Got a scoop...tell us here!
or email Joey Baloney directly here
 

August 17, 2001

I'm not sure whether it's Mark Wahlberg's vacant PLANET OF THE APES performance (as described in my review as "flatter than Kate Hudson in a sports bra") or what but I have a bad feeling about ROCK STAR.  I know I definitely liked the early title of METAL GOD a lot better.  Julius Funkenstein was lucky enough to catch an early screening of the film and he's ready to share his thoughts with you.  There are a few minor spoilers but if it's as predictable as Jules says, he's not spoiling much.

Send your scripts, your girlfriends, your self respect to: juliusfunkenstein@hotmail.com
  

August 17, 2001

I've got to give it up to Smilin' Jack Ruby. He beat the news confirmed by Variety and The Hollywood Reporter by a good two weeks.  He was also on top of the news that Brett Ratner was on board to direct. SJR - you da man!

Anyway, as a fan of the RED DRAGON book, this casting news makes me happy.  I must admit that I expected to see someone a little older and a tad buffer in the role of Detective Will Graham, but Ed Norton is such a strong, great cool ass actor you can't really complain.  In my humble opinion a lot better than Nic Cage would've been in the same role.  Equally as exciting for me was the news that Emily Watson was in negotiations to co-star as Reba a blind woman who (unfortunately) works with the murderous Tooth Fairy.  So we have Norton, Watson and Anthony Hopkins reprising his Hannibal Lecter role (which in the book is a minor, yet pivotal one) but we still have no one set to play the Tooth Fairy.  Personally, I feel Stacy Keach would be absolutely perfect for this role but I've heard that producers are looking to cast an unknown in the part.  That's all fine by me - I'm excited either way.
 

August 17, 2001

A buddy of Julius Funkenstein's was in attendance as the folks from Paramount tested out their fall series ENTERPRISE for a audience.  If you're not familiar, ENTERPRISE is the latest in the STAR TREK saga (one in which I am blissfully unaware) with Scott "QUANTUM LEAP" Bakula now starring as the Capt.  Let's see what he had to say and how JoBlo.com was mentioned...

Cpt. William Stewart
 

August 17, 2001

Before you start worrying that the entire holiday has been cancelled (if this is a legitimate concern of yours, please, PLEASE seek help immediately), let me assure you the holiday is still on as planned.  While there will be trick or treating on Halloween this year, there won't be a new Michael Myers film.  HALLOWEEN: HOMECOMING has been pushed back from 2001 until an "Easter 2002" release date.  April just doesn't seem like the proper time for a HALLOWEEN film but that's just me.  The news was first reported on Fangoria and while I don't doubt their sources, I attempted to contact Dimension Films to have them comment on the move.  As of press time, they had not returned my e-mail.  I should however note that the official HALLOWEEN website has also confirmed the move.  The eighth installment in the series stars Busta Rhymes, Tyra Banks and Jamie Lee Curtis and is being directed by HALLOWEEN alum Rick Rosenthal.
 

August 17, 2001

As you might expect, Disney was a tad underwhelmed by the performance of Michael Bay's WWII epic PEARL HARBOR at the box-office this summer.  The film cost about $165 million and to date has grossed only $195 million.   Apparently, the brass at Disney were assured that HARBOR would gross at least $200 million and as it stands now there's now way that's gonna happen.  So what to do? Why not re-release the film at the end of the summer when things typically slow down and hope for a resurgence?  Well that's exactly what Disney may do.   Director Bay has made no bones about his feeling that a PG-13 rating killed the movie and has even been allowed to re-cut the movie to an R for DVD.  Will there be a new rating or new footage in the re-release.  No one's exactly sure yet. Apparently Disney isn't 100% they're going to do this yet but they're definitely mulling it over.  The film would be opened on August 31st against competition like MGM's JEEPERS CREEPERS.
  

August 17, 2001

Actor Robert Englund, who played Freddy Krueger in the NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET movie, spoke at the Fangoria Convention and said that the FREDDY VS. JASON movie has been greenlit by New Line Cinema with Stephen Norrington (BLADE) set to direct.  He says "it's still a yes...and still definitely in development."  The film has been in the development stages forever but for one reason or another never seemed to get much more steam.  Guillermo Del Toro (BLADE 2) had previously been rumored to direct this film.
 

