News You Already Knew: Beatles Catalogue Remastered!

Before today, 9/9/09 was just the day The Beatles: Rock Band was gonna be released (which is still pretty cool-sounding). Now, it's gonna be the day that the good people at Apple Corps Ltd. finally get off their ass and remaster the entire Beatles discography. Thank God they waited until the CD format became almost completely obsolete! Anyhoo, each album will come with new liner notes, packaging, and making-of documentaries included on each disc:


I'll be the first to admit I have most of the Beatles albums on burned CD-R (sorry, $25 for the unmastered White Album is borderline criminal), so I'm extremely happy to learn that my lazy spending habits are finally paying off. There have been many efforts to rejuvenate the dying music market, but this is the first one in a long time that might actually bear fruit. Let's hope people still have disposable income by the time September rolls around. Also, for those wondering if this means the Beatles are finally coming to iTunes, "Discussions regarding the digital distribution of the catalogue will continue. There is no further information available at this time." Well, as they say, ob-la-di, ob-la-da.

Jane Austen vs. Predator

So...just last week, I talked about the upcoming zombie spoof of Jane Austen's seminal work, Pride and Prejudice, entitled Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Now, I receive the following e-mail:

Elton John’s Rocket Pictures hopes to make the first Jane Austen adaptation to which men will drag their girlfriends. Will Clark is set to direct "Pride and Predator,” which veers from the traditional period costume drama when an alien crash lands and begins to butcher the mannered protags, who suddenly have more than marriage and inheritance to worry about.

Wow. Did all of Jane Austen's books suddenly become public domain so everyone's jumping on the parody bandwagon or is there a niche market for sci-fi twists on classic novels that I am unaware of? 'Cause I'll go ahead and admit I always thought an alien invasion would've been a nice addition to The Count of Monte Cristo, and why not have Jean Valjean on the run not only from the French police, but also from a killer cyborg from the future? Hollywood, I am waiting for your call.

Keanu Reeves to Continue Decimating My Childhood

After single-handedly destroying The Day the Earth Stood Still, one of my favorite science fiction films of all-time, Keanu Reeves (who last appeared in a decent film in 2006, with Richard Linklater's A Scanner Darkly) has decided to take his mediocrity gun and aim it at my favorite anime series, Cowboy Bebop. From Film News Briefs:

Twentieth Century Fox is bringing the Japanese anime TV series “Cowboy Bebop” to the big screen, with Keanu Reeves attached to star as a bounty hunter traveling through space in 2071. One of the big titles in anime, “Bebop” is set in a time where “astral gates” make interstellar travel possible. Humanity, decimated by a lunar explosion resulting from a gate accident, spread out across the solar system, as did crime, which gave rise to the use of bounty hunters. Reeves would play Spike Spiegel, a bounty hunter and former member of a crime syndicate. Spiegel, along with Jet Black, a fellow bounty hunter and former cop, are the two pilots of the spaceship Bebop. Peter Craig is writing the script.

All we can hope for is a solid supporting cast to compensate for Neo McBland.

Two New Reasons to Read (or at least to listen to someone else reading)

This October, two of my favorite authors will be releasing new books. This is notable because (1) I rarely read because I sadly don't seem to have enough time to sit down and pick up a tome, so anything new in the world of bookdom is of interest to me and (2) it's my blog and, goldarnit, it's notable, okay?

Sarah Vowell caught my eye when she appeared on "The Daily Show" promoting her travelogue-cum-history-lesson Assassination Vacation. I was somewhat familiar with Ms. Vowell, thanks to her voiceover work as Violet from The Incredibles. Still, what struck me about her interview with Jon Stewart was her casual mention that he makes an appearance on the audiobook version, portraying twentieth president James A. Garfield no less. I'd never heard of an author who invites special guests to perform on her audiobook, and Vowell's latest book, The Wordy Shipmates, has a colorful cast of characters, including actors Peter Dinklage, Bill Hader, Catherine Keener, Dermot Mulroney, John Slattery, and "Daily Show" correspondents John Oliver and John Hodgman. The hardcover version of The Wordy Shipmates drops 10/7, as well as the audiobook version, which is totally worth the extra two bucks.

Speaking of "Daily Show" correspondents, resident expert John Hodgman got involved with the show thanks to an appearance on it promoting his first book, a compendium of complete world knowledge entitled The Areas of My Expertise, which in addition to amusing anecdotes about furry lobsters and the Mall of America, also included an exhausting list of 700 hobo names, which have since become the things of internet lore, inspiring an art project and a successful webcomic.

