Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof sucks

Am I the only one that thinks Quentin Tarantino's 'Death Proof' is crap?

Originally released in the US theaters as part of the second half of the GRINDHOUSE double feature (shared with Robert Rodriguez' 'Planet Terror'), Death Proof has received good reviews and has a rating of 8 stars in IMDB.

The first hour of the movie consists of four women chatting away in a bar. Then they get killed by a mysterious guy called Stuntman Mike. That's when the action begins.....and lasts for like 5 whole minutes! Then cut to few months later where another group of women starts to talk nonsense. Then Stuntman Mike appears. Another 5 minutes of car chase action. Then the movie ends.

This movie is supposed to be a spoof on the 70's B-grade camp movies. However it turned out to be one of the most boring movies I've seen in my life!

This is such a pity coming from the director of 'Kill Bill', 'Reservoir Dogs' and 'Pulp Fiction'.

Michelle Yeoh to receive French honor

The following article is taken from Variety:

HONG KONG (Sept 10 2007) – Seems Michelle Yeoh, one of Asia 's favorite actresses, is also a hit with the French cultural elite.

The Malaysian-born actress who attained fame as the Hong Kong film industry's top female action star in the 1990s, is to receive the Legion of Honor (Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur), a French civil honor.

The medal will be presented to her at a ceremony in Kuala Lumpur on Oct 3.

Yeoh, whose credits include "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "Tomorrow Never Dies," most recently starred in the Asik Kapadia-helmed "Far North," which preemed last week in Venice . She will next be seen in Roger Spottiswoode-directed "The Children of Huang-shi" and French director Mathieu Kassovitz's " Babylon A.D."

3:10 To Yuma

This is the number one movie in the U.S this week. It has been a while since a western hit the number one spot. The last critically acclaimed film of note in that genre was 1992's "Unforgiven," starring Clint Eastwood.

The movie stars Russell Crowe and Christian Bale.

In this remake of the 1957 movie, Bale plays a small-time rancher who has to deliver a murderous outlaw, played by Crowe, to theboth of them tries to square off against each other physically and psychologically.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

After months of anticipation, Shia LaBeiouf has finally spilled the beans on the title of the new Indiana Jones movie.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Shia announced the title during the MTV Video Music Awards yesterday.

The movie will open on May 22 (Memorial Day) 2008.

Pavarotti dies at age 71

Just received this sad news from Associated Press:

ROME (Sept 6 2007) - Luciano Pavarotti, whose vibrant high C's and ebullient showmanship made him the most beloved and celebrated tenor since Caruso and one of the few opera singers to win crossover fame as a popular superstar, died Thursday. He was 71.

His manager, Terri Robson, told the AP in an e-mailed statement that Pavarotti died at his home in Modena, Italy, at 5 a.m. local time. Pavarotti had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last year and underwent further treatment in August.

The Maestro fought a long, tough battle against the pancreatic cancer which eventually took his life. In fitting with the approach that characterised his life and work, he remained positive until finally succumbing to the last stages of his illness," the statement said.

Read the rest of the story here.

Heroes Season 2 - Promo Poster

Christian Bale is Bob Dylan

Here is a picture of Christian Bale starring as Bob Dylan in biopic 'I'm Not There'.

The film reflects the life of musician Bob Dylan. The iconic singer-songwriter will be depicted through six distinct stages of his life by six different actors (Bale, Cate Blanchett, Marcus Carl Franklin, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger and Ben Whishaw).

'I'm Not There' will premiere at the 64th Venice Film Festival later this year. A limited US release is schedule for November 21.

Special photo shoot of Keira Knightley

The following are some pictures of Keira Knightley from a special photo shoot to promote the upcoming movie 'Atonement'.

Keira Knightley reunites with 'Pride & Prejudice' director Joe Wright in a film version of a novel by Ian McEwan.

In the summer of 1935, 13-year-old Briony Tallis observes a flirtation between a servant's son, Robbie, and her older sister, Cecilia (Keira Knightley), that she childishly misconstrues. Briony's misunderstanding leads to a terrible crime whose consequences follow them through World War II.

(unfortunately I have been requested by the distributor to remove the pictures!)

Daniel Radcliffe in new movie

Daniel Radcliffe, in his first dramatic role since the Harry Potter series, plays John "Jack" Kipling in the television drama 'My Boy Jack'.

Set during World War One, the true story looks at how Rudyard Kipling used his influence to get his 17-year-old son Jack a commission with the Irish Guards, despite his son's poor eyesight. Jack went missing in action during the Battle of Loos and his mother and father carried out an ardent search for him, spanning many years and many miles of soul-destroying discovery.

