Gingy is proud to announce the official title of Shrek 4:
SHREK GOES FOURTH
All of the principle cast members have signed up for the Ogre’s next big-screen romp, including Mike Meyers, Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphy and Antonio Banderas! The movie is slated for a May 2010 release.
J.K. Rowling has written and is auctioning off for charity an 800-word prequel to the fabulous Harry Potter series!
WTF?
Yes, unfortunately I DID say an 800-word prequel, not an 800-page prequel. (Sorry to everyone who just had a mild heart-attack!) And it’s squeezed onto the front and back of an A5 sheet of paper (slightly bigger than a postcard). Jo was asked to take part in the charity event, which will benefit the writers’ association English PEN and Dyslexia Action charities, along with twelve other authors and illustrators.
The short story will be viewable online and at the Waterstones stores (UK) starting tomorrow, June 11. All postcards will be featured in a book, which is available for pre-order here.
Does this mean that Jo has a prequel in mind for us? Alas, no. She finished off the short story with the words “From the prequel I am not working on — but that was fun!” Damn!
(Preview from Jo’s card, featuring the above mentioned last line! Click on the pic for a larger view.)
At least we still have three more movies to look forward to, as well as a Harry Potter Encyclopedia (written by Jo, once THIS is all over!). Principle photography on Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is finally over, and post-production work - including editing and CGI work - is well under way! Stay tuned for the HBP trailer, which should be online in the coming month (hopefully)!
Jesse Bradford (anyone remember him?!) has been cast as Thatcher in Oliver Stone’s Bush bio-disaster pic W.… Thatcher was Bush’s fraternity president in college.
I really don’t understand… why do people continue to sign up for this project? Is it for the controversy? Their belief in the man? Or the money? (My bet’s on the latter!) How many people does Oliver think are going to see this movie? No major production company would even touch the movie; it’s being produced by Lions Gate Films, who have brought us such amazing yarns as Bratz, The Condemned and Happily N’Ever After. I guess that actually sounds like some great company for W..
*sigh* Whatever.
Production is apparently well underway in Shreveport, Louisiana. Bradford is joined by Josh Brolin (W himself!), Elizabeth Banks (Mrs. W), and Ioan Gruffudd (Tony Blair). Pic is currently set for release in October.
Our friends over at IGN have created a little clip introducing us to the cast of upcoming action flick G.I. Joe. I have never before in my life seen a G.I. Joe TV show episode, read one of the comics, or played with the dolls action figures, so I really couldn’t tell you if these casts are accurate or not. Though, I’m slightly excited about Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who has been making a name for himself since he was 13 and had his first starring role in Angels in the Outfield.
Any G.I. Joe fans out there? What do you think of the cast?
The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe took the world by surprise. Not many thought that the success of the Lord of the Rings trilogy or the Harry Potter series could be repeated, yet it happened again with The Chronicles of Narnia. The first movie went on to gross over $730 million worldwide and left audiences all over the globe wanting MORE.
In Prince Caspian, the world of Narnia has been ravaged by time and the harsh rule of a race of humans called the Telmarines, a people who do not believe in magic. In the 1300 years since the Pevensie siblings left Narnia after serving for years as Kings and Queens, the Telmarines invaded and managed to drive Narnians almost to extinction.
The King of the Telmarines is dead and his son, Prince Caspian, is waiting for a time when he can take the throne. In the meantime, Caspian’s uncle, Miraz, serves as Regent of the realm. However, when Miraz’s wife gives birth to a son, Caspian’s life is suddenly in danger and he is forced to flee in order to survive. In the throes of his escape, he blows a horn with a mysterious past, and in doing so summons the Kings and Queens of old to help in his plight.
It has only been a year for the Pevensies, yet the transition from royal adults back to ordinary “children” hasn’t been easy for all of them. Peter, for one, hates being treated for his age and starts fights with other school-aged boys just to prove his manhood. Yet one day they feel an strange pinching in their stomachs as they’re waiting for the train to school, a pinch that feels oddly like magic. In the blink of an eye, the children are back in Narnia and they are faced with fighting two battles: the advancing Talmarine army, and their waning faith in Aslan and in themselves.
