"The Dark Knight Rises" Joins Chrysler for a Contest

“The Dark Knight Rises” and Chrysler Present: Imported from Gotham City

-- Rise to the Challenge --

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Warner Bros. Pictures and the Chrysler brand have teamed up to bring fans the opportunity of a lifetime surrounding the July 20th release of “The Dark Knight Rises,” the much-anticipated conclusion to the blockbuster Dark Knight trilogy. Friday, June 15, 2012 marked the launch of the “Imported from Gotham City” Contest, allowing fans to create an original co-branded TV spot featuring these two iconic brands. Director/writer/producer Christopher Nolan will select the winning spot, which will debut on television around the release of the film.

Contestants will have two weeks to create their “Imported from Gotham City” original commercial utilizing a suite of assets, including: Chrysler 300 car footage, film footage, and music stems from the trailer that contestants can remix for their spot. At the conclusion of the contest, a gallery of submissions will go live on Saturday, June 30, kicking off a four-day public voting period when fans can weigh-in on their favorite Gotham City collaboration.

The top three finalists will be announced online and Christopher Nolan will personally choose the winner. "We're excited for the opportunity to tap into the creative community online and allow those who participate to showcase their talent and passion. We look forward to seeing what unique spots people produce," says Nolan.

The winning spot will be determined by a number of judging criteria, including public vote, originality, creativity, memorability and brand effectiveness. Warner Bros. and Chrysler will debut the winning commercial on national television the week of the film’s release - watch for specific date and airing details to be announced shortly. The winner will receive a trip to Hollywood to finish their spot alongside a professional editor before traveling to New York City to attend the red carpet premiere screening of “The Dark Knight Rises,” on Monday, July 16.

Playing off Chrysler brand’s “Imported from Detroit” advertising campaign, the contest pushes the realm of the user generated contest to a new level, allowing fans to take to the driver’s seat and test their creative skills within the world of Gotham City.

Apart from the winning Contest spot, Chrysler will unveil another 30-second, co-branded television spot titled “Imported from Gotham City” in celebration of the partnership with Warner Bros. Pictures. Directed by Stacy Wall, the spot was designed and shot to look and feel similar to the world of the “The Dark Knight Rises.” Featuring a 2012 Chrysler 300, the spot will make its broadcast debut on Tuesday, June 19, on the NBC network. A 60-second spot will also run online. Once live, both spots will be available on the Chrysler brand YouTube channel at www.YouTube.com/Chrysler.

“The 2012 Chrysler 300 featured in this marketing and advertising campaign was created intentionally to look as if it could be driven on the streets and fit in to the nightlife of Gotham City; it’s clearly a vehicle that stands out and makes one take notice,” said Saad Chehab, President and CEO – Chrysler Brand, Chrysler Group LLC.

For fans of the film, “Imported from Gotham City” merchandise including t-shirts and hats will be available for purchase at Chrysler’s “Imported from Detroit” site at http://www.ifdstore.com/.

For more information and the official rules regarding the “Imported from Gotham City” contest, visit http://www.importedfromgothamcity.com/.


About “The Dark Knight Rises”
Opening in theatres and IMAX on July 20, 2012, “The Dark Knight Rises” stars Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Morgan Freeman. Christopher Nolan directed the film from a screenplay by Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan, story by Christopher Nolan & David S. Goyer. Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan and Charles Roven are the producers, with Benjamin Melniker, Michael E. Uslan, Kevin De La Noy and Thomas Tull serving as executive producers, and Jordan Goldberg co-producing. “The Dark Knight Rises” is based upon Batman characters created by Bob Kane and published by DC Comics.

Warner Bros. Pictures presents, in association with Legendary Pictures, a Syncopy Production, a Film by Christopher Nolan, “The Dark Knight Rises,” to be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company. The film has been rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, some sensuality and language. http://www.thedarkknightrises.com/

About Chrysler Brand
The spirit of hard work and the belief that luxury shouldn’t be a luxury. Earning your place without forgetting where you’re from. Luxury and quality conceived and developed domestically. That’s what the Chrysler brand and its vehicles are all about. Integrating the first eight-speed automatic transmission in a domestic luxury sedan, the 2012 Chrysler 300 sedans offer world-class innovation and quality while delivering stylistic distinction and premium features with legendary value. The 2012 Chrysler 200 sedan delivers exceptional value without compromise with sophisticated design, high-quality craftsmanship, and technology. The Chrysler 200 Convertible — with a power soft or hardtop — offers an open-air experience featuring elegant craftsmanship. The 2012 Chrysler Town & Country minivan is beautifully crafted with high-quality, soft-touch materials and tech-savvy entertainment features and smart storage. Standard leather Stow ‘n Go® seating, overhead DVD, and more than 40 safety and security features are some of the Town & Country’s innovative offerings.

Boys Gone Wild in Furious "Chronicle"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 49 (of 2012) by Leroy Douresseaux


Chronicle (2012)
Running time: 84 minutes (1 hour, 24 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for intense action and violence, thematic material, some language, sexual content and teen drinking
DIRECTOR: Josh Trank
WRITERS: Max Landis; from a story by Max Landis and Josh Trank
PRODUCERS: John Davis and Adam Schroeder
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Matthew Jensen
EDITORS: Elliot Greenberg

SCI-FI/THRILLER with elements of horror

Starring: Dane DeHaan, Alex Russell, Michael B. Jordan, Michael Kelly, Ashley Hinshaw, and Bo Petersen

Chronicle is a 2012 science fiction thriller and teen drama. The film follows three high school friends who gain superpowers and how those powers change them.

