Month: March 2009

‘Toy Story 3D’ and ‘Toy Story 2 3D’ Double Feature on October 2nd

toy-story

Walt Disney made the announcement today at ShoWest that they would be re-releasing both ‘Toy Story’ and ‘Toy Story 2’ (both in 3D) together on October 2nd.   This will also be the debut of the trailer for ‘Toy Story 3’, which is set for a June 18th, 2010 release.

Here is the official announcement:

Moviegoers are in for twice the fun and triple the thrills as The Walt Disney Studios prepares to debut the Disney Digital 3D(TM) versions of Disney-Pixar’s beloved animated features – “Toy Story” and “Toy Story 2” – during a special limited engagement starting on October 2, 2009, it was announced today by Mark Zoradi, president, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Group.

This extraordinary double feature, taking the latest advances in digital 3D technology “to infinity and beyond,” will play exclusively in 3D. “Toy Story,” the industry’s first ever computer-animated feature and the first feature released by Pixar Animation Studios in 1995, and “Toy Story 2,” the critically acclaimed sequel that debuted in 1999, were both directed by Academy Award ®-winning filmmaker John Lasseter. Both films have been meticulously re-rendered in 3D from the original digital files using the latest state-of-the-art technology.

Commenting on the announcement, Zoradi said, “This fantastic double feature will let moviegoers see two of their all-time favorite films from Pixar Animation Studios in a way that they’ve never seen them before, and all for the price of one movie ticket. John Lasseter and the animation team have truly created a spectacular 3D experience with Buzz, Woody, and all the toy characters in a whole new eye-popping dimension. We’re also excited that audiences will soon see a whole new chapter when Toy Story 3 in 3D, directed by Lee Unkrich (co-director of Toy Story 2) comes to theaters on June 18, 2010.”

Lasseter added, “The ‘Toy Story’ films and characters will always hold a very special place in our hearts and we’re so excited to be bringing these first two films back for audiences to enjoy in a whole new way thanks to the latest in 3D technology. Disney Digital 3D offers lots of great new possibilities for the art of animation and we will continue to use this new technology to push the boundaries in telling our stories. With ‘Toy Story 3’ shaping up to be another great adventure for Buzz, Woody and the gang from Andy’s room, we thought this would be the perfect way to let audiences experience the first two films all over again. To see the movies back to back will be an amazing treat as well. This is certainly nostalgic for me and reminiscent of my youth when double features were the norm.”

Originally released by Walt Disney Pictures in 1995, “Toy Story” went on to receive Oscar ® nominations for Original Screenplay, Original Score, and Original Song earning Lasseter a Special Achievement Award “for his inspired leadership of the Pixar ‘Toy Story’ Team, resulting in the first feature-length computer-animated film.” ‘Toy Story 2’ was released in 1999, and reunited voice talents Tom Hanks and Tim Allen, in their roles as Woody and Buzz. The film became one of the most popular animated features of all time, and received an Academy Award ® nomination for Original Song.

Source: Walt Disney Studios

Rob Zombie opens up about ‘Tyrannosaurus Rex’

We have talked about ‘Tyrannosaurus Rex’ a few times before but we have never been able to give you any information outside of speculation. Well finally Mr Rob Zombie gave up some info to MTV about the flick:

“It’s not a horror movie,† explained Zombie in an exclusive interview with MTV from the set of “Halloween 2.† “It’s like an incredibly violent ’70s action movie. I can’t think of anything that’s like it. Just a gritty, gnarly, violent movie. But it’s not a horror movie in any way.†

“It’s sort of like a cross between that Dustin Hoffman movie ‘Straight Time’ mixed with ‘Raging Bull’†¦ sort of,† said Zombie. “I want to make a serious movie about this washed-up prizefighter who’s got this self-destructive tendency, and he comes out of prison and the only way he knows how to survive is by fighting.

He continued, “But his boxing career is over so he gets caught up in this sort of underground fight ring. But it’s all set in the ’70s, so it’s not like an ‘Ultimate Fighting’ type thing. It’s more like just nasty. It’s like if ‘Every Which Way But Loose’ was a serious movie. How about that? Minus the orangutan. [laughs]†

Yes! Rob Zombie finally stepping outside of the horror genre to do something more along the style of a grindhouse exploitation movie, that is freaking exciting.

I still really hope the main character is going to be played by Danny Trejo, that would make this news even better.

