News in Film

The Master: Teaser Clip

Jeff Leins — Mon, 21 May 2012 16:53:25 +0000

Behold this enthralling teaser clip from Paul Thomas Anderson’s 65mm film The Master, a provocative story involving a fictional version of L. Ron Hubbard (the founder of Scientology) played by Philip Seymour Hoffman. But PSH never appears in this gripping two-minute vignette. Only Joaquin Phoenix, who plays a drifter that ultimately finds himself serving The Master.

The production also unveiled the film’s new website today: themasterfilm.com. This teaser clip premiered there today, posted by “Al Rose Promotions,” a reference to PTA’s latest, There Will Be Blood.

Skyfall: Teaser Trailer

Jeff Leins — Mon, 21 May 2012 16:26:15 +0000

Sony has unleashed the first trailer (a “teaser”) for Skyfall, the twenty-third James Bond movie. Daniel Craig returns as 007, his darker, more serious version of the character than, say, Pierce Brosnan. To match, the November 2012 release was directed by Sam Mendes, the brooding director of stylish dramas like American Beauty and Road to Perdition.

In the teaser, Bond reacts intensely to the word “skyfall” as part of the agency’s word association game. Then a series of impactful images punctuated by gunfire — at least it wasn’t the Inception braaaaaahm again — before Bond boils it all down for us. “Some men are coming to kill us… We’re going to kill them first.” Cue the theme music. Not a bad teaser trailer.

Dan Harmon Expelled from NBC’s ‘Community’

Jeff Leins — Mon, 21 May 2012 15:07:34 +0000

Dan Harmon is no longer executive producer and showrunner of “Community.” Sony Television and NBC executives have officially replaced him with former “Happy Endings” writers Moses Port and David Guarascio. The series that launched countless animated GIFs, regular episode recaps, and references to “the darkest timeline” will be something different entirely when season four starts on Friday nights. Harmon was the creative force who resisted mainstream appeal, so it stands to reason that the new showrunners, hand-picked from Sony’s stable, are the more cooperative alternative. In other words: change (Chang) is coming to Greendale.

Harmon was acclaimed by critics and fans for the series’ authorial voice, praising him among the upper echelon of current TV creators. The distinction put Harmon in a league with the much-discussed Matthew Weiner (“Mad Men”), Vince Gilligan (“Breaking Bad”), Lena Dunham (“Girls”), and Louis CK (“Louie”), among others. Writers that have been granted the creative freedom to stretch narrative boundaries and let their freak flags fly. Except, Harmon managed to create something truly great, original and unexpected in network primetime.

Each week, especially during its second and third seasons, Harmon and his writing staff seemed to be pulling one over on the bosses. Here was a show in NBC’s Primetime comedy block, home to classics like “Seinfeld” and “Cheers,” making a two-part epic about blanket forts, in the style of documentarian Ken Burns. In April, while 9.25 million Americans were tuned in to see what Sheldon was exasperated about on a re-run of CBS’ “Big Bang Theory,” 2.77 million “Community” fans — a new ratings low — were watching another character with Asperger syndrome, Abed, take Annie on a trip in his “Dreamatorium.” They were getting away with “Doctor Who” parodies and a D&D episode. Characters became cartoons in meta-adventures or they paid homage to various films, including, randomly, 1981′s My Dinner with Andre.

(Harmon recognized his own mild case of Asperger’s, a disorder that inhibits healthy social interaction, while doing research for the character Abed — played by Danni Pudi — and the narrating, pop-culture-referencing character has become a stand-in for the series’ creator.)

No episode is more characteristic of this brazen experimentation than “Remedial Chaos Theory,” the fourth episode into season 3. In the high-concept, mind-bending episode, the gang gathers around a game of Yahtzee and the roll of a dice determines which “timeline” they enter. Each timeline is a split parallel reality that plays out with a different outcome, including the “darkest timeline” in which an Evil Abed commits to destroying the “real” study group.

The episode is credited to writer Chris McKenna, but plotted strictly along Harmon’s circular algorithm (see example image below). The circles, or “embryos” as Harmon called them in a Wired magazine piece, are not a reinvention of the wheel, but Harmon’s personal strategy for storytelling, culled from Joseph Campbell’s monomyth and a lifetime of entertainment consumption. The eight-part, four-quadrant system has been the basis for every season, episode, and gag since the beginning. Through the various fluctuations of a revolving writing staff, Harmon’s creative influence and inventive force remained the comedy’s constant.

In the season three finale, titled “Introduction to Finality” and the last under Harmon’s tutelage, Evil Abed returns. But, rather than destroy the group, signaling the end of the series, the episode ended in a satisfying emotional resolution that essentially said “Community continues.”

The next day, on Friday night (when all bad news is delivered), Harmon was fired.

Harmon’s departure came as a blow to the legion of fans who revere his comedy brand — not unlike the following devoted to “Buffy” creator-turned-The Avengers director Joss Whedon. The fan base is a young, interactive community who heard the news instantly on every social media channel Friday night. Harmon acknowledged as much in his post-firing Tumblr post, confirming “what you already know,” that he had been replaced. Fired. McKenna, via Twitter, promptly announced he was also leaving the show, his “favorite anything ever.”

A year ago, after the series survived a nail-biting “upfronts week,” Sony TV offered only a one-year contract to Harmon to produce season three. The implication was clear: turn the ratings around or you’re out. Sony and NBC have sent a clear message now, by not only firing Harmon but by never contacting him. “They literally haven’t called me since the season four pickup, so their reasons for replacing me are clearly none of my business,” Harmon wrote.

From the company’s perspective, where the numbers (and the ad dollars they represent) are king, “Community” is not only an under-performer in the ratings, but a series in steady decline. Viewership was cut in half from the season one finale to the season three finale. Its crafty in-jokes had also narrowed its appeal, not quite what a struggling last-place network likes to see.

