Cinematical

Armed with a collection of the world's notable directors, Paris je t'aime hit screens with a good deal of impact and buzz. It was to be the first piece in producer Emmanuel Benbihy's "Cities of Love," a collection of films detailing romance and metropolitan life across the globe, a series planning to travel to the likes of New York, Rio, Shanghai, Jerusalem, and Mumbai.

Three years later, the second installment is finally upon us with New York, I Love You. With only minor changes, the film continues the tradition of joining many internationally diverse filmmakers for the journey through a popular city, but the buzz has diminished. The film is slowly making its way across screens in the U.S., and will break into Canada come November 27. But how could one of Hollywood's most beloved cities find its ode so woefully under the radar? It's not an easy question to answer because while New York, I Love You might be flawed, it's also sweet, engaging, and nicely representative of that small island cluttered with millions of people.

I was convinced this day would never come... I first wrote about The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond over three years ago when the forgotten Tennessee Williams screenplay got tapped for a feature film. Lindsay Lohan was set to star in it, before her heaps of turmoil turned her career sour. In 2007, Bryce Dallas Howard stepped in to replace Lohan, and in 2008, we finally got a still from the film. Now the movie has quietly swam through the festival circuit and is slated for release at the end of the year, which means we finally get a trailer, which you can see after the jump, courtesy of Coming Soon.

The trailer can certainly send you back in time, but maybe not to the right time. The whole thing reeks of 1980s Hallmark melodrama, from the scenes to the text and somber voiceover. Bryce Dallas Howard stars as Fisher Willow, a '20s debutante who decides to get back at her greedy dad by taking a poor young man (Chris Evans) to a high-profile party. She borrows her great Aunt Cornelia's (Ann Margret) teardrop diamond earrings to the event, and when she loses one, she accuses her date of stealing it.

What might be more intriguing than the work (which Coming Soon says was written as a film for Elia Kazan to direct), and the cast (which also includes Ellen Burstyn), is the idea of Lohan in this movie. I can't begin to imagine her taking on the style and accent Howard pulls off. But what do you think?

Will you hit the theaters to see this lost work from Tennessee Williams?

Back in 1933 there was this little movie called King Kong. While not an epic award-winner, the film instantly became a legend for stunning special effects and arguably the most iconic Hollywood monster of them all. Whether you've seen the film or not, you've no doubt witnessed the scene, where the large ape grabbed Fay Wray's Anne Darrow and carried her to the top of the Empire State Building, where he fought off planes and machine gun fire to be with the unwilling object of his affection.

MSNBC reports that the specific metal skeleton used in that iconic scene has sold for approximately $200,000 at a Christie's auction in London. Talk about a killer find! The 22-inch figurine was originally "covered in cotton, rubber, liquid latex, and rabbit's fur," but being over 70 years old, that covering has rotted away to reveal what you see above -- a collection of metal, rivets, and screws fashioned into an ape skeleton.

While there's a whole lot of great computer-generated effects out there, I can't help but feel a pang for the good old days of tangible creations and miniature models. They gave an added sense of realism to special effects-laden filmmaking. You can check out the scene (colorized) after the jump.

In this current world where Katie Holmes is wife to Tom Cruise and mother of Suri, it's easy to forget she used to have a pretty solid indie career intermingled with her days on the popular Creek -- Libbets Casey in The Ice Storm, Claire in Go, Hannah in Wonder Boys, Jessica in The Gift, Nurse Mills in The Singing Detective, April Burns in Pieces of April, and Heather Holloway in Thank You For Smoking. But there is one starring role in there that's quite applicable this week: Pieces of April. *

Her last big role of worth (she played only a supporting character in Smoking and she was bad enough to be axed from Gotham law after Batman Begins), Pieces of April finds Holmes the black sheep of a dysfunctional family. Living a life on her own in New York with her boyfriend Bobby, April decides to tackle the daunting halls of turkey roasting and have her family over for a Thanksgiving feast. Unfortunately, her oven fails and throws her into ultimate turkey turmoil as she struggles not to be seen as a failure (again) by her family. The film earned Patricia Clarkson an Oscar nomination for her role as Holmes' cancer-plagued mom, and is a pretty decent indie as a whole.

