Posted Oct 10th 2008 6:03PM by Elisabeth Rappe
Filed under: Comedy, Romance, Sony, Movie Marketing, Images, Posters
In the grand stick-figure tradition of
Zack and Miri Make a Porno, and via
FilmoFilia, comes the first one sheet for
The Ugly Truth, the upcoming romantic-comedy starring
Katherine Heigl and
Gerard Butler. Mr. Butler, if you were looking for a sign that you've hit the big-time, look no further than this! Your face is nowhere to be seen. They went on sheer name recognition, and cleverly alluded to your kilt-zone. (Then again, they
could be suggesting that all women remember of you in
300 is your moonlit ass. Let's hope not, though.)
Despite that it's playing on an old stereotype, I think this is a pretty cute poster. It's so much better than the Photoshopped sunshine-and-smiles posters romantic comedies usually go with -- and while we're bound to get one eventually, I like that they've started out on an original footing; it makes me think this might just be the Doris Day / Rock Hudson sex comedy they're selling it as.
[Thanks to Holly of the
Gerard Butler GALS for sending this my way. I heart you guys, but not with either of the zones featured in the poster. My actual heart.]
Posted Oct 9th 2008 1:32PM by Erik Davis
Filed under: Drama, Foreign Language, Movie Marketing, Images, Posters
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Click image above to enlargeCinematical has just received this exclusive poster for
A Christmas Tale, directed by Arnaud Desplechin. The emotional French drama centers on a family who, throughout the years, struggle to come to terms with a personal tragedy that changed their lives forever. Reviewing the film from this year's Cannes Film Festival, Kim called it a "tragically comic tale of love, death, and familial strife and forgiveness."
Starring Mathieu Amalric, Catherine Deneuve, Anne Consigny and Jean-Paul Rossillon, this French flick has received nothing but good buzz since debuting a few months back. Toward the end of her review, Kim adds "I hope the film will secure distribution in the United States as well, so that American audiences might also get to appreciate its humor, beauty and depth."
Well, good news is IFC picked up
A Christmas Tale and it will arrive in select theaters and On Demand on November 14, before expanding to other cities. Check it out.
Posted Oct 8th 2008 11:20AM by Elisabeth Rappe
Filed under: Action, Independent, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Lionsgate Films, Warner Brothers, Fandom, 20th Century Fox, Newsstand, Movie Marketing, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels, Images, Trailers and Clips, Posters
There's actually a lot of noteworthy geek news today -- but alas, none of it is amazing enough to really warrant an entire post. Believe me, it makes me a sad panda not getting to devote an entire post to Wolverine. So, let's just get right down to it:
- Producer Lauren Shuler Donner talked up X-Men Origins: Wolverine over on Superhero Hype: "It's closer to the first X-Men in tone because it's a little darker, but there's a lot of action. It's his origin story. It's really good. I've been in the editing room the last couple of weeks and I think that it's good and that audiences are going to like it. But it's a little darker ... You haven't seen this side of him. It's darker and sadder and it's kick-ass. There's a ton of action. It's really kick-ass." She also suggested the film borrows from Wolverine's Victorian youth in one of my least favorite series, Wolverine: Origins.
- The troubled Punisher: War Zone has launched its official site, and it's got all kinds of things to click on. The multiplayer game jammed up my computer so I don't know what that's all about. And IGN has the new poster, which will arrive in your local theaters framed in "real" guns. I must say, that is a pretty impressive piece of marketing.
- David S. Goyer, scribe of The Dark Knight, tried his best to end all these Batman 3 rumors. "It's all B.S.," he told MTV News. "ALL of it. Chris and I haven't even talked about it. He quite understandably is taking a long, long vacation and wants to purge himself." This will dampen the "Guess who's playing Catwoman" rumors for approximately 3.5 days.
- Superhero Hype has 5 videos of Kick-Ass filming in Toronto. Mostly people standing around, and cars being driven on platform trucks. And /film has photos up of Dave "Kick Ass" Lizewski's costume, filled out nicely by his stunt double.