August 17, 2001

Source: Joey Baloney

• Check out this image of Tom Cruise in full gear on the set of MINORITY REPORT
• Screw FREDDY VS. JASON, now we have Freddie vs. Harry! Read more about the Freddie Prinze, Jr. and Harry Knowles brawl here
• Read about how a RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK DVD might not be as close as we hoped here
• Check out some coverage and pics from the JAY AND SILENT BOB STRIKE BACK premiere in LA here

August 16, 2001

Moriarty from AICN was lucky enough to get a really early look at OCEAN'S 11 last night, as well as a peek at Frank Darabont's next film entitled MAJESTIC, starring Jim Carrey in yet another "serious" role. He absolutely loved Steven Soderbergh's flick, saying "Clocking in under two hours, the film is a shark: it never stops moving, and when it makes its big moves, there’s no stopping it. Fast, fast, fast, the film is over before it begins, and if I have any complaint, it’s that I wanted more." and loved everything that he saw from MAJESTIC as well, most of all, Carrey's performance of which he says, "Whatever you think of him right now, Jim is going to change your mind. Frank has done something truly bold with Carrey: he got him to stand still." Check out his entire article here or read some more early reviews of OCEAN'S 11 here.

< click any pic to read entire story and see bigger pictures >
  

August 16, 2001

I was of the opinion (and I certianly don't want to get off on this topic again...) that the AI marketing campaign was so much freakin' fun that the movie couldn't possibly have lived up to it. I expected excitement and suspense and intrigue and wound up getting a good two hour hap.  Anyway, if you had as much fun as I did playing the "Cloudmaker" game, this might be of interest to you.

I'm sure you've heard of the internet short film series at BMW Films.  What you might not now about is the BMW Films Player that you can download from the site to watch the films on a larger screen in better quality. What's also of interest when you watch with their player are the sub-stories. These stories were directed by Ben Younger (BOILER ROOM) and connect each chapter of the saga to the next.  That's pretty cool in and of itself but if you look closer at these sub-stories, you may realize they're trying to tell you something. That's right, more hidden phone numbers and websites that lead to a mystery. So what's the mystery all about?  What benefits does it hold for you?   Well, I'm just not going to ruin it for you.  I will leave you simply with the following cryptic message:

dr32DNAeuNevanoSidam,yTickRoyWen,103280

What could this possibly mean?  A very confusing mystery - not unlike MEMENTO............

Help solve the mystery by watching the BMW Films series here
 

August 16, 2001

Playboy Enterprises is getting ready to make some movies and I'm not talking Pamela Anderson Video Centerfold here, but actual feature films.  They're looking to produce "AMERICAN PIE-like pictures in the $25 million budget range for theatrical release" according to a report in Variety.  This is the same kind of thinking that brought us that cinematic assrape TOMCATS. Two films are already in development: A NIGHT AT THE PLAYBOY MANSION and PLAYMATE OF THE YEAR.  Both of these films sound like they'd be better suited for latenight Cinemax, but producer Larry Kasanoff insists they will have either a PG-13 or R rating.   There was no insight as to what storyline each of these films will follow but with "PLAYBOY" or "PLAYMATE" right in the title, do we really need a plot?   Just give us some hot chicks and we'll all show up like stupid little drones and pay our $8 to see a few seconds of boobage.
 

August 16, 2001

This has got to be my favorite rumor of recent memory.  A scooper sent in a report to CHUD claiming that he pumped in to SEINFELD co-creator Larry David at a restaurant and asked him some questions about the status of SEINFELD (What status?  It's a TV show that went off the air? That's like asking Bob Newhart what the status with Newhart is...).  David reportedly said that "a film is on the way.  I'll be writing a script towards the end of the year..."  The folks at CHUD were awfully skeptical about this and reading this myself, I can't help but join them.  It is probably 99.999% untrue, but it certainly is fun to read stuff like this, ain't it?  I'm guessing what happened is that David was talking about a script he's working on for another project and the scooper either got confused or just combined the stories to get a decent scoop. 
  

