The Film: Cutter’s Way  

The Principles: Starring Jeff Bridges, John Heard, Lisa Eichhorn and Stephen Elliott. Directed by Ivan Passer.

The Premise: Richard Bone is a laid back Santa Barbara boat salesman and local gigolo, who after witnessing a killer dispose of the body of a teenage girl in an alley, turns to his alcoholic Vietnam vet buddy Alex Cutter to help him out. Bone just wants to clear his name, but Cutter takes it as a personal mission to bring the murderer to justice because he suspects it’s one of the most powerful and wealthy businessmen in the area.

Is it any good?: This is one of the last great shaggy dog mystery/thrillers from the seventies, which is why it was almost completely ignored when it was released amongst all the glitter and gloss of the early eighties. The film is cold, gritty and moody. The two main characters are each wandering through a post-Vietnam haze, staying true to their blind idealism while the world around them is already shifting into a more materialistic state of mind. Bone (Jeff Bridges) is an aging playboy who’s still trying to get by on his blonde surfer boy good looks, but has reached a point in his life where that is no longer enough. Cutter (John Heard) is a disabled vet with one eye, one arm, one leg, a horrible drinking problem and a surly nature. He chooses to remain completely inebriated along with his doomed, suffering wife Mo (Lisa Eichhorn), who has developed an affection for Bone. It’s the white trash love triangle from hell.

Things get complicated after Bone stumbles upon a violent crime one rainy night. A teenage girl has been murdered and there’s a good possibility that the one responsible is none other than J.J. Cord (Stephen Elliot), the wealthiest and most powerful businessman in California. Since the evidence they have is flimsy and purely circumstantial, Bone wants to just forget about it and keep drifting along, but Cutter refuses to let it go. J.J. Cord represents the ruling elite that sent him off to war while he and all his rich friends stayed behind and got richer as a result. For Cutter, he’s not only responsible for the death of this girl; “he and all the mother fuckers just like him” are everything that’s wrong with America, and for that matter himself. After conducting some investigating and making it very obvious about their suspicions, the two soon find their own lives in peril, as they get closer to the truth.

John Heard’s performance as Cutter is a tour de force and without a doubt his best. He should have won ten Oscars for it. He plays the most like-able drunken, racist, bitter, abusive, asshole I’ve ever rooted for before. His physicality and line delivery is perfection. Jeff Bridges does a typically outstanding job as the aimless, apathetic Bone, whose character can almost be viewed as a younger version to his “The Dude” from The Big Lebowski. Actually, there are several similarities in plot and character to this movie and the Coen brother’s cult classic I just mentioned, with the huge exception of tone and style. It’s the oddest buddy movie I’ve ever seen before. The two main guys clearly have affection for each other, but it’s an incredibly volatile and untrusting friendship, which is made even more tense when Bone starts a sexual relationship with Cutter’s wife, Mo. Lisa Eichhorn really lays on the self pity with her sad, desperate alcoholic housewife, who continues to enable her husband while simultaneously loathing and lusting after Jeff Bridge’s Bone (no pun intended). The acting and dialogue is top notch across the boards.

This is one of those noir films, like The Long Goodbye and Hickey and Boggs, which are drenched in an oppressive glare of southern California sunlight throughout. It serves as stark contrast to the dark themes and seamy characters on display. It was shot by master cinematographer Jordan Cronenweth (who made Blade Runner one of the most beautiful films ever made) and he sets a nice mood in the flashiness of Santa Barbara’s glitzy rich contrasted with the filth and squalor of our main protagonists. Jack Nitzsche’s score is eerily haunting and beautiful music. It’s one of his best and most subtle. The script is smart, darkly humorous, tragic, mysterious and extremely suspenseful. Watching it again recently as an adult I must say, this film is visionary in that you can view it today as a metaphor for the one per centers versus the ninety nine per centers.

