Author: Travis Keune

Hopeless film enthusiast; reborn comic book geek; artist; collector; cookie connoisseur; curious to no end

Images and Sneak Peak from ‘Drag Me to Hell’

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What can I say… I’m a glutton for Sam Raimi projects. I’ve been looking forward to seeing ‘Drag Me to Hell’ since I first learned of it’s conception and welcomed his return, while brief, to the horror genre he first got started with.

Sabrina, over at ScreenRant.com, managed to get into a sneak peak of Raimi’s newest out west and wrote up what she thought. She reports, in her opinion, that Raimi seems to be “having trouble maintaining the balance he once mastered with the Evil Dead film.”

General Plot:

An old woman (Lorna Raver) curses a Christine (Alison Lohman) after she embarrasses her for begging in front of a bank. Bad things start occurring for Christine and she seeks help from a psychic once she realizes the curse will kill her in three days and she’ll be dragged to Hell. Christine finds out the only way to survive the curse is to pass it on to someone else.

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Granted, I won’t decide for myself until I see it for myself, but this concerns me. After all, he’s been deeply embedded in the ‘Spider-Man’ world for so long, I wonder if this isn’t at least partially true. ‘Drag Me to Hell’ is set to hit theaters on May 29, 2009. I’ll be there, how about you?

[source: ScreenRant.com]

New Image from ‘Sherlock Holmes’

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Here’s another new image from Guy Ritchie’s ‘Sherlock Holmes featuring all three of the leading roles. This was taken from an article on USA Today’s website talking about Downey’s reaction to the Oscar buzz he’s gotten. To read that article, click on the source link below.

[source: USA Today]

In case you missed it… ‘The Legend of 1900’

‘The Legend of 1900’ (La Leggenda del pianista sull’oceano, 1998) is one of those little gems that slipped through the cracks. This film was written and directed by the marvelously brilliant, yet sporadically working Italian storyteller Giuseppe Tornatore (Cinema Paradiso, Malena). Truth be told, I had heard of the film but never seen it until just recently when a friend and co-worker of mine had recommended this as a film he thought I would enjoy. So, now I’ve seen it and I have Zak to thank because this is a good movie with a great story.

‘The Legend of 1900’ begins with Max Tooney (Pruitt Taylor Vince) reluctantly entering a music shop near the docks, as if walking to his own death. Max plays the trumpet and he’s a darn good jazz musician, so the thought of selling his trumpet is like selling his very lungs. As he toils with the thought of letting his livelihood go, Max begins to tell the shopkeeper a story about the greatest piano player he’s ever heard, known simply as 1900, after hearing what he thought was a long lost phonograph matrix playing in the shop.

Tim Roth (Reservoir Dogs, Incredible Hulk) plays Danny Boodmann T.D. Lemon Nineteen Hundred, otherwise known as ‘1900’ for short. 1900 was abandoned as an infant on a cruise-liner and found by Danny Boodmann (Bill Nunn), a stoker for the ship’s steam engine. Danny raises 1900 as best he can and when he dies from a work related accident, 1900 ends up choosing to spend his entire life on the ship without ever setting foot on dry land.

Continue reading In case you missed it… ‘The Legend of 1900’

Murray, Duvall, Spacek & Black ‘Get Low’

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‘Get Low’ a a new dramatic period thriller in development and it has some kind of great cast lined up! Already set to star in the film are veteran thespians Robert Duvall and Sissy Spacek. Now, Bill Murray and Lucas Black have also joined the cast as funeral home partners. Aaron Schneider, who has served as Director of Photography for ‘Titanic’ and ‘Simon Birch’ is set to direct the film. ‘Get Low’ was written by Chris Provenzano (Thank You, Good Night) along with C. Gaby Mitchell and Aaron Schneider.

‘Get Low’ … is based on the true story of Felix “Bush” Breazeale, a Tennessee recluse who planned his own funeral in 1938 while he was still alive and could enjoy it. — Variety

[source: Variety]

Do you feel lucky… Broadway? ‘Magnum Force’ the Musical?

