I've joined a great group of bloggers in a project titled 'Adopt a Writer,' the project is about getting the faces and stories of the members of the WGA out there to put a face on the strike. Soon I will be interviewing Peter Murrieta, a writer for Disney's "Wizards of Waverly Place' and formerly of 'Hope and Faith' Depending on his schedule and my own the interview will hopefully be up within the next week or so.

Here's more info on what the project is all about:

Adopt A Writer is a project organized by TV bloggers in support of the WGA, in association with United Fandom and United Hollywood.

Each participating blog will interview a TV writer about their life as a writer —and as a striking writer— with the goal of putting a human face on the WGA for our readers and showing the public that the average writer is much more like the average viewer than the AMPTP wants us to believe. Each interview will be published on the interviewing blog's site, and all interviews are also collected on the central Adopt A Writer site.

More than fifteen top independent entertainment blogs have signed on to participate in the project, and we're in the process of recruiting writers. (If you're a writer and you'd like to be adopted, please email Adopt A Writer at adoptawriter@gmail.com.)

Visit Adopt a Writer at http://adoptawriter.wordpress.com/.

Labels: adopt a writer, Strike

Owen Parker was born on January 24th at 4:11PM Pacific Time. He weighed 7 pounds 13 ounces.

Both Mommy and Baby are happy and healthy and recovering at home.

Due to the birth posts will probably slow down some, especially theatrical reviews, but even though I won't be seeing many movies in theaters I will so start reviewing more movies and television on DVD.

First up, hopefully sometime this week, depending on when I get a chance to watch them I will begin with a review of "Death at a Funeral" which hits stores on Feb 26.

Also coming soon will be a review of "Blade: The Complete Series" which hits stores on Feb 12. Hopefully my review will be up before its in stores.

In a sad turn of events actor Heath Ledger was found dead in his New York Apartment today. Updated: Police are saying that the death was accidental, but sleeping pills were found around his body.

Ledger began his career in Australia before moving to America. His first American role was in '10 Things I Hate About You' the teen Shakespeare adaptation of the 'Taming of the Shrew'. His other roles included "Monster's Ball," "A Knight's Tale," and "The Patriot."

This summer Ledger will be on the big screen as the Joker in "The Dark Knight," a sequel to 2005's "Batman Begins."

Ledger was filming "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" for director Terry Gilliam, no word on how this will affect the film.

Ledger leaves behind a daughter, Matilda, from his relationship with actress Michelle Williams.

Ledger was 28.

I have to admit I've been allowing this news to process for a couple of hours now and I'm really bummed about this. Ledger was one of the best actors of his/my generation. He was a year older than me and now he's dead. I seriously don't understand it. He's made a lot of good films over the years and I think he had a great career ahead of him. I've been looking forward to The Dark Knight and the trailer really showcased his talents and got me even more excited for the movie. I'm still excited about seeing it, but it will be with a heavy heart that I watch his final role.

My thoughts and prayers go out to Ledger's family, especially his little girl.

Labels: Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight

Today the WGA and AMPTP issued statements announcing they had agreed to resume talks in order to bring the strike to an end.

WGA West President Patric M. Verrone and WGA East President Michael Winship issued a statement to it's members stating that both sides had agreed to a media blackout during the talks and that they had taken their issue of getting animation and reality writers as part of the guild off of the table stating that:

"In order to make absolutely clear our commitment to bringing a speedy conclusion to negotiations, we have decided to withdraw our proposals on reality and animation. Our organizing efforts to achieve Guild representation in these genres for writers will continue. You will hear more about this in the next two weeks."

Hopefully with the WGA making this big concession the AMPTP will concede on it's side and things will begin to move towards a resolution so that some of this TV season can be salvaged.

Labels: Strike

THE 2008 OSCAR NOMINEES

BEST PICTURE
Atonement
Juno
Michael Clayton
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood

I'm surprised and delighted that Juno is nominated for Best Picture, I don't think it has a shot, but I'll be pulling for it or No Country come Oscar night.

BEST ACTOR
George Clooney, Michael Clayton
Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood
Johnny Depp, Sweeney Todd
Tommy Lee Jones, In the Valley of Elah
Viggo Mortensen, Eastern Promises

I honestly haven't seen any of these films, but Tommy Lee Jones is a shock.

BEST ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett, Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Julie Christie, Away From Her
Marion Cotillard, La Vie en Rose
Laura Linney, The Savages
Ellen Page, Juno

Again I'm glad to see Ellen Page nominated, as I haven't seen any of the others I can't say much, but I'm hoping Page walks away with the award.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Casey Affleck, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Charlie Wilson's War
Hal Holbrook, Into the Wild
Tom Wilkinson, Michael Clayton

Javier Bardem gave one of the, if not the best performance in any movie all year. He should walk away with the prize.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett, I'm Not There
Ruby Dee, American Gangster
Saoirse Ronan, Atonement
Amy Ryan, Gone Baby Gone
Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton

I'm surprised Ruby Dee was nominated as she has such little screen time, but I think the academy is also acknowledging her past work as well.

BEST DIRECTOR
Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood
Joel and Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men
Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton
Jason Reitman, Juno
Julian Schnabel, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

This one will likely go to Schnabel, but I'm hoping the Coen's get it as No Country was a return to form for them. Although if Reitman wins I'll be just as excited.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Brad Bird, Ratatouille
Diablo Cody, Juno
Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton
Tamara Jenkins, The Savages
Nancy Oliver, Lars and the Real Girl

Diablo Cody has gone from a stripper to "It Girl" screenwriter in no time, and I'm happy to see her nominated here.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men
Christopher Hampton, Atonement
Ronald Harwood, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Sarah Polley, Away From Her

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Persepolis
Ratatouille
Surf's Up

BEST ART DIRECTION
American Gangster
Atonement
The Golden Compass
Sweeney Todd
There Will Be Blood

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
The Assassination of Jesse James…
Atonement
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Across the Universe
Atonement
Elizabeth: The Golden Age
La Vie en Rose
Sweeney Todd

BEST DOCUMENTARY
No End in Sight
Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience
Sicko
Taxi to the Dark Side
War/Dance

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
Freeheld
La Corona (The Crown)
Salim Baba
Sari’s Mother

BEST EDITING
The Bourne Ultimatum
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Into the Wild
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood

BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM
Beaufort (Israel)
The Counterfeiters (Austria)
Katyn (Poland)
Mongol (Kazakhstan)
12 (Russia)

BEST MAKEUP
La Vie en Rose
Norbit
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Atonement
The Kite Runner
Michael Clayton
Ratatouille
3:10 to Yuma

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
''Falling Slowly,'' Once
''Happy Working Song,'' Enchanted
''Raise It Up,'' August Rush
''So Close,'' Enchanted
''That's How You Know,'' Enchanted

I thought it was a long shot for one of Enchanted's songs to be nominated but 3? Here's hoping that doesn't ruin it's chances as it splits the vote. Personally I think "That's How You Know" was the most fun song of the year.

BEST SOUND EDITING
The Bourne Ultimatum
No Country for Old Men
Ratatouille
There Will Be Blood
Transformers

BEST SOUND MIXING
The Bourne Ultimatum
No Country for Old Men
Ratatouille
3:10 to Yuma
Transformers

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
The Golden Compass
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Transformers

BEST ANIMATED SHORT
I Met the Walrus
Madame Tutli-Putli
Meme Les Pigeons Vont au Paradis (Even Pigeons Go to Heaven)
My Love (Moya Lyubov)
Peter & the Wolf

BEST LIVE-ACTION SHORT
At Night
Il Supplente (The Substitute)
Le Mozart des Pickpockets (The Mozart of Pickpockets)
Tanghi Argentini
The Tonto Woman

And there you go, start getting your ballot ready for Oscar night.

Labels: Academy Awards

Wow! That's about all I can say after seeing Cloverfield.
I've been looking forward to seeing this for about 6 months now, ever since I first read that J.J. Abrams was producing some new movie no one had heard anything about and that it had a preview before Transformers.

All anyone knew was that it was going under the codename "Cloverfield" likely because that's the street Bad Robots production offices are on. Then the trailer came out and it was breathtaking, and yet I still knew nothing about it. But the internets were abuzz with this new movie that was coming out of left field. Was it called Cloverfield, was it called 1-18-08 or was that simply the release date? Was it a new Godzilla movie? What does Slusho have to do with it? And so on and so forth.

And after months of hype it's here, and does it live up to that hype? For me the answer is a resounding YES! The movie was fantastic. Running at only 1 hour and 25 minutes because it's so intense it feels so much longer (but in a good way). The movie starts off slow and then goes all out at break neck speed with little time to breath. I noticed several times during the movie that my hands were curled into balls and sweating and had to make my self open them and dry them off. It was just a natural reaction to the movie.

I don't want to tell you much about the movie, as it's worth seeing without knowing anything, but basically it's about a small group of friends whose lives are thrown upside down when something attacks New York City. What follows is their struggle to survive the night all captured on a digital camera by one of them.

For the last few weeks I've been trying to avoid the tv ads which seem to be showing more and more, and I stayed away from all the reviews, because I didn't want to know anything before hand. And I'm glad I did. It's rare that you can go into a movie knowing almost nothing about it in these spoilerific days, but I'm glad I was able to as I think I was better off for it.

As I said it's best going in not knowing anything. In fact if you want to see this, stop reading reviews, stop seeing the commercials, just go. And go now, go see it with a packed house, who may or may not scream things like "Run, B****, Run" when something scary happens. It's best seen on the big screen with a big crowd.

I can't say everyone will love it, in fact I think it's one of those movies where some people will love it and some will hate it. The crowd I was with tonight had some of the haters in it, but I have my doubts about how much they "hated" it. Mainly because for the intense hour or so when things are going crazy, the theater was silent, everyone was so involved in the movie and wondering what would happen next that there was no real whispering, no murmurs from the people around you, just a silent enthralled crowd (in fact at one point I badly needed to cough, but refrained because what was going on onscreen was very quiet and in the theater you could have heard a pin drop).

I think because the movie doesn't end how some people had hoped or thought that it would that they decided they hated the entire thing. Something I think happens a lot, people love a movie, but once it ends in a way they don't like they decide the entire movie was bad.

One thing I should mention are the amazing special effects. This movie was made for tens of millions, which in today's age is considered low budget as more and more movies jump the 100 million mark, but the effects don't reflect the cost. They are wonderful and as my friend pointed out, all the more amazing because of the jerkiness of the hand held camera, which means they had to spend much more time making sure all the effects line up and track correctly.

If you have even an inkling of wanting to see this, go do it now. You really want to see this with a big crowd on the big screen.

Labels: Cloverfield, Review

I Love You Beth Cooper
Some of you kind readers may remember my praise this summer for the wonderful book "I Love You, Beth Cooper!" The story follows Dennis Cooverman and his one night of adventure after professing his love for the titular Beth Cooper in his valedictorian speech at his high school graduation. Reading it I thought it was a perfect book to be made into a teen Rom-Com. And apparently Chris Columbus agrees with me.
Today Variety announced that Columbus is in talks to direct the movie for Fox and Heroes star Hayden Penettiere is in talks to play the lead character.
Personally I think this is perfect casting as Hayden is definitely beautiful enough to portray the messed up, cheerleader who slowly reveals her true self to Dennis over the course of one crazy night.
I'm hoping the next role cast will be Dennis himself, and I have to say I think McLovin himself would be perfect for the role as he's the perfect mix of overtly nerdy and secretly cool. My other top choice would be the amazing Michael Cera who has shown he can be the prefect mix of Awkward and Awesome in Juno, Arrested Development, and Superbad.
IF you haven't read this book and you love teen Rom-Com's, I'd advise you to go pick it up right now, and I just may have to go back and read my copy again.

