Veronica Mars Movie Looks Like An Increasing Possibility
Veronica Mars creator Rob Thomas is currently in the final stages of preparing a Veronica Mars-movie pitch, according to a recent interview Thomas gave EW.com.
“I’m preparing the pitch now — literally now,” Mars‘ main man, Rob Thomas, told me this morning. “I hope to go in and talk to [executive producer] Joel Silver and [Warner Bros.] in the next week or two to see if they’re interested.”
The plot specifics are still up in the air, which is why a pitch has yet to happen. If you know anything about the movie industry, then you know that a pitch must be nearly perfect for a movie to be made. Especially a movie like Veronica Mars, which already has an established cast and storyline.
“I haven’t figured it out yet,” Thomas says about the film’s plot. “That’s what I’m working on now. It’s close. A few key details left to solve.”
I would strongly urge Veronica Mars fans to head over to the EW.com inteview (linked to the interview provided above), but to also not get your hopes up. Sure, Veronica Mars ended prematurely, but how many people regularly watch it? 2 million? 3?
If a VM movie is going to be made, then it’s going to take a wide-reaching script that can appeal to a wide audience. It’s also going to need to be perfect, or close to it. Because even though you may be longing for a Veronica Mars movie, I doubt that you want to see a crappy end Veronica and everyone else.
Stay tuned, though.
Halle Berry Bald
Halle Berry will try to one-up her Swordfish performance and shave off all her hair for a new romantic comedy.
The Oscar-winning actress has agreed to take on the lead role in Nappily Ever After – which will be released in 2010.
“I’m shaving it off!” Berry tells USMagazine. “I know. Here comes the controversy, but… it’ll grow back – I hope!”
Wait. Are we talking about her pubic hair or the hair on top of her head?
(Wipes eyes and reads WENN closely)
Oh, Berry’s shaving the hair off her head for Nappily Ever After? Ohhhhhh. Excuse that first sentence.
With that out there, I must ask: Who wants to see Halle Berry bald? Especially in a God-awful movie called Nappily Ever After?
Yeah, all right. Nappily will gross a little bit of money at the box office because a fair portion of Americans will go see any romantic comedy . But where have Berry’s acting skills gone? Didn’t she win an Oscar for Monster’s Ball a couple years ago? Why doesn’t she do more movies like that and not Catwoman, Gothika and the rest of this garbage she’s done since Monster’s Ball?
You’re better than that Halle.
Oh, by the way, no one wants to see you with a bald head.
A bald vagina, on the other hand… Well, there’s a market for that.
Joaquin Phoenix Is, Well, I Have No Idea
Joaquin Phoenix is on the Late Show with David Letterman as I type this, and I really have no idea what to think.
He has his new trademark: a full beard, and starts the interview by gazing off into space. He looks to be a mixture of angry and devastatingly sad when Dave makes a joke about his beard being itchy. The audience laughs at the question, and Phoenix seems really mad now. He could be high.
The audience doesn’t seem to take him seriously – maybe Casey Affleck’s in the audience.
Phoenix is just offering one-word answers, talking very quietly and he seems really, really sad. Like, I don’t even know how to explain this, but Joaquin is making me feel bad for him because the audience isn’t taking him seriously.
And now, as I’m typing this, he’s asking what Dave gases his audience up with to make them laugh when Dave mentions the former actor’s rap career. So, whatever, I guess.
UPDATE – Here’s the video, via CBS.
Look, if this thing is real (real, meaning that he’s not acting), then everyone in the audience owes Joaquin a big apology. But if this is a fake – and I’m 95% sure that’s the case – then hopefully this is made into a really cool documentary about celebrity culture and Phoenix’s fake move into music.
Of course, there’s a third option, and it involves Joaquin’s nose and a load of cocaine. Hopefully that option isn’t the case, considering Joaquin’s brother River overdosed back in 1993.
With all of that being said, here are three videos with a subsequent explanation why I believe they show Phoenix is faking.
Here you’ll see a common thread in the Joaquin Phoenix retirement thread. Casey Affleck. Affleck is following Phoenix – his brother-in-law around with a camera everywhere he goes. Literally. Reports surfaced last week that said Phoenix’s transition to music was a big scam, simply an idea for a documentary that was being shot by brother-in-law Casey Affleck.
Oh, and the best way to get someone off your back and convince them that you’re serious is to get really mad and storm off after they laugh at your big announcement. That’s good acting, something Joaquin’s known for.
Here’s Joaquin rapping in Las Vegas. He looks stoned and sounds stoned. But the key moment here is when he falls off the stage. Where does he fall? Right to the two cameras in the front row.
Finally, this Letterman interview with Joaquin Pheonix proves that he’s capable of full sentences.
