Owner: HollywoodChicago.com URL:http://www.hollywoodchicago.com Join Date: Fri, 13 Apr 2007 19:21:26 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: Derived by Chicago journalist, editor and publisher Adam Fendelman, HollywoodChicago.com delves deeper than most film critics by humanizing the stars who make the silver screens possible. Site statistics:Click here
Billy Bob Thornton, Virginia Madsen interviewed in Chicago on ‘The Astronaut Farmer’ 2007-04-13 10:44:06 CHICAGO – “I have a lot of nervous energy in my head. I always have to be working on something,” said actor – and now entrepreneur – Billy
Bob Thornton
in a Chicago
interview with Adam Fendelman.Despite the mental projection of a guy who’s rough around the edges from earlier film work, Thornton’s unsuspecting lead role as Charles Farmer in “The Astronaut
Farmer” tells a decidedly different story: one about the true tenets of American entrepreneurism and family.Thornton’s taxing road to his dream – building and launching the first civilian rocket into space – is engrained with the uncanny ups and downs reminiscent to entrepreneurs and Internet start-ups.Before reveling in all the rewards of his final pursuit, Farmer must first risk all that is sacred.Entrepreneurs are very familiar with the sometimes genius yet sometimes “hypomanic” compulsion required to trek to the moon – nearly literally in Farmer’s case – and they stop at nothing to get there. They Read more:Virginia
, interviewed
Adam Brody, Jon Kasdan interviewed in Chicago on ‘In the Land of Women’ 2007-04-13 10:42:01 CHICAGO – Sex appeal from burgeoning silver-screen stars has evolved. “It’s my abs,” Adam Brody
declared following grave reflection about his magnetism. “People like abs cut from stone. I do the work and it pays off.” Brody, who didn’t even audition for the film “In the Land of Women
” debuting on April 20, sealed the deal with director Jonathan Kasdan on allure alone. They felt a connection and Kasdan – who compared his one and only pick to all that is holy about Cary Grant – knew Brody was his leading man.The twosome had a flyover in Chicago
on April 10 to beguile critics with Brody’s charm and reveal the secret sauce men should know about what women want.“If you can not naturally be a scumbag, that really helps,” Brody quipped to Adam Fendelman. “Be uber respectful and be a gentleman. They appreciate it and you feel better about yourself. Then it comes down to...” – a word voiced in unscripted sync with Kasdan – “looks.”“Whenever you read a m Read more:interviewed
Update: Current content pipeline, screening schedule 2007-04-14 20:45:30 As of April 14, here is my current content pipeline and Chicago screening schedule. Those listed under “content pipeline” have already been screened and interviewed.Content Pipeline1) “TMNT” director Kevin Munroe2) “Favela Rising” director Jeff Zimbalist3) “Infamy” director Doug Pray4) “Next: A Primer on Urban Painting” director Pablo AravenaScreening Schedule1) “Fracture” on April 162) “Knocked Up” on April 24 (June 1 publication embargo)3) “Waitress” screening on May 1 (May 11 publication embargo)4) “Lucky You” screening on May 2 (no interviews)5) “Georgia Rule” screening on May 8If you have intimate knowledge about any of these films and would like to advise me on a unique interview question, please let me know.
Read more:Update
, Current
‘TMNT’ Director Kevin Munroe Envisions R-Rated CGI 2007-04-19 19:25:47 CHICAGO – “CGI is getting hampered by being defined as a ‘kiddie’ medium,” said “TMNT” writer/director KevinMunroe
in an interview with Adam Fendelman. Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael in “TMNT,” which opened on March 23.Photo courtesy of Imagi and Warner Bros.Rather than solely because their kids lugged them to the movies, he envisions adults also flocking to engage the high-tech, highly immersive medium for themselves.“In this small step with the [Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles], you start to show that there’s a broader audience for it than just kids – when it’s done right,” Munroe said. “I’d love to be in the position where eventually we’d have an R-rated CGI horror or fantasy film.”In the meantime, the experience for Munroe was an evolutionary process that he views as a glimpse into the next generation of film. He landed the Warner Bros. project from Turtles creator Peter Laird through aggressive tenacity.“While working on a separat Read more:Director