In addition, Harmon was reportedly difficult to work with, according to source for Vulture, including creative differences over Harmon’s expensive concepts, like a Claymation Christmas episode or last week’s 8-bit cartoon. An unfortunate public feud between Harmon and star Chevy Chase didn’t help. He was upset with Harmon for a number of reasons, we learned last month in various headlines, though the main issue was that Chase felt he had been sidelined as the unlikable, often racist character, Pierce Hawthorne. With over 30 years experience in show business, spanning from “Saturday Night Live” to movies to even a short stint on late night, Chase is now the butt of old-people jabs from a hip cast of up-and-comers.

Following the money again, Sony executives see the 13-episode fourth season as a guarantee the series will reach broadcast syndication, surpassing the necessary number of episodes to later sell the re-run rights to the highest bidder. Or, in the case of FOX’s similar niche comedy “Arrested Development,” they could sell the package to Netflix for a nice chunk of Chang.

NBC would prefer a miraculous reversal in the ratings, of course, and the half-hour remains a reliable way for niche advertisers to reach a pinpoint audience. But an abrupt about-face can only come with noticeable creative adjustments, likely starting with the abandonment of its meta multiverses. Obviously, we won’t know Port and Guarascio’s creative direction until September, but fans would be kidding themselves if they expected more of the same. Its new time slot, on Friday nights, seems like the death sentence it was intended to be. If the series struggled to reach a favorable demo rating in Thursday’s marquee comedy block, there is little chance it will gain strength on a Friday after a repellent episode of “Whitney.” There is also the possibility the series is “damaged goods” now, having alienated viewers who didn’t adore its antics over the years and now potentially souring the loyal base. Again, we won’t know until September.

Meanwhile, before his firing, Harmon signed a deal with the Cartoon Network for a series called “Rick & Morty,” which will air as part of its popular “Adult Swim” programming, along with an animated “Harold & Kumar.” Harmon’s new series is a half-hour animated comedy he co-created with Justin Roiland about “a genius inventor and his less-than-genius grandson and the life journeys they share.” (Roiland and Harmon worked together on 2007′s “Acceptable TV” on VH1, a series of shortform videos they co-created with Jack Black.)

NBC’s “Community” will continue to struggle for passing grades, but its unique comedy voice has been expelled. This is truly the darkest timeline.

Here is a picture from Harmon’s Twitter (one of many), taken from “the room in which Chris McKenna and writers were broken by Remedial Chaos Theory”:

Battleship

Jeff Leins — Fri, 18 May 2012 15:00:01 +0000

Battleship is utter bilge, unabashedly an alien invasion blockbuster based on a decades-old guessing game. It’s a movie that hilariously arms its extra-terrestrial threats with “pegs” that plunk onto the hulls of destroyers and, before they explode, a character yells, “We’re hit!” Later, when communications are severed, the crew blasts away blindly at points on a grid.

To his credit, director Peter Berg shoots this hokey, FX-laden trash with vigor and enthusiasm, despite its board game beginnings, and those who champion blustery, brainless blow-outs will appreciate his dedication to ensuring this one is sufficiently noisy and stupid. AC/DC blares over militaristic displays of power. Naval fleets in picture-perfect formation slice through the ocean. Jets scream off carrier runways. Helicopters hover over waving flight crews. It’s Michael Bay’s brand of macho jingoism on full display and American flag-waving at its absolute silliest.

(Except all the “hooyah!” propaganda is undermined by the U.S. Navy’s gross incompetence on screen and action sequences that delight in blowing sailors to bits in super slow-motion.)

Ho-hum panic ensues as UFOs crash to Earth, scraping along buildings Bay-style. Then, giant alien robot ships leap out of the water, emitting Transformers noises, and it’s abundantly clear which massive transforming robot franchise Universal is hoping to replicate. Both are Hasbro products, conceived from kids toys with choking hazard warnings. As is G.I. Joe, the movie that introduced the robotic super-armor this cash-grab borrows wholesale for its metallic E.T. army.

The Hasbro Formula™ calls for a charming young hero and Taylor Kitsch (almost) fills that role as Lt. Alex Hopper, a reckless “loose cannon” type whose humble, all-American brother Stone (Alexander Skarsgard) convinces him to join the service. Kitsch, who starred in Disney’s John Carter, strikes the right heroic poses but struggles with the character’s maverick attitude and nonsensical lines. After they’ve been attacked by technologically-superior aliens (twice), Hooper calmly tells another sailor, “I’ve got a bad feeling about this…” He’s not the only one.

The story seriously begins with Hooper’s quest for a burrito, part of an agonizing setup to establish the hero as a wild child, as he impresses a girl by procuring fast food after hours. Brooklyn Decker plays the obligatory sexy blonde, a physical therapist who works with veteran amputees and just happens to be the daughter of the Navy’s admiral (Liam Neeson). What are the odds? Probably about the same as a brash young hothead who disobeys orders climbing through the ranks to become a senior naval officer in a matter of a few years. Or aliens arriving off the coast of Hawaii where the Navy is already practicing a scheduled military exercise.

These coincidences (and ideas curbed from Independence Day) make up the forced script by Erich and Jon Hoeber (RED). Only, the Formula™ does not excuse the risible, ham-fisted dialogue that pushes this past “awful action movie” and into “unintentional comedy” territory.

It doesn’t help that Battleship features some of the worst acting this side of a Street Fighter movie. With heavy hitters like Neeson and Skarsgard bored and sidelined early, the majority of the dramatic impact is left up to Kitsch and a weak supporting cast incapable of maintaining the audience’s attention. Pop singer Rihanna, in her first film, mostly barks weapon systems chatter and acts tough. Jesse Plemons, another “Friday Night Lights” alum along with Kitsch and Berg, plays dumb for dumb laughs. Plus Turtle from “Entourage,” whose big moment is fumbling the word “peculiar” in the line “there’s something peculiar on the radar, sir.” Odd. Strange. Weird. Inexplicable, even. It definitely wasn’t “foreboding,” since the audience was too busy laughing.

Michael Bay’s Transformers and its diminishing returns set the bar embarrassingly low for toy-based blockbusters, but Berg’s Battleship finds a way to coast right under it.

Examining NBC’s Fall 2012 Schedule

Jeff Leins — Thu, 17 May 2012 00:44:47 +0000

I’m fascinated by the current state of NBC. Last among the four major networks. Kept from the very bottom by dynasty deals like the NFL and the Olympics. A shell of its former self still propping up Jay Leno for chuckles every night. But I don’t look at the wilted Peacock with schadenfreude, like many do. Instead, it’s with sadness and nostalgia. What happened?

As an ’80s kid, I grew up watching NBC’s Saturday morning block, “Saved by the Bell,” “ALF,” Cosby, and Will Smith before he was WILL SMITH. The national news in our house was delivered by Tom Brokaw. I watched Michael Jordan dominate the NBA on NBC. There’s an easy joke in here about “Diff’rent Strokes” and “Baywatch.” In high school and college, we’d gather around episodes of “Friends,” “Scrubs,” “The West Wing,” and other “must see TV.” Conan O’Brien became a regular reason to procrastinate. I can still quote entire scenes from “The Switch,” my all-time favorite episode of “Seinfeld.” I haven’t adored a comedy that much since. Until “Community.” Followed closely by “Parks and Recreation.” I’ve always been more of a movie guy, but my memorable network TV moments have mostly come from NBC. (Except for “The Simpsons.”)

That glaring gap between the fall of “Friends” and the return of comedy represents the bitter end of an era, when NBC slid to the bottom. Former CEO Jeff Zucker takes much of the blame — understandably (Team Conan!) — but the TV landscape shifted too. Network reliance on hit reality shows like “Survivor” and “American Idol” drove story-seekers like me up the dial. Now, everywhere I look, there are hundreds of brilliant recaps of “Mad Men,” “Game of Thrones,” and more. The critical focus is on dramas at AMC, HBO, Showtime, FX… and NBC comedies.

(I’m not sure why I needed to explain my long-winded schedule analysis with more windbaggery, but there you go. Mostly because I spent way too much time on this.)

With all that being said, it looks as though NBC is wisely doubling down on comedy, holding on to what it has — even “Whitney” survived — while adding new one-hour comedy blocks throughout the week. Are they funny? Let’s take a look at the fall schedule:

Monday:

“The Voice” 8 p.m.
It’s “American Idol” with swivel chairs, but the people love it. Talent shows continue to up the ante with celebrity judges, fake feuds, and archetypal contestants and this is no different.

“Revolution” 10 p.m.
In this new sci-fi mystery drama, civilization is plunged into darkness when the world’s electricity suddenly stops working. Fifteen years after this event, soldiers identifying themselves as part of the Monroe Republic start searching the survivors for Ben and Miles Matheson, two brothers who may know more about what happened. Whatever that is.

It’s clear NBC is aware of their target audience here. Spooky “Lost” clones and post-apocalyptic premises have been mostly misses, but the network spent the money to get the right people together, at least. J.J. Abrams (“Lost”, Star Trek) created the series. Jon Favreau (Iron Man) directed the pilot. Giancarlo Esposito (Gus on “Breaking Bad”) plays another powerful man. Eric Kripke (creator of fan fave “Supernatural”) wrote the episode. Plus the crossbows and swordplay of “Game of Thrones,” since the blackout sent civilization back to the Middle Ages.

The show has all the right ingredients, but the test has always been whether these shows can sustain the suspense week-to-week, without creating a trail of breadcrumbs that lead nowhere.

Tuesday:

“The Voice” 8 p.m.

“Go On” 8:30 p.m.
Matthew Perry returns to primetime NBC comedy with a comedy that can. not. miss. Mandatory group therapy after his one and only love died unexpectedly! The trailer below will spell out the pilot for you, beat-for-beat, so you know what you’re getting into. Perry’s character is a sports radio host (NBC’s other radio comedy is called “Next Caller,” see below) who returns home from a brief bereavement vacation too excited to be back. His boss mandates ten hours of therapy. Hijinks ensue, mostly involving sports metaphors and the sad-sacks he shares the circle with.

“The New Normal”
Ryan Murphy, creator of “Glee,” has bestowed another comedy (*cough*) that will have conservatives calling for its cancellation. Even the title is argumentative, with Murphy’s usual lack of subtly, as if single mothers are normally accepting cash payments for being a gay couple’s surrogate. It’s “Modern Family” without the jokes. Murphy is the Hit King though, so every network wants to be in business with him. I’m waiting for one of his to be watchable.

“Parenthood”
NBC ordered 15 episodes of a fourth season. My girlfriend is thrilled.

Wednesday:

“Animal Practice” 8 p.m.
Justin Kirk, an alum of the meandering Showtime series “Weeds,” plays the chaotic head of a veterinarian’s office. A guy that might “ruffle a few feathers” in an office run like “the circus,” and other animal-related puns. George’s vet-eran — get it? — wisdom to his staff comes in the form of Discovery Channel tidbits that relate to the human situation. Naturally, his ex-wife becomes the director of the vet’s office and wants his unorthodox methods out!

This show makes me cringe in the worst ways and not just because it stars a Capuchin monkey. In fact, cute puppies/kittens may be this only show’s saving grace. It’s a zany comedy for pet people, featuring actual animals. Except, the pilot opens with a cat trying to commit suicide by leaping off a high-rise and a subplot involves George arguing with a man (Matt Walsh) about whether or not to put his dog to sleep. Predictable outcome aside, animal lovers may be too anxious about lil’ Honey getting the gas to see the humor beneath it. Somewhere… (Not here.)

