Hey there folks. Welcome to this week’s installment of The Movie Blog Uncut Roundtable edition. Today I’m joined by Doug Nagy and Darren Conley via Skype from Canada. I think I’m going to start every Podcast with an official countdown to when Transformers 2 opens from now on! :P

At any rate, take some time to download or stream this installment of Uncut as Doug, Darren and I discuss:

1) The uncertain future of Superman projects

2) Getting sick and tired of “Viaral Marketing”

3) Day of the Dead and What the hell happened to Ving Rhames’ career?

4) Will Smith Scientologist?

5) A Machete Trilogy?

All this and a few things more.

Subscribe the the podcast feed

OR… Subscribe to The Audio Edition with one of these fine podcasting services:

Share This

“Me?!?”

Peter and I discussed doing an item on real life Sarah Marshalls who are angered and perplexed in the wake of ubiquitous Forgetting Sarah Marshall marketing, but instead we just waited for The Onion to blow it up like a sand castle. Alas, Zap2It has struck first, and even though the site seemingly only found three vocal Sarah Marshalls (we wanted 1,000 “No fair!”’s) in the United States, the “over it” comments provided by these two unfortunate-named gals are unforgettable…

“They’re everywhere, and they’re so annoying,” says Sarah Marshall the Glendora student, who lives three blocks from one of the billboards. Adults called her parents to ask if she was the target of a hate campaign. “I wish they specified that it’s a movie.” - Sarah Marshall, high school senior, Glendora, California

And this pet rock of a gem…

“I got a lot of e-mails and phone calls asking if my boyfriend and I were OK.” - Sarah Marshall, advertising student, Fort Worth, Texas

And for every glum Sarah Marshall, there’s one Sarah Marshall who goes with it (though, she’s also an “Edmond”)…

“I’ll have to see it now.” - Sarah Marshall Edmond, special-ed teacher, Connecticut

Discuss: Everyone comment as an angry/sad/stupid Sarah Marshall and see how long it goes before a non-SM crashes the party…

Enzym found this new WALL-E Theater display in Australia. The new display featuring WALL-E and Eve on a park bench, a semi-recreation of a scene from the film (seen in the trailer). You can notice the WALL + EVE Heart etching on the bench. In the movie WALL-E burns the etching into the trash basket.

When applicable, IMDB should include an “Actress: Theatrical” entry for porn stars. Sony Pictures has enthusiastically announced that Jenna Jameson (Private Parts) will once again be sliding down America’s luxurious cineplex flagpole, this time in the grindhouse-y Zombie Strippers alongside Robert Englund. On April 18th, the direct-to-DVD flick will play in numerous select American cities and we have the [insert porn pun] listing below.

If you haven’t seen the trailer or the poster we have those too. You know what? Maybe it’s a case of expectations limbo, but the Zombie Strippers trailer is superior to the Lost Boys: The Tribe trailer. That is just depressing.

[See post to watch Flash video]

Even though some fans have criticized the teaser trailer for featuring more computer generated effects than most had expected, production designer Guy Hendrix Dyas assures io9 that Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull will be mostly CGI-Free.

“There really wasn’t much CGI. We built all the sets… We built all of the [moving stone staircases, converging stone pillars and other pieces] so it was very nice.”

Steven Spielberg estimated during production that 30% of the visual effects would be CGI, but mostly for elements such as backdrops and rotoscope removal of the visible safety wires during stunt sequences. Apparently, the finished film will contain only “a couple of hundred” effects shots, compared to Michael Bay’s Transformers which featured almost 650 effects shots or Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3 which featured almost 1,000 effects shots.

Gore hounds and knife show infomerical zombies, rejoice! In yet more machete-related news, Blood Disgusting ran into fanboy favorite Danny Trejo over the weekend and he gave the requisite Machete update. According to Mr. Trejo, not only is the first (and only?) Grindhouse spin-off movie still happening, but there’s been talk of a trilogy. Keeping in mind that the first pseudo-exploitation flick would go straight-to-DVD, three of them wouldn’t seem completely outside the realms of possibility/profitability. Can you imagine the stain a Machete box set would leave on your coffee table?

