10,000 BC
Of late, there have been very few examples of historical fiction in the film industry that go beyond just 200 years. Not very much history is explored in films, especially not in the action genre. However, this could be about to change. Director Roland Emmerich, the director who brought us the films “Godzilla”, “The Patriot”, “The Day After Tomorrow”, “Stargate”, “Universal Soldier”, and “Independence Day”, brings us a vision a life in prehistoric times with the new prehistoric action film “10,000 B.C.” The film will star Steven Strait, perhaps best known for playing Warren Peace in the Disney superhero film “Sky High”, as D’Leh, which is the German word Held, which means “hero”, backwards. The film will also star Camilla Belle as Evolet, D’Leh’s love interest.
According to the film’s official synopsis: 21-year-old mammoth hunter D'Leh (Steven Strait), a member of a hunter-gatherer tribe living in 10,000 B.C. (at the end of the late Upper Paleolithic period), travels through unknown lands on a quest to rescue his people from extinction.[1] Leading an army, D'Leh uncovers a lost civilization while in pursuit of a warlord who kidnapped his love, Evolet (Camilla Belle). D'Leh and his army encounter saber-toothed cats, mammoths and other prehistoric creatures in the journey to save his tribe.
Roland Emmerich’s decision to cast lesser known actors and actresses in the film has greatly helped to keep the budget of the film reasonable. The decision was made in order to help keep the audience focused on the story instead of the actors. He stated that he felt the audience would look at the actors and then if something important would happen, they would focus back on the story saying “What’s that?”. This could be a very wise move on his part due to the fact that not too many successful films have been produced in the genre that Emmerich’s film is. There have been very few attempts at making prehistoric action films, especially one of this scale. The film is expected to have large, climactic battles evoking (unintentionally, it should be noted) some of the imagery of “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, and some of the previews have even helped reignite interest in the genre, reaffirming to many that there is still some wonder left in the world, even if it only comes from our past. 10,000 BC is expected to roar into theatres March 7.
Friday, April 11, 2008
watch on your Plasma TV, 2008 Academy Awards
2008 Academy Awards
This year the Academy Awards, the biggest award show of all of Hollywood, may be under the threat of having no red carpet coverage, and worst of all no movie stars. This comes from the Writer’s Guild of America strike which has already claimed the Golden Globe Awards as a victim of the very things that threaten the Academy Awards. However, there may be hope yet for the ceremony as negotiations have commenced once again between the Writer’s Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers that may allow actors and writers in support of the strike to be present at the award show.
This year the nominations for the best picture Oscar are “Atonement”, directed by Joe Wright, “Juno”, directed by Jason Reitman, “Michael Clayton”, directed by Tony Gilroy, “No Country for Old Men”, directed by the Coen Brothers, and “There Will Be Blood”, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. The nominations for best director are Paul Thomas Anderson, the Coen Brothers, Tony Gilroy, Jason Reitman, and Julian Schnabel. The nominations for best actor in a leading role are Johnny Depp for “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”, Daniel Day-Lewis for “There Will Be Blood”, Tommy Lee Jones for “In the Valley of Elah”, George Clooney for “Michael Clayton”, and Viggo Mortensen for “Eastern Promises”. The nominations for best actress in a leading role are Cate Blanchett for “Elizabeth: The Golden Age”, Julie Christie for “Away From Her”, Marion Cotillard for “La Vie en Rose (La mome), Laura Linney for “The Savages”, and Ellen Page for “Juno”.
Several nominations are of interesting note, such as the best supporting actress nomination for Cate Blanchett in the film “I’m Not There” where she portrays singer Bob Dylan. Another notable nomination is Johnny Depp’s nomination for portraying Sweeney Todd, where he actually had to learn how to sing due to the fact that the film was a musical. The Disney and Pixar computer animated film “Ratatouille” is a serious contender for the best animated film award as for four other nominations, which earns the film the record of the most nominations for an animated film in Academy Awards History. The category for best original song was dominated by the Disney film “Enchanted” with three nominations with only two competitors from the films “August Rush” and “Once”. The Academy Awards are set to be broadcasted on February 24th.
This year the Academy Awards, the biggest award show of all of Hollywood, may be under the threat of having no red carpet coverage, and worst of all no movie stars. This comes from the Writer’s Guild of America strike which has already claimed the Golden Globe Awards as a victim of the very things that threaten the Academy Awards. However, there may be hope yet for the ceremony as negotiations have commenced once again between the Writer’s Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers that may allow actors and writers in support of the strike to be present at the award show.
