Review: Subtle Scares in `Orphanage'

The Orphanage

Floors creak and doors slam. Hidden passages lead to secret compartments. Ratty old dolls show up out of nowhere.

Are these playful signs from the children who lived in "The Orphanage" long ago, or a harbinger of something more sinister? That's the mystery in this well-crafted if familiar haunted house story, the first feature from young Spanish director Juan Antonio Bayona.

Guillermo del Toro serves as one of the film's producers and Bayona, working from a script by Sergio Sanchez, seems to be aiming for the same mix of the real and the supernatural that del Toro himself achieved last year with his excellent "Pan's Labyrinth." It's a tough balance to strike, and it's even tougher to live up to comparisons to such a cinematic original. ("The Orphanage" is actually more reminiscent of Alejandro Amenabar's super-creepy "The Others," starring Nicole Kidman.)

Read the entire article at: www.cinema-pedia.com

Extradition Sought in DiCaprio Attack

Leonardo DiCaprio

Police will seek the extradition of a woman accused of fleeing to Canada after slashing Leonardo DiCaprio with a broken beer bottle at a party in 2005, authorities said.

Aretha Wilson, 37, has been in custody for several months in Toronto in connection with an aggravated assault case there and is a suspect in other assault cases, Los Angeles police Detective Steve Ramirez said Thursday.

Prosecutors are awaiting a formal communication from police before they launch an inquiry into whether the charge against Wilson is an extraditable offense, district attorney's office spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons said.

Read the entire article at : www.cinema-pedia.com

`Blood' Is a Breakthrough for Anderson

Bill Germanakos

In the last conversation Paul Thomas Anderson had with Robert Altman, his friend and mentor told him: "I think this film is something different for you."

"It was so sweet," Anderson recently recalled. "He had no reason to base it on anything except just a feeling."

Altman died in November 2006, a month before Anderson planned to show him a rough cut of "There Will Be Blood."

But Altman's hunch turned out to be accurate.

Anderson's new movie stands apart from his first four films "Sydney" (aka "Hard Eight"), "Boogie Nights," "Magnolia" and "Punch-Drunk Love." And it's been hailed as one of the best films of the year and a remarkable advancement for a maturing auteur.

"Your paranoia becomes `What ... does that mean? Does that mean at the expense of the other films this is something else?'" the 37-year-old writer-director said. "But I'd be lying if I didn't say that every time you go to make a film, you're desperate to either do it better than you did it last time or to not repeat yourself."

The scruffy Anderson speaks passionately about film and can discuss movie history with authority. When he began directing in his early 20s, he was seen as an L.A.-bred cinematic phenom who quickly became a star in the '90s independent film scene, specializing in movies set in his native San Fernando Valley.

With large ensemble casts, ever-moving cameras, memorable music and lengthy running times, Anderson established a bold style. This, combined with realistically flawed, often desperate characters, made Anderson not just a film-geek hero, but a sought-after talent.

Anderson's previous films all had notable autobiographical elements, but for "There Will Be Blood," he sought to expand outside of himself and began the script as a loose adaptation of Upton Sinclair's 1927 novel "Oil!"

The director used roughly the first 100 pages of Sinclair's book and drew on other sources, particularly Margaret Leslie Davis' 1998 biography of oil tycoon Edward Doheny, "The Dark Side of Fortune."

"The benefits of the adaptation was that it helped me do things that my natural instincts wouldn't lead me to do," said Anderson, who acknowledged that, if left to his own devices, he's more liable to "spin off the rails a bit more."

"It was like collaborating with somebody," he said.

The result is a film about the fictional Daniel Plainview, an obsessed turn-of-the-century oil man, brought to life by Daniel Day-Lewis in a titanic performance.

"It was a fully imagined, fully understood world that Paul had already created on the page for me, therefore it was that world, in its entirety, that unleashed a curiosity that can take you, you don't know where," said Day-Lewis.

For a film that's winning raves, it had inauspicious beginnings. Production was postponed for two years to raise financing, and only after shooting began was Paul Dano cast in the supporting role.

"Quite honestly, after all that time, Daniel and I were like caged animals in the starting gate," said Anderson. "And the gate opened and we just fell flat on our faces."

Shooting in the desert of Marfa, Texas, they had to recover quickly.

"We built these sets and we were out there in costumes with cameras and everybody was standing around," Anderson said. "It's a little like, `What else are you going to do?'"

The themes in "There Will Be Blood" aren't what fans of Anderson are accustomed to. It largely deals with the heartless, indomitable will of big business in America.

Anderson, who watched John Huston's "The Treasure of Sierra Madre" (1948) repeatedly while writing "There Will Be Blood," acknowledged those ideas came out of negative thoughts about what he called the "boys network" of business today.

"It's fun thinking about that stuff: shadowy organizations, underhanded deals, investment banking I don't know," laughed Anderson. "I like Daniel Plainview a lot, and that makes it personal. He's mad and I know it and I don't want to really be hanging out with him a lot. He's great. I understand what he's going through; I understand where he's coming from."

What Anderson recognizes in Plainview is his single-mindedness in pursuit. Anderson has a reputation for fighting passionately for his films and has previously battled with studios.

His first film "Sydney" (1996) was taken away from him by the production company, Rysher Entertainment. The company changed the title to "Hard Eight" and cut it considerably. It was submitted to the Cannes Film Festival, but Anderson also sent his own cut, titled "Sydney," which the festival selected.

There were also disputes over the length of 1997's "Boogie Nights" (156 minutes) and 1999's "Magnolia" (188 minutes). But Anderson, who received a screenwriting Oscar nomination for both movies, says he now can see the point about their length.

"`Magnolia' needed it, and I certainly wish I could take 15 or 20 minutes out of that film," he said. "I don't miss scenes at all the way that I used to miss them when I was younger making a film. It's actually quite fun to get rid of them now."

"There Will Be Blood" still clocks in at 158 minutes, but Anderson said there was no friction with the studios (Paramount Vantage and Miramax Films) except for what he called "the YouTube Incident of 2007."

While editing the movie last summer, Anderson decided to enliven things by cutting a trailer, which he posted on YouTube. The simplicity of the process not dealing with the studio or the Motion Picture Association of America was "like a filmmaker's fantasy."

"And the studio went nuts," he said, smiling about his mischief. "We put it up on Friday and I remember they called on Saturday morning at 6 a.m.: `Do you know there's this thing on YouTube?' I said, `Yeah, we put it there.' They were like, `What the hell are you doing? Are you mad?'"

The trailer's warm reception pacified the executives, Anderson said, and ever since "There Will Be Blood" has rode a wave of good publicity and honors, including a Golden Globe nomination for best drama.

The whole experience reminds Anderson who has a child with his partner, "Saturday Night Live" cast member Maya Rudolph of the crazed mining of Daniel Plainview.

"You feel like a bottom feeder at the bottom of this dark tunnel, chipping away at something that you're not quite sure is there and even if it is there, you're not quite sure what it's worth," he said. "I can completely relate to that fever and insanity that happens and takes over."

Source: www.cinema-pedia.com

Tim Burton Making 3-D Alice in Wonderland for Disney

He's already taken filmgoers to Sleepy Hollow and into Willy Wonka's factory -- and now, Variety reports, Tim Burton will team up with Disney to give audiences a new take on Alice in Wonderland.