Is it worth a look?: This is an underrated classic and amongst one of the last seventies movies to be released in the eighties. It’s a dark noir mystery set amidst the rise of the Reagan era and it speaks volumes beyond its pulpy plot with deep social commentary. The structure of this movie is odd and brilliant and the ending is one of those incredibly abrupt types, like the 80’s James Wood’s thriller Cop, where something explosively cathartic happens and the screen cuts to black followed by the credits. No patronizing wrap up to tie everything into a nice neat package. You’re left with an impression that you’ve just witnessed some seriously awesome filmmaking unlike anything that is currently made today. If you like angry, cynical seventies crime cinema I suggest you hunt down this smoldering work of genius that had the misfortune of being released in the wrong decade.

Random anecdotes: I watched this film on cable television when I was a kid and it really stuck with me. I had the pleasure of attending a 35mm screening at the last “Wright Stuff” film festival that Edgar Wright held at the New Beverly Cinema in Los Angeles. It was part of a series he did of films that he’s always wanted to see, but never has before. The print featured its original title Cutter and Bone and the sold out audience was pretty blown away by its awesomeness.

Cinematic soul mates: The Long Goodbye, Night Moves, Hickey and Boggs, Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia, Point Blank, The Silent Partner, Body Heat, Cop and The Big Lebowski.

CHUD is very pleased to be a part of a group of 26 sites launching interviews with filmmakers today- specifically the 26 madmen behind the horror anthology The ABC’s Of Death. (You can find all 26 listed right here).

We’re joined here by Jorge Michel Grau, who is behind one of the more unnerving shorts, “I Is For Ingrown.” His short is definitely one you have to check out, but with the entire film available today on VOD, you should just strap in for the whole ride.

Our interview here was a bit complicated by language differences, so please excuse any awkward translations.

Renn: Tell me about the beginnings of your involvement in the project- did it come with your letter right away, or did you have some time to think generally before “I” was dealt to you?

Jorge: By the time I learned of the existence of the project I had not yet received an invitation to be part of it. It drove me crazy the idea of participating so I started to think of stories with the letter “T” that were still open to competition. I made a huge list of words to make a good story. Shortly after, Tim League wrote to tell me that I was invited to the project. It greatly excited me, moved me as I admired the work of the directors involved. Besides having a very good friendship with Adrian Garcia Bogliano and Nacho Vigalondo, the invitation allowed me to be part of that family. When I was assigned to “I” I had to put aside all ideas and developments that had been done to “T” and start from scratch.

Renn: What were some of your immediate considerations when realizing you’d be a part of a film with such a large amount of shorts surrounding yours?

Jorge: I always thought (and still do now) that the invitations to each of the directors were due to his style, his speech, his aesthetic. That’s why I decided to follow my path, an exercise in horror to explore a social crisis. In my country the killing of women is an act that we can not only not eradicate but it grows daily and the impunity is offensive. I think the invitation came for that, because my previous work walked that path, so I let it flow a story with these conditions. I think the strength of ABC’s of Death is that each of the directors, even if they belong to the horror genre, have their own identity.

Renn: Did the idea for Ingrown come to you suddenly and fully formed, or was it an idea/script that required a lot of sculpting?

Jorge: At first I made a selection of words with the letter “i”. Because of the language difference it was a slow selection, since the meanings and subtexts are not the same for both languages. I decided to do something more elaborate in speech, I wanted to talk about the “femicide” (murders of women) that goes unpunished. I thought the idea of a man sick with jealousy could lead to murder. So itchy with irritation that could be understood as the jealous rage that led to murder. Also, the word “impunity” in Spanish starts with “i”. Murder is a syringe and a “shot” … all the voice or speech or thought of a woman being murdered by her partner, begins with “I”. So, the idea of the letter “i” appears on several levels, not just in the murder.

Renn: Were there any particular challenges during filming?

