Posts

Video: Why Temp Music Is Not To Blame With Marvel’s Score Problems By Peter Sciretta/Sept. 15, 2016 11:57 am EST Earlier this week, we posted a video essay that attempted to explain why none of the Marvel Studios movies don’t seem to have an iconic bold, memorable score or theme song. It was the kind of video that everyone appeared to respond to because it expressed a critique we all saw or felt and it introduced a problem that many of us weren’t aware of (that being, how temp music infiltrates a final cut of a movie)....

Weekend Weirdness: Final Flesh, Dirty: The Official Ol’ Dirty Bastard Documentary, And Adult Swim’s Aqua Teen Hunger Force Christmas Album By Hunter Stephenson/Dec. 12, 2009 12:51 pm EST It’s a crazy, mixed up world and we are thankful for movies, sans New Moon, that offer proof. Weekend Weirdness cocks its disoriented, nappy head to examine such flicks, whether it’s a new trailer for a provocative indie, a review, or news of an excavated cult classic....

Will ‘Incredibles 2’ Finally Reveal Frozone’s Wife? By Ethan Anderton/April 16, 2018 2:30 pm EST While The Incredibles was full of a bunch of memorable characters, there was one character who was quite the scene stealer. This was all the more impressive since it was a character who isn’t even seen in the movie – she is only heard from off-screen. We’re talking about Frozone’s wife, who was not too pleased that her cool superhero husband was desperately looking for his super suit so he could ruin their date night by going out to help The Incredibles stop a giant robot from destroying the city....

‘Fantastic Four’: Philip Glass Writing Score, Josh Trank Cites David Cronenberg As Influence By Angie Han/Jan. 26, 2015 6:24 pm EST When it rains, it pours. The very first official images from Fantastic Four hit today, and now we have even more new details from the so-far mysterious superhero movie. Director Josh Trank has confirmed that Philip Glass is scoring the film with Marco Beltrami. In addition, he cites David Cronenberg as an influence on the look and feel of the film....

/Film Visits ILM To Learn Why The Visual Effects In ‘Warcraft’ Are Considered “Groundbreaking” By Peter Sciretta/May 16, 2016 10:40 am EST It’s not often that I get invited down to Industrial Light & Magic in San Francisco, CA, but when the invite is thrown my way it’s usually to see something cool. Earlier this month I traveled up north to see how filmmaker Duncan Jones used ILM to create the orcs in his big screen adaptation Warcraft, based on the popular Blizzard video game series....

‘Hal’ Review: A New Doc About One Of The Most Uncompromising Filmmakers Of The 1970s [Sundance] By Steven Prokopy/Jan. 27, 2018 12:00 pm EST Anyone who knows the films of the late Hal Ashby often finds it difficult to put into words exactly what it was that separated his work from that of other directors that rose to success in the 1970s. In many ways, his significance and influence as a filmmaker is best understood in the works of more contemporary directors who were deeply inspired and empowered by Ashby’s maverick nature and refusal to allow his work to be altered or influenced by anyone but those around him that he trusted and with whom he worked closely—and uncompromising nature that eventually came back to haunt him as the 1980s brought about an era where profits and accountants ruled the studios, while art took a back seat....

‘In A World’ And ‘The Way, Way Back’ Reviews: Two Star-Studded, Crowd-Pleasing Comedies [Sundance 2013] By Germain Lussier/Jan. 22, 2013 8:30 am EST The typical image of a “Sundance movie” often conjures up one of two things. A long, drawn-out burn with great characters, or the independently-financed comedy destined for box office glory. This post contains my thoughts on two 2013 films in the latter category. In a World is the feature directorial debut of Lake Bell and it is a film about movie trailers....

‘Legion’ Season 2: A New Villain And Everything Else You Need To Know [Comic-Con 2017] By Jacob Hall/July 21, 2017 9:00 am EST I spent much of early 2017 gushing about FX’s smart, weird, and experimental superhero series Legion. And based on the show’s Comic-Con panel, I was not alone in my adoration. The series packed Ballroom 20 at the San Diego Convention center and the energy of the crowd was palpable....

‘Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales’ Plot Synopsis; First Set Photo Revealed By Germain Lussier/Feb. 19, 2015 8:45 am EST It took years of waiting and writing but Pirates of the Caribbean 5 is now in production. As expected, the title is Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales and it’s being directed by Kon-Tiki filmmakers Espen Sandberg & Joachim Rønning. Almost all the casting has already been announced (Javier Bardem, Kaya Scodelario, Brenton Thwaites) but the first official plot synopsis of the film has now been revealed....

‘Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind’ Review: A Must-See Documentary For The Comedian’s Fans [Sundance] By Ethan Anderton/Jan. 23, 2018 7:00 am EST It’s been over three years since we lost Oscar-winning actor and comedian Robin Williams. Seeing clips from his work, whether it’s from his outlandish comedic roles, his surprisingly touching dramatic turns, or his raucously hilarious and frenetic stand-up comedy and improv acts, is bittersweet since his passing. But a new documentary called Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind assembles endless glimpses into Robin Williams’ past, and you can’t help but laugh all over again and fondly smile throughout this loving feature....

‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ Rumors: New Details About Snoke, Laura Dern’s Secret Role, First Preview By Hoai-Tran Bui/April 10, 2017 7:30 am EST We’re still eight months away from the theatrical release of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, but with Disney gearing up for Star Wars Celebration and a surge of new details emerging about Supreme Leader Snoke, Laura Dern’s mystery character, Poe Dameron’s increased role, and a battle on a newly named planet, the buzz for the eight episode of the Skywalker Saga is greater than ever....

Al Pacino And Barry Levinson Teaming For ‘The Humbling’ Before ‘Gotti’ By Russ Fischer/June 10, 2011 5:22 pm EST Barry Levinson is going to direct Al Pacino in Gotti: Three Generations, but before that picture shoots they’ll also do another film. The Humbling is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Philip Roth from Millennium/Nu Image. This will make three films in a row for the Levinson/Pacino team, beginning with the acclaimed portrait of the late Dr....

Behind The Scenes At Circle 7, The Short-Lived Studio Created To Sequelize Pixar By Russ Fischer/March 6, 2012 10:30 am EST How much do you know about Circle 7 Animation? Depending upon your level of interest in Disney projects that never were, the answer may be ’nothing.’ Circle 7 was an animation house set up in 2005 with the intent to create one sequel per year for Pixar-created films that were owned by Disney, but the studio only existed for a year....

D23 Expo 2015 Announces Animation Presentations And Shows By Peter Sciretta/June 15, 2015 1:00 pm EST Disney continues to announce their plans for D23 Expo 2015, which will take place August 14th to 16th at the Anaheim Convention Center in Southern California. The latest batch of announcements include the Disney Animation and Pixar’s presentations and some immersive experiences. The announcements include: a joint Pixar and Disney animation presentation which will include looks at The Good Dinosaur, Finding Dory, Zootopia and Moana, a stand-alone behind the scenes look at Zootopia presentation, an Aladdin retrospective titled “The Making of a Classic”, a behind the scenes panel focusing on Walt Disney Animation short films, Frozen FANdemonium: A Musical Celebration!...

Disney Testing FastPass-Only Appointments For Popular Rides: Will You Have To Book Space Mountain Months In Advance? By Peter Sciretta/Oct. 6, 2014 12:00 pm EST As you know, I’m a huge theme park fanatic and cover the Disney theme park beat here on the site. I’m a Disneyland Annual Passholder, and make trips to the park quite frequently. You may have also heard about the new FastPass+ system that Disney has implemented in Florida that allows resort guests to pre-book fast passes during their visit....

Eli Roth Reveals Hostel: Part II Details By Peter Sciretta/March 28, 2007 5:40 am EST Hostel: Part II director Eli Roth revealed a few details and talked about the upcoming film at the Grindhouse junket. Here are the highlights. The full interview will shortly follow. On the Meaty Hostel 2 Poster: “I wish I could take any credit for the Hostel 2 poster. That is boar meat, wild boar meat. That is the marketing at Lionsgate that did that....

Gay Marriage Activists Call For Sundance Boycott By Peter Sciretta/Nov. 13, 2008 12:02 am EST Bloggers and gay rights activists have called for a boycott of Utah tourism in an attempt to punish the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ aggressive attempts to ban gay marriage in California. You might be wondering, “This is /Film, not /politics. Why waste my time with this nonsense”. Trust me, there is a movie angle to this story....

Hasbro Movies We Do And Don’t Want From The Dreamworks-Hasbro Merger By Peter Sciretta/Nov. 14, 2014 11:30 am EST Yesterday news broke that DreamWorks Animation had entered merger talks with toy-maker Hasbro. If the merger happens, DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffery Katzenberg would head the new single-family entertainment company known as DreamWorks-Hasbro. I’m surprised something like this hasn’t happened sooner as the combination seems oh-so-obvious. But Hasbro isn’t just a toy company, it has quite a few brands of its own that a company such as DreamWorks Animation could leverage into big screen computer animated features....

Interview: Andrew W.K. On His New Show Destroy Build Destroy, Its Endless Cultural Implications, Party Movies, Babysitting, And Full House: The Movie By Hunter Stephenson/June 24, 2009 10:04 am EST From the start of the ’00s, musician and motivational speaker Andrew W.K. has been jumping around the planet promoting the benefits of partying the human heart out. So relentless is his dedication that he’s been consulted on the topic by entertainment zeitgeisters like Jackass, Conan O’Brien, and The Daily Show....

Making A Movie: The Vagaries Of Film Festival Submission By David Chen/Sept. 8, 2014 8:00 am EST “Making a Movie” is a series of columns that chronicles our attempt to make, market, and distribute a film with Stephen Tobolowsky in 2014. I decided early on in making The Primary Instinct, that I would want to submit it to film festivals as parts of its roll-out strategy. Not only do festivals provide an amazing platform for publicity, word-of-mouth, and potential acquisition, but I also love the culture there....