BOND 23 WILL BE CALLED ‘SKYFALL’

Hollywood Wiretap:

Producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson held a press conference in London on Thursday morning to unveil details on their upcoming James Bond film. The film is indeed titled “Skyfall,” as had been rumored.

The title has “some emotional context” the producers said while director Sam Mendes offered that the film is its own story and does not connect to the last two pictures.

“Skyfall” starts shooting today.

Lot more at the link but the most important news has not been revealed, and that’s whether or not the budget includes a tripod. This is good news, however:

But Mendes told reporters that the “fantastic script” had “all the elements of a classic Bond movie, including – to quell any rumors – lots of action.”

But what about the tripod? If there’s no tripod I’m not– whoa.

EASTWOOD ON “J. EDGAR”:

“‘Obviously there’s a love story here. Whether it is a gay love story or something else — well, the audience can interpret it. My intention was to show two men who really love each other, and beyond that it’s none of my business.’”

The trailer, though, does show the two men holding hands and exchanging a gaze that would make Rhett and Scarlett blush.

Eastwood’s in a tough spot here. From what I’ve read, Hoover was neither gay nor a cross dresser, but when you’re attempting to make a living in Hollywood you run the risk of being declared a homophobe if you ignore even a whiff of homosexuality around your subject.

If you remember, there were rumors surrounding John Nash, the character Russell Crowe played in 2001’s “A Beautiful Mind.” Director Ron Howard chose not to include the rumors and then had to worry about the complaints derailing his Oscar chances. He and the picture ended up winning but things are a tad more fascist in Hollywood today than they were 10 years ago.

But this is what I find most curious about this whole situation. To the left, Hoover is a villain and yet they’re determined to ensure Hoover is remembered as a homosexual. Why? You would think they would want to distance Hoover from these rumors instead of using homosexuality as a pejorative against him.

Andrew Breitbart goes through the same thing. Leftists are constantly hurling “gay” at him as an insult.

Isn’t that the real homophobia?

Here are a ton of photos from the “J. Edgar” set. May I look as good at 60 as Eastwood does at 80.

I MISS BEING EXCITED ABOUT THE NEXT STEPHEN KING NOVEL

Watching both versions of “The Shining” this week reminded me of those days when a new Stephen King novel was a real event, an opportunity to lose yourself in King’s wild imagination and inter-connected world.

It’s a shame that in an effort to make up for his diminishing storytelling skills, King turned into a strident, obnoxious leftist in order to keep the elites happy with him and his work relevant. Artists lose their powers. There’s no shame in that. But selling out to The Man truly tarnishes King’s legacy.

That goes for Roger Ebert, as well.

PROFESSIONAL CELEBRITY KIM KARDASHIAN MADE $18 MILLION OFF 72 DAY MARRIAGE

Good for her, but…

Her mom says Kim made no money, that the wedding cost more than the money they were paid by — whoops. Almost forgot I don’t care.

NEW TRAILER FOR ‘UNDERWORLD 4′

It’s no secret I love me some B-movies and especially B-movie monsters, but this franchise has never done a thing for me.

JUSTIN BIEBER TWEETS ABOUT PATERNITY ACCUSATIONS

Am I the only one just finding out Justin Bieber is a guy?

HEADLINES THAT CAN ONLY COME FROM CALIFORNIA

“Lindsay Lohan Allowed One Week Delay In Jail Term To Complete Her Playboy Photo Shoot”

CONGRATULATE ME: I JOINED BLOCKBUSTER’S MOVIE PASS

Unfortunately, the first movie they sent wasn’t even in my queue. Fortunately, I was able to go to the brick and mortar Blockbuster to trade it in for Last Night’s Screening.

After quitting the Netflix by-mail service out of protest over their ongoing stupidity (though I kept the Streaming service, which I’m absolutely in love with), what attracted me to the Blockbuster Pass wasn’t so much the by-mail service but their streaming deal with Dish Network. I’m not really sure how it works yet, but since I subscribe to Dish, at the very least I want to find out and report back to you — not because I care about you but so that I can write this all off on my taxes.

REDBOX USERS APPEAR TO ACCEPT 20-PERCENT RATE HIKE

Because we’re not stupid.

Unlike Netflix subscribers who signaled their displeasure with the video rental company’s rate hike with their feet, users of Redbox kiosks appeared unfazed by the company’s 20 percent rate hike that went into effect this week, according to a spot check in North Hollywood, CA conducted by Home Media magazine. Interviewed as he was returning two discs that his son had rented, local resident George Alonzo told the magazine, “I still think it’s cheap. … On the website SeekingAlpha.com, writer Joseph Poma described third-quarter earnings for Redbox parent Coinstar as “fantastic” and predicted that the 20-percent increase in price “will yield a tremendous increase in revenue.”

Back in the mid-eighties I worked at a video store where we rented VHS (and Betamax) for $3.50 a pop. This is what happens when you let the free market do its job. The product improves and gets cheaper and everyone’s happy. This is why the government has to remove itself from health care.

UNIVERSAL EXEC RON MEYER: ‘WE MAKE A LOT OF SHITTY MOVIES’

COWBOYS & ALIENS? “Wasn’t good enough. Forget all the smart people involved in it, it wasn’t good enough. All those little creatures bouncing around were crappy. I think it was a mediocre movie.”

LAND OF THE LOST? “Just crap. I mean, there was no excuse for it.”

THE WOLFMAN?? “One of the worst movies we ever made…WOLFMAN and BABE 2 are two of the shittiest movies we put out. The script never got right…the director was wrong. Benicio [del Toro] stunk. It all stunk.”

