Unions Offering Support to Writers

Major Hollywood unions were lining up behind TV and film writers Tuesday as last-minute contract talks resumed amid fears of a possible strike.

A powerful branch of the Teamsters union told its 4,500 members they can honor picket lines if TV and film writers strike after their contract expires at midnight Wednesday.

Teamsters Local 399 said in a Web posting that as a union, it has a legal obligation to honor its contracts with producers.

But the local, which represents truck drivers, casting directors and location managers, said the clause does not apply to individuals, who are protected by federal law from employer retribution if they decide to honor picket lines.

"As for me as an individual, I will not cross any picket line whether it is sanctioned or not because I firmly believe that Teamsters do not cross picket lines," union local secretary-treasurer Leo Reed wrote.

Members of the Screen Actors Guild have also voiced strong support for writers, but officials with that union have said its 150,000 members were obligated to report to work if writers strike.

Negotiations between the 12,000-member Writers Guild of America and the group representing producers adjourned Tuesday without a deal, and both sides agreed to meet again Wednesday.

A federal mediator joined the talks in an effort to break a stalemate. The mediator will return Wednesday, when the WGA is expected to present an updated proposal.

A key issue involves giving writers more money from the sale of DVDs and the distribution of shows via the Internet, cell phones and other digital platforms.

Early Tuesday, writers visited studio lots to distribute leaflets to Teamster truck drivers urging support of their cause.

The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents networks and studios, sent a letter to craft unions representing electricians, drivers and other trades, reminding them of the "no strike" clauses in their contracts.

"We expect each union to comply with this no strike obligation and order your members to work," alliance president J. Nicholas Counter wrote.

A strike by writers would not immediately have an impact on TV or film production. Most shows have enough scripts in hand to get them though early next year.

After that, networks might turn to reality shows, news programs and reruns to fill the airwaves.

Source: www.cinema-pedia.com

The Five Sexiest Funny Girls in Hollywood

This week we're bringing to you the five funniest yet sexy girls of Hollywood. So not only will they make you laugh, but they'll definitely get a rise out of you. Sit back and enjoy.

Anna Faris

 

Why she's funny: She is pretty good at stealing most of the scenes she's in when playing opposite the main character.

Why she's sexy: Her girl next door looks help, but when you've been cast as a Playboy bunny -- and can legitimately pull it off -- you know you've got to be hot.

Her notable credits: Scary Movie (the first one), The Hot Chick, Waiting, Just Friends

Sarah Silverman

Why she's funny: She has the guts to say the snarkiest/most outlandish jokes possible at any given moment.

Why she's sexy: She can joke around with the guys and look hot while making fun of you. What more can you ask for?

Her notable credits: Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic, Greg the Bunny, Heartbreakers, Seinfeld

Kristen Wiig

Why she's funny: Imagine Molly Shannon and/or Cheri Oteri. Now imagine them being actually funny. That's what you get with Kristen.

Why she's sexy: Aside from being the hottest woman ever on SNL, she is actually even hotter in real life. I know this because we almost banged. Sorry babe, couldn't keep that a secret forever.

Her notable credits: Saturday Night Live, Knocked Up

Elizabeth Banks

Why she's funny: Very versatile with her comedy including the ability to play a funny tramp to perfection.

Why she's sexy: Let me put it this way. She would have made for a better Mary Jane than Kirsten Dunst. Her latest GQ photo shoot only proves that she is insanely hotter than all the other girls on this list.

Her notable credits: Spider-Man series, The 40 Year Old Virgin, Scrubs

Isla Fisher

Why she's funny: Because she's a nut and she writes quite a bit of material herself. Not to mention most of her candid interviews are genuinely funny.
Why she's sexy: She's a cute red head with a great body. 'Nuff said.

Her notable credits: I Heart Huckabees, The Wedding Crashers, Hot Rod

Source: www.cinema-pedia.com

Interview: Jerry Seinfeld on Bee Movie

Nine years after ending his ratings-dominating TV show and walking away from the public limelight, Jerry Seinfeld is everywhere again. You probably saw the comedian on primetime with his absurdist teasers (called "TV Juniors") or in a guest role on 30 Rock, all to increase visibility for his new film, Bee Movie, opening this Friday. For Dreamworks' second animated film of 2007 (after Shrek the Third), Seinfeld voices Barry B. Benson, an idealistic bee who takes humanity to court for withholding profits from our wanton honey consumption.

So why animation over live-action?

Because I had done so much of that on the TV series. I had made 90 hours of programming. You cut that up, that's like 45 movies. So there was no movie that seemed exciting to me. "Yeah, I know, they give you the script, you stand over here..." I don't know...it just wasn't exciting.

But [then] I saw this whole technology, and the look of it is so different. I thought, "Gee, what if we took that look but [made them] talk like I want them to talk, maybe that would be something interesting." I just got excited about it.

Did becoming a father have something to do with it?

No. [Laughs] I just wanted to do something different.

[But] it is funny how it worked out. I have three kids -- six, four, and two. Of course, I know all their friends so now I know millions of kids. And I realized these kids are going to go nuts [over Bee Movie]. Sometimes when their friends are over I show them little clips on the computer that I'm working on for whatever reason. And they'll come in and they'll watch it. They go nuts. It's so fun. There's nothing more fun than entertaining kids.

Do you find there's a big difference in the kind of comedy you have to invent between mediums?

There's a big difference. Sometimes you can do certain things on stage, or even in a TV series, and people see the look on your face and they know what you mean, so you can get away with certain things. But if you can't create that look on an animated character, which is essentially a puppet, the line will hit the audience in a very bad way.

[It's] like a petting zoo and you're blindfolded. They want you to take care of this animal, which is your show. But you're blindfolded. We're going to put you in a room with the animal, and the food that it needs. And everything it needs is in the room, and you're in the room with the animal. But you're blindfolded. So you go into this room and start feeling around for this stuff. Feel a little fur, and you feel a little claw. And you go, "Oh, my God, what is this thing?"

This is the great advantage that you have doing a TV series. Say, for example, my series -- which is the only one I know anything about -- by year four, we knew exactly what this thing ate, when it wanted to go out, how it liked to be petted. What it liked and what it didn't like. And what makes a movie so challenging -- so much more challenging than a TV series, frankly -- is that you never get that opportunity. Because you make a TV show and you put it out there and you get a reaction. You go, "Okay, this work. This doesn't work." You put out another one. "They like this. They don't like this." But with a movie, you get one shot at it. Even though you have test screenings, pretty much, we're going to put this lemur in people's living rooms. And, just, bang, they're going to react to it. I hope I didn't over-answer your question. [Laughs]

This is one of my big things of creative pursuits. You have your idea you want to do, but then you got to figure out what does this thing want to be? You got to let it lead you a little.

And how were the test screenings?

Well, you know, I like to try anything. So we would have some horrible ones. We'd try crazy things just to see how they reacted. Some of the work, some of them don't. Comedy is a very scientific exploration. You have to do the experiments to find out what the formulas are.

How much did you put yourself into the character of Barry?

How much? As much as I have. I don't really know how to do it any other way. I think in a TV series I could be a little more obnoxious. This character in this movie is never obnoxious. He's a little nicer than I am. So I actually took a little of myself out.

 

How much of Bee Movie is yours? Is it a collaborative effort between you and Dreamworks or do you feel that this is entirely your vision?

There's nothing "entirely." You have 350 people working on this thing. [But] I would say the tone, the comedy of it is mine. Even though I work with writers, I'm in charge of what goes in the script and what doesn't. Win or lose, [that] is my thing.

How involved were you with the casting of the other voices?

I was involved in every single aspect of everything. [Laughs] From the cars they drove, to the ties they wore, to the desks they sat at. Not to say that I came up with it all, but it was brought to me. "Do you like it like this? Do you like it like that?" All day, every day. It was ridiculous. [Laughs.]

Was there a lot of ad-libbing in Bee Movie?

Some of it we'd use, some of it we didn't. We had a scene about [Renee Zellweger's character] trying to have coffee with [Barry]. We read the scenes a few times and we got all the lines. So I said, "Okay, just try to get me to have coffee. Just keep pushing me to have coffee and I'm going to say, 'Nah, I don't want any.'" And a lot of that made it into the movie. It gives it some life if you do it that way.

Were the TV and movie teasers your idea?

Yeah. I wanted to do something that signaled to the public that this is not going to be the same flavor that you're used to getting from animated movies. I [know] that a certain type of moviegoing audience [will say], "Here comes the next Dreamworks movie. Here comes the next Pixar movie." You don't know what this is going to be.

What did you do different from other animated movies?

Some of the way we recorded dialogue was different. The jokes that we make are different. It's got its own personality. It definitely does not feel like a slice off of the same loaf. Certainly, [not like] all these animal movies, which, believe me, I'm as sick of as you are.

During the Cannes Film Festival, I heard you jumped off a hotel, and dived eight stories into a pool.

