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Post by pitfallharry on Jan 10, 2007 16:45:42 GMT -5
I just thought I'd create this thread to pass along lit bits of movie info and other stuff I find on the web. Most of this will be random movies news and comments on things I notice. 1/10/2007 First item : Here's something I think all of us have just been waiting to see. Yes, Paula Abdul is going to star in Bratz: The movie. You don't know what Bratz are you say? Well, to put it bluntly they're a (I'm assuming) popular line of girls toy dolls. Picture Barbie and then picture Barbie with a baby looking face and dressing like hip hop trash. These "dolls" even have "pimped out" rides that turn into Night Clubs....or something. I could have sworn one of the sets included a stripper pole......and they complained that Barbie was a bad influence on little girls. Anyway.....I can't wait to see Mrs. Abdul acting again. How can any of us forget the riveting performance she gave in her "Opposites Attract" video next to that cartoon cat.....it's what won her that Oscar. Item number two : Looks like the 3rd Mummy movie is full steam ahead. I enjoyed the first two for what they were. With Indy absent from the screen all of these years something had to fill the void for me. I don't know where the rest of you stand on these films but I thought I got my money's worth out of them and I liked that the same guy directed and wrote both films......... However, today I find out that he's only going to be producing this third film and the guy that directed such gems as XXX , Stealth , The Fast and the Furious and The Skulls is set to direct the third film. Not only that but it sounds to me that creators of Smallville Alfred Gough and Miles Millar aren't writing the script after all. This does not sound good. I can kind of let the director thing pass but when they start screwing with the people writing it that worries me. These guys are good and have contributed to a number of big movies.....including Spidey. My gut tells me IF they go this route that we are in for a lackluster crap-fest that will probably damage whatever good reputation this franchise had to begin with and the credibility of it's stars. "Ah, Mr. Fraser can I get more ketchup for my fries please?" Item number 3 : Well, here's some sad news. Iwao Takamoto, the animator who created Scooby-Doo , died of heart failure at the age of 81. Everyone that was anyone attended his funeral including the whole Scooby Doo gang. The family was shocked however when during the funeral Scooby and the gang revealed that Takamoto was actually "Old Man Jenkins".
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Post by Ragingblues on Jan 10, 2007 20:21:12 GMT -5
I think this is/will be a great thread for you to do Pitfall. You seem to stay on stop of movie news and future releases anyway, so this will help keep us informed too. I'm with you on the Bratz movie. I think I will steer clear of that one or anything like it. I like the Mummy moives myself, and hope they do a nice job with the 3rd one. It would be a shame to see a good series take a bad turn when all they had to do was leave it alone instead. Funny to hear about the Scooby Doo creator being "old man Jenkins". I watched my share of that cartoon as a kid too, so it's sad to hear that he passed away. Ken
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Post by pitfallharry on Jan 10, 2007 21:27:45 GMT -5
Thanks RB. Up until I read that obit I thought Hanna-Barbera created Scooby Doo. It amazes me how much money they throw around in Hollywood and most of it goes for trash like the Bratz movie. I usually check the movie news once or twice a day. A lot of it is quite funny.....especially the rumors that go around. It seems like every studio is trying to dig through their archives to find anything they can remake or make a sequel to. I just read the other day that Val Kilmer wants to make a sequel to that 80's comedy he starred in called "Real Genius". They used to run that movie all the time on HBO and I watched it quite a few times but it doesn't deserve a sequel. I'm betting a lot of people have never even heard of the film.
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Post by Havana on Jan 12, 2007 8:30:37 GMT -5
I've got to chime in on the new Mummy film. I really enjoyed the first one. I thought it had the right tone and didn't take itself too seriously. I found the second one much less enjoyable. The writer/director Stephen Sommers seems to do better with less money. His smaller budget films (The Mummy cost $60 million) are always better than his big budget efforts (Mummy Returns $110 million & Van Helsing $160 million). He just seems to loose control when you give him the keys to candystore. I was hoping the new film would return to the more traditional nature of the first one. I can only hope and pray that the information about the director is wrong. The guy's name is Rob Cohen. He is absolutely the worst man for the job. I once watched XXX on my laptop during a long plane ride. I listened to the audio commentary and the guy openly expressed how he hated traditional action movies, how he felt action films should be based on video games, and how he felt that CGI would eventually put stuntmen out of business. This guy should be directing hip hop videos or some reality crap and not an old fashioned adventure movie. I really don't like to prejudge things like this but this is not good news.
