Big World Pictures Takes Karlovy Vary Winner 'The Almost Man'

"The Almost Man" will be Big World's first theatrical release.

The debut from Norwegian director Martin Lund follows a man-child facing the prospect of becoming a father.

COLOGNE, Germany – Newly minted Brooklyn-based distributor Big World Pictures has picked up U.S. rights to Norwegian feature The Almost Man as its first theatrical release.

The debut feature from Norwegian director Martin Lund won the Crystal Globe best picture award at last year's Karlovy Vary film festival.

The dramedy focuses on Hendrik, a 35-year-old man child who finds out he is about to become a father and is forced to give up his own childish behavior. Star Henrik Rafaelsen won best actor at Karlovy Vary for his performance.
“The Almost Man is one of the finest -- and most enjoyable -- films I’ve seen in the past year. We’re proud to have it leading the inaugural slate for Big World Pictures,” said Big World’s Jonathan Howell in a statement.
The Almost Man will be Big World's first release. The specialty distributor plans 3-4 theatrical bows per year. The deal for The Almost Man was signed with sales group LevelK. SF Norway released The Almost Man locally last September.

The 'Butler' Fight: Harvey Weinstein's Mixed Track Record in His MPAA Feuds (Analysis)

"The Butler"

High-powered lawyers and sweeping rhetoric are all part of a game plan that has brought the mogul some victories -- and some losses -- in the past.

When it comes to battling the MPAA, Harvey Weinstein’s default position is to go into all-out attack mode. While other movie companies usually sort out their differences with the Motion Picture Association of America behind the scenes, Weinstein stages major public relations campaigns like the one he is currently conducting to attempt to win the right to call Lee Daniels’ upcoming movie The Butler.

But do they actually work?
Typically, Weinstein, one of the toughest moguls in Hollywood, portrays himself as the scrappy underdog standing up for some higher principle. While the current dispute revolves around whether The Weinstein Co. and Warner Bros. have played by the rules of the MPAA’s Title Registration Bureau, to which both companies subscribe, Weinstein is making every effort to turn the business dispute between movie companies into a major civil rights fight. “I’ve gone through this all my life,” Weinstein said Tuesday morning during an appearance on CBS This Morning. “My dad taught me to fight injustice. This is unjust.”

Over the years, Weinstein’s scorched-earth tactics have resulted in a mixed record of success. Sometimes he wins, managing to overturn NC-17 ratings in favor of less restrictive R ratings on movies ranging from 1994’s Clerks to 2010’s Blue Valentine. And sometimes he loses, failing to convince the ratings appeals board to downgrade its original NC-17 designations on films like 1995’s Kids or soften the R rating it gave to 2010’s The King’s Speech and 2012’s Bully.
Win or lose, though, the very public disputes almost always result in a torrent of publicity, which Weinstein’s critics say is his real objective. (Among Weinstein and the show’s hosts, the CBS Morning News appearance included three reminders that The Butler is scheduled for release Aug. 16, while also including a clip from the film.) But all that free press doesn’t necessarily translate into big bucks at the box office.

Director Kevin Smith’s Clerks, for example, grossed $3.2 million domestically back in 1994, and that meant the low-budget, black-and-white indie was a solid success but not a runaway phenomenon. Blue Valentine, despite earning an Oscar nomination for its star Michelle Williams, grossed just $12.4 million worldwide. On the other hand, Michael Moore’s 2004 documentary Fahrenheit 9/11, which unsuccessfully appealed an R rating "for violent and disturbing images," went on to become the top grossing documentary of all time, collecting $222 million worldwide.
Sometimes, Weinstein has even used a ratings dispute as part of a movie’s awards campaign. While going head-to-head with the MPAA over Fahrenheit 9/11’s rating, the expert campaigner also took out ads inviting Academy members to screenings with the come-on, “Before the MPAA makes their decision, MAKE YOURS.”
Most of Weinstein’s MPAA battles have revolved around the Classification & Ratings Administration. But he’s also had previous run-ins with the Title Registration Bureau as well.

In 1995, Warner Bros. objected when Weinstein sought to release Michael Radford’s Italian-language film stateside under the title The Postman, a title Warners had registered for an upcoming  Kevin Costner movie of its own. Weinstein backed off, releasing the movie as Il Postino (The Postman). The following year, Sony objected when the Weinstein brothers released Wes Craven’s horror spoof, Scream, because Sony had released a movie called Screamers earlier that year. Despite TRB sanctions, reported at the time to amount to $1,500 per day per screen on which the movie was playing, the Weinsteins stuck to their guns. And Disney, which was then the parent company of the Weinsteins’ Miramax Films, ultimately came to an undisclosed private resolution with Sony.
By now, the Weinstein battle plan is familiar -- and so when the current controversy over The Butler broke into the open last week, insiders at both Warners and the MPAA shook their heads and claimed the dispute was “just Harvey being Harvey.” Both sides, pending an appeal, have dug in. Warners believes it has the MPAA rules on its side, but the Weinstein forces are convinced that they can embarrass Warners and the MPAA into making concessions by arguing that the studio is trying to stand in the way of a racially uplifting film.
As familiar as his tactics have become, there is no underestimating them.
One of Weinstein’s first moves is always to call in high-powered lawyers, although the clashes rarely result in any actual litigation. In the cases of both Clerks and Kids, Weinstein enlisted Alan Dershowitz, famous for defending Claus von Bulow, a case that became the basis for the movie Reversal of Fortune. To appeal an NC-17 rating given a now-obscure 1994 movie called The Advocate, Weinstein drafted the late William Kunstler, who defended the Chicago Seven in the late ‘60s. David Boies, who is representing Weinstein Co. in The Butler case, also, working alongside Hollywood attorney Bert Fields, handled the unsuccessful appeal on The King’s Speech rating. Both Boies and Fields can command hourly fees in excess of $1,000.
Second, Weinstein and his allies ratchet up the rhetoric. “This rating for The King’s Speech is arbitrary and irrational. In my view, it violates The Weinstein Company’s right to freedom of speech under the state and U.S. constitution. It should strike fear in the heart of every director and producer,” Fields said during The King’s Speech dust-up. Boies has called Warners refusal to grant Weinstein Co. the right to call its movie The Butler “a transparent attempt to hold a major civil rights film hostage to extort unrelated concessions from TWC” -- a charge that Warners called “deeply offensive and untrue.” Weinstein said Tuesday that two Warners executives had asked him to give up his share of profits from The Hobbit movies to settle the matter. (The Weinsteins are entitled to back-end money from the first Hobbit movie and are locked in a dispute with Warners over whether they can share in the proceeds from the second and third installments.) Warners also called that assertion untrue.
But Weinstein -- whether he wins or loses -- generally gets away with such tactics because he usually has the press on his side, especially when he is tilting with the MPAA’s ratings regulations. Historically, the MPAA has often been slow to articulate its rationales, which to much of the media often look overly restrictive, penalizing language and sexual imagery while letting violence run wild.
Plus, Weinstein also has cultivated various media outlets over the years to be sure his views will have a ready platform. Pro-Weinstein items have often appeared on Page Six of the New York Post. And at May’s Cannes Film Festival, he enlisted Deadline.com’s Michael Fleming and Pete Hammond to moderate buyer presentations for upcoming Weinstein Co. movies. When Weinstein was ready to take The Butler dispute public, his camp leaked to Fleming the private letters to Warners and the MPAA.
But as heated as the battles often become, Weinstein also has shown himself to be a pragmatic businessman once the dust settles. In a number of cases when the MPAA has ruled against him on ratings, he’s simply gotten out the scissors for which he is famous and edited down the films to get a less restrictive rating.
When the 2012 documentary Bully got stuck with an R rating for six uses of the F-word, Weinstein Co. agreed to edit out three instances of the word and the MPAA then agreed to rerate it PG-13. And in the case of the Oscar-winning The King’s Speech, after the movie had played 12 weeks in theaters, during which it earned the bulk of its business, Weinstein decided to mute two uses of the F-word, and the MPAA agreed to a new PG-13 rating.

