Get ready to file this one into your WTF folder, folks. According to Variety, The Weinstein Co. has sealed a four-year deal with Blockbuster for them to be the exclusive rental outfit for all Weinstein releases. Yes, that means folks like Netflix will not be allowed to carry any films from the company starting in January. Once again, WTF?
So, to put this in simpler terms, if you're one of those people who might want to wait to watch flicks like Bobby, Shut Up and Sing or School for Scoundrels on DVD, and you only watch films through Netflix, then you're sh*t out of luck. Sure, it seems like a fabulous deal for Blockbuster (who are constantly trying to one-up their rival), but what does The Weinstein Co. get out of this? Well, it appears Blockbuster will market the hell out of all their releases, which includes a slew of front-of-store advertisements. However, while advertisements are great and all, they're now making it that much harder for people to catch their films on DVD. Those friends of mine who rent through Netflix will not sign up or switch to a Blockbuster account just to watch, say, The Dixie Chicks. So, The Weinstein Co. could potentially lose a lot of money here -- a gamble they're willing to take, I suppose.
If you're the sort of DVD collector who loves nothing more than the kitschy little key-chains, chatchkes and doo-dads (and you're a big fan of Kevin Smith'sClerks 2), then you'll want to hit Best Buy on November 28. And make it during your lunch hour, because you'll be leaving the store with a decidedly unique Happy Meal.
Best Buy is offering an exclusive "Mooby's Fun Meal Box," which includes the Clerks 2 DVD, a cup, a visor, a Mooby's name tag ... and a box. Looks like this extra-special meal will set the Askewniversers back an extra ten bucks for the additional treats. ($29.99 MSRP, although that will undoubtedly go down during the week of release.)
Frankly I don't think the Mooby's toys are all that worthy of an extra ten smackers, but then again I'm not much of a memorabilia collector. The movie, though, is a winner, and I'll definitely be adding C2 to my collection soon. [Thanks to JoBlo for the tip and the pic.]
If you feel like you've been hearing a lot of news lately about movie distribution deals, that's because the annual American Film Market (AFM) has been going on in Santa Monica for the past week. The AFM website claims that more than $800 million in deals are made every year at the industry event. Three more distribution deals have just been announced:
The Weinstein Company bought the U.S. distribution rights to Death Defying Acts, a feature about the life of illusionist Harry Houdini. Perhaps the recent success of The Prestige and The Illusionist inspired the deal. The film is directed by Gillian Armstrong and stars Guy Pearce as Houdini, who becomes involved with a psychic played by Catherine Zeta-Jones. One of the writers is Tony Grisoni, whose writing credits include Brothers of the Head, Tideland, and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Armstrong is good at turning a biography into an interesting movie, as with My Brilliant Career, and the combination of her direction and Grisoni's writing has suddenly made me twice as interested as I would normally be in a film about Houdini. (Okay, Guy Pearce was also an influence.) TWC intends to premiere the film at Cannes in 2007.
Palm Pictures picked up the North American rights to distribute Solo Dios Sabe (Only God Knows), a Brazilian drama that debuted at Sundance earlier this year. Palm plans to release the film in theaters in early 2007. The film stars Alice Braga (City of God) and Diego Luna (Y Tu Mama Tambien) as a Brazilian student and Mexican journalist travelling together.
Strand Releasing acquired the North American rights to White Palms, a Hungarian movie about young gymnasts. The movie is Hungary's entry in the Academy Awards' Foreign Language Film category for 2006. Strand is apparently betting the movie will make the cut to the final Oscar nominations and subsequently garner more publicity. White Palms sounds fascinating to me, as it contrasts Eastern European and North American methods of training young athletes in gymnatics. I'm looking forward to the chance to see the film.
