Movie Moan - The Revenge of the Disconnection

After a 2 week hiatus, Phil and Jamie return with another edition of Movie Moan. This week, our heroes bullshit about a wide-range of topics such as Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, the one thing Guillermo del Toro & Bret Ratner have in common (and how one gets criticized for it and the other doesn't) and Beverly Hills Cop IV.

Because they're both excited about Star Trek opening in mere weeks now, Jamie brings up the marketing of J.J. Abrams' "requel" and how they're learning from mistakes made by past "franchise revivals" Batman Begins and Superman Returns. And speaking of the Man of Steel, Latino Review's review for the Bizarro Superman spec script is discussed as well.

Phil does his Woody Allen impression, chats up the forthcoming Tron sequel (Tron 2.0, Tr2n, whatever) and hypothesizes why The Hobbit has now been split into two films resulting in the death of the much-discussed Lord of the Rings "bridge" film.

And just because we couldn't at least have one audio issue, Jamie's mic gets cut off at the very end. But fear not, Jamie (and Phil) will return in "Licence to Skype."

Movie Moan - Revenge of the Disconnection

Not Surprisingly, 'Terminator' Series Likely To Extend Past Next Movie

With the release of "Terminator: Salvation" little more than a month away, two new posters have been released and director McG revealed he already has planned two more sequels.

The two new posters for the movie (which will be released May 21 in the U.S., May 22 in Canada and June 3 in the U.K.) are shown at right.

As for the sequels, McG said he would like to make two more -- provided audiences want to see them.

"I would never presume there would be another picture -- that is up to the audience," McG told MTV Movies. "But if the audience jumps up and likes it and wants another one, Christian [Bale] and I have been talking about it and we’ll see what happens."

McG said "Terminator: Salvation" sets the table for more movies.

"There’s an arc of story [in the new sequels]. This arc will be left open with the ending of Salvation, which will point to a Terminator 5 film. The ending is indeed elliptical and it challenges the audience," he said. "It’s not a happy little bow of an ending at all. The ending is tough and requires reflection, and in some degrees it bifurcates the audience. You walk back to the car and one person thinks it means this, and the other person thinks it means that."

In addition to Bale, "Terminator: Salvation" also stars Helena Bonham Carter and Bryce Dallas Howard. And, in an odd twist, the movie features Sam Worthington, Common and Anton Yelchin, three actors who have been rumored to play Green Lantern on screen.

And finally, what would a Terminator movie be without Arnold Schwarzenegger? Apparently, audiences want have to find out just yet as Schwarzenegger is set to make a cameo appearance in the movie.

However, it's a tightly-kept secret as to what that cameo will entail. So secret, in fact, that Schwarzenegger's co-star Terry Crews has no idea what it is.

“I don’t know; I haven’t seen it. They only gave out pages of the script,” said Crews. “It was crazy. It was very, very secretive."

Ratner Sets the Record Straight on His Projects.

I'm at the point with Brett Ratner where him attached to a directorial project is flat-out "non-news" (i.e. Mark Millar trash-talking about his Superman trilogy that's so amazing Warner Brothers won't go anywhere near it or Spielberg "loving" Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen!)

Mind you, I'm not shitting on the guy. It's common for a filmmaker to be attached to multiple projects concurrently. Some of them will ultimately get made and others won't. That's just how it works. The problem is that Ratner's thrown his name in the hat of quiet a few projects and it's hard to dicipher which will actually happen.

Thankfully, the folks over at Movieline had a quick chat with Ratner where the X-Men: The Last Stand director set the record straight for the most part (i.e. no mention of his Hugh Hefner biopic possibly with Robert "I'm Iron Man and Sherlock Holmes, dammit!" Downey Jr. or Youngblood!)

In regards to his Conan the Barbarian reboot, it's 100% on "budgeting the script and trying to figure out when’s a good time and where to shoot it." (Side note: If you haven't already, check out Latino Review's awesome video-review of the script here!)

The oft-mentioned Beverly Hills Cop IV is still happening and with a "hard R!" But the bigger question is when will it happen. Since Paramount officially announced the project like a year ago for May 2010 release and it's looking increasingly like that won't happen.

In fact, it appears that Trump Heist (currently being written by Ted Griffin) is the closest to be moving forward. If my memory serves me correctly, that's supposed to feature a predominantly African-American cast with Eddie Murphy and Chris Tucker attached. Correct me if I'm wrong on that, folks!

Now let it be known that unlike about 70-75% of the nerd community, I don't hate Ratner. So that means I'm a fan, right? Actually, no. He's made a few films that I've enjoyed (i.e. Family Man and Red Dragon) and others I didn't (i.e. the Rush Hour sequels!)

I'm just failing to see the hatred this guy gets from so many people.

Lord of the Rings "Bridge" Film No More!

Ironically, I was just bitching on Twitter last night about the overall lack of news on The Hobbit as well as Spider-Man 4 and the Superman "requel."

Cut to this afternoon as Empire Online gets the scoop straight from the horses' mouths - i.e. director Guillermo del Toro and producer Peter Jackson:

“We’ve decided to have The Hobbit span the two movies, including the White Council and the comings and goings of Gandalf to Dol Guldur,” says Del Toro.

