Sacha Howells,
Sep 11, 2009
Mattel Takes Its Toys and Goes Home
The live-action He-Man movie Masters of the Universe, stumbling along in preproduction since 2007, has finally hit the skids, with Warners and Mattel not seeing "eye to eye" on the direction. (There are, after all, so many ways to go.) Mattel intends to take its franchise and play elsewhere, with Kung Fu Panda director John Stevenson likely still on board.
Verdict: Sounds like somebody at Warner Brothers finally said, "By the power of sanity! I have the power!" (Thankfully Warner Bros. still has control of Mattel's Hot Wheels, which have no slogan.)
Could Disney's Marvel Buyout Mean Pixar's Ant-Man?
Disney's takeover of Marvel may be the biggest movie news of the year, and the rampant speculation started fast, with Entertainment Weekly floating the idea of Pixar taking on Ant-Man, the superhero who gets small and, well, controls ants. But director Edgar Wright of Shaun of the Dead says not so fast; even though he stopped work on his live action Ant-Man to direct Scott Pilgrim (another comic adaptation) he's still attached and, as he told CHUD, they likely wouldn't want to do another shrinking movie anyway after the Toy Storys and A Bug's Life.
Verdict: Fine, Pixar has kind of done miniaturizing to death. But the idea of Pixar taking on some other Marvel hero? Sign me up.
Eli Roth's Baywatch: The Dream Project That Got Away
Roth, director of torture porn hits like the Hostel series (and co-star of Inglourious Basterds), recently told the L.A. Times that after his Cabin Fever debut, he was called in to CAA to talk about directing a Baywatch feature. He said yes, and roped in Richard Kelly of Donnie Darko to write with him, but as Dreamworks started messing with their initial concept -- which was "We'll make it like a Simpsons episode, totally absurd. The fanboys will riot!" -- they both gave up.
Verdict: I would watch this movie all day long.
Quentin Loves Battle Royale!
In an article for the LA Weekly, Tarantino updated his list of favorite movies with 20 films from the last 17 years, including Boogie Nights, Shaun of the Dead, Speed (!), Team America, and M. Night Shyamalan's Unbreakable. But only one breaks into his top 10 of all time: Mondo Culto favorite Battle Royale.
Verdict: Japanese schoolgirls and decapitation -- what's not to like?
Jessica Biel "Most Dangerous Celebrity in Cyberspace"
According to McAfee, there's a one in five chance that downloads of pictures, video, or screensavers of Biel come from malware sites, making her this year's most likely star to give your computer a virus. Other top 10 infectors include Miley Cyrus, Brad Pitt, and Gisele Bundchen, with Megan Fox and Angelina Jolie tied for eighth.
Verdict: So hackers are hiding viruses in Jessica Biel because she gets more downloads than Megan Fox and Angelina Jolie? Career comeback, anyone?