Posted Oct 7th 2008 5:15PM by Erik Davis
Filed under: Documentary, Fandom, Movie Marketing, Images, Posters
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Click image above to enlargeCinematical is very stoked to bring you this exclusive poster for
Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father, which is a documentary we here at
Cinematical have been championing ever since the flick blew us away back at the Slamdance Film Festival earlier this year. Never have I experienced so many different emotions while watching a film, and when I left that tiny theater in Utah following the premiere, I vowed to spread this inspired piece of filmmaking as far and wide as I could. We praise and champion a lot of small films here at
Cinematical (and hopefully turn you folks on to some great finds), but if I had to throw myself out there for one film this year, it would have to be
Dear Zachary.
Since it's better to know as little as possible going into this particular doc, I've posted the synopsis after the jump (for those who want more details).
Dear Zachary arrives in theaters on October 31st in New York and on November 7th in Los Angeles and Chicago, before expanding to other cities. Additionally, you'll be able to catch the entire doc when it airs on MSNBC this December 7th.
p.s. How cool is that poster?
Continue reading Exclusive: 'Dear Zachary' Poster Premiere
Posted Oct 7th 2008 3:45PM by Erik Davis
Filed under: Drama, Fandom, Movie Marketing, Trailers and Clips
Cinematical has just received this exclusive clip from the period drama
The Duchess (click image above or head after the jump to view), directed by Saul Dibb and based on Amanda Foreman's best-selling novel. Starring
Keira Knightley as Georgiana, the Duchess of Devonshire, the film chronicles the life of a vibrant beauty and celebrity of her time; a woman held prisoner in an unhappy marriage, but one who'd risk it all for the love of a young politician. (Been there, done that -- right ladies?) Also starring Ralph Fiennes, Charlotte Rampling, Dominic Cooper and Hayley Atwell, the following clip takes us inside a pretty intense confrontation between Georgiana and the Duke of Devonshire (Fiennes) as they battle one another for the respect each feels they deserve.
The Duchess (which is currently enjoying a limited release) expands to theaters across the country on October 10.
Continue reading Exclusive: Clip from 'The Duchess'
Posted Oct 7th 2008 12:02PM by Erik Davis
Filed under: Action, Fandom, Movie Marketing, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Trailers and Clips
"I'm most excited that it's brought people into comics." -- Dave Gibbons, when asked what his favorite part of this
Watchmen journey has been.
Last night,
Cinematical was lucky enough to attend a private screening of
Watchmen footage hosted by director
Zack Snyder and
Watchmen co-illustrator Dave Gibbons. There was a reception before and after (where they served this really great sushi), and in a separate room off to the side they set up a sort of
Watchmen museum, with costumes worn in the film, as well as drawings, set design stuff, character posters -- the works.
Once inside the theater, Snyder introduced the first twelve minutes of the film by giving us a little background on his past with comics (started reading
Heavy Metal as a kid, and was immediately turned off when he read other graphic novels because there wasn't enough "f**king or dying"). His work on
Watchmen began while they were still finishing up
300, and originally they wanted to update
Watchmen to the War on Terror. Eventually, though, Snyder chipped away and convinced the studio to remain faithful to the source material, which meant a film that took place in 1985, included the Vietnam War, Richard Nixon and all the scary realities which make the graphic novel so intriguing to read.
My thoughts on the footage and notes from the post-screening Q&A after the jump ...
Continue reading Cinematical Watches The 'Watchmen'
Posted Oct 6th 2008 7:33PM by Scott Weinberg
Filed under: Drama, Horror, Romance, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Thrillers, Movie Marketing
I think I may have heard just a little buzz regarding this
Twilight movie. Apparently it's based on the first book in a somewhat popular series that deals with young lovers and vampirism -- OK, I'm kidding. You can't work in the movie-news biz without knowing that Catherine Hardwicke's
Twilight is one of the most hotly-anticipated films of late 2008. The project may be supported by only a few demographic groups (mainly young women and their moms, I believe), but those fans have been powerfully vocal in their excitement for this movie. Which is how it should be, if you ask me.
Twilight hits the screens on November 21, and each new bit of news has the loyal fans squeeing with delight. And so we're all very happy to give those fans their first peek at the final one-sheet. I've cropped a small section up there in the top right, but for the whole dang poster you'll have to enter ... beneath the jump! (In other words, just click on "continue reading," and maybe be prepared to change your desktop wallpaper.)
Continue reading EXCLUSIVE: Brace Yourselves, Ladies: The Final 'Twilight' Poster!