“We decided it would be a mistake to try to cram everything into one movie,” adds Jackson. “The essential brief was to do The Hobbit, and it allows us to make The Hobbit in a little more style, if you like, of the [LOTR] trilogy.”

So no more Lord of the Rings "bridge" film eh? That was always the most intriguing aspect of the new "Middle-Earth" films - for me at least.

Plus, I'm not so sure that The Hobbit has enough material to stretch into two separate installments. But maybe that's just me. I am an idiot after all...

New 'Wizard of Oz' movie on the way

This ain't your grandma's Wicked Witch of the West!

Making an Independent film is never easy and doubly hard if you are entering the fantasy genre, however young film makers Sean Gates and  Clayton Spinney are doing just that with their adaption of the classic Frank Baum novel 'The Wizard of Oz'. Sean is the writer/producer and Clayton is the director/producer. I sat down with both to get the lowdown on the project.

- Is there anything you'd like to mention regarding the ideas for getting it distributed or about how you have been able to adapt the book rights wise ?

SG: As far as we can tell, the story is in the public domain - as evidenced by the copious number of adaptations, from the SciFi Channel's "Tin Man" to the current John Boorman animated project. We can find no hint that there's anything stopping us from doing this, rights-wise. We're looking at entering the finished film at Sundance, and seeing what kind of attention we can get.

- What made you want to make a Wizard of Oz movie given the classic version is so popular ?

SG: The reason, for me anyway, is that I grew up with the book, my Mom used to read me an abridged copy that had been hers when she was a kid. One day when I was in first or second grade, she was too busy fixing supper to read it to me so I read it to myself. First book I did that with. I still have that book, by the way. It's held together by tape and prayer.

CS: I'm with him on that. I've got several various copies of the book, from the original to abridged copies, and most of them still exist today thanks to the Scotch tape. I just fell in love with the book as a kid, and I think it's deserving of a more faithful adaptation. It's been a dream of mine to make that happen since childhood.

- What are the main challenges facing a small production on a project of this type ?

SG: Money. There are lots of things you can find to buy if you look hard enough, lots of materials are available, and there's a lot of talented people who can help you make a movie or help you get projects done, but what if you can't pay them? We're lucky to have found a young actress who is really committed to a career in acting, so this project is as important for her as it is for us. Now if we can find a few more people like her, we'll be set. Well, except for the costumes, the sets... yeah, we still need a pile of money.

CS: The money, for sure. I feel we can pull the film off with the resources available to us, but it would be so much less stressful with a larger budget. Of course, there's also the legacy of the 1939 film to contend with. There have been adaptations of the book before the MGM movie, and adaptations after it, and they've all faded into obscurity. The musical is such an important film, an American classic, and while the film we're making is an entirely different animal, it's still going to draw those comparisons.

- How did you find balancing the challenges of keeping the adaption faithful while also making sure it works as a movie ?

SG: It really wasn't that hard, though to be fair I wrote the script without worrying about budget or whatever else. The only big structural issue was that the last act of the book takes place after the Wizard has been outed as a charlatan and the Wicked Witch of the West has been dealt with. There's no remaining threat at that point and as such the book loses steam. The only thing left is to get Dorothy home. I had to cut some exciting things (including a giant spider fight) to make the story flow the way it ought to.

We're talking about maybe doing all that stuff anyway, for special content on the DVD. But I shouldn't talk about that too much in case for some reason we can't make it happen.

CS: There was some minor stuff, such as pushing ahead some of the witch's scenes to make her more of a constant threat, and then the bigger stuff, like Sean said, such as the elimination of a large portion of the last third of the book. I'm sad about losing the China country and the Quadlings, but really, given the fact that Dorothy still has the ability to command the winged monkeys, it doesn't make a lot of sense that they'd tackle that journey on foot.

- Of the main characters which was the most difficult to bring to life ?

SG: I think Clayton will have more to say on this one than I do, but offhand I'd say the Cowardly Lion.

CS: The Cowardly Lion, for sure. We essentially have three options with him; animatronics, CGI, or filming a real lion. Each of these is a pretty frightening prospect, whether from a fiscal perspective or an, "I enjoy having my arms," perspective.

- Which of the character designs is your personal favourite ?

SG: Well, I'm biased, but I'm awfully proud of that Scarecrow puppet I built. Clayton's Tin Woodman is pretty amazing, though. I think we've done a good job of capturing the look of Denslow's illustrations, which was important to us.

CS: I'd also have to say the Scarecrow. It's a wonderful little puppet, he's absolutely adorable, and his appearance is extremely faithful to the Denslow illustrations. I couldn't be happier with him.

- In a nutshell tell our readers what they can expect from your OZ ?

SG: Well, as Clayton said the other night, we'd like to capture the feel of an 80's fantasy movie, like "The Labyrinth" or "Return to Oz." Not that we have Brian Henson in our corner or anything, but we like those movies and they have the kind of vibe we'd like to emulate, with our own stamp of course.

