Parody Trailers

Just a little fun post today. I was on YouTube today and I saw a fake trailer for Wes Anderson's version of The Fellowship of the Ring. I though I would share it. Parody trailers and re-cut trailers can be really funny and very creative.

Many classes on editing will have students re-cut trailers for existing movies. This is a great practice because it allows students to creatively re-examine movies. Any movie can have its mood adjusted with a simple music change and some specifically chosen cuts. Taking certain pieces can easily change perceptions; just watch CNN, MSNBC and FOX News try to report on the same story.

Most of these re-cut trailers end up on YouTube. Not all of these trailers were cut from students, but they are all interesting at least.

There are some trailers that change-genres:

A Scary Mary Poppins Trailer

A Romantic Comedy version of The Shining

There are some that take a look at directorial style:

Coen Bros.' version of Wizard of Oz

Wes Anderson’s version of The Fellowship of the Ring

These are my four favorites that I have seen, there are tons more. Titanic re-cuts where Jack gets thawed out, horror version re-cuts of Toy Story and Wedding Crashers, and even a version where Willy Wonka is a drug lord. They are funny and they can take a lot of creativity.

The Smurfs Movie...?

I don’t have much that has been stirring my interest in the movies recently. I did read a bit of news on The Smurfs Movie that caught my eye. Hank Azaria has been cast as Gargamel. There is an inside joke to along with Gargamel, but we’ll just keep that an inside joke.

I am not really looking forward to this movie. It’s part live-action and part computer-animation. This usually turns me away. I don’t usually like those hybrid type of movies. I did enjoy Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, but there hasn’t really been a big movie since that has worked the combination well. However, there is an interesting cast.

The Smurfs will apparently be a bother to a real life couple, played by Neil Patrick Harris and Jayma Mays (Paul Blart: Mall Cop). Hank Azaria of Simpsons fame, will play a live-action Gargamel. Katy Perry will be Smurfette, Alan Cumming (Goldeneye, X-Men) will be Gutsy Smurf, George Lopez as Grouchy Smurf, and Quentin Tarantino as Brainy Smurf. Yes, Tarantino. So at the very least, that will be interesting. The best part of the casting is Jonathan Winters as Papa Smurf, he’s done voices for the Smurfs in past TV specials and besides that he is just awesome. He is one of those great ’60s stand up comedians that are just funny and classy (well… mostly classy). Plus, he was in It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. The best comedy ensemble movie ever.

I’m most likely not going to see this movie for several reasons:

A) I’m not a huge Smurfs fan.

B) It is probably going to suck.

C) I might see it if I am bored and there is nothing else playing but…

D) …it’s release date is set for August 3^rd , 2011 and the summer is always a busy season for movies. Especially with the last Harry Potter movie slated for a July 15^th release and of course The First Avenger: Captain America will hopefully be released July 22^nd. So, I will not be in want of a good movie two summers from now.

E) Raja Gosnell’s last directional effort was Beverly Hills Chihuahua.

In other childhood memory squashing news; Speedy Gonzalez will be made into a live-action/CG-animation movie. The voice of Speedy, who else but George Lopez. New Line/Warner Brothers will be developing and the script is in the hands of the writers of Garfield. I feel rest-assured, how about you?

Captain America Casting - Cap Contenders & Red Skull

It’s been awhile since I updated everyone on Captain America news. The candidates for the lead role as

Captain America grow in number, and a Red Skull has finally been found.

The casting for the lead has been as complicated and befuddling as it ever has been. The list of candidates has grown by one with rumors of Ryan Phillippe swirling around the Internet. These rumors are as shaky as (insert your own terrible joke here). None of the “candidates” stand out. They are all nondescript actors in their 20s. Blonde, dirty blonde, or light brown hair. All white, fairly fit. They’ve been in action movies, generally, none have had tons of success in the movies.

John Krasinski may have the best career out of the bunch, but he has not done a great job in any lead roles. He’s been in some decent movies, but mostly small roles; Jarhead, Kinsey, and I liked Away we Go but it was not great. Chris Evans has superhero experience in Push and as Human Torch in Fantastic Four, but that hurts his chances. Being that he is already a very recognizable superhero.

