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Link Time! Steven Spielberg to Produce War Horse

BuzzSugar — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 13:30:52 -0800

Steven Spielberg is producing a film version of the children's novel War Horse - Cinema Blend
The Beautiful Life will debut three unaired episodes on YouTube - Vulture
The USA network is turning '90s movie The Freshman into a TV series - TV Squad
Emmy Rossum joins the cast of Showtime's Shameless - MovieWeb
The guys behind Two and a Half Men are developing another CBS comedy titled Mike and Molly - The Wrap
Thor adds Rene Russo to its cast roster - Cinematical
Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante has quit the band - Rock and Roll Daily
Yet another track from Vampire Weekend's Contra, yay! - Stereogum
Cool ways to make your home feel like Sherlock Holmes's - CasaSugar
Bryan Singer returns to the X-Men franchise with X-Men: First Class - HitFix
Simon Fuller is creating a new reality web series that will air episodes on Hulu - Inside TV
Kid Cudi drops out of Lady Gaga's tour - Billboard
You must check out this awesome movie quote site - GeekSugar

Bryan Singer May Bring Forth an Excalibur Remake

BuzzSugar — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 11:30:07 -0700

Maybe it's because I'm not completely precious about the early-'80s movie, but for whatever reason, this is a remake I actually wouldn't mind seeing made with modern-day technology. Warner Brothers and director Bryan Singer are reportedly in talks to bring Camelot, Lancelot, and Guenevere back to the big screen in a remake of the 1981 film Excalibur. Here's more:

The [1981] movie told the well-known myth, in a gritty and dramatic fashion, of the young man who draws the sword Excalibur from a stone, is mentored by Merlin, establishes Camelot, loses his wife, Guenevere, to his best friend, Lancelot, and engages in the quest for the Holy Grail.

Singer's Excalibur will be a more epic and fantasy version compared with the more earthy Clive Owen-starring King Arthur movie released by Disney/Touchstone in 2004.

Mmm . . . I remember Clive Owen as Arthur . . . sigh. Anyway, I really like the story of King Arthur and the Knights of the Roundtable, so I'll be curious to see it come alive again on the big screen. I just wonder who should play these classic roles (all I can see in my head is Clive Owen now). Who would you cast in this remake?

Bryan Singer May Direct a Battlestar Galactica Movie

BuzzSugar — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 08:30:51 -0700

In 2001, director Bryan Singer and producer Tom DeSanto were preparing to shoot a pilot episode for a Battlestar Galactica series that would act as a sequel to the '70s show when 9/11 happened and SciFi pulled the plug on the project, feeling nervous about airing the Cylon sneak attack. Years later, of course, a whole other team of people did manage to bring BG back to TV, earning a cult following and setting up for a spinoff series, Caprica. Now, reportedly Bryan Singer is attached once more to BG - this time as director of a big screen story.

Now it's a question of which story, exactly, will be told on that big screen: One related to the most recent TV series? Or something closer to what Singer had in mind years ago? One writer over at HitFIx figures a movie version about the recently completed series wouldn't make sense for Singer to do: "I'm not sure I buy that Singer's going to come in just to direct a big-screen version of the show that just finished its run. The series wrapped up pretty conclusively, with The Plan and Caprica already in motion as extensions of that story in different directions."

For his part, writer/producer of the latest BG, Ron Moore, has said he has "no problem with Tom [DeSanto] or anyone else who wants to do a revival of the original cast and characters or do some kind of continuation. If they can get a good story together and get the pieces lined up to do it, then more power to them."

So, fans, if this is a new take on the premise, will you be interested? Or are you too attached to the most recent series to want to see an all-new reimagining on the big screen?

Weekend Reading: The History of Sundance

BuzzSugar — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 07:30:05 -0800

This year marks the 25th anniversary for the Sundance Film Festival, which is about as long as some of us have been alive. It's easy to take for granted the fact that this festival held in a snowy little Utah town wasn't always the influential mega-event it is today. Recently the LA Times had an interesting retrospective about the festival's origins and the way it revolutionized independent film.