Jorge: The hardest thing was to see the actress scratching her skin, the idea of dying by her own hands was a bit scary and the metaphor of the film; in Mexico, to be woman implies as tragic a fate as skinning alive. I was very interested to see if this was understood and could be seen. So we tested makeup, applied latex and peeled with the actress’ nails and a chemical that when it reacts simulates blood, all planned with Francesca Dalla Benetta. In the end, we had to do a little digital enhancement that gave force to the scene, Valerio Landa helped us in the digital process.

Renn: How do you approach directing an actor or actress through such unpleasant onscreen moments?

Jorge: I always talk with them head on, never leave anything to misinterpretation,
first doing research and selecting stimuli to give the actors. For example, in addition to searching news, studies and academic research that I convey to the actors, I select music, movies, books and paintings that they have to watch over the process to get in tune. So, I try to create a connection between the actors and my goals. However, I let the actors shape their character, allowing two universes together, the universe of fiction generated by the script, and the universe of the interpretation, generated by the actor. The strength of the film lies in the actor and his ability to play the character.

Renn: Tell me about making your decision with the title for “Ingrown,” especially since there is another big “I” word that would have also fit.

Jorge: At first I chose the word “itchy” because I wanted to make direct reference to a fit of jealousy, an itching or irritation caused by a feeling. Once the short was completed and commenting with Ant Timpson, we believed that the word “itchy” did not quite work right, but I was interested in a woman scratching her skin, to tear it, looked like he could be given more of a joke than a reflection, so the word “ingrown” portrayed more what I wanted to express, the rage that comes from within, it grows and flourishes. All this would not be possible without the indifference of the authorities in Mexico to let that happen daily.

Renn: What kind of personal challenge did you feel with this short? Did you set any goal to be the most shocking/disturbing/memorable/mysterious/etc?

Jorge: The first thought that came to mind was, “these are the big leagues” and I was nervous to do something that pleased. However, after the excitement and the invitation, I let the story flow, wanted to take the window display they gave me to talk about something that I worry about. I was never looking to do something memorable and disturbing or anything, I just wanted to talk about something that seems urgent. This is not filmmaking commitments, it is exploring yourself and now I found it in me. The horror film allows that.

Renn: What do you feel you’ll take away from this experience as you continue making films?

Jorge: The first and great was to make a movie out of my country, to participate in a different industry, production methods, contracts and many more, that sets us apart. On the other side, the most important, was to realize that the commitment of the story is related to me, nobody else. the exercise of exorcism is personal, just that. I learned that no matter what happens, the stories should be shot.

Such an odd angle to be falling from at that altitude, especially with the position he’s in. Listen, if Disney and Marvel expect us to by into this third Iron Man movie is it too much to ask that its marketing be 100% scientifically accurate?

That answer is yes. Yes it is. A lame Super Bowl teaser teaser below the poster for the 2-1/2 people that care about that sort of thing.

Source: Entertainment Weekly

I love Steven Soderbergh. Love him. The guy is a true Hollywood iconoclast. He makes movies that interest him, oftentimes ones that no one else thought they wanted or needed. Once he does we all realize that he’s given us something new and special. Then we realize we did want and need them. Fresh, odd, and unique little pieces of art that bring a little of the fringe to the fore. And there’s his commerce films, the Danny Ocean movies and projects like Contagion. Even when not delivering on all levels those films offer a fresh take on the familiar. Add his auteur versatility behind the camera, in the editing room, and at the podium and you have the kind of person able to preserve a dying aesthetic. I’ve paid to see almost everything he’s done and even when the film doesn’t speak to me (Kafka, King of the Hill, Haywire) there’s a deep appreciation and respect for the man.

He’s often spoke of retirement and it’s always carried with it a melancholy glaze. We need a Soderbergh out there for the betterment of the industry. The more Soderbergh. The more Fincher. The more Sayles. The more Coen. The more of these people, the longer we’ll have that bond to the era where The Filmmaker really became a part of the machine. Soderbergh recently stated that the upcoming Side Effects will be his last film (http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2013/jan/30/steven-soderbergh-retires-from-film) and that’s fine. He’s welcome to retire. But to complain about how directors are treated at this stage is ludicrous. Directors have always been under the boot of studios and executives. To be at or near the top of the directing food chain as Soderbergh is, the air is much more rarified.