Comic-Con: Mondo Announces New Art, Including 'Spirited Away' From Olly Moss (Exclusive Image)

Mondo will be selling several new prints, including some for "Pacific Rim," at the San Diego convention.

"Spirited Away"

With just one week until Comic-Con takes over San Diego, Mondo has announced that it will return to the Con once again, with a collection of new artwork for attendees to enjoy.

Here, exclusively debuts one of the new prints, Spirited Away by Olly Moss. View a large version below.
In addition to the new Spirited Away poster, Mondo will have several pieces of artwork celebrating Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures' Pacific Rim from director Guillermo del Toro. The film hits theaters on July 12.

There will also be another new piece from Moss (Howl's Moving Castle), and new art from Martin Ansin (Conan the Barbarian) and Drew Struzan (Dark Tower). All three artists will be in attendance and available to autograph the prints.
The new prints will go on pre-sale on Friday, July 12. At Comic-Con, the Mondo booth will be set up on the main conference floor in booth #936 from Wednesday, July 17, through Sunday, July 21.

'The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones' in Imax Theaters Starting August 21

The giant-screen exhibitor has added the movie adaptation of Cassandra Clare's YA novel to its summer slate.

TORONTO -- Imax will show The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones in its North American theaters starting August 21

The giant-screen release for the film adaptation of Cassandra Clare’s YA novel comes via a deal with Sony Pictures and Entertainment One.
Imax will digitally remaster the picture from Constantin Film International and Unique Features, which is directed by Harald Zwart (The Karate Kid) and written by Jessica Postigo Paquette, for its summer film slate.

"We're excited that moviegoers will have the chance to explore this world in Imax," said Rory Bruer, president, worldwide distribution for Sony Pictures, in a statement Wednesday.
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones 
is set in contemporary New York City and stars Lily Collins, Kevin Zegers, Jamie Campbell Bower and Lena Headey.
The film is produced by Robert Kulzer and Don Carmody, with Bob Shaye, Michael Lynne and Martin Moszkowicz serving as executive producers.

Jacqueline Bisset to be Honored With Career Achievement Prize by Locarno Fest

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Jacqueline Bisset

The "Rich and Famous" actress will participate in the festival's ambitious retrospective of the work of "My Fair lady" director George Cukor.

ROME -- The Locarno Film Festival will present actress Jacqueline Bisset with a lifetime achievement honor ahead of the Piazza Grande screening of George Cukor’s drama Rich and Famous, which stars Bisset as one of two college roommates struggling to maintain their friendship after graduation.

The screening is part of the Cukor retrospective already announced for the August 7-17 festival. Rich and Famous, made in 1981, was the final film in Cukor’s 50-year career.

As part of its homage to the 68-year-old Bisset, the festival will also screen Under the Volcano, the 1984 pre-war thriller directed by John Huston. Bisset plays the ex-wife seeking to repair her relationship with the protagonist, played by Albert Finney.
Bisset will also participate in a discussion about her career with Locarno filmgoers.
“Jacqueline Bisset is not only an extraordinary actress by virtue of her performances in the roles she has played, but is also a cinema icon, combining grace with beauty, reminding us how effective nuance is in creating a character,” first-year Locarno artistic director Carlo Chatrian said in a statement.
Festival organizers said that actress Anna Karina will also attend the festival, where she will introduce another of Cukor’s films, the 1969 romantic drama Justine, where Karina played the title role.
The 66-year-old festival will screen Cukor’s entire body of work, including My Fair Lady, which won him an Oscar in 1965. The retrospective will include discussions on the impact of the director’s work from an array of expert filmmakers, actors, and critics.

Jerry Bruckheimer's Disney Future in Question As Moguls Defend His 'Lone Ranger'

Disney Enterprises, Inc.

"The Lone Ranger"

The producer's rich "Pirates 5" deal will almost certainly be renegotiated while Les Moonves, Ron Meyer and Jeffrey Katzenberg praise the "Rock of Gibraltar of Hollywood" after a pricey flop.

Amid continuing reverberations from the mega-failure of The Lone Ranger, it appears clear that the movie has damaged producer Jerry Bruckheimer's long and often highly successful relationship with Disney and will lead at minimum to a renegotiation of his rich deal for a fifth Pirates of the Caribbean, if not his eventual exit from the studio.

But in a testament to Bruckheimer's long and extraordinary career -- which has included hits from Flashdance to Beverly Hills Cop to the National Treasure series, not to mention television shows such as The Amazing Race and the CSI series -- some of the industry’s leading figures, including CBS CEO Les Moonves and director Michael Bay, are coming to the producer’s defense.

At the heart of the discussion is the question of how much responsibility a producer bears when a film like Lone Ranger -- which cost more than $250 million to make and opened to a grim $48.9 million domestic over the long holiday weekend -- goes over budget and all but out of control. Disney sources say Bruckheimer had committed to hold the line on director Gore Verbinski’s spending despite the filmmaker’s reputation for profligacy. But other industry observers say the studio should never have expected Bruckheimer to rein in the director, who had collaborated with him and star Johnny Depp on four Pirates of the Caribbean movies that grossed a combined $3.7 billion at the box office.
“Film directors are very headstrong, and it’s hard,” says Bay, who made two Bad Boys movies and Pearl Harbor with Bruckheimer. “Trust me, as a producer, there are things [you] just can’t control. A director will take it and you’ve kind of got to let ‘em go. It’s their movie.”
One of Bruckheimer's reps concurs.
“I don’t know that Jerry Bruckheimer ever promised, per se, to 'control’ Gore Verbinski,” says David O’Connor of CAA. “I don’t know how anybody could promise to control a movie. … Part of the whole visual pitch [of Lone Ranger] was the scope and vistas and incredible beauty of the West. There’s a lot -- when you’re using real locations like that -- that is out of control.”
Bruckheimer and Verbinski declined to comment, as did Disney.
A number of top industry executives who praised Bruckheimer to The Hollywood Reporter were responding in part to recent slams elsewhere, such as one in the New York Times on July 7, which read: “Mr. Bruckheimer’s track record of late has been dismal, with duds including Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.” The former film grossed $335 million worldwide, while the latter pulled in $215 million. Given their sizable budgets, both films were disappointments.

