Saturday, April 28, 2007

Week in Review: 4/27/07

Here is a new feature for us here at Outsider, a weekly review in which we'll hit all the big topics of the week, detail the big openings of the weekend and will recommend a movie of the week, which will be readily available on DVD. Hopefully this will provide the readers with a quick recap of the hot happenings in the City of Angels as well as point everyone in a new and interesting cinematic direction. This will be updated every Friday evening.

Quick Hits of the Week

-With the recent passing of Jack Valenti this past Thursday at the age of 85, a pivotal chapter in Hollywood has come to a close, one that has left and will continue to leave a lasting mark on the industry. Valenti, the first president of the MPAA, forever changed the ways in which Hollywood worked that rivals the changes in the era of Will Hays and the Production Code. Derided by many (mostly independent) filmmakers as an overt form of censorship as well as a way to keep the industry power in the hands of the major studios, the MPAA is an undeniably controversial institution. For anyone looking to learn more about the MPAA, This Film Is Not Yet Rated is a funny and intelligent piece of muckraking that looks at the rating system.

-Reports came out this past week that had the estimated budget, post marketing, for Spider-Man 3 somewhere in the range of $300 million, a staggering statistic. Sony, Columbia and the film producers all deny this figure but were unwilling to comment on an actual number. Luckily for the studio, Sam Raimi's newest installment in the lucrative franchise has been moving tickets efficiently, despite not opening for another week. Many midnight showings on Thursday evening have already sold out and Movietickets.com has said that tickets are selling at triple the rate that Spider-Man 2 did.

-I Am Legend, Will Smith's newest vehicle, will include a scene that has cost over $5 million to produce. Given the fact that the entire film's budget was intended to be roughly $150 million and this is only a flashback sequence, one can only imagine that Warner Bros. may be looking at a higher cost than originally thought. Legend is scheduled for release in December and is based off of Richard Matheson's book.

-The Tribeca Film Festival, Robert De Niro's pet project, began on April 25th and will run until May 6th. Various screenings take place throughout Lower Manhattan over the next week or so. There are numerous highlights that are outlined in an informative NY Times companion article. If you're in the NY area, it might be worth your time to check out some flicks over the next couple of days.

Weekend Openings

Next
Starring Nicholas Cage, Julianne Moore and Jessica Biel. Directed by Lee Tamahori. Written by Gary Goldman, Jonathan Hensleigh and Paul Bernbaum. Based on the short story "The Golden Man" by Phillip K. Dick.

The Invisible
Starring Justin Chatwin, Margarita Levieva and Marcia Gay Harden. Directed by David Goyer. Written by Mick Davis and Christine Roum. Based on the novel Den Osynlige by Mats Wahl.

The Condemned
Starring Steve Austin, Vinnie Jones and Rick Hoffman. Directed by Scott Wiper. Written by Wiper and Rob Hedden.

Kickin It Old Skool
Starring Jamie Kennedy, Maria Menounos and Christopher McDonald. Directed by Harvey Glazer. Written by Trace Slobotkin, Josh Siegal and Dylan Morgan.

Jindabyne
Starring Laura Linney, Gabriel Byrne and Chris Haywood. Directed by Ray Lawrence. Written by Beatrix Christian. Based on the short story "So Much Water Close to Home" by Raymond Carver.

Movie of the Week

Shaun of the Dead

With Hot Fuzz in theaters, it is time to go back and watch Pegg and Wright's breakthrough film, which is alternatingly hilarious and horrifing. A modern classic that effortlessly blends comedy and horror must be seen to be believed. Described as a "zombie romantic comedy" by the creators, Shaun is one of the more original films of the past decade and is worth every second of your time.

Have a great weekend everyone!

No comments: