Screen Rant » where the wild things are

Weekend Movie News Wrap Up: October 18, 2009

Niall Browne — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 21:08:46 +0000

This week:

The box office gets Wild; a Vampire Chronicles star moves to Cradlewood; Everything Must Go for Will Ferrell; Owen, Keener and Schwimmer Trust each other and Terrance Mallick’s Tree of Life withers in 2009.

Box Office

After a few years in post-production, Spike Jonze’s Where The Wild Things Are took the top spot with a mighty $32.4 million over the weekend. Catering to children and adults alike, it looks like this adaptation of the children’s book might make it to the century barrier.

Law Abiding Citizen came an impressive second with $21 million. The thriller has given a boost to the careers of Jamie Fox and Gerard Butler whose last movies underperformed.

Paranormal Activity scared up $20 million from only 760 screens for a $33 million total. It looks like the sky is the limit as Halloween approaches.

Couples Retreat plunged 47% giving the comedy a weekend take of just under $18 million. With $63 million in the bank so far, it would appear that this Vince Vaughn starrer has a slim chance at hitting $100 million. Slim and Vince Vaughn in the same sentence – that hasn’t been done in a while.

The Stepfather remake faced stiff competition and landed at number 5 with $12.3 million. The low budget of this shocker will probably help it see profit.

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs grossed another $8 million giving the film an impressive $108 million total. It might be cloudy – but it’s only raining money!

Zombieland took in just under $8 million this weekend. With $60 million so far it looks like this won’t see $100 million.

The new 3D versions of Toy Story and Toy Story 2 brought in another $3 million giving the duo a decent $28 million total. They’re pretty much there to act as a trailer for next year’s Toy Story 3 so that’s a pretty good win for the re-releases.

Bruce Willis’ Surrogates brought in $1.9 million for a $36 million total, meanwhile The Invention of Lying took a smidgen less than that for a $15 million cumulative gross. Ricky Gervais just isn’t a movie star.

Movie News

1. The Vampire Diaries star Ian Somerhalder has signed on to star in “romantic gothic fairy tale” Cradlewood.

According to The Hollywood Reporter:

“The movie centers on an Australian woman living in Boston with the heir (Somerhalder) to an incredible fortune whose family history is swirled in a legend that tells of a pact made with a demon which ensures that whenever a boy is born into the family, the father is killed. The heir suspects his girlfriend is pregnant, and after strange events occur, he comes to believe he will die if he continues to fall in love.”

Interesting. Sounds like it’ll either be good or terrible. However, if I was a betting man…

Emma Lung will co-star in the film that will shoot in Melbourne, Australia which is to double as Boston. The reasons for that are financial as I can only assume you guessed.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

2. Will Ferrell is set to star in the independent film Everything Must Go.

The $10 million film is based on a Raymond Carver short story . The synopsis is as follows:

“Ferrell will play a guy who loses his job and gets locked out of the house by his wife. She deposits his belongings on the front lawn, and he spends the next four days trying to sell his possessions.”

I can only imagine that Ferrell is bored of remaking old television shows.

Source: Variety

3. Clive Owen and Catherine Keener will be directed by Friends star David Schwimmer in The Trust. Variety says:

“Owen and Keener will play the parents of a 14-year-old girl who are stunned to discover she has been victimized by an adult who gained her trust posing as a teenager on a chat room. Newcomer Liana Liberato will play the daughter.”

It sounds very apt and heavy, which might make it an awards contender.

Source: Variety

4. Terrence Malick’s Tree of Life, which had been scheduled for a December 25 release has now been delayed until next year.

The Brad Pitt and Sean Penn drama is currently being edited by Malick who likes to take his time on projects. Malick has only directed four films to date (not including Tree of Life). These films are 1973’s Badlands with Martin Sheen, Days of Heaven with Richard Gere, The Thin Red Line with everyone and The New World with Colin Farrell and Christian Bale.

Not a bad filmography!

Tree of Life is currently without a release date.

Source: Indewire

That’s it for now. See you at the movies.

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Where The Wild Things Are Review

Vic Holtreman — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 02:15:21 +0000

Short Version: Where the Wild Things Are is a wonderful movie more suited to grown-ups who want to remember their childhood than for the kids who are still there.

Screen Rant reviews Where the Wild Things Are

Just so you know, I don’t have fond memories of Maurice Sendak’s children’s book Where the Wild Things Are. Neither for myself as a child nor for reading it to my daughter when she was younger (the book I remember is The Wheels on the Bus). So I didn’t have any bubble to burst going into the movie.

I don’t know how this will go over with fans of the book… Spike Jonze had to flesh out a book whose entire text maybe amounted to one paragraph into a 100 minute movie – so he had to fill in a LOT of story that isn’t in the book.

The film opens pretty close to the original story, with Max (played wonderfully by Max Records) running through the house crazy and screaming, chasing the poor family dog. Max is an only child with no father who doesn’t seem to have friends – and he’s a bit of a wild child.

Max really wants attention, but is hard pressed to get as much as he wants from his loving, working mom who is also trying to get a relationship going of her own. One evening Max crosses the line in behavior and the result is (unlike the book) his running away. He finds his way to a nearby park with a shoreline, finds a small boat and sails away. After a rough journey he comes upon an island, and makes his way to a campfire where there are a bunch of large, odd creatures trying to convince one of their own not to demolish their huts.

