Methinks we’re overdue for another batch.
1. GetReligion.org notes the peculiar lack of religious content in the Los Angeles Times‘ recent feature on Joaquin Phoenix, who grew up with missionary hippie parents and plays the deeply spiritual Johnny Cash in the upcoming film Walk the Line.
2. Reuters notes that the CGI cartoon Chicken Little, the first major animated Disney feature since they shut down their traditional hand-drawn animation division, is “critical for Disney reputation”. The story notes that Disney “dabbled” in CGI before, with Dinosaur (2000; my review), which featured semi-realistic animals against live-action backgrounds. But, um, that movie sucked, so it ain’t the most encouraging precedent.
3. They say that sex scenes between married actors tend not to work, so if you got one of them to direct the scene, you could take their collaboration to a whole new level of awkwardness. Hence, Reuters reports that, for Willem Dafoe, who has been in his share of controversial (The Last Temptation of Christ, 1988) and embarrassing (Body of Evidence, 1993) sex scenes, “perhaps the toughest sex scenes yet were in a new film co-starring and directed by his wife.” Yeepers. Someone call David Cronenberg!
4. The Associated Press reports that “the star of India’s first animated feature film is a genuine deity drawn from the Hindu pantheon. . . . In promos being aired on Indian TV, Hanuman, wearing an orange loincloth, gold armlets and anklets, wields a mace as he battles fire-breathing dragons and ferocious demons in the 90-minute film.” Director V.G. Samant “studied Hindu scriptures for more than two years with some 60 animators and researchers to adapt them to celluloid for the movie”.
5. Is the Friday the 13th series really celebratings its 25th anniversary? The Associated Press says it is, and it says there is talk of another cross-over sequel, plus a remake. Oh joy. Just for the record, the only films in this franchise that I’ve seen are Parts I, II, III, IV and X — most of which I saw a couple years ago, as research, when I thought there was a chance that I might see Freddy Vs. Jason (2003). As it turns out, I didn’t. Ah well. (One nitpick: an actress in this article says, “I was Jason’s first victim,” but I suspect she was actually Jason’s mother’s first victim.)
6. The Hollywood Reporter says Sahara director Breck Eisner and Pleasantville (1998; my comments) writer-director Gary Ross are teaming up for a remake The Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954); Ross’s father was one of the writers on the original.
“I’ve always been a fan of the original, but for this I would love to just update and modernize the film,” Eisner said in an interview. “We see it as an aggressive sci-fi horror film in the vein of ‘Alien’ or like John Carpenter’s ‘The Thing.’ We want to elevate the source material.”
7. The Hollywood Reporter reviews Ushpizin:
In the charming comedy-parable “Ushpizin,” religious orthodoxy inspires not unbending dogma but humble, sometimes baffled spiritual striving by its embraceable, flawed characters. Made with the unprecedented involvement of Jerusalem’s Orthodox community, the film bridges the secular and religious with a light touch, using ritual specifics as a way into a very human story. The film’s opening today coincides with Sukkot, the holiday at the center of the tale. Good reviews and word-of-mouth could ensure a decent art house run in metro markets.
8. Speaking of Ushpizin, the Hollywood Reporter links this film to Left Behind: World at War, of all things, in an article on the new relationship between Hollywood and faith-based markets.
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