Point of Interest

dogs and cats, living together, mass hysteria

Let's see what whimpering wish-wash this wanderer has withal whisked this week...

GHOSTBUSTERS 3

The Ghostbusters franchise, if it was created today, would have spawned one-hundred and eleven sequels. However, it was made in a time where movies usually come in twos- for example, GB2 is the only sequel Bill Murray has starred in. Recently, Hollywood caught on to the fact that they could make millions if they simply just made another Ghostbusters. However, they couldn't do it unless they brought the old team back together. Now, it seems it's happening.

Ghostbusters 3 has been in the works since the release of 2, back before any of us were born. Ackroyd has always said that Columbia always wanted to do it, they were just waiting on the world to change for the team to come around. The team has come around. Ivan Reitman is directing, most of the cast has signed on, and Sig Weave is one good lookin' gilf.

*fun fact- Bill Murray reportedly only agreed to star in 3 under one condition- his character dies in the first reel.

Sad news, though- Rick Moranis. Moranis officially retired from acting in '96, and now they think he won't come back for GB3. However, the good thing about retiring from acting is that it's not like retiring from being a CFO- you can't just say, 'ok, I think I'll be a CFO again', but you can say- 'ok, I think I'll star in a movie again.' I think he'll do it, if everyone else is doing it. He seems like that kind of guy.

Point of interest- Dan Ackroyd is officially writing the script.

Now hang on- I know what you're thinking. 'Gene Stupnisky and Lee Eisenberg, of 'the Office' fame, are penning this play of the screen, are th'y nay?' Well, yes, they were. They were going to write a script that featured all the old Ghostbusters passing the torch to the new Ghostbusters, the new Ghostbusters being actors of the Apatow breed- Jason Seigel, Paul Rudd, some fatass with a pube-face Seth Rogen, etc, which is not only cool but appropriate, because it could be a metaphor for the kings of the comedy of yesteryear (Reitman, Murray, Ackroyd, etc) passing the torch to the new kings of comedy. Cool, right? I was actually on board, along with everybody else (including the studios, who don't care what it looks like but still marginally care that everybody gets along), and then it happened.

Dan Ackroyd heard about Year One.

"I gotta be careful here, I don't want to hurt someones feelings. When I hurt someones feelings, I really want to hurt them. [laughs] Harold Ramis said, 'Oh, I've got these guys, they write on The Office, and they're really funny. They're going to write the next Ghostbusters'. And they had just written this movie that he had directed. Year One. Well, I never went to see Year One, but people who did, including other Ghostbusters, said it was one of the worst things they had ever seen in their lives. So that dream just vaporized. That was gone. But it's the studio that really wants this thing. It's a franchise. It's a franchise, and they made a whole lot of money on Ghostbusters."  -Dan Ackroyd, courtesy of MovieWeb, full article heuh.

Hilarious. Hilarious. [standing ovation] Thank God for real people like Dan Ackroyd. He knows Year One sucked, and he appreciates sucky comedies, as he has been in his share, but he's basically saying he doesn't want GB3 to suck. Hilarious. Awesome, too. Smart. A guy from the days of real Hollywood comedy, where people actually put more than two minutes of thought into a movie before they threw $50 million at it. Awesome.

I love Ghostbusters, and I love the idea of a threequel, especially because Ackroyd will make it good.

This is good!

[horse brays] [easy girl]

BATMAN 3 TO FEATURE PENGUIN, RIDDLER, CATWOMAN, KEANU

"There's been talk of the Riddler, the Joker - I don't mean the Joker - the Penguin. Philip Seymour Hoffman as the Penguin, and that sounds interesting to me. So we'll wait and see. And there just may be more than one." -Morgan Freeman on B3, courtesy of MovieWeb.

'This feature film will feature many villains, that is to say, several antagonists. The hero, called 'The Batman', will face villains not only of enormous cunning, but of quantity never before seen. It will surely be worth your fifty cents for a ticket stub to see our hero fight the many villains of the silver screen. 'Hang on to your popcorn,' as the young folks say.'

You've got to hand it to Morgan Freeman. He can say whatever he wants and people will go nuts. He always has the best stuff, too. The best part was when the guy asked him when it was starting principal photography. 'I don't know. I've heard what you've heard. Spring.' Something like that. Yeah, I can picture Freeman just sitting at his desk going through important documents, waiting for the Freeman symbol to shine in the sky, so he knows when to go to the set. 'They need me, hold my calls, Jeevsy,' He might say. [I'll cancel the pizzas!]

But on the actual subject of Freemans claim, I don't think Nolan will allow more than one villain. Granted, there are technically a bunch of Batman villains in Batman Begins (Zsaszz, Scarecrow, Raz al Goul) and TDK (Two-Face, Joker), but I think B3 will feature only one, and I think that one will be the riddler, and I think the riddler will be Joseph Gordin-Levitt.