You just heard about it? You should check on that. [Laughs] It was a little nutty. But I was told that during the Cannes Film Festival, people do crazy things. You know, Sacha Cohen did that crazy thing on the beach. Did you hear about that? You have a computer, don't you? [Laughs]

Source: www.cinema-pedia.com

Interview: David Cronenberg on Eastern Promises - UK Spin!

Canadian-born David Cronenberg made his name with a series of brilliant 'body horror' movies including Rabid, Shivers and The Fly. His last film was the violently brilliant A History of Violence for which he, and his star Viggo Mortensen, received rave reviews. The pair re-teams this week for Eastern Promises, an equally violent but no less brilliant tale of Russian mobsters in contemporary London.

How did you end up making a film about Russian gangsters in London?

David Cronenberg: Well it all has to do with the script. Wonderful characters, wonderful dialogue, an intriguing narrative, so that's what really was what brought me to into it. I mean I never wanted to do a movie about the Russian mob in London but once I read his script then I did want to. It's obvious.

So where did you go from there? Did you work on the script?

DC: Oh yes. It was a first draft and it had kind of languished at BBC Films for some time. I think [Stephen Knight] actually wrote it before Dirty Pretty Things that he did for Stephen Frears, but that got made first. And as it is with a first draft, it can often go off in five different directions, but I think he was really eager to get back to it and have a chance to have a go at it again with someone who had an objective opinion. We made quite a few changes.

Was it easy to research the material or is that world kind of a closed shop?

DC: No not at all, I mean, people are eager to talk about their lives, you know? In this case it didn't seem to be enclosed at all. Not just in terms of the books that we read and the documentaries we looked at and so on, but we also had a crew of one hundred and fifty people who were all doing research on their own levels. The costume designer will be trying to find out what kind of shoes these people would wear and whoever is designing the restaurant will want to know what's on the walls and what coffee tables cost so there's a lot of details and for that they would go into the Russian community here and would go to the Russian churches, go to the community centres, wherever they could find people to talk to about those things. There was no resistance to it, I think people were pretty fascinated that we were doing a movie about Russians in London and were pretty eager to see that we got it right, in fact.

It was kind of nice to see different London locations onscreen. Was that simply because the script demanded it or did you want to shoot in those areas?

DC: Yeah I think it was because of Steve Knight's own sensibility and it came naturally with the script. If he had been a more conventional writer and the script had taken place in more conventional places then it might not have been as interesting a script for me but it all sort of went together. But he was interested in delving into these relatively unknown aspects of London.

I'd like ask you a little bit about the cast as well. Were you initially hesitant about casting Viggo Mortensen having just made a film with him as it would make comparisons between A History of Violence and Eastern Promises inevitable?

DC: No, I completely forget about that. I mean, I just don't worry about that at all. In many ways you can paralyse yourself as a filmmaker worrying about what people's expectations are and what they expect from you. I loved working with Viggo so I was very eager to work with him again, that was a positive. And the fact that it was another mobster movie was totally by circumstance. There were quite a few other possible film projects that kept floating by and I might well have done one of them if they had come together for various reasons and then we would be talking about that instead. So I wasn't really worried about A History of Violence.

If I felt that I was doing the same thing over again then yes that would be boring but creatively this was so different when you think of it. History is all about America, all the characters are American, its small town and rural America. A lot of it takes place in the sunshine. This is a big city; it's all Eastern Europeans, no Americans in the whole movie, more like a film noir because it's night in the city, so creatively completely different. And for Viggo too, I mean imagine the character, it's completely different.

So do you think it's just because it's you directing and him starring that people are talking about them as companion pieces?

DC: I can see analytically that there are comparisons to be made and quite nice ones. They would probably make a really interesting double bill. But creatively thinking about History of Violence wouldn't have helped, it's just so different visually and in every other way - even the soundtrack and the accents are completely different. It's quite legitimate to compare them but not part of the creative process for us when making the movie.

Another way that the films seem similar is in terms of the reality of the fight scenes.

DC: Well that's interesting. I was going to ask you a question about that but I won't.

You can if you want!

DC: Well no I was just thinking, because if it's something like the Bourne movies, they take a different approach to violence. It's far more impressionistic, the cutting is very quick, you don't really see what's going on and the body count is much higher in those movies but the emotional impact is much less because you don't have any investment in those characters usually. So it's not really a question.

That's fine! So what are you up to next?

DC: I'm doing an opera of the Fly.

Where is that going to be?

DC: It's going to premiere in Paris in July '08 and then it will go to LA for the LA Company as it's a co-production.

And how is that going?

DC: It's going well, I mean I spent five days in Paris just a couple of weeks ago, for the first time directing singers and that was very interesting - asking them sort of naive questions like can you sing while you are hanging upside down? Because I don't know! But it's been interesting.

And film-wise, do you think you'll ever return to the horror genre?

DC: It's quite possible I've never ruled that out. ExistenZ was only three movies ago. It's just a question of something that is really striking and unique and challenging. I wouldn't rule it out at all.

Source: www.cinema-pedia.com

Amanda Peet: Box-Office Poison?

"Box office poison" is a harsh label, but one that is rarely debatable since box office numbers pretty much verify what we all already know: Hiring Actor X to star in your movie, in any capacity, is pretty much like shooting yourself – or at least your production – in the head. Of course, these poisonous actors occasionally find themselves in a commercially successful movie, but, more often than not, this probably comes as much a surprise to them as ticket-buyers.Some of those on this unfortunate list came to it later in their career, like Kurt Russell; others began there like Dennis Quaid and Hilary Swank. Others, like Jeff Bridges, enjoy the prestigious honor of being so detrimental to a production that the resulting conflagration can actually end up causing serious artistic damage to the industry like when 1980’s Heaven’s Gate, which he co-starred in, killed the idea of the Hollywood-funded auteur for almost fifteen years.

Lucky for Amanda Peet, she’s not as poisonous to movies as Bridges, though she does enjoy the rare distinction of being one of the few actors that, despite working regularly enough for five careers, can kill productions both at the theatrical and television levels. Remember Jack and Jill, which caved despite a huge marketing flurry, and, of course, last season’s catastrophic failure, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, which, despite having Aaron Sorkin as a writer-producer and Matthew Perry and Bradley Whitford as stars, managed to die a slow, gasping death? Not that this had anything to do with Peet, though. Um, right.

Anyways, if you’re looking for a few examples of Peet’s qualifications as box office poison, aside from her role in the soon-to-bomb John Cusack-co-starring Martian Child -- which opens this weekend and will probably be on DVD by the time you read this -- here’s a hefty list to ponder. You might be surprised to realize just how toxic she really is.

Igby Goes Down (2002)
This modern twist on Catcher in the Rye is one of the smartest “teen” comedies to be released in the past decade, as darkly subversive as it is hilarious. Peet plays a drugged-up artist who almost dies on a toilet. Sort of like what this movie did at the box office.

Syriana (2005)
George Clooney (albeit a fat version), Matt Damon, and the guy who won an Oscar for writing Traffic? Even with its political subject matter, this movie should’ve done a lot better at the box office than just making back its budget. Probably would’ve, too, if a certain someone wasn’t cast in it.

Fast Track (2006)
This was Zach Braff’s second live-action movie after Garden State and co-starred Jason Bateman hot off of Arrested Development, but this comedy never had a chance…after producers cast Amanda Peet, that is.

She’s The One(1996)
This was Edward Burns’ follow-up to his highly successful indie debut, Brothers McMullen. It’s also the last time anybody in Hollywood took him seriously as a director. Could Peet’s part in the movie have something to do with it?

Identity (2003)
Director James Mangold’s only bomb. Guess who starred in it?

Body Shots (1999)
This movie didn’t even make $1 million. Somebody must’ve really pissed Peet off to make her use her poisonous powers to such a mega-degree. My money is on that douche bag, Jerry O’Connell (whom, to be fair, I only hate because the lucky SOB married Rebecca Romijn).

Changing Lanes (2002)
Critics used to hate Ben Affleck, but Changing Lanes, co-starring Samuel L. Jackson, surprised them all. Not surprising: Peet’s participation guaranteed this thriller never did better than recoup its budget.

One Fine Day (1996)
Michelle Pfeiffer (one of the biggest actresses in America) and George Clooney (in only his second big-screen role since ER debuted) starred in this screwball comedy Cary Grant might have made. Add Peet to the mix and a sure-fire hit fizzled.

The Whole Ten Yards (2004)
The Whole Nine Yards made more than three times its budget, while this sequel barely made one-third of its budget back. This might have something to do with the fact Peet went topless in the original. Then again, she’s topless in Igby Goes Down, too. Yep, The Whole Nine Yards was a fluke.