For anyone familiar with Marcel Ophuls' Oscar-winning documentary Hôtel Terminus, it might seem strange that another filmmaker is taking a stab at the life of Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie, aka the "Butcher of Lyon." Kevin Macdonald, who also won a doc Oscar for One Day in September and who just recently released his non-doc debut, The Last King of Scotland, has made My Enemy's Enemy, which reportedly concentrates more on Barbie's employment by the CIA than with any other part of his life. He says the film, "is a version of history where, in contrast to what we were all told, fascist ideology prevailed." It is also more than likely meant to parallel other times in history when the U.S. collaborated with past or future enemies.
Just how bad was this guy, that the U.S. shouldn't have been working with him and aiding him? Barbie was called the "Butcher of Lyon" because while head of the Gestapo in the French city, he was responsible for 4,000 deaths. After World War II was over, he began working for British intelligence and the U.S. Army Counter Intelligence Corp. When his service for our government was over, he was able to flee, with help from the American government, to Bolivia, where he lived another thirty years until he was captured, brought to trial and sentenced to life in prison.
The Weinstein Co., which is always happy to release a controversial doc, picked up the film this past weekend at the American Film Market, but haven't made any announcements for time of release. The Weinsteins know a little about collaborating with the enemy, as they recently threw a gala for Wal-Mart.
A few days ago I shared the news that IFC and WeinsteinCo had paired up to bring Jonathan King'sBlack Sheep to cinemas / video stores -- which is pretty good news for people who enjoy movies about mutated killer sheep. (People like me.) To celebrate the good news, I decided to finally get off my ass and transcribe an interview I did with Mr. King at this year's Toronto Film Festival. So here it is!
Cinematical: At the premiere last night we talked about this: In New Zealand, the sheep outnumber the humans by about a 10:1 ratio. But beyond the idea that "Hey, we could make a horror/comedy about sheep!" -- beyond that, what was it that made you think "Hey, we can do this."?
Jonathan King: Well, the idea came, and I thought it worked. You can imagine me pitching this idea, just using the sheep. But what was cool about it was all the stuff we came up with later: The settings around the farm, the shed, the offal pit, where across the landscape the sheep would come from....
Cine: I made a special mention of that in my review. Practical or FX-wise, I've never seen anything that looks like the New Zealand countryside. Watching the film, the backgrounds are almost too beautiful. I found myself wondering if it was a practical shot, CG, a matte...
JK: Yeah, one of the things we're pleased about is that I think it's a view of New Zealand you haven't seen before. It's not like The Piano. It's not the snowy mountains of Lord of the Rings. It's kind of a rugged-but-beautiful look.
Based on the comment count on my last post about the Black Christmasremake, I'm guessing not many of you actually give a hoot about this yuletide slasher retread. But you should, and here's why: The flick's gonna come under fire for having the audacity to mix bloody slasher mayhem with a traditionally comfy holiday theme. It happened back in 1984 with Silent Night, Deadly Night -- but most of that controversy stemmed from the fact that the marketing materials showed Santa Claus wielding an axe. And as much as I love horror movies ... I can obviously see why parents would be mega-pissed about an axe-wielding Kris Kringle.
But with the "torture porn" uproar in full swing, thanks to the unsurprising financial success of Saw 3, I'm just betting that Black Christmas will earn all sorts of complaints (and free publicity) from parents, clergy, psychotherapists, guidance counselors, concerned babysitters and, of course, Bill O'Reilly. You just watch.
Oh, I almost forgot: Sorry you didn't care much for that skimpy old teaser clip. So here's a brand-new trailer. Black Christmas opens on December 25th.
I just now realized that it wasn't all a dream: I really did interview a bunch of sheep a few months back. What a strange thing to do. But hey, it was all in support of a very entertaining little horror/comedy called Black Sheep, which hails from New Zealand and focuses on the activities of SEVERAL mutated killer sheep -- were-sheep! -- and the people they eat.
