Has AICN lost its Brain?

Hey Folks, Harry here... Sorry about the problems with the site, we're experiencing some technical difficulties and Webmaster Dave is working incredibly hard to right these wrongs so all of you can get your daily AICN as quickly as possible.

Weekend Preview

Having said that though... I know, you're dying to have something to read... So I'll give you some tidbits here for right now. First off... I've seen DRIVEN (Absolutely Terrible Beyond Words... Avoid At All Costs!), I'm getting emails from around the country from folks having seen the new film THE FORSAKEN (Apparently it is also to be forsaken... truly awful I hear!) I've seen TOWN & COUNTRY, which is EXCEPTIONAL... The Buck Henry script, the Peter Chelsom direction and the performances are uniformly wonderful. Specifically CHARLTON HESTON is playing the role he was genetically engineered to play... FANTASTIC!!!

See Jon Favreau in Person!!! And Watch A BMW Kick Ass!

Also, don't forget to visit the ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE this afternoon to pick up your tickets for Jon Favreau's MADE, which he'll be attending here in Austin next week! While you are out and about online, check out BMWFILMS.COM and see the amazing short film written by Andrew Kevin Walker and directed by John Frankenheimer... SUPER COOL!!!

In addition, my email has been wacky!

Also, If you have emailed me in the last 24 hours, I have not yet received it, so please... resend to Hknowles@austin.rr.com!!!

Mr Whup Ass is working MATRIX 2 & 3!!!

Over at Popcorn.Co.Uk they have an interview with Joel Silver about MATRIX 2, where he announces that Woo-Ping Yuen is back on board MATRIX 2 & 3... thank god... There had been many fears that Yuen wasn't going to be doing the films this time... I think for all of us fans, we know how important he is to the mix!

Tidbit on SHREK

Also, I saw SHREK last night... Incredibly funny... The screening was for an older crowd... the college and above audience, and the film received enthusiastic applause afterwards... Strangely enough, there is a stylistic similarity between SHREK and A KNIGHT'S TALE... They both use modern pop music where one would think it would feel inappropriate... but in both cases it works magnificiently!

New Trailer For Jeff Daniel's CHASING SLEEP

I just got an email from Mike who let me know about a FANTASTIC trailer for Jeff Daniels' CHASING SLEEP. The film is being released in France on May 16th, but I don't know if LIONS GATE (which holds domestic distribution) is going to be releasing it here in the USA. But if the film is as good as THIS TRAILER then they sure as hell should... I can't remember the reviews from Toronto, and with the site down, I can't research them, but it looks good... Daniels looks amazing in the trailer! I want to see it! Check the trailer out!

Cusack ain't no Nazi!

Just got this note about HOFFMAN, apparently HOTDOG magazine's sidebar had the casting on Cusack wrong, well... I'll let Soundcow explain...

John Cusack isn't playing Hitler in "Hoffman," he's a little old for what the role calls for. He's playing Hoffman himself, instead, with Noah Taylor in for the role of World War I veteran and painter, Adolph Hitler. Filming is going to take place in Amsterdam and Budapest, but production has been delayed for one reason or another, as it was originally slated to go into production this month.

Soundcow

Brando Still In SCARY MOVIE 2?

I've also heard from two of my most trusted sources that Brando did indeed film his cameo in Dimension's SCARY MOVIE 2! One source, a friend of mine that saved me in the mountains once called Sherpa... VERY TRUSTED... Saw Brando with the cast and crew at the Old Hollywood Warner Lot eating lunch in costume! And another source tells me that Brando's scenes parodying the classic POWER OF CHRIST COMPELS YOU moment and said, "Brando looked quite haggard in the scene!" So, is Dimension lying to the press in order to preserve the surprise? Is Dimension contracturally obligated to not promote Brando's appearance as part of the deal with Brando? Or did they start to film it and decide the gag wasn't going to work or did Brando walk out on em? I guess we'll see when the film hits theaters... but footage of Brando in a EXORCIST parody exists according to multiple spies!

To LORD OF THE RINGS Fans and Jeffrey Wells...

Jeffrey Wells made the mistake of labeling the audience for LORD OF THE RINGS as Geeks and Pre-Teens... Almost immediately he came under siege for labeling the audience... My phone began ringing and a game of phone tag between myself and Jeffrey began.

Now Tolkein fans... You need to realize something, Jeffrey Wells is not your enemy... He is merely someone that has not yet seen the light. He doesn't understand what LORD OF THE RINGS is. In his mind he views the film and the books of being a part of something he is not. Jeffrey represents a vast audience that doesn't get Tolkein yet.

