Hasbro Ready To Cash In On Toys Tied To Transformers Movie

Technorati Tags: Hasbro Inc.,Blockbusters,Transformer,No.1

Hasbro Inc. (HAS) is revving up for bigger sales in the toy aisle thanks to the blockbuster Transformers movie sequel, with merchandise sales topping the 2007 product lineup by as much as 25%, analysts say.

"Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" is No. 1 at the box office so far this year. Since its June 24 release, the movie has racked up $607.6 million in global ticket sales through July 6, according to reporting service Box Office Mojo.

Industry analysts forecast that Transformers toy-related sales, including licensing fees, could be as high as $600 million by year's end. ...

High school comedy "Beth Cooper" flunks out

Technorati Tags: Beth Cooper,High school movie,movie character

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - It's always dangerous to introduce a movie character who loves to quote lines from classic movies; you're forcing the audience to make comparisons, which are unlikely to favor the movie they're watching.

In "I Love You, Beth Cooper" one of the teenage characters is a movie nerd constantly pontificating on some of his favorite flicks. During his movie-mad monologues, Rich (Jack T. Carpenter) even conjures up a couple of memorable high school movies, "Risky Business" and "Dead Poets Society." How we wish we were watching those pictures instead of the dud on display here. Although the teenage audience is notoriously undiscriminating, it's hard to imagine many kids turning out for this laugh-free comedy, which 20th Century Fox releases Friday.

Prodded by Rich, Denis (Paul Rust), the shy high school valedictorian, uses the occasion of his graduation speech to declare his love for Beth Cooper (Hayden Panettiere), the head cheerleader who is way out of his league. Although Beth barely has been aware of his existence, she is (rather improbably) touched by his declaration, and over the course of the evening, she and her snooty best friends take Denis and Rich on a night of adventure, pursued by Beth's psychotic boyfriend, the school jock.

The movie, written by Larry Doyle and directed by Chris Columbus, recalls several earlier high school movies that took place over the course of a single day -- "American Graffiti," "The Breakfast Club" and "Superbad," to name just a few. Actually, Columbus' own directorial debut was a comedy with a similar premise, "Adventures in Babysitting," a sweet, clever trifle that seems like "Citizen Kane" in comparison to "Beth Cooper."

Columbus went on to direct such huge hits as "Home Alone," "Mrs. Doubtfire" and the first two "Harry Potter" movies, and somewhere along the way, he lost touch with recognizable human emotions. But it's hard to know whether the blame for this fiasco rests with Columbus or with Doyle, who rote a novel based on his high school experiences and then turned it into a screenplay. Despite the claims of autobiographical authenticity, nothing seems fresh. Most of the scenes are stock teen crises that we've seen many times before: Underage kids trying to buy beer, getting into a car wreck, fighting off vicious bullies.

The actors can't do much with such a tired script. Rust doesn't really distinguish himself from a hundred other movie geeks, but Panettiere finds some warmth and even poignancy in her character. If the movie were worth stealing, it would be stolen by Carpenter. He brings some panache to the picture, though Rich's struggle to decide whether he's gay is a running gag far less rewarding than the filmmakers realize.

The film was shot mainly around Vancouver, doubling for Tacoma, Wash., and Columbus has enough experience to serve up a handsome production. Some of the stunt work is impressive, but a comedy cries out for smart jokes rather than convincing fight scenes.

MacGruber: The Movie

Technorati Tags: Mac Gruber,Will Forte,Saturday Night Live,Hollywood Reporter

Will Forte’s Saturday Night Live spy spoof MacGruber is headed for the big screen.

The parody of ’80s TV series MacGyver is being made into a movie, and actors Ryan Phillippe and Val Kilmer being courted for lead roles, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The sketch stars Will Forte as the son of secret agent Angus MacGyver. He and his assistant (played by Kristen Wiig) regularly find themselves trapped in a room with a bomb, only to see MacGruber get sidetracked by his addition to alcohol.

