Lost in the shuffle of all the breathless speculation about Super 8, the double secret probation new project from director J.J. Abrams and executive producer Steven Spielberg, is the fact that the likely information about the film has been known for a week. Remember back to the simpler time of April 28, when Vulture reported that Abrams and Spielberg were teaming up for "a tip of the hat to [Spielberg's] movies of the '70s and early '80s?" Well, based on the just revealed trailer description for Super 8, that sounds pretty much exactly right. Spoilers ahead, but really: As awesome as it might be, it's still a teaser trailer. This isn't the last five minutes of Lost here. Just read on...
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· Casey Affleck and Joaquin Phoenix are betting on the pop-cultural attention span this week, reportedly screening their mockumentary about Phoenix's pseudo-retirement/rapping career for a group of potential buyers. This thing would seem to have exhausted whatever cachet it had back when it was being made over a year ago, no? On the other hand, Harvey Weinstein was said to be among the viewers, and let's face it: Slap a viral porn site into the marketing campaign, and you can't really lose. [Deadline]
Mickey Rourke and Tony Scott bulk up (with Shia LaBeouf?), Tim Gunn is Smurfy, and more Hollywood Ink after the jump.
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· Ready for more Iron Man 2 junket fun? After getting tips on makeup application from Scarlett Johansson, Metacafe cornered Gwyneth Paltrow and asked if she'd sign on as a spokesperson for a fictional product called The Kittenbox 9000. Gwyneth found two problems in the marketing: "Gwen" is not her name, and cats suck. Video follows! [Metacafe]
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Is J.J. Abrams's new secret project, Super 8, a prequel to his last secret project, Cloverfield? That's what Vulture alleged yesterday, but Abrams himself has now told the site, "You have to check [out the trailer]. But it has nothing whatsoever to do with Cloverfield." What about Felicity? Throw Scott Speedman a bone, J.J.! [Vulture]
I still think Casey James is determined to make himself Idol's darkest horse ever, but the raspy singer, who didn't fare well during Tuesday's Sinatra night, told People, "I feel like I absolutely deserve to go home tomorrow if you base it on this performance." Crafty. If you thought he looked awkward without a guitar, he agrees: "I was thinking about knitting on stage as I did my song. I looked into it and there's just not enough time to get a full piece of anything knitted, in one minute 30 seconds, so I gave up on that, and...decided to go with the awkward, 'I'm not holding a guitar' move!" [People]
If you could feel a jolt of fanboy dismay this week, it's probably because of a pair of tweets that accused Paramount of holding up progress on sequels to Zoolander and Anchorman. First, Anchorman director Adam McKay implied that the sequel to his 2004 film was dead due to what Deadline later reported was a budget impasse of up to $30 million. Then, Ben Stiller got into the action with this ambiguous tweet: "Ron Burgundy and Derek Zoolander looking to appear in sequels. Both men destitute, without means or intellect to fund their own comebacks."
Say it ain't so: Could Zoolander have strutted down his last catwalk? Movieline rang up Zoolander 2 writer/director Justin Theroux to find out what's what.
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· There's another True Blood teaser poster out. The HBO marketing execs are just handing these off to the interns now, aren't they?
· Daniel Dae Kim's scenes on Lost last night were hard enough without a surfeit of peeing crew members added to the mix.
· TV By the Numbers has heard a rumor that Damages has been canceled, for real.
· In a related note, do "Save our Show" campaigns really do any good?
· Craig Kilborn is returning to TV, after many years spent being smug inside the comfort of his own home. Good luck, Craiggers!
Things are so hush-hush around Inception that even when the plot synopsis was released earlier this week, it was met with uniformly bold SPOILER warnings. And, well, why not? If there's one thing the likely impenetrable summer blockbuster from Christopher Nolan has as a marketing tool -- besides the all-star cast and the "from the director of The Dark Knight" tag -- it's mystery. As in: WTF? Well, with word today that Inception has "a huge reveal in the third act," Movieline attempts to crack this thing. Potentially real spoilers ahead, but also, maybe not. Click if you dare...
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Scott Pilgrim vs. the World director Edgar Wright has earned himself a continue. Fanboys grew concerned when word of reshoots leaked, but in an email to CHUD, Wright said he only planned to shoot a few extra jokes to incorporate material from the final volume of the comic book the film is based on. As long as said jokes aren't hastily converted into 3D, it's fine by us. [CHUD]
Happy Cinco de Mayo! I have kind of a weird present for you, but it's the thought that counts: The nutso, controversial Tribeca alumnus The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia is now in one NYC theater and available everywhere on demand via Tribeca Film. Let Julien Nitzberg's unflinching documentary about the most fume-huffin', pill-snortin', mountain-dancin', face-shootin' family in Boone County augment your holiday mood like never before. Which is to say: You might never party or maybe even drink again. Read on and relive the magic from Tribeca '09, featuring director Nitzberg, producer Johnny Knoxville and those outrageous Whites themselves.
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Apologies to Manny Farber, Pauline Kael, Roger Ebert and the rest, but I think Village Voice contributor Dan Kois might have raised the criticism bar to insurmountable heights with his review of the new documentary Babies: "Babies babies 'Babies' babies Babies? Babies babies. Babies babies babies babies babies babies babies babies babies babies Babies? Babies babies, babies." And he's just getting started. My ovaries ache. [Village Voice]
Amid all the franchise flotsam and romcom jetsam, there is some good development news out there. Some of the best is coming from Europe, where a loose-lipped Antonio Banderas said that he will re-team with director Pedro Almodóvar for the first time in 20 years. Irritated by Banderas's "impatient" disclosure, Almodóvar himself confirmed the project -- by giving the fantastic-sounding plot away.
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· Squeeeee!! And probably some impatient groans: Summit Entertainment announced late Tuesday that it has slated The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn for Nov. 18, 2011. That's only 563 days, Twihards! No official confirmation yet on whether it will be two movies, but of course it will -- especially on such a relatively extended timetable compared to the cranked-out New Moon and Eclipse. Bill Condon is still expected to direct both. [Deadline]
Mila Kunis gets Benefits, yet another goddamned Die Hard, and more Hollywood Ink after the jump.
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· Robert Rodriguez has directed "40 Dogs (Like Romeo and Juliet)," a music video for Austin-based musician Bob Schneider starring Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist lead Kat Dennings. It packs equal parts youthful whimsicality and obsessive female closeups. So, finally, it's the segue between Spy Kids and Sin City we've been waiting for. [IFC]
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How about that Nuevo Adventures of Old Cristina, eh? Seinfeld actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame today...only her name was misspelled in a very conspicuous way. After CNN's David Daniel snapped a picture and put in some calls, frantic Walk-of-Famers chiseled out the "Luis" and laid out a temporary "Louis-" for the actual unveiling. Let's nobody reach Michael Richards for comment on this. We might not like what he has to say. [CNN]
