Straw Dogs Remake Trailer or Whatever Happened to Richard White?

Being a Southerner, it's always both amusing and frustrating to see how we're depicted by Hollywood every couple of years. I like a good joke at my home's experience as long as said gag is funny and, of course, I don't take it personal. But then you see more and more portrayals of my neck of the woods from filmmakers, a large portion of whom (not all to be fair) don't even hail from around here and I always wonder, "Is that what you really think of us? If so, would you be OK were I to do stereotypes of you?"

Which brings me to the subject of this article, a trailer for Rob Lurie’s (unnecessary as all Hell) Straw Dogs remake has hit the interwebs via Yahoo! Movies.

As a film fan, I never liked the notion of updating Sam Peckinpah's original but it's never a bad thing to be optimistic that maybe (just...maybe) Lurie could bring something different to the table. Judging by the trailer, the answer is an epic "Nope!"

 It also doesn't help his cause that he hired James Marsden, of all people, in the lead role. Now Marsden has the looks and charm of a leading man but the skills of a character actor. But Lurie & Co. are going out of their way to make him look weak and dweeby. They're clearly going for a Cillian Murphy look. As much as I like Marsden, why didn't they, oh I don't know, get Murphy in the first place? I'm sorry, but I don't buy that Marsden can't hold his own against Alexander Skarsgård and his rag-tag group of sweaty (because all of us down here do nothing but sweat, you know), church-going (and implied Bible-thumping), Kate Bosworth ass-ogling red-necks.

Fright Night Remake Looks Like a Slicked Up Version of the Original - Minus the Charm

That Fright Night remake dropping later this summer has been off my radar, I'll admit. But not out of ill-will against it, no, as big a fan I am of Tom Holland's 1985 horror/comedy, the notion of a teenager discovering his next-door neighbor is a vampire (and his recruiting a past-his-prime horror icon to help kill the blood-sucker) is one that an update could be interesting. I also happen to like the cast they've assembled and filmmakers behind the camera.

Alas, the trailer courtesy of IGN Movies is, for me, on the bland side. It all looks so...studio slick 'n' glossy for lack of a better term.

And the most intriguing element of this update for me is all but absent (save for a couple of quick seconds); former Doctor Who David Tennant as the revamped Peter Vincent whose gone from schlocky horror-movie-hero to Criss Angel-like illusionist. Also yeah, I'll be the douche to say it. Did we just watch the whole damn movie in two and a half minutes?

'Terminator' Franchise Finally Has A Quality Producer!

Well Terminator fans, after the past decade or so of being shit on by money hungry production companies (C2 Pictures, The Halcyon Company), the Terminator franchise is finally in the hands of a smart and quality-driven producer: Megan Ellison of Annapurna Films.

TOLDJA! reports from Cannes that Ellison has won the auction to the rights to make at least two more Terminator films with Justin Lin set to direct and Arnold Schwarzenegger attached to star.

The bidding war came down the Ellison's Annapurna Films and Lionsgate, who all but had the rights bagged until Ellison came in at the 11th hour and outbid the studio.  While I think Lionsgate would have brought Terminator back to that low-budget, R-rated territory, I think it would have lacked the quality that Ellison can bring to the franchise.  Translation: substance over style, and yes, free of studio control with the ability to make the film dark and R-rated.

Ellison has been making a name for herself recently as she's been funding terrific films such as last year's True Grit from The Cohen Bros., and next year's The Wettest County in the World being directed by John Hillcoat.  She's also been linked with talented Hollywood names such as Kathryn Bigelow, Paul Thomas Anderon, and Spike Jonze.

Point being, this is exactly what the Terminator franchise ordered as they needed a production company that would put story and characterization first.

Terminator fans rejoice.

Duck! "Spiderman: Turn of the Dark" Is Back

It's time to take down the sign over NY's theater district stating how many days it's been since the last Spiderman accident.  OK, there isn't really a sign for that...but there should be.  After a 3-week hiatus to "re-imagine" Julie Taymor's disaster-prone $65 million musical, the show is set to resume previews tomorrow night.