Source: www.cinema-pedia.com

Come On, Lay Off Wonder Woman

You know, people are getting a bit anxious about the casting of the new Justice League movie. They're taking a look at this growing cast of unknowns and shaking their heads. They want Jessica Biel. They want Brandon Routh. They want Ryan Reynolds. And George Miller doesn't.And God bless George Miller for it. He's doing something different here. His approach isn't about putting big names in the big roles. On the contrary, he's thinking about the future. He's thinking about a cast that will sign three to five picture deals because he's thinking about making a franchise. Warner is thinking about spin-offs with these actors. I mean honestly, what sounds better to you: a one time mega star extravaganza or an event film followed by a movie about a different Justice Leaguer every year – complete with another JLA film every two or three years?

Are you feeling me now? Yeah. I thought you might be. But let's look at some Justice Leaguers of the past. Who the hell is Lynda Carter? Ask any grown man who she is and they will say without missing a bat that she's Wonder Woman. Nobody knew who she was before she got the role. But here she is, Wonder Woman to an entire generation. What about Christopher Reeve. Another unknown. Unknown until he suited up as Superman that is. Hugh Jackman? Chris Evans? Both relative unknowns until they donned super suits (as Wolverine and Johnny "The Human Torch" Storm respectively.)

And sure there have been a few good, prefect casting choices of stars in the past. Michael Keaton made a fine Batman, but Val Kilmer and George Clooney didn't. And while Patrick Stewart made an incredible Professor X, do I need to even talk about what happened when Academy Award winning actress Halle Berry suited up as Storm?

So lay off of Teresa Palmer for a while. She's our Wonder Woman. I don't care if she's only 5'6". Compared to other actors in Hollywood that IS Amazonian height. I mean I know I'm 6'2"…but every time I go to Los Angeles I feel like I've walked into the city of the Shetland People. Actors are small. Personally, If they could find a 6'2" actress who looked like Wonder Woman, could act AND they populated the rest of the film with people of the same height, THEN maybe we could talk. But for now, this girl sure looks like she'll do.

Source: www.cinema-pedia.com

Jerry Seinfeld Returns With Bee Movie

Jerry Seinfeld casually refers to "the TV show" like it was just another resume entry, a vaguely familiar event from his past.

Wait, wasn't that TV show "Seinfeld"? One of the greatest comedies in TV history? You know, the one with double-dippers, puffy shirts and mimbos?

Seinfeld, it seems, has moved on more than most of his audience. Though "the TV show" ended its historic run in 1998, the perpetual glow of "Seinfeld" has been mostly uninterrupted because its star and namesake has remained largely out of sight like his beloved Superman resting in his Fortress of Solitude.

Seinfeld has even been called "the J.D. Salinger of television," as Conan O'Brien recently joked.

"I'm doing as much as I possibly can, I promise you," says Seinfeld, archly defending himself with a laugh in his Manhattan office, where the award statuettes are outnumbered only by the many model cars that dot the room.

The 53-year-old comedian is releasing "Bee Movie," a film which began as a causal pun made over dinner with Steven Spielberg. A call was then placed to Jeffrey Katzenberg, CEO of Dreamworks Animation SKG, and the small joke eventually spiraled into a $150 million blockbuster which Seinfeld has spent more than three years writing, producing and voicing the main character.

Seinfeld, of course, hasn't been doing nothing since "Seinfeld." He and wife Jessica were married in 1999 and have since had three children. Seinfeld's mission has generally been to return to being a standup comedian; his relentless work to build a new act was documented in the 2002 film "Comedian."

But that documentary grossed less than $3 million in limited release. Tens of thousands have seen Seinfeld in comedy clubs across the country contributing a significant chunk of estimated yearly earnings of $60 million, including $15 million for "Seinfeld" residuals, according to Forbes.

To those who wish they saw him more, Seinfeld replies with his characteristic flare for language: "Me too, but I wonder if they would be willing to accept me being not good. I wish I could do more, too, but I can't do more as good, so I figure I'll do less, but good."

For years Katzenberg pitched movie roles to Seinfeld, who had numerous opportunities to star in films. So why did Seinfeld make "Bee Movie" his first feature film and his first major post-"Seinfeld" project?

"One very simple difference, but it made all the difference in the world: This was his idea," says Katzenberg. "If you look at Jerry's work, his entire career was always about doing things he authored."

Katzenberg adds: "Jerry has his own rhythms and his own interests."

Like the bees depicted in "Bee Movie," Seinfeld believes in sticking to what you do best, and for him, that's centered upon the comedic persona he's sharpened and refined over decades. He would rather leave the acting to the pros. "Tom Hanks is available. He can do it," he jokes.

Finding a new challenge, though, was imperative.

"That's why I haven't made a live action movie," Seinfeld says, explaining that it would be "too similar to what we did on the show. ... And I have no need for the ego gratification of `Hey, I'm in a movie.' But this medium was so different and interesting that kind of sparked my energy."

The comedian acknowledges that his energy was low after working on "Seinfeld" for nearly a decade. The painstaking process of creating an animated movie, though, has left him "even more tired than I was before," he says.

What's distinctive about "Bee Movie" is how thoroughly it's imbued with Seinfeld's sense of humor. The involvement of talent in animated films doesn't typically go beyond a few days in a sound studio, but "Bee Movie" is essentially Seinfeld in bee form. Though Dreamworks is pitching it as a family movie, Seinfeld never had kids in mind when writing it.

"You should feel like you really spent time with my outlook on silliness, I guess," he says. "That's why I tried to put my fingerprint on everything in the movie so it feels like it was made by one person. Sometimes that studio, corporate feel the movies can feel very processed so it feels like generic entertainment."

Evident is Seinfeld's love of details (the bees can survive up to about 75-pages of magazine thickness, making the especially thick Italian Vogue the most frightening of weapons), his gift for gymnastic phrasing (his character remarks: "There's quite a bit of pomp under the circumstances") and his sometimes overlooked inclination for pushing comedy to surreal ends.

That was most obvious once his "Seinfeld" partner and co-creator Larry David left the show before the last two seasons, leading to some out-there plots (like Kramer hydrating Jerry's car with his own blood). In "Bee Movie," the bee voiced by Seinfeld sues honey companies for stealing the bees' honey.

"I always try to work personally," he explains. "On the TV show, we never thought we would have an across-the-board appeal we didn't seek it. We just thought, `Let's make our little thing and whoever likes it, likes it.' I tried the same thing with this."

Seinfeld has a lot riding on "Bee Movie," and he has aggressively (and creatively) promoted it like bungee-jumping at the Cannes Film Festival and hosting a series of one-minute sketch comedy promos he calls "TV Juniors."

The unflappable Seinfeld acknowledges: "I'm a little keyed up about the movie's opening. I think of it as extreme interest in the outcome."

Once the fanfare of "Bee Movie" has subsided, Seinfeld simply is planning to hit the road again and get back to what he calls his "normal, daily life": writing and honing his standup act.

Still, he says, "It's fun to chop down a big tree once in a while. I don't know if I could live this way all the time, but every once in a while. I think that's why people run these marathons: `I wonder if I could run that far without dying.' It's idiotic, but it's part of human nature."

Source: www.cinema-pedia.com

Review: Gangster Familiar but Solid

So perhaps "American Gangster," Ridley Scott's much-anticipated mobster epic, doesn't have a single original idea in its head, with its unshakable shades of "Scarface" and "Serpico" and "Superfly." And maybe it's a half-hour too long this time of year, what film with awards ambitions isn't?

But it's exceptionally crafted and superbly acted, with the on-screen combo of Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe unsurprisingly proving impossible to resist, even though it takes about two hours for their paths to cross.

That's one of the more compelling elements of the film, written by veteran Steven Zaillian ("Schindler's List") and based on a New York magazine article by Mark Jacobson. Washington, as real-life heroin kingpin Frank Lucas, and Crowe, as detective Richie Roberts, are on a collision course with one another that's bursting with the gritty period atmosphere of 1970s Harlem.

(Cinematographer Harris Savides, who has provided dreamlike imagery in the Gus Van Sant films "Gerry," "Elephant" and "Last Days," here creates the faded, intimate look of a movie that truly could have been made 35 years ago, adding to its authenticity.)

Washington simply radiates as Frank, returning comfortably to the charismatic bad-guy territory that earned him an Academy Award in "Training Day." And Crowe, who earlier this year was the one playing the stylish villain you love to root for in the remake of "3:10 to Yuma," is just as powerful as the bulldog on the right side of the law. (Crowe's third teaming with Scott, following his Oscar-winning turn in "Gladiator" and the romantic comedy "A Good Year," further demonstrates the extremes of his versatility.)

That their characters' personalities are such complete opposites may be a bit too obvious, as is the fact that they clearly share a rigid moral code. Both men inhabit their roles so fully, though, they make such shortcomings easy to overlook.

After toiling loyally for years as the driver to distinguished gang lord Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson, Frank steps in and takes over the neighborhood after the old man's death. A North Carolina native, he is nattily attired and exceedingly polite, even as he shoots a rival in the head on the sidewalk in broad daylight, but he's also given to flashes of rage in the face of impropriety. That personalized sense of right and wrong, coupled with his Southern-boy charm, serve him well as he builds his own unique empire.