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SCOTTDS’ EPIC LINK-TACULAR

SONY PICTURES ACQUIRES ‘BZRK’ BOOK SERIES FOR SAM RAIMI

AICN REVIEWS SPIELBERG’S ‘WAR HORSE’

ONCE DIRECTOR JOHN CARNEY ATTACHED TO STEVE CARELL’S ‘DOGS OF BABEL‘

FIRST LOOK AT SCHWARZENEGGER ON THE SET OF ‘THE LAST STAND‘

‘EASTERN PROMISES’ SCREENWRITER TO DIRECT JASON STATHAM IN ACTION DRAMA ‘HUMMINGBIRD‘

LOGO FOR THE ‘EVIL DEAD’ REMAKE

MILD SPOILER-Y SHOTS FROM ‘THE DARK KNIGHT RISES‘

RED-BAND TRAILER FOR ‘21 JUMP STREET’ (NSFW)

PIXAR’S 12 GREATEST MOVIE MOMENTS

‘CLASH OF THE TITANS 3′ ALREADY GREENLIT

WATCH: CLIPS FROM PBS DOC “STEVE JOBS — ONE LAST THING”

HOME ENTERTAINMENT SPENDING RISES FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 2008

WOODY ALLEN DOCUMENTARY’S U.S. DVD AND DIGITAL RIGHTS SOLD

KEVIN SMITH DISCUSSES HIS NEXT FILM ‘HIT SOMEBODY‘

EDDIE MURPHY READY TO RETURN TO ‘SNL’ AFTER 25 YEARS

DECONSTRUCTING THE TITLE SEQUENCE OF ‘THE SHINING‘

WAIT, JAMES FRANCO IS DOING *WHAT* WITH A OUIJA BOARD?

CELEBRATING 25 YEARS OF ‘ALIENS‘

THE 10 MOST INSPIRATIONAL RUNS IN FILM

THE DEMISE OF THE CELLULOID SECRETARY

CUTE: YOUR FAVORITE MOVIES RECAST WITH CATS!

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LAST NIGHT’S SCREENING

Fast Five (2011) — More proof that B-films  are increasingly the place to go for those of us fed up with big-budget action films shot with the irredeemable shaky-cam and filled with confusing plots, political correctness, shoddy editing, and metrosexuals posing as action heroes.

The first ten minutes or so of the fifth entry (#3 for we Vin Diesel purists) into this increasingly popular franchise is a piece exhilarating filmmaking, ten times better than anything in the ‘Transformers’ films, the last Bond or ‘Indy 4.’

Simple but effective plots, real men, beautiful, independent women, a running theme about family, moments of Christian faith, and mind-blowing set-pieces. Between this and ‘Resident Evil,’ we action purists at least have some place to turn to now.

Great, great film. Holds your attention and more than keeps its promises. You can’t ask for more than that.

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CLASSIC PICK FOR THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 4

2:00 PM  EST: Paleface, The (1948) –  An inept dentist must rescue his outlaw wife from the Indians. Dir: Norman Z. McLeod Cast:  Bob Hope, Jane Russell, Robert Armstrong. C-91 mins, TV-G, CC.

Bob Hope brings the funny and Jane Russell delivers the sexy in this near-classic.

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--Please send tips/suggestions/requests/complaints to jnolte@breitbart.com

Best Description of ‘Quantum of Solace’ Yet

IMDB:

Roger Moore, who played James Bond longer than any other actor, has complained that the 007 franchise has suffered a decline in quality in recent years. In an interview with Varsity, the student newspaper at Cambridge University in England, Moore expressed admiration for Daniel Craig’s performance in the last Bond movie, Quantum of Solace, but he compared the movie itself to “a long disjointed commercial.”

A very long disjointed commercial.

NBC TV and Universal Film Struggle

LA Times:

The NBC broadcast network and the Los Angeles based Universal movie studio posted weak numbers for the quarter ended Sept. 30. The film studio underperformed at the box office, resulting in a 7.8% revenue decline compared with the third quarter of 2010.

Tepid ratings at NBC as well as increased spending for new prime-time programming added to the drag on NBCUniversal’s overall results. The broadcast TV division barely turned a profit.

Is the economy to blame? The product? Both?

Sony is looking at a billion-plus dollar loss, but that’s due in large part to sales of televisions, Blu-ray players and other electronic items.

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SCOTTDS’ EPIC LINK-TACULAR

FULL-LENGTH TRAILER FOR ‘AMERICAN REUNION‘

RANKED: TERRENCE MALICK FILMS FROM WORST TO BEST

AN INSIDE LOOK AT THE FILMING OF ‘THE HOBBIT‘

‘WALKING DEAD’ RATINGS DIP (BUT ARE STILL HUGE)

FOX RENEWS ‘THE X FACTOR’ FOR A SECOND SEASON

‘THE GOONIES’ VS. ‘THE MONSTER SQUAD’

NEW LINE PURCHASES ‘CATEGORY SIX,’ SCRIPT FOR “FOUND FOOTAGE” DISASTER FILM

TOM CRUISE TAKES ‘MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE’ TO NEW HEIGHTS

