Screenhead

I find myself horrified to announce that, apparently, there will be another Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie coming out, though not from Platinum Dunes.  This minor gleam of hope is dashed by the announcement that it will be coming out in 3-D.

Word is that producer Mark Burg wants to take the whole Leatherface concept and move it into the modern day, setting it in an “urban” environment and bringing it up to 2010.

This poses some serious boggles as far as that goes–for crying out loud, you’ve got what amounts to a seventy year old Leatherface, unless you try to do something with his age or make him all Jason-Voorhees-immortal or worse yet, introduce a NEW Leatherface.  Sure, having Leatherface run amok in, say, an upscale hotel or the ghetto might be entertaining.  Kind of a deranged Beverly Hillbillies or something.  But there’s entirely too much that could go wrong for me to hold out any kind of optimism on this one.

So will it work?  Only time will tell, but considering that Twisted Pictures is handling this one, it’s quite literally anybody’s guess.

Sad news for Joss Whedon fans–seems his big horror opus Cabin in the Woods got pushed back at least a year.  But it’s the why behind that decision that’ll blow your mind.  In fact, in light of that point, it’s actually not so sad after all.

It got delayed so it can be converted to 3-D.  Apparently, the folks out at MGM–who’ve been having some pretty horrible financial problems lately–got a lot of great early response to the film.  So they sat down and displayed a huge amount of logic and said, what could possibly make more money than a Joss Whedon horror flick?

Why, a Joss Whedon horror flick in 3-D, of course!

Okay, so even I have to admit that the thought of a Joss Whedon horror flick in 3-D fills me with a kind of glee that I haven’t had since…well, since just before I saw Zombieland…but why didn’t they just start filming in 3-D instead of losing all the effort that went into it thus far?

Oh…yeah.  So that we’d talk about it.

I genuinely don’t know what to say on this one.  Really, I don’t. I’m so spectacularly conflicted that it’s not even funny.

I was reading this newsy bit the other day, and it turns out they’re looking to make a third installment of The Ring.  See, the first one did so spectacularly well at the box office, that it got a second, and even though the second one didn’t do quite so well, the FIRST one had success enough to justify amplifying it into an entire full-on trilogy.  That by itself would be lukewarm news, but here’s the kicker–they’re going to do it in 3-D.

Now, this represents the second announcement of a third title of a remake series that would be appearing in 3-D. First, Halloween, and now The Ring, which was a remake  of the original Japanese, Ringu.

While I LOVE the thought of a 3-D Ring, with the absolutely required footage of Samara pulling her haunted undead ass out of the movie screen in front of us (you KNOW that has to happen!  It can’t NOT!), I can’t help but think that this has entirely too much chance of winding up some sleazy cash grab, much like the Halloween series it’s unconsciously emulating.

So you can see my conflict–a third entry could be pretty lousy, but it has the potential to be pretty interesting.  Given the sheer number of times before we’ve all been burned on this, I’m not holding out a whole lot of hope.  But there’s every possibility, so let’s hope for the best.

So pretty much every Neil Gaiman fan on the face of the earth was looking forward to this one, even if all he had to do with it was writing the original novel on which Coraline was based.

This one is all about the little girl who’s been named in the title–Coraline.  Coraline’s got two very busy parents, and as so often happens, usually without intent, Coraline grows to feel ignored by her parents, who are, as most parents know, constantly neck-deep in work.  Thus, when Coraline finds a door to another universe located in her own house, she’s pretty eager to plunge into it.  The universe she finds is a lot like our own, only much, much better, with lots of excitement and interesting things happening and people who are actually happy to see her, or at least more inclined to act like it.  But as is generally the case with anything Neil Gaiman comes in contact with, just because it looks like a fantastic netherworld into the depths of a greater universe than our own, doesn’t necessarily mean that it isn’t actually containing some really nasty unnamed–or possibly unnamable–horrors.

The absolute unsettling beauty of this movie is just amazing.  The figures are all realistic, but without trending toward that “uncanny valley” tendency that would elevate this from unsettling to creepy. The background music is even better, alternating between the soft and gentle to the upbeat and jazzy, with occasional forays into the dark and foreboding.  I don’t ordinarily comment on a movie’s soundtrack, but when it’s as perfect as this one is, it requires some special attention.

Even better, the backgrounds they’re set in are perfect for each character.  Seems like everybody in this movie is insane for any of a variety of reasons, with only the possible exception of our heroine Coraline.  And frankly, the fact that she’s the only one experiencing this “other world” casts serious doubt on the whole thing.

A special note–even the Michigan lore aspect of Coraline is quite real.  When Coraline’s friends refer to her as a “troll” and a “loper”, those are both ACCURATE names.  A “troll” in Michigan is a person who comes from below the Mackinac Bridge, or the LOwer PEninsula, which explains “loper”

The thing that you really need to be aware of with Coraline is that, despite the fact that it’s rated PG, it’s really quite a bit too dark for the younger set.  Seriously–I wouldn’t let anyone under the age of at LEAST eight watch this movie without severe threat of nightmares.  But past that point, you’re likely in for a really rousing family adventure with lots of fun and some amazing sights.  I’m actually really pleased at how this turned out.  It’s got plenty of thrills and a little action packed into this clearly family fare.