‘The Condemned’ Attempts to Validate Violence With Provocative Concepts 2007-04-27 07:09:16 CHICAGO – This is why wrestlers wrestle and actors act. Vinnie Jones (left) and Steve Austin in “The Condemned”.Photo courtesy of Vince Valitutti“The Condemned” tobogganed downhill the second it splashed the WWE on an introductory screen. Sure, you know the WWF, but you may be learning for the first time about World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.It’s a publicly traded sports entertainment company. While one of its cash cows is film, this particular film could be more like a cash hog after it opens on April 27. I’m not sold that the WWE should be in the business of film at all.In fact, it reminded me of “yellow journalism,” which is a pejorative phrase coined for overtly scandalous and sensational journalism. “The Condemned” could be considered “yellow film”.Senseless and gratuitous violence can be a titillating thrill ride when it’s not just gore for gore’s sake and the message is meritorious. The film “300” almost makes gore feel beautiful while “Gri Read more:Validate
, Violence
, Provocative
, Concepts
Ryan Gosling ‘Fractures’ Anthony Hopkins in ‘Homicidal Modern’ Mystery 2007-04-26 09:50:02 CHICAGO – AnthonyHopkins
returns with his unparalleled eyes of terror in “Fracture” for a sly brain battle with Ryan Gosling. Anthony Hopkins stars as Ted Crawford in New Line Cinema’s release of “Fracture”.Photo courtesy of Sam Emerson and New Line CinemaImmediately reminiscent of his Hannibal Lecter character from “Silence of the Lambs,” Hopkins seeps deeply into an engineer who specializes in fracture mechanics. Trained to scrutinize aeronautical gremlins and plane debris, he’s an expert in discerning the Achilles’ heel of any system.The same applies to people, too. While in the film Hopkins feasts on psychoanalyzing and toying with people’s minds, upon reflection he’s swift to point elsewhere for an answer about his character’s motivations.“I’m not a film scholar. I never analyze the ingredients of a good film,” Hopkins said in the film’s production notes. “I never go into a character’s subtext. Ask the writer for the reasons why someone does Read more:Modern
, Mystery
‘The Golden Compass’ Hypes Film Machine With ‘Meet Your Daemon’ Tool 2007-04-25 19:39:38 CHICAGO – “The GoldenCompass
,” which is currently scheduled to hit theaters on Dec. 7, 2007, has released an interactive tool to help hype its film machine.The film invites you to meet your own daemon (pronounced dee-mon). The generator spits out an animal that best represents your personality. The avatar can be taken with you and embedded on your Web site, MySpace page or as your AIM logo.According to the site:In [this film’s] world, a person’s soul lives on the outside of their body in the form of a daemon: an animal spirit that accompanies them through life.A child’s daemon can change shape – assuming all the forms that a child’s potential inspires – but as a person ages, their daemon gradually settles into one form according to their character and nature.In classical mythology, a daemon is a subordinate deity. It’s the genius of a person’s attendant spirit.“This feature lets you personally experience one of the most unique and engaging elements of [the film Read more:Machine
, Daemon
‘Dirty Dancing’ Reels Back to Silver Screen After 20 Years 2007-04-24 05:20:25 CHICAGO – Two decades later, “Dirty Dancing
” will return for just two days of fame in theaters nationwide.With 20 minutes of new interview footage from cast members and stakeholders who made the film come to life, it hits the silver screen on May 1 and 2 only at 7:30 p.m. Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze) and “Baby” Houseman (Jennifer Grey) star in Lionsgate Home Entertainment’s “Dirty Dancing
”.In Chicago, the film will show at AMC River East downtown. A full listing of theaters can be found here.A film that redefined date movies, “Dirty Dancing” has earned $170 million in worldwide box office receipts and has sold 10 million DVDs.
