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Shyamalan Talks ‘Unbreakable’ Sequel

  • News
  • October 8, 2008

m-night-shyamalan-3804910While promoting today’s DVD release of The Happening, M. Night Shyamalan spoke about a possibly sequel to his super-powered story, Unbreakable.

During a press conference, the stylish director admitted, "How bizarre. I want to write it right now, but I want to write it for the right reasons. I want a story to pop into my head that is organic and expressive of who I am. You know, these are all kind of journals of where I am emotionally, so it’s kind of hard. I’m kind of trying to go back to the journal that existed in 1999 for me. But I know me: As soon as I give up on it is when the idea will come to me. It’s just I need to go into therapy; I guess that’s the end of that answer to this."

Of course, given the tepid reception his last efforts have received, the temptation to revisit a previous success has grown.  Not that he ever admitted that as a motivation.  Instead, he said, "I’m a strange creature. When Unbreakable came out, I was like, ‘God, man I’m so excited.’ I thought [it] was like comic books. No one has really done comic books like this: reality-based comic books. I really think this is a metaphor for things that people can go crazy over."

The film was more a commercial than critical success so demand was always there for a follow-up story. "When the reaction was mixed, kind of a disappointment, I was pettily hurt, and I was like, ‘God, I took so many incredible risks and things like that.’ I felt really hurt, and I couldn’t bring myself to write," he said.

He said filmmaking gave him an intimate connection with people. "It’s literally like a relationship I have with the audience. … And then, over the years, as it just grew and grew and grew, and people were like, ‘You know, I really like that. That’s actually my favorite movie, and I watch that all the time,’ and on and on. I’ll be on the street, and some kid will run across traffic with it in his backpack–he just is carrying it in his backpack–and he’ll be running [saying], ‘I can’t believe it’s you!’ Will you sign my Unbreakable DVD?’ And quoting the thing and all that stuff."
 

Sequel and Prequels in the News

  • News
  • October 8, 2008

There’s a lot of prequel/sequel talk in the air this week.  First, rumors have it that Jennifer Aniston is being offered tons of cash to reprise her character in a follow-up to The Break-Up, opposite Vince Vaughn.

On the other hand, Corey Haim says he’s up for a Lost Boys film; one he claims will be a prequel to the first film and not a follow-up to the direct-to-DVD sequel that was released in July. He told Bloody Disgusting, “I’ve seen the whole movie; I don’t like it, to be honest with you. I don’t like it, I’m not gonna lie to you. I don’t like it as much as the first one.”

No official word has come from Warner Bros. or any of the Lost Boys participants so Haim could be drumming up work for himself. Still, he clearly had his own vision of how the next film should be done. “[The] direction [will be] more so like the first one…" Haim described. "As far as I heard, it will be thrown back into the proper genre it was when Joel [Schumacher] executed it.”

Warner Bros. announced yesterday that they have signed a three-year first-look deal with The Office’s Steve Carell. The deal, according to Variety, has led to the formation of Carousel Productions to be overseen by Vance DeGeneres and Charlie Hartsock.

The new deal does not guarantee a sequel to the television spin-off, but given its $230 million success around the world, the gears have started to turn.  Anne Hathaway, his co-star, already told the press she was up for a second film.

"My idea was to partner with friends of mine, people I trusted, with whom I share a certain sensibility," Carell told Variety. "I have some ideas for films, but I’ve gotten to know so many people who are funny, talented and fertile with ideas that I’m confident this very strong base of friendships will lead to projects."

After the fifth season of the NBC hit, he will co-star with Tina Fey as spouses in Date Night for 20th Century-Fox and director Shawn Levy.
 

Hathaway and Carter Play Queens for Burton

  • News
  • October 8, 2008

The cast for Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland is rounding out with the addition of Anne Hathaway as the White Queen opposite Helena Bonham Carter’s Red Queen according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The film has already begun shooting with Mia Wasikowska scenes as Alice outside the looking glass having been completed in Australia.

The White Queen is described in the story as “a benevolent monarch who is deposed and banished by her sister, the Red Queen, who has an affinity for crying out, ‘Off with their heads!’

The cast also includes Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter. Burton is shooting both live-action and motion-capture work for the film, which Disney Studios will release in 2010.
 

Could Velile Tshabalala be the Next Assistant?

  • News
  • October 7, 2008

Velile Tshabalala will guest star in 2008’s Doctor Who Christmas special, “The Next Doctor”.  In a profile published in West Sussex Today, she revealed some details about her character Rosita, "I am just so excited about it. We filmed it in April in Cardiff and Gloucester and Monmouth and so it has died down a bit, but now it is getting closer and I just can’t wait.

"It is just a one-off Christmas special but out of all the episodes I could have been asked to do it is far better that it is this one. The Doctor is faced with another Doctor. Rosita is the assistant to the other Doctor but as the episode goes on she starts helping the Doctor we know."

Will she follow the debut of Donna Nobel in a special and become the Doctor’s next assistant?

"A lot of people have been saying that it hasn’t yet been decided who the next assistant will be. But obviously I would love to do more. At the moment I am just being positive about it, that I did it and that I had a great time. But I would love to be in it again if I can."