First Image from Star Trek
Here's the first Official Image from J.J. Abrams New Star Trek feature, heading to theaters this December. It was released yesterday just prior to the release of the first teaser trailer which shipped with copies of Cloverfield which started screening last night at 12:01am.


Weekend Recommendations
Also with Cloverfield hitting screens today I plan on seeing it tonight. As long as my son doesn't finally arrive (Which I would love to happen as we are tired of waiting) I'll try to have a review up ASAP.
If you are looking for a fun, action/horror/monster movie romp which you know hardly anything about and may cause motion sickness I recommend Cloverfield as it's getting great reviews from sci-fi geeks.

If your looking for a good Rom-Com go see 27 Dresses which hits this week, Jeri and I saw it a few weeks ago and loved it. It's a great Romance and it's actually quite funny.

Also if you haven't seen Juno yet, I can't recommend it enough as it was the one of the best movies I saw last year.

Labels: Snippets

Today the Directors Guild of America (DGA) announced a tentative deal with the Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). You can find the entire deal below, but the real question is what does this mean for the WGA?

Well according to United Hollywood there was a conference call between the major Hollywood agents and they apparently feel the DGA deal would not have happened without the WGA strike and negotiations.

Adding to this is the fact that after the DGA deal was announced the AMPTP issued a statement asking to have informal meetings with the WGA to try and get things going again.

To me this also lends credence to the fact that the AMPTP was just waiting for the 8 week mark so they could use the Force Majeure clauses in their contracts with writers to pick and choose which contracts they wanted to keep and which contracts they wanted to get rid of. (For example NBC canned it's deal with Journeyman creator, Kevin Falls, most likely because that show wasn't a ratings giant for it) Now that "Black Monday" has fallen and dozens of deals have been terminated they conveniently want to come back to start negotiations. Maybe it's just me, but it seems like they just wanted to get rid of the bad deals.

So hopefully in the next few weeks the strike will end and we can get this season back in production, and possibly have some shows to watch this summer.


Here's the DGA Press Release:

DGA and AMPTP Reach Tentative Agreement on Terms of New Contract (January 17, 2008)

DGA Gains Solid Wage Increases with No Rollbacks
Plus Precedent-Setting Jurisdiction Over New-Media
and a Doubling of EST Residuals Rate

LOS ANGELES -

The Directors Guild of America (DGA) announced today that it has concluded a tentative agreement on the terms of a new 3-year collective bargaining agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).

Highlights of the new agreement include:

* Increases both wages and residual bases for each year of the contract.
* Establishes DGA jurisdiction over programs produced for distribution on the Internet.
* Establishes new residuals formula for paid Internet downloads (electronic sell-through) that essentially doubles the rate currently paid by employers.
* Establishes residual rates for ad-supported streaming and use of clips on the Internet.

“Two words describe this agreement - groundbreaking and substantial,” said Gil Cates, chair of the DGA's Negotiations Committee, in announcing the terms of the new agreement. “The gains in this contract for directors and their teams are extraordinary – and there are no rollbacks of any kind.”

Formal negotiations between the DGA’s 50-member Negotiations Committee and the AMPTP began Saturday, January 12, and were concluded today. Talks were led by Cates and DGA National Executive Director Jay D. Roth. They were preceded by months of informal discussions and nearly two years of preparation and research by Guild staff and consultants.

“This was a very difficult negotiation that required real give and take on both sides,” said DGA president Michael Apted. “Nonetheless, we managed to produce an agreement that enshrines the two fundamental principles we regard as absolutely crucial to any employment and compensation agreement in this digital age: First, jurisdiction is essential. Without secure jurisdiction over new-media production—both derivative and original—compensation formulas are meaningless. Second, the Internet is not free. We must receive fair compensation for the use and reuse of our work on the Internet, whether it was originally created for other media platforms or expressly for online distribution.”

The agreement includes the following gains in New Media:

* ·Jurisdiction: The new agreement ensures that programming produced for the Internet (both original and derivative) will be directed by DGA members and their teams. The only exceptions are low-budget original shows on which production costs are less than $15,000 per minute, $300,000 per program, or $500,000 per series—whichever is lowest.
* Electronic Sell-Through: EST is the paid download of features and TV programming. The agreement more than doubles the EST residual for television and increases the feature film residual by 80% over the rate currently paid by the employers.

Specifically, the EST residual rates will be .70% for television downloads and .65% for film downloads, above a certain number of units downloaded. Below that, residuals will be based on formula employers currently pay.

Payments for EST will be based on distributor’s gross, which is the amount received by the entity responsible for distributing the film or television program on the Internet. Having distributor’s gross as the residuals basis was a key point in our negotiations.

The companies are now contractually obligated to give us unfettered access to their deals and data. This access is new and unprecedented and creates a transparency that has never existed before. Additionally, if the exhibitor or retailer is part of the producer’s corporate family, we have improved provisions for challenging any suspect transactions.

* Ad-Supported Streaming: After an initial 17-day window for free promotional streaming of Internet programs, companies must pay 3% of the residual base (approximately $600 for network prime time 1-hour drama) for 26 weeks of streaming. They can continue to stream for an additional 26-week period by paying an additional 3% -- or a total of $1,200 for one year’s worth of streaming. (During a program's first season, the 17-day window is expanded to 24 days to help build audience.)

* Sunset Provision: Allows both sides to revisit new media when agreement expires.