Moonves, just departing for the Allen & Co. gathering in Sun Valley, says Bruckheimer “has clearly been one of the most successful producers in the history of television.” Referring to Bruckheimer-produced hits from The Amazing Race to the CSI franchise, he adds, “A few years back he had seven shows on our air. He’s one of my go-to guys. He always will be.” Moonves notes that Bruckheimer is producing Hostages for CBS, one of the network’s big bets for the fall. “Some of the shows he produced were expensive ones but there was never an issue creatively or financially,” Moonves says.
“Jerry Bruckheimer is the Rock of Gibraltar of Hollywood,” says DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg, who has known Bruckheimer for more than 30 years. “To suggest that one movie, no matter how big a miss it might be, in any way undermines his value or his career is insane. This is a guy who bats .850 in a world where .350 makes you an all-star.” Universal's Ron Meyer, too, praises Bruckheimer’s track record, adding, “They took a big swing and they missed. I don’t know any one of us that hasn’t.”
In an important way, the outsized failure of Lone Ranger is having minimal impact as Wall Street analysts have shrugged off the loss despite predictions that a write-off of up to $190 million is coming. Nonetheless, Disney executives are deeply unhappy with the loss and the embarrassment. Sources say the studio battled with Verbinski over length and content and the director lost his final-cut privileges early on due to budget overages. But in practical terms, Disney was not in a position to take control of the picture, potentially alienating a star as important as Depp.
Disney film studio chief Alan Horn, who joined the studio when the film was already underway, is known for his distaste for graphic violence and potentially offensive language -- an inclination perfectly suited to Disney’s culture. Anticipating that the studio would seek cuts, an insider says Verbinski put some dark and violent material in the film -- such as a scene depicting a character eating a human heart -- fully expecting to cut them back to placate executives. Though the heart-devouring scene was trimmed, Disney pushed further.
The studio had contractual power to effect some changes through language in the filmmaker’s contract giving the studio the right to eliminate material inconsistent with the company’s image. As the film moved closer to release, however, Verbinski is said to have threatened to walk off the project if additional changes were made.

Nonetheless, a source involved in the project says Verbinski was more collaborative than usual. From the start, this person says, the director assured the studio that he wanted to control the budget to rebut his reputation for spending. But with challenges such as poor weather -- as well as Verbinski’s insistence on realizing his vision -- he obviously failed.
In the aftermath, Verbinski seems likely to suffer the most fallout of all the key players. But still, it appears that Bruckheimer faces a budget renegotiation on the planned Pirates of the Caribbean 5. There is still no approved script for the film, tentatively set for 2015, though Depp and Bruckheimer are set to return for directors Joachim Ronning and Espen Sandberg.
Bruckheimer’s deal at Disney expires in spring 2014. It seems probable that the producer will test the waters at other studios, especially with Disney’s pipeline packed with tentpole movies from Marvel, Lucasfilm and other suppliers. Meanwhile, Bruckheimer is working on Pirates and a found-footage genre film, Beware the Night, for Screen Gems; the latter film is set for release in January 2015. Another potential project is a second Bad Boys sequel at Sony Pictures. Bruckheimer also has a reality series, Marshall Law, in production for TNT.
In an interview with THR just before Lone Ranger opened, Horn declined to comment on Bruckheimer's future at the studio, adding, “He’s a very talented fellow, but every picture needs to justify its green light in this marketplace on its merits. We’ll pick 'em one at a time."

It's Official: Legendary Signs Deal With Universal

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Thomas Tull and Steve Burke

Thomas Tull's entertainment company announces a five-year partnership with the Comcast-owned studio that starts in 2014.

Universal Pictures and Legendary Entertainment have officially agreed to enter into a five-year production and co-financing partnership, starting in 2014, in which Universal will market and distribute Legendary's movies worldwide, both companies announced Wednesday.

"Comcast and NBCUniversal’s global assets in film, television and theme parks offer Legendary unmatched breadth and opportunity to grow our business. We are delighted to be in business with this exceptional team and look forward to a successful partnership," Legendary CEO Thomas Tull said in a statement.

Legendary hopes to take advantage of Universal's theme parks and cross-promotional opportunities from other Comcast properties through its new deal. The two companies will explore ways to expand Legendary's franchises and intellectual property into Universal's theme parks, and Universal will be able to collaborate with Legendary on projects in China due to the latter's deal with China Film Group, the companies said.

"Legendary continues to prove that big ideas are relevant and profitable with our global moviegoing audience. We couldn't be more thrilled to embrace the challenges and changing marketplace with Thomas and his team, and we are also excited about what opportunities this will bring to our theme parks around the world," Universal Studios COO Ron Meyer said in a statement.
Universal Pictures chairman Adam Fogelson and co-chairman Donna Langley added, "Legendary has demonstrated a keen ability to identify and acquire powerful, fresh intellectual-property-based ideas, match them with strong filmmakers and turn them into blockbuster hits. The Universal team is thrilled to have the opportunity to partner with Legendary in turning those ideas into the best and most successful versions of themselves around the world."
The agreement was reached Tuesday night.

Sources with knowledge of the situation  that NBCUniversal CEO Steve Burke has been enamored of Legendary -- and Universal was the obvious partner for Legendary given its many outlets, including its theme parks and its roster of more than two dozen national television networks including NBC, USA and Bravo. Having recently hired former Warner Bros. Television chief Bruce Rosenblum, it is clear that Legendary hopes to expand aggressively in that area. Another attraction, says a source, was the fact that Universal has no other financing partner.
Wednesday's announcement, however, made no mention of Legendary's TV plans.

Nevertheless, Burke praised the partnership, saying, "We are very excited to be in business with Thomas and Legendary. The partnership is a perfect fit for both companies, and I am confident that together we will be in an even better position to deliver compelling, profitable entertainment content to a global audience for years to come."
Legendary will officially end its current financing, production and distribution pact with Warner Bros. at the end of 2013. Warners' new CEO Kevin Tsujihara and others had discussed renewing the pact, but it was revealed June 24 that those negotiations had broken down.
It's believed that Legendary wanted to sew up its new deal before this week's release of the costly Pacific Rim, which has not been tracking strongly.
Tull has been using his increased control and funding to shift Legendary away from just financing movies. It has expanded into digital and is building a major TV division headed by Rosenblum.
On the film side, the goal is now to develop and produce what it calls “Legendary” pictures. As part of that, Legendary is increasing its stake in its movies. For example, Pacific Rim, with a negative cost estimated at $200 million, is 75 percent financed by Legendary.
Among the projects in the pipeline are an adaptation of Warren Ellis’ comic book series Gravel; a film set in the interactive game universe Warcraft; Hot Wheels, based on the iconic toy-car line; and Mass Effect, based on Electronic Arts and BioWare’s video game franchise.
Warcraft and Hot Wheels each reportedly carry production budgets in excess of $100 million.

'Machete Kills' to Open Fantastic Fest

Robert Rodriguez's sequel will have its world premiere in Austin on Sept. 19.

"Machete Kills"

Robert Rodriguez's Machete Kills will have its world premiere when it opens Fantastic Fest 2013 in Austin.

The film will screen Sept. 19 at the new Alamo Drafthouse Lakeline location, with Rodriguez and stars Danny Trejo and Alexa Vega in attendance. Additional talent will be announced as the festival nears.

“Every year we compile our dream targets for opening-night film; Machete Kills was at the top of that list,” said Fantastic Fest co-founder and creative director Tim League in the announcement. “We are going to pull out all the stops to ensure Robert’s world premiere red carpet experience is literally blood red.”
With a screenplay by Kyle Ward and based on a story by Rodriguez and his younger brother Marcel Rodriguez, Machete Kills reunites audiences with Trejo's ex-Federale agent, who is recruited by the president to take down a madman revolutionary. The film also stars Michelle Rodriguez, Sofia Vergara, Amber Heard, Charlie Sheen, Lady Gaga, Antonio Banderas, Jessica Alba, Demian Bichir, Vanessa Hudgens and Cuba Gooding Jr.
In June, Open Road Films announced that Rodriguez's sequel to 2010's Machete would shift from a Sept. 13 release date to Oct. 4.
Fantastic Fest will run through Sept. 26.