This was rumored a while back, but I'll take it for fact. I think it could totally work, and Levitt is an amazing actor (Brick, 500 Days, Inception). God damn, I have to talk about Inception. I don't think I could ever write a single post about it, because I have way too much to say, but I have to take this time to commend Levitt on Inception. He was one of the best parts and played one of the most endearing, subtle characters I've ever seen in a movie like Inception. And that fight scene, oh lawd, when the car is being flipped in slow motion and JG-L kicks that one dudes ass while he's floating all over the place- that is the best action scene in any movie I've ever seen. Seriously awesome. LAWD.

[shuffles papers] [wipes brow]

Anyway, yeah. No matter what it's going to be good, because Nolan makes good movies. Nuff said.

THE HOBBIT

Yep. The Hobbit has officially been (and by 'officially been' I mean it hasn't been yet, but it will be sometimes this week or next) green lit. It's happening. As if it wouldn't happen. $500 million to a Peter Jackson picture? It's happening. All this sheeit over actors and unions and other waddle was going to be resolved soon enough, because studios have power over everything, and they would have intervened eventually, and they have interevened, so it's happening, now go to your room!

*sad side note- another hitch in production- one of their miniature studios (that is to say, a studio devoted to miniatures, not a miniature studio, because Jackson is still pretty chubby) burned down mysteriously, and they lost a lot of models and other dorky stuff. This happened, like, a day before news broke that it was being green lit, so they're off to a rocky start already.

I don't know how MGM is going to get their half of the $500 million, because they're knee deep in debt and need to fund half of one of the most expensive film productions of all time. Hollywood, man, just trust them.

TRUE GRIT

I can't emphasize how awesome this movie is going to be. Just...watch it. Trailer 2. Lawdy. Lawdy. Lawdy. This is going to be the best movie of the year. God, thank you for the Coen brothers. They know what they're doing. Also, tits.

UNTITLED ALIEN PREQUEL IN YOUR INTERNET

Ridley Scott wants a shitload of money to make a prequel franchise to Alien, and he's going to get whatever he wants, because Ridley Scott makes Ridley Scott movies. These movies are happening, probably because Hollywood is getting desperate for originality. It's supposed to deal with the origins of the Aliens, like something to do with Biological warfare or experiments gone wrong or some stuff like that. Alien and Aliens are respectively some of the finest sfi-fi/ action movies of all time, and the franchise should be respected as such.
Maybe after Scott makes an Alien prequel, Jimmy Cameron can come in and direct another Alien prequel, but this time set it 7 miles under the water, and make them all blue, and try to get some science fair prize out of it. Win, win, amirite!

JAMES BOND WILL RETURN, HOBBIT TOO

Remember how I was all, 'I wonder how MGM is going to pony up the dough'? I found out. Spyglass Entertainment.

'The Plan provides for MGM's secured lenders to exchange more than $4 billion in outstanding debt for approximately 95.3 percent of equity in MGM upon its emergence from Chapter 11. Spyglass Entertainment would contribute certain assets to the reorganized company in exchange for approximately 0.52 percent of the reorganized company. In addition, two entities owned by Spyglass affiliates - Cypress Entertainment Group, Inc. and Garoge, Inc. - will merge with and into a subsidiary of MGM, with the MGM subsidiary as the surviving entity. The stockholders of Cypress and Garoge will receive approximately 4.17 percent of the reorganized company in exchange.' -Courtesy of MovieWeb

I'll try to dumb it down [rolls up sleeves].

Spyglass Entertainment, who brought us such classics as 'Mr. 3000', 'Evan Almighty', and 'Balls of Fury', is bailing out MGM in exchange for 95.3% of MGM, meaning that MGM is no longer owned by MGM. Also, two little subsidiaries of Spyglass will merge into one entity and will emerge as the new face of MGM, and the stockholders of those two subsidiaries will receive a hefty gratuity from the reorganized company.

This sounds very complicated. What it means is this- not only is The Hobbit is happening, but Bond might be saved. It was a big deal when news broke of MGM filing Chap 11, and it was an even bigger deal to me because it meant that Bond is in the toilet.

*the new Bond was going to be so sweet, too. Solace left on such a sweet note that left the franchise with ample more movie opportunities, only to be dashed because MGM blew all their money on coke and whores.

**also, when the news about Bond broke, Entertainment Weekly did an issue devoted to Bond, and it was the most irreverent thing I've ever read. It basically called the franchise outdated and hailed the bankruptcy as a sign to move on but that is BULLHIGGY.

***I will say, though, even though th franchise was open to many more sweet movies, the end of Solace did in a way put a nice button to Craigs Bond. 'You don't have to wory about me.' [gush]

I don't know how Spyglass is going to go about saving MGM, but this is a little glimmer of hope. And I like things that glimmer. Like, a lot.