Once he reveals himself to them he has to spin a yarn about being a king of the Vikings with magical powers in order to avoid being eaten. Max is supported by the apparant leader of the group, Carol (a male character, voice by James Gandolfini). It seems that Carol is perturbed by the recent departure of KW, who seems to be as close to a girlfriend as these monster-creatures get. Carol looks to Max to bring some purpose and happiness to the group, which has its share of dysfunctional characters.

For a while things go well, but eventually conflicts and doubts arise – and the complexity of the relationships and emotions will be a surprise to people going in expecting a fairly simple adaptation of a beloved children’s story.

Where the Wild Things Are put a grin on my face from the very first frame, with the Warner Bros. logo surrounded by hand drawn scribbles. Max Records is simply wonderful in the film and just draws you in with every subtle facial expression. And then we have the muppet with CGI face characters voiced by the likes of James Gandolfini, Forest Whitaker, Lauren Ambrose, Catherine O’Hara and the rest – subtle, touching performances all around by big, furry creatures. At the end of the film I asked myself how big HR Puf’n'Stuff looking creatures could bring a tear to my eye.

The film is a look at the world through the eyes of a nine year old more effective than I’ve seen in a while, if ever. Director Spike Jonze does a fantastic job of it, and combined with the beautiful music and breathtaking cinematography if you let yourself go it should really transport you to another place. I actually believe that the older you are, the more you will appreciate this film.

So if that’s the case, what about children?

Well honestly I don’t know how this will go over with kids – there are a couple of scenes that the really young ones (at the age that they’ll actually enjoy the book right now) will probably find a bit frightening (the movie is rated PG). Kids a bit older than that (Max’s age) may not exactly be transported by the film because, well, they’re already there – and the relative complexities of the relationships will probably bore them. So – I’m very curious how this will go over with the general public. Critics seem to be split on this so I imagine the audience will be the same. I knocked off half a star because this should have been a film that appeals to all ages (think Pixar) but I don’t think it really works for kids.

Where the Wild Things Are is destined to be a film classic, and I encourage you to go see it for yourself.

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Glowing Early Review of ‘Where the Wild Things Are’

Scott Miller — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 17:21:16 +0000

Our friend Harry Knowles over at Ain’t It Cool News has given the Spike Jonze film adaptation of the eponymous 1963 children’s book Where The Wild Things Are a glowing review. Check out just one bit of praise they give give the film:

“…it could very well be the best film ever created about what it is like to be a 9 year old…it will conjure up primal childhood emotions of joy, regret, elation, confusion and you may realize that you’ve lost an awful lot, by simply growing up.”

Wow, to call that review “glowing” is an understatement!

The full review from AICN suggests the film, unlike almost every other, fulfills every wish that floods the mind when you imagine what Where the Wild Things Are could be. On the other hand, it sets the bar really, really, high before even stepping into the theater. Rarely is that a good thing. Lines from the review, like “It made me remember the way I looked at my mother when I was 9 years old.” make you think the movie’s achieved a lot more than some visual magic with monsters most of us lovingly remember. These days, my standards are low enough that I would have been satisfied with merely that. I would argue that the best a film can do, actually, is change our perspective, if only temporarily, on our ourselves and our environments. Could Where the Wild Things Are do just that?

The original award-winning book, written by Maurice Sendak, follows young Max as he misbehaves at home before dinner, causing his mother to send him to his room without eating. While there, an untamed forest and sea grow out of his imagination and he sails off to the land of the fearsome Wild Things. I’ll hold off on more plot description for those who don’t already know (or forget) what happens next.

click poster for larger version

Turning a book that’s only nine sentences long into a feature-length film is a feat unto itself, but I suspect Jonze and Dave Eggers (A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, You Shall Know Our Velocity) were up to the task as script writers. Jim Henson’s Creature Shop is providing the animatronic suits for the film and judging by every muppet movie I’ve ever seen, as well as the posters for this film (see above), their involvement certainly didn’t hurt the production. Spike Jonze has worked on films all over the spectrum, from Being John Malkovich to Jackass: Number Two. I’m curious to see what he brings to the table as the director.

The full review AICN review puts this movie (for now) squarely in the “extremely well-hyped” category. For some worst-case scenario fun, I’ll ask: What was the most miserable, but critically beloved movie you ever saw?

Where the Wild Things Are will hit theaters October 16, 2009.

Source: Ain’t It Cool

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Where The Wild Things Are Soundtrack Streaming Free Online

Kofi Outlaw — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 00:26:32 +0000

Have you been watching the trailers or the TV Spots for Where The Wild Things Are? Have the tunes in those previews and commercials added to the magic of Spike Jonze’s upcoming adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s book? Have those tunes stuck in your head for hours after you watched them? If the answer is “yes” to any or all of these questions, we have a treat for you today:

The soundtrack for Where The Wild Things Are is now streaming for free online.

The tunes for the movie were composed and performed by Karen O and The Kids – Karen O some of you surely recognize as the lead singer of the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs. I don’t usually dig this sort of music (in fact my girlfriend just glanced in the door curiously, asking me what the heck I was playing), but when taken into conjunction with the footage we’ve seen of the movie…well, let’s just say it’s hard to deny a good match when you see it made. Jonze and O work perfectly together to bring a child’s imagination to life on the screen. I think a lot of kids (and more than a few adults) are going to be after this album once the film comes out.

You can stream the Where The Wild Things Are Official Soundtrack for free either over at Stereo Gum or over at imeem. For imeem, you will need a membership login, but it’s free (kinda like Pandora) so no worries.

