Entertainment News
Entries from August 2012
By Lee Pfeiffer
The onerous costs of converting movie theaters to digital format can be absorbed by major theater chains. However, those costs are proving deadly to small, independent movie theaters across America with the price of conversion ranging from $65,000 to $150,000. In a major article on The Wrap web site, these small theater owners lament the fact that they will probably have to close their doors. The major studios are quickly exiting the business of striking 35mm prints. Without those, theaters would not be able to show the latest movies. The Bonham Theater, for example, has been the heart of small Fairbury, Nebraska (pop. 3,942) for 90 years. The owner closed down the theater last week, unable to find the funds to convert. The studios are offering a plan whereby theaters that agree to convert will be able to ultimately share in the savings that the digital format affords studios in terms of printing 35mm film and shipping bulky canisters cross-country. However, those substantial savings (up to 70% of the conversion costs) only kick in after the theater owner has secured financing for 100% of the conversion - a dubious prospect in an age when banks are becoming increasingly selective about lending large sums to small businesses. The impact of digital conversion will hit small, rural theaters hardest worldwide. In the United States, for example, up to 20% of all movie theaters are expected to close in the near future. Art house cinemas that specialize entirely in showing vintage movies will be able to linger a while longer, but as existing 35mm prints deteriorate, it's unlikely that studios will invest in making more, with the exception of a relative handful of timeless classics. Cinema Retro has noticed a trend that smaller theaters are already utilizing in order to survive: showing DVDs on the big screen. The advantage of this is that it provides an unlimited library of potential movies to screen without incurring the costs of conversion. However, truly movie fans will certainly object because the quality suffers substantially, especially on larger size screens. The only art house cinemas that are likely to survive indefinitely are those that can also show digital format. This means popular retro theaters in L.A. and New York are safe, but it may spell the death knell for those theaters outside of major urban areas. Independent theater owners had hoped that studios would still produce a small quantity of 35mm prints of the latest films in order to help rural theaters survive, but it now appears this will not be the case. For more click here
The Girl is based on a fascinating concept: director Alfred Hitchcock's sexual obsession with his "star in the making" "Tippi" Hedren, who he cast as the female lead in his 1963 classic The Birds as well as his next film Marnie. When Hedren rebuffed Hitchcock's advances, the result was devastating to both star and director as Hitchcock went about ensuring that Hedren would never achieve the fame and fortune he once predicted for her. Sienna Miller stars as Hedren and Toby Jones plays Hitchcock. Click here to view trailer
There will be a Japanese remake of Clint Eastwood's Oscar winning 1992 Western classic Unforgiven. Eastwood's star-making role in director Sergio Leone's 1964 Western A Fistful of Dollars was an unauthorized remake of Akira Kurosawa's Yojimbo. Director Lee Sang-il is a die hard fan of Eastwood's film and will helm the Japanese remake, to be titled Yurusarezaru Mono. For more click here
Celebrating great entertainment and engaging a multi-generational audience to a treasure-trove of pop culture faves, Shout! Factory today announced the re-launch of its official website ShoutFactory.com. This announcement was made today by Shout! Factory founding partners Richard Foos, Bob Emmer and Garson Foos. With the re-launch of ShoutFactory.com, Shout! Factory renews commitment to an aggressive multi-platform strategy for its home entertainment business. The site provides users with a dynamic media and shopping experience, and includes up-to-date news, social media interactive tools, streaming media content and digital downloads from Shout! Factory.
By offering a consumer-friendly multimedia online destination, ShoutFactory.com showcases Shout!’s expansive pop culture library, spanning superbly packaged audio and video box sets, memorable television series, fan favorite animation, comedy and cult film classics. This highly functional site is optimized to engage fans and consumers alike with immediate access to in-depth production information and previews on new releases, as well as provide forums for discussion, discovery and sharing their pop culture passions with their friends and family.
