GAGA IN WONDERLAND

Ever wonder what would happen if Lady Gaga had gone down the rabbit hole instead of Alice? The folks at Black20 have given you an answer.

Oscar Predictions!

Alright…here are my Oscar predictions for tonight. Lets see how many I get right.

Best Picture- The Hurt Locker

Actor In A Leading Role- Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart)

Actor In A Supporting Role- Christopher Waltz (Inglorious Basterds)

Actress In A Leading Role- Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side)

Actress In A Supporting Role- Mo’Nique (Precious)

Animated Feature Film- Up

Art Direction- Avatar

Cinematography- The Hurt Locker

Costume Design- The Young Victoria

Directing- Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker)

Documentary (Feature)- Food, Inc.

Documentary-(Short Subject)- Music by Prudence

Film Editing- The Hurt Locker

Foreign Language Film- Un Prophete

Makeup- Star Trek

Music (Original Score)- Michael Giaccino (Up)

Music (Original Song)- “The Weary Kind” (Crazy Heart)

Short Film (Animated)- A Matter Of Loaf And Death

Short Film (Live Action)- Kavi

Sound Editing- Avatar

Sound Mixing- Avatar

Visual Effects- Avatar

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)- Up In The Air

Writing (Original Screenplay)- The Hurt Locker

Trailer: NEW Prince Of Persia

A new trailer for Disney’s Prince Of Persia hit the web yesterday. Leave your thoughts below!

Prince Of Persia hits theaters May 28th.

Teaser Trailer: Disney’s Tangled

The first teaser for Disney’s upcoming animated film, Tangled, has popped up on the web. Tangled is a re-imagining of Rapunzel, but other than that, little is known. The trailer is supposed to be attached to The Princess and The Frog‘s DVD, but you can see it now below. Let me know what you think!

Preview: Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World

This is one film I literally can’t wait for. Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World is an upcoming movie based on the comic book series by Bryan Lee O’Malley. The story follows the titular Scott Pilgrim, bassist for the band “Sex Bob-Omb”, who falls in love with a delivery girl named Ramona V. Flowers. But there’s a catch. Her love life is controlled by her seven “evil exes” who all now want to kill Scott, and he must defeat all of them in order to date her. Sounds awesome, right?

Reasons You Should Be Excited

-The film is directed by Edgar Wright. If you don’t know who that is, he co-wrote and directed both Hot Fuzz and Shaun Of The Dead.

-Michael Cera plays Scott Pilgrim. And believe it or not, it looks like he may be breaking away from the Michael Cera role.

-The comic series received critical acclaim and has won numerous awards.

-After recent test screenings, early reviews are looking very positive. Reviewers have called it “unbelievably good”, “the geekiest movie ever”, and “wonderfully shot”. Granted, the film shown was an early cut, so the final product could be very different.

Needless to say, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World is definitely a film to look out for when it hits theaters August 13th. Let’s just hope its as good as it seems.

Franchises, Sequels, and Adaptations…Oh My!

It’s no secret that Hollywood currently runs on franchises. In a decade where only two films of the Top 20 grossing were truly an original property, it’s clear that audiences enjoy and subsequently reward sequels, series’, and adaptations. Adaptations of books and plays have always been popular material for film, but these days you’ll be hard pressed to find a film that is both critically acclaimed and does well at the box office that isn’t an adaptation of something.

Now, I’m not saying that non-original scripts and films are in any way “bad”. A majority of my favorite movies are either adaptations or remakes, and I find myself consistently becoming excited at the possibility of sequels and adaptations (Prince of Persia? Iron Man 2? Anyone?). However, it still comes across me as kind of sad that original films and stories simply don’t receive the same attention and regard as most of today’s popular films. In the top 10 grossing films of the 2000s, we have four Harry Potter films, two Lord of the Rings, and two Pirates of The Caribbean. The majority of these movies were pretty good in my opinion (besides maybe a Harry or Pirates film here and there). But why is it that these franchises and sequels continuously beat out original properties at the box office? I think its pretty safe to say that a large part of it has to do with the amount of hype and advertising that goes into each subsequent film in a franchise. It’s easy to hype a sequel if its predecessor did well, but its a lot harder to create interest in a story and film no one knows anything about. You can attach high caliber stars and the film may have a decent pull or do well come awards season, but it still can come nowhere near to touching the draw of any one these franchise films. When it comes down to it, pushing a property people are familiar with into a new medium ultimately makes them much more excited and willing to see a film in the theater. In addition, four of the nine original films in the top 50 are Pixar films. In a way, I’d almost argue that Pixar has become a franchise all in itself. While each of the films is original, Pixar has become such a trusted and known studio that each of their films is expected to do well and carries certain expectations regarding its content and genre. Audiences easily get just as excited and interested in a new Pixar film as they do for the next installment in the Harry Potter franchise.

Most franchise installments these days are enticing and anticipated films, excluding the abundance of unnecessary sequels (or should I say squeakels?). And while I love these films just as much as the next guy, it would be nice to see a few original films garner more pull at the box office or more recognition in awards season. There are plenty fantastic, overlooked original movies in recent years that definitely deserve just as much attention as these larger properties, and I highly suggest spending some time seeking out some of these gems in the future. For a start, check out 2009′s Moon.

Box office results taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2000s_in_film

Waking Sleeping Beauty Trailer

If you’ve ever wondered how Disney rose to glory as the premier studio for animated films, you’ll definitely want to check out Waking Sleeping Beauty. Using exclusively archival footage, the documentary chronicles the people, ideas, and circumstances that brought about some of the greatest animated films ever made. Check out the trailer below: