ILM will be going to the White House and it won’t be as part of a movie, either.
A big congratulations to our friends at ILM for being awarded the National Medal of Technology for their innovation.
I wonder if George will go in his flannel shirt?
Actors, writers want placement cash
Hollywood writers and actors want a code of conduct for ‘hidden’ advertising on TV shows and films such as Star Wars being a main focus of last week’s ‘Apprentice’.
It’s Potter Time
Some 7,000 fans showed up at Sunday’s world premiere of “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” in London’s Leicester Square.
Young fans tell “The Times” the newest film is the “best so far — by far”.
A Winnipeg-based band called the Wyrd Sisters has failed to get an injunction to block the release of the film in Canada. Members of the band claim JK Rowling stole the name from them. The lawsuit is still pending. (Errr… no comment)
And finally, Daniel Radcliffe hopes the bespectacled young hero he portrays in the films will buy the moisture farm in the last installment.
“I would like Harry to die at the end of that seventh book. I think it would be a very good ending if he had to die in order for evil Voldemort to die”, Radcliffe said.
Of course, it won’t matter much to him since he isn’t sure he’ll be back for the last two movies anyway.
An Argument for the Bird Flu
Because it’s Sunday, and I feel like crap, here’s something to cheer up the snark-enabled: Pablo eviscerates Chicken Little.
(Okay, maybe it’s not snark, exactly. But it works for me.)
Joss Whedon: Like Luke Skywalker, in a way
This interview with Joss on Star Trek and Star Wars and their effect on Firefly and Serenity is all sorts of cute:
Whedon: There’s always the young punk rebelling against his father.I’m rebelling against Han Solo, but if you are going to tell me that Han Solo isn´t the father of Malcolm Reynolds, then I am going to laugh and laugh and laugh.
He then goes on to say:
At the same time, I owe both of those franchises a huge debt. They are both in my personal, how can they not be? It’s that classic thing : I’m rebelling against my father and doing everything he doesn’t do, but I think I look like him.
Read the full quote on TrekWeb via Whedonesque. The entire article is in the latest issue of Cinefantastique.
Isn’t this why we have Kevin Smith?
According to Variety, the Weinstein’s have picked up a script called “Fan Boys” that follows a group of Star Wars fans in their quest to help their dying friend make it to Skywalker Ranch to see the final film.
Hayden does Dylan
In an interview with Empire, Hayden Christensen reveals that he’s been cast in the Edie Sedgewick biopic Factory Girl along with Sienna Miller and Guy Pearce. He’ll be playing a character “based on Bob Dylan.”
He’ll also be starring with Christina Ricci and Reese Witherspoon in Penelope, which he describes as” a fable-esque tale, sort of like an Edward Scissorhands-type movie, but for a female who
Giant gorillas don’t come cheap
Peter Jackson’s King Kong remake is currently clocking in at 3 hours long, and the extra time has increased the budget by a third – to $207 million. (Two hundred and seven million!) Universal Pictures will be releasing the film at the (for now) full length – no word on how much footage they’ll hold back for the inevitable extended DVD.
Kids love hobbits, right?
Changes in George Lucas’s Lord of the Rings: Special Edition. Rather predictable, but good for a giggle or two. (via The Movie Blog, which also gives George props.)
The Bond Rejects
So no doubt you’ve learned now that Daniel Craig is going to play James Bond, right? You can’t go anywhere without seeing the horrible headlines. (Seriously, folks: Bond, James Bond? NO SHIT.)
Anyway, the rumor mill has gotten hold of a leaked “in-house memo” that gives reasons for not casting actors most people have actually heard of. Witness:
Hugh Jackman, it read, was “too fey”, Colin Farrell “too sleazy”, Eric Bana “not handsome enough” – and Ewan McGregor “too short” at 5ft10.
That’s just cold. Okay, we’ll give them Colin Farrell, ’cause the man personifies sleaze, and yeah, the Ewan excuse is lame, but is there any woman here who thinks of Hugh Jackman as “fey?” If Jackman is what Hollywood considers a sissy, we’re all doomed.