According to a report from insider tipsters, Disney is set to announce that they've licensed the rights to adapt James Cameron's Avatar into a series of theme park rides at Disney World's Animal Kingdom in Florida. The news follows a long battle between Disney and rival amusement parkers Universal Studios for rights to the 20th Century Fox property, but the Avatar-Disney marriage makes good sense for a few reasons or five. Let's help Disney plan the most Na'vi-riffic Avatar experience possible with these proposed attraction ideas!
more »
In this week's new chick flick I Don't Know How She Does It, Sarah Jessica Parker -- she who had sex in the city, a bastion of modern female fabulosity and our generation's go-to, couture-sheathed screen heroine in heels -- attempts to solve the plight of the 21st century woman once more as Kate Reddy, a wife, mother of two, and financial analyst for a high-powered investment firm trying desperately to juggle "it all." How many times do co-workers and colleagues ask her how she "does it?" A lot. That's how much she's doing. But it's not the first time SJP's put her plucky feminine know-how to use in the movies to solve the routine problems of the modern woman.
more »
Academy Award-winner Cliff Robertson passed away on Saturday just a day after his 88th birthday, but the dependable actor (and underrated, in terms of '60s Oscar winners -- right up there with my girl Sandy Dennis!) enjoyed roles in more than 100 films. As we say goodbye to his great talent, here's an exciting quintet of films to help you admire his versatile appeal.
more »
Labor Day weekend calls for more than a celebration -- it calls for validation of this thing we call work. Before you canter drunkenly into the long holiday, here are five movies that will reaffirm your faith in your own employment. It'll add extra grace to your three-day break while making your return on Tuesday much easier. Let's punch in and tune out!
more »
It's hard to believe that what started with a smash of Thor's hammer back in May is ending meekly almost four months later with an orgy, a lost space mission and 3-D sharks. Alas, with Labor Day having arrived, summer is officially unofficially over. But! Before the crisp fall movie season begins in earnest, it's time to look back on what transpired. Pour yourself one last glass of Country Time lemonade and click ahead to remember the highlights of the summer movie season with your bestest Movieline editors.
more »
Though the Oscars aired just six months ago, we're already gearing up for next year's decadent -- perhaps Gervais-aided -- ceremony. In scanning the release list for this fall, Movieline picked out five female roles that are shoo-ins for Academy attention. How can we be so sure, you ask? Because every role is a combination of past nominees and winners. Let's divvy up the gold!
more »
Dancing with the Stars -- the torturous hoofing marathon that should be called They Shoot Has-Beens, Don't They? -- almost signed its most glorious celebrity in three seasons to appear on its thirteenth go-around: the winsome, storied, eerily flirtatious father to Tatum O'Neal, Mr. Ryan O'Neal. Oh my goodness. O'Neal and his daughter have worked out most of their differences over the years, but it's a little strange to realize the dubious Oscar nominee (for Love Story!) was going to be beamed into American homes for two weeks. Recent knee replacement surgery prevented him from officially signing on (he'll reportedly be ready for next season), but let's make the most of this almost-news and devise five dances O'Neal can perform in tribute to his film career in the future.
more »
The fall movie season: when the remakes and sequels of summertime step aside for highfalutin literary adaptations. With some thirteen page-to-screen turns between now and the end of the year, 2011 will pack theaters will bookworms and wannabe literary aficionados the world over. Ahead, a comprehensive list of the forthcoming adaptations, from I Don't Know How She Does It to War Horse.
more »
As summer draws to a close, it's nice to remember what's in store for moviegoers as the autumnal equinox approaches: films with characters you care about. Deliver me from the superheroes, sweet season! As part of our extensive fall preview, we've picked the five most promising-yet-under-the-radar performances to anticipate in the coming months. Please straighten your tie when approaching the cross-dressing Glenn Close.
more »
What's a girl got to do to find a decent movie around here? Usually, wait until the summer -- a season full of big budget action blockbusters, male-targeted comedies and easy paycheck franchise extensions -- ends, and the movie posters change color with the leaves. Fortunately, Movieline has just the guide to make the seasonal cinema transition a little easier.
more »
As you may have heard, Disney shockingly put the brakes on the planned big-screen adaptation of The Lone Ranger that star Johnny Depp, producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Gore Verbinski were aiming to bring into theaters next Christmas. The reasons were budgetary -- the cost of Ranger had reportedly ballooned to $250 million -- but it appears that a mere ("mere") $20-30 million is all that separates the studio from the filmmakers. Provided some cuts can be made -- a task easier said than done, as backend deals and three large-scale action scenes revolving around trains reportedly threaten the compromise -- The Lone Ranger could conceivably hit theaters at some point. Unless, of course, Disney realizes it might not be the best idea anyway.
more »
Rock legend Patti Smith set the literary world on fire last year with her memoir Just Kids, a sensitive, longing look at her friendship with the late photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. The book mostly chronicles their years in New York prior to her fame as a punk poetess from the mid-'60s to the mid-'70s -- before Horses revolutionized Ginsbergian rock. Now word is out that Smith is adapting the National Book Award winner into a screenplay with Gladiator scribe John Logan. Who should play the inimitable lady on the big screen?
more »
Kellan Lutz revealed that his buddy Robert Pattinson has casually discussed the prospect of becoming a fashion designer. Now that's exciting: Who wouldn't want to buy a scarf or puka shell necklace from the label Vampy Pattz or Cullen's Collective or whatever? I'm in. And better yet, I'm helping R-Pattz on the way to his goal of becoming the next Christian Dior/Jon Gosselin. Here are ten fashionable items he should hawk.
more »
Congrats to Eddie Murphy, who just picked up voicing duties in the live action/animated movie Hong Kong Phooey, the Hanna-Barbera cartoon that only produced 16 episodes but forever validated the legitimacy of dog custodians and their mastery of martial arts. Scatman Crothers provided the original voice of "the number one super guy," but the Shrek/Mulan firebrand will make a worthy substitute. Does this mean we should anticipate more Hanna-Barbera live-action/animation takes in the future? Here are the five best candidates for that treatment.
more »
Body Double came out 27 years ago, but it's still a little weird to realize that its one-time ingenue Melanie Griffith is 54 years old. The woman who picked up an Oscar nod for playing the defiant Tess McGill in Mike Nichols' Working Girl has a pretty solid filmography otherwise, including a few good flicks you probably missed or -- more likely -- forgot. In honor of her birthday, click ahead for a rundown of five underrated movies where Griffith also did a helluva good job of letting the river run.
more »
