James Cameron Inspires George Lucas - A Bits & Bites Extra

According to Entertaiment Gather, George Lucas says that after seeing Avatar, its success with 3D technology has him thinking about at least one future Star Wars film in 3D.  Yea, me!

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Review: Isaac Hayes, Yaphet Kotto Rev Up "Truck Turner"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 172 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux

Truck Turner (1974)
Running time: 91 minutes
DIRECTOR: Jonathan Kaplan
WRITERS: Michael Allin and Oscar Williams (from a story by Jerry Wilkes)
PRODUCERS: Paul M. Heller and Fred Weintraub
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Charles F. Wheeler
EDITOR: Michael Kahn

ACTION

Starring: Isaac Hayes, Yaphet Kotto, Alan Weeks, Annazette Chase, Nichelle Nichols, Sam Laws, Paul Harris, John Kramer, and Scatman Crothers

With its whacked-out violence, splashy sex, foul language, preening ho’s, and funky costumes, Truck Turner is one my best experiences with so-called blaxploitation films. The early Jonathan Kaplan (The Accused, in which he directed Jodie Foster to her first Oscar) directorial effort stars Isaac Hayes as Truck Turner. Turner is a bounty hunter who with his partner Jerry (Alan Weeks) is tracking a vicious and powerful pimp named Gator (Paul Harris). Turner kills Gator after an extended chase scene and huge shootout. Driven by revenge, Gator’s main squeeze, Dorinda (Nichelle Nichols), puts a hit out on Truck. After Truck easily dusts off the hit squad, Dorinda convinces Gator’s old rival and nemesis, Harvard Blue (Yaphet Kotto), to go after Truck in what turns out to be a bloody finale.

Kaplan directed a breezy and smoothly moving, violent action feature that would fit right in with current hyper-kinetic action flicks. Michael Kahn, who would go onto to be Steven Spielberg’s editor-of-choice and win three Oscars for editing Spielberg films, showed why he is so highly respected and graced with so many awards and nominations. Kahn’s editing created the sense of urgency, desperation, danger, and fear that was necessary to sell this particular kind of urban thriller. He actually raised the sense of looming disaster that hides around every corner in the urban setting.

The stars of this show, however, were the stars. Isaac Hayes gave a great performance as the kind of relentless and destructive protagonist that Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis, and Harrison Ford would become so famous and so wealthy for playing. His Truck Turner is every bit the unstoppable force that the Arnold’s Terminator is. Hayes also provided the cool score for this film. Nichelle Nichols bold, foul-mouthed, Dorinda alone is worth the cost of admission, especially since we get to see her brick house form squeezed into her tight and sexy futuristic ho outfits. Yaphet Kotto is always a welcome sight, and he was so smooth and sensible that it’s almost a shame that Harvard Blue wasn’t the star.

7 of 10
A-

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New People Anime and Sci-Fi Flicks for February

Press release from VIZ Media:

VIZ CINEMA INVITES ANIME AND SCI-FI FANS TO ATTEND SPECIAL FILM EVENTS IN FEBRUARY


Theatre Scheduled To Present A DEATH NOTE Film Marathon, 20th CENTURY BOYS DVD Release Party And A GURREN LAGANN Encore Double Feature

VIZ Cinema, the nation’s first and only movie theatre dedicated to Japanese film, gives Bay Area anime, sci-fi and pop culture fans a variety of special movie events to look forward to throughout February.

VIZ Cinema leads off with Death Note movie marathon on Saturday, January 30th in support of the Animation On Display convention (January 30th–31st) taking place at the nearby Hotel Kabuki. On February 9th, the theatre will screen 20th Century Boys 2: The Last Hope to celebrate the release of the second DVD of the exciting live-action film trilogy from VIZ Pictures. Rounding out the month’s anime-related events will be an encore double-feature presentation of Gurren Lagann: The Movie 1 & 2 – for one night only – on Sunday February 21st. VIZ Cinema offers special combo tickets for $15.00 for the Death Note and Gurren Lagann double-feature showings. Preview trailers and screening times for all films are available at: http://www.vizcinema.com/.

DEATH NOTE
Saturday, January 30th, 7:30pm

Sample the action and suspense of the live-action films based on the bestselling supernatural mystery manga that sold over 15 million copies! The story begins when ace student Light Yagami finds the Death Note, a notebook dropped by a rogue “Shinigami” death god named Ryuk. Any human whose name is written in the notebook will die. Upset with the justice system, Light takes matters into his own hands and vows to use the power of the Death Note to rid the world of all evil. Special discount combo tickets available for $15.00 for films 1 & 2! Regular admission is $10.00 when purchased separately. Animation On Display attendees receive $2.00 off the regular price with attendee badges. No additional discount will apply to $15.00 combo tickets.