Burton's Wonderland is part of a new two-picture deal with Disney, one which will also find him bringing an expanded version of his 1984 short film, Frankenweenie, to theaters. Oh, and did we mention that both pictures will be shown in 3-D? Read on:

"Alice in Wonderland"...will combine performance-capture imagery, currently seen in "Beowulf," with live-action footage.

After "Alice," Burton will helm and produce "Frankenweenie," based on his 1984 short film about a pet dog brought back to life by his loyal owner. Pic will be shot in stop-motion animation and shown in digital 3-D.

As the article points out, Disney has been looking to increase its 3-D presence for some time now, and new technology has only helped fuel the studio's ardor. Disney's Oren Aviv tells Variety that Burton was the only director the studio wanted for the Alice script, proving that occasionally, the studio heads really do know what they're doing.

Source: www.cinema-pedia.com

Heavy Times Call for Happy Movies

A few weeks ago our man Dre had some harsh words for the people of America about how we are shunning serious movies in lieu of fanciful ones. My retort? So what? Yeah, we're shunning serious movies. And while many of the ones Dre listed failed for reasons other than being serious (i.e., they were total crap), there is a definite upturn of the nose by audiences against solid, entertaining, serious fare. Like last weekend's Lions For Lambs. Why?We're tired. We're sick to death. We just don't want to hear it anymore. Is there anyone left in this country who thinks war is a good thing? Is there anyone who is glad that we're at war? Is there anyone still itching to hear more about it? No. Not at all. There are very few people left still enamored with the President and even fewer satisfied with his opposition in Congress. And if there's a truly worthy person ready to take his job and inspire us all out of our slump on either side of the aisle, I sure haven't seen him or her yet. No matter what side of the fence you sit on, we can all agree on one thing: we're tired of all the yelling. We're sick of all the bickering. And when we go to the movies we don't want someone to give us something else to have to worry about.

We want fantasy. We want explosions. We want teen sex comedies with a heavy emphasis on the teen, the sex and especially the comedy. We want to watch a giant robot blow up a building and we want to see it from 13 different angles. We want to watch John Cusack fall in love with the girl next door that he hasn't seen in 20 years over and over and over again until he gets it right. We want Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn to break out in an unending string of jokes about their private parts and what they want to do with them. And we want all of that to come with a side of fries and a big old heaping helping of happy ending.

So what in the hell is wrong with that?

I want you to do me a favor. Next time you're wondering aloud why the box office is in a slump and why audiences are staying away from the cinema, ask yourself this: are the endings happy? Are the movies designed to entertain rather than preach? Are the audiences seeing the films walking out with smiles on their faces? These are not happy times. Heavy, thoughtful movies are great for happy times. These are heavy times. Give us something happy and don't begrudge us the need for a pick-me-up when we're laying down a ten spot at the box office. You don't tell a depressed person about Africa. You buy them a puppy. So what's really wrong with the cinematic version of that?

Source: www.cinema-pedia.com

New Ghostbusters Games Coming Next Year

It won't be in the form of the sequel that Dan Aykroyd has been trying to get off the ground all these years, but Ghostbusters is making a comeback.

Variety reports that Sony Pictures and Vivendi Games are teaming up to produce a series of Ghostbusters videogames, set to debut in the fall of next year -- and that Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Bill Murray, and Harold Ramis have all agreed to do voicework and provide their likenesses. Even the films' supporting cast is getting in on the fun; the article names William Atherton, Brian Doyle Murray, and Annie Potts as additional participants in the games. From the article:

Deal comes on the heels of several other classic movies that have recently been adapted into successful vidgames, including EA's "The Godfather" and Vivendi's own "Scarface: The World Is Yours."

"We noticed we did well on 'Scarface' and were alert for new opportunities to turn iconic film products into games in a way that is a new manifestation of the franchise," Vivendi Games CEO Bruce Hack said. "'Ghostbusters' is unquestionably among the small number of movies in that class."

Hack noted that, in making both deals, Vivendi did a survey of gamers asking which movie properties they would like to see turned into videogames. "Scarface" and "Ghostbusters" were both in the top five.

According to the report, Aykroyd and Ramis will write a story for the game "that takes place in the early '90s, after Ghostbusters II, during a new ghoul invasion of New York City." Looks like the studios just found a way around the writers' strike!

Source: www.cinema-pedia.com

Awards Shows Could Suffer in WGA Strike

Without the quips between celebrity presenters, inside jokes about the entertainment industry and skits that poke fun at stars behaving badly, awards shows would be little more than shiny trophies and long lists of names.

That could be the case for some of the shows in Hollywood's fabled awards season this year if the Writers Guild of America remains on strike for several months.

Things get under way Sunday with the American Music Awards, which will air live on ABC. The script was written before the strike began last week, but without writers to make revisions, it won't include any topical quips from host Jimmy Kimmel.

"We were aware of the impending WGA strike and planned accordingly," said producer Larry Klein in a statement.

They were also lucky to be the first out of the gate.

December is nominations month and therefore writing time for the Grammys, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards, with the Oscars nominations coming Jan. 22.

People behind awards shows say it's too soon to say how the strike will affect their programs, but they're likely to feel the pinch when nominations are announced. That's because writing typically begins once the nominees are known, said Ken Ehrlich, who has produced more than a dozen Grammy and Emmy shows.

"With the Grammys, it comes down to who's performing on the show. Same thing with the Emmys; it depends on who you're going to book to present," he said. "It can't really be canned because it's got to be tailored to the people who are saying it."

During the writers strike of 1988, the Oscars still went on but that situation was different from today. Back then, the show's script had been written before the strike began and remained essentially unchanged throughout the telecast. Writers Guild members who appeared on the show were allowed to ad-lib, but were cautioned against writing any new material.

It would be impossible, though, for an Academy Awards script to have been written before the 2007 WGA strike began, as the year's Oscar-qualifying films are still being released.

Spokeswoman Leslie Unger said the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences hasn't even reached the planning stage yet. "Our show is a number of months off and we have no way of knowing if or how (the strike) will impact us," she said.

It also may be difficult for the Academy Awards to "find people who will perform on the show who aren't members of the Writers Guild," said veteran writer Bruce Vilanch, who has worked on the Academy Awards for the past 18 years. "Most standup performers write for themselves and when they have shows, they get a writing credit."

Nominees for the Golden Globe Awards will be revealed Dec. 13, and the script begins the following day, said executive producer Barry Adelman.

"We're hopeful the issues pertaining to the ... strike will be resolved to everyone's satisfaction before then," he said in a statement. "We intend to explore all of our available options in the upcoming weeks."

Some shows employ a dozen or more writers, Vilanch said, with starting "a couple months" before showtime and continuing until the final curtain falls.

"You're responding to what happens during the course of the show, so there's writing going on all evening long," he said, adding that nearly every part of the program is the work of the writers "anything basically except an acceptance speech."

"If it ain't on the page, it ain't on the stage," he said. "The contribution the writers make is the same contribution every other creative element makes. It's important."

The Screen Actors Guild could find itself writer-less, too. Nominees will be announced Dec. 20, and "the majority of writing is done after we have the nominations announcement," said spokeswoman Rosalind Jarret.

