Here is a continuing example of a game developer being truly in love with their game. Developer Valve (Portal, Half-Life) have been periodically releasing machinima promoting Team Fortress 2, a first-person shooter multiplayer game. Each video introduces one of the character classes that you can play in the game by giving you a sort of day-in-the-life. Christopher Guest-ish biopic of him. The game has an awesome classic spy movie vibe, and the cast is full of delightfully tongue-in-cheek stereotypes. I wish more developers took the time (or had the money to take the time) to do stuff like this. It gets you excited about the game all over again. Thank the gods that Valve were the ones who scooped up the people who made Portal, or we may have never gotten as much fangirl/boy love from that game as we have.
Anyway... take a look. I recommend Meet the Sniper and Meet the Scout to start you off.
See full post
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
david's favorite things, volume 3940340.3
sooooo this is the bestest. i is lazy so i'm just going to copy and paste from a facebook message i wrote earlier, but it gives you all the details ya need.
so from the department of things that make me absurdly happy and have little appeal to anyone else but that i force upon them anyway...
so i'm not really a big sports guy but i've always been obsessed with the new york rangers (like, season tickets for life, obsessed). and ever since i was born this guy named al trautwig has been covering the team. now, mr. trautwig is pretty badass because he was in cool runnings and the whoopie goldberg masterpiece "eddie," and that's pretty much all someone needs to accomplish to consider their life a success as far as i'm concerned, but i have never, not once in 25 years... seen al talk about anything other than sports. but today, out of nowhere, that changed. something snapped. he just couldn't focus on his work anymore - he had to get something off his chest. so al made a video blog. about lost.
to give you an idea as to why i find this so brilliant, imagine if like... one of obama's weekly radio addresses was entirely about the hills, and not only that, but it was the most incredibly insightful analysis of the hills ever. that's how wtf this is for me. so yeah, here it is, i think you'll find it interesting, rangers obsession or not. maybe. just scroll down and watch the video.
See full post
so from the department of things that make me absurdly happy and have little appeal to anyone else but that i force upon them anyway...
so i'm not really a big sports guy but i've always been obsessed with the new york rangers (like, season tickets for life, obsessed). and ever since i was born this guy named al trautwig has been covering the team. now, mr. trautwig is pretty badass because he was in cool runnings and the whoopie goldberg masterpiece "eddie," and that's pretty much all someone needs to accomplish to consider their life a success as far as i'm concerned, but i have never, not once in 25 years... seen al talk about anything other than sports. but today, out of nowhere, that changed. something snapped. he just couldn't focus on his work anymore - he had to get something off his chest. so al made a video blog. about lost.
to give you an idea as to why i find this so brilliant, imagine if like... one of obama's weekly radio addresses was entirely about the hills, and not only that, but it was the most incredibly insightful analysis of the hills ever. that's how wtf this is for me. so yeah, here it is, i think you'll find it interesting, rangers obsession or not. maybe. just scroll down and watch the video.
See full post
Monday, January 26, 2009
The Bipolar Movie Challenge
From Time Out NY's Big Quiz Thing in October, the video round entitled Bipolar Movie Challenge. Audio from one film is placed over the visual from another film. Guess both films!
David and I played not 10 minutes ago and are pretty sure we got 18 out of 20 possible points between the two of us. Please guess in the comments section!!!
See full post
David and I played not 10 minutes ago and are pretty sure we got 18 out of 20 possible points between the two of us. Please guess in the comments section!!!
See full post
And the Best Actors Are! Not the Best Actors [Quick Thought]
So the movie that won Best Ensemble at the SAG Awards has not a single performance nominated for an Oscar and may well have the weakest acting in an Oscar film this year.
Update: From Erik Lundegaard's blog,
Even better was host Nathaniel R's live-blogging of the SAG noms, and his disappointment that "Milk" didn't win the cast award. I wrote about the SAGs this morning, but dispassionately, as Oscar indicators. Nathaniel helped push me off my fence. Because he's right. Both "Milk" and "Slumdog" are very good movies, and I'll be fine if "Slumdog" wins best picture, but if we're talking about ensemble cast acting, "Milk," with Penn, Franco, Hirsch, et al., has it all over "Slumdog," which is a director's movie. Freida Pinto is stunning, lovely to look at, and her part works, but... It ain't the same league.
And funny...he's not even a fangirl! See full post
How Traditionally Trained Are This Years Oscar Nominees?
What do these Oscar nominated actors have in common?When Laura Linney was talking about getting to see old classmates at the SAG Awards, I wondered to myself "ooh, who?!" as well as "I wonder where she went to school" as well as "I wonder where this year's Oscar nominees went to school." Hence, this post.
Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Richard Jenkins
Earned a degree in drama from Illinois Wesleyan University
Frank Langella
Graduated from Syracuse University in 1959 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in drama
Sean Penn
No college for Penn. Right out of Santa Monica High School, joined the Los Angeles Repertory Company. Got many roles through his parents, landed Taps on his own and the rest is history
Brad Pitt
Journalism major at the University of Missouri, acting in many of his fraternity's shows on the side. Left college two weeks before earning his degree to move to LA & take acting classes, studying with Roy London.
Mickey Rourke
Entered into professional boxing in his teenage years, never attending college. After getting cast in a friend's play and discovering his love for acting, moved to NY to study privately with a teacher from the Actor's Studio.
Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Josh Brolin
No college for Brolin. He trained with Stella Adler and Sandra Seacat and attended Film Industry Workshops. After making his feature acting debut, he went on to privately study with Pat George and Tony Miller.
Robert Downey Jr.
As a teen, attended Stagedoor Manor Performing Arts Training Center in upstate New York. Dropped out of Santa Monica High School in 1982 to move back to New York and pursue acting. No formal lessons.
Philip Seymour Hoffman
He received a BFA in drama in 1989 from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. (Hey, that's what EruditeChick and I did! Except not in 1989...) Specifically at NYU, studied with the Circle in the Square Theater. Same NYU graduating class as Rainn Wilson and they wrestled during their first year. Whatever that means.
Heath Ledger
Acted in shows since age 10 and began pursuing a career in the field after dropping out of high school at age 16
Michael Shannon
Dropped out of high school at 16 and immediately performed in his first professional play. Has been acting ever since.
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Anne Hathaway
Spent several semesters studying as an English major and Women's Studies minor at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York before transferring to New York University's Gallatin School of Individualized Study, but dropped out before graduating.
Angelina Jolie
Studied at the Lee Strasberg Institute in LA as a kid and appeared in many productions at Beverly Hills High. Started professionally acting & modeling during and right after high school, which she graduated early, at age 16. No college.
Melissa Leo
Studied Drama at Mount View Theatre School in London, England and later at the SUNY Purchase Acting Program, but did not graduate.
Meryl Streep
She received her B.A. in Drama at Vassar College in 1971 but also enrolled as a transfer student at Dartmouth College for a semester before that school had become coeducational. She subsequently earned an M.F.A. from Yale School of Drama.
Kate Winslet
Winslet began studying drama at the age of eleven at the Redroofs Theatre School. By 16, Winslet had dropped out of high school and landed her first film role: the lead in Heavenly Creatures.
Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Amy Adams
Made the decision not to go to college after high school. Performed in community & dinner theater and struggled as an actress until landing her breakthrough role in Junebug at age 30. Studied with the Actor's Workshop in LA in the early 2000s.
Penélope Cruz
Did not complete high school, but went on to receive four years of Theatre training from Cristina Rota's school in New York. In addition, studied classical ballet for nine years at Spain's National Conservatory and afterwards, continued training under a series of prominent dancers.
Viola Davis
Davis majored in theatre at Rhode Island College, graduating in 1988; in 2002 she received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts from the college. She also attended The Juilliard School for four years.
Taraji P. Henson
She first attended NC A&T where she started a major in Electrical Engineering. She later transferred to Howard University, where she graduated with a degree in Theater Arts.
Marisa Tomei
Attended Boston University for a year, transferring to NYU in 1983 after landing a role in the soap opera As The World Turns. Soon after, she dropped out of school altogether as her career began to take off.
Here's the tally!
Drama degrees: Richard Jenkins, Frank Langella, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Meryl Streep, Viola Davis, Taraji P. Henson - 6
College Drop Outs: Anne Hathaway, Melissa Leo, Marisa Tomei, Brad Pitt - 4
High School Drop Outs: Robert Downey Jr., Heath Ledger, Michael Shannon, Kate Winslet, Penelope Cruz - 5
Began careers straight of high school: Sean Penn, Mickey Rourke, Josh Brolin, Angelina Jolie, Amy Adams - 5
Huzzah, a degree in drama still wins! I feel better about myself now.
And in case you were wondering, Laura Linney went to Northwestern, Brown & Julliard and roomed with Jeanne Tripplehorn. All I could find. Darn!
Began careers straight of high school: Sean Penn, Mickey Rourke, Josh Brolin, Angelina Jolie, Amy Adams - 5
Huzzah, a degree in drama still wins! I feel better about myself now.
And in case you were wondering, Laura Linney went to Northwestern, Brown & Julliard and roomed with Jeanne Tripplehorn. All I could find. Darn!
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Celebrity Crushes of the Week
So I noticed today on one of my favorite blogs, The Film Experience, something called "Crushes of the Week," featuring Gael Garcia Bernal & Diego Luna, Laurence Olivia in Rebecca, Angelina Jolie and Colin Farrel at the Golden Globes and it got me thinking. Do I have random celebrity crushes of the week? And would you have it, I totally do! So without further ado, my crushes of the week
Hugh Grant in his early 40s (2000-2004)
So this week I caught the crapfest that is the Bridget Jones sequel on TNT or TBS or TCC or TXM or whatever channel plays such films. Lifetime? We? O? Love? Ka? Zumanity? Oh the line between women's channels and Cirque De Soliel shows, how they blur. Anyway. That movie is difficult to watch because of Renee Zellwegers way too puffy face oh, and because it sucks, but holy god is Hugh Grant beautiful. So I also watched some of Two Weeks Notice on a couple different days...and then added Sense & Sensibility and Four Weddings & A Funeral to my Netflix queue cause I've never seen em and Hugh Grant is...have you SEEN Love Actually? (The answer is yes, once a year AT LEAST) and I'm curious to see if he was just as adorable when he was in his early 30s.