“Guys With Kids” 8:30 p.m.
This Jimmy Fallon-produced sitcom is about three guys (Jesse Bradford, Zach Cregger, and Anthony Anderson) who live in the same building, hang out at the local bar together, and raise their young children together. There isn’t anything particularly new here, unless familiarity is the point. The guys struggle to stay cool and bro down on a regular basis, and the pilot is your usual “pass the baby” storyline between two busy exes. “HE likes the Yankees! SHE likes the Red Sox!” It’s also a multi-camera comedy, which means a laugh track and a similar format to NBC’s other young parent sitcom, “Up All Night.” Bradford plays the confident, single one. Cregger is the super-dad juggling it all. Anderson plays the socially-starved stay-at-home dad. With the archetypes covered and baby björns strapped to their chests, NBC has found a way to make a show about the Hangover guys after they settled down and had children.

“Law & Order: SVU” 9 p.m.

“Chicago Fire” 10 p.m.
Dick Wolf (“Law and Order”) ushers in a new procedural for NBC that trades New York’s finest for Chicago’s bravest. The hour-long drama centers on the firefighters of Firehouse 55 (and the attractive female medics who assist them). The squad’s daring rescues will make the commercials and the rest is what you might expect. A rivalry between two tough guys (Jesse Spencer and Taylor Kinney) over a deceased comrade. An eager rookie following in his father’s footsteps. Secret firehouse affairs. And sweaty shirtless firemen. Screenwriters Michael Brandt and Derek Haas (3:10 to Yuma, Wanted) can flat out write, so the characters in the pilot script are well-defined. But the execution is cookie-cutter procedural, with emergencies instead of homicides.

Matt Olmstead (“Prison Break,” “Breakout Kings”) will run the show.

Thursday:

“30 Rock” 8 p.m.
NBC has ordered 13 episodes of what will be the seventh and final season of Tina Fey’s hit sitcom. The series peaked at season 3 — it was rewarded with a record 22 Emmy nominations — but with waning viewership the show has relied on celebrity guests and live-show stunts.

It had a good run.

“Up All Night” 8:30 p.m.
This middling comedy has slumped since its strong debut last fall. The curb appeal of stars Christina Applegate, Will Arnett, and Maya Rudolph wore off while NBC jostled it between Wednesdays and Thursday nights. Now the multi-camera sitcom is back in NBC’s once-great Thursday comedy block… surrounded by two comedies on their way out.

“The Office” 9 p.m.
Somehow still NBC’s top scripted show after an abysmal eighth season, the series will continue to limp along with only a handful of members returning. Mindy Kaling (Kelly) has her own show on FOX. Paul Lieberstein (Toby) has stepped down as the showrunner to make a Dwight Schrute spin-off called “The Farm” with Rainn Wilson, so they’ll be phased out. Negotiations are underway to bring back John Krasinski (Jim), Jenna Fischer (Pam), and Ed Helms (Andy).

Ricky Gervais ended the original, UK version of the show because he was worried he might repeat himself or water down the comedy. The U.S. version will start its ninth season in the fall.

“Parks and Recreation” 9:30 p.m.
NBC has ordered a 22-episode fifth season!

“Rock Center with Brian Williams” 10 p.m.

Friday:

“Whitney” 8:00 p.m.
Against all odds and reason, Whitney Cummings’ series continues to bounce around the schedule without actually leaving it. The only consolation is that her multi-camera sitcom staying on the air means we weren’t subjected to the return of Rosanne Barr. It almost happened and it nearly reunited her with John Goodman. NBC also passed on a Sarah Silverman sitcom that resembled ABC’s “Don’t Trust the B*tch in Apt 23.”

“Community” 8:30 p.m.
Hooray, another thirteen episodes (at least) of my current favorite comedy! Except, NBC seems to be testing the loyalty of its hardcore fanbase by moving the series to “Grab Bag Friday,” apparently the network’s new scattershot approach. The day looks like a graveyard where TV shows go to die and the switch hasn’t been easy with the future of Dan Harmon as the showrunner still hanging in the balance. Look on the bright side, “Community” fans: at least it’s finally out from under CBS’ ratings juggernaut, “The Big Bang Theory.”

“Grimm” 9 p.m.

“Dateline NBC” 10 p.m.

Saturday:

Encore programming

Sunday:

NFL will continue to dominate the fall.
Here is the Winter 2013 line-up:

“Dateline NBC” 7 p.m.

“Fashion Star” 8 p.m.

“Celebrity Apprentice” 9 p.m.
Donald Trump and his children preside over bickering D-list celebrities, who lose their tempers about challenges that are basically extended commercials.

“Do No Harm” 10 p.m.
Dr. Jeffrey Kohl (Steven Pasquale of “Rescue Me” fame) is a caring neurosurgeon by day. At night, Kohl transforms into Ian Price, his inner id intensified into a sinister social monster. For five years, Kohl has been able to keep Price at bay, locked away under medication… until now. The series is essentially Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde meets “House.”

Medical dramas with a mercurial lead aren’t exactly groundbreaking, but the real concern here is the similarity to NBC’s short-lived drama “Awake.” Both are high-concept personality splits paired with a common procedural. One was police and this is medical, but the same question lingers: can it sustain the premise long-term? Pasqaule is a fine actor, capable of the diversity. The key for creator David Schulner (“Desperate Housewives,” “The Event”) is to make the audience care enough about Pasquale as Kohl, that when he becomes the destructive Ian Price the viewers are still sympathetic to his other half, even though they look identical.

(Note: His boss is Mrs. Huxtable herself, Phylicia Rashad.)