Turbo: Film Review

'Turbo'

The Bottom Line

A juiced snail strives to win the Indy 500 in a very straight-line, young boy-aimed animated outing.

  

In delivering a film about a garden snail that dreams of winning the Indy 500, it's as if the makers of Turbo had been pressed to come up with the most extreme underdog tale they could think of. Or else animators really are running out of ideas for original new characters. An attractively designed but narratively challenged, one-note film that skews younger than the norm for big animated features these days and has limited appeal for little girls, this second Fox release (after The Croods) from DreamWorks Animation since the latter left Paramount looks to do mid-range business with family audiences.

“The sooner you accept the dull, miserable nature of your existence, the happier you'll be,” worldly-wise snail Chet (Paul Giamatti) advises his younger brother Turbo (Ryan Reynolds) after yet another day scouring a garden tomato patch. Turbo spends all his downtime watching VHS tapes of professional car races, especially the many won by his hero, Guy Gagne (Bill Hader, amusingly assuming a French-Canadian accent).

Of course, the message of the film, as with so many other kid-inspirational cartoons and other fantasies, is that no dream is too big, you can do anything if you set your mind to it, etc., etc. Unfortunately, the real embedded lesson of Turbo is that, if you're too small or weak or otherwise incapable of greatness, you have a shot to win if you're juiced.
Which is what happens late one night when Turbo, coming upon a Fast & Furious-style drag race in the dry L.A. River bed, gets sucked into an engine. Instead of being toasted, however, the little guy becomes infused with nitrous oxide, enabling him to zoom along the ground seemingly as fast as Superman shoots through the skies. Ahhh, the wonders of chemicals and strength enhancers. Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire would approve.
Of course, Turbo needs a sponsor, which in finds in the form of Van Nuys taco truck driver Tito (Michael Pena), a wild dreamer himself who argues endlessly with his more practical brother Angelo (Luis Guzman) about the merits of promoting their forlorn business—Dos Bros Tacos—with a snail. Joining in is a rainbow coalition of smart-mouthed supporting snails and neighboring business owners voiced by the eminent likes of Samuel L. Jackson, Michelle Rodriguez, Snoop Dogg, Maya Rudolph, Ben Schwartz, Richard Jenkins and Ken Jeong.

The ultimate destination—Indianapolis--is inevitable but it takes a long time to get there, given a script by director David Soren (a dialogue writer on Shark Tale), Darren Lemke (Shrek Forever After, Jack the Giant Slayer) and Robert Siegel (The Wrestler, Big Fan) that is short on invention and long on largely unfunny yacking. Once the gang arrives and begins overcoming the obstacles that might prevent a snail from entering a car race (conveniently unmentioned is the most obvious one, that Turbo lacks four wheels and an engine), the hitherto genial Guy Gagne suddenly becomes a villain, feeling so threatened by the now-mighty mollusk that he goes to all lengths to prevent an eternally humiliating defeat.
In the run-up to the race and then during it, you mostly wonder about how a critter so small it can't be seen on the track (although its blue/white-hot streak can be) will avoid being crunched by the giant tires of the humans' racing machines; indeed, the film's most irreverent merit is that it is periodically honest about the fate of snails by casually showing them getting squashed by humans or gobbled up by animals, especially crows. In the event, Turbo just zips through traffic as if in an obstacle course, the obvious longshot pipsqueak favorite in a field of giants.
Although the dialogue becomes repetitive, the voice performances are all solid and distinctive. But better than that are some of the visuals, particularly in nocturnal scenes around the taco stand, which create both a heightened realistic evocation of shabby San Fernando Valley environs and an echo of classic noir visions of semi-desperate L.A. characters deciding to put all their chips on one roll of the dice. Kudos to the director and the animators on this score, but it should be noted that, just as Roger Deakins was engaged to advise on Rango, ace cinematographer Wally Pfister worked as visual consultant here. Henry Jackman's score is nothing if not propulsive.
Opens: July 17 (20th Century Fox)
Production: DreamWorks Animation SKG
Voice cast: Ryan Reynolds, Paul Giamatti, Michael Pena, Luis Guzman, Bill Hader, Snoop Dogg, Maya Rudolph, Ben Schwartz, Richard Jenkins, Ken Jeong, Michelle Rodriguez
Director: David Soren
Screenwriters: David Soren, Darren Lemke, Robert Siegel, story by David Soren
Producer: Lisa Stewart
Production designer: Michael Isaak
Editor: James Ryan
Music: Henry Jackman
Visual effects supervisor: Sean Phillips
Visual consultant: Wally Pfister
PG rating, 95 minutes

The Sad Smell of Flesh (El Triste Olor de la Carne): Karlovy Vary Review

KVIFF

The Bottom Line

Spaniards on the verge of a financial breakdown.

Venue

Karlovy Vary festival screening, July 2

Cast

Alfredo Rodriguez, Ruth Sabuceda, Sabela Vasquez

Director

Cristobal Arteaga Rozas

Filmed in a single real-time shot, this stark Eurodrama examines the human cost of economic crisis.

KARLOVY VARY – A minimalist drama for an age of austerity, The Sad Smell of Flesh unfolds in real time in a single unbroken shot. Filmed on the streets of an unnamed Spanish city by the Chilean-born writer-director-producer Cristobal Arteaga Rozas, this stark experiment in low-budget social realism takes place against the backdrop of the current financial crisis. Southern Europe has been hit especially hard, with Spain suffering records levels of unemployment, foreclosures and forced evictions.

The film’s theme is both ultra-contemporary and as old as poverty itself, updating The Grapes of Wrath or Bicycle Thieves for the 21st century. Following its world premiere at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival last week, more festivals seem highly likely. The topical subject matter and unorthodox format could stir niche theatrical interest, though this harrowing Eurozone glumfest is easier to admire than enjoy.
An actor whose gaunt and haunted features say more than a thousand words of dialogue, Alfredo Rodriguez stars as Alfredo Barros, a middle-aged father in a state of anxious agitation. We first see him lingering outside a private house, entering without permission to make a pitiful plea that falls on deaf ears. After this cryptic clue to the film’s dramatic pay-off, he returns to his car and drives his young daughter (Sabela Vasquez) to school. Then he continues into the city for a series of increasingly fraught encounters with garage owners, pawnbrokers and storekeepers that all add up to a picture of severe financial distress. It slowly transpires that Barros is newly unemployed and flat broke, with a life of quiet desperation that is about to get a whole lot louder.
The Sad Smell of Flesh is filmed in a single unbroken shot on real city streets, a feat of choreography that involves an impressive amount of mutual co-operation between film-makers, bus drivers, bartenders and random pedestrians. The restless hand-held camera hovers constantly on the protagonist’s slumped shoulders and haunted face, stalking him along every alleyway and sidewalk. But while this is a technically skilful enterprise, it is not necessarily entertaining. A large chunk of screen time is spent watching Barros riding in buses and taxis, or trudging glumly through shopping arcades. Real-time movies like this are often counterintuitive tributes to the skills of editors.
In its final minutes, The Sad Smell of Flesh becomes a potent protest about the human cost of economic meltdown. Recurring clips from a state-of-the-nation speech by Spain’s prime minister, mostly heard on car radios, also serve to underline the film’s political message. Rodriguez gives a compellingly intense performance, and his young co-star Vasquez is superbly naturalistic given the shooting conditions, but the real-time format ultimately feels gimmicky and restrictive. By saving his killer punch until the last moment, Rozas also risks viewers drifting off into baffled boredom beforehand. A bold experiment, but does the cinema of austerity really need to be quite so austere?
Production company: Deica
Producer: Cristobal Arteaga Rozas
Cast: Alfredo Rodriguez, Ruth Sabuceda, Sabela Vasquez
Director: Cristobal Arteaga Rozas
Writer: Cristobal Arteaga Rozas
Cinematographer: Pablo Kaufman
Sales contact: Cristobal Arteaga Rozas
Unrated, 87 minutes

Israel: A Home Movie: Film Review

The Bottom Line

This haunting cinematic collage puts a human face on the country's strife-wracked history.