Well, he's back with another massive almanac, this one titled More Information Than You Require, which not only promises to explain "hermit-crab racing" and "how to cook an owl," but also comes with another 700 names, this time of Mole-Men, and will also include their occupations, whatever that means. While Hodgman's television personality (which includes portraying a PC in the incredibly popular Apple ads with him and Justin Long) is one thing, his style of writing is most definitely another, and while people who enjoy the former may not click with the latter, it's worth noting that if you can crack the dense layer of irony that comes pre-packaged with every Hodgman novel, sweet confectionery goodies lay beneath. More Information Than You Require drops 10/21. More info, including the entire book jacket, can be found on Hodgman's (awesome) official website.

Mirman on Palin

Eugene Mirman, the landlord from "Flight of the Conchords," wants to make sure all of America is informed about Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin before they vote this November. For example, did you know that Sarah Palin was raised by wolves (not same-sex wolves, of course) and that she bit a bear to death? Clearly, it must be true since it was reported in highly reputable online media!



More awesome stuff, including the animated "Get Your War On" series, can be found at 236 Video.

Isaac Hayes (1942-2008)

Here's a little something to remember you by, Isaac.

We'll miss you.

George Carlin, R.I.P.

George Carlin died Sunday at the age of 71. He will be sorely missed. Here's one of my favorite Carlin sketches from recent years:

George Carlin - Why We Don't Need 10 Commandments (mp3)

Farewell, Sydney

Sydney Pollack has passed away. He was not only an outstanding filmmaker, with directing credits for Tootsie, Out of Africa, and The Way We Were, he was also an outstanding actor, with his final performance, as George Clooney's superior in Michael Clayton, being one of the acting highlights of 2007. He died of cancer at the age of 73.

Criterion Goes Blu-ray!

Diehard cinephiles, get ready to buy your favorite movies all over again: The Criterion Collection will start releasing Blu-ray versions of existing titles this October. According to a recent e-mail sent to newsletter subscribers, "These new editions will feature glorious high-definition picture and sound, all the supplemental content of the DVD releases, and they will be priced to match our standard-def editions." Here's a look at the list of films slated for high-def release:

The Third Man
Bottle Rocket
Chungking Express
The Man Who Fell to Earth
The Last Emperor
El Norte
The 400 Blows
Gimme Shelter
The Complete Monterey Pop
Contempt
Walkabout
For All Mankind
The Wages of Fear

If one or two of those titles seem new to you, it's because they probably are. Kar Wai Wong's Chungking Express, Gregory Nava's El Norte, and Wes Anderson's directorial debut, Bottle Rocket, will be receiving the Criterion treatment for the first time.

Disney Repackages Existing Documentary Footage, Slaps Some Sigur Rós on It, Hopes Nobody Notices

So...I thought the idea behind Walt Disney Pictures' new nature documentary division was that they would be making new nature documentaries, not just taking existing footage from the hit BBC miniseries Planet Earth and editing it down to a feature-length film. Videogum said it best when they hypothesized that it was a shot-for-shot remake, with Vince Vaughn as a polar bear. What truly baffles me is the release date. Does it seriously take Disney so long to edit the show down to 90 minutes that they have to push the release all the way to Spring 2009?

Oh, and the Sigur Rós soundtrack only makes me wish Disney were releasing Heima in theaters instead of this.

The new Coldplay album cover + more!

Coldplay's official website just released a bunch of updates about their new album, including the cover art:


I gotta say that I'm impressed. It was getting to the point where it didn't feel like the band was putting any effort into coming up with album art, so even though it looks like all they did was splatter the title over a pre-existing painting, kudos for being different this time around.

Their website also says that on Tuesday at 12:15pm UK time (that's 6:15pm here on the east coast), they'll have a free download of their first single "Violet Hill," and that the May 7 issue of NME will come with a free 7" of the new single, plus b-side "A Spell A Rebel Yell". You can already pre-order the issue online (it'll set you back about $25 if you want it shipped to a US address).

Finally, Coldplay will be playing two free shows, one at the Brixton Academy in London on June 16, and one at Madison Square Garden on June 23. Details on how to obtain tickets for these shows will be posted soon.

The new album, Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends will be released stateside on June 17.

UPDATE: More info on the origin of the painting on the cover, courtesy of Sleevage.