Unscheduled Mid-season Series:

“1600 Penn.”
Another White House comedy, a popular theme in an election year. It also means NBC’s expensive, delayed sitcom will be months behind HBO’s “Veep” with only dysfunctional “Modern Family” hijinks to offer when it finally arrives. Bill Pullman is back in office as the President and that’s… odd. It’s as if, at any moment, aliens could strike and we’ll rely, once again, on Will Smith to save us. From this show.

“Save Us”
Speaking of saving, Anne Heche is starring in a show about being saved by God. Her casting is made bizarrely meta by a 2000 incident when Heche claimed she spoke to “and was going to take everyone back to heaven…in a spaceship.” Heche later claimed she invented an alter ego named Celestia, who was an alien from another planet and the half-sister of Jesus Christ. In the series, Heche’s character nearly chokes on a sandwich and has a profound religious experience, becoming a prophet in her community. The mantra for this series has been “God works in mysterious ways,” and they should probably stick with that.

“Infamous”
A soap opera from the same vein as ABC’s “Revenge” that centers on the suspicious overdose of a hard-partying socialite. Meagan Good plays a detective and a friend of the wealthy family (their former maid’s daughter) who investigates the dynasty. Surprise, they have secrets.

“Hannibal”
An attempt at serializing Hannibal Lecter (uncast), specifically the movie Manhunter (1986). Hugh Dancy plays William Graham, an FBI investigator hunting down a serial killer who goes to the renowned psychiatrist and closeted cannibal for help on tough cases like this one.

“Next Caller”
I should just disclose right up front that I think Collette Wolfe, who stars as Stella in this new sitcom, is incredibly cute. Early Meg Ryan cute. And Jeffrey Tambor could read the newspaper and it would be funny. So, of course, all eyes are on divisive stand-up Dane Cook. Luckily, every single person’s opinion on the comedian whose comedy isn’t for everyone is already recorded somewhere on the Internet. So we can move on… to the comedy.

The premise is a modern update of NBC’s own “NewsRadio.” Wolfe plays an NPR feminist arriving for her first day at satellite radio. Except, her boss (Tambor) explains she is co-hosting the “Booty Calls” show with Cam, an obnoxious host who naturally resists the format change.

Cook has spent enough time on the road to know about radio “shock jocks,” those kooky douches who make fake prank phone calls and play sound-effects for their mostly male audience. But Cook has also guested enough times on SiriusXM’s Opie & Anthony Show to know how the pros entertain an audience. (Imagine Opie being given a female sidekick, though? The horror.) Here’s hoping Cook is more of the latter, but network restrictions will buff the edges off satellite radio’s uncensored humor either way.

I’m going to show you two pictures. One will be WiLd and wAcKy! And the other will look like you’re watching a glossy-safe talk radio program. It could go either way.

Cancellations:

“Are You There, Chelsea?”
“Awake”
“Bent”
“Best Friends Forever”
“Harry’s Law”

James Cameron Retires to Pandora to Make ‘Avatar’ Sequels

Jeff Leins — Mon, 07 May 2012 19:57:43 +0000

“I’m in the Avatar business. Period. That’s it. I’m making Avatar 2, Avatar 3, maybe Avatar 4, and I’m not going to produce other people’s movies for them. I’m not interested in taking scripts.” James Cameron said this at the Beijing International Film Festival in April and in Saturday’s New York Times. Even worse for fans of his 30-year film career, he meant it.

The writer-director-producer continued. “That all sounds I suppose a little bit restricted, but the point is I think within the Avatar landscape I can say everything I need to say that I think needs to be said, in terms of the state of the world and what I think we need to be doing about it. And doing it in an entertaining way.”

Cameron declaring himself wholly committed to Avatar isn’t particularly new. It was implicitly understood in early 2010 when Cameron, 20th Century Fox executives, and News Corps’ Rupert Murdoch were swimming in Avatar millions like Scrooge McDuck and his pantsless nephews. (Someone did the math on this, by the way.) Avatar 2 and 3 were negotiated and agreed upon in the months after, linking him to the world of Pandora for 6-7 years at least.

The natural progression for big-named directors these days is to get into producing too, a role that Cameron has shirked until recently. The only features he has produced since the start have been his own, 2002′s Solaris, and those of his then-wife Kathryn Bigelow. (The divorced couple faced off at the Oscars in 2010, when Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker topped Avatar for “Best Picture.”) After Avatar, Cameron started producing for others again. He approached Guillermo del Toro about making At the Mountains of Madness, a film that even del Toro has declared dead. He spoke to a few different directors about updating Fantastic Voyage in 3D, before settling with Shawn Levy (Night at the Museum). It’s being rewritten as a love story, based on Cameron’s idea. Now, he will not “produce other people’s movies for them.”

The rest of his producing work has been making documentaries that interest him, which he acknowledges in the Q&A. “Anything I can’t say in [the Avatar sequels], I want to say through documentaries, which I’m continuing. I’ve done five documentaries in the last 10 years, and I’ll hopefully do a lot more. In fact, I’m doing one right now, which is on this, the Deep Sea Challenge project that we just completed the first expedition.” Cameron is referring to his record-setting 35,576-foot dive into the Mariana Trench at the end of March. Many of these documentaries are about his other passions — deep sea diving and the Titanic — but in 2006-2007 he executive produced two documentaries about Biblical discoveries including the infamous “Jesus bones” movie The Lost Tomb of Jesus.

The comments came as part of Cameron’s trip to China, where the global market for movies is rapidly expanding. In February, Hollywood studios secured a deal with Xi Jinping, the country’s vice-president and heir apparent, that allows more foreign (e.g. United States) imports and lucrative percentages for studios. (Side note: the SEC made inquiries into this deal.) China has expanded to 6,000 movie screens from 1,500 in just three years and projects to reach 20,000 screens by 2015, on par with North America. Avatar 2 is tentatively scheduled for release in 2015. Naturally, Cameron is there to talk up his sci-fi series for this inevitably massive market. In other words, Cameron was literally concerning himself with the business of Avatar. Period.

