Author: Kirk

Corey Haim Dies at 38

Part of reporting news and events in and surrounding the film industry is always hard when reporting someone has passed away.  It makes the job even harder when it is someone so young and who had so much promise earlier in their career.  Corey Haim is one such tragedy.  The child star has passed away at 38.

According to the Los Angeles Police Department, Haim passed away at 3:30 this morning from an apparent drug overdose.  Haim’s history with substance abuse has been ongoing for years.  According to the LAPD, he was with his mother when he passed away.

Haim made his way into the business at 13, first appearing in the 1984 film FIRSTBORN and the TV series, “The Edison Twins.” He garnered notoriety in 1985 with the Steven King adaptation, SILVER BULLET, and in the 1986 film, LUCAS.  In 1987, he co-starred for the first time with Corey Feldman in Joel Schumacher’s THE LOST BOYS.  It would be the first of several films the two Coreys appeared together in, including LICENSE TO DRIVE and DREAM A LITTLE DREAM.

Due to Haim’s ongoing issue with addiction, he and Feldman became distant.  In 2007, they agreed to the reality series “The Two Coreys.”  In 2008, Haim ran a Variety ad stating: “I’m back. I’m ready to work. I’m ready to make amends.”  He continued to battle with addiction, and, ultimately, A&E canceled the series after two seasons.

Haim was last seen in a cameo appearance in 2008’s LOST BOYS: THE TRIBE, and in a bit part in last year’s CRANK: HIGH VOLTAGE.

It’s the crashes we see coming that are oftentimes hardest to take.  It is sad that such a young man has passed away, but the force of it is even more of an impact when the end has been apparent for quite some time.  We at We Are Movie Geeks hope that Corey Haim is finally able to find the peace his life was so without.

Guy Ritchie Taking on EXCALIBUR

Yes, a little devil on my shoulder (not one I care to listen to all that often) wanted me to put that headline as “Guy Ritchie Takes Out EXCALIBUR,” but I’m classier, than that, folks.  Plus, who’s to say Ritchie doesn’t have some toy or otherwise…ahem…tool that he, actually, calls Excalibur?  Who am I to break that news here?

Anyway, back to movies…

Variety is reporting that Ritchie has attached himself to Warner Brothers’ new King Arthur project.  Evidently, Ritchie just loves his classical, British figures who are fictional but who many people feel truly lived in their day.  These are the people I don’t want to hang out with at parties.

This is particularly noteworthy, as, according to the scoop from Pajiba, this is WB setting up a competing project with the one already being worked on under the same house with Bryan Singer involved.  That one is a direct remake of John Boorman’s, 1981 EXCALIBUR, while the Ritchie film is a feature film adaptation of Warren Ellis’ EXCALIBUR treatment.  Could be WB hedging their bets, especially since it doesn’t seem Singer is going to be getting to his EXCALIBUR remake any time soon.

TRAINSPOTTING and THE BEACH writer John Hodge is working on the new screenplay in collaboration with Ritchie.  Atlas Entertainment and Hollywood Gang are backing the project.

TRON LEGACY Trailer Hits the Net

Painful admission, I know, but, until recently, I haven’t been a part of the TRON LEGACY buzz.  I understood it.  The original, 1982 film is considered a classic by many, and is a part of that year that is forever remembered as the greatest year for sci-fi film.  But, I have never been a huge fan, and the thought of a sequel 28 years in the making didn’t peak my excitement meter.

Then, I went to see ALICE IN WONDERLAND in 3-D.  This trailer played in front of it, and I was immediately sold.  Everything about this trailer exudes cool, builds a sense of epic mystery, and dares to toy with the notion that this is going to be more than just a run-of-the-mill sequel to capitalize on a successful brand.

It’s an adjective I have been trying to use less and less of, but there is no getting around it with this TRON LEGACY trailer.  It is awesome.  From the amazing visual effects to the incredible music.  Hell, even Bruce Boxleitner pops up to give a little setup.  It is, for lack of a better word, the perfect trailer, and, dare I say, it builds more excitement for TRON LEGACY than the IRON MAN 2 trailer did for it.

But, don’t take my word for it.  Click on Bad Blake’s eyes, head over to program-glitch-esc.net and see for yourself.  Be sure to crank those speakers, too, because this is one to experience.

