Negromancer News Bits and Bites from April 1st to 6th, 2024 - UPDATE #19

by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

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ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:

MOVIES - From Deadline:  Drew Barrymore has said that her frequent co-star, Adam Sandler, has written the screenplay for "Happy Gilmore 2," a sequel to one of his most popular films.

TELEVISION - From Deadline:  Actor Raymond Lee, star of NBC's "Quantum Leap," reboot announced via "Instagram" that the NBC has cancelled the series after two seasons.

MOVIES - From Deadline:  Writer-producer-director-star Dev Patel talks about how important Oscar-winner Jordan Peele was in getting his debut feature, "Monkey Man," into theaters.

NETFLIX - From Deadline:  Netflix has revealed the cast of "Tyler Perry’s Beauty in Black."  The new 16-episode, hour-long drama series is coming to the streamer as a result of a previously announced creative partnership between Netflix and Tyler Perry.  The deal calls for Perry will write, direct, and produce feature films and series under a multi-year first-look deal.  Cast members include Taylor Polidore Williams, Amber Reign Smith, Crystle Stewart, Ricco Ross, Debbi Morgan, and Richard Lawson, to name a few.

TELEVISION - From Deadline:  Emmy-winning actress, Gillian Anderson, won't say "No" to appearing in Ryan Coogler's planned reboot of Fox's former sci-fi drama, "The X-Files."  Anderson played FBI Agent Dana Scully in the series, which ran from 1993 to 2002 and again from 2016-18.

DISNEY - From Deadline:  Bob Iger thug life is still a thing.  Disney has succeeded in barring Nelson Peltz from its board of directors as shareholders at the company’s hotly anticipated annual meeting today voted in its slate of 12 nominees, fending off outsiders. It was a months-long bitter and costly fight.  Neither Pletz nor anyone from his Trian Group or Blackwells landed anyone on the board.

MOVIES - From Variety:  Warner Bros. is returning to "the Matrix" for a fourth sequel.  "Matrix 5" will be written and directed by Drew Goddard.  Lana Wachowski, the co-creator of the franchise and the director of the fourth film, "The Matrix: Resurrections," will be an executive producer on this film.  No word yet on what actor will be returning.

STAGE - From Deadline:  The Jamie Lloyd Company announced the full cast for the upcoming West End production of Romeo & Juliet.  They confrimed that newcomer Francesca Amewudah-Rivers confirmed as Juliet opposite Tom Holland as Romeo.  "Romeo & Juliet" opens at the Duke of York’s Theatre on Thursday, May 23, 2024, with previews from Saturday, May 11, and runs until Saturday, August 3.

MUSIC/MOVIES - From TheRoot:  Inspired by Beyonce's smash hit new country album, "Cowboy Carter," "The Root" has a list of must see Black Western films.  The list includes a couple of Idris Elba films, "The Harder They Fall" and "Concrete Cowboy."

SCANDAL - From THR:  The estate of the late, legendary comedian, George Carlin, has settled a lawsuit it brought against the makers of a podcast that used generative AI to impersonate the late stand-up comic's voice and style for an unauthorized special.

TELEVISION - From Variety:  Chris Carter, the creator of Fox's former sci-fi drama, "The X-Files," talks about the reboot being shepherded by Ryan Coogler ("Black Panther").  Also, he mentions that original series star, Gillian Anderson ("Dana Scully") did not have enough "sex appeal" for Fox executives.

MOVIES - From Variety:  Oscar-nominee Benedict Cumberbatch and Oscar-winner Olivia Colman will star in director Jay Roach's reimagining of the 1989 film, "The War of the Roses."  The original was directed by Danny DeVito and starred Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner.

TELEVISION - From Deadline:  Emmy-winner Felicity Huffman ("Desperate Housewives") joins Paramount+'s "Criminal Minds: Evolution" Season Two.

BOX OFFICE - From Variety:  The winner of the 3/29 to 3/31/2024 weekend box office is Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment's "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire" with an estimated take of 80 million dollars.

From Variety:  "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire" had an opening weekend of RMB317 (the equivalent of 44.6 million dollars) in mainland China, between Friday and Sunday (March 29th-31st).  Thus far, it is the biggest opening of any Hollywood film in China this year.

From Here:  A review of "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire" by Leroy Douresseaux.

OBITS:

From Variety:  American actor, writer, and comedian, Joe Flaherty, has died at the age of 82, Monday, April 1, 2024.  A prolific actor, he was best known for his roles on the Canadian sketch comedy series, "Second City Television" ("SCTV"), and on the former NBC sitcom, "Freaks and Geeks."  As a writer, he shared nine Primetime Emmy nominations for his work on SCTV, winning twice.

From THR:  American film, television, and stage actress, Barbara Rush, has died at the age of 97, Sunday, March 31, 2024.  She appeared in over one hundred films, TV series, and TV movies.  Her best known film appearances include "It Came From Outer Space" (1953), "Magnificent Obsession" (1954), "The Young Philadelphians" (1959), and "Robin and the 7 Hoods" (1964), to name a few.  She appeared in such TV series as ABC'S "Peyton's Place" and "All My Children," NBC's "Flamingo Road," and The WB's "7th Heaven," to name a few.  In 1954, Rush won the "Golden Globe Award" for "New Star of the Year - Actress."

From THR:  American visual effects artist, Tim McGovern, has died at the age of 68, Saturday, March 30, 2024.  He won the "Special Achievement Academy Award" for his work on "Total Recall," sharing the win with Eric Brevig, Rob Bottin, and Alex Funke.  A digital effects pioneer, McGovern was also a founding member of Sony Picture ImageWorks, where he worked on such films as "Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation" (2015) and "Dunkirk" (2017).  His other credits include "Last Action Hero" (1993), "As Good as It Gets" (1997), and "Shazam: Fury of the Gods" (2023).

From THR:  American film and television writer and producer and TV director, Norman Steinberg, has died at the age of 83, Saturday, March 15, 2024.  Steinberg is best known for co-writing Mel Brooks' "Blazing Saddles" (1974) and Richard Benjamin's "My Favorite Year" (1982), which starred Peter O'Toole.  He won a Primetime Emmy Awards for cowriting an episode of the former NBC variety series, "The Flip Wilson Show."

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from May 17th to 23rd, 2020 - Update #20

by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

Support Leroy on Patreon:

CORONAVIRUS/COVID-19 NEWS:

From CDC:   The Centers for Disease Control has a "COVID Data Tracker."

From YahooNews:  Why does COVID-19 kill some people and hardly affects others?

From YahooNews:  Yahoo has a dedicated page of links updating news about COVID-19.

From Deadline:  The news site "Deadline" has a dedicated page for news about coronavirus and the film, TV, and entertainment industries.

From TheNewYorker:  The venerable magazine has a dedicate COVID-19 page free to all readers.

From YahooNews:  Re: the federal government's response to COVID-19: What if the most important election of our lifetime was the last one - 2016?

From YahooLife:  What is "happy hypoxia?"  And do you have this COVID-19 symptom?

From JuanCole:  Remeber when President Donald went crazy and suggested that we ingest household cleaning supplies and UV light to fight COVID-19.  Here is the video and commentary from Juan Cole.

From TheIntercept:  The federal government has ramped up security and police-related spending in response to the COVID-19/coronavirus pandemic, including issuing contracts for riot gear, disclosures show. The purchase orders include requests for disposable cuffs, gas masks, ballistic helmets, and riot gloves...

From YahooNYT:  (5/21) - Maybe, President Donald really did miss the intelligence warnings about COVID-19 during briefings... because he has a short attention span.

From RSN:  (5/22) - Robert Reich's talks about "A Tale of Two Pandemics," one for the wealthy and one for the black, brown, indigenous, and essential.

ENTERTAINMENT NEWS:

TELEVISION - From Deadline:  ABC is renews 13 of its current series and cancels five.

TRAILER - From RollingStone:  You can watch the second trailer for Christopher Nolan's upcoming film, "Tenet." The film, which stars John David Washington, is due July 17th release (we hope).

DAYTIME EMMYS - From THR:  The nominations for the 47th annual Daytime Emmy Awards have been announced.  The winners will be announced June 26th, 2020 during a two-hour special on CBS.

SPORTS - From THR:  In the wake of its 10-part Michael Jordan/Chicago Bulls docu-series, "The Last Dance," ESPN has announced a Tom Brady 9-part docu-series, "Man in the Arena."

CELEBRITY-CRIME - From YahooEntertainment:  Actress Lori Loughlin ("Full House") and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, will plead guilty to charges related to the "college admissions scandal."  Both are facing at least a few months in prison.

COMICS TO FILM - From THR:  Zack Snyder talks about HBO Max's 2021 release of his version of the superhero film, "Justice League," which he did not get to finish before its original release back in 2017.  Director Joss Whedon completed the film.  The article contains details about the film's production and what could and may be done to finish the "Zack Snyder" cut.

MOVIES - From Deadline:  Producers Michael Bay and Adam Goodman are teaming up on the pandemic thriller, "Songbird," which will shoot in Los Angeles while the city is in lock down.  Beginning production in five weeks, it may be the first film to shoot in the city.