If you want to have a listen to the soundtrack, I personally recommend #2 “All is Love”, #4 “Worried Shoes” and #7 “Hideaway”. Good places to start.

Where The Wild Things Are roars into theaters on October 16, 2009.

Sources: Stereo Gum & imeem

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Where The Wild Things Are TV Spots

Kofi Outlaw — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 19:28:34 +0000

Some movies just seem to be instilled with a touch of magic, and that is certainly the way I feel about Spike Jonze’s upcoming adaptation of Where The Wild Things Are. If you haven’t seen the trailer or our gallery of pics from the film, you could be missing out on what looks to be one of the most enjoyable movies on the docket for the Fall/Winter season.

Today we have the TV spots for Where The Wild Things Are, and they too capture the magic of Maurice Sendak’s childrens book brought to life on the big screen. Aiding in the magic-making is the wonderful soundtrack by the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s Karen O and the Kids; the TV spots make good use of the songs from the ‘track, which I’m predicting will be just as popular as the film itself.

I don’t know how anybody would not know the plot of this film, but there are always exceptions, so: The story revolves around a mischievous boy named Max (Max Records) who gets sent to bed with no dinner by his mother (Catherine Keener), only to escape confinement inside the realm of his imagination, which leads him to an island populated by “Wild Things,” who are, of course, representations of Max’s thoughts and emotions.

Have a look at the TV spots for Where The Wild Things Are:

(If you want to meet the Wild Things one by one, go here)

Again, I don’t know how anybody can watch the footage from this movie and not be excited, but there are, as I said, always exceptions so let us know what you thought about the TV spots in the comments.

Where The Wild Things Are hits theaters on October 16, 2009.

Source: YouTube

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Poster Friday: Toy Story 3, Saw VI, A Christmas Carol & Many More!

Rob Keyes — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 03:20:14 +0000

Happy Friday everyone! Today we’ve again gathered the latest posters to come out for this week’s poster round-up.

Screen Rant’s wall this week now includes one-sheets for Toy Story 3, Saw VI, Paranormal Activity, Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, Blind Side, Dark Country, Jekyll & Hyde, The Hole, Get Low, The Descent: Part 2, The Karate Kid, The Fourth Kind, I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell, The Men Who Stare at Goats, and A Christmas Carol.

But that’s not all! We also have the latest sets of character banners for Where The Wild Things Are and The Fantastic Mr. Fox.

Let’s get to it.

To start, here’s the first teaser poster for Toy Story 3 thanks to our friends at Latino Review:

Source: Latino Review

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New ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ Pics

Rob Frappier — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 17:02:28 +0000

Of all the movies coming out this fall, perhaps none is more anticipated than Spike Jonze’s Where the Wild Things Are. Adapted from Maurice Sendak’s beloved children’s story, Where the Wild Things Are has already received significant praise for its unique visual style (a common trait of Jonze’s work) as well as its emotional depth.

What has impressed me the most about the film so far are the “Wild Things” themselves. Created using a mix of live-action and CGI, Jonze’s Wild Things capture Sendak’s illustrations so well that I literally got goosebumps the first time I watched the trailer. Jonze elaborated on his approach to filming the movie in a recent article for the New York Times, saying “I wanted it to be as natural feeling as possible…I wanted to shoot the wild things in camera: on location, out in the wild.”

The New York Times article also features a number of new pictures from Where the Wild Things Are, which I’ve shared below. The images capture the type of naturalism Jonze is talking about. From the first picture in the series, which shows the stark and truly wild locations the movie was filmed on, to the last, you can see the desire to ground the story in realistic environments. For a more detailed explanation of the images, as well as some insight into the filming process, check out this interactive feature that accompanied the New York Times article.

The only thing I’m wondering about now with Where the Wild Things Are is how successful the script (which was co-written by Jonze and acclaimed author Dave Eggers) will be in expanding Sendak’s original 18-page book into a feature-length narrative. My gut tells me this won’t be a problem, but I’d still be interested to see whether enough mainstream moviegoers check out the film to convince Hollywood that taking these kinds of artistic risks is a necessary and noble pursuit.

What do you think of these new pictures? Are you excited to see the film?

Where the Wild Things Are opens on October 16th, 2009.

Source: New York Times

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New Posters: Where The Wild Things Are, Michael Jackson & More!

Rob Keyes — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 22:26:24 +0000

Happy Friday everyone! Today we have gathered the latest posters to come out for this week’s poster round-up.

Screen Rant’s wall this week now includes one-sheets for The Box, Pandorum, Growl, Takers, Red Cliff, The Shrine, District 9 and Michael Jackson’s This is It.

In addition to those, we also have four great character banners for Where the Wild Things Are and and as a bonus, a photo for The Twilight Saga’s New Moon.

Let’s get to it…

To start this week’s set, here’s the brand new French poster for the Cameron Diaz-starrer, The Box. The film is a horror-thriller which also stars the strong talents of James Marsden (X-Men trilogy) and Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon).

Here’s the official synopsis:

Norma and Arthur Lewis, a suburban couple with a young child, receive a simple wooden box as a gift, which bears fatal and irrevocable consequences. A mysterious stranger, delivers the message that the box promises to bestow upon its owner $1 million with the press of a button. But, pressing this button will simultaneously cause the death of another human being somewhere in the world; someone they don’t know. With just 24 hours to have the box in their possession, Norma and Arthur find themselves in the cross-hairs of a startling moral dilemma and must face the true nature of their humanity.