Jon Stewart, whose "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" on Comedy Central has been in reruns since the strike began, had no comment on how it might affect his duties as host of the 80th Academy Awards.

Even the Writers Guild is unsure about the strike's impact on the upcoming awards season.

"Many of the awards shows are written under WGA contracts," said spokesman Neal Sacharow, "and how the strike will affect those shows remains to be seen."

However, Vilanch is sure of one thing: Awards shows would be dull without writers.

"There might be a show where people just kind of come out and read the names and give the awards, and in between you have some lovely production numbers," he said. "I bet choreographers are just champing at the bit."

Source: www.cinema-pedia.com

Comic Marilyn Martinez Dies at 52

Marilyn Martinez, a sassy standup comic who performed with the Original Latin Divas of Comedy and other Latina troupes, has died, her husband said Friday. She was 52.

Martinez died Nov. 3 of complications from colon cancer at a Hollywood hospital after being diagnosed nine months earlier, said her husband, John David Crowder.

"Marilyn was out there to make the fans excited. She wasn't out there for stardom and fame," he said. "And she didn't want to be remembered as a dirty mouth."

"She used to tell me she was a triple minority. She was fat, she was a woman, she was Hispanic," he said.

Raised in Denver, Martinez tap-danced on a local television show as a child before funneling her love of acting, and food, into standup routines, according to her longtime manager, Scott Montoya.

She moved to Los Angeles around 1989, he said. Her routines often included frank talk about sex and men.

"She was getting away with saying a lot of crazy stuff," said comedian Carlos Mencia, who performed alongside Martinez and knew her for more than a decade.

"It wasn't like, 'I'm a woman and let's talk about flowers and shopping.' ... But she could do clean if you wanted her to."

In L.A., Martinez connected with her Mexican roots and in the mid-1990s joined Latina troupe the Hot and Spicy Mamitas, Montoya said.

She also became a member of the Hot Tamales with Eva Longoria and was "the anchor" of the Latin Divas of Comedy, with a Showtime special earlier this year in the same vein as the hit Latin Kings of Comedy, Montoya said.

Martinez also toured solo with comic Paul Rodriguez from 1996 to 2003.

Her screen credits include parts in 2003's "Pauly Shore Is Dead," 2002's "For Da Love of Money," the ABC television series "My Wife and Kids" in 2001, and the 2004 reality TV show "Urban Jungle" on SiTV.

Source: www.cinema-pedia.com

Mickey Rourke Arrested in Fla. on DUI

A scooter-riding Mickey Rourke was arrested Thursday on suspicion of driving under the influence.

Rourke, star of "Sin City," "Diner" and "9 1/2 Weeks," was arrested at 4:20 a.m. and booked at the Miami-Dade County Jail, said Janelle Hall, a jail spokeswoman. He was released on a $1,000 bond, she said.

A telephone message left at the office of Rourke's agent wasn't immediately returned.

A Miami Beach Police report said Rourke made a U-turn with a red light and then swerved several times while on a green scooter. He had a flushed face and bloodshot, watery eyes, his speech was slurred, and he had a strong odor of alcohol on his breath, the report said.

"I'm not drunk, I didn't even drink that much," the report quoted Rourke as saying.

Rourke, 51, allegedly failed field-sobriety tests before being taken to headquarters. He also failed an alcohol breath test, police said.

Source: www.cinema-pedia.com

Original Gangster Outshines Film

Frank Lucas, at 77 years old and in a wheelchair, still has a small gang doting on him. Sons, publicists and friends swirl around Lucas in nearly perpetual commotion, fetching him everything from pills to a cooling fan. A recent visitor is directed kindly though in no uncertain terms in and out of the room.

There's still plenty of power left in Lucas's presence, even though his days as a Harlem drug lord are decades past, his millions long ago seized by the government.

Lucas is again in the spotlight because of "American Gangster," the Ridley Scott-directed film in which Denzel Washington portrays Lucas. A special as part of BET's "American Gangster" series also recently profiled him.

"If you can find one better than Denzel Washington, I want you to tell me," says Lucas, in a halting drawl similar to bluesman John Lee Hooker's. "What's their name? What's their name?"

Lucas's story is unbelievable even by Hollywood standards. After a childhood in North Carolina, he moved to New York, eventually becoming the driver for and pupil of Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson, a powerful Harlem gangster.

After Johnson's death, Lucas, who went by the nickname "Superfly," took over his heroin dealing business, but made one audacious change: He established his own drug connection, cutting out the middleman and landing huge amounts of nearly pure heroin. Sold on the street as "Blue Magic," it netted him an incredible profit up to $1 million in revenue a day, Lucas claims.

He managed this by buying his dope in the jungles of Vietnam, tipped off by U.S. soldiers then fighting in the war. To get the drugs back to the States, Lucas established the infamous "cadaver connection," hiding the heroin in the caskets of dead soldiers.

Judge Sterling Johnson Jr. of the Federal District Court in Brooklyn, who prosecuted Lucas and played a major role in bringing him down, once called the operation "one of the most outrageous dope-smuggling gangs ever."

Lucas wasn't the only arrogant gangster in New York then. His rival, Leroy "Nicky" Barnes (played by Cuba Gooding Jr. in the film) appeared on the cover of The New York Times Magazine in an article titled "Mr. Untouchable" which prompted President Jimmy Carter to pressure for a crackdown.

In "American Gangster," Lucas is depicted to a certain degree as an entrepreneur who broke through the racial barriers of traditional organized crime.

"That had nothing to do with it," says Lucas, who also sold his drugs to Italian mob families. "I saw an opening, a soft spot the soft part of the belly and I took advantage of it."

After Lucas was arrested in 1975, his sentences in New York and New Jersey added up to 70 years in prison and he quickly turned into a government informant, most notably against the then-corrupt Special Investigations Unit of the NYPD.

Out of 70 SIU officers, 52 were eventually either jailed or indicted. Lucas claims he only informed on corrupt police officers. He insists: "The only people I every ever informed on were them ... cops who took my money."

But prosecutors involved in the case have contradicted that. Richard "Richie" Roberts, who prosecuted the superseding indictment in New Jersey, says plainly: "Absolutely not. He gets mad every time I tell the truth."

Lucas's sentence was reduced to five years after his informant work. Once released, Lucas was quickly arrested again for drug dealing, but on a much smaller scale. He served seven more years and, when he got out of jail in 1991, Roberts came to his aid ("I couldn't buy a pack of cigarettes," says Lucas).

Today, they are good friends. Roberts is Lucas's defense attorney and the godfather to his 11-year-old son, Ray, whose education Roberts has paid for.

"We've had our ups and downs over the years," says Roberts, speaking from his New Jersey law office. "The charm that Denzel exhibited in the movie was the way Frank was. Frank would probably shoot you and make you feel pretty good as you were dying."

Russell Crowe plays Roberts in the film, though the character is a composite of the many detectives and prosecutors who arrested and tried Lucas. Lucas for a moment hesitates to speak ill of his friend, but the inflated screen persona given to Roberts riles him.

"Richie Roberts and his crack crew couldn't catch a ... bad cold in Alaska in the wintertime," he says with undimmed competitiveness. "They were the bad-news cops."

It was originally Nicholas Pileggi (who wrote "Wiseguys," the book "Goodfellas" was based on) who brought attention to Lucas' story. He introduced Lucas to writer Mark Jacobson, whose 2000 New York Magazine article was the basis for "American Gangster."