This year the nominations for the best picture Oscar are “Atonement”, directed by Joe Wright, “Juno”, directed by Jason Reitman, “Michael Clayton”, directed by Tony Gilroy, “No Country for Old Men”, directed by the Coen Brothers, and “There Will Be Blood”, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. The nominations for best director are Paul Thomas Anderson, the Coen Brothers, Tony Gilroy, Jason Reitman, and Julian Schnabel. The nominations for best actor in a leading role are Johnny Depp for “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”, Daniel Day-Lewis for “There Will Be Blood”, Tommy Lee Jones for “In the Valley of Elah”, George Clooney for “Michael Clayton”, and Viggo Mortensen for “Eastern Promises”. The nominations for best actress in a leading role are Cate Blanchett for “Elizabeth: The Golden Age”, Julie Christie for “Away From Her”, Marion Cotillard for “La Vie en Rose (La mome), Laura Linney for “The Savages”, and Ellen Page for “Juno”.
Several nominations are of interesting note, such as the best supporting actress nomination for Cate Blanchett in the film “I’m Not There” where she portrays singer Bob Dylan. Another notable nomination is Johnny Depp’s nomination for portraying Sweeney Todd, where he actually had to learn how to sing due to the fact that the film was a musical. The Disney and Pixar computer animated film “Ratatouille” is a serious contender for the best animated film award as for four other nominations, which earns the film the record of the most nominations for an animated film in Academy Awards History. The category for best original song was dominated by the Disney film “Enchanted” with three nominations with only two competitors from the films “August Rush” and “Once”. The Academy Awards are set to be broadcasted on February 24th.
Play "21" avilable film on your TV
21
Blackjack is one of the most popular card games in casinos today. With the simple formula of “whoever gets 21 or the highest number wins”, the game is easy to play and is one of the few card games in which the player has just as much of a chance of being the winner as the dealer. Or at least it would seem. The new film “21” is based on the true story and book “Bringing Down the House” based on the exploits of four MIT students who were brought together and went to Las Vegas where they attempted to win money at Blackjack by means of card counting. While card counting is not illegal in Las Vegas, if one is caught card counting, their can be dire consequences to those in control of whatever casino one is in.
The plot for the film is as follows: Ben Campbell (Jim Sturgess) is a shy, brilliant M.I.T. student who – needing to pay school tuition – finds the answers in the cards. He is recruited to join a group of the school's most gifted students that heads to Vegas every weekend armed with fake identities and the know-how to turn the odds at blackjack in their favor. With unorthodox math professor and stats genius Micky Rosa (Kevin Spacey) leading the way, they've cracked the code. By counting cards and employing an intricate system of signals, the team can beat the casinos big time. Seduced by the money, the Vegas lifestyle, and by his smart and sexy teammate, Jill Taylor (Kate Bosworth), Ben begins to push the limits. Though counting cards isn't illegal, the stakes are high, and the challenge becomes not only keeping the numbers straight, but staying one step ahead of the casinos' menacing enforcer: Cole Williams (Laurence Fishburne).
The film has received some racial controversy due to the fact that in reality and in the novel of which the film is based, the four main characters were Asian Americans whereas the film executives have hired mostly Caucasian actors to portray said characters. This has led many to accuse the studio of white-washing the film. It should also be noted that more “American sounding” names were given to two of the main characters. Controversies aside, the film is expected to remain, for the most part, faithful to the book and true event. 21 opens in theatres March 28, 2008.
Blackjack is one of the most popular card games in casinos today. With the simple formula of “whoever gets 21 or the highest number wins”, the game is easy to play and is one of the few card games in which the player has just as much of a chance of being the winner as the dealer. Or at least it would seem. The new film “21” is based on the true story and book “Bringing Down the House” based on the exploits of four MIT students who were brought together and went to Las Vegas where they attempted to win money at Blackjack by means of card counting. While card counting is not illegal in Las Vegas, if one is caught card counting, their can be dire consequences to those in control of whatever casino one is in.