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Post by pitfallharry on Jan 12, 2007 11:57:46 GMT -5
I've got to chime in on the new Mummy film. I really enjoyed the first one. I thought it had the right tone and didn't take itself too seriously. I found the second one much less enjoyable. The writer/director Stephen Sommers seems to do better with less money. His smaller budget films (The Mummy cost $60 million) are always better than his big budget efforts (Mummy Returns $110 million & Van Helsing $160 million). He just seems to loose control when you give him the keys to candystore. I was hoping the new film would return to the more traditional nature of the first one. I can only hope and pray that the information about the director is wrong. The guy's name is Rob Cohen. He is absolutely the worst man for the job. I once watched XXX on my laptop during a long plane ride. I listened to the audio commentary and the guy openly expressed how he hated traditional action movies, how he felt action films should be based on video games, and how he felt that CGI would eventually put stuntmen out of business. This guy should be directing hip hop videos or some reality crap and not an old fashioned adventure movie. I really don't like to prejudge things like this but this is not good news. Yeah, I forgot to post his name but I knew who he was. I saw XXX as well and The Fast and The Furious. All I can say is that I watched XXX once and thought the best parts of TFAF were Jordana Brewster and the cars. I never listened to the directors commentary and now I'm glad I didn't. I haven't lost complete hope IF their still using Alfred Gough and Miles Millar as the writers. IF they aren't then this will be a disaster. I've seen this same bit of news reported on a few other sites and some are saying "Cohen is in talks to direct" so MAYBE he doesn't have the job yet. The only thing I didn't really care to much for in the Mummy 2 was the kid. I thought it was to soon to introduce a kid into the mix with it only being the second film. It "aged" Ric and Evie way to much in my mind and took away some of the "spark" by having them already married. I think there are only 2 films right now where I liked the "kid" introduced in a sequel and that was TOD and Superman Returns. I liked Shorty because he wasn't your typical kid. He was treated like an adult and Indy never had to "scold him" he and Indy were partners. With Superman I liked the fact that the kid acted like a normal little kid. They could have made him a typical "smart a$$ cutesy obnoxious kid" like you see in most Hollywood films but they didn't. In one scene you can see him in the background just playing in the office like any other kid would do. Even though I'm on the fence about his "introduction" into the Superman mythos I like the way he was portrayed.
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Post by pitfallharry on Jan 12, 2007 12:28:46 GMT -5
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Post by GoneSolo on Jan 16, 2007 9:48:26 GMT -5
I haven't really followed the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, so correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't POTC 2 come out like 3 months ago?
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Post by pitfallharry on Jan 16, 2007 9:55:50 GMT -5
They filmed POTC 2 and 3 back to back. POTC2 came out last summer so it's been more than a few months. The DVD came out recently though. POTC2 had a very "interesting" cliffhanger. I'm really looking forward to seeing how they explain everything. I'm pretty sure I'll be spending most of next summer at the local movie theater. ;D
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Steve
Treasure Seeker
Posts: 257
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Post by Steve on Jan 16, 2007 10:28:50 GMT -5
They filmed POTC 2 and 3 back to back. POTC2 came out last summer so it's been more than a few months. The DVD came out recently though. POTC2 had a very "interesting" cliffhanger. I'm really looking forward to seeing how they explain everything. I'm pretty sure I'll be spending most of next summer at the local movie theater. ;D SPOILERS BELOW! (Highlight to read) Word on the street is that Will & Co. break into Davy Jones' Locker and find a dead Jack on board the Black Pearl. Tia Dalma brings him back to life and the adventures continue.
Also, Sao Feng, the new villain, is supposed to be the Asian contact that Lord Beckett mentioned in POTC 2. There is supposed to be a good rooftop chase over his home in Singapore, and Singapore brings to mind what Jack said in POTC 1 "Clearly you've never been to Singapore," so maybe the writers will go all Back to the Future on us and tie the plot back together from beginning to end./SPOILERS I was a little less than satisfied with the second Pirates film. On a second watch, without the wide-eyed wonder of opening night, I was appalled at the bad writing, poor treatment of Jack Sparrow, and the basic frenetic aura. I hope Pirates 3 comes back to the franchise's roots and doesn't treat it like a franchise. Pirates 1 was as perfect as films get; it needed no sequel. But, being the dedicated fan of it that I am, so long as they keep making them, I'll be at the theater at midnight dressed as Jack Sparrow. I need to have more fun anyway.
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Post by pitfallharry on Jan 16, 2007 18:08:17 GMT -5
I've heard a "variation" of what you've posted in the spoilers Steve so I'm not sure what to believe.......From my perspective POTC 1 and 2 were about the same to me and I enjoyed them both. Although, I did think 2 seemed a little darker in tone.
