Mon, August 24, 2009 
Weekend Actuals (August 21st - August 23rd)
1 Inglourious Basterds $38,054,676
2 District 9 $18,213,546
3 G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra $12,204,927
4 The Time Traveler's Wife $9,742,427
5 Julie & Julia $8,800,674
6 Shorts $6,410,339
7 G-Force $4,114,661 5
8 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince $3,478,149
9 The Ugly Truth $2,774,174
10 The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard $2,710,194
Sun, August 23, 2009 
It is almost August 28th which means another Halloween is right around the corner. No I''m not referring to the holiday but "Halloween II", Rob Zombie's sequel to his reimagination of "Halloween". As the debut of the slash flick quickly approaches, the horror admiring folks over at Bloody Disgusting have gotten their hands on an unused trailer for "Halloween II" which you can view below.
Sun, August 23, 2009 
Michael Ausiello over at the Ausiello Files hosted by Entertainment Weekly has revealed the trailer for the upcoming season 9 of "Smallville".
Mon, August 17, 2009 
Weekend Actuals (August 14th - August 16th)
1 District 9 $37,354,308
2 G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra $22,324,341
3 The Time Traveler's Wife $18,623,171
4 Julie & Julia $12,055,918
5 G-Force $6,915,642
6 The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard $5,642,137
7 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince $5,141,072
8 The Ugly Truth
9 Ponyo $3,585,852
10 Funny People $3,010,755
Mon, August 17, 2009 
As the days go by I find myself lost in this abyss that has become unoriginality. I continue to march single file into the theaters with my moist buttered popcorn barrel in one hand and my keg of diet soda in the other. I still remain fixated on the blinking screen even though that feeling of Deja Vu is pounding at the backside of my retinas. The sticky substance on the bottom of your New Balance kicks is not imitation popcorn butter, it is what is left of our brains from the effects of unoriginality. As we continue to subject ourselves to the mediocrity of unoriginality that is spooled in front of our waiting pupils we only make it worse.
Unfortunately "Hollyweird" has caught on, further evidence lies in The Trades where it was announced that a "Brewster's Millions" relaunch is being written. When George Barr McCutcheon wrote the novel in 1902 it was pretty darn original. McCutcheon's novel became a play in 1906 followed by seven versions of the story slapped together and thrown up on the big screen. The 1985 version is the one we are most familiar with. The comedy features a hilarious Richard Pryor mixed with a big taste of John Candy.
Michael Diliberti and Matthew Sullivan will be finger smacking the keyboards on the newest version of a man who stands to inherit $7 Million dollars if he can spend $1 Million dollars in a period of one year. If this latest case of unoriginality survives the long road to the big screen, I'm sure it will make some money. I'm also sure it won't be long until we receive reports of a "The Great Outdoors" remake with Kevin James attached to play Chet Ripley and Will Ferrell in talks to play Roman Craig. What about a remake of "The Toy" with John Goodman as U.S. Bates? If they make it, we will come.
Fri, August 14, 2009 
As Superman sleeps in his silver Mylar bed at his Fortress of Solitude dreaming of a Lois and Lana catfight, the battle rages on in court between the Siegels and Warner Bros/DC Comics. In another victory for the Siegels and their representative Mark Toberoff, the family has re-acquired the rights to additional Superman material. According to The Trades,the heirs to co-creator Jerry Siegels now own the rights to; two weeks of Superman newspaper comic strips, along with parts of some Action Comics and Superman related comic books.
What does this all mean? The Siegels now own the rights to most of Superman's origin that we are familiar with from the comics and the Donnverse. This includes; Superman's Kryptonian parents, infant Kal-El, the explosion of Krypton, the infant Kal-El being sent from Krypton in a ship, and infant Kal-El crash landing on earth. This is in addition to their ownership of Action Comics #1 which was awarded to the Siegels in 2008. That previous ruling allows them rights to reporter Clark Kent, reporter Lois Lane, their jobs at the Daily Planet working for an obsessive editor, and the romantic dyanmic between Lois, Clark, and Superman.