The plot for the film is as follows: Ben Campbell (Jim Sturgess) is a shy, brilliant M.I.T. student who – needing to pay school tuition – finds the answers in the cards. He is recruited to join a group of the school's most gifted students that heads to Vegas every weekend armed with fake identities and the know-how to turn the odds at blackjack in their favor. With unorthodox math professor and stats genius Micky Rosa (Kevin Spacey) leading the way, they've cracked the code. By counting cards and employing an intricate system of signals, the team can beat the casinos big time. Seduced by the money, the Vegas lifestyle, and by his smart and sexy teammate, Jill Taylor (Kate Bosworth), Ben begins to push the limits. Though counting cards isn't illegal, the stakes are high, and the challenge becomes not only keeping the numbers straight, but staying one step ahead of the casinos' menacing enforcer: Cole Williams (Laurence Fishburne).
The film has received some racial controversy due to the fact that in reality and in the novel of which the film is based, the four main characters were Asian Americans whereas the film executives have hired mostly Caucasian actors to portray said characters. This has led many to accuse the studio of white-washing the film. It should also be noted that more “American sounding” names were given to two of the main characters. Controversies aside, the film is expected to remain, for the most part, faithful to the book and true event. 21 opens in theatres March 28, 2008.
"10 Items or Less" watch the channel on your TV
"10 Items or Less" Watch on your TV
TBS is nearly infamous for its lack of original series. In fact, almost everything that comes on the channel is a cancelled or licensed series that uses reruns several times over. They’ve used Family Guy, Seinfeld, Everybody Loves Raymond, Sex and the City, and Just Shoot Me until anyone who watches the channel on a daily basis has no need to purchase the DVDs for the series. However, there is a silver lining to all of this, and that silver lining is the TBS original series “10 Items or Less”. 10 Items or Less is different from television shows out there due to the fact that it is mostly improvised. In fact, a detailed script is written before filming begins, but the script is not shown to the actors. Instead they make up their lines as they go along. As a result, there have been times where they’ve had over 30 hours of footage to edit down into 30 minutes. The series is filmed in a similar manner to “The Office” due to characters having their own individual personalities and quirks.
The series follows main character Leslie Pool (played by John Lehr) who has just moved back to his hometown of Dayton, Ohio from New York to take over the grocery store his father left him called the Greens and Grains (it is interesting to note that the series is filmed at an actual grocery store and often uses actual customers for extras). He is in constant competition with Amy Anderson (Jennifer Elise Cox) who owns a competitor grocery store, the Super Value Mart. The rest of the cast is rounded out by Ingrid Wakowski (Kristen Gronfield), Yolanda Nelson (Roberta Valderrama), Todd Sykes (Chris Payne Gilbert), Carl Dawson (Bob Clendinin), Richard Mednick (Christopher Liam Moore), Buchwald Washington (Greg Davis Jr.).
10 Items or Less is a fine show due to its improvisational style. This helps to make the characters, as outlandish as they may seem, more realistic and sympathetic to the audience. The show is like a faster moving version of The Office, except with less direction. Every actor seems to have put their own stamp on the characters, and this makes the audience curious week after week as to where the characters are going. The actors also manage to play off of each other really well, and this makes the characters appear closer together. 10 Items or Less airs on Tuesday nights after The Office.
TBS is nearly infamous for its lack of original series. In fact, almost everything that comes on the channel is a cancelled or licensed series that uses reruns several times over. They’ve used Family Guy, Seinfeld, Everybody Loves Raymond, Sex and the City, and Just Shoot Me until anyone who watches the channel on a daily basis has no need to purchase the DVDs for the series. However, there is a silver lining to all of this, and that silver lining is the TBS original series “10 Items or Less”. 10 Items or Less is different from television shows out there due to the fact that it is mostly improvised. In fact, a detailed script is written before filming begins, but the script is not shown to the actors. Instead they make up their lines as they go along. As a result, there have been times where they’ve had over 30 hours of footage to edit down into 30 minutes. The series is filmed in a similar manner to “The Office” due to characters having their own individual personalities and quirks.
The series follows main character Leslie Pool (played by John Lehr) who has just moved back to his hometown of Dayton, Ohio from New York to take over the grocery store his father left him called the Greens and Grains (it is interesting to note that the series is filmed at an actual grocery store and often uses actual customers for extras). He is in constant competition with Amy Anderson (Jennifer Elise Cox) who owns a competitor grocery store, the Super Value Mart. The rest of the cast is rounded out by Ingrid Wakowski (Kristen Gronfield), Yolanda Nelson (Roberta Valderrama), Todd Sykes (Chris Payne Gilbert), Carl Dawson (Bob Clendinin), Richard Mednick (Christopher Liam Moore), Buchwald Washington (Greg Davis Jr.).