The biggest slight against this group is their look. Ironically they all appear to fit the necessary buff “everyman” mold that Captain America has, but it is the context of their “everyman” that hurts them. That generic look of today has one distinct feature that Captain America does not, and should not ever, have. The cocky, confident, and sarcastic smirk. The bulk of these candidates have that smile, that rebellious, devil-may-care attitude. None of these are qualities that the Cap possesses.

Even when he rebels against the government in his recent canon he is dignified. He carries himself with pride and power. He doesn’t crack jokes, he doesn’t have an attitude, and he doesn’t fight without purpose. None of these candidates have that. They’re all a sign of the times. The standard today is to be an action star, with comedic timing, and some romantic sensibility. A vulnerable, approachable James Bond.

This is a very important factor to consider, because it can make or break the movie. It’s fine for the Fantastic Four or Iron Man to be rebellious and witty, but Captain America, and Thor for that matter, needs to have more of seriousness.

None of these candidates are a home run, but that does not mean they can’t find the perfect Captain America somewhere. This is the list of the candidates that have been rumored for the role:

John Krasinski

Chace Crawford

Michael Cassidy

Patrick Flueger

Scott Porter

Wilson Bethel

Mike Vogel

Garrett Hedlund

Jensen Ackles

Ryan Phillippe

Chris Evans

In the meantime there is some great news for The First Avenger: Captain America, it is nearly guaranteed that the role of Red Skull is fulfilled. Hugo Weaving will play Captain America’s arch-nemesis, and this is fantastic news.

Hugo Weaving is amazing. He has been fantastic in The Matrix series, the Lord of the Rings series, V for Vendetta, and most recently The Wolfman. This is important to note because Joe Johnston, who directed The Wolfman, will be directing The First Avenger: Captain America.

This is an awesome pick for the movie. There have been weeks and weeks of rumors and speculation about the lead roles with no resolution in sight. This is a sign of life from the production. A great sign it is. This news makes me feel much more confident in this movie.

True Grit Casting News

Just a quick bit of news. Barry Pepper has been cast as Lucky Ned Pepper for the Coen Brothers’ upcoming remake of True Grit. In the 1969 original, Robert Duvall played the part of Lucky Ned Pepper in the original.

This is a great casting choice. Barry Pepper is a great character actor, and he should do a great job with this. He is easily recognizable from his roles in Saving Private Ryan and The Green Mile. He has done a great job in a number of movies. I really liked him as sniper Private Daniel Jackson in Saving Private Ryan. He is a perfect choice for the Coens' newest. Besides being a good actor, he's got one of those character actor faces that would be perfect for an ensemble western. It would be easy to see him on a horse facing Jeff Bridges as Rooster Cogburn in a gun battle.

I cannot wait for this movie, it is the one movie of 2010 that I am most looking forward to. If the cast continues to turn out like this, the waiting is only going to get worse.

Hollywood Video Store Closing

The Hollywood Video closest to my house is closing down in order to save money they are consolidating locations in the area. This means that everything has become quite cheap. For quite some time they have been selling all rentals.

When they were selling the new DVDs for half price, I bought Revolutionary Road, Big Fan, Rachel Getting Married, Wendy and Lucy, and District 9. Some of these movies I would not have bought if they weren’t on sale. Oh, and I bought a Captain America bobblehead. Score.

When the rentals were 3 for $20, I bought Birth of a Nation, The Third Man, and The Hustler. It’s not cheap to buy old movies, especially something as old as Birth of a Nation. Generally stores like Borders might have it, but only as some massive boxed set with interviews, extra content, and some PBS documentary. So, buying off Hollywood Video or some other closing video store is one of the best ways to expand a classic collection cheaply.

At 3 for $15, I bought Judgement at Nuremberg, the original version of The Ladykillers, and Earth a Russian film by director Alexander Dovzhenko. I am not very well versed in foreign films, but I do love the old Soviet directors.

The company sent the store overflow stock, which the store is still selling for $3.99. Not wanting to miss such an opportunity I spent a good amount of time scouring through these discount shelves for some quality movies. I managed to dig up some real gems.

Gone with the Wind

The Godfather Part III

The Life of Emile Zola

Straw Dogs

Among some others. Some obscure documentaries, Futurama episodes and such. If anyone in the area is reading this, I suggest you check it out. There are still some movies left. I’m sure there’s a little something for everybody. The store should be closing soon, definitely sometime this month.