Lucas, Roberts, Pileggi and Jacobson flew to L.A. together to meet with producer Brian Grazer, who Pileggi says, snapping his fingers, "bought it right in the room."

The stars of "American Gangster" and its writer, Steve Zaillian, consulted heavily with Lucas and Roberts. Lucas was present almost daily on the Harlem film set, lending Washington frequent advice on details like how he taped his gun.

On the BET special, Washington said about Lucas: "He'll have you working for him by the end of the day."

Of the slow pace of film productions, Lucas, who uses a wheelchair because of complications from a leg he broke in two places some time ago, poetically says: "It was kind of like watching a flower grow in the nighttime." He then adds with phrasing rather alarming coming from a former gangster: "The way they do it is not according to Jim, you know what I mean? I usually am bang, bang, bang I'm gone."

Lucas, who lives with his wife and youngest son in Newark, N.J., says that the experience couldn't help but rekindle his memories.

"You're back in the saaame thing," he says with a laugh. "The girls I knew, some of them came up claiming they got kids by me. Since I started making the movie, I got 10 more sons."

But Lucas says he's repentant. Aside from any murders he himself committed or had carried out, the strength of Lucas's potent heroin killed many young users.

"I regret it very much so," he says. "I did some terrible things. I'm awfully sorry that I did them. I really am."

Many of those who lived through the events depicted in "American Gangster" worry the film could glamorize Lucas' drug-dealing days.

Pileggi, also an executive producer on the film, says he hopes "American Gangster" above all makes clear "that you're going to get caught, even if you're as clever and try to be as laid-back as (Lucas)."

"He can never redeem what he did, he can never bring those kids back or clean up the schoolyards, but there is rebirth or redemption in realizing what you did was bad," says Pileggi.

Lucas now touts a charity founded by his daughter, Francine Lucas-Sinclair, that seeks to raise money for the children of incarcerated parents (http://yellowbrickroads.org).

"I always keep my eye on the prize," says Lucas. "The film, in three or four months, it'll be gone but I'll still be here. And I gotta keep the fire burning."

Source: www.cinema-pedia.com

Coens Find New Country to Roam

Joel and Ethan Coen have proved to be masters at mixing the horrific and humorous, the ominous and outrageous nowhere more so than in their latest film, the savage crime saga "No Country for Old Men."

The brothers take familiar Hollywood genres film noir ("The Man Who Wasn't There"), the gangster tale ("Miller's Crossing"), the true-crime thriller ("Fargo"), the screwball comedy ("O Brother, Where Art Thou?") and filter them into something uniquely their own.

Like that "Barton Fink feeling" a studio executive blathers on about in "Barton Fink," their tale of a playwright in Hollywood, there's a "Coen brothers feeling" that can defy definition, but you know it when you see it in their films.

"No Country for Old Men" co-star Josh Brolin calls it "Planet Coen."

"They find the absurdity of who we are in every situation. That's what they're fantastic at. Even in a movie as tense as this, they give you the ability to kind of chuckle and inhale and take a breath," said Brolin. "You never know what's going to happen around the next Coen brothers corner, whether it be fate or absurdity or a lack of humor where you're positive they're going to inject a joke."

Adapted by the Coens from Cormac McCarthy's novel, "No Country for Old Men" centers on three characters. There's a wily Texan (Brolin) who stumbles on a drug deal gone bloodily wrong in the desert and makes off with $2 million left behind among the corpses. There's a relentless, inhumanly brutish killer (Javier Bardem) tracking Brolin to recover the cash. And there's a valorous but wayworn sheriff (Tommy Lee Jones) pursuing both men. The film opens Friday.

At its core, the story seems a bit conventional for the filmmakers who made yodeling the musical backdrop for baby-snatching in "Raising Arizona" and turned a urine-stained carpet into a key plot catalyst for a crime comedy set among bowlers in "The Big Lebowski"

But the balance of black humor and brutish violence, the sense of an otherworldly America in the vast Texas panorama, and the abrupt turns McCarthy sneaks in late in the story set the novel squarely on Planet Coen.

"It immediately seemed like the kind of thing we could make a movie out of, largely by virtue of what kind of story it is, which for Cormac is a little anomalous compared to his other things," Ethan Coen, 50, told The Associated Press during an interview with his brother. "I don't know what to call it pulpier, more of a chase-action thing."

"On one level," continued Joel Coen, 52, "it's a very straightforward crime story, and on another level, it's not that at all. Without sort of giving away the ending, he does certain things in terms of the structure of the story, the way the story moves, and what happens sort of three-quarters of the way through, which are quite unexpected and unusual and probably unique in terms of what one would expect from this kind of story. There's nothing predictable about this."

There has been nothing predictable about the Coens' work since their 1984 debut with another violent Texas crime tale, "Blood Simple," starring Frances McDormand, Joel Coen's wife.

They seemed like pure fringe players with their early films, including "Raising Arizona," "Miller's Crossing" and "Barton Fink." The latter earned the top honor at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival, but it baffled many viewers, as did their next film, "The Hudsucker Proxy" the films helping to solidify the Coens as cult favorites well outside the mainstream.

Then came "Fargo," a surprise commercial success that grabbed seven Academy Award nominations, best picture and director among them, and won the best-actress Oscar for McDormand and the original-screenplay prize for the Coens.

"Fargo" spun the tragic farce of a real-life kidnapping in the Coens' home state of Minnesota, which seems like an alien landscape as the story plays out in a seamless mix of the grotesque and hilarious.

Likewise, "No Country for Old Men" twirls the audience through a whirlwind of bloodshed leavened with wicked laughs.

Strangely, it's Bardem, the film's most menacing figure, around whom much of the humor revolves as he brushes people and obstacles aside with stoic tenacity and a cache of outlandish weapons.

Bardem said he necessarily had to play such a ruthless character straight. The comedy came from the Coens.

"They made it happen by the way they put it together," Bardem said. "Thank God, I didn't know it, because then I didn't pretend to be funny. I had my job to do, which was to be dead serious and frightening. So when they put it together, they put it together with a reaction from another person listening to me. That makes it funny.

"That's why the Coens are the Coens. They know how to put it together to really release the tension and make you laugh out of fear, out of tension."

"They understand that even when the bleakest things happen in life, there's humor there," said Kelly Macdonald, who plays the wife of Brolin's character in "No Country for Old Men." "That's one of the biggest human traits. It's a coping mechanism or something."

The Coens deflect attempts to analyze their work or the combination of light and dark that goes into it.

"It's not like they're separate ingredients," Ethan Coen said. "There are some situations that you might react to by laughing or being horrified. Either way is fine with us, but again, they're not like two different ingredients that you measure and pour in. It's kind of the fact that you can react either way that's appealing."

"We're sometimes surprised when people laugh at certain places, although we're never bothered by it," Joel Coen said. "Every now and then, you get a laugh in really unexpected places."

His brother recalled one such scene that surprised the Coens in advance screenings since the film debuted at last spring's Cannes festival:

"Javier is in this motel room, and he unzips a bag and takes out a gun with this big honkin' silence on the end of it, and people laugh," Ethan Coen said. "You go, `OK, I didn't really expect that, but great.'"

