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May 14 The Beverly Hills PlayhouseWendy says: Maybe other movies have it wrongUsually this kind of movie ends with the main characters getting married. But maybe we've been doing it backwards. In my generation it usually goes something like this — you date, you move in together, you get a pet, maybe have some kids, and then you think about getting married. If you win the lottery, that is, so you can make it The Perfect Wedding. And then, a couple of months after spending a year's salary on The Perfect Wedding and The Perfect Honeymoon, you realize you don't like being married to so-and-so and you break up, leaving pets/kids/house in limbo. Which, obviously, is kind of stressful for everybody involved. Maybe it would be better if we skipped the dating, married total strangers without telling anybody, and had to stay married for a significant period of time before we could get out of it. Who knows? The western world might see a sudden increase in the number of long, successful relationships. At least, that's if you believe what you see in the movies. What Happens in Vegas... isn't the first recent story to do a variation on the old Taming of the Shrew theme — it's been a popular one in films and TV shows the last few years. Two people who are total opposites (and neither of them a perfect catch) suddenly find themselves husband and wife, engage in a battle of wits to get rid of and/or change each other, and end up discovering their "opponent" isn't such a bad match for them after all. Resources for May 13 Osbrink Talent AgencySpielberg joins regulars for Cannes film festRounding up a lot of the usual suspects, the Cannes Film Festival presents a lineup from an illustrious if somewhat predictable gang of regulars, including Clint Eastwood, Steven Soderbergh, Woody Allen, Atom Egoyan and Wim Wenders. Then there's Steven Spielberg — who's not quite a newcomer, since he's been at Cannes before. But the festival's centerpiece, "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," marks the director's first trip back since the 1980s, when he showed "The Color Purple" and "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" here. The new "Indiana Jones" flick opens worldwide May 22, four days after its Cannes premiere, giving the movie a similar global rollout that preceded blockbuster "E.T." "That's our benchmark. This is the same kind of movie in that (Cannes is) kind of the perfect launching pad, because we can bring the whole world there," said Frank Marshall, producer on the "Indiana Jones" movies. "It's perfectly timed for our release worldwide." In its 61st year, the world's most-prestigious film festival sometimes catches heat for including too many glossy Hollywood productions, such as past opening-night film "The Da Vinci Code" or action spectacles such as "Matrix Reloaded" and "X-Men: The Last Stand." Resources for May 12 Black Dog FilmsSex and The City quartet back -- in the movie Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda are back -- The "Sex and the City" TV stars take to the big screen on Monday with the world premiere in London of their tales of love and high fashion in New York.
The film takes up four years on from where the hit series
left the sassy singletons, who were so blatantly honest in
their desire to have "sex like men" but also lusted as much for
a new pair of Manolo Blahnik heels as they did for the perfect
beau.
Sarah Jessica Parker, who plays Carrie and is also a
producer of the film, said she had been working on the project
for two and a half years. But getting everyone together again
was not easy.