Read more:Reels
, Silver
, Years
, Silver Screen
Tobey Maguire ‘Black’ in Action in Venomously Conflicted ‘Spider-Man 3’ 2007-05-03 11:32:16 CHICAGO – At the heart of every great film is a good conflict. In Spidey’s third advent, his heart is venomously conflicted and so is the film. Spider
-Man (TobeyMaguire
) battles his inner demons in “Spider-Man 3”.Photo courtesy of Columbia PicturesThe film gets gargantuan props on its special effects. Of course, the entertaining visual acuity is expected and is no surprise. Some 200 Imageworks animators and 1,000 action artists in total were used to trump the previous two in the technology department.As for the story, though, there were more subplots meringued together than a single film can eat. With a twinge more fluff whipped in, this could have easily been “Spider-Man 4,” too. Hence, I’m:con·flict·ed [kuh n-flik-tid] (adjective): full of conflicting impulsesIt’s an optical joyride – weeee! – and a cerebral discombobulation – ayiyiyi. The film’s makers premeditated all 140 minutes – yes, you may check your watch a couple times as that is two hours and 20 Read more:Black
, Action
, Tobey Maguire
Comprehensive Film Release Schedule Through 2008 2007-05-03 09:36:57 Updated: 5/1/07 11:39 p.m.I have compiled as many upcoming films from as many studios as possible as I can currently confirm through 2008.Lions Gate Entertainment“Away From Her”: May 4, 2007“Delta Farce”: May 11, 2007“Captivity”: May 18, 2007“Bug”: May 25, 2007“Hostel Part II”: June 8, 2007“Fido”: June 15, 2007“BRATZ”: Aug. 10, 2007“Good Luck Chuck”: Aug. 24, 2007“Ladron Que Roba Al Ladron”: Aug. 31, 2007“Trade”: Sept. 7, 2007“Earth”: Fall 2007“War”: Sept. 14, 2007“3:10 to Yuma”: Oct. 5, 2007“The Eye”: Oct. 12, 2007“Saw IV”: Oct. 26, 2007“Foodfight!”: Nov. 16, 2007“Thomas Kinkade Presents the Christmas Cottage”: Dec. 14, 2007“Tenderness”: Fall 2007“Why Did I Get Married”: Feb. 2008“College”: March 14, 2008“Borderland”: Coming“Five Fingers”: Coming“Forbidden Kingdom”: Coming“A Jazz Man’s Blues”: Coming“Right At Your Door”: Coming“Teeth”: Coming“Tulia”: ComingNew Line Cinema“Ha Read more:Comprehensive
, Release
, Schedule
Critic’s Pick: Irish Indie Film ‘Once’ Begins 14-Day U.S. Tour 2007-05-03 09:35:49 CHICAGO – While full coverage with interviews will follow a Chicago press day on May 8, I stand by the Irish
indie film “Once” now as a critic’s pick.I was blown away. It could very well be the unsuspecting independent gem of the year. Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová star in John Carney’s “Once” about a bewitching, street-singing “guy” who develops an unsuspecting connection with a “girl” dropping a dime in his guitar case.Though few reporters showed up, the film screened in Chicago on May 1. It hits limited U.S. theaters on May 18. The soundtrack for the original music in this film can be found in stores on May 22.Director John Carney and stars Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová are currently conducting a 14-day U.S. press day on these dates in these cities:April 29: BostonMay 1: New YorkMay 2: PhiladelphiaMay 3: Washington, D.C.May 4: TorontoMay 7: DetroitMay 8: ChicagoMay 9: St. LouisMay 10: MemphisMay 11: DallasMay 12: AustinMay 14: PhoenixMay 15: Los Angel Read more:Critic
, Indie
New HollywoodChicago.com Film-Rating System 2007-05-06 02:33:38 HollywoodChicago.com has a new film-rating system. The methodology is explained below.5 Oscars: A knockout film with all critical elements that will stand the test of time (rarely awarded).4 Oscars: A superb film missing one key film element (i.e. weak story, weak acting, weak visuals, weak writing). 3 Oscars: A strong film missing two key film elements.2 Oscars: A decent film missing three key film elements.1 Oscar: A weak film missing four key film elements.o Oscars: A failed film (rarely awarded).Half-Oscar designations are awarded as well. For example, these are the ratings given for the last three films explored on HollywoodChicago.com:“Spider-Man 3”“The Condemned”“Fracture”
Read more:Rating
, System
‘Lucky You’ vs. ‘Rounders’: Bana is No Norton, Duvall is No Malkovich 2007-05-10 18:21:51 CHICAGO – “Lucky You” undoes what “Rounders” did right.In the 1998 masterpiece, Matt Damon and Edward Norton
exquisitely depict all that is divine about the game of Texas Hold ‘Em for rookies and old hands alike.“Rounders” is among the best, most accurate and most riveting portrayals of all the delights and dodgy drawbacks of poker. Huck Cheever (Eric Bana) teaches Billie Offer (Drew Barrymore) the basics of poker.Photo by Merie W. Wallace and courtesy of Warner Bros.“Lucky You,” which was initially slated to be released on Sept. 8, 2006, is like watching a staid how-to video. It needed:A little more Robert Duvall with a bit more oomph.A little more plausibility in Eric Bana’s character.A little more of a love story or perhaps none at all.A lot less Drew Barrymore. Holy hell.A lot less juvenile instruction.A much more compelling poker story.Those unfamiliar with the fanatical human psychology and mathematics intrinsic to no-limit poker wouldn’t appreciate scenes