Best of the Best Picture Races

In the spirit of Oscar season (which is past, yes), I did some research on Oscar seasons past. I wanted to see which of the Best Picture Races were pretty contentious in the past. There were several very competitive years. I compiled a list of what I think are the top five Best of the Best Picture Races. ( ) denotes position in the American Film Institutes Top 100 American Movies.

5. 1962 – 35^th Academy Awards

Winner – Lawrence of Arabia (7)

The Longest Day

The Music Man

Mutiny on the Bounty

To Kill a Mockingbird (25)

1961 and 1962 are both very good years. Both have films which are good and worth watching up and down the list. But 1962 has the edge. The Longest Day is one of those great, old, ensemble war movies. It is so much fun to just watch the multitude of famous faces; John Wayne, Henry Fonda, Robert Mitchum, and Sean Connery. Mutiny on the Bounty is a great Marlon Brando vehicle. The Music Man is a beloved musical that has yet to be replaced by a Disney remake. It’s the top two films of this race that shine. To Kill a Mockingbird is a great American film. Atticus Finch is one of the best heroes ever, and the movie stays quite true to the spirit of the book. Lawrence of Arabia speaks for itself. It is an epic of the highest rank. One of the best made movies of all time.

4. 1976 – 49^th Academy Awards

Winner – Rocky (57)

All the President’s Men (77)

Bound for Glory

Network (64)

Taxi Driver (52)

The only Best Picture race among these five to contain four movies among the American Film Institute’s top 100 American movies made, the 1976 Best Picture race. All five are very solid, well made movies. The only one that has not made it is Bound for Glory. The only reason being that it is a Woody Guthrie biopic, and generally if the subject has faded then so will his mark on the world. Each and every movie is worth checking out. Most are still very well-watched and have fared the years well. I would not be surprised if some of them continued to thrive twenty years from now.

3. 1994 – 67^th Academy Awards

Winner – Forrest Gump (76)

Four Weddings and a Funeral

Pulp Fiction (94)

Quiz Show

The Shawshank Redemption (72)

The most recent year of the top rankings, the 67^th Academy Awards contained some of the top films from the past 25 years. Both Forrest Gump and Pulp Fiction are cultural staples. They were influential both represented great advances for cinema, in their own way. The Shawshank Redemption is a very well made movie as well, but in the years to pass it may fall off below the eyes of the general audience. Quiz Show and Four Weddings and a Funeral are no slouches for nominees, but they have not made enough of an impact to even be recalled by most even ten years later. But the sheer size of the competition for Best Picture in this year makes it a very important Best Picture Race to note.

2. 1967 – 40^th Academy Awards

Winner – In the Heat of the Night (75)

Bonnie and Clyde (42)

Doctor Doolittle

The Graduate (17)

Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner

This is one of the most influential, and culturally relevant Best Picture races. This is one of the years where a turning point is clearly visible. Most of these movies contain biting and culturally relevant themes. Marking the change among American society in a very poignant way. Whether it is the racial defiance of In the Heat of the Night, the racial acceptance of Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?, or the youthful rebellion of The Graduate. Hollywood, along with the rest of America, was changing. New styles of directing, acting, and writing had finally won over the old ways. Represented in this race by Doctor Doolittle. Mark Harris’ book Pictures at a Revolution details this race and the way it impacted cinema and America.

1. 1939 – 12^th Academy Awards

Winner – Gone with the Wind (6)

Dark Victory

Goodbye, Mr. Chips

Love Affair

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (26)

Ninotchka

Of Mice and Men

Stagecoach

The Wizard of Oz (10)

Wuthering Heights

This was the first of about five years in American cinema that is revolutionary. It shaped the way that movies are made and the way we view ourselves as a country and a society. Not enough can be said about this year. Several of the films are very well-made classic stories based on novels, some of which have been remade; Wuthering Heights, Of Mice and Men. Dark Victory secures Bette Davis as an actress of extraordinary grit and power. Stagecoach marked a major turning point in the career of John Ford, one of America’s greatest directors. It also launched the career of John Wayne. Frank Capra turned in one of the finest statements about American politics in film with Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. The Wizard of Oz is one of the most beloved children’s movies of all time. It has withstood the test of time, and I know that I’ll be showing it to my kids. And of course Gone with the Wind is a classic. It remains as one of the most well-made movies of all time. It set the bar very high for cinematic epics. It is still a very effective tool for comparison when it comes to that caliber of cinema. Of course it also has one of the most famous lines in any movie; “Frankly my dear I don’t give a damn.” For all these reasons and more, 1939 had the greatest race in American Cinema for Best Picture at the Academy Awards.