"It was a really hard time," said Cattrall, who at the time was in the midst of a divorce. Her father had also just been diagnosed with dementia. "I needed to spend time with my real family and I'm really glad that I did because in the four years, you know, coming back, I think the film is where it should be," Cattrall told Reuters in New York before the film's London launch. Resources for May 11 The Beverly Hills PlayhouseReal-life skull worship inspires new 'Indy' filmThere is a legend that the ancient Maya possessed 13 crystal skulls which, when united, hold the power of saving the Earth — a tale so strange and fantastic that it inspired the latest Indiana Jones movie. Experts dismiss the hundreds of existing crystal skulls as fakes that were probably made by colorful antiquities traders in the 19th century. But Mayan priests worship the skulls, even today, and real-life skull hunters still search for them. The true story of the skulls stretches over continents and hundreds of years, and may be even more extraordinary than the tale portrayed in this fourth installment of the Harrison Ford franchise. It's unclear what version of the tale will appear in "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls," which opens in U.S. theaters on May 22. The plot apparently revolves around a race against the Soviets to find the skulls. Distributor Paramount Pictures refused requests for interviews or information on the film, the first Indiana Jones movie since "The Last Crusade" came out in 1989. Resources for May 07 The Beverly Hills Playhouse"Spirit" rises to Christmas releaseLionsgate has moved up the nationwide release of its comic-book adaptation "The Spirit" to Christmas Day. The film, written and directed by Frank Miller ("Sin City") and based on the comic-book series created by the late Will Eisner, originally was slated to open January 16, 2009. "The Spirit" stars Gabriel Macht, Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Eva Mendes, Sarah Paulson, Stana Katic, Dan Lauria, Jaime King, Paz Vega and Louis Lombardi. Also slated to open on December 25 are Disney's "Bedtime Stories" and Fox 2000 Pictures' adaptation of the bestseller "Marley & Me." Resources for May 06 Osbrink Talent AgencyMad Ramblings of a Movie Geek 05.07.08 American Graffiti George Lucas knows more than just droids, aliens, and midichlorians, and I can prove it... Welcome to the new and improved Mad Ramblings of a Movie Geek! After reading over my first three issues I have determined that my column lacks focus, so I've decided to fix that. I am not a professional critic, nor do I claim to have any expertise when it comes to film- I'm just a guy who loves movies. Henceforth, my columns will reflect that. They will have more of a fixed format and will cover one specific topic. Mostly that topic will be movies- movies I love, movies I hate, movies I just recently discovered that I should have seen a long time ago- no topic is exempt from my mad ramblings, so long as I feel I know enough about it to sufficiently fill a column. This week I am pulling one from the vault… 1973 to be exact. Next week I will cover a similar movie made 20 years later (you have to read on you want to know what that one is). Ha! I'm already plugging my next column- I have no shame! This particular movie comes from a pre-Star Wars George Lucas, giving us a glimpse of the kinds of movies he could have made if he hadn't spent so much time exploring a certain galaxy far, far away- not that I'm bashing him for this decision, for my life would be incomplete without those movies. But before he created his famous "space opera" he gave us this delightful coming-of-age tale of teenagers in 1962 Modesto- California, that is… This was a movie I didn't care for at first but warmed up to after multiple viewings. After the third time, I was hooked. I went out and bought a "Drive In Double Feature" DVD that contains both this movie and it's sequel, More American Graffiti (not as good, but still underrated in my opinion). About the film American Graffiti was Lucas' second feature film, after THX 1138. Like Star Wars, Lucas had to fight tooth and nail to get this movie made. To make a long story short, after being rejected by several studios, the script was ultimately picked up by Universal, who had one stipulation. They wanted a "name" attached to the project. So, Lucas turned to his old buddy Francis Ford Coppola, fresh from directing The Godfather. Coppola agreed to produce, and the film finally went into production. The cast included such future stars as Ron Howard, Richard Dreyfuss, Cindy Williams, Suzanne Somers, and this guy… Read Full News Resources for Craig Cove May 05 Black Dog FilmsWEEKEND EDITION: Summer Movies Bring Superheroes, Comedies To A Weary Nation An old adage in Hollywood holds that the movie business is recession-proof. This summer, that thinking will be put to the test. An extensive lineup of films centered on comic-book heroes and comedies is scheduled to hit screens at what may prove to be a most opportune time. Last year's $4 billion summer in U.S. sales was a record-setter, but Hollywood's hopeful that its escapist fare will resonate with a nation reeling from economic woes and send business to new heights this year. Studio executives say this year's crop is broader and deeper than last year's offerings, and that might just be the ticket to achieving new heights. The schedule includes six