GUILLERMO DEL TORO PREPPING HIS NEXT ANIMATED FILM FOR DREAMWORKS

TERRENCE MALICK WILL SHOOT TWO NEW FILMS IN 2012

THE 10 MOST SHOCKING/CONTROVERSIAL MOVIES OF ALL TIME

J.K. ROWLING ADMITS SHE WAS THINKING OF KILLING OFF RON WEASLEY

A LOOK BACK AT THE FAILED 2000 SCI-FI ANIMATED FILM ‘TITAN A.E.‘

AMAZON VISITS PIXAR

AN ESSAY ON JEAN COCTEAU’S ‘ORPHEUS‘

5 REASONS ‘DARIA’ SHOULD COME BACK INSTEAD OF ‘BEAVIS AND BUTTHEAD‘

A LOOK BACK AT THE DEVELOPMENT OF ‘SIX FEET UNDER‘

41 THINGS WE LEARNED FROM THE ‘HALLOWEEN’ COMMENTARY TRACK

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LAST NIGHT’S SCREENING

Over the past few days I’ve watched both the 1997 television miniseries version of “The Shining” and Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 theatrical film. I know this is heresy, but I think the miniseries is superior in every way. Better story, scarier, deeper characterizations, and — are you ready for this? Steven Weber’s performance is better than Jack Nicholson’s.

This isn’t Nicholson’s fault. He’s a brilliant actor who did up to a hundred takes for Kubrick that ran through every possible emotion. Therefore the performance is a creation of the director’s in the editing room, but it’s still an over-the-top performance that constantly takes you out of the film, especially the third act.

Weber, on the other hand, is completely believable, especially in the climactic confrontation scene with his young son where everything that’s come before emotionally culminates in this one scene. It’s a heartbreaking scene and, I think, a performance that deserves more attention.

Kubrick’s film is also somewhat stiff and stagy, especially in the opening scenes. Obviously, it’s beautifully filmed and contains a number of iconic moments, but it’s also distant (a Kubrick trademark) and episodic.

I await your scorn.

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--Please send tips/suggestions/requests/complaints to jnolte@breitbart.com

NBC’s downward slide is getting steeper.

Long a ratings laggard, the network has fallen further behind its competitors this fall, heightening the challenge facing its new owner Comcast Corp. as it works to mount a turnaround.

Through the first four weeks of the TV season ending Oct. 16, about 3.3 million adults under 50 years old have been watching prime-time TV shows on NBC, according to the latest figures from Nielsen Holdings NV. That is down 9.3% from the same period a year earlier. Much of the decline is concentrated in NBC’s entertainment shows.

Leaving out National Football League games, which NBC airs on Sunday nights, the network’s 18-to-49-year-old audience is 2.2 million—down 16% from a year earlier. That demographic is the audience group most valued by advertisers.

Among the shows demonstrating particularly severe declines are long-running programs like “Law & Order: SVU” and “The Biggest Loser,” each of which lost one of its stars. The 18-to-49-year-old audiences for those shows have fallen 20% to 3.4 million and 23% to 3 million, respectively, this season compared to last season, according to Nielsen.

Competitors are faring better. Through four weeks, Walt Disney Co.’s ABC is down 5.8% among viewers 18-to-49 in prime-time, CBS Corp.’s eponymous network is down 2.3% and News Corp.’s Fox Broadcasting is up 11%, according to the latest Nielsen data. (News Corp. also owns The Wall Street Journal.)

Full story here.

Photo added by Big Hollywood.

On Oct. 5, The LA Times’ blog Company Town announced the film studio would be making ‘Heist,’ an ensemble comedy starring Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy and Alan Alda, available via VOD three weeks after its Nov.3 debut in theaters.

The catch? The only markets involved were Atlanta and Portland, and the price to see the film would be $59.99. And that doesn’t include one kernel of popcorn.

Theater chains quickly lined up to protest the move, leading to today’s news that the plan is no more.

So the battle is over, and VOD users lost. But how long before another studio offers up a similar scheme?

Can theaters keep resisting the VOD threat in an age when consumers are getting mighty used to seeing what they want, when they want and how they want?

VOD does represent a threat to the theatrical experience. But every time a new technological wrinkle enters the market, like the emergence of affordable flat-screen TVs, the theaters somehow survive.

VOD may be ideal for older families who prefer the comfort of their own home to a bustling movie house. But what about teens who can’t wait to leave Ma and Pa behind for a few hours? Or new couples seeking a little innocent time in the dark to snuggle, laugh and possibly scream at the latest horror movie?

It’s just not the same at home.

The Paul Greengrass version of events preceding the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King  (aka The Shaky-Cam Version) is on the ropes…. 

Screen Rant:

Universal has officially dropped Paul Greengrass’ latest docudrama, Memphis, which was gearing up to begin production this summer – in order to reach theaters by the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend of 2012.

Uncertainty about the project being ready in time for a January 2012 release is the official explanation for Universal’s decision to neither finance or distribute Memphis, a historical drama that will examine the days in Dr. King’s life preceding his assassination in 1968.

Deadline is reporting that it’s heard whisperings about the King estate not approving of Memphis and threatening to make its criticisms public if Universal moved forward with the project. Similar rumors popped up last fall when the currently defunct Selma, from director Lee Daniels (Precious), failed to get off the ground as well, and there’s been speculation that the King family is holding out for DreamWorks’ long-gestating MLK biopic to arrive first.

Full story here.

Sarandon is adamant [GLAAD's] views on political correctness are becoming too extreme – likening them to animal-rights crusaders People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).

When quizzed about the controversy by the New York Daily News, she replied, “What should they (Glee) have said? (GLAAD is) getting like PETA – way out of control.”

Careful Susan, you might end up in one of GLAAD’s Gay Re-Education Camps along with the producers of  “Jersey Shore.”