TRON LEGACY is set to hit theaters on December 17th.

Coming at You Next in 3-D… God!

This was the original intention, the master plan, if you will.  When God created the heavens and the earth and moved over the face of the darkness and brought forth light, he must certainly have known that thousands and thousands (not sure what the latest count is by Christian standards) of years later, some guy named James Cameron would make a movie that would catapult the world of cinema into the realm of 3-D.

That was the idea, right?  To have Paramount Pictures and Cary Granat, the co-founder of Walden Media, create a 3-D film about Genesis called IN THE BEGINNING.  Thus comes word from Deadline Hollywood of such a project, and, surely, it is good.  It’s been a blessed course for Paramount, Granat, and screenwriter John Fusco, who is moving up from writing about Billy the Kid in YOUNG GUNS and YOUNG GUNS II to penning the story of creation.  THE SEEKER: THE DARK IS RISING helmer David Cunningham is taking the directorial reigns on this one, and not even a film about the creation can muster up enough cynicism to claim THE SEEKER was a blessed film.  Far from it.

The budget for IN THE BEGINNING will be roughly $30 million, so don’t expect all kinds of CG talking animals and in-your-face explosions.  So, really, why 3-D?  If you’re not going to have Adam wielding a flaming sword to fend off the giant, Devil snake from blowing up the tree of knowledge, what the purpose of 3-D?  To get closer to God?  Surely you jest.

Paramount will serve as distributor.

Thoughts and Notes on the 82nd Academy Awards

The 82nd Academy Awards have come and gone, and, instead of running a copy and pasted list of the winners (and inevitable losers), I’ve decided to grade the awards show itself.  There were very few surprises, but, as the following list indicates, there were some interesting take-aways from the festivities.

Here you go:

  • Hamish Hamilton served as director of the show for the first time.  Take from that what you will.
  • Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin were very funny in their roles as co-hosts, but didn’t it seem like they were under-used?
  • Martin was strapped into that cherry picker in the beginning.  Baldwin wasn’t. This proves my theory that Alec Baldwin is more of a man than Steve Martin.
  • The faux disdain between Baldwin and George Clooney was brilliant and should have been re-visited throughout the night.

  • Just for the record, this was a Slanket, not a Snuggie.

  • If you didn’t find this hysterical, you have no pulse.
  • Yes, it happened way back in November, but last night served as the official unveiling to the world.  Roger Corman now has an Oscar in his possession.

  • As funny as Ben Stiller is (and was last night), staring intently at James Cameron and saying, “I see you” has overstayed its welcome.  Not sure it ever had one.
  • Whoever decided to have Gerard Butler and Bradley Cooper on together must have absolute disdain for us normal looking guys.  As an aside, I’d choose Gerard if I had to, but only if I HAD to.
  • Yeah, it took me awhile to remember Forrest Whitaker directed HOPE FLOATS, too.

  • Robert Downey, Jr: There are none cooler.
  • Hearing Colin Farrell talk about S.W.A.T. right after hearing Tim Robbins talk about THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION was interesting.   That he did so even more lovingly than Robbins is flooring.
  • I know it was for the science and technical awards, but Elizabeth Banks coming out to the theme from E.T. was just odd.
  • Getting the Oscars over in just under 3 1/2 hours is fine, but I still want to hear them perform the best original songs one by one.  Let’s hope that segment comes back in subsequent years.

  • This man should run for politics, because he is probably one of the most eloquent speakers I’ve heard in recent memory.
  • As a fan of horror, I didn’t enjoy the half-assed attempt to show love for the genre.   It felt out of place.  There were blaring omissions from some of the more, notable, recent films of the genre.  Equally strange were the odd inclusions of wholly non-horror films like MARATHON MAN and EDWARD SCISSORHANDS.  Just a mess from conception to execution.
  • I love montages, but the one they threw together last night for horror should have been replaced by a review of 2009 as a whole.  In fact, this should be a staple of the Oscar telecast, a montage of most of the films released from the previous year.  It would even give some, any, love for films that were otherwise completely left out of reference altogether.  Films like WATCHMEN, (500) DAYS OF SUMMER, MOON, THE ROAD, WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE, THE INFORMANT!, TAKEN, PUBLIC ENEMIES, I LOVE YOU MAN, and DRAG ME TO HELL were never even mentioned last night.  The inclusion of such a montage would change that.

