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Attention Rent-heads

You may or may not know that Rent: The Broadway Musical closed its curtains for the last time in November. In commemoration of the show’s 12-plus years on Broadway, the final show was recorded and available in theaters across America this past fall.

Many wondered if a Rent: Filmed Live On Broadway DVD would follow, and today I found out that it not only will, but that it will be released across the country on Tuesday, February 3rd. Grab your copy and hold on to the Rent legacy forever.

No day but today.

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New Fanboys Trailer

I have heard about Fanboys for a couple of years now through various blogs, etc. But I was wondering if it was ever going to happen.

Today I saw this new preview for the geekiest movie of the year. Definitely could be funny!

Fanboys hits the theaters this summer and stars Princes Leia, Lando Calrissian, Darth Maul, Shooter McGavin, Those warehouse guys from The Office, The Guy from Tropic Thunder, Jay, The Guy from Die Hard 4, The Hot Chick from Sin City, and Captain James T. Kirk.

Kristen Bell, Seth Rogan, Jay Baruchel, and Will Forte also appear. Check it out:

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Three Guitars and a Tractor

This is awesome, so I thought I’d share. You can catch Three Guitars and a Tractor at a Cracker Barrel near you.

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2009 Oscar Nominees

The Oscar Nominees were announced this morning at their always way-to-early press conferences. Pretty strong lists this year in my opinion.
Here are the major category nominees:

Best Supporting Actress

• Amy Adams - Doubt
• Penelope Cruz - Vickie Christina Barcelona
• Viola Davis - Doubt
• Taraji P. Henson - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Marissa Tomei - The Wrestler

Best Supporting Actor

• Josh Brolin- Milk
• Robert Downey, Jr.- Tropic Thunder
• Philip Seymour Hoffman - Doubt
• Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight
• Michael Shannon - Revolutionary Road

Best Actor

• Richard Jenkins - The Visitor
• Frank Langella - Frost/Nixon
• Sean Penn - Milk
• Brat Pitt- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Mickey Rourke- The Wrestler

Best Actress

• Anne Hathaway- Rachel Getting Married
• Angelina Jolie - Changeling
• Melissa Leo - Frozen River
• Meryl Streep - Doubt
• Kate Winslet - The Reader

Original Screenplay

• Frozen River
• Happy Go Lucky
  
• In Bruges
  
• Milk
• Wall -E
  

Direction

• David Fincher- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Ron Howard - Frost/Nixon
• Gus Van Sant - Milk
• Stephen Daldry - The Reader
• Danny Boyle - Slumdog Millionaire

Best Picture

• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Frost/Nixon
• Milk
• The Reader
• Slumdog Millionaire

What’ya think? The Oscars Ceremony will be held one month from today on February 22nd.

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2009 Golden Globe Awards Winners

Awards season officially kicked off last night with the Somethingth Annual Golden Globe Awards. I like the Globes because they award performances in television as well as film - But the Oscars are still the
best.

Here are the Nominees and Winners (bolded) from last night. I am particularly excited about Mickey Rourke for his amazing performance in The Wrestler. Also, Heath Ledger’s win for The Dark Knight is huge and could be a prelude to a posthumous Oscar. The big winner of the night was Slumdog Millionaire - the Hollywood/Bollywood collaborative effort about a young man who has the opportunity to win 1 Million rupees on an Indian version of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire”.

To the list:

Best Motion Picture - Drama

The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
The Reader
Revolutionary Road
Slumdog Millionaire

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama

Anne Hathaway – Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie – Changeling
Meryl Streep – Doubt
Kristin Scott Thomas – I’ve Loved You So Long
Kate Winslet – Revolutionary Road

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama

Leonardo DiCaprio – Revolutionary Road
Frank Langella – Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn – Milk
Brad Pitt – The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke – The Wrestler

Best Motion Picture - Musical Or Comedy

Burn After Reading
Happy-Go-Lucky
In Bruges
Mamma Mia!
Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy

Rebecca Hall – Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Sally Hawkins – Happy-Go-Lucky
Frances McDormand – Burn After Reading
Meryl Streep – Mamma Mia!
Emma Thompson – Last Chance Harvey

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical Or Comedy

Javier Bardem – Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Colin Farrell – In Bruges
James Franco – Pineapple Express
Brendan Gleeson – In Bruges
Dustin Hoffman – Last Chance Harvey

Best Performance by an Actress In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture

Amy Adams – Doubt
Penélope Cruz – Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Viola Davis – Doubt
Marisa Tomei – The Wrestler
Kate Winslet – The Reader

Best Performance by an Actor In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture

Tom Cruise – Tropic Thunder
Robert Downey Jr. – Tropic Thunder
Ralph Fiennes – The Duchess
Philip Seymour Hoffman – Doubt
Heath Ledger – The Dark Knight