Various Members of the New Administration (Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Rahm Emanuel & Jon Favreau...not that one)
Don't even try to disagree with me. Maybe the most dashing POTUS & VP ever to grace Washington, plus that tiny sexy Jewish spitfire who helped inspire Josh Lyman (heart) PLUS a 27 year old gorgeous speechwriter who got in trouble a couple months ago for groping a Hilary Clinton standee?! Where do I sign up? Oh, I did. When I VOTED.
Leonardo Dicaprio in Titanic & Catch Me If You Can (1997 & 2002)
Specifically Leo in those two movies. Maybe because another one of those T channels was showing them all weekend. Hey, one guess what I did with my Friday and Saturday nights. And while Leo is perfect and adorable in Catch Me If You Can, Leo in Titanic clearly wins here because BEAUTIFUL and I first saw the movie when I was 11. I distinctly remember having to lie to all my friends about my love for Leo because I wanted to be "cool" and "counter-culture" and not love that movie nor swoon for Mr. Dicaprio the way all my peers did. But goodness. You really do fall in love with him in that movie. You are like, shit, I'd fall in love with him in one day and do it in the back of a car and break up with my rich fiance and years later throw away a diamond worth so much it could solve world hunger, all because he's so effing cute. If I was Kate Winslet in 1997 I'd have been like I don't know how you expect me to SPEAK to this angel, let alone act with him. OMGz. And did anyone else catch Emily Blunt on the E! pre-show talking about her young crush on Leo and how she's never met him? I'd watch a movie with those two! Make it happen.
Katrina Bowden at the SAG Awards
And by Katrina Bowden, I do mean Katrina Bowden's Christian Siriano dress. I'm obsessed with it.
Daniel Faraday
He wears skinny ties and understands Time Travel! Find his mother! Don't die Charlotte! Make out with Faraday first! Half tucked shirt! Squee! But seriously, any character that's gonna go and 'splain time traveling rules the way they should be (for an example of time travel making no sense at all, see Heroes) is gonna pique my interest. Give him a cutie face with a scruffy beard in a lanky body full of nervous tension and I'm sold. Sexy Awkward, thy name is Daniel Farady. Science nerds take note. Hawt.
That about does it for this week. These crushes will probably get weird from time to time. In April of my 14th year the loves of my life were David Arquette, Anthony Michael Hall, Christian Bale & Ted Raimi and of my 16th year, they were Tobey Maguire & Luis from Passions. The End! See full post
Hugh Grant in his early 40s (2000-2004)
So this week I caught the crapfest that is the Bridget Jones sequel on TNT or TBS or TCC or TXM or whatever channel plays such films. Lifetime? We? O? Love? Ka? Zumanity? Oh the line between women's channels and Cirque De Soliel shows, how they blur. Anyway. That movie is difficult to watch because of Renee Zellwegers way too puffy face oh, and because it sucks, but holy god is Hugh Grant beautiful. So I also watched some of Two Weeks Notice on a couple different days...and then added Sense & Sensibility and Four Weddings & A Funeral to my Netflix queue cause I've never seen em and Hugh Grant is...have you SEEN Love Actually? (The answer is yes, once a year AT LEAST) and I'm curious to see if he was just as adorable when he was in his early 30s.
Various Members of the New Administration (Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Rahm Emanuel & Jon Favreau...not that one)
Don't even try to disagree with me. Maybe the most dashing POTUS & VP ever to grace Washington, plus that tiny sexy Jewish spitfire who helped inspire Josh Lyman (heart) PLUS a 27 year old gorgeous speechwriter who got in trouble a couple months ago for groping a Hilary Clinton standee?! Where do I sign up? Oh, I did. When I VOTED.
Leonardo Dicaprio in Titanic & Catch Me If You Can (1997 & 2002)
Specifically Leo in those two movies. Maybe because another one of those T channels was showing them all weekend. Hey, one guess what I did with my Friday and Saturday nights. And while Leo is perfect and adorable in Catch Me If You Can, Leo in Titanic clearly wins here because BEAUTIFUL and I first saw the movie when I was 11. I distinctly remember having to lie to all my friends about my love for Leo because I wanted to be "cool" and "counter-culture" and not love that movie nor swoon for Mr. Dicaprio the way all my peers did. But goodness. You really do fall in love with him in that movie. You are like, shit, I'd fall in love with him in one day and do it in the back of a car and break up with my rich fiance and years later throw away a diamond worth so much it could solve world hunger, all because he's so effing cute. If I was Kate Winslet in 1997 I'd have been like I don't know how you expect me to SPEAK to this angel, let alone act with him. OMGz. And did anyone else catch Emily Blunt on the E! pre-show talking about her young crush on Leo and how she's never met him? I'd watch a movie with those two! Make it happen.
Katrina Bowden at the SAG Awards
And by Katrina Bowden, I do mean Katrina Bowden's Christian Siriano dress. I'm obsessed with it.
Daniel Faraday
He wears skinny ties and understands Time Travel! Find his mother! Don't die Charlotte! Make out with Faraday first! Half tucked shirt! Squee! But seriously, any character that's gonna go and 'splain time traveling rules the way they should be (for an example of time travel making no sense at all, see Heroes) is gonna pique my interest. Give him a cutie face with a scruffy beard in a lanky body full of nervous tension and I'm sold. Sexy Awkward, thy name is Daniel Farady. Science nerds take note. Hawt.
That about does it for this week. These crushes will probably get weird from time to time. In April of my 14th year the loves of my life were David Arquette, Anthony Michael Hall, Christian Bale & Ted Raimi and of my 16th year, they were Tobey Maguire & Luis from Passions. The End! See full post
Saturday, January 24, 2009
I SEES THA PATTERNS [WANT]
BSG fans and Canadians alike- rejoice! Finally the Lord aka Diamond Select hath answered our prayers with a Leoben action figure of staggering beauty!
I cannot wait to buy this I CANNOT WAIT TO BUY THIS IT WILL BE THE FIRST ACTION FIGURE I HAVE BOUGHT IN SO LONG I CANNOT WAIT TO BUY THIS AAAAAH. See full post
I cannot wait to buy this I CANNOT WAIT TO BUY THIS IT WILL BE THE FIRST ACTION FIGURE I HAVE BOUGHT IN SO LONG I CANNOT WAIT TO BUY THIS AAAAAH. See full post
Friday, January 23, 2009
Quick! Buy Battlestar Things Now!
One of my favorite websites that I can't recommend enough, Io9, has struck a deal with Scifi.com where its readers get a 10% discount on beyond cool things like the BSG Toaster (got it already, woot), a framed Last Supper photo, t-shirts and more. Just head over to Io9 for the code, check out how great the site is while you're there, then go to Sci Fi and buy shit! Frak, the propaganda posters are cool.
Update: Just got a text from Sci fi! For a 15% discount, use the code BSG15 at checkout!
See full post
Thursday, January 22, 2009
White House Prepped for Cylon Attack
MSNBC reported this morning that Obama's staffers have been shocked to find the White House extremely out-of-date technologically. No outside email accounts allowed, few laptops, old Microsoft software, no cellphones, and NO FACEBOOK! One staffer compared the transition from their campaign offices to going from an XBox to an Atari. Sad.On the plus side, this lack of networking means that if the Cylons ever return, Obama & Co. should be safe from the nationwide remote security overrides. Then again, our new Secretary of Energy Steven Chu is a famous atomic physicist. What do you think? Could Chu potentially betray us Baltar-style to a blonde infiltrator?
Full-size Colonial 1 after the jump.
See full post
Wanna Be Disturbed All Day Long?
As you may or may not know, Sam Mendes will be directing a John August penned Preacher film. Preacher just so happens to be the most disturbing comic I've ever read and the most disturbing character in said most disturbing comic goes by the name of Arseface. Assface, spoken by an Irish vampire = Arseface. Today, Slashfilm posted some pics from the Vincent Guastini Productions site of Arseface tests back when Preacher was set to be directed by Rachel Talalay. They are so accurate and disturbing that I needed to post them here too. Ugh the worst was getting to the part in the series where we saw Arseface as a handsome young rebellious teenager. Before the whole finagled suicide involving shooting himself in the face that left him all crazy deformed.
Disturbing pics after the jump!
AHHHHH so disturbed.
See full post
Disturbing pics after the jump!
AHHHHH so disturbed.
See full post
Oscar Nominations Live Blogging!
Just writing the big 8 as they're announced!
Come on Sally! Come on Dark Knight! I've decided if TDK doesn't get nominated, it would be the snub of the century. david says it won't even be the snub of the morning. I punch david. It is satisfying.
It's STARTING
Supporting Actress
Amy Adams
Penelope Adams
Viola Davis
Taraji P. Hensen
Maria Tomei
Supporting Actor
Josh Brolin
Robert Downey Jr
Philip Seymour Hoffman
Heath Ledger
Michael Shannon
Actress
Anne Hathaway
Angelina Jolie
Melissa Leo
Meryl Streep
Kate Winslet
Actor
Richard Jenkins
Frank Langella
Sean Penn
Brad Pitt
Mickey Rourle
Director
David Fincher
Ron Howard
Gus Van Sant
Setephen Daldry
Slumdog Millionaire
Original Screenplay
Frozen River
Happy Go Lucky
In Bruges
Milk
Wall-E
Adapted Screenplay
Benjamin Button
Doubt
Frost Nixon
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire
Best Foreign
The Baader MEinhoff Complex
The Class
Departures
Revanche
Waltz with Bashir
Best Animated Feature
Bolt
Kund Fu Panda
Wall-E
Best Picture
Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
Milk
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire
CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP
NO SALLY NO DARK KNIGHT
Looks like my pick for Best Original Song, The Wrestler, got snubbed too. Are you kidding me?!