He looks at this film and series as being about short people with big feet, wizards with pointy hats and mean looking monsters. For him there is no tangible difference that he can see. He doesn't see these films as 'art'. He seems to forget that these films began development through Miramax and Saul Zaentz... He brings up David Mamet as though Mamet is a superior to Tolkein... We'll see if Mr Mamet writes ANYTHING that stands the test of time and becomes known as the greatest work of literature of his century... Meanwhile, the screenwriters have been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.

What Mr Wells can't see is what separates LORD OF THE RINGS from DRAGONHEART, SWORD AND THE SORCEROR, DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS, LEGEND and the other fantasy films from the past 20 years. He hasn't read the books, and I guarantee you he hasn't read any of the drafts of the screenplays. He wonders out loud if the films will set the world afire with their cinematic vision... and again... He doesn't understand. From the knowledge he has... What is the big deal?

Well, this is a bit tough. There are a lot of non-believers out there. In about 2 weeks, outside Cannes, there will be a whole bunch of non-believers gathered to see that which they haven't seen. INTELLIGENT LITERATE FANTASY FILMMAKING. What is the difference between this and all that has come before? INTELLIGENT LITERATE FANTASY FILMMAKING. Often times in Hollywood everyone asks... It starts on the page, meaning the screenplay. By the time May 15th is here, the world press will be afire. They'll begin to see what the big deal is about. They'll begin to have an inkling about what exactly has been going on 'down there in New Zealand'.

Jeffrey, LORD OF THE RINGS isn't the 'STAR WARS' of Fantasy material... it is also the '2001' of Fantasy material. And do I honestly believe New Line made a safe bet? When FELLOWSHIP OF THE RINGS opens on those 10,000 screens worldwide... and after that Monday when Variety is tabulating estimates of over $100 million grossed in that first weekend... And after the toy stores are swamped by an entire new generation of fans as well as the 5 preceding generations... After the reviews come in praising the Direction, screenplay, performances, cinematography, invisible effects work, art direction, score and the film itself... Well, perhaps then Jeffrey Wells will understand. He simply needs to see it first before he believes.

I am lucky enough to have read early drafts of these scripts... seen tons of footage, watched performances and know the source material. This isn't fastfood... This is a feast at the finest restaurant in the world. And come this December, Jeffrey will pull up a chair and have his first taste... and personally, I can't wait to hear, "Wow... this is delicious..." Oh and for those that asked...

THE GATES OF MORIA await YOU here!!!

Virginia Spy Reviews Peter Hyams' THE MUSKETEER

Now our spy below managed to get a couple of things wrong. First, the director's name is Peter Hyams, he isn't fighting with the studio, he's testing his film to see what is working and what isn't. And the action choreography isn't by Woo-Ping Yuen, but the wonderful Xin Xin Xiong and it is absolutely amazing! I really dug Mena in the film, but in comparison to the action... hehehe... THE ACTION IS AMAZING! Read on...

Harry - We don't get much of a chance to get movie info in Virginia, but I think you'll be interested in this. I was invited to a directors screening of an early look at Peter Hyman's D'Artagnan which seems to have been renamed The Musketeer. Apparently Hyman and the studio are in some disagreement on the film and he wanted to show his version to an audience. They made us sign some forms to be super secret about what we saw, but I'm willing to risk life and limb to let you know what I saw.

The cast includes Justin Chambers as D'Artagnan, Stephen Rea as Cardinal Richelieu, Mena Suvari as D'Artagnan's love interest, Catherine Deneuve as the Queen and Tim Roth as Richelieu's evil henchmen. The story is a fairly typical retelling of the Three Musketeer s with one BIG difference. The sword fights and action were choreographed by Woo-Ping Yuen from the Matrix. The result is a cross between Couching Dragon and The Three Musketeers. The sword play is fantastic and beats any traditional movie like Gladiator. The scenery was great, but the score left a little to be desired. The love story with Mena Suvari was a distraction and quite useless. Anyone who is a fan of Tim Roth in Rob Roy will love his role here. The final fight scene between Roth and Chambers is breathtaking. Overall this is going to be a must see for all the fantasy and action fans out there.

Virgina Movie Spy

Now here's Reni with a look at John Madden's newest... CAPTAIN CORRELLI'S MANDOLIN which is opening very soon in the UK and later here in the U.S. Read on...

Morning chaps, thought you'd might like a quick look at Capt Correlli's Mandolin before it opens next week. I know this has already been shown quite a bit in the US and the reports have been pretty good. Well we went last night to a preview introduced by John Madden.

