· Lionsgate did what it could Thursday to usurp a little off-site luster from Comic-Con, announcing a greenlight for Saw VII. And it's a family affair: The franchise's production designer and fifth-installment director David Hackl will retake the reins, while Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton -- who wrote the three most recent Saw entries -- will return to contribute the screenplay. [Variety]
Dexter gets animated, another American Idol fortune is made, and more Hollywood Ink after the jump.
more »
You might remember that James Cameron followed Avatar's dazzling Comic-Con debut on Thursday by declaring Aug. 21 "Avatar Day," when a nation of nerds and other curious lookie-loos will be able to watch 15 minutes of the film at participating 3-D venues. For free. This is either brilliant news or the final public indignity for the Weinstein Company, which thought it had that date to itself for Quentin Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds. Will the movies share an audience, provoking viewers from one auditorium to another during their visit to the multiplex? Or will this completely wreck Basterds' buzz heading into its make-or break opening? Developing... [NYP]
Welcome back to Movieline Attractions, your regular guide to everything new, noteworthy and Galafianak-icious at the movies. This week, America's naughty Hangover hero goes PG with talking guinea pigs, Katherine Heigl fights off Harry Potter, and this generation's Dr. Strangelove explodes at the art house.
more »
Well, yes -- yes it will. Sorry, folks, but while the most fully realized and wholly immersive CGI achievement in cinematic history probably won't cure peptic ulcers or reverse male-pattern-baldness, it will definitely make you go "whoa" more times than Keanu Reeves on his first visit to the Long Beach Aquarium.
more »
The Avatar panel is about to begin. Fox head Tom Rothman has come out, and is describing this as a once-in-a-movie-executive's-life experience. The technology, as amazing as it is, he insists, "is resolutely in service of plot and character."
more »
Well, I survived the New Moon panel, and I'm happy to report there were no deaths, and only one mauling -- of a tall, chubby male photographer who stood in front of the stage and blocked an entire section's view of stars Ashley Greene (yay!), Kristen Stewart (YAYYYY!!), Taylor Lautner (AHHHHHHHHHGHHAHAHAHAH!!!!) and Robert Pattinson (*SOUND OF UNIVERSE FORMING*). Director Chris Weitz was on hand too, and asked to describe how Pattinson reminds him of his vampiric role, replied, "He has almost translucent skin, like Edward Cullen, and when the light shines just right he sparkles like diamonds." It seems not even The Golden Compass director is immune to Pattinson's charms.
more »
So it's been a whirlwind of 3-D delights inside Hall H over here at Comic-Con. The rules, as they portend to liveblogging, recording, photographing and the like are somewhat amorphous, but as best as I can make out, recording video is punishable by death, still photos of slides is kosher, and photographing the visitors (like Johnny Depp! And The Big TronBowski, who was in attendance, and who Patton Oswalt actually made a "Big TronBowski" joke about) is encouraged.
more »
That whirring you hear is a broken rumor mill, one that suggested Megan Fox turned down a part as the female lead in the next James Bond film because she "wanted a bigger part." Her rep is denying the reports this afternoon, arguing that Fox had not discussed or been offered a 007 role of any kind. And even if she had, he continued, everybody knows she doesn't have enough fingers to pull it off. [People]
From L-R: Nicole (Silk Spectre 1), Becca (Silhouette), Samantha (as Silk Spectre II)
MOVIELINE: Is this the first time you guys have dressed as these characters?
Becca: Yes, first time.
So are you set for, like, two Halloweens after this?
Becca: [laughing] It depends! We'll see how well we do at this first.
Now how did you assign who would be dressed as what?
more »
Tim Burton had one last trick up his sleeve at the end of the Alice in Wonderland presentation: the Mad Hatter Himself, Johnny Depp. More photos after the jump -- full report later today.
more »
· Summit Entertainment plans to unveil its latest line of Twilight-related merchandise this week at Comic-Con, including "Team Edward" and "Team Jacob" apparel for the tween and/or San Diego pavement camper in your life.
· "We talk about it and it's something we are thinking about." And? And? After 20 years, Robert Zemeckis is still teasing moviegoers about a sequel to Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
· Mischa Barton's publicist steadfastly denies that the glossies have rejected his client for a cover touting her health crisis and ongoing rehabilitation. But it wouldn't surprise me, especially when all the good writers have resigned to date Jon Gosselin.
· Congrats to Patrick Goldstein, who's finally moved up to the LAT's Jewish gay porn beat.
· And the same to veteran critic Richard Corliss, who has this summer's rom-com crop covered for Time Magazine.
· Finally, face it: You can never have enough Madeline Kahn in your day.
Fashion Week? Feh. Milan? Meh. More than any other cultural gathering, Comic-Con is responsible for those trickle-down fashions you'll be rifling through later this year on racks at Forever 21. But we at Movieline want to move beyond the obvious Alice apron dresses and Wolf Man leather jackets, and sniff out those edgier, chic-er, and just generally more far-out looks to catch our eye at this year's Con. Geek is the new black.
We begin with the Queen of Hearts. She's after the jump.
more »
We all know Eternal Moonwalk is a pop phenomenon: The genius Michael Jackson tribute site has welcomed thousands of moonwalking contributors in the weeks since his death. But is it art? Absolutely, says critic Matt Zoller Seitz, who persuasively argues that the mesmerizing video offers "an incidental tutorial in the basic properties of cinema." It's a must-read; just don't click through to Eternal Moonwalk itself unless you can afford a couple hours of hypnotic staring. Backsliding stop-motion wrestling figures will do that to a person. [IFC]
Have the Comic-Con gender wars that threatened to tear apart the San Diego Convention Center been resolved before they even began? Make no mistake, there are still thousands of grumbling fanboys who cannot belieeeeeve that the line for Hall H is filled with Twilight fangirls who will potentially steal valuable seats for the Tron and Avatar panels just so they can attend the New Moon panel in the same auditorium. However, when I interviewed the very first people in line -- the lovely Ara and her daughter Rebecca -- I found out something very interesting (and it wasn't simply that they'd camped out two nights to secure their place in line).
more »