Back at Toronto we expected the flick to get snatched up right quick, but the back-room machinations took longer than previously anticipated. And now some good news: The movie will be hitting theaters (thanks to IFC) and DVD (courtesy of Los Weinsteins) relatively soon. That's right: We don't have release dates just yet, but they're the next logical step after a distribution deal is inked. Hopefully we won't have a Feast-style delay on this one.
I'd been hoping for a Lionsgate logo to grace this particular flick, but according to The Hollywood Reporter, LG dropped out of the bidding not too long ago. Ah well. Here's hoping writer/director Jonathan King got a decent price for his ovine-laden monster movie. He's a really nice guy.
At first we couldn't get nine words out of Rob Zombie regarding his remake of John Carpenter'sHalloween, but once you get finished reading this MTV interview piece, you'll know more than you probably need to about the rocker'sre-do plans. (Forgive me if I express mild disdain throughout this report, as I think Rob Zombie has about as much chance of helming a quality Halloween remake as I have of sleeping with Milla Jovovich ... although obviously I'll keep my fingers crossed on both counts.)
To his credit, Mr. Zombie (acccurately) cites Cronenberg'sThe Fly and Carpenter's The Thing as two of the only worthwhile horror remakes ever made -- and those revisits worked because you had fresh-minded directors who were passionate about using a classic flick as a jumping-off point towards something DIFFERENT. So points for Zombie on that count, even if I wouldn't re-watch The Devil's Rejects or House of 1000 Corpses on a bet.
The rather extensive article also goes into Zombie's intentions regarding the Michael Meyers character, whom he hopes to flesh out as more than just a shadowy background character, some of the "wish list" actors for the Dr. Loomis character (Jeff Bridges and Ben Kingsley have been mentioned), and (of course) the dangers of remaking such a hardcore horror classic. Fans of the Halloween series, even those who are dreading Zombie's re-interpretation, will find a surprising amount of insight from Mr. Zombie -- so here's hoping the flick turns out great. I'm not holding my breath, but hey, it feels better to stay positive -- even when every gorehound instinct I have is screaming NoOoOoOoOooooo!!!
Last week, there was a lot of controversy surrounding the announcement that Harvey and Bob Weinstein are producing a gala event to honor Wal-Mart CEO H. Lee Scott, Jr. After all, the Weinsteins are known for their support of the Democratic party and for their distributing liberal-sided docs like Fahrenheit 9/11 and the new Barbara Kopple film Shut Up & Sing. So, what are they doing hobnobbing with the enemy of their friends? The official reason is that the Weinsteins support Scott's new efforts to sustain environmental friendliness, but a number of people are pointing out other reasons the brothers might desire a good relationship with the retail company.
Radar has a report on some of these reasons, which include the Weinsteins' hopes for priority placement in Wal-Mart's stores and their need for Wal-Mart to go easier on movies depicting sex and drugs. Variety more specifically addressed the Weinsteins' recent control of Genius Products, which will be making straight-to-video, family-friendly films that cater well to Wal-Mart's demographic. Wake-Up Wal-Mart has gone so far as to write a letter of disapproval to the Weinsteins.
So, now what happens when Michael Moore, who is already a critic of Wal-Mart, decides his next activist doc is against the stores? Will the Weinsteins still support their golden boy?
In related news, SpielbergFilms.net is pointing out that Wal-Mart is now selling Poltergeiston DVD for less than $5. It's things like this that make it hard for moviefans to keep up a hatred for the stores, but I think we can all hold out for next year's 25th Anniversary edition, right?
The documentary tells about the period three years ago when the Chicks stirred up mountains of controversy after lead Chick Natalie Maines said during a London concert that the Chicks were ashamed President Bush is from Texas.
TWC also released documents that appeared to be from NBCs advertising standards division with handwritten remarks about the film having material that "disparges President Bush."
