Ever since Jim Windolf -- whose 6,000-word Vanity Fair cover story on Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is considered the definitive all-access report on the making of that particular shit sandwich -- had seen the trailer for Inglourious Basterds, he'd been troubled by questions of its historical veracity. Obviously, director Quentin Tarantino had taken some liberties in his tale of a marauding band of Jewish-American soldiers who stalked Nazi soldiers, leaving behind a chilling trail of mutilated bodies throughout Europe that sent a wave of Jüdenterror through the ranks of the Third Reich. "But still I thought," he writes, "Why wasn't there a special force of Jewish American soldiers who hunted down Nazis?"
more »
It is a Friday in Los Angeles, eighty-four degrees, the air choked with smoke, the airwaves dominated by tales of kidnap and rape. David Lynch has a thought: He would like to befriend comedian Ben Stiller. Why seal the deal with a call from an assistant, a Facebook friend request, or an antiseptic click of the "follow" button on Twitter? It must be heard, puzzled over. It must hang there, daring us to interpret it. David Lynch will direct Night at the Museum 3. Ben Stiller will awaken Abraham Lincoln, who will turn into Laura Dern. They will then make love. [Twitter]
· Having sworn off the rebooted Halloween franchise, Rob Zombie has found another deadly horror villain to revive: The Blob, which first threatened Steve McQueen's town in 1958, was remade a little nastier in 1988, and will shoot next year with a new-and-improved title character. "My intention is not to have a big red blobby thing -- that's the first thing I want to change," Zombie told Variety. "That gigantic Jello-looking thing might have been scary to audiences in the 1950s, but people would laugh now." Well, Rob, it is called The Blob. Perhaps a family of homicidal, inbred redneck gelatinous masses might not be the best way to go with this one. [Variety]
Robin Williams goes back to the chapel, Daniel Craig goes back to the movies, and more Hollywood Ink after the jump.
more »
Welcome back to Movieline Attractions, your regular guide to everything new, noteworthy and/or left for dead at the movies. This week a pair of horror epics duel for box-office supremacy, Ang Lee ducks back a few decades, and Andy Griffith blows everyone away. Literally. Sort of. It's all after the jump.
more »
· Here's your first look at America's Next Top Model Cycle 13. Enjoy Tyra's caftan and exaggerated French accent as she tells the girls that they "are breaking out of zee box," by featuring short contestants for the first time in ANTM history. [via Entertainment Tonight]
more »
Grab a small animal and bite down real hard, as ABC's new V reboot is undergoing some retooling and has shut down for two weeks. Producers want to "take advantage of our November premiere to maximize creative opportunities and deliver the audience the best show possible," a Warners spokesperson said. [The Wrap]
In a watershed ruling that could forever alter the fates of TV stars who decide to tackle grueling Broadway runs against the admonitions of their doctors who've for years warned them that their life-threatening sushi addictions would eventually catch up to them, an arbitrator has ruled in favor of noted Speed-the-Plow quitter, Jeremy Piven.
more »
A&E Television Networks, a partnership between Disney/ABC, Hearst, and NBC, has acquired the Lifetime Network. The move means Lifetime's new cash cow Project Runway is quasi-reunited with its original network, Bravo, a property of NBC, which also means that Thanksgiving at the Disney/ABC ranch house will be dicey. I expect a Tom Colicchio-catered bacchanal filled with snide commentary from Andy Cohen and Annie Potts, plus a Chanel No. 5 fight between Heidi Klum and the cast of Army Wives. Can someone use the baster to insert diplomacy into this mess?
more »
No sooner did we establish a reasonable, clear-cut cinematic trend of old people loving pot brownies than noted coolhunter Andy Rooney came along to push the summer envelope a little bit further. Had you heard of his new film Play the Game? Perhaps, like me, you hadn't, but now (also like me!) you're going to carry around the rest of this knowledge until the end of your days.
more »
And it gets better. The Barbary macaque attack reportedly occurred while Biggs and his American Pie co-star Eddie Kaye Thomas visited the Gibraltar region of Spain -- to commemorate the film's 10th anniversary. "They were hiking in the woods when this monkey suddenly leapt on Jason from a tree and tried to bite his face off," said a "source" for the Telegraph. "Jason's travelling companions managed to fend the beast off and Jason thankfully wasn't seriously hurt, just shaken up." Well! Party on! One can only imagine the Bengal tiger Biggs will tangle with in 2013 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Tarantino-endorsed masterpiece Anything Else. [The Telegraph]
· Yahoo's premiered a new photo of Michael Sheen as the villainous Aro in New Moon. Can't wait for his shirtless scene!
· Geek casting: Summer Glau's been officially reunited with Joss Whedon for Dollhouse, while erstwhile Superman Brandon Routh's been added to Chuck.
· Natalie Portman is obsessed with "really, really obscene hip-hop," she tells Interview. "I love it so much."
· NBC is pushing the Friday night debut of Southland back a month to October 23.
· Laura Linney's dark cancer comedy The C Word has been picked up by Showtime, which used to run The L Word. And it's not a Jenny spinoff!
If we've learned anything from Lost and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, it's that the blond bad boy always comes out ahead in a genre love triangle. Perhaps, then, it shouldn't be a surprise that Alexander Skarsgård popped this summer as True Blood's insinuating (but crucially restyled) vampire sheriff Eric Northman; to judge from the fan worship thrown his way online and at Comic-Con, I'm sure that Sookie's not the only one fantasizing about him.
Good thing that Movieline's a font of Skars-knowledge! Here are nine facts that should help you appreciate this 33-year-old Swedish "newcomer" even more:
more »
Pictured on the cover of EW is their "reunion exclusive" portrait of the stars of Seinfeld, that '90s-defining sitcom about a conniving, corpulent mailman and the neighbors who'd continually foil his schemes. Starting in the third episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm's seventh season, and continuing through to its tenth, the reunion arc somehow figures into a plotline in which "Larry attempts to get [Cheryl Hines] back." Said Michael Richards -- arguably the most comeback-needy of the series's core quartet -- of revisiting the twitchy character that made him a star, "I'd always kept Kramer's shoes. Once I got those shoes on, and I'm standing behind the door of Jerry's apartment, I was ready." Julia Louis-Dreyfus, thankfully, made no similar statement about having fallen with ease back into her Elaine role after slipping in the iconic prophylactic gelatin sponge she'd held on to all these years. [EW]
The idea of a megabudget pirate movie used to be anathema to Hollywood studios -- thanks, Renny Harlin! -- but ever since Johnny Depp donned eye shadow and a tricorner hat, pirates have become big business again. (Fun fact: After Depp finishes this planned second Pirates of the Carribean trilogy, the Pirates franchise will clock in at over 14 hours.) Now, Steven Spileberg's getting in on the act, announcing his plans to direct Pirate Latitudes, based on a posthumously discovered novel by Michael Crichton. The important question: Will this derail Spielberg's superfluous Harvey remake?
more »
Since its publication in 2006, Tucker Max's testosterrific book I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell has made its reputation as a polarizing bestseller about the truth and consequences of its author's beyond-assholish behavior. Particularly toward women, some of whom actually dropped the R-word last night as the memoir's movie adaptation rolled into North Carolina State University.
more »
