Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Sundance Characters - Only in the Movies!


Story: Five Sundance Characters You Won't See Anywhere Else (Fortunately) - Los Angeles Times

Movies that play at the Sundance Film Festival always have more than their fair share of eccentric characters! Steven Zeitchik writes an inspired article about five characters that just plain don't exist in reality!

Monday, January 28, 2013

Critics Weigh in on Sundance


Story: Variety Critics Review Sundance - Daily Variety

The Film Critics of Daily Variety weigh in on this year's Sundance Film Festival.

Peter DeBruge and Justin Chang talk about the films they saw, and to what degree Sundance is important to independent film.

Friday, January 25, 2013

It's Official! Abrams is "Star Wars" Director


Story: It's Official: JJ Abrams Closes Deal to Direct 'Star Wars: Episode VII' - The Hollywood Reporter

It is now official that J.J. Abrams will be the director of Disney's new "Star Wars" film.

Producer Kathleen Kennedy pushed hard for Abrams to accept, even though he said in November that he wouldn't be involved. "Toy Story 3" writer Michael Arndt has been working on the script since October.

I personally would have chosen Joss Whedon first, but he is busy with "Avengers 2." Abrams is a good second choice, though. He breathed new life into "Star Trek," and could here too.

Olympus Has Fallen


Trailer: Olympus Has Fallen - Film District

"Die Hard" in the White House! Or, the battle of the White-House-under-siege movies! Either way, "Olympus Has Fallen" takes the lead over Roland Emmerich's summer release "White House Down." Here, it's Gerard Butler vs. thugs who have taken the White House and the President hostage. As you can imagine, it's one guy against terrorists!

Antoine Fuqua, who directed "Training Day," has had a rocky career ever since. This might be his chance to regain action credibility. The trailer looks good, but definitely completely serious. No "Die Hard" one liners here! Lots of good actors are on board, including Aaron Eckhart and Morgan Freeman. My guess is that this movie is going to turn out better than the rival Emmerich project, which has the not-very-inspiring casting of Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx as the Prez!

"Olympus Has Fallen" is being released by Film District on March 22.

J.J. Abrams - Star Wars VII Director?


Story: Report: J.J. ABRAMS Directing STAR WARS EPISODE VII - Newsarama

The website The Wrap is citing a "an individual with knowledge of the production" that J.J. Abrams will be the director of Disney's new "Star Wars" film.

Deadline.com and The Hollywood Reporter followed with their own reporting. THR cited numerous sources, giving further validation to the story. The Hollywood Reporter specifies that Abrams is "negotiating to direct." Time will tell!

Sunday, January 13, 2013

New "Die Hard" Rated R!


Trailer: A Good Day to Die Hard - Twentieth Century-Fox

A new TV Spot Confirms it: "A Good Day to Die Hard" will be Rated R!

"Die Hard" fans are going to be very psyched about this! The trailers have been getting better and better. And, you have to appreciate the fact that Fox is releasing the film on Valentine's Day!