So what's new about the re-tooled Turn Off The Dark?  Gone is the Geek Chorus, a quartet of comic book fans that narrated the story - and slowed it down to an unbearable crawl.  The confusing role of Arachne has been reduced to a smaller guardian angel role, while the Green Goblin now lives to see Act 2 (he was killed before intermission in the show's original incarnation).  Also, "Deeply Furious," the infamous spider-women in high-heels dance number, has finally been axed. 

A new creative team, including director Phillip William McKinley, playwright and Marvel comics writer Roberto Aguirre Sacasa, and choreographer Chase Brock are also on board.  The new crew has promised new (and hopefully safer) flying stunts, and a story that will remain more faithful to the original source material rather than Taymor's Greek mythology-inspired mess.  Bono and The Edge are still around, and have provided at least one new song. 

A definite bit of good news:  Spidey stunt double Christopher Tierney, who was seriously injured in an on-stage accident back in December, has returned to the cast.  He's even performing that same stunt again.

A new commericial for Spiderman 2.0 has hit the airwaves...however, they're using the same footage from the original version.  If all that stuff is still in the show, I'm not sure it's much better than it was:

I love how Spiderman looks so down and out at the start of that.  It was a pretty fair description of the audience reaction at the performance I saw a few weeks ago (more about that here).  Seriously, it's the first time I ever saw an usher have to start the applause when the audience stayed silent after a song.

Unless some sort of creative miracle has occured, I doubt I'll be seeing this again...but I wish them well.

Horrible Bosses Looks Like the Anti-Change-Up - Translation: Funny

Here's the other Jason Bateman co-starring comedy this summer, Horrible Bosses. And judging by this trailer, this actually looks to be funny – too bad the same can't be said for The Change-Up.

Well, that got plenty of chuckles outta me. I just hope they actually go through with the rather-dark angle for this black comedy. I mean surely one of the bosses will in fact get killed?

Also a plus the dependably-annoying Jennifer Anniston actually isn't a pain-in-the-ass to watch this time. Although since Horrible Bosses doesn't open for another two months, there's still time for more tabloid bullshit about her "hooking up" for yet another co-star.

Way to Spoil Expendables 2, Plot Synopsis!

Isn't it a bit on the "soon-ish" side of things to blow a major death for The Expendables 2?

First Showing has the teaser poster and courtesy of /film, here's the plot synopsis that effectively confirms the one interesting aspect of the first film won't be around too terribly long for the sequel next August:

"The Expendables are back and this time it’s personal! After Tool (Mickey Rourke), the heart and soul of the Expendables, is brutally murdered on a mission, his comrades swear to avenge him. They’re not the only ones who want blood. Tool’s beautiful young and wild daughter Fiona embarks on her own revenge mission, complicating matters when she is captured and ransomed by a ruthless dictator plotting to destroy a resistance movement. Now Barney and the Expendables must risk everything to save her and humanity."

This, taking one look at Immortals, Passion Play, what the Hell, Rourke? Are you purposefully gunning to go right back into C-movie schlock?

Alec Baldwin Still Expected to "Rock"?

Is the The Bourbon Room looking for a new owner?  Reuters reported earlier today that Alec Baldwin had dropped out of Adam Shankman's big-screen adaptation of the Broadway musical Rock of Ages.  Baldwin was set to play Dennis Dupree, the burned-out, ex-hippie owner of the endangered Sunset Strip nightclub where most of the story takes place.  No official reason was given to why Baldwin decided to leave the project.

However, BroadwayWorld is now reporting that those reports were inaccurate.  Quoting a statement from New Line, Baldwin "has a personal issue that is expected to resolve so he can do the movie, which begins shooting May 23."

So, hopefully crisis averted there.  Baldwin had been taking singing lessons to prepare for the role, which would have him singing a duet of REO Speedwagon's 80s power ballad "I Can't Fight This Feeling Anymore," with Russell Brand, who will be playing Rock of Ages narrator, Lonny.  Strange as that sounds, it was one of the funniest moments in the stage production (the audience was even given little pen-lights to use as lighters as they sang it), and the Baldwin/Brand pairing seemed so oddly perfect that I was actually looking forward to seeing that.

