AIRPLANE! vs ZERO HOUR!

One of my all time favorite movies is the Zucker-Abrams-Zucker disaster spoof Airplane!. If you by chance haven't seen the film, there's no real way to describe the film's offbeat, random, out-of-left field sense of humor. It's something you'll just have to experience for yourself.

I first saw the movie sometime in the early 1980s, at my friend's house on HBO. It was a comic revelation to us and for months afterwards we would set each other up with lines like "Surely you don't mean it," and getting the expected "Yes I do. And don't call me Shirley!" in response.

It wasn't until around the time I was in high school or college that I learned that the movie was actually patterened after a 1957 b-movie called Zero Hour!, scripted by none other than Alex Roots Hailey! Finding it on television proved impossible and it never got a release on VHS.

Last week though, Zero Hour! finally got a home video release as part of Warner Brothers "Cult Camp Classics" series. And the similarities between Zero Hour! and Airplane! are amazing! Where the original film reached for dramatic tension, Airplane! grabs laughs using the exact same lines. The Zucker-Abrams-Zucker team knew that the original was pure soapy melodrama, and they played it as straight as possible, knowing that's where the laughs were.

Don't take my word for it though. Check out these two scene-by-scene comparisons that recently showed up on YouTube.

SONG OF THE SOUTH- Finally?!

It's been a question that seems to have been on Disney fans' lips since the first DVD players rolled off the assembly lines and into retail outlets over 10 years ago- “When is Disney going to release Song Of The South on DVD?”

Well, it looks like they just might have an answer soon enough.

Over at the eponymous JimHillMedia.com, Jim Hill addresses just such a possibility in his weekly “Why For?” column. It seems that since John Lasseter has put a stop to all the direct-to-home video sequels that were being produced, the studio’s home video division is looking for product to replace their cancelled titles and Song Of The South is a guaranteed seller.

For those who don’t know, Jim Hill is perhaps the internet’s best resource for behind-the-scenes information on the House of Mouse. While Hill is definitely in the realm of speculation, his is probably the best educated guess available. It’s one I would certainly put some stock into.

You may recall this past April, we reported that during an appearance at the Philadelphia Film Festival, Walt Disney’s nephew Roy E. Disney had stated he was pushing for a release of the film on DVD.

A Long Time Ago...

I wasn’t even sure I wanted to write about the 30th anniversary of the release of Star Wars for today. There has already been enough ink spilt and bandwidth burnt about the franchise recently that I don’t think there’s much, if anything, I can add. Still…

I was eight years old the summer of 1977 when Star Wars came out. I still remember how my friend Todd, who was the first among us to see the movie, described the opening sequence as two battleship-like spaceships firing lasers at each other. It was all my young imagination to do to wrap around that idea, so blown over by the incredible coolness of how that sounded. This was sometime in mid-June, I believe, the first flashes of what would become a pop culture phenomenon like no other. Little did anyone realize what kind of juggernaut it was to become.

And little did I realize what an impact that Star Wars would make on my life.

Living in the suburbs with no movie house being within an acceptable bicycling distance, it was hard for me to get to the movies unless one of my parents took me. Thus I was left with trying to get glimpses of Star Wars whenever I could- commercials on TV, news reports about its continually growing box office returns and the like. But what really opened my eyes was when the “Making Of” special aired.

Although I tuned in to hopefully catch a glimpse of the Millennium Falcon shooting down TIE fighters, but what I saw opened my eyes. For the first time, I was introduced to the world behind the camera and everything that goes into making a movie. More importantly, it introduced me to the serial adventures of Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers, major inspirations to George Lucas. A gateway drug, if you will, that led to other old movies starring the likes of Errol Flynn, Humphrey Bogart and George Raft. An infinite world of flickering celluloid dreams and nightmares, stories and legends. A world that I’m still exploring.

True, the bloom is off the Star Wars rose somewhat, thanks to Lucas’ incessant tinkering with the films in the form of “Special Editions” and a rather disappointing set of prequels. But even as he tries to redefine his epic through such changes as Han shooting first or replacing the sweat and hard work of the original craftsmen of those spectacular space battles with the coldness of computer generated effects, he can’t deny that it was those original films that shock the pillars of the world’s popular culture, redefining how we go to the movies, how we interact with the movies and how Hollywood presents its films to us.

I consider myself fortunate to have been the age I was when I was to not only witness film history happening but to have it swirl around me, pick me up and put me on a path I’m still traveling today.

Remake Roundup: FAME, SLEUTH, HELLRAISER and More

Fame

Although it hasn’t been announced officially, Film Jerk reported on Friday that Andy Fickman has been selected to helm MGM’s remake of Fame, which we previously reported about here. As Fickman has already directed such family friendly films as the Amanda Bynes comedy She’s The Man and the Disney football flick The Game Plan with Dwayne Johnson, it gives one pause to wonder if the studio is looking to do away with some of the original’s darker elements such as drug use and Coco’s (Irene Cara) descent into pornography. Time will tell…


Slueth

EmpireOnLine has posted the first picture released from the upcoming remake of Joseph Mankiewicz's 1972 film starring Jude Law and Michael Caine. This version is a return of sorts for Caine, who starred in the original film as a hairdresser who has an affair with the wife of a mystery writer, played by Laurence Olivier, leading to a series of mind games between the two. This time, it is Caine’s character whose wife is having an affair with Law, leading to a game of wits between the two. Actor/director Kenneth Branagh is set to direct from a screenplay updated by Harold Pinter.