The television movie will air later this year on in the UK and US.

Simpsons: Some interesting facts

Following the success of 'The Simpsons Movie', I have managed to dig up some interesting facts on our favourite TV family:

• The Simpsons began life as a series of 30-second cartoons on The Tracey Ullman Show in 1987.
• It is America's longest running prime time show and is also seen in another 60 countries, including most of Europe, Latin America and Asia.
• President George Bush blamed them for society's ills, famously claiming that American families should be less like The Simpsons and more like The Waltons, while First Lady Barbara Bush described the show as the "dumbest thing" she ever saw.
• Homer's middle name is Jay.
• Bart's middle name is Jo-Jo and his head was inspired by a paper bag. Bart is voiced by woman, Nancy Cartwright. The show was really going to be based 100% on Bart at first. Matt Groening picked the name Bart by rearranging the letters in the word brat. Bart is an anagram for "brat."
• Bumblebee guy's real name is Pedro.
• There are 121 Springfields in the US. Matt Groening picked the name for the city because it was so common and well-known. They are a blue collar family living in the average town of Springfield.
• The president of 20th Century Fox's licensing and merchandising arm, Al Ovadia, has said he believes most people in the US own a Bart Simpson T-shirt. In 1991, Bart topped the British charts with Do the Bartman which was written by Michael Jackson.
• On the opening of every episode Maggie is listed to cost $847.63 at the cash register. It's the same amount that raising a baby costs in a year in US.
• One episode takes about 9 months to do it. They are working 7-8 episodes different episodes at same time. One episode costs about 1.5 million dollars.
• In Los Angeles about 100 animators work on the show. Animator of The Simpsons uses soft pen to sketch the scenes. There are also about 120 animators who work for the show in South Korea.
• The "couch gag" sequence is frequently used to help show staff make the show longer or shorter, depending on the length of the episode itself. Most couch gags last only about five seconds, but the longest one on record lasted 46 seconds.
• An Adelaide brewery got into big trouble when it started manufacturing Duff beer, Homer's brew of choice. Fox, owners of The Simpsons, took the brewery to court in 1996 and forced them to stop making it.
• Around 2,000 people took part in the survey which decided that rather than having an incompetent in charge of the USA, they would like Homer Simpson to take the role.
• The Simpsons currently holds the Guinness Book of World Records titles for "Longest-running Primetime Animated Series" and "Most Celebrities Featured in an Animation Series."

Rome's McKidd is Thor

Latest news from IESB on the bigscreen adaptation of Marvel's Thor:

Just days after Matthew Vaughn was announced as director of the Thor adaptation over at Marvel Studios, a name has started floating around industry circles as a potential lead.

Looks like there may be another superhero coming out of HBO’s Rome. First it was Ray Stevenson who was announced as the new Punisher. Now, Kevin McKidd, Rome’s Lucius Vorenus, is being rumored as the new mighty Thor!

The Thor script was penned by Mark Protosevich and is said to very origin heavy. Origin of Norse Gods, origin of the Uru Hammer, origin of how Thor came to be basically, which makes a lot of sense considering the last time most saw Thor on the big screen was in Adventures in Babysitting!

McKidd is currently shooting Made of Honor with Patrick Dempsey and finished up Dylan based on the life of poet Dylan Thomas.

The IESB has not been able to get full confirmation on this casting as of yet, we'll keep you updated!

Marvel Studios is looking to start shooting on Thor by this winter in order to stay one step ahead of the looming writers’ guild strike.

Incidentally director Matthew Vaughn is currently enjoying box-office success for 'Stardust'.

Raimi and Jackson on 'The Hobbit' movie

I came across this story at IESB this morning:

All indications from our inside sources are saying that while Raimi was seriously considering the Titans offer, he has a much bigger fish to fry and has possibly chosen to go in the direction of Middle Earth instead.

While we are being told that negotiations are still underway for the prequel and final deals won’t be reached immediately, Raimi is leaning towards directing The Hobbit as his next big project.

Where does this leave the legendary Peter Jackson?

Although New Line’s Bob Shaye and Jackson had a much publicized dispute over “the green,” the LA Times recently spoke with Shaye and he had this to say,

"Eager to move ahead with "The Hobbit," New Line has quietly been trying to mend fences with "Rings" filmmaker Peter Jackson, who has sued the company over his share of profits from the first "Rings" films. When asked if it was true that company insiders had been in talks with Jackson's reps, Shaye replied, "Yes, that's a fair statement. Notwithstanding our personal quarrels, I really respect and admire Peter and would love for him to be creatively involved in some way in 'The Hobbit.'"

