Corey Haim is dead
Posted on March 11, 2010
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Sad, sad news… Variety reports that actor Corey Haim, a 1980s teen heartthrob whose career was blighted by drug abuse, died early Wednesday in Burbank. He was 38. It’s just weird, he was one of the coolest young actors of the 80’s… He was one those guys you imagine “had it all,” and would continue to live a charmed life. Apparently it didn’t work out that way…
Born in Toronto in 1971, Haim got his start in television commercials at age 10. He made his feature debut in 1984’s “Firstborn,” and his profile grew with such pics as 1985’s “Silver Bullet.” Corey’s career peaked with his roles in 1986’s “Lucas” and the Joel Schumacher-helmed hit “The Lost Boys” in 1987, in which he battled vampires. He also appeared in 2008 sequel “Lost Boys: The Tribe.”
Haim acknowledged his struggle with drug abuse to a British tabloid in 2004. “I was working on ‘Lost Boys’ when I smoked my first joint,” he told the Sun. “I did cocaine for about a year and a half, then it led to crack.” He sought to mount a comeback as a thesp, going so far as to run an ad in Daily Variety in February 2008 that stated: “This is not a stunt. I’m back. I’m ready to work. I’m ready to make amends.”
“As he got out of bed, he felt a little weak and went down to the floor on his knees,” assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter said. An autopsy will determine Haim’s cause of death. “There was no evidence of foul play“, police Sgt. Michael Kammert said. “Haim had flu-like symptoms before he died and was getting over-the-counter and prescription medications“, police Sgt. William Mann said.
R.I.P. Corey. You will be missed.
Police Academy reboot
Posted on March 10, 2010
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There has been talk about this since… Well, it’s been a long time. Most people around the globe have sweet memories from the golden days of “Police Academy.” It was a seven-film comedy series that saw a city throw open the doors of its police force to any recruit, much to the chagrin of its serious officers. The misfit officers band together and, of course, save the city.
The first two, maybe three films were OK, but after that it just went south. Very south… Most of the actors (except for maybe Sharon Stone and Kim Cattrall) never really made an impact after “Police Academy.” They will forever be associated with the series. Now, according to The Hollywood Reporter, New Line is looking for recruits for a relaunched “Police Academy” movie. Original producer Paul Maslansky is back for the new iteration, which has no writer or director attached.
The first film, released in 1984, starred Steve Guttenberg as Mahoney, a repeat offender who is forced to enter the academy and emerges as the group’s leader. Other notable characters included Moses Hightower (Bubba Smith), gun-crazy Tackleberry (David Graf), mousy Hooks (Marion Ramsey) and sound effects-spewing Larvell Jones (Michael Winslow).
Bobcat Goldthwait joined the cast for the second movie in 1985. The series, which included Kim Cattrall and Sharon Stone as romantic leads, ended with the 1994’s “Mission to Moscow.” All told, the franchise took in about $240 million worldwide and inspired a pair of TV series.
“It’s going to be very worthwhile to the people who remember it and to those who saw it on TV,” Maslansky said. “It’s going to be a new class. We hope to discover new talent and season it with great comedians. It’ll be anything but another movie with a numeral next to it. And we’ll most probably retain the wonderful musical theme.”
The early entries in the series featured sexual humor, but later films became more kid-friendly. Details of the tone of new movie, which would take the story to its beginnings with new characters, were unavailable.
Killers – official trailer (HD)
Posted on March 9, 2010
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In “Killers” Spencer Aimes (Ashton Kutcher) is just your average, undercover, government—hired super—assassin accustomed to a life of exotic European locales, flashy sports cars and even flashier women. But when he meets Jen Kornfeldt (Katherine Heigl), a beautiful, fun—loving computer tech recovering from a bad break—up, he finds true love…and happily trades international intrigue for domestic bliss. Three years later, Spencer and Jen are still enjoying a picture—perfect marriage – that is, until the morning after Spencer’s 30th birthday. That’s when Spencer and Jen learn he’s the target of a multi—million dollar hit. Even worse, the hired killers have been stalking the happy couple for years, and could be anyone: friends, neighbors, the grocery store clerk, even that crabby old guy shuffling across the street. Now Spencer and Jen are on the run for their lives. As their suburban paradise turns into a paranoid game of dodge—the—bullet, they must find out who wants Spencer dead and why, all the while trying to save their marriage, manage his pain—in—the—ass in—laws, keep up neighborly appearances…and just plain survive. And you thought suburban life was easy. In theaters: June 4, 2010.
