"Capote" Reviewed At Movieforum

Lidia F's typically-thoughtful review of "Capote''--starring Philip Seymour Hoffman and Catherine Keenor--is now up at the Movieforum blog spot. I had to skip this one at this year's TIFF because of "Tideland", but based upon her review, I'll definitely add it to my "must see" list, when and if it ever opens in Toronto. She'll tell you all about it here.

Rocket NOT Reported...

Sure, he'll never be mentioned in the same breath as Bill Murray, or even Garrett Morris for that matter, but it strikes me as rather sad that one of the more-notorious "Not Ready For Prime Time Players" passed away last week, and his obit has received little coverage (as of this posting, his IMDB bio page lists him as still living). Charles Rocket, of the ill-fated and much-lamented 1980-81 season of "Saturday Night Live", died on October 7th in Connecticut at the age of 56. Sadly, the cause of death has been ruled a suicide--Rocket reportedly cut his throat with a knife. Rocket is survived by his wife Beth, and son Zane.

Rocket (formerly Charles Calervie)--a former news anchor and weatherman, was arguably groomed to be the new cast's Chevy Chase, with his blandly handsome features and sneering delivery. But he blew his chances at his own "Oh Heavenly Dog" by blurting out the once-shocking "f-word" during a parody of the "Dallas" "Who Shot J.R." episode. Rocket would claim it was an accident, but there are many who maintained it was a deliberate stunt to get himself fired from the show, which at the time seemed on the brink of cancellation (Dick Ebersol had taken over the producing reigns from creator Lorne Michaels, who eventually returned, of course).

Rocket continued on as a voice and supporting actor, appearing in such varied fare as "Moonlighting", "Earth Girls are Easy," "Dumb & Dumber", "Dances With Wolves" and "Max Headroom". He also played accordion in many bands, and performed on a tribute album to Fellini composer Nino Rota with "Blondie"s Deborah Harry and Chris Stein.

For more on the 1980-81 season, check out the excellent "Saturday Night: A Backstage History Of Saturday Night Live", by Doug Hill and Jeff Weingrad.

"When The Dead Walk, We Must Learn To Crochet, Or We Lose The War..."

In honour of this week's DVD release of George Romero's long-overdue (and most excellent, IMHO) fourth entry into his decades-spanning zombie allegory--that's "Land Of The Dead" to those of you "into the whole brevity thing"--here's one of the stranger homages to the second, and still best chapter, 1978's "Dawn Of The Dead". Undead Cozies!!! And here I thought I was a die-hard 'cause I've got a mint-condition copy of the TSR boardgame and the Starlog poster book (both signed by Romero, Savini, and Argento--and no, I'll never sell 'em). But this takes dedication to a whole new level (but don'tcha kinda wish you could buy one?)...

Check out what happens when ghouls fall into The Improbability Drive here.

He's Bond, Mom's Blond, He's A Blonde Bond--Oh, It's HIM Already!

Well, like you haven't heard this about a thousand times today already, but it appears that for once, the fanboyz had it right and Daniel Craig will be the next James Bond. The news was leaked to the press hours before the studio's official announcement by Craig's...mother...who was probably just trying to call the neighbours but still hasn't gotten the hang of these new-fangled phones.

Carol Blond is obviously thrilled that her youngster (actually, 37) has been awarded the coveted role over the better-known Colin Farrell, Clive Owen, Ewan McGregor, and Pierce Brosnan--who I'm still not sure was in, out, or even willing to reprise the role. Sez Mom: "We're thrilled to bits. This has come at a very good time in his career. He has worked hard all his life and this will be his most famous part. It will be life-changing, but I think he is old enough and experienced enough to handle it."

Craig is a damn fine actor of impressive range and charisma. Chances are you've seen him as Paul Newman's trigger-happy lunatic son in "Road To Perdition". Chances are you haven't seen him in Matthew Vaughan's crime gem "Layer Cake", which you really should remedy--now.