Granted, it’s not one for the littler kids, but anyone from probably about eight on up (and don’t think that this is just for kids, either–it’s a solid story with lots of good surprises packed into it and some absolutely beautiful visuals.  Coraline pulls down a full nine out of ten on the Screenhead Ten Scale, mostly because it misses its target market by just a little bit, and not everyone in its upper audience is going to enjoy a–let’s face it–cartoon.  But still, for those willing to try, Coraline will be a fantastic adventure, in every sense.

Smurfs

Raja Gosnell has been approached to direct Sony’s live-action/animated “Smurfs.” The film is scheduled to be released in 3-D and 2-D formats on Dec. 17, 2010. “Smurfs” will be produced by Jordan Kerner, J. David Stem and David N. Weiss while Audrey Wells wrote the script.

Sony announced in June 2008 that it had launched the “Smurfs” movie project after receiving film rights to the blue-colored characters from Lafig Belgium thru Kerner and signing Stem and Weiss to write the screenplay. Kerner secured film rights to the Smurfs property back in 2002.

Although we haven’t heard from the box office reports, I am curious as to how Coraline is weathering the box office drama with the movie being release this weekend in 1000 3-D theaters and 1000 2-D theaters.  I hope the numbers are high because this story and art work is pure joy and sensational. It deserves recognition.

In celebration of the creative power and artistry behind the spectacular new movie Coraline, the Portland Art Museum transformed into the movie’s Other World. Miniature sets and costumes were crafted by hand from some surprising materials to create a world unlike any other. Attendees saw up close characters’ actual costumes and the movie’s elaborate sets. Animators were on hand to demonstrate the art of stop-motion and the master knitter who created Coraline’s tiny sweaters and gloves replicate the miniatures on site.  It was truly an extraordinary night!  

Combining the visionary imaginations of two premier fantasists, director Henry Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas) and Newbery Award Winning Author Neil Gaiman (The Graveyard), Coraline is a wondrous and thrilling, fun and suspenseful adventure that honors and redefines two moviemaking traditions. It is a stop-motion animated feature – and, as the first one to be conceived and photographed in stereoscopic 3-D, unlike anything moviegoers have ever experienced before. From Oregon-based animation studio LAIKA, Coraline, MPAA-rated “PG,” is released in theaters nationwide (in both 3-D and [regular] 2-D) by Focus Features on Friday, February 6, 2009.

Focus Features sent Screenhead pictures from the premiere last night in Portland, Oregon.  Here we have posted this lovely picture of Dakota Fanning (Coraline) and Teri Hatcher (Coraline’s mother).

Disney Studio’s release schedule for 2009 and 2010 includes 10 films, which is more than any other studio, with Bolt barking up a storm this weekend. The two-digit number is caused by the unspooling of re-rendering Beauty and the Beast, Toy Story and Toy Story 2 in 3-D, respectively. 

Obviously, the Beast is first. The process should take about 9 months but a release date hasn’t been set.

Producer Don Hahn stated in Variety, “By going back to the original animation files, which have been carefully archived for 17 years, and using the separate background, effects and character animation elements, we’re able to come up with a fun and unique 3-D experience for existing and new fans of the film.”

Next year’s lineup includes the Jonas Brothers 3-D Concert Movie, Pixar’s Up, Jerry Bruckheimer’s G-Force, and Robert Zemeckis’ Disney’s A Christmas Carol.

In 2010, the lineup includes Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, Toy Story 3, Rapunzel, and Step Up 3.

Joe Dante’s supernatural feature The Hole signed Teri Polo to star as a mother who moves with her teen sons to a rural house where the three are forced to face their fears after discovering a bottomless hole in the basement.

Haley Bennett is also cast in Dante’s film. She is set to play the neighbor Julie who is attracted to one of the sons.

Filming starts in early December in Vancouver, which will be in 3-D.

Fly Me to The Moon — it’s all in 3-D. The story about three young flies set off on a courageous mission to become the first insects on the moon by hitching a ride on the historic Apollo 11 space flight.  Based on the actual transcripts and the original blueprints from NASA, the film’s stunning visuals and meticulous attention to detail introduce a whole new generation to the awe-inspiring achievements of the space program’s most momentous mission.
 
The year is 1969 and like everyone else in the world, Nat (Trevor Gagnon) and his pals IQ (Philip Daniel Bolden) and Scooter (David Gore) are abuzz over the upcoming launch of the first manned mission to the moon. Inspired by his Grandpa’s (Christopher Lloyd) oft-told tale of hiding aboard Amelia Earhart’s plane during her famed solo cross-Atlantic flight, Nat hatches a secret plan for the three young flies to stow away on the Apollo 11 rocket.  The hard part is keeping the plan secret from his mom, Mrs. McFly (Kelly Ripa)!