BuzzSugar

Buzz News Roundup, 9/8

BuzzSugar — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 13:30:07 -0700

J.K. Rowling has won her copyright infringement lawsuit against a fan who wanted to publish a Harry Potter encyclopedia. - AP
Spike Lee is working on a sequel to Inside Man. - Hollywood Reporter
24 is shutting down production for two weeks to rewrite scripts and figure out the end to the next season. - Zap2it
The Stand Up to Cancer telethon and associated fundraising efforts made $100 million for cancer research. - TV Guide
The Darren Aronofsky film The Wrestler sparked an all-night bidding war at the Toronto International Film Festival. - Variety
Musicians including Heart and Jackson Browne don't want Republican candidates using their songs to campaign. - CitizenSugar
NBC is putting together a new Muppets special, Letters to Santa: A Muppet Christmas. - Reuters
Jayma Mays has been cast as the lead in the Fox pilot Glee, which might be an American Idol companion this Spring. - Hollywood Reporter
Jessica Alba has been cast in a "modern-day fable" called An Invisible Sign of My Own, which was initially supposed to star America Ferrera. - Variety

Source

Link Time! Eric Dane Dances His Way Into Burlesque

BuzzSugar — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:30:13 -0800

Eric Dane joins Christina Aguilera, Cher, and Kristen Bell in Burlesque - Zap2It
Daniel Radcliffe is lending his voice to a Twilight spoof . . . on The Simpsons! - Hollywood Insider
Tim Burton's career retrospective looks rad - MTV Movies Blog
Director Werner Herzog shares his five favorite films - Rotten Tomatoes
Johnny Depp is named People's Sexiest Man Alive for 2009! - PopSugar
Precious director Lee Daniels is already lining up his next gig, titled Selma - Collider
Charlotte Gainsbourg and Beck make beautiful music together in the video "Heaven Can Wait" - Stereogum
Brooke Shields is moving to The Middle - Ausiello Files
Will Arnett and Justin Theroux sign up for a space love story - Moviefone
New Moon director Chris Weitz says he's quitting movies - Film School Rejects

The Box: An Inadequate Package to Unwrap

BuzzSugar — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:30:56 -0800

I so wanted The Box to be a worthy successor to Donnie Darko, director Richard Kelly's first film and much-appreciated cult fave. Unfortunately, I didn't exactly get my wish.

The Box is a highly stylized, good-looking thriller, from the retro 1976 Virginia setting to the Barbie and Ken looks of leads Cameron Diaz and James Marsden. They play husband and wife Arthur and Norma Lewis, who run into a bit of a financial jam when a strange opportunity conveniently presents itself. A creepy, disfigured man (Frank Langella) offers them a million dollars if they push a button inside a box - but a stranger will die if they do.

Kelly has all the right elements and the creativity to give us a hip, entertaining thriller, but there are a number of blatant missteps that make the movie unsatisfying. To see more about what I mean, just read more.

Kelly puts his stamp on everything, namely the constant eerie atmosphere and the random sinister characters (apparently an old person standing still in the road is his trademark). Though many questioned the casting of Cameron Diaz and her requisite Virginia accent, there was a similar doubt when Drew Barrymore and Patrick Swayze were cast in Darko, and it ended up working. With Diaz, it's not that I would say that she nailed the part, but that the accent and greater aspects of the plot are very campy. And I like campy, but I don't know if that's what the film is going for.

If you're not taking it seriously, the movie is a pretty good time, with some frightening scenes and jumps. There are also many parts that are supposed to be creepy, but they're so labored that they come out as funny. Like, laugh out loud in the theater funny. I wouldn't call that a failure, I'd just invoke the term I used before campy.