The Box hits theaters November 6, 2009.

Source: ShockTillYouDrop

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Screen Rant’s 2009 Fall Movie Preview

Mike Wilkerson — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 03:01:23 +0000

As the days become shorter, and the nights become cooler, there is one thing on the horizon that all of us are quickly becoming aware of – the arrival of a slew of exciting 2009 Fall Movies. What’s always been great about this time of year is that it’s not just about “horror films” or movies that are made to touch the holiday hearts that burgeon each year as turkey, Santa and New Year’s Eve stretch into the new year and beyond.

The menu is varied, wide open and we hope – satisfying. While we couldn’t list them all, please join us as we quickly chronicle what lies ahead in Screen Rant’s 2009 Fall Movie Preview!

SEPTEMBER – 2009

Whiteout
September 11th, 2009
The Scoop: Pretty little starlet Kate Beckinsale takes on this graphic novel turned killer-thriller. Beckinsale plays a U.S. Marshall investigating Antarctica’s first homicide as the sun sets for six entire months. Will she find the killer in the cold dark before he finds her?

SR Says: The trailer paints this movie as more X-Files than detective story, which could confuse some on the premise. However, cold weather and hot Beckinsale = worth the ticket price?

See it? Maybe.

The Informant!
September 18, 2009
The Scoop: Director Steven Soderbergh helms an all-star cast providing you “a mix of A Beautiful Mind and The Insider.” Damon plays the exec of a agri-business giant who goes overboard working as a snitch for the Feds. It’s bi-polar, whistle-blowing storytelling at it’s best!

SR Says: It’s going to be amazing to see what this cast can pull off under Soderbergh’s direction with such an involved script.

See it? Yes.

Jennifer’s Body
September 18, 2009
The Scoop: Megan Fox plays a possessed cheerleader, with a fetish for feasting on boys (and girls). Hot sexy teens, girl on girl kissing/rubbing and more social satire from Juno writer Diablo Cody.

SR Says: Depends on how you feel about Megan Fox looking both sexy and grotesque in one film.

See it? If you like teen horror flicks, or are a devotee of Cody.

Pandorum
September 25, 2009
The Scoop: Ben Foster and Dennis Quaid star as two astronauts who wake up on an abandoned future spacecraft and have no idea what’s happened. As with all things in movies, time unveils the “truth” of what they face – a ship full of crazy space monsters.

SR Says: Dennis Quaid has had some woofers lately, but Ben Foster always offers something unique. MMA fans may recognize cast member Cung Le as the current Strikeforce Middleweight Champion, which guarantees at least two raucous fights in this thriller.

See it? Yes.

Surrogates
September 25th, 2009
The Scoop: In a future where people live life through robotic surrogates, Bruce Willis plays a cop who must venture back into the real world to investigate a string of crimes involving people dying while connected to their Surrogates.

SR Says: Jonathan Mostow is an underrated director, and seeing Bruce “alive” again, with great f/x and a bit of gravitas sounds like a great combination.

See it? Absolutely.

(Continue to page 2 for October’s Movie Preview)

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New Posters: The Road, 2012, Where The Wild Things Are & More!

Rob Keyes — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 06:42:30 +0000

Happy Friday everyone! Today we have gathered the latest biggest and best posters for this week’s poster round-up.

Screen Rant’s wall this week now includes new one-sheets for Where the Wild Things Are, Fantastic Mr.Fox, 2012, The Road, Gamer, Bad Lieutenant and a pair of comedies: The Invention of Lying and Couples Retreat.

For the horror fans out there, we also have some fan-made posters for the remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street, and as a little bonus, the first official photo for Saw VI.

Let’s get to it…

To start this week’s set, here’s the brand new poster for the heart-filled fantasy, Where the Wild things Are.

Where the Wild Things Are is brought to us by Spike Jonze who’s done an incredible job of bring the short childrens book to life. It opens October 16th and I’ll be there.

Source: MSN Movies

Continue through the pages for the rest of the collection…

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New Where The Wild Things Are Trailer Even Better Than The Last

Vic Holtreman — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 03:06:33 +0000

One of the most positive receptions at Comic-Con was for Where the Wild Things Are. There was quite a bit of footage shown for the film and it looks like it will have enough heart for three movies. It looks like Spike Jonze has managed to take a childrens book that takes about 60 seconds to read and turn it into a really excellent feature film.

The first trailer came out back in March, and folks have been waiting for a new one – and here it is:

[See post to watch Flash video]

For the HD version of the trailer head over to Yahoo! Movies.

The young boy is played by Max Records and he’s perfect as far as I’m concerned. This isn’t really the sort of film I’m into but it looks like it could be one of the best movies to come out this year.

Where the Wild Things Are opens on October 16th, 200.

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The Hottest Things To Come Out Of Comic-Con

Vic Holtreman — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 22:46:07 +0000

Comic-Con seems like old news (even though it only ended a week ago), but as a final note we thought we’d show you what you guys ended up picking as the hottest things to come out of the 4 day event. There was certainly a lot of competition for fan attention, but as usual there are always a few things that end up grabbing the limelight.

We ran a poll asking you to pick what you thought were the three hottest things to come out of this year’s San Diego Comic-Con. Now the total numbers add up to more than 100% because with so much to choose from we allowed people to pick their top 3 items.