All sources indicate that although Jackson won’t be back to direct, our source is telling us that Raimi is looking to helm The Hobbit with Peter Jackson attached to produce. Raimi has said in the past that he would not take on the project without Jackson’s blessing. Well, looks like he may have it!

Review: Disturbia

Having stayed in the No. 1 spot in the US box-office charts for 3 weeks, I had high hopes for this movie. I was greatly disappointed as all I got was a disposable teen comedy in disguise.

Shia LaBeouf plays Kale, a teenager who has been put under house-arrest after he assaulted his teacher. Getting bored at home, he starts to spy on his neighbors. Soon he starts to notice some strange behavior going on with Mr Turner who lives across the street, and suspects that he could be the serial killer who has been stalking women recently.

Shia is not a bad actor. I can see why he's currently one of the most popular young stars around. Unfortunately there's not much script for him to work on.

The first hour played like a Disney channel movie, which might not be too bad if you are a teenager. The suspense and thrills only picks up in the last 30 minutes or so. Whoever said that this is a remake of 'Rear Window' is out of his mind! Anyway, if you're a teenager, chances are you've never heard of Hitchcock. So that's ok because this movie was certainly made with that target age in mind.

Review: The Last Kiss

'The Last Kiss' is about four male friends in their late twenties (3 unmarried, 1 married) who are on the brink of 'growing up' and realizing that their lives are not what they have expected it to be. Michael (Zach Braff) is a 29-year old architect who has everything he's ever wanted. He learns that his girlfriend is pregnant and they will probably get married. Then Michael starts getting cold feet and wonders what life will be like now that there are no surprises left. When he meets sexy Kim at a friend's wedding, Michael's uncertainties lead to an unexpected affair. Finally Michael is forced to deal with the consequences of his actions and has to choose between the two women.

Zach Braff ('Scrubs') sheds his goofiness and grows up in this dramatic comedy. In fact, calling 'The Last Kiss' a comedy is bit disingenuous because the movie deals with a very serious subject - commitment and the 'thirty' crisis of growing up. Although the movie starts off a bit slow, the second half was very engaging and touching.

Overall, the film is watchable - a good cast and a realistic storyline. One of the reviewiers on IMDB said this "this film is not a feel good film, it isn't a happy film, it really isn't a sad for feel bad film. this film is honest".

Hellboy 2

Director Guillermo del Toro is finally back with the sequel to Hellboy. Take a look at the teaser poster of Hellboy 2 that debuted at Comic-Con '07 recently.

The mythical world starts a rebellion against humanity in order to rule the Earth, so Hellboy and his team must save the world from the rebellious creatures.

Hellboy 2: The Golden Army will open in August 2008.

Indiana Jones 4 group photo

Shia LaBeouf, Steven Spielberg, Ray Winstone, Karen Allen and Harrison Ford greet fans at Comic-Con International from the set of the new "Indiana Jones" movie on Thursday, July 26, 2007.

Many of you may remember Karen Allen as Indy' old flame in 'Raiders of the Lost Ark'. She is reprising her role as Marion Ravenwood in the new movie.

The upcoming "Indiana Jones" adventure is planned for worldwide release on May 22, 2008.

Spice Girls Reunion

It seems like a lifetime ago (11 years to be exact) when we first heard the Spice Girls singing 'Wannabe'. Six years after their break-up, they are finally getting together to perform a series of concerts worldwide.

Here are some pictures of Geri Halliwell, Melanie Chisholm, Melanie Brown, Victoria Beckham and Emma Bunton. The Spice Girls Reunion tour will start in Canada on December 2 and ends on January 24, 2008 in the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires, covering 14 cities in total. They have just added 4 new shows including Vancouver, San Jose, Beijing and Shanghai.

Their long-awaited Greatest Hits album will be released in December 2007.

The Simpsons Movie soundtrack in a donut

To coincide with the release of 'The Simpsons Movie' on July 27th, the soundtrack has been released in this limited edition cool donut packaging!

Tom Cruise as a German officer

Tom Cruise is starring as a German officer in his new movie 'Valkyrie'. The movie is directed by Bryan Singer ('Superman Returns', 'X-Men').


The story is about a group of high ranking German officers, led by Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg (played by Cruise), who hatch out a plot to assasinate Adolph Hitler, and sieze power of the military in order to end the war.

The movie is set to hit theaters August 8, 2008.