“Our fundamental goal in these negotiations was to protect our interests in the present while laying the groundwork for a future whose outlines are not yet clear,” said Cates. “We knew that gaining jurisdiction over new-media production and winning fair compensation for the reuse of our work on the Internet were the key issues for setting a framework for the future, but we also had to secure real gains for our members in today’s world.”

The new tentative agreement includes the following:

* Annual wage increases of 3% for primetime dramatic shows and daytime serials and 3.5% for all other covered programming.
* Outsized increase in director’s compensation on high-budget basic cable for series in the second and subsequent seasons.
* Annual residual increases of 3% for primetime shows and 3.5% for all other covered programming.
* Specific advances that pertain to members of the director’s team.

PLEASE SEE FACT SHEET BELOW FOR MORE DETAILS

Details of the new agreement will be submitted to the Guild's National Board for approval at its regularly scheduled meeting on Saturday, January 26, 2008. The DGA’s current contracts expire on June 30, 2008. .

FACT SHEET
DGA Tentative Agreement
January 17, 2008



Basic Agreement

Wage Increases

* Compensation for all categories except directors of network prime time dramatic programs and daytime serials increases by 3.5%, each year of the contract.
* Compensation for directors of network prime time dramatic programs and daytime serials increases by 3%, each year of the contract.
* Outsized increase in director’s compensation on high budget basic cable dramatic programs for series in the second and subsequent seasons:
*
o For ½ hour programs: 12% increase in daily rate and increase in guaranteed number of days to 7 days.
*
o
+ Results in show rate increasing from $9,009 to $11,760.
*
o For 1-hour programs: 12% increase in daily rate and increase in guaranteed number of days to 14 days.
*
o
+ Results in show rate increasing from $18,010 to $23,520.

Residual Increases

* Residual bases increase by 3.5%, each year of the contract, except for reruns in network prime time.
* Residuals for reruns in network prime time increase by 3%, each year of the contract.

Healthcare

* Employers continue to make health care contributions at specially negotiated rate of 8.5%, secured in the 2005 Basic Agreement to address the impact of the growing cost of health care on the DGA Plan. Provisions permitting decrease in contribution rate by employers removed.

Other Provisions

* Second Assistant Directors to manage locations in New York and Chicago.
* Establishes a wrap supervision allowance of $50/day for the Second Assistant Director who supervises wrap on local and distant locations.
* Increases incidental fees and dinner allowances for Unit Production Managers and Assistant Directors.

New Media

Jurisdiction over:

* All new media content that is derivative of product already covered under current contracts.
* Original content:
*
o All original content above $15,000/minute or $300,000/program or $500,000/series, whichever is lowest.
*
o Original content below the threshold will be covered when a DGA member is employed in the production.

Electronic Sell-Through (Paid Downloads)

* More than doubles the rate currently paid by the employers on television programming to .70% above 100,000 units downloaded.
*
o Below 100,000 breakpoint: rate will be paid at the current rates of .30% until worldwide gross receipts reach $1 million and .36% thereafter.
* Increases rate paid on feature films by 80% to .65% above 50,000 units downloaded
*
o Below 50,000 breakpoint: rate will be paid at the current rates of .30% until worldwide gross receipts reach $1 million and .36% thereafter.

Distributor’s Gross

* Payments for EST will be based on distributor’s gross instead of producer’s gross, a key point in our negotiations. Distributor’s gross is the amount received by the entity responsible for distributing the film or television program on the Internet. We would not have entered the agreement on any other basis.
* Companies will be contractually obligated to give us access to their deals and data, enabling us to monitor this provision and prepare for our next negotiation. This access is new and unprecedented.
* If the exhibitor or retailer is part of the producer’s corporate family, we have improved provisions for challenging any suspect transactions.

Ad-Supported Streaming:

* 17-day window (24-day window for series in their first season).
* Pays 3% of the residual base, approximately $600 (for network prime time 1-hour dramas), for each 26-week period following 17-day window, within first year after initial broadcast.
* Pays 2% of distributor’s gross for streaming that occurs more than one year after initial broadcast.

Clips

* Provides the companies with limited windows where they can distribute clips of feature films and television programs in new media to promote a program. Provides for payment for all other uses in New Media.

Sunset Provision

* Allows both sides to revisit new media when the agreement expires.

Labels: Strike

Update: The story has been picked up over at Aint It Cool News (Click here) and with it some new information.

Apparently Judd Apatow isn't involved rather it's his company and his producing partner Shauna Robertson, but he's not personally involved. And the reshoots done recently were not rewritten after the strike, which is important to point out.

Also with AICN picking it there may be some distasteful or sophomoric comments, one in particular aimed at me for no good reason, in my comments section, but I take no offense and just laugh so you should too.


As I said in the comments section yesterday I was recently informed of some goings on with Fanboys, which apparently haven't been reported elsewhere.

Apparently Judd Apatow's production company has picked up Fanboys and he and co-producer Shauna Robertson have apparently taken the movie under their wing and are making a lot of changes and were doing re-shoots about 2-3 weeks ago.

I love the Apatow crew and with the exception of "Walk Hard" have enjoyed their movies. But I'm hoping they don't turn this into a "hard" R-rated comedy as the footage I saw was very sweet and was easily PG-13 (it might possibly end up being R, but not because every other word is a cuss word, so please keep it that way). From what I saw the movie didn't need reworking, which is apparently what the Apatow crew are doing.

Rumors are that one of the big changes would rework the entire plot of the movie and would honestly highly disappoint me.

The story follows a group of friends who try to break in Skywalker Ranch to steal a copy of Star Wars Episode 1. The reason they finally agree to do it is because one of the friends in dying of cancer and won't live to see it in theaters. Apparently the Apatow people have done research which says most people won't laugh for 5 or 10 minutes after cancer is mentioned so they want to do away with the entire cancer subplot and I've heard they have a version which edited out the entire cancer plot.