Rob Zombie blogs again… young Michael Myers

chase

Rob Zombie seems to be updating his blog everyday with new stuff from ‘H2’ and today is no different. Today we get the first image of young Michael Myers played by Chase Vanek. The kid looks alot like Daeg Faerch from the first ‘Halloween’ flick Zombie did. Faerch couldnt come back to play the character since he has aged from the filming of the first one, so Zombie was forced to recast the role.

Looks pretty creepy eh? Not as creepy as Daeg but still pretty creepy.

ESPN brings on Top Names to Helm ’30 for 30′ Docs

aliholmesespndocs

ESPN has embarked on a fascinating new project that will have well-known filmmakers take on stories within the realm of sports that they are passionate about. The ambitious series will consist of thirty one-hour documentaries on a wide-range of sports, with each being helmed by a different filmmaker.

The first episode will air this fall, followed by new ones on a regular basis through 2010. So far, the following roster has been lined up…

  • Barry Levinson (Wag the Dog) will tackle the Baltimore Colts sudden move to Indianapolis in 1984.
  • Barbara Kopple (Havoc) will look at the Steinbrenners and the transfer of owner ship from George to his children.
  • Albert Mayles (Gimme Shelter) will focus on the 1980 match between the champ Muhammad Ali and the young Larry Holmes.
  • Dan Klores (Crazy Love) will look at the Pacers’ Reggie Miller and his eight-point explosion against the Knicks in the 1995 playoffs.
  • In addition, Spike Lee, Mike Tollin and Richard Linklater will also be adding their two cents to the mix with their own episodes.

[source: Hollywood Reporter]

Emily Browning takes the lead in ‘Sucker Punch’

emilybrowning

With Amanda Seyfried knocked out of the ring, Zack Snyder’s next film ‘Sucker Punch’ is saved by the bell with the casting of Emily Browning (The Uninvited) as the lead.

Browning will play an inmate in an insane asylum who becomes lost in a fantasy world and dreams of helping her fellow inmates break free of their confinement.

‘Sucker Punch’ is set to begin production this fall. The movie will also star Evan Rachel Wood, Vanessa Hudgens, Abbie Cornish, and Emma Stone.

[source: Entertainment Weekly]

Paul Bettany Starring as ‘Priest’

paul-bettanypriest1

Paul Bettany is in negotations to take the lead role in ‘Priest,’ an adaptation of the TokyoPop comic book. Â  Visual Effects artist Scott Stewart is directing.

Billed as a horror Western, ‘Prist’Â  is set in a world ravaged by centuries of war between man and vampire and follows a warrior priest (Bettany) who turns against the church to track down a murderous band of vampires who have kidnapped his niece.

Bettany and Stewart have just finished wrapping the thriller ‘Legion.’

“I knew the moment I saw Stewart’s first cut of ‘Legion’ that Bettany was Priest and so I mentioned it to him immediately,” Screen Gems president Clint Culpepper said.

Source: THR

‘Drag Me to Hell’ Gets a Poster With Flames… Cool

drag-me-to-hell-poster

I do have to say Sam Raimi generally has some pretty cool poster designs for his films. Â  Granted, ‘Spider-man’ et al had about $400 million worth of marketing, so you knew the poster design for those would be phenomenal, but Raimi’s smaller films even get in on the better-than-average design levels.

The new poster for ‘Drag Me to Hell’ is no exception. Â  It’s simple. Â  It’s effective. Â  It completely captures the mood of the film. Â  Even that tagline captures any tongue-in-cheek elements the film might convey (and, trust me, there’s plenty of that).

‘Drag Me to Hell’ comes out on May 29th.

Source: Shock Till You Drop

Jonathan Levine Jumps On ‘The Sitter’

jonathan_levine

‘The Wackness’ and ‘All the Boys Love Mandy Lane’ directer (as well as guest We Are Movie Geeks blogger) Jonathan Levine has signed on to next direct ‘The Sitter’ for Fox Atomic.

The comedy, much in the vein of ‘Adventures in Babysitting,’Â  follows a college student, suspended for the semester and living back at home with his single mom, who has a night to remember when he gets talked into baby-sitting the eccentric kids next door — two boys and a wild 8-year-old girl.