With today’s launch of ShoutFactory.com, visitors will immediately notice the fresh new look, updated design, simple navigation flow and a number of site highlights, including:
- Unique e-commerce experience with detailed production information and previews
- Sharing their discovery and passion through forums and social media
- Digital download store: select audio and video downloads of Shout! Factory content for your computer and handheld device
- Secure commercial transactions
- Special offers including exclusive titles, bundled offers, limited-edition releases, and unique gift-with-purchase
ShoutFactory.com, the direct online destination for all Shout! Factory branded home entertainment properties is live today. Additional news, special offers and fan driven activities, please visit ShoutFactory.com and follow us on Twitter @ShoutFactory and Facebook.
About Shout! Factory
Shout! Factory, LLC is a diversified multi-platform entertainment company devoted to producing, uncovering, preserving and revitalizing the very best of pop culture. Founders Richard Foos, Bob Emmer and Garson Foos have spent their entire careers sharing their music, television and film favorites with discerning consumers the world over. Shout! Factory’s DVD and Blu-Ray™ offerings serve up feature films, classic and contemporary TV series, animation, live music and comedy specials in lavish packages crammed with extras. Shout’s audio division boasts GRAMMY®-nominated box sets, new releases from storied artists, lovingly assembled album reissues and indispensable “best of†compilations. In addition, Shout! Factory maintains a vast digital distribution network which delivers video and audio content to all the leading digital service providers in North America. Shout! Factory also owns and operates Timeless Media Group, Biograph Records, Majordomo Records, HighTone Records and Video Time Machine. These riches are the result of a creative acquisition mandate that has established the company as a hotbed of cultural preservation and commercial reinvention. Shout! Factory is based in Santa Monica, California. For more on Shout! Factory, visit shoutfactory.com
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Dick Van Dyke will receive the Screen Actors Guild's Lifetime Achievement award. The ceremony will be telecast on TNT in January 2013. Van Dyke has been a Hollywood icon for decades. His hit TV series include The Dick Van Dyke Show and Diagnosis Murder. He has also had a long career in feature films. His credits include Bye Bye Birdie, Divorce American Style, Mary Poppins, Cold Turkey, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and A Night at the Museum. For more click here
Latest among the seemingly endless movie remakes is The Last of Shelia, the clever 1973 murder mystery that was written by the improbable pairing of Steven Sondheim and Anthony Perkins. The original film, directed by Herbert Ross, centered on a group of Hollywood snobs who are invited by an obnoxious benefactor to take an exotic cruise on his yacht. Once aboard, he induces them to play a complicated game that ends up having deadly results. New Line will produce the remake and a writer is being sought. Only one problem- how do you top the cast of the original: James Coburn, Richard Benjamin, Dyan Cannon, Ian McShane, James Mason, Joan Hackett and Raquel Welch? For more click here
Due to the emergence of "intriguing" new information, L.A. detectives have re-opened the investigation into the mysterious 1981 death of actress Natalie Wood. The cause of death has been amended from "accidental drowning" to "drowning and other causes", thus putting a more sinister aspect to the investigation. Wood disappeared from the deck of a yacht after a contentious evening on board with her husband Robert Wagner and Christopher Walken. Both men say there had been a lot of drinking and that when they both retired for the evening, Wood was alive and well. Speculation has been rampant about how she would have drowned, given her lifelong fear of water. Conspiracy theorists speculate that Wagner and/or Walken know more than they are saying. For more click here
Looks like the Magnificent Seven remake is going ahead. The following was reported by David Thompson on his Thompson on Hollywood web site.
"Nic Pizzolatto (whose few credits include two episodes of AMC's "The Killing" and the upcoming HBO series "True Detectives" with Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson) is set to pen the script for MGM's long-gestating remake (of a remake), "The Magnificent Seven." The original 1960 version was itself a remake of Akira Kurosawa's 1954 masterpiece "The Seven Samurai." Tom Cruise is attached to star."
Noted British actor Bob Hoskins is ending his film career due to a recent diagnosis that he has Parkinson's Disease. The degenerative ailment will deprive movie goers of enjoying the 69 year old actor's considerable talents, as evidenced in films like The Long Good Friday, Mona Lisa, Who Framed Roger Rabbit? The Guardian reports that "A statement issued on his behalf said: "He wishes to thank all the great and brilliant people he has worked with over the years, and all of his fans who have supported him during a wonderful career. Bob is now looking forward to his retirement with his family, and would greatly appreciate that his privacy be respected at this time."
