of these guys are so new to fame, and seem to handle it with much grace that other celebs could learn a thing or two from. Much fun.
At one point Brendan from Lakeshore Entertainment took us all down to a reserved boardroom to show us all the very first screening of the Pathology trailer WHICH WAS FRICKIN WICKED! We all went back upstairs to the roof top beach party area and kept going till they closed the palce down at 2am. I had SOOOO much fun. It was a genuine treat to meet and hang out with the web guys. We liked it so much we started talking about doing it again apart from comic con sometime soon.
I’m including a bunch of pictures from this evening. Check it out:
Here’s that pic I described above with all us web geeks
Me with the guys from Heroes
Peter with Brian Taylor
Jen (Rotten Tomatoes) and Kevin
Mark Neveldine
Like I said, a good time was had by all… these people were all so much fun to hang out with. I must come back next year and do this again!
The new “The Dark Knight” trailer that was shown here at Comic Con has predictably made its way online. Not much to see… but much to hear as we get our first sounds of Heath Ledger’s voice as Joker. Check it out:
As if the news that the Grindhouse films were being split up for dvd release (Planet Terror and Death Proof will each get their own individual dvds releases and not together like in the theater) wasn’t bad enough… I just found something out that perhaps everyone else knew already… but I didn’t. Edgar Wright (the director of the “DON’T” trailer) just told us that the fake trailers from Grindhouse (some say they were the best part about the movie) will NOT be included on either movie. WTF!?!
The fake trailers from Grindhouse were one of the movie’s big selling points. There were so much fun, and really an integral part of the whole Grindhouse watching experience. To keep them away from the fans of the film (the few who went out and supported it in theaters) on both DVDs is nothing but a swift kick in the nuts.
The strategy here is obvious. They want to get you to buy the DVDs twice. They’re going to keep the trailers from you when they release the two films individually… and they get you to buy the Grindhouse Special Edition DVD with both movies AND he trailers.
I totally understand how this makes sense from a marketing standpoint… but at the same time I think it’s awfully insulting to the fans. Such a shame.
It’s always refreshing when you get to sit in on a session with a couple of guys who just talk like they do when they’re in the bar instead of putting on their best “interview face”. I had the chance this afternoon to sit in with Nick Frost and Edgar Wright to talk about the upcoming DVD release of their film “Hot Fuzz”.
A couple of interesting things came out in this interview:
1) Edgar Wright actually used to work in that exact same supermarket in Hot Fuzz
2) Getting “edited for family friendly” versions together (very funny)
3) The upcoming Grindhouse DVDs will NOT… I repeat NOT have the fake trailers on them (more on that in another post)
It was a great, casual (by invitation only) session. Instead of me trying to explain it, I thought I’d just let you watch it. here it is:
Hey there guys. So day #2 didn’t get of to the start that I wanted at all. The Warner Bros. session was at 10:30am today… I called a cab at 9:30am… and the thing took over 30 minutes to get here. By the time I got to the CON, the line up to get into the WB session was already over an hour long. So screw that noise.
Instead, I took the opportunity to actually walk around the convention floor and see some stuff. IT WAS AMAZING! I’m so glad I didn’t end up going to the WB session, cause the rest of the weekend is totally booked for me and I’m not sure I would have had another chance to see all the stuff.
So here are some quick snaps shoots I took on the floor.
As bad as the recent crop of holiday movies have been (sadly, Fred Claus doesn’t look so hot either after seeing the trailer) I’m still a guy who likes Christmas movies… even is they stink. What can I tell you? I just love Christmas.
Anyway, yet another Vince Vaughn Christmas film seems to be in the works and this time he’ll have Reese Witherspoon with him if everything works out. The film is titled “Four Christmases” and apparently follows a couple at Christmas time who have to try to find a way to visiting all four of their divorced parents. I can relate to this predicament on some level because having been married once, just trying to fit in 2 sets of parents and keep them happy was hard enough.
The film also has an interesting history. Yahoo News gives us this:
“Christmases” was originally set up at Sony Pictures, which eyed it for holiday release in 2004, but the project was dropped because it conflicted with another holiday comedy at the studio, “Christmas With the Kranks.” New Line picked it up in the fall with Adam Shankman attached to direct. Shankman instead segued to the studio’s “Hairspray.”
Count me a “curious” until I actually see something.
You know, when we first got a look at the new Alvin and the Chipmunks poster a little while back, I think the whiplash cases around the world increased 300% from the shear number of us shaking our heads. Well… the first Alvin and the Chipmunks trailer has now hit the web. Let the disgusted shaking continue my friends.
Would someone please tell me what Jason Lee is doing in this?!?!
Security on The Dark Knight has been pretty impressive considering how everyone and their mother wants to get a real look at that set and what’s going on there. So far the only real material to come out for it has been blurry pics take from huge distances (aside from the stuff the studio itself has put out for people to see).
This morning, Paul sent me a link to this nice little video apparently taken of a street scene action shot. Once again, it’s indeed taken from a distance, but it’s still pretty cool to see. The folks at a Batman Movie site got this video and the contributor said this:
just witnessed the Joker’s semi being flipped over from the back to the front. It drove North on LaSalle and shortly after it crossed Monroe it did the flip. I would give it a 10 for nice form and degree of difficulty. Turns out that the spikes in the front were for the front end to dig into the pavement to help it flip. Now the truck is crushed!! Saw The Joker in full makeup hanging around in front of Northern Trust Bank. He was doing things any villan would do…high-fiving, text messaging, smoking, and actually looking bored.