The major problem the movie runs into is when it begins exploring these sci-fi and supernatural angles, which end up being red herrings. For instance, much is made of Arthur's job at NASA and Mars, which made me think we were in for a weird, wild sci-fi ride. I was ready to embrace something really out there (I'm a big David Lynch fan, after all), but you don't really get it. There are so many elements that are introduced but never followed to a conclusion, so you're left shrugging your shoulders when the movie ends. It's even more perplexing because the mystery of The Box itself is explained, but you're left with all these details that went nowhere, in retrospect. It's one thing to leave things open-ended, but you have to give the audience something to work with.

Honestly, if you're a Kelly fan, you'll probably find it enjoyable. But if you want complete resolution, I'd wait for the director's cut.

Photos courtesy of Warner Bros.

This Is It: A Worthy Final Farewell

BuzzSugar — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 07:30:00 -0700

Making a tribute film after the death of an icon is a difficult undertaking - how do you do justice to his or her life without making it feel overblown? But the new Michael Jackson documentary, This Is It manages to strike that balance. The anticipation for its limited release has been building for more than a month now when early ticket purchases broke sales records, and most of you said you wanted to see the film as well. I was worried about how the doc would measure up to the hype, but I'm satisfied with the final product.

This Is it follows Jackson in his final days preparing for his sold-out tour. MJ emerges dressed in a button-down, shades on, and with director Kenny Ortega at his right hand, as we get a front row seat at the rehearsals. It proves to be an intimate look at the performer who, even at 50, still had a fiery passion for his craft. Most of us will enjoy witnessing it here on the big screen, while others may leave the theater feeling even more disappointed about never getting to see the live show. To see what I mean, read more.

MJ fan or not, you can't see this film without feeling awestruck by his dramatic flair as an artist. His voice is still on point, and his every movement on stage is punctuated by a flick of the wrist or a kick - it's like the music surges inside him and he has to stream it out through his fingertips. He still had the magic only weeks before his death.

While Jackson's dance skills may be a given, I was actually taken aback by how hands on he was in all facets of his tour. This is It shows him working on everything from green screen films to teaching choreography to attending band rehearsals. These sneak peeks provide surprisingly funny moments, but one of the loud-and-clear messages of the film is that Jackson did this for his fans. All of the popular favorites are included - "Billie Jean," "Smooth Criminal," and "Thriller," of course. Jackson knew that's what the audience wanted, and he was happy to give it to us - while wearing his signature sparkly gold pants and a fedora.

The doc does have its drawbacks; some of the footage starts to feel stale midway through, and the film feels too long at nearly two hours. Still, I understand why the editors didn't cut anything in honor of Jackson's memory. Each song was important to him and he wanted listeners to hear his message. (He even speaks on his concern for environmental causes in the film). Before the closing credits, Jackson says he wants to "remind the world that love is important" - and even after his death, he manages to do so by leaving us with memories of a man who never stopped loving his fans or the music.

Buzz In: Which TV Star's Memoir Would You Love to Read?

BuzzSugar — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 16:30:53 -0700

I've admitted before that I'm a bit of a Saved by the Bell fanatic. I followed Zack Morris and the gang from Miss Bliss's classroom to Malibu Sands to Vegas, and I was pretty excited about a possible reunion. They spent so much time on my TV, I felt like I knew them. Well, perhaps not. This week's issue of Us Weekly gives us a sampling of Dustin Diamond's upcoming memoir Behind the Bell and man, is he digging up dirt - everything from alleging that Mark-Paul Gosselaar used steroids to the spit-swapping between Tiffani Thiessen and Mario Lopez.

Saved by the Bell hookups?! I know most of you have said that you're not interested in the book, but I sort of want to get my hands on that magazine issue.

Confession: I read sTori Telling - and loved it for the behind-the-scenes goings on of the '90s cast of 90210. I always want to know what really went on inside my favorite TV shows. I'd read one on Gilmore Girls, Punky Brewster, whatever. And I sort of want one about the real reality that takes place behind the cameras of The Hills.

So tell me: Which TV star's memoir would you most like to read?

(P.S. My vote is for Heather Locklear. Now that she's coming back to Melrose, the timing is right!)