The next installment will be yet another adaptation of Sir Ian Fleming's first Bond novel "Casino Royale", which was adapted for the first time in 1954 on live television (with American Barry Nelson as "Jimmy Bond", and as a notorious, problem-plagued and overblown madcap comedy in 1967. This take, presumably a straight one, begins in January under the direction of a returning Martin Campbell.

"Respect The Flag, Fuzzball!"

Wookie warrior/navigator/Dejarik Holochess champion "Chewbacca" will become a U.S. citizen when Peter Mayhew takes the pledge in Arlington, Texas next Monday. The 60-year old British-born thesp is married to a native-Texan, so according to law, he'll be able to take the tests after having lived on American soil for less than six years. A good part of those years at comic book conventions.

"I am feeling very happy about it," said Mayhew. "I know that I have the best of both worlds with the dual nationality."

At least we know that this time, the big man (7 ft., 3 inches!!!) will walk away with a proper medal.

But Can They Computer Generate A Cameo By Richard Egan?

Zack Snyder's adaptation of Frank Miller and Lynn Varley's graphic novel "300" has quite the cast: "Variety" reports Lena Headey ("The Brothers Grimm"), Dominic West ("The Wire"), David Wenham ("Van Helsing"), Vincent Regan ("Empire") and Rodrigo Santoro ("Love, Actually") have joined headliner Gerard Butler ("Beowulf And Grendel") for this latest historical swashbuckler. Production starts in Montreal in about 2 weeks.

Butler plays King Leonidas, who led 300 Spartan warriors into a bloody battle with the Persian army at Thermopylae. Headey will play Leonidas' wife "Gorgo". Beyond that, there's no current word as to who plays who.

As with the adaptation of Miller's "Sin City", "300" will be shot entirely against a green screen with CG backdrops to be added later. Let's hope this one's as big a hit as "Sin City"--a film version of Miller and Darrow's "Hard Boiled" in the capable hands of someone like David Twohy or Kerry Conran would be a beautiful thing indeed...

And On The Next "Dini Petty Show": Survivors Of Gilliam...

Canadian actress/activist (and now, director) Sarah Polley had her own "unique" reaction to Terry Gilliam's latest polarizing oddity "Tideland": she published a letter she'd written to the filmmaker upon hearing of his plan to shoot in Saskatchewan, which documented the alleged "traumas" she'd endured as a result of his demanding conditions when she appeared (at age 9) in his problem-plagued 1988 epic "The Adventures Of Baron Munchausen". So concerned was she for the health of "Tideland" star Jodell Ferdland, she called ACTRA (Canada's version of SAG) and urged them to keep an eye on the girl!

Claims Polley: "Basically, I remember being afraid a lot of the time. I felt incredibly unsafe. I remember a couple of trips to the hospital after being in freezing water for long periods of time, losing quite a bit of my hearing for days at a time due to explosives, having my heart monitored when one went off relatively close to me, etc. I remember running through this long sort of corridor where explosives went off every few feet, things were on fire, etc..."

Gilliam, obviously a good sport, responded with civility and some regret: "As far as the scars of Munchausen go, I had no idea that they were that deep...You seemed so focused, I had no idea you were having such a terrifying time." However, the director did question her memory as to what scenes she actually appeared in, and what were, in fact, the work of her double...

Here's a link to their exchange as published in The Toronto Star.

"The Warriors" Turns 26. Can You Dig It?

Walter Hill's lean-and-mean 1979 thriller "The Warriors" turns 26 this year (wonder why Paramount dropped the ball in failing to award this enduring cult classic a proper silver anniversary last year...?). Very cool Mezco action figures hit shelves last month (a choice of two Baseball Furies, for completists), a new (and controversial) "special edition" DVD was released this week, and later in the month, Rockstar Games North will unveil a videogame incarnation for the PS2 and Xbox.

Pretty impressive legs for a low-budget film based on a largely unknown novel (by Sol Yurik--which I was once able to find buried in one of those 25 cent paperback bins in my hometown's Woolworth's) which was inspired by a little known Greek legend (hence character names like Cyrus and Ajax). Hill based his screenplay more on the tale, "Anabasis" by Xenophone, than on Yurik's book, and originally meant to open the film with a "sometime in the near future" subtitle to explain the film's decidedly unrealistic and underpopulated Manhattan (perhaps the opticals cost too much...?).

