Hook Up A Movie Blog

New Hellboy 2 Poster
There’s a new Hellboy 2 poster out. Looks sweet! Damn I can’t wait for this movie! Share This

There’s a new Hellboy 2 poster out. Looks sweet! Damn I can’t wait for this movie!

Share This

Favreau Still Not Locked In for Iron Man 2
It appears that Favreau has yet to be locked into a contract for the much anticipated Iron Man sequel. The following information will divulged unto us through our friends over at firstshowing: Favreau first told EW.com in an interview after the release of Iron Man that, “there’s no formal arrangement yet, but in theory […]

It appears that Favreau has yet to be locked into a contract for the much anticipated Iron Man sequel. The following information will divulged unto us through our friends over at firstshowing:

Favreau first told EW.com in an interview after the release of Iron Man that, “there’s no formal arrangement yet, but in theory we would all love to see it happen…” Now SlashFilm follows that up with more confirmation as of Tuesday this week. Favreau made an appearance on the Howard Stern Show, and told Howard that, “they haven’t offered me anything yet,” adding that “they’re all talking - they want to do it, they even announced a date.” So if you want to actually speak about this in terms of technicalities, no, Jon Favreau has not been signed to direct anything yet.

In the full article Alex goes on to remind us that this sort of thing isn’t uncommon so far away from the release date, and that we shouldn’t be alarmed by this news. I agree with him wholeheartedly. I am not certain if Favreau is making this announcement as a bargaining tool, or just calling things the way they are; but I would guess that his Iron Man 2 job is quite safe.

Iron Man has had an overwhelmingly positive response from both comic book fans, and Joe Movie goer. It has injected a boost of life into the genre that seemed to be getting a little stale, and with luck, Hulk will pick up where Iron Man left off. My hopes for Hulk have been raised by Iron Man; if Hulk knocks it out of the park… this could be one of the greatest geek summers in history.

Share This

Made For TV Scooby Doo Prequel In The Works
It looks like the Scooby Doo films will continue onward… in made for TV movie land. We get wind of a Scooby Doo prequel today thanks to our friends at the moviehole: Brian Levant (“The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas”, “Are We There Yet?”) has signed to direct a new “Scooby Doo” film – a […]

It looks like the Scooby Doo films will continue onward… in made for TV movie land. We get wind of a Scooby Doo prequel today thanks to our friends at the moviehole:

Brian Levant (“The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas”, “Are We There Yet?”) has signed to direct a new “Scooby Doo” film – a telemovie prequel to the two “Scooby Doo” films of previous years. Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze Jr will be sitting this one out. A nation-wide casting call is now underway to find the new Fred, Daphne, Velma and Shaggy.

In this new pic, Daphne’s a mystery writer inspired by Murder She Wrote; Fred’s a football player with a penchant for jigsaw puzzles who decides to try out for the school paper, his idol is footballer turned supreme court justice Bryan ‘Whizzer’ White; Shaggy is as daft as ever and not doing so well at school; and Velma (who I hear might be Asian in the new film) is a teen U.S ambassador for World Hunger.

I am uncertain why they would make a made for TV prequel to the films if they don’t have the entire cast together. This film just seems like a waste of time. It reminds me of when I saw the Revenge Of The Nerds 4 on TV years ago; I felt embarrassed for those involved, and saddened that they were milking a classic with such a shitty sequel.

I like tele-films less than I like direct to DVD films, because they have to be clean enough for network TV. In this situation the content limitations will not be a factor (Scoby Doo is a pretty clean show), but I just have no interest to watch it. The sequel/prequel situation is out of control.

Share This

Should Movies Touch Political Topics?
There have been some fantastic politically centric films in our age. Politics can make for some fantastic drama, mystery, intrigue and entertainment. But the thing is, it seems like most people enjoy political movies when they really have little to do with real politics. We love seeing great movies like “Dave” (man […]

There have been some fantastic politically centric films in our age. Politics can make for some fantastic drama, mystery, intrigue and entertainment. But the thing is, it seems like most people enjoy political movies when they really have little to do with real politics. We love seeing great movies like “Dave” (man I do love that movie) or “The American President” (don’t laugh, it’s my favorite Annette Bening performance), films that may have political figures… films that may have political environments… but a lot of people seem to cringe at movies that have political topics.

When movies come out that address political situations in our world, some people seem to recoil. Films like “Stop Loss”, “Rendition”, “Lions For Lambs” and others ended up getting blasted by a lot of people even before their first screenings simply because they were political in nature (or because of the specific political topic). The upcoming Oliver Stone movie on George W. Bush simply titled “W” is already starting to get some of that treatment.

