{"id":1672,"date":"2007-03-13T00:42:00","date_gmt":"2007-03-13T00:42:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2007\/03\/newsbites-plissken-becket-commandments\/"},"modified":"2007-03-13T00:42:00","modified_gmt":"2007-03-13T00:42:00","slug":"newsbites-plissken-becket-commandments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2007\/03\/newsbites-plissken-becket-commandments.html","title":{"rendered":"Newsbites: Plissken! Becket! Commandments!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Time for another quick batch.<\/span><\/p>\n

1.<\/a> Variety<\/a><\/i> reports that Gerard Butler \u2014 star of 300<\/a><\/i>, Beowulf & Grendel<\/a><\/i> (2005), Dear Frankie<\/a><\/i> (2004) and others \u2014 hopes to play Snake Plissken in a remake of Escape from New York<\/a><\/i> (1981).<\/p>\n

2.<\/a> I just noticed today that Becket<\/a><\/i> (1964) will finally come out on DVD<\/a> on May 15 \u2014 with a commentary track by Peter O\u2019Toole!<\/p>\n

3.<\/a> Matt Page<\/a> at the Bible Films Blog passes on the news that a new animated version of The Ten Commandments<\/a><\/i> is in the works.<\/p>\n

4.<\/a> Wired<\/a><\/i> reports that the Dove Foundation is phone-spamming people to create a \u201csurvey\u201d which will prove that Hollywood does not represent the \u201cvalues\u201d of mothers and grandmothers.<\/p>\n

5.<\/a> Scott Renshaw<\/a> at The ScreenGrab bemoans the poor quality of most \u201cfaith-based\u201d films and asks mainstream filmmakers to pick up the slack by taking religious subjects seriously:<\/p>\n

As a film critic in flyover country, I\u2019m obliged to endure more than my fair share of movies that are marketed as uplifting, God-lovin\u2019, non-threatening fare. As a film critic in Utah in particular, that includes the local cottage industry in independent movies pitched specifically at the majority Mormon population (the \u201cMo-movies\u201d). If you are a big-city cinema buff whose movie-going diet consists either of Hollywood or art-house releases, this sub-genre might be nothing but an amusing rumor to you. And it probably would not surprise you at all to discover that most of these movies \u2026 let\u2019s see, what\u2019s the technical term I\u2019m looking for? Oh yeah: Suck ass.<\/p>\n

This suckage manifests itself in an impressive array of ineptitudes. Directors avoid niceties like pacing. Cinematographers treat focus as a suggestion. Actors read lines as though they were only pronouncing words phonetically without understanding their meaning. And the scripts. Oh most merciful Lord of Hosts, the scripts . . .<\/p>\n

Questions of faith can be as complex and compelling as any part of human existence, yet those stories rarely make their way to our screens. Rare is the writer\/director like Mormon auteur Richard Dutcher who takes seriously the task not just of congratulating his viewers for believing in the same things, but of exploring the knotty intersection between our souls and our lives.<\/p>\n

So come on, filmmakers\u2014give faith a chance. You don\u2019t need to surrender the subject to the hacks. I\u2019m begging you.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

6.<\/a> Film Junk<\/a> reports that Michael Bay\u2019s live-action Transformers<\/a><\/i> movie was recently rated R, until executive producer Steven Spielberg nagged the MPAA into changing the rating to PG-13. This may, of course, be nothing but a rumour; the film doesn\u2019t show up at all at FilmRatings.com<\/a>, which is the MPAA\u2019s official website.<\/p>\n

MAR 16 UPDATE: Shia LaBeouf confirms the rumour here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

7.<\/a> IGN.com<\/a> reports that Shia LaBeouf says he isn\u2019t<\/i> in \u201cfinal talks<\/a>\u201d to play the son of Indiana Jones. Quoth he:<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s nuts. It\u2019s like these rumors are spiraling out of control,\u201d proclaimed LaBeouf. \u201cLook, there\u2019s no deal on the table. If it was on the table, I would love to. It\u2019s like a dream come true to be in that project, but it\u2019s a rumor at this point. These things happen, but it\u2019s wild that it was in Variety<\/i>; it\u2019s weird.\u201d<\/p>\n

While no stranger to casting gossip, LaBeouf is holding out hope, however, that this one may come to fruition.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been through it before, though\u201d explained the actor. \u201cI was rumored to be Jimmy Olson in Superman Returns<\/a><\/i>. I\u2019ve been through the rumor fallout thing before, so I\u2019m not putting too much weight in it. You hope, of course. But is it solidified? No.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

8.<\/a> Variety<\/a><\/i> reports that Andrew Lloyd Webber recently announced<\/a> he will<\/i> make a sequel to The Phantom of the Opera<\/i>.<\/p>\n

9.<\/a> Variety<\/a><\/i>, the Associated Press<\/a> and the Globe and Mail<\/a><\/i> cover the left-leaning Michael Moore expos\u00e9 Manufacturing Dissent<\/a><\/i>.<\/p>\n

10.<\/a> Variety<\/a><\/i> says audiences are increasingly okay with the ads that appear before movies: \u201c63% of viewers \u2018do not mind'\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Time for another quick batch. 1. Variety reports that Gerard Butler \u2014 star of 300, Beowulf & Grendel (2005), Dear Frankie (2004) and others \u2014 hopes to play Snake Plissken in a remake of Escape from New York (1981). 2. I just noticed today that Becket (1964) will finally come out on DVD on May […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1116,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1672","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nNewsbites: Plissken! Becket! Commandments!<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Time for another quick batch.1. 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