August 16, 2001

Roger Avary's adaptation of AMERICAN PSYCHO author Bret Easton Ellis' novel RULES OF ATTRACTION has added a few more members to its cast. Joining James Van Der Beek are Jessica Biel (SUMMER CATCH), Thomas Ian Nicholas (AMERICAN PIE 1 & 2) and Kip Pardue (DRIVEN). Eric Stoltz, who previously worked with Avary on KILLING ZOE,  is also set to make a cameo in the film.  Production is set to begin this Friday. 

I'm looking forward to this movie despite the fact I felt the book sucked major ass. Knowles seems to think the screenplay is pure magic and while the jury is still out on that, I'm willing to give writer/director Roger Avary the benefit of the doubt. Afterall, he contributed to PULP FICTION and that's more than most screenwriters can say.  Ellis' books and films made from his books often find themselves the victims of love/hate relationships.  I'm sure this film suffer the same result.
 

August 8, 2001

Source: Joey Baloney

• Download the brand spankin' new trailer for THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS (starring Ben Stiller, Gwyneth Paltrow, Gene Hackman and Bill Murray) here
• Watch some cool new teaser footage from SPIDER-MAN here
• AICN continues their exhaustive coverage of JAY AND SILENT BOB STRIKE BACK with two more interviews with stars of the film here

August 15, 2001

Halle Berry is negotiating to join Ben Affleck (sorry, there'll be no rehab jokes here) in Martin Brest's (SCENT OF A WOMAN) GIGLI.  The star would join the production as a woman sent to supervise a hitman (Affleck) who has kidnapped the mentally challenged son of the local DA.  The pair strike up a romance as they go on the run from the authorities. Berry  just wrapped a reported Oscar caliber role in MONSTERS BALL (where she will once again bear those lovely breasts), alongside Billy Bob Thornton and Heath Ledger.  
  

August 15, 2001

Harry Knowles received a scoop on Tuesday that reports PT Anderson has finally given a name to his untitled Adam Sandler film.  The film's title? - ATTACK OF THE CLONES!  That was a really lame old joke but I just had to go for it.  Actually the film will reportedly be called...PUNCHDRUNK LOVE.  So how much of this title is true and how much is rumor?  Dunno.  The official unofficial PT Anderson site has primarily been the main source for this film but has been offline for a few weeks.  But a general sniff test doesn't turn up anything that would make one skeptical.  In fact, further investigation leads me to believe that Harry has once again outscooped the official announcement.  Also included in that same report was that the film would be released this Fall - awfully close for not hearing or seeing much on the film.  Then again, Spike Jonze's next, ADAPTATION, is schedule for a fall release and I haven't heard hide nor hair from that one.  I'll try to look in to this further and see what I come up with...
 

August 15, 2001

Regular JoBlo.com contributor Julius Funkenstein is following up his review of ONE HOUR PHOTO with another early review - this time of the Steve Martin/Helena Bonham Carter flick NOVOCAINE.   I'll step aside for a few moments and let Jules take over the reigns:

Send your scripts, your girlfriends, your self respect to...
juliusfunkenstein@hotmail.com
 

August 15, 2001

Director Martin Campbell (VERTICAL LIMIT) has signed on to direct Angelina Jolie in the drama BEYOND BORDERS.  The film has long been in development with Kevin Costner and Ralph Fiennes both in-then-out in the male lead,  Catherine Zeta-Jones and Meg Ryan in talks for the female lead and Oliver Stone as Director.  With Campbell and Jolie onboard the film should finally begin production this December.  The lead male role has yet to be recast.  BORDERS revolves around the romance between a relief worker and wealthy socialite in disaster-striken locations in the Europe and Asia.  Anything to keep Angelina busy and distracted from a possible TOMB RAIDER 2 is fine by me.
 

August 15, 2001

Source: Joey Baloney

• Wanna read Nicolas Cage's thoughts on his masturbation scenes in the upcoming film ADAPTATION?  If you're not totally grossed out, read more here
• Don Bluth is talking about the possibility of a DRAGON'S LAIR and you can read his thoughts here

August 14, 2001

As you may have heard here last week, my wife and I had our first baby last week: Indiana Christopher.  Sometime soon, I'll have to post my thoughts on that whole experience which is truly amazing and humbling.  While I took some well-needed time off to learn how to change dirty diapers and deal with an abrupt lack of sleep, now I'm back at JoBlo and ready to sling the latest in movie news.  If you notice I'm a bit off or the updates are curiously short, I'm probably holding a squirming baby in one hand while I type with the other.  So just bear with me until later this week when I start getting back to the office instead of working strictly out of home.