Director-Screenwriter

Eliav Lilti

Eliav Lilti's documentary uses amateur home-movie footage to depict the history of Israel in its first several decades.

For those not directly involved, home movies usually have a mundane air, chronicling moments whose emotional immediacy is heightened only by their nostalgic atmosphere. But the glimpses of often trivial everyday life captured in Eliav Lilti’s documentary Israel: A Home Movie have an inevitably more powerful impact since they take place over the course of the country’s first four decades. Devoid of overt politicizing or much informational context, the film, currently receiving its U.S. theatrical premiere at New York City’s Film Forum, vividly conveys how ordinary people are impacted by historical events.

Culled from amateur 8mm, 16mm and Super 8 movie footage shot from the 1930s through the 1970s and gathered from the attics and closets in which they’re usually stored, the film presents a series of often indelible images: A beach party taking place on Yom Kippur in 1973 is interrupted by the sight of a fighter plane being shot down; a 1967 wedding is conducted in a cave in newly conquered territory; a mosque’s minaret is destroyed, with offscreen observers debating whether it was a sacrilegious act; a beautiful young woman smiling into the camera, with a relative casually mentioning that she was killed by a terrorist attack when she was 30-years-old; and, more amusingly, Moshe Dayan urinating in the desert.
The famed general is not the only historical figure on display, as there are also glimpses of such important Israeli personages as Ariel Sharon and David Ben-Gurion, as well Egyptian president Anwar Sadat during his groundbreaking visit to the country.
Such seminal events as the massive influx of European refugees during the ‘30s and ‘40s, the Holocaust, the creation of the Israeli state, and the Six Day War and Yom Kippur War are the backdrop to the often scratchy footage. A major theme is the relations between Jews and Arabs, with several commentators pointing out that it wasn’t always so contentious.
Viewers should not expect a straightforward history lesson, with a reasonable knowledge of the country’s history proving crucial to the film’s impact. But this striking cinematic collage provides a hauntingly personal perspective on a country that has been wracked by strife from its very beginnings.
Opens July 10 (Alma Films)
Director/screenwriter: Eliav Lilti
Producer: Arik Bernstein
Editors: Roni Klimovsky, Tanya Schwartz, Avigail Dahan
Composer: Yuval Mesner
Not rated, 93 min.

Angelina Jolie's 'Unbroken' to Hit Theaters in December 2014

Getty Images

Angelina Jolie

The release date puts the film adaptation of Laura Hillenbrand's acclaimed 2010 book in the heart of awards season.

Universal has set a Christmas Day 2014 release for World War II drama Unbroken, which marks Angelina Jolie's second directorial effort.

The coveted release positions the film -- an adaptation of Laura Hillenbrand’s acclaimed 2010 book about World War II hero Lou Zamperini -- for an awards run. Ethan and Joel Coen are writing the script from previous drafts by William Nicholson and Richard LaGravenese.
Universal picked up the rights to the book in January 2011, initially for Francis Lawrence to direct. Jolie boarded the project in December.

Zamperini was a Los Angeles high school track star who raced in the 1936 Berlin Olympics on the U.S. team that included Jesse Owens. In 1943, his Air Force plane crashed in the Pacific. He survived without food and water for 47 days, enduring shark attacks, aerial attacks and hunger before washing ashore on a Japanese island behind enemy lines, where he was held as a prisoner of war for two years and tortured by his captors.
“I’ve had the privilege of spending a great deal of time with Louie Zamperini, who is a hero of mine, and now -- I am proud to say -- a dear friend,” said Jolie.  “I am deeply honored to be telling his extraordinary story, and I will do my absolute best to give him the film he deserves. I am grateful to Universal for making this film a priority.”
Jolie, who previously directed In the Land of Blood and Honey, is producing with Matthew Baer and Erwin Stoff. Walden Media will co-finance the film, which is set to start production in September. Ten-time Oscar nominee Roger Deakins has boarded the project as cinematographer.

Saudi Arabian Director Haifaa Al-Mansour to Head Venice Jury For Debut Films

Haifaa Al-Mansour

The Luigi Delaurentiis prize, which includes a $100,000 cash award, is given each year to the best debut film screening in one of Venice's competitive sections.

ROME – Haifaa Al-Mansour, the first female film director of international note to emerge from Saudi Arabia, will head the jury that will award the Luigi De Laurentiis prize, given to the best debut film at the Venice Film Festival.

Al-Mansour’s own debut film Wadjda -- which tells the tale of a young girl efforts to earn money to buy a green bicycle she has her eye on -- won three secondary prizes in Venice last year before going on to earn accolades elsewhere on the international film festival circuit.
The Luigi De Laurentiis jury, made up of seven industry figures, will award a prize to a debut film screening in the festival’s main international competition or one of the competitive sidebars. In addition to the recognition from the award, the prize includes a $100,000 cash prize, spit between the director and the producer. Rules do not permit split awards.

The prize is named for famed Italian film producer Luigi De Laurentiis, who died in 1992.
Küf (Mold), a drama from director Ali Aydin about the struggles of a widow soon-to-be pensioner that screened in Venice’s Critic’s Week sidebar, won the Luigi De Laurentiis honor a year ago.
The 70th edition of the Venice event -- the world's oldest film festival -- takes place Aug. 28-Sept. 7.

Charlie Kaufman's 'Slaughterhouse-Five' Could Be Brilliant, and Probably Not as 'Adaptation'-y as We Might Think

WENN

There are a few easy jokes to be cracked about the possibility of a Charlie Kaufman-scripted Slaughterhouse-Five film adaptation — a concept that was proposed by Guillermo del Toro in a discussion with the Telegraph (via The Playlist), when the director announced his desire to helm this project with the visionary screenwriter at his side. What's it going to be, a movie about making a movie about Slaughterhouse-Five? Will it be told from the perspective of a struggling Kurt Vonnegut, who dives literally into the world of his classic novel in order to enliven his haphazard ideas?
When it comes to creative forces that have such distinct reputations as does Kaufman, expectations like these, facetious or not, are understandable. But the writer is hardly capable of one thing alone. There are a few Kaufman titles that people seldom bring up in assessment of the screenwriter's behemoth contribution to contemporary cinema: Human Nature, a bizarre evolution-themed comedy and his first feature pairing with director Michel Gondry; The Trouble with Larry, a television program about a man (Bronson Pinchot, no less) dragged off to live in the wilderness; even Confessions of a Dangerous Mind is often overshadowed by his trifecta of brilliance — Being John Malkovich, Adaptation., and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. But the point is, Kaufman can work wonders even outside of his meta, genre-bending milieu.
Although his directorial debut Synecdoche, New York fits snugly within the Kaufman framework, it is a good deal more grim than his previous, almost fantastically comic projects, showcasing the creative genius' (often pigeonholed as the movies-about-movies-about-movies guy) capability with new ideas and themes. Beyond the grandeur exemplified by his past works is that represented by his impressive ability to show off this progress with each new film, a fact that makes his potential attachment to Slaughterhouse-Five so terribly exciting.
Why does Adaptation. stand out in defining Charlie Kaufman's genus of writing? Simply, because it was so new, so inventive, and so spectacularly well done. But it's not all he's given us, and is not all he can do. With films like Frank or Francis and Anomalisa on the way, and this new project in the mix, we look to be seeing more out of the writer might fit into our rigid supply of affectionate movies-about-movies-about-movies jokes. In other words, we're gonna need some new material.

