Thursday, February 4, 2010

ENCHANTED gets a lovely sequel

From ComingSoon.net:

"Walt Disney Pictures is moving forward with a sequel to Enchanted that will be written by Jessie Nelson and directed by Anne Fletcher (The Proposal, 27 Dresses). Barry Josephson and Barry Sonnenfeld will again produce.

The original, made for about $85 million, earned an impressive $340.5 million worldwide. $127.8 million of that came from North America and $212.7 million from overseas. Kevin Lima directed the movie from a script by Bill Kelly. It starred Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey, James Marsden, Timothy Spall, Idina Menzel, Rachel Covey and Susan Sarandon.

The studio may be looking at a 2011 release."

Why did the first film need a sequel?

DreamWorks goes in search of SUPERNATURAL HISTORY

From ComingSoon.net:

"Heat Vision reports that DreamWorks Studios is looking to make a movie out of website http://www.musunahi.com/ (aka The Museum of SuperNatural History).

The site's creator, Ernest Lupinacci, says it's designed to 'be to the paranormal world what National Geographic is to the real world... a multimedia brand whose purpose is to study, protect, explore and explain the unexplainable.'

DreamWorks is talking to writers about how best to turn the material into a screenplay, which would center on the curator of a covert organization known as the Museum of SuperNatural History who must seek out and protect the world's best-kept secrets.

Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald will produce the feature."

Why not a comedy? Maybe do it for parents because Night at the Museum was mainly for kids (though I liked it).

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

More Than Meets The Eye

From ComingSoon.net:

"In an article at Variety talking about films getting converted into 3D, the trade says it is still a possibility that Transformers III might add a dimension:

'Bay's next project is Transformers III and there have been discussions among Bay, Paramount and Industrial Light & Magic about going 3D with the pic. The big stumbling block is the extra time required to do production and visual effects in 3D, as the movie's release date is already set. Having the pic post-converted could alleviate that problem.'

The third installment is scheduled for a July 1, 2011 release."

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Live Long and No Oscar?

From TrekMovie.com:

"The nominations for the Academy Awards were announced a couple hours ago. Although Star Trek picked up four technical nominations, it didn’t get a nod for Best Picture. Although not considered a shoe-in, the film had received a lot of buzz and many are already calling 'snub', especially due to one of the films that did make it in.

Going into the nominations, Star Trek had shown up on a number of industry watcher lists for a nomination for Best Picture, including Entertainment Weekly’s and USA Today. The film was also nominated by the Producers Guild, which usually is a good gauge of the Oscar nods. However, Star Trek and Clint Eastwood’s Invictus were the only films that didn’t make both lists, replaced by The Blind Side and A Serious Man.

The exclusion of Star Trek has got some notice (and even riled some up):

'Ten f–king slots for Best Picture, and not a-one of ‘em for JJ’s STAR TREK? That list can’t have TWO giant sci-fi movie’s on it?' - Director Kevin Smith (via Twitter)'

'In a 10-movie Best Picture field that had room for box office hits as well as indie darlings, I was surprised Golden Globe winner The Hangover, Star Trek, or (500) Days of Summer didn’t sneak in.' - Entertainment Weekly'

'Star Trek – Did the Academy learn nothing from its egregious omission of The Dark Knight last year? The fact that the Best Picture field was expanded to 10 films and included another sci fi film, District 9 makes Star Trek’s snub that much more painful. The clever and entertaining reboot of the popular franchise was crafted well. It deserved better than its handful of technical nominations.' - Zap2it'"