DEATH NOTE 2: THE LAST NAME
Saturday, January 30th, 10:00pm

Death Note 2: The Last Name begins on the heels of the first movie as Light Yagami joins the investigation team in pursuit of the serial killer known as “Kira.” While L still strongly suspects that Light is “Kira,” Light tries to uncover L’s real name so he can kill him with his Death Note. But things get complicated when a new rash of murders all around the world take place, with a “Second Kira” claiming responsibility. Light learns the identity of the Second Kira and suggests they join forces to get rid of L. Will L be able to catch “Kira” before he is killed?

20th CENTURY BOYS 2: THE LAST HOPE
Tuesday, February 9th 7:30pm

Don’t miss the exclusive event preceding the long-awaited DVD release of 20th Century Boys 2 from VIZ Pictures. It’s now 2015, and Friend rules a disturbing new world. Kenji’s niece, Kanna, is now in high school and her textbook contains a fabricated story about him being the terrorist behind the horrific events of 2000. Kanna, knowing the truth, openly resents this, and as a result she is marked as a problem child and sent to Friend Land, a facility where people with rebellious anti-Friend behavior are re-educated. There Kanna learns a crucial secret about Friend. Tickets for this special screening are $25.00 and will include a copy of the 20th Century Boys 2 DVD, a postcard, and NEW PEOPLE pin buttons to all who attend. $10.00 tickets are also available for regular admission.

Gurren Lagann: The Movie ~ Childhood’s End
Sunday, February 21st 5:00pm

Based on the hit animated television series, this sci-fi feature takes place in a fictional future in which human beings have been forced to live in closed-off underground villages. Kamina and Simon are constrained by the limits imposed by the village elder. Yet, all this will change when Simon stumbles across a fantastic mechanized device – just as the village’s peace is broken by a violent intrusion. Special discount combo ticket is now available for $15.00 to watch films 1 & 2.

Gurren Lagann: The Movie 2 ~ The Lights In The Sky Are Stars
Sunday, February 21st 7:30pm

Overcoming the loss of loved ones, Simon survived mortal combat with the Beastmen leader Lordgenome. Seven years later, humans have returned to the surface to build a flourishing civilization. But, the peaceful times don’t last forever as humans begin developing beyond their world into outer space and encounter an unknown enemy.

VIZ Cinema is the nation’s first movie theatre devoted exclusively to Japanese film and anime. The 143-seat subterranean theatre is located in the basement of the NEW PEOPLE building and features plush seating, digital as well as 35mm projection, and a THX®-certified sound system. Tickets and schedules are available at http://www.vizcinema.com/. [END]

Saw 3D versus Paranormal Activity 2? - Negromancer News Bits and Bites Extra

Mike Fleming at Deadline Hollywood writes about what looks like the beginning of a Lionsgate vs. Paramount Pictures war, with the Saw franchise and a Paranormal Activity sequel as the soldiers.

Review: Superb "Baadasssss" Recounts Landmark Film

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 185 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux

Baadasssss! (2004)
First released as How to Get the Man’s Foot Outta Your Ass (2003)
Running time: 108 minutes; MPAA – R for pervasive language and some strong sexuality/nudity
PRODUCER/DIRECTOR: Mario Van Peebles
WRITERS: Mario Van Peebles and Dan Haggerty (from the book by Melvin Van Peebles)
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Robert Primes
EDITORS: Nneka Goforth and Anthony Miller

DRAMA with elements of a documentary

Starring: Mario Van Peebles, Joy Bryant, T.K. Carter, Terry Crews, Ossie Davis, David Alan Grier, Nia Long, Paul Rodriguez, Saul Rubinek, Vincent Schiavelli, Khelo Thomas, Rainn Wilson, Len Lesser, Sally Struthers, Adam West, Ralph Martin, Robert Peters, Khalil Kain, and John Singleton

Baadasssss! is writer/director/actor Mario Van Peebles quasi-documentary/part tribute film dramatization of his father, Melvin Van Peebles’ struggle to direct and get distribution for his quintessential blaxploitation flick, Sweet Sweetback Baadasssss Song. Mario Van Peebles seamlessly weaves a film that is both a riveting drama and a searing document and testimony of the struggle of the black artist to get his work to black people, in particularly black filmmakers, who still struggle (though not as much as Melvin Van Peebles did in the early 70’s) to get black visions before not only a black audience, but all filmgoers.

