Happy Thursday! Also in this edition of The Broadsheet: A Farrelly-sanctioned Dumb and Dumber sequel gets moving (slightly)... Signs point to Still Seas for Guillermo del Toro... The only defense of Shame's NC-17 that you'll need... John Carpenter's first student film discovered... and more.
Screen Gems spilled the news today that they're already filming a feature adaptation of Benson Lee's 2007 dance documentary Planet B-Boy, about a crew of American breakdancers who compete on the world's stage against crews from foreign lands. Sure, it sounds like just another dance movie. But I ask you: What's wrong with that? I LOVE DANCE MOVIES! And if you love dance movies like I do, then there are at least two additional reasons why you'll totally mark your calendars for this particular project.
This week's new feature Anonymous is alluring for two reasons: It explores the possibility that Shakespeare didn't write his masterworks, and it looks unintentionally hilarious. If I could dress up for Halloween as Vanessa Redgrave's line-reading of "None of your plays will ever carry your name," I would. In tribute to this dubious drama, let's explore what the Bard's plays would sound like if they were written or retooled by current auteurs. Ready for Why Did I Get Jealous Too?
Steven Spielberg may have hated George Lucas's addition of aliens into Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls, but the much-loathed refrigerator scene? All him. "What people really jumped at was Indy climbing into a refrigerator and getting blown into the sky by an atom-bomb blast. Blame me. Don't blame George. That was my silly idea. People stopped saying 'jump the shark.' They now say, 'nuked the fridge.' I'm proud of that. I'm glad I was able to bring that into popular culture." See here, fellas: No one gets away clean. [Empire]
Maybe filming background scenes at Zuccotti Park wasn't a great idea after all, or perhaps it was never really going to happen, but still: EW reports that Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises, which shoots this month in New York City, will not be using the Occupy Wall Street movement as a backdrop for one-percenter hero Bruce Wayne's latest shenanigans, despite speculations to the contrary. Probably a good idea, especially after the Occupy movement turned Oakland, CA into something resembling a war zone last night, tear gas and all. [EW]
Mamma Mia! is a celebrated American film where Meryl Streep tries to convince you she's brain-damaged for 108 minutes. She has no guess as to who birthed her blonde, blue-eyed, ABBA-squawking daughter, but she'll storm about a sunny Grecian isle until we all agree to forget she's doing this for an obese stack of cash. What a Swedish fishy musical this is! It gives Stockholm Syndrome to thinking people. Let's watch it 30 times, channel Agnetha and Anni-Frid using ethereal harmonies and beige lipstick, and recount the five greatest musical numbers in this insane, aquamarine spectacle of light, sound and sheer embarrassment.
Happy Wednesday! Also in this edition of The Broadsheet: Carey Mulligan on her part of earning Shame's controversial rating... Sylvester Stallone gets sued over The Expendables... The End is nigh for Warner Bros.... Shakespeare supporters protest Anonymous... and more.
Dead people are arguably less productive than you are, but a bunch of them earned between seven and nine figures for doing nothing this year, according to Forbes. Insulted? I understand. But you may be surprised by which screen stars are still banking well after they've left the big screen and the planet.
I haven't been watching the World Series because, um, baseball is the least telegenic sport since blogging, but I've caught two actresses unleash very decent renditions of the national anthem since the series began. Two days ago, Zooey Deschanel purred her version, and yesterday, convalescing Disney queen Demi Lovato belted it out. Fantastic. Unfortunately, It is my belief that only one can win. Who did it better?
Crank your man crush meters to 11: Brad Pitt is said to be set to produce and co-star with Michael Fassbender and Chiwetel Ejiofor in Twelve Years a Slave, according to a Playlist report (plucked from Screen Daily and verified by Pitt's production company, Plan B). The period drama is based on the life of Solomon Northup, an educated black man who was tricked into slavery in the 1850s and marks Fassbender's third collaboration with director Steve McQueen (Hunger, Shame). [The Playlist]
James Franco loves his little stunts, and this one's an Evel Knievel-grade spectacle: On the new issue of L.A.'s Flaunt magazine, Franco graces two different covers -- one where he's staring innocently from a school desk (boring), and another where his naked ass crowds the lens, boasts a tramp stamp, and looks like it's about to speak. Need I say more? Click through for the cover.
After writer-director Lynne Ramsay (Ratcatcher, Morvern Callar) debuts her latest film, this December's moody Tilda Swinton-Ezra Miller pic We Need to Talk About Kevin, she'll set her sights on more classic fare: Herman Melville's Moby Dick... only, set in space. "We're taking the premise into the realm of the galaxy; it's creating a whole new world, and a new alien, a very psychological piece" Ramsay told Radio 5 Live's Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo. "Mainly taking place in the ship, a bit like Das Boot, so it's quite claustrophobic. It's another monster movie, in a way, 'cause the monster's Ahab." Stick around for more happenings in today's Buzz Break.
Aardman Animation can do no wrong, ladies and gentlemen: From Chicken Run to Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit, these folks stick to loopy, yet dry material and make it fun for kids and adults every time. In their new feature The Pirates! Band of Misfits, Aardman takes buccaneering out of Jack Sparrow's realm and back into the world of kiddy imagination. The new international trailer features all the bug eyes and red beards you can muster, plus the vocal talents of Hugh Grant, Jeremy Piven, and Salma Hayek.
Now hear this! No, seriously, hear this: Alec Baldwin has a new WNYC podcast called Here's the Thing, which will comprise a series of conversations with the actor's Hollywood peers and other cultural luminaries (including "makers of public policy, critics and comedians") about "what motivates them" and "how [...] they feel about what they do" -- among other things. The first episode, which you can listen to below, feature Michael Douglas and is pretty much just as awesome as you'd imagine.
Stars -- they're just like us! They don silly costumes, dress as sexy fill-in-the-blanks, and cavort around like giddy schoolchildren on Halloween. Some of them even take the October fright festivities a little too far (Heidi Klum, we're looking at you... in awe). Even politicians and Governators get into the spirit come Oct. 31! Click ahead to get inspiration for your clever costumes in Movieline's gallery, after the jump.
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