Tshabalala is a comedic actress who debuted first appeared on CBBC’s Kerching! fdollowed by three season of Tittybangbang and had an appearance on ChuckleVision.

Her film work includes 2004’s Streets.

Review: ‘Sleeping Beauty’ Platinum Edition

  • Uncategorized
  • October 7, 2008

Walt Disney Studios’ [[[Sleeping Beauty]]] holds up as a spectacular work of animation and it looks even better now that the studio has cleaned it up. The classic fairy tale has stood the test of time quite nicely and the Platinum Edition 50th Anniversary 2-disc set, released today, is a worthwhile addition to your home video library. It’s a great artifafct, and the end of an era of amazing animated fare from Disney Studios.  Every anuimated feature that has followed, through today, somehow pales in comparison to this effort.

The first disc of course is the film itself.  Disney’s technicians have painstakingly cleaned the animation so the colors are brighter, allowing us to appreciate the work of animator Eyvind Earle. The story holds up with relatable characters from the adorable Aurora to the three fairies who sacrifice their magic ways to shield the child for 16 years. The humor remains character-based and the story builds nicely to the climax between the Prince and the vile witch Maleficent. The animation remains a sumptuous feast for the eyes especially with the brighter, sharper colors allowing us to enjoy the fine design.  The transformation of Maleficent from witch to dragon remains a very powerful sequence and can still startle the younger viewers.

It was certainly the last of its kind.  The sumptuous design and color, the rendering of the characters and their actions, were painstakingly researched and executed. The movie took years and millions to make, causing Walt Disney concern over the viability of future of animation in the same style. Some of this and other interesting facts can be found on the second disc.  “Picture Perfect: The Making of Sleeping Beauty” is lively because of the archival materials that remain plus the recollections of those like Ollie Johnston, last of the Nine Old Men, and Don Bluth who actually worked on the film.

We see several pieces of footage of actors in costume who performed for a gaggle of animators, which helped the humans move with subtle and broad emotions.  On the other hand, we are treated to deleted songs and sequences via storyboards and remaining recordings.  As a result, you have a better idea of how the film took shape, from the initial concepts in 1951 through its 1958 release.

There is also a nifty interactive Original Disneyland Sleeping Beauty Walk-Through Attraction With Walt Disney Imagineering.

For the youngest of fans, there is a reading tutorial and “[[[Briar Rose’s Enchanted Dance Game]]]”.

There are additional features on the Blu-ray release, not screened by ComicMix, but it does come complete with a standard DVD version of the film.  It’s a first and a nice way to add to your library without buying new hardware quite yet.

As usual, Disney will keep this in circulation only for a limited time until it is retired and goes into the rotation, not to be seen again for a while.  Grab this while you can.

ComicMix Radio: Diamond Slashes Devils Due

  • News
  • October 7, 2008

Due to a legal puzzle in who has the rights to the ReAnimator characters, Diamond is not carrying issues 17 and 18 of Devil’s Due’s Hack Slash.  So how do you get your copy? We dig up the answer, plus:

Orson Scott Card talks about this week’s debut of Ender’s Game at Marvel
Dark Night headed for your Christmas Stocking
Robert Kirkman makes a pledge to you

And there’s a boatload of new comics and DVDs to tackle as well so Press the Button!

 

And remember, you can always subscribe to ComicMix Radio podcasts via badgeitunes61x15dark-6759368 or RSS!

 

‘Opus’ Comes to an End in November

  • Uncategorized
  • October 7, 2008

opus-farewell-7787074Opus will end its run as Sunday-only comic strip on November 2, according to a release from the Washington Post Writers Group.Berkeley Breathed in a press release, indicated, “With the crisis in Wall Street and Washington, I’m suspending my comic strip to assist the nation. The best way I can help is to leave politics permanently and write funny stories for America’s kids. I call on John McCain to join me.”

He told The Los Angeles Times, “30 years of cartooning to end. I’m destroying the village to save it. Opus would inevitably become a ranting mouthpiece in the coming wicked days, and I respect the other parts of him too much to see that happen. The Michael Moore part of me would kill the part of him that was important to his fans.”

“His ability to weave those emotions together is what makes Breathed such a great cartoonist, and it’s why he will leave a bigger hole on the comics pages. Both figuratively and literally,” Amy Logo, the Post’s Comics Editor joked to the Daily Cartoonist.

Readers will be asked in the final strip to guess the pudgy penguin’s ultimate fate. Logo indicated the winning choice and the resulting final strip will be available only online. The contest begins October 12 and details can be found in that day’s strip as well as Breathed’s website.

Opus is, of course, a spin-off from his immensely popular Bloom County, which ran from December 1980 through 1989.  Opus debuted in 2003.

Snyder & Gibbons Show off ‘Watchmen’

  • News
  • October 7, 2008

Warner Bros. is doing a tremendous amount of early publicity for March 6’s Watchmen release.  They have dispatcheddirector Zack Snyder on tour, showing clips to the press and other parties first in London then last week in Los Angeles and last night in Manhattan.  He and the clips will continue their tour to Europe and Asia in the coming weeks.