Tired of relying on Mafia middle men to help him import the drugs he will eventually sell on the street, he just flies to Thailand and finds a way to bring back the heroin on his own. He then cuts it twice as strong for half the price, names it Blue Magic and earns both a rabid following and the envy of his competition. That includes the corrupt New York cops who are accustomed to taking their slice of the pie, led by a swaggering, perfectly cast Josh Brolin. (Not everyone could wear that mustache and get away with it.)

That he's made himself a millionaire through the destruction of his own people, urban blacks, doesn't seem to faze Frank. He becomes a fixture on the nightlife circuit with his effortless smile. He buys a mansion for his mother (the formidable Ruby Dee), employs his brothers and marries a former Miss Puerto Rico (the luscious Lymari Nadal). But Scott doesn't let him off the hook he's unflinching in showing us the squalor, the decay, the death that result from Frank's business acumen.

At the same time, Richie can't seem to do anything right. He finds sacks full of money stashed in the trunk of a car clearly another cop's ill-gotten gains and turns them in, knowing that doing so will make him a pariah among his peers. He focuses intensely on his job as a narcotics detective and ends up driving away his ex-wife and young son.

But he works relentlessly, hungrily, and this is a trait that will serve him well even before he realizes he's looking for Frank. All he knows at first is that his partner has died of an overdose, and he's curious about the source of the drugs. And he begins asking around about this mysterious community leader in Harlem, this Robin Hood in a fur coat. (Richie's eventual pairing with Frank at the film's conclusion happens so quickly, it almost feels tacked on, and it seems especially jarring given the elaborate buildup that preceded it.)

Reveling in wretched excess is, of course, one of the main points of a film like "American Gangster" the clothes, the homes, the naked women cutting up mounds of powder surrounded by stacks of cash but so is the down-and-dirty thrill of the hunt. Scott steadily propels both men's stories toward one another until the tantalizing moment when they finally meet. Then all falls silent and still. It's a breathtaking scene but it's also one of the few you're likely to remember in a film that can otherwise be so derivative.

"American Gangster," a Universal Pictures release, is rated R for violence, pervasive drug content and language, nudity and sexuality. Running time: 157 minutes. Three stars out of four.

Source: www.cinema-pedia.com

Review: Martian Child Piles on Fluff

To borrow a line from Mr. Potter, the richest and meanest man in town in "It's a Wonderful Life," "Martian Child" is sentimental hogwash. But hogwash redeemed to an extent by the soothing, compassionate father-son dynamic Cusack strikes with his favorite Martian, 10-year-old Bobby Coleman, whose previous credits include Cusack's "Must Love Dogs."

Coleman plays Dennis, an orphan whose abandonment issues have traumatized him to the point that the boy is convinced he's a Martian on an information-gathering mission to Earth.

The kid spends his days inside a giant cardboard box to shield himself from harmful solar rays. (Earth's closer to the sun than Mars, you see, so it's perfectly logical.)

Enter science fiction writer and former child misfit David Gordon (Cusack), a widower who's talking with the overseers of Dennis' group home as he mulls whether to follow through on the dream he and his late wife had to adopt a child.

With all the plot contrivances in place, David and Dennis naturally form an immediate connection. David brings the boy sunglasses and sunblock, before long he coaxes Dennis out of his box, and the next thing you know, David takes Dennis home in a trial run that could lead to legal adoption.

They stumble through awkward growing pains. They share tender moments. They act out in anger. They bond in mischievous, cathartic destruction of dinnerware and other breakables.

And they lure the audience to an inevitably sappy climax.

Cusack and Coleman are on screen together most of the movie, and the fact that they don't completely overstay their welcome amid the maudlin action says a lot for the restraint they bring to the characters.

The same holds for director Menno Meyjes, who follows the over-the-top young Hitler saga "Max" that starred Cusack and Noah Taylor with this more moderate piece of melodrama.

David and Dennis are surrounded by a predictable passel of supporters and obstacles. The star's real-life sister, Joan Cusack, plays his sibling, who henpecks him about the hardships of parenting, while Amanda Peet co-stars as an old friend gradually morphing into a potential new love for David.

Sophie Okonedo plays a social worker rooting for David and Dennis, Richard Schiff's an adoption official skeptical about whether they can form a family, and Oliver Platt's a literary agent pressing David on the sequel to his sci-fi best-seller. Anjelica Huston, Cusack's co-star in "The Grifters," pops up briefly as David's editor.

Maintaining his usual likably aloof persona, Cusack cracks the door open a bit on some genuine human warmth, a nice introduction to his far superior and more authentic performance in "Grace Is Gone."

Speaking in whispers for much of the time, Coleman gets a bit creepy, as if he's impersonating Haley Joel Osment in "The Sixth Sense" But his innate cuteness always shows through to offset Dennis' strangeness.

Adapted by screenwriters Seth E. Bass and Jonathan Tolins, "Martian Child" is based on the book by David Gerrold, best known for the "Star Trek" episode "The Trouble With Tribbles."

Tribbles were little fluff balls that cooed their way into the hearts of the starship Enterprise crew, only to breed so prodigiously they overwhelmed the vessel. The excess continues with "Martian Child," which overwhelms with a different kind of fluff.

"Martian Child," a New Line Cinema release, is rated PG for thematic elements and mild language. Running time: 108 minutes. Two stars out of four.

Source: www.cinema-pedia.com

Big Batch O' Super Hot Daily Links: Oct. 30th

Good news, the writers are rushing in scripts before a potential strike. We all know that when you rush your work it's going to be quality!George Clooney in G.I. Joe?? No one wants to believe this more than me but I'm extremely skeptical he'd even consider appearing in a movie like Joe. Yeah, he was in Batman back in the day but he's been subversive the past decade with Three Kings and Syriana style work. G.I. Joe is going to end up being vanilla. Clooney doesn't do vanilla.

Tim Kring isn't mad that we keep bashing him.

The Empire Strikes Back will be getting Family Guy treatment too.

Now that the Justice League movie has found a Wonder Woman the actual Wonder Woman movie has stalled.

Halo the movie seems to be back on the front burner.

Jay Leno is out in 2009. I like Conan better anyway so this is pleasing news to me.

Rumer Willis speaks.... and sounds intelligent.

Jeffrey Wells on The Best Supporting Actress candidates. Then Wells again on why no Shatner in Star Trek. Honestly I think he's on to something.

Terrence Malick signs up Heath Ledger and Sean Penn for his next project. I don't know how to feel about Malick. On one hand The Thin Red Line was interesting. On the other The New World was boring. This one is described as a "complex drama" which means... flip a coin.

Coolio is getting a reality show! And with the Oxygen Network? Is it my birthday?

A kinder review of Lions for Lambs.

Ivanka Trump and Adam Duritz. I haven't the words.

Can you say Crank 2: High Voltage? I knew you could.

The threat level at Film.com is aqua green for my 0-8 Dolphins and our song of the day is Weezer's "The Good Life." See you soon.

Source: www.cinema-pedia.com

How To Make a Bad Movie Trailer

The people who cut our movie trailers are some funny folk. They can make us laugh, thrill us, anger us, cause us to sneer or make us physically sick, and all within a minute and a half. They cut together teasers or trailers to the point that they are like mini-movies. After careful review, I've decided these people are morally ambiguous, like the Others on Lost. They're kind of like mercenaries. You hope they are just sharing your enthusiasm for film a lot of the time. Hey guys, doesn't this movie look fun? We sure think so! At the same time, you wouldn't be surprised if they're really just trying to rip you off. We are blowing your mind and showing you all of the good stuff in the movie, suckers! I have no idea who these people are but I know they exist. I see their markings every time I go to see a movie. They show the future. Sometimes the future looks bright. Sometimes it looks action-packed. Sometimes it looks dull. You never know what you're going to get from these fortunetellers. One thing I do know, however, is sometimes the Others are good at making trailers and sometimes they really, really aren't. Either way, I'm almost always having fun with movie trailers.

Here are but a few of the odd methods the marketing folks have trotted out over the years:

1.) Show the beginning, middle and end of the movie.
It's extremely important that you show the entire movie before I actually pay to see it. Revealing key plot points that signify the basic premise, the basic rising action, and the basic resolution is essential to my avoidance. If you simply tease me, I might make the mistake of throwing down money for the ticket. You don't want that (obviously), so steer clear of anything resembling the vague. Don't hold back. I want to see everything, especially the best parts. If I actually end up seeing the movie, I will be very disappointed if I don't know ahead of time every step the movie will take.

2.) Milk the actors' Oscar history for all it's worth.
Look, if an actor's been nominated six times, I want to know it. If someone else in your movie was nominated four times, that is also important information (please see the Lions for Lambs teaser at your convenience). It tells me right away, "Okay, this guy wasn't nominated as many times as the other guy, but he's still pretty damn good. After all, he's been nominated."