"In that situation, it is quite funny. It's horrifying at the same time it's funny," Joel Coen said.

The Coens' next film leans more toward funny than horrifying, though Ethan Coen guaranteed that both qualities will be well-represented.

"Burn After Reading" is a comic adventure reuniting them with "O Brother" star George Clooney, who co-stars with McDormand, Brad Pitt, John Malkovich and Richard Jenkins.

True to that Coen feeling, the brothers describe it as a yarn set in motion by the collision of two diverse cultures: the CIA and the physical-fitness world.

That juxtaposition reminded them of the time they met former Texas Gov. Ann Richards and described the plot of the film they were then working on, "The Man Who Wasn't There," with Billy Bob Thornton.

"We said, `It's about a barber who wants to be a dry cleaner,'" Joel Coen said. "She looked at Ethan as well as me and said, `I'm trying to get excited about that.'"

Source: www.cinema-pedia.com

Interview: Darfur Now Producer Cathy Schulman On Getting Involved

The enormity of the conflict in Darfur is such that many have been numbed by its complexity and seemingly endless violence. It's a situation that the makers of the new documentary, Darfur Now (featuring Don Cheadle and expanding into theaters this Friday), hope to help correct.

In short, the conflict involves several loosely-affiliated rebel groups that have been brutally suppressed by the Sudanese government and proxy militias. Though it's hard to get accurate figures, it's likely that nearly 450,000 people have been died and more than two million displaced by the fighting.

Rotten Tomatoes spoke with Oscar-winning producer Cathy Schulman, one of the producers of the project, about the difficulties in making the film, the delicate balance between activism and entertainment in cinema, and how to mobilize to end the violence.

What do you hope the response to Darfur Now will be?

Cathy Schulman: First and foremost, I hope it contributes to making a difference in the crisis itself. The reason for making it so quickly and getting it into the marketplace so quickly was in the hope it could inform people and make some noise about the film. That's the most important thing. That's intimately connected to what its theatrical life is too. I want the movie to perform and I want the people to love it but it was always done as an expression of activism. I don't want people to think it's medicinal either, I guess I should say that.

How did you get involved in the film?

CS: Don Cheadle and I had obviously worked really hard together on Crash and we won the Academy Award. If there was ever a time to use our fame and momentary fortune to give back then was the time. When you get an Academy Award, you feel like you've got a little gold star on your forehead and now you can really get something interesting done. Don radicalized me on the issue of Darfur, which happened during the structuring of Crash. I was sitting in a meeting listening to a narrative pitch, a story about a soldier who goes to Darfur, and it came to me like a rocket. I thought, "Truth is stranger than fiction." How could we possibly do a fictional film about an issue people aren't even aware of in real life? And I knew what we'd do was make a documentary about this subject matter.

In talking to various agents about this, I was introduced to [Darfur director] Ted Braun, who had come up with this notion for Darfur Now. I thought his way of approaching the material was spot on because he wanted to make a movie that was about making a difference as opposed to doing an expose, a movie that had hope. For Don [Cheadle] and I, [it] was so important to us to answer a certain question. In our own lives we ask, "Why, when we hear tragedies happening on other sides of the world, do people say, 'Well, that's too bad but it's so far away and so complicated, what can possibly I do?'" So the question was can we make a film that brings the conflict closer? Make it more familiar to the people and offer a sense of sameness? So this was an interesting way to go.

 

Your film didn't get all that far into the minutia of this very complicated conflict; it was more about what you can do.

CS: That was very much our goal. In regard to the humanitarian crisis nationally and internationally, the best thing you can do is gather voices and make a lot of noise at the people who can help make a difference. It's crucially important with human interest and humanitarian issues like this that people get loud. Get educated, get loud, and say "No more." And that's when you can get mobilized. Believe me, we can make a difference in Darfur. There they have a situation that is primarily driven by a portion of a government that has allowed this and we can change all that by putting these war criminals behind bars, first and foremost.

In the film, you feature people like Sam Brownback and Hillary Clinton, which shows that people on both sides of the political aisle agree on the issue. Yet there hasn't been any sort of critical mass movement. What's the obstacle there?

CS: I think it's the remote nature of the conflict. We live in a touchy-feely world where the closer the problem the more capable we are of coping -- if at all. Not to put words in Don's mouth, but he always says, "There's something about West Africa. Like, if it's there, it's an 'African problem.'" Like, that's the continent where that stuff happens. People don't take the time [to explore] and otherwise people have grown desensitized to violence. Which is one of the reasons we decided not to make a film where every other frame you're seeing a shot of a body or atrocity of some sort or another. As you saw in the film, we only have one shot of violence, which was a very conscious decision. For whatever reason, seeing so much news or being overwhelmed with violent imagery all the time, the reaction isn't "God, what do I do to stop that from happening?" The reaction seems to be to go cold. I think you put up your emotional barriers as an individual and think, "I can't cope with that." I think that's happening on a macro level. How would you read about 2.5 million displaced people and over 200,000 people murdered in this violent way and not do something? We keep reading stuff like that in the world we live.

You witnessed these things firsthand?

CS: No, I personally did not go to Darfur. We sent a crew of five people.

So your end was insurance and logistics.

CS: Yeah, gosh. It's taken so much to get it mounted and keep everybody safe. [It was] really hard to shoot there. Usually the problem with shooting in a foreign place is you're trying to figure out the infrastructure and trying to deal with the lab. With this film, we had to deal with keeping our film from getting stolen, how [we were] going to house our crew because we can't find hotel rooms because of the embargo, how [we were] going to deal with communications if we can't bring GPSes. It was crazy stuff.

 

 

Were you constantly concerned with the safety of the crew?

CS: The day they got on that plane to come back and they called me from the London airport -- they'd gone from Khartoum to London -- I've never felt a bigger stress reliever in my life. I had a backache for weeks that went away that day. I realized I was stressing. And the phone calls were erratic and in the middle of the night and it did make me anxious the whole time. I hated it when I couldn't talk to them for days on end because, you know, they couldn't get a signal or something. That would happen [and] it was terrible.

You've worked on a lot of films that have social messages. How do you balance the message and your duty to the audience?

CS: The most important thing is that I apply the same rules to a documentary or a social action film that I do to a narrative, fictional film for general marketing. We cannot be boring, and we have to be involving for 90 minutes. We have to be self-distinguishing and worthy of conversation so there's something people can talk about and so that the word of mouth can live and people can say, "This is something worth seeing," even if the subject matter might be more serious or politically oriented or socially focused. The truth is all those things are to be applied to any film I work on.

I know you went through some tough times producing Crash. Did the Oscar make it all worth it in the end?

CS: I look back on Crash fondly because the shooting of that movie and the post-production was the greatest collaboration of my career. I loved everyone I worked with and Paul [Haggis] and I had the best working experience. Secondly, there's nothing bad about winning an Oscar, but all that is overshadowed by the financial debacle. The thing I'm sad about is instead of it being shared celebration it's turned into this unnecessary economic battle. (A suit filed by Shulman's former business partner Bob Yari seeking production credit on Crash was dismissed in late 2006.)

Did it change your perspective? Do you get onto projects and think, "This might have a shot because my last one did?"