Results after the jump.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Once again (as happened two years ago) the winner by far is Iron Man, with 60% of voters selecting that as one of their top 3 events at the Con. Avatar came in second with a very respectable 38%, especially considering how little info there has been about the film up until footage was shown in San Diego.

From there we have the upcoming Sci-Fi film District 9 and the Johnny Depp-starring Tim Burton version of Alice in Wonderland pretty much tied for 3rd. Tron 2 (now known as Tron Legacy) was very close to those films with 18%.

I guess we don’t have as many Twilight fans here on the site as I thought, since New Moon only garnered a 15% rating.

One thing that caught me off guard at first, but in hindsight makes sense, is the fact that Kick-Ass scored near the bottom of the pack. Based on the reaction to the footage from those present, I would put that in the top 3 for sure, perhaps even above Avatar. As of Comic-Con Kick-Ass did not yet have a distribution deal, but based on the reaction there I would think this should not remain the case for long. I think if they really wanted to get the word out on the film they should release at least some of the footage online. Of course it would have to be age-restricted as it was definitely R-rated footage, but I think people would eat it up big time.

I’d have to say the same about Where the Wild Things Are: The audience was wildly enthusiastic about what they saw, but at least here on Screen Rant, that hasn’t translated to much excitement. Then again our readers do skew more towards the superhero/sci-fi side of things – however that doesn’t explain why the Tim Burton-produced 9 came out at the bottom of our pile… Other than there just so many heavy hitters it was up against in the voting.

Anyway, there you have it – as a group, that’s what you folks are most interested in seeing in the upcoming months!

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Warner Bros. Panel – Comic-Con 2009

Vic Holtreman — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 19:42:10 +0000

There was an opening video where writer of the original book Maurice Sendack and director Spike Jonze talked about the approach to the film. Sendack is very, very happy with Jonze’ vision of his original story and couldn’t say enough positive things. He said it is true to the spirit of the book and it’s an expansion of the story.

Max Records who plays the young boy in Where the Wild Things Are was the first guest and he was quite charming. They – showed about 5 clips which looked great – very rich and textured and Max is going to steal the film.

Book of Eli

For The Book of Eli there was an animatic that frankly I have no idea what had to do with the Denzel Washington / Gary Oldman starring film. When they showed the trailer however – it was very impressive. I really enjoyed seeing Denzel as a bad-ass action hero.

Denzel, Gary and Mila Kunis were on hand along with co-directors Albert and Allen Hughes.

The film takes place 30 years in the future after a war and not too many people are left behind. Denzel and Oldman were cutting it up and the crowd enjoyed it. It’s yet another post-apocalyptic film – but I guess you can never have too many post-apocalyptic films.

Nightmare On Elm Street

Jackie Earle Haley was present along with Brad Fuller, Sam Bayer and Andrew Form were in attendance.

They showed a series of scenes from the film – it looked like a trailer actually – and it was actually very good. Jackie Earle Haley looks like a great fit for the role. The footage opened with the townspeople chasing Freddie and lighting the warehouse where he is hiding on fire (no spoiler there, come on). It hinted that maybe Krueger was innocent, but it could just be him trying to save his own butt.

In this film Freddy will not be joking and it will be more of a straight-up terrorizing angle on the character. They’re looking to reintroduce the character to a new generation.

It does look like it’s going to be a fresh approach – not going for the black humor so much as an all-out horror movie.

The Box

Richard Kelly, director of Donnie Darko and now The Box, along with Cameron Diaz and James Marsten were in attendance. Based on short story Button, Button by Richard Matheson. They showed 4 1/2 minutes from the film and here’s the concept: Frank Langella (with a horribly disfigured but obviously CGI-effects face) shows up and offers Cameron Diaz a box with a large red button. If she presses the button, two things happen: Someone, somewhere dies – and he will bring her one million dollars in cash. Of course beyond the death of someone she doesn’t know there will be very serious consequences that Langella neglected to mention.

The film is set in 1976 and looked very interesting and unusual, and it seemed like there will be more to it then just a thriller.

Kelly said it’s the most personal film he ever made and it was a tribute to his parents and older films.

Jonah Hex

Director Jimmy Hayward was on hand along with Michael Fassbender, Megan Fox and Josh Brolin.

They just finished shooting the movie, Megan Fox’s last shot was done two days ago. Footage cut exclusively for Comic-Con. The footage was impressive – lots of action and tough guy dialog/scenes by Josh Brolin. It won’t be a “slow” Western – tons of actions, gunfights, explosions, etc. It looked really great and Brolin was good, but I couldn’t help thinking that I still would have loved to see Nathan Fillion in the role.

Megan Fox plays a prostitute that Hex has been seeing for years – he keeps her at a distance because everyone that comes into his life dies.

Some moron asked Megan Fox if she’d be interested in helping him kick-off his film career by filming a sex tape. He was pulled away immediately.

The audience reaction when Hayward asked if people would see the movie was good, but nowhere close to “bring the house down” like the reaction during the Kick-Ass panel yesterday. Josh Brolin said the film was only made for approximately $35MM – all the money is onscreen, there were no big paychecks for the actors and they did it for the love of the script/movie.

Josh Brolin was really very funny, goofing on one of the people who asked a question – but in a very nice way. He talked about how he liked working on really original stories.

Sherlock Holmes

Robert Downey Jr. walked out and the crowd went nuts. Personally I think this is a hint of how the Iron Man 2 panel is going to go tomorrow. He said Sherlock Holmes was the first superhero – an intellectual superhero and martial artist.