It’s a little late to get sand in his vagina.

Retire or don’t retire, Steven. You’ve earned the right to do whatever you want. But don’t be a whiny bitch about it. I firmly believe that if a director with Soderbergh’s filmography and pedigree wanted to keep making little movies like the fun The Girlfriend Experience off the grid and on his own terms he has all the tools in place to do so.

Picture a kid fresh out of film school. Talented. Hungry. His sensibilities in the right place. Maybe even a disciple of the School of Steven. What kind of message does it send to have an upper echelon talent and Hollywood success like Steven Soderbergh quitting because “they’re mean to me at the studio and at the financing company”. That’s bullshit. And it’s not a new development.

Wherever you reside on the totem pole there are assholes waiting to ruin the party. People who read scripts are afraid to fully endorse something they read because what good are they if they don’t have notes. Executives are out to protect their jobs so they do what they can to keep the property as safe as possible. The turnover in the industry is ridiculous so when a new executive or studio head arrives they treat whatever their predecessor championed like sour milk. It really is a miracle that anything makes it out of the system intact. I am a novice but I’ve had several legit projects in development and have seen ludicrous things happen. Entire careers and fortunes have been scuttled because a studio head would rather direct their little movie than make someone else’s. Or because a person with a business degree in charge of a creative process didn’t “get” a visionary project.

It’s a long odds business even if the deck is stacked in your favor. Bearded deity Stephen Spielberg has had films spiral into development hell or lose financing.

What kind of message does it send to the next wave of brilliant filmmakers to quit the business because the people in charge suck a big bloated dick? They have always been backseat drivers whose fear of losing their job (with exceptions) far outweighs their desire to contribute something special. Funnily enough, when something hits big it’s something that escapes through the process sans too much intervention. You may hate Avatar but it was kinda profitable and fiercely independent. Before his soul escaped through a hole in his wallet, George Lucas practically invented the wheel with Star Wars. Hollywood should give true filmmakers the slack to hang themselves. In a perfect world it’d be that way. Studio heads should care as much about legacy as they do shareholders. In a perfect world it’d be that way. Directors would retire on their own terms either quietly in the night or in a gasping convulsion on a film set. Not on the front page of the Hollywood Reporter complaining about how the system sucks.

The system has always sucked. It will always suck. And frankly, because of how public and widespread that suck is, it makes being able to exist in the industry that much more of a “fuck you” to all the people within the system doing their best to keep Red Rover from breaking through. It’s hard to get in. No agency wants to rep you until you’ve done something and no one wants to let you do something unless you have an agent. Managers only manage when you’ve done something and they don’t have much to say until you’ve done something, need their help, and then they decide to slow the process down with their “expertise”. There’s always someone better, cheaper, younger, smarter, or better looking out there so even if you play your cards just right there are people around every corner waiting to knock you down. I’ve seen it happen many times and I’m just a babe in the woods in Hollywood. Steven Soderbergh has seen it for decades and somehow still he’s made good movies, risky movies, and odd movies and whether he’s done it because of the system or in spite of it the result is the same. When discussing the major filmmakers of the past few decades in a conversation the omission of his name is blasphemy.

So Mr. Soderbergh, go ahead and quit. In fact please do. You’ve done an amazing job of excelling in a business that constantly is trying to wear you down. You’re in a place any of us would trade to be in. You have access to money, talent, distribution, and the skills to keep doing it forever. And you want out. And that’s fine, but the way you’re going out is not only ill-advised it sends a shitty message.