Seeing it today, it's hard to believe that this bloodless and ultra-stylized fantasy (the fight in Central Park is almost like "West Side Story" without the music) was once vilified by activists who blamed it for violent incidents that allegedly occurred at various screenings, which, of course, only upped its cache of "cool". No doubt in this post "Hot Coffee" era, the videogame will inspire much of the same hysteria.

It's still a great film, and one of the first I can remember seeing which seemed inspired by the language of comics (and it had one of the still all-time-greatest movie posters, for some reason, not included in the disc's packaging...). Walter Hill is a director long overdue for some serious AFI love...

"When Jack Met Wendy", or, "Sleepless In Colorado"?

I've heard of "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" interpreted as a vehicle for a homophobic agenda, and the original "Planet Of The Apes" as a metaphor for the Vietnam era, but who ever thought of Stephen King's "The Shining" as fodder for a sappy, Nora Ephron-esque romantic comedy?

An unnamed post-house held a competition where assistant editors were challenged to ‘re-cut’ trailers that would change the nature/genre of famous movies. This riff on Stanley Kubrick's classic 1980 adaptation of "The Shining" was the winner (all that's missing is the Motown sing-a-long and a shot of Shelly Duvall throwing up her arms in the rain).

Share the love here (and here are the other entries: "West Side Story" and "Titanic")

Want more? Here's "The Shining" again, but with bunnies...

Because Nothing Rhymes With "Quartodecimanism"

Remember when Christian rock meant "Stryper"? No, I don't either, although I did find one of their albums in my condo complex's communal trash room last weekend (left it and took home the mint copy of Philip Michael Thomas' "Living The Book Of My Life" instead). Anyway, someone's went and recorded what probably is the most obvious song parody of all time, Deep Purple's "Smoke On The Water" as..."Walked On The Water" (we've all thought it at one time or another, right?). And while you're enjoying the righteous tuneage, check out some of my storyboard panels for the feature film "Gospel Of John".

13 More Reasons To Bit Torrent...

"Scream"--Canada's superb horror channel that you really should be subscribing to--will premiere Showtime's much-anticipated "Masters Of Horror" anthology series just in time for Halloween. Now you've got a legit reason not to answer the doorbell and turn off the porch light! Oh, sorry...too early...

The series will offer feature a baker's dozen of hour-long chillers from 13 of the genre's most acclaimed and influential directors: Dario Argento (Suspiria, Tenebrae), Larry Cohen (It's Alive, God Told Me To), Lucky McKee (May), Don Coscarelli (Phantasm, Bubba Ho-Tep), Joe Dante (The Howling, Piranha), Mick Garris (Sleepwalkers, The Stand), Stuart Gordon (Re-Animator, From Beyond), John Landis (An American Werewolf in London, Innocent Blood), Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Funhouse) and of course, my favorite, John Carpenter (Halloween, The Thing, The Fog). Stories are either adapted from/or written by their original authors, including H.P. Lovecraft, Richard Matheson, Joe R. Lansdale, Stephen King, Clive Barker, David Schow, and comics greats Steve Niles, Bruce Jones, and Bernie Wrightson.

Can this get any better? Yes it can--later in the season, Takashi Miike (Audition, Ichi The Killer) will present his first U.S. production that will likely cause Michael Medved a massive coronary.

The first episode, "Incident On and Off a Mountain Road" is from Coscarelli, adapted by Lansdale from his own short story, and yes, features Angus Scrimm (no word on a Reggie Bannister cameo, though). Series debuts October 29 at 10pm ET.

Farewell To A Hollywood Legend: Robert Wise Passes Away At 91

Condolences to the family and friends of Hollywood legend Robert Wise, who passed away today of heart failure in Los Angeles at the age of 91. Wow, what a career this fellow had...

He was the film editor on Orson Welles' debut , the classic (and frequent winner in most of those "best film of all time" polls) "Citizen Kane" (1941), one of those rare films that almost single-handedly changed motion picture language and techniques.