If Good Luck Chuck is the one film at Comic Con that I’m looking forward to the least… then it would probably have to be said that 3:10 To Yuma is the one I’m looking forward to the most. This project just looks like pure gold. It’s being directed by James Mangold (Walk the Line, Cop Land, Girl Interrupted) which is reason enough to be excited… but it also has 2 of the best actors today in it as your hero and villain, Christian Bale and Russell Crowe.
This was also my first big let down of Comic Con. None of the three listed above were there. Come on! If you’re going to try to showcase your film at an event like Comic Con… at LEAST get 1 of the big 3 to show up to the event! It’s a shame they weren’t there.
In their place were 2 other actors from the film (who are no slouches themselves). Peter Fonda and Ben Foster (Angel from X-Men 3). As good as both of these guys look in the movie (and trust me… they both look fantastic), neither of them are very interesting interviews. Most of the panel time was awkward… although Foster did tell some pretty interesting stories about how Crowe took all the cast to Cowboy camp so they could learn to ride and shoot.
They showed a couple of clips from the movie that deliver EVERYTHING I’ve been hoping this movie would give us. In one of the clips, Foster (who is the second in command of Crowe’s gang, and in charge after Crowe gets captured and is now trying to find and rescue him) burns a man alive in order to get information on where the law is keeping Crowe. The guy displays so much intensity it’s hard to believe he’s such a little guy.
Not much about the movie itself was talked about. Mostly chat about westerns in general… how cold it was when they shot the film… the tricks they learned on keeping their hands warm when doing shoot out scenes… but nothing about the movie itself. That combined with the lack of the 3 main dudes… left me kind of bored throught the whole 3:10 to Yuma presentation. Oh well… that movie is still going to be amazing.
If there is one movie out there on the horizon that I have absolutely ZERO interest in, it’s “Good Luck Chuck”. First of all because I don’t think Dane Cook can act or is funny in the least. Secondly because despite being quite beautiful, Jessica Alba is just a couple of notches above Jessica Simpson when it comes to acting ability… and thridly, the film just looks boring and filled with recycled gags. Did the Good Luck Chuck session here at Comic Con change my thinking at all? Well… maybe just a little bit.
First thing I should mention is that they didn’t show us any footage that we haven’t seen before. As a matter of fact, then only thing they really showed was a trailer that’s been on the net for a while now… so nothing new to get us excited about at all. They also offered nothing new about the movie itself to increase my interest in it… which as I said is ZERO.
However, I should say this. Jessica Alba has always come across as being likeable. But holy crap… in person… she is more than just likable… she is down right totally charming as hell. She’s very quick witted, very gutsy, and a VERY good sport. Solid sense of humor and just gives off this aura of someone you’d love to just hang out with because she’s so cool. Even back stage, once the panel was over, she was just a complete charmer… and it comes off as so natural, that if she’s just faking it, then I have to re-evaluate my thoughts on her as an actress. I can’t help it… I LIKE Jessica Alba now (that doesn’t mean I’m much more interested in seeing Good luck Chuck though).
Dane Cook was also VERY good. He is a publicists dream face guy. I met him at the MTV Movie Awards briefly, and there is no taking away that he is a very likable guy… but it still remains that I don’t think he can act… and as charming as both these people are (honestly they really are) I’m still not at all interested in Good Luck Chuck.
Lindsay Lohan has been getting a LOT of bad press lately, and I am not talking about the summer flop “I Know Who Killed Me” (such a let down. Lohan as a stripper? How could that fail?) Sometimes don’t you just hear about a celebrity so much you almost wish they would die?
When I first read this news about the former Wonder Woman star Lynda Carter coming down on the uber skinny obsession in Hollywood, I was about to throw the black pot at her kettle.
As you guys know, next summer is shaping up to be a HUGE one for the super-hero genre. There’s obviously the next Batman film “The Dark Knight”… then there’s the looking better and better Iron Man… and then there’s The Incredible Hulk! I’ve been pumped about this Hulk film ever since they announced it a while back. Yes, I really enjoyed the Ang Lee version… but even I longed to see a true “Hulk Smash” rendition as well. And it looks like that’s exactly what we’re getting.
As if the news that the Grindhouse films were being split up for dvd release (Planet Terror and Death Proof will each get their own individual dvds releases and not together like in the theater) wasn’t bad enough… I just found something out that perhaps everyone else knew already… but I didn’t. Edgar Wright (the director of the “DON’T” trailer) just told us that the fake trailers from Grindhouse (some say they were the best part about the movie) will NOT be included on either movie. WTF!?!
It’s always refreshing when you get to sit in on a session with a couple of guys who just talk like they do when they’re in the bar instead of putting on their best “interview face”. I had the chance this afternoon to sit in with Nick Frost and Edgar Wright to talk about the upcoming DVD release of their film “Hot Fuzz”.
If Good Luck Chuck is the one film at Comic Con that I’m looking forward to the least… then it would probably have to be said that 3:10 To Yuma is the one I’m looking forward to the most. This project just looks like pure gold. It’s being directed by James Mangold (Walk the Line, Cop Land, Girl Interrupted) which is reason enough to be excited… but it also has 2 of the best actors today in it as your hero and villain, Christian Bale and Russell Crowe.