One of the obvious observations I’ve made in the past is that people who complain about these sorts of movies (or about celebrities who are vocal about their political beliefs) usually only do so when they disagree about what the movie or celebrity is saying about certain topics. Some will love hearing Sean Penn talk about the war in Iraq and say he’s just being a good citizen trying to bring about change… but then loudly complain that James Belushi should “shut up” and that he shouldn’t talk about things he’s not an expert on when addressing the exact same issue, only from a different point of view. The opposite is true as well when we see some people praising Charlton Heston as a great american for speaking out and supporting the political causes he believed in, and then call Tim Robbins a traitor who should shut up when doing the exact same thing, only from a different point of view.

I think most people would agree that the United States has never in its history been more divided politically than it has been for the last few years. Right and Left hate each other with a dripping venom where neither side can do anything right in their eyes. So in an environment like this… are movies about political issues a good idea?

Let me give my personal opinion on the matter as a starting point and we can go from there.

To me, from the creative stand point, movies are by nature art. As art, film is subjective, giving everyone who looks at it, observes it and engages it a slightly different experience than the next person who stands in the same place and sees the exact same thing. That, in essence is the single most beautiful thing about film. But from the creators perspective… art is also about expression. Expression of ideas. Expression of experiences. Expressions of how they see the world. Expression of how they think the world should be. Expressions of love, fear, hate, loneliness, despair, excitement, hope and joy in serious, silly, parody or frightening ways.

If then, movies are at a base level a medium for that very expression, then why should certain topics, especially large topics that effect our society, our culture and our world be considered “off limits”? Why would we say it’s alright for an artist to express their thoughts and observations on the quirks of modern dating, but not allow for them to give their expressions on issues that seriously effect thousands or millions of people?

Much like art itself is subjective to those that observe it, the artists themselves will each have their own unique way of seeing the world around them and their art reflects that. Why must we precondition our appreciation of their unique expressions as long as we AGREE or share their views? I’ve never understood that. Why is it that something someone has to say is only valuable as long as we deem it “correct”? Why is something only worth observing as long as it already aligns with what we already believe? Isn’t there value in the expression itself? Isn’t there worth in the perception of the artist regardless of its synchronicity to our own perceptions?

For example, I don’t really think high school kids should be constantly getting hammered and humping like rabbits. But I still appreciate Super Bad. I personally don’t think force and violence are what will end the world’s problems… but that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate and enjoy Tears of the Sun or Rambo.

So to me, movies about political topics should be made, regardless if I agree with them or not. To limit that, is to ask an artist to limit what or how they see the world, and I don’t think that makes much sense. Everything that expresses an opinion is “preachy” and promoting a certain point of view to one degree or another, and in and of itself I think that’s fine. Just because we engage and even enjoy the expression of a certain point of view doesn’t mean we have to agree with is. To me all that really matter is “Does the expression come off to me in an engaging or entertaining way?”

But that’s just my point of view on this issue. I’m sure lot of you guys have a million variations of opinions on this matter. Share your thoughts below. Should movies address political issues? Why or why not?

Share This

Sean Penn for President
Sean Penn has been in a number of policical films as of late including the upcoming Milk where Penn plays an openly gay community activist in the late 70s who strives to be an elected office. But this week he is being introduced as holding a title of a different kind, yet still a President. […]

Sean Penn has been in a number of policical films as of late including the upcoming Milk where Penn plays an openly gay community activist in the late 70s who strives to be an elected office.

But this week he is being introduced as holding a title of a different kind, yet still a President. President of the Cannes Jury.

As President of the 61st Cannes Film Festival’s jury, Penn doesn’t plan on making fellow jurists such as Natalie Portman and Alfonso Cuaron watch every movie twice or sit down for screenings at midnight, as some of his predecessors have done. Rather, joked Penn during a press conference yesterday, “the idea is to be wide awake with an empty bladder at the beginning of every film.”

I have always seen Penn as an outstanding actor, and with a dramatic role playing a gay man, could an Oscar be far off? Seems the right formula for success.

But now he is facing a big job, judging his peers. In the past Penn has criticized the ranking of one film over another and is now finding himself in that hot seat. With is standard drypan humour he responded “Because finally somebody with the discernment to choose right is on the jury,”

He seems very down to earth and responded to a lot of the questions with humour where they tried to put him on the spot, and utter seriousness when he is asked how he decided The Third Wave, his choice for this year’s Special Presidential Jury Screening. “It was the closest thing that I had ever seen on film to giving any kind of answer to what’s the purpose of life,”

I seem to like this guy more and more.