2010 ACADEMY AWARDS Nominations

BEST PICTURE:
Avatar (20th Century Fox), A Lightstorm Entertainment Production, James Cameron and Jon Landau, Producers
The Blind Side (Warner Bros.), An Alcon Entertainment Production, Nominees to be determined
District 9 (TriStar), A Block/Hanson Production, Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham, Producers
An Education (Sony Pictures Classics), A Finola Dwyer/Wildgaze Films Production, Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey, Producers
The Hurt Locker (Summit Entertainment), A Voltage Pictures Production, Nominees to be determined
Inglourious Basterds (The Weinstein Company), A Weinstein Company/Universal Pictures/A Band Apart/Zehnte lsberg Production, Lawrence Bender, Producer
Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire (Lionsgate), A Lee Daniels Entertainment/Smokewood Entertainment Production, Lee Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness and Gary Magness, Producers
A Serious Man (Focus Features), A Working Title Films Production, Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, Producers
Up (Disney•Pixar), A Pixar Production, Jonas Rivera, Producer
Up in the Air (Paramount), A Montecito Picture Company Production, Daniel Dubiecki, Ivan Reitman and Jason Reitman, Producers

DIRECTING:
James Cameron - Avatar (20th Century Fox)
Jason Reitman - Up in the Air (Paramount)
Kathryn Bigelow - The Hurt Locker (Summit Entertainment)
Lee Daniels - Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire (Lionsgate)
Quentin Tarantino - Inglourious Basterds (The Weinstein Company)

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE:
Jeff Bridges - Crazy Heart (Fox Searchlight)
George Clooney - Up in the Air (Paramount)
Colin Firth - A Single Man (The Weinstein Company)
Morgan Freeman - Invictus (Warner Bros.)
Jeremy Renner - The Hurt Locker (Summit Entertainment)

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE:
Sandra Bullock - The Blind Side (Warner Bros.)
Helen Mirren - The Last Station (Sony Pictures Classics)
Carey Mulligan - An Education (Sony Pictures Classics)
Gabourey Sidibe - Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire (Lionsgate)
Meryl Streep - Julie & Julia (Columbia Pictures)

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:
Matt Damon - Invictus (Warner Bros.)
Woody Harrelson - The Messenger (Oscilloscope)
Christopher Plummer - The Last Station (Sony Pictures Classics)
Stanley Tucci - The Lovely Bones (Paramount)
Christoph Waltz - Inglourious Basterds (The Weinstein Company)

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:
Penelope Cruz - Nine (The Weinstein Company)
Vera Farmiga - Up in the Air (Paramount)
Maggie Gyllenhaal - Crazy Heart (Fox Searchlight)
Anna Kendrick - Up in the Air (Paramount)
Mo'Nique - Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire (Lionsgate)

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:
District 9 (TriStar), Written by Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell
An Education (Sony Pictures Classics), Screenplay by Nick Hornby
In the Loop (IFC Films), Screenplay by Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche
Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire (Lionsgate), Screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher
Up in the Air (Paramount), Screenplay by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:
The Hurt Locker (Summit Entertainment), Written by Mark Boal
Inglourious Basterds (The Weinstein Company), Written by Quentin Tarantino
The Messenger (Oscilloscope), Written by Alessandro Camon & Oren Moverman
A Serious Man (Focus Features), Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
Up (Disney•Pixar), Screenplay by Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, Story by Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Tom McCarthy

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:
Ajami (Kino International), An Inosan Production, Israel
El Secreto de sus Ojos (Sony Pictures Classics), A Haddock Films Production, Argentina
The Milk of Sorrow, A Wanda Visión/Oberon Cinematogràfica/Vela Production, Peru
Une Prophéte (Sony Pictures Classics), A Why Not/Page 114/Chic Films Production, France
The White Ribbon (Sony Pictures Classics), An X Filme Creative Pool/Wega Film/Les Films du Losange/Lucky Red Production, Germany

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM:
Coraline (Focus Features), Henry Selick
Fantastic Mr. Fox (Fox Searchlight), Wes Anderson
The Princess and the Frog (Walt Disney), John Musker and Ron Clements
The Secret of the Kells (GDKIDS), Tomm Moore
Up (Disney•Pixar), Pete Docter