Actor Richard Dean Anderson, who starred in MacGyver, has appeared in several of the sketches over the years.

Other Saturday Night Live sketches that have been adapted for theatrical release include, Wayne’s World, Coneheads, and A Night At The Roxbury.

Actors on board for Cinemash movie send-ups

 

Technorati Tags: cinemash,on-line film

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Will Arnett, Zooey Deschanel, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Milo Ventimiglia and Channing Tatum are some of the stars who have signed up for Mean Magazine's Cinemash, which re-creates scenes from well-known movies in short online films.

The series kicks off Tuesday with Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who star together in Fox Searchlight's "(500) Days of Summer," interpreting "Sid and Nancy." In "Summer," the two actors have a scene in which they talk about the 1986 film. "Summer" director Marc Webb directed the short.

In other Cinemash shorts, Tatum stars in a "Dirty Dancing" parody, Ventimiglia does "Oldboy," and Arnett channels "Carrie."

The shorts will be available exclusively for download on Microsoft's Zune, and will stream on MSN, released weekly throughout the summer.

Enjoyed The July 4th Fireworks? Skip The Waledac Movie

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After a few weeks of low activity, the infamous Waledac botnet is lighting things up once again. This time, its hook is the promise of a "fabulous" July 4 video on YouTube.

Researchers at anti-virus firm ESET claim to have "reliable intelligence" that Waledac is being readied to conduct a spam campaign centering on Independence Day:

They [Waledac operators] have registered at least 18 domain names all related to the theme of video, fireworks, and Independence Day. The criminals behind Waledac are preparing to start sending spam with links to supposed videos of Independence Day fireworks which are, in reality, fresh copies of the Waledac malware family. We estimate the size of Waledac’s botnet as tens of thousands of infected computers. We believe that more than 20,000 compromised computers will be used to send the malicious emails, in an effort to increase the size of the botnet.

While ESET's advisory predicted the attack would start, Web security start-up Purewire has published a note showing a sample of the attack already underway. This post has an image of the fake YouTube video, that if clicked will infect users with Waledac. Purewire points to an analysis that claims the ability for anti-virus to detect these attacks as "poor."

We covered Waledac since its purported inception. That time, it was using the Christmas holiday to spread itself.

Vail movies: Giant robots fight to destroy your eardrumsEnter a post title

Technorati Tags: robot,eardrum,transformers

 

ENLARGE

Optimus Prime from Michael Bay's “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.”

VAIL, Colorado — By now I've come to realize that complaining about a Michael Bay movie is like those parents who feed their kids Cap'n Crunch for breakfast then complain about how hyper they are five minutes later. Sometimes you just have to feed your kids and there isn't always enough time to make a nutritious meal.
Bay's latest film, “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,” is just the kind of sugar buzz the summer box office demands. It will probably leave you with a headache and an upset stomach, but at least you'll be entertained.
Picking up two years after the original “Transformers” left off, the U.S. government now works with the Autobots (the good Transformers) to find and eliminate the Decepticons (the bad Transformers) still left on earth. The last film revealed that a metallic cube called the AllSpark was the source of creation for all Transformers but it was destroyed in an epic battle between the two sides so there was clearly nothing for mankind to worry about any more.
Or so we thought.
In this installment of what is sure to be a 10-part series, a small shard of the AllSpark is found by Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) and it takes about a minute before the Decepticons and Autobots are battling for the fate of our planet once again. The Autobots, led by Optimus Prime, must stop the Decepticons from destroying the sun and wiping out humanity once and for all.
“Revenge of the Fallen” tries its best to create a Transformers mythology with a complete history of their prehistoric visits to Earth, something called a Matrix of Leadership, a fallen-angel-type Decepticon actually called The Fallen (in case it wasn't obvious enough) and an ancient death machine buried in the pyramids of Egypt. Only Bay could try to cram so much into a movie and get away with it.
I thought the last Transformers movie was actually pretty good, despite popular protest. It had just enough humanity in it to keep it grounded while the giant robots duked it out. Unfortunately, all that goes out the window in “Fallen.” Instead, for two and a half hours, there's literally nothing going on but giant robot fights and soldiers with guns running around trying not to get killed by them. It's extremely loud, obnoxious, overwhelming and confusing. And yes, entertaining.
Most of the original cast reprise their roles, but when they are on screen they're either running or yelling or crying. There's no down time between fights for us to get to know them like we did in the first film. I guess Bay thought he got all that out of the way already, so exploding aircraft carriers and crumbling pyramids were all we needed now.
Then there are the Transformers themselves. The first film introduced us to a handful of them, both good and bad, and they were easy to keep track of. “Revenge of the Fallen” crams so many new ones into the mix, most with little to no introduction, that it's impossible to keep track of who's who after a few scenes. And most of the new Transformers are so lame it just feels like a waste. What's with the Jar-Jar Binks wannabe's of Skids and Mudflap? They're horrible and borderline racist.
But it all goes back to Bay. If you don't know what you're getting into by now, go back and watch “Armageddon” or “Bad Boys II” again. Don't expect anything but action, and later, when your ears are still ringing but you forget why, you can smile knowing there will be a Transformers 3.