They showed and extended Comic-Con trailer for the film and it was very engaging, action packed and a lot of fun. It really highlighted what Downey is bringing to the role and I enjoyed the relationship between Downey and Jude Law as Watson. Watson is not as subservient in this version but more of a partner who actually sometimes saves Sherlock’s bacon.

They had one scene in particular that really highlighted Holmes’ great intelligence – in the boxing scene already shown in the trailer they go through his step by step thought processes on how to take down his huge opponent. Very analytical down to the consequences and recovery time, and then after that they show him execute his plan and it goes perfectly as he takes the guy down in about 4 quick steps.

Producers Susan Downey, Joel Silver and Lionel, Wigram along with Rachel McAdams were also in attendance. Downey Jr. had the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand – he really is incredibly charming. He also talked about he and Joel Silver really wanting to go for it if they were going to attack such a well known and classic property, with the possibility of creating a franchise. He said that that actually most incarnations had really veered away from the original concept of the character and stories.

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‘Where The Wild Things Are’ Getting IMAX Release

Ross Miller — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 20:22:02 +0000

In a rather surprising piece of news, Spike Jonze’s (Being John Malkovich) adaptation of the popular children’s book, Where The Wild Things Are, is reportedly getting an IMAX release. Several sources are confirming that it was mentioned at a “Future of IMAX” panel in San Diego yesterday, although no specific release date has been set for its release in that bigger format.

IMAX has become almost a given when it comes to the summer’s biggest blockbuster movies. But that’s what makes this news so surprising: IMAX is usually reserved for such blockbuster fare as Harry Potter and Transformers, or kids’ animated movies like Ice Age and The Polar Express, or even nature and space documentaries. Where The Wild Things Are isn’t any of those things.

Is it the fact that Wild Things is based on one of the most popular children’s books of all time, or that it will contain the sort of eye-popping visuals we’ve seen in the trailer – and are those two factors enough for a movie to do well in IMAX? Regardless of the answer, to me this just isn’t the type of film that we usually see on that gargantuan screen.

Could this be the film that changes that trend?…

To me, Wild Things is the kind of film where you should be able to see everything crisp and clear, which won’t be possible in IMAX; even in the best seats you’ll have to turn your head to get a decent view of all points of the screen. I’ll just shell-out for the regular size screen, thank you very much.

Where The Wild Things Are stars Catherine Keener, Mark Ruffalo, and Max Records, and features the voices of Forest Whitaker, Lauren Ambrose, James Gandolfini, Catherine O’Hara, Paul Dano and Tom Noonan.

As stated, no specific date has been set for the Where The Wild Things Are IMAX release, but speculation is that it will be released on the same day as the regular version, which is October 16th in the US, and December 11th in the UK, both in 2009.

Sources: FirstShowing and Cinemablend

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Countdown To San Diego’s 2009 Comic-Con!

Vic Holtreman — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 02:51:53 +0000

Wow, Comic-Con 2009 is already less than three weeks away. Seems like only a couple of months ago since we were there. Last year was a ton of work but also a blast (click here for our wrap up of the 2008 San Diego Comic-Con), and this year we’ll be providing even more extensive coverage for you with additional staff to cover the event.

Unfortunately if you want to attend this year and don’t already have tickets you’re probably out of luck as it’s been sold out for a while. But fear not, we’ll try to give you all the goods here on the site over the course of the event. It starts with preview night on Wednesday, July 22nd and runs through Sunday July 26th.

Included among the movies and TV shows that will be covered this year are:

James Cameron’s Avatar (with 3D (rumored) footage from the film)
The upcoming Sci-Fi alien invasion flick with a twist: District 9 (including an appearance by Peter Jackson).
Mike Judge will be on hand to promote his new comedy Extract.
The premiere of Mystery Team.
Where the Wild Things Are.
Tron
Sherlock Holmes
Jonah Hex
2012
Thirst
Ninja Assassin
Lost
The pilot for the TV series remake V.
Doctor Who (with an appearance by David Tennant)
FlashForward
Caprica & Battlestar Galactica: The Plan

Oh, and of course Iron Man 2, for which I’m sure director Jon Favreau has something very special planned.

Also, this year Screen Rant has been invited to participate in the “Masters of the Web” panel (shocking, I know – I certainly didn’t expect it!). The panel will be moderated by director Kevin Munroe and will include an appearance by Brandon Routh and Sam Huntington, along with a preview of their upcoming film Dead of Night.

Here is the list of panelists:

Robert Sanchez (IESB.net)
Ryan Rotten (ShockTilYouDrop.com)
Mike Sampson (JoBlo.com)
Jeremy Smith (AintItCool.com)
Brad Miska (Bloody-Disgusting.com)
Drew McWeeny (HitFix.com)
Devin Faraci (CHUD.com)
Paul Christensen (MovieWeb.com)
Wilson Morales (BlackFilm.com/AOL Black Voices)
George Roush (LatinoReview.com)
and me, Vic Holtreman (ScreenRant.com)

It will be held Thursday, July 23rd at 3pm – 4pm in Room 32AB.

Robert Sanchez of IESB.net organizes the panel and puts together what is arguably the most awesome party every year at Comic-Con: The Wrath of Con party (one of my highlights of Comic-Con).

Last year at the Masters of the Web panel tickets to the party were given away to some lucky winners. Here’s my favorite pic from last year’s party.