Torture Porn

Don't get your juices all worked up. 'Torture Porn' has got nothing to do with pornography! 'Torture Porn' is the term given to movies with extreme violence and gore, often featuring naked or near-naked women in extreme degradation and peril. 'Torture Porn' became big box office with the release of movies like 'Saw' and 'Hostel'. Soon many other clones came out lke 'See No Evil', ' Wolf Creek' and the recent 'Captivity'.

Hollywood, movie fans shy away from "torture porn"
Fri Jul 13, 2007
By Bob Tourtellotte

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Torture, it seems, doesn't pay at movie theater box offices like it used to.

In recent years, films dubbed "torture porn" have been the darlings of many a Hollywood producer looking to make a quick buck. The latest such release, "Captivity," opens in theaters on Friday.

But the popularity of movies like blood-and-guts thriller "Hostel: Part II" and zombie flick "28 Weeks Later," appears to have waned, prompting some to wonder if the trend is on its way out.

The answer is yes, depending on the type of movie and whether that genre includes the latest box office hit or miss.

"The horror genre has had more ups and downs over the years -- maybe only musicals have more," said Paul Dergarabedian of box office tracker Media By Numbers. "I think what happens is subgenres like (torture) become popular, then play out.

Dergarabedian noted the old Universal Pictures' monster movies such as "Frankenstein" were hugely popular in the 1930s, but eventually died off. In the 1950s, horror was represented by alien invasion flicks such as "The Thing from Another World," but these went the way of the graveyard, too.

This current wave of horror films seems to have begun in 2004, when Dergarabedian tracked 19 of the movies that raked in more than $1 billion at U.S. and Canadian box offices. The figure was roughly double the $525 million from 13 movies in 2003.

Hits in 2004 included "Freddy vs. Jason," at $82 million, and "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre," at $80 million, both from New Line Cinema. In 2005, Lionsgate Entertainment's "Saw" hauled in $55 million and spawned two sequels.

'Hairy' Potter!!

Daniel 'Harry Potter' Radcliffe recently appeared on the cover of Details Magazine looking all scruffy and unshaven. Where is the little wizard boy that we all loved?

D-War

D-War (short for Dragon War) is the new monster movie from Korean director Shim Hyung Rae. The movie was made at a whopping cost of US$70 million, which reportedly makes it the biggest budgeted South Korean film of all-time! This is also the first English language movie to be produced by a South Korean production company. The trailer is available at the following link:

D-War trailer

The story is based on the Korean legend which tells of the dark lord, Imoogi who can transform himself into a dragon, who comes to present-day Los Angeles to wreak havoc.

10,000 B.C.

'10,000 B.C.' is the latest movie from director Roland Emmerich, the guy who directed 'Independence Day' and 'Godzilla'. The movie is set in prehistoric times and follows a young man's journey through uncharted territories to secure the future of his tribe. Sounds very similar to 'Apocalypto'.

The trailer can be viewed at the following website. The special effects looks very good, especially the giant mammoths!

http://www.10000bcmovie.com/

After a few postponements, the movie is now slated to be released in March 2008.

Spider-Man 4 villains

According to sources, Spider-Man 4, which will only be released in 2009, will feature The Lizard and Carnage.

The Lizard is actually Dr. Curt Connors who decides to experiment with nanotechnology. Connors' experiment goes wrong when he starts mixing nano-bots with the DNA of a lizard.

The Carnage story focuses on a serial killer called Cletus Kasady who comes into contact with some of Eddie Brock's symbiote goo while they're both in prison.

There are also rumours that Black Cat might be in the movie too.

Transformers rip-off!

I went to the Pasar Malam the other night, I saw this guy was asking the DVD vendor about this movie, thinking that it's Transformers. This was like 1 week before even the Transformers movie was released worldwide! The DVD vendor said the copy is very clear blah, blah, blah....and the guy believed him and bought the copy. So warning to all you guys out there....don't get conned!


Anyway, this movie is released by Asylum, which is famous for its cheap rip-offs which are usually released a couple of weeks earlier than the original counterpart to cash in on their success. Their movies include 'Pirates Of Treasure Island', 'Snakes On A Train', and 'Da Vinci Treasure'!

The origin of the Transformers

For those planning to or have watched the 'Transformers' movie, you might be interested to find out more about the origins of the Transformers. I found the following article from About.com:

It should be noted that the Transformers history has become very convoluted over the years with the many different incarnations of cartoon series, comic books, and movies. What follows is a basic overall origin that is mostly from the original series of comics and cartoons.