Colossus: The Forbin Project

The 1970 techno-thriller, Colossus: The Forbin Project, is being lined up for a remake at Universal with Brian Grazer producing and Ron Howard potentially directing. Based on the first of a trilogy of novels by D. F. Jones, the film tells the story of an artificially intelligent computer placed in charge of the United States defense systems who links up with its Soviet counterpart and comes to the decision that mankind needs to be enslaved in order to save itself from themselves. Screenwriter Jason Rothenberg is reportedly planning on incorporating elements from Jones’ other two books in this updating.

Via Variety.


Hellraiser

Noted author Clive Barker, who wrote and directed the 1987 original horror film Hellraiser based on his own novella The Hellbound Heart, has reportedly turned in a forty page treatment for an upcoming remake. This news comes from Seraphim Film’s Joe Daley, who told Variety, “There are some areas of the first movie where I think we can be a lot more intense and a lot more scary. It will not be simply a reworking or reshooting of the first picture.” However, with Barker currently working on adaptation of his short story “Meat Train,” it remains unclear as to when he’ll have time to further pursue a script for Hellraiser.

Via Shock Till You Drop

Remake Roundup: Fame, 3:10 To Yuma, Barbarella and more

Lot’s of remakes being announced by the studios over the last week or so. Here’s a rundown of what cinematic new retreads are coming our way.

Fame

MGM has announced that they will be revisiting the New York Academy of Performing Arts with a remake of Alan Parker’s 1980 musical Fame. Set at the real world school for young entertainment industry hopefuls, the original film starred Irene Cara and Debbie Allen. The new version already have a writer and director attached but they were not named by studio COO Rick Sands, who made the announcement at Cannes on Tuesday. He did say that the film is budgeted at $25 million and already set for a Summer 2008 release. He also promised that the new film would retain some of the musical numbers from the original.

Via Hollywood Reporter


3:10 To Yuma

A couple of new photos have been released of the remake of the 1957 western 3:10 To Yuma have surfaced. The new version stars Russell Crowe, seen below, will be hitting theaters in October.




Barbarella

Producer Dino DeLaurentiis is putting together an update of the 1968 camp classic Barbarella, which starred a pre-feminist Jane Fonda as a futuristic space kitten/adventuress. No director or cast have been hired (although that hasn’t stopped the British press from speculating on who may land the title role), but a script is currently being written by Casino Royale (2007) scribes Neal Purvis and Robert Wade. According to an article in Variety, “in the remake, [Purvis and Wade] will make Barbarella a free, modern gal who survives in a futuristic world through her intelligence, fighting skills and sexuality.”

Via Cinematical


Clash Of The Titans

Lawrence Kasdan, scripter for two of the greatest genre films of the 1980s, The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Raiders Of The Lost Ark (1981), has been hired to write a remake of another ‘80s genre favorite- Clash Of The Titans. The original, which featured the last effects work from stop-motion genius Ray Harryhausen, starred Harry Hamlin as Perseus, the son of Greek god Zeus (Sir Laurence Olivier) who must complete a set of tasks including slaying the Medusa and taming the winged horse Pegasus as part of his quest to free the captured Princess Andromeda (Judi Bowker). According to the Hollywood Reporter, Kasdan will be working from a previous draft by Travis Beacham.


The Incredible Hulk

Not so much a remake of Ang Lee’s critically roasted Hulk than an attempt to try and start a franchise again, director Louis Leterrier has found his Bruce Banner in the form of Edward Norton. With the film set for a release in July 2008, production should get rolling fairly soon. The film’s screenplay is by Zak Penn, who has also worked on the big screen comic book adaptations of Fantastic Four, Elektra and X-Men films, all characters published by Hulk publisher Marvel Comics.

(And if you think --- years is a little too soon to remake a film, remember that Dashille Hammet’s The Maltese Falcon was brought to the screen three times over the space of ten years, with the third try - John Houston’s version with Humphrey Bogart - being the charmed.)

Via Variety

Mr. Blandings Goes To Toledo

Hollywood has always been about ballyhoo, sometimes hyping its films through outlandish promotions designed to catch a moviegoers imagination enough to get them down to the local cinema and placing their cash into the boxoffice attendant's hands. (And it still is going on today, as evidenced by New York City's upcoming Spider-Man Week, which coincides with the release of the next installment of the superhero franchise on May 4th.)

When it came time for producer David O. Selznick to begin publicity for his new comedy Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House in 1948, he decided he needed something big to call attention to the film. Why he didn't feel that names of stars Cary Grant and Myrna Loy on theatre marquees wasn't enough to bring folks in is unknown. Suffice it to say that Selznick decided to capitalize on the post World War II explosion of suburban communities - which not-so-coincidentally also serves as the backfrop for the film - in the grandiose fashion of building 73 replicas of the home featured in the film aropund the country to be raffled off to theatre patrons.

Homes were built across the country- from Bakersfield, California to Worchester, Massachuesttes, from East Natick, New Jersey to Portland Oregon.

And one was built in Toldeo, Ohio.

This weekend, The Toldeo Blade published an excellent article on the history of Selznick's Mr. Blandings promotion including how the film's art director, a former architect, had to modify the plans for a film set into a fully useable home as well as the history of the specific prize home in the Toledo suburb of Ottawa Hills.

It's a great piece of writing and well worth your time.