Stay tuned for more on the Joaquin Phoenix front, and expect the Letterman interview from tonight up tomorrow. (Update: It’s up.)
Christian Bale’s Tirade
An associate producer on the set of Terminator Salvation has excused Christian Bale – who plays the lead role in the film – for his on-set tongue lashing of the film’s Director of Photography. Bruce Franklin, the assistant director and associate producer on the film, says that Bale was a “consummate professional” during the filming of T4.
Which is a bit unbelievable, considering that Bale reportedly shouted the following at the Director of Photography: “I’m trying to do a f**king scene here and I’m going, ‘Why the f**k is Shane walking in there? What’s he doing there?’
Do you understand my mind is not in the scene if you’re doing that?”
He goes on to threaten to “kick his f**king ass” before telling the director of the film that he’ll quit if the DOP isn’t fired.
Here’s the audio…
***WARNING: BALE HAS AN ENGLISH-TYPE OF ACCENT. OH, AND THERE’S A BIT OF DIRTY LANGUAGE***
The tape was obtained by TMZ.com, who reports that it’s from July of 2008. Just days before Bale was arrested for assaulting his mother and sister in London. Charges against The Dark Knight star were soon dropped.
“If you are working in a very intense scene and someone takes you out
of your groove,” Franklin tells E! “It was the most emotional scene in the movie. And for
him to get stopped in the middle of it – he is very intensely involved
in his character. He didn’t walk around like that all day long. It was
just a moment and it passed.”
Look. Christian Bale is a bad ass. He’s cut like nobody’s business, and just did two Batman films and is the new John Connor. All three roles call for him to beat the crap out of multiple people. And, on top of that, he allegedly assaulted his mom and sister.
If he threatens to kick the Director of Photography’s ass, he will do it.
So here’s a message to Shane (Hurlbut, we think is his name)….
Stay out of Christian’s shots, OK? If you don’t, you’re either going to get fired or he’s going to whip your ass. Both of which isn’t good for you.
Got it?
Mickey Rourke’s Profanity-Laced Acceptance Speech Costs Him An Oscar?
Mickey Rourke won a BAFTA award last night, and subsequently dropped a couple “fucks” into his speech. Which is fine with me, I have a dirty mind and short attention span. But that type of behavior could be a reason why he doesn’t win the Best Actor Oscar next Sunday. Remember, the difference between Rourke winning and someone else taking the award – Sean Penn, most notably – could be one vote.
“Darren Aronofsky gave me a second chance after I fucked up my career for 15 years,” Rourke said. “I want to thank my publicist Paula for having the hardest job in showbiz – telling me where to go, what to do, when to do it. What to eat, what to dress, what to fuck. It’s such a pleasure to be here and back out of the darkness.”
Rourke then went on to speak on behalf of all straight men: “Marisa Tomei for putting up with me – she’s a hell of a talent and was very brave for taking her clothes off all the time. I enjoyed looking at her!”
The speech wraped with, “last but not least… I would like to dedicate this to an actor who is not here anymore that was a great friend of mine. His spirit and his talent live on; the great Richard Harris.”
So does that tribute to Richard Harris redeem Mickey Rourke?
Probably not, I would think. But I guess we won’t know until Feb. 15.
Here’s the speech…
The Appeal of Paul Blart: Mall Cop
It took me a while, but I understand the appeal of Paul Blart: Mall Cop.
The commercials make the film look absolutely dreadful, with a few dumb laughs, and, during Oscar season with the nationwide release of films like Revolutionary Road, Slumdog Millionaire and The Wrestler, this strategy is brilliant.
Here are the projected end-of-the-weekend totals…
- Paul Blart: Mall Cop – $21.5 million this weekend, for a total two-week gross of $64.8 million
- Underworld: Rise of the Lycans – $20.7 million
- Gran Torino - $16 million, for a total gross of $97.5 million
- Hotel for Dogs
- Slumdog Millionaire, $10.5 million
“This movie was not made for the critics, it was made for the audience, and that certainly paid off,” said Paul Dergarabedian, president of the box office tracking and analysis firm Media By Numbers. “Its going to to be a $100 million-plus movie now and I don’t think anybody thought that was possible.”
That line: “This movie was not made for the critics” basically says that the audiences seeing this film are stupider than the well-educated critics.
Which is why this strategy is brilliant. Movies like Paul Blart perfectly off-set Oscar-worthy films like Revolutionary Road and The Wrestler. It allows audiences to choose between high-brow films that make you work, which often leave you depressed (RR is the best example of this) and Paul Blart where he saves the day and everything is cheery along the way.
Blart is the type of film that puzzles analysts of the film industry because it looks so bad, but when there are only two categories of film one is forced to choose from, then films like Paul Blart are going to win sometimes.
evandril