Millions of years ago, a planet known as Cybertron housed workers and soldiers. The planet was a factory which created robots to serve and robots to fight. At one point in time, the workers rebelled against the oppressive soldier robots. The soldiers eventually became what we know as the Decepticons and the workers became the Autobots. The battle ravaged the planet and when their precious energy known as energon began to run out, the Autobots decided to leave Cybertron and seek out alternative sources of power.

The Autobots departed in a spaceship known as the “Ark” with the Decepticons following behind in their ship know as “Nemesis.” During a subsequent battle, both ships were forced to land on primitive Earth, where they laid dormant for four million years.

They awoke in present day time, finding that Earth had the energy source called energon. Their fight became a battle that raged all over the earth and brought in the forces of the world and sometimes Marvel characters, such as Spider-Man and Nick Fury into the fray.

The two forces opposed each other at every turn but the Autobots banded together with the earth’s forces to work to stop the Decepticons from destroying Earth and its inhabitants.

The current comic book storyline from IDW Publishing has rebooted continuity as well, having the Autobots and Decepticons fleeing a destroyed Cybertron and coming to Earth, which was seeded with energon by the Decepticon Shockwave. The Autobots and Decepticons use their transforming abilities to occupy Earth unnoticed, until the time is needed.

Shia LaBeouf to star in Indiana Jones 4

Shia LaBeouf is currently the newest hot property in Hollywood. Following the success of his roles in 'Disturbia' and 'Transformers', Shia is currently filming 'Indiana Jones 4' with Harrison Ford, also to be known as 'Indiana Jones and the City of the Gods'. Shia plays the role of Indy's son.

Here's a first look at a couple of shots of Shia with Harrison Ford during the filming of 'Indiana Jones 4'.


'Indiana Jones 4' is planned to be released in May 2008.

Kevin Costner plays serial killer in Mr Brooks

Earl Brooks (Kevin Costner) is a loving family man and a local business icon. But Mr. Brooks is deeply flawed and very aware of it. He is addicted to killing. Struggling with his pathology, he tries to quit, but his alter-ego, 'Marshall' (William Hurt), has an altogether different idea. 'Marshall enjoys his 'existence' and his 'work'. Demi Moore plays a detective who gets intimately involved with the Mr Brooks.

First look at Transformers

Here's a first look at the robots from the upcoming Transformers movie. Looks very cool. This is THE movie to watch out for this summer.

Silver Surfer posters

Here's a couple of cool promo posters of Silver Surfer from the upcoming movie 'Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer'.



In this movie, the Fantastic Four meets their greatest challenge as the enigmatic, intergalactic herald, Silver Surfer, comes to Earth to prepare it for destruction. As the Silver Surfer races around the globe wreaking havoc, Reed, Sue, Johnny and Ben must unravel the mystery of the Silver Surfer and confront the surprising return of their mortal enemy, Dr. Doom, before all hope is lost.

The true 'happyness' of Chris Gardner

I have just watched 'The Pusuit of Happyness' over the weekend and I must say that it's one of the most inspiring and touching movies I've seen in a while. We all take what we have for granted....but watching the movie makes you realise that there are so many unfortunate people out there who are jobless and homeless. And with determination, faith and ambition one man breaks free from his chains to become successful.

The movie is based on the true story of Chris Gardner, a struggling salesman whose wife left him to take care of his son alone. In the face of this difficult life, Chris has the desperate inspiration to try for a stockbroker internship. Together, father and son struggle through homelessness, jail time, tax seizure and the overall punishing despair in a quest that would make Gardner a respected millionaire.

I thought rather than going at lengths about the movie (which eventually all of you will see), I will share some quotes from the real-life Chris Gardner instead.

I asked the guy two questions. One was, ‘What do you do?’ The second was, ‘How do you do that?’

I was homeless, but I wasn't hopeless. I knew a better day was coming.

One of the things young people always ask me about is what is the secret to success. The secret is there is no secret. It’s the basics. Blocking and tackling.

When I look back at the journey from homelessness to prosperity, I hold one thing dearer than all else – my commitment to my son. Doing a movie with the top movie star portraying me, doing a book with an editor who's last book won the Pulitzer Prize – all that stuff is great, but the most important thing that I will have ever done in my life was break the cycle of men who were not there for their children.

As busy as I am wherever I am, I try to get out and walk the streets, to remember how far I’ve come and appreciate every baby step of the way.

I went to some very successful business people when I was trying to open the doors of my company, and none of them would give me the time of day. I made a promise to myself and to God. I said, 'God, if you ever let me get to a certain level, I am not going to be like that.'