THE GOONIES: Good Enough For Broadway?

Entertainment Weekly is reporting that while director Richard Donner never really had a solid script for a sequel to his 1985 film The Goonies, he may be revisiting the story of a group of kids who go on an adventure to find fabled pirate gold to save their land developer-imperiled neighborhood in another form- as a musical! The magazine’s website is reporting that Donner states that there is an active attempt to mount an adaptation of the film onto the Broadway stage.

''Steven [Spielberg, the film’s producer] and I have discussed it, and it's something that I'm fairly passionate about right now,'' Entertainment Weekly quotes Donner.

But what are the chances of actually seeing this movie hit the boards? Better than average, I would say.

Sure, both Evil Dead: The Musical and The Wedding Singer have closed in the past few months, but Broadway producers haven’t given up on adapting movies for the stage. Currently a production of the 1980 disco movie musical Xanadu is rehearsals for a May opening while last month saw casting notices circulating for an adaptation of Mel Brooks’ comedy Young Frankenstein. As long as The Producers, The Color Purple and Monty Python’s Spamalot continue to rake in the cash, there will be financial backers willing to pony up cash to mount a stage adaptation of any film they think will draw an audience.

Besides, you know you want to see what kind of production number they turn the “Truffle Shuffle” into.

Shooting ANIMAL HOUSE

Pre-Saturday Night Live, the predominate comic voice in America in the 1970s was the National Lampoon magazine. It should come as no surprise that several of those responsible for the Lampoons's early success - Michael O'Donoghue, John Belushi, Chevy Chase - would be the ones who would chart SNL's early fortunes.

But while some of its leading writers were striking out on their own to Not Ready For Prime Time fame, those still at the Lampoon turned their eye towards expanding their own brand, in the realm of movies. Three of their writers, Chris Miller, Harold Ramis and Doug Kenney, would collaborate on a screenplay about a misfit fraternity house called Animal House, based in part on two of Miller's short stories that had appeared in the Lampoon- "The Night Of The Seven Fires" and "Pinto's First Lay."

When it came time to shoot the film, both Miller and Kenney were given small parts as Delta frat members, giving director John Landis two of the screenplay's writers to fall back on if the need arose.

Recently Miller has written up some memories of his time on the Oregon college campus filming Animal House over on his website. Miller has also recently published The Real Animal House, a memoir of his college days that influenced his short stories and the Animal House screenplay.

Not Starring In...

Last month I told you about how Howard Stern almost starred in Barry Levinson’s film Man Of The Year. But it’s no secret that actors are linked to films that they never actually appear in. Often, the actor and the production have parted ways before the cameras start rolling. George Raft made a career out of rejecting roles that would make Humphrey Bogart a star. Other times, it’s discovered early in the filming that an actor is not quite suited for a role as hoped and another actor is brought in to replace them as Michael J. Fox memorably replaced Eric Stoltz on Back To The Future (1984) (see picture on right).

Now there’s a new website called NotStarring which features a database of actors and the films they almost appear in. Since the entries are submitted by users, some of the information found here should probably be taken with the same brand of salt grains reserved for the Internet Movie Database. Still, it makes for some interesting reading. Can you imagine Sylvester Stallone as Richard Donner’s Superman (1977) or Toshiro Mifune in Star Wars as Obi-Wan Kenobi?

Censoring Cartoons: 1930s Edition

Over at the fantastic Cartoon Brew, animation historian Jerry Beck has posted scans of a Look magazine article from Januray 1937 which illustrates, through stills and art work provided producer Leon Schlesinger’s artists at Warner’s Termite Terrace, things that the administrators of the Production Code at the Hays Office were keen on keeping out of cartoons in the 1930s.

You can read the article here.

Remake Roundup: SCANNERS, WEEKEND AT BERNIE’S, GET SMART

Scanners
David Cronenberg’s 1981 science-fiction/horror film Scanners is set to be remade under the direction of Darren Lynn Bousman, helmer of Saw II (2005) and III (2006) as well as the upcoming Saw IV (later this year). David Goyer is set to rewrite Cronenberg’s tale of telepaths who are used as weapons by an evil corporation. (Source- Variety)

Weekend At Bernie’s
Moviehole is reporting that a remake of the 1980s Andrew McCarthy/Jonathan Silverman comedy Weekend At Bernie’s is set for a remake from producers Ashok Amritraj and Jon Jashni. The original, itself a comedic riff on Hitchcock’s dark comedy The Trouble With Harry, centered on two bumbling office workers who are invited to their bosses beach house for the weekend only to arrive and find him dead. Rather than call the cops, the pair decide to trick the numerous partiers who have descended upon the beach house that Bernie is alive and well, just a little drunk. It looks like the remake will move the action from a beach house to a ski lodge, with probably very predictable results.

Get Smart
Superspy Maxwell Smart has found his Chief. The Hollywood Reporter has word that Alan Arkin has been cast as the head of CONTROL, the super-secret spy organization in the upcoming big screen adaptation of the classic 60s spy spoof that starred Don Adams. Taking Adams’ role for the new version is The Office star Steve Carell with Anne Hathaway as lovely sidekick, Agent 99. Also in the cast are Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as Agent 23 and Terrence Stamp in an unnamed role. (Perhaps as Siegfried, head of the evil spy organization KAOS?)

