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Making The (Up) Grade: Rocky
Filed under: United Artists, Fandom, 20th Century Fox, Home Entertainment
While new Blu-rays of old movies are sometimes dubious replacements for prior editions (hence the need for this column), box sets released in the high-definition format have thus far been fairly helpful, at least in terms of shelf space: many or most of them forego a lot of the frills and flourishes of their standard-definition iterations in favor of more streamlined packaging. Unfortunately, that's also sometimes extended to their extras, thanks in no small part to the legal entanglements of transferring commentaries and bonus content from one format to another.
Both Warner Brothers and Fox have faced this challenge a couple of times thanks to their ownership/ adoption of the libraries of MGM and United Artists, which until a few years ago issued their own releases. Rocky, which is one of United Artists' premier franchises, was recently released on Blu-ray in The Undisputed Collection, a set that contains all six of the films in the series, but it remains to be seen whether complete also means comprehensive in this particular case.
What's Already Available:
Scenes We Love: Rock & Rule
Filed under: Animation, Music & Musicals, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, MGM, United Artists, Fandom, Scenes We Love
There are a few advantages to being a Canadian: we've got great beer, not to mention we've got that whole free healthcare thing going on. But if I had to choose one reason why I love my country, it would be that CBC made sure that I got to see Nelvana's Rock & Rule the way it was meant to be.
Rock & Rule was the story of a fading rock god by the name of Mok (who's a little bit Bowie and a little bit Iggy) with an apocalyptic plan for immortality. His diabolical scheme consists of unleashing a demon by finding the perfect voice, and where might that voice be? Well, that's where a down-on-their-luck band headed by two young lovers by the names of Angel and Omar come in.
The film nearly bankrupted Nelvana and in order to get the film into US theaters, MGM/UA demanded script changes and different voice actors. But that's what you get for messing with perfection, because the film never found an audience stateside after being released under the unfortunate name, Ring of Power. Luckily the movie has found a cult following over the years and you can now find the original version on DVD.
After the jump: my favorite song from Rock & Rule and another Nelvana classic, The Devil and Daniel Mouse...
United Artists Writes 'Rules of Dating for Teenage Girls'
Filed under: Comedy, Romance, Deals, United Artists, Scripts, Family Films, Fan Rant
Oh, sure. You could encourage girls to be scientists, astronauts, or superheroes with healthy self-esteem, intelligence, and a belief that they could do anything they darn well wanted. Or you can just remind them that all they really want is boys, and the most important thing in life is snagging yourself a man. Unfortunately, United Artists is opting for the latter. According to The Hollywood Reporter, they've optioned Pamela Wells' debut novel The Heartbreakers, which will be retitled Rules of Dating for Teenage Girls. Jennifer Ross is currently attached to pen the script.
UA is insisting the story is one of Girl Power, a coming-of-age comedy that centers on four girls who are dumped by their boyfriends on the same day. Tired of boys and their shenanigans, the girls devise a set of rules they're sure will snag any guy, and prevent break-ups and heartache.
Two More Head for Joss Whedon's 'Cabin in the Woods'
Filed under: Horror, Casting, Mystery & Suspense, MGM, United Artists
I have to admit, I'm a geek for all things Joss Whedon, so you can pretty much guarantee my interest in anything -- even if it is a tired horror cliché. Case in point: Whedon and Drew Goddard's (Cloverfield) horror-suspense, The Cabin in the Woods. The 'mystery-shrouded' project with MGM and UA has finally made their first honest to goodness casting announcement, but it is not who you might expect. The Hollywood Reporter has now confirmed that Richard Jenkins (Burn After Reading) is currently in talks to star alongside Bradley Whitford (star of the beloved political drama, The West Wing) in the suspense-horror. Considering that the film is being made by the man responsible for Cloverfield, it shouldn't come as a surprise that most of the details about the story have been kept under wraps. What we do know about the flick, is that it will be a twist on the classic horror tale of 'sexy teens' stranded out in the woods -- and as someone who has been a long-time fan of Whedon, I know better than anybody that the guy knows how to do a 'variation on a theme'. Whedon wrote the script with Goddard (who will also direct), and Whedon will act as one of the producers for the film. In previous encounters with the press, Goddard said Cabin has, "...a harder and darker edge, but it's also got classic Whedon qualities. It'll rip your heart out and be heartfelt at the same time." -- Which will probably mark one of the few times in horror that we might actually give a damn about the folks being slaughtered before our eyes.
The Cabin in the Woods is scheduled for release on Feb. 5, 2010. Which is a far cry from an earlier promise of an October release, but when you are dealing with anything 'Whedonesque', a little patience doesn't just help; it's pretty much a requirement.