Best Animated Feature Film

Bolt
Kung Fu Panda
Wall-E

Best Foreign Language Film

The Baader Meinhof Complex (Germany)
Everlasting Moments (Sweden, Denmark)
Gomorrah (Italy)
I’ve Loved You So Long (France)
Waltz With Bashir (Israel)

Best Director - Motion Picture

Danny Boyle – Slumdog Millionaire
Stephen Daldry – The Reader
David Fincher – The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
Ron Howard – Frost/Nixon
Sam Mendes – Revolutionary Road

Best Screenplay - Motion Picture

The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button - Written by Eric Roth
Doubt - Written by John Patrick Shanley
Frost/Nixon - Written by Peter Morgan
The Reader - Written by David Hare
Slumdog Millionaire - Written by Simon Beaufoy

Best Original Score - Motion Picture

The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button - Composed by Alexandre Desplat
Changeling - Composed by Clint Eastwood
Defiance - Composed by James Newton Howard
Slumdog Millionaire - Composed by A. R. Rahman
Frost/Nixon - Composed by Hans Zimmer

Best Original Song - Motion Picture

“Down To Earth” – Wall-E - Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman
“Gran Torino” – Gran Torino - Clint Eastwood, Jamie Cullum, Kyle Eastwood and Michael Stevens
”I Thought I Lost You” – Bolt - Miley Cyrus and Jeffrey Steele
“Once In A Lifetime” – Cadillac Records - Beyoncé Knowles, Amanda Ghost, Scott McFarmon, Ian Dench, James Dring and Jody Street
“The Wrestler” – The Wrestler - Bruce Springsteen

Best Television Series - Drama

Dexter (SHOWTIME)
House (FOX)
In Treatment (HBO)
Mad Men (AMC)
True Blood (HBO)

Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series - Drama

Sally Field – Brothers & Sisters (ABC)
Mariska Hargitay – Law & Order
January Jones – Mad Men (AMC)
Anna Paquin – True Blood (HBO)
Kyra Sedgwick – The Closer (TNT)

Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series - Drama

Gabriel Byrne – In Treatment (HBO)
Michael C. Hall – Dexter (SHOWTIME)
Jon Hamm – Mad Men (AMC)
Hugh Laurie – House (FOX)
Jonathan Rhys Meyers – The Tudors (SHOWTIME)

Best Television Series - Musical Or Comedy

30 Rock (NBC)
Californication (SHOWTIME)
Entourage (HBO)
The Office (NBC)
Weeds (SHOWTIME)

Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series - Musical Or Comedy

Christina Applegate – Samantha Who? (ABC)
America Ferrera – Ugly Betty (ABC)
Tina Fey – 30 Rock (NBC)
Debra Messing – The Starter Wife (USA)
Mary-Louise Parker – Weeds (SHOWTIME)

Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series - Musical Or Comedy

Alec Baldwin – 30 Rock (NBC)
Steve Carell – The Office (NBC)
Kevin Connolly – Entourage (HBO)
David Duchovny – Californication (SHOWTIME)
Tony Shalhoub – Monk (USA)

Best Mini-Series Or Motion Picture Made for Television

A Raisin In The Sun (ABC)
Bernard And Doris (HBO)
Cranford (PBS)
John Adams (HBO)
Recount (HBO)

Best Performance by an Actress In A Mini-series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Judi Dench – Cranford (PBS)
Laura Linney – John Adams (HBO)
Shirley MacLaine – Coco Chanel
Susan Sarandon – Bernard And Doris (HBO)

Best Performance by an Actor In A Mini-series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Ralph Fiennes – Bernard And Doris (HBO)
Paul Giamatti – John Adams (HBO)
Kevin Spacey – Recount (HBO)
Kiefer Sutherland – 24 (FOX)
Tom Wilkinson – Recount (HBO)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Eileen Atkins – Cranford (PBS)
Laura Dern – Recount (HBO)
Melissa George – In Treatment (HBO)
Rachel Griffiths – Brothers & Sisters (ABC)
Dianne Wiest – In Treatment (HBO)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Neil Patrick Harris – How I Met Your Mother (CBS)
Denis Leary – Recount (HBO)
Jeremy Piven – Entourage (HBO)
Blair Underwood – In Treatment (HBO)
Tom Wilkinson – John Adams (HBO)

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Toy Story vs. Dark Knight

So, I’m not usually a big fan of these sort of “mash-up” trailers that fuse different movie trailers together (though Brokeback to the Future is good). But this one is pretty awesome, the sound clips and animation mesh really well together the popularity of the two movie franchises makes it relevant as well as funny.