Silent STAR WARS

While George Lucas may have some skill at constructing classic storylines (with the appropriate thanks to Joseph Campbell), most people would agree that his dialogue writing is not as honed. It was Harrison Ford who once told the writer/producer/director "You can type this shit, but you don't have to say it."

Well, if there's ever any demonstration that proves where lucas' strength lies, it's in the following video found on (Where else?) Youtube.com. Titled, appropriately enough, "Silent Star Wars," it distills Lucas' six-hour plus original Star Wars trilogy to a one minute and fifeteen second silent short. Sure it's done in a jokey manner, complete with sped-up motion and grainy black and white footage, it still manages to convey most of the major storypoints of the saga without a single word of dialogue uttered or appearing as an intertitle card.

Enjoy.

FLASH! Ahhhhhhh!

There are many films out there that have probably been unfairly lambasted by either critics or the passage of time. For me, one of those films is the 1980 Dino De Laurentiis produced comic-strip adaptation Flash Gordon. A garish collision of primary colors, art deco design and good old-fashioned cliffhanger adventure, Flash Gordon is a movie that never made any pretense at wanting to do anything more than give its audience two hours of light-hearted, escapist fun. And after recently catching the film again on one of the numerous Encore Cable channels, the film did just that- it entertained me in such a way that few films can.

Flash Gordon is one of those films I remember distinctly seeing as an 11-year old kid. It was early January at the Union Deposit Eric Twin outside of Harrisburg, PA (sadly long closed and recently bulldozed to make way for a shopping center expansion). It was, rightfully so, a Saturday matinee and it was cinematic love at first sight. And I’m not just talking about how Ornella Muti slinked her way through the picture as Ming’s daughter Princess Aura, either. The production design’s use of primary colors recalled the comic books my friends and I were devouring. I was already becoming familiar with the adventure serials of the 1930s and 40s through airings on a local public television station. Sure, some things, like the sadomasochistic side of the leather clad General Kala, flitted right over my barely-pubescent head. But the film's joyful recreation of those serials captured my imagination.

The film has an amazing cast headed up by no less an actor than Max Von Sydow as Ming the Merciless, a role he clearly relished and played to the hilt. There’s also a pre-Bond Timothy Dalton bringing a Shakespearian tenor to Prince Barin that is counterbalanced by Brian Blessed’s complete haminess as Prince Vultan of the Hawkmen. These two performances have no right whatsoever to work side-by-side, but they do. Meanwhile, Topol’s Dr. Hans Zarkov exudes all the wide-eyed excitement of a school boy on a field trip to a planetarium.

I’ve never been a fan of camp, but Flash Gordon walks that fine line between camp and more straight-forward adventure, never letting either overtake the tone of the movie. Flash Gordon is a film that never forgets its roots in the adventure comic strips and action-packed pulp magazines of the 1930s and 40s, whether it has Flash facing the poisonous beast living inside the stump in the Arborian Temple or the perilous duel with whips between Flash and Barin where one false step could send them hurtling into the void. The film even becomes a pirate movie when Vultan’s Hawkmen swoop down on the War Rocket Ajax, which first fires its lasers in broadside barrages before its captain instructs his crew to “Repel boarders!” Sure the football bit in Ming’s throne room is goofy in the extreme, but it never gets goofy enough to be cringe-inducing. Instead, the scene strikes a fine balance that stands out in stark relief to the grimness of the dungeon and execution scenes that follow. And there’s something definitely creepy and not campy about the scene where Dr. Zarkov’s memories are supposedly drained out of his brain.

Of course, the film isn’t perfect. Jones' Gordon and Melody Anderson's Dale Arden are not particularly well-developed in the script, especially in relation to Flash's fantastic surroundings, and at times they seems to be struggling to bring some depth to their characters. Additionally, it has always bugged me that even though Dr. Zarkov has forced them onto a rocketship at gunpoint and essentially kidnapped them to Mongo, they’re absolutely chummy with him for the rest of the film.

Flash Gordon’s recreation of Saturday matinee thrills predates the release of another film that owed much to the chaptered adventure serials- Raiders Of The Lost Ark. But why did critics only greet Flash lukewarmly at best but embrace the slightly more realistic and gritty atmosphere Spielberg imparted? (Coincidentally, both films shared character actor William Hootkins in small supporting roles.) Perhaps it was another space opera, George Lucas’ Star Wars (1976) with its breathtakingly real special effects technology, that spoiled critics for the simpler pleasures of some of Flash Gordon’s more primitively created visuals. While there was plenty of use of current optical compositing technology to create the fantastic worlds of Mongo, the movie also relied on shooting models on miniature sets in just the same method that the visuals were created for the original 1930s Flash Gordon serials. But for all the good visuals that optical printing could create, no amount of visual compositing could produce such an image as War Rocket Ajax moving through the psychedelic cloudscape of Mongo.

Recently, there has been talk of a new version of the comic strip being developed by none other than director Stephen Sommers. For me, this does not bode well, as I found his last film, the insufferable Van Helsing (2004), to be a hodgepodge of visual set-pieces with no story or logic to support them. To make matters worse, an issue of Weekly Variety appeared last month with a front cover ad announcing a television adaptation from RIH Entertainment, the same folks behind the recent Poseidon Adventure mini-series on NBC. With a backlit silhouette emerging from smoke, one could not be faulted for fearing that their take might be a little grittier than perhaps the material calls for.