Share This

Up in the Air
Reitman has resumed work on a film adaptation of Walter Kirn’s novel Up in the Air. We get wind of this news and the following story thanks to the professionals at Variety: Jason Reitman will write and is attached to direct Walter Kirn’s novel “Up in the Air” for Montecito. Story centers on a […]

Reitman has resumed work on a film adaptation of Walter Kirn’s novel Up in the Air. We get wind of this news and the following story thanks to the professionals at Variety:

Jason Reitman will write and is attached to direct Walter Kirn’s novel “Up in the Air” for Montecito. Story centers on a ruthless human resources exec whose only joy in life comes from the prospect of notching his millionth frequent flyer mile, a goal he pursues with zeal as the rest of his life falls apart because he is constantly on the road.

In 2004, Montecito optioned the book, which had previously been in development at Fox 2000 and Jay Roach’s Everyman Pictures, and the younger Reitman penned 30 pages on spec. He got halfway through writing the script when he read Diablo Cody’s “Juno” screenplay and turned his attentions to helming that project. He has since resumed adapting “Up in the Air.”

What interests me most about the above story is that Reitman dropped this project to do Juno, and then picked this up again. This man knows when to strike when the iron is hot. He saw the potential in Juno, capitalized on it, and then returned to what he was doing before. Reitman, son of Reitman has “the business” in his veins, and the wherewithal to use his instincts accordingly.

A million miles in the air is something I don’t want to even think about. As someone that’ s in the sky from Toronto to Los Angeles a few times a year, I can tell you without reservation that it ’s something I don’t look forward to. I wish rail was faster. If they had a high speed train - I would take it over a plane any day of the week, even if it took 3 times as long to get there. I am a lilly-livered land lover through and through.

Share This

Beavis and Butthead: A Live Action Feature Film?
Beavis is likely the worst name you could possibly be given by your parents. It predestines that you will be a loser and likely find yourself gravitated to someone named Butthead just to make yourself feel better about it. But you are still a loser. Anyways, it looks like the king of the underdog is talking […]

Beavis is likely the worst name you could possibly be given by your parents. It predestines that you will be a loser and likely find yourself gravitated to someone named Butthead just to make yourself feel better about it.

But you are still a loser.

Anyways, it looks like the king of the underdog is talking about making his classic MTV animated duo into a live action film.

MTV MoviesBlog reveals:

Recently, we were able to get a rare interview with Mike Judge, the creator of such pop-culture goodies as “Beavis & Butt-Head,” “Office Space,” “Idiocracy” and “King of the Hill.” In addition to unearthing major details about his next film “Extract,” Judge told us that Beavis & Butt-head are making their return in a brief intro to Volume 3 of his cartoon festival “Animation Show,” and could soon become a live-action movie.

I went through my post secondary years with an admiration for a lot of “idiot animation”. That silly stuff like Ren and Stimpy that are just so silly that they are funny.

But I was NEVER a fan of Beavis and Butthead. Their entire premise was to pick their noses and make fun of music videos (poorly) and then laugh at each other with that irritating breathy “heh heh heh”. Everything they did bothered me. I just didn’t get it.

Still I found myself imitating them when someone would say ass. Heh heh heh.. you said ass.. heh heh heh.

Sigh.

I honestly do like Mike Judge. He spits out pure genius in his sleep. Maybe he should sleep more. But to see this made into a live action version? Wasn’t the feature length film bothersome enough? I don’t know that I want to see this happen, and its very unlikely that they can get me to go to a theater for it.

But then Meet the Spartans and Jackass were hits. So strike while the iron is hot.

Maybe this is part of his master plan to make the message found in Idiocracy come to fruition.

Share This

Fahrenheit 9/11 Sequel In The Works
Michael Moore is going to lop one more lawn dart into Bush’s face before he leaves office with a follow up to Fahrenheit 9/11. We get news of this film thanks to the fabled caves of Yahoo: Oscar-winning filmmaker Michael Moore has begun work on a “searing and provocative” follow-up to his 2004 political documentary […]

Michael Moore is going to lop one more lawn dart into Bush’s face before he leaves office with a follow up to Fahrenheit 9/11. We get news of this film thanks to the fabled caves of Yahoo:

Oscar-winning filmmaker Michael Moore has begun work on a “searing and provocative” follow-up to his 2004 political documentary “Fahrenheit 9/11,” with plans to release it next year, producers said on Tuesday. In keeping with Moore’s penchant for secrecy surrounding his projects, the studios divulged few details of his latest work except to describe it as “a searing and provocative follow-up” to “Fahrenheit 9/11.”