MOVIES - From Variety:  Actor David Arquette will reprise his role as "Sheriff Dewey Riley" from the original "Scream" films for the "Scream" reboot.

MOVIES - From Variety:  Christopher Nolan would like his upcoming film, "Tenet," to revive movie theaters out its COVID-19 slumber.

MOVIES - From Variety:  Lily Wachowski, co-creator of "The Matrix," was not at all happy the Elon Musk and Ivana Trump were referencing the line "Take the red pill" from the film.

STREAMING - From Variety:  Netflix debuts the first trailer for Spike Lee's film, "Da 5 Bloods."

MOVIES - From THR:  Oscar-winners Phil Lord and Chris Miller are teaming with Oscar-nominee Ryan Gosling for the film, "Project Hail Mary," for MGM and based on the upcoming novel by the author of "The Martian."

STREAMING - Deadline:  The streaming service, CBS All Access, has announced its third "Star Trek" series (following "Star Trek: Discovery" and "Star Trek: Picard").  It is entitled "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds," and will focus on Spock, Pike, and Number One, and will take place in the years before the original "Star Trek" TV series, in which Spock served under Capt. James T. Kirk.

OBITS:

From ESPN:  Former NBA All-Star player and coach, Jerry Sloan, has died at the age of 78, Friday, May 22, 2020.  As a pro basketball player, Sloan was drafted by the NBA's old Baltimore Bullets in 1965, but he was best known for his decade-long tenure with the Chicago Bulls.  He was considered one of the Bulls' greatest players.  Sloan coached the Utah Jazz from 1988 to 2011, and coached the Jazz to the NBA Championship Finals in 1997 and in 1998, where they lost both times to Michel Jordan's Bulls.  As a college basketball player, Sloan lead the University of Evansville men's basketball team to consecutive "Division II" national titles.

From Deadline:  The actor Gregory Tyree Boyce has died at the age of 30.  He was best known for his small but pivotal role in the first film in the "Twilight Saga," 2008's "Twilight."

From Variety:  The actor and former child star, Ken Osmond, has died at the age of 76, Monday, May 18, 2020.  Osmond was best known for portraying infamous teen character, "Eddie Haskell," on the classic TV series, "Leave It to Beaver" (1957-1963).  Osmond reprised the role for the syndicated revival series, "The New Leave It to Beaver"/"Still the Beaver" (1984-1989).  Osmond was also a police officer with the Los Angeles Police Department from 1970 to 1988.

From Deadline:  Film writer, producer, and director, Lynn Shelton, has died at the age of 54, Friday, May 15, 2020.  A leading light in 21st century American independent cinema, Shelton was best known for her films, "Humpday" (2009) and "Your Sister's Sister" (2011).  She was in a relationship with actor Marc Maron, who appeared in her 2019, "Sword of Trust."

From Deadline:  Miss America 1971 and former First Lady of Kentucky (1979-1983), Phyllis George, has died at the age of 70, Thursday, May 14, 2020.  George was married to one-time governor of Kentucky, John Y. Brown, Jr.  For many, however, George is best remembered as a pioneering NFL sportscaster.  She was a sports analyst for CBS from 1975 to 1983, including a stint on CBS' "The NFL Today."

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from August 18th to 24th, 2019 - Update #20

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COMICS-ANIMATION - From Deadline:  At Disney's D23 Expo, Marvel Animation & Family Entertainment announces a new animated series, "Marvel's Spidey and His Amazing Friends."  The series is set to debut in 2021 on Disney Junior.

From THR:  Marvel Animation & Family Entertainment's "Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur" animated series is headed to Disney Channel in 2020.  Laurence Fishburne's Cinema Gypsy Productions is partnering with Disney Television Animation and Marvel Animation to produce the new series.

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DISNEY - From Deadline:  Now that Sony Pictures and Disney/Marvel have split up on the "Spider-Man" films, they will fight over director Jon Watts, who has directed the two Marvel Spider-Man films, who is not contracted to do anything right now.

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SPORTS - From ESPN:  The inside story behind the funniest baseball card ever made.

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TELEVISION - From TheWrap:  Nielsen, the primary TV ratings company since the 1950s, is prepping networks for the significant changes to the way it reports "overnight" ratings.

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CELEBRITY - From TheWrap:  Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson tops "Forbes" Magazine's 2019 highest-paid actor's list.

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MOVIES - From YahooEntertainment:  For Jay Roach's upcoming film about the Fox News/Roger Ailes controversies, "Bombshell," two actress undergo extreme makeovers.  There is Charlize Theron as Megyn Kelly and then there is Nicole Kidman as Gretchen Carlson.

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MOVIES - From Deadline:  Warner Bros. is set to produce a fourth film in "The Matrix" film series.  Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss will return as Neo and Trinity.  One of The Matrix's co-creators, Lana Wachowski (formerly Larry Wachowski), will return to direct and co-write the film.

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DISNEY - From Variety:  Disney is moving its live-action "Cruella" movie (from the animated classic, "101 Dalmatians") to May 28, 2021 from Dec. 23, 2020.  "Woman in the Window," one of the films it inherited from the Fox purchase, is moved to October 4, 2019 from May 15, 2020.

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JAMES BOND - From Variety:  Bond25, the twenty-fifth James Bond film, now has an official title, "No Time to Die."

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ANIMATION-STREAMING - From ShadowandAct:  Tommy Davison says "The Proud Family," the beloved Disney animated TV series in which he starred, is being revived - likely for one of Disney's streaming services.

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CELEBRITY - From YahooEntertainment:   Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson marries Lauren Hashian in Hawaii.

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MOVIES - From Deadline:  It seems as if Larry Ellison has been able to make a deal to save his daughter, Megan Ellison's film production/distribution compnay, Annapurna.  The company has defaulted on loans totaling as much as $200 million, if not more.  Annapurna has produced or co-produced such films as "Zero Dark Thirty," "Her," and "If Beale Street Could Talk."

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BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficeMojo:  The winner of the 8/16 to 8/18/2019 weekend box office is "Good Boys" with an estimated take of 21 million dollars.

From Variety:  Quentin Tarantino's "Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood" leads the international box office with an estimate total of 53.7 million dollars in 46 international markets.

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#1619PROJECT - From TMN:   "The Morning News" takes a look today's special issue of the New York Times Magazine, "the 1619 Project," which observes the 400th anniversary of American slavery, when the first enslaved Africans arrived at Point Comfort in the British colony of Virginia in August 1619.

From PBS:  A PBS interview about the 1619 Project.

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STREAMING - From TheWrap:  Kevin Smith said that he will be executive producer and showrunner on a limited “Masters of the Universe” series that Netflix will develop.  Entitled, “Masters of the Universe: Revelations,” the series will focus on the unresolved story lines of the original 1982 TV series, picking up many of the characters’ journeys where they left off decades ago.

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MOVIES - From Deadline:  Kerry Washington and Sterling K. Brown are set to star in and produce "Shadow Force," a hot property.  Bidding for rights have just started on what is described as a fresh take on "Mr. and Mrs. Smith.

OBITS:

From YahooNews:  Former governor of Louisiana, Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, has died at the age of 76, Sunday, August 18, 2019.  Blanco was elected the 54th Governor of Louisiana in 2003 and held office from 2004 to 2008.  Blanco is best known for being Louisiana's first female governor and for having her political career derailed by Hurricane Katrina.

From Deadline:  The comedian Kip Addotta died at the age of 75, Tuesday, August 13, 2019.  Addotta.  He began his career in the early 1970s and by the mid-1970s, he was making appearances on "The Tonight Show" (21) and "The Mike Douglas Show" (14), to name a few.  He also made a few film appearances, and in addition to his comedy album releases, he wrote humorous songs.

From Deadline:  The screenwriter, Patricia Louisiana Knop, died at the age of 78, Wednesday, August 7, 2019.  She was known for her work with her late husband, Zalman King, whose films incorporated sexuality.  She co-wrote King's "Wild Orchid" and was a writer on King's Showtime TV series, "Red Shoe Diaries."  Knop and King were one of three credited writers on director Adrian Lyne's film, 9 1/2 Weeks (1986).  She was also an acclaimed and popular painter and sculptor.

Warner Bros. Announces Fourth Film in "The Matrix" Series

Lana Wachowski to Write and Direct All-New Film Set in the World of “The Matrix”

Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss to Reprise Their Roles

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Lana Wachowski—the co-creator of the record-breaking and genre-defining world of “The Matrix”—is set to write, direct and produce an all-new film, returning audiences to the reality-bending universe. Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss will star in the film, reprising their roles as Neo and Trinity, respectively. Warner Bros. Pictures and Village Roadshow Pictures will produce and globally distribute the film. The announcement was made today by Toby Emmerich, Chairman, Warner Bros. Pictures Group.

    “Lana is a true visionary—a singular and original creative filmmaker—and we are thrilled that she is writing, directing and producing this new chapter in ‘The Matrix’ universe.”