Tati's Trafic Set for July Release on Criterion

Jacques Tati is one of my favorite filmmakers of all time, with M. Hulot's Holiday, Mon Oncle, and Playtime being my three favorite films of his. So I am excited to announce that The Criterion Collection will be releasing Tati's last film, 1971's Trafic, on a beautiful new 2-disc DVD set this July. In addition to the 97-minute film, the set will also include a 2-hour documentary from 1969 entitled In the Footsteps of Monsieur Hulot, referring to the alter-ego that Tati has portrayed in nearly all of his films.

As usual, the cover art looks fantastic:



Now, I just hope Criterion will get around to releasing Tati's debut feature, Jour de Fete. Also on tap for July: a new 2-disc re-release of Kurosawa's modern crime drama High and Low.

New Hertzfeldt Short + Stills

Animator Don Hertzfeldt, who has consistently blown my mind and/or made me laugh my ass off with shorts like Billy's Balloon, Rejected, and The Meaning of Life, has made some major announcements regarding his new film, part two in the trilogy that began with 2007's Everything Will Be OK. The film is going to be called I Am So Proud of You and he has posted some awesome stills from it on his blog:




More stills, as well as DVDs of all of Don's work, t-shirts, and more awesome stuff, can be found here.

Oscar Nods Announced!

I had written my Oscar predictions for the year, but never got around to posting them. So, now that the Oscar nominees have already been announced, let's see how close I was:

Best Picture
Juno
No Country for Old Men
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
There Will Be Blood
Zodiac

3 out of 5 ain't bad. I'll go ahead and say that I naïvely included a lot of nominations for Zodiac, thinking that a low-key Spring release date wouldn't hurt its chances of Oscar gold. Silly me!

Best Actor
Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood
Johnny Depp, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
Tommy Lee Jones, No Country for Old Men
Viggo Mortensen, Eastern Promises

I was really surprised at how many of the Best Actor nominees I got right. Before the Devil Knows You're Dead was another film that undeservedly got snubbed by the Academy this year, but at least Hoffman got a nomination in the Best Supporting category. Also, I didn't know if Tommy Lee Jones' character in No Country for Old Men was the "star" of the movie, which probably explains why he was nominated, but for In the Valley of Elah instead.

Best Actress
Amy Adams, Enchanted
Helena Bonham Carter, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Julie Christie, Away from Her
Marion Cotillard, La Vie en Rose
Ellen Page, Juno

Once again, three out of five. Adams will soon receive the Oscar she should've gotten for her role in Junebug, just not this year. I have no idea why Cate Blanchett received a nod for her Elizabeth sequel, not only because she was nominated for an Oscar for the same role back in 1998, but she's also up for a Best Supporting nod for I'm Not There.

Best Supporting Actor
Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men
Paul Dano, There Will Be Blood
Robert Downey, Jr., Zodiac
Albert Finney, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
Kene Holliday, Great World of Sound

Wow, did I ever screw this one up. Bardem is a given, but no props for Dano? Seriously? The dude more than held his own with Daniel Day-Lewis, so that's gotta be worth something! Also, I believe Kene Holliday's performance is one of the best I saw at Cucalorus 13 and I hope Great World of Sound finds some sort of a cult following.

Best Supporting Actress
Juliette Binoche, Paris Je T'Aime
Cate Blanchett, I'm Not There
Jennifer Garner, Juno
Samantha Morton, Control
Imelda Staunton, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Once again, a measly one out of five. Even though Juliette Binoche's part in the sprawling project Paris, Je T'Aime is a small one, I was moved by her performance and thought it deserved recognition. I'm surprised the Academy overlooked Jennifer Garner in Juno, but maybe they haven't forgiven her for Elektra yet. Also, let me just say that Imelda Staunton's character in the fifth Harry Potter movie is one of the great villains of modern-day cinema.

Best Director
Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood
Joel and Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men
David Cronenberg, Eastern Promises
David Fincher, Zodiac
Sidney Lumet, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

I was happy to see P.T. Anderson and the Coens up on the list, but no Lumet? I enjoyed Jason Reitman's direction as much as the next person, but there were better directors out there this year. Cronenberg and Fincher have never even been nominated for a Best Director Oscar, a mistake that must soon be rectified.