This means it's just a group of punk kids breaking into Skywalker Ranch to steal a movie to see it before it comes out. Why would I root for these kids to steal the film, if the noble reason for doing it is gone?

Judd if you read this, I'm all for more jokes and more money to make the film better, but for heaven's sake, please don't edit out the cancer plot. If you take this point away, you get rid of the heart of the film. The entire reason these kids go on this adventure is because they want their friend to see the movie before he succumbs to cancer. I understand cancer kills comedy, but a movie can have a 5 minute recovery period, it's okay! (Apparently some of the actors aren't happy with this either so maybe ask them about it)

Hopefully this version of the film has already been shot down and all these rumors will be for not, but if so I hope fan outpouring can change their minds.

Labels: Fanboys

Last year I went to the theater 60 times. This year I have a son on the way, graduation from law school, moving to Texas, the Texas state bar, and starting a new job. So likely I will not be seeing as many movies in theaters, but hopefully with NetFlix help I'll be able to see roughly the same amount of movies, just in a different venue. So although I'll likely miss many of these in theaters, these are the movies I'm most looking forward to in 2008.

A few of these are back from my 2007 list but never were released, hopefully they'll come out this year. so we'll start with those:

Fanboys
Starring Kristen Bell, once again that should be all you need to know to understand why it’s at the top of my list.
Oh, you want to know more? Ok, it’s set in 1998/99 and follows a group of friends who make a pact to go cross country to Skywalker Ranch in order to see the newest Star Wars movie. Why would they make such a pact when they can just wait to see it in theaters you ask, because one of their group is dying of cancer and doctors don’t give him long enough to wait.
Full of geek humor and wit and lots and lots of Star Wars, not to mention Seth Rogen in a small role, and in my book every movie suffers from a lack of Seth Rogen.
After having seen 45 min of footage at the Star wars Celebration this past May I'm even more excited about the film, and unlike most cases where the film gets pushed back, this movie is getting extra footage shot, in addition because it's received extra funds. And now the movie looks to be coming this February, but that could change.



Be Kind Rewind

Here’s what I know, it’s from Michel Gondry, the director of The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and stars Jack Black. But the best part is the premise. From IMDB: A man (Black) whose brain becomes magnetized unintentionally destroys every tape in his friend's video store. In order to satisfy the store's most loyal renter, an aging woman with signs of dementia, the two men set out to remake the lost films, which include Back to the Future, The Lion King, and Robocop.
Who cares how we get there the only thing that matters is it centers on two guys trying to recreate lots of movies. I read an interview with the Director and he said they didn’t let anyone watch the movie before hand, so it would be more authentic with these guys just making them from their memories.
I can’t wait to see their recreation of Back to the Future, one of my favorite movies of all time. Also they apparently recreate Superman but because of rights issues, they had to rename it, Stupid Warner Brothers.
But it should still be a lot of fun.



My Name is Bruce

The plot is stellar, Bruce Campbell is mistaken for his character Ash from the Evil Dead series and kidnapped by a group of people whose town is being overrun by monsters in order to defend them from the evil. Bruce Campbell is directing this movie and it seems like it will be another great B grade comedy/horror mix. Along for the ride is Ted Raimi, who some might remember as Joxer from Xena.
A great idea for what should be a fun romp.




And now for the new stuff:

Cloverfield

A monster movie shot entirely with handheld cameras. Not much is known other than a group of people try to survive a monster attack in New York City. It follows a group of people as the try and survive the attack, all through footage from their own cameras. And I think maybe they are trying to get to someone they care about whose stuck somewhere in the city, but I'm probably wrong.
This is one I'm hoping to see opening day, but we'll see if I make it.



Eagle Eye

A thriller starring Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monaghan as two unsuspecting Americans who are drawn into a political conspiracy/assassination plot. The main draw is it's from the team behind 2007's best thriller, Disturbia: Director D.J. Caruso and actor Shia LaBeouf. Even though I don't know much about it I love a good thriller, and hopefully it will be a good example of what these two will bring the their rumored adaptation of Y the Last Man.



The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Directed by David Fincher, starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, and adapted from the 1920s story by F. Scott Fitzgerald about a man who is born in his eighties and ages backwards.
That's about all I know, but it sounds fun and entertaining, and Fincher normally does really good work, plus an old Brad Pitt aging backwards sounds interesting.



Iron Man

Based on the Marvel Comic, directed by Jon Favreau and starring Robert Downy Jr and Gwyneth Paltrow. The movies revolves around Tony Stark, a genius who is forced to create a suit of armor when his heart is pierced by shrapnel, and ends up using the suit to fight evil. The trailer looks amazing!
Plus the 10ish minutes of footage they showed at Comic Con was stunning and made miss wish it was coming out right then. Plus Downy is quite funny, so hopefully he'll bring some of that humor to the role.



The Incredible Hulk

Another Marvel comic character. Not a sequel to the ill received Ang Lee Film, but a reboot starring Edward Norton and Liv Tyler. The few images that have been released so far look a lot better than the last film, and I'm a big Norton fan, so It'll be interesting to see what an actor as respected as he is brings to this role. Hopefully it will be better than the last one.



The Dark Knight

Yet another Comic Book film. The Sequel to Batman Begins, this movie is already looking to be one of my favorite movies of the next year. Just watch the trailer to see how amazing Heath Ledger is as the Joker and you can see this will be one amazing film. Plus it'll be fun to see Christian Bale in the suit again, bringing about the best Batman the screen has ever seen.



Bond 22

I've always watched Bond films on tv, but I've never been super excited when they came out in the theater. Maybe it's because the only ones to come out when I was in high school and college were the pitiful Pierce Brosnan films (except Goldeneye which was quite good), but with Casino Royale Bond became a must see for me.
It was fairly risky to have a complete reboot of the franchise and start at the very beginning but it paid off, and any movie which can make a poker game that thrilling has done it's job. Plus the opening on foot chase was brilliant.
And because Casino Royale was so good, it's helped the as yet unnamed Bond 22 make it onto this list. With the Paul Haggis back in the writers chair and Daniel Craig back as the blonde Bond, it should be interesting to see where Bond goes now that he's been completely changed and hardened by the events of the first film.



Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

The penultimate Harry Potter film, currently in production, will apparently play up the comedic elements and romance between several of the main characters. But it also has one of the most painful deaths in the franchise. So it will be interesting to see how returning director David Yates (The first director to return since Chris Columbus directed the first to films) melds the different emotions into one film.
Also with movie number 6 in production it means that by the time it comes out in November, the 7th and final film will be gearing up to head into production. Personally I'm hoping that Guillermo del Toro will be chosen to direct the final installment which should be an all out war (and might be able to cut out some of the slower stuff of the final book).



J.J. Abram's Star Trek

A new Star Wars, ho hum. But wait it figures in the original Spock, now an older man, and a whole new cast playing the original crew of the enterprise? Interesting, and J.J. Abrams is directing? Now I'm on board.
Throw in some brilliant casting in the forms of Zach Quinto, Simon Pegg, and Jon Cho and you've got the makings of what could possible be a brilliant film.
And I know Shatner's been complaining about not being in this movie, but part of me thinks he's in it and just trying to cover it up.
Oh and the story apparently centers around a plot to use time travel to kill Captain Kirk, which must be stopped by Mr. Spock.




Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

The Movie I'm most looking forward to this year is of course the new Indiana Jones movie. I'm trying to keep away from the details and spoilers as I want to go in fresh, but I know that the movie follows Indiana Jones and possibly his son (Shia LaBeouf) on a search for the titular Crystal Skull. And Marion Ravenwood is back from Raiders of the Lost Arc, and may be the mother of said son.
Indiana Jones was a big series of movies from my childhood (We're the same age, both premiering in 1981!) and as such I'm looking forward to seeing this back in Texas with My father, and possibly my best friend. It will be a nice break before I start studying for the bar and after having just moved back to my home state.
I'm hoping that this will be the best movie I see this year.



Owen Parker Tidmore


But the thing I'm most looking forward to is the birth of my son, Owen. I can't wait for that day, which is just around the corner. And I can't wait until that day in the future when I can share these movies with him.

Labels: 2008 Preview

Here's the List of Movies I saw in the theater in 2007.

60. 27 Dresses (Opens January 18, 2008)
59. Juno
58. National Treasure: Book of Secrets
57. Beowulf in Digital 3D
56. American Gangster
55. Enchanted
54. Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas in Disney Digital 3-D
53. No Country For Old Men
52. 30 Days of Night
51. Walk Hard (opening Dec) - Walked Out Halfway Through
50. Forgetting Sarah Marshall (Coming May 2008)
49. Across the Universe
48. Shoot 'Em Up
47. 3:10 to Yuma
46. War
45. Superbad (Third Times a Charm!)
44. Superbad (Again)
43. The Invasion
42. Stardust
41. The Bourne Ultimatum
40. The Pineapple Express (Coming Aug 2008)
39. Grease (Released 1978)
38. The Simpsons
37. Monster Squad (Released 1987)
36. Hairspray (yes, again!)
35. License to Wed
34. Fred Clause (Coming Nov. 2007)
33. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
32. Evan Almighty
31. Transformers
30. Live Free or Die Hard
29. Mr. Brooks
28. 1408
27. Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan (Released 1982)
26. Tron (Released 1982)
25. Hairspray (Coming July 2007)
24. Ocean's Thirteen
23. Knocked Up
22. Pirates 3: At World's End
21. Shrek the Third
20. Meet The Robinsons
19. Disturbia
18. Spider-Man 3
17. Hot Fuzz (Again)
16. Hot Fuzz
15. Grindhouse
14. TMNT
13. 300
12. Gwoemul (The Host)
11. Zodiac
10. The Number 23
9. Because I Said So
8. Music and Lyrics
7. Super Bad (Coming Aug 2007)
6. Seven Samurai (Released 1954)
5. Smokin' Aces
4. Babel
3. Alpha Dog
2. Children of Men
1. Pan's Labyrinth

Labels: the list 2007

So while this has primarily been a movie blog, I also love TV, so I thought I'd list my favorite shows of the past year.

REALITY

Ghost Hunters
A show Jeri and I discovered this year. It's fun to see what evidence (or lack there of) that these "ghost hunters" will find. And the fact that they go in trying to debunk hauntings makes those times they do find something even better.

Beauty and the Geek
What could have been a horrible show has shown time and again that it's a show with real heart and one that's all about growth. Something that's never been as true as the third season which aired last spring, When Nate, someone who deserved to win base don the amount he's changed over the season, asked everyone not to vote for his team because his teammate, the horrible Cissy, hadn't changed at all and didn't deserve to win. I can't wait for Season 5 to air this spring (Season 4 aired in the fall and was fun, if not as good as season 3).

COMEDY

5. Samantha Who?
A great new comedy, with some of the nicest writers around, which follows Samantha (Christina Applegate in a triumphant return to comedy) a rotten person, who after being run down by a car, has amnesia and has to learn how to live life all over again, all while discovering how awful she was and trying to make amends.

4. The Big Bang Theory
The best new comedy of the season. It started off slow, but grew very quickly into a hilarious romp, which strikes at my heart with all the geeky references. And sadly some of the "Geeks" remind me of friends.

3. The Office
Still one of the best comedies on the air, even if it had a rocky start with those hourlongs this season. The Pam/Jim relationship has been well handled this season and I look forward to Thursday nights every week because of it.