I had nightmares this would happen
I don't even CARE about the Kate Winslet only one nomination. NOT for Revolutionary Road. (Rickey Gervais called that shit!)
Benny Button gets 13 or 14 nods. Where's a complete list. And it's my favorite movie. So maybe it can win and make me happy again. But. But. But. DARK KNIGHT!!!
AHHHH I DON'T EVEN CARE NOWWWWWWWWWWWW HOW COULD THEYYYYY I'M SO ANGRYYYYYY.
The producers and directors are way hipper than the Academy.
For the record, I bet many of them put it on their top five, but cause of the voting system, it didn't make it. The Reader did. Which now I'm mad at. BORING CONVENTIONAL CITY. says david. And I AGREE.
But YAY Michael Shannon!!!! Sad times for Rosemarie Dewitt, but I like the Supporting Actress category and it's WIDE open. For Actress, without Sally in the race, I'm calling Winslet in the bag.
david is happy cause Herzog got nominated for an Oscar.
The Dark Knight gets nominated for film editing, art direction, cinematography, visual effects and I get nominated for how the hell am I gonna fall back asleep, I'm so pissed.
david says it's rare that a movie wins best pic without being nominated for film editing. But I know The Reader won't win, I JUST WANTED DARK KNIGHT TO BE NOMINATED IN ITS PLACE. AUGH. How often does the DGA & the PGA agree on five nominees, but the academy goes and is all lame and doesn't agree?
The Reader?! Really?! I I I I really?! WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS DO ME, ACADEMY?! Doesn't help that there are stupid commercials for the stupid Reader all over ABC.
I'm still in denial. I dragged my sick ass out of bed at 8:30 in the morning for Dark Knight and Sally Hawkins NOT to be nominated.
I now blame Miramax for Sally's snub. The screener arrived the day the ballots had to be sent in. Frozen River was sent out FIRST. Hmmmmm.
Glad I didn't see Gran Torino. Revolutionary Road gets 3 noms, yikes. No acting awards for Slumdog, rightly so.
Also should be noted - Rachel Getting Married snubbed in the Best Original Screenplay category.
I was so sure...so sure...questioning the purpose of my existence now...I bet it was so close though. SO CLOSE IT MUST HAVE BEEN.
I suspect Warner's must be pissed that they are re-releasing Dark Knight. :(.
Complete list of nominations after the jump. Benny has 13, Slumdog has 10, Dark Knight has 8, I has a sad.
Performance by an actor in a leading role
* Richard Jenkins in “The Visitor” (Overture Films)
* Frank Langella in “Frost/Nixon” (Universal)
* Sean Penn in “Milk” (Focus Features)
* Brad Pitt in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
* Mickey Rourke in “The Wrestler” (Fox Searchlight)
Performance by an actor in a supporting role
* Josh Brolin in “Milk” (Focus Features)
* Robert Downey Jr. in “Tropic Thunder” (DreamWorks, Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount)
* Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Doubt” (Miramax)
* Heath Ledger in “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.)
* Michael Shannon in “Revolutionary Road” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage)
Performance by an actress in a leading role
* Anne Hathaway in “Rachel Getting Married” (Sony Pictures Classics)
* Angelina Jolie in “Changeling” (Universal)
* Melissa Leo in “Frozen River” (Sony Pictures Classics)
* Meryl Streep in “Doubt” (Miramax)
* Kate Winslet in “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company)
Performance by an actress in a supporting role
* Amy Adams in “Doubt” (Miramax)
* Penélope Cruz in “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” (The Weinstein Company)
* Viola Davis in “Doubt” (Miramax)
* Taraji P. Henson in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
* Marisa Tomei in “The Wrestler” (Fox Searchlight)
Best animated feature film of the year
* “Bolt” (Walt Disney), Chris Williams and Byron Howard
* “Kung Fu Panda” (DreamWorks Animation, Distributed by Paramount), John Stevenson and Mark Osborne
* “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Andrew Stanton
Achievement in art direction
* “Changeling” (Universal), Art Direction: James J. Murakami, Set Decoration: Gary Fettis
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Art Direction: Donald Graham Burt, Set Decoration: Victor J. Zolfo
* “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Art Direction: Nathan Crowley, Set Decoration: Peter Lando
* “The Duchess” (Paramount Vantage, Pathé and BBC Films), Art Direction: Michael Carlin, Set Decoration: Rebecca Alleway
* “Revolutionary Road” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage), Art Direction: Kristi Zea, Set Decoration: Debra Schutt
Achievement in cinematography
* “Changeling” (Universal), Tom Stern
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Claudio Miranda
* “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Wally Pfister
* “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), Chris Menges and Roger Deakins
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Anthony Dod Mantle
Achievement in costume design
* “Australia” (20th Century Fox), Catherine Martin
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Jacqueline West
* “The Duchess” (Paramount Vantage, Pathé and BBC Films), Michael O’Connor
* “Milk” (Focus Features), Danny Glicker
* “Revolutionary Road” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage), Albert Wolsky
Achievement in directing
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), David Fincher
* “Frost/Nixon” (Universal), Ron Howard
* “Milk” (Focus Features), Gus Van Sant
* “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), Stephen Daldry
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Danny Boyle
Best documentary feature
* “The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)” (Cinema Guild), A Pandinlao Films Production, Ellen Kuras and Thavisouk Phrasavath
* “Encounters at the End of the World” (THINKFilm and Image Entertainment), A Creative Differences Production, Werner Herzog and Henry Kaiser
* “The Garden” A Black Valley Films Production, Scott Hamilton Kennedy
* “Man on Wire” (Magnolia Pictures), A Wall to Wall Production, James Marsh and Simon Chinn
* “Trouble the Water” (Zeitgeist Films), An Elsewhere Films Production, Tia Lessin and Carl Deal
Best documentary short subject
* “The Conscience of Nhem En” A Farallon Films Production, Steven Okazaki
* “The Final Inch” A Vermilion Films Production, Irene Taylor Brodsky and Tom Grant
* “Smile Pinki” A Principe Production, Megan Mylan
* “The Witness - From the Balcony of Room 306” A Rock Paper Scissors Production, Adam Pertofsky and Margaret Hyde
Achievement in film editing
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
* “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Lee Smith
* “Frost/Nixon” (Universal), Mike Hill and Dan Hanley
* “Milk” (Focus Features), Elliot Graham
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Chris Dickens
Best foreign language film of the year
* “The Baader Meinhof Complex” A Constantin Film Production, Germany
* “The Class” (Sony Pictures Classics), A Haut et Court Production, France
* “Departures” (Regent Releasing), A Departures Film Partners Production, Japan
* “Revanche” (Janus Films), A Prisma Film/Fernseh Production, Austria
* “Waltz with Bashir” (Sony Pictures Classics), A Bridgit Folman Film Gang Production, Israel
Achievement in makeup
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Greg Cannom
* “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), John Caglione, Jr. and Conor O’Sullivan
* “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” (Universal), Mike Elizalde and Thom Floutz
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.),Alexandre Desplat
* “Defiance” (Paramount Vantage), James Newton Howard
* “Milk” (Focus Features), Danny Elfman
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), A.R. Rahman
* “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Thomas Newman
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
* “Down to Earth” from “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Music by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman, Lyric by Peter Gabriel
* “Jai Ho” from “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Music by A.R. Rahman, Lyric by Gulzar
* “O Saya” from “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Music and Lyric by A.R. Rahman andMaya Arulpragasam
Best motion picture of the year
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), A Kennedy/Marshall Production, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall and Ceán Chaffin, Producers
* “Frost/Nixon” (Universal), A Universal Pictures, Imagine Entertainment and Working Title Production,Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Eric Fellner, Producers
* “Milk” (Focus Features), A Groundswell and Jinks/Cohen Company Production, Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen, Producers
* “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), A Mirage Enterprises and Neunte Babelsberg Film GmbH Production, Nominees to be determined
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), A Celador Films Production,Christian Colson, Producer
Best animated short film
* “La Maison en Petits Cubes” A Robot Communications Production, Kunio Kato
* “Lavatory - Lovestory” A Melnitsa Animation Studio and CTB Film Company Production, Konstantin Bronzit
* “Oktapodi” (Talantis Films) A Gobelins, L’école de l’image Production, Emud Mokhberi and Thierry Marchand
* “Presto” (Walt Disney) A Pixar Animation Studios Production, Doug Sweetland
* “This Way Up”, A Nexus Production, Alan Smith and Adam Foulkes
Best live action short film
* “Auf der Strecke (On the Line)” (Hamburg Shortfilmagency), An Academy of Media Arts Cologne Production, Reto Caffi
* “Manon on the Asphalt” (La Luna Productions), A La Luna Production, Elizabeth Marre and Olivier Pont
* “New Boy” (Network Ireland Television), A Zanzibar Films Production, Steph Green and Tamara Anghie
* “The Pig” An M & M Production, Tivi Magnusson and Dorte Høgh
* “Spielzeugland (Toyland)” A Mephisto Film Production, Jochen Alexander Freydank
Achievement in sound editing
* “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Richard King
* “Iron Man” (Paramount and Marvel Entertainment), Frank Eulner and Christopher Boyes
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Tom Sayers
* “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Ben Burtt and Matthew Wood
* “Wanted” (Universal),Wylie Stateman
Achievement in sound mixing
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Mark Weingarten
* “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo and Ed Novick
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty
* “WALL-E” (Walt Disney),Tom Myers, Michael Semanick and Ben Burtt
* “Wanted” (Universal), Chris Jenkins, Frank A. Montaño and Petr Forejt
Achievement in visual effects
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron
* “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Nick Davis, Chris Corbould, Tim Webber and Paul Franklin
* “Iron Man” (Paramount and Marvel Entertainment), John Nelson, Ben Snow, Dan Sudick and Shane Mahan
Adapted screenplay
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Screenplay by Eric Roth, Screen story by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord
* “Doubt” (Miramax), Written by John Patrick Shanley
* “Frost/Nixon” (Universal), Screenplay by Peter Morgan
* “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), Screenplay by David Hare
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Screenplay by Simon Beaufoy
Original screenplay
* “Frozen River” (Sony Pictures Classics), Written by Courtney Hunt
* “Happy-Go-Lucky” (Miramax), Written by Mike Leigh
* “In Bruges” (Focus Features), Written by Martin McDonagh
* “Milk” (Focus Features), Written by Dustin Lance Black
* “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Screenplay by Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon, Original story by Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter
See full post
Come on Sally! Come on Dark Knight! I've decided if TDK doesn't get nominated, it would be the snub of the century. david says it won't even be the snub of the morning. I punch david. It is satisfying.