“We could not be more excited to be re-entering ‘The Matrix’ with Lana,” said Emmerich. “Lana is a true visionary—a singular and original creative filmmaker—and we are thrilled that she is writing, directing and producing this new chapter in ‘The Matrix’ universe.”

“Many of the ideas Lilly and I explored 20 years ago about our reality are even more relevant now,” said Wachowski. “I’m very happy to have these characters back in my life and grateful for another chance to work with my brilliant friends.”

Wachowski is producing the film together with Grant Hill. The screenplay is by Wachowski, Aleksandar Hemon and David Mitchell.

The three previous films—“The Matrix” (1999), “The Matrix Reloaded” (2003) and “The Matrix Revolutions” (2003)—have earned more than $1.6 billion at the global box office and were all top-10 domestic hits in their respective years of release. “The Matrix Revolutions” was also the first film ever to release simultaneously in every major country at the same hour around the world.

Special 20th-Anniversary screenings of “The Matrix” are being held at select AMC Theatres locations across the U.S., starting August 30, 2019.

Wachowski is represented by WME, Circle of Confusion and attorney Peter Grossman. Reeves is represented by WME and Ziffren Brittenham. Moss is represented by WME, longtime manager Elizabeth Hodgson and attorney Bob Lange.

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Negromancer News Bits and Bites from August 1st to 10th, 2019 - Update #24

Support Leroy on Patreon:

MOVIES - From DigitalSpy:  This article is a list of films that 20th Century Fox had planned to make, but Disney has cancelled since buying Fox.

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TELEVISION - From THR:  Robert Kirkman, the co-creator of "The Walking Dead" comic book, is suing AMC over profits concerning "The Walking Dead" television series.  That trial may begin sooner than expected.

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DISNEY - From SlashFilm:  Disney's live-action remake of its animated classic, "Lady and the Tramp," will feature real dogs.  Here is a first look at those dogs.

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COMICS-FILM - From SlashFilm:  Multiple Oscar-nominee, Michelle Williams, is returning for the Venom sequel, "Venom 2," to play "Anne Weying."

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MOVIES - From Deadline:  Wesley Snipes joins Eddie Murphy and Craig Brewer's "Coming to America" sequel.

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STREAMING - From Deadline:  Disney CEO Bob Iger says that the Disney+ streaming service will include reboots of 20th Century Fox movie properties like "Home Alone," "Night at the Museum," and "Cheaper by the Dozen."

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COMICS-TV - From Deadline:  ABC is looking for its next series based on a Marvel Comics property as Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. comes to an end. They are looking for a mostly brand new female superhero.

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COMICS-FILM - From THR:  Andy Serkis has closed a deal with Sony Pictures to direct "Venom 2."  Sexy Tom Hardy will return as the film's star.

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TELEVISION - From THR:  On the heels of "Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Norman Lear's All in the Family and The Jeffersons", ABC has ordered two more "live" specials from producers Norman Lear and Jimmy Kimmel.  No word on which classic Norman Lear TV series will get the live treatment.

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BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficeMojo:  The winner of the 8/2 to 8/4/2019 weekend box office is "Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw" with an estimated 60.8 million dollars.

From Patreon:  My review of "Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw."

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TELEVISION - From Deadline:  Actress Afton Williamson recently quit ABC's TV series, "The Rookie" (starring Nathan Fillion).  She announces that the reasons were sexual misconduct and racist behavior towards her.  Deadline has a dedicated page to follow this controversy which is heating up.

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MOVIES - From Deadline:  Oscar-winning producers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller have signed a first-look production deal with Universal Pictures.

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MOVIES - From THR:  In a rare public appearance, Lilly Wachowski (formerly Andy Wachowski), talks about the visibility of trans-people.  Lilly and her sister, Lana, (formerly Larry), are best known for directing "The Matrix" trilogy.

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MOVIES - From TheGuardian:  "Fragile masculinity: why no one in the Fast and Furious films can lose a fight" by Stuart Heritage.

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TELEVISION - From Deadline:  Former costars Sylvester Stallone and Dolph Lundgren are reuniting for an hour-long action drama series, and it is a hot property with broadcast and streaming companies.

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TELEVISION - From TheWrap:  The eighth and final season of Showtime's Emmy-winning series, "Homeland," will begin February 2020.

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TELEVISION - From TVLine:  Gal Gadot will star in Showtime's biopic of famed Golden Age of Hollywood actress, Hedy Lamarr (who was also an inventor).

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MOVIES-TELEVISION - From Variety:  CBS and Viacom's reunion moves closer as both companies agree to an executive structure.

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MOVIES - From Variety:  Cate Blanchett looks to join Guillermo del Toro's "Nightmare Alley," opposite Bradley Cooper.

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MOVIES - From Jezebel:  An analysis by Rich Juzwiak: "Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time In Hollywood Doubles Down on Shittiness Toward Women."

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MOVIES - From Deadline:  Robert De Niro is in talks to join director Martin Scorsese and actor Leonardo DiCaprio in the film adaptation of the book, "Killers of the Flower Moon."

OBITS:

From Deadline:  The American author, Toni Morrison, has died at the age of 88, Monday, August 5, 2019.  Morrison won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1993, the first Black woman to win the award.  Ms. Morrison was known for such novels as Sula, The Song of Solomon, and Beloved.

From ReviewJournal:  Sports reporter Don Banks has died at the age of 56, Sunday, August 4, 2019.  Banks was known for his work covering the National Football League (NFL).  He wrote for "Sports Illustrated" for 17 years and had recently joined "The Las Vegas Review-Journal. "

From IndieWire:  Documentary filmmaker D.A. Pennebaker died at the age of 94, Thursday, August 1, 2019.  He was known for his focus on arts ("Don't Look Back" and "Monterey Pop") and politics ("The War Room") and was a pioneer of "Direct Cinema."  He was only nominated for one Oscar (for "The War Room"), but he won an "Honorary Oscar" for Lifetime Achievement.

From NFL:  Former National Football League (NFL) player, Nick Buoniconti, died at the age of 78, Tuesday, July 30, 2019.  Buoniconti played middle linebacker for the Boston Patriots and the Miami Dolphins.  He was on two Super Bowl winning Dolphins teams, including the 1972 "Perfect Season" Dolphins.  He was named to the "Pro Football Hall of Fame" in 2001.  Known for his charitable work, he co-founded Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, and he raised hundreds of millions of dollars for research into brain and spinal cord injuries.

Image Comics Announces "Maestros" Comic Book from Steve Skroce

STEVE SKROCE—STORYBOARD ARTIST FOR THE MATRIX TRILOGY—UNLEASHES MAESTROS THIS OCTOBER

"MAESTROS is a masterpiece." —Brian K. Vaughan

PORTLAND, OR — Superstar comics and storyboard artist Steve Skroce (WE STAND ON GUARD, Wolverine) will take on both writing and art duties in his all-new, totally irreverent and fantastical action-comedy MAESTROS this October 2017 from Image Comics.

The Maestro and his entire royal family have been murdered. Now, his banished son from Earth will inherit the Wizard King's throne along with a spell that turns its user into GOD. With enemies everywhere, will this Orlando-born millennial be able to keep his new magic kingdom?

“MAESTROS is a finely seasoned stew of everything I love about the fantasy and action adventure genres,” said Skroce. “I tried to create a universe where all my beloved magical characters and settings might exist together, side by side. The protagonist, Willy Little, isn't a chosen one; he's granted ultimate power through blind luck—but can a nice guy stay nice when no one ever says 'no' to him again?”

MAESTROS #1 (Diamond code: AUG170542) arrives in comic book stores Wednesday, October 18th. The final order cutoff deadline for comics retailers is Monday, September 25th.

Advance praise for MAESTROS:

“MAESTROS is manic magic! We've waited too damn long for Steve to have his own book but this was worth the wait. MAESTROS is a Skroce Hadron Collider where panel-packed action slams into his wicked sense of humor releasing some of the most original and gleeful fun comics has seen in some time.” —Lana Wachowski, creator of The Matrix and Sense8

"MAESTROS is a masterpiece, with one of the best first issues I've ever read. Steve is somehow an even greater writer than he is an artist. Get ready for your new favorite comic." —Brian K. Vaughan

“Steve Skroce continues to amaze and inspire me. He pushes himself and the medium of comics past the four-color and into the technicolor. There is a Maestro behind MAESTROS and I can’t wait for the world to see the concerto he has orchestrated for us all.
Fortissimo!!!!!!!!!!!!” —Geof Darrow


ABOUT IMAGE COMICS
Image Comics is a comic book and graphic novel publisher founded in 1992 by a collective of bestselling artists. Image has since gone on to become one of the largest comics publishers in the United States. Image currently has five partners: Robert Kirkman, Erik Larsen, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri and Jim Valentino. It consists of five major houses: Todd McFarlane Productions, Top Cow Productions, Shadowline Comics, Skybound Entertainment, and Image Central. Image publishes comics and graphic novels in nearly every genre, sub-genre, and style imaginable. It offers science fiction, fantasy, romance, horror, crime fiction, historical fiction, humor and more by the finest artists and writers working in the medium today. For more information, visit www.imagecomics.com.