Some interesting nuggets:

Steven Soderbergh's debut feature film is partly responsible for the festival's success. Director Bryan Singer reminisces, "Sex, Lies, and Videotape made guys like me go, 'If I can get into the Sundance Film Festival, I'll have a shot at a career.'"
Aw, Kevin Smith was working as a convenience store clerk when he brought his little movie Clerks to Sundance. He says of the heady experience, "It was basically me showing up in Utah and the Mormon God saying, 'I am going to grant you every wish you ever had, including some you never thought of.'"
Also, Smith tells the reporter that Clerks was made for $27,575.
Originally the festival was called The Utah/U.S. Film Festival but after Robert Redford's gang took over in 1989, some changes were made. "Organizers began to shift the festival's focus toward contemporary films that took storytelling risks."
The article asserts that "nobody embodies the go-for-broke moviemaking ingenuity now commonly associated with Sundance entries more than. . . Robert Rodriguez." Apparently Rodriquez (director of Desperado, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Sin City) raised money for one of his movies by "volunteering for experimental clinical drug testing." Hard core.

Photo courtesy of Sundance

Valkyrie: Shallow and Underwhelming

BuzzSugar — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 07:30:18 -0800

While there are a zillion World War II movies out there already, I kept an open mind going into the Tom Cruise star vehicle Valkyrie. Sure, this is a movie that has been dogged by bad press from start to finish (even due, in part, to the fact that Cruise is a Scientologist) but I can see that there is a fascinating movie to be made out of a German resistance movement involving Nazi officers in Adolf Hitler's inner circle.

High-ranking, aristocratic officers attempting to assassinate Hitler? There's so much to explore here! Were these men heroes? Or was it a desperate and calculated power grab when it was clear the Germans were losing the war? What did these men know about the mass murders of Jews that had taken place and when did they know it? Did any of them, including Claus von Stauffenberg (Cruise) who led one of the most daring plots to kill Hitler, have a genuine crisis of conscience? And if so, what does that kind of moral awakening look like?

In a war that is often depicted very starkly as good vs. evil, within the German rank and file there were shades of gray and this makes for interesting psychological thriller fodder for sure. So why did Cruise and director Bryan Singer forego that kind of film in favor of a totally reductive, shallow, glossy, big-budget flick that will leave you feeling underwhelmed and a little icky because you just spent over an hour rooting for Nazis? I really don't know, but let's talk about it. Just read more.

First of all, I'm a little baffled at how little characterization exists in this movie. We are asked to very simply and easily accept these men as heroes and root for them when they are Nazis, for Pete's sake. Just trying to kill Hitler and place yourself and your pals into power isn't quite enough to make us care. And at times it's hard to root for people you know are going to fail because - spoiler alert? - Hitler survives the assassination attempt and World War II continues on.

The whole experience is confusing to say the least. For example, in the opening scene we see Cruise on the ground in Africa fighting on behalf of Hitler's Germany when the "enemy" (that would be the Allied forces fighting to stop Hitler from totally destroying Europe) airplanes zoom in to launch an air strike and bodies go flying everywhere. Instinctively my sympathy went toward the soldiers on the ground, but then. . . aren't these Nazis? Who am I rooting for here? And why?

My fundamental issues with the filmmakers' approach aside, the real question is: Is it entertaining popcorn cinema? And in my opinion the answer is no, not really. It's not the laugh-riot some thought it might be (Cruise, Nazis, eye-patch, ya know) thanks in part to a solid cast that props the movie up, including Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson, and Eddie Izzard. It's not a very satisfying experience that fails to keep viewers on the edges of their seats, save the moment when Cruise's character attempts to plant a bomb quite literally under Hitler's feet. There's also a nicely executed political coup late in the movie that is captivating to watch - an example of the potential this movie had.

Finally, at the center of this wannabe-blockbuster is one of the most self-conscious performances of Cruise's career in which he takes all that burning intensity he so often brings to the silver screen and buries it away. I've read that part of Stauffenberg's heroism was his ability to recruit others to his cause based on sheer charisma and charm. Never would have guessed that from this portrayal.