Next month marks the 25th anniversary of Flash Gordon’s theatrical release. Currently the movie is unavailable on Region 1 DVD, though there is a rather nice Region 2 release available in England, complete with audio commentaries from director Hodges and actor Brian Blessed. When I had the chance to meet Sam J. Jones and Melody Anderson at a convention last year, they both confirmed that they had recorded a joint audio commentary for a new DVD release. Unfortunately, as DVD release dates are now being announced for January and February of next year, its beginning to look like Universal Studios has dropped the ball. That’s a shame, as there are undoubtedly many fans waiting to once again sit back on their couch and watch Flash save every one of us.

NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS in 3D Locations

Wondering if you're living near one of the 168 or so theaters screening the new 3-D version of Time Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas? Find out below!

UNITED STATES

ALABAMA
Birmingham: Carmike Summit 16
Hoover: Rave Patton Creek 15
Montgomery: Rave Festival Plaza 16
Orange Beach: Rave Wharf 15

ARIZONA
Mesa: Cinemark Mesa 16
Peoria: Harkins Arrowhead Fountains 18
Tempe: Harkins Arizona Mills 24

ARKANSAS
Little Rock: Rave Colonel Glenn 18

CALIFORNIA
Chula Vista: UltraStar Chula Vista 10
Corona: Regal Edwards Corona Crossings Stadium 18
Daly City: Century 20 Daly City
Dublin: Regal Hacienda Crossings Stadium 20
El Centro: UltraStar Imperial Valley 14
Fontana: UltraStar Fontana 8
Glendale: Mann Glendale Exchange 10
Irvine: Regal Edwards Irvine Spectrum 21
Long Beach: Regal Edwards Long Beach Towne Center Stadium 26
Los Angeles (Hollywood): Pacific Walt Disney El Capitan
Los Angeles (Universal City): AMC Loews Universal City 18
Los Angeles (Van Nuys): Mann Plant 16
Los Angeles (Westchester): National Amusements The Bridge: Cinema de Lux
Moreno Valley: Harkins Moreno Valley 16
Porterville: Galaxy Porterville 9
Poway: UltraStar Poway Creekside Plaza 10
Riverbank: Galaxy Riverbank 12
San Diego (Gaslamp Quarter): Regal UA Horton Plaza 14
San Diego (Mission Valley): UltraStar Mission Valley Hazard Center
San Francisco: AMC Loews Metreon 15
San Jose: Century 20 Oakridge
Santa Barbara: Metropolitan Arlington
Santa Monica: Mann Criterion 6
South Gate: Regal Edwards South Gate Stadium 20
Thousand Oaks: Mann 9 at Janss Marketplace
Tulare: Galaxy Tulare 10

COLORADO
Colorado Springs: Cinemark 17 at Carefree Circle
Lakewood: Regal UA Colorado Mills Stadium 16

CONNECTICUT
Manchester: National Amusements Showcase Cinemas Buckland Hills
Milford: National Amusements Connecticut Post 14: Cinema de Lux
North Haven: National Amusements Showcase Cinemas North Haven

DELAWARE
Wilmington: Regal Brandywine 16

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Washington: AMC Loews Georgetown 14

FLORIDA
Boca Raton: Muvico Palace 20
Davie: Muvico Paradise 24Destin: Rave Destin Commons 14
Lake Buena Vista: AMC Loews Pleasure Island 24
Melbourne: Premiere Oaks 10
Melbourne (Viera): Rave Avenue 16
Orlando: Cinemark 20 at Festival Bay
Orlando: Regal Waterford Lakes Stadium 20
Pensacola: Rave Pensacola 18
Port St. Lucie: Rave St. Lucie West 14
St. Petersburg: Muvico Baywalk 20
Sunrise: Regal Sawgrass Stadium 23
Tampa: Muvico Starlight 20

GEORGIA
Buford: Regal Mall of Georgia Stadium 20
Cartersville: Carmike 12

HAWAII
Honolulu: Regal Dole Cannery Stadium 18

IDAHO
Boise: Regal Edwards Boise Stadium 21

ILLINOIS
Lincolnshire: Regal Lincolnshire Stadium 20
Oak Park: Classic Lake
Peoria: Rave Grand Prairie 18
Schaumburg: AMC Loews Streets of Woodfield 20
Skokie: Crown Village Crossing 18

INDIANA
Evansville: Kerasotes Stadium 16
Fort Wayne: Carmike 20
Fort Wayne: Rave Jefferson Pointe 18
Indianapolis: Kerasotes ShowPlace 16
Indianapolis: Regal UA Galaxy Stadium 14
Plainfield: Rave Metropolis 18
Schererville: Kerasotes ShowPlace 12

IOWA
Davenport: National Amusements Showcase Cinemas 53

KANSAS
Leawood: AMC Loews Town Center 20

KENTUCKY
Louisville: Cinemark Tinseltown USA
Louisville: National Amusements Cinema de Lux 20: Stonybrook

LOUISIANA
Baton Rouge: Rave Mall of Louisiana 15

MARYLAND
Annapolis: Crown Annapolis Mall 11
Hanover: Muvico Egyptian 24

MASSACHUSETTS
Boston: AMC Loews Boston Common 19
Millbury: National Amusements Blackstone Valley 14: Cinema de Lux
Randolph: National Amusements Showcase Cinemas Randolph
Revere: National Amusements Showcase Cinemas Revere