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Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Invites New Members - Writers, Directors, and Producers

ACADEMY INVITES 683 TO MEMBERSHIP

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is extending invitations to join the organization to 683 artists and executives who have distinguished themselves by their contributions to theatrical motion pictures.  Those who accept the invitations will be the only additions to the Academy’s membership in 2016.

18 individuals (noted by an asterisk) have been invited to join the Academy by multiple branches.  These individuals must select one branch upon accepting membership.

New members will be welcomed into the Academy at an invitation-only reception in the fall.

Learn more: http://www.oscars.org/2016class

The 2016 invitees are:

Directors
Lenny Abrahamson – “Room,” “Frank”
Naji Abu Nowar – “Theeb”
Maren Ade – “Everyone Else,” “The Forest for the Trees”
Lexi Alexander – “Punisher: War Zone,” “Green Street Hooligans”
Haifaa al-Mansour – “Wadjda”
Ana Lily Amirpour – “A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night”
Amma Asante – “Belle,” “A Way of Life”
Katie Aselton – “Black Rock,” “The Freebie”
Ramin Bahrani – “99 Homes,” “At Any Price”
Anna Boden – “Mississippi Grind,” “It’s Kind of a Funny Story”
Catherine Breillat – “The Sleeping Beauty,” “Sex Is Comedy”
Israel Cárdenas – “Sand Dollars,” “Carmita”
Carlos Carrera – “Backyard,” “El Crimen del Padre Amaro”
Nuri Bilge Ceylan – “Winter Sleep,” “Once upon a Time in Anatolia”
Souleymane Cissé – “Brightness,” “The Wind”
Isabel Coixet – “Learning to Drive,” “Elegy”
Ryan Coogler* – “Creed,” “Fruitvale Station”
Scott Cooper – “Black Mass,” “Crazy Heart”
John Crowley – “Brooklyn,” “Closed Circuit”
Julie Dash – “Daughters of the Dust”
Tamra Davis – “Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child,” “Billy Madison”
Jonathan Dayton – “Ruby Sparks,” “Little Miss Sunshine”
Dominique Deruddere – “Flying Home,” “Everybody Famous!”
Xavier Dolan – “Mommy,” “Tom at the Farm”
Cheryl Dunye – “My Baby’s Daddy,” “The Watermelon Woman”
Deniz Gamze Ergüven – “Mustang”
Valerie Faris – “Ruby Sparks,” “Little Miss Sunshine”
Shana Feste – “Endless Love,” “Country Strong”
Hannah Fidell – “A Teacher”
Anne Fletcher – “The Proposal,” “Step Up”
Ari Folman – “The Congress,” “Waltz with Bashir”
Anne Fontaine – “Gemma Bovery,” “Coco before Chanel”
Cary Joji Fukunaga – “Beasts of No Nation,” “Jane Eyre”
Nicole Garcia – “A View of Love,” “Charlie Says”
Juan Antonio Garcia Bayona – “The Impossible,” “The Orphanage”
Sarah Gavron – “Suffragette,” “Brick Lane”
Lesli Linka Glatter – “The Proposition,” “Now and Then”
Ciro Guerra* – “Embrace of the Serpent,” “The Wind Journeys”
Laura Amelia Guzmán – “Sand Dollars,” “Carmita”
Sanaa Hamri – “Just Wright,” “Something New”
Mia Hansen-Løve* – “Eden,” “The Father of My Children”
Mahamet-Saleh Haroun – “Grigris,” “Our Father”
Mary Harron – “The Notorious Bettie Page,” “American Psycho”
Marielle Heller* – “The Diary of a Teenage Girl”
Albert Hughes – “The Book of Eli,” “Dead Presidents”
Hou Hsiao-Hsien – “The Assassin,” “Three Times”
Patty Jenkins – “Wonder Woman,” “Monster”
Naomi Kawase* – “Still the Water,” “The Mourning Forest”
Abdellatif Kechiche – “Blue Is the Warmest Color,” “Black Venus”
Abbas Kiarostami – “Certified Copy,” “Taste of Cherry”
So Yong Kim – “For Ellen,” “In Between Days”
Kiyoshi Kurosawa – “Seventh Code,” “Pulse”
Karyn Kusama – “Jennifer’s Body,” “Girlfight”
Francis H. Lawrence – “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,” “I Am Legend”
Tobias Lindholm* – “A War,” “A Hijacking”
Phyllida Lloyd – “The Iron Lady,” “Mamma Mia!”
Ken Loach – “The Wind That Shakes the Barley,” “Kes”
Julia Loktev – “The Loneliest Planet,” “Day Night Day Night”
Ami Canaan Mann – “Jackie & Ryan,” “Texas Killing Fields”
Lucrecia Martel – “The Headless Woman,” “The Holy Girl”
Adam McKay* – “The Big Short,” “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy”
Deepa Mehta – “Midnight’s Children,” “Water”
Ursula Meier – “Sister,” “Home”
Rebecca Miller* – “The Private Lives of Pippa Lee,” “Personal Velocity”
Karen Moncrieff – “The Dead Girl,” “Blue Car”
Cristian Mungiu* – “Graduation,” “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days”
Anna Muylaert – “The Second Mother”
László Nemes* – “Son of Saul”
María Novaro – “The Good Herbs,” “Lola”
Victor Nunez – “Spoken Word,” “Ulee’s Gold”
Euzhan Palcy – “Siméon,” “A Dry White Season”
Park Chan-wook* – “Stoker,” “Oldboy”
Lucía Puenzo – “The German Doctor,” “El Niño Pez”
Lynne Ramsay – “We Need to Talk about Kevin,” “Morvern Callar”
Dee Rees – “Pariah”
Nicolas Winding Refn – “Only God Forgives,” “Drive”
Patricia Riggen – “The 33,” “Girl in Progress”
Gillian Robespierre – “Obvious Child”
Patricia Rozema – “Kit Kittredge: An American Girl,” “Mansfield Park”
Marjane Satrapi – “The Voices,” “Persepolis”
Sam Taylor-Johnson – “Fifty Shades of Grey,” “Nowhere Boy”
George Tillman, Jr. – “Notorious,” “Soul Food”
Luis Valdez – “La Bamba,” “Zoot Suit”
Melvin Van Peebles – “Identity Crisis,” “Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song”
Margarethe von Trotta – “Rosenstrasse,” “Marianne and Juliane”
Lana Wachowski – “Cloud Atlas,” “The Matrix Trilogy”
Lilly Wachowski – “Cloud Atlas,” “The Matrix Trilogy”
Taika Waititi – “Hunt for the Wilderpeople,” “What We Do in the Shadows”
James Wan – “The Conjuring,” “Saw”
Keenan Ivory Wayans* – “Scary Movie,” “A Low Down Dirty Shame”
Apichatpong Weerasethakul – “Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives,” “Tropical Malady”

Writers
Jonathan Aibel – “Kung Fu Panda” series, “Monsters vs Aliens”
Sherman Alexie – “The Business of Fancydancing,” “Smoke Signals”
Glenn Berger – “Kung Fu Panda” series, “Monsters vs Aliens”
Andrea Berloff – “Straight Outta Compton,” “World Trade Center”
Vera Blasi – “Tortilla Soup,” “Woman on Top”
Ryan Coogler* – “Creed,” “Fruitvale Station”
Destin Daniel Cretton – “Short Term 12,” “I Am Not a Hipster”
Emma Donoghue – “Room”
Tina Fey – “Mean Girls”
Efthimis Filippou – “The Lobster,” “Dogtooth”
Jennifer Flackett-Levin – “Little Manhattan,” “Wimbledon”
Ryan Fleck – “Mississippi Grind,” “Half Nelson”
Alex Garland – “Ex Machina,” “28 Days Later”
Drew Goddard – “The Martian,” “Cloverfield”
Ciro Guerra* – “Embrace of the Serpent,” “The Wind Journeys”
Mia Hansen-Løve* – “Eden,” “The Father of My Children”
Marielle Heller* – “The Diary of a Teenage Girl”
David Henry Hwang – “Possession,” “Golden Gate”
O’Shea “Ice Cube” Jackson* – “The Players Club,” “Friday”
Jia Zhangke – “Mountains May Depart,” “Still Life”
Miranda July – “The Future,” “Me and You and Everyone We Know”
Laeta Kalogridis – “Terminator Genisys,” “Shutter Island”
Naomi Kawase* – “Still the Water,” “Firefly”
Richard Kelly – “Domino,” “Donnie Darko”
Takeshi Kitano – “Outrage,” “Kikujiro”
Hirokazu Koreeda – "Like Father, Like Son,” “Nobody Knows”
Yorgos Lanthimos – “The Lobster,” “Dogtooth”
Lee Chang-dong – “Poetry,” “Oasis”
Sebastián Lelio – “Gloria,” “Navidad”
Mark Levin – “Journey to the Center of the Earth,” “Nim’s Island”
Tobias Lindholm* – “A War,” “The Hunt”
Adam McKay* – “The Big Short,” “The Other Guys”
Rebecca Miller* – “Maggie’s Plan,” “The Ballad of Jack and Rose”
Abi Morgan – “Suffragette,” “The Iron Lady”
Cristian Mungiu* – “Beyond the Hills,” “Occident”
Phyllis Nagy – “Carol”
László Nemes* – “Son of Saul”
Park Chan-wook* – “Thirst,” “Oldboy”
Charles Randolph – “The Big Short,” “The Life of David Gale”
Carlos Reygadas – “Silent Light,” “Battle in Heaven”
Clara Royer – “Son of Saul”
Misan Sagay – “Belle,” “The Secret Laughter of Women”
Lorene Scafaria – “The Meddler,” “Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist”
Josh Singer – “Spotlight,” “The Fifth Estate”
Keenan Ivory Wayans* – “White Chicks,” “A Low Down Dirty Shame”
Alice Winocour – “Mustang,” “Home”