  • The debacle that was the acceptance speech for MUSIC BY PRUDENCE had a lot of people buzzing. Who was that woman? What was she going off about?  Why did the director who accepted the award seem to sprint to the podium?  All of these questions are answered by Salon.com, who got in contact with both parties while the awards were going on.  Essentially, it boils down to the director, Roger Ross Williams, and the producer, Elinor Burkett, having different opinions on the focus of the film.  They don’t like each other.  Salon.com has all the details.  Regardless, it created a lot of buzz and was probably the most interesting aspect of the whole evening.
  • I’m not a fan of people potentially presenting awards to films they were in. IE: Sigourney Weaver and Sam Worthington presenting awards that AVATAR is nominated for.  Never have liked it.  Never will like it.  There are enough presenters to cover all the awards for a particular film and there are enough awards to cover all the potential presenters.  Rework this please.

  • This man now holds an Oscar, and, for the film he won it for, he couldn’t be more deserving.
  • Call it blasphemy, sacrilege, what-have-you, but seeing Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy, Anthony Michael Hall, and Molly Ringwald together makes me hopeful of a BREAKFAST CLUB reunion movie.  Emilio Estevez can’t be that hard to get, either.
  • Whoever decided to have Pedro Almodovar, a foreign film director, and Quentin Tarantino, a lover of such films, present Best Foreign Film was a genius.

  • Three things. 1)I’m sure Sean Penn’s ramblings during the Best Actress presentation sounded better in his head. 2) I’m sure it made perfect sense to him. 3) He’s alone.
  • She didn’t, but, if Kathryn Bigelow would have started her acceptance speech with, “I am Kathryn Bigelow.  Lee Daniels isn’t here.  I am.”, would anyone have blamed her?  See this weekend’s Independent Spirit Awards to understand fully.
  • You might think Tom Hanks rushed through the Best Picture proceedings, but you’d be wrong:

    • @tomhanks OscarShow Flash — Nope, I didn’t hurry the Best Pic bit: That’s how it was planned and rehearsed from the get go. Hanx about 1 hours ago via web

  • Loved seeing Jeremy Renner, Brian Geraghty, and Anthony Mackie cheering it up during the Best Picture acceptance.  That’s how you show the world you’re king of it for that moment, not by telling them.
  • Yes, that was a bald Guy Pearce.  No, I didn’t recognize him at first, either.

LEGEND OF THE GUARDIANS First Look

From the bloodthirsty director of 2004’s DAWN OF THE DEAD, 300, and WATCHMEN comes…an animated film about owls?  Hey, whatever floats Zack Snyder’s boat, and, judging from these first glimpses of LEGEND OF THE GUARDIANS (Warner Brothers recently changed the name from GUARDIANS OF GA’HOOLE, because, evidently, you can’t pronounce GA’HOOLE), the man’s got an eye for animation, too.

First up, USA Today brings us the first stills from the film, which tells the tale of a young barn owl who is captured by a society that turns normal owls into brainwashed soldiers.  Pretty dark, and, judging from what Snyder has to say about the film, it is going to follow suit.

Check out these images:

Also up today, thanks to Yahoo! Movies, we have the first trailer for the film.

Check it out right here:

Hey, any trailer that begins with Hugo Weaving’s voice telling us about a legend has me immediately sold.  But, more than that, it’s just a really well-cut trailer that makes the film look very powerful.  It almost seems like a film that should be coming out this Summer instead of the dog days of September.  Oh, well, we need quality films then, too, I guess.

LEGEND OF THE GUARDIANS hits theaters on September 24th.

The Toys Are Bursting Out of This TOY STORY 3 Poster

The gangs all here.  Well, Totoro’s not here.  And Pickaxe Pete seems to not be along for the ride this time around.  And there seems to be something a bit different with Slinky Dog.  But, other than that, it seems the whole gang is front and present for this TOY STORY 3 poster.

Brought to us today by Yahoo! Movies, the poster is fine.  It’s colorful enough so as to draw the eye in those brightly lit theater lobbies.  And, for some reason, Jessie sticking her leg out to show us Andy’s name still promptly written on the bottom of her boot brings a heart-filled grin to my face.  And, hey, the ascot is there for anyone who can’t get enough of that.  The poster could have been a black print with the ascot hanging in the middle, and I would have been sold.