Shut Up & Sing wants to give us a backstage pass to a publicity crisis, but the more interesting story that shines through is about the enormous power that even a travel-sized lead singer can wield over a band. The story begins in 2003 when Natalie Maines, the frosted blonde frontwoman of the Western swing-pop threesome The Dixie Chicks, makes an off-the-cuff to a London crowd about being embarrassed by Bush. The insult bounces around the globe, lands on redneck radio and results in a sturdy boycott that sinks plans for a tour. Maines is urged to back-peddle. Instead, she tries to spin the 'traitor' label into a new, quasi-edgy image for the hitherto-wholesome group. For fickle fans, it's a bridge too far. "You're giving the American public too much credit," her publicist warns. Meanwhile, the other Chicks fume. Fiddle player Martie Maguire wants to chick-scratch Maines' eyes out for gambling with their careers. At one point, in a moment that's almost off-camera, she mumbles: "I'm not gonna try to dig you out."
But Maines knows she is irreplaceable -- the Chicks opened supermarkets before her -- and she doesn't sweat vague threats of ouster. Everything she does, from the way she interrupts meetings with daydreamy musings to her snap decision to cut ties with a wavering sponsor, exposes her as the group's 800-pound gorilla. The film's best moments occur when she pipes up with an opinion, and the other Chicks bite their tongues. As the pressure increases, Maines begins to flirt with severing the group's connection to country music, which she's not culturally wedded to. This leads to a hilarious scene where she drags the other Chicks to the Maharishi-like pad of music impresario Rick Rubin for a musical powwow. Maguire, who was baptized in bluegrass, not Beastie Boys, is lost at sea. She eventually blurts out "What is our role?," prompting Rubin to make a cryptic statement about finding the best sound, 'whatever it may be'. He probably said that to several Chili Peppers drummers before they were axed.
After watching Flightplan (ugh) last night, I was thinking about how I'm really digging Peter Sarsgaard lately. I don't know what it is about the guy (perhaps it's his calm, quiet and creepy demeanor), but he's suddenly shot up my "actors to keep an eye on" list. Variety reports the dude has just signed on to star opposite Jake Gyllenhaal and Reese Witherspoon ( I love how she's getting these big, serious parts now) in Rendition. Pic marks Gavin Hood's followup to Tsotsi and revolves around a CIA operative in the Middle East who becomes all shaded out when he witnesses some nasty police interrogations.
Hey, remember that South Park episode where Rob Reiner invades the town in order to combat the spread of smoking amongst teens? He's all fat and can barely move, yet all he does is bitch about cigarettes? Well, in a related story, Harvey Weinstein has taken it upon himself to join the fight against nicotine addiction by placing anti-smoking ads in the Weinstein Co.'s DVD releases. Seriously. He wants to educate young people on the negative effects of eating your face off smoking. I say, good for him!
Okay, so here's a film that should strike a chord with anyone who's ever dated a cheater, a player, a pimp or, well ... you get the idea. The Weinstein Co. has snatched up the spec scriptMuskrat Love as a potential directing vehicle for Andy Fickman (She's the Man). Launchpad Prods. and Underground Entertainment will help produce.
Written by Martin Sweeney, story follows an egotistical hot shot who is injected with monogamy serum by the best friend of a girl he recently shoved to the curb. Assuming they snag a dynamite actor for the lead role (I know he's in everything, but I could see Vince Vaughn tapping into his excellent Swingers performance and doing a fabulous job ... baby), then Muskrat Love could end up as a spicier (and perhaps a bit edgier) version of Liar Liar. If that's the case, then I'm definitely there.
For a good long while there it looked like horror master Clive Barker was going to escape unscathed from the Remake Renaissance that's been plaguing the planet for the past several years ... but nope. Looks like the celebrated author / artist / filmmaker has been bitten by the re-do bug; he'll be penning the screenplay for a Hellraiser remake for good ol' Bob Weinstein.
Over at his official website, Mr. Barker seems quite pleased with the fact that he'll be writing and producing (but not directing) this new-fangled vision of Pinhead's wrath -- but someone should have reminded Clive that the Weinsteins don't always treat their genre flicks with the greatest respect. (Just ask the guys who (finally) got their Feast released ... on the one-weekend midnight-only circuit.)