It's STARTING
Supporting Actress
Amy Adams
Penelope Adams
Viola Davis
Taraji P. Hensen
Maria Tomei
Supporting Actor
Josh Brolin
Robert Downey Jr
Philip Seymour Hoffman
Heath Ledger
Michael Shannon
Actress
Anne Hathaway
Angelina Jolie
Melissa Leo
Meryl Streep
Kate Winslet
Actor
Richard Jenkins
Frank Langella
Sean Penn
Brad Pitt
Mickey Rourle
Director
David Fincher
Ron Howard
Gus Van Sant
Setephen Daldry
Slumdog Millionaire
Original Screenplay
Frozen River
Happy Go Lucky
In Bruges
Milk
Wall-E
Adapted Screenplay
Benjamin Button
Doubt
Frost Nixon
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire
Best Foreign
The Baader MEinhoff Complex
The Class
Departures
Revanche
Waltz with Bashir
Best Animated Feature
Bolt
Kund Fu Panda
Wall-E
Best Picture
Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
Milk
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire
CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP
NO SALLY NO DARK KNIGHT
Looks like my pick for Best Original Song, The Wrestler, got snubbed too. Are you kidding me?!
I had nightmares this would happen
I don't even CARE about the Kate Winslet only one nomination. NOT for Revolutionary Road. (Rickey Gervais called that shit!)
Benny Button gets 13 or 14 nods. Where's a complete list. And it's my favorite movie. So maybe it can win and make me happy again. But. But. But. DARK KNIGHT!!!
AHHHH I DON'T EVEN CARE NOWWWWWWWWWWWW HOW COULD THEYYYYY I'M SO ANGRYYYYYY.
The producers and directors are way hipper than the Academy.
For the record, I bet many of them put it on their top five, but cause of the voting system, it didn't make it. The Reader did. Which now I'm mad at. BORING CONVENTIONAL CITY. says david. And I AGREE.
But YAY Michael Shannon!!!! Sad times for Rosemarie Dewitt, but I like the Supporting Actress category and it's WIDE open. For Actress, without Sally in the race, I'm calling Winslet in the bag.
david is happy cause Herzog got nominated for an Oscar.
The Dark Knight gets nominated for film editing, art direction, cinematography, visual effects and I get nominated for how the hell am I gonna fall back asleep, I'm so pissed.
david says it's rare that a movie wins best pic without being nominated for film editing. But I know The Reader won't win, I JUST WANTED DARK KNIGHT TO BE NOMINATED IN ITS PLACE. AUGH. How often does the DGA & the PGA agree on five nominees, but the academy goes and is all lame and doesn't agree?
The Reader?! Really?! I I I I really?! WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS DO ME, ACADEMY?! Doesn't help that there are stupid commercials for the stupid Reader all over ABC.
I'm still in denial. I dragged my sick ass out of bed at 8:30 in the morning for Dark Knight and Sally Hawkins NOT to be nominated.
I now blame Miramax for Sally's snub. The screener arrived the day the ballots had to be sent in. Frozen River was sent out FIRST. Hmmmmm.
Glad I didn't see Gran Torino. Revolutionary Road gets 3 noms, yikes. No acting awards for Slumdog, rightly so.
Also should be noted - Rachel Getting Married snubbed in the Best Original Screenplay category.
I was so sure...so sure...questioning the purpose of my existence now...I bet it was so close though. SO CLOSE IT MUST HAVE BEEN.
I suspect Warner's must be pissed that they are re-releasing Dark Knight. :(.
Complete list of nominations after the jump. Benny has 13, Slumdog has 10, Dark Knight has 8, I has a sad.
Performance by an actor in a leading role
* Richard Jenkins in “The Visitor” (Overture Films)
* Frank Langella in “Frost/Nixon” (Universal)
* Sean Penn in “Milk” (Focus Features)
* Brad Pitt in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
* Mickey Rourke in “The Wrestler” (Fox Searchlight)
Performance by an actor in a supporting role
* Josh Brolin in “Milk” (Focus Features)
* Robert Downey Jr. in “Tropic Thunder” (DreamWorks, Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount)
* Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Doubt” (Miramax)
* Heath Ledger in “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.)
* Michael Shannon in “Revolutionary Road” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage)
Performance by an actress in a leading role
* Anne Hathaway in “Rachel Getting Married” (Sony Pictures Classics)
* Angelina Jolie in “Changeling” (Universal)
* Melissa Leo in “Frozen River” (Sony Pictures Classics)
* Meryl Streep in “Doubt” (Miramax)
* Kate Winslet in “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company)
Performance by an actress in a supporting role
* Amy Adams in “Doubt” (Miramax)
* Penélope Cruz in “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” (The Weinstein Company)
* Viola Davis in “Doubt” (Miramax)
* Taraji P. Henson in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
* Marisa Tomei in “The Wrestler” (Fox Searchlight)
Best animated feature film of the year
* “Bolt” (Walt Disney), Chris Williams and Byron Howard
* “Kung Fu Panda” (DreamWorks Animation, Distributed by Paramount), John Stevenson and Mark Osborne
* “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Andrew Stanton
Achievement in art direction
* “Changeling” (Universal), Art Direction: James J. Murakami, Set Decoration: Gary Fettis
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Art Direction: Donald Graham Burt, Set Decoration: Victor J. Zolfo
* “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Art Direction: Nathan Crowley, Set Decoration: Peter Lando
* “The Duchess” (Paramount Vantage, Pathé and BBC Films), Art Direction: Michael Carlin, Set Decoration: Rebecca Alleway
* “Revolutionary Road” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage), Art Direction: Kristi Zea, Set Decoration: Debra Schutt
Achievement in cinematography
* “Changeling” (Universal), Tom Stern
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Claudio Miranda
* “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Wally Pfister
* “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), Chris Menges and Roger Deakins
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Anthony Dod Mantle
Achievement in costume design
* “Australia” (20th Century Fox), Catherine Martin
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Jacqueline West
* “The Duchess” (Paramount Vantage, Pathé and BBC Films), Michael O’Connor
* “Milk” (Focus Features), Danny Glicker
* “Revolutionary Road” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage), Albert Wolsky
Achievement in directing
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), David Fincher
* “Frost/Nixon” (Universal), Ron Howard
* “Milk” (Focus Features), Gus Van Sant
* “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), Stephen Daldry
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Danny Boyle
Best documentary feature
* “The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)” (Cinema Guild), A Pandinlao Films Production, Ellen Kuras and Thavisouk Phrasavath
* “Encounters at the End of the World” (THINKFilm and Image Entertainment), A Creative Differences Production, Werner Herzog and Henry Kaiser
* “The Garden” A Black Valley Films Production, Scott Hamilton Kennedy
* “Man on Wire” (Magnolia Pictures), A Wall to Wall Production, James Marsh and Simon Chinn
* “Trouble the Water” (Zeitgeist Films), An Elsewhere Films Production, Tia Lessin and Carl Deal
Best documentary short subject
* “The Conscience of Nhem En” A Farallon Films Production, Steven Okazaki
* “The Final Inch” A Vermilion Films Production, Irene Taylor Brodsky and Tom Grant
* “Smile Pinki” A Principe Production, Megan Mylan
* “The Witness - From the Balcony of Room 306” A Rock Paper Scissors Production, Adam Pertofsky and Margaret Hyde
Achievement in film editing
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
* “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Lee Smith
* “Frost/Nixon” (Universal), Mike Hill and Dan Hanley
* “Milk” (Focus Features), Elliot Graham
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Chris Dickens
Best foreign language film of the year
* “The Baader Meinhof Complex” A Constantin Film Production, Germany
* “The Class” (Sony Pictures Classics), A Haut et Court Production, France
* “Departures” (Regent Releasing), A Departures Film Partners Production, Japan
* “Revanche” (Janus Films), A Prisma Film/Fernseh Production, Austria
* “Waltz with Bashir” (Sony Pictures Classics), A Bridgit Folman Film Gang Production, Israel
Achievement in makeup
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Greg Cannom
* “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), John Caglione, Jr. and Conor O’Sullivan
* “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” (Universal), Mike Elizalde and Thom Floutz
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.),Alexandre Desplat
* “Defiance” (Paramount Vantage), James Newton Howard
* “Milk” (Focus Features), Danny Elfman
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), A.R. Rahman
* “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Thomas Newman
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
* “Down to Earth” from “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Music by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman, Lyric by Peter Gabriel
* “Jai Ho” from “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Music by A.R. Rahman, Lyric by Gulzar
* “O Saya” from “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Music and Lyric by A.R. Rahman andMaya Arulpragasam
Best motion picture of the year
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), A Kennedy/Marshall Production, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall and Ceán Chaffin, Producers
* “Frost/Nixon” (Universal), A Universal Pictures, Imagine Entertainment and Working Title Production,Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Eric Fellner, Producers
* “Milk” (Focus Features), A Groundswell and Jinks/Cohen Company Production, Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen, Producers
* “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), A Mirage Enterprises and Neunte Babelsberg Film GmbH Production, Nominees to be determined
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), A Celador Films Production,Christian Colson, Producer
Best animated short film
* “La Maison en Petits Cubes” A Robot Communications Production, Kunio Kato
* “Lavatory - Lovestory” A Melnitsa Animation Studio and CTB Film Company Production, Konstantin Bronzit
* “Oktapodi” (Talantis Films) A Gobelins, L’école de l’image Production, Emud Mokhberi and Thierry Marchand
* “Presto” (Walt Disney) A Pixar Animation Studios Production, Doug Sweetland
* “This Way Up”, A Nexus Production, Alan Smith and Adam Foulkes
Best live action short film
* “Auf der Strecke (On the Line)” (Hamburg Shortfilmagency), An Academy of Media Arts Cologne Production, Reto Caffi
* “Manon on the Asphalt” (La Luna Productions), A La Luna Production, Elizabeth Marre and Olivier Pont
* “New Boy” (Network Ireland Television), A Zanzibar Films Production, Steph Green and Tamara Anghie
* “The Pig” An M & M Production, Tivi Magnusson and Dorte Høgh
* “Spielzeugland (Toyland)” A Mephisto Film Production, Jochen Alexander Freydank
Achievement in sound editing
* “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Richard King
* “Iron Man” (Paramount and Marvel Entertainment), Frank Eulner and Christopher Boyes
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Tom Sayers
* “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Ben Burtt and Matthew Wood
* “Wanted” (Universal),Wylie Stateman
Achievement in sound mixing
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Mark Weingarten
* “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo and Ed Novick
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty
* “WALL-E” (Walt Disney),Tom Myers, Michael Semanick and Ben Burtt
* “Wanted” (Universal), Chris Jenkins, Frank A. Montaño and Petr Forejt
Achievement in visual effects
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron
* “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Nick Davis, Chris Corbould, Tim Webber and Paul Franklin
* “Iron Man” (Paramount and Marvel Entertainment), John Nelson, Ben Snow, Dan Sudick and Shane Mahan
Adapted screenplay
* “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Screenplay by Eric Roth, Screen story by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord
* “Doubt” (Miramax), Written by John Patrick Shanley
* “Frost/Nixon” (Universal), Screenplay by Peter Morgan
* “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), Screenplay by David Hare
* “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Screenplay by Simon Beaufoy
Original screenplay
* “Frozen River” (Sony Pictures Classics), Written by Courtney Hunt
* “Happy-Go-Lucky” (Miramax), Written by Mike Leigh
* “In Bruges” (Focus Features), Written by Martin McDonagh
* “Milk” (Focus Features), Written by Dustin Lance Black
* “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Screenplay by Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon, Original story by Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter
See full post
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Lost Pulls a Red Shirt!