Seattle teenager Andrew Detmer (Dane DeHaan) is a loner who starts videotaping his life. His mother, Karen (Bo Petersen), is dying of cancer, and his father, Richard (Michael Kelly), is an abusive alcoholic. Although Andrew is unpopular at school, he does have one friend, his cousin, Matt Garetty (Alex Russell).

Matt invites Andrew to a rave in a bid to help him meet people. However, Andrew ends up taking a trip into the nearby woods with Matt and popular student, Steve Montgomery (Michael B. Jordan). There, they make an incredible discovery that gives them superpowers. At first, they have fun with the new powers, but when they begin to embrace the darker aspects of those powers, their lives begin to spin out of control.

Chronicle reminds me of Carrie, the 1976 Brian De Palma film based upon Stephen King’s 1974 novel of the same name (King’s debut novel). Carrie freaked me out when I first saw it as a child, and I have not been able to watch it since then. Chronicle doesn’t freak me out; it is much slicker than the edgy, odd, and dark Carrie. Chronicle is a shiny bauble structured to make its self-absorbed characters seem thoughtful and self-analytical to its self-absorbed target audience.

Director Josh Trank and screenwriter Max Landis are good at capturing the fun and hijinks of the teenaged boys as they experiment with their powers. I do believe that it is realistic to depict these youngsters as careless enough to test their powers out in public and also to think nothing of filming themselves using those powers. I think that Trank and Landis’ best idea is that when things start to get out of control, they really get out of control. As these young men become more reckless, the story turns wild and unbound. The movie embraces the dark side that is these young fools acting like demigods.

I didn’t know what to expect of Chronicle, but I did want to see it. Now, that I’ve seen it, I want more. It ia great science fiction thriller, but it is also something of a horror movie. When the young men start to embrace the darker aspects of what their powers can do, it is mesmerizing. It is also very scary, because for all that is cool about Chronicle, the film is also about the predatory side in each person.

7 of 10
A-

Saturday, June 16, 2012

New "Katy Perry: Part of Me" Poster - June 14 2012

Happy Father's Day 2012 from Negromancer

I know so many fathers.  But unlike what I did for this recent Mother's Day (in which I tried to list all the mothers I knew personally or knew the people in their lives personally), I won't rattle off a list of papas.  Beside, uncles and grandfathers have been put into the Father's Day roll of honor.

So I'll just send out a wide signal to all the fathers I know and to the ones who visit this blog: Happy Father's Day!

"Rock of Ages" Soundtrack is #1 on Multiple Billboard Charts

ROCK OF AGES: ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK Debuts at #1 on the Billboard Soundtrack Chart

Features Hits of Iconic Rockers Def Leppard, Foreigner, Journey, Poison and Others Performed By Rock of Ages Cast Members Russell Brand, Paul Giamatti, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Mary J. Blige, Alec Baldwin, Tom Cruise, and More

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The ROCK OF AGES: ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK, released June 5th by WaterTower Music, debuted today at #1 on multiple Billboard charts - locking in the #1 Soundtrack, #1 Indie and #1 Hard Music chart positions according to SoundScan. Additionally, the soundtrack took the #15 spot on Billboard’s Top 200 chart.

"We're thrilled with these #1 chart positions before Rock of Ages has even hit theatres," said WaterTower Music head Jason Linn. "And with the film’s opening this Friday, we expect interest in our record to remain high for some time."

This hit album features 20 rousing anthems that defined a generation—reinvigorated for the film by a stellar cast including Julianne Hough, Diego Boneta, Russell Brand, Paul Giamatti, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Malin Akerman, Mary J. Blige, Alec Baldwin and Tom Cruise. The soundtrack for the film, which the Los Angeles Times calls “a love letter to spandex-clad guitar gods,” has earned rave reviews in advance of the film’s theatrical debut, June 15th.

Directed by Adam Shankman (Hairspray), New Line Cinema’s Rock of Ages is the film adaptation of the smash hit, five-time Tony®-nominated Broadway musical which tells the story of small town girl Sherrie and city boy Drew, who meet on the Sunset Strip while pursuing their Hollywood dreams. Executive Music Producer Adam Anders (Glee) helps tell the rock ‘n’ roll romance through cast versions of the heart-pounding hits of Def Leppard, Poison, Journey, Twisted Sister, Bon Jovi, Joan Jett, Foreigner, Night Ranger, REO Speedwagon, Pat Benatar, Whitesnake, and more.

As the larger-than-life, arena-rocking champ “Stacee Jaxx,” the Rock of Ages Soundtrack features Tom Cruise belting out Bon Jovi’s classic “Wanted Dead or Alive,” Def Leppard’s hit “Pour Some Sugar On Me,” and Guns ‘N Roses anthem “Paradise City.” Cruise also duets with Malin Akerman on Foreigner’s power ballad, “I Want To Know What Love Is,” and shares the mic with Julianne Hough on The Scorpions’ “Rock You Like A Hurricane.”

The album also features an extraordinary medley of Night Ranger’s “Sister Christian,” David Lee Roth’s “Just Like Paradise,” and Poison’s “Nothin’ But A Good Time,” which features Julianne Hough, Diego Boneta, Russell Brand and Alec Baldwin.

Also echoing through the soundtrack