Here we are at another week of kooky new form the world of film! And maybe some other stuff if I deem it worthy!
In this week’s “Speculate much?” story, will Blair Witch knock Sully from the top box office spot this weekend? I don’t fucking know. Why don’t you all decide to see one and we’ll find out what happened Monday.
In this week’s “Gotta be better than that Omen show” story, Netflix and Scott Stuber’s Bluegrass Films are teaming up to make a new horror comedy, Little Evil, starring Adam Scott and Evangeline Lilly.
Also starring will be Donald Faison, Chris D’Elia, Clancy Brown, Bridgett Everett, Brad Williams, Marcus Terrell Smith, and the ever delightful Tyler Labine.
Eli Craig is writing and directing the film, which is about a guy named Gary (Scott) who has just married Samantha (Lilly), the woman of his dreams, only to discover that her six year old son (Owen Atlas) may actually be the Antichrist.
Sounds like a potential hoot. Certainly a great cast. This was over at Universal where Stuber has a first look deal, but Universal chose to let it go. Craig then delivered a script that Stuber couldn’t say ‘no’ to, so it got quick traction with him and Netflix.
In this week’s “From the Best Seller list, to your toilet bowl, to the screen” story, documentary film maker Morgan Spurlock is at it again. He got the cameras out for his new documentary Rats, based on the best selling book by author Robert Sullivan.
Rats takes a look at the history of rat infestations in various cities across the globe. There’s a trailer online that is kinda creepy, and this in’t like most of Spurlock’s other films. It’s decidedly…icky. If you don’t like rats, you won’t likely be wanting to see this one, but it does look fascinating.
The film premiered at the Toronto Film Festival this week, and will be shown on the Discovery Channel on October 22, 2016. I’m going to look for this one because I started reading the book, which has been really interesting. But again, probably not for the squeamish. Just in time for Halloween!
In this week’s “Proof that people love trainwrecks – or comically bad films” story, the trailer for Fifty Shades Darker came out and has broken the record for Most Viewed Trailer, which was previously set by Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Thanks, Human Race, you have just proved that the end of our species is nigh.
In this week’s “Best timing” story, both Sam Rockwell and Ciaran Hinds have joined the cast of Jessica Chastain’s Sitting Bull drama Woman Walks Ahead, which has started production in New Mexico.
The film has Chastain starring as Catherine Weldon, a portrait painter from 1890s Brooklyn, who travels to Dakota to paint a portrait of Sitting Bull, and becomes embroiled in the Lakota peoples’ struggle over the rights to their land. Weldon wrote letters to the federal government on behalf of Sitting Bull and lived on the land for several years with her son.
Talk about a timely story to tell.
In this week’s “Controversial director makes new film” story, actresses Emmanuelle Seigner and Eva Green are set to star in Roman Polanski’s new psychological thriller, Based On A True Story. It will be sold internationally by Lionsgate.
Marking Polanski’s return to film-making since his 2013 drama Venus in Fur, the French-language Based on a True Story is an adaptation of Delphine de Vigan’s critically acclaimed novel of the same name. The book was published last year and won the Prix Renaudot and high school prize Goncourt des Lyceens.
Why does it not surprise me that Eva Green is going to be in this? Well, she IS kind of an odd bird. A deliciously beautiful and eminently watchable odd bird.
In this week’s “Apparently it’s never too late to do a sequel” story, Production started this week in Boston on Super Troopers 2, and actor Rob Lowe has joined the cast. Broken Lizard, the comedy team behind the original film, raised more than $4.5 million during a crowd-funding campaign on Indiegogo last year to fund “Super Troopers 2,” shooting past its initial goal of $2 million.
Rob Lowe has a pretty good sense of humor about himself, so I’m thinking this could be entertaining. I got turned onto the first Super Troopers pretty late in the game, and liked it. It’s big dumb fun.
In this week’s “Like she’s gonna say ‘no'” story, Margo Robbie is totally on board with a Harley Quinn Suicide Squad spin-off film, especially because she’s also executive producing it. Robbie has signed a first look deal with Warner Bros. to develop a screenplay through her LuckyChap Entertainment banner.
Too bad Warner bros. already screwed that pooch with her character in Suicide Squad. Robbie was indeed one of the very few highlights of the film – she did all she could with what she was given. But there are still so many problems…Maybe she can help get something on track? Naah, Warner Bros. has, despite all the money they’ve made, lost a lot of us on the DC front.