And nominations are like the actor's equivalent to sainthood. That makes Meryl Streep Mother-flippin-Teresa. It is also relevant to point out which actor has been nominated, versus which actor has actually won. This is a further outline of the caste system that I find valuable as an audience member. But if you really want to get on my good side, throw in a couple actors who won, at least one actor who's been given a nod but never brought one home and finally, the one actor in the cast who hasn't even been nominated... ever. I love seeing these people humiliated on screen. And the older the actor, the funnier it is. "Haha, you're time is running out and you still have nothing!"

3.) I got a fever... and the only prescription... is more VOICE-OVER Guy.
This summer, in a world of taste gone awry, in the year's most EXPLOSIVE film, one man will learn how to make everything on screen appear super duper lame with the simple sound of his sometimes gravelly, sometimes soft, but always self-important VOICE! MGM Pictures in association with Tig Productions in association with Imagine Entertainment in association with Happy Madison bring you a Stephen Sommers film that you will not (queue heightened music) ... soon ... (even more heightened please) FORGET!!!! (make heads explode with magnificent volume increase).

Source: www.cinema-pedia.com

Big Batch O' Super Hot Daily Links: Oct. 29th

If they don't work out the Writer's Guild contract we're in for a whole mess of reality.The President of France got a bit huffy with 60 Minutes.

Lovely Bones pictures for all the fanboys! Seriously though guys, there are no Hobbits in this one.

More Lovely Bones news: Gosling says it was just an age thing, not a weight thing, that led to his departure from the set.

Arnie Schwarzenegger sayeth: "Marijuana is not a drug."

Daniel Craig is signed for another four Bond films. Works for me. He's solid.

The first reviews of Lions for Lambs are rolling in. The consensus: Not good.

Kirk Honeycutt crushes Bee Movie. Don't worry, we'll have our own review coming this week.

Is Brit Spears even capable of shocking you anymore? No, seriously.

Brett Ratner is off the Escape from New York remake... or as I like to call it "Film that shouldn't be remade."

Proof that it's who you know, not the quality of the script: Underworld 3 gets greenlit!

The X-Files 2 starts shooting December 10th. Really this just gives me a chance to embed one of the great pop culture songs of all time: Bree Sharp's "David Duchovny, Why Won't You Love Me?"

Paris Hilton has a rom-com coming out in February! Let's get together for a viewing party / bashing.

Could it be true that Brad Pitt is going to be the Unabomber? This feels like one of them "lies" to me.

David Edelstein over at New York Magazine gets to release his American Gangster review early. Why? Because the rules on who gets to print reviews first is hopelessly flawed.

The latest Dark Knight viral site ploy? A rotting pumpkin... that might reveal a picture on Halloween.

I find Christina Ricci attractive here. Sue me.

The threat level is Red (Sox) and our song for the day is "Remain Relaxed" by Karate. That's all for now. See you tomorrow and whatnot.

Source: www.cinema-pedia.com

Seven People Not Being Considered for Justice League Roles

It was announced a few weeks ago that a Justice League movie was in the works, and the response within the nerd community was overwhelming: "We like Wonder Woman's breasts!"Also, there has been some discussion of casting. The Justice League, if you're not "hip" to the "jive," is a consortium of DC Comics heroes who work together to battle the forces of evil. The group includes Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Flash, Green Lantern, and Martian Manhunter, all of whom besides Superman are of course unnecessary. And while it's been confirmed that George Miller will direct, no one knows yet who will play any of the superheroes.

This has led to rampant speculation on the Internet and plenty of false rumors. Jessica Biel will play Wonder Woman! No, it's Shannyn Sossamon! Christian Bale will play Batman! No, he won't! Rupert Evans is Superman! Whoops, never mind!

As an antidote to all this madness, we offer:

PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT BEING CONSIDERED TO PLAY JUSTICE LEAGUE MEMBERS:

Superman: John Goodman
While he has the all-American charm, the height, and the deep voice, we don't think Goodman would be right as the Man of Steel, primarily because he is very fat. And sure enough, Warner Bros. agrees with us, as John Goodman is not being considered to play Superman.
Batman: Zac Efron
Warner Bros. is all about finding hot young stars to play these roles, not old fossils. At first we thought Zac Efron, fresh off his High School Musical and Hairspray successes, would be a perfect choice for the Caped Crusader. But then we remembered that Batman is supposed to be tough and gritty, and Zac Efron is effeminate and made of satin. Because of this, sure enough, he is not being considered to play Batman.
Wonder Woman: Elizabeth Taylor
On the one hand, she has the dignified air of royalty about her; she's beautiful; and she's a Hollywood legend. On the other hand, she is 103 years old and possibly insane. Also, she's not particularly tall. For these reasons (mostly the height issue), Elizabeth Taylor is not being considered to play Wonder Woman.
Flash: Flash the Basset hound from The Dukes of Hazzard
It seems like a great idea. Roscoe P. Coltrane's faithful hound was named Flash, and here's a character named Flash! The dog that played Flash wouldn't even have to learn a new name to respond to! Unfortunately, the dog that played Flash has been dead for at least 20 years. Consequently, he is not being considered to play Flash.
Aquaman: Howard Stern
At first blush, he seems born to play the role of Aquaman. Like Aquaman, Howard Stern is fairly useless when compared to his colleagues. He and Aquaman also share a love for water sports. Unfortunately, Stern refused to take the part unless the movie's title was changed to Howard Stern in the Adventures of Aquaman, Starring Howard Stern. And so now he is not being considered to play Aquaman.
Martian Manhunter: We have never heard of Martian Manhunter before.
Our primary exposure to the Justice League comes from old "Super Friends" cartoons, and Mr. Manhunter was not in them. Hence we have no idea who should play him -- but we're pretty sure it shouldn't be Whoopi Goldberg.
Green Lantern: An actual green lantern
We love the ingenuity in buying a green lantern at Home Depot and using CGI to make it appear to talk, move, fight crime, etc. But since the other characters are being played by traditional human actors, and since there's a good chance at least one of those roles will be played by someone who could be out-acted even by an inanimate object, a green lantern is not being considered to play Green Lantern.

Source: www.cinema-pedia.com

More Shots of Angelina Jolie in Wanted Action!

It may not be the faithful adaptation that fans of the comics were hoping for, but Timur Bekmambetov's adaptation of Mark Millar and J.G. Jones' Wanted is still hitting theaters March 28 -- and IGN Movies has more shots of the cast in action!

IGN's got 10 Wanted stills, with plenty of peeks of Angelina Jolie in full Fox mode:



Source: www.cinema-pedia.com

N.Y. Public Library Gets Hepburn Papers

NEW YORK (AP) Picture this: Katharine Hepburn and her chauffeur stopped for speeding in the tiny town of Blackwell, Okla. Hepburn berates the strapping young officer as a "moron" and "dumbbell," then adds, "If I ever found an Oklahoma car in Connecticut, I would flatten all the tires."

What could be a scene from a screwball comedy is actually drawn from Hepburn's real life at least her version of it.

A typed, single-spaced account of the arrest during a 1950-51 tour of Shakespeare's "As You Like It" was in one of 22 boxes of papers from Hepburn's theater career that have been donated to the New York Public Library. They will be available to scholars and fans after they have been cataloged.

Cynthia McFadden, co-executor of Hepburn's will, said the arrest story is written in the voice of the woman she loved "impatient, funny and occasionally just a little high-handed."

"I suspect she was driving," McFadden added. "She frequently drove her driver."

When Hepburn died in 2003, the trustees of her estate chose to donate papers from her film career to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Margaret Herrick Library. They decided to donate papers from her extensive though less-known stage career to the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center.

"Miss Hepburn didn't throw away much, so there are boxes and boxes and roomfuls of material," McFadden said.

Curator Bob Taylor said the library's archivists are still going through the papers, which include scripts, photos, letters and scrapbooks.

Taylor said the materials will be indexed by early February, at which point members of the public will be able to check them out and read them while wearing white gloves in a special reading room.

Highlights from the collection were displayed last week on a table at the library.

There were fan letters from Judy Garland and from Charlton Heston, who wrote in 1981, "You have made all our hearts tremble, one time or another."

There was a speech Hepburn delivered after a May 1970 performance asking for a moment of silence in memory of the four students shot by Ohio National Guardsmen at Kent State University.

A packet of correspondence from 1971 concerned Hepburn's use of a four-letter word in "Coco," a play based on the life of designer Coco Chanel. Her latest collection having bombed, the character utters the profanity.

With the play headed to Los Angeles, Hepburn was contractually forbidden from using the expletive.

Her letter begging to have it reinstated is an eloquent plea for free expression.

"First we have tried everything that anyone can think of to use instead," she wrote. "Nothing works the sadness the finality the clarity and the brevity of this expression coming from the lips of a highly respectable old lady who is alone and who is in tears over the total failure of her show strikes the audience as funny then as she runs up the stairway curiously gallant."

Hepburn got her way. Edwin Lester of the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera Association responded that the letter "was sufficient for us to acquiesce, particularly if acquiescence would make you happy."

He added, "Again let me tell you how much we are looking forward to your visit with us, even though you bring that naughty word along with you."

