SaltyStix still has The Buzz on Thursdays? I know, I know, it’s been a LONG time. But I have been REALLY busy. So this week I have a supper version of the Buzz, complete with LOTS of links.

Movie buzz

Semi-Pro (release February 29, 2008; click here for preview) – I’m almost sick of this movie already because it basically bought my favorite blog (joblo.com) and started raining previews down on me. But this movie looks like it could be one of the few I’m-not-Ron-Burgundy-but-really-I-am movies that could be funny again. Ferrell plays a basketball star trying to lead his ABA team to victory to make ensure the Flint Tropics get into the NBA.

Chicago 10 (release February 29, 2008; click here for preview) – Talk about something COMPLETELY different, this movie follows the events after protests at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Interesting parallels to the present? Maybe. The film has an eclectic (but good) cast that most people will probably not see considering the film’s painfully limited release – but if you can, it looks sweet.

Doomsday (release March 14, 2008; click here for preview) – I know people are starting to get sick of the “28” franchise, and everyone seems to be totally over the Resident Evil franchise, but this movie, that looks like a combination of those two franchises looks sweet. A virus consumes Great Britain, leading the government to quarantine the country. Twenty-five years later the virus resurfaces and the government sends a team into the quarantine zone to find any possible survivors for a cure. Basically this is Britain’s answer to Resident Evil. Rhona Mitra is in it. She’s pretty hot. So even if the movie sucks, you still have that.

Paranoid Park (release March 7, 2008; click here for preview) – Normally these movies about lives spinning out of control TOTALLY don’t appeal to me, but Gus Van Sant directed this one, so my interest is immediately piqued. The film follows a young skaterboy who ‘accidentally’ kills a security guard. Lots of tension. Some family stuff, some psychological stuff, some teen stuff, could be pretty good. Hottie Taylor Momsen from Gossip Girl is in the movie and she looks pretty good (as an aside, she made Underdog, really?)

TV buzz

One of my big excuses for slacking on by Buzz columns is that there hasn’t been that much to report. Pretty much a bunch of shit movies came out – and really shitty in the sense that they aren’t really even good comic bait. Like Witless Protection? Do I need to make a joke beyond the title? Meanwhile all of my shows (House, Friday Night Lights, Nip/Tuck) quietly ended their seasons while the new shows I was watching (Pushing Daisies, Journeyman) ended abruptly after 10 episodes. Pretty much NONE of the shows left me at anything close to satisfied in ANY of the storylines. So that was pretty hard on me.

Luckily, one of the new shows I started watching, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, is still on and getting more and more interesting. The show stopped being just the Lena Heady and Summer Glau show and became, well, the Summer Glau show. Don’t get me wrong, I love Heady, and she’s great in the show, but it’s really all about Summer. I’m not alone in this either as Summer Glau interviews have been cropping up like mad.

And in case you didn’t know the Oscars were this past weekend. We at SaltyStix broke our backs trying to cram in as much Oscar coverage as we can in the days before the event. While I didn’t see the whole show, what I did see was pretty entertaining. I found this Oscars quiz online that you can take to see how closely you paid attention. It is, mildly amusing.

What do you think about…

With all of Juno’s buzz and popular support (as well as criticism), along with it’s box office smashing (over 100 million dollars), I had to ask, what is an indie these days? Throw in the fact that all of the films nominated this year for best picture were limited releases (Michael Clayton was the one exception, and coincidentally, perhaps the best movie). But what films qualify as independent? Is that label really relevant? There’s a good article HERE that goes in a different direction than I would, but it’s still pretty interesting.

On the web

10 best movie weapons – I’ve had this one for awhile and it made me smile. I mean, fanboys have got to love this stuff. Do you pick the lightsaber or the bull whip? Decisions decisions. Now of course it’s situational…

10 worst movie couples – picked this one up over Valentine’s Day but as usual couldn’t find the time to write about it. Which heroine or hero annoyed you the most? Personally I thought that weird Frenchie who forgets Bruce Willis’ watch in Pulp Fiction HAD TO GO. But I think I’m alone on that one.

10 movies to watch before the election – this is a little more relevant now, but here are some good primaries-primers or even (gasp) pre-viewing before the big show in November. Decent list, short on commentary but you’ll just have to watch the movies to see why they’re on the list.

Disney Dream series – I know I already rambled on about fanboys, but this really is a fanboys wet dream. All I have to say is three words: Jessia, Biel, Pocahantas.

Movie swag – this was pretty humorous – random promotional junk from different movies. Ranging from the comical to the weird to the perverse.  Definitely jelps if you’re looking for stuff to buy on eBay.

Football Movies – post Super Bowl I found this article about football movies that once again, because my slow posting, is increasing in relevance (with the release of Leatherheads approaching). I disagree with a lot of this list, but hey, it is a list.

Second choice casting – this type of trivia is FASCINATING to me – all of the castings that could have been – most were for the better. The cliché Tom Selleck for Harrison Ford one is of course, front and center, but it gets more interesting as you go on.

Career changing roles – this is pretty similar but it’s from Forbes (ooooh) and it has a slightly different focus although it of course features the same Selleck for Ford one. My favorite is the one about Molly Ringwald…

Um…really???

It’s never too late. So about a month ago I read a bunch of articles about this weird phenomenon that was called simply “Juno Backlash.” About a bunch of people whining about how the movie was unrealistic or too clever or yadda yadda yadda. Really? I mean, sure I rant and rave about how I thought Blood was overrated, but making obscene statements about what you would do if Juno won. That’s just crazy.

Who am I?

I had A Good Year with Oscar
Send your reply to saltystixtrivia@gmail.com.
Last Buzz’s answer was Heath Ledger.

 

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.