Thankfully, even more of Hollywood’s pushing back though Daniel Frankel’s story in “The Wrap,” which is boldly titled “Is GLAAD Hollywood’s Latest Bully?” — and I say boldly in all sincerity since the latest left-wing cause du jour is anti-gay bullying and the throwing of that word right back in GLAAD’s face isn’t by accident, nor is it the usual timid approach left-wing special interest groups have become accustomed to in the press. 

Though I urge you to read the whole thing, below are some choice snips that pretty much prove Hollywood’s losing their patience with these neo-fascists. And what immediately follows is a truly frightening look at how the bulies at GLAAD operate, which should chill the spine of anyone who believes in free speech and artistic expression:

In a few short weeks, the organization designed to protect the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community — GLAAD — has turned into one of the biggest bullies in Hollywood.

The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation has loudly taken three big media companies to task in the past few weeks over words used in films and TV shows. …

“GLAAD is much better served when they work with us instead of coming out and hitting us in the jaw in front of everybody,” said one fearful Hollywood publicist.

A network official, meanwhile, noted that while GLAAD issued a statement hammering away at one of his series for its word selection, it wasn’t until the fourth paragraph that the advocacy group explained what was wrong with the term the show used.

“It seemed more about what we did wrong than educating us,” he noted.

The key words below in bold are my emphasis:

But GLAAD has only gotten louder since that time under the leadership of [president Jarrett] Barrios.

In early October, the New York-based organization issued a “call to action,” asking its members to ramp up their tweets and petition Universal and [director Ron] Howard to remove the scene from “The Dilemma” in which star Vince Vaughn, who plays a designer of internal combustion engines, calls electric cars “gay.”

The gag has since been removed by Universal from the trailer, but Howard — who had final cut — refused to pull it from the film.

He told the L.A. Times, “I don’t strip my films of everything that I might personally find inappropriate. It is a slight moment in ‘The Dilemma’ meant to demonstrate an aspect of our lead character’s personality, and we never expected it to represent our intentions or the point of view of the movie or those of us who made it.”

GLAAD deputy director of media programs Herndon Graddick said, “The notion that GLAAD is able to bully around Hollywood is just not realistic.”

But GLAAD can talk tough.

“This is the new GLAAD,” said Barrios, acknowledging a more aggressive campaign to stamp out what it feels is harmful language.

During a tense back-and-forth with Michael Moses amid the recent “Dilemma” kerfuffle, Graddick conceded telling the Universal marketing co-president, “If you do that, we’re going to come at you completely.”

Stamp out…

Remove…

Come at you completely…

That’s not the language, behavior, or mission focus of a civil rights organization, that’s the language, behavior and mission focus of an anti-civil rights organization.

In many ways, leftist Hollywood created this monster. As a general rule, you can never appease a bully, most especially an ideological bully like GLAAD. Their goal here is not a seat at the table, their goal is ideological purity, and once you give into them they smell your weakness and never stop coming at you. The film community is currently having the same problem with a different tiger they currently hold by the tail known as CAIR — a group so radically dangerous they’re now successfully suing to make unconstitutional the banning of unconstitutional Sharia laws.

How many stories has Hollywood refused to tell fearing either GLAAD or CAIR?

What has to be somewhat discouraging for GLAAD is that America is waking up to the fact that they’re not about ”gay” issues, they’re about Leftist issues. The Left is always happy to hijack whatever cause might help them to create ideological conformity, this just happens to be the latest one. And it won’t last much longer. 31% of gay Americans who voted in this month’s midterm elections voted Republican.

 The gay community is increasingly aware of the fact that a good-natured joke in a movie about electric cars is much less of a civil rights concern than an over-zealous Democratic party chip-chip-chipping away at our collective freedoms — and GLAAD’s pathetic attempt to disguise their complicity in that chipping away as some kind of righteous anti-bullying crusade fools no one.

Nope, this isn’t a gay thing, it’s a leftist thing. Any day of the week, I’d trade all the Patrick Goldsteins on the planet for just one GayPatriot — because that would be good for America.

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While Pixar has pulled off even greater works of animation over the past 15 years or so with films including the “Toy Story” trilogy and “Finding Nemo,” it often seems that the surprisingly adult sense of humor and flippant use of comic violence (outside of “The Incredibles”) found in the best Road Runner cartoons has fallen out of use amid today’s sea of CGI-animation movies. PC weirdos even successfully managed to have scenes from many of these classics deleted for fear that they would inspire copycat violence among children even though decades of youngsters had already enjoyed them uscathed.

That sadly gaping hole in the entertainment world has now been solved with the release of the wonderfully dark and visually stunning new film,“Despicable Me.” Starring the voice of Steve Carell (who pulls off a surprisingly great Eastern European accent) as a career criminal named Gru who wants to pull off the greatest robbery and ransom situation in the history of the world by attempting to steal the Moon, the film reveals its fresh visual spin from the opening credits forward.

The full-bodied visuals help sell the film’s dual plotlines, in which Gru faces competition in evil from his arch-nemesis Vector and finds his nearly-forgotten heart slowly warmed by three young orphan girls he adopts initially for use in his wicked schemes. Combined with impressive voice work by an eclectic group that includes both British bad boy Russell Brand as Gru’s evil mentor Dr. Nefario and Mary Poppins herself – Julie Andrews – as Gru’s never-impressed mother and a sparkling pop score by Pharrell Williams that features songs that recall the best of Stevie Wonder’s 1970s classics, the film’s attention to detail on every level pays off.