For more click here
It's no secret that, with few exceptions, the month of August is used by studios to dump dumb or uninspired movies on to audiences. Not really sure why this is the case, but it's true. The blockbusters are relegated to the early summer and holiday seasons. Critic Mike Ryan takes a long, sad look back at what he believes is the worst year for August movie releases: 1996. Here is the list of dubious titles that were inflicted on movie goers that fateful summer:
"Chain Reaction"
"Escape From L.A." "Matilda" "Tin Cup" "Jack" "House Arrest" "Kansas City" "Tales From the Crypt Present: Bordello of Blood" "The Fan" "She's The One" "A Very Brady Sequel" "The Island of Dr. Moreau" "Trigger Effect" "The Stupids" "First Kid" "Alaska" "The Spitfire Grill" "The Crow: City of Angels"
One could argue that at least a couple of these were pretty good (Tin Cup, A Very Brady Sequel) but those are more than compensated for by the knowledge that the great Brando squandered his talents in the Moreau remake in one of the most bizarre performances of all time. For more analysis click here
One of the best TV series of the 1980s is coming to the big screen in 2014. The Equalizer starred the inimitable Edward Woodward as an ex-secret agent-turned urban vigilante. Denzel Washington will play the title role. Let's hope they keep that great title theme by Stewart Copeland. For more click here
The recent Sight & Sound poll of the greatest movies of all time included the participation of famed directors such as Woody Allen, Quentin Tarantino, Martin Scorsese, Michael Mann and Francis Ford Coppola. Click here to read their individual top ten lists. Not surprisingly, the most mainstream choices are those of Tarantino.
The landmark poll of the greatest movie of all time taken by Sight & Sound magazine is conducted only once every decade, so its findings are big news among film fans. For the first time in 50 years, Orson Welles' Citizen Kane has been bumped from the #1 spot in favor of Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo, a movie that was not deemed a critical success when it opened in 1958. Kane came in at #2 in the poll of influential film critics. The list is as follows:
1. Vertigo (Hitchcock, 1958)
2. Citizen Kane (Welles, 1941) 3. Tokyo Story (Ozu, 1953) 4. La Règle du jeu (Renoir, 1939) 5. Sunrise: A Song for Two Humans (Murnau, 1927) 6. 2001: A Space Odyssey (Kubrick, 1968) 7. The Searchers (Ford, 1956) 8. Man With a Movie Camera (Dziga Vertov, 1929) 9. The Passion of Joan of Arc (Dreyer, 1927) 10. 8 ½ (Fellini, 1963)
For more click here
MGM announced it has reached an amicable settlement with legendary boxing champ Jake LaMotta that will allow a new biopic based on his life to proceed. The studio had filed an injunction against the movie Raging Bull II claiming it unfairly implied the film would be an official sequel to director Martin Scorsese's classic 1980 production. Neither Scorsese or that film's star Robert De Niro have anything to do with the new movie. As part of the settlement, the title will be changed to The Bronx Bull and the producers will issue a public statement officially acknowledging that the movie has no association with the Scorsese picture. For more click here
Clint Eastwood returns to the big screen in his first acting gig since Gran Torino. The film is Trouble With the Curve, in which he plays an aging baseball scout who is losing his sight. He decides to take a road trip with his daughter (Amy Adams) to check out a potential hot shot player. The film will open on September 21. Sony moved the release forward by a week to capitalize on the baseball playoff season. Robert Lorenz, Eastwood's partner at Malpaso Productions, makes his directorial debut with the film. Click here to view trailer
Producer Frank Marshall says that if there is going to be another Indiana Jones movie, nobody seems in a hurry to make it a reality. Despite reports that Steven Spielberg and George Lucas had a promising concept for another film, everyone seems preoccupied with other projects- and Harrison Ford isn't getting any younger. Their enthusiasm may have been dampened by the lukewarm fan response to the last entry, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. The film was a major boxoffice success, but virtually everyone felt it fell below expectations. Click here for more
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