MICHIGAN
Auburn Hills: AMC Loews Star Great Lakes Crossing 25
Brighton: MJR Brighton Towne Square Cinema 20
Canton: Emagine Canton 18
Flint: National Amusements Showcase Cinemas Flint West
Grandville: Cinemark 20Kalamazoo: Goodrich Kalamazoo 10
Kentwood: Loeks Celebration! Cinema Grand Rapids South
Novi: Emagine Novi 18
Southgate: MJR Southgate Cinema 20
Sterling Heights: MJR Marketplace Cinema 20
Waterford: MJR Waterford Cinema 16
Ypsilanti: National Amusements Showcase Cinemas Ann Arbor

MINNESOTA
Coon Rapids: Kerasotes ShowPlace 16
Oakdale: Carmike Oakdale Stadium 20

MISSOURI
Lees Summit: Dickinson EastGlen 16

NEVADA
Las Vegas: Regal Colonnade Stadium 14
North Las Vegas: Galaxy Cannery

NEW JERSEY
Edgewater: National Amusements Edgewater Multiplex
Elizabeth: AMC Loews Jersey Gardens 20

NEW YORK
Albany: Regal Crossgates Stadium 18
Farmingdale: National Amusements Farmingdale Multiplex
Gates: Cinemark Tinseltown USA
Holtsville: National Amusements Island 16: Cinema de Lux
New Rochelle: Regal New Roc City Stadium 18
New York (Brooklyn): Access IT Pavilion
New York (Brooklyn): National Amusements Linden Boulevard Multiplex
New York (Brooklyn): Regal UA Sheepshead Bay 14
New York (Manhattan): AMC Loews 84th Street 6
New York (Manhattan): Regal UA Union Square Stadium 14
New York (Queens): National Amusements College Point Multiplex
New York (Queens): National Amusements Jamaica Multiplex
New York (Staten Island): Regal UA Staten Island Stadium 16
Westbury: AMC Loews Raceway 10
White Plains: National Amusements City Center 15: Cinema de Lux

NORTH CAROLINA
Charlotte: Regal Stonecrest at Piper Glen 22
Wilson: Carmike 10

OHIO
Beavercreek: National Amusements Cinema de Lux 14: The Greene
Columbus: Rave Polaris 18
Maumee: National Amusements Maumee 18: Cinema de Lux
Milford: National Amusements Showcase Cinemas Milford 16
Springdale: National Amusements Springdale 18: Cinema de Lux
Valley View: Cinemark at Valley View
West Carrollton: National Amusements Showcase Cinemas Dayton South
West Chester: Rave West Chester 18

OREGON
Springfield: Cinemark 17
Tigard: Regal Bridgeport Village Stadium 18

PENNSYLVANIA
King of Prussia: Regal UA King of Prussia Stadium 16
Moosic: Cinemark Tinseltown 20

RHODE ISLAND
Warwick: National Amusements Showcase Cinemas Warwick

SOUTH CAROLINA
Greenville: Regal Hollywood 20

TENNESSEE
East Ridge: Rave East Ridge 18
Franklin: Carmike Thoroughbred 20
Knoxville: Regal Pinnacle Stadium 18
Memphis: Malco Paradiso

TEXAS
Austin: Galaxy Highland 10
Austin: Regal Gateway Stadium 16
El Paso: Carmike 16
El Paso: Cinemark Tinseltown USA
Fort Worth: Rave Ridgmar 13
Hickory Creek: Rave Hickory Creek 16
Houston: AMC Loews Willowbrook 24
Houston: Rave Yorktown 15
Houston: Regal Grand Palace Stadium 24
Hurst: Rave North East Mall 18
Katy: Cinemark 19
Plano: Cinemark Legacy 24
Plano: Cinemark Tinseltown 20
San Antonio: Santikos Silverado 16
Tyler: Carmike 14
Webster: Cinemark 18
The Woodlands: Cinemark Tinseltown 17

UTAH
Provo: Carmike Wynnsong 12
Provo: Cinemark 16
Sandy: Larry H. Miller Megaplex 17 at Jordan Commons
West Jordan: Cinemark 24 Jordan Landing

VIRGINIA
Alexandria: Regal Potomac Yard Stadium 16
Fairfax: National Amusements Fairfax Corner 14: Cinema de Lux

WASHINGTON
Lacey: Regal Martin Village Stadium 16
Monroe: Galaxy Monroe 12
Vancouver: Regal Cascade Stadium 16


CANADA

ONTARIO
Mississauga: Cineplex Galaxy Famous Players SilverCity Mississauga
Scarborough: Cineplex Galaxy Coliseum Scarborough
Vaughan: Cineplex Galaxy Famous Players Colossus Woodbridge

QUEBEC
Montreal: Cineplex Galaxy Famous Players Paramount

EVIL DEAD: THE MUSICAL? Groovy!

Back during Hollywood’s Golden Age, studios regularly raided the boards of Broadway for source material for their films. However, with the recent success Mel Brooks had in bringing his hit 1968 comedy The Producers to the Great White Way, the flow has seemingly reversed and Broadway producers are mining recognizable Hollywood hits for stage adaptations. A walk through midtown Manhattan’s theatre district will reveal marquees for numerous stage versions of well known films- Spamalot (an adaptation of Monty Python And The Holy Grail), Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, The Color Purple, The Wedding Singer, Disney’s Tarzan and The Lion King as well as the upcoming High Fidelity and Secondhand Lions.