Wise became a director with 1944’s "The Curse of the Cat People", after the original director fell too far behind schedule. Horror film icon Val Lewton hired Wise to direct another chiller, "The Body Snatcher" the following year. He directed 37 more films, among them some of the most acclaimed, influential, and beloved in the short history of the art form. Genre fans in an era pre-Lucas and Spielberg blockbusters marveled to his still-classic “The Haunting” and “The Day The Earth Stood Still”, as well as “The Andromeda Strain” and the underrated “Star Trek: The Motion Picture”. The Hollywood musical was forever defined by his “West Side Story” (co-directed with Jerome Robbins) and “The Sound Of Music”. He worked in almost every genre, including straight drama (“Somebody Up There Likes Me”), the war film ("Run Silent Run Deep"), historical spectacle (“Helen Of Troy”), and the Western ("Tribute to a Bad Man"). His last film was 2000’s “A Storm In Summer”, which he directed, incredibly, at age 85 for Showtime from an unproduced screenplay by Rod Serling.

Wise was awarded four Oscars during his career, as well as The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award in 1966. He also received the D.W. Griffith Award from the Directors Guild of America in 1988. He served as both President of the Director’s Guild and President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and was championed by seemingly everyone who ever knew and worked with him.

I had the pleasure of meeting Wise briefly when he came to Toronto in 1995 to promote the book “Robert Wise On His Films”. In a cramped memorabilia shop, he graciously took the time to speak to every one of his fans and sign materials despite the obvious ravages of age and road fatigue.

"No, Meester Bond, I Expect You To Work For Scale"...

I'm not a huuuuge James Bond fan, really, but I've always dug the series as agreeable eye candy ever since I first caught "The Spy Who Loved Me" on a matinee back in 1977, on one of the rare weekends when Doug McClure wasn't headlining some cheap-ass Edgar Rice Burroughs adaptation. Yes, call me sacrilegious but I'll admit that for most of my teen years, Roger Moore was the definitive JB for me (could be worse--for some, Cathy Lee Crosby is the definitive Wonder Woman...). Thankfully, it only took one screening of "Thunderball" on a dusk-til-dawn all-nighter to set me straight before graduation...

With Fleming's first Bond novel, "Casino Royale", pegged by the Broccolis as the next official adaptation and much talk of auditioning a younger replacement for the (reportedly) unceremoniously drop-kicked-out-of-the-series Pierce Brosnan, word has it this week that the former Remington Steele/Thomas Crown v. 2.0 is still in the running after all.

Sony, which now owns MGM, have rejected just about every serious candidate to date, from Daniel Craig to Gerald Butler (everyone's ideal choice, Clive Owen, has made it clear he isn't interested in the franchise). The casting is left to four people: Amy Pascal of Sony, series producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, and director Martin Campbell, each of whom have their favorites. With Brosnan's four entries having outgrossed all previous films in the series as well as other attempted spy franchises like the "Bourne" and "XXX" capers, Sony may reconsider their policy on his age and alleged outrageous salary demands. Brosnan claims Sony has asked him to "come back", but whether he dons the tuxedo for a fifth time will be up to the series producers, who don't seem to know what they want (which would explain why "a-Ha" was once chosen to perform a title song). Sean Connery and Roger Moore had similiar feuds with the Broccolis during their respective reigns--Dalton and Lazenby probably would've returned for meal vouchers if asked.

"Casino Royale", as everyone probably knows, has already been adapted twice before: once, in 1954 as part of the "Climax!" live TV series, starring American Barry Nelson as "Jimmy Bond", and again in 1967 as a madcap spoof/debacle that starred three actors as JB (David Niven, Peter Sellers, and Woody Allen), went through five directors, and is best remembered for its cloying Burt Bacharach score. Too bad the producers are such Octopussies and won't budge from the formula--Quentin Tarantino has offered to direct "Casino Royale" as long as he can set it in the 1960s and cast Daniel Day Lewis as the man with the license to kill.