high-profile films featuring superhero or comic-book protagonists, beginning with the Friday release of "Iron Man" from Paramount Pictures, a unit of Viacom (VIA). That doesn't even include a long-awaited sequel to the "Indiana Jones" franchise -- a superhero, perhaps, to some moviegoers and studio executives. "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" is this year's big Memorial Day weekend release, also a Paramount product. Many of the superhero films will be complemented by comedies, such as this week's "Made of Honor." Along the way, such prominent laugh generators as a film version of "Sex and the City," a retread of the 1960s television series "Get Smart," and Meryl Streep in "Mamma Mia" will try to tickle war-and-recession- weary America's funny bone. "The mood of the nation makes for, I think, a strong lineup in comedies," said
Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers. Resources for May 02 Black Dog Films
Films of summer There are winners and losers. Here are ones worth the price The Joker's face. Tony Stark's suit. Maxwell Smart trapped in a phone booth. Hello, summer. The summer-movie season starts today (or Thursday, if you went to an early screening of Iron Man). But our senses have been battered for some time with ads, stories, magazine covers and trailers. Lots of trailers. Big noise. This is summer, after all, when action and outrageous comedy are seen as sure ticket-sellers. Still, as consumers you must be asking how much money do you want to spend on movies between now and August? Not only for tickets, either. You have to think about the price of gas — because we have to think about the price of gas before doing almost anything. And movie popcorn may be the one thing that costs more per ounce than gasoline. So are the dazzling visual effects in the Speed Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Just don't know. The X-Files: I Want to Believe? I was iffy about the TV series. Same deal with the Sex and the City movie. Not that I'm staying home. When the gardening tools are put away and the sun has gone down, I expect to be spending a good bit of time in the cool darkness of movie theaters. While I get to see a fair number of movies for free, I usually have a separate list of movies that I'll attend even if I miss the critics' preview. I paid to see Forgetting Sarah Marshall and expect to do so for Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay. I would have done likewise for Iron Man, if something had kept me from the preview on Tuesday — and Iron Man was good enough to make me marginally more optimistic about the new Incredible Hulk. So here's my list of summer movies that have grabbed me, sight unseen: 1. INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL - (Opens locally on May 22) It's Harrison Ford, directed by Steven Spielberg, in one of the great action franchises. It's up-and-comer Shia LaBeouf, who already has a fantasy-action rep thanks to 'Transformers.' I have already gone back and watched the first three movies again just to get ready for this one. But there is a risk. Ford will be 66 in July - an age that startles at least one 19-year-old I know. Resources for May 01 The Beverly Hills PlayhouseWill Smith film shoot annoys Hollywood neighborsLOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - The entire world loves Will Smith, but not Dresden Graham, a 65-year-old retiree who is waging a war against Smith's latest film, the drama "Seven Pounds," which is shooting in her Hollywood neighborhood. The production is based just three houses up from Graham's home, where she has lived in since the mid-'80s. Trucks line the street, crews are busy setting up and striking down, generators hum, and security and police officers patrol the area. Graham, who has signs in her yard and on her house that read "Will Smith, Go Film at Your Mansions" and "Put Potty Toilets on Your Neighbor's House," has a litany of complaints. She doesn't like the fume-spewing trucks parked running in front of her house, where the production has placed portable toilets. She's not that keen on the planned night shoot that will go to 3 a.m., either, because it calls for bright lights, rain machines and Great Danes. "We had no choice," she says. "The neighborhood had no choice." But her biggest complaint is with FilmL.A., the nonprofit organization that acts as a liaison for the city, its residences and film companies. Graham points out, accurately, that FilmL.A. gets its funding through permits -- the more it issues, the more revenue it generates. And "Pounds" is the fifth production in six weeks to occupy a two-block area around her home. FilmLA says the house where "Pounds" is filming has been used on only four shoots in the past year. It doesn't share Graham's view that the area has hosted too many productions. Residents are grumbling, though, even though many work in the entertainment industry and were reluctant to speak out against a big star like Smith and a bigger studio like Columbia. They complain about noise and the loss of parking spaces, which force certain apartment residents to park at a nearby church and take a shuttle bus to their building. "We are completely on board with filming on our streets, but this is too much," says Amy Aquino, a member of the neighborhood association who also is on the committee that oversees film shoots. Resources for |
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