He didn’t elaborate much more, but did say that Robert Rodriguez will direct the first film as well as produce, hopefully once he finishes up an unspecified project. If you’re wondering what Machete would be about, stare hard at the image above and squirt ketchup all over your screen. As much as I loathed Once Upon a Time in Mexico and was dumbfounded by the can’t-walk-the-talk dilemma that was Planet Terror, it would be great to see Rodriguez jam econo on three low budget action films in the spirit of a seedier, more nihilistic El Marachi. More on Machete if it ever develops…

Discuss: Machete Triple Feature? Could you handle it?

Rumors are bubbling in the heavens that another Poltergeist film may be under way. The gossip comes to us via an email exchange between Poltergeistiii.com and MGM, and was brought to our attention by movieweb:

Here’s David from Poltergeistiii.com :

Here’s my original email to her on March 15th:

Hi Mary, Congratulations on your new position with MGM! I run a fan web site dedicated to MGM’s “Poltergeist” franchise. I’d heard that there were plans for either a new sequel or a remake…do you know if this is still the plan? As a huge fan, I was hoping to see a new sequel. Thanks for any information you may be able to provide. Regards, David Furtney

And here’s what she wrote back yesterday (emphasis mine):
Hey David- Thanks for the email. Not quite two weeks into the new post so I don’t have a specific update but hopefully going forward there will be more to talk about. In the meantime, thanks for your enthusiasm.

Now this is a “we heard from a guy, that heard from another guy” source, so we cannot read too much into this. The reply email doesn’t seem to confirm and/or deny a Poltergeist film; It looks to be a polite email response revealing nothing. I can see how those excited about a project may view the lack of the word “no” as a yes. I simply don’t like to read into things and will err on the side of caution here.

I for one have no desire to see an “updated” Poltergeist film, but may be game for Poltergeist 4. A good ghost film is always a creepy delight. Recently The Orphanage scarred the hell out of me, and it is the current “ghost story to beat” in my books.

International friends do you think this email correspondence hints at a Poltergeist remake - or does it reveal nothing?

Share This

The viral website campaign for Batman: The Dark Knight has been impressive to say the least. But as I hear that tomorrow ClownTravelAgency.com will reveal its secret, I tripped over a list of all the viral sites launched to support this movie.

Rope of Silicon gives us this list:

1. IBelieveinHarveyDent.com
2. Concerned Citizens for a Better Gotham
3. ClownTravelAgency.com
4. TheHaHaHaTimes.com
5. The Gotham Times
6. MaidenAvenueReport.com
7. GothamCableNews.com
8. DanaWorthington.com
9. CitizensforBatman.org
10. SaintsWithunsChurch.org
11. GVAFoundation.org
12. GPDIAD.com
13. GothamCab.com
14. IBelieveinHarveyDentToo.com
15. JosephCandoloro.com.
16. GothamCityClerk.com
17. GothamElectionBoard.com
18. WhySoSerious.com
19. RorysDeathKiss.com

I had no clue that this many sites were created.

If you want to link to them all, you can go to Rope of Silicon to check them all out.

Share This

As porly receieved as the Knight Rider TV Movie were, it appears that NBC is moving ahead with a new TV series using the movie as its pilot episode.

Rope of Silicon says:

NBC is going to move forward with a complete series reports Variety saying the show was just added to NBC’s 2008-09 roster. Despite being horrible, the series did bring in solid ratings in a February that was filled with alternative programming such as reality television galore. On top of that, who wouldn’t want to see a new “Knight Rider”?

The thing I like about Pilots is that it gives the creators the chance to fix things to make the show better.

Many people are cursing this remake as the pilot was only luke warm as it was. But keep in mind that feedback has been heard and they likely will address those they feel have merit. I personally thought the show was ok. Not great but considering the original show was super cheesey even by 80s standards, are we really surprised?

My advice would be to get a more charismatic female lead. Or none at all. Mike Traceur should be a lone wolf. New babes every week.