Posted Oct 6th 2008 3:40PM by Erik Davis
Filed under: Independent, Fandom, Movie Marketing, Posters
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Click image above to enlargeCinematical has just received this exclusive poster for the film
Special, starring Michael Rapaport as a lonely meter maid who has a psychotic reaction to his medication and becomes convinced he's some sort of superhero. Back when
Cinematical's Jette Kernion reviewed
Special at the
Austin Film Festival, she called it "different" and "attention-grabbing" -- adding that "Rapaport is riveting to watch as Les, as he transforms from a mild-mannered, easily duped meter maid to a self-identified superhero determined to help fight crime, and even further to his final state at the movie's climax."
As
we told you last week,
Special is part of Magnet's Six-Shooter Series, featuring six of the more talked-about genre flicks from the past year or so (
Let the Right One In, Timecrimes, Donkey Punch, Eden Log,
Big Man Japan) -- all of which are heading our way courtesy of Magnet Releasing.
Special will hit theaters on November 21, but will be available On Demand beginning November 7.
Posted Oct 6th 2008 12:40PM by Elisabeth Rappe
Filed under: Action, Warner Brothers, Fandom, Newsstand, Home Entertainment, Movie Marketing, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels
When
The Dark Knight hits DVD on December 9th, it will cause hysteria not seen since ... well, it hit theaters on July 18th. Part of it will be due to those devoted fans who
were buying tickets on eBay, but also be due to it receiving one heck of a release.
DVD Active gives us a few details on the DVD, and you can scope out some photos of this year's hottest stocking stuffer below.
First comes the standard 1-disc edition, for those buyers who just don't care about flashy extras or DVD art. There will be no bonus features on the one-disc, so buy carefully. True fans will be opting for the 2-disc set, which includes these delightful extras:
- Gotham Uncovered documentary
- Featurettes (Batman Tech: The Incredible Gadgets and Tools, Batman Unmasked: The Psychology of The Dark Knight)
- 6 episodes of Gotham Cable's Premier News Program
- Galleries (The Joker Cards, Concept Art, Poster Art, Production Stills)
- Trailers and TV spots
And if that wasn't enough, the 2-disc DVD art will feature alternate art under its cardboard sleeve -- it seems the Joker savaged each and every one of them with markers and crayons (see gallery below).
There's also a third edition the
really hardcore among you will be standing in line for, and that's the limited edition pictured above. It doesn't come with additional features, but is secured in a steel DVD case and accompanied by a replica Batpod. As it's not actually big enough to ride or pivot on walls, it's useless to me. But it's ideal for those of you with lots of desk space!
In related news: The brand new edition of
Production Weekly lists
Batman 3 as going into pre-production this February, with Christopher Nolan directing.
PW is a pretty reliable trade source, though it's odd to see news like that hit there before arriving in, say,
Variety. As always, more info when it develops ...
Posted Oct 4th 2008 3:02PM by Erik Davis
Filed under: Action, Comedy, Drama, Independent, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Fandom, Newsstand, Movie Marketing, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels, Lists, Images, Trailers and Clips
Continue reading Cinematical's Stuff That Happened This Week
Posted Oct 3rd 2008 5:02PM by Erik Davis
Filed under: Comedy, Documentary, Fandom, Movie Marketing, Trailers and Clips
Cinematical has just received this exclusive clip from the new documentary
Religulous, starring
Bill Maher and directed by Larry Charles (
Borat). In the docu-comedy, Maher travels from country to country examining faith and religion and the role it plays in the world. In the clip below, Maher, demonstrating his pro-marijuana beliefs, discusses whether you can be high and spiritual at the same time.
On
Religulous,
Cinematical's James Rocchi said, "it's a funny film about some depressing things, it's a lighthearted tour through terrorism, injustice and intolerance. But those contradiction and challenges are, ultimately, what make the film linger uneasily in your mind, reaching past comedy and confrontation to challenge the audience with a fierce and forceful prayer that there might be no god." You can listen to our audio interview with Bill Maher
over here, and you can catch
Religulous in theaters this weekend.
