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The Screen Life
Film, TV, and the Internet
Monthly Archives: March 2014
Mark Ruffalo, Keira Knightly Harmonize in Begin Again (Trailer)
John Carney’s follow-up to the fantastic indie-musical Once premeired in Toronto last fall under the name Can a Song Save Your Life? The Weinstein Company, apparently feeling that title was unable to save an already difficult marketing campaign, has changed the name to Begin Again.
Personally I don’t think the new moniker is any better, but no matter. The film it self looks intriguing. Carney continues his infatuation with down-and-out musicians. Mark Ruffalo and Keira Knightly star, alongside Hailee Steinfeld, Catherine Keener, Ceelo Green, and Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine in his first movie role.
Watch out for another Best Song contender with this one. Even unheard, the pedigree is too strong to ignore.
GrabBag – “Happy” Covers, and the Onion Takes On Divergent
It’s Friday, folks, and you know what that means… GrabBag!!!
- I know I have a
badhabit of posting a lot of “Let It Go” covers here. Well to change things up a bit, here’s a couple versions of Pharrell Williams’ “Happy,” which very nearly stole the Oscar win out from under the Disney anthem. Up first we have Stewie and other Family Guy characters…
- And then there’s this absolutely stunning looped-trombone version you just have to hear to believe…
- Smosh brings us 22 Hilariously Blatant Uses of Product Placement.
- On the subject of marketing, ever notice how so many ads for large corporations look just the same? Yeah you’re not the only one.
- IO9 compiled this list of upcoming genre movies that aren’t sequels, remakes, or reboots. It’s a long list, but there’s a few interesting gems in there…
- This is cool: a collection of audition clips for some very recognizable actors and roles. (The “before they were famous” part is a bit of a stretch, though. Plenty of these actors were famous before the auditions in this video.)
- Graph TV lets you chart the ratings (critical, not viewership) of any TV show you want, episode-by-episode. Try it out on your favorite show! It’s fun to see trends throughout a series’ entire run.
- And finally, the Onion’s ever-poignant (read: hilarious) film reviewer set’s his sights on the new film Divergent.
That’s all for this week. Have a great weekend, and tune in next Friday for another GrabBag!
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014) – First Trailer
And then there’s this. Michael Bay’s new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie has a shiny new trailer just released today. With with explosions galore and Megan Fox as April, it sounds like Bay to a T(MNT), so you might be surprised to learn he’s only producing. The director is Jonathan Liebesman, of such brainless actioners as Battle Los Angeles and Wrath of the Titans.
The only thing that sounds the least bit redeeming is the wonderful William Fichtner as the villainous Shredder. I might just watch it for that reason alone.
The movie is expected to hit theaters in August.
Jupiter Ascending – New Trailer and Posters
I want Jupiter Ascending to be a good movie, but I have reservations. The Wachowskis are talented filmmakers who can be counted on for stunning visuals. But their style of storytelling has always been an acquired taste, and I’m not sure I’ve ever fully acquired it. Their last film, Cloud Atlas, had the odd ability to come across as both amazing and overbearing almost simultaneously.
Also, is it just me, or does the name Jupiter Ascending sound designed to be reworked into a whole series… Jupiter Evolving, Jupiter Passing, Jupiter Reviving, etc. etc. I barely know the premise, and I feel we’re in for several more years of these films. So they better be good!
When True Detective meets Game of Thrones [SPOILERS]
—SPOILER WARNING—
This may go without saying, but if you aren’t caught up on either Game of Thrones or True Detective, stop reading now and go finish them. Seriously, what are you waiting for? DO IT!!! You’ll thank me.
* * *
Now, for the rest of us… We don’t get to see much of that video Rust Cohle shows to Marty Hart in the storage unit, but based on his horrified reactions we know it must be pretty gruesome. Well now we know: it was the Red Wedding…
Mystery Science Theater 3000 Returning to TV
Mystery Science Theater 3000, known by it’s adoring fans as MST3K, has been off the airwaves since the 90’s. Its cult following remains strong due to the format of lampooning cult classic films, but perhaps also due in part to the show’s cast’s work since on RiffTrax.
RiffTrax is an online venture in which MST3K stars Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy, and Bill Corbett recorded downloadable audio files to be played alone with all kinds of different movies – from the classic B-movies that made their reputation to the biggest and most popular recent blockbusters.
Now according to Screen Rant, via Zap2It, it looks like the crew is making their way back to the small screen. The National Geographic Channel will be airing at least 3 episodes beginning April 1. They’ll be keeping the RiffTrax name, but it looks like the original characters of Crow T. Robot and Tom Servo will be there.
As for exactly what they’ll be riffing? Well, according to National Geographic:
On April 1st, the guys from “Mystery Science Theater 3000” and RiffTrax are adding their very own commentary to classic National Geographic Channel programs, featuring excerpts from “Honey Badgers,” “Unlikely Animal Friends,” “Man v. Monster,” “Swamp Men,” “Alpha Dogs,” and more!
Well, I can’t wait! I just really hopes it’s not a… well… I’ll just keep my thoughts to myself.
Brad Pitt in Season 2 of True Detective?
It’s far from a done deal, and may very well not happen, but it seems there’s real interest in casting Brad Pitt for True Detective’s second season.
The first season, which just wrapped up a few weeks ago, was a smash success in every instance of the word. That season’s stars Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson have already confirmed they will not be returning. That leave a vacuum that can only be filled with rampant speculation.
Still, if this happens, it would be excellent news. If nothing else, I believe Se7en proves he’s up to the challenge. It would also be just another sign that the film industry is recognizing the small screen’s recent knack for high quality filmmaking, as more and more big names in film are moving to TV.
Brad Pit in Se7en
GrabBag – The Positive Effect of YouTube; also… Game of Thrones Movies?
Yet another Friday, yet another GrabBag…
- …And yet another “Let It Go” cover, this one with impressions of various Disney and Pixar characters…
- The Battle of Helm’s Deep (The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers) recreated with 150,000 Legos.
- Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin discussed possibilities for feature films in the epic’s future.
- Every now and again, it’s nice to be reminded that YouTube can be a very useful and valuable resource for people who actually really need it. This street musician was filmed by a YouTuber, who made ad revenue from the video. In return, he not only gave the revenue back to the musician, but helped him set up and use his own account so he can continue to make revenue.
- The Cleveland Cavaliers take some technology from the Sochi Olympics ceremony and turns their court into a screen with some pretty impressive graphics.
- Did you know: Tim Burton once joked about changing the name of Beetlejuice to “Scared Sheetless,” and was horrified to learn that the producers actually liked it. This and more trivia for the film’s 25th anniversary this week, from Indiewire.
- And finally, well… there’s really nothing that needs to be said about this one. Just bask in the glory…
Source: Imgur
That’s all for today. Have a great weekend!
(GrabBag is a weekly column published every Friday.)
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