Ramon Rodriguez will have bigger role in third 'Transformers' movie, Bay hints

Technorati Tags: Ramon Rodriguez,transformers,movie

How big will "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" get? The movie was closing in on $400 million on Monday, a number that surprised even some of the people at Paramount Pictures. We've had tons of coverage on the film, which is breaking records at the box office, and we're not done yet. Here's a longer version of the Los Angeles Times Calendar story I have in today's paper on one of the new faces in Hollywood, Ramon Rodriguez, who plays Leo Spitz in the No. 1 movie in America right now. A lot of people are expecting big things from Ramon in the future, including Michael Bay, who hinted to me that the third film in the franchise will have a meatier role for the new cast member.

It turns out that filmmaker Michael Bay runs an audition a lot like he makes movies.

Last year, Ramon Rodriguez visited Bay’s Santa Monica offices seeking a key role in “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” and, instead of a sedate line-reading, the young actor was told to basically run for his life.

“For 90 minutes, he had me jumping, running, diving over the furniture in his office -- that was the audition,” said Rodriguez, who was adept enough to land the role of Shia LaBeouf’s sidekick in the biggest movie of the year. “I was drenched in sweat. He told me, ‘OK, hide behind the desk!’ ‘Now, run over here!’ And man, I was looking in his eyes, and he was enjoying it. He’s got a passion for action. It shows in the movies too.”

Critics may cringe, but audiences are feeling it: “Revenge of the Fallen,” as of Monday, was closing in on $400 million worldwide. That's a staggering number, and the domestic gross, $201 million, fell just short of the five-day record of $203 million set last year by “The Dark Knight.”

It’s been dizzying to watch from a distance, but it’s an especially wild ride for newcomer Rodriguez, whose career surged this summer with the “Transformers” role as well as his work in Tony Scott’s “The Taking of Pelham 123,” which put him side by side with Denzel Washington and John Travolta.

“I’m coming out of nowhere this summer,” Rodriguez said on recent bright afternoon on a basketball court in Studio City. “At least that’s how it seems to people. It feels that way to me sometimes too. And it’s been a major education.”

For Rodriguez, this summer is the equivalent of a half-court shot that hits nothing but net.

The actor, who grew up on Manhattan’s lower east side but also spent much of his youth in his family’s native Puerto Rico, was a college and prep-school basketball star but didn’t have the height needed to achieve his NBA dream.

After picking up a sports-management degree at New York University, he was working for the New York Knicks in their community relations department but hating it. “You would think I would love it, but working for a team that’s losing is just no fun,” he said. “It was so gray, so dark, there were layoffs and turmoil."

A friend coaxed him to enter a Nike basketball-trick competition and, with the lure of a free pair of sneakers, a disinterested Rodriguez agreed. He ended up winning by spinning a ball, putting it on the tip of a pen and then gripping the pen with his teeth without interrupting the revolving ball.