Producers
Belén Atienza – “Out of the Dark,” “The Impossible”
Amy Baer – “A Storm in the Stars,” “Last Vegas”
David Barron – “Cinderella,” “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Parts 1 and 2)
Ram Bergman – “Don Jon,” “Looper”
Virginie Besson-Silla – “Lucy,” “The Lady”
Fernando Bovaira – “Biutiful,” “The Sea Inside”
Anne Carey – “Mr. Holmes,” “The Savages”
Debra Martin Chase – “Sparkle,” “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants”
Bonnie Curtis – “Albert Nobbs,” “Minority Report”
Susan Downey – “The Judge,” “Sherlock Holmes”
Ed Guiney – “Room,” “Frank”
Paul E. Hall – “Peeples,” “For Colored Girls”
Rachael Horovitz – “Maggie’s Plan,” “Moneyball”
Mark Huffam – “The Martian,” “Exodus: Gods and Kings”
Elizabeth Karlsen – “Carol,” “Made in Dagenham”
Gail Katz – “Pawn Sacrifice,” “The Perfect Storm”
Amy Kaufman – “Beasts of No Nation, “Ain’t Them Bodies Saints”
Neil Kopp – “Green Room,” “Wendy and Lucy”
Kristie Macosko Krieger – “Bridge of Spies,” “Lincoln”
David Lancaster – “Eye in the Sky,” “Whiplash”
Albert Lee – “Chinese Zodiac,” “Let the Bullets Fly”
Roy Lee – “The Lego Movie,” “Abduction”
Mynette Louie – “Land Ho!,” “Cold Comes the Night”
Daniela Taplin Lundberg – “Beasts of No Nation,” “The Kids Are All Right”
Lori McCreary – “The Magic of Belle Isle,” “Invictus”
Edward L. McDonnell – “Sicario,” “Insomnia”
Jamie Patricof – “Mississippi Grind,” “Blue Valentine”
Amanda Posey – “Brooklyn,” “An Education”
Heather Rae – “The Dry Land,” “Frozen River”
Alexander Rodnyansky – “Leviathan,” “Stalingrad”
Esther García Rodríguez – “Wild Tales,” “The Skin I Live In”
Anish Savjani – “Green Room,” “Meek’s Cutoff”
Allison Shearmur – “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies,” “Cinderella”
Michael Sugar – “Spotlight,” “The Fifth Estate”
Robert Teitel – “Barbershop: The Next Cut,” “Men of Honor”
Rodrigo Teixeira – “The Witch,” “Mistress America”
Nina Yang Bongiovi – “Dope,” “Fruitvale Station”

-------------------------

2012 National Film Registry - Complete List

[Forgot to post this last year, but the release of the 2013 list was a reminder, of course.]

Films Selected to the 2012 National Film Registry

3:10 to Yuma (1957)
Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
The Augustas (1930s-1950s)
Born Yesterday (1950)
Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961)
A Christmas Story (1983)
The Corbett-Fitzsimmons Title Fight (1897)
Dirty Harry (1971)
Hours for Jerome: Parts 1 and 2 (1980-82)
The Kidnappers Foil (1930s-1950s)
Kodachrome Color Motion Picture Tests (1922)
A League of Their Own (1992)
The Matrix (1999)
The Middleton Family at the New York World’s Fair (1939)
One Survivor Remembers (1995)
Parable (1964)
Samsara: Death and Rebirth in Cambodia (1990)
Slacker (1991)
Sons of the Desert (1933)
The Spook Who Sat by the Door (1973)
They Call It Pro Football (1966)
The Times of Harvey Milk (1984)
Two-Lane Blacktop (1971)
Uncle Tom's Cabin (1914)
The Wishing Ring; An Idyll of Old England (1914)

Review: "The Matrix Revolutions" is the Good with the Bad

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 164 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Matrix Revolutions (2003)
Running time:  129 minutes (2 hours, nine minutes)
MPAA – R for sci-fi violence and brief sexual content
WRITERS/DIRECTORS:  The Wachowski Brothers
PRODUCER:  Joel Silver
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Bill Pope (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Zach Staenberg
COMPOSER:  Don Davis

SCI-FI/ACTION/THRILLER

Starring:  Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Collin Chou, Mary Alice, Tanveer Atwal, Helmut Bakaitas, Monica Bellucci, Nona M. Gaye, Nathaniel Lees, Harold Perrineau, Bruce Spense, Lambert Wilson, and Anthony Zerbe

The subject of this movie review is The Matrix Revolutions, a 2003 science fiction action movie from filmmaker siblings Andy and Larry (now Lana) Wachowski.  It is the third film in The Matrix film franchise, and it is both a direct sequel and continuation of The Matrix Reloaded, which was released six months earlier.  The Matrix Revolutions focuses on two main plots:  the attempt by the human city of Zion to defend itself against a massive invasion of machines and also Neo’s fight to end the human-machine war by battling the rogue Agent Smith.

The Matrix Revolutions end The Matrix trilogy not with a bang but with a whimper, a dud, and a plop.  It’s largely a bore, and, while not as talky as the first, the film drags like a wet rag when it does try to be all philosophical.  Like Once Upon a Time in Mexico, The Matrix Revolutions is an average, meandering, dull film made by very talented filmmakers who know how to use all kinds of gadgets to make movies, but can’t tell a good story.  TMR tries to resolve all the plotlines, while cheekily leaving just enough unresolved to suggest that it is a never-ending story or, at least, that there will be more movies born of this immense cash cow.

The machines finally invade Zion, and human inhabitants of the underground sanctuary are wildly overmatched.  Meanwhile, Neo (Keanu Reeves) not only has to battle Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving), who has become a self-replicating virus that is rapidly taking over the Matrix, but Neo also has to travel to the Machine City and make a peace deal with the machine central intelligence.  The Oracle (played by Mary Alice, as the original, Gloria Foster, died during filming of the second film), an important (but minor character), plays a larger role in Revolutions as she tries to save the Matrix from all the various rival programs that are attempting to have their own way in the artificial construct into which most of humanity is jacked.

Press for the film is telling audiences that The Matrix Reloaded was about life and that this last film Revolutions is about death.  There is death here, but it’s mostly in a lame script and poorly executed concept.  The ideas behind The Matrix are grand and interesting.  The writer/directors Larry and Andy Wachowski, however, just don’t always know quite how to find that straight line that goes from concept to final product.

Revolutions is dry and slow, and the mish mash stew of Eastern philosophy and computer jargon is tasteless.  The cinematography by Bill Pope is lush a landscape of rich and sexy, dark watercolors.  The battle between the humans and sentinels in Zion is a spectacular blend of CGI, bravura editing, and human emoting that might not have viewers comparing it to the battles in Braveheart or Saving Private Ryan, but those familiar with video games will recognize this as the most awesome sci-fi battle put on film to date.  The leather bar segment and the final duel between Neo and Agent Smith are also fairly spectacular.

If anything, we can always remember The Matrix films for their groundbreaking and mind bending visual effects.  There truly is no doubt that these films are three of the most important movies films in advancing the technology and craft of movie making.

If you’ve seen the other two, there’s no point in not finishing this.  The Matrix Revolutions, however, is a mediocre movie.  The surface pyrotechnics are just fine, but the meat and bones of the film – the story, is weak and lousy; in the end, this is not a tale, but a collection of cool scenes that would be right at home in a video game.

This is the film result of two indulgent filmmakers who needed to be reigned in before their egos and unchecked imaginations went wild and made crap.  Sometimes, someone, even a studio executive – a suit, needs to harness the madness of young filmmakers.  They owe the audience that much.  It’s not at all acceptable that the price of admission buys the messy product of two directors who needed to take their fantasy back to the drawing board one more time.