In this week’s “Awkward white guy dancing” story, former child actor Corey Feldman turned up on the Today show to promote his bands new 2nd album, Angelic 2 the Core. Feldman described the theme of the album as the battle between good and evil. Then he performed a song on the show and became a living example of why people make fun of white guys dancing. Somehow a mixture of Goth-robot-Michael Jackson moves while wearing a monk-like hoodie, Feldman was just confusing and awkward.
Really. Go have a look. And you can experience him crying while trying to contact his late bestie Cory Haim via a TV psychic. Yep. http://etcanada.com/news/167607/twitter-goes-nuts-over-corey-feldmans-crazy-dance-moves/
In this week’s “Surprise to me” story, did you people know that Miley Cyrus was engaged to Liam Hemsworth? Weird.
And in this week’s “My parants are crazier than yours” story, actress Shailene Woodley opens up about her “Super Fucked up family”. She was raised by her counselor-mother and her psychologist father (oh dear), the 24-year-old actress grew up in a progressive environment – but that wasn’t always a good thing.
Not to say things didn’t end up ok – Woodley is thankful for her upbringing and has a strong relationship with her parents, it’s just that, you know, at the time, it was pretty weird.
As an example, when she and her younger brother Tanner would argue, her parents would force them to hug it out for hours – literally. And this wouldn’t happen in private either. They’d have to stand on their front lawn for their neighbors to see.
“The whole time you’re just seething, you’re disliking this person with so much energy, but if you let go you have to stay there for an extra hour,” she said. “That was the kind of reverse, manipulative psychology my parents were into!”
Yeah, that is some crazy shit. Even MY parents weren’t THAT weird.
In this week’s “Weird remake” story, relativity Studios has acquired the rights to remake High Noon, and plans to set it in the present day. The original 1952 Western won 4 Academy Awards and starred Gary Cooper as a town sheriff that is forced to confront a gang of vengeful killers by himself.
You really think they can improve on an Academy Award-winning film? Ugh.
In this week’s “More shite news” story, Tom Cruise has signed on – or BACK on – to star in Mission Impossible 6. Last month pre-production halted because Paramount felt that Cruise and producers Bad Robot and SkyDance waned too much money. Tom felt not. Of course he would. BUT, turns out they’ve all worked things out and the film is moving forward. Fuck.
In this week’s “Are you sure she’s really dead?” story, Norwegian director Andre Ovredal (Trollhunter), is back with a delightful Chamber horror piece in which “a corpse’s stillness only grows more ominously unreliable as it’s dissected”. The film, The Autopsy of Jane Doe, stars Brian Cox and Emile Hirsch as as father-and-son morticians whose slab subject seems to exert considerable supernatural will on one stormy night, despite her apparently very dead state.
Apparently it was quite the crowd-pleaser at the Toronto Film Festival, and I can understand why. The premise already has me all a-twitter. I’ll be looking for this one. I really enjoyed Trollhunter, so I’m all in.
AND in this week’s “Gee, that’s so decent of you” story, Mark Wahlberg has dropped his requested petition to be pardoned for the assaults he committed as a 16 year old.
A spokesperson for the Massachusetts Parole Board told the Associated Press that the actor never replied to a letter asking if he wished to keep the request open. In light of that, the matter has been closed.
The petition originated from a 1988 conviction involving a convenience store robbery, after which a teenage Walhberg was sentenced to three months in jail. I think most people were aware of this. It’s easy to forget what a little thug he was. Sometimes hard to decide which is worse – this or his performance in The Happening. Let’s face it, they’re both criminal.
In the original petition, the now 45-year-old actor described how he has since turned his life around — becoming a successful recording artist, actor and producer. The request proved controversial and even the victims of the assaults were divided on the situation.
Wahlberg told reporters at the Toronto International Film Festival that he regrets asking for the pardon, but found a silver lining in having the chance to meet and apologize to one of the victims. Wahlberg said, “some good did come out of it.”
Really, Mark? Really?
And finally, to end on a high note, in this week’s “Hey, Bill, what’cha pouring? story, most awesome guy alive, Bill Murray, will be pouring shots and making cocktails at his son, Homer Murray’s new Brooklyn bar, 21 Greenpoint. Yes, this Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Bill Murray himself will be slinging drinks from 7 pm ET. Apparently Murray is quite the experienced bartender – and has been known to party crash. If only he would crash a party I was attending…life would be complete.
Oh, but don’t all go rushing to New York just yet; the events with Bill bartending are all invite only. So, it’s all still just a dream for all of us civilians. Maybe someday…sigh…
~ Neil T Weakley, your average movie-goer, trying to imagine Bill Murray crashing my party…