2. 30 Rock
I missed this show when it debuted last season, after the first episode lost me within minutes. But after constantly being told it was good if not great I rented the first season in august and fell in love almost immediately. Simply some of the funniest characters and situations on television. I mean what other show would you find two characters going on a date only to discover they were 3rd cousins.
And with Kenneth the Page and Tracy Jordan, this show has two of the greatest characters on any show. I've discussed this show before and everything I said then is true now.

1. How I Met Your Mother
The show that makes me long for Mondays. Sure Chuck, Heroes, and Journeyman were a bonus but HIMYM is what makes me long for Monday Nights. This is Jeri and my favorite show currently on TV. To us it's the new "Friends" a show we can watch over and over again, and in fact do as we own the first 2 seasons on dvd.
The show follows 5 friends, the now married Marshall (Jason Segel) and Lily (Allison Hannigan), the single Robin (Cobie Smulders), the womanizing Barney (Neil Patrick Harris), and the main character Ted (Josh Radnor), who in 2030 is telling his kids how he met their mother.
This year brought us the funniest episode of the show so far "Slap Bet" which chronicled the gangs search for why Robin hated Malls. Marshall believe she was married in a mall and Barney thinks she did Porn in her home country of Canada. So the two make a "slap bet" which allows whoever is right to slap the other. Through a series of events Marshall ends up having 5 slaps which can be dealt out at anytime in the future. This has lead to two other genius moments, one last season where Marshall used slap number 2 (he used number 1 in "Slap Bet") and this season's "Slapsgiving" in which Marshall sent Barney a countdown to the next slap.
The show constantly is better than most comedies on the air, and at it's worse it's still hilarious. I give it my highest recommendation and urge you to give it a try by renting season 1 and 2 from your local video store or NetFlix.

DRAMA

10. House
They really shook things up this year, by firing House's entire team and bringing in 40 candidates to play House's games to see who would fill the final 3 spots. It made a show that's the same each week (A strange disease, a mis-diagnosis, patient almost dies, they discover the right diagnosis and usually the patient lives!) and made it new again.

9. Criminal Minds
A team tracking serial killers. I watched the entire 2.5 seasons of the show this year and it's great. Another crime procedural, but I prefer it to CSI. And it's doing just fine without their "leader" Mandy Patinkin.

8. Reaper
A new show this season, Sam finds out on his 21st that his parents sold his soul to the devil before he was born. When Satan comes to claim it he tells Sam he's to be his "reaper" and has to capture the souls who have escaped hell. The show really
belongs to Bret Harrison as Sam and the wonderful Ray Wise as The Devil.

7. Supernatural
This show just keeps getting better. What started out as two brothers fighting a new urban legend each week has come into it's own with a wonderful mythology and race against the clock as Dean, the elder brother, has only one year left to live as he sacrificed his soul to save the life of his brother, Sam.
The show really feels like mini horror movie each week (and not one of those horrible torture porn movies)and with the exception of a few episodes it's great every week.

6. Chuck
Another new show that I love. It follows another Chuck, this one a guy who works for the Best Buy-esque Buy More as a member of the Geek Squad-esque Nerd Herd. He's also accidentally downloaded all of the NSA and CIA's secrets into his brain and has to deal with a CIA and NSA agent as they use him to complete missions and save him from danger, and occasionally himself, all while keeping it a secret from his friends and family.
The heart of the show comes from the will they/won't they relationship between Chuck and the beautiful NSA agent Sarah Walker (if that indeed is her real name).

5. Pushing Daises
Best new show? Yes. A show about a boy, his deceased dog he can't touch and the love of his life who he brings back to life only to be able to never touch her again without killing her.
The premise is simple Ned can bring people back from the dead with his touch, but if they stay alive for more than a minute then someone else must die. Also if he ever touches them again they die for good. So he uses his power to being back murder victims and ask them who killed them. But when one of the victims turns out to be his childhood love, Charlotte "Chuck" Charles he brings her back, without worrying about who will die to keep her alive. But of course he can never touch her again.
So the show is a fantasy, crime procedural, and the most beautiful show on TV. It's also one of the most expensive shows on TV. It's fun for the whole family!

4. Lost
FLASH FORWARDS?!?!?!? HOLY CRAP this show got better in the second half of last season. The show left me speechless so really all I can say is Flash Forward!!!! Amazing!

3. Dexter
A show about a serial killer at first glance might not sound very intriguing, but when that serial killer only goes after other serial killers it makes for quite an interesting show. In it's second season (which I watched in its entirety in the last week) Dexter became more human than he ever thought he could. He showed that he really does care for the people in his life and cared what happened to them.
The season began with police finding the bodies of Dexter's past victims and bringing in the FBI to track down the so-called "Bay Harbor Butcher". Suddenly Dexter's life was thrown into turmoil as he had to avoid the FBI, Detective Doakes (a homicide detective whose been suspicious of Dexter for quite some time), and even his own sister, another homicide detective working with the FBI.
As his only real relationship, with his girlfriend Rita, deteriorates and a horrible, awful woman enters his life (if you can't tell I hated Lilah the worst character on TV in years) and his life unravels in takes most of the season for Dexter to embrace who he really is and get his life back. The season was great and makes me long for next season, which probably won't come until next October.

2. Battlestar Galactica
This show really is one of the best on TV. Sci-fi, Drama, Politics, Romance, comedy all come together in one of the best shows to hit TV in a long time. Luckily, Sci-Fi has just expanded next years Season 4 from 13 episodes to 22, so it will be back for one final season.
I watched the entire first 3 seasons this year and was blown away by how amazing it was, and was disappointed I hadn't been watching it from the first season. The end of the third season, which aired in March, was amazing and pulled out one of the best twist to hit the air waves in a long time.