5 of 10
C+

NOTES:
2004 Black Reel Awards:  1 nomination: “Film: Best Supporting Actress” (Mary Alice)

2004 Image Awards:  3 nominations: “Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture” (Laurence Fishburne), “Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture” (Nona Gaye), and “Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture” (Jada Pinkett Smith)

2004 Razzie Awards:  1 nomination: “Worst Director” (Andy Wachowski and Larry Wachowski for The Matrix Reloaded)

Updated:  Thursday, November 07, 2013

The text is copyright © 2013 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

Review: "The Matrix Reloaded" a Bold Vision

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 74 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux


The Matrix Reloaded (2003)
Running time: 138 minutes (2 hours, 18 minutes)
MPAA – R for sci-fi violence and some sexuality
WRITERS/DIRECTORS: Andy Wachowski and Larry Wachowski
PRODUCER: Joel Silver
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Bill Pope (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Zach Staenberg
COMPOSER: Don Davis

SCI-FI/ACTION/THRILLER

Starring: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Harold Perrineau, Jr., Adrian Rayment, Neil Rayment, Gloria Foster, Roy Jones, Jr., Randall Duk Kim, Monica Bellucci, Nona M. Gaye, Helmut Bakaitis, Sing Ngai, Harry Lennix and Anthony Zerbe

The subject of this movie review is The Matrix Reloaded, a 2003 American and Australian science fiction action film from The Wachowski Brothers. It is the sequel to the Oscar-winning, The Matrix (1999). In the film, Neo and the rebel leaders race to stop an army of Sentinels from destroying the human sanctuary, Zion, while Neo’s dreams suggest that Trinity will suffer a dark fate.

I liked The Matrix Reloaded so much that I’d like to bow down at the feet of Andy and Larry Wachowski, the creators/writers/directors behind this brilliant science fiction/action cum philosophical film. This must be the most thoughtful, inventive, and entertaining science fiction film since 2001: A Space Odyssey. It’s amazing what the brothers did when their studios gave them a bigger budget, and when technology gave them the ability to add even greater mind-bending effects than what they had in the first film, The Matrix. Every time George Lucas got more money and improved technology, he only managed to either make a mediocre film or to actually take away from the wonder of the original Star Wars.

Neo (Keanu Reeves) and his compatriots: mentor Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne), lover Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) and new crew mate Link (Harold Perrineau, Jr.) have 72 hours to save the day before 250,000 sentinel probes that are digging through the earth to reach Zion. Neo is also trouble Trinity of whom he’s been having bad dreams. The heroes must find The Keymaker (Randall Duk Kim) who knows the way to the Mainframe of the Matrix, the place where Neo might be able to save mankind.

At one point while I was watching this film, I could appreciate the creativity and the urge of the filmmakers to push the boundaries of visual effects, but I found The Matrix Reloaded to be a drag. It seemed to lack the freshness and surprise of the original. I was finding The Matrix Reloaded fresh in its throw-everything-against-the-wall-and-see-what-sticks way. The film seemed to have an awkward rhythm: talk, philosophy, talk, speech, fight, talk, fight, action scene, more talk, etc. This was a story about humans fighting machines, and the entire movie reeked of being artificial, more the result of computer effort than human effort.

I was wrong: human ingenuity and spirit make this film, with the computer as the left hand that helps the human right hand. Suddenly, it all clicked for me, and the film made so much sense. The rest of the way was a breathtaking experience for me. I had to struggle to keep up with the film’s rapid-fire pace. The action is quite intense, and the story is packed with human pathos, intrigue, and mystery. The Wachowski’s really dig into the idea that the Matrix is an artificial intelligence, but an intelligence nonetheless, and it has personalities – multiple personalities with individual agendas.

Great directing, great effects, excellent rhythm, inspired acting – what more do I need to say? This is good. Morpheus is even more mystical and even more frightening. Neo is super cool and super bad, a superman who can unleash his special abilities at the drop of a hat. Trinity is still hot, but she has a purpose; she’s more than just a babe/appendage. She’s the shoulder upon which Neo leans. I was also really surprised by how much the film delves into ideas of and philosophy about freedom, control, and choice.

No kidding, this is great stuff. It does have some weak points. It drags at times before it really gets rolling. Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving) is now as much comic relief as he is a cool villain, whereas he was an all-dangerous and lethal adversary in the first film. And the Twins (Adrian and Neil Rayment), with their blond dreadlocks are good, but they ain’t all that.

There have many good sci-fi films, and there have been some very good sci-fi films, including The Matrix. I don’t know how I’ll feel a year later about this sequel, but right now, I think The Matrix Reloaded is one of the truly great sci-fi films, and probably the best action movie ever made. Although The Matrix Reloaded ends in a cliffhanger, it stands on its own, just whetting your appetite for more. There are enough new revelations about the characters and about the Matrix to keep your head spinning until the next chapter.

9 of 10
A+

NOTES:
2004 Black Reel Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Supporting Actress” (Gloria Foster)

2004 Razzie Awards: 1 nomination: “Worst Director” (Andy Wachowski and Larry Wachowski – also for The Matrix Revolutions-2003)

"Cloud Atlas" Soundtrack CD Due November 6 2012

Cloud Atlas Soundtrack Due October 23rd From WaterTower Music

Featuring Original Music by Tom Tykwer, Johnny Klimek, and Reinhold Heil

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--WaterTower Music will release the Cloud Atlas: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack at all digital retailers on October 23, with a physical CD release to follow on November 6. The original music was composed by Tom Tykwer, Johnny Klimek, and Reinhold Heil. Tykwer also shares screenwriting and directing credits with filmmakers Lana Wachowski and Andy Wachowski, in bringing David Mitchell’s best-selling novel to the big screen in the October 26th release Cloud Atlas.

Music is a central part of the Cloud Atlas story, particularly in one sequence of the film’s narrative involving a young composer who struggles to complete his life’s work, entitled The Cloud Atlas Sextet. This musical theme then recurs throughout the film and helps to connect multiple threads of action together as a single story moving through time.

“It’s an ever-present melody from a simple string line to a riff in a 1970s rock piece, to a jazz sextet playing in the background at the Cavendish party. We needed something beautiful and malleable enough to take us through five centuries,” said Tykwer. “There are lots of subjective voices in the story, and we were searching for one voice that could encompass them all, to form a beautiful choir.”

Because of this the three composers began working on the music before a single frame of film was shot.

“He prefers this to using temporary music by other composers,” Heil explained. “It allows him to use the temp score without worrying about what will take its place. As the film takes shape in post-production, we see what’s missing or needs changing and re-record the final.”

In the powerful and inspiring epic Cloud Atlas, drama, mystery, action and enduring love thread through a single story that unfolds in multiple timelines over the span of 500 years. Characters meet and reunite from one life to the next. Born and reborn. As the consequences of their actions and choices impact one another through the past, the present and the distant future, one soul is shaped from a killer into a hero, and a single act of kindness ripples across centuries to inspire a revolution.

Everything is connected.

Academy Award® winners Tom Hanks (Philadelphia, Forrest Gump) and Halle Berry (Monster’s Ball) lead a stellar international cast that also includes Oscar® winner Jim Broadbent (Iris), Hugo Weaving, Jim Sturgess, Doona Bae, Ben Whishaw, James D’Arcy, Xun Zhou, Keith David and David Gyasi, with Oscar® winner Susan Sarandon (Dead Man Walking) and Hugh Grant. Each member of the ensemble appears in multiple roles as the story moves through time. Cloud Atlas is produced by Grant Hill, Stefan Arndt, Lana Wachowski, Tom Tykwer and Andy Wachowski, with executive producers Philip Lee, Uwe Schott and Wilson Qui.

The Cloud Atlas: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack on WaterTower Music will be available digitally on October 23, and as a physical CD November 6, 2012.

cloudatlasmovie.com


ABOUT THE COMPOSERS
Tom Tykwer is one of Germany’s most exciting filmmakers and a triple threat (writer, director, composer). In 1999, he made his international breakthrough with the adrenaline-fueled Run Lola Run, which, as well as directing, he also wrote and co-composed with Klimek and Heil. The film was both a commercial and critical success, going on to become the most successful German film of that year. He followed this with The Princess and the Warrior, and then with his first English-language film, Heaven. In 2006, Tykwer co-wrote and directed Perfume: The Story of a Murderer. His next film was the sleek thriller The International. Most recently he completed the German language film 3 (Drei).

Reinhold Heil was born in a small town in West Germany and trained to become a classical pianist. While studying at the Berlin Music Academy, Heil became Nina Hagen’s keyboardist, co-writer, and co-producer and for the next few years honed his craft in what became the legendary Nina Hagen Band. After Hagen left the group, the remaining band members formed Spliff, one of Germany’s most successful rock bands of the 1980s.

Born in Australia, Johnny Klimek paid his dues in a series of gritty pub bands before migrating to Berlin to form the ’80s pop ensemble “The Other Ones” with his siblings. He segued into the club music scene on his own in the ’90s, and, out of the latter emerged his creative marriages to both Heil and Tykwer.

Among Klimek and Heil’s credits are Killer Elite, the TV series Awake, One Hour Photo, the acclaimed TV series Deadwood, and the theme song for Without a Trace. Up next for the duo is I, Frankenstein, starring Bill Nighy and Aaron Eckhart, slated for release in February.