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Post by Ragingblues on Jan 16, 2007 19:53:37 GMT -5
Steve... what a great way to post spoilers! I would never have thought to do what you did with the text color and all. Very clever sir! Ken
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Post by pitfallharry on Jan 16, 2007 23:18:16 GMT -5
I do agree with RB. That was a very clever way to do that, Steve. There are other sites that use inviso-text but I'm not sure how it could be installed on here. It's not like any of us have many "Spoilers" to share though so it would probably be a waste.
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Steve
Treasure Seeker
Posts: 257
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Post by Steve on Jan 17, 2007 14:07:10 GMT -5
Thanks fellows. Changing the color to "beige" is what does it, no inviso-text required. I've used this a time or two to make it look like an empty post to freak people out.
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Post by Ragingblues on Jan 17, 2007 15:26:37 GMT -5
Yeah, and it's just clever enough to work I tell ya! We'll have to watch all your posts from now on for any secret messages.
Ken
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Post by pitfallharry on Jan 18, 2007 2:06:02 GMT -5
Alrighty then, Back to the news....Well, this isn't really news it's more or less more peeks at POTC 3. These are concept drawings for the third film. If you notice in the one painting the person next to Kiera is Jack's father.......who is being played by Keith Richards. I also like how they increased Kiera's "chest" in the painting as well. The poor girl in real life is a bean pole and unless they plan on augmenting her look with CGI this painting is nothing more than wishful thinking by the artist. By the way I blew up that shot and I've downloaded to give it further "scrutiny". Oh, and where did all the Rum go?
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Post by pitfallharry on Feb 3, 2007 23:42:58 GMT -5
I never could find that artwork that was posted from POTC 3. The original links were removed so that's why the last post is blank. Sorry. Anyway, I just wanted to pass this along. Seems like Ghostbusters 3 is a go after all! Dan Aykroyd gave an interview on a radio station the other day and he told the DJ's they've worked out a way to make a sequel using his script he wrote a while back. The script involved the guys getting transported to a "Hellish" version of New York. Now here's the part that might have some people worried. It's going to be 100% CGI. Bill Murray will be back as Dr. Peter Venkman (In voice) but other than him and Aykroyd I don't know about the rest. Aykroyd also said that he's doing voice over work for the video game that I posted shots of in the public forum. Turns out that project is moving ahead and it should be out by 2008! Sounds like the Ghostbusters are back!
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Post by pitfallharry on Feb 17, 2007 21:25:03 GMT -5
Hey, just thought I'd post this. Here's the latest news on The Mummy 3.
Mummy 3 Exclusive
Character and casting scoops! by Stax
February 16, 2007 - IGN has learned that the character of Alex O'Connell, the son of protagonists Rick and Evelyn O'Connell, will return in The Mummy 3 (a.k.a. Mummy: Curse of the Dragon). Casting is now under way for a new actor to play the role.
Alex was introduced as a precocious 10 year-old wisecracker in 2001's The Mummy Returns, where he was played by English child actor Freddie Boath.
The script pages being used to audition actors for the role -- pages penned by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar -- depict Alex as being in his late teens to early 20s. He is every bit the smartass adventurer his dad is, right down to his penchant for firearms and glib remarks.
The three-page scene being used to audition actors is set in a snowy wilderness and has Rick and Alex comparing their preferred weaponry. The scene's humor relies on the phallic overtones of their exchange.
Rick brings along his collection of vintage weaponry, including a Tommy gun and long-barreled .45 caliber revolver. Alex prefers the state-of-the art, namely the Walther P-38 and the AK-47, a weapon that he tells his dad has not even come out yet. This would set the story prior to 1947, and after 1938 since it includes the Walther P-38. (The Mummy Returns was set in 1933.)
The roguish Alex has been through nine schools in three years, plays poker and has gotten into trouble before with a headmaster's daughter. He is resourceful and wily, and is essentially Rick 2.0. Alex also mentions at one point that he digs up relics, so it can be assumed he is an archaeologist or treasure hunter of some sort.
Although neither Evy nor Ardeth Bey are mentioned by name in these pages, one returning character who is referred to as being involved in the plot is Jonathan, Evy's brother who was played by John Hannah in the past Mummy films.
One of the biggest revelations was that the O'Connells are out to fight "the Emperor."
