The Origins of Alvin And The Chipmunks

The big screen live-action version of 'Alvin And The Chipmunks' is currently playing in theaters worldwide. Alvin, Theodore and Simon has been our favourite chipmunks for the last 50 years, but do you know how they came about?

In 1958, Ross Bagdasarian Sr. was down to his last $200. So he spent $190 to buy a tape recorder and experimented with children's songs and piano tracks slowed to half speed. He wrote and performed his first song 'The Witch Doctor' which he convinced his record company, Liberty Records, to release. The song quickly went to Number One, selling more than a million records.

A few months later, Ross wrote a Christmas song. He loved the voice of the Witch Doctor, but wanted to marry that voice with personalities. One day while he was driving, a tiny chipmunk dashed in front of his car, and Ross knew he had found his star.

His Christmas song became 'The Chipmunk Song'. He named the three chipmunks after the executives at Liberty - Al Bennet (Alvin), Si Waronker (Simon) and Ted Keep (Theodore). The trio is 'managed' by their human 'father' and confidant, David Seville, a stage name created by Ross.

The record was sold more than 4 million copies in seven weeks, and it launched the careers of the chipmunks. It spent four weeks at Number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart from December 27, 1958 to January 19, 1959. It also earned three Grammy Awards and a nomination for Record of the Year.

The rest, like they say, is history.

Matthew Gray Gubler as the voice of Simon

Justin Long as the voice of Alvin

Jesse McCartney as the voice of Theodore

Today, Ross' son, Ross Junior continues to run the Chipmunk empire with his wife.

In the new movie, Jason Lee ('My Name Is Earl') stars as David Seville, a struggling Los Angeles songwriter who discovers the singing chipmunks in his apartment. David adopts the chipmunks, taking care of them as father and manager of their famous rock band.

Angelina Jolie - Sexiest Movie Star

Empire Magazine recently released their list of 'Top 100 Sexiest Movie Stars'. Guess who tops the list? Angelina Jolie! They say her sexiest moment was 'beating the hell out of Brad Pitt in Mr. and Mrs. Smith and then banging the hell out of him by way of apology'.

Here's the Top 10 from the list:

1. Angelina Jolie
2. Natalie Portman
3. Daniel Craig
4. Jessica Alba
5. Johnny Depp
6. Eva Green
7. Brad Pitt
8. Scarlett Johansson
9. Keira Knightley
10. Gerard Butler

You can get the complete list here.

Movie Spoilers

What is a spoiler? It's when somebody reveals an important plot twist or ending of a movie which will ultimately spoil your enjoyment of the movie. Everybody hates it when some big-mouth tells you the ending of a movie before you watched it! For example, if someone had told me that Bruce Willis is a ghost in Sixth Sense before I saw the movie, I would have punched him in the face.

Anyway, I came across a company called Threadless which designed this interesting T-shirt which they called 'The Spoiler Shirt'. Check this out.....


Can you guess all the titles of the movies in the design above? Click here for the answers.

Looking for Osama Bin Laden

You might all remember Morgan Spurlock's last documentary 'Super Size Me' where he set out to prove the negative effects of fast food by subjecting himself to a diet of McDonald's fast food three times a day for thirty days!

Spurlock's latest project is by far, his riskiest yet. Spurlock has just finished his new movie 'Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden?' in which he sets out to search for the most wanted man on the planet.

The following is an article from MSNBC News:

Rumors are flying that filmmaker Morgan Spurlock of "Super Size Me" fame may have done what the United States government has failed to do for the last six years — find Osama bin Laden.

The speculation first began at the Berlin International Film Festival in February, where Spurlock showed a select group of potential buyers 15 minutes of footage from his new documentary, "Where in the World Is Osama bin Laden?" The film follows Spurlock through the Middle East in his search for the elusive leader of al-Qaida. According to Slashfilm.com, The Weinstein Co. quickly snapped up the picture after seeing the clips.

Adding to the belief, Daniel Marracino, the film's director of photography, is quoted in Variety, saying of the movie, "We've definitely got the Holy Grail."

The question on everybody's lips now is whether Spurlock has actually found Osama or this is just a clever publicity ploy. We'll just have to wait until next year when the movie comes out.

'The Dark Knight' teaser poster

Here's the new teaser poster for for next summer's highly-anticipated Batman sequel 'The Dark Knight'. Christian Bale will reprise his role as Batman/Bruce Wayne.


The film will detail Batman, Lieutenant James Gordon, and District Attorney Harvey Dent rounding up the criminals that plague Gotham City. In particular, they will battle a mysterious criminal mastermind we all know as The Joker.

The movie will open in July 2008.

'One Missed Call' offical website

Warner Bros. Pictures have just launched the official website of the new horror movie 'One Missed Call', where you can navigate through the various room and see clips from the movie.

Click here to enter the site.


'One Missed Call' is a remake of the 2003 Japanese horror about several people who start receiving messages of themselves getting murdered in the near future. The remake stars Edward Burns and Shannyn Sossamon. The movie will hits theaters on January 4th, 2008.

New animated movie - Planet 51

I was quite impressed when I came across some stills of the new animated film 'Planet 51' (formerly known as Planet One).

According to The Hollywood Reporter, New Line Cinema has acquired Ilion Animation Studios' $60 million feature from Handmade Films International.