Before I run, I'd just like to take a quick moment to thank everyone who was kind enough to send their congratulations to myself, my wife and Indiana (whether through e-mail or on the boards) and let you know how much it meant to us.  I'll stop now before I start getting all Hallmark...

p.s. - thanks to JoBlo for taking over the news duties in my absence
  

August 14, 2001

The folks at Pixar brought you TOY STORY 1 & 2 and have MONSTERS, INC. coming this Thanksgiving but we now have word on the film they're planning for 2004.  I know that's a long time away but it's never early enough to see what these guys are up to. After MONSTERS is a film called FINDING NEMO in 2003 and for their 2004 follow-up they will team with the director of the 1999 film IRON GIANT for THE INVINCIBLES.  If you're anything like me, the news that the creators of two of the most spectacular animated films in recent memory (GIANT and TOY STORY) are collaborating for an effort will make you cream your jeans.  Reportedly the film will revolve around a dysfunctional superhero family that made me think MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE plus THE FANTASTIC FOUR.
 

August 14, 2001

You may remember the reports from a few weeks ago that the next Aardman (CHICKEN RUN, WALLACE AND GROMIT) film TORTOISE VS. HARE was being delayed because of script problems. Now we have word courtesy of the website Popcorn that Aardman has hired to writers to polish the script and the project is back on.  British based writers Rob Sprackling and Jon Smith have been brought aboard to lend their signature style to the film based on the fable of "The Tortoise and the Hare."  The pair don't have much experience but Aardman producer Michael Rose said, "They have both live action and animation experience which makes them ideal for us."  DreamWorks will release the film in the US which is currently slated for an unknown 2003 release date.  It is unknown if this date will be pushed back to allow the creative team more time.
 

August 14, 2001

Horror director Clive Barker created a comic book in 1993 called ECTO-KID (which was co-written by Larry Wachowski of MATRIX fame) for Marvel Comics and now Nickelodeon and Paramount Pictures are teaming up to bring that character to theaters and TV as a weekly series (presumably to air on Nick).  There was no mention of whether the film would be live-action, conventional animation or CGI animation.  ECTO-KID revolves around Dex Mungo, a young boy who sees the world through two different eyes: one which sees the living and the other which sees the living dead.  Barker will produce the film but no word yet on who will write or direct the film.  Speaking of ECTO, does anyone know if HI-C still makes "Ecto-Cooler" drink boxes?  I'm not sure exactly what flavor that was but those things were sooo good....
 

August 14, 2001

Source: Joey Baloney

• The poster for the film within a film (featuring Bruce Campbell) from the Jim Carrey/Frank Darabont collaboration THE MAJESTIC is online here
• Robert De Niro's upcoming film CITY BY THE SEA (which was filmed about fifteen minutes from where I live and they neglected to invite me over to visit!) has some publicity stills online at the official site
• Curious to find out what's (possibly) going on with the ET: SPECIAL EDITION re-release that Spielberg's working on?  Read the rumors here

August 13, 2001

We already told you about the BATMAN VS SUPERMAN movie last week (which apparently might just be a lead-in to a "larger franchise that would eventually give way to a JUSTICE LEAGUE movie"), but now here's an even bigger rumor as to who they are looking to play Superman. It's none other than the cheeseburger-man himself...John Travolta!! Harry from AICN is reporting this as an "unconfirmed rumor" but seeing as George Clooney is still signed on to play Batman for two more films, Warner Bros is likely to be looking for another name actor to fill the bill with him. The scooper was apparently sitting behind Travolta in a restaurant when he got the call, but it does sound a little fishy to me. Oh well...let's see what happens... 
     

