The Buzz: 11/20/2007

By Aaron

This an early edition of The Buzz as the Thanksgiving weekend approaches. And have no fear, The Buzz will return to Thursdays next month.

Movies worth $10

Starting Out in the Evening (release November 23, 2007; click here for preview) – Heather Wolfe, a young grad student thrusts her master’s thesis into the hands of her favorite writer, Leonard Schiller (Frank Langella) who has ceased writing since the 1950s. Heather’s enthusiasm makes Schiller think he still has what it takes. Does he have what it takes to get back into the game?

I’m Not There (release November 21, 2007; click here for preview) – another music biopic? Of a live performer? Is that bad luck? I’m Not There follows the life of Bob Dylan, where different actors play Dylan at different points of his life. The most publicized turn has been Cate Blanchett’s. How does she pull it off? If you are near one of the few theatres showing this one, you can find out.

Youth Without Youth (release December 14, 2007; click here for preview) – Francis Ford Coppola’s new film does not have a lot of known information. But what little there is, sounds good. The movie follows a professor who’s life changes forever right before World War II. The war, and the aftermath take him to Romania, Switzerland, Malta and India. What is this movie about? Who knows. Seems like a period piece. Why is it worth $10? Francis Ford.

Charlie Wilson’s War (release December 25, 2007; click here for preview) – a story about a lazy politician (Tom Hanks) who, on a whim, persuades the CIA to train and arm rebels in Afghanistan. Wilson’s actions turned the tide and helped the rebels hold ground against the Soviets, ultimately paving the way for the unstable, religiously divided, warlord-controlled region that is a hotbed of terrorism today. But hey, expect a feel good film about a politician who straightens his life out, wins the idealistic girl (Julia Roberts) and helps the underdogs beat the reds.

Remember previous suggestions coming soon to theaters near you: Enchanted, No Country for Old Men, and Hitman, this weekend

Update: American Gangster was well worth $10!

TV Buzz

Okay – tune up your sets for some serious television after your turkey feast. If foortball is not your fare, there are plenty of alternatives, one of my favorites being the Spike TV's James Bond marathon (that has already started). If that doesn’t cut it there are probably a bunch of good Thanksgiving movies out there for you to see. You could find one such list here, here, or here.

The Writers’ strike looks to claim another unfortunate victim. As Seth McFarlane, the creator of Family Guy marches with his fellow writers, Fox is pushing ahead with new family guys without him. This would be terrible if he just wrote the show, but he also voices four of the main characters and will not do that voice work! To make things worse, McFarlane is not under contract for next year…could this be the end for Family Guy?

A touch of nostalgia

Not much entertainment induced nostalgia right now. But one thing that totally annoys me is that annoying Beyonce music video-ad that keeps on playing on NBC. What is she thinking? Shouldn’t she be doing something REAL? Do you remember when she and the girls were pulling on skin tight camouflage for Destiny’s Child music videos? And look at her now…

What the papers say

A story earlier this week mentioned that “Friday Night Lights” Scott Porter was going to be cast as Superman in the new Justice League movie. The story also included some other casting choices, but my thoughts are, why not use the whole FNL cast? Here is what I would like to see: Street as Superman, Riggins as Batman, Lyla as Wonder Woman, Saracen as Flash, Smash as Green Lantern, Landry as Aquaman, and Tyra as the Martian Manhunter. Sounds good to me. And I am totally unbiased…

Some depressing news earlier this week noted that movies are just not making money anymore. That the industry’s overpaying of stars and reliance on DVD sales had risked sinking the whole industry into the red. Will the movie industry be as crippled as the music industry? What will the implications be? Will the Writers’ strike be the last straw?

The Pixar head honcho confirmed that Toy Story 3 is in the works. Sure, that probably isn’t news to most of you, but it sounds sweet! I don’t care what anybody says, Toy Story is still my favorite computer animated flick.

What made me really happy was the GREAT Entertainment Weekly article I read about predicting the Oscars. The article runs down all of the selection tricks and points out the flaws in Oscar’s voting and how certain films are destined to slip through the cracks. The article made me excited for Oscar season.

Um…really???

This has been going on for weeks now, but I can’t take it anymore. Hannah Montana tickets reaching ridiculous proportions. To compound the madness there are simply too many gimics that risk the lives of overeager parents. A story earlier this week told of how there was a competition to hold onto a statue. The last person left got free tickets. After SIX days one parent finally emerged victorious. The question is, where do you draw the line? What won’t you do for your little kids? And even more importantly, why do you let them watch the Disney channel?

Happy Thankgiving Everybody!

Could “Avatar” Win Best Picture?

By Brett Hogan

 

Last week, the trailer for James Cameron’s sci-fi experiment “Avatar” debuted. While initially unimpressed with the teaser, I began to wonder: Could this film win best picture? 

 

Buzz has been generating for this movie for years. Years. The technology to make this movie didn’t exist when Cameron conceived it, so he invented it. When is the last time you heard of a director spearheading the invention of anything? The casting started in 2005. Most movies these days, even epics, are done in half that time. I could go on. 

 

The most important thing to take away from all of this is that people are saying this will be the future of movies. Now, I don’t agree with the idea that CGI will become more prevalent than it already is. But I do believe that this will set the bar miles higher for sci-fi. I mean, that is what Titanic did. And that won some awards if memory serves.

 

I’ll bet you’re asking yourself, how can you even suggest that a film like this will win Best Picture when the initial trailer was nothing better than visual stimulation? Well, there are a couple of reasons. First, the Academy has expanded Best Picture to ten films. This doesn’t guarantee anything other than improved chances for most films on the cusp.

 

Second, after last year’s Oscars debacle, which saw the best film of the year, “The Dark Knight,” not only get shafted in awards but nominations as well, the Academy is pulling out all the stops to appease those with the loudest voices in the film industry, the fanboys. Now, the Academy probably didn’t lose anything because of that other than some viewers of the award show. Perhaps if people are again outraged with the winners or nominees, the heads of the Academy would lose their jobs. So this is all about the Academy protecting itself, which is not so outrageous.  

 

 

Third, there is an economic motive here. I’ve heard this film will cost $190 million, not counting the R&D costs associated with Cameron’s inventions or the cost of getting 3-D cameras into every theater in the country. The Academy will do everything in its power to get people into the seats and make this the next “Titanic” or “The Dark Knight.” But the Academy doesn’t have much power, besides nominating and awarding, so they will slap the “Nominated for Best Picture” moniker onto every commercial and print ad to get the people who didn’t believe the critics to relent and see this movie.

 

Of course, all of this is pure conjecture, and no revolutionary film (Terminator 2, Jurassic Park, etc.) has ever won the Best Picture category because it changed the game. Except maybe Titanic. But still, could this movie actually win? My answer is no but a nomination is certain and who knows what could happen from there. We’ll know more come February 2010.