Ah well, I suppose it could have been worse. Somene might have gone ahead and remade Hellraiser completely without Barker's involvement ... and that would have been a fiasco. (Rent a few of the sequels and you'll see what I mean.) Meanwhile, that movie version of Midnight Meat Train is still stuck in limbo somewhere, which sucks because it's one of CB's most wonderfully splattery stories.
But really, wouldn't Rawhead Rex be better suited for the remake treatment? Hellraiser is already good movie!
There's a certain satisfaction in reading about distribution deals for independent films that have caught your interest -- the smaller the film, the greater the satisfaction. Suddenly, there's a real possibility that you might actually get to see the film without having to live in New York or LA. And if you did catch the film at a film festival, and loved it, now you can persuade all your friends to see it too, when the movie arrives in theaters or on DVD. (If you hated it, well, then you can boast to everyone that you saw it already, that was soooo last week, and it's not worth bothering over ... and that's a whole other type of pleasure.)
When Kim reviewed Penelope (pictured right) at TIFF, I was intrigued and hoped I'd get a chance to see the movie. Fortunately, IFC and The Weinstein Company have jointly purchased the North American rights to the film produced by Reese Witherspoon and starring Christina Ricci and James McAvoy. Kim was worried that the movie had no clear audience, but I'm sure that IFC and the Weinsteins will find one. IFC is handling the theatrical distribution, and TWC will handle TV and video rights. My only worry is that Penelope seems to share certain superficial story elements with Gretchen, an Austin-shot feature I enjoyed at SXSW, and I hope that this buy doesn't harm Gretchen's chances at distribution.
In addition, Zeitgeist films has acquired the U.S. distribution rights for the film Into Great Silence, a documentary about the Carthusian Order monastery in the French Alps. Cinematical interviewed the film's director, Philip Groening, at Sundance in January. Zeitgeist faces a challenge: marketing a nearly three-hour documentary that contains almost no dialogue, because the filmmakers respected the monastery's vows of silence. (Perhaps they could persuade Morgan Freeman to record narration? I hope not.) The distributor is planning a release timeframe of next February or March.
Get ready to file this one into your WTF folder, folks. According to Variety, The Weinstein Co. has sealed a four-year deal with Blockbuster for them to be the exclusive rental outfit for all Weinstein releases. Yes, that means folks like Netflix will not be allowed to carry any films from the company starting in January. Once again, WTF?
If you're the sort of DVD collector who loves nothing more than the kitschy little key-chains, chatchkes and doo-dads (and you're a big fan of 
If you feel like you've been hearing a lot of news lately about movie distribution deals, that's because the annual American Film Market (AFM) has been going on in Santa Monica for the past week. The 
For anyone familiar with 
A few days ago I shared the news that 
Based on the comment count on 
I just now realized that it wasn't all a dream: I really did 
At first we couldn't get nine words out of 
Last week, there was a lot of controversy surrounding 
Here's your ironic story of the week, folks: According to a story from Reuters/Hollywood Reporter, The Weinstein Company (TWC) issued a press release late Thursday 
Odds and ends from a very busy Wednesday:
Okay, so here's a film that should strike a chord with anyone who's ever dated a cheater, a player, a pimp or, well ... you get the idea. The Weinstein Co. 
For a good long while there it looked like horror master 
There's a certain satisfaction in reading about distribution deals for independent films that have caught your interest -- the smaller the film, the greater the satisfaction. Suddenly, there's a real possibility that you might actually get to see the film without having to live in New York or LA. And if you did catch the film at a film festival, and loved it, now you can persuade all your friends to see it too, when the movie arrives in theaters or on DVD. (If you hated it, well, then you can boast to everyone that you saw it already, that was soooo last week, and it's not worth bothering over ... and that's a whole other type of pleasure.)