New 'The Wolverine' Clip: Hugh Jackman Gets Feisty on Top of a Bullet Train

Hugh Jackman whips out his razor-sharp claws in a new action-heavy clip from his upcoming superhero film The Wolverine, directed by James Mangold.
Marvel's latest project is the sixth installment in the X-men film series, and serves as a sequel to the 2006 X-Men: The Last Stand. The film follows Logan's journey to Japan to visit Yashida, who he once saved from a nearly-lethal explosion. The now-mogul Yashida has the advanced technology to say buh-bye to Wolverine and grant Logan a long-awaited mortality.


Although we already had a taste of the fight scenes to come after viewing the trailers for the inevitable blockbuster, the first clip from the film lets us watch more of the ever-pugnacious Wolverine. Trust me, you've never seen a badass fight go down quite like this: Wolverine goes head-to-head with a Yazuka villain while on top of a bullet train. Oh yeah, this bullet train is speeding along quite efficiently.
Despite what might be arguably overzealous CGI, this furious scene makes the film look promising… besides the fact that its too-fast for the eyes at points, making you blink way too much. But come on, who doesn't love a good fight scene? The only question we have: why must Hugh Jackman wear so much clothing?
To see more of Hugh Jackman's abtastic body, catch The Wolverine when it reaches theaters July 26.

Keri Russell Is The Ultimate Jane Austen Fan-Girl In The First Trailer For 'Austenland'

The cast of FX's The Americans has officially been Jane Austen-fied. First, Matthew Rhys was cast as Mr. Darcy in Death Comes to Pemberley,  BBC's three-part miniseries based on the P.D. James sequel to Austen's Pride And Prejudice. Now, Keri Russell stars in Austenland as a woman obsessed with Mr. Darcy who travels to look for love in Austenland, a British resort that recreates the Austen era.
JJ Feild, Jane Seymour, Bret McKenzie, Jennifer Coolidge, Georgia King and James Callis costar in the directorial debut of Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre co-writer Jerusha Hess, adapted from the like-titled novel by Shannon Hale. The film, which premiered at Sundance in January, also marks Twilight author Stephenie Meyer's first independent producing venture.

Giles Keyte/Sony Pictures Classics

For an English novelist who died in the early 1800s, Hollywood can't seem to get enough of Jane Austen. From multiple adaptations of Pride and Prejudice (how many Mr. Darcys can there possibly be?), to Sense and Sensibility and Emma... heck, the author's personal life has even been romanticized for the screen (see: Anne Hathaway in Becoming Jane). Watch the trailer for the latest tribute to Austen, then open its pages on August 16.

Amanda Bynes Commits Huge Twitter Faux Pas in Calling the Obamas Ugly

GSNY/Splash News; Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

 

It's hardly news for Amanda Bynes to call someone "ugly" on Twitter. From Drake to Miley Cyrus to Zac Efron, Bynes is seemingly not a fan of many of Hollywood's most famous faces. And with America losing interest in her antics, it was only a matter of time before Bynes started picking on bigger names to garner more attention. So who's bigger than Hollywood? The First Family, of course! On Monday, Bynes tweeted, "Barack Obama and Michelle Obama are ugly!" 

But really, the most upsetting thing about this isn't the insult — which we don't have to tell you is obviously ludicrous, like all the others — but the fact that Bynes is subtweeting her venom (tweeting about someone without the courtesy of an @mention). Again. The words themselves lose their credibility with each erroneous tweet, but Bynes should at least use proper Twitter ettiquette while hurling them.

While debates have been waged over whether tweeting a name without the Twitter handle (rather than a passive aggressive response) is really subtweeting, it's clear that Bynes is committing a sneaky mom faux pas by not tweeting her insult directly @BarackObama or @FLOTUS. And, come to think of it, she never tweets at her on-again, off-again crush @Drake either. Which is really just rude. 

If you're going to talk badly about people, have the decency to do it to their faces. Or to their accounts, or whatever.

Surprisingly Whimsical First Poster for 'Oldboy' Remake Raises Questions

FilmDistrict

One of this fall's most anticipated films is Spike Lee's remake of the Korean cult classic Oldboy. The thriller is based on a Japanese manga of the same name, and tells the story of a man who is kidnapped and imprisoned in solitary confinement for 20 years. When he's finally released, he goes on a hunt to discover the identity of his captors and the reasons for his imprisonment. Starring Josh Brolin, the new Oldboy movie promises to be as violent and suspenseful as the 2003 original.
With the first Oldboy trailer set to premiere on Wednesday, FilmDistrict has just unveiled the film's official poster. It designed by Neil Kellerhouse, the mastermind behind the posters for The Social Network, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and Antichrist. The newly released Oldboy poster features the film's title, written in Josh Brolin's actual handwriting, and shows the actor escaping from a large wooden trunk. In the background, we see a woman in a pink jacket holding a yellow umbrella. The image is simultaneously whimsical and bit frightening...
Oldboy, which also stars Elizabeth Olsen and Sharlto Copley, hits theaters on October 25.

