TRAILERAMA
• The teaser for Angels and Demons, the semi-sequel to The Da Vinci Code,
has a nifty CG render of the Vatican, Tom Hanks saying "It's
Illuminati!" with the same sense of fear and awe that you or I might use
to say "The sun's going supernova!", and of course a chorus chanting
ominously in either Latin or gibberish; it's hard to say. And that's about
it.
• There may be no original stories left to tell, but there are talented filmmakers like Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, 28 Days Later) who can make them feel new again. Enter Slumdog Millionaire,
which details the journey of an Indian (as in India) boy from the
poorest slums (check) to superstardom on the local version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? (check), all in pursuit of his one true love. It looks great, by all reports it IS great, and I've set aside my $10. Watch the trailer.
• The Class won the top prize at this year's Cannes Film
Festival, but either Sony Pictures Classics has done a crap job of
making the movie seem like anything more than just another teacher vs.
rebellious class story, or it's just further proof that critics are
waaaay more forgiving of a film in a foreign language than they would
be if that same film had been in English. Given the heavy hitters
on the Cannes jury, we'll err on the side of SPC dropping the ball, trailer-wise.
• Is Tom Cruise's disjointed "You can serve Germany or the Führer, not
both" the new "Yonda lies da castle of my fadda"? Decide for yourself
when you watch the Valkyrie trailer.
PLUMBING THE DEPTHS
It's been a comics-heavy week on the blog, but hey – that's
what's in the movie news these days. But don't worry, the big studios
aren't just relying on the comic book industry for ideas; they're also
reaching out to the video game industry, as evidenced by this Variety article
about the bidding war over an Electronic Arts videogame that hasn't
even been publicly announced yet. "It's likely to be called Dante’s
Inferno, as it’s a modern interpretation of the epic poem." By
"Modern" they mean "angsty lead with a penchant for gunplay," no
doubt. Hmm. You think EA is desperate to sell the rights as they keep losing massive amounts of cash despite producing some of the most successful games in existence?
ODDS AND ENDS
• You would have thought that Sam Jackson's flamboyant streak would have reached its apex in the forthcoming The Spirit,
but no. He's reportedly signed up to co-star as "Sho'nuff, the Shogun
of Harlem" in a remake of mid-80's urban karate classic The Last Dragon. (THR)
• Sherlock Holmes continues to look good.
• Can a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright make up for the clunky disappointment that was Spider-Man 3? David Lindsay-Abaire is going to give it a shot with a draft of Spider-Man 4.
The Spidey flicks tend to go through a host of big-league writers, and
so far they've collectively produced one outstanding flick (#2) on
three attempts. Here's hoping that Lindsay-Abaire can improve Spidey's
batting average. (THR)
• Comic scribe Mark Millar (whose books are the basis for Wanted and the forthcoming Kick-Ass) has been pimping his dream of making over the Superman franchise to anyone who'll listen. CHUD has a nice summary of his dastardly, unlikely-to-be-realized plans.
• It's been a good long while since filmmakers have ventured out into space for some old-fashioned, big-budget Sci-Fi. (Star Wars is fantasy.) J.J. Abrams is boldy going there with his Star Trek reboot, and now über-producer Joel Silver is planning a remake of the genre's all-time classics, Forbidden Planet. We'll see if this one gets off the ground. (THR)
• Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica, sittin' in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g. (Empire Online)