The coolest thing in the world is walking up the street in Chicago, New York or San Francisco and having someone say 'Hey, you might not remember me, but thank you for helping me get in the business'. That was 12 or 14 years ago. These kids have graduated from college and gone to law school or gotten their MBAs and are running departments in some of the biggest financial institutions on Wall Street.

You know how mountains get moved? Everyone who can move a couple, move a couple. Those who can move rocks, move rocks. Those who can move boulders, move boulders. That’s how mountains get moved. If every one of us did everything we could, I believe we would be in a different world.

You have to be committed, and you have to find something that you are passionate about. And forget about money. I’ve learned that money is the least significant aspect of wealth.

No matter how much money is involved or no matter how easy it is for you to do, if you’re not happy, you are nothing more than a slave to your talent and money. Do something that makes you happy and makes you feel good about yourself. Do something that makes you feel your work is significant and meaningful. If you just want to make money, that’s a whole different trip. I can’t help you with that.

Living with a baby tied on my back, trying to work, he recalls. It can be done, but you have to make it happen. And no matter what, you have to cling to it like it’s life itself, if that’s what you really want to do.

There's a choice: you eat or you stay in a hotel. We chose to eat. And we stayed in a subway station. We rode the trains. We slept in bathrooms.

I wanted to be world class at it or world class at something. At 18, Miles Davis was in New York playing with Charlie Parker and John Coltrane. At the same age, I was playing with some cats named Pookie and Ray Ray. It wasn’t going to happen. But I made a commitment to be world class at something.

We all understand genetics. You get your eyes from your dad, your mom’s nose, there’s nothing you can do about that. But your spiritual genetics you can choose, pick, embrace and commit to. That’s what I did.

Though my mom had too many of her own dreams denied, deferred and destroyed, she instilled in me that I could have dreams. And not just have dreams but had a responsibility to make them reality. My mom taught me from a very early age that I could do anything I wanted to do.

We were homeless, we were not hopeless. There’s a world of difference. A lot of folks don’t realize it, but it’s estimated that 12 percent of all of the homeless people in this country have jobs and go to work every day.

Baby steps count, as long as you are going forward. You add them all up, and one day you look back and you’ll be surprised at where you might get to.

More Asian remakes from Hollywood

Following the success of movies like 'The Grudge', 'The Ring' and recently the Oscar-winning 'The Departed', Hollywood is planning to 'bastardize' more Asian movies. Why do the film-makers think that people would prefer the English version to the original version? I guess maybe Americans can't read subtitles...lol.

Anyway, like it or not, here's a bunch of remakes on the way to your local screens soon.

• One Missed Call: According to Variety, Intermedia has paired with Kadakowa USA to produce and finance the English-language remake of the Japanese horror hit. The story is about several people who starts receiving voice-mails from the future foretelling the date, time, and details of their deaths. The remake will star Edward Burns and Azura Skye.

• Shutter: Joshua Jackson and Rachael Taylor will star in Regency Enterprises' psychological thriller 'Shutter', which begins shooting March 12 in Tokyo. This is a remake of the 2004 Thai movie. The remake will be directed by Masayuki Ochiai and will be released in 2008.

• Confession Of Pain: After the success of 'The Departed', Oscar-winning screenwriter William Monahan will be adapting another Hong Kong flick 'Confession Of Pain', which was also made by the 'Infernal Affairs' team of Andrew Lau, Alan Mak and Felix Chong. Leonardo DiCaprio is in line to produce and star.

• The Eye: Jessica Alba takes on the role as the girl who receives an eye transplant that allows her to see into the supernatural world. This is the remake of the Hong Kong horror movie directed by the Pang Brothers.

• Bangkok Dangerous: The most promising thing about this is that the original movie's directors, Pang Brothers, are going to direct the remake as well. The new version will be titled 'Time To Kill'. Nicholas Cage stars as a hitman who comes to Bangkok to pull off a series of jobs and falls for a local woman.

• My Sassy Girl: The remake combines the original Korean story, the French whimsy of director Yann Samuell, the Indian spice of writer Gurinder Chadha (Bend It Like Beckham), and the American midwestern setting. The remake stars Jesse Bradford and Elisha Cuthbert.

The lowest grossing movie in history

The movie 'Zyzzyx Road' opened at the box office on February 25 this year made history recently...but not in a good way. The movie - which cost $US2 million ($2.5 million) to make and starring Leo Grillo, Tom Sizemore and Katherine Heigl - has become the lowest-grossing American cinema release ever, with total box-office earnings of US$30. The movie closed six days after it opened.

