Category: News

  • Cell Phone Commercial featuring Darth Vader

    A Japanese cell phone commercial has been making rounds online — what’s so great about it? It features Darth Vader. And why shouldn’t it? Darth Vader would want to reconnect with society if he survived the events in Return of the Jedi.

  • George Lucas Penning Ideas for New Indiana Jones Film

    Harrison Ford told CNN that George Lucas is working on a new Indiana Jones film while promoting his news comedy Morning Glory. He added that he’d be happy to shoot another film if Lucas’ ideas are something he and Steven Spielberg can agree and work on.

    Is there any reason why George Lucas should again have a hand in the Indiana Jones franchise? Then again, he does surround himself with yes-men and sycophants. So of course he thinks his ideas are top-notch. There was no one there to say, “No, George, aliens do not belong in Indy”. So who knows what silly ideas Lucas has for Indiana Jones. He’s almost intent on getting fanboys angry. On second thought: that sounds like a fun hobby.

    Ahem. Anyway . . .

    Another issue for Indiana Jones is Harrison Ford’s age. He’s 68 years old now. It would be reaching for his character to do the physical stunts that he’s done in the past. It’d be an easy fix in a new movie though. Indy is resourceful and smart. Use that to his advantage; work it into the story.

    I was excited for a new Indiana Jones film — hopefully one that would end the franchise gracefully — but if Lucas has a hand in the creative process again, it’s going to suffer greatly.

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  • ACME Gets Movie

    Brothers Kevin and Dan Hageman have recently pitched the idea of a feature film revolving around the Looney Tunes’ fictional warehouse ACME.

    Oddly, Looney Tunes characters — including the notable Wile E. Coyote — wouldn’t be in the film. It would be a live-action/CG film featuring ACME’s outrageous devices. Think Who Framed Roger Rabbit without the characters but with all the gear.

    Jon Berg of Warner will produce with Mark Bauch of Lin Pictures co-producing.

    It’s an odd concept, but it hasn’t been done before. I don’t expect it to be something adults will enjoy, but the kids will eat it up.

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  • Disney Buys Distribution Rights to Marvel Films

    Disney is making good on its investment on Marvel and has bought the distribution deals to the final two films in Paramount’s six-picture deal with Marvel Studios.

    Paramount has kept its distribution and marketing rights for Captain America: The First Avenger and Thor; Disney has attained distribution and marketing for The Avengers and Iron Man 3 for $115 million.

    So yes, that solidifies that there will be an Iron Man 3 — and that Disney means business. Marvel Studios’ current superheroes (sans X-Men and Spider-Man) will be under one roof which will work perfectly for the planned under-one-universe for the films.

    Gotta drive it home again: their relationship is beautiful.

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  • Luc Besson Will Direct Sci-Fi Film

    Director, writer, and producer Luc Besson has always been prolific in the film industry. Yet, he rarely helms the director seat. It’s recently been reported that Besson is working on a sci-fi film which is being compared to his movie The Fifth Element. He is, of course, set to direct.

    “With the advent of digital technology, it is amazing what you can do. The technique has caught the imagination. One can imagine anything, there will always technicians to follow you in your delusion.”

    -Luc Besson

    Pre-production begins in 2011 and production supposedly in 2012 and 2013. It’s planned to be a sci-fi epic.

    Who isn’t excited for it? I’m a huge fan of The Fifth Element. Luc Besson back to directing a sci-fi film has massive potential. I’m very stoked for it. Now to learn patience.

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  • Comic-Con in San Diego is Extended

    In May I wrote a post on Comic-Con‘s future. The event has been growing considerably and there’s been talks that massive expansions are necessary to keep Comic-Con in San Diego. And time was ticking with a contract that expires in 2012.

    Recently there has been concern about nearby hotels hiking up prices during the convention, which became part of the negotiation for a new contract. A new contract has been set to keep Comic-Con in San Diego for five more years. Hopefully with plans of the convention center being expanded and hotels negotiating to use discount rates, Comic-Con will continue beyond five years in San Diego.

    What can I say? I’m bias. I’ve been attending Comic-Con for over a decade, and I live here. Comic-Con started here, and it should keep San Diego as its home. I’m happy with the extension.

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  • Battlestar Galactica Exhibit

    The Experience Music Project|Science Fiction Museum in Seattle, Washington, is opening a new exhibit: Battlestar Galactica: The Exhibition. It’ll feature props, costumes, and music from the original series and the re-imagined series. On top of that, it’ll also feature three full-size spaceships. It will open to the public on October 23, 2010 to March 4, 2012.

    Saying that I think it’s awesome that Battlestar has an exhibit is an understatement. If anything, it inspires me to get a group together for a road trip to see it.

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  • Spoof Films Losing Profit

    Hollywood Reporter recently wrote an article questioning if the spoof genre is losing profitability. It’s not a steep decline like M. Night Shyamalan’s reputation, but it is a decline nonetheless.

    Mel Brooks’ films had story-arcs with characters spoofing other movies. The comedy was well-written. There were references to other movies; poking fun at them, but done in a way that it’s funny to viewers regardless if it’s understood or not. And the actors had great comedic timing. There was a defined story.

    One of the problems is that spoof movies nowadays ignore a coherent storyline. For the past few years spoofs have relied heavily on outrageous, visual humor. The actors ham it up to the point of ridiculousness with a try-too-hard approach to get a laugh. There’s spoof-cameos of entertainers that ultimately do not add anything to the films. An actual plot with creative spoofs are replaced with, “Remember this character?” moments — or even spoofing other comedies.

    That’s the downfall for spoofs now; there’s hardly any creativity. Now, spoofs are merely throwing in actors who resemble others and doing something out of the ordinary for that particular character — and by doing something out of the ordinary, I mean something utterly ridiculous that doesn’t serve the story. At all. And each of these movies ultimately become dated and forgotten, while spoofs like Mel Brooks’ are still funny and are looked upon as classics.