This is Universal’s first foray into the modern world of feature-length computer animation, following in the footsteps of not only the aforementioned Pixar films but also Dreamworks’ efforts such as the “Madagascar” films. It’s clearly a lucrative field to play in, but in hiring the writing team of Ken Daurio and Cinco Paul – Mormons who co-wrote the hit adaptation of Dr. Seuss’ “Horton Hears a Who” as well as the upcoming Seuss film “The Lorax,” and who insist on creating family-friendly works – they also landed a film with its heart in the right place.

“Despicable Me”’s off-kilter sense of humor and comic battle royales between Gru and Vector will keep little boys happy, while little girls will be charmed by the film’s three young heroines. That smart sense of balance – in which adults will also be highly entertained, even without towing kids along – is the film’s hallmark on every level and marks it as one of the most fun films of the year so far.

You have to believe that out there somewhere is an action movie director who knows what a tripod is.  That there is a young lead actor who has never starred in a CW television series about beautiful but sensitive teenage male models with supernatural powers.  That there is a comedy screenwriter who can imagine a “funny” situation not involving a bodily fluid.  That Michael Cera will one day play a different character.

In that spirit, a spirit of Pollyannaish hope in the face of overwhelming evidence indicating that Hollywood’s product will almost certainly continue to demonstrate that evolution is a two-way street, I present ten movies that are coming within the next six months that might actually be good – or at least not make me throw things at the screen and slap around the ushers.

1.  The Wolfman (This Weekend):  I’m digging the idea of this remake of the classic Universal horror flick.  The super cool trailer got me, as did the presence of Anthony Hopkins.  Now, let’s talk about the baggy-eyed, mumbly elephant in the room.  Yeah, it’s got Benicio Del Toro, but on the bright side he’ll probably spend most of the movie howling.  Sure, I’m still steamed about his commie suck-up fests Che Part  I and Part II, but at least the second one has a deliriously happy ending. 

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2.  Shutter Island (February 29, 2010):  I’ve taken some grief lately about my view that Leonardo DiCaprio is to acting what herpes is to romance.  Not Ben Shapiro-level grief, but grief nonetheless.  In my own defense, DiCaprio is terrible.  And that brings us to this bizarre Scorsese flick that I had zero interest in until I watched the mind-blowing trailer.  Apparently DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo are government agents and they go to some mental hospital for the criminally insane and everything works out swimmingly.  Not.  It looks awesome, even with Leo.  Freaky.  Creepy.  I am so there.

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3.  The Crazies (February 26, 2010):  I love zombie movies.  I even wrote one once.  The producers who optioned it hired a script consultant who wanted me to build up the characters’ back stories.  I observed that perhaps they had forgotten that it was a zombie movie.  Hence my career in law.  But I digress.  This flick, a remake of George Romero’s little-seen original – little-seen because it stinks – at least seems to have the potential for some old-fashioned B-movie thrills.  It’s regular folks turning into homicidal maniacs – classic.  Sure, there seems a slight anti-military vibe to the trailer with the implication that our troops are a bit trigger-happy, but hey – when the zombie apocalypse starts, bro, it’s shoot first and ask questions later.

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4.  Cop Out (February 26, 2010):  Yes, it looks idiotic, but it’s Kevin Smith directing Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan in a cop movie.  Oh, and that Stifler guy is in it too.  How can that go wrong?  Actually, how will I know if it goes wrong, because I’m not seeing it without first having a Dos Equis or four to get my mind right.  This will be perfect for those nights when you don’t want to challenge yourself with more cerebral fare – like The Crazies.

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5.  Greenberg (March 26, 2010):  This new Ben Stiller film, directed by Noah Baumbach, looks like some kind of art house slacker-comedy.  Still, it seems amusing, and it also features the return of Jennifer Jason Leigh.  From the trailer, she’s gotten even cuter.  It’s worth a shot.

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6.  Hot Tub Time Machine (March 26, 2010):  Let me just say it again, because if you are wondering why this movie must not be missed then you obviously did not read and appreciate the title:  Hot Tub Time Machine.  Witness the magic.  John Cusak.  Rob Corddry.  Craig Robinson.  The chubby guy who turned Amish in Sex Drive.  With unharnessed star power like that, you’re guaranteed at least a mildly amusing time at the theater.

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7.  Robin Hood (May 14, 2010):  This is the reunion of Russell Crowe and Ridley Scott, and we can only hope it is a tenth as indisputably badass as Gladiator.  The trailer looks interesting, with lots of hacking and smiting.  Still, I’m worried.  I never liked the whole “steal from the rich and give to the poor thing” – I always thought maybe the poor should get off their collective butts and get to work instead of waiting for handouts.  Those barges and bales aren’t going to tote and lift themselves.  But again I digress.  Let’s just keep our fingers crossed on this one.

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8.  The Last Airbender (July 2, 2010):  Who knows – maybe director’s M. Night Shyamalan’s latest surprise twist will be to make a movie that doesn’t suck.  After watching the baffling trailer, I still have no idea in hell what this is about.  My wife says this is somehow related to a cartoon series, and the kids want to see it.  Whatever – I’m just happy about being able to take the kids to the movies and not ending up having to explain where babies come from.

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 9.  Cyrus (July 9, 2010):  I’m a sucker for comedies of acute discomfort, and this one seems appallingly uncomfortable.  John C. Reilly, who was incredibly moving as the loser cop in Magnolia, is the anti-hero.  He meets up with Marissa Tomei, who has a really creepy son in the form of the bulbous Jonah Hill.  Antics ensue.  I can’t wait.