Interview: 'Valkyrie' Producer and Writer Christopher McQuarrie
Filed under: Thrillers, MGM, United Artists, Podcasts, Celebrities and Controversy, Tom Cruise, Interviews, War
Best known as the writer of The Usual Suspects, Christopher McQuarrie has an impressive number of films on his resume (including his criminally overlooked directorial debut, The Way of the Gun), but Valkyrie -- opening nationwide this week -- saw him also serve as a producer alongside director Bryan Singer and star Tom Cruise. A thriller about the 1944 plot inside the German military to try and assassinate Adolph Hitler, Valkyrie turns one of history's nightmares into a taut modern thriller -- a tricky balancing act that the film pulls off: "What we tried to do was to always maintain the focus that this was a movie about an event, that this was a movie about the events of July 20th (1944), and remain focused on that. We weren't making a bio-pic, we weren't making a film about the Holocaust -- all of those things were happening ... (but) this movie is about this incredible event that happened. ... And at the same time, maintaining a sense of responsibility."
McQuarrie spoke with Cinematical from New York about working alongside the German government, how producing a mega-million war film was like "drinking from a firehose," forgoing German accents, his possible future take on superheroic franchise The Champions and much more. You can listen to the podcast here at Cinematical by clicking below:
You can also download the interview in full right here -- and those of you with RSS Podcast readers can find all of Cinematical's podcast content at this link.
Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie, Together Forever
Filed under: Action, Drama, Foreign Language, Thrillers, Deals, Mystery & Suspense, United Artists, Warner Brothers, Scripts, Newsstand, Tom Cruise, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels, War
Okay, maybe Tom Cruise and Valkyrie screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie won't be together forever ... but they are in for a very long haul. Variety reports that McQuarrie is penning no less than three projects for Cruise to star in. The first up is likely to be The Tourist, which has Cruise and Charlize Theron attached as the leads. A remake of the French thriller Anthony Zimmer, the original script was penned by Julian Fellowes. McQuarrie is quickly rewriting it so that the film can begin shooting by March.
The pair also might be returning to World War II, as McQuarrie and Mason Alley are teaming up to write Flying Tigers, the real life story of a volunteer fighter squadron that was formed to assist the Chinese in fighting the Japanese during WWII. Cruise isn't formally attached, but he has been itching to do another fighter pilot movie since the days of Top Gun.
But the most intriguing film on the McQuarrie-Cruise slate is the UA project The Champions, which McQuarrie is penning and producing alongside Guillermo del Toro. Based on the British television series about super-powered government agents, it's now being developed for Cruise to star in. It was inevitable that Cruise was going to want in on this whole "superhero" trend -- the aura around his Tropic Thunder costar Robert Downey Jr. was espcially hard to miss. How could he not want some of that? Remember, he's already attached to Sam Raimi's Sleeper, so he's obviously waking up to the trend and franchise potential of superpowers. Well, best of luck to McQuarrie and Cruise -- may the relationship be a fruitful one.
Christopher McQuarrie Lands 'The Champions' and 'The Monster of Florence'
Filed under: Action, Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Thrillers, Deals, Mystery & Suspense, United Artists, Scripts, Newsstand, Remakes and Sequels
As William Goss noted yesterday, Guillermo Del Toro must be allergic to sleep. He's moving forward with another producing project on his insanely busy slate -- The Champions, a big screen version of the British television series of the 60s. Variety reports that Christopher McQuarrie will be penning the script for United Artists, and acting as a producer alongside Del Toro, Tom Cruise, and Paula Wagner. Del Toro optioned the project last November, and seemingly mindful of the anniversary, has brought on McQuarrie. Frankly, I'm surprised The Champions hasn't been grabbed long before now, since everyone is dying to have a franchise of superheroes. The series (which ran for a single year) followed a team of government agents who were rescued from a plane crash in the Himalayas by an advanced civilization. As if rescue wasn't nice enough, the super civilization gave them superpowers. Yeah, this is totally going to end up a franchise.
Del Toro has apparently found himself a writer as happy to be sans sleep as he is -- McQuarrie is a hot property at UA after Valkyrie. In addition to The Champions, he'll also be penning and producing The Monster of Florence. Based on Douglas Preston's book, it will follow his investigation into the serial killer nicknamed the Monster of Florence, Italy's version of Jack the Ripper. Preston discovered that one of the murders had been committed on his just-purchased Italian property, and decided to pair up with Italian journalist Mario Spezi to try and solve the case. Their well-meaning investigation ended up embroiled in controversy, arrests, and all kinds of tense insanity that should make for a really enjoyable crime movie -- and be easy peasy for the writer of The Usual Suspects.