Brian Gatewood and Alessandro Tanaka are writing the screenplay. Â  Levine’s debut film, ‘All the Boys Love Mandy Lane,’ has yet to see a release, but Senator Distribution is planning a release (finally) later this year.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

WAMG attends Horror Hound Weekend 2009

horrorhound2009

We Are Movie Geeks attended Horror Hound Weekend 2009 in Indianapolis and I have to say, it was bigger and better than we had expected. I spent much of my time meeting people at the event, both fans and celebrities, and took a butt-load of pictures. Jeremy, Allison and Andy were also in attendance, making their rounds and catching up on what all there was to offer during the wicked festivities. Check out our thoughts of the event below along with some pictures from Horror Hound Weekend 2009.

Allison with John Saxon (Enter the Dragon, A Nightmare on Elm Street)

Jeremy with Jason Mewes (Clerks, Feast)

Allison and Jeremy with Corey Haim (Silver Bullet, Lost Boys)

Jeremy with Bill Moseley (The Devil's Rejects, Repo! The Genetic Opera)

Jeremy with Adrienne Barbeau (Escape from New York, The Fog)

Jeremy with Dan Roebuck (The Devil's Rejects, Halloween)

Check out even more photos from the weekend, including some creepy awesome masks, vendors, dealers, celebrities, characters and costumed fans by clicking “read the whole story” below. Continue reading WAMG attends Horror Hound Weekend 2009

Review: ‘The Path of Torment’

pathoftorment The one thing I love about independent filmmaking, more than anything else, is that the gloves come off and the sky is the limit. Anything goes and nothing is taboo. The filmmaker is free to explore any facet of their mind’s endless bounty of ideas, into the absurd, the truly dramatic or even the darkest, most twisted corners of the imagination. Truth be told, the lower the filmmaker’s budget is the more freedom they have. Once you get to the point of being on the lowest end of the budget scale, the only thing holding you back truly is yourself. So, what the Hell am I rambling on about this for when I ought to be reviewing ‘The Path of Torment’… cut me some slack, it’s a segue into my review. If you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m suggesting that ‘The Path of Torment’ falls nicely into this elaborately inappropriate introduction.

Actor/Director Gary C. Warren has managed to perfectly illustrate how an indie filmmaker with a virtually non-existent budget can make a genuinely unique and interesting film. ‘The Path of Torment’ is an extreme comedy made in the Midwest (St. Louis, to be exact) that plays both on the violence and stylistic influence of movies such as ‘Pulp Fiction’ and if that wasn’t peculiar enough, strangely inbreeds dialogue influenced both by Quentin Tarantino and Kevin Smith, resulting in an awkwardly rewarding dark comedy that narrowly escapes the confines of the absurd and firmly plants itself within the safety of solid narrative storytelling.

Gary C. Warren stars in his own movie, along side Joel Noelker, as two bicycle-riding Mormon missionaries going door-to-door in the suburbs to spread the word of Jesus Christ. Boy, were we wrong in assuming ‘The Path of Torment’ was going to be a good old fashioned wholesome Family Channel movie of the week! The story follows a newlywed couple preparing to throw a housewarming party when the wife (Dona Ellis) Â  is visited by two missionaries. Her husband (Craig Beffa) returns from running errands and the fun begins.We quickly learn the truth about this pair of unnamed missionaries who set upon themselves the task of seeking revenge on the man who wronged one of them, while the other seems to be involved simply for the fun of it all.

‘The Path of Torment’ offers a quality of production that fits well within the expectations of low-budget filmmaking, but also uses it’s freedom of experimentation to push the boundaries of what can be accomplished with the financial and technical limitations of low-budget filmmaking. Warren has a clearly spoken and confident understanding of the language of the cinema and applies it with an astounding degree of effectiveness. He also manages to use music of various styles to further accentuate the tone of the movie, which is as mentally unstable as it’s main character. In particular, the song ‘Jesus is My Friend’ is one of the funniest uses of music to convey sarcasm in a movie that I’ve seen in a long time.

Music, both hard and soft, ultra-violence, vulgarity and profanity, suspense, non-linear storytelling and visually engaging cinematography all come together to lay the stepping stones for ‘The Path of Torment’. The overall cast of characters are diverse and interesting, but the antagonists in the film maintain a presence similar to that of Peter and Paul in ‘Funny Games’. There are a few scenes that rank relatively high on the disturbing scale, one of which is particularly disturbing to the point of being just plain wrong. If you’re open to experiencing the joys of low-budget indie filmmaking and you can appreciate the finer points of offensive humor and ultra-violence when applied to a decent story, then this is a movie you should seek out.

[Overall: 4 stars out of 5]