Best Original Screenplay
Brad Bird, Jim Capobianco and Jan Pinkava, Ratatouille
Jeffrey Blitz, Rocket Science
Diablo Cody, Juno
Kelly Masterson, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
George Smith and Craig Zobel, Great World of Sound

I was blown away to find that I had correctly predicted that Ratatouille would be up for a Best Screenplay Oscar. And even though Blitz and Zobel were on there mainly 'cause I loved those movies so much at Cucalorus, I am once again disappointed at the Academy's lack of props for Before the Devil Knows You're Dead.

Best Adapted Screenplay
Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood
Joel and Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men
Leslie Dixon, Hairspray
John Logan, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
James Vanderbilt, Zodiac

Hairspray was kind of a last-minute addition to my list, mainly because I hadn't seen a whole lot of movies based on a previously existing work. Sweeney Todd also didn't get as many nods as I had thought it would, and once again, no love for Zodiac.

Overall, I'm happy that two of my favorite films of 2007, No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood, got the most nominations this year. I'm also happy that at least one song from Once is up for the Best Original Song award (though, according to the New York Times, this may be redacted). However, it saddens me to say that the Onion's pick for the worst movie of 2007 has been nominated for a Best Makeup award. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Academy Award nominated...Norbit.

A Radiohead Revelation

If you don't know by now, here are a few headlines:

1. Radiohead has a new album out, In Rainbows. It will be available digitally on October 10 (in ten days!) and in physical form on December 3.

2. The physical form is a "discbox," consisting of the album on CD and two 12" records, a bonus CD of outtakes, and tons of cool artwork, all wrapped up in a box. Each "discbox" is £40, or roughly $81, and the price includes shipping and handling to anywhere on Earth. Everyone who pre-orders the discbox will get a download key for the album on Oct. 10.

3. If you choose to get just the download, you can name your own price, and since Radiohead will not be sending out promos of the album, everyone will get the music on the same day at the same time. No leaks, no illegal downloads, nothing until the 10th.

4. A CD version of the album will be released in early 2008.

The list of shit I want for Christmas is already pretty insane, what with the Stanley Kubrick DVD box set, the 5-disc Blade Runner suitcase, and Stephen Colbert's new book, so I doubt adding an $80 Radiohead album would be a good idea. Still, it looks pretty awesome:



Update: In response to people wondering if you can pay nothing for the new album...


Don't worry; I already pre-ordered the album last night and offered up the adequate price of $5 (roughly £2.45). This was just an experiment to see if it would work.

Tear it Down, One Pixel at a Time

50099I usually don't get political on this site, but I was very impressed by Amnesty International's new website asking people to pledge to help tear down Guantánamo Bay. Cruel, inhuman treatment of prisoners by Americans is something we can not and should not allow, and pledging your support is one way we can help end illegal torture. I also really like the design of the website, which removes a pixel from the image of Guantánamo detainees every time someone pledges their support.

Kubrick, Godard, and more finally get the DVDs they deserve!

2007 is slowly turning out to be the year to score some classic movies on new fully-loaded special edition DVDs. Here's just a sample:

• Warner Bros. Video has announced that they will be releasing a Director's Series: Stanley Kubrick Collection box set on 10/23. The set will include brand-new, two-disc, remastered special editions of 2001: A Space Odyssey (my constant pick for greatest movie of all-time), The Shining, A Clockwork Orange, Eyes Wide Shut and single-disc editions of Full Metal Jacket and the documentary Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures. The Shining has been restored to its original widescreen version, and Eyes Wide Shut will finally be released uncut. Documentaries and making-of featurettes abound. In addition, bare-bones but remastered versions of Lolita and Barry Lyndon will be available separately. (Source: DVDActive)
  
  
• The Criterion Collection has revamped their website, turning it into an online store where you can buy their über-awesome special edition DVDs directly from the source, at a discount price, no less! This October, they will release a new 2-disc edition of Jean-Luc Godard's landmark film Breathless, which will include video interviews with cast and crew, an 80-min. French documentary on the making of the film, and tons more. Other noteworthy releases include Terrence Malick's Days of Heaven, a 2-disc re-release of Alfred Hitckcock's The Lady Vanishes (featuring audio from François Truffaut's famous interview with Hitchcock), and new movies by Criterion regulars Akira Kurosawa and Ingmar Bergman.
  
  
• If crazy TV is more your style, you'll be happy to know that David Lynch's groundbreaking series Twin Peaks will finally be available, pilot episode and all, in a new Gold Box Edition on 10/30.
  
  
• Pixar will finally release all of their beloved (and often award-winning) short films in one collection, Pixar Short Films Collection Volume 1, on 11/6, which will include every single short film since 1984's The Adventures of André and Wally B. (Also, Ratatouille will be out the same day.)
  