'The Lone Ranger' Burning Questions

Disney Enterprises

Even with a movie that doesn't seem to have too much more to it than a few shoot-outs, some goofy gags, and an impressive climactic train chase sequence, we're still left with questions. After seeing The Lone Ranger this weekend, we wonder a few things: What's with all the cannibalism? What do all of these actors have in common? Is there any real world historical grounding for this story? Luckily (and we use that term loosely), we have some answers to a few of the biggest burning questions to follow your viewing of the Armie Hammer/Johnny Depp adventure:
First thing's first. How much did this crazy thing cost, anyhow?About $215 million dollars, which went into funding the nonstop special effects — train chases ain't cheap.
Aside from the title, are there any similarities between the new movie and its source material?
Yes: the names. "John Reid," the lawman-turned-renegade hero played by Armie Hammer, has actually been used (albeit on rare occasions) to identify the Lone Ranger character in the past. Additionally, the film's baddie Butch Cavendish derives his name from the original Lone Ranger's arch enemy. And, of course, Tonto. Other than that, the only characteristics shared are the fact that they're both about cowboys who uphold justice. All of those fantastical elements were invented for the movie.
So no one came back from the dead or ate hearts or talked to horses in the original? Where did all that stuff come from?Believe it or not, this was the toned down version of the Lone Ranger adaptation. Originally, the bad guys were werewolves. Although director Gore Verbinski denies these rumors, it does explain all the heart-eating, and makes the whole silver bullet thing a hell of a lot more comprehensible.
They seem to have replaced "werewolf" with "wendingo." What, pray tell, is a "wendingo"?The word comes from Algonquin lore, denoting a cannibalistic spirit that possesses human bodies and turns them into vicious monsters.
Speaking of which, does Johnny Depp actually play an American Indian in this movie?Yes. A member of the Comanche tribe. The Comanche are a people whose history largely involved residence in New Mexico, Arizona, Oklahoma, and Texas.
Couldn't they get an actual American Indian to play the American Indian character?I don't think they really tried. However, some of the other speaking parts for Comanche characters are played by Native American Indian actors — most prominently, Saginaw Grant: a longtime actor and motivational speaker, and member of the Sac-n-Fox, Iowa, and Otoe-Missouria nations.
Speaking of the supporting characters, how many of the actors in this movie have been in Justified? I counted a few.At least three: Damon Herriman, Stephen Root, and W. Earl Brown.
Hey, Stephen Root! He plays a railroad president named Habberman here. Was there ever a prominent railroad figure named "Habberman"?Not to the best of our knowledge, but there was a railroad station named "Haberman," located on the Montauk branch of the Long Island Railroad until 1998. So... there's that.
Ooh, Montauk! My friend went there over the 4th of July, but I've never been. Is it nice?Yes, very! It gets a bit crowded in the summer, and traffic to get out there is murder, but there are beautiful beaches and a ton of great shopping and places to eat.
Shucks, I spent my holiday weekend seeing The Lone Ranger. Did anybody else?It only made $48 million. So no, not really. Just you.

Rebecca Black Is Three Steps Away From Saying Goodbye to Her 'Friday' Infamy

Try what she might, Rebecca Black just can't shake the meme-tastic reputation her "Friday" music video earned her. She's already attempted to separate herself from her infamous viral Internet sensation by releasing some sugary sweet singles, and now she's taking another stab at reinventing her image with a cover of Miley Cyrus' "We Can't Stop." However, she's far from establishing herself as a "serious singer," to say the least. Because, let's be real, every Friday we can still hear Black squealing about what day of the week it is in the back of our minds.
Although it won't be as much fun fun fun fun (Dear God, make it stop), we wish the aspiring artist the best fortune while attempting to break into the music biz for real. However, we must warn you, Rebecca, this quest is far more strenuous than choosing which seat in the car to take.
Behold! The three steps Rebecca Black must complete to go from being infamous to famous.



STEP 1: Take a Popular Hit Song, Make It AcousticBlack just released a cover of Miley Cyrus' badass, party-girl anthem "We Can't Stop." Black sounds a hell of a lot better than she did in "Friday," but it's an awkward tune to strip-down. The wannabee star changed up some of lyrics to Miley's jam to make it more PG, but in doing so (and in losing it's driving beat) the song loses much of its appeal. Although you're already at Step 1, you may need to re-do this one, Rebecca. And maybe next time recruit a more known singer to team up with, because, umm, no one knows who Jon D is. Sorry.
STEP 2: Cover a Classic TrackNext up, we suggest Black pick a classic tune to remake. Perhaps The Beatles' "Blackbird"? But, then again… we fear Black might butcher that one, so maybe she stay away from anything Beatles related. Therefore, we propose the 16-year-old take a stab at "Don't' Stop Believing." That one's been tried enough times that we aren't afraid to let Black's vocals screech it.
STEP 3: Release An Original Song (That You Wrote)This third step will be the biggest conquest for Rebecca to prove herself worthy — outside the realm of chuckle-worthy GIFs from "Friday," that is. Rebecca, we will only accept you into our iTunes once you release an original song. No co-writers please, all on your own. And if you can circumvent writing about sappy-romance tales (sorry, Taylor Swift), all the better.
We do admit, we'll miss watching Black embarrass herself awkwardly dancing as she sings about eating her cereal and sitting at the bus stop. We wish her the best of luck as she struggles to put her "Friday" shame far, far into the past. Because, well, she needs all the luck she can get.

Kristen Bell's Illicit Intimacy in 'The Lifeguard' Trailer

When you're stuck in the funk that is your late 20s, it's totally normal to take on a job as a lifeguard and get nasty with a teenager, right? Well, not so much. Yet that's exactly what Kristen Bell does in her upcoming film The Lifeguard.  
The dramedy written and directed by Liz W. Garcia follows former valedictorian Leigh (Bell) as she retreats from her deteriorating life as a New York reporter to return to her childhood home and become a lifeguard (hence the title of the film, duh).


In the process of revamping her dull days and finding what truly makes her happy, the very lost Leigh not only buys some underage kids alcohol, but even stumbles into an illicit relationship with a trouble-seeking teen, Jason (David Lambert).
The trailer for the film, which showcased at Sundance Film Festival, has the same water content as The Way, Way Back and the same scandalous soirees as Adore. The Lifeguard  swims into theaters August 30.

'Hell On Wheels' Inside Look: Season Three is Hotter Than Hell — EXCLUSIVE

Hell of Wheels' third season is about to burn up your television screen. But before you tune into the western drama, check out this exclusive clip (above) in which the characters give us an inside look at the series' upcoming season.
The AMC drama follows Cullen Bohannon, ex-Confederate soldier, straying from his focus of seeking revenge on those who murdered his wife. At the end of last season, the transcontinental building, hell on wheels, was ablazing.


Similar to the Hell on Wheels deteriorated state, many of the characters are left in disarray with Bohannan in a state of shock, Eva's relationship with Elam in the wake of Mr. Toole's suicide, and Sean in solitude. The upcoming season for Hell on Wheels opens in the year 1867 as the Union Pacific Union follows Bohannon across the country and against the Central Pacific Railroad.
The third season of Hell on Wheels,  which stars Anson Mount, Colm Meaney, and Common rolls onto television Saturday, August 10th at 9/8c with a premiere 2-hour special episode.

Why Does Willow Smith Have a Fake British Accent in Her 'Summer Fling' Video?

MelodicChaoticMusic/Youtube

Willow Smith's first single "Whip My Hair" became our main jam in 2010 despite our best efforts to keep it at bay and when her follow-ups "21st Century Girl" and "Fireball" were decently catchy we begrudingly called ourselves fans of the pipsqueak starlet (seriously, who listens to a pre-teen on repeat?). However, her latest single — which she released under the name Melodic Chaotic, a collaboration with DJ MVSIC Fabrega — "Summer Fling" is causing more head-scratching than bobbing.

We know that pre-teens have crushes and daydream of summer flings, but we're less clear on why they need to clarify that said relationships are "just for fun." And we're even foggier on why Willow narrates her romance with a British accent. Last time we checked, the whole Smith gang was from the good ol' U.S. of A.
While we genuinely loved "Whip My Hair" — seriously, still can't get enough — Willow is coming dangerously close to our pretentious child threshold with this latest ditty.

Gigantic Mr. Darcy Wins London's Wet T-Shirt Contest

i-Images/Pacific Coast News

Anyone who thinks wet t-shirt contests are trashy has never seen Colin Firth work his magic in the classic BBC adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.
Thankfully, this misguided belief is no longer an issue as a giant 12-foot sculpture of Firth's Mr. Darcy now emerges from Serpentine Lake in London's Hyde Park to celebrate today’s launch of the new UKTV channel "Drama". The statue, which appropriately stands at a height equivalent to a double decker bus, will tour the UK outside of London before it is installed at Lyme Park in Cheshire, where the infamous scene was originally filmed.
The wet shirt scene, deemed quite racy at the time, recently topped a UK viewers’ poll of the most memorable TV moments ever. Who knew the 1800's could be so sexy?