Consider Cameron’s perspective, though. At 57 years old, Cameron has amassed a personal fortune, including a record $350 million from Avatar alone. His time is primarily spent diving, filming himself diving, traveling, filming himself traveling, advocating for ecological responsibility — a topic of Avatar — and discussing the merits of native 3-D (Cameron sits on the board of directors at the 3-D company RealD). The rest of the time, he busies himself making sequels to an idea he first dreamed in 1995, when he was 41, before Titanic made him “king of the world.”

Avatar is much bigger than his movie. It’s an entire history and world built of his own design. From his original 80-page “scriptment,” his team created new flora, fauna, physics, a culture and language, and enough compromise and conflict to allows him to comment on our planet. For the foreseeable future, Cameron is essentially a 57-year-old man being paid hundreds of millions of dollars to imagine and realize his very own dream world. Then go SCUBA diving.

I say good for him. But it’s still bittersweet news for fans of his innovations. To see Cameron declare it with certainty. To us, Cameron’s semi-retirement sounds too much like echoes of another world-building geek director, George Lucas, who only surfaces to serve up another iteration of Star Wars. Pour out a little Mountain Dew for Cameron’s long-gestating Battle Angel Alita adaptation, his potential film about the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, or his return to the worlds of Alien, Terminator, or True Lies. At least, not any time soon.

Photo credit: Concept artist Dylan Cole.

‘Avengers’ Smashes Records, What Could Hollywood Learn?

Jeff Leins — Mon, 07 May 2012 01:24:01 +0000

Marvel Studios’ The Avengers smashed box office records this weekend, collecting an unprecedented $200.3 million domestically. Its three-day figure crushes the previous record set by the final Harry Potter ($169.2 million) by over 18%, though Deathly Hallows: Part 2 still holds the single day record. Avengers set the highest Saturday ($69.7 million) and Sunday ($50.1 million). Here’s the crazy part, from the gurus at Box Office Mojo. Marvel’s superhero team-up movie has grossed more in a single weekend (domestically) than Thor ($181 million), Captain America: The First Avenger ($176.6 million) and The Incredible Hulk ($134.8 million) grossed during each movie’s entire summer release. Synergy is in.

Marvel’s massive blockbuster has been in theaters overseas for a week, and the international total is already an eye-popping $641.8 million worldwide. Pixar’s The Incredibles, now housed with Marvel under the same Disney roof, made $631.4 million globally over its full theatrical run. Look out, chart toppers James Cameron and Tim Burton. It’s… Joss Whedon? What a success story. This is only Whedon’s second-ever feature to direct, but he adds name recognition from several smart television series and a history of embracing and interacting with his fan base.

[Disney's The Avenger's $200M is the same amount Disney's John Carter reportedly lost earlier this year in one of the biggest box office bombs in history.]

It’s a well-deserved career-maker for Whedon, among others, and a neon sign of success in an industry deeply invested in comic books. Marvel has accomplished something extraordinary here and is reaping the rewards for careful planning and pitch-perfect casting.

Of course, each time a blockbuster breaks records or builds a franchise, Hollywood scrambles to copy it. The Dark Knight‘s success suddenly made event movies darker and “grittier,” with varying, often unwieldy results. Alice in Wonderland‘s billion dollars inspired a slew of twisted fairy tales. Harry Potter established a market for young adult book adaptations. Other recent influences include Michael Bay’s Transformers (toys as movies), Oren Peli’s Paranormal Activity (found footage, again), and James Cameron’s Avatar (3D). All are influential due to their unequivocal success, just as those that caused a ripple in the industry before them.

So what will Hollywood studios take from The Avengers? What can be learned from how Marvel handled its movie universe, or how writer/director Joss Whedon joined those forces?

For starters, let’s hope the suits are paying attention at DC Entertainment (a Warner Bros. subsidiary). So far, they brilliantly positioned the trailer for The Dark Knight Rises in front of The Avengers. It was a strong reminder to comic book movie fans that Batman is lurking just over two months away, promising “an epic conclusion” to a monstrous series. This trailer strategy mimicks the one WB used in 2008, when Marvel’s shiny new Iron Man hosted a jaw-dropping trailer for The Dark Knight, which set all the records. Will we see a repeat of five years ago where DC one-ups Marvel once again? Marvel fans and analysts say no, citing 3-D surcharges and the post-credits sequence of Iron Man as the early precursor to Avengers‘ huge weekend. Never truly dormant, the age-old Marvel vs. DC Comics debate has been reignited on social networks already, drumming up support for both. There were at least four geek battles raging in my Facebook and Twitter timelines alone on Sunday — I may have contributed. Can’t we all just agree Catwoman and Daredevil were terrible movies? It’s the day after “Free Comic Book Day,” people.

Perhaps Marvel’s calculated assembly will galvanize DC into forming their own superhero team, the Justice League of America. A big-budget movie was attempted in 2007, a separate entity with younger heroes, but fell apart by the following year. The team-up of Batman, Superman, Green Lantern, Flash, Wonder Woman, and more could certainly rival Marvel’s own ensemble, if it’s done properly. Green Lantern was a misstep, not necessarily in the direction of a Justice League movie. A “solid” Flash script exists, according to the LA Times, but hasn’t happened. Wonder Woman has consistently struggled, such as the famous failed pilot at NBC. [Ironically, Whedon was once attached to direct a Wonder Woman movie for WB/DC Comics.]