Most of you probably know the plot already. And those who've read the book be prepared for some major changes. Set on the island of Cephalonia, it's a love story between Pelagia (Penelope Cruz) and Captain Antonio Corelli ( Nic Cage), an Italian soldier sent with his troops to occupy the island until the German Army arrive.

A fascinating story, Correlli's Mandolin is set inside this idea of colliding cultures, an Italian Officer who speaks Greek, a German who speaks Italian, everyone bound together by the war.

Madden is a very calm and assured director. He's made an intelligent film which balances out the love story with the attrocities occuring later in the film. It's easy to forget the history here, and in some ways the film commemomerates the lives lost in what was pretty much a Holocaust.

The performances too are excellent, the real stand outs for me were John Hurt and David Morrissey as Weber, the awkward and humane German officer.

Forget about the differences between the book and the film. It's a compelling work, warm and funny and shocking. And so what if the message is as old as hills. It's still true. War sucks. Love rules. Bellona Belladonna.

Reni.

Hey folks, Ol Mose came off his rocker to give us a whiff or two about A KNIGHT'S TALE... Now I know most of you can not conceive that this movie is good... much less wonderful fun, but it is. You are going to see many more positive reviews before this one hits the screens and even more afterwards... you'll see...

Harry,

Been visiting the site for years, but have never written in before. I attended a screening of "A Knight's Tale" here in Washington D.C. last night. Besides the pleasure of seeing a free sneak preview, the cool part was having Paul Bettany, who played Chaucer in the film, attend and talk to us before and after the screening.

First, the film. If you are someone expecting a serious, carefully detailed historical adventure/romance, this is not the flick for you. If, however, you want to go and have a fun night at the movies, I highly recommend this film. In many ways it's a return to the kind of movie Hollywood made back in the late 40's and early 50's featuring young stars like Piper Laurie, Tony Curtis, Robert Wagner and Janet Leigh. In fact the films it most reminds me of are "The Black Shield of Falworth" and "Prince Valiant" - action packed, funny and with only a superfical nod to historical accuracy. And just like the films of the 50's, a lot of the credit for A Knight's Tale's effectiveness goes to its supporting cast. They provide both comic relief and a set of personal relationships that establish a solid narrative backing for the love story that unfolds with our two leading characters.

The discussion before and after the film with Paul Bettany was enjoyable and informative. He confessed that we were the first screening audience he had ever spoken to "You've taken my cherry, I'm afraid". He also told us that while the rousing speeches his character makes as the Herald for the young knight were tightly scripted, some of the funnier exchanges between the characters were the result of ad-libs the director decided to keep in the film. He said he considers this his first comic role, having played primarily toughs and gangsters in several British features that never got U.S. distribution. His favorite role so far was in a film titled "Criminal Number 1" where he portrayed a younger version of reformed criminal Malcom McDowell. He also told us he was originally a busker in England until at one point he found himself living with "two midget lesbians and 10,000 cockroaches" and, deciding that he needed to change his life, enrolled in a dramatic school.

Harry, I will admit I don't always agree with your film reviews, but I think you were on the mark with this one. So folks, buy a ticket, grab your popcorn and soda, take a seat and enjoy the show. And when the first lyrics of "We Will Rock You" blast out over the opening credits, sing it if you know it!

Call me Ol'Mose

By the way, some of us here at AICN have nicknamed our server... Tommy Chong... But Webmaster Dave is popping uppers into the baby and hopes to have Tommy ready to kick ass soon!

Heeeerrrreeee's Webmassster Dave!!!!

 

Hi folks. I know how you're feeling right now. Not because I'm inside your gooey brains, but because you've been emailing me and calling me up on the phone.

I really appreciate that, it makes for a good time. I've had the privilege of meeting a lot of wonderful people this way. In fact, I'm thinking of making it a regular thang.

We're going through some growing pains, sans Alan Thicke right now. Basically, there are too damned many of you. So, you either need to get lives or get back to work, or we need to do lots of tech junk. Apparently, we don't want you to have lives, so we're going the tech junk route.

You can feel at peace when I tell you that everything is going to be fine. It will. The sun will rise, Buddha will smile upon us, real men will continue to consume beef, and one day soon, Ain't It Cool News will be back up to speed, telling you all about stuff that is almost no concern of yours, providing mindless distraction, filling the void that Thorstein Veblen knew we would all be facing right about now.

Be at peace, friends. Use this time to meditiate on your own lives. Look inward.

Your pal Dave.