A lot of us want in. Feel we have what it takes to be in. If you want to go out on top thank you for twenty-plus years of amazing filmmaking but don’t slam the door so violently and annoyingly on the way out that it discourages the next wave. People who helped make you a success and people who look to you as an example of how the little guy can win. Every industry has its share of bullshit and red tape. Film is just on a much bigger scale but you’re not making vaccines or finding new planets. You’re making art. And being paid handsomely to do so and wherever you go you’re surrounded by the real people who matter. The people who pay to see your work and the ones who are enriched, inspired, and challenged by your “oh so difficult” job.

So don’t be such a bitch about it.

One of my absolute favorite films of Fantastic Fest last year was I Declare War, about which I said:

“At first glance the film reads as merely an excuse to have some fun, violent action with kids shooting each other up and tossing out plentiful F-bombs –all of which happen with glorious frequency– except it doesn’t take long for the film to start going deeper, doing more. This a film with things to say and show about what it means to be unpopular, to be weird, to be growing up, to be jealous, to be angry, and to start realizing that the world as you’ve always seen it might not be the same for much longer. Add that thematic depth to a perfectly tuned execution of the playtime war concept and you have what I would consider close to the best child combat movie ever.”

So with that I’m happy to say the film has landed distribution, and from a company that I’ve long held a hunch was going to step up: Drafthouse Films.

Now to be honest, I’ve only been impressed by Drafthouse’s distribution so far because they’ve taken true underdog films (The FP, Miami Connection) and given them much more of a life than they would ever have otherwise seen. In the case of I Declare War however, I personally saw a film that has a very bright future. It’s no four-quadrant blockbuster, but it’s a damn entertaining, extremely marketable film that could bring in a relatively big audience if word gets out there. I can only hope Drafthouse doesn’t just screen this in their own theaters and then push it to VOD and Home Video. My fingers are crossed that most major markets will get a chance to see this one before it does the rounds online.

I’ll be keeping an eye out for the plans, and you should too.

DRAFTHOUSE FILMS CAPTURES
“I DECLARE WAR”
Fantastic Fest 2012 Audience Award Winner
Storms Theaters & VOD Platforms This Year

AUSTIN, TX – Wednesday, January 30, 2013 – Drafthouse Films, the film distribution arm of the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, announced their acquisition of US rights to 2012 Toronto International Film Festival favorite and Fantastic Fest Audience Award winner I Declare War, directed by Jason Lapeyre and Robert Wilson. Produced by Lewin Webb, Robert Wilson and Patrick Cameron from SamaritanEntertainment, the film centers on an epic game of capture-the-flag. In their quest for victory, a group of adolescents pushes beyond the game and the boundaries of friendship into an adventure where fantasy blurs with reality. A VOD and theatrical campaign is planned for the second half of 2013.

Directors Lapeyre and Wilson set out to construct an action film from the darker side of a 13-year-old’s mindset, while also examining sincere conflicts of enduring friendship. Using the kids’ overactive imaginations, a neighborhood forest setting becomes a full-fledged woodland battlefield: sticks transform into guns, water balloons into grenades and eyeballs can shoot lasers. Charles Webb of MTV Geekhas praised the film for “vividly capturing a point in time as a kid where everything was important, even the imaginary things.”

“Not since Stand By Me have we experienced such a poignant and sincere film about kids for adults,” says Drafthouse Films CEO/Founder Tim League, “Armed with an arsenal of extremely talented child actors and combining shades of Full Metal Jacket and Lord Of The Flies, Jason and Rob have created a one-of-a-kind action film that we couldn’t be more excited to handle in the US.”

Producer Lewin Webb noted, “We are thrilled that Drafthouse Films have picked up I Declare War and a wide US audience is going to have the opportunity to see it. We are proud to be part of the Drafthouse Family of films.”

“Drafthouse Films is our ideal partner for I Declare War in the US. From Fantastic Fest on, they have been a huge supporter,” says director RobertWilson. “Drafthouse are the most progressive of US based distributors and we know that they will deliver the widest and best audience for the film.”

The deal was negotiated by Drafthouse Films COO James Emanuel Shapiro on behalf of Drafthouse Films and Andrew Herwitz of Film Sales on behalf of the film’s producers.