So, as you gear up for your own turkey feast:

Head over to SlashControl and watch Pieces of April for free!

*And one supporting gig that's prime for the more cynically holiday-minded -- The Ice Storm.

This is a tale of the girl who cried wolf vampire...

TMZ is reporting that the 17-year-old girl who claimed that a fellow moviegoer bit her neck while exiting a screening of New Moon was, as they put it, "lying through her teeth." Erin Westrate gave police her story of the so-called bite, but a witness came forward to say that they saw her leave the theater and saw no biting. After grilling the teen, she confessed: "the alleged culprit was simply kissing her on the neck at the time and she was a 'willing participant.'" What possessed her to make up this extravagant lie is beyond me. Is she an English literature fiend who wanted to play on the never-cry-wolf idea after a movie with wolves and vamps?

Detective Lieutenant Timothy LaVigne says that the teen could now face criminal charges, and if this is all true and she did lie -- I say bring her down. Women have a tough enough time as it is when they are assaulted, crying wolf doesn't help matters.

From the original post:

We keep hearing about the annoying Twilight Saga fans and their ever-loyal fandom, but there are other crazies coming out of the woodwork. An ABC affiliate in Michigan reports that while watching New Moon at the Norton Shores theater, a teen girl was harassed and bitten by an old perv while watching the vampire/werewolf blockbuster.

It seems that in the midst of a screen full of vamps and wolves, an old, short, white dude believed to be about 45 years old starting throwing "sexual comments" at a 17-year-old girl sitting in front of him. But he didn't just assault her with words. When the movie was over, he decided to give her a taste of the "real deal" and allegedly bit the girl on the neck (lucky for her, he didn't break the skin). Right now, the perv is at large, and the police are asking anyone with any information to contact the Norton Shores Police Department.

In 1982, Ben Kingsley became Mahatma Gandhi in Richard Attenborough's Gandhi. The film instantly became a classic and went on to dominate the Oscars, earning Best Picture, Director, Actor, Writing, Editing, Costume Design, Cinematography, and Art Direction. And even though those are ridiculously enormous shoes to fill, the Guardian reports that Kingsley is heading back to Indian history to play Shah Jahan, the emperor who built the Taj Mahal.

Back in the mid-1600s, Shah Jahan was a Mughal Emperor who was devastated when his favorite (third) wife Mumtaz Mahal died while giving birth to their fourteenth child. In her honor, he decided to erect a grand mausoleum that would not only be epically impressive and beautiful, but also so glorious that sins would be washed away. It took roughly 21 years to create and has been included on some Seven Wonders of the World lists.

Titled Taj, the script was written by British novelist and playwright David Ashton, and is still looking for a director. Alongside Kingsley will be Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, who will play Mumtaz Mahal. This won't, however, be her first stab at the object of such desire: The former Miss World and Bride & Prejudice star played Mumtaz in the 2007 short musical, Journey Across India.

SBK Pictures is hoping to start production in the fall of 2010, but for now: Do you think Kingsley can make Indian history win in Hollywood once again?

There are times in this busy world when I forget just how cool The Muppets are. Randomly mention the beastly little guys and gals, and I'll smile politely, vaguely remembering the good old days. Put them in front of me, however, and it's a challenge to not let out a real world, ear-breaking shriek of squee. I don't care how long they've been around -- The Muppets are cool, and they are no cooler than when they're delighting in the epic grandeur of rhapsody ... Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody," that is.

We all know the song. It was pretty epic in its own right, and then soared to new levels in Wayne's World, where it grabbed the #2 spot on the Billboard charts almost two decades after its release. Now the MuppetsStudio on YouTube have released the ultra-awesome clip you can see after the jump -- an arseload of Muppets singing the classic Queen song just like the old-school music video. And it's convinced me that Beaker is a lost member of the band.