The only thing that I would critique is (and this is the movie-snob coming out in me) that some of the cut scenes come from the first Toy Story movie and not the second. But that’s a dumb thing to point out.

Check it.

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Rose Dawson V. Scarlett O’Hara

Should Inflation be a Factor in Determining Top Box Office Draws?

The biggest movie of the summer is The Dark Knight, no doubt about it. There’s no realistic chance for any other film to unseat the new Batman flick from being the box office champ. In fact, after its first 17 days, The Dark Knight was already the #8 film of all time in terms of box office draw. It is predicted to earn more than $500 Million and end up just behind Titanic as the highest grossing film of all time.

So, this got me thinking about some of the other films on the list, and how inflation has impacted them. Kirk and I were talking about how “unfair” it was that great films from yesteryear are eclipsed on the list not necessarily because of inferiority, but because of inflation.

Here are the top 15 highest-grossing films of all time.

1. Titanic
2. Star Wars
3. Shrek 2
4. E.T.
5. Star Wars: The Phantom Menace
6. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
7. Spider-Man
8. The Dark Knight
9. Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith
10. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
11. Spider-Man 2
12. The Passion of the Christ
13. Jurassic Park
14. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
15. Finding Nemo

…and here is the top 15 list of highest grossing films of all time adjusted for inflation. Pretty different.

1. Gone With the Wind
2. Star Wars
3. The Sound of Music
4. E.T.
5. The Ten Commandments
6. Titanic
7. Jaws
8. Doctor Zhivago
9. The Jungle Book (1967)
10. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
11. Ben-Hur
12. 101 Dalmations (1961)
13. The Exorcist
14. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
15. Star Wars: The Return of the Jedi

What do you think? Is it fair and proper to compare a movie with .25 cent ticket prices to a modern era film at $10 a ticket? Which list do you think best represents the greatness of American cinema and the people’s voice regarding the greatest movies of all time? Or, does box office draw mean nothing in terms of how the movie will be remembered to future generations?

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This Post May Offend You…

…if it does, I don’t care.

I work for an online advertising company, and I am all for creative advertising as I know how difficult it can be to brand a business, gain an audience, and then maintain that branding over time. But it seems that we now live in a day and age where creativity and humor are being a stifled by a very small group of people who seemingly look for reasons to be “offended”.

I think that being offended is the biggest crock in history. I know that there are often times that people may say or do things that may make other people uncomfortable for various reasons, but I think people use “being offended” as a way to direct attention towards themselves and towards issues that they think are politically correct. It makes them feel better about their bleeding hearts and look better to others.

There is a place in our society for some level of political correctness, but the ridiculously extreme pc movement is so out of hand now that it makes me laugh - which is probably not the politically correct thing for me to do.

A recent Ad Age article explores a couple of the most recent Television Ads that were complained about enough for their companies (Verizon and Mars Candy, respectively) take them off the air. When I first watched them, I knew there were considered offensive, but I couldn’t figure out why. I guess I just don’t have the discernment of some people.

Watch them and judge for yourself:

This one is not really that funny, but otherwise I get the point and I am baffled that people are offended by its portrayal of Pittbulls as vicious. They’re guard dogs, people. They’re supposed to attack intruders!

This next one actually is very funny! I am a sucker for anything with Mr. T in it and I had seen this one before but was by no means offended. Let me know what you think.

Stu the Wise sent me this article, again from Ad Age, that outlines a few more complaints that people have had in the past about offensive ads. I highly suggest you read it - it’s some of the most hilariously ludicrous material I’ve read in a while.

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Eddie Murphy Calling it Quits (Sort of)

In the “wow, I didn’t see that coming, though maybe I should have” department, we get word today that Eddie Murphy has made his last film and now plans to retire from Hollywood and go back to the stage and continue his career as a standup comedian.

“I have close to 50 movies and it’s like, why am I in the movies?” he said, “I’ve done that part now. I’ll go back to the stage.”

Murphy who is now 47 said that there is indeed a Beverly Hills Cop 4 picture in the works, but he has opted out of it because it “wasn’t ready to be done.”

I found my jaw dropping this morning when I read that Eddie was retiring from film because after films like Pluto Nash, Norbit, and Daddy Day Care, I figured that he obviously didn’t care if his films sucked.

But then again, after Pluto Nash, Norbit, and Daddy Day Care, it’s pretty hard to deny that your films suck and maybe you should go back to doing what made you popular. Maybe after a couple trips back around the comedy circuit, he’ll be fresh enough again to get back into the motion picture business - but let’s not count on that.

I really think this is a great decision by Eddie, and an opportunity to regain his popularity and to return to the headlines, instead of the punch lines.

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George Carlin 1937-2008

You made a lot of people laugh, and we thank you for that. Rest in peace you foul, filthy, sonofab**ch!

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