Maybe what makes the film really get into the soul of the viewer is that the co-writer, director, and producer, Mario, is playing his father Melvin Van Peebles. Mario did play a part in the Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song, so his memories do color the film’s recollection of history. However, Van Peebles seems able to view his father’s artistic and commercial struggles as a filmmaker because Mario has also struggled to get his directorial vision on film. The work, as both Mario’s own film and the movie about his father’s trials on his own film, makes Baadasssss! double personal to Mario. Thus, Baadasssss! is both film as the history of filmmaking and a film about filmmaking, and it does both of them quite well.

Mario, however, like his father, didn’t make a film alone, and though Mario conveys the intensity of the filmmaker’s struggle with a bravura performance, the supporting cast expertly creates an atmosphere of contention, support, financial and logistical chaos that makes the version of Melvin’s war that Mario puts on film seem so damn real. Standouts include David Alan Grier, Joy Bryant, Rainn Wilson, and Khelo Thomas as young Mario Van Peebles.

A film of such powerful inspirational force, Baadasssss! is a must see for fans of movie history in general and of African-American cinema, in particular. Most of all it’s a perfect portrayal of an artist going through the fire for his work.

10 of 10

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De Niro, Daniels to Unite on Civil Rights Film

In her blog, Deadline: Hollywood, Nikki Finke’s is reporting that Robert De Niro is set to star in Lee Daniels' next film, “Selma.” Daniels’ most recent film is Precious: Based on the novel Push by Sapphire, for which he earned a Directors Guild of America nomination. Daniels also produced Halle Berry's Oscar winning movie, Monsters Ball, and directed Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Helen Mirren in the 2006 drama, Shadowboxer.

De Niro, a two-time Oscar winner (Godfather II, Raging Bull), will play Alabama Gov. George Wallace in the civil rights era film. Wallace’s unwillingness to give blacks their rights even while the rest of the country started to dissolve segregation, lead to three famous marches, led by Martin Luther King, Jr., between Selma and Montgomery, Alabama.

Daniels told Comingsoon.net's Edward Douglas in October. "It's a snapshot of the march. It's really Lyndon Johnson's story. Martin Luther King is a part of it, but it's really the arc of a man that starts out as a racist who is forced to look at himself in the mirror and then ultimately side with King. It's really a journey of a white cat and how he sneers at tradition."

The main focus of Finke’s piece at Deadline: Hollywood is about switching talent agencies. The focus of Douglas’ piece is about Daniels’ attempts to make a film based upon the musical Miss Saigon. Thanks to AOL’s Black Voice Movies for the heads up.

Indie Superhero "Hero Tomorrow" on DVD in February

From Business Wire:

‘Hero Tomorrow’: First Time Writer-Director Ted Sikora’s DIY Punk Rock Version of the Big Budget Superhero Film is a Worldwide Film Festival Hit

This Trippy Comic Shop Romance With A Superhero Twist Made Its World Premiere At Comic Con International And Has Wowed Audiences Everywhere From New York And Montreal To Rome, Santa Fe And Sydney

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Hey, superhero film fans, listen up—the genre that you love is no longer the exclusive domain of the corporate studio culture! With the worldwide festival success and DVD release of first time director Ted Sikora’s quirky and compelling, DIY Indie film Hero Tomorrow, it’s now anyone’s ballgame.

A trippy comic shop romance with a superhero twist, the film was conceived, written and produced by Sikora and Milo Miller, who thought it would be cool to try a new spin on the superhero genre and came up with a comically dark new idea: Spidey meets Taxi Driver.

The result of this labor of love by these two lifetime comic book readers and Sikora’s brother Kurt (co-director of photography and associate producer) can be summed up in a tagline on the film’s multi-media website: “From the suburban jungles of Cleveland comes the most TEMERARIOUS crime fighter of all! It’s the punk rock version of the big budget superhero film.”

For Ted Sikora and Miller, the world premiere of “Hero Tomorrow” at Comic Con International in San Diego was a surreal dream come true. It was the only narrative feature selected in the group of 50 films and G4 Network’s “Attack Of The Show” ran clips when critic Chris Gore included the film in his “cream of the crop” picks at the event.

The film’s been a hit everywhere, from Sikora and Miller’s hometown of Cleveland (two jam-packed showings at the Cleveland International Film Festival), and New York (Comic Con 2009, the only indie narrative feature film shown) to Santa Fe, Rome and Sydney, where it was one of ten feature films from around the world shown at the Fantastic Planet Film Festival.

The DVD, which has over four hours of material, is available for purchase on the film’s website and Amazon.com. One of the first films to get a deal on iTunes without a major distributor, “Hero Tomorrow” will be available on the site for purchase and downloading on February 16 [END]