CS: [Laughs.] You mean an Oscar shot? It's funny. One of the most amazing things about winning an Oscar is that the minute you win one there's only one the thing you want. And that's to win another one. It's like that whole thing your mother tells you: be careful about a goal because once you get there...

I also understand a little more of what it takes to go through that kind of a race. You can't start a film thinking about awards or accolades. You can only start a film thinking about what it is you care to communicate or think will be interesting to audiences. The rest has to be gravy.

Darfur Now is in select theaters now.

Source: www.cinema-pedia.com

De Mornay Reportedly Arrested for DUI

Rebecca De Mornay has been arrested for investigation of drunken driving, a magazine reported Tuesday. The actress, who starred in the films "Risky Business" and "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle" was stopped Oct. 30 for a traffic violation in Beverly Hills when officers smelled booze on her breath, according to People magazine. Authorities told the magazine her blood alcohol level was .09 percent, above the legal limit of .08.

"She was very cooperative during the arrest," Lt. Tony Lee, a police spokesman, told the magazine.

Lee did not return telephone calls from The Associated Press, and e-mails and telephone messages for De Mornay's representatives were not returned.

De Mornay had not been charged, said Los Angeles County prosecutor's spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons.

De Mornay's screen credits include HBO's surf drama "John From Cincinnati" and the films "American Venus," "Lords of Dogtown" and "Raise Your Voice." She came to prominence playing the prostitute who befriends Tom Cruise's high school student in the 1983 film "Risky Business."

Associated Press records indicate De Mornay's age is 45, while some other sources give it as 48.

Source: www.cinema-pedia.com

Strike Stops Production on 3 More Shows

Production of three sitcoms filmed before live audiences has been halted because of the Hollywood writers strike, networks said Tuesday.

"Back to You," starring Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton, will not return from a planned hiatus on Wednesday, said Chris Alexander, a spokesman for 20th Century Fox Television.

In addition, the sitcoms "'Til Death," which airs on Fox, and "Rules of Engagement," on CBS, will also stop production immediately because of the strike, according to a Sony Pictures Television executive not authorized to be quoted who requested anonymity.

The shows are typically written the same week they are filmed, with jokes being sharpened by writers even on the day of production.

It was not immediately clear how many shows might already be finished.

The disclosures came as the strike by the Writers Guild of America entered its second day. Pickets returned to studios in Los Angeles and New York.

In Toluca Lake, near Warner Bros. studio, writers converged on a house that serves as a location shoot for "Desperate Housewives."

"We write the story-a, Eva Longoria," about 30 strikers chanted, referring to one star of the hit ABC show.

"It is a very serious business," said Larry Wilmore, a writer on "The Daily Show," explaining the protesters were marching "so we can get back to being funny."

Shooting continued inside the house despite the protests, said Chandler Hayes, a spokesman for ABC.

The protesters were joined by actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

"I'm really here because I'm a union member," said Louis-Dreyfus, a member of the Screen Actors Guild whose husband is a member of the writers guild.

"If we prevent them from working today, that's a small victory," she said.

In New York, strikers picketed outside Silver Cup Studios in Queens, the site of shooting for "30 Rock" and "Gossip Girls."

The strike began Monday after last-minute negotiations between the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers failed to produce a deal on how much writers are paid when shows are offered on the Internet.

No new negotiations were scheduled.

The walkout immediately sent late-night comedy shows going into reruns.

It will not immediately have an impact on production of movies or most prime-time TV programs. Most studios have stockpiled dozens of movie scripts, and many TV shows have enough scripts or completed shows in hand to last until early next year.

Nick Counter, chief negotiator for the producers union, said he expected a long standoff.

"We're hunkered down for a long one," he said Monday. "From our standpoint, we made every good faith effort to negotiate a deal, and they went on strike. At some point, conversations will take place. But not now."

Writers said the next move was up to the studios.

"My hope is that it won't be too long," said John Bowman, chief negotiator for the writers.

Some producers were torn about trying to keep filming finished scripts.

Tim Kring, a producer and writer of the NBC hit "Heroes," said he had to revise the ending of the show's 11th episode on the chance that it might be the last one to air this season.

"Fortunately we were able to hustle back," Kring said from a picket line in an effort to shut down the show. "The audience won't be left in a lurch."

While scripted shows suffer from the strike, reality shows could flourish because they don't use union writers, despite an aggressive attempt by the writers guild to organize the staffers on the programs.

Viewers could also check out more entertainment on the Internet, ranging from user-generated fare on YouTube to professionally produced shows such as "Quarterlife."

Writers have not gone on strike since 1988, when the walkout lasted 22 weeks and cost the industry more than $500 million.

Source: www.cinema-pedia.com

Strike Sends Late-Night Shows to Reruns

Late night comedy shows were the first casualties of the first strike by Hollywood writers against TV networks and movie studios in nearly two decades.

"The Late Show With David Letterman" and "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," went into reruns after writers on both coasts headed for the picket line.

The walkout became inevitable late Sunday after last-minute negotiations between the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers failed to produce a deal on such key issues as how much writers are paid when their shows are available on the Internet.

No new negotiations were scheduled, although the writers guild negotiating committee did plan a meeting of its members.

Nick Counter, chief negotiator for the producers union, said he expected a long standoff.

"We're hunkered down for a long one," he said. "From our standpoint, we made every good faith effort to negotiate a deal, and they went on strike. At some point, conversations will take place. But not now."

In Los Angeles, writers planned to picket 14 studio locations in four-hour shifts from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day until a new deal is reached.

Writers said the next move was up to the studios.

"My hope is that it won't be too long," said John Bowman, chief negotiator for the writers. "We have more reason to get together than not."

Bowman said behind-the-scenes communication was occurring between the two sides with the hope of arranging more meetings.

Along with the shows hosted by Letterman and Leno, networks said other late-night shows bound for reruns included "The Daily Show," "Colbert Report," "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson," "Late Night with Conan O'Brien," "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" and "Last Call with Carson Daly."

"Dancing With the Stars," one of the country's highest-rated prime-time shows, aired as planned on Monday night, with its hosts left to ad-lib.

The strike will not immediately impact production of movies or prime-time TV programs. Most studios have stockpiled dozens of movie scripts, and TV shows have enough scripts or completed shows in hand to last until early next year.

However, some producers were torn about trying to shoot those finished scripts.

Tim Kring, a producer and writer of the NBC hit "Heroes," said he had to revise the ending of the show's 11th episode on the chance that it might be the last one to air this season.

"Fortunately we were able to hustle back," Kring said from a picket line in an effort to shut down the show. "The audience won't be left in a lurch."

While scripted shows suffer from the strike, reality shows could flourish because they don't use union writers, despite an aggressive attempt by the writers guild to organize the staffers on the programs.

Viewers could also check out more entertainment on the Internet, ranging from user-generated fare on YouTube to professionally produced shows such as "Quarterlife."

Writers have not gone on strike since 1988, when the walkout lasted 22 weeks and cost the industry more than $500 million.

The dispute has broad implications for the way Hollywood does business, since whatever deal is struck by writers will likely be used as a template for talks with actors and directors, whose contracts expire next June.

Talks began in July and continued after the writers contract expired last Wednesday.

Source: www.cinema-pedia.com

Alicia Silverstone Makes House Calls

Alicia Silverstone is encouraging Americans to get fresh with their senators.