'The Lone Ranger': 6 Reasons the 1950s TV Series Is Better than Johnny Depp & Armie Hammer's Movie

ABC

So after Disney invested nearly $250 million — and a whole lot of franchise hopes — into it, The Lone Ranger is likely going to be just that: a one-off, underperforming misfire instead of the springboard for an enduring movie series. There are a lot of reasons why the Johnny Depp-Armie Hammer actioner fizzled. Did the much-coveted teen male demographic have any built-in interest in a property that's best known as a TV series that debuted in 1949? Probably not. But oddly enough, if director Gore Verbinski and producer Jerry Bruckheimer had followed the template set by that TV series, starring Clayton Moore as the masked avenger and Jay Silverheels as his Native American companion Tonto, they might have made a more successful movie. Here are six reasons why the 64-year-old TV series is better than the new film.
1. The Lone Ranger and Tonto Really Are Equals
People think that Silverheels' Tonto is just a sidekick in the original series. But from the very beginning he was the Lone Ranger's true partner. They were equally competent and enhanced each other's strengths, offering up an ideal of Anglo-Native American cooperation and harmony that obviously never happened but is a utopian vision worth striving for — especially considering the tendency of many other Westerns of the time to glorify the genocide of the Native Americans. But for that vision to ring true, the Lone Ranger can't be a bland doofus, the way he is in Verbinski's film. He can't be dragged through horse manure. The mere fact that Depp is credited above the title, before Hammer, shows that the Lone Ranger isn't even as important as Tonto in this take on the characters.
2. The Pilot Gets Right Into the Drama
Verbinski's film offers up a framing device in which the story of the Lone Ranger is being retold by an ancient Tonto in 1933. But the pilot episode of the original series, "Enter the Lone Ranger," gets right into the drama. Six Texas Rangers are led into a canyon where they're massacred by Butch Cavendish's gang — within the first five minutes of the plot.
3. It Doesn't Linger Over Personal Revenge
One man, John Reid, survives and crawls away to safety before being rescued by Tonto, just as Reid had saved Tonto many years ago. We learn later that his brother was one of the Rangers gunned down alongside him, but the "This Time...It's Personal" dynamic of Reid's journey toward becoming the Lone Ranger in the movie, doesn't exist in the show. Cavendish is evil, but not the kind of guy who actually eats the heart of Reid's brother. The idea of fighting for justice, to bring order out of chaos, was satisfying enough.
4. ...But It Doesn't Skimp on the Brutality
When the posse of Texas Rangers are gunned down in the pilot episode, Cavendish's men inspect each one, kicking over their cold corpses with their boots then leaving them out in the sun without any proper burial. Cavendish even shoots Collins, the man who helped lead the Rangers into the trap, in the back, to get rid of him as a witness. This is the archetypal template for much of today's superheroes: a tragedy-scarred survivor haunted by his past fights for a world in which such chaos isn't possible. But in the movie, the brutality against the Rangers isn't as ruthlessly mechanical, it's cartoonishly over the top (again, the eating of the heart). And when the cavalry are massacring the Comanches, senseless slaughter is glossed over by the Lone Ranger and Tonto's gallivanting around. The violence is more extreme, yet somehow less consequential.
5. There Isn't a Supernatural Element
In the movie, Reid is actually brought back from the dead by a "spirit walker," according to Tonto, meaning that he can't be killed in battle. But in the TV show, he's really just nursed back to health. He didn't need to have supernatural ability or blessing to be formidable, only his convictions.
6. The Lone Ranger Was Vulnerable
Fran Striker, who created the Lone Ranger for radio in 1933, decreed that his adventures always had to be realistic. The Ranger couldn't win against impossible odds or flee a hail of bullets by riding toward the horizon. That mantra applied to the TV show as well, meaning that the Ranger never found himself in the kind of over-the-top set pieces that are in the movie. It was attainable heroism. He could bleed, he could nearly be killed, but you believed you could be him. That's not a fantasy Verbinski's film offers its audience.
For a taste of what this great Western mythos was originally like, check out the pilot episode of The Lone Ranger TV series from Sept. 15, 1949 below.

Gru from 'Despicable Me' and 9 Other Movie Villains Who Had a Change of Heart

Universal Pictures

A frequent formula in most action-packed movies features the triumphant hero and an oh-so sneaky villain. We all know that good always defeats evil, but what happens when the bad guy has a change of heart?
Despicable Me’s Gru is the perfect example of a villain ditching his diabolical ways and opting for a new life filled with friendship and love. Aww, now isn’t that nice?! To celebrate Gru’s quest to stay sweet in the box-office hit Despicable Me 2, we’ve rounded up the top ten movie villains who realize that being good is totally badass.
1. Gru, Despicable Me


During his successful mission of snatching up the moon, Gru came to love his three adopted daughters and realized that he wanted to change his wicked ways and live a happy life with his new family.
2. T-800, Terminator 2
Having spent the entire first movie attempting to murder Sarah Connor, movie-goers witnessed a change of heart when the new T-800 Model Terminator had been re-designed to protect her son John.
3. Severus Snape, Harry Potter



It’s still hard to believe but our least favorite potions professor was actually a sweetheart all along! At every opportunity, Snape tried to protect Harry from Voldemort, he was just pretending to make his life a living hell. That’s so sweet of him!
4. Copper, The Fox and the Hound



Sure, Copper and Todd grew up as the best of friends, but when Copper grew up he was trained that hound dogs and foxes could never be friends. Luckily, Copper learned the error of his ways and protected his childhood pal just in time.
5. Ralph, Wreck-it-Ralph


Ralph realized that he didn’t want to just be the bad guy all the time — he even went to a support group for it. So in his quest for goodness, Ralph did the unthinkable: he left his game! By the end of the movie he realized that it’s alright to just be himself.
6. Diego, Ice Age


Sure, Diego started out as a villainous saber-tooth tiger hell-bent on back-stabbing his new friends, but by the end of the movie he ends up saving everyone. He even fights off his old evil pack in order to do so — what a hero!
7. The Beast, Beauty and the Beast



Having been turned into a Beast after years of selfishness, the prince is only returned to his handsome self after falling for and protecting his beloved Belle. A fantastic u-turn for the man harshly labeled a “beast” for most of his life.
8. The Grinch, How the Grinch Stole Christmas



All the Who’s down in Whoville, were not upset when the Grinch stole all their Christmas presents, food and decorations. And by the end of the movie, their singing and selflessness made his small heart grow three sizes that day.
9. Stitch, Lilo and Stitch


Experiment 626, or more commonly known as Stich, was designed to be unstoppable. He is fire-proof, bullet-proof, and can think faster than super computer. He can see in the dark, and lift objects three thousand times his size. His only instinct is to destroy everything he touches. Luckily the love of having a family changed him and he became even more adorable than he looks.
10. Regina George, Mean Girls



Don't be fooled, Regina George may seem like your typical selfish, back-stabbing slut faced ho-bag, but in reality, she's so much more than that. After being hit with a bus, Regina George decided to channel all of her negative energy into sports instead of calling people “fugly whores” and hooking up with Shane Oman in the projection room above the auditorium. We’re proud of your progress Regina!