In related news, an IGN reader dropped us a line about The Mummy 3 and director Rob Cohen. "I attend Chapman University in Orange, CA where tonight Rob Cohen did a Q&A after a screening of his film Dragon:The Bruce Lee Story. During the Q&A, someone asked what he thinks about Jackie Chan and Jet Li. In his answer, he confirmed that Jet Li will play the Mummy in The Mummy 3, which he is directing. He also said that the film will take place in China and Michelle Yeoh will also be in the film. The biggest bombshell was that the film's protagonist will not be Brendan Fraser, but rather his character's son, now 22 years-old. Also, Jet Li will be the head Mummy in a group of Mummies that were the Teracotta army."
However, Yeoh's agency Endeavor advised IGN that she is not signed for the film.
According to Chapman University's official site, Cohen did indeed attend a screening and guest appearance for Dragon on Feb. 13 at the school's Lawrence and Kristina Dodge College of Film and Media Arts.
The Mummy 3 is slated to open July 11, 2008.
UPDATE: As it turns out, IESB.net actually reviewed the Mummy 3 script earlier last year (and have now re-posted it) and they reported at that time that an older Alex was going to be in it.
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Post by pitfallharry on Feb 28, 2007 15:26:30 GMT -5
I've been a little lapse in keeping this up to date. There is a ton of movie news out there. I'll try and take some time later and fill you all in on what I've been reading. In the mean time. Here's the international poster for "Live Free or Die hard". Overseas it will be called "Die Hard 4.0"
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Post by pitfallharry on Mar 3, 2007 2:18:23 GMT -5
Cool new poster for Spidey 3!
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Post by Ragingblues on Mar 3, 2007 10:13:30 GMT -5
Cool shots for "Live Free or Die Hard" and "Spiderman 3"! Ken
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Post by pitfallharry on Mar 3, 2007 11:32:08 GMT -5
Yeah, those are cool posters. Bruce looks pretty good there. Looks like he can still kick some serious a$$! ;D
I'm really looking forward to this summers movie season.
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Post by pitfallharry on Apr 30, 2007 16:18:08 GMT -5
Not really news but I thought I'd put this in here.... I went out yesterday and bought a ticket for Spidey 3. It's the 6:30 pm DLP showing on May 4th. This film officially kicks off the summer movie season for me. I'm hoping it's good.
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Post by Ragingblues on Apr 30, 2007 16:31:48 GMT -5
Wow... that's this week isn't it? Man, time is really flying this year. Spiderman 3 looks to be a great movie, and I'm looking forward to seeing it. Ken
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Post by Kt. Templar on Apr 30, 2007 16:57:37 GMT -5
I was lucky enough to go to a preview screening on sunday. (Ok stop throwing things).
The film is good. But not great. There is a slight sense of diminishing returns. It feels like more of the same, whilst the baddies are cool and the effects for all of them amazing they sort of seem crammed in to the movie and it almost has the feel of which one next?! A bit like some of the later Batman movies got. The fights are great and very well staged. The main drawback is I've stopped caring about the MJ and PP relationship it really doesn't seem that strong and is frankly a little boring. Whenever they stop to do a scene between Parker and MJ or Parker and Aunt May you look at your watch and look forward to the next action set piece.
I won't put any spoilers in here apart from the fact that young kids may find Venom a little scary and the fights are quite violent in a cartoon way.
Brice Dallas Howard is very pleasing on the eye much more than the ever weirder looking Kirsten Dunst.
It's fun, should be seen on the big screen but really doen't break too much new ground.
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Post by pastimesteve on Apr 30, 2007 17:22:26 GMT -5
Thanks KT -- about what I'm expecting. I agree about the MJ & PP relationship. The chemistry between them was awesome in the first movie, but in S2, it was only so-so. Maybe because Peter "got the girl" so to speak. I'm looking forward to Brice though! I'm also not surprised by the "too many bad guys" problem. There's only so much you can fit into one movie... On a related subject, I was getting caught up on this thread, and I noticed a lot of talk about POTC 3. I know I'm going to be in the severe minority here based on the money POTC 2 made, but... I found the 1st movie to be a fun popcorn flick, but I absolutely hated last year's sequel. Yep, that's right, I hated it. While I realize it's a pirate movie, I was dismayed to find Orlando Bloom's character the only character with redeeming qualities. The others, including what's-her-face, had a decaying moral compass that left me nothing to root for or care about. Not to mention, it was incredibly dark and disgusting visually. It was like George Lucas gone bad from a CGI overdose. In the end, I wanted both Depp and the film's lone love interest to get thrown into the giant squid -- forever! I'm not sure that was the filmmaker's intent, but that's the way I reacted. I will not see POTC 3 at the theater and I suppose I'll be one of 10. ;D Steve
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