This week a new and rather unusual movie inspired show opened to preview audiences at off-Broadway’s New World Stages- Evil Dead: The Musical. An hysterical romp where a spring vacation trip to a spooky cabin in the woods turns into a nightmare of demon possession, dismemberment and snappy dance numbers, Evil Dead: The Musical manages the seemingly impossible- transforming a stylized horror comedy into a rollicking musical comedy that manages to stay faithful to its highly different the source material.

Originally mounted in Toronto in 2003 and then at the 2004 Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal, the play skillfully combines plot elements from the first two of director Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead films as well as incorporates a few elements from the franchise’s third installment Army Of Darkness (1992). While the first Evil Dead (1981) film was played fairly straight, the second installment definitely amped the comedy elements, resulting in a splatter film as made by the Three Stooges. The stage play’s script steers towards the more comedic interpretation and is smart enough to knowingly wink at the audience over any lapses of story logic. The show’s book also fleshes out the movies’ characters a bit before making them gist for the Grand Guignol mill.

The opening night performance encountered a few minor technical snafus, but the cast braved through them. Truth be told, some technical flubs could easily be interpreted as the stage equivalent of the film series’ sometimes clunky, low-budget effects, so any unexpected mechanical effect failure could conceivably fit right in with the spirit of the piece.

The cast acquitted themselves nicely, with a few adroitly handling double rolls. Ryan Ward, the show’s only holdover from its Toronto run, is tasked with unenviable job of stepping into the shoes of a character that Bruce Campbell has made a film icon. Ward manages to play Ash in a way that evokes Campbell but never allows things to devolve into a bad Campbell impression. Also of special note is Jenna Coker, who, as Ash’s younger sister Cheryl, is transformed into a foul-mouthed, pun spewing demon. Coker throws herself into her performance with an energetic physicality that amazes.

There were plenty of fans of the Evil Dead films at the show’s opening preview night audience. (One guy, right, even showed up dressed as Campbell’s Ash.) Alternately cheering or shouting along with some of the series’ more iconic lines of dialogue, they gave the performance an almost Rocky Horror Picture Show-like atmosphere. The cast at times seemed surprised by the crowd’s enthusiasm; no more so than during the curtain call when they received a standing ovation.

And then there’s the “splatter zone”.

Those familiar with the Evil Dead films know that Raimi was fond of splashing the fake blood around and the stage version takes equal glee in splashing the red stuff around. The theatre is warning patrons that the first three rows from the stage have been designated the “Splatter Zone” and to dress accordingly. If you can’t figure out why, you may to seriously thing about sitting further back. I have to admit that the splatter effects that were supposed to splash the audience were a little anemic on opening night. I was sitting directly in the second row in front of the cellar trap door and barely got a few drops on me. Fortunately, while chatting with some of the actors afterwards, I was assured that they were still trying to find the right amount of blood to pump and that things would be messier in future performances.

Evil Dead: The Musical will run through previews for the rest of October before beginning its open-ended run on November 1. If you’re anywhere within sane traveling distance of New York City, you need to see this show as soon as possible. If you’re live an insane traveling distance of New York City, do something crazy and come to Manhattan to see this show.

There has been some talk of Raimi producing a remake of the original Evil Dead film, allowing some new young director to bring his vision to the story. I would say that a new vision has already been brought to the Evil Dead franchise and its playing out every night at a theater on New York City's 50th street.

Terry Gilliam: Time Bandits 25 Years Later- The Deleted Scenes

While Gilliam spent a majority of his Question and Answer session at Manhattan’s Film Forum discussing Time Bandits (as detailed here), he did touch upon a few other topics worth sharing.


On the future of motion pictures: At the moment, everybody is very confused about where the business is going with DVDs and the Web. I still think there will always be that big pot of money and it is in the hands of a few people who are very nervous. At the moment, the studios now are not even run by entrepreneurs or people who understand or are interested in film. They’re middle management because all the studios are owned by larger corporations and they’re living in a world where quarterly statements are dictating everything. So you have a lot of people being paid a lot of money who are terrified of making movies. There basic function is to say ‘no’ because they’re safe when they say ‘no.’ If they say ‘yes’ and the film flops- heads roll. That’s just the system. Unless something extraordinary happens I think it’s going to be with us for a long time. When I go to Hollywood I’m usually coming up with a project that to me is fresh, new and exciting and that’s what terrifies them. They fill a need to remake things that have worked before. They want comfort. I’m just so perverse, I like making their lives a misery. I probably suffer more than they do for it.


Does he consider himself a maverick film maker?: I’m not trying to make elitist films or difficult films. I’m actually trying to reach a large number of people and I keep failing. On the other hand, Time Bandits was a big success. Fisher King was a big success. Twelve Monkeys was a big success. I’ve done enough that allows me to do what I do. I’m not really thinking about the audience as such. I don’t know what an audience is. I know what individual people look like, but I don’t an audience. So I make things that excite me, that I believe in. I assume that I’m somewhat part of the human race so that there must be a couple of other people like myself who have similar taste and I’m relying on that. I always get into that situation where I feel that after a certain number of less financially successful films, I need to think of something that will make some money. It’s such a gamble and I can’t predict anything. I’m getting old and I’m going to die soon, so I make what I like.