DC still owns some other elements including; Superman's flying ability and other powers, additional origin elements, Kryptonite, Jimmy Olsen, and Lex Luthor. Warner Bros and DC Comics seem to be staying even keel in regards to the outcome so far.
"Warner and DC Comics are pleased that the court has affirmed that the vast majority of key elements associated with the Superman character that were developed after Action Comics No. 1 are not part of the copyrights that the plaintiffs have recaptured and therefore remain solely owned by DC Comics."
According to previous court documents, DC Comics has received $12.1 million under the terms of its film agreement with Warner Bros for the release of 2006's Superman Returns. The 12.1 million dollars payed out from Warner Bros. to DC Comics along with the initial payment made to DC Comics by Warner Bros of 1.5 Million totals 13.6 million dollars. What this means under the terms of the agreement is that any compensation that was due to DC Comics from Warner Bros between 2003 and 2023 has been covered by the payment of 12.1 million made by Warner Bros to DC Comics for Superman Returns. Due to this completion of compensation, DC Comics is locked into an agreement with Warner Bros for film rights for the next 21 years. This prevents DC Comics from partnering with any other studio to develop a Superman film.
Due to the lack of reversion clause in the contract between WB and DC, the court previously ruled as below:
"Given that the potential for said commencement of filming exists at the present time, plaintiffs have not shown that the Superman film agreement, sans a reversion clause, is below the reasonable range for what a willing buyer would pay for the property from a willing seller. If, however, by 2011, no filming has commenced on a Superman sequel, plaintiffs could bring an accounting action at that time to recoup the damages then realized for the Superman film agreement's failure to contain a reversion clause."
As long as filming has started on a new Superman film by 2011, the film agreement between WB and DC would remain in tact for close to the next 20 years. The question is, would this prevent the Siegels approaching another studio to make a Superman film using the elements that they now have the rights to? I guess the Siegels could always come out with a comic book depicting a 30's version of Superman jumping around after crash landing from Krypton. When this is all said and done, the parties will settle. Until then, good like deciphering the legal speak.
Thu, August 13, 2009 
I remember venturing into the theater to see "The Blair Witch Project". The buzz was immense for the picture due to some very inventive marketing at the time. I saw it with about eight people and the theater was packed. To tell you the truth I was already scared before the first trailer hit. By the end of the movie I was both thrilled with the freshness of the film but frightened to even pick up a camcorder. Cabins in the woods were also off limits for a short period, not to mention the woods in general.
There was a sequel to "The Blair Witch Project" but I'm not even going to mention it nor talk about it any further. The creators of the original prefer it that way. In a discussion with BBC News, Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez are mulling over a direct sequel to the original. The idea would be to erase the dismal follow up and replace it with a new continuity. I wouldn't mind being able to visualize what the original writers/directors had in store for the follow up. That's why pencils always come with erasers.
Head over to BBC & Latino Review for more on a possible sequel to "The Blair Witch Project".
Thu, August 13, 2009 
Visionary. Lover. Dreamer. Fighter. Legend. Icon. AMELIA.
An extraordinary life of adventure, celebrity and continuing mystery comes to light in AMELIA, a vast, thrilling account of legendary aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart (two time Academy Award® winner Hilary Swank).
After becoming the first woman to fly across the Atlantic, Amelia was thrust into a new role as America's sweetheart - the legendary "goddess of light," known for her bold, larger-than-life charisma. Yet, even with her global fame solidified, her belief in flirting with danger and standing up as her own, outspoken woman never changed. She was an inspiration to people everywhere, from First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt (Cherry Jones) to the men closest to her heart: her husband, promoter and publishing magnate George P. Putnam (Golden Globe® winner Richard Gere), and her long time friend and lover, pilot Gene Vidal (Ewan McGregor). In the summer of 1937, Amelia set off on her most daunting mission yet: a solo flight around the world that she and George both anxiously foresaw as destined, whatever the outcome, to become one of the most talked-about journeys in history.
AMELIA is directed by Mira Nair (THE NAMESAKE, VANITY FAIR, MONSOON WEDDING) from a screenplay by Academy Award® winner Ron Bass (RAIN MAN) and Anna Hamilton Phelan. The film is produced by Ted Waitt, Kevin Hyman and Lydia Dean Pilcher with Ron Bass and Hilary Swank serving as executive producers and Don Carmody as co-producer. AMELIA opens Friday, October 23, 2009.