Doug Nagy, Alex Billington and me with the beauties from the movie 'Bitch Slap': Erin Cummings, America Olivo and Julia Voth.

As Comic-Con approaches, keep up to date with our San Diego Comic-Con updates (check the logo on the right) here on Screen Rant and on Twitter.com by searching for #sdcc or #cc09. I’ll be there along with SR writers Kofi Outlaw, Bruce Simmons, Rob Keyes (and maybe) Paul Young. We’ll be doing live-blogging, panel summaries and hopefully we’ll get you an exclusive or two.

We may try to schedule an impromptu dinner, probably on Sunday night, where we’ll get together to decompress after the whole thing. If you’re around downtown San Diego maybe you can join us. We’ll firm this up as we get closer to the actual date.

Anyway, we’re all looking forward to it and we hope you are, too.

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WB Comic-Con Lineup, Featuring Green Lantern: First Flight

Kofi Outlaw — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 19:50:28 +0000

Warner Bros. recently released the lineup of panels they’ll be presenting at the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con International. So if you are headed to Comic-Con this year and are a fan of Sherlock Holmes, Where The Wild Things Are, Nightmare on Elm Street, The Book Of Eli, Jonah Hex or even The Final Destination, then you’ll need to know where and when to show up for the panels.

Lucky for you Screent Rant loves our readers and has a nice list of the Warner Bros. panels at Comic-Con all ready for you, including the one that is my most anticipated: a preview screening of DC Universe’s animated feature Green Lantern: First Flight!

If you weren’t at the New York Comic Con screening of DC Universe’s last animated feature, Wonder Woman, you have no idea how enjoyable an event it can be. DC Universe tends to make more adult-oriented animated fare (Superman:Doomsday), which is a perfect blend for a Comic-Con crowd, a.k.a., a room full of adults who love animated superheroes.

Green Lantern: First Flight will premiere on Thursday July 23, 2009, in the San Diego Convention Center’s Ballroom 20 @8pm. If you want a look at the trailer for First Flight, go here.

First Flight is being helmed by DC Universe’s Lauren Montgomery (Wonder Woman) with Bruce Timm producing. Lending their voices to the film will be Christopher Meloni (Law And Order: SVU) as Hal Jordan; Victor Garber (ALIAS) as Hal Jordan’s nemesis, Sinestro; Michael Madsen as Hal Jordan’s alien mentor, Kilowog; and the lovely Tricia Helfer (Battlestar Galactica) as Green Lantern Corps member, Boodikka.

Green Lantern: First Flight will also be available as a special edition 2-disc DVD and Blu-Ray™ Hi-Def on July 28, 2009. A sincgle disc DVD will also be available.

Here is a quick itinerary on the other films Warner Bros. will be showing off at Comic Con this year:

Thursday, July 23rd
3:30pm-4:30pm 3D SHOWCASE PRESENTATION IN HALL H
Film: The Final Destination
Talent: Craig Perry (producer)

Friday, July 24th
10:15am-12:30pm WARNER BROS. PRESENTATION IN HALL H
Films: Where The Wild Things Are, The Book Of Eli, Nightmare on Elm Street, The Box, Jonah Hex, Sherlock Holmes
Talent: TBD

1:45pm-2:45pm PRESENTATION AND Q & A W/ ROBERT RODRIGUEZ IN ROOM 6DE
Film: Shorts
Talent: Robert Rodriguez (director)

Which Warner Bros. film are you most looking forward to?

Sources: Slash Film & IESB

Header Image Source: Film School Rejects

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New ‘Where The Wild Things Are’ Poster

Rob Keyes — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 15:24:28 +0000

Two weeks ago, we finally got to see the first official trailer for Where The Wild Things Are and to everyone’s relief, it seems that they’ve actually pulled it off in bringing the children’s book to life.

Today, we have a brand new poster for your viewing pleasure and it’s even better than the first Where The Wild Things Are poster from last month. Following the same style as the earlier one-sheet, this new image depicts the monster with his face partially hidden (in the first poster, the character’s heads were cropped out and you could only see them from the neck down).

Take a look and see what you think:

This poster is an improvement over the previous one as it let’s us see the nice scenery and style in a wider shot as opposed to a cluttered close-up. It makes for a better and more photo-esque image that I’d like to have on the wall.

This movie is really shaping up to be something special and I look forward to seeing it on the big screen.

Are you looking forward to this flick?

Where The Wild Things Are finally opens (after having been delayed a year) this October 16th, 2009

Source: Yahoo!

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Amazing Trailer For ‘Where The Wild Things Are’

Ross Miller — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 19:20:15 +0000

Spike Jonze’ newest creation Where The Wild Things Are has been on my movie radar ever since it was announced (in fact, even before that, in a general “looking forward to Jonze’s next movie” sort of way). And the release of some great images and a fantastic promo poster for the film have fueled the fire of my excitement.

With the still images having given us a feel for the film and a sense of the general plot outline, it’s just about the perfect time for a trailer, so that we can fully and properly get geared up for the release of Where The Wild Things Are later this year.

If this were any other director then I would say the brilliance of the following trailer was just down to some seriously skilled editors (those who trick us into thinking crappy movies look worthwhile to see). But since it’s the wonderfully creative mind of Spike Jonze who’s behind the film, I am willing to say it’s his creativity that makes the trailer look as good as it does (although the inclusion of “Wake Up” by the brilliant band Arcade Fire doesn’t exactly hurt).