Source: www.cinema-pedia.com

Fans Pay $31.8 Million to See 'Saw IV'

Audiences sought out a fresh dose of torture as "Saw IV," the horror sequel about sadistic traps laid by a serial killer, led Hollywood's weekend with a $31.8 million debut.

The top 20 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters Friday through Sunday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Monday by Media By Numbers LLC are:

1. "Saw IV," Lionsgate, $31,756,764, 3,183 locations, $9,977 average, $31,756,764, one week.

2. "Dan in Real Life," Disney, $11,809,445, 1,921 locations, $6,148 average, $11,809,445, one week.

3. "30 Days of Night," Sony, $6,862,764, 2,859 locations, $2,400 average, $27,480,907, two weeks.

4. "The Game Plan," Disney, $6,129,720, 3,342 locations, $1,834 average, $76,939,167, five weeks.

5. "Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married?", Lionsgate, $5,643,899, 1,897 locations, $2,975 average, $47,204,260, three weeks.

6. "Michael Clayton," Warner Bros., $4,924,374, 2,585 locations, $1,905 average, $28,668,168, four weeks.

7. "Gone Baby Gone," Miramax, $3,817,451, 1,713 locations, $2,229 average, $11,226,975, two weeks.

8. "Tim Burton's the Nightmare Before Christmas," Disney, $3,446,012, 564 locations, $6,110 average, $10,100,435, two weeks.

9. "We Own the Night," Sony, $3,395,012, 2,402 locations, $1,413 average, $25,065,018, three weeks.

10. "The Comebacks," Fox Atomic, $3,371,708, 2,812 locations, $1,199 average, $9,925,268, two weeks.

11. "Rendition," New Line, $2,372,487, 2,250 locations, $1,054 average, $7,821,105, two weeks.

12. "The Heartbreak Kid" DreamWorks-Paramount, $1,768,720, 2,003 locations, $883 average, $35,139,137, four weeks.

13. "The Darjeeling Limited," Fox Searchlight, $1,761,335, 699 locations, $2,520 average, $6,126,748, five weeks.

14. "Across the Universe," Sony, $1,687,341, 964 locations, $1,750 average, $19,296,796, seven weeks.

15. "Elizabeth: The Golden Age," Universal, $1,651,340, 1,603 locations, $1,030 average, $14,058,975, three weeks.

16. "Bella," Roadside Attractions, $1,328,448, 165 locations, $8,051 average, $1,328,448, one week.

17. "The Kingdom" Universal, $1,232,210, 1,053 locations, $1,170 average, $45,951,010, five weeks.

18. "Lars and the Real Girl," MGM, $926,675, 296 locations, $3,131 average, $1,330,732, three weeks.

19. "Things We Lost in the Fire," DreamWorks-Paramount, $731,976, 1,142 locations, $641 average, $2,849,142, two weeks.

20. "Lust, Caution," Focus, $475,480, 143 locations, $3,325 average, $2,825,183, five weeks.

Source: www.cinema-pedia.com

Juno Wins Best Film at Rome Film Fest

"Juno," a movie about a Minnesota teen faced with an unplanned pregnancy, won the best film award at the Rome Film Festival.

Ellen Page stars as Juno MacGuff, who tries to find a couple to adopt her baby. "Juno," directed by Jason Reitman and co-starring Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman, was the first runner-up for the people's choice award at last month's Toronto International Film Festival.

The film opens Dec. 5 in limited release in the U.S.

Jang Wenli received the best-actress award for "Li Chun (And the Spring Comes)." It tells the story of a provincial opera singer who dreams of becoming the star of the Beijing Opera in the years between the end of the Cultural Revolution and the Tiananmen Square uprising.

Rade Serbedzija won the best-actor prize for "Fugitive Pieces." He plays Athos, a Greek archaeologist who saves a Jewish child from Poland who is orphaned during World War II.

A 50-member public jury, made up of selected moviegoers from Italy and elsewhere in Europe, judged the in-competition films at the second annual festival. The top awards were announced Saturday.

Bosnian director Danis Tanovic, who won the best foreign film Oscar with 2001's "No Man's Land," presided over the jury.

Source: www.cinema-pedia.com

Holiday Films Offer Elves, Bees, Crooks

Among your choices on Hollywood's holiday menu, you can have talking bees and chipmunks or savage aliens and predators. You can have jolly elves and pretty princesses or vicious gangsters and the mother of all mythic monsters. You can have music, or you can have blood. And in at least one case, you can have both.

"I remember I did try to pitch it as a musical with lots of blood," director Tim Burton recalled of his early attempts many years ago to make a movie version of Stephen Sondheim's stage hit "Sweeney Todd."

With frequent collaborator Johnny Depp in the title role, Burton finally succeeds with an adaptation of the musical about the murderous 18th century Londoner who turns his barber business into a shop of horrors.

This time of year is Hollywood's most diverse, offering a mix of dark drama vying for Academy Award attention, action, horror and fantasy sagas, and light comedy and animated films.

Among the comic and cartoon offerings: "Bee Movie," with Jerry Seinfeld providing the voice of a worker bee who sues humanity for stealing honey; "Alvin and the Chipmunks," a blend of live-action and computer animation featuring Jason Lee and the little cartoon rodents; "Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium," starring Dustin Hoffman and Natalie Portman in the tale of a magical toy shop; "Enchanted," with Amy Adams as a cartoon fairy-tale princess exiled by a wicked queen (Susan Sarandon) into very real Manhattan; and "Fred Claus," with Vince Vaughn as the black-sheep brother of old St. Nick (Paul Giamatti).

Reuniting Vaughn with "Wedding Crashers" director David Dobkin, "Fred Claus" casts Santa's brother as a guy who's lived for centuries in Santa's shadow.

"There's definitely a sense of sibling rivalry," said Giamatti, who wears a fat suit to play Santa. "I was always kind of the favorite, I become Santa Claus and everybody loves me. Everywhere he looks, Santa is everywhere, and he's just a screw-up who can't hold a job."

The season offers a couple of real-world holiday stories with "This Christmas," a family-reunion flick whose ensemble cast includes Delroy Lindo, Regina King and Mekhi Phifer, and "The Perfect Holiday," featuring Gabrielle Union, Morris Chestnut, Queen Latifah and Terrence Howard in a romance between a single mom and a store Santa.

In his first big project since his sitcom went off the air, Seinfeld also co-wrote "Bee Movie," the idea stemming from his childhood fascination for nature documentaries. Seinfeld liked the drama and unintentional laughs those shows brought to the natural world.

"I found them kind of funny, because they make one species the hero. That week, whatever his prey is, you want him to kill it. The next week, the one that was the hero becomes the prey, and you want that one to die," Seinfeld said. "Your allegiance changes with whoever is the star of the show that week."

Disney's "Enchanted" tweaks the studio's legacy by forcing a classic animated princess to survive in an unfamiliar realm.

"It begins in the animated kingdom. My character is looking for her true love, and she immediately meets him, but the prince's jealous stepmother casts her into Manhattan," Adams said. "She confronts all sorts of realities. There's an old man who steals her crown, she learns the truth about gravity. She learns what food tastes like. It just tastes different in the real world."

A look at other highlights this season:

CRIME AND PUNISHMENT:

Two grave, violent, brilliantly executed crime sagas could emerge as front-runners for this year's best-picture Oscar. Ridley Scott's "American Gangster," with Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe, and Joel and Ethan Coen's "No Country for Old Men," featuring Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem and Josh Brolin, have caught strong buzz in advance screenings.

Based on a true story, "American Gangster" stars Washington as a 1970s Harlem drug lord who balances brutality with altruism and Crowe as a freewheeling but upright Jersey cop on his trail.

"No Country for Old Men" is adapted from Cormac McCarthy's novel and features Jones as a sheriff tracking a merciless killer (Bardem), who in turn is pursuing a good old Texas boy (Brolin) who made off with a fortune in drug money.

Also on the crime front is "Hitman," with Timothy Olyphant starring as a genetically engineered assassin in an adaptation of the video game, and Woody Allen's "Cassandra's Dream," the filmmaker's third-straight tale set in England.

"Cassandra's Dream" is Allen at his darkest, with Ewan McGregor and Colin Farrell as brothers lured into a murder scheme. Allen said he set out to craft a tragedy among ordinary people, McGregor playing an ambitious son stuck toiling in his ailing father's restaurant, Farrell an auto mechanic with modest aspirations.

"I wanted two nice brothers. Ewan a sweet guy who works for his father even though he doesn't want to," Allen said. "And Colin a decent guy who just wants to have a nice little house with his wife and all that. They get into this terrible situation because of their ambition, because of their flaws, and they get swept up in this tragic thing."

LANDS OF MAKE-BELIEVE:

In the fantasy footsteps of "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Chronicles of Narnia" comes "The Golden Compass," with Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig leading the cast in the adventure of a young girl trying to rescue a friend in an alternate reality.