In addition to Brand, the Rock of Ages cast roster also includes Catherine Zeta-Jones, Mary J. Blige, Tom Cruise, Paul Giamatti, Malin Ackerman, Bryan Cranston, and Julianne Hough.  Newcomer Diego Boneta will star as wannabe rocker Drew.  It is scheduled to open in theaters on June 1, 2012.

"Magic Trip" Poster

Vulture has your first look at the "Magic Trip" poster.

In 1964, Ken Kesey, the famed author of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” set off on a legendary, LSD-fuelled cross-country road trip to the New York World’s Fair. He was joined by “The Merry Band of Pranksters,” a renegade group of counterculture truth-seekers, including Neal Cassady, the American icon immortalized in Kerouac’s “On the Road,” and the driver and painter of the psychedelic Magic Bus. Kesey and the Pranksters intended to make a documentary about their trip, shooting footage on 16MM, but the film was never finished and the footage has remained virtually unseen. With MAGIC TRIP, Academy Award-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney (Taxi to the Dark Side) and co-director Alison Ellwood were given unprecedented access to this raw footage by the Kesey family. They worked with the Film Foundation, HISTORY and the UCLA Film Archives to restore over 100 hours of film and audiotape, and have shaped an invaluable document of this extraordinary piece of American history.

"Rejoice And Shout" Trailer

REJOICE AND SHOUT is the definitive history of GOSPEL music – some of the most emotional and powerful music in the world, and the foundation of the blues, country and rock n’ roll.
 
Packed with evocative photos, rare audio, recordings, stirring film appearances and TV performances, REJOICE AND SHOUT is a jubilant journey through the 200 year musical history of African-American Christianity. Culled from hundreds of hours of music, REJOICE AND SHOUT features interviews and performances from the most celebrated voices in gospel music, including:  Smokey Robinson, Mavis Staples and the Staple Singers, Mahalia Jackson, Clara Ward, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Andrae Crouch, The Blind Boys of Alabama, the Selvey Family, Darrel Petties and many more.

REJOICE AND SHOUT traces the evolution of Gospel through its many musical styles – the spirituals and early hymns, the four-part harmony-based quartets, the integration of blues and swing into Gospel, the emergence of Soul, and the blending of Rap and Hip Hop elements.
 
Gospel music walks in step with the story of African-American culture – slavery, hardscrabble rural existence and plantation work, the exodus to major cities, the Depression, World War II, civil rights and empowerment. REJOICE AND SHOUT connects the history of African-American culture with Gospel as it first impacted popular culture at large.
 
Years in the making, REJOICE AND SHOUT captures so much of what is special about this music and African-American Christianity – the sermonizing, the heartfelt testimonials, getting slain in the spirit, the hard hollering, and of course the inspiring music.

"Page One: Inside The New York Times" Poster

MovieLine has the new poster for "Page One: Inside The New York Times", with fly on the wall view of what it's like at the center of one of the world's biggest newspaper.

Andrew Rossi’s riveting documentary Page One: Inside The New York Times had its World Premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, and was acquired by Magnolia Pictures and Participant Media for theatrical release this June. In the tradition of great fly-on-the-wall documentaries, the film deftly gains unprecedented access to the New York Times newsroom and the inner workings of the Media Desk. With the Internet surpassing print as our main news source and newspapers all over the country going bankrupt, Page One chronicles the transformation of the media industry at its time of greatest turmoil. Writers like Brian Stelter, Tim Arango and the salty but brilliant David Carr track print journalism’s metamorphosis even as their own paper struggles to stay vital and solvent, while their editors and publishers grapple with up-to-the-minute issues like controversial new sources and the implications of an online pay-wall. Meanwhile, rigorous journalism is thriving — Page One gives us an up-close look at the vibrant cross-cubicle debates and collaborations, tenacious jockeying for on-record quotes, and skillful page-one pitching that brings the most venerable newspaper in America to fruition each and every day.