TOY STORY 3 hits theaters in 3-D and IMAX on June 18th.

Survive This SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD Red-Band Trailer

I know that SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD played Fantastic Fest last September, and I remember hearing fairly good things.  However, I am not feeling the level of energy behind the people championing this film like I was the people denigrating George Romero’s last zombie flick, DIARY OF THE DEAD.  Nonetheless, whether people are excited for this film or not, and despite my own, personal distaste for DIARY, I am always excited to see a new, Romero …OF THE DEAD film.  This one is no exception.

That is why I am not going to watch this red-band trailer for SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD.  I’ll have no problem watching a green-band trailer, but, when it comes to films like this, it seems the red-band is there, because the trailer shows some gore.  I want to go into SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD without any preconceived knowledge of any of the deaths in the film.

That’s not to say you can’t check it out.  Right here, even.  It comes to us courtesy of Bloody-Disgusting:

Was it good enough?  Does it entice you back to Romero’s world of zombies?  Were you even a fan of DIARY OF THE DEAD?  Let us know by shooting us a comment in the section below.

SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD hits Video On Demand, XBOX Live, Playstation and Amazon on April 30th.  It gets a theatrical release on May 28th.  Survive that!

New NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET Banner Has Freddy Walking on Water

Now, this should have been the second poster Warner/New Line released for their NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET remake.  It’s different.  It’s slick.  It’s a little creepy.

Just one note, completely black out the girl’s face.  Make her a faceless victim, and make Jackie Earle Haley’s Freddy and the hallway the star of the thing.  This inclusion of an actor’s face seems a bit like they are going for the SCREAM/I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER structure, which, essentially, made the 20-somethings-posing-as-teens the stars of the film rather than the killer of the piece.

Nonetheless, there is very little I dislike about this poster.  Even that little inclusion of a period at the end of the tag line:

“He knows where you sleep.”

As if that’s the final word on Freddy and the way he is going to find you.  So far, so good on all aspects of the marketing for this film.  Let’s just hope Platinum Dunes and Samuel Bayer deliver where Marcus Nispel couldn’t with this FRIDAY THE 13th remake.

A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET is set for release on April 30th.

Five Actors Better Suited for the CONAN Villain Role than Stephen Lang

The man rocks a mean coffee mug.  That, we cannot take away from the grizzled, bleach blonde Stephen Lang, who thumped Sam Worthington a time or two in AVATAR.  I guess that makes the guy suited to play the villain role, because news broke today over at Latino Review that Lang has been offered the part of the heavy in the Marcus Nispel-directed reworking of CONAN.

What say us?  Well, before we give our own, person opinion, let’s give a description of who the people behind CONAN were looking for.

Khalar Singh is in his 40s to 50s, Asian or Middle Eastern, Central Asian, Mongol, Turkish, or Persian, open to all ethnicities; commanding in size and manner, a warlord and formidable warrior, brilliant, cruel, weathered and tanned by the many campaigns he has waged and won. He is driven in his quest to find the Queen of Acheron and has been building an empire to do so.

Okay, Lang is 57, and he seems like the kind of man who could easily be driven to build an empire under the bones of his crushed enemies.  He also seems like to hear the lamentations of their women, but that’s another story altogether.  What really cries foul in this whole decision and screams of reactive cinema is the second line of description on Singh.  Asian or Middle Eastern, Central Asian, Mongol, Turkish, or Persian.

Stephen Lang is from New York City, and, were it not for the $2.5 billion AVATAR has made worldwide, his name wouldn’t even be in the running for the CONAN Role.  In fact, I would go so far as to say this is probably the worst example of reactive film making I’ve seen in recent memory.  Okay, Michael Bay using “Battle Without Honor or Humanity” to show off the new Camaro in TRANSFORMERS probably beats it, but this is right up there.

Don’t get me wrong.  There is nothing wrong with Lang.  He is a fine actor, and AVATAR along with PUBLIC ENEMIES last year proved he has what it takes to show off his bad ass side.  However, there are fine Asian and Middle Eastern actors out there who would probably be more suited to play the role of a man whose surname is Singh.  Besides, we want Lang free and clear if they ever decide to bring Cable into the X-MEN movies.