It was a heck of a trick: It led to the ballplayer joining the Nike freestyle team and a tour of Asia and Europe as a sort of latter-day Harlem Globetrotter. At NBA games, Rodriguez performed in front of stars he had hoped would be his peers.

“They were checking us at halftime, I could see out of the corner of my eye that they were smiling,” he said. “We got paid, we traveled, people cheered. And then there’s another thing: When you’re the halftime show, you never lose.”

His work in Nike commercials gave him a foothold in a new sector: acting. That path became more than a lark in 2005 when Rodriguez had an eye-catching, two-episode guest appearance on “Rescue Me,” FX's firehouse drama, in which he played a young man who had been molested by a priest.

“The firefighters went to the priest and at the end of the story arc, in front of everyone, I kill myself,” Rodriguez said. “I put a gun to my head in the middle of the church. I was finding out what it meant to be an actor.”

Rodriguez then immersed himself in acting studies even as he did an eight-episode run on “The Wire” in the role of Renaldo, the dangerous lover of stick-up man Omar Little. Next was Rodriguez’s memorable turn in Alejandro Gomez Monteverde’s “Bella,” the 2006 film that won the people’s choice award at the Toronto International Film Festival.

That set the stage for “Transformers,” which allowed Rodriguez to get in touch with his youth – he used to watch the cartoon series while munching on sugary cereal. The role of the fast-talking Princeton freshman Leonardo Ponce De Leon Spitz – who is the new college roommate to LaBeouf’s Sam Witwicky — makes Rodriguez the comic relief in the film about giant alien robots.

Director Michael Bay has a third "Transformers" film in mind, and if it plays out as he expects, the next installment would have a more substantial role for Rodriguez. The filmmaker, speaking at his office a few weeks before "Revenge of the Fallen" was released, seemed to have some pride of discovery when talking about Rodriguez.

"I've worked with big stars, people like Will Smith, Sean Connery and Bruce Willis, but casting is a weird thing, it takes you places you don’t expect," Bay said. "We went looking for a sidekick in this movie, Shia’s sidekick, and we find this new kid who really pops on screen. I think he’s going to have a real bright career. It’s great to work with big stars, but it’s always fun to discover people."

Bay said the actor is a mix of rough charm and refined intellect.

"He’s got a street edge and a realness to him," said the director, whose past films include "The Rock" and "Bad Boys.” "He’s a New York kid with a street feel to him. He adapted to the actors very well, which isn’t always easy in a big movie, a sequel, where a lot of the cast chemistry has been set already. He’s funny, charming, comes off cool and accessible.”

Rodriguez is eager to diversify his résumé and do arty films and ensemble pieces as well as the huge summer fare. But he said, no matter what comes next, he won’t soon forget this summer.

“It was the full deal: I remember flying to Egypt to climb the Pyramids … and then taking a Blackhawk helicopter to Petra to shoot there,” he said. “We shot on an aircraft carrier. I mean, all of it, it was just mind-blowing. I got my shot and, man, it was a good one.”

-- Geoff Boucher

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Images, from top: Ramon Rodriguez in "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen." Credit: Paramount Pictures. The cast poses in Japan, with Rodriguez at top left and director Michael Bay at center front. Credit:  Getty Images.  Other images from Paramount.

More gangster movies to watch

 

Gangster movies are as enduring an American institution as crime itself.
Three quarters of a century after Hollywood started churning ’em out, the genre’s still kickin’. On Wednesday, the Johnny Depp-starring John Dillinger bio “Public Enemies” hits screens, continuing a long line of flicks about tough guys with tommy guns.
After you see “Enemies,” check out these bitter little numbers if you haven’t.

[+]Enlarge

Johnny Depp will star as John Dillinger in "Public Enemies." (Joel Ryan)

1. “The Godfather 1 and 2”: Well, of course.
2. “Goodfellas”: Arguably better than the Godfathers.
3. “Miller’s Crossing”: The Coen Brothers try depression-era crime and succeed awesomely.
4. “White Heat”: Original gangster actor James Cagney is a poisonous cookie as a guy who loves nothing ’cept his Ma.
5. “Get Carter”: Michael Caine is ice-cold awesome as a vengeful chap who’s really good at killing people.
6. “Scarface” (1983): Isn’t it about time you said hello to Tony Montana’s little friend?
7. “City of God”: Basically, “Goodfellas” in the favelas of Rio. As cool and upsetting as it sounds.
8. “Rififi”: Italian noir featuring the longest, greatest heist in screen history.
9. “The Long Good Friday”: Bob Hoskins is surprisingly scary as the leader of the London underworld.
Others: “Pulp Fiction,” “Reservoir Dogs,” “Road to Perdition,” “The Big Heat,” “The Departed,” “Donnie Brasco,” “Mean Streets,” “Key Largo,” “Little Caesar,” “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels,” “Shoot the Piano Player,” “The Red Circle,” “Casino.”

Technorati Tags: gangster movie,johnny depp

Michael Jackson movie?

Technorati Tags: michael jackson,new movie

One of the earliest biographical films about a musician was Lady Sings the Blues, a 1972 semi-factual film about Billie Holliday that starred Diana Ross and was nominated for five Academy Awards (1). Though it didn't win in any category, a soundtrack double-album of Diana Ross doing Billie Holliday topped the charts, and its prosperity was widely noted. More recently, the monumental successes of Walk The Line and Ray further ensured that no good musician will ever go un-biographied in Hollywood.

What I'm wondering is how long it will take them to come out with a biopic about Michael Jackson. Notorious came over a decade after the death of Biggie Smalls, but it was a latent addition to the flurry of musician bios, and it is more likely that Michael Jackson's recent death sparked a rush of opportunist scripts and project pitches.

I predict a Michael movie is already under negotiation by multiple movie studios and that a film will come out as early as next summer. But who will direct? More importantly, who clould play MJ?

There will have to be at least three, maybe even four actors, to portray Michael in all stages of his life. Since his life has always been public, the MJ audience will not easily be fooled; casting will be very important to make sure the film is believable. Who will play the light-skinned, disturbed Michael? Jonny Depp?

No...Probably someone more unexpected, like Elijah Wood as Iggy Pop or Michael Douglas as Liberace (2). Unpredictable casting choices drive publicity (in addition to untimely deaths,) as with Heath Ledger in Dark Knight.

Depp is too obvious. He already looked uncannily like Michael in Tim Burton's remake of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, used Keith Richards as inspiration for Captain Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean, and is involved already in talks to play Freddy Mercury in a movie about Queen to be produced by Robert De Niro's Tribeca Productions (3).

So who could it be?

The Associated Press reports that VH1 is planning to run a movie that chronicles MJ's life and a casting search is in progress (4). VH1 has already done the Jackson 5, however, and made-for-TV biopics hardly get the critical or commercial attention that their subjects usually warrant. The only reason we haven't heard of any other Michael projects in the works is because every studio is likely fighting for the rights to his story, and the chance to make the big bucks.

The problem is that MJ, a tragic figure, has been relentlessly parodied, and making a film that takes his story as seriously as it should will prove to be a very difficult task.