"V for Vendetta" Surprisingly Both Safe and Edgy

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 91 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux


V for Vendetta (2006)
Running time: 132 minutes (2 hours, 12 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong violence and some language
DIRECTORS: James McTeigue
WRITERS: The Wachowski Brothers (based upon the DC/Vertigo graphic novel illustrated by David Lloyd)
PRODUCERS: Joel Silver, Grant Hill, and Andy Wachowski and Larry Wachowski
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Adrian Biddle
EDITOR: Martin Walsh
COMPOSER: Dario Marianelli

SCI-FI/FANTASY/ACTION/DRAMA/THRILLER

Starring: Natalie Portman, Hugo Weaving, Stephen Rea, Stephen Fry, John Hurt, Tim Pigott-Smith, and Rupert Graves

The subject of this movie review is V for Vendetta, a 2006 dystopian film and science fiction thriller directed by James McTeigue. The film is produced by the team behind The Matrix, producer Joel Silver and the brothers, Andy and Larry Wachowski, who also wrote this film’s screenplay. This movie is based on the comic book, V for Vendetta, which was written by Alan Moore and drawn by David Lloyd.

In a futuristic Britain ruled by a totalitarian government, represented by Chancellor Adam Sutler (John Hurt), a terrorist freedom fighter who calls himself “V” (Hugo Weaving) begins his campaign to wake up his fellow citizens to rise up against tyranny and throw off the yoke of oppression by blowing up a landmark building. As incomparably charismatic as he is ferociously skilled in the arts of combat and deception, V has secretly obtained a seemingly inexhaustible supply of explosives, hacked his way into the government’s information network (BTN – British Television Network), and built a well-supplied infrastructure that allows him to move and do as he pleases.

V also dresses in black combat gear wrapped in a flowing dark cloak. Best of all, he wears a sweetly creepy Guy Fawkes mask. V encounters Evey (Natalie Portman), a young woman whose parents were killed by the government, and though she at first resists, Evey becomes an unlikely ally in V’s final plot to bring down a cruel, corrupt, and ultimately evil government.

[Guy Fawkes was part of “The Gunpowder Plot,” a Catholic plan to overthrow the English Parliament in 1605. Fawkes was hanged for planting explosives in the Parliament buildings. London revelers celebrate “Guy Fawkes Day” on November 5th and wear stylized masks of Fawke’s mustachioed and bearded face.]

V for Vendetta is the latest comic book to get a big screen adaptation. In the original comic book series (eventually collected in book form – a graphic novel – by DC Comics), which was written by Alan Moore and drawn by David Lloyd, V represented anarchy and the British government was fascist. Written in the 1980’s, the government of V for Vendetta was a stand-in for the government of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. In the film, the British government is more totalitarian, but retains a dash of fascism. However, the movie version of the character V is more about democracy and government by the people – a government that answers directly to the ordinary, everyday person – and uses terror and bombings to destabilize the deceitful government. By showing the government for what it is – evil and corrupt – V hopes to make the people rise up. The V of the comic book wanted to put an end to all governments in favor of anarchy, which is a political theory that believes the highest attainment of humanity is not to be free, unhindered by any kind of outside repression or control.

This film adaptation of V for Vendetta is written and co-produced by The Wachowski Brothers (Andy and Larry), creators of The Matrix. They maintained the comic book’s London setting, but instead of British government is just a stand-in for the administration of President George W. Bush. The viewer doesn’t need to be politically astute to catch the allusions. In fact, of the film’s sub-plot turns on a horrific terrorist attack that happens in the movie’s history (or back story). The terrorists use a biological weapon that causes the death of 100,000 people – this is clearly a nod at 9/11. In fact, The Wachowskis’ script goes so far to suggest that the terrorists who launched the attack were actually high government officials who used the fear and aftermath of the attack to take control of the country. Conspiracy theorists also believe that 9/11 was orchestrated by the Bush Administration to launch foreign wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as use fear of terror to strengthen its power at home.

Alan Moore, who has seen two of his other comic books/graphic novels – The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and From Hell, turned into films that were not faithful to his comics, was livid about the changes the Wachowskis made to his work and demanded that his name be removed from the project.

The movie itself is very much like a comic book, but that isn’t meant in the pejorative sense. V for Vendetta the movie is full of the kind wild and crazy ideas that comics from the 1940’s and 60’s were so good at introducing. This is all played at with a pop culture sensitivity. Directed by John McTeigue (the “first assistant director” on all three Matrix films and Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, among others), V is impressionistic and is meant to hit the audience’s heart by playing with its emotions; that is done by showing the government and its agents committing senseless acts of barbaric cruelty, not only against loyal citizens, but against anyone who is different of thinks differently (freethinkers, homosexuals, protesters, etc.). V speaks of ideas and words, and that’s how the film appeals to the intellect. It’s always giving the viewer something to think about between the cool looking scenes of fighting and of storm troopers, shock troops, and police knocking down doors and knocking heads. It can make you wonder about how much the government lies and tries to manipulate. For added fun, there is even a Bill O’Reilly-like big mouth hollering about faith and unity.

The key to enjoying V for Vendetta is V himself. The other characters are alright, but it’s clear that neither the Wachowskis nor the director love them as much as they love V. In fact, Natalie Portman may be a really fine actress – even a great stage actress, as some say – but her Evey pales next to V, even though she does some good work here and has some scenes that allow her to press her serious actress button real hard.

Played by Hugo Weaving (the evil agent, Mr. Smith, in The Matrix films), V is like Batman in a music video version of George Orwell’s novel, 1984. Although we hear Weaving’s voice, he is always in costume and we never see his face (or body, for that matter). Moving gracefully, sometimes subtle, and sometimes with stylized exaggeration, Weaving shows us how truly cool it looks to wear a costume with a cape and a mask and be the mystery man in the shadows fighting tyranny and oppression. Weaving’s voice and movements turn the Guy Fawkes mask that V wears into an enchanted jester’s face that mocks fear, apathy, and weakness. Weaving’s V makes you want to stand up, be strong, and cast off the chains of oppression and the net of ignorance. Underneath that mask and beneath that costume is a spirit, an essence of a free mind and a free ass.

And though, the V for Vendetta film is sometimes shaky with a narrative that goes all over the place, and though it is a movie with more ideas than it can handle, this movie is bold and audacious. It is a dangerous comic book brought to life as a series of bold and explosive “View Master” reels. It is as sly as it is clumsy, and it is as daring in its ideas as it is confused. V for Vendetta plays it safe, but only a little, while criticizing (our) government, but it gets in enough digs to make us think.

7 of 10
B+

Friday, April 28, 2006

"Cloud Atlas" Set for October 2012 with Tom Hanks and Halle Berry

Warner Bros. Pictures Sets October 26, 2012 for Domestic Release of “Cloud Atlas”

Studio Also Acquires Distribution Rights for Major International Markets

Oscar® Winners Tom Hanks and Halle Berry Lead an International All-Star Cast

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Warner Bros. Pictures has officially slated the epic “Cloud Atlas,” from acclaimed filmmakers Lana Wachowski, Tom Tykwer, and Andy Wachowski, for domestic release on October 26, 2012. In addition, the Studio has acquired rights for the film in the major markets of the UK, France, Spain, Australia, and Japan, with plans to release it in those territories in early 2013. The joint announcement was made today by Dan Fellman, President of Domestic Distribution, and Veronika Kwan Vandenberg, President of International Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures.

Fellman stated, “Audiences who have seen an early screening of ‘Cloud Atlas’ have been elated by its powerful and inspiring story, as well as its breathtaking visuals. An October release in North America is the perfect window to showcase this epic film.”

Kwan Vandenberg said, “We are proud to be distributing this remarkable motion picture in a number of key markets. We look forward to working with these visionary filmmakers and the other international distribution partners to bring ‘Cloud Atlas’ to moviegoers around the world.”

Academy Award® winners Tom Hanks (“Philadelphia,” “Forrest Gump”) and Halle Berry (“Monster’s Ball”) lead a stellar international cast that includes Oscar® winner Jim Broadbent (“Iris”), Hugo Weaving, Jim Sturgess, Doona Bae, Ben Whishaw, James D’Arcy, Zhou Xun and Keith David, with Oscar® winner Susan Sarandon (“Dead Man Walking”) and Hugh Grant. Each member of the ensemble appears in multiple roles as the stories move through time.

“Cloud Atlas” explores how the actions and consequences of individual lives impact one another throughout the past, the present and the future. Action, mystery and romance weave dramatically through the story as one soul is shaped from a killer into a hero and a single act of kindness ripples across centuries to inspire a revolution in the distant future.

The film is written for the screen and directed by Lana Wachowski & Tom Tykwer & Andy Wachowski. The Wachowskis previously teamed as writers/directors of the groundbreaking “Matrix” trilogy, which earned more than $1.6 billion, combined, at the worldwide box office. Tom Tykwer won an Independent Spirit Award and earned a BAFTA Award nomination as the director/writer of “Run Lola Run,” and more recently directed the award-winning thriller “Perfume: The Story of a Murderer.”

Based on the celebrated best-selling novel by David Mitchell, “Cloud Atlas” is produced by two-time Oscar® nominee Grant Hill (“The Thin Red Line,” “The Tree of Life”), three-time BAFTA Award nominee Stefan Arndt (“The White Ribbon,” “Goodbye Lenin!,” “Run Lola Run”), Lana Wachowski, Tom Tykwer, and Andy Wachowski. Philip Lee, Uwe Schott and Wilson Qiu serve as executive producers, with Peter Lam, Tony Teo and Alexander van Duelmen co-producing, and Gigi Oeri as associate producer.

