Archive for February 22nd, 2008
The 80th Annual Academy Awards ceremony is taking place in Hollywood’s Kodak Theatre this Sunday at 5PT/8ET, where 2007’s strongest cinematic efforts are looking to be rewarded.
As has been customary in the past few years, the X-Realms will be providing live commentary throughout the show with insights on the night’s big winners and unfortunate losers, photos from the progressing spectacle and the best quotes from the winners’ speeches.
If you fancy a bit of fun you can join us in this thread on the X-Boards and cast your predictions on who will go home with one of the prized golden statuettes. You can read our very own forecast after the cut below.
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Posted in Awards, Movies •
One of our most anticipated films of the year is singular director Spike Jonze’s take on the children’s classic Where The Wild Things Are - a film we might never get to see according to CHUD.
The website reports that Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures execs are considering reshooting the entire $75 million project after a test screening established that Jonze’s movie is too ’subvertive’ and art house for something designed as a children’s film. Young kids in the audience apparently began crying. The studio is unhappy with the film’s tone in general, deeming it too scary and weird, and also with child actor Max Records’ performance in the lead role.
Jonze has say on the final cut so if the studios force through any reshoots they’ll have to dump Jonze and Dave Egger’s script altogether, a possibility they’re very much considering at the moment.
Discuss Where The Wild Things Are on the X-Boards
Posted in Movies •
Director James Cameron wrote Aint-it-cool-news with an update on his much anticipated 3-D sci-fi epic Avatar, which is slated for release Dec 18, 2009, confirming that the film has wrapped shooting. Here are a couple of excerpts:
Things are going well on Avatar, or at least as well as can be expected on such a ridiculously complex project. We’ve wrapped principal, and most of the live action portion of the movie is already cut. It’s starting to look and sound like a movie. I’m ecstatic with the performances and the look. The cast chemistry worked out perfectly.
[...] The Weta animators are ON FIRE, and seeing the world and the creatures come to life is what keeps us going. There’s a spirit on this film, an esprit de corps amongst the virtual team, that comes from knowing we’re doing something absolutely groundbreaking. It’s why people still have good morale after working on this thing for two years or more.
Discuss Avatar on the X-Boards
Posted in Movies •
According to Snitchseeker.com, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince producer David Barron told Australia’s Herald Sun that a scene has been shot for the movie that doesn’t appear in J.K. Rowling’s original book:
‘But this was brought in because Jo (Rowling) was able throughout the quite lengthy book to keep dropping little snippets of what was happening in the outside world - there’d be people reading newspapers and talking about how somebody’s parents had been killed, or somebody had been withdrawn from school because their parents didn’t think it was safe.
And we’re making aware that the Muggle world is also experiencing these disasters, but thinks they are disasters rather than the work of Voldemort.
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Posted in Harry Potter, Movies •
Following reports of a bidding war for Roland Emmerich’s sci-fi spec script 2012, Variety have confirmed that Sony have flashed sufficient dollars to buy what will be the studio’s $200 million Summer 2009 tentpole.
Sony has essentially committed to greenlight the film with production will beginning in late summer or early fall. The deal was sealed on the same day that Emmerich pitched his vision and budget projections for the film, which he scripted with 10,000 B.C. co-writer Harald Kloser. Several studios bid on the project, while some declined due to the massive price tag.
The title refers to the date on which the world is supposed to end, and it frames an ensemble disaster epic akin to The Day After Tomorrow, the blockbuster that Emmerich sold in a similar spec sale and which turned into a global hit for 20th Century Fox.
Discuss 2012 on the X-Boards
Posted in Movies •
Online retailer Amazon is preparing to move into the world of film production with an adaptation of Keith Donahue’s fantasy novel The Stolen Child writes Variety.
The Seattle-based company optioned the film rights back in 2006 and has since been prepping the property with 20th Century Fox, with Marc Platt (The Seeker: The Dark is Rising) attached to produce. Ron Nyswaner, who penned the scripts for Philadelphia and The Painted Veil, had begun adapting the book before the writers hit the picket lines. With the strike over, Amazon is dusting off The Stolen Child again.
Donahue’s debut novel revolves around a man who was kidnapped by hobgoblins as a boy and replaced by a look-alike imposter. The book follows both versions of the character as they struggle through their new lives and environments.
In a unique deal, Amazon won’t actually finance the production; but will heavily promote the feature across its stable of websites (which include film database IMDb), which attracts millions of visitors every month.
Discuss The Stolen Child on the X-Boards
Posted in Books & Comics, Movies •
Dominic Monaghan and Daniel Henney have joined the cast of Twentieth Century Fox’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine reports Variety.
Monaghan will play Barnell, a mysterious character from Wolverine’s past who has the ability to manipulate energy and electricity. Henney will portray Agent Zero, a member of the Weapon X program and an expert tracker with lethal marksman skills.
The duo join Hugh Jackman in the title role with Liev Schreiber, Danny Huston, Taylor Kitsch, will.i.am, Lynn Collins and Ryan Reynolds.
Discuss X-Men Origins: Wolverine on the X-Boards
Posted in Movies •
The Matrix trilogy and Lord of the Rings star Hugo Weaving will join Benicio Del Toro and Emily Blunt in Universal’s upcoming remake of The Wolf Man reports Variety.
Weaving will play Detective Aberline. Del Toro will play the lycanthropic title character and Anthony Hopkins his father. Blunt has been cast as the female lead in the project, which Joe Johnston will direct.
Lensing begins next month in London.
Discuss The Wolf Man on the X-Boards
Posted in Movies •
I prefer Obama to McCain. Now, McCain’s better than average for a Republican. And though his ads are intellectually offensive, he’s just bowing to his campaign masters and would calm down and be more sane once in office and not campaigning. But I have a few concerns with McCain on foreign policy. He’s not a full-fledged Neocon. That’s good. He opposed Reagan on Lebanon. Good. He was critical of Bush’s initial strategy in Iraq. That’s good. But there’s a problem. He thinks the Vietnam war was winnable and that the US shouldn’t have withdrawn. He’s also eager to spread democracy with force. This just isn’t a good set of beliefs for inheriting Iraq.