Brace yourself for one amazing trailer:

[See post to watch Flash video]

Wow… just wow.

I like to consider myself a pretty good judge of when a film’s trailer looks good because of good editing, and when a film is going to truly measure up to that good trailer. And Where The Wild Things Are definitely looks like a case of the latter. It gives off the sense of awe and wonder that has been hoped for and expected from this film, and if nothing else those monster designs are quite stunning. It’s nice to see physical suits be used instead of the copious amounts of CGI we see nowadays (if I’m mistaken, and that is CGI, they’ve done a fantastic job with it – but I seriously doubt that it is).

Needless to say I’m completely stoked about what Spike Jonze has to offer with his latest sure-to-be-wild creation (or at least the title seems to suggest so). He hasn’t let me down so far, and after seeing the images, poster and now this trailer for the film, it has moved way up on my most anticipated list for 2009.

What are your thoughts on the trailer? Does it look as good to you as it does to me?

Where The Wild Things Are is scheduled for an October 16th, 2009 release.

Source: Apple.com

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Great New Images From ‘Where The Wild Things Are’

Ross Miller — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 18:35:16 +0000

Last week we reported on the awesome poster for Spike Jonze’s newest creation Where The Wild Things Are. It hinted at another wildly creative experience of the sort that we’ve come to know and love from Jonze over the years. But at the same time it did not give us enough to be able to guess just what the heck the film is going to be like (by doing such interesting and unique things as, for example, cutting out half the head of one of the main characters – how many movie posters like that do you see?).

Getting ever closer to the film’s release (which was delayed from what should have been an October 2008 release), we have a bunch of new images from the film. And as you can see below, the brilliance of the poster wasn’t just a fluke of great design – the creativity is just as present in the film itself from what we can see in these images.

Enjoy:

For larger versions and more images head over to USA Today.

I’m a big fan of movies which are creative and unique – ones which stand alone from more mainstream fare, and as a result are extremely re-watchable. With that sort of film you can pick up on all those little things you may have missed the first time around. And Wild Things is certainly shaping up to be one of those films.

Although I’m annoyed that there were problems behind the scenes which ultimately resulted in the film getting delayed for a full year, I’m still glad it was made and is coming out now, not being relegated to the shelf for years, as happens to some of movies.

All of the above images (and the rest which you can see over at USA Today) are just fantastic, but I particularly like the second and third ones – the contrast between the wide shot of the open space and the close up of the two characters staring at each other is strangely alluring.

What do you make of these images and the film in general? Are you a fan of Jonze’s other work (such as Being John Malkovich and Adaptation)?

Where The Wild Things Are is scheduled to be released on October 16th this year.

Source: USA Today and Cinematical

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Interesting ‘Where The Wild Things Are’ Poster

Ross Miller — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 01:30:12 +0000

One director to emerge in the last decade or so who has the potential to go on to great things is Spike Jonze, the man behind the wildly original and mystifying flicks Being John Malkovich and Adaptation (both of those movies are genius – although he didn’t write them, his creativity shined through brightly).

With those two films he has truly cemented himself as a weird and wonderful director to watch, and as far as I’m concerned he grabs attention with the sheer mention of his name being attached to any project. His career thus far has consisted of mainly shorts, documentaries and music videos, with only the aforementioned Being John Malkovich and Adaptation making up any full-length feature film experience.

Well his next film, which is his first since Adaptation, is Where The Wild Things Are, a family/fantasy-drama based on a classic childrens’ story.

Since we haven’t covered the film much here on Screen Rant, here’s the synopsis just to bring you a little bit into the realm of the know:

Max, a disobedient little boy sent to bed without his supper, creates his own world–a forest inhabited by ferocious wild creatures that crown Max as their ruler.

Now that you know what it’s all about, check out the fantastic first poster for it (click for larger version):

Where the Wild Things Are poster

Isn’t that just fantastically original for a movie poster? I mean, how often do you see one which cuts off half the head of what is presumably one of the focal points of the film? I assume this won’t end up being the final (and definitely not the only) poster, but if it were up to me I would certainly make it the official one (am I alone in that?).

As another little look at the flick, there have already been a few images from it released. Here are a couple of them:

That’s just a couple, click here if you want a few more.

Where the Wild Things Are is a film that just adds to the list of those which have had trouble behind-the-scenes. Last year there were test screenings of the film (which is supposedly a family film as far as we know), and it went rather badly when the kids started crying and screaming because of the “monsters” on-screen. The film has gone through re-shoots and re-edits, as well as ”disastrous special effects.” And also the powers-that-be deemed some of the scenes to be ones which don’t “deliver for a broad-based audience.”

As a result, Warner Bros. decided to delay the release of the film, changing it from October 2008 to October 2009. Although that means we still have time to anticipate it (watching the various posters and trailers be released one by one), it also means that not only do we have another 6 months to wait, but we might end up seeing a version that’s been molded by the studio simply to be more commercially appealing. Which might even result in us not getting Jonze’ true vision – even though I’m sure a very welcomed director’s cut will hit shelves in a year or so, I really hope we get what was intended on the big-screen.

Here’s hoping Jonze can come to some agreement with the studio which allows him to keep his true vision through and through Wild Things, but still manages to make it somewhat widely appealing (which would garner Jonze some much deserved box-office success).

Hopefully we get a trailer for this one soon – I’m dying to see what Jonze has in store for us. But for now we have that brilliant poster to quench our thirst.

Source: /Film, CinemaBlend and Yahoo

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