On George Harrison as a movie producer: I was under a lot of pressure by Denis O'Brien to use a lot of George’s songs in it. He could see it as a real Snow White and the Seven Dwarves with a lot of “Hi ho, hi ho,” all that stuff. I said, “No that’s not the kind of film we’re making.” George did write and sing that end song which I tacked on. I didn’t realize until much later, it’s his notes to me about the film. There are lines in there about “Amaze without taking up time’, i.e. “It’s too fucking long Terry.” Just listening to it now, being reminded what a clever, sneaky little bastard George was.


On his reputation of being ‘difficult’ for studios to deal with: It’s become a bit of a legend, it’s not really true anymore. Journalists tend to be lazy and they just keep repeating themselves. My big fight was over Brazil and it was very public, but after that I didn’t really have any big fights until the Weinsteins came into my life, but that’s something else. In fact the studio films that I’ve done that were in Hollywood - The Fisher King, 12 Monkeys and Fear And Loathing – no problems at all. It’s a bit inflated. I think it’s partly because I have people making documentaries about the films that I make or somebody writes a book. There are always fights. Every movie, every director has fights. These get written down or in a documentary so that they’re available for public consumption. Most battles happen behind closed doors. I’m so lazy I don’t write diaries, so I have people write these books or make documentaries. They’re really for me to remind me what it was like and hopefully encourage me to never to it again. I do have this reputation but I’m getting tired of it to be quite honest.


On improvising solutions on the set: I don’t know if you noticed at the end [of Time Bandits] when the boy is approaching the pile of ashes that the smoke is going backwards. Here’s why- we weren’t able to afford a proper crane, all we had was this cherry picker. When it was going up, it jerked. I said, ‘Well, this is no good.’ So we started the shot up there and it’s all shot in reverse. Craig is walking backwards.


On his long gestating adaptation of the novel Good Omens: I’ve been working on it this year. In fact I just rewrote the script a week ago. It’s an expensive film, that’s the problem. It means I’ve got to get some A list actors to get the kind of money I need and most of the A-list actors aren’t right for the parts, so I’m in a bit of a quandary. This is a project based on a wonderful book by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchet about the apocalypse. It’s a comedy with heaven and hell, angels and demons and the anti-Christ. It’s a wondrous book and I think we’ve made a pretty good script out of it. Before Brothers Grimm we had a budget of 60 million. We couldn’t have doe it for that, we lied. But we raised 45 million outside of America. I needed 15 million from Hollywood. I had two actors to play the angel and the devil- Johnny Depp and Robin Williams. And I couldn’t get 15 million dollars out of Hollywood. That was time Johnny was doing Chocolat and The Man Who Cried and they said ‘Well he just does those European art movies, he’s not worth anything and Robin’s career is over.’ That was the end of that one and along came Pirates of the Caribbean. That’s just what’s awful about Hollywood is that they don’t really understand the talent that they’re dealing with, who they’re dealing with. Now with Johnny you can put him in anything and you can get the money and that’s a product of him sticking to his guns and doing the kind of things he likes doing.


On how aspects of Brazil seem to be playing themselves out on the international political scene: I’m honestly thinking of suing George Bush and Dick Chaney for making a remake of Brazil without my approval! Their version isn’t as funny I don’t think. It is absolutely frightening. Homeland Security is just like the Ministry of Information because if your job is counter-terrorism, what do you need to keep in business? You need terrorists. Even if they aren’t there you may have to create new one.

Blogs And Blobs

So… This is that “Blog” thing all the kids are talking about…

Hello and welcome to the Editor’s Blog here at FilmBuffOnLine. My name is Rich and I’m your host. Those who know have heard me say (over and over, probably) that when I started FilmBuffOnLine, I wanted to avoid the cult of personality that seemed to dominate not only entertainment reporting on the internet, but virtually all reportage online. While in the almost four years since I started this site, there has been a detectable shift in the journalistic standards of many internet outlets, while others have found ways to balance their own identity a bit better without impacting what they are reporting on. Such a balancing act is what I want to attempt here, in the FilmBuff Blog.

The purpose of this blog will be three fold.

One- Over the years I’ve been running this site, I’ve had some experiences that while not strictly newsworthy, would still make interesting stories to tell. So this will be the place for such things.

Two- This blog will be the new place where I will spout off about the various things in the movie world that alternately get my goat or lift my spirits.

With these two missions in mind, keep your eyes open for blog entries in the next couple of days on director Kevin Smith’s personal film festival Vulgarthon, why we should be careful what we wish for when it comes to George Lucas and getting the original theatrical version of Star Wars on DVD and a few other things.

Three- I hope to use the Blog to give you readers a glimpse behind the curtain, as it were, to let you in on what is happening with the site and what new features you may expect to see in the near and not-so-near future. And speaking of new brand new features here at FilmBuffOnLine—

I am thrilled to announce that FilmBuffOnLine is now the host for The Blob Site, Rita Fetter’s outstanding work at researching the history of one of the seminal '50s monster movies. Unfortunately, recently Rita has found her time at a premium and was unable to continue her work on the site. Rather than let all of her great work disappear into the cyber-ether, I contacted Rita with an offer to host the site, to which she agreed!

You can check out the work Rita has done in researching the film’s production history and shooting locations here.

And don’t forget that next month is Phoenixville, PA’s annual BlobFest! Let me tell you, there’s nothing like the thrill of sitting in the actual theater the Blob attacks in the movie watching the movie on screen!

So, thanks for stopping by. And we’ll be back soon with more goodies from the world of movies!

Oh yes- Please ignore some of the clutter, we’re still trying to finish off a few minor details here…