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10.  The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (June 30, 2010):  I’m thoroughly excited about this latest entry in the emo-vampire sweepstakes.  Sorry there’s no trailer, but I’m sure the filmmakers will be branching off in surprising, challenging new directions.  It goes without saying that the first two films were awesome.  Kristen Stewart’s trademark lip-bite can convey an astonishing range of emotions, from anger to fear to joy to unrequited horniness.  That skinny pale boy is dreamy too.  I think that these films get a bad rap, what with most people mocking them instead of approaching the films as the powerful stand-alone artistic statements that they are.  Yes, I am truly looking forward to Twilight III – mostly because it will mean that for a while the kind of people who like these films will be sitting in movie theaters far the hell away from me. 

Looking back over this list, it’s pretty clear that the studios are not exactly front-loading the 2011 Oscar contenders.  But not every movie has to be great.  Sometimes you just want to have fun, and for the next six months that’s where the bar is going to be set – at “Fun,” right below “That Really Made Me Think,” but a notch above “I Shoulda Smuggled in Some More Beers.” 

Maybe next fall there’ll be a few more mature entries.  Until then, just remember that for every Casablanca, there are a thousand MacGrubers.

Names like Ray Harryhausen, George Pal, Bernard Herrmann and H.G. Wells come to mind. As do those of Ken Toby, Less Tremayne, Paul Frees and Whit Bissell. Each of these names, plus thousands and thousands of others, can immediately conjure up a favorite film, a scene or even just a great line or look that impressed us as kids and perhaps continues to do so.

When I think about those elements that I love in my favorite sci-fi monster movies, my mind can easily dwell for hours on the creatures themselves, the settings, the art direction, the machinery and technology and everything in between. I never grow tired of that stuff. But I also love, with equal passion the characters that people the story. They are really what it’s all about. So, indulge me as I invite you to take a little trip through my memory, recalling some character moments that stand out for me in the B genre of scifi monster movies.

The Thing from Another World

This is without a doubt one of my all-time favorite movies, of any genre. There is so much great about The Thing, that I feel it should be used as a template of what to do right in making movies.

Every character from Scotty the newsman to Tex the radioman to the scientists, including my own personal favorite Bob Cornthwaite’s unforgettable Dr. Carrington, is each wholly enjoyable and rich in believable detail, even if they lasted only seconds on screen.

My mind moves along as I recall this great film touching on some memorable moments. Some that come to mind are the constant problem solving by Dewey Martin joined with Captain Hendry’s humorous jabs on his subordinate’s expertise in all things resourceful. Newsman Scotty’s incessant, but enjoyable whining about getting his exclusive story out through the morass that is the military. Without Scotty, the viewer would have needed another in to the technical details of what happens. Scotty serves both as story chronicler and informer for the audience. When thermite is to be used to melt the ice, it’s Scotty who asks, for himself, but really for us,  “What will that thermite do?” And it’s Scotty who soon after chastises the men for botching the job. “That’s just dandy. Standard operating procedure.” Brilliant.

How about that great sound cue from the Tiomkin score when the men recreate the shape of what lies beneath in the ice? The overlapping, excited utterances, “It’s almost…” “Yeah, almost a perfect….” “It is.” “It’s round.” “We finally got one!”, “ We found a flying saucer!” is priceless.

Speaking of scoring cues, another that ranks right up there is that great cut to Gort suddenly appearing on the ramp after Klaatu is shot by a nervous soldier in The Day the Earth Stood Still. Still another that comes to mind is an accented William Conrad uttering the dreaded “Marabunta” in The Naked Jungle.  The cue itself practically brings Leinengen’s house down to the dirt. Yes, there really is nothing like a good sound cue to raise the blood pressure.

War of the Worlds

“This is amazing!” Gene Barry exclaims at his first glimpses of how the aliens are able to move about. His excitement is that of a boy launching his very first model rocket from the backyard. This amazing film is a bounty of excellence in sci-fi monster movie making. As Stan Winston said, it has just about every special effect in it. He was more than right. The characters on display make the awesome visual spectacle a personal and lasting one.

There’s a throwaway moment in the opening at the ranger watch tower where one ranger while phoning in the ‘meteor’ is distracted while the other subtly takes a peek as his partner’s cards. Great stuff. Les Tremayne’s slow and deliberate sipping from the (empty?) coffee cup directly after uttering his ominous “once they begin to move, no more news comes out of that area” has never failed to stir in me that familiar excitement when watching a monster movie on a Saturday afternoon. Sure his drinking is a bit unnatural – his ‘business’ a bit clunky, but who cares? It’s a great movie moment.

After the kindly Pastor is unmercifully smote by the alien’s heat ray after doing nothing more than just trying to say ‘hello’, the Marine Colonel’s ‘LET ‘EM HAVE IT!” order to his men, unleashing the statement that no being, alien or native is going to get away with that kind of stuff. Our hearts join in as every man, religious or not, strikes back with all he’s got at that unprovoked act.

Most if not all of the actors in these films can be seen and enjoyed in scores of other films as well. This, the B movie, was their bread and butter. But their prolific on-screen work had not only a monetary benefit to their careers, but it also had an emotional one for the audience. Their formidable repertoire of recurring and usually similar roles created a growing bank of emotion within us each time we saw them anew. It grew and grew. Actors we’d seen in television series or other films retained the decency and integrity they evoked each time and that we came to rely on. We’d see their name in the opening credits, or see their face on screen when they walked in the door or answered the phone and think… “Hey, that’s the captain from The Thing. Now here he is in The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms. Boy, am I glad to see him!” Or, “Isn’t this doctor in The Day the Earth Stood Still the same guy who played the reporter in Them! - the one who wants to interview the mother of the missing boys?” This linking of character and body of work helped forged a connection with the audience that is stronger than a block of KL 93.