Wrap Up of the Oscars

In the end I was 14 out of 24 for my predictions, nearly 60%. Not terrible but I could have done better. My last minute change in Best Adapted Screenplay cost me, I should have stuck with Precious, as I had previously predicted.

I was surprised at the number of awards The Hurt Locker ended up taking home. It ended up winning Picture, Director, Editing, Screenplay, and both Sound awards. I am quite shocked that it took both Sound Mixing and Sound Editing. It’s not that The Hurt Locker does not deserve to win one of these awards, but I fully expected to see Avatar or Star Trek take at least one. I am a bit surprised that it won Best Original Screenplay. It is very well deserved, the story is very compelling and it is the best Iraq War movie to date. I would make the case for Inglorious Basterds again, but what’s done is done.

I am not surprised The Cove won for Best Documentary, other than the fact that Food Inc. got people in the theaters and talking about the subject matter. I am not surprised that Avatar won for Cinematography, Art Direction, and Visual Effects. It extraordinarily deserves to win in those categories. I should not be surprised that Kathryn Bigelow won as well as The Hurt Locker. I did fully expect for Best Picture and Best Director to represent different films. But of course the Academy needs to be progressive, and awarding Geoffrey Fletcher, the first African-American screenwriter to win an Oscar, was just not enough.

The one major lesson I learned from my Oscar picks this year: I should not underestimate the liberality of the Academy.

History will be the final judge for these movies and their nominees. These are my ideas as to what will happen. I believe that both The Hurt Locker and Avatar will have long, healthy shelf lives. Up will have a large audience from my generation showing it to their children with the best of the Pixar Pack. Up in the Air will be remembered by some. Inglorious Basterds will join the rest of Tarantino’s canon, and it will be remembered for his brilliant character work. Precious could be used for more liberal fodder by the Academy, in the way they use Hattie McDaniel’s Oscar win. It should, however, by honored and watched for its moving, emotional story.

Sandra Bullock may try to do more serious roles, but they will probably never measure up. This is her big moment to shine, and she has a long career left in her. Jeff Bridges may get another opportunity or two to hoist the trophy and deliver a speech filled with “man”s. Possibly even next year for True Grit, maybe. I hope to see more from Christoph Waltz. And of course James Cameron is not going anywhere. All of the directors nominated this year will go on to make some more wonderful movies.

I thought the award ceremony was good. What I saw of it was entertaining, but not very memorable or groundbreaking. I did like the idea of two hosts, and Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin did a great job. In summation here are the winners in full, hopefully next year I will do better, but we’ll just have to see.

Best Picture – The Hurt Locker*

Best Director – Kathryn Bigelow – The Hurt Locker

Best Actor – Jeff Bridges – Crazy Heart*

Best Actress – Sandra Bullock – The Blind Side*

Best Supporting Actor – Christoph Waltz – Inglorious Basterds*

Best Supporting Actress – Mo’Nique – Precious*

Best Original Screenplay – The Hurt Locker – Mark Boal

Best Adapted Screenplay – Precious – Geoffrey Fletcher

Best Animated Feature – Up*

Best Animated Short Film – Logorama

Best Documentary Feature – The Cove

Best Documentary Short – Music by Prudence

Best Foreign Language Film – El Secreto de Sus Ojos

Best Live Action Short Film – The New Tenants

Art Direction – Avatar – Rick Carter, Robert Stromberg, Kim Sinclair*

Cinematography – Avatar – Mauro Fiore*

Costume Design – The Young Victoria – Sandy Powell*

Film Editing – The Hurt Locker – Chris Innis, Bob Murawski*

Makeup – Star Trek – Barney Burman, Mindy Hall, Joel Harlow*

Original Score – Up – Michael Giacchino*

Original Song – The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart) – Ryan Bingham and T-Bone Burnett*

Sound Editing – The Hurt Locker – Paul N.J. Ottosson

Sound Mixing – The Hurt Locker – Paul N.J. Ottosson and Ray Beckett

Visual Effects – Avatar – Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham, Andrew R. Jones*

(I did not include Best Visual Effects in my prediction post, because I forgot to add it, but there was no way that Avatar was not taking the trophy.)

* Denotes my correct predictions.