Everyone's favorite running joke, "Frogurt" aka Neil, gracefully fulfilled the role of Red Shirt on tonight's Lost premiere. I'm positive that I wasn't the only person watching tonight who exclaimed upon Neil's first appearance in the episode "Well, he's gonna die any second now." I mean, we rarely ever see him and, oh yeah, he was WEARING A RED SHIRT. Then not only did he die, he went down in flames. Literally. In the middle of a speech. Sam Jackson style. Lost knows what's up.
I do hope you get all the references I've made this evening. If you haven't seen Deep Blue Sea, I sort of forgive you. If you don't know what a Red Shirt is...we need to talk.
Update: Just went over to TV Addict to check out their live blog and lo and behold:
10:07PM: LOVE that Neil is literally wearing a “red shirt!” Genius.
Knew I wasn't the only one!
Update: AV Club too!
Those left behind—Sawyer, Daniel, Juliet, Miles, Charlotte, Locke, Bernard, Rose, and a bunch of red shirts, including fan favorite Neil Frogurt—find that every so often, the sky flashes, and they show up a different point in island history.See full post
90210 Episode 14 Semi-Live Blogging [Loss of 12 Fangirl Points]
Facey McFacerson
In an attempt to distract myself waiting for david to come home so we can watch Lost, I'm gonna watch 90210 and Top Chef. My options are limited when I'm sick and refuse to leave my bed to put in a dvd, okay? But also, Top Chef is awesome. Don't hate.
________
Damn, this school takes their plays oddly seriously. Egyptian decorations everywhere? Really?
Token gay extra! Is that the same one from 3 episodes ago?
Hot teacher is so cute! Aw lookit how he references Dead Poets Society even though he's 23 and that's so a movie of the generation before his. Before mine. OH GOD IM TURNING 23 NEXT WEEK. Okay, personal moment over.
Awkward encounter between Kelly & Hot Teacher. Okay.
Apparently Dixon is still being passive aggressive. Sigh.
Eyu, and Shenae Grimes still does nothing but make faces
Always thought she would play Cleopatra eventually? Is anyone buying that?
New drama teacher...a little weird...we'll see...ehhh she clicked when she winked. Over it.
Don't ask the bad actor to audition for Shakespeare, please. I don't even wanna THINK about Dustin Mulligan attempting Shakespeare. It makes my chest hurt.
Yes, Adrianna is correct for Cleopatra. Annie is not.
"No, because you're pregnant, remember?"
Naomi, while generally less stupid looking, is still pretty stupid looking
Sucks for Silver! Damn, Mr Matthews is hot. You tell her! You tell her good. NO LEARNING FOR YOU, SILVER.
Why is Naomi wearing that? What IS that? I know it's white and I know it's long and I know it's squiggly. Oh and ugly. Very very ugly. Please stop wearing that. Then again, where would I be without Naomi's horrible outfits. (see below)
"You called in the Guidance Counselor? The frickin' Guidance Counselor?" Slash, does Kelly like, interact with any other students? Cause it seems to me she spends A LOT of time leaving school to talk to Adrianna about her problems. Don't schools have rules against these kinds of things? My guidance counselor told me how to get into NYU. Thaaaat's about it.
This all feels a little after school special to me
Naomi is SO offended by Kelly suggesting that Adrianna has the baby that she gets really really pouty!!!
Could Dixon secretly be talking about something else when he says he's talking about Mr. Matthews? Could it be?
Silver doesn't get it. Haven't we established that she's smarter than this? Oh well.
Oh hai, I'm a lady! I'm on your table! Oh hai, I'm Naomi, I have big hair! I restyled it between school and home!
Adrianna doesn't care what anyone says! Know how I know? She is still drinking coffee and eating candy omg!!!
She almost kills herself driving all night somewhere random and that's scary, so she turns around. Yawn.
Do you know ANY other teen who wears something like that to bed? The answer is no. Naomi, get some real pajamas.
Is Jessica Stroup especially pretty in this episode? (see right)
Haha what's funny is that that's probably how Dustin Mulligan would read Shakespeare in real life too!
Thaaaat's sleazy, Ty. Her boyfriend is right there. Gross.
Also, only lame theater kids rehearse in the hallway. Again - gross.
Adrianna GETS OUT OF A CAR. For a walk-in abortion? Erm. I'm pretty sure that's not how it works. But okay.
Do they keep using the same establishing shot of the school?
No callbacks? For a school that can afford the rights to Spring Awakening? Lies.
Omg Shenae Face. Face face face. Here's a face, here's a face, here's a face. FACE FACE.
Ty insults Annie very unprofessionally. But Annie sucks at life, so I don't mind.
I didn't know high schools hired 23 year old teachers. Isn't that, like, asking for trouble? Also, I was pretty sure they hired him to play older...considering his love interests have been Kelly & Brenda, who are well into their 30s. This just got really pathetic for Kelly.
Kelly has a good point. Read Silver's paper, sexy teacher! Gosh, you're sexy.
In New York, you can't be late. Do they also not have callbacks in New York? Is that why you're conveniently skipping that portion of the casting process?
DO IT, ADRIANNA. You rock that shit.
3 lines? Really? Anticlimactic much? But clearly she's better than Annie.
Dixon hates Silver now. Cause he is a passive aggressive idiot who doesn't know how to handle his feelings. I'm over this storyline. Hopefully Mom can make Dixon over it too.
I just tuned out. What's happening? She is saying buy Silver flowers? Oh no, she is saying, talk about your feelings.
She just had to drive. ... Okay.
This chick can access her emotions very easily. I likes her. Adrianna. Not Naomi. Though Naomi looks kinda pretty in the firelight! Good work, cinematographer & gaffers!
Did she get an abortion? Oh god, she's having the baby? Really? OMG, ITS NOT POSSIBLE? ILLEGAL ALREADY? Didn't see that coming. Aw, now I'm sad for her. Wait, is that accurate? How far along is she? She isn't showing at all yet. That can't be right. Can I get a fact check?
You know, Naomi has a point, he is actually a really terrible father
Silver's so pretty! Still too skinny. Better than when the show began though. I like seeing a little bit of arm fat on that one.
Silver and hot teacher should do it. I don't care if it's an overdone storyline. Do it!!
A GAY! YAY!
Okay, if Ethan made it in the show, this school's theater program has zero credibility. No callbacks should have been the first clue.
How does Adrianna make her bangs be side bangs AND not side bangs?! I didn't know people could do that! I'm having a girlie hair moment.
Kelly is way too buddy buddy with them. Sitting together? At lunch? Come on.
Adrianna has to drop out of the show now though, right? You can't have a pregnant Cleopatra...
Is the father Ty?! Methinks yes! I find myself enjoying where this storyline may go. Potentially.
Annie is being lame. Ethan does that side smile weird thing. One of two faces he makes. It's okay, Annie makes enough for the two of them.
Is hot teacher gonna date the new teacher? Boring.
I'm pretty hot teacher could have talked to new teacher about curriculum at school...he has no reason to be there. Stop.