Some people criticize B movies, calling them pure escapism. I say, so what? Isn’t all film pure escapism? Personally, I think that’s the highest compliment you could ever say about a film, that it’s pure escapism.  By the same token one of the worst things you could say is “that film is so much like real life!” Give me a break! Who wants that? As Ray Harryhausen said when remarking about the over reliance of CG in special effects, “you don’t want it to be too real.”

Another criticism of Bs often heard is that the performances are poor, cliched or just plain bad. Sure they are! Some of them, anyway. And that’s often why we love them. But some performances, some scenes, are not bad in the least, and I’d argue, are as moving, as powerful and as emotionally charged as anything else on screen or in print.

To this day, I cannot watch the scene in the sewer pipes at the end of Them! without pure emotion welling up inside me. When James Arness consoles a mortally wounded James Whitmore who in his last breathes lets him know that the boys he rescued got out and are in the tunnel, it’s just too much.

That moment and what leads up to it, chokes me up every time. Even writing about it now, I find I’m moved to the point where I have to take my fingers off the keyboard for a moment. That’s greatness. Aside from Greg Peck’s final stare at a departing Audrey, Montagu Love’s reading of Kipling to the three remaining and one gone,  or pretty much every darn thing that happens after Jimmy Stewart finds Zuzu’s petals, there aren’t many other film moments that can evoke such an immediate and powerful effect on me just from memory.

When James Arness continues on in the tunnels and is trapped behind fallen earth and timbers it doesn’t look good. With nothing more than the rounds left in his Thompson he is all alone to fight off the giant ants that are now attacking from all directions. But just as the creatures close in, beams of light and firepower from the other soldiers breaks through the splintered wood and fallen earth and saves him with dramatic punch. Powerful stuff, and I’m quite sure Steven Spielberg lifted it for a scene in Saving Private Ryan, of course without the ants.

It’s true. The Thing from Another World, War of the Worlds and Them! and so many others were meant as escapism, as ‘Drive-in fare, as they called it, when there were things like Drive-ins. But it’s undeniable to many of us that these films, that B movies contain moments that are special, very special for their genuine ability to move us and remain with us for a lifetime.

And that’s what movies are all about, Charlie Brown.

Star-turned-producer Hugh Jackman has scored his second-biggest opening ever and, easily, his biggest as a solo star. Wolverine has mauled the competition with a massive $34.75M opening day (including $5M or so in Thursday midnight sales). That could translate to a 3-day of $86.8M, getting Hollywood’s most lucrative season off to a spectacular start.

The stars of WOLVERINE (from the left): Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool, Taylor Kitsch as Gambit, Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, Liev Schrieber as Sabretooth and Lynn Collins as Kayla Silverfox

The X-Men spin-off, which has been made for substantially less than the $210M budget ponied up for to produce 2006’s X-Men: The Last Stand, becomes the all-time fourth-best first-weekend-of-May opening, trailing only Spider-Man 3 ($151.1M), the original 2002 Spider-Man ($114.8M) and last May’s Iron Man ($98.6M). Wolverine has also posted one of the top seven opening days ever for a comic book adaptation.

ALL-TIME BEST OPENINGS DAYS FOR COMIC BOOK ADAPTATIONS
1. The Dark Knight – $67.1M
2. Spider-Man 3 – $59.8M
3. X-Men: The Last Stand – $45.1M
4. Spider-Man 2 – $40.4M
5. Spider-Man – $39.4M
6. Iron Man – $35.2M
7. X-Men Origins: Wolverine – $34.75M (estimated)
8. X2: X-Men United – $31.2M
9. 300 – $28.1M
10. Watchmen – $24.5M

And, as comic book movies go, Jackman’s solo effort has cut and sliced through the pack to become the all-time seventh-best 3-day start.

X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE will not match the opening weekend of last year's summer starter IRON MAN

ALL-TIME BEST OPENING WEEKENDS FOR A COMIC BOOK ADAPTATION
1. The Dark Knight – $158.4M
2. Spider-Man 3 – $151.1M
3. Spider-Man – $114.8M
4. X-Men: The Last Stand – $102.7M
5. Iron Man – $98.6M
6. Spider-Man 2 – $88.1M
7. X-Men Origins: Wolverine – $86.8M (projected)
8. X2: X-Men United – $85.5M
9. 300 – $70.8M
10. Hulk – $62.1M

How does Jackman hold his silverware during dinner?

Jackman himself is getting lots of positive feedback on his personal Twitter page, but there is some real negative feedback in the Twitterverse. Here are some actually Tweets from movie fans that have been posted in the last couple of hours.

if its wolverine dont waste your time

Wolverine sucks!

Wolverine: not too bad. Better than the horrible second X-Men movie. Coolest thing was preview for District-9.

I went and paid for 2 movie tix to see that damn Wolverine movie. I just wasted my money.

Wolverine was ok – too much smooshed into one movie and too many things attempted to be neatly wrapped up and squared away.

Saw Wolverine. It was weak.

What does Hugh Jackman being a hottie have 2 do w/ how crappy the movie is?

Oh my God Wolverine was just as bad as everyone was saying.

out to see Wolverine! Ill let you guys know how bad it is.

“don’t waste your money” unless you’re a huge fan. Like 2nd X-files bad.