From the moment I stepped out of the theater after watching the first Narnia installment, I instantly wanted to watch the next one. It has been two and a half years, and six months longer than the original release date, and I’m very pleased to say that the wait has been well worth it. Through most of the two and a half hour movie, I literally had chills running up my spine. This movie, in my opinion, is even better than the first.
What makes it so great is that director Andrew Adamson didn’t try to recreate the look and feel of the first movie. This is a much darker movie, one with severe moral undertones about acceptance and prejudice, and it shouldn’t feel as fluffy as the first one was. A number of reviews I read about the movie complained that there wasn’t enough magic in this one, yet what did they expect? The Pevensies come back in an age where magic is all but gone, so there naturally wouldn’t be any magic to see. There are still a number of Narnians left: from centaurs and minotaurs, to talking badgers and mice to dwarves. There was plenty of magic in that respect, and certainly enough action, to let the audience leave feeling satisfied.
Another interesting element of this movie is the level of emotion that the young actors were able to bring to their roles, as well as the feelings the characters themselves were feeling. In the first Narnia, it’s obvious that it was their first real acting job. Yes, they did the best they could at the time, but they have all grown as actors, resulting in much more three dimensional characters this time around. They actually FELT like they were the Kings and Queens of Narnia past stuck in the bodies of teenagers and children. It was something in their eyes, a sense of knowledge far beyond their years, and the very way they held themselves that made it so believable. They have all grown, and I can’t wait to see what they do next.
My favorite transition was in the character of Edmund who, in the first movie, betrayed his family for his own gain. In Prince Caspian, you can tell he is still trying to make up for this betrayal and will do anything for his family. Not only does he defend his brother, stick up for Lucy when no one believes that she’s been seeing Aslan when none of the rest of them has, but he’s turned into a calculated, badass warrior. He’s very confident in his position as a King, gets right into the thick of battles, and even slides down a roof to kick a Talmerine soldier over a balcony. He is able to stand in front of the Telmarine usurper, surrounded by enemies, and shoot off a witty sort of banter that lets Miraz know exactly who Edmund is: a Narnian King. Not to mention how much older he seems, considering actor Skandar Keynes’ voice dropped about three octaves!
Newcomer Ben Barnes as Prince Caspian only added to the great cast. The only thing I was confused about was his accent. He’s British, yet he had some sort of Italian accent in the movie, which didn’t exactly match up with the rest of the Telmarines. Other than that, I’m glad we’ll be seeing more of him in the upcoming The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader movie in 2010.
Overall, really incredible movie. The action is enough to keep anyone’s eyes glued to the screen, but the sarcasm and wit will keep you in your seat, and the emotion will leave you longing for more. This is one of those movies that you really need to see in theaters, and one you’re likely to see multiple times (like I’m surely going to do myself!): 10/10.
GO SEE THIS MOVIE.
“Fringe” is the new TV Series by Writer/Director/Producer extraordinaire J.J. Abrams. It’s a television drama centered around a female FBI agent who is forced to work with an institutionalized scientists in order to rationalize a brewing storm of unexplained phenomena.
Kind of sounds like X-Files, but with Abrams behind the wheel, I have a little more faith for the series. Also interesting is that it’s the return of Joshua Jackson (The Mighty Ducks, Dawson’s Creek) to TV!
These posters are interesting, because you have to look close to find the “clues”: 1) The hand has six fingers; 2) In the mist, you can make out an eye in the middle of the poster; 3) The silhouetted figure appears to only have one leg (unless that’s just a trick of the light); 4) There are two fetuses where the apple seeds should be; and 5) The leaf has a weird triangle in with the other veins.
Interesting! What does it all MEAN? Who knows! We’ll have to wait until August when the show appears on Fox.
Let the speculation begin!