Robert Zemeckis brings the Norse legend of "Beowulf" to life with similar technology he used on "The Polar Express" to capture live actors whose performances are then digitally animated. The film features Anthony Hopkins, Ray Winstone and Angelina Jolie as Beowulf's vile foe, Grendel's mother.

Emily Watson leads the cast of "The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep," about a Scottish boy whose magical egg hatches into a legendary creature that lives in a little body of water called Loch Ness.

BLACK GOLD AND LEGENDARY RICHES:

Daniel Day-Lewis stars as a fortune-seeker in California's oil boom of the early 1900s in "There Will Be Blood," a saga loosely based on an Upton Sinclair novel and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson ("Magnolia").

Nicolas Cage reunites with producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Jon Turteltaub for "National Treasure: Book of Secrets," the sequel to their 2004 smash.

This time, Cage's history-minded treasure hunter sets out to clear the name of an ancestor implicated in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, the quest leading to a mythic cache of wealth and a secret text intended only for the eyes of U.S. leaders.

"A book only presidents are privy to, and in the book are all the secrets of the great myths, like Area 51, the Kennedy assassination or who was involved with this conspiracy, or Cibola," a legendary city of vast riches sought by early Spanish explorers, Cage said. "What becomes revealed to us is there was this enormous treasure, kind of a Native American sacred temple that was a city of gold."

CURRENT AFFAIRS:

Robert Redford directs himself, Tom Cruise and Meryl Streep in "Lions for Lambs," an ideological saga set against the war in Afghanistan involving a presidential hopeful, an inspirational professor and a story-hungry journalist.

"Charlie Wilson's War," from director Mike Nichols, stars Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts and Philip Seymour Hoffman in a drama about the architects of the U.S. response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

"The Kite Runner" is the stark story of an Afghan boy who flees with his father to America after the Soviet invasion but returns as an adult to rescue the son of an old childhood friend.

In "Grace Is Gone," John Cusack plays a man who takes his daughters on a road trip to put off breaking the news that their mother has died in action in Iraq.

DEATH AND DYING:

Francis Ford Coppola returns with his first film in 10 years. The fantastical "Youth Without Youth" stars Tim Roth as an elderly scholar filled with regret. His whose life's work, a tome on the origins of language, remains unfinished; when a freak lightning strike restores his youth, he has a chance to correct past mistakes.

The second-chance theme resonated with Coppola, who spent much of the last decade developing an epic film that never got off the ground. He wound up financing "Youth Without Youth" himself and shot it like a young maverick director fresh out of film school.

"I found lots of parallels in the character's life and my life," Coppola said. "I had the big work I hadn't been able to finish. I got a chance to reinvent myself and make a film not as a big Hollywood producer but as kind of a new wave filmmaker."

"P.S. I Love You" stars Hilary Swank as a widow whose husband left behind a series of tasks for her to cope with her grief and get on with her life.

Philip Seymour Hoffman and Laura Linney team for "The Savages," playing a brother and sister reluctantly forced to care for their estranged, dying father.

"The Bucket List" features Jack Nicholson as a wealthy business executive and Morgan Freeman as an auto mechanic, both dying of cancer, who form an unlikely friendship and set out to do all the things they wish they'd done with their lives.

"Two older guys who have cancer and are going to die, that doesn't sound like a blockbuster," said Rob Reiner, who directed "The Bucket List." "But when you see the movie, it's emotional, it's uplifting, and it's not about dying. It's a movie about living and embracing life."

LOVE AND MARRIAGE:

Nicole Kidman plays a writer sowing discontent as the marriage of her sister (Jennifer Jason Leigh) to an out-of-work artist (Jack Black) approaches in "Margot at the Wedding."

Javier Bardem, Catalina Sandino Moreno and Benjamin Bratt star in "Love in the Time of Cholera," an adaptation of the novel by Gabriel Garcia Marquez that traces the half-century wait of a man to win his true love.

"Atonement" features Keira Knightley and James McAvoy in a chronicle of the repercussions that follow a teenage girl's false accusations against her sister's lover.

CREATURE FEATURES:

Last man alive Will Smith fends off the remnants of humanity, who have been transformed into nocturnal fiends in "I Am Legend," a new adaptation of the novel that also was the basis for Charlton Heston's "The Omega Man" and Vincent Price's "The Last Man on Earth"

"There's something primal about being the last person on Earth," said Smith, who spends much of the movie alone and in silence. "It's me and a dog for the first probably hour and 15 minutes."

"Stephen King's the Mist" is the third adaptation of the horror master by director Frank Darabont ("The Green Mile" "The Shawshank Redemption"). Thomas Jane and Marcia Gay Harden lead the cast in the tale of townsfolk threatened by creatures from a mysterious mist.

The grudge match continues between two breeds of space monster in "Aliens Vs. Predator: Requiem."

BALLADS, BLUES AND BOB:

Not one, but six Bob Dylans come to the screen in "I'm Not There," director Todd Haynes' dreamlike portrait of the rock icon. Among the performers doing Dylan: Richard Gere, Heath Ledger, Christian Bale and Cate Blanchett, who plays a Dylan-esque folk idol enraging his fans by going electric.

Blanchett's character comes the closest to the real Dylan, a spot-on rendering of the musician in the mid-1960s as he confounded fans and critics with oblique prattle and unpredictable musical turns.

"That's why Todd wanted a woman to play it, because if you had a man play it, you would have been looking for the impersonation," Blanchett said. "And so you would have been seeing the shortfall, whereas you're automatically saying there's a Brechtian distance here between character and performer, and that allows for the poetry and kind of the irony to really breathe."

John Sayles' "Honeydripper" stars Danny Glover as a Deep South proprietor making one last stab to save his failing juke joint, hiring an electric-guitar whiz amid the transition from blues to rock 'n' roll in the 1950s.

John C. Reilly stars in "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story," a comedy chronicling the sordid life of a musician who lives the extreme rock-star life as he sleeps around, sires kids and does every drug he can find.

"August Rush" features Robin Williams, Keri Russell, Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Freddie Highmore in the story of an orphaned musical prodigy seeking his parents.

And the season's big musical question: Can Johnny Depp sing?

"He's a very musical person, but when he said he would do it, nobody had any idea if he could sing. I knew him well enough to know that he wouldn't have said yes to doing it if he couldn't," said "Sweeney Todd" director Burton, adding that he was pleasantly surprised at how well the vocals of Depp and co-stars Helena Bonham Carter, Sacha Baron Cohen and Alan Rickman turned out.

"It's pretty much all actors, not professional singers, and they really did a great job. It's one of my favorite roles that Johnny has done."

Source: www.cinema-pedia.com

Gangster Stars Worked As Team on Set

There was no power struggle between Oscar winners Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe on the set of their new crime drama, "American Gangster." Instead, they worked as a team when filming their scenes together.

"It's not about a heavyweight fight," Crowe said in an interview with AP Television News. "What it is, is much more like two (guitarists) playing together, two people singing together."

"American Gangster" is based on the life of Frank Lucas, played by Washington, who became filthy rich in the 1960s by smuggling heroin into New York.

Crowe portrays a police officer who investigates Lucas and his dirty dealings.

"... If you can blend, if you can harmonize and you can sing together still from two completely separate points of view, now you are talking," said Crowe, 43, who won an Academy Award in 2001 for "Gladiator." He also received Oscar nominations for his roles in "The Insider" and "A Beautiful Mind"

Washington said he felt less pressure to perfect his role in "American Gangster" than he did for 1992's "Malcolm X" because the real-life Lucas put him at ease.

"In `Malcolm X,' we were under a lot of pressure," he said. "There were a lot of folks showing up, like, `You better get this right or it could cost you.' ... One might have expected it to be the case in this film. That wasn't the case with Frank. He was real cool."

Washington won Academy Awards for "Glory" and "Training Day," and received Oscar nominations for "Malcolm X," "The Hurricane" and "Cry Freedom."

The 52-year-old actor said he's trying to ignore the early Oscar buzz surrounding "American Gangster," directed by Ridley Scott, which has been getting positive reviews from critics.

"We don't even hear about it until you sit down and do interviews," he said. "First of all, the film hasn't even come out yet. Let the film come out and let the public decide how they feel about it."

"American Gangster," a Universal Pictures release, opens Friday.

Source: www.cinema-pedia.com

Actor Doesn't Want Zoo to Build Exhibit

Robert Culp's lawsuit alleging that the Los Angeles Zoo mistreats elephants can go forward.

Judge Reginald A. Dunn has rejected arguments by the city that the complaint filed by the 77-year-old actor and real estate agent Aaron Leider lacks a legal basis.

Culp and Leider want to stop the zoo from building a $40 million elephant exhibit. They accuse zoo authorities of withholding medical care from elephants and keeping them cramped in small places, and don't want the zoo to keep any elephants.

Lawyers for the city argued Monday that the pair's complaint was political, not legal, but the judge rejected that argument and refused to dismiss the lawsuit.