Wow! With an average ticket of US$5 per ticket, that only means 6 people watched it over a period of 6 days. The reason could probably be because nobody could pronounce the title correctly at the ticket counter...lol.

The following article was taken from Wikipedia.

Zyzzyx Road lasted only six days in release, from February 25, 2006 through March 2, 2006. The film was released in only one theater, in One of the most widely recognized aspects of Zyzzyx Road is its notably low box office draw. The film is possibly the lowest grossing film of all time, earning just $30 at the box office from exactly six patrons. Unofficially, its opening weekend netted twenty dollars. The ten dollar difference is due to a personal refund by Grillo to makeup artist Sheila Moore, who had worked on the film, and her friend.

The release was purposefully shown for a short amount of time in the single theater, which the producers had rented for $1,000, to fulfill Screen Actors Guild rules that allow a low-budget film to pay actors a lower rate as long as that film is released in the United States. This showing in Texas was to fulfill that obligation without compromising the chances for future nationwide distribution through a distribution company.

The synopsis is as follows:

Grant is an accountant with a bad marriage and a daughter whom he loves. He takes to the road to service his accounts in Las Vegas. While there he meets seductive Marissa. They have a week-long affair which culminates in the arrival of Marissa's ex-boyfriend, Joey. Joey attempts to kill the lovers, but Grant gets the upper hand. Grant and Marissa then drive Joey's body to Zyzzyx Road and Grant buries Joey in the desert there. But in the morning the body is missing and something is trying to kill Grant and Marissa.

New movie for Stone Cold

Fans of wrestling star 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin will be glad to know that he will be appearing in his first starring role in the upcoming summer release 'The Condemned'. Steve Austin will play Joe Conrad, a convict waiting the death penalty in a corrupt Central American prison. He is 'sold' to a wealthy television producer to participate in a reality show where he must fight nine other condemned killers to the death.

Personally I feel that the plot lacks originality. I'm sure we have seen this story before sometime, probably with Van Damme, or Swazenegger or one of those action stars.

I used to like Austin as a wrestler in WWE. I believe he has great acting potential and screen presence. It's a pity his first movie could not have been a better one. Anyway, I think I'll still watch the movie just for the fun of it :-)

"The Door" - China's First Horror Movie

'The Door' (Men) is China's first domestically produced horror movie. This is a major milestone in China's movie industry considering that foreign horror movies are generally banned by the China censorship board.

[Shanghai, China, January 23, 2007]

The only female director in China’s post-Cultural 'Fifth Generation', Shaohong Li has released her psychological thriller 'The Door' in mainland. The horror story set in the contemporary China centers on a young intellectual’s ominous journey to find his lost girlfriend and the truth behind the breakup. The film was released in theatre nationwide, as well as Shanghai Media Group’s digital TV channel SiTV, IP TV channel BesTV, broadband online TV channel SMGBB, and mobile phone TV platform DNM.

This is the first film in China’s filming history to be simultaneously released in traditional big screens and new media platforms. Besides going to theatres, Chinese audiences now have another four new media channels to choose from, and thus do not have to wait six months to watch the film through TV or rentals. To film producers and distributors, this is a new distribution channel expanded to explore more profitability of a film.

Shanghai Media Group currently has 6 million digital TV service subscribers through SiTV, about 200,000 IP TV users, and a large broadband TV and mobile phone TV service subscriber base. The company has implemented encryption technology to eliminate piracy through airing on these four channels.

Source: Entertainment Asia Network

Nominations for the 2007 Oscars

Here are the nominees for the 2007 Oscars. The 79th Annual Academy Awards ceremony will be hosted by Ellen DeGeneres on Feb. 25.

Best Picture
"Babel"
"The Departed"
"Letters from Iwo Jima"
"Little Miss Sunshine"
"The Queen"

Best Actor
Leonardo DiCaprio - "Blood Diamond"
Ryan Gosling - "Half Nelson"
Peter O'Toole - "Venus"
Will Smith - "The Pursuit of Happyness"
Forest Whitaker - "The Last King of Scotland"

Best Supporting Actor
Alan Arkin - "Little Miss Sunshine"
Jackie Earle Haley - "Little Children"
Djimon Hounsou - "Blood Diamond"
Eddie Murphy - "Dreamgirls"
Mark Wahlberg - "The Departed"

Best Actress
Penélope Cruz - "Volver"
Judi Dench - "Notes on a Scandal"
Helen Mirren - "The Queen"
Meryl Streep - "The Devil Wears Prada"
Kate Winslet - "Little Children"

