· It was on this date in 1941 that, following a surprise Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor that killed 2,402 Americans while wounding another 1,282, the United States was induced into World War II. Meet a survivor here. Or read the poignant story of a disbanding survivor's group here. Or hear concerns about another Pearl Harbor here. Either way, 70 years later amid the silly season of idiot celebrities who can't separate themselves from their phones or other insufferable pop-cultural bluster, let's try to keep this one, most essential consideration in mind.
· Elsewhere, David Fincher is still poking at the media, this time about the process that led to casting Rooney Mara in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo: "I wanted to say, 'Are you really calling me to influence the casting of a movie?' I was naïve about it, to be honest. It wasn't like there were 5,000 girls in black leggings and goth skull makeup lining up outside on the street. But a lot of the press and the bloggers made it seem like the search for the next Scarlett O'Hara." [NYT]
· Steven Soderbergh and his frequent collaborator, the screenwriter Scott Z. Burns (Contagion, The Informant!, The Man From U.N.C.L.E.) are close to moving forward with The Bitter Pill, a thriller about a woman whose dependency on anti-anxiety medication jumps sharply as her incarcerated husband's released date nears. Summit Entertainment is reportedly throwing the green light. [Deadline]
· Richard Rushfield says what we're all thinking but might be too polite to acknowledge about the latest trailer for Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close: "It looks like it might just be the worst movie ever made. It looks absolutely horrifying. It looks like someone went and used 9/11 as a set-up to remake Pay It Forward. [...] The only good thing to be said about this is since they got all those people together they only will ruin one film this year. On their own, they could have gone off and ruined a dozen between them." Ouch. [Rushfield Babylon via The Awl]
· That Grown Ups sequel you couldn't wait to stab your eyes out rather than watch could soon be a reality. Sorry. [Showblitz]
· The British Advertising Standards Authority has banned Final Destination 5's cracked-skull-and-rebar poster on account of its perceived likelihood "to cause fear and undue distress to children." Which would be totally reasonable if the kids didn't already wake up every day in Britain. [The Guardian]
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