The 31-year-old actress has recorded a voicemail message urging voters to call their representatives and ask them to support the FRESH amendment, which senators are set to consider this week.

"A good amendment to the Farm Bill, called the FRESH Act, will cut subsidies for unhealthy foods," Silverstone says in the minute-long message, adding, "Our kids need help."

Silverstone recorded the message for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.

Some 3,000 people got the "Clueless" star's call Friday and "several thousand" more were to be contacted Monday, a committee spokeswoman said.

A vegan and animal activist, Silverstone has also appeared in advertisements for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

Source: www.cinema-pedia.com

Writers Strike Sends Shows Into Reruns

LOS ANGELES (AP) The first strike by Hollywood writers in nearly 20 years got under way Monday with noisy pickets on both coasts a walkout that will disrupt everything from late-night talk shows to soap operas.

Jay Leno made a midmorning stop at NBC studios in Burbank and visited with strikers after the network said his late-night show would immediately go into reruns, .

CBS, meanwhile, said "The Late Show with David Letterman" will also offer repeats all week.

KTLA-TV reported that fans of the "Ellen" talk show were told at the NBC lot that there would be no taping on Monday.

Comedy Central previously said "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" and "The Colbert Report" would likely go into repeats as well.

The strike will not immediately impact production of movies or prime-time TV programs. Most studios have stockpiled dozens of movie scripts, and TV shows have enough scripts or completed shows in hand to last until early next year.

The strike began after daylong talks Sunday failed to produce an agreement on payment to writers from shows offered on he Internet.

At the CBS lot in Studio City, about 40 people hoisted signs and applauded when picketing began.

Robert Port, a writer for the TV show "Numb3rs," said he was as ready as possible for what could be a long walkout.

"We live in Los Angeles, your bank account can never really be ready for this," he said.

Across town at the Paramount Pictures lot on Melrose Avenue, about 50 strikers dressed in jeans, athletic shoes and red strike T-shirts carried signs reading, "Writers Guild of America on Strike."

Drivers honked their horns as they passed the studio's landmark gate.

The first noisy strikers appeared outside the "Today" show set at Rockefeller Center in New York, where NBC is headquartered. The show is not directly affected by the strike because news writers are part of a different union.

A giant, inflated rat was displayed, as about 40 people shouted, "No contract, no shows!"

"They claim that the new media is still too new to structure a model for compensation," said Jose Arroyo, a writer for "Late Night with Conan O'Brien."

"We say give us a percentage so if they make money, we make money," Arroyo said.

Diana Son, a writer for "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," said she has three children and getting residuals was the only way she could take time off after giving birth.

"It's an extremely volatile industry," Son said. "There's no job security. Residuals are an important part of our income. There's no cushion."

Millie Katzen of Memphis who watched the New York pickets from across the street, said she was "disgusted. ... I really think they should try harder to negotiate."

Katzen said she sells advertising for radio stations. "We've already had cancellations of sweeps weeks ads" by the networks.

The strike is the first walkout by writers since 1988. That work stoppage lasted 22 weeks and cost the industry more than $500 million.

Talks began in July and continued after the contract expired Wednesday

Negotiators met Sunday for nearly 11 hours before East Coast members of the writers union announced on their Web site that the strike had begun for their 4,000 members.

The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers said writers were not willing to compromise on major issues.

Writers said they withdrew a proposal to increase their share of revenue from the sale of DVDs that had been a stumbling block for producers.

They also said proposals by producers in the area of Internet reuse of TV episodes and films were unacceptable.

In Los Angeles, writers planned to picket 14 studio locations in four-hour shifts from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day until a new deal is reached.

Security was stepped up at the Bob Hope Drive gate, across from Johnny Carson Park, in Burbank. Guards were on duty and Burbank police squad cars cruised past the site.

One key factor that could determine the damage caused by the strike is whether members of a powerful Hollywood Teamsters local honor the picket lines.

Local 399, which represents truck drivers, casting directors and location managers, had told its members that as a union, it has a legal obligation to honor its contracts with producers.

But the clause does not apply to individuals, who are protected by federal law from employer retribution if they decide to honor picket lines, the local said.

The battle has broad implications for the way Hollywood does business, since whatever deal is struck by writers will likely be used as a template for talks with actors and directors, whose contracts expire next June.

"We'll get what they get," Screen Actors Guild president Alan Rosenberg told The Associated Press.

Source: www.cinema-pedia.com

Picketing Under Way in TV Writers Strike

NEW YORK (AP) The first walkout by Hollywood writers in nearly 20 years got under way Monday with noisy pickets outside the "Today" show a strike that threatens to disrupt everything from late-night talk shows to soap operas.

A giant, inflated rat was put on display Monday as about 40 people in Rockefeller Center shouted, "No contract, no shows!"

"The seven-word mantra is, `When you get paid, we get paid,'" said Michael Winship, president of the Writers Guild of America East.

The strike is the first walkout by writers since 1988. That work stoppage lasted 22 weeks and cost the industry more than $500 million.

The "Today" show is not directly affected by the strike because news writers are part of a different union. The picket was set up behind police barricades in an area adjacent to the NBC studios, where shows like "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" might be forced to play re-runs.

Writers' demands for a bigger slice of DVD profits and revenue from the distribution of films and TV shows over the Internet has been a key issue.

"They claim that the new media is still too new to structure a model for compensation," said Jose Arroyo, a writer for "Late Night with Conan O'Brien."

"We say give us a percentage so if they make money, we make money," said Arroyo.

Diana Son, a writer for "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," said she has three children and getting residuals was the only way she could take time off after giving birth.

"It's an extremely volatile industry," said Son. "There's no job security. Residuals are an important part of our income. There's no cushion. I rely on residuals from my previous work to get me through periods when I am not working."

"It sounds justifiable to me," said onlooker Dan Kelly of Bethlehem, Pa., a retired New York Police Department detective. "Look at all the fine actors from early on who never got residuals."

But Millie Kapzen of Memphis, Tenn., who watched the pickets from across the street, said she was "disgusted. ... I really think they should try harder to negotiate."

Kapzen, wearing her medal from Sunday's New York City Marathon, said she sells advertising for radio stations. "We've already had cancellations of sweeps weeks ads" by the networks.

In Los Angeles, writers also were planning to picket 14 studio locations in four-hour shifts from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day until a new deal is reached.

The contract between the 12,000-member Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producer expired Oct. 31. Talks that began this summer failed to produce much progress.

Writers and producers had gathered for negotiations Sunday at the request of a federal mediator.

The two sides met for nearly 11 hours before East Coast members of the writers union announced on their Web site that the strike had begun for their 4,000 members.

The first casualty of the strike would be late-night talk shows, which are dependent on current events to fuel monologues and other entertainment.

Daytime TV, including live talk shows such as "The View" and soap operas, which typically tape about a week's worth of shows in advance, would be next to feel the impact.

The strike will not immediately impact production of movies or prime-time TV programs. Most studios have stockpiled dozens of movie scripts, and TV shows have enough scripts or completed shows in hand to last until early next year.

Source: www.cinema-pedia.com

Hollywood Writers Begin Strike

LOS ANGELES (AP) Film and TV writers resolved to put down their pens and take up picket signs after last-ditch talks failed to avert a strike.