Rosett said Moore’s focus in his new film is a broader look at the United States’ position as an industrialized nation and world power since the attacks of September 11, 2001.

Moore’s documentary style may take too many creative liberties, but his films are always entertaining and are fantastic for igniting debate and discussion. As a person that enjoys arguing a point of view; his films make for excellent fodder. As a Communist sympathizer, I tend to agree with Moore, more often than I will disagree. He is a leftist firebrand that gets the other side all riled up. He is like the anti Hannity.

Even if you hate Moore, you have to appreciate what he is doing for documentary film. He is pulling in record numbers and trying to work deals with theatre chains; fighting for screens dedicated to documentary film. I have had a growing love for documentaries over the past few years, and as a rule I now almost prefer them to fiction. With so many ideas being rehashed, and so many remakes being pumped out, now is as good a time as any to mine the rich and fertile grounds of the documentary.

Share This

Point Break 2 Details
I love Point Break. Probably my favorite Keanu Reeves film (not that there are many I like) and to me it’s the definitive Patrick Swayze role. A few years later a cheap disgusting rip off movie called “The Fast and the Furious” basically swept in and completely stole the plot, characters and even […]

I love Point Break. Probably my favorite Keanu Reeves film (not that there are many I like) and to me it’s the definitive Patrick Swayze role. A few years later a cheap disgusting rip off movie called “The Fast and the Furious” basically swept in and completely stole the plot, characters and even ending from Point Break. This past year, “Hot Fuzz” immortalized and paid supreme homage to the great film.

Anyway, there have been whispers about a possible sequel to the 1991 movie, which I personally would be more than pumped to see because I loved the characters so much. Our friends over at IESB give these details about a Point Break 2 project:

There has been no casting news even though the production company is believed to have reached out to both Reeves and Swayze, we also know that the movie will take place Indonesia, hence Point Break Indo, clever. Jan de Bont will be directing and the production company believes that they will be filming the “most extreme action stunts ever caught on camera.”

So what will the story be about? Here is your first look at the sequels’ synopsis. When Billy Dalton, military special ops and star surfer, is disqualified from the pro-surfing tour, he takes off for the coast of Bali looking for the perfect wave. While there he’s recruited by a private security force who are trying to find a gang known as The Bush Administration, surfing outlaws and modern day pirates who work like “The Ex-Presidents,” a bank robbing crew from Malibu twenty years ago.

Ok, since I’m interested in this film because of the characters… my interest in this film would take a MASSIVE nose dive if they didn’t get Swayze even Keanu Reeves back. I can live with it if they didn’t get Reeves and just recast his role with the same character, but I would admittedly have a hard time if it wasn’t “The Swayze” in there as Bodhi.

I can swallow recasting roles… but at least give me the same characters. If there is no Bodhi, then there is no Campea in the theater to watch it. It’s just that simple.

So what did you think of the original Point Break? Are you interested in a sequel? Yes? No? Why or why not?

Share This

Guy Ritchie To Direct Sgt. Rock?
Sgt. Rock is one of those movies that has been talked about for a long time. We hear about a little progress here and there, but for the most part the project has been sitting in limbo. Movie Blog reader Jared gave me the heads up on an interview the guys over at […]

Sgt. Rock is one of those movies that has been talked about for a long time. We hear about a little progress here and there, but for the most part the project has been sitting in limbo. Movie Blog reader Jared gave me the heads up on an interview the guys over at AICN did with mega producer Joel Silver and the topic of Sgt. Rock came up. Sounds like things are moving along with Guy Ritchie attached:

Moriarty: But you do that with properties. You stick by them, like SGT. ROCK. You have developed that for a long time now…

Joel: I’m going to make that. I’m going to make that very soon. With Guy Ritchie, I think.

Moriarty: Really?!

Joel: I hope so.

I would personally love to see Guy Ritchie take this thing on. His style is one of my favorites amongst all directors working today. I still get a huge idiot grin on my face whenever I even think about “Snatch”.

The one concern I have is that like Silver’s other project, Speed Racer, Sgt. Rock looks on the outside to be a project that will rely on its pre-existing audience… but I don’t know that it has enough of a following (or even people that have heard of it) to make it viable. Hard to say really. Personally I’d love to see it.

Share This