Wed, August 12, 2009 
There has been a debate amongst some of the writers on TMT as to which project Bryan Singer will step behind the lens on next. The debate isn't relegated to the contributors of this site but includes other webmasters and forums across the web. After some solid success with "Valkyrie" Bryan certainly hasn't been hiding from the spotlight. His production company, Bad Hat Harry, is producing "Freedom Formula" and "Capeshooters". The director was circling the "The Prisoners" before striking a deal with SyFy on a series involving 2012 and the Mayan Calendar. To top it off, it seems that Bryan has finally settled on his next motion picture.
Drew McWeeny over at HitFix has the exclusive on Bryan's possible deal with Universal studios that could bring "Battlestar Galatica" to the big screen. This isn't the first time the director has been mentioned in the same breath as the sci-fi favorite. Bryan, along with Tom De Santo, were on the verge shooting "Battlestar Galatica" as a sequel to the 1970 television show when September 11th changed all of that. SyFy got cold feet about going forward with a pilot based on a "sneak attack" and feared it was still a sensitive issue to the public.
This is a step in the right direction for Bryan. He has definitely become a genre guy and now he'll get a chance to play with his toys again. If this goes forward I can see Bryan channeling Star Trek and Star Wars and hopefully transferring his love for the genre into his work. Bryan definitely is looking to redeem himself in the eyes of geekdom after "Superman Returns". With the right story and cast, this could be an epic space adventure that even I'd be willing to see.
Head over to HitFix for more on this exclusive, including concept art from the canceled project.
Hitfix: Bryan Singer Boarding Battlestar Galactica For Universal
Jamie Williams
In a surprisingly classy move, Variety has not only confirmed what HitFix reported. Yes, Bryan Singer will produce and direct a film version of Battlestar Galactica. To be more specific, it's said to be a "a complete re-imagination" unlike his most recent "franchise-revival" Superman Returns which itself was a continuation of the previous films.
They've actually given HitFix credit for being the first to break the story. For those unaware, this is quiet the big deal considering how the hardwork done by sites like HitFix, Latino Review, IESB, etc. is rarely acknowledged by the trades. In fact, they've flat out stolen of some their scoops in the past.
On the other end of the aisle, Entertainment Weekly also confirmed the story. But instead of taking the higher-road like Variety just did, they opted to label Drew McWeeny's original piece that broke this story "blog speculation" without mentioning the site by name. Of course if they decided to spend the whole minute it would have taken to read the article, it was 100% clear with their key statement being (and presented in bold to emphasize the matter), "That's why they're nearing a deal with Bryan Singer to produce and possibly direct a brand-new "Battlestar Galactica" feature film."
Does that sound like "speculation" with a definitive statement like that, folks? Apparently being a douchebag (especially at EW) entails not being able to read and comprehend words.
Wed, August 12, 2009 
Through all of the ups and downs with some of the film related DC projects, I have been most intrigued by the endless possibilities of the Justin Marks penned "Super Max". I've been able to survive the premature evisceration that was "Justice League: Mortal", the trial by jury that has become Superman on film, and the gossip girl style misinformation spewing out in regards to a Batman sequel, by holding on to the hope that "Super Max" might actually happen. Think about it, Green Arrow has been placed behind bars and needs the help of the very villains he has helped to put there to escape. What DC fan wouldn't want to see The Joker, Lex Luthor, The Riddler, and other villains on screen at the same time?
At one point last year this script had tremendous "buzz" behind it with then flavor of the month screenwriter Justin Marks was the center of the attention. After not hearing as much as a whisper in regards to the project for the past year MTV got the chance to speak to David Goyer about the project. "We're working on that. We're about to bring on another writer," Goyer told MTV News. "It's definitely something we're developing." To me this project makes a lot of sense for WB. You are basically shooting in one location which might help to keep the costs down, and by marketing the Joker and Lex Luthor it could make for a profitable venture. I honestly don't think we'll see this project on screen, but I certainly hope it makes it to the executives most wanted list.