Friday box office results are in, and The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian was able to pull in a cool $19.3 mil! This brings the weekend estimate to about $54-62 million, slightly behind first weekend totals for the first movie and quite a bit under the $85 million prediction for this weekend.
Still, it’s managed to make more than Speed Racer, and only in one day!
Let us know your thoughts about the movie in our comments section…
Rainn Wilson (The Office, Juno, The Last Mimzy) is in another mindless movie! In this one he plays an aging rocker who gets a second chance at stardom… in his nephew’s band!
The Rocker tells the story of a failed drummer who is given a second chance at fame. Robert “Fish” Fishman is the extremely dedicated and astoundingly passionate drummer for the eighties hair band Vesuvius, who is living the rock n’ roll dream until he is unceremoniously kicked out of the band. Twenty years after his rock star fantasies are destroyed, just when Fish has finally given up all hope, he hears that his nephew’s high school rock band A.D.D. is looking for a new drummer. They reluctantly make him the newest member of the band, giving him a chance to reclaim the rock God throne he’s always thought he deserved, and taking the young band along for the ride of their lives.
Looks… KIND of funny. The new poster actually makes me want to laugh a little:
I’ll probably go to see it, only because I can go for free… and so can you! If you live in the Boston, MA area, click on the picture below, print it out, and bring it to the Boston Common AMC on Tremont Street next Thursday, May 22, 2008 for a chance to see the movie. Each ticket is good for two people!
Enjoy!
The fledgling network isn’t doing so hot! According to recent reports, viewership for The CW has DROPPED almost 22% in the last year alone. NOT GOOD!
The home of new hit “Gossip Girl” is in some SERIOUS trouble, and it needs your help! Stop spending so much time on the internet and watch more TV…
Not likely!
18 to 34 year olds, the network’s target audience, is down about 28% this season. We’re the reason why The CW was supposed to be destined for advertising greatness, because The Boys With Money like to spend the big bucks trying to get us to buy their shiz.
Advertisers eager to reach a young demographic initially clamored to sign on to the CW, but have since cooled to the network. Steven Kalb, director of broadcast media for media-buying firm MediaHub, owned by Interpublic Group, says there were high hopes for the network when last year’s lineup was unveiled. Now, he says, “It has collapsed.”
The network has another year to see if it can gain back some of its audience. If not, rumor has it that one of the network’s partners–either CBS Corp. or Time Warner–is going to walk away from the joint venture. It’s only been two years, guys!
With only three new shows set to air next season, including the “Beverly Hills, 90210″ 2.0 remake, UNcreatively titled “90210″, “Surviving the Filthy Rich,” a drama about rich kids in Palm Beach, and the reality show “Stylista”–all of which are trying to capitalize off of Girl’s success–it’s not looking good.
Well, even if The CW fails, I’m sure another network wouldn’t mind buying that cash cow!
Good luck next season… you’re going to need it!
In a new interview, George Lucas said that “it’s more than a strong possibility there will be a fifth Indiana Jones,” [and] says that “he and director Steven Spielberg have left the door open for a sequel to Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.”
Interesting! What would Indy & Co. be up to this fifth time around?
“I haven’t even told Steven or Harrison this,” Lucas said. “But I have an idea to make Shia [LaBeouf] the lead character next time and have Harrison [Ford] come back like Sean Connery did in the last movie. I can see it working out.
“And it’s not like Harrison is even old,” he said, backpedaling fast. “I mean, he’s 65 and he did everything in this movie. The old chemistry is there, and it’s not like he’s an old man. He’s incredibly agile; he looks even better than he did 20 years ago, if you ask me.”
So it looks like young LaBeouf could be taking over for a generation of younger fans!
Is it just me, or does anyone else wish that they were Shia right now? Not only does he have Steven Spielberg in his back pocket, but now George Lucas, too! And, with Transformers 2 set to begin filming in June, he couldn’t be riding a higher wave!
Props, LaBeouf! Just make sure to start away from those convenient stores and everything will BE OKAY.
