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Taking Woodstock: A Pleasant Piece of Nostalgia
Like many people who weren't even alive in 1969, I have an irresistible, faux nostalgia for movies that capture the vibe of that time. So while Ang Lee's Taking Woodstock abounds with '60s cliches, I couldn't help but enjoy it.
As telegraphed in the title, Taking Woodstock offers an alternate perspective on the legendary New York music festival.
Movie Preview: Ang Lee's Taking Woodstock
You might see the word "Woodstock" and feel like we've seen enough about the famous music festival, but this trailer for Ang Lee's first English-language film since Brokeback Mountain actually looks like it might have something new to add to the story. Taking Woodstock is kind of hilariously hard to figure out: In the lead role there's comedian Demetri Martin (who you may know from his TV show Important Things With Demetri Martin) — and then people like Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Emile Hirsch, Liev Schreiber, and Eugene Levy pop up throughout the trailer and it's like, whaaa?
The movie is based on a memoir about a motel owner and his parents who are instrumental in helping the hippies pull off the seminal 1969 rock concert.
Ang Lee Takes on Life of Pi
Speaking of the Oscars, the 2006 Best Director winner for Brokeback Mountain, Ang Lee, is setting up his next big project: An adaptation of the bestselling novel Life of Pi. After releasing the intense Lust, Caution in 2007, Lee went on to direct a film adaptation of the memoir Taking Woodstock, which will be released in August. Now, he's chugging right along with yet another adaptation.
What's the New Hulk Movie's Biggest Challenge?
Recently The LA Times ran a piece that analyzes the bumpy road it's been to bring the latest Marvel comic book hero, The Incredible Hulk, to the big screen.
First and foremost there's the question of "why?" Ang Lee's disappointing stab at it was out in theaters a mere five years ago.
Buzz News Roundup, 4/23
- Showtime's The Tudors has been renewed for a third season, USA Today reports.
- Variety has news that Ang Lee's next directorial project will be Taking Woodstock, the autobiography of Elliot Tiber, a Catskills motel worker who played a pivotal role in making the Woodstock concert happen.
- Naomi Campbell will guest-star on the season finale of Ugly Betty, the Associated Press reports.
- Virginia Madsen has joined the cast of the Amelia Earhart biopic, which already included Hilary Swank and Richard Gere, writes ComingSoon.
- Mariah Carey had her best album debut ever this week, easily landing at the top of the charts, Billboard reports.
- TV Land will be airing a modeling competition focusing solely on women 35 and older; details are at The Futon Critic.
- Tom Cruise's 13-year-old son Connor will have a minor, nonspeaking part as the younger version of Will Smith's character in the drama Seven Pounds, the AP reports.
- Contestants from the VH1 game shows with "love" in the name (Flavor of Love, etc.) will compete in a new show called For Love or Money to win cash prizes, TV Guide reports.
- Variety has the just-announced lineup for this year's Cannes Film Festival, which will include Clint Eastwood's 1920s thriller The Changeling starring Angelina Jolie, Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona . . .
What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday
All of the new DVD releases hit stores (and Netflix) on Tuesdays. So each week in What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday, I sort through the best of the batch and tell you what to add to your queue. In addition to the titles below, wartime movies Rendition and In the Valley of Elah are also out this week.
Buzz News Roundup, 9/12
- Rolling Stone reports that the White Stripes have canceled their fall tour on account of Meg's "acute anxiety."
- According to the BBC, Ang Lee has cut out 30 minutes of his sexy espionage thriller Lust, Caution for audiences in China.
- Variety reports that if you have On Demand service, you can watch all of NBC's pilots for free right now.
- Former "Saturday Night Live" star Chris Parnell has joined the cast of the ABC comedy "Miss/Guided," Zap2it reports.
- Variety reports that Run, Fat Boy, Run is the No. 1 movie in the U.K.
- Led Zepplin is reforming for one night only, at a tribute show for the late Atlantic Records co-founder Ahmet Ertegun, Billboard reports.
- "The Closer" broke its own cable ratings record for its season finale on Monday, writes the Hollywood Reporter, drawing 9.2 million viewers.
- Things weren't as rosy for "Tell Me You Love Me" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm," both of which had disappointingly low ratings for their premieres, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
- Paul Morrison will direct Little Ashes, a movie about the young life and loves of Salvador Dali, Luis Bunuel and poet Federico Garcia Lorca, says Variety.
- Hollywood Reporter has news that Naomi Campbell will star in a film adaptation of the novel Bad Love.
- Don Cheadle will star in a live-action film version of the 1971 children's book Hotel for Dogs, Variety reports.
- Meanwhile, ComingSoon reports that Adam Brody and Josh Lucas have been cast in the drama Death in Love.
Link Time! 9/11
- Head over to Pop for a look at Mary-Kate Olsen on "Weeds"!
- Cinematical has an intriguing interview with director Ang Lee.
- Buddy TV's fall preview celebrates the nerds and geeks of the small screen.
- Idolator posts the early numbers on the Kanye vs. 50 Cent album showdown.
- The MTV Movies Blog chatted with Jason Bateman about the possibility of an "Arrested Development" movie sometime in the future.
- The Music Slut shows us the new Mark Ronson video starring an Amy Winehouse lookalike.
- Get the Kleenex ready: Fit previews tonight's quite possibly sob-inducing premiere of "The Biggest Loser."
- Popwatch writer Dave Karger gives out his own form of Oscars to the films screening at the Toronto Film Festival, with Michael Clayton winning Best Picture.
- Stereogum weighs in on the possible Blur reunion.
- Give Me My Remote celebrates the fact that TBS will start showing repeats of "The Office" tonight.
- TV Squad unwraps the press kit Fox recently sent for its Friday music shows — but doesn't say if the drum sticks smelled like petroleum the way the ones in my box did.
Buzz News Roundup, 8/24
- NBC is offering 1,000 "Friday Night Lights" fans a chance to throw a house party with a sneak preview of the show's second season, and the Futon Critic has the details. You have to enter by today, so hurry!
- The movie based on the TV series "Dallas" will be a comedy directed by Betty Thomas and starring John Travolta as J.R. Ewing, Variety reports.
- "Anchorwoman" has been canned after just one airing, Broadcasting & Cable reports.
- "American Idol" runner-up Blake Lewis has just scored his own record deal, says E!
Fall Movie Preview: The Period Pieces
We may not be getting the crisp fall weather just yet, but we are getting previews for tons of movies opening in the fall. In preparation for this autumn and winter at the theaters, I've broken up the lengthy list of upcoming movies into many small themes for my Fall Movie Preview series. This way, you'll be in the know when the chillier months roll around, bringing a whole new crop of new films.
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