Photos courtesy of MGM

Link Time! 11/20

BuzzSugar — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 13:30:16 -0800

Dear Gossip Girl: Please get rid of Aaron Rose. XOXO. - Buddy TV
Ben Lyons sucks some information from Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke. - E!'s Lyons Den
Should Disney make the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean movie in 3-D? - Cinematical
Check out James van der Beek on One Tree Hill. - Give Me My Remote
Bryan Singer opens up about Valkyrie and we get a new photo from the film. - MTV Movies Blog
It's a new Andrew Bird song! Happy day. - You Ain't No Picasso
Hot dogs and ostrich eggs? Go talk Top Chef! - YumSugar
Aw, check out these underappreciated Muppets. - Pop Candy
See? We're not the only ones feeling desperately protective of Privileged! - Popwatch

Photo courtesy of The CW

Movie Preview: Bryan Singer's Valkyrie

BuzzSugar — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 14:30:17 -0700

Oh, Bryan Singer's beleaguered Valkyrie. From multiple release date changes, to trouble with Germany, to rumors of doctoring historical photos, this movie has been plagued with setbacks and bad press for a long time. With equal parts curiosity and trepidation, I awaited a real trailer for the film, which is now opening Dec. 26. Now that the trailer is here, it looks better than I expected.

Visually, I love the look of this movie so far. Singer directed The Usual Suspects (and X-Men, Superman Returns and X2), and with Valkyrie it appears that he has again captured an eerie, ominous tone. What isn't working for me is Tom Cruise whom I simply don't find believable in this role (the list of supporting actors, however, is promising: Bill Nighy, Eddie Izzard, Kenneth Branagh, and more). Cruise plays a high-ranking German officer (with an American accent . . ?) who plots to assassinate Hitler during the height of WWII. The code name for the assassination plan is "Valkyrie." To check out the new trailer, read more.

Source

Link Time! 5/6

BuzzSugar — Tue, 06 May 2008 13:30:45 -0700

Pop Candy has news on a fully Veronica Mars-themed cruise this Summer!
Right after the premiere of the Twilight teaser trailer, MTV Movies Blog has the new poster for the movie and an interview with the poster's designer who already knows what he'll do for the posters for the Twilight sequels.
This Cinematical writer wants more superheroines on the big screen - with directors like Jon Favreau or Bryan Singer making their stories come to life.
TV Squad is all happy about the people providing commentary on the forthcoming Spaced DVD, including Diablo Cody and Kevin Smith.
FilmExperience examines what happened to the nine actors who were featured in the 2000 Young Hollywood Vanity Fair article.
Rolling Stone's Rock&Roll Daily has video of the 15 most memorable musical moments from The Hills. Remember what was playing when LC and Heidi called it quits?
Popwatch is taking nominations to elect the characters on TV that have the best chemistry.
The TV Addict has an interview with Gossip Girl's Matthew Settle.
Stereogum gives the new Wolf Parade album a premature evaluation, calling it "great rock & roll."
TV Worth Watching is not pleased with the threatening tone of the "you'll miss them while they're gone" TV ads on CBS.

Movie Preview: Valkyrie

BuzzSugar — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 08:30:00 -0800

Well, that's timing. Just as I was saying the full trailer for on its way, poof: Here it is!

Like the featurette, the full trailer has definitely done its job in making me more curious about the movie, which will be out next summer. The thriller stars Tom Cruise as a German general who hatches a plot to assassinate Hitler during World War II. It's cool to see director Bryan Singer returning to this genre after his several-year detour into superhero films; I was a big fan of The Usual Suspects, so my hopes are high. Cruise looks pretty decent here, but the strong supporting cast - Bill Nighy, Kenneth Branagh, Eddie Izzard - seems like it has the potential to steal the show. To check out the trailer, just read more

Source

First Look: Valkyrie Featurette

BuzzSugar — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 06:00:00 -0800

The full-length trailer for Valkyrie can't be very far off, since it was shown before my screening of Lions for Lambs this week, but for now we can get a glimpse at the making of the movie, complete with commentary by Kenneth Branagh (who has a role in the film) and writer/producer Christopher McQuarrie. While it seems a little cart-before-the-horse to me, the featurette is actually pretty interesting and successfully piques my interest in this film. So, mission accomplished, featurette.

Valkyrie is a thriller in which German generals scheme to assassinate Hitler at the height of WWII. Bryan Singer (The Usual Suspects, X-Men, Superman Returns) directs and Tom Cruise stars, along with Bill Nighy and Eddie Izzard. To check out the featurette, read more

Source