1. Veronica Mars
Readers of the blog know that Kristen Bell is my favorite celebrity around and she carried this show squarely on her back. It was consistently funny, dramatic, and the mysteries were always intriguing. The supporting cast was amazing, but the real heart of the show was always between Veronica and her Father, played be Enrico Colantoni (Just Shoot Me). The father and daughter banter and exchanges were always wonderful to take in, and the love between them was one of the truest portrayal of a familial relationship in a long time.
Sadly the show was canceled far before it's time, but at least we got 3 wonderful years of this show. It will be severely missed in the CineManiac household.

Well that's my favorite shows of 2007, what were yours?

Labels: best of 2007

The Best Movies of 2007!

Last Year I introduced my award, cleverly named "The Tiddies" (Pronounced Tid - dee's), from my last name Tidmore. This year I've had a change in websites and a change in blog titles and have decided to change the name of my awards, so I'm proud to present to you The Golden Straight Jackets:




Best Romance of the Year: Enchanted
A fun, cute film thats appropriate for all ages is hard to come by these days with R rated comedies being so successful. But Disney brought one to us this year that had heart and was fun for kids and adults. It was also the second (of 3) movie I saw this year that made me actually like James Marsden. (I've never been a fan of his, he made Cyclops a whiny punk in the X-Men films, and my bias probably kept me from liking him in Superman Returns, but between Hairspray, this, and 27 Dresses (Out Jan 18) I've discovered he's actually a talented actor and really enjoyed him this year)
The movie really belongs to Amy Adams though as the fairy tale princess thrust into the real world, who slowly realizes her perfect love, Prince Edward is not quite so perfect for her, as she spends time with Patrick Dempsey's Robert, a divorce lawyer.
It was a really fun, movie I think anyone can enjoy.

Most Suspenseful Movie of the Year: Disturbia
Shia LaBeouf became a household name this year, mainly because you couldn't turn around without bumping into one of his movies. Transformers, Surf's Up, and Distrubia. Next year he appears in Indy 4 and he's being groomed by Spielberg to be the next Tom Hanks, and he's gearing up to star as Yorick in the comic adaptation 'Y the Last Man'.
LaBeouf is one of my favorite actors to come along in a long time, and Disturbia was the best movie he was in this year, a re-telling of Rear Window, it's a genuinely suspenseful film, and scares without resorting to the gory, violent "torture porn" that most suspenseful movies try to be these days.
Best Sequel of the Year: The Bourne Ultimatum

Best Animated Feature of the Year: The Simpsons
A hilarious move from TV to Film. One of the funniest movies I saw this year, it made me cry laughing so hard. I can't wait it again on DVD.

Most Overlooked Movie of the Year: Stardust
Every few years a movie comes along that doesn't do well at the box office but slowly becomes a cult film. I think in time this will prove to be one of those films. A fun, fantasy film that evokes 'The Princess Bride'.
The movie has a stellar cast, a wonderful storyline, and like Enchanted is great for the whole family, I can't recommend it enough.

Best Action Flick of the Year: Hot Fuzz
There were a lot of great action movies this year from Live Free or Die Hard to the Bourne Ultimatum, but hands down the best was Hot Fuzz. From the wonderful team of Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg the minds behind Shawn of the Dead, Hot Fuzz takes all the action movies we love and turn them on their heads.
Hot Fuzz manages to be a comedy, a who-done-it, an action movie (with a hint of horror), and a parody of action movies at the same time. All the elements come together to make an amazing film thats fun to watch over and over again.
This was one of the movies I was looking most forward to in 2007 and it didn't disappoint.

I had 4 movies I really loved this year, and I couldn't decide which one was the best so my favorite movie of the year is actually 4 movies. Two of them technically came out last year (in limited release) but I saw them in January. My favorite movies of 2007 I divided up into Best Drama and Best Comedy because they were so different.

Best Release of 2006 I saw in 2007 (tie): Children of Men & Pan’s Labyrinth
Children of Men and Pan's Labyrinth were fantastic movies. They were the first two movies I saw in 2007 and it was a great way to start a wonderful year at the movies. You can read my original thoughts on them both here.
If you haven't seen them yet rush out and buy them and see how good they both are.

Best Drama of the Year: No Country for Old Men
It's on almost everyone's top ten list of the year and I'm no different No Country For Old Men was the Best drama I saw this year. It's simply amazing. The Coen Brothers have had a few misses in the last few years, but this film proved that they still had it. Based on a book, which I have but have yet to read, NCFOM is the tale of Llwelyn Moss, a vietnam vet who stumbles on to a slew of dead bodies, bullet riddled pick-up trucks full of heroin, and a brief case filled with $2 million dollars. Llwelyn must then go on the run as Anton Chigurh, a brutal assassin is after him to get back the $2 Million. The local sheriff is also on his trail as he's found the heroin deal gone wrong.
What follows is about 2 hours of commanding performances from Tommy Lee Jones (Sheriff Ed Tom Bell), Javier Bardem (Chigurh), and Josh Brolin (Moss). All three men put forth amazing performances which should all win awards as they are some of the most powerful I've seen in a long while. But it's Brolin, in a long awaited comeback, who steals the show. Between this and American Gangster it was the year of Brolin and I foe one am glad he's back.
One I can't wait to own and watch again, it's a great, bloody, nailbiting movie.


Best Comedy of the Year: Juno
In a year of strong comedies (and strong comedies about pregnancy at that) this small independent film stole the show. This was the funniest movie of the year and the only movie which made me cry with laughter and then turn on the drama and make me cry from the emotion.
Juno is the story of Juno(Ellen Page), a 16 year old girl who gets impregnated by her best friend, Paulie Bleaker (the wonderful Michael Cera). After deciding against abortion she decides to give her baby up for adoption and finds what seems to be the perfect family in Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman.
Everyone gives fine performances in this film and the blend of comedy and drama work together nicely. And the soundtrack is great in helping set the quirky mood of the film.
A wonderful couple of hours, guaranteed to make you laugh and quite possibly cry. What are you waiting for, go see it.

Labels: best of 2007