  
• And, of course, unless you've been avoiding the Internet for the last year or so, you probably already know about the 5-disc Ultimate Edition of Ridley Scott's Blade Runner, which will include the highly-anticipated "Final Cut" of the movie, with new scenes, effects, and 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound, as well as three other versions of the film (theatrical and international versions, as well as the first director's cut), a three-hour documentary, and the never-before-seen "workprint version" of the film. Fortunately, if you don't have the greenbacks for the 5-disc edition (which comes in a f**king suitcase!), there are tons of other versions available to purchase, from a 2-disc edition that just features the final cut and the documentary, to a 4-disc edition that includes everything but the workprint.

Grindhouse DVDs Announced

So, it looks like Planet Terror and Death Proof will be released separately on 2-disc DVD sets, with Tarantino's film getting the earlier release date (Sept. 18) and Rodriguez' released on Oct. 16. In my humble opinion, this is a bad idea, seeing as how I loved Grindhouse as a whole entity, but I just can't see myself spending $60 to relive that experience (each 2-disc set will cost $29.95), regardless of how much extra stuff they add. They've even replaced the "missing reels" in both films, which seems to be missing the point. It would make more sense if they were included as deleted scenes. Also, which release is getting the brilliant fake trailers by Rob Zombie, Edgar Wright, and Eli Roth (not to mention the one Rodriguez did himself)? All I can hope is that Bob and Harvey Weinstein will realize that people liked both films together and release the original, three-hour theatrical version (scratches and pops intact).

Oh, and in other news, it looks like J.J. Abrams' crazy-secret monster movie is to be called Overnight.

Anime Chimp Receives Live-Action Beating and Other Movie News

Who knew that the monkey from Speed Racer could be obnoxious in real life as well? Only difference is that when you (allegedly) beat up the live-action monkey, PETA comes knocking at your door.

Also, after seeing this screenshot, I'm really excited about the new Wes Anderson film, The Darjeeling Limited. Pictured are Anderson regulars Owen Wilson and Jason Schwartzman, along with one of my favorite actors, Adrian Brody. The film comes out Sept. 29 in NY, Oct. 5 everywhere else.



Thanks to Film Ick and Rushmore Academy for the tidbits.

Resident Evil director to butcher perfectly good Bob Hoskins movie

Depressing news from the IMDb:

Classic British crime film The Long Good Friday is getting a Hollywood makeover in Miami under the direction of Resident Evil moviemaker Paul W. S. Anderson. The 1980 original starred Bob Hoskins as a London gangster whose criminal empire comes under attack from a wave of mysterious bombings. But production company Handmade Films says the new movie would be "refreshed" with a modern setting. Chairman Patrick Meehan says, "The original was a highly praised classic and one of Handmade's most prized films, but its reach was limited primarily to the U.K. Following continued interest from the U.S., we realized this remake could attract audiences worldwide with an updated setting and contemporary overtones. When Paul presented his creative vision for this project, we were instantly convinced that this is a story that could be successfully refreshed, yet leave the integrity of the original intact." No actors have so far been cast for the project.

What was a great British gangster flick, that not only starred Bob Hoskins, but Helen Mirren as well (and a young Pierce Brosnan), will now be horribly mangled up--I'm sorry, I mean "refreshed" by Paul W.S. Anderson, a filmmaker whose only artistic merit is that people keep confusing him with Paul Thomas Anderson. I have seen his first two Resident Evil films, one of which (Apocalypse) I actually paid money to go see. Why on earth a hack director like him would want to remake this piece of cinematic history is beyond me. I'll admit it would be nice to see a good remake, but PLEASE, anyone but him! What could possibly be Anderson's "creative vision for the project"? Have the gangsters attacked by zombies? Cast Milla Jovovich in the Helen Mirren role? Keep in mind that his next project, Death Race, is claimed to be "a no-holds-barred, ultraviolent car race, set in 2020." Sounds pretty highbrow.

Movie executives, I'm begging you. Sever Anderson from the project and get a better director to take charge. Someone like Steven Soderbergh, Jonathan Demme, or even Louis Leterrier, who directed Unleashed and the Transporter films. I don't usually get this passionate about filmmakers I dislike, but I refuse to see this wonderful film remade into yet another piece of disposable Hollywood trash. Let Anderson keep making movies based on video games, and leave Bob Hoskins alone.