Now Heeere's Johnny!: Carpenter Returns To Directing

Just a brief detour from my rigorous TIFF 2005 shenanigans (which included my purchasing an annoying new cell phone--I gotta stop hanging out in shops between screenings and spend more time in bars arguing Eisensteinian montage) here with great news for horror buffs and discriminating film tastes (yes, they can reside in the same body, let alone latitude and longitude): John Carpenter's self-imposed hiatus from directing has come to an end with the announcement that he would be helming a segment of Showtime's upcoming "Masters Of Horror" anthology series entitled "Cigarette Burns". But we heard about that sequel to "The Thing ", "The Stars My Destination", and "Pincushion", too, didn't we? Well, now there's proof. Click here for some snapshots from the set of what will hopefully atone for the misfire (albeit an enjoyable one) that was "Ghosts Of Mars". This should be one helluva series, with other segments helmed by the likes of Dario Argento, John Landis, Tobe Hooper, Lucky McKee, Joe Dante, and Don Coscarelli.

"Cigarette Burns" was written by "Ain't It Cool"s "Moriarity", aka Drew McQueeney, with Scott Swan and promises a "twisted investigative thriller in the vein of 'Chinatown'". Jimmy Sweetman, a tracker of obscure film prints, is hired to unearth the lost "Le Fin du Monde". Legend has it that its one and only audience was driven into a murderous rage.

Hmmm, a little bit of Carpenter's "In The Mouth Of Madness", a little bit of Ramsey Campbell's novel "Ancient Evenings". The series debuts on October 28th, and hopefully, someone in Canada is working on the broadcast details.

All That's Missing Is A Faith Hill Cover Of "Can You Read My Mind?"

Production on Bryan Singer's "Superman Returns" is reportedly on hiatus for a few weeks--so much for "faster than a speeding bullet"...just when is this thing going to be ready? Supes' long-overdue screen resurrection has dragged through so many multiple screenplays (Kevin Smith, J.J. Abrams) and bailing directors (Tim Burton, Brett Ratner) you'd swear it was a Terrance Malick opus. The good news is that production stills are starting to emerge in legitimate media sources--the even better news is that the images look damn promising. I don't know how they're going to spin this one as a bizarro combo remake/sequel to 1981's "Superman 2"--most of us will buy the new young buck Brandon what's-his-name subbing for the late, great Christopher Reeve, and even Kevin Spacey for Gene Hackman, but how did New York City circa-1978 become 2005 Sydney? Will The Daily Planet reporters still be using IBM Selectrics? If anyone can make us believe a man can fly--again--it'll be Singer, who gave us two "X-Men" films far better than we probably deserved...

TIFF'D In Toronto

Sorry I've been scarce lately, but with the end of summer comes the massive chore that is planning for the annual Toronto International Film Festival. Having been screwed by the ridiculous "lottery" process for the third year in a row, my significant other and I have been scrambling to salvage the remaining tickets from our coupon book without having to settle for the three-hour Tibetan yak herding docudrama. Operating solo, I'll be covering the 10 day cinematic bacchanalia for my old haunt, the U.K.-based website Movieforum, offering (hopefully) informed and entirely prejudiced opinions on somewhere in the neighborhood of two dozen films including David Cronenberg's "A History Of Violence", Terry Gilliam's "Tideland", Lars von Trier's "Manderlay", Steven Soderbergh's "Bubble", Neil Jordan's "Breakfast On Pluto", Eli Roth's "Hostel", Roman Polanski's "Oliver", Park Chan Wook's "Sympathy For Lady Vengeance", Shane Black's "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang" and of course, Sturla Gunnerson's "Beowulf And Grendel". Check out my daily coverage here at the Movieforum blog site.

Trembling Before Greatness: Comics Legend Neal Adams

This year's Canadian National Comic Book Expo offered the usual embarrassment of riches for fans (insert obvious "geek" joke here) of every possible medium and splinter genre: sci-fi TV and film, fantasy role playing games, Japanese anime, cult horror, and of course, a certain four-colour medium still inching towards respectability. The top draw (rimshot) for your humble narrator was the rare chance to meet the great Neal Adams--probably the pop-culture figure with the most direct cause-and-effect influence on my career, since it was his work and only his work that I shamelessly copied as a youngster and through my student years held up as the penultimate standard of illustration excellence (I didn't say I was as good as Adams, but a mere mortal can have dreams...). The always- outspoken Adams was a young turk who not only revolutionized the look of Silver Age comics with his dynamic realism and experimental techniques, but he became a champion for artists' rights, crusading (and winning!) for increased rates, ownership of original art, reprint fees, medical coverage, and pensions. Thirty years after he stopped drawing "Batman" and left DC Comics to form Continuity Studios, his rendering of the character remains definitive. Click here to see the master in action as he creates the recently famous (even though he first drew him in "Batman" #232 back in 1971) R'as Al Gul step-by-step.

So To Paraphrase W.C., Mr. Parkes: "Never Work With Children, Animals, Or Scotsmen"?

Film snobs be damned, I really want to like Michael Bay. He's got a great eye and loves to entertain audiences--he's like H.B Halicki with an unlimited bank account. Too bad for every movie Bay's helmed that delivers on its premise (The Rock, Armageddon), he's hatched an excruciating turkey (Pearl Harbor, Bad Boys 2). But he redeemed himself with this summer's spirited clones-on-the-roam bomb "The Island", for which I seem to be a fan club of one.

The film's own weasely producers, Walter Parkes and his wife Laurie, won't be joining: incredibly, they're blaming the stars Scarlett Johansson and Ewan McGregor for its poor showing. The Parkes' have staged a nasty smear against the esteemed thesps with Johansson's talents taking the biggest beating. According to the Parkes': "Those are superstars of the future, not superstars of the present. Even lesser television actresses, quite honestly, would have more connection to that audience." Like who, exactly? Daphne Zuniga? Markie Post? (what exactly is meant by that audience?). Read their feeble tirade here. And expect their next film to headline Edie McClurg...

Let's Hope They Served Him Some "Hot Coffee", If You Get My Drift...

They've caused me a few near-aneurisms since I first stood before a Defender console in the K-Mart foyer back in the Reagan era--but videogames have yet to kill me. Rather, the moral guardians of my youth thought "Fangoria" and "D&D" would kill off my generation first. Unfortunately, some obsessive sap in Seoul, South Korea (one of the most wired countries in the world) died of heart failure immediately after finishing his mammoth online gaming session in an Internet cafe--50 hours!

28-year-old "Lee" began his online battle game at a Taegu cybercafe on Aug. 3 and only left his spot over the next three days to go to the toilet and take brief naps. Lee had recently quit his job to spend more time gaming and after he failed to return home (to his mother, big surprise), former colleagues tracked him to the cafe. Lee promised he would finish the game and then go home. He died only minutes later. "We presume the cause of death was heart failure stemming from exhaustion," a police official theorized.

I must say, I've been scared straight by this story. Having just finished "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" this past week (I began it last December, so I'm well past Lee's fatal 50th hour), I'll be sure to pause for macrobiotic snacks, yogic meditation, and home-decorating shows (to slow my racing heartbeat) before committing myself to my next challenge: "God Of War".

"Beat The Geats" At TIFF 2005

Sturla Gunnarsson's film version of "Beowulf" will make its world premiere at the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival, celebrating its 30th year. Adapted by Andrew Rai Berzins from the Old English poem (dated approx. 1100 A.D.--so expect some changes purists!) and focusing on the first half of the epic tale (the dragon will appear in the sequel), "Beowulf And Grendel" (full title) stars Gerard Butler, Sarah Polley, and Stellan Skarsgård, and was shot last autumn on authentic Icelandic locations and offers a grittier, meditative approach to what could have been an orgy of CGI (that'll likely come with the rival Zemeckis production, adapted by Neil Gaiman, due next year). Now, if that sounds a bit too arty (read: "boring"), know that several major action sequences were storyboarded by yours truly and there'll be no shortage of monsters and mayhem to go with this unique take. Check out the official site. An expanded gallery of my storyboards will be posted here shortly.