I Declare War is available for festival bookings until the 3rd quarter of 2013. Please contact Festival Coordinator Jon Stobezki at jon.stobezki@drafthouse.com. For theatrical bookings contact VP of Theatrical Marketing and Distribution Sumyi Antonson at sumyi.antonson@drafthouse.com.

For more information on I Declare War and Drafthouse Films:
http://drafthousefilms.com
http://twitter.com/drafthousefilms
http://facebook.com/drafthousefilms
http://youtube.com/drafthousefilms

About I DECLARE WAR
A group of 13-year-old friends play an innocent game of Capture the Flag in the neighborhood woods, arming themselves with nothing more than sticks, their imagination and a simple set of rules. One afternoon the game takes on a more serious tone and the quest for victory pushes the boundaries of friendship, giving the would-be warriors a glimpse of the darker side of human nature as their imaginations take them beyond the rules of the game and into an adventure where fantasy blurs with reality.

About Jason Lapeyre: Co-Director & Writer
Jason is an award-winning filmmaker currently living in Toronto. In 2011 he made three feature films. His gritty crime thriller Cold Blooded won Best Canadian Feature Film at Fantasia. In addition to I Declare War, he directed a documentary about mental illness called Faceless. He also found time to produce a short film called The Captured Bird, which is executive produced by Guillermo del Toro. He has directed music videos, short films and short documentaries that have played in over 25 film festivals across the world and been broadcast in Canada and the UK. He is also a regular contributor to the magazines Wax Poetics and Rue Morgue on the subjects of music and film.

About Rob Wilson: Co-Director & Producer
Rob is an experienced film, television and music video director, writer and producer. As the co-owner of 235Films Inc., Canada’s most successful producer of music video and related content, he has been responsible for the creative development and physical production of countless videos for innumerable international and Canadian performers. Wilson has also produced and directed numerous independent films and made for TV movies including the critically acclaimed cult horror film Dead Mary with Dominique Swain (Lolita, Face/Off) and Warriors of Terra. Rob recently completed photography on You Bury Your Own with Mykelti Williams (Forrest Gump) and John Glover (“Smallville”), which he both wrote and directed. You Bury Your Own won Best Feature at the Art of Brooklyn Film Festival. He currently leads Samaritan Entertainment’s creative development operations.

 

Don’t worry, Calender Man got dis!

A lot of dates, both in terms of release and production, have cropped up this week.  On the theatrical side of things, April 5th of this year seems to be have a spotlight on it.   First up, Paul Feig’s The Heat has vacated that slot in favor of a “warmer climate” on June 28th.  This sees the film bolting from a day where its only competition was the 3D re-release of Jurassic Park and now going toe-to-toe with the likes of Kick-Ass 2 and Roland Emmerich’s White House Down.  The latter is the Volcano to Olmypus Has Fallen‘s Dante’s Peak, except in this case I feel that the “Volcano” will be the good one.

As we all know, studios are like vultures, especially when it comes to release dates.  Sorry, Mr. Gennaro, but Jurassic Park 3D never had a chance of standing solo on April 5th.  Swooping in to fill the slot vacated by the Sandra Bullock/Melissa McCarthy-starrer are two films.  The first is Danny Boyle’s thriller, Trance.  The second is the remake of Evil Dead, which is now hitting a week sooner than we expected.  I don’t know about the rest of you, but that sounds like one hell of a great triple-feature to me.

On the production end of things, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 will begin filming in New York City on February 12th for a 14-day shoot, afterwards it will move elsewhere.  Captain America: The Winter Soldier now has an April start date, so expect a few more big casting announcement to come flying out over the coming weeks.  In the realm of horror, Greg McLean finally began rolling on Wolf Creek 2 last week.  John Jarratt is thankfully reprising the role of the sadistic “Mick Taylor”.