Why is Silver there?! Why is Dixon there?! Isn't this a cast and crew party?! Is she stage managing again? Way to not spread the responsibility around, West Beverly. By the way, this place would never host a party for teenagers anyway. Also there is no Egyptian restaurant near Hollywood & Highland. Just so we're all on the same page.
Break up! Ack! Makes no sense, but I like it! Now Silver can have an affair with hot teacher!
"Duck back to my hotel." Yes, beautiful, indeed.
Baby daddy alert! Yeah, you'll prob have to talk to him when you become all noticeably pregnant...which will happen...
EYU REVELATION. Annie is like those girls at my high school who dropped out of the musical when they didn't get the lead. Except WORSE because she STILL got a part.
Oh good, she realizes she is kind of an idiot for being upset
Eth? Eth is not a nickname. Incorrect.
OMG ARE THEY KILLING ETHAN OFF THE SHOW?! PLEASE BE MY GUEST. Slash that crash was really random and not at all intense like I suspect it should have been. Lesson to all - don't answer your cell phone while driving.
Bottom line - this episode was way better than last week's exercise in stupidity. While still nowhere near the land of good, I'm into a couple of the storylines and am looking forward to seeing Jessica Stroup get all cray cray sad next week. Real acting! Huzzah! See full post
Watchmen & LQ Get Viral
Okay, technically what I have isn't a virus, but cute title, no? Sort of? Anyway.
We all know I loves me some ARGs & fun viral campaigns (though never fool yourselves into thinking they draw anyone to the box office who wouldn't have been there anyway) so the new Watchmen site has me dancing all over the town...in my head...cause I'm bedridden.
How sexy is this 70s NBS newscast covering 10 years of Dr. Manhattan?
I'll post more when more becomes available!
And the rest of your post here
See full post
Actual Razzie Noms [Hrmm]
Remember when I posted this and was confused cause the Razzie Noms weren't supposed to be announced yet? I've decided they must have been a short list of sorts, cause the ACTUAL Razzie noms were announced today. Here they are!
Worst Picture:
* Disaster Movie and Meet The Spartans
* The Happening
* The Hottie and The Nottie
* In The Name of The King: A Dungeon Siege Tale
* The Love Guru
Worst Actor:
* Larry the Cable Guy, Witless Protection
* Eddie Murphy, Meet Dave
* Mike Myers, The Love Guru
* Al Pacino, 88 Minutes and Righteous Kill
* Mark Wahlberg, The Happening and Max Payne
Worst Actress:
* Jessica Alba, The Eye and The Love Guru
* Annette Bening, Eva Mendes, Debra Messing, Jada Pinkett-Smith and Meg Ryan, The Women
* Cameron Diaz, What Happens In Vegas
* Paris Hilton, The Hottie And The Nottie
* Kate Hudson, Fools Gold and My Best Friend’s Girl
Worst Supporting Actor
* Uwe Boll, Postal
* Pierce Brosnan, Mamma Mia!
* Ben Kingsley, The Love Guru, War Inc and The Wackess
* Burt Reynolds, Deal and In The Name Of The King
* Verne Troyer, The Love Guru and Postal
Worst Supporting Actress
* Carmen Electra, Disaster Movie and Meet The Spartans
* Paris Hilton, Repo: The Genetic Opera
* Kim Kardashian, Disaster Movie
* Jenny McCarthy, Witless Protection
* Leelee Sobieski, 88 Minutes and In The Name Of The King
Worst Screen Couple Nominations
* Uwe Boll & ANY Actor, Camera or Screenplay
* Cameron Diaz & Ashton Kutcher, What Happens In Vegas
* Paris Hilton and either Christine Lakin or Joel David Moore, Hottie & The Nottie
* Larry the Cable Guy & Jenny McCarthy, Witless Protection
* Eddie Murphy In Eddie Murphy, Meet Dave
Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-Off or Sequel Nominations 2008
* The Day The Earth Blowed Up Real Good
* Disaster Movie and Meet The Spartans
* Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of The Crystal Skull
* Speed Racer
* Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Worst Director
* Uwe Boll, 1968: Tunnel Rats, In The Name Of The King and Postal
* Jason Friedberg & Aaron Seltzer, Disaster Movie and Meet The Spartans
* Tom Putnam, The Hottie And The Nottie
* Marco Schnabel, The Love Guru
* M. Night Shyamalan, The Happening
Worst Screenplay
* Disaster Movie and Meet The Spartans, Jason Friedberg & Aaron Seltzer
* The Happening, M. Night Shyamalan
* The Hottie And The Nottie, Heidi Ferrer
* In The Name Of The King: A Dungeon Siege Tale, Doug Taylor
* The Love Guru, Mike Myers & Graham Gordy
Worst Career Achievement
* Uwe Boll
I am proud to announce that I have only seen one film on this entire list, and here's the amusing, dare I say ironic part - it's Mamma Mia, which I saw ONLY cause it got all those Globes nominations. Oh crap. I lied. I didn't catch that sequel/remake list. Now wait a second, has that category always existed? That isn't fair. I was so proud. Obviously I've seen The Day The Earth Stood Still, Speed Racer & Indiana Jones. And you know. I don't think they are that bad. Buh. See full post
Win Battlestar Items Cause KFC Is Confused! [BSGasm]
Your faithful site runner is epically sick and also in love with our new president, vice president, chief of staff, director of speech writing...okay, gonna stop there cause this list could go on forever. She has discovered that when sick, all she can manage to write about is Battlestar Galactica, apparently.
Odd as it is, I just can't resist linking you all to KFC's new sweepstakes entitled...the Frak Pak. I know there was an ad for it during Friday's premiere but zipped by it due to my handy dandy dvr. Clearly no one in the marketing department over at KFC has ever watched Battlestar or even done a thorough google search on the word. Either that or someone REALLY hip just convinced them all to go along with the title, without ever explaining that they would be calling the sweepstakes, in national commercials, the Fuck Pak. Cracks me up.
That aside, there are some pretty awesome prizes up for grabs here and I want to win them. Although it should be noted that I already own both the toaster and two big frakking bags. And all of the dvds. And I don't like KFC. But I want the photo and the script so bad!
Clicks here to enter.
And the rest of your post here
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Portal Cosplay
This one's for you, LQ and Erudite. Some guy, obviously in full support of his girlfriend's cosplay habit, BUILT her an Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device.Every year, around late August or so, I tell myself "This year, I'm a-gonna assemble the greatest video game Halloween costume ever...assembled!" That proclamation then evolves into "You know what? Maybe I'll get into cosplay, too! It looks so fun!", but ultimately settles into the dust with a "What time is it? Man, I have work to do."
Best costume I ever made? I was pretty happy with my Mario in 2005 and my Wayne Campbell in... 1998. What about you guys? Best costume ever. Go.
More photos at the Flickr Gallery See full post
Friday, January 16, 2009
"What Am I?" [BSGasm]
Holy Crap.
Battlestar Season 4.5 Premiere
Lots of discussion over here.
THOUGHTS & THEORIES - GO. I'm looking at you, Stealth Bear & Garrett.
Some thoughts full of spoilers after the jump
I loved this episode, thought it was a great way to kick off the final 10 episodes. A whole bunch of creepy and/or disturbing reveals, plus that shocker of all shockers in the form of Dee shooting herself in the head. I've never liked Dee, but that moment made everyone in the room gasp and tear up. Very representative of how the whole crew is feeling right now.
My other favorite moments of this episode were:
-Starbuck discovering her own dead body. WHAT the frak?! And then Leoben getting so freaked out that suddenly all his "Kara Thrace and her special destiny" crap goes flying out the window. He's said for so long that she is special. Here, clearly, proof that she is REALLY FRAKING SPECIAL and he runs away. Not that I don't understand. Cause I do. That's not Starbuck. Which is terrifying. So what is she and how did this happen? I can't wait for the answers.
-Final Five (Four) flashbacks. Tyrol wore glasses, Anders was a rock star, Tory was a fan of said rock star. There was quite the debate over here regarding what Tory's line about Anders singing for all of them meant. All of them as in, everyone, at a very public concert? Or all of them as in every girl he wanted to sleep with? And say what you want - you would have been disappointed with the final cylon no matter who it was. Getting it out in the first episode was a brilliant move. Remember back in season 1 when Baltar tested Ellen? And refused to reveal the results? And how everyone accused her of being a Cylon? Interesting. And was she somehow responsible for the attack on Earth? How did she know they would be reborn and did she somehow plan the fate of the other three as well? And why those five? Were they prominent, important people?
-Finding out that Earth humans are actually Cylons. I remember bandying about this theory with friends years ago and am thrilled it's come true. Granted we have a lot left to learn, but I love the idea that the Final Five are actual Earthlings, reborn somehow. Did the 13th colony know they were different? Know they had robot in them? Is that why they went off and found their own planet far away from the other 12? Does it have anything to do with worshipping one god or being banished to their own planet for being evolved robots? Is it all happening again, but can be stopped and fixed once and for all with the cylon/human babies?
-Seeing Roslin finally lose all hope. She's been so strong, so sure, but this is the last straw. Heartbreaking.
I can't wait for the next nine weeks. I love this show.
See full post
I Found a More Wretched Hive of Scum and Villainy
This awesome concept art of Sith Obi-Wan Kenobi is courtesy of Free Radical, who were developing Star Wars Battlefront III until they closed down last month. While this is really bad news for Star Wars fans, we get all sorts of leaked development materials since the studio is no more. Apparently, the game was going to feature a storyline wherein Obi-Wan struggles with the dark side. Also, he finds lots of leather straps and makes himself look thoroughly badass. I highly, highly suggest you click on the image to see the full-res version. Also, click through the jump for another shot of Dark Kenobi with notes on the artist's inspiration and some leaked development footage from the game!
Via Kotaku
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Thursday, January 15, 2009
A Big Day for Sully [Fun with Coincidences!]
