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Francis Ford Coppola to present film at Comic Con

NEW YORK, NY (June 30, 2011) – Francis Ford Coppola will be presenting portions of his upcoming film TWIXT at a panel discussion on Saturday, July 23 at Hall H.  TWIXT stars Val Kilmer, Bruce Dern, Elle Fanning, and Ben Chaplin.  Coppola describes the film as, “one part Gothic romance, one part personal film, and one part the kind of horror film that began my career.”
 
Coppola has a unique new approach to the presentation of the film that will incorporate live music by acclaimed independent performance artist Dan Deacon.  Deacon will attend Comic-Con with Coppola to help demonstrate the interactive experience of the film.  The film incorporates both 2-D and 3-D elements. 
 
Like his most recent films, TWIXT follows three self-imposed mandates that Coppola requires in all of his new work: be his own original story and screenplay, have some personal element, and be self-financed.  This particular story came to Coppola during a vivid dream he had while on a trip to Istanbul and is inspired by the writings of Edgar Allen Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne.  The film also brings Coppola back to his horror roots that began during his apprenticeship with Roger Corman.
 
On attending Comic-Con Coppola says, “I fondly recall meeting the Comic-Con audience years ago when I brought them my DRACULA film. That experience made me not want to miss this chance to return with TWIXT.”

Season of the Witch

‘Season of the Witch’ is Nicolas Cage’s (Oscar winner) new check. He sleepwalks through the whole film with a narcotized stare yearning for someone to yank him and offer him Leaving Las Vegas all over again. The movie’s premise is modestly interesting, but the disjointed and uninspiring dialogue, the sparseness of an absorbing material, and the monotone and mechanical acting leaves much to be desired of Dominic Sena’s fifth effort.

Here’s the plot: Nicolas Cage plays an heroic Crusader with his closest friend, Felson (Ron Perlman) who return home after decades of fierce fighting, only to find their world destroyed by the Plague. The church elders, convinced that a girl accused of being a witch is responsible for the devastation, command the two to transport the strange girl (Claire Foy) to a remote monastery where monks will perform an ancient ritual to rid the land of her curse. One by one his fellow travelers meet with misfortune, and the embattled Crusader finds himself facing his most terrifying adversary.

‘Season of the Witch’ is an action adventure film that is inconsistent; it has its highs and very deep lows such as the incredulousness of Cage playing a religious Crusader prompting some inner chuckles on my behalf. There are some intriguing ideas that never fully follow through such as Claire Foy’s witch character which shows up whimsically without any explanation. The film goes hot and cold very frequently and then reaches, during the trip to the monastery, absurdity. No return from there.

Nonetheless, I did, apologetically, like the entertainment value of the action sequences, enough for me not to pummel the film into paper ash. So then, is ‘Season of the Witch’ bad or good enough to eek by and watch? It belongs in the ‘don’t spend your hard earned cash to see this at the theater,’ but if it’s on HBO one night, you can get your kicks and laughs out of Cage’s and Perlman’s Batman and Robin routine without guilt.

Sucker Punch

Penélope Cruz in Woody Allen’s ‘The Bop Decameron’

New York (June 20, 2011) – Woody Allen announced today the full cast for “The Bop Decameron,” his latest film in pre-production. Starring, in alphabetical order, are: Woody Allen, Alec Baldwin, Roberto Benigni, Penélope Cruz, Judy Davis, Jesse Eisenberg, Greta Gerwig and Ellen Page. Co-stars include Antonio Albanese, Fabio Armiliata, Alessandra Mastronardi, Ornella Muti, Flavio Parenti, Alison Pill, Riccardo Scamarcio and Alessandro Tiberi.
 
“The Bop Decameron” is a Gravier Productions film produced by Letty Aronson and Stephen Tenenbaum. This is Allen’s first film to be financed by the Italian production and distribution company, Medusa Film. “The Bop Decameron” begins production on July 11 and marks Allen’s first time shooting in Rome. His latest film, “Midnight in Paris,” is currently playing in theaters.

‘Transformers: Dark of the Moon’ to open June 28th

HOLLYWOOD, CA (June 17, 2011) – Paramount Pictures announced today it will open Michael Bay’s TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON exclusively at 3D and IMAX locations across the country beginning at 9PM local time on Tuesday, June 28th, allowing moviegoers nationwide to be among the first to see the latest installment in the hit franchise, and the first to be shot in 3D. The movie will open wide beginning at 12AM on June 29th.
 
“Michael Bay has created an incredibly engaging and immersive 3D experience with this latest movie, one that will undoubtedly be among the most entertaining movie going experiences of the summer,” said Paramount’s Vice Chairman Rob Moore. “Providing fans an opportunity to see it early in 3D is a great way to kick off the movie’s opening.”

The premise has the Autobots learning of a Cybertronian spacecraft hidden on the Moon, and race against the Decepticons to reach it to learn its secrets, which could turn the tide in the Transformers’ final battle.

First photo of Tom Cruise in ‘Rock of Ages’

This has got to be the funniest pair of photos I have seen all year, perhaps in years! Tom Cruise looks so miscast here. The role should’ve gone to Mark Wahlberg. Anyone remember 2001’s ‘Rock Star‘? He was hilarious in it! Not too mention his rock star pipe dreams in ‘Boogie Nights‘.

Nevertheless, Tom Cruise plays Stacee Jaxx in ‘Rock Of Ages‘ about a small-town girl who arrives in Hollywood at the height of the 1980s rock-music scene. Cruise isn’t the girl by the way.

Adam Shankman directs this rock musical for New Line with a cast that includes Alec Baldwin, Russell Brand, Mary J. Blige, Paul Giamatti, Malin Akerman, Bryan Cranston, Mexican actor Diego Boneta, and Julianne Hough, Ryan Seacrest’s flavor of the month.

Laugh your head off at these two pics below as much I did. Happy Father’s Day Tommy!

True Grit

Biutiful