Tanya Tucker Honors Her Father's Favorite Music on New Album

Technorati Tags: Tanya Tucker,Favorite Music,New Album

Tanya Tucker

As a grade-schooler in Arizona, Tanya Tucker and her father, Beau Tucker, would convince touring country singers like Ernest Tubb and Little Jimmy Dickens to give her a moment in the spotlight, too. And by the time she was 13, Tucker was working her own shows in a Las Vegas nightclub, fearlessly performing honky-tonk classics like Faron Young's "Wine Me Up." So it's no surprise the 50-year-old singer sounds perfectly comfortable on her new album of country classics, My Turn. She says she recorded famous songs by the likes of Lefty Frizzell, Buck Owens, Ray Price and Hank Williams to honor her late father.
"He's the one that got me started in this business, and he's the one that got me hooked on country music from the very beginning, so it only makes sense that I dedicate this album to him," she said. "I wanted to call it The Songs My Dad Wanted Me to Sing ... but I finally decided on My Turn, which I think is a good title, too. He's the one that had these records when I started singing. He was my mentor."
Tucker possesses one of the most familiar voices in country music, with 40 Top 10 singles and 10 No. 1 hits. These days, she divides her time between Malibu, Calif., where her daughters are pursuing film work, and Franklin, Tenn., a small town about 20 miles south of Nashville. During a phone interview, she discusses the healing power of music, the first demos she was pitched and why she's keeping her vinyl collection.
CMT: Preparing for this record, did you go back and listen to the original versions?
Tucker: Not really. [Producer] Pete Anderson came over to my house in Malibu one night, and it was the first time I ever met him. We started talking about the songs that we really liked. There was a list about 20 to 30 songs. He was dead set about some things. There was one that I wasn't really sure of -- "Big Big Love." I was hoping to do something like "It's Such a Pretty World" by Wynn Stewart. But he was set on "Big Big Love" and even right up until I recorded it, I really didn't know if I was going to like the song. But after I recorded it, I really loved it. That's one of my favorites on the record.
When you moved to Malibu, did you keep all your vinyl records, and do you listen to country music on vinyl?
Oh, absolutely. I haven't lately because I don't have anything to play it on. All my turntables are in storage. I haven't gotten to listen to them in a long time. But I love all the white noise.
You can't bear to part with those.
No, never will. That's the beginning, you know. That was the core. That's what got us here.
When you listened to material for your studio records, were most of those demos sung by men?
Yeah, it's true. I've made a career out of singing songs that mostly were men's songs. I mean, I have definitely cut some songs that had female demos, but I have always been attracted to men's songs. I always turned them around into stronger kind of songs. I have made a career out of that. Nobody would really know, I guess, but me and my producer.
Did the industry ever tell you that since you're a female country singer, you're only going to appeal to women?
Oh, no, no, I was never told that. I think they wanted me to appeal more to men, especially when I got a little older. The facts are that women buy the records. It's always been that way. Somehow through them wanting me to appeal to men, I ended up appealing to women because of the strong songs. There is just a little more strength in a woman's song these days. I never have really been attracted to "poor little me" songs -- "I'll do anything if you take me back." I never have liked that kind of attitude. (laughs) I have had a lot of women come to me and say, "Man, you helped me get through a divorce." It's amazing how powerful music is. It never fails to amaze me. I think sometimes artists get so involved in making the music, we forget really how important it is as far as changing lives and helping people through a bad part of their lives. It's very, very powerful.
In your early career, one of the first songs you were pitched was "Happiest Girl in the Whole U.S.A.," which later became a Grammy-winning song for Donna Fargo. What was going through your mind the first time you heard it?
I thought it was a good song, but I didn't think at that time it was for me. Of course [music publisher] Al Gallico brought it in because he had the publishing on it. He knew Billy Sherrill had this new 13-year-old kid he was producing, so he put it together and brought it in and said, "This is a monster." ... So we really could have recorded it if we had wanted to, but I just said it wasn't my song. Billy told the guys, "Well, you heard her." And they're going like, "Oh, God, he's lost his mind. He's starting to listen to a 13-year-old kid." (laughs) Billy was a little left-of-center anyway. It was to be expected, I guess. But when I heard "Delta Dawn," which is what he played me next, it was an Alex Harvey guitar vocal, and I said, "Now that's my song."
So they thought, "He's lost it." But, in fact, it was the best thing he could have done. As kids, we're unafraid. I was unafraid. That's the way you've got to be when you're starting out in this business -- and when you want to stay in this business, that's for sure. You can't get scared too much.