Best Supporting Actress
Adriana Barraza - "Babel"
Cate Blanchett - "Notes on a Scandal"
Abigail Breslin - "Little Miss Sunshine"
Jennifer Hudson - "Dreamgirls"
Rinko Kikuchi - "Babel"

Best Director
Clint Eastwood - "Letters From Iwo Jima"
Paul Greengrass - "United 93"
Martin Scorsese - "The Departed"
Stephen Frears - "The Queen"
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu - "Babel"

Best Original Screenplay
"Babel"
"Letters from Iwo Jima"
"Little Miss Sunshine"
"Pan's Labyrinth"
"The Queen"

Best Adapted Screenplay
"Borat"
"Children of Men"
"The Departed"
"Little Children"
"Notes on a Scandal"

Best Animated Feature Film Of The Year
"Cars" John Lasseter
"Happy Feet" George Miller
"Monster House" Gil Kenan

Best Foreign Language Film Of The Year
"After the Wedding - Denmark
"Days of Glory " - Algeria
"The Lives of Others" - Germany
"Pan's Labyrinth" - Mexico
"Water" - Canada

Best Original Song
I Need to Wake Up - "An Inconvenient Truth"
Listen - "Dreamgirls"
Love You I Do - "Dreamgirls"
Our Town - "Cars"
Patience - "Dreamgirls"

Imported US Titles into China for 2007

[Beijing, China, January 11, 2007]

'Miami Vice' and 'World Trade Center' are finishing up their run in China’s theaters drawing a close to imported US titles in China's film market for 2006. From 'King Kong' to 'Miami Vice', 20 imported foreign films generated more than $102.4 million at the Chinese box office. Recently, a list of films recommended by 7 major Hollywood film studios to be considered for new imports to China market was turned in to the China Film Group, China’s leading film distribution company based in Beijing.

Many highly anticipated hit films were included such as 'Spider-Man 3', 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix', 'Transformers', and 'Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End'. The majority of imported films to be released in Chinese theaters in 2007 will come from this list, upon review by the State Administration of Radio Film and Television, China’s main film bureau and censoring engine.

In 2006, 'The Da Vinci Code' with its concurrent global opening topped the mainland box office among all imported foreign films with $19.19 million before it was yanked by the government before it finished its run in China. 'Mission: Impossible III' was originally intended to be released simultaneously around the world as well, but was released in Chinese theaters two months and a half later than in the US. The movie was still able to climb among the top 3 titles in China for 2006 taking in about $10.4 million total.

Many industry analysts believe that concurrent global openings of imported films could be a promising endorsement to positive box office results in China. In 2007, the most probable imported film that would simultaneously open worldwide would be 'Spider-Man 3'. The previous two titles of the 'Spider-Man' series accumulated more than $12.8 million at the mainland box office.

Since the first imported action film in China was 'Fugitive' in 1994, action films have traditionally been the most selected among all imported foreign films in China for the past few decades. In 2006, 8 out of 20 imported titles were action films, where 3 made it to the top 10 box office for 2006. This trend is predicted to carry over into 2007 as well, as it is clearly shown among all the recommendations submitted to China Film Group for importing are in the action category.

On the list are 6 animated films to be considered for 2007 release including 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles', 'Meet the Robinsons', 'Ratatouille', 'Shrek 3', 'Surf's Up', and 'The Simpsons Movie'. In 2006, there were 5 animation titles recommended and all were imported and released. Because of terrific box office results of many Hollywood animated films in 2006 like 'Ice Age 2: the Meltdown' and 'Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties', industry analysts believe it is highly possible that all of the 6 new recommendations will be presented to Chinese audiences this summer.

In the first quarter of 2007, there will be 9 imported foreign films dropping in Chinese theatres: 'Arthur and the Invisibles', 'The Guardian', and 'Casino Royale' in January; 'The Restless', '16 Blocks', and 'Night at the Museum' in Feburary; 'Deja vu”, 'The Devil Wears Prada', and 'Click' in March. 'Casino Royale' would be the very first of the many “007” series titles to make it to the big screens in China since it was first introduced 45 years ago. With scheduled opening on January 30th, it is anticipated to exceed 'King Kong' box office total of $12.8 million.

Source: Entertainment Asia Network

Chow Yun Fat in Pirates 3

As fans would already know, Chow Yun Fat will star in the upcoming sequel of Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End. He will play Captain Sao Feng. Here's a first look at the promo poster.