“Cloud Atlas” will be released in Germany, Austria and German-speaking Switzerland by X-Filme-Verleih; in China by Dreams of the Dragon Pictures; in Hong Kong by Media Asia Group; in Singapore and Malaysia by Ascension Pictures; in Korea by Bloomage Company; in Taiwan by Long Shong Group; in Russia and Eastern Europe by A Company; and in other territories through Focus Features International.

cloudatlasmovie.com

Review: "The Matrix" Has Staying Power (Happy B'day, Keanu Reeves)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 19 (of 2001) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Matrix (1999)
Running time: 136 minutes (2 hour, 16 minutes)
MPAA – R for sci-fi violence and brief language
DIRECTORS: The Wachowski Brothers
WRITERS: Andy Wachowski and Larry Wachowski
PRODUCER: Joel Silver
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Bill Pope (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Zach Staenberg
COMPOSER: Don Davis
Academy Award winner

SCI-FI/FANTASY/ACTION with elements of a thriller

Starring: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Ann Moss, Hugo Weaving, Joe Pantoliano, Marcus Chong, Gloria Foster, Julian Arahanga, Matt Doran, Belinda McClory, and Anthony Ray Parker

The Matrix is a 1999 science fiction action film. Directed by the brothers Andy Wachowski and Larry Wachowski (who is now Lana), The Matrix was the first of three films and launched a franchise that includes video games, animation (The Animatrix), and a series of comic and webcomics that were eventually collected in two trade paperbacks. The film would go on to be influential and win four Oscars.

A computer programmer and hacker named Thomas A. Anderson (Keanu Reeves) is in a kind of funk; the world does not seem quite right to him, but he cannot put his finger on what bothers him. He encounters a mysterious band of rebels led by the Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) who tells Anderson that Anderson is really Neo and that he is the Chosen One who will lead humanity out of the bondage in which machines keep them. Morpheus is abetted by Trinity (Carrie-Ann Moss), who believes completely in Neo as the savior.

The year isn’t 1999; it is 200 years later, says Morpheus. The world in which Neo lives is not real; it is instead an elaborate façade called the Matrix created by a malevolent Artificial Intelligence. The real world is a bombed shell of its former self. The ruling cyber intelligence has stored humans in stasis pods and uses humans for the fuel with which it operates itself. The Matrix, a kind of computer simulation of reality into which humanity is plugged, keeps humanity placated while the A.I., to power itself, leeches the energy human bodies naturally generate. Humans think they are living their lives when they are really all asleep and jacked into an electronic version of reality.

Morpheus believes that Neo is the one who will destroy the Matrix. Morpheus and his warriors live in the real world. They can send their consciousness into the Matrix to recruit converts to their cause. Their nemeses are Agents, A.I. who infiltrate and police the Matrix for rebellious humans. Led by the vicious Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving), the Agents pursue Neo and his newfound colleagues.

Written and directed by the Wachowski Brothers, The Matrix is glorious eye candy. Others have described the special effects as mind bending, and some audiences may have perceived them that way. The movie is visually dazzling, exciting, and invigorating; it’s a thrill ride in which you sit back and let yourself be entertained. While the Wachowki’s currently lack the skills to stage shots as well as Hitchcock or Kubrick would, they do know how to compose effective visuals. From a city with a sense of wrongness to the abandoned subway system where Morpheus and his rebels fight beautifully designed and wicked looking machinery, the film’s images deliver a coherent message.

Part Terminator and part The Invisibles (a comic book published by DC comics and created by Grant Morrison), the movie pretends at being ideologically and intellectually deep. However, man versus machine isn’t so much an issue in the movie as it is an impetus for violent action scenes. The brothers were smart in that they allowed Neo’s warrior friends to have the job of explaining the situation behind the Matrix.

The acting is very good. Fishburne has deep resonant tones, and he speaks clearly and confidently as explains things to Reeve’s somewhat slow Neo. Reeves, from the Kevin Costner school of wooden acting and halting speech mannerisms, would have lost the audience had he tried to make explanations. However, the camera loves the cool, West Coast looker, so Neo’s ascension from dull hacker to savior is something the audience can buy. Moss’s Trinity is a stand by you man woman and makes an able sidekick/love interest for Neo, and it is she who carries the load in the relationship. She delivers all the passion and provides all the strength while Neo finds his place as the One.

The most impressive, influential, and groundbreaking films usually sweep the technical Academy Awards for the year in which they are released, which The Matrix did while American Beauty won the high-end trophies. However, like Star Wars, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, The Terminator, and Jurassic Park, The Matrix will stand the test of time as a technical landmark in cinematic history. Besides that, it’s a very good film. What it lacks in subtlety and intellect, it more than makes up for in visual bravado, suspense, and drama. Like the directors of the best films, the Wachowski’s let the images do the talking.

8 of 10
A

NOTES:
2000 Academy Awards: 4 wins: “Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing” (Dane A. Davis), “Best Effects, Visual Effects” (John Gaeta, Janek Sirrs, Steve Courtley, and Jon Thum), “Best Film Editing” (Zach Staenberg), and “Best Sound” (John T. Reitz, Gregg Rudloff, David E. Campbell, and David Lee)

2000 BAFTA Awards: 2 wins: “Best Achievement in Special Visual Effects” (John Gaeta, Steve Courtley, Janek Sirrs, and Jon Thum) and “Best Sound” (David Lee, John T. Reitz, Gregg Rudloff, David E. Campbell, and Dane A. Davis); 3 nominations: “Best Cinematography” (Bill Pope), “Best Editing” (Zach Staenberg), and “Best Production Design” (Owen Paterson)

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Review: "Ninja Assassin" is Strictly for My N.I.N.J.A.S.

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 23 (of 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux

Ninja Assassin (2009)
Running time: 99 minutes (1 hour, 39 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong bloody stylized violence throughout, and language
DIRECTOR: James McTeigue
WRITERS: Matthew Sand and J. Michael Straczynski; from a story by Matthew Sand
PRODUCERS: Grant Hill, Joel Silver, Andy Wachowski, and Larry Wachowski
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Karl Walter Lindenlaub
EDITORS: Gian Ganziano and Joseph Jett Sally

ACTION/MARTIAL ARTS

Starring: Rain, Naomie Harris, Ben Miles, Shô Kosugi, Rick Yune, Joon Lee, Anna Sawai, Yoon Sungwoong, Kylie Liya Goldstein, Sung Kang, and Randall Duk Kim

It’s not Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, nor is it a Bruce Lee movie. However, if you want to see a ninja movie in which the clichés and bodies pile up in a mass of gore and severed limbs and heads, then, Ninja Assassin is just for you (and me).

Ninja Assassin focuses on an outcast ninja named Raizo (Rain). An orphan, he was taken from the streets as a child and brought into a ninja clan. There, Lord Ozunu (Shô Kosugi) gave him the name “Raizo” and transformed him into a trained killer in the service of the Ozunu Clan, a secret society whose very existence is considered a myth. After a terrible incident, Raizo leaves the Clan and vanishes. Now, living in Berlin, he waits for his former brethren to come for him, and he prepares to exact his revenge.

Meanwhile, also in Berlin, Europol agent Mika Coretti (Naomie Harris) has stumbled upon a money trail linking several political murders to an ancient network of untraceable assassins from the Far East. In spite of the discouragement she initially receives from her superior, Ryan Maslow (Ben Miles), Mika digs into top secret agency files to learn the truth behind these murders, which leads her to the Ozunu Clan. Mika’s investigation, however, makes her a target of the clan, which sends a team of killers, led by Raizo’s rival, the lethal Takeshi (Rick Yune), to silence Mika. Although he saves Mika from the first attack, Raizo knows that the Ozunu will not rest until both Mika and he are eliminated. Now, Raizo and Mika begin a deadly game of cat and mouse in hopes of finally bringing down the elusive Lord Ozunu and his ninja assassins.

There are things that Ninja Assassin does well and a number of things it doesn’t do that well. The acting is average to mediocre, defined mostly by clunky dialogue, although Naomie Harris (best know for her roles in the second and third Pirates of the Caribbean movies and also, 28 Days Later) is fair. The Asian cast is pretty good. Rain, a South Korean pop star, as Raizo is charismatic, and Shô Kosugi as Ozunu is dynamite.

The fight scenes are superb; they’ll be magic candy to the ninja-lovin’ kid in you. Too many of them are stage in darkened settings, however. Much of the drama is horridly written; the exceptions are the flashbacks about Raizo’s time training with the Ozunu Clan, which are actually quite good. That aside, what fans want are cool fight scenes, and Ninja Assassin gives us a fight scene just about every five minutes. The hacking and slashing; the severed heads, limbs, and torsos; and the blood sprays will make some viewers wince. I did, but I’ll take many brutal fight scenes in my ninja movie, especially when the alternative is poorly done character drama.

6 of 10
B

Saturday, April 17, 2010

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