And the Oscars goes to…
Posted on March 8, 2010
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So, another Oscar night and a whole bunch of new winners. The 82nd Annual Academy Awards have have just wrapped and without a doubt the big winner was “The Hurt Locker” (the film scooped six awards!). Personally I’m very pleased about Christoph Waltz getting a statue for his fantastic performance in “Inglourious Basterds.”
There were actually very few surprises with most categories won by the favorites. No thrills at all. That lack of surprise continued over into Best Actor and Actress, with “Crazy Heart’s” Jeff Bridges and “The Blind Side’s” Sandra Bullock both taking home a golden statue.
The broadcast has some “technical problems” with really bad choice of clips and audio dropouts. The whole show, unfortunately, lacked much of the polish of last year’s Academy Awards.
Anyway, here’s the list:
Best Picture: “The Hurt Locker”
Actor in a Leading Role: Jeff Bridges (“Crazy Heart“)
Actor in a Supporting Role: Christoph Waltz (“Inglourious Basterds“)
Actress in a Leading Role: Sandra Bullock (“The Blind Side“)
Actress in a Supporting Role: Mo’Nique (“Precious“)
Animated Feature Film: “Up”
Art Direction: “Avatar”
Cinematography: “Avatar”
Costume Design: “The Young Victoria”
Directing: “The Hurt Locker”
Documentary Feature: “The Cove”
Documentary Short: “Music by Prudence”
Film Editing: “The Hurt Locker”
Foreign Language Film: “The Secret in Their Eyes”
Makeup: “Star Trek”
Music (Original Score): “Up”
Music (Original Song): “Crazy Heart”
Short Film (Animated): “Logorama”
Short Film (Live Action): “The New Tenants”
Sound Editing: “The Hurt Locker”
Sound Mixing: “The Hurt Locker”
Visual Effects: “Avatar”
Writing (Adapted Screenplay): “Precious”
Writing (Original Screenplay): “The Hurt Locker“
Midnight Run is taking another run
Posted on March 8, 2010
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I was just over at The Hollywood Reporter and apparently Universal and Robert De Niro are getting ready for another run. The studio is developing a sequel to “Midnight Run,” the 1988 action comedy that starred De Niro as a bounty hunter who must bring back an embezzler, played by Charles Grodin, across the country. Timothy Dowling is being brought on board to pen the script that would bring back De Niro’s character, Jack Walsh, and pair him with a younger comedic foil.
“Run,” while not a huge hit, was well-recieved by critics, even as it pushed the f-word count to new heights. The movie is also a touchstone for execs on road movies as well as thriller-comedies. Although several made-for-TV movies were made as sequels, without the original stars, De Niro began to seriously consider a sequel during his recent “Little Fockers” shoot.
Judging by this little post, Charles Grodin is not being considered for the sequel. Maybe he will make little cameo or something, just to wrap things up properly. “Midnight Run’s” success should be credit to both De Niro and Grodin. Then again, I haven’t seen Grodin in anthing for like the last 10 years or so… Is he still working?
De Niro will produce with Tribeca Films partner Jane Rosenthal.