The bad thing about all of this is that it's making me wish for a whole different sort of Muppet movie. Sure, Jason Segel is planning The Greatest Muppet Movie of All Time, and the project will involve the gang reuniting to save the studio. But considering this video, and the utter awesomeness that is Segel's rock opera in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, couldn't they halt things, change scope, and make this The Greatest Muppet Rock Opera of All Time? The possibilities are wonderfully epic and so utterly perfect. Who's with me?

Hit the jump for the Muppets' performance, plus the original video and that bit from Wayne's World.

[via Movieline]

This week Richard Linklater's Me and Orson Welles is finally making its way to the big screen. It's not a big buzzed-about film, but it is, indeed, one worthy of your time. The movie offers a peek at Efron's possible future (which the abysmal 17 Again completely failed to do), a delightful look into creating art in the '30s, and it recreates the nuances of theater on the big screen. And hey, it's a Linklater film, which seems to be painfully rare these days.

But none of those reasons are why I urge you to see it. It all rests on the shoulders of actor Christian McKay, who plays Orson Welles. I missed the film at TIFF, and spent the next year listening to raves over McKay's performance before I finally got the chance to make it to a screening. Even with the rave reviews and raised expectations, it was quite easy to get mesmerized by McKay, who not only bears an uncanny resemblance to the iconic actor and filmmaker, but also adeptly embodies the man's larger-than-life ways.

To get the full experience, you must be familiar with Welles, and if you're not, well, good lord, now's the time to change that. What follows are some of Welles' essential work, as well as glimpses into the man's real life so you can see just how good McKay's performance is.

We keep hearing about the annoying Twilight Saga fans and their ever-loyal fandom, but there are other crazies coming out of the woodwork. An ABC affiliate in Michigan reports that while watching New Moon at the Norton Shores theater, a teen girl was harassed and bitten by an old perv while watching the vampire/werewolf blockbuster.

It seems that in the midst of a screen full of vamps and wolves, an old, short, white dude believed to be about 45 years old starting throwing "sexual comments" at a 17-year-old girl sitting in front of him. But he didn't just assault her with words. When the movie was over, he decided to give her a taste of the "real deal" and allegedly bit the girl on the neck (lucky for her, he didn't break the skin). Right now, the perv is at large, and the police are asking anyone with any information to contact the Norton Shores Police Department.

Attention pervy men: While it might seem like biting is the new flirting, especially with the hordes of girls begging Robert Pattinson to bite them, you are not RPatt and that is not cool. And for you fellow filmgoers -- don't let the sickos get away, okay? Do you want to worry about who sits behind you or walks too close as you exit a theater?

You can watch the newscast after the jump.

Angels & Demons
The first was met with much critical disdain, but fought back to earn over $750 million at the worldwide box office. Angels & Demons still managed to make money, but less than $500 million (needing worldwide take to even make up for the budget) as Tom Hanks tries to hunt down a symbol-loving murderer. Eric D. Snider called it: "is as overly serious as its predecessor, and poor Mr. Hanks -- the world's most likable man, for crying out loud! -- is still dour and intense." Skip it. Also on Blu-ray.

Add to Netflix queue | Buy at Amazon

Four Christmases
Just as the title implies, Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon are forced to stop avoiding their crazy families and must hit four households over the holidays. In his review, William Goss wrote: "The rest makes for an occasionally amusing, mostly shrill series of encounters with an ensemble that only encourages misanthropic ideals, and maybe if Four Christmases had decided to extend itself beyond white trash targets and projectile vomiting, we could've found ourselves talking about a new Christmas classic right now." Rent it if you want some uncomfortable holiday humor. Also on Blu-ray.

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Funny People
If ever there was a reason why Adam Sandler has been sticking to the ridiculous fluff, this is it -- a dramedy with a lot of heart that couldn't even make back its budget after worldwide release. In his review, Todd Gilchrist said: "Funny People is one of the summer's, if not the year's best films, because it's a comedy that inverts the medium's typical use – effectively revealing feelings rather than concealing them – and invites the audience to share in that discovery." Buy it and give the film some love. Also on Blu-ray.

Read Our Blu-ray Review | Add to Netflix queue | Buy at Amazon

Hit the jump for a peek at Shorts and other new releases...