Posted Oct 2nd 2008 7:02PM by Elisabeth Rappe
Filed under: Comedy, Romance, Casting, Universal, Newsstand, Movie Marketing, Trailers and Clips
I'm finally writing a post here that my sister will read. You see, she adores
Russell Brand almost as much as Brand adores
Cinematical and
Scott Weinberg (see image above as proof of this fact). Maybe even more, because unlike most Americans, she was avidly following his British career via his podcast and BBC America. There have been many humbling moments in my
Cinematical salad days, but none quite so humiliating as when I told her Brand was in
Forgetting Sarah Marshall. "I
know. I followed the filming on his podcast." At least Weinberg promptly humiliated her by getting all cozy with her favorite Englishman.
As my sister wasn't one of the casting directors for
Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Brand had to make an audition tape to convince them of his weirdly-coiffed worthiness. In honor of
its DVD release,
MTV has the exclusive, and I've embedded it below for your viewing pleasure. And if you're like my sibling and can't get enough, I've also included the karaoke version of his in-film music video,
Infant Sorrow.
5-1 my sister writes "I've already
seen both of those videos" in the comments. Hopefully, you'll be more appreciative.
Continue reading Even Russell Brand Has to Make Audition Tapes
Posted Oct 2nd 2008 11:02AM by Erik Davis
Filed under: Documentary, Movie Marketing, Images, Posters
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Click image above to enlargeCinematical has just received this exclusive poster for
Pray the Devil Back to Hell, which took home the Best Documentary award at this year's Tribeca Film Festival. Directed by Gini Reticker, the buzz-worthy doc tells of a courageous group of Liberian woman who came together and stood up to those holding their country hostage in an attempt to bring peace back to the land.
The synopsis adds, "Thousands of women - ordinary mothers, grandmothers, aunts and daughters, both Christian and Muslim - came together to pray for peace and then staged a silent protest outside of the Presidential Palace. Armed only with white T-shirts and the courage of their convictions, they took on the warlords and nonviolently forced a resolution during the stalled peace talks. A story of sacrifice, unity and transcendence, Pray the Devil Back to Hell honors the strength and perseverance of the women of Liberia. Inspiring, uplifting, and most of all motivating, it is a compelling testimony of how grassroots activism can alter the history of nations."
Pray the Devil Back to Hell opens in theaters (in NYC) on November 7.
Posted Oct 1st 2008 2:40PM by Erik Davis
Filed under: Animation, Comedy, Disney, Fandom, Family Films, Movie Marketing, Images, Posters
.jpg)
Click image above to enlargeCinematical has just received this exclusive poster for Disney's
Bolt, which boasts a voice cast that includes
John Travolta and some girl named
Miley Cyrus (maybe you've heard of her; looks a little like that other girl Hannah Montana ...). The flick, which will be presented in fully awesome Disney Digital 3D, tells of a heroic dog (Travolta) on a hit TV show who really believes he has superpowers. A nice reality check comes when he's accidentally shipped from Hollywood to New York City (aka the real world) and has to somehow make his way back home with help from an old cat and an overweight hamster.
Written by Dan Fogelman (
Cars, Fred Claus),
Bolt looks to continue Disney's successful run in the Digital 3D business, joining other films like
Meet the Robinsons and the
Hannah Montana Concert Tour. It's fun, charming ... and who doesn't love a few solid one-liners from an overweight hamster?
Bolt zooms into theaters on November 21.
Posted Oct 1st 2008 9:02AM by Elisabeth Rappe
Filed under: Action, Drama, Romance, 20th Century Fox, Newsstand, Movie Marketing, War, Nicole Kidman, Trailers and Clips
The release date of
Australia is a mere month away, yet there's been little in the way of promotion for it. A few posters, a new release date, a few interviews with
Hugh Jackman and
Nicole Kidman -- that's it. While this
could spell a lack of confidence, I think it's largely due to the fact that Baz Luhrmann was still tinkering with the film
as of August.
But at last, there is a new trailer,
courtesy of MSN, but sans embed code. It's an odd trailer. It starts off in a style that's quite contemporary, both in the cinematography and the music, and then shifts into the style (complete with choir) that one normally associates with an epic period piece. And while
I know that Kidman and Jackman fight off an evil cattle baron and the Japanese invasion, little of that plot comes through. But it certainly looks beautiful, sweeping, romantic (love the peek at the love scenes), and exciting .... and maybe, just maybe, that's enough. Well, that and the shot of Jackman about 30 seconds in ....
Australia hits theatres November 26th, 2008.
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