‘28 Weeks Later’ is Heart-Palpitating, Seat-Jittering Gore Fest 2007-05-15 12:08:07 CHICAGO – Having sold so many on a first film that’s watertight in warranting a second, a sequel answers to a much higher authority.The reincarnation’s lifeblood ultimately is designed not to disappoint. It must surprise by making something great unquestionably better. The group runs through a tunnel as London is being firebombed.Photo courtesy of Fox AtomicIf “28 Days Later” wasn’t the kind of film you’d enjoy, you’d hate “28 Weeks
Later” vehemently more. If a heart-palpitating, seat-jittering gore fest happily gets your blood boiling, though, you’ll indeed seethe infinitely more this time around.I don’t scare easily. While very few films jolt me, I freely admit that my jerking from this film came entirely courtesy of the critic sitting beside me who couldn’t stay glued to his seat. His being terrorized threw me because I kept anticipating when he would be.Following the 2002 film “28 Days Later,” “28 Weeks Later” picks up in London six months after a Read more:Heart
‘Shrek the Third’ is Foxy Flirt Between Kid’s Play, Adult Wit 2007-05-19 10:41:20 CHICAGO – To thwart his fate of being royally screwed (“mommy, what does that mean?”), the ornery ogre who smells like the shallow end of a swamp has unwavering resolve to crown someone else as proxy for his kingdom’s recently croaked king.“Shrek
the Third,” which vigilantly flirts with the grey matter between child’s play and adult humor, creates curious questions for children while bringing back beloved characters for another joyride in Far Far Away. Shrek begrudgingly submits to a royal primping as he prepares to stand in with Fiona as the king and queen of Far Far Away due to King Harold’s illness.Image courtesy of DreamWorks AnimationIn the eyes of the filmmakers, they never had to lead the irascible Shrek anywhere. They view the series to be a natural progression of a normal man’s life. This time around, he’s faced with the finery and lumber of adulthood. Initially freaked by the notion of fathering ogres, he comes around.The stories are designed to be clear a Read more:Adult
‘Desert Bayou’ Delves Deep Into Hurricane Katrina’s Human Psyche 2007-05-24 20:12:43 CHICAGO – When Hurricane Katrina
rocked New Orleans in 2005, Chicago filmmaker Alex LeMay became fixated on the soul behind the ruin.Without an investor, he hurried a producer on the scene two days after first contact. With thousands of news cameras already covering the cataclysmic events on 24-hour news channels, new-angled footage was scarce. “DesertBayou
” director Alex LeMay.Photo courtesty of Taproot ProductionsEager to humanize a gripping subplot and stir thought-provoking reflection, LeMay’s muse came in the form of a “cute” story in the New York Times.Distributed by Echelon Studios, “Desert Bayou” chronicles 600 African-Americans who were airlifted from their Louisiana homes to a Mormon community in Utah.“While it might be cute, it’s based on tragedy,” LeMay said in an interview with Adam Fendelman. “Everything about the evacuees from New Orleans is polar opposite to Utah. This is a story of below sea level, African-American, Baptist Democrats going into
‘Desert Bayou’ Interview Published on ReelChicago.com 2007-05-28 17:31:05 CHICAGO – ReelChicago.com, which is run by former Screen Magazine publisher Ruth Ratny, has published my Chicago interview on “DesertBayou
” with director Alex LeMay. The story can be found here.
For ‘Once,’ Carney Casts Musicians – Not Actors – in Masterful Musical 2007-05-27 22:04:19 CHICAGO – To purely document the life of a street-singing busker, “Once” director John Carney didn’t engage actors. He married musicians.“Though I was initially thinking of using a good actor who could half sing (Cillian Murphy), I quickly realized I should do it the other way around and get a good singer who could half act,” Carney said in a Chicago interview with Adam Fendelman.“Falling Slowly” in “Once” by Glen Hansard.He added: “I created a world in which the acting wasn’t as important as the chemistry, charisma and believability of the person.”What may have seemed to Carney as an obvious decision bucks a trend found in most films today. A modern-day, naturalistic musical, “Once” is based on the premeditated choice of downplaying the dialogue and emphatically underscoring the music.“You can cut out the dialogue in a lot of Hitchcock films and it’d just be pictures and music,” Carney said. Even so, when asked why music hits home with him so loudly Read more:Casts
, Musical
News: ‘Once’ Soundtrack, ‘Ocean’s Thirteen’ Premiere Events, Robert Rodriguez to Direct ‘Barbarella’ 2007-06-02 19:46:46 The soundtrack album for “Once” has been released by Canvasback, Columbia Records and Sony Music Soundtrax. New Line Records will release the soundtrack to the upcoming New Line Cinema film “Hairspray” on July 10. As pointed out by Jeffrey Wells at Hollywood Elsewhere and Michael Phillips at the Chicago Tribune, “Once” has been rated “R” by the MPAA for a “handful of swear words”.It seems someone has spent the time to count 39 of them starting with the letter “f”. This is one of the MPAA’s worst calls in some time. On June 5, Hollywood will see a hand and footprint ceremony in advance of the June 8 release of “Ocean
’s Thirteen
”. George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and Jerry Weintraub will attend.Las Vegas, which is where the film’s story is set, is the next stop in its tour. A benefit screening will open this year’s CineVegas Film Festival on June 6.The Chicago premiere is set for June 7 at AMC River East. George Clooney, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle, Read more:Soundtrack
, Premiere
, Robert
, Rodriguez
, Direct
Eli Roth in ‘Hostel: Part II’ Flirts Fiddly Line Between Tasteful Terror, Repugnant Repulsion 2007-06-09 03:06:36 CHICAGO – “It’s the difference between hunting a lion and a deer.”Eli Roth, director of “Hostel
: Part II,” articulated in an interview with Adam Fendelman that view of his “Hostel” men as weighed against his “Hostel: Part II” women. The tellingly revealing statement touches not only on his muse for the sequel but also his take on the female kind and people’s darkest secrets. Eli Roth (center) with Lauren German (left) and Bijou Phillips (right) in “Hostel: Part II”.Photo courtesy of Rico Torres and LionsgateThe concept to calculatingly ferret and torture women was conceived from “Death Proof” – Quentin Tarantino’s half of “Grindhouse” – because Roth so fancied Tarantino’s violent femmes. Roth regarded the “Death Proof” girls as the new bar for females in horror films. Tarantino executive produced “Hostel: Part II” and Roth acted in “Death Proof” a week before shooting his hostile sequel.Parlaying a threesome into his own ferocious f Read more:Terror
Michael Caine Apparently Undecided About Sharper Image Cell Phone Products in Chicago 2007-06-08 16:30:34 It’s funny how one event can trigger a series of fortunate ones. Take my day today as a case in point.1) An e-mail from a colleague informs me that “The Dark Knight” will begin shooting in Chicago
on Saturday.2) In reaction to a post about the news, I’m informed of a press conference for “The Dark Knight” today. I have learned that invitations were handled by the mayor’s office.3) Minutes later, I head to the Sharper Image
on Michigan Avenue. While shopping for a gift for my dad and about to pay, Michael
Caine modestly and inconspicuously appears like a regular Joe to ask the difference between various cell phone charger products.In “The Dark Knight,” Caine is again cast as the butler Alfred Pennyworth.
Read more:Undecided
, Products
New Batman Film ‘The Dark Knight’ Starts Chicago Filming on Saturday 2007-06-08 16:09:28 A colleague tipped me off that “The Dark Knight
,” which is the latest film in the Batman
franchise, will start filming in Chicago
on Saturday
, June 9.The project is expected to impel $45 million into the Windy City economy and hire 390 locals, 250 actors hired daily and some 6,000 extras.In April 2007, Chicago-native director Chris Nolan shot an early action sequence for the film in Chicago. Beginning Saturday, Nolan returns with stars Christian Bale, Morgan Freeman, Heath Ledger and Maggie Gyllenhaal.In 2004, “Batman Begins” shot for three weeks in Chicago. “The Dark Knight” is currently scheduled to open on July 18, 2008.
Sean Connery Declines Paternal Role in ‘Indiana Jones 4’ 2007-06-07 20:43:11 “Indiana
Jones 4” – a film I’ve been tracking with much interest – has officially lost its sage father figure. On Thursday, Sean Connery
declined the role of Harrison Ford’s dad. Connery reasoned the decision with the following:I thought long and hard about it, and if anything could have pulled me out of retirement, it would have been an Indiana Jones
film.I love working with Steven and George. It goes without saying that it is an honor to have Harrison as my son. In the end, retirement is just too damned much fun.I do, however, have one bit of advice for Junior: Demand that the critters be digital, the cliffs be low and for goodness sake keep that whip by your side at all times in case you need to escape from the stunt coordinator.I can only say ‘break a leg, everyone’. I’ll see you on May 22, 2008 at the theater.We knew previously the film had cast Harrison Ford, Shia LeBeouf and Cate Blanchett. Now we also know it has signed on John Hurt and Ray Winstone. I love t
Adam Fendelman Announces New Film Column at Hollywood Elsewhere: The Silver Spotlight 2007-06-07 16:02:22 I am pleased to announce that I will be publishing a regular film column at HollywoodElsewhere
. The film column has been coined The SilverSpotlight
.The Silver Spotlight debuts on Friday, June 8 with an interview with “Hostel: Part II” director Eli Roth.Hollywood Elsewhere is the brainchild of veteran film critic Jeffrey Wells. He has been tagged as the Lewis Black of Oscar writers. Wells posts to the site repeatedly throughout every day.
Read more:Column
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