August 13, 2001

If you hadn't already heard, the biggest hit of the year, SHREK, has now been announced for release as a 2-DISC feature on November 2, 2001, just in time for the whole X-Mas shopping season! Some of the goodies on the discs include:

• 11 hours in all (including an extra 15 minutes of film)

• Extended ending (with over 150 Shrek characters continuing to party)

• ReVoice Studio (enables viewers to voice the lines of their favorite characters)

• Director's commentary

• Technical goofs

• Behind the scenes documentary

• Music videos from the film and more

• Each disc contains a different version of the film: one in full frame and the other in anamorphic widescreen

• Audio will be provided in English Dolby Digital 5.1, French 2.0 and Spanish 2.0, with DTS 5.1 added for the widescreen version

• Custom animated 3D menus

< pre-order the SHREK dvd here >
     

August 13, 2001

Harry got another big scoop today after he spent several hours talking movies with writer/director Quentin Tarantino on the phone. Here are the major scoops:

• Lucy Liu was never in the running for Uma's spot in KILL BILL, but Quentin did write a small part for her in the movie and is awaiting a response
   

• Quentin came up with the idea for KILL BILL during PULP FICTION as his "ultimate revenge flick, the ultimate grindhouse film"

• His idea is to do his next two flicks BACK TO BACK! He would film KILL BILL first, then shoot GLORIOUS BASTARDS, his "guys on a mission war flick" right after..
   

• Quentin finished his KILL BILL script two weeks ago and will be finishing up GLORIOUS BASTARDS in mid-November

• He plans to start shooting KILL BILL in June 2002 (as Uma is pregnant until then), take it to festivals like PULP, then immediately start pre-production on GLORIOUS BASTARDS so that he could begin shooting it in the fall of 2002 and finish it in 2003

• KILL BILL will be shot in Japan, Hong Kong, Mexico, Texas, Los Angeles...all over..

August 13, 2001

Scooper "Dan Melville" sent in his review of the movie DRAGONFLY, starring Kevin Costner and directed by Tom Shadyac. The tentative release date on the film is January 2002. Check out the positive review with no spoilers below:

"Hey Joey, last night me and my friends were lucky enough to be invited to a test screening of Kevin Costner's next film entitled "Dragonfly". As we were told early on, a few shots were missing and it wasn't fully edited but I thought I would throw in my two cents and give you guys a heads up nonetheless. And I'll try not to say too much, no spoilers.

The basic story is about a doctor named Joe Darrow who loses his wife (also a doctor) in an accident while she is serving with the red cross. Joe doesn't seem to be able to grieve as his wife's body was never recovered and thus he never really had closure. After a few months he decides to keep a promise he made to his wife to check up on the children she cared for in one of the hospitals special wards. As he begins to meet these children his world is suddenly changed as he learns of near death experiences that the children are having, near death experiences in which they see his wife. As the movie moves ahead Joe must put together the clues encampsulated in the children's experiences, and his own supernatural frights to find out what his wife wants him to do, and what she's trying to lead him to.

Now, the print I saw seemed to be a done deal except for one small scene in which the film quality seemed a little less than up to par. There also seemed to be a few scenes missing early on in the film, as it moved a little fast in the first 10 minutes and the audience wasn't totally sure what was happening. We soon figured it out though and the movie gets on its way without and more points of confusion. I would say that the film probably won't be changed much from the way we saw it, as it seemed most of the other people in the audience liked it the same as I did. So what did I think? Well, I liked the film as a whole. It was described to a friend of mine as being not unlike the "Sixth Sense", though after seeing it we all agreed that it was more in line with "What Lies Beneath." Much like that film the plot has the main character going through supernatural experiences which pull them along to a mysterious end.

Much like the before mentioned film, Dragonfly also has its share of boo scares, and all out freaky happenings. One of which seemed to really freak out the entire audience, and myself. All together the film comes together nicely in a suspenseful and unnerving way, though it might be nothing new it was certainly a nice addition to this new "I see dead people" type of movie genre."
     

August 13, 2001

Director James Foley is probably best known for directing one of the greater ensemble movies GLENGARRY GLENROSS a few years ago, with Al Pacino as one its stars. Now comes word that Foley will be directing Pacino once again in a suspense thriller entitled THE FARM, co-starring Colin Farrell (TIGERLAND). The film is set to begin production in November of this year and will feature Farrell as an agent trainee who suspects that his seasoned CIA instructor (Pacino) is a double agent. There is also a prominent female role in the film, but nobody has been cast yet. 
     

The 2002 Movie Preview !

Below is a list of movies that are coming out next year. Want more info? Click on the links...