Culp starred in the '60s TV series "I Spy" and the 1969 film, "Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice."

Source: www.cinema-pedia.com

Court Declines Case Involving Painting

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to consider a dispute involving Elizabeth Taylor over ownership of a Vincent van Gogh painting. The painting is claimed by descendants of a Jewish woman who fled Nazi Germany.

The painting, worth millions, may be among the estimated 600,000 works of art that belonged to Jews and wound up in Nazi hands between 1933 and 1945.

Van Gogh painted "View of the Asylum" less than a year before his suicide.

Margarete Mauthner, a one-time owner of the van Gogh, left Germany in March 1939, having lost her livelihood and most of her property due to Nazi policies of economic coercion. Relatives of Mauthner, a noted translator and advocate of the arts, say the painting was among the property she lost to the Nazis.

In 1963 while living in London, Taylor bought the painting for about $236,000 at a Sotheby's auction from the estate of a German art collector.

Taylor's lawyers say the record shows the painting was sold through two Jewish art dealers to a Jewish art collector, with no evidence of any Nazi coercion or participation in the transactions.

The family members say they didn't discover they had a possible claim to the painting until 2001.

Mauthner's heirs went to court to recover the artwork, but the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco has ruled that the federal Holocaust Victims Redress Act does not create a private right to sue. Mauthner's relatives also are trying to recover the painting under California state law, but the appeals court ruled they waited too long to act.

Taylor, 75, won Oscars for her roles in "BUtterfield 8" and "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" She was nominated for Academy Awards for "Raintree County," "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" and "Suddenly, Last Summer."

Source: www.cinema-pedia.com

New DVD Releases Include Spider-Man 3

Selected home-video releases:

"Spider-Man 3"

The year's top-grossing hit swings onto DVD and high-definition Blu-ray disc on its own and in collections packaged with the two earlier installments of director Sam Raimi's comic-book franchise. The main players return for the conclusion of the love triangle and friends-turned-foes saga among Spidey (Tobey Maguire), Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst) and Harry (James Franco). The film also introduces two new enemies scheming against Spider-Man, the Sandman (Thomas Haden Church) and Venom (Topher Grace). A single-disc DVD has commentary with cast and crew, while two-disc DVD and Blu-ray releases are stuffed with extras, among them a look at one of the coolest effects the franchise has devised, the transformation of Church into Sandman. Further segments examine stunt sequences and the origins of the other villains. The latest film also comes packaged with "Spider-Man" and "Spider-Man 2" in DVD and Blu-ray boxed sets. Single-disc DVD, $28.97; two-disc DVD set, $36.95; two-disc Blu-r! ay set, $49.95; "Spider-Man" trilo gy DVD set, $38.96; "Spider-Man" trilogy Blu-ray set, $98.95. (Sony)

___

"License to Wed"

In this lame comedy, prospective spouses must meet the outrageous domestic demands of preacherman Robin Williams before they are allowed to exchange vows. Williams stars as a minister who puts the not-so-happy bride (Mandy Moore) and groom (John Krasinski) through an exercise in premarital torture before he'll sign off on their nuptials, his methods including bizarre role-playing, parenting practice with robot infants and high-tech surveillance to make sure they follow his no-sex-before-marriage rule. The DVD has deleted scenes accompanied by commentary from director Ken Kwapis. Along with the DVD release, the movie is available in a high-definition Blu-ray disc and a combination disc with both standard DVD and high-definition HD DVD versions. DVD, $28.98; Blu-ray disc, $34.99; HD DVD, $39.99. (Warner Bros.)

___

"El Cantante"

This passion project for real-life marrieds Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony lives up to musical expectations with its buoyant soundtrack, but there's little passion in the dour story of drug addiction, family tragedy and other adversity in the lives of salsa star Hector Lavoe and his wife. The film biography follows the rise and fall of Lavoe, who pioneered the musical style in the 1970s. The DVD has a behind-the-segments on the music and story behind the film, on which Lopez was a producer, plus commentary with director Leon Ichaso and his co-writers. DVD, $27.95. (New Line)

___

"Talk to Me"

Don Cheadle was born to gab his way through this film biography about Ralph "Petey" Greene, a former prison inmate who became an outspoken radio personality and activist amid the civil-rights movement of the 1960s. Cheadle leads a sturdy cast that includes Chiwetel Ejiofor as the station manager who gives Greene a shot on the radio, plus Martin Sheen, Cedric the Entertainer and Mike Epps. The film from director Kasi Lemmons is accompanied by deleted scenes, a featurette on Greene and his significance in black politics of the era and a segment on the movie's re-creation of 1960s and '70s style through music and fashion. DVD, $29.98. (Universal)

___

"Looney Tunes: Golden Collection Volume Five"

Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig and other cartoon favorites return in a new gathering of classic "Looney Tunes" shorts. The four-disc set packs 60 cartoons, with one disc devoted to Bugs and Daffy's adventures, one focused on spoofs of beloved fairy tales, one gathering prime "Looney Tunes" from master animator Bob Clampett and one packed with rare early cartoons from the Warner Bros. vaults. Many of the shorts come with commentary by filmmakers and animation experts, and the set has a documentary on Looney Tunes maestro Chuck Jones. Along with the four-disc collection, an abridged two-disc "Spotlight Collection" containing 30 cartoons is available. "Golden Collection" DVD set, $64.92; "Spotlight Collection" DVD set, $26.99. (Warner Bros.)

___

TV on DVD:

"Twin Peaks: Definitive Gold Box Edition" Fans of cherry pie and a great cup of coffee finally have easy access to the entire TV run of David Lynch's darkly comic 1990s saga. The 10-disc set includes the two-hour pilot, previously available only as an import DVD, and all 29 episodes of the short-lived series, whose two seasons previously had been released by separate studios. Along with deleted scenes, the set has a look back at the show with Lynch and cast members, including Kyle MacLachlan, who starred as an FBI agent applying bizarre techniques to solve a teen's murder in a small Northwest town. DVD set, $108.99. (Paramount)

"My So-Called Life: The Complete Series" Another beloved but short-lived '90s show, whose earlier release was long out-of-print, returns to DVD. Claire Danes got her start here as a pensive teen whose circle of family and friends struggle with alienation, homelessness, abuse, homophobia and other serious issues. A six-disc set packs all 19 episodes, plus interviews with Danes and the show's overseers and commentary from cast and crew. DVD set, $69.99. (Shout)

"Family Guy: Freakin' Party Pack The Complete DVD Collection" The animated comedy, which was canceled and revived because of fan furor, centers on the demented Griffin clan, whose members include a whip-smart dog and a warped baby. The 18-disc set gathers about 90 episodes and comes in a cleverly designed box with such party essentials as playing cards, poker chips and pingpong equipment. DVD Set, $149.98. (20th Century Fox)

"Angel: Seasons 1-5" The spinoff of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" stars David Boreanaz as the vampire with a soul who tries to make amends for centuries of bloodletting. The set has all five seasons, with deleted scenes, commentary and other extras previously included in single-season DVD releases. DVD set, $139.98. (20th Century Fox)

"CSI: Miami The Fifth Season" David Caruso returns to the scene of the crime in the first spinoff of the franchise. The six-disc set has 24 episodes, along with commentary and featurettes. DVD set, $64.99. (Paramount)

"Scrubs: The Complete Sixth Season" Zach Braff and his hospital pals are back with a three-disc set packing year six's 22 episodes, plus deleted scenes and commentary. DVD set, $39.99. (Disney)

"Benny Hill: The Complete Megaset" The British comedian's bawdy escapades are captured in an 18-disc set with all 58 episodes of his sketch comedy show that aired from 1969 to '89. The set also has a documentary on Hill and a handful of featurettes. DVD set, $149.95. (A&E)

"Family Affair: Season Four" The sitcom from the 1960s and '70s stars Brian Keith as a bachelor caring for his late brother's three kids. The fourth season's 25 episodes come in a five-disc package. DVD set, $39.98. (MPI)

___

Other new releases:

"No End in Sight" Charles Ferguson's acclaimed documentary offers a glimpse into the Bush administration's motives and conduct in the Iraq war and examines why the conflict has lingered on in chaotic perpetuity. DVD, $26.98. (Magnolia)

"Captivity" A poor cousin of sadism for the "Saw" crowd, this horror flick stars Elisha Cuthbert as a cover-girl model who is abducted and subjected to bloody torture. DVD, $28.98. (Lionsgate)

"In the Land of Women" Meg Ryan leads the cast in this tale of a heartbroken screenwriter (Adam Brody) caught up in the lives of a single mom and her daughters. DVD, $27.95. (Warner Bros.)

"The Three Stooges Collection: Volume One 1934-36" After a series of random single-disc compilations, studio bosses finally begin releasing the Stooges the way fans want them: In chronological order, with a promise of all their comedy shorts eventually landing on DVD. The two-disc set has 19 slapstick farces featuring Curly, Larry and Moe. DVD set, $24.96. (Sony)

Source: www.cinema-pedia.com