So tonight on 30 Rock, Liz Lemon talked some shit about having to hang out with a bunch of crew members all named Sully
In real life today, a pilot landed a plane safety in the Hudson River & will probably receive a special honor of some kind for being the first person in 45 years to land a plane in water with zero deaths. This pilot's name was Sully.
.
See full post
In real life today, a pilot landed a plane safety in the Hudson River & will probably receive a special honor of some kind for being the first person in 45 years to land a plane in water with zero deaths. This pilot's name was Sully.
.
See full post
90210 Semi-Live Blogging Episode 13 [Loss of 12 Fangirl Points]
Oh hai! I i can has zero body fat?
This week's episode of 90210 continues the show's tradition of trying my patience. Joining me for tonight's semi-live blog are my roommates, Jen and lower case ATF contributor, david. Maybe I should feel guilty for forcing them to watch such drivel but...nah, I don't.
So it begins....
__________________
So it begins....
__________________
Annie & Blando talk about the weather. Literally. Shenae Grimes and Dustin Mulligan are such bad actors that it makes my soul hurt. Also. Good night? Isn't it daytime? Did I just miss something? They did say good night, right? And it is light outside, yeah? Hrm.
YOU DON'T SAY I LOVE YOU FOR THE FIRST TIME OVER THE PHONE STOP
Oh my god I hate Shenae
david doesn't understand why Lucille Bluth is anywhere near this disaster
Annie hunches when she kisses. Blech.
david is offended that there is a cover of a Robyn song playing and thinks Jessica Stroup is cute
Ethan & Annie. Worst. TV. Couple. Ever. Enter Dixon & Silver. Make that the two worst tv couples ever. Borringggg.
Silver is PISSED at Dixon for ... Annie and Dixon being all lovey dovey? I don't get it.
Naomi needs to shut the hell up
Field Hockey? Really? I went to high school in LA...we didn't play field hockey...just putting that out there
david asks who "that awful awful woman is". He means Naomi. Obviously.
Naomi is gonna think Adrianna is using again and tell everyone and be lame. BAD friend alert.
Everyone's a bitch and david concludes that Naomi is the worst character yet
Naomi is an unprecedented level of awful
Stop kissing!!! It's actually offensive.
Joining the choir isn't a lame thing in affluent los angeles high schools, by the way. Like, not even remotely. Who is writing this show? Where did they go to high school? I demand answers!!!
Also, school has never been canceled for a heat wave in BEVERLY HILLS. The dead of the desert, sure. The valley even! Sure! But BEVERLY HILLS? In winter?! No. 12 years. I went to school in LA for 12 years. It IS often hot out there when freezing on the East Coast. But...they just take everything too far past reality. And not in that fun, smart way Gossip Girl does. Oh, how it all annoys me so.
Grandma gets Annie a car. ... ... Um. Why, exactly? Is it her birthday? Is there a reason? No? Oh okay, great, moving on.
Tranny Train Wreck is an idiot. Oh, p.s. Tranny Train Wreck is david's new nickname for Naomi.
SHENAEJUSTMAKESFACESANDSQUEAKS
I miss Arrested Development
OBVIOUSLY Shenae Grimes has her belly button pierced
If it's that hot in Los Angeles, Palm Springs is a TERRIBLE idea
Oh, and don't forget to drink Dr. Pepper, guys.
Ah - apparently Silver is pissed cause Dixon hasn't said I love you yet. Gag.
"You are my mother, she is my wife." Haha okay, that made me laugh
Wow. On a swing set, yet
david decides Naomi is a furiously demented version of Hermione
And also an idiot
"I think this guy named Hank who I know from rehab." Yup. She said that.
Palm Springs. Where we can be alone and die from heat exhaustion.
"Go to palm springs" = "have a lot of dirty sex." Kthx.
We all hate Naomi more than we can even comprehend
Was this shot in the Frank Lloyd Wright house I frequented as a rebellious teenager?
Please don't be so skinny, Silver.
Silver doesn't listen to me and proceeds to be way too skinny
Silver demonstrates how "hip" she is again (Remember last weeks Grindhouse bit?) by referencing Gaudi
Is that Twilight's Emmett?
"He's a total sponge." Totally. Good one, Naomi.
Isn't it weird that the grown-ups are the only source of humor that is intentional, not inadvertent?
Jessica Stroup just got REALLY lame in that ad for Confessions of a Shopaholic. Wow.
They are putting off the sexy times. This is boring.
"I'm ready." YOU ARE SO BAD, STOP IT. Also, the writing is terrible. So that doesn't help.
I wanna know what that Blended thought!
People don't talk like that before sex. She makes me angry. Lookit how tiny she is! Eyu! It's like he is making out with a little kid!
Don't do it don't do it don't do it
THEY'RE NOT DOING IT. YES! Her stupid talk gave him pause!
"Too late. You just did." BURN. Okay, that fight blew up rather quickly...None of that made any sense. We're all in agreement here, right?
Everyone thinks Adrianna is back on drugs. Hilarious! Navid must defend her honor. Fightfightfightfightfight! omg, FIGHTS IN ARABIAN CABANAS!
Adrianna's confession and Navid's reaction = the only moment of dramatic tension this show has ever had. Ever.
Annie & Ethan sleeping apart. It's not sweet. Cause they hate each other. That's why they are sleeping apart. It's actually kind of sad.
Anyway, way to be REALLY CREEPY, parents.
Pink pillars of light. Nope. Why.
Silver doesn't love Dixon! NICE. They totally faked us out! Okay, but then the fight escalates way too quickly. 90210 is like Revolutionary Road in that way. Also, SHE KNOCKED OVER HIS SAND CASTLE CAUSE SUDDENLY SHE'S FIVE.
They have SCHOOL today?! And they're in PALM SPRINGS? WHY would someone EVER drive to PALM SPRINGS on a SCHOOL NIGHT. I I I I I can't.
Navid's a good actor. Aw I feel bad for everyone now. And by everyone, I mean Navid & Adrianna. I don't actually give a shit about anyone else.
Dixon engages in passive aggression. Always a good relationship move. I'll let them get away with it cause teenagers tend to suck at dating in that way. This brings 90210's total to two points. (As you may remember, they got one last week for that "Ms Taylor" business.)
Lucille gets the part! Huzzah!
Naomi's hair is always stupid. Even when it's normal. Still stupid.
Shenae Grimes & Dustin Mulligan make me see the worst in people
I just don't think Dustin Mulligan has it in him, I'm gonna say it. I just don't think he has it.
They look like kissing hunchbacks
That episode was stupid. Bedtime!
See full post
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Map of the Star Wars Galaxy! [For mah wallz pleaz?]
This is too cool not to share.
It's a map of the Star Wars Galaxy! So many planets!! I love how Endor, Hoth & Dagobah are all epically far away from Coruscant & Alderaan. That's what my head thought it would be! Tatooine is also in wild space. So like, the planets with specific themes (forest, snow, swamp, desert) are all wild spacey and the planets that seem to have all types of conditions, must like Earth, are closer to the center of the galaxy. Mon Calamari may be the farthest away. As it should be. Fish people.
Head on over to Wookiepedia to learn about all the different planets. Already, I know that Varonat (near Hoth & Endor) is a steaming jungle planet and Nkllon is volcanic (as if you couldn't tell by looking it - so red!) and home to the Lava Worm. Ooh, Rishi the tropical planet! And Ryloth is rocky. I COULD DO THIS ALL DAY. And maybe I will. Let me know if you find what is in your opinion, the coolest planet on this map. I LOVE STAR WARS.
[Topless Robot] See full post
It's a map of the Star Wars Galaxy! So many planets!! I love how Endor, Hoth & Dagobah are all epically far away from Coruscant & Alderaan. That's what my head thought it would be! Tatooine is also in wild space. So like, the planets with specific themes (forest, snow, swamp, desert) are all wild spacey and the planets that seem to have all types of conditions, must like Earth, are closer to the center of the galaxy. Mon Calamari may be the farthest away. As it should be. Fish people.
Head on over to Wookiepedia to learn about all the different planets. Already, I know that Varonat (near Hoth & Endor) is a steaming jungle planet and Nkllon is volcanic (as if you couldn't tell by looking it - so red!) and home to the Lava Worm. Ooh, Rishi the tropical planet! And Ryloth is rocky. I COULD DO THIS ALL DAY. And maybe I will. Let me know if you find what is in your opinion, the coolest planet on this map. I LOVE STAR WARS.
[Topless Robot] See full post
Monday, January 12, 2009
Face of the Enemy Concludes and FOUR DAYS TIL 4.5 PREMIERE [BSGasm]
Just in case this blog is the only way you'll know about Face of the Enemy episodes, here are the final two in the series. And holy crap. I can't wait til Friday. Battlestar party at my house. Just remember that those who speak during Battlestar party get shot at Battlestar party. Or hit severely over the head with my Battlestar toaster.
Episode 9
Episode 10
LOVE that moment between Gaeta and Tigh. Reason enough to get me insanely jazzed for the return of my favorite show. Gonna continue rewatching the beginning of season 4 now.
See full post
Episode 9
Episode 10
LOVE that moment between Gaeta and Tigh. Reason enough to get me insanely jazzed for the return of my favorite show. Gonna continue rewatching the beginning of season 4 now.
See full post
15 Minutes of Terminator with McG [Event]
Just got back from a Terminator event where McG showed us about fifteen minutes of footage, along with two rough trailers, and chatted a bit about anything we wanted to know.
Before the screening began, we got to take a look at some very cool production art. Among the pieces on display were a couple different destroyed landscapes (one of LA, one of New York and a few more), what looked like a Terminator assembly line, an explanation of how the "Hydrobot" works (more on that later) and the apparent evolution of T600 to T800, with a T700 and a "Marcus" model in between that seems to be the most human shaped of the four designs.