The first picket lines were set to appear Monday morning at Rockefeller Center in New York, where NBC is headquartered.

In Los Angeles, writers were planning to picket 14 studio locations in four-hour shifts from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day until a new deal is reached.

The contract between the 12,000-member Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producer expired Oct. 31. Talks that began this summer failed to produce much progress on the writers' key demands for a bigger slice of DVD profits and revenue from the distribution of films and TV shows over the Internet.

Writers and producers gathered for negotiations Sunday at the request of a federal mediator.

The two sides met for nearly 11 hours before East Coast members of the writers union announced on their Web site that the strike had begun for their 4,000 members.

Producers said writers refused a request to "stop the clock" on the planned strike while talks continued.

"It is unfortunate that they choose to take this irresponsible action," producers said in a statement.

Producers said writers were not willing to compromise on their major demands.

Writers said they withdrew a proposal to increase their share of revenue from the sale of DVDs that had been a stumbling block for producers. They also said the proposals by producers in the area of Internet reuse of TV episodes and films were unacceptable.

"The AMPTP made no response to any of the other proposals that the WGA has made since July," writers said in a statement.

The strike is the first walkout by writers since 1988. That work stoppage lasted 22 weeks and cost the industry more than $500 million.

The first casualty of the strike would be late-night talk shows, which are dependent on current events to fuel monologues and other entertainment.

Daytime TV, including live talk shows such as "The View" and soap operas, which typically tape about a week's worth of shows in advance, would be next to feel the impact.

The strike will not immediately impact production of movies or prime-time TV programs. Most studios have stockpiled dozens of movie scripts, and TV shows have enough scripts or completed shows in hand to last until early next year.

One key factor that could determine the damage caused by the strike is whether members of a powerful Hollywood Teamsters local honor the picket lines.

Local 399, which represents truck drivers, casting directors and location managers, had told its members that as a union, it has a legal obligation to honor its contracts with producers.

But the clause does not apply to individuals, who are protected by federal law from employer retribution if they decide to honor picket lines, the local said.

The battle has broad implications for the way Hollywood does business, since whatever deal is struck by writers will likely be used as a template for talks with actors and directors, whose contracts expire next June.

"We'll get what they get," Screen Actors Guild president Alan Rosenberg told The Associated Press.

The guilds have been preparing for these negotiations for years, hiring staff with extensive labor union experience, and developing joint strategies and a harder line than producers have seen in decades.

"We haven't shown particular resolve in past negotiations," said John Bowman, the WGA's chief negotiator.

Source: www.cinema-pedia.com

--------

Interested to learn how to read faster ? Check this site out: Speed Reading

Box Office Guru Wrapup: American Gangster Crushes Competition at #1

The North American box office exploded thanks to the scorching debuts of the Denzel Washington-Russell Crowe crime drama American Gangster and Jerry Seinfeld's animated comedy Bee Movie which combined for over $85M in ticket sales. Following weeks of sluggish business where the marketplace failed to match 2006 levels, this weekend's box office enjoyed a healthy bounce over last year and kicked off the holiday movie season with a bang.

Washington and Crowe both scored new career highs with the estimated $46.3M opening weekend for the crime saga American Gangster which dominated the multiplexes. Universal opened the R-rated tale in 3,054 theaters and generated a scorching $15,175 average per location. Directed by Ridley Scott, Gangster tells the true story of a drug kingpin who built up a heroin empire in Harlem in the early 1970s. The opening easily beat out the former all-time biggest debuts for the Oscar-winning actors: Washington's Inside Man with $29M and Crowe's Gladiator with $34.8M.

American Gangster enjoyed the second highest launch of the year for an R-rated film trailing only 300's $70.9M. Much of the success came from strong sales from young males and the urban audience which saw it as a Scarface for today's generation. The same audience also helped to power Eminem's R-rated hip hop drama 8 Mile to a surprising number one opening of $51.2M in November of 2002. Brian Grazer produced both Mile and Gangster. Reviews were mostly favorable and early Academy Award buzz could help the film in the weeks ahead. Despite the long running time of nearly two hours and forty minutes, moviegoers lined up and found their showtimes.

Paramount and DreamWorks settled for a second place debut for their latest animated film Bee Movie which grossed an estimated $39.1M in its opening weekend. The PG-rated toon averaged a sturdy $9,954 from 3,928 locations and performed just a bit below the levels of recent November animated titles. Last year, the penguin pic Happy Feet bowed to $41.5M while the previous year's Chicken Little launched with $40M. The two went on to gross $198M and $135.4M, respectively, from the North American market. Co-written by and starring Jerry Seinfeld, Bee Movie enjoyed virtually no competition in the current marketplace for family audiences. Critics were not too kind, but ticket buyers showed interest on the opening weekend. For 2007, the toon posted the fourth biggest debut for an animated film after Shrek the Third ($121.6M), The Simpsons Movie ($74M) and Ratatouille ($47M).

Suffering the largest sophomore drop in franchise history, Saw IV tumbled 65% from its top spot bow and grossed an estimated $11M. The Lionsgate title has still banked an impressive $51.1M in ten days and should finish with nearly $70M.

Buena Vista's Dan in Real Life fared much better in its second weekend dropping a slim 31% to an estimated $8.1M. With $23M in ten days, the romantic comedy might find its way to around $50M despite playing in less than 2,000 theaters.

Sony's vampire thriller 30 Days of Night declined by 42% and took in an estimated $4M lifting the total to $34.2M. Buena Vista's The Game Plan followed in sixth with an estimated $3.9M, off only 37%, for a cume to date of $82M.

Neglected and landing in seventh place was the new John Cusack drama Martian Child which opened with an estimated $3.7M. Playing in 2,020 locations, the PG-rated story of a man that adopts a boy who says he's from Mars averaged a pitiful $1,807 for New Line. Child was the seventh wide release in the past six weeks to debut with an average of less than $2,000.

Three adult-skewing fall pics followed. George Clooney's legal thriller Michael Clayton collected an estimated $2.9M, down 41%, for a sum of $33.2M for Warner Bros. Lionsgate's Why Did I Get Married? got hit hard by Denzel's arrival tumbling 52 to an estimated $2.7M. Cume is $51.2M. The Miramax mystery Gone Baby Gone captured an estimated $2.4M, off 37%, for a $14.9M total.

Warner Independent saw a solid platform bow for its documentary Darfur Now which saw an estimated $24,000 in ticket sales from only three theaters. Averaging $8,000 per venue, the Don Cheadle-narrated film will expand on Friday to more cities.

Three October titles fell sharply and left the top ten this weekend. Disney's latest re-release of Thee Nightmare Before Christmas saw its post-Halloween sales slump 55% to an estimated $1.5M for a cume of $12.8M. A $15M final seems likely. The Joaquin Phoenix/Mark Wahlberg drama We Own the Night fell 59% to an estimated $1.4M. The Sony release has taken in $27.7M and could make it to $30M. The spoof comedy The Comebacks grossed an estimated $1.5M, down 56%, and has collected a disappointing $11.9M for Fox. Look for a $13M final.

The top ten films grossed an estimated $124.1M which was up 14% from last year when Borat debuted in first place with $26.5M; and up 8% from 2005 when Chicken Little opened in the top spot with $40M.

Source: www.cinema-pedia.com