DC Comics President and Publisher Paul Levitz kicked off the festivities by reminiscing about the days when pages for the comic would arrive from England.  “It was an amazing book. We’d be waiting expectantly for the next batch of pages.”

He noted it was the first time in the company history a film option had been sold before the final issue had seen print. The series has continued to perform miraculous feats with Levitz going on to say that the company has sold more copies of the trade paperback since the trailer was unveiled on July 18 than in the last seven years even though it has topped the graphic novel sales lists for each of those years.

He then introduced Snyder who, dressed in sweater and jeans, chatted up the rapt audience before screening the first 12 minutes of the film, complete with titles. “I’ve always been a fan,” he admitted.  “But I came from the Heavy Metal side.  My Mom, I had a strange Mom, who bought me a subscription.  She thought it was a cool looking magazine.”  When he looked at comic books of the time in comparison, he was disinterested because no one was “fucking or dying, why am I looking at this?”

The Watchmen, which he admitted had a little of each, changed that for him as a reader.  He never thought of it was a film until he was nearing the end of work on 300 and it was offered to him. Snyder then recounted his evolution with Warner Bros., which inherited the project from Paramount Pictures.  They saw it as a modern day take on terrorism and while he considered it, the more he looked at the David Hayter script and the original graphic novel, the more he thought it needed to remain faithful.  Slowly, he brought the studio around to his way of thinking while acknowledging the smash success of 300 by the time did not hurt his credibility.

After the opening sequence, he introduced the origin of Dr. Manhattan (Billy Crudup).  After the applause died down, he showed the final sequence which was Nite-Owl and Silk Spectre breaking Rorschach out of prison followed by some more quick clips, largely taken from the trailer. (more…)

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Patrick Stewart May Make it So

  • News
  • October 7, 2008

patrick-2520stewart-1757524What was first discounted as a rumor has gained heft and may actually be a reality.  Actor Patrick Stewart may well be beaming aboard the TARDIS for the next season of Doctor Who.

According to a report in the UK’s Daily Star, Stewart has reportedly been offered the role of the Meddling Monk, a Time Lord once featured on the series. Apparently the BBC has offered him the role and are willing to wait for Stewart’s schedule to clear so it may happen for one of the 2009 specials or the new season beginning in 2010.

British fans have been treated to David Tennant, the current Doctor, and Stewart, formerly known as Captain Jean-Luc Picard, performing Hamlet together.  The two have become fast friends and Stewart is an avowed fan of the series.
   
The Monk was introduced as someone who encountered the first Doctor, back in the early 1960s.  As portrayed by Peter Butterworth, he was a comical fellow and appeared in two stories, “The Time Meddler” and “The Daleks’ Master”.  The character disappeared from screen but has been used in other media through the years.
 

Review: ‘Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles’ Episode #205

  • Uncategorized
  • October 7, 2008

Note: Click here to relive the past episode!

This Week’s Operation: “Goodbye To All That”

Mission Briefing
From Fox: John and Derek infiltrate a military academy in order to protect an integral member of the future resistance. Meanwhile, Weaver’s first assignment for Ellison takes an interesting turn of events when he discovers a specter from his own past.

Damage Analysis
“Goodbye To All That” marks the third episode in a row that has taken a cue from [[[Lost]]] with an emphasis on a character-centric rather than plot-driven episode. Not to say that this episode was poor necessarily, but once again, the driving story of Season Two is at a bit of a loss. There are some threads being tied together to weave some semblance of an underlying threat, such as Ellison’s building momentum and the bloody writing on the basement wall in Casa de Connor.

It’s the latter of those two that informs the main plot of this episode. A Terminator comes to town looking for Martin Bedell, a man who will grow up to become a key resistance fighter and personal ally of John’s. There are two potential targets, and the Connors divide themselves on gender lines. John and Derek pursue the Bedell currently at a military academy, which they learn of by deciphering one of the bloody messages on the wall. They then infiltrate the military school, posing as a student and as an instructor respectively. Right off the bat, there’s something inherently off about John and Derek being able to join the military school’s ranks so readily. You’d like to think that their application process for accepting students is a bit more rigorous than “Well, he’s a good kid, let’s give him a free three week trial,” but that’s what happens for John. And in Derek’s case, not much more than a “Hey, you look tough, we got an open instructor slot for a week and it’s all yours!” Kind of ridiculous.

The episode’s character-centric stuff stems from Derek, giving Brian Austin Green his first real moments to shine as an actor this season. He gets a lot of stuff to play with this round as certain sights and moments trigger memories of his from the future. There’s one particular moment that was very touching: Derek pauses in the woods while scoping out the military academy, and locks eyes with a deer. It was nice to think for a bit that the writers cared about this character enough to give this future man a moment where he’s out in nature, realizing just how much he’s lost in the war yet to come. Of course, the writers couldn’t maintain something that subtle, and later bring up that exact deer moment to say that Derek and his brother Kyle killed a deer once. Alas, such is [[[The Sarah Connor Chronicles]]].
 

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