So, it appears that fans are as tepid about this movie as film critics. X-Men Origins: Wolverine will likely be very front-loaded both for the weekend and the long haul. I’m guessing that the weekend could play out like this. Wolverine did $5M Thursday at midnight and has added another $29.75M Friday (for a $34.75M opening day). Then Saturday, the movie may drop 9% to $31.6M or so, followed by a Sunday dip of 36% to just over $20M.

Jackman is not just another action star; Here he is in his Tony-winning performance in Broadway's BOY FROM OZ

After speaking with a number of competing studios, the consensus is that Wolverine will have a multiple of less than two. (The multiple is the number by which you multiply the opening weekend to arrive at the ultimate domestic gross.) With a multiple in the 1.8-1.9 range, the summer’s first movie spectacle will finish at $156-$165M. That’s a good, but not great number. Meanwhile, Star Trek (Paramount) has a chance to be this year’s Iron Man, an early May release that plays deep into the summer at a high multiple in the 3.2-3.3 range.

Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Garner are creating some sparks in GHOSTS OF GIRLFRIENDS PAST

The other wide release in the marketplace this weekend is the poorly-reviewed Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (Warner Bros). With Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Garner as the romantic leads and an assist from Oscar winner Michael Douglas, Ghosts has performed decently, especially with Females 25 Plus. The Mark Waters-directed rom-com coaxed an estimated $6M in opening day sales and will likely reach about $16.5M for the weekend. That’s would be 12% stronger than last year’s first-weekend-of-May chick-flick counter programming, Made of Honor, which finished second to Iron Man with $14.7M.

Ali Larter (center) and Beyonce (right) come to blows over THE WIRE's Idris Elba in OBSESSED

Last weekend’s box office champ Obsessed (Sony) – the one where Beyonce “tromps a tramp” (played by Ali Larter from Heroes) – took a nosedive with just $4.2M or so on Friday. It seems headed for an estimated 3-day of $12.39M, down 57% from its opening, but the genre pic with a budget of only $20M will still have $47M in the bank by Monday. That’s a very profitable little movie.

Tween are pushing Zac Efron's 17 AGAIN past the $50M mark

The Warner Bros comedy 17 Again, starring tween dream Zac Efron, continues to perform well with about $2.22M to start the weekend and a possible $6.62M for the frame. Zac’s high-concept comedy will have topped $48.7M domestic in its first 17 days of release.

The new nature doc EARTH is really just the Cliff Notes for the extraordinary BBC miniseries PLANET EARTH

Disney’s Earth, a 90-minute version of the BBC’s 11-hour 2006 miniseries Planet Earth, will round out the top five for the first official weekend of summer. The nature doc grabbed $1.45M on its second Friday and is targeting $5.81M and a new 12-day cume of $23.47M by Monday.

The other wide release is the 3-D pic Battle For Terra (Lionsgate/Roadside Attractions). It is on just over 1,100 screens, but has managed only about $300,000 on opening day. I did see a commercial for Terra during American Idol this week, so there was some money spent, but it couldn’t have been much. Despite respectable reviews, this cg animated flick is destined for no more than $1M. That’s a full-on disaster.

EXCLUSIVE STEVE MASON EARLY FRIDAY ESTIMATES
1. NEW – X-Men Origins: Wolverine (Fox) – $34.75M, $8,478 PTA, $34.75M cume
2. NEW – Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (Warner Bros) – $6M, $1,890 PTA, $6M
3. Obsessed (Sony) – $4.2M, $1,671 PTA, $39M cume
4. 17 Again (Warner Bros) – $2.22M, $682 PTA, $44.36M cume
5. The Soloist (Dreamworks/Paramount) – $1.7M, $836 PTA, $14.2M cume
6. Earth (Disney) – $1.45M, $804 PTA, $19.11M cume
7. Monsters vs. Aliens (Dreamworks/Paramount) – $1.41M, $537 PTA, $178M cume
8. Fighting (Rogue) – $1.4M, $608 PTA, $14.73M cume
9. State of Play (Universal) – $1.28M, $527 PTA, $28.51M cume
10. Hannah Montana: The Movie (Disney) – $1.1M, $390 PTA, $67.88M cume
*NEW – Battle For Terra (Lionsgate/Roadside Attractions) – $300,000, $258 PTA, $300,000 cume

EXCLUSIVE STEVE MASON EARLY 3-DAY ESTIMATES
1. NEW – X-Men Origins: Wolverine (Fox) – $86.8M, $21,194 PTA, $86.8M cume
2. NEW – Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (Warner Bros) – $16.5M, $5,197 PTA, $16.5M
3. Obsessed (Sony) – $12.39M, $4,928 PTA, $47.19M cume
4. 17 Again (Warner Bros) – $6.62M, $2,034 PTA, $48.76M cume
5. Earth (Disney) – $5.81M, $3,221 PTA, $23.47M cume
6. The Soloist (Dreamworks/Paramount) – $5.7M, $2,804 PTA, $18.2M cume
7. Monsters vs. Aliens (Dreamworks/Paramount) – $5.65M, $2,152 PTA, $182.25M cume
8. State of Play (Universal) – $4.31M, $1,765 PTA, $31.54M cume
9. Hannah Montana: The Movie (Disney) – $3.96M, $1,405 PTA, $70.74M cume
10. Fighting (Rogue) – $3.76M, $1,630 PTA, $17.1M cume
*NEW – Battle For Terra (Lionsgate/Roadside Attractions) – $1M, $878 PTA, $1M cume

Steve Mason is on Facebook and now also on Twitter@LAMase.