ART DIRECTION:
Avatar (20th Century Fox), Art Direction: Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg, Set Decoration: Kim Sinclair
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (Sony Pictures Classics), Art Direction: Dave Warren and Anastasia Masaro, Set Decoration: Caroline Smith
Nine (The Weinstein Company), Art Direction: John Myhre, Set Decoration: Gordon Sim
Sherlock Holmes (Warner Bros.), Art Direction: Sarah Greenwood, Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
The Young Victoria (Apparition), Art Direction: Patrice Vermette, Set Decoration: Maggie Gray

CINEMATOGRAPHY:
Avatar (20th Century Fox), Mauro Fiore
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Warner Bros.), Bruno Delbonnel
The Hurt Locker (Summit Entertainment), Barry Ackroyd
Inglourious Basterds (The Weinstein Company), Robert Richardson
The White Ribbon (Sony Pictures Classics), Christian Berger

COSTUME DESIGN:
Bright Star (Apparition), Janet Patterson
Coco Before Chanel (Sony Pictures Classics), Catherine Leterrier
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (Sony Pictures Classics), Monique Prudhomme
Nine (The Weinstein Company), Colleen Atwood
The Young Victoria (Apparition), Sandy Powell

FILM EDITING:
Avatar (20th Century Fox), Stephen Rivkin, John Refoua and James Cameron
District 9 (TriStar), Julian Clarke
The Hurt Locker (Summit Entertainment), Bob Murawski and Chris Innis
Inglourious Basterds (The Weinstein Company), Sally Menke
Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire (Lionsgate), Joe Klotz

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE:
Burma VJ (Oscilloscope Laboratories), A Magic Hour Films Production, Anders Østergaard and Lise Lense-Møller
The Cove (Roadside Attractions), An Oceanic Preservation Society Production, Nominees to be determined
Food, Inc. (Magnolia Pictures), A Robert Kenner Films Production, Robert Kenner and Elise Pearlstein
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers (First Run Features ), A Kovno Communications Production, Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith
Which Way Home, A Mr. Mudd Production, Rebecca Cammisa

MAKEUP:
Il Divo (MPI Media Group through Music Box), Aldo Signoretti and Vittorio Sodano
Star Trek (Paramount and Spyglass Entertainment), Barney Burman, Mindy Hall and Joel Harlow
The Young Victoria (Apparition), Jon Henry Gordon and Jenny Shircore

ORIGINAL SCORE:
Avatar (20th Century Fox), James Horner
Fantastic Mr. Fox (Fox Searchlight), Alexandre Desplat
The Hurt Locker (Summit Entertainment), Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders
Sherlock Holmes (Warner Bros.), Hans Zimmer
Up (Disney•Pixar), Michael Giacchino

ORIGINAL SONG:
"Almost There" from The Princess and the Frog (Walt Disney), Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
"Down in New Orleans" from The Princess and the Frog (Walt Disney), Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
"Loin de Paname" from Paris 36 (Sony Pictures Classics), Music by Reinhardt Wagner, Lyric by Frank Thomas
"Take It All" from Nine (The Weinstein Company), Music and Lyric by Maury Yeston
"The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)" from Crazy Heart (Fox Searchlight), Music and Lyric by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett

SOUND MIXING:
Avatar (20th Century Fox), Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson and Tony Johnson
The Hurt Locker (Summit Entertainment), Paul N.J. Ottosson and Ray Beckett
Inglourious Basterds (The Weinstein Company), Michael Minkler, Tony Lamberti and Mark Ulano
Star Trek (Paramount and Spyglass Entertainment), Anna Behlmer, Andy Nelson and Peter J. Devlin
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (DreamWorks and Paramount in association with Hasbro, Distributed by Paramount), Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers and Geoffrey Patterson

SOUND EDITING:
Avatar (20th Century Fox), Christopher Boyes and Gwendolyn Yates Whittle
The Hurt Locker (Summit Entertainment), Paul N.J. Ottosson
Inglourious Basterds (The Weinstein Company), Wylie Stateman
Star Trek (Paramount and Spyglass Entertainment), Mark Stoeckinger and Alan Rankin
Up (Disney•Pixar), Michael Silvers and Tom Myers