That and give Kitt a stronger voice. As soft and proper as the original Kitt was, Val Kilmer’s voice was not a good fit. He needs a voice of authority and something that convey’s the superiority that Kitt represents.

I for one am looking forward to see what they do with it. I will wait to see what changes they make (if any) before making up my mind on it.

Share This

“Dude, Indiana Jones killed Batman.” Fandango, the online movie ticket provider, recently polled several thousand movie fans about their most anticipated summer movie and the site reports that May’s Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was not only numero uno (82%) but nearly doubled fan anticipation for July’s The Dark Knight (42%). Snatching the bronze, was May’s Iron Man, the box office performance of which has been discussed a great deal here at Slashfilm. Notably absent from the top 10? Wall-E, Don’t Mess With the Zohan, Pineapple Express, Kung Fu Panda, The Happening, The Love Guru (my least anticipated, perhaps ever) and Hellboy 2…oh, and Space Chimps (umm, big hit, that one?). The fact that X Files 2 came in ahead of these flicks, in eighth place, was surprising.

Perhaps even more surprising is that Harrison Ford took first in “All-time Favorite Action Movie Star” way ahead (75%) of runner-ups Bruce Willis and Will Smith (whose Hancock didn’t crack the top 10 either), and the actor further continued his sweep, with Indiana Jones squatting in a $10 lounge chair over the competition as “All-time Favorite Action Movie Character.”

We’ve got the full rundown after the jump. It was cool to see that Heath Ledger’s Joker won out a category. And no, Shia LaBeouf’s hair didn’t make any lists.

Discuss: Do these rankings match up with your own? Is it possible for Space Chimps to be the biggest film of the summer? 

Most Anticipated Summer 2008 Movie:

 

1. INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL (82%)

 

2. THE DARK KNIGHT (42%)

 

3. IRON MAN (38%)

 

4. THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: PRINCE CASPIAN (37%)

 

5. THE MUMMY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPORER (30%)

 

6. GET SMART (29%)

 

7. THE INCREDIBLE HULK (22%)

 

8. THE UNTITLED X-FILES SEQUEL (20%)

 

9. SPEED RACER (19%)

 

10. SEX AND THE CITY (19%)

 

 

 

Most Anticipated New Character Portrayal (Fresh Interpretation of a Familiar Role):

 

1. Heath Ledger as “The Joker“, THE DARK KNIGHT (55%)

 

2. Steve Carell as “Maxwell Smart“, GET SMART (34%)

 

3. Robert Downey, Jr. as “Tony Stark“, IRON MAN (32%)

 

4. Edward Norton as “Bruce Banner”, THE INCREDIBLE HULK (26%)

 

5. Anne Hathaway as “Agent 99″, GET SMART (21%)

 

6. Ben Barnes as “Prince Caspian”, THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: PRINCE CASPIAN (21%)  

 

7. Angelina Jolie as ” Fox”, WANTED (21%)

 

8. Meryl Streep as “Donna”, MAMMA MIA (12%)

 

9. Emile Hirsch as “Speed”, SPEED RACER (11%)

 

10. James McAvoy as “Wesley Gibson”, WANTED (9%)

 

 

 

All-Time Favorite Action Movie Character:

 

1. Indiana Jones (76%)

 

2. James Bond (51%)

 

3. Jason Bourne (43%)

 

4. Batman (40%)

 

5. DIE HARD’s John McClane (38%)

 

6. Spider-Man (33%)

 

7. The Terminator (28%)

 

8. Superman (27%)

 

9. THE MATRIX’s Neo (24%)

 

10. Lara Croft (24%)

 

 

 

All-Time Favorite Action Movie Star:

 

1. Harrison Ford (75%)

 

2. Bruce Willis (57%)

 

3. Will Smith (47%)

 

4. Mel Gibson (46%)

 

5. Nicolas Cage (38%)

 

6. Arnold Schwarzenegger (37%)

 

7. Clint Eastwood (37%)

 

8. Angelina Jolie (29%)

 

9. Russell Crowe (29%)

10. Samuel L. Jackson (27%)