This does not mean, however, that we’ll see a Superman versus Batman, at least while Christopher Nolan is overseeing/producing the properties at WB. Here’s what Nolan said to Empire Magazine in June 2010 (via SHH):

“Marvel are doing what they are doing and people will either respond to that really well or they won’t,” “It’s not something I ever applied a blanket rule to, but Marvel characters are very different to DC characters… You’ve got to go back to that element of ‘What do I see when I close my eyes and think of Batman/Superman?’ For me a big part of that is their individuality. They are extraordinary beings in an ordinary world… they are two very different characters but there’s an elemental feeling of power in the iconography of those characters. To me that’s originally because they stood alone, I need to hang onto that in my imagining of them.”

Still at Warner Bros, Michael Bay is ushering in a new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, another superhero ensemble with aliens thrown in the mix. Battle: Los Angeles director Jonathan Liebesman will shoot the “expanded universe” for the studio. The TMNT started as a comic book, then became a toy. Two money-making trends with one superhero reboot. Synergy!

At 20th Century Fox, Josh Trank (Chronicle) is developing a take on their inevitable Fantastic Four reboot (via Collider). Whether or not that means a found footage version remains to be seen. Again, synergy! Meanwhile, Fox just ordered another script for its Daredevil reboot, while they are sitting on a gold idea with crossover potential: Marvel’s Deadpool. Ryan Reynolds flopped as Green Lantern but perfectly suits the wise-cracking “mercenary with a mouth.” A reportedly great script and eight minutes of test footage already exist. (Bonus synergy points, X-Men member Colossus shows up.) Speaking of X-Men, Fox is still working on an X-Men: First Class sequel and another Wolverine. Will we see more crossover, teamwork, and long-term planning from these sagas? What happened to the idea of “X-Men Origins” being the tag for a slew of stand-alone runs? X-Men Origins: Deadpool! X-Men Origins: Gambit!

Other onlookers speculate Disney/Marvel will move to bring more of its heroes home. Characters like Spider-Man, that have been lent out — in this case to Sony who shows no signs of returning it. The Punisher recently reverted to Marvel after a few abysmal attempts, why not others? We’ll see. Meanwhile, Marvel is forming more partnerships, broadening Marvel into a “multi-platform brand that can live 365 days a year” (Forbes). A fresh Hulk TV series is in development at ABC, with Guillermo del Toro producing, despite the character hearing the sad walking away music several times. Now, Marvel is considering its options on another Incredible Hulk movie by 2015. The green monster certainly has the momentum after stealing the show this weekend and audiences are raving about Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner. Marvel is also plotting another “Avengers” animated TV series for 2013. Iron Man 3, Captain America 2, and Thor 2 are scheduled into 2014, plus potentially a stand-alone Black Widow, Dr. Strange, or that crazy Ant-Man movie written by Edgar Wright (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World). Wright tweeted oh-so-cryptically about Ant-Man just yesterday.

Of course, these are just theories days after a release. But The Avengers‘ record-breaking opening will be impossible to ignore in any Hollywood boardroom. Maybe we won’t see a seismic shift in thinking, but a few noticeable copies from the notoriously risk-averse. At the very least, The Avengers proves comic book movies are here to stay.

The Avengers

Jeff Leins — Fri, 04 May 2012 14:00:38 +0000

The Avengers is everything you hoped it would be, if what you hoped The Avengers would be is an hour of “assembling” then an hour of awe-inspiring superhero team-up action.

I apologize if that seems blunt. It is an incredibly fun movie, really, as you’ll inevitably see and judge for yourself. It is the culmination of Marvel’s comic book movie universe you’ve heard so much about. Yes, the Internet has been talking about it for years — four, to be exact — but so have Marvel’s own characters, every time Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) makes an entrance after the credits or drops in mid-movie to chat about S.H.I.E.L.D.’s top secret initiative.

But five sequential blockbusters and their compounding hype have elevated this ensemble pic beyond reasonable expectations. You would be doing yourself a disservice by walking into a theater believing this will be “the greatest comic book movie of all-time,” or some equally hyperbolic geekgasm. Despite being a hell of a lot of fun, Marvel’s flawed Avengers simply does not rank in the pantheon of truly great comic book films. Which is fine, of course, film making is not a competition. Nor should the very best be reduced to a Family Feud-style leader board. “Show me The Avengers!” Not so fast. Again, set reasonable expectations for this.

It should come as no surprise that the merging of Marvel’s moves is also an origin story. Only, this time we witness the origins of the team. Loki (Tom Hiddleston), the horned villain in Thor, warps into S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters in the opening minutes and steals the Tesseract (the Cosmic Cube to comic readers) and a handful of mind-controlled good guys. Fury recognizes the apocalyptic threat and puts out the word to the various “Avengers.” One by one.

The beginning, for nearly an hour, goes through the motions of putting together a team and establishing Loki as a pawn in an interstellar scheme to invade Earth. The heavy lifting has been done on establishing the core members of the group, but each is introduced in their own vignette. Robert Downey Jr. continues to prove why casting him as Tony Stark/Iron Man was one of the smartest moves in Marvel Studios’ short history. Stark’s natural swagger injects a sense of playfulness to an otherwise scowling group. Captain America (Chris Evans) is ever the Boy Scout, just one without much to say. Bruce Banner tentatively signs up, except he looks remarkably like Mark Ruffalo now. And Thor (Chris Hemsworth) just abruptly arrives, waving off his ascension to Asgard at the end of his stand-alone movie. In short, the Avengers assemble.

This is where Joss Whedon comes in. Those acquainted with the “Whedonverse” will recognize the writer/director’s signature wit, including some well-timed combos between Iron Man and Thor. The “Buffy” creator certainly puts his ass-kicking-female stamp on Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), who steps up with more to do this time around and a minor subplot shared with Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner). Black Widow’s expanded role and the introduction of S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders from “How I Met Your Mother”) balance out this boys club, though naturally they are outfitted with skin-tight catsuits. Whedon deftly handles the team dynamic, too, as the egos jockey for position aboard S.H.I.E.L.D.’s flying aircraft carrier.