'Planet 51' is a funny reverse alien invasion story centered on the little green people with antennas who inhabit Planet 51, and who live in fear of being invaded by beings from another planet.

When astronaut Captain Charles "Chuck" Baker lands his spaceship, thinking that nobody lives there, the inhabitants’ paranoia is unleashed and the real adventure begins. Befriended by a young resident, the astronaut has to avoid capture in order to recover his spaceship and return home.

The film is written by Joe Stillman (Shrek, Shrek 2), produced by Ignacio Perez Dolset, directed by Jorge Blanco and co-directed by Javier Abad and Marcos Martinez, who worked with Blanco on the worldwide best-selling video game "Commandos".

'Planet 51' is currently in production and due for completion in mid-March 2009.

Some upcoming Christmas movies

Here's some new movies coming our way for Christmas this year.

'The Eye' remake

Below is the creepy poster for 'The Eye'.


This is the remake of the 2002 Hong Kong horror movie. Jessica Alba takes on the role previously played by Anjelica Lee as the recipient of a cornea transplant who starts to sees ghosts. This sends her on a quest to find out what really happened to the eye's original owner.

The movie is scheduled for a October 2007 release, and is written by Sebastian Gutierrez (”Snakes on a Plane”) and co-directed by Frenchies David Moreau and Xavier Palud.

Shah Rukh Khan tops Diwali box-office

HOLLYWOOD (19 November 2007) - When "Om Shanti Om" star Shah Rukh Khan vowed that his pic would open bigger than rival "Saawariya" during the Hindu holiday of Diwali, many Bollywood fans thought he was just talking smack.

"Diwali is all mine," the Bollywood star -- nicknamed King Khan -- boasted at a Nov. 8 event in Mumbai.

"'Saawariya' may be a wonderful film, but I have not been sitting on my hands these past 17 years," he said, reminding listeners that his films took the top spot at the B.O. during prior Diwali weekends.

And when the numbers were tallied, Khan was proved right.

His Eros Intl. release took the top berth at the overseas box office last weekend with $17 million -- beating Sony's "Saawariya," which collected $15.5 million, and even topping Tom Cruise's "Lions for Lambs," which came in third with $10.3 million.

'Saawariya' is a Bollywood film released by Sony Pictures Entertainment, and has thus become the first Indian movie to be co-produced and distributed by a Hollywood production house. The story tells of a lonely guy who spends his days and nights locked in his apartment. He gets a new lease on life when he meets a mysterious woman on one of his rare sojourns outside. Over the next four nights, the couple meet up and quickly fall in love.

'Om Shanti Om' is the latest Bollywood film directed by Farah Khan. n the 1970s, Om, an aspiring actor, is murdered, but is immediately reincarnated into the present day. He attempts to discover the mystery of his demise and find Shanti, the love of his previous life.

Alien + Predator = Predalien

USA Today has just published some incredible shots of the infamous 'Predalien' - an alien and predator hybrid - from 20th Century Fox's upcoming movie 'Aliens vs Predator: Requiem'.

In this sequel, a Predator scout ship crash lands in Colorado town. The Aliens on board escape and kill all the Predators except one. The last remaining Predator must now destroy all the Aliens as well as the Predalien that was spawned in the first AVP movie. Meanwhile the towns people are helplessly caught in the middle of the ultimate face-off between these two creatures.

Some new Korean horror flicks

Continuing from my post yesterday, here's some new horror flicks from Korea.....

1. Black House

An insurance surveyor looks into a murder case that the police have confirmed as a suicide. The story revolves around his struggle with a psychopath whom he encounters on the crime site.


2. Someone Behind You

Ga-in is singled out as the next in line to die from a curse that has one person in each generation die at the hands of two people close to them. Ga-in searches for the truth about the curse with Suk-min, a boy who always lingers around her, and her boyfriend Heon-joong.


3. The Cut

On the first day of anatomy class, a beautiful female cadaver awaits 5 medical students in the laboratory. Soon after their encounter, a string of accidents and unexplained deaths befalls their classmates, and the students' lives spiral out of control as they begin to suffer from unexplainable hallucinations and delusions.


4. For Eternal Hearts

An ordinary college boy Su-young meets an extraordinary girl named Pippi on campus. After he witnesses her suicide, bizarre things begin to happen.

Some new horror movies.....

Here are some new horror movies which may or may not come to our local screens.

1. Seed

After 3 attempts to electrocute, complete with boiling blood that steeps from his eyes, he's still alive. The executioner, Warden Wright and the doctor collectively agree that the breathing Seed be pronounced dead. He is bound and buried alive. After biting and clawing his way to the surface, Seed, the bloodsoaked, enraged madman, is now bent on vengeance.


2. The Mist

Based on a story by Stephen King, the story tells of a freak storm which unleashes a species of blood-thirsty creatures on a small town, where a small band of citizens hole-up in a supermarket and fight for their lives.


3. Pathology

A group of medical students devise a deadly game: to see which one of them can commit the perfect murder.


4. The Echo

Recently paroled Bobby Reynolds attempts to make a new life for himself by getting a job, reconnecting with a former girlfriend and moving into his mother's apartment, vacant since her untimely death. Upon arrival, he is soon plagued by strange occurences in the apartment and bizarre encounters.


5. Sisters

A pair of Siamese twins are separated and one is forced to live a sheltered existence under the watchful eye of a controlling doctor


.....more to come in future posts.

New Iron Man poster

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.