{"id":2551,"date":"2005-10-14T09:22:00","date_gmt":"2005-10-14T09:22:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2005\/10\/newsbites-green-pastures-king-kong-bond\/"},"modified":"2005-10-14T09:22:00","modified_gmt":"2005-10-14T09:22:00","slug":"newsbites-green-pastures-king-kong-bond","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2005\/10\/newsbites-green-pastures-king-kong-bond.html","title":{"rendered":"Newsbites: Green Pastures! King Kong! Bond!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Time for another round-up.<\/span><\/p>\n

1.<\/a> The Hollywood Reporter<\/a><\/i> says Fox and Warner Brothers are planning to release almost a dozen classic films to DVD in January, just in time for Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Black History Month \u2014 and one of these films will be The Green Pastures<\/a><\/i> (1936), a collection of Old Testament stories told or re-enacted by an all-black cast (including Rex Ingram as \u201cDe Lawd\u201d).<\/p>\n

2.<\/a> The original King Kong<\/a><\/i> (1933) comes out on DVD next month<\/a>. In the meantime, Reuters<\/a> reports that Universal is going to unusual lengths to promote Peter Jackson\u2019s upcoming remake:<\/p>\n

Universal is taking a novel approach to marketing its upcoming, big-budget film \u201cKing Kong\u201d by releasing a DVD documenting the making of the movie a day before the film hits theaters.<\/p>\n

The DVD \u201cKING KONG Peter Jackson\u2019s Production Diaries<\/a>\u201d marks the first time a major studio will ship retailers a DVD featuring a behind-the-scenes look at a film ahead of its theatrical release, a Universal Studios Home Entertainment spokeswoman said on Thursday, and industry sources agreed.<\/p>\n

By releasing the two-DVD set along with a companion book on December 13, the package helps promote the \u201cKong\u201d movie that hits theaters on December 14. In turn, the movie helps drive DVD sales among fans who want to learn more after they see the film.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

3.<\/a> It\u2019s no big surprise, but you may have heard that Daniel Craig<\/a> was publicly tapped to be the next James Bond today, in the third version of Casino Royale<\/a><\/i>, due out sometime next year.<\/p>\n

It sounds like this film is going to go the Batman Begins<\/a><\/i> route \u2014 ignoring all the previous films and focusing on the character\u2019s origins. This could be a good thing. Then again, the film will be directed by Martin Campbell, who also directed Pierce Brosnan in GoldenEye<\/a><\/i> (1995), a film that did more than most others to turn Bond from a spy<\/i> into something more like a commando<\/i>.<\/p>\n

FWIW, the Associated Press<\/a> notes that Craig will be the first blond actor to play Bond, as well as only the second Englishman out of six actors to tackle the part, following Roger Moore. (The other actors were Scottish, Australian, Welsh and Irish.) That\u2019s if we ignore the 1967 version of Casino Royale<\/i>, of course.<\/p>\n

4.<\/a> Did you know that Richard Donner, director of the original Superman<\/a><\/i> (1978), had directed most of Superman II<\/a><\/i> (1980) before he was fired and Richard Lester took his place, apparently starting over from scratch? I didn\u2019t, until I read this story<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Boasting one of Hollywood\u2019s more interesting and\/or frustrating back stories, Superman II<\/i> was a movie twice made: First, by Richard Donner, who helmed the 1978 franchise-starter; and secondly, by Richard Lester, who reshot and completed the film after Donner was fired.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s estimated Donner\u2019s version was 70-80 percent complete when the project was restarted\u2013a tantalizing statistic for the faithful who dream of seeing the \u201clost\u201d work of Reeve, Margot Kidder (as Lois Lane), Gene Hackman (as Lex Luthor) and Marlon Brando (as Jor-El, Superman\u2019s birth father).<\/p>\n

The fan site Superman Cinema has been at the forefront in lobbying Warner Bros. to release \u201cthe real\u201d Superman II<\/i>. Even a new Superman II<\/i> DVD featuring the considerable Donner footage as bonus tracks would appease. While Warners has yet to budge, Superman Cinema founder Dharmesh promised the demand is there.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are not talking about a certain demographic, or genre fans,\u201d Dharmesh said in an email interview. \u201cThe film fan community is willing this project to go ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some hope Superman Returns<\/a><\/i>, director Bryan Singer\u2019s own de facto take on Superman II<\/i> (his film, due out next summer, essentially picks up where Donner\u2019s first movie left off), will provide Warners with incentive to open the vaults. Already, the studio has given Singer access to the unused footage of Brando, clearing the way for the late actor, who died in 2004, to revive his paternal role in the new movie.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

5.<\/a> The Associated Press<\/a> has a fun article on movie-set slang.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Time for another round-up. 1. The Hollywood Reporter says Fox and Warner Brothers are planning to release almost a dozen classic films to DVD in January, just in time for Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Black History Month \u2014 and one of these films will be The Green Pastures (1936), a collection of Old […]<\/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-2551","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nNewsbites: Green Pastures! King Kong! Bond!<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Time for another round-up.1. 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