VISUAL EFFECTS:
Avatar (20th Century Fox), Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham and Andrew R. Jones
District 9 (TriStar), Dan Kaufman, Peter Muyzers, Robert Habros and Matt Aitken
Star Trek (Paramount and Spyglass Entertainment), Roger Guyett, Russell Earl, Paul Kavanagh and Burt Dalton

DOCUMENTARY SHORT:
China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province, A Downtown Community Television Center Production, Jon Alpert and Matthew O'Neill
The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner, A Just Media Production, Daniel Junge and Henry Ansbacher
The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant, A Community Media Production, Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert
Music by Prudence, An iThemba Production, Roger Ross Williams and Elinor Burkett
Rabbit à la Berlin (Deckert Distribution), An MS Films Production, Bartek Konopka and Anna Wydra

ANIMATED SHORT FILM:
French Roast, A Pumpkin Factory/Bibo Films Production, Fabrice O. Joubert
Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty (Brown Bag Films), A Brown Bag Films Production, Nicky Phelan and Darragh O'Connell
The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte), A Kandor Graphics and Green Moon Production, Javier Recio Gracia
Logorama (Autour de Minuit), An Autour de Minuit Production, Nicolas Schmerkin
A Matter of Loaf and (Aardman Animations), An Aardman Animations Production, Nick Park"

WHAT SURPRISED ME:

The Blind Side for Best Picture (you know Memphis is gonna squeeze everything they can outta this; I am proud, however, for the Touhys though I do not know them personally)
District 9 for Best Picture
Up for Best Picture (it is not only the 2nd animated film in history to be nominated in the Best Picture category, but it is also the 1st completely computer-animated film to be nominated for Best Picture; also the first Pixar film to be nominated for Best Picture)

WHAT ANGERED ME:

No Star Trek for Best Picture, Cinematography, Adapted Screenplay (based on the TV series "Star Trek" created by Gene Roddenberry) or Costume Design? (I guess that was a false dream)
How did a Harry Potter movie get Best Cinematography?
No Robert Downey Jr. nomination for Sherlock Holmes (even though the man won the Golden Globe for it; though it was in "Comedy" which we all know the Academy loathes.)
Speaking of the Academy loathing comedy, not a single nomination for The Hangover which is the highest-grossing comedy of all time.

Wilde Wilde West

From ComingSoon.net:

"Olivia Wilde (upcoming Tron Legacy) is in negotiations to star opposite Daniel Craig in the graphic novel adaptation Cowboys & Aliens, to be directed by Jon Favreau for DreamWorks.

Based on the Platinum Studios title written by Fred Van Lente and Andrew Foley, the sci-fi Western explores what would happen if the traditional Old West enemies -- cowboys and Native Americans -- found the prairie attacked by aliens in mid-1800s Arizona.

Wilde will play a character named Ella who joins up with the mysterious slinger [Zeke Jackson] (Craig).

Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci are producing and wrote the script with 'Lost' co-creator Damon Lindelof. Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard and Brian Grazer are also producing along with Scott Mitchell Rosenberg. Favreau and Denis Stewart are serving as executive producers."

Seriously, am I the only who came up with the bad (but funny) pun, "Wilde Wilde West"? (Her name is pronounced "Wild" but spelled "Wilde" like Oscar Wilde).

Monday, February 1, 2010

When Spielberg met Spock

From ComingSoon.net:

"Star Trek and 'Heroes' star Zachary Quinto will play famed composer and pianist George Gershwin in a biopic at DreamWorks Pictures, says Deadline Hollywood, which adds that it is one of three projects that Steven Spielberg is looking at to direct next.

The site says that the studio is supplying accent and dialogue coaches for Quinto, and shooting could begin as soon as April. Doug Wright wrote the script, and Marc Platt and singer/pianist Michael Feinstein are producing.

Gershwin, who passed away at the age of 38 in 1937, composed music for both Broadway and the classical concert hall, as well as popular songs. His compositions have been used in numerous films and on television."

One of those numerous films was Disney's Fantasia 2000.