'Valkyrie' Update: No Cruise Photoshopping
Filed under: Drama, Thrillers, United Artists, Celebrities and Controversy, Tom Cruise, Movie Marketing, Images, War
Tom Cruise may be guilty of some odd public antics -- but he isn't guilty of photo fudging. Last week, we reported on Slate's little expose, where they examined a publicity photo released by United Artists. According to their graphic experts, the photo of Claus von Stauffenberg had been altered to better resemble Tom Cruise. However, Yahoo! Movies now says Slate has been forced to retract the story. It turns out they were comparing the wrong photos -- they used one from the AP, as opposed to the Getty photograph United Artists used. Unfortunately, Slate didn't search all available archives for the photo before making their assertion.
United Artists is understandably upset over the slanderous claim. "The picture United Artists used of Colonel Stauffenberg can be found all over the Internet," said Valkyrie co-writer and producer Chris McQuarrie. He added that it would be much easier to "alter Tom Cruise" than to doctor "every available picture of Claus von Stauffenberg."
Now, with all due respect, I politely disagree with McQuarrie that the photo used by United Artists is easy to find. When this story first broke, I did my own Google search out of curiosity. The most readily available photo of von Stauffenberg is the one accompanying this post. It is also the first image Getty produces when you search their archives. The only site that produced the same photo was Spartacus Educational, and even then I wasn't sure, as the UA version seemed so much cleaner.
Was Tom Cruise Photoshopped into Claus von Stauffenberg?
Filed under: Drama, Thrillers, United Artists, Celebrities and Controversy, Newsstand, Tom Cruise, Movie Marketing, Images, War
Tom Cruise and Valkyrie just cannot stay out of the press -- and alas, the press has rarely been good. Well, here comes a bit more controversy: There have now been claims from German press that United Artists doctored a photo of hopeful Hitler assassin, Claus von Stauffenberg. In the interests of historic representation, journalistic credibility, and a chance to see how weird Cruise's career can get, Slate took the above photo (released by United Artists) to their design experts. Visit the magazine to see the details of their analysis -- but they have come to the conclusion that it has been doctored. A comparison with a AP file photo of von Stauffenberg is remarkably different than the one UA has been publicizing. It seems to be the same photo, but that too could be up for debate. Possibly, UA is guilty of nothing more than carefully choosing a flattering photo. Other photos of von Stauffenberg, which are from the front and better lit, don't have much of a resemblance to Cruise.
Visit Slate to judge for yourself, then come back and tell us your take. If it has been doctored, how silly is that? Plenty of historical figures have been ably played by actors bearing little resemblance to them -- and perhaps even the better for it, as they didn't rely only on physical looks to carry the role. The whole story smells of insecurity on the part of someone (or everyone) at United Artists. Though, for now (or until more experts weigh in), we'll just chalk this up as another piece of fascinating Hollywood mystery.
[via IMDB's Hitlist]
Visit Slate to judge for yourself, then come back and tell us your take. If it has been doctored, how silly is that? Plenty of historical figures have been ably played by actors bearing little resemblance to them -- and perhaps even the better for it, as they didn't rely only on physical looks to carry the role. The whole story smells of insecurity on the part of someone (or everyone) at United Artists. Though, for now (or until more experts weigh in), we'll just chalk this up as another piece of fascinating Hollywood mystery.
[via IMDB's Hitlist]
David Cronenberg Digging the 'Timecrimes' Remake?
Filed under: Foreign Language, Horror, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Sundance, Magnolia, United Artists, Fantastic Fest, Remakes and Sequels
The last time I saw my awesome amigo Nacho Vigalondo, it was at a Sundance party during which he was A) very thrilled to have his film play the festival, B) mega-elated that writer/producer Steven Zaillian would be involved in the English-language remake of his film (Timecrimes), and C) seriously drunk and hanging out with an overworked karaoke machine. When I pressed him for additional details, he said something to the effect of "I don't know yet, but .... Steve SALE-IAN, man! He wrote Bobby Fischer and Gangs of New York, man..." To which I responded, "Yeah, dude. Damn good writer. Plus Schindler's List, A Civil Action, American Gangster, and the awesome Falcon and the Snowman!"The drunken Spaniard's eyes went absolutely wide: "Steve SALE-IAN is remaking my movieeeee!" He was like a little kid on Christmas morning, I swear. It was an awesomely sweet thing to see. But since we weren't really sure about Mr. Zaillian's specific attachment to the remake, this fresh news is also pretty exciting. Wouldn't it be cool if the Timecrimes remake had a Steve Zaillian screenplay and a director named ... David Cronenberg?? (I've seen Timecrimes more than once, and I think Mr. Cronenberg would be a perrrrrrrrfect fit for this time-travel / serial killer material.)
The United Artists re-do is still in the very early stages, so we could see a lot of personnel changes before the American version of Timecrimes hits the scene -- but given how positive the reaction has been among festival audiences, flick-buyers, and remake makers, we might just see it a little sooner than later. In the meantime, keep an eye out for the original film, which is a favorite among the Magnolia gang, and should be getting a release some time later this year.
Gracias: Shock and Blogdecine
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