With the team fully formed, the second half surges with energy. The movie feels like a moving comic for the first time, or the realization of so many childhood make-believe sessions in which action figures would soar and crash. In this case, the superheroes scramble around the helicarrier. (This will undoubtedly be a hot toy this summer, but can anyone explain why there’s so much glass on a helicarrier?) Later, as seen in all the ads, the Avengers stand back-to-back in the oft-embattled streets of New York City when Loki and his Chitauri invaders strike.

In action, each of the Avengers is allotted equal screen time to basically do what they do best. Iron Man flies and swerves between buildings. Captain America leads and deflects projectiles. Thor attacks with devastating hammer blows. Hawkeye dispatches enemies with precision and impossible accuracy. Black Widow is deadly in close combat. And Hulk? Hulk %#&^@ smashes.

The third time is most definitely the charm for the green monster on the big screen and, despite looming in the background behind the pack, Hulk steals the show. Whedon understands both sides of Banner and the potential of Hulk’s size, but it helps that the character is no longer a fugitive learning to cope with his mutation. Ruffalo’s calm, collected Banner warns of the “other guy” multiple times, until his temper flares and the Hulk returns with a vengeance. Incredible.

Ultimately, the pay off is worth the wait, but palpable studio calculations and a sluggish start prevent The Avengers from being great and worthy of such high expectations.

Lockout

Jeff Leins — Thu, 03 May 2012 14:00:27 +0000

French producer Luc Besson (the Transporter trilogy) has made a name for himself (and others) pumping out high-octane, adrenaline-fueled schlock. Thrillers that only pause to deliver a well-timed one-liner, while a tough-as-nails hero (usually European) blasts away bad guys to save a fragile victim and complete his mission. His movies are made up of mostly standard stuff, red meat for red-blooded males, but at least they move.

Besson’s latest run-and-gun is a high-concept sci-fi noir set in the year 2079. Except the “high” concept is essentially “Escape from New York in space” since the movie lifts the entire plot, in which a wise-cracking antihero must rescue an innocent official stranded in a futuristic prison overtaken by psychotic convicts. James Mather and Stephen St. Leger share directing duties on their first feature and co-writing credits with Besson, but struggle to represent anything especially inventive. As a result, your enjoyment will depend almost entirely on your familiarity with Escape from New York and whether it is better or worse in space. (Spoiler: it’s worse.)

Guy Pearce’s smirking Snow is the tough-guy stand-in for Kurt Russell’s Snake Plisskin and, in this dystopia, the protagonist is tasked with rescuing the President’s daughter, Emilie (Maggie Grace, who was also in Besson’s Taken). And, instead of the isle of Manhattan, this PG-13 homage is set in a sort of outer-space Alcatraz, a super-max facility called M.S. One.

Pearce plays Snow as the typical casual, cool hero, rattling off snappy comebacks and stepping over anyone that gets in his way, and Grace’s Emilie is the standard fiesty babe who resists his help and sly charms, at first. They exchange flirty barbs and obstinate assertions between cuts to two Scottish convicts (Joseph Gilgun and Vincent Regan), who bicker about the plan, and to the government officials surrounding the President, who bicker about the plan.

It’s predictable, by-the-book moviemaking, rendered only marginally unique because there are stars outside the windows. Snow scrambles his way through an obstacle course of spinning rotors, closing airlocks, and the usual dubious physics, chasing goals that switch sporadically from search to rescue to hostages to a suitcase MacGuffin. When the chase grows cold, other “twists” are introduced, such as, oh yeah, “M.S. One is falling out of the sky” and a rushed last-minute wrap-up that is more confusing than revealing. Besson’s latest production really moves, but only along a tame, familiar convicts-run-wild thriller… in space.

The Dark Knight Rises: Final Movie Trailer

Jeff Leins — Tue, 01 May 2012 05:47:59 +0000

Warner Bros has released the third and final trailer for The Dark Knight Rises, the “epic conclusion” of Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy. The trailer will play in front of Marvel’s The Avengers this weekend, as the summer season officially kicks into gear. It’s the last good look at Bane, whose audio has been tweaked, and Hathaway’s Catwoman, who still purrs things in Bruce Wayne’s ear. Plus a fantastic view of “The Bat,” Batman’s armored tank in the air.

The trailer is characteristically brooding, just darker and more elegiac than usual. The fanfare and thunderous explosions of the first two trailers are gone. Instead, music plays softly as a football field is reduced to a crater and Gotham’s bridges are destroyed one-by-one, evoking the terrors of 9/11. Alfred tells Bruce, “I won’t bury you. I’ve buried enough members of the Wayne family.” Tom Hardy’s Bane stands over Batman, unmasked and beaten. Catwoman insists, “You’ve given them everything” and he responds, “Not everything. Not yet.” Is Batman preparing to make the ultimate sacrifice? Will Christopher Nolan actually kill Bruce Wayne?

It would certainly be a bold ending befitting of Nolan’s trailblazing series. Nolan said to the LA Times this week, “Unlike the comics, these things don’t go on forever in film and viewing it as a story with an end is useful.” Whether he dies or not, Nolan is definitely angling for a finite feel.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s prominent role in the trailer, despite being billed as a nondescript police officer, also hints at a potential changing of the guard. Maybe he steps up in Bruce’s place? That’s the running theory anyway, along with various speculative explanations for the brief appearance of Marion Cotillard as “Miranda Tate.” What else is up Nolan’s sleeve?

We won’t know for sure until July, which is why this is a perfect trailer. It hints at something bigger and better, without revealing too much (cough, Prometheus, cough). The Dark Knight Rises arrives July 20, with more than an hour shot in the IMAX format. Can not wait.