Paul Thomas Anderson’s Inherent Vice will commence production in late April if all goes well.  The film is currently expected to star Joaquin Phoenix as lead “Doc Sportello” and Charlize Theron is being courted for the project as well.  While I sit here impatiently waiting for The Master to hit Blu-ray so that I can finally see it, it’s nice to know that PTA won’t be waiting another block of years before he manages to get another film off the ground.  The fact that it will be a Big Lebowski-esque detective story starring Phoenix as a stoner private dick makes things even more appealing.  Given the more commercial nature of the project, I greatly anticipate the chance to actually be able to see this one on the big screen next year in my area.

And now we come to the final act of our little play.  The Weinstein Company has announced a May start date for a sequel to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.  Wait…what?  Yep, the Brothers Weinstein intend on shooting Silver Vase, Iron Knight in a few months time.  Before I go further, I would just like to state the obvious and say there is no way it won’t be called “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 2“.  I mean, who are we talking about here?  In a perfect world, it would be titled “2 Crouching, 2 Tiger“, but that is neither here nor there.  Anyway, the project is based on the fifth book in the Crane-Iron Pentatlogy.  Crouching was based on the fourth, so this would be a direct sequel.  There is no word at this time as to whether or not Michelle Yeoh or Chow Yun Fat are expected to reprise there roles, but their characters are apparently main components of the story.  In fact, as far as I can tell, there is absolutely no one officially attached to the project beyond screenwriter John Fusco (Hidalgo, The Forbidden Kingdom).  That’s a really intelligent way to make a big project there, Misters Weinstein.  Ronny Yu (Freddy vs. Jason, Fearless) is currently in talks to direct.  The budget is reportedly $20+ million, but I suspect it will balloon beyond it if they have to scramble to get people involved just to meet their start date.

Source | Dark Horizons

Did you know it takes about 1.3 Petabytes (1,300,000 gigabytes) of data storage to maintain World of Warcraft.

That’s because the multiplayer game is one of the most popular that has ever existed. The franchise has been tossed around as a developing studio film for years and years, with Sam Raimi the director to go the farthest with it before ditching for the upcoming Oz. Today we learn that a new director has been chosen by Legendary and Blizzard, and it’s none other than Duncan Jones, director of the genre gem Moon and he solid studio scifi film Source Code.

Jones’ stepping up to the $100m+ bluckbuster big leagues presumably follows the new momentum on the project after Charles Leavitt pitched a new screenplay late last year. No details on how the massive and tonally-scattered universe of Azeroth is being narrowed into a feature film as of yet, but one must assume somebody has figured something out if Jones is signing on.

Jones has been on a clear studio trajectory since his low-budget first effort, so it’s no surprise to hear his name finally jump from shortlists to a full deal. I wish him the best of luck. I’ve never logged a single click in WoW, so it will be up to him to provide shits for me to give.

Here’s looking to a trailer in a couple years! Till then, congratulate the guy on twitter!

Whether you liked it or not (psst…I liked it!), The Muppets made its mark when it debuted on screens in 2011 and effectively relaunched the brand.  Details have slowly leaked out since about the inevitable follow-up, but now we finally have a clearer picture of what director/writer James Bobin & co-writer Nick Stoller have in-store for us.

The Muppets…Again! takes the Muppets gang on a global tour, selling out grand theatres in Berlin, Madrid and London. They soon find themselves unwittingly thrust into an international crime caper headed by the world’s top criminal Constantine — who is also a dead ringer for Kermit — and his dastardly sidekick Dominic, aka Number Two (Ricky Gervais).

Hot on their trail will be Interpol agent Jean Pierre Napoleon (Ty Burrell) and Tiny Fey will be appearing as a Russian gulag guard named Nadya.  Muppet veteran Ray Liotta also has an unspecified role.  Christoph Waltz, who was initially in line for Burrell’s role, is expected to have a cameo.  The only returning new characters from the previous film appear to be 80s Robot and Muppet inductee Walter.  David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman will once again produce and Bret Mackenzie has already been confirmed to be returning as songwriter.