Defendor – official trailer (HD)
Posted on March 6, 2010
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Bruised and beaten, arm in a sling, neck in a brace, Arthur Poppington (Woody Harrelson) sits in front of court—appointed psychologist Ellen Park (Sandra Oh). After making her swear to secrecy, Poppington begins to tell the story of his secret life as “Defendor” – yes, that’s an “OR” – spelling is not one of his super powers. By day, Poppington directs traffic around road construction sites, but at night he dons a pair of black tights, a black jersey with a crude “D” duct—taped to his chest, and trawls the streets as his alter ago. As Defendor, Poppington engages in what he believes is a super heroic fight against crime in an attempt to fulfill his unrealized dream of capturing his archrival, Captain Industry – a gun trafficking crime lord who Poppington mistakenly believes is responsible for the death of his mother. Defendor’s problems with the law begin with his intervention in a trick gone bad. When coming to the aid of Katerina Debrofkowitz (Kat Dennings), an underage prostitute, Defendor tangles with her pimp, Chuck Dooney (Elias Koteas) – a crooked undercover cop. By doing so, Defendor bumbles his way into a criminal underworld, and the stage is set for a showdown with Captain Industry. This is the ultimate underdog story about the unlikeliest of super heroes. While he may be deficient in super powers, he has a surplus of heart and sometimes that’s all you need to make a difference. In theaters: February 26, 2010.
After.Life – official trailer (HD)
Posted on March 3, 2010
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After a horrific car accident, Anna (Christina Ricci) wakes up to find the local funeral director Eliot Deacon (Liam Neeson) preparing her body for her funeral. Confused, terrified and feeling still very much alive, Anna doesn’t believe she’s dead, despite the funeral director’s reassurances that she is merely in transition to the afterlife. Eliot convinces her he has the ability to communicate with the dead and is the only one who can help her. Trapped inside the funeral home, with nobody to turn to except Eliot, Anna is forced to face her deepest fears and accept her own death. But Anna’s grief—stricken boyfriend Paul (Justin Long) still can’t shake the nagging suspicion that Eliot isn’t what he appears to be. As the funeral nears, Paul gets closer to unlocking the disturbing truth, but it could be too late; Anna may have already begun to cross over the other side. With an unrelenting edge of menace, “After.Life” is a stylish psychological thriller which provocatively questions the line between life and death. In theaters: April 9, 2010.
The Joneses – official trailer (HD)
Posted on March 3, 2010
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This one looks really smart and funny. And the casting seems to be spot on. “The Joneses” star Demi Moore and David Duchovny as a seemingly perfect couple who, along with their equally perfect teenagers – Amber Heard (“All the Boys Love Mandy Lane“) and Ben Hollingsworth (“The Beautiful Life“) – move into an upscale gated community. The Joneses have better goods and game than any other family in town. The only problem is they’re not a family – they are employees of a stealth marketing organization, and they know how to make everyone else want what they’ve got. In theaters: April 16, 2010.
Schreiber wants to make Chuck Wepner biopic
Posted on March 2, 2010
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MTV Movies Blog recently spoke with actor Liev Schreiber about his next project, and the news might surprise you… “There’s a guy named Chuck Wepner, ‘The Bayonne Bleeder.’ He’s the guy that ‘Rocky‘ was based on,” Schreiber said. “He went 15 rounds with Muhammad Ali in 1974 and it’s this wonderful story of what happened to that guy as a result of his rise to fame.”
“The Bayonne Bleeder” is a former heavyweight boxer from New Jersey. He won 35 out of 51 fights during his career, 17 of which were knockouts. He faced George Foreman, Sonny Liston and Muhammad Ali during his years in the ring and he’s also been named as Sylvester Stallone’s inspiration for fictional boxer Rocky Balboa.
Wepner challenged Ali for the Heavyweight title in 1975. He spent eight weeks training to prepare for the March 24 fight, which took place in Cleveland. He ultimately lost to the champ of course, but he managed to send Ali to the mat in the ninth round before receiving a broken nose and more than a few facial lacerations. When asked beforehand if he thought he could make it through the fight alive, Wepner reportedly said, “I’ve been a survivor my whole life… if I survived the Marines, I can survive Ali.”
Schreiber didn’t talk timetables or casting or anything like that, but he did name director Jeff Feuerzeig as the man who will helm it. “That’s the next thing I’d like to do,” the actor said. “It’s just a remarkable, hilarious film and I hope we get to make it.” Since Schreiber is a fine actor the whole thing sound very promising. Altough, since the story already has so strong connections to Stallone’s “Rocky”, there’s a chance it will feel more like a remake of “Rocky” then a biopic of Chuck Wepner. Time will tell…