CS: We're trying to balance an ethereal, otherworldly quality with a sense of realism, and it makes for an interesting mixture. What we're hoping is to bring Baum's Oz to life with as much accuracy as possible.

I think this is a fantastically ambitous project with two really creative and dedicated artists behind it, a different version of a classic book that is closer to the original source novel in spirit and tone than the old movie. Fantasy is a popular genre and we may just be seeing the start of two new names stamping their mark on it.

For more on the project please check the awesome official website below, it includes features, news and concept stills from the film like the one at the head of the article.

OFFICIAL SITE

Taking A 'Wrong Turn' With 'Little Shop' Remake

I quickly got over the shock that there was actually a "Wrong Turn 3" coming out, I didn't even know there was a "Wrong Turn 2", when I read that Declan O'Brien is planning on remaking "The Little Shop of Horrors". I know remakes are the new "crutch" that Hollywood is now leaning on, but Roger Corman's "The Little Shop of Horros" was already remade. In 1986 director Frank Oz took at stab at the musical with "Little Shop of Horrors" starring Rick Moranis and Steve Martin. O'brien won't be remaking the remake according to Bloody Disgusting:

While chatting with Declan O'Brien about his forthcoming direct-to-video effort Wrong Turn 3, he revealed exclusively to Bloody-Disgusting that he just optioned the rights to Roger Corman's classic The Little Shop of Horrors! “Actually its been a busy time for me. I just optioned Roger Corman’s 'The Little Shop of Horror', which Im setting up as a big studio remake," he tells B-D this morning. "We're in the process of talking to studios this week. It will be a remake of Roger’s original 1960’s movie. I don’t want to reveal too much, but it’s me, it’ll be dark," he explains. "It wont be a musical." In the original a clumsy young man nurtures a plant and discovers that it's a bloodthirsty plant, forcing him to kill to feed it.

So in conclusion Declan O'brien plans on remaking a movie that has already been remade but is not remaking the remake, instead he is remaking the original. Got it?

'Date Night' Should Be Set For Big Pay Day at Box Office

Tina Fey and Steve CarellYou know those movies that sound like a hit the moment you hear about them? I think you can safely file "Date Night" under that category.

The movie is about a couple on a date night from Hell and stars Tina Fey and Steve Carell as the couple (and are you as surprised as I am that it doesn't star Ben Stiller?).

And aside from that superstar pairing, the movie will feature Mark Wahlberg, James Franco, Leighton Meester, Kristen Wiig and Common in supporting roles.

According to Variety, Wahlberg will play a "successful and crazily buff securities expert who flirts with Fey's character." Franco will play "a not-too-bright conman and petty criminal." Meester wil be the couple's babysitter, Common will play a villain and Wiig will portray Fey's best friend.

Directed by Shawn Levy ("Night at the Museum"), "Date Night" is slated to be released in 2010.

From Terminator to Captain Nemo to...Spring Awakening?

Dammit if McG hasn't turned a 180 on his directing career where it was five years ago. His Terminator: Salvation is set to be one of the biggest films of the summer and he's already up to his eyeballs in pre-production on Disney's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Captain Nemo with filming slated to start later this fall.

Now, he's attached to direct and produce a silver-screen adaptation of the Broadway "rock musical" Spring Awakening. The musical which centers around a set of 19th Century German teenagers "discovering their sexuality and dealing with high-wire topics like masturbation, abortion, rape and suicide" has the potential to be one of those "Hot-topic" films that stuggles to get made.

However with McG's career as hot as it is at the moment (and assuming that Salvation and Nemo turn a nice sizeable profit at the box-office), it wouldn't be hard to imagine him finding a studio willing to pony up the cash to properly make the film.

First Official Stills From 'The Expendables'

The official blog for Sylvester Stallone's 'The Expendables' has released the first three official stills from the actioner, due for release April 23, 2010. The first pic shows Sly in action as Barney Ross, the second shows Ross with Lee Christmas played by Jason Statham, and the third pic sees Stone Cold Steve Austion and Eric Roberts diving away from an explosion.

News, Rumors & 100% Grade-A Internet Bullshit - April 14, 2009

- One has to give Chris Pine credit for thinking outside the box. The new Captain Kirk tells the MTV Movies Blog that he wants to be a part of the A-Team - which to be directed by his Smoking Aces director Joe Carnahan. But surprisingly the role he's campaigning for is that of "Howling Mad" Murdock(!)

- Speaking of Star Trek, the J.J. Abrams helmed "requel" has had its release-date pushed up - by a couple of hours. The film will now grace the silver screens on May 7th at 7:00 P.M. screenings. So, the film is "not my father's Star Trek." Although he is a Trek fan and it now opens on his birthday. Weird, huh?

- Producer Frank Marshall (via his Twitter account) reveals that the script for Bourne 4 (that's being penned by George Nolfi) is expected to be turned in by June with its release date pushed back from Summer 2010 to 2011.

- After much debate (including its inclusion on a Pizza Hut box), it's been confirmed that Terminator: Salvation has been rated PG-13. Slashfilm has posted a screen-capture taken from Fox's upcoming "Extended Look" at the film set to air on this week's episode of Bones.