Here are just five of those suitable choices:

Tadanobu Asano

Where he is from: Yokohama, Japan

Where you know him: ICHI THE KILLER, SURVIVE STYLE 5+, MONGOL

Personally, who I think would be the ideal choice is a man whose move to high-profile, Hollywood fare I’ve been championing since first seeing him going crazy in Takashi Miike THE KILLER.  Asano has what it takes to play villainous, charming, and absolutely insane.  Plus, as we’ve seen from most of his movies, he has what it takes to stand up to someone like Conan physically.  He’s young.  Asano only turns 38 this year, but, as proven in MONGOL, he wears the weathered look well.  Of course, worry not if you’re a fan of Asano.  He can next be seen in Kenneth Branagh’s THOR, and that’s just about enough to make up for him not getting this part.

Oded Fehr

Where he is from: Tel Aviv, Israel

Where you know him: THE MUMMY (’97), THE MUMMY RETURNS, RESIDENT EVIL: APOCALYPE and EXTINCTION

Okay, maybe not the best choice when it comes to acting ability or in regards to filmography pedigree.  Oded Fehr hasn’t made the best choices in his career, and one has to look at his work on Showtime’s “Sleeper Cell” to see the best acting the man has to offer.  Regardless, he is quite cool, and could definitely teach Jason Momoa a thing or two in the charm department.  He is 39, so that puts him just outside the casting’s age requirement.  Of course, they put the offer out to Stephen Lang.  Their requirements are flimsy at best.

Hiroyuki Sanada

Where he is from: Tokyo, Japan

Where you know him: THE LAST SAMURAI, SUNSHINE, SPEED RACER, “Lost”

Sanada should have broken out a long time ago.  It’s been seven years since THE LAST SAMURAI, and it is still easy to reflect how memorable he was in the small but effective part of Ujio.  Since then, he’s had bit parts here and there, and is more than likely going to achieve some notoriety with his turn as Dogen on this final season of “Lost.”  Of course, Sanada has been acting in film since his tiny part in 1974’s THE EXECUTIONER.  Since then, he has put on around 70 films to his credit.  He would be perfect for the part of Singh.  At 49, he’s in the perfect age range for the part, he’s very cool, and he has proven time and time again he has what it takes both in the acting department and the physical department to bring the villainous role to bad ass life.  Oh, you aren’t sure about the physical side?  Just watch the first 10 minutes of this week’s “Lost”. You will be proven wrong.

Choi Min-sik

Where he is from: Seoul, South Korea

Where you know him: OLDBOY, LADY VENGEANCE

Gotta be honest here, I only know Choi Min-sik from three films, the two mentioned above and TAE GUK GI, but only one of these roles proves he has what it takes for the Singh part in CONAN.  Granted, there probably aren’t any Ace Hardwares anywhere in Cimmeria, so it may be hard for Singh to get his hands on a claw hammer.  Nonetheless, I’m sure Min-sik could find other, more dangerous weapons just as suitable as he found that damned hammer in OLDBOY.  Plus, he took on around 50 or 60 guys in OLDBOY and made it look convincing that he was winning.  I’m sure he would have no issues at all with making Momoa look like a chump.

Shohreh Aghdashloo

Where she is from: Tehran, Iran

Where you know her: THE HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG, “24”, “FlashForward”

Okay, I know what you’re thinking.  This is ridiculous and I must be smoking something very pure if I think Shohreh Aghdashloo would make a decent villain(ess) in the upcoming CONAN movie.  But think of how interesting and different it would be for Marcus Nispel and crew to rewrite the character and make it a female antagonist who has, somehow, built an empire around her shoulders.

Sean Hood was recently brought in to do a fresh rewrite on the screenplay, anyway, and, while he isn’t the last bastion for groundbreaking screenwriting, he could have a few tricks up his sleeve.  Sure, there probably wouldn’t be any hand-to-hand action between Singh and Conan if this were to come to pass, but that’s what henchmen are for, right?  I say screw conformity and go with the freshest and most interesting (not to mention about as distanced from “reactive” film making as you can get) choice imaginable.  Role with Aghdashloo as Singh.  If for nothing else, I just want to see what she looks like with bleach blonde hair.

CONAN is set to begin filming later this year.