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It’s no secret that Broadway has been on a bit of a movie-to-musical binge lately, but this is really pushing the limits of what can be taken seriously. Guardian News has reported that singer-songwriter Robyn Hitchcock is apparently developing ‘Magnum Force’ (sequel to ‘Dirty Harry’) into a stage musical. Yes, you heard me correctly… a musical!

Hitchcock is said to be working alongside MTV executive Bill Flanagan to produce the 1973 modern action classic into a Broadway bound singing and dancing extravaganza, joining such other movie-to-stage adaptations as Dirty Dancing, Billy Elliot, Sunset Boulevard and yes, even Evil Dead. So, how exactly does one become inspired to convert a film riddled with violence and gunfights into a stage musical?

Hitchcock claims his relationship with Magnum Force is a longstanding one. “It’s a film that seemed to be on all the time when I was on tour,” he said. “By the fifth time [I saw it], I became addicted to it. It’s taken a very strange hold on my life.” — Guardian

[source: Guardian]

‘Slapshot’ remake scores a director!

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Universal Pictures is developing a remake of ‘Slapshot’. The project is being produced by Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall while Peter Steinfeld (’21’) will write the screenplay. Universal has set director Dean Parisot (Fun With Dick and Jane) to bring the 1977 sports comedy back to the big screen. Ehh… I’m not too sure about this one. I think I smell a stinker.

The original starred Paul Newman as the fading player/coach of a minor league hockey team. Trying to hype the Charlestown Chiefs for a possible move South, the coach ramps up interest by turning his team into a group of brawling thugs. — Variety

[source: Variety]

John Carpenter is committed to ‘The Ward’

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John Carpenter has signed on to direct ‘The Ward’ as his next project. This will mark Carpenter’s first feature film since 2001 when he helmed ‘Ghosts of Mars’. The project is being produced by indie company Echo Lake. Amber Heard (Pineapple Express) is apparently attached to star in the ghost story as a woman haunted inside a mental institution. I’m sure there’s more to the plot to this if Carpenter is interested, but we’ll just have to wait for further details.

[source: Variety]

Spike Lee takes on another WWII Project

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Director Spike Lee is sticking with WWII for now, acquiring the rights to Brendan Koerner’s novel “Now the Hell Will Start.” Lee plans to produce the film under his 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks shingle. Lee appears to be working in a sort of theme mode right now, with his last movie ‘Miracle at St. Anna’ also dealing with the African-American experience in World War II. My hope is that he finds a talented director that can do this film more justice than Lee did with ‘Miracle.’

Nonfiction thriller, subtitled “One Soldier’s Flight From the Greatest Manhunt of World War II,” recounts the story of an African-American soldier who murdered his lieutenant and then fled into the Burmese jungle.

Book uses the soldier’s story to explore how the U.S. military considered African- Americans unfit for combat and shipped thousands to India in 1944 to build the Ledo Road, a 500-mile project that extended through mountains into China. — Variety

[source: Variety]

Christian Bale Goes Ballistic on Cinematographer

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Holy F***! Cinematical.com has posted an article with audio of Christian Bale and his utterly explosive verbal attack on Shane Hurlbut, cinematographer of ‘Terminator: Salvation’. Â  The one-sided argument is apparently triggered when Hurlbut unintentionally ruins a scene of Bale’s by walking by in the background to check some lights. Bale is distracted and flips out on Hurlbut about how he’s unprofessional and just doesn’t “get it” about working with actors.

On this note, I understand his concern, but his reaction I’d say is a bit extreme. Then again, an actor such as Bale is known for fully immersing themselves into their character (i.e. – ‘American Psycho’, ‘The Machinist’) so I’d be the last one to get in his way while he’s in character.

One part classically stereotypical of life working in Hollywood, one part devastatingly revealing about Bale’s personality and temper, this audio is not only shocking but also makes one wonder about the truth behind his denial regarding the “alleged” charges his mother filed against him last year. The audio is filled with the F*** word and is certainly NSFW.

Check out the audio clip here.

[source: Cinematical.com]