10 Items or Less is a fine show due to its improvisational style. This helps to make the characters, as outlandish as they may seem, more realistic and sympathetic to the audience. The show is like a faster moving version of The Office, except with less direction. Every actor seems to have put their own stamp on the characters, and this makes the audience curious week after week as to where the characters are going. The actors also manage to play off of each other really well, and this makes the characters appear closer together. 10 Items or Less airs on Tuesday nights after The Office.
WGA Strike: Is It Finally Over?
WGA Strike: Is It Finally Over?
Michael Winship, the president of the Writer’s Guild of America East, and Patric M. Verrone, the president of the Writer’s Guild of America West announced in a letter to all involved with the strike of the past three months that has crippled much of the entertainment industry that the WGA had indeed reached a deal with the AMPTP on the basis of “if they get paid, we get paid”. The strike has been going on since November 5, 2007 over the royalties that were to be made from DVD sales, internet downloads, and film revenue. Specifically, the guild wanted an increase in the percentage they make off of these projects as a means to compensate for the period of unemployment they must often face between jobs. The strike began and hopes were very quickly raised that the strike could be ended swiftly. However, this was not the case and the strike went on stronger than before. The strike continued and crippled the production of many popular television shows such as NBC’s “Heroes”, CBS’ CSI series, and several others. The strike even managed to halt production on almost every late night talk show. The strike did, however, benefit game shows and reality television which usually require no writers at all.
In early January the late night talk shows returned with an agreement between the companies that run them for fairer wages and several other demands were met, and some late night hosts even paid their writers with money out of their own pocket. This helped boost morale in the Writer’s Guild of America and the strike pressed on more determined than ever. The strike progressed and more and more deals were made, but some were not made fast enough, and the major award ceremony The Golden Globe Awards was televised by simply a reading of what won what award with no speeches, actors, writers, photographers, or anything one would associate with the award ceremony. Many pondered what would happen for the Academy Awards, and it is perhaps that worry that led to the resolution that finally came on February 9.
The following is an excerpt from the WGA letter detailing the minimum royalties. Minimum rates generally increase 3.5% each year. The exceptions are: network prime time rates and daytime serial script fees increase 3.0% each period; program fees and the upset price increase once by 3% in the second year; and clip fees increase once by 5% in the third year. Every other revision requested by the WGA has been met. More details are soon to follow.
Michael Winship, the president of the Writer’s Guild of America East, and Patric M. Verrone, the president of the Writer’s Guild of America West announced in a letter to all involved with the strike of the past three months that has crippled much of the entertainment industry that the WGA had indeed reached a deal with the AMPTP on the basis of “if they get paid, we get paid”. The strike has been going on since November 5, 2007 over the royalties that were to be made from DVD sales, internet downloads, and film revenue. Specifically, the guild wanted an increase in the percentage they make off of these projects as a means to compensate for the period of unemployment they must often face between jobs. The strike began and hopes were very quickly raised that the strike could be ended swiftly. However, this was not the case and the strike went on stronger than before. The strike continued and crippled the production of many popular television shows such as NBC’s “Heroes”, CBS’ CSI series, and several others. The strike even managed to halt production on almost every late night talk show. The strike did, however, benefit game shows and reality television which usually require no writers at all.
In early January the late night talk shows returned with an agreement between the companies that run them for fairer wages and several other demands were met, and some late night hosts even paid their writers with money out of their own pocket. This helped boost morale in the Writer’s Guild of America and the strike pressed on more determined than ever. The strike progressed and more and more deals were made, but some were not made fast enough, and the major award ceremony The Golden Globe Awards was televised by simply a reading of what won what award with no speeches, actors, writers, photographers, or anything one would associate with the award ceremony. Many pondered what would happen for the Academy Awards, and it is perhaps that worry that led to the resolution that finally came on February 9.
The following is an excerpt from the WGA letter detailing the minimum royalties. Minimum rates generally increase 3.5% each year. The exceptions are: network prime time rates and daytime serial script fees increase 3.0% each period; program fees and the upset price increase once by 3% in the second year; and clip fees increase once by 5% in the third year. Every other revision requested by the WGA has been met. More details are soon to follow.
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