Inside the screening room, we were introduced to producer Dan Lin (who let us know that Sherlock Holmes is currently shooting in the Armory in Brooklyn. Let the RDJ sightings begin!) and the very enthusiastic & geekier than I ever suspected (that's a good thing), McG. Before I get into what was said & how the footage looked, let me say that McG is oddly self aware and self deprecating & has a childlike wonder when it comes to making movies. For some reason I thought he would be this slick, cocky guy, but in fact he's kind of a weird geek whose excitement over his films could I suppose be read by some as over confidence, but I just saw it as endearing.
Moving on.
McG explained how we are the first people to see any of tonight's footage and a lot of it is incomplete so we'll be seeing plenty of animatics. ILM is currently working on the FX and McG just came from the editing room. Here's the basic premise of the film for those of you who don't know,
Terminator Salvation is set in post-apocalyptic 2018, where John Connor is the man fated to lead the human resistance against Skynet and its army of Terminators. But the future that Connor was raised to believe in is altered in part by the appearance of Marcus Wright, a stranger whose last memory is of being on death row. Connor must decide whether Marcus has been sent from the future, or rescued from the past. As Skynet prepares its final onslaught, Connor & Marcus both embark on an odyssey that takes them into the heart of Skynet's operations, where they uncover the terrible secret behind the possible annihilation of mankind.
So in this Terminator film, Judgement Day has already happened, it took place in 2003 like the first two Terminator films say. In fact, McG stressed that he loves and respects T1 and T2 and those films are where the core of Salvation's mythology comes from. There is obviously some T3 thrown in there (Kate Connor, for one), but the most mind was paid to the first two. Salvation should not be looked at as a T4, but rather a reboot honoring the same basic mythology. In the same way Batman Begins wasn't Batman 5, Salvation is not Terminator 4. What makes this film differ the most from any other incarnation of the Terminator franchise is that it takes place in the future, IN the full out war the Connors have been fighting to prevent. And if the first film was about protecting Sarah and the second about protecting John, this one is mostly about protecting Kyle. Here, we will see John Connor fulfill his destiny and the pieces get put into place for the 2029 event of sending Kyle back in time to
When McG first heard that another Terminator movie was floating around out there, he wasn't interested. A big Cameron fan himself, he thought the story was tied up with the first two films. When he heard that this film would take place after Judgement Day, however, his interest was piqued. He didn't like the first script he read too much, didn't think it was there yet, but could see the potential. To him one of the most important aspects was respecting the fans and the original films, so before doing anything else, he reached out to Jim Cameron for his blessing. Cameron said he couldn't blindly get behind the film, but wished McG well, telling him he knows what McG must feel like taking this on, as he was in a similar situation years ago, taking over the Alien franchise from Ridley Scott.
More after the jump
In his search for the right actor, McG knew right away that he wanted Christian Bale. He considers Bale to be one of the most talented actors of his generation and I can't say I disagree. Bale didn't like thr script too much either though, and said he would only do the film if the script got to a point where they could do a reading, just sitting in a room, and the words alone would be enough to keep an audience interested. McG agreed and got Jonah Nolan to sign on and turn the script into what it eventually became. They were both passionate about Genesis stories (The examples he gave were school paper photographer Peter Parker becomes Spiderman, computer hacker Thomas Anderson becomes Neo, etc) and wanted to detail how Connor becomes leader of the resistance and how a kid becomes the Kyle Reece we know and want to have sex with. Okay that last part was me, not McG. Look, every girl, myself included, is in love with Michael Biehn circa 1984 (even though I was -2 years old then) and anyone who says otherwise is lying...back to the event. With this new script, Bale signed on. In looking for gritty realism, McG went to Stan Winston for the robot design, specifically that of the "easy to spot" T600 and with that, the main team that would accomplish the goals McG was aiming for, was compiled.
One of those goals, McG told us, was to create a big movie that is also one of the best movies. Not schlocky, not disposable. Summer fun yes, but also great, like The Dark Knight or The Matrix, a film which was a big influence on McG as it was both filled with amazing action and could also be the topic of a class at NYU. Which I think it actually was. McG drew a lot from Philip K. Dick, specifically Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep and late 70s, early 80s science fiction film, especially the classic based on Androids, Blade Runner. The difference now is that this kind of technology is actually upon us and thus the themes are more relevant than ever. He plays a lot here with the theme of "That which makes us great could also be our undoing."
The first clip we see is a full on action sequence featuring a giant (and I mean GIANT) Terminator as well as a Terminator ship and Terminator motorcycles whose AI seems to specialize in identifying & avoiding collisions...which mostly succeeds. Before the robots enter the scene, we watch as Kyle and his protector, Marcus, along with a small child, are searching around a destroyed 7-11. They notice an almost empty milk bottle and determine someone else must be there. Before they can even get the thought out, they are surrounded by other humans trying to survive. And before these other humans can decide whether or not to help or kill Kyle and his team, out comes the Giant robot and pretty much everybody dies in a very cool, very fun sequence, where we see Kyle's leadership abilities beginning to form. Those who don't get smashed are taken captive. Skynet is collecting human subjects to help them figure out how to make what will eventually become the T800. There is also a different look to the whole scene, which McG then explains is due to the fact that they invented their own film stock for the movie. They processed old dead stock with three times the silver as normal in order to achieve this Childen of Men or Road Warrior type of dirty other-worldliness.
McG then talked a bit about how the film really focuses on Connor & Marcus - who or what Marcus is and how that affects Connor's journey. Credibility and realness was important to McG who insisted that the actors get to interact with actual robots instead of a tennis ball on a stick. This resulted in a couple injuries for Bale from punching the metal robots, but they'd have it no other way. The documentary Hearts of Darkness has been a huge inspiration to McG throughout the entire process and he hopes that the world of duress that they are creating in Salvation really explodes off of the screen to show in the end, what is best about humanity.
The 2nd clip we saw involved John Connor & Marcus making a "Faustian bargain" of sorts. First we see all of Connor's men get attacked by multiple Hydrobots, snake-like robots who live in water and are really effing creepy, who seem to latch on to everyone's face and force you to experience frightening Alien flashbacks. Connor isn't afraid and shoots them all up cause he is a badass. Then Marcus appears out of the water, destroying some hydobots barehanded, and his face seems to be peeling off a bit, revealing, you guessed it, metal. Remember when I mentioned the concept art that featured a robot named "Marcus"? Turns out Marcus woke up one day and noticed there was some machine stuff going on inside of him. We don't know what it means, and neither does Marcus. And McG won't tell us. Marcus tells Connor to trust him as he can help rescue Kyle. Connor struggles, but agrees. Christian Bale has his whole raspy, deep voice thing going on, which leaves me a tad skeptical, but he also acts the crap out of the scene, so I'll forgive his gravelly Clint Eastwood tone & trust that it won't bother me in the end.
Finally we see a rough trailer (I say rough because it's filled with animatics) that is pretty awesome and will definitely be a treat when it's completed. Maybe it will be premiered at New York Comic Con I hope I hope I should have asked? Some highlights are Connor talking about Skynet taking human prisoners for R&D, Kyle saying "Come with me if you want to live" for the first time and someone holding a picture of Sarah Connor. The tagline is "The End Begins."
McG then opened it up to Q&A and talked a little more. Here's the best stuff:
-McG was considering getting Gustavo Santaolalla and Thom Yorke together to work on the score, as he wanted both a human side & a more robotic, futuristic side, but after meeting with Danny Elfman, he had no doubt that Elfman could do both, while still incorporating and elevating the original theme and hired him.
-There is no sexism, racism or ageism in this future. When the world comes to an end, all of that goes out the window.-McG is determined to be transparent in his process, respect the audience, answer any questions the fans have and deliver on their expectations
-Christian Bale's performance has shades of both Edward Furlong & Nick Stahl
-Salvation could be seen as a prequel or a sequel, depending on how you look at it
-We will see Connor deal with accusations of being crazy the same way his mother did
-They did not go for any particular rating in production and always put the movie first. McG is expecting to receive an R, but what the MPAA will think wasn't on their minds
-McG is a fan of strong, powerful women and we'll see plenty of them in Salvation.
-In case we were wondering, he tells us that he grew up being called McG because every man in his family was named Joseph McGinty and as they were poor and all lived together, they needed to call the youngest Joe something different, thus the nickname McG was born.
-Kate Connor is 2nd in command in the resistance
-The part of the war the film focuses on is the "brink" Kyle talked to Sarah about in T1
-The idea of somehow using Michael Biehn or Schwarzenegger is always on McG's mind, but he can't talk about it...which may be an illuminating answer in and of itself
-Many parallels between this and T1 - many things that occur in this film influence Kyle's interaction with Sarah 11 years later
-First Terminator incarnation that doesn't deal with time travel
-Is hoping to continue the turn back to big but great movies like what Star Wars & Indiana Jones were when McG was growing up. He senses this kind of respect for the fantasy/sci fi/action genre coming back, especially with the success of Dark Knight, and he hopes to continue the trend and really challenge the audience
-Bale was anal about sticking to the mythology and being truthful to the canon they decided on. He would always speak up if something didn't ring true and apparently got really cockney whenever he was riled up about it
-Unlike T3, There is nothing tongue in cheek about this film. They took the source material very seriously
-McG laughs about how much Charlies Angels 2 sucked
-Isn't worried about competing with Transformers in 2009 as they are very different films & their designs are not the same
And that's about it! Overall I got the impression that McG cares deeply for the source material and about making a truly great movie. I'm most excited for the parallels and references to T1 & T2, especially the look on Connor's face whenever he meets Kyle and Kyle's reaction to seeing Sarah Connor's picture for the first time. The footage was cool enough, but I wanted more. Action sequences are great and all, but I wanted to see more of the human interaction. To his credit, McG wished he had more of that to show us as well. Again, I repeat - New York Comic Con? WonderCon? In any event, I'm still excited for this film as I love the Terminator franchise, and McG does seem very committed to honoring the original material, Cameron's vision and the fans.
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