Shooting has already begun and the film is targeting a March 21st, 2014 release.  I suspect information will be flying out fast as the production movies along, particularly in terms of cameos, so watch this space for more as it develops.

Source | Dark Horizons

Pop quiz.

You’re a mother/father of five. Your favorite radio station just awarded you free passes to a prescreening of Warm Bodies. You bundle up, shove the rugrats into the beater and head out for a night at the movies. Just one problem, you’re a terrible parent whose awful child-rearing has raised five of the loudest, most obnoxious kids ages 3-6 this side of the Garbage Pail lot. Do you:

• A. Quietly and respectfully remove your brood from the theatre as soon as you start getting shushed, or:
• B. Take that shit in stride and shove another handful of buttery popcorn into your wide-set gullet while society babysits.

Those answering A. can leave now. You’re solid peeps. Whatever shortcomings are evident in your brood’s behavior, you at least own it. That’s a start. As for B., who I had the grave misfortune of sitting in front of at last night’s screening (and too many others like it):

Seriously, go fuck yourself.

Let’s not confuse the issue. This is not your children’s fault. Nor is it the responsibilty of other theatregoers to put up with their never-ending babblespeak. Judging from the integrity of the butter stained sweatpants you must have somehow lept into so you could leave your abode, I surmise getting up to go anywhere is a big deal for you. That’s fabulous. Good for you for pealing yourself from Honey Boo Boo, 19 & Counting, or whatever little person exploitation shitshow you like to call “muh stories.” But know that just because you’re gracing the outside world with your presence for a night, the onus is not on the rest of us to babysit the kids you shat out while you hunker down, audibly devouring a hillock of grease in a dark room for two hours.

(Sincerely, Timothy Kelly Esq.)

Social fucking contract, people. It’s those of us adhereing to it that suffer the most. Why do we put up with these monsters, these mongoloids who can’t be bothered to take even the slightest responsibility when out in the real world?

I’m as guilty as anyone else, sliding into my seat, chewing my sleeve as I bear the mp3 version of Tiny Tim Sings the Necronomicon for 120 minutes. But what do I or any of us do? Especially when kids are involved. You can’t yell at the kids, that just makes you the asshole. You can’t yell at the shell of a parent, he/she knows those kids are Black Plague in a theatre and elected to bring them anyway. And god forbid security show some backbone and resolve the situation. Try telling a standing security guard who’s been watching you sit in a cushy seat watching a movie they cannot to do their job. Yeah, they care.

I sat on it. I fed the anger for two hours and on my way out took action.

“Hey lady, great kids movie. Thanks for that.”

“You’re welcome, jackass.”

Last night, when she got home, she likely told someone about the guy in the hoody. The “jackass”. Yeah, well, I suppose I had that coming. Screw the rest of us for being offended that our night out was ruined by your awfulness.

The obnoxious theatergoer, this scourge of the arts, is not an unsolvable epidemic. Alamo Drafthouse’s highly touted no text / no talking policy is a welcome approach. Granted, we sometimes feed our companions occaisional quips at the movies and, usually, it’s a victimless crime. But if the tradeoff is that I can no longer make catty comments about Billy Crystal’s eye lift during Parental Guidance to avoid another ordeal like last night’s then so be it. Because with higher ticket prices the bar still hangs criminally low. Elite prices call for elite theatre crowd control with a zero tolerance policy: a sign reading “This Theatre Bans Assholes on these Premises.”

I can’t wait to take my kids to the movies someday. Film opens up imagination in spirited fashion and a child’s excitement on what he/she encounters onscreen is most often palpable. I also can’t wait to take said kid out of the theatre so they can calm the fuck down when they’re acting rash. Better yet, maybe I’ll be active in their developmental stage and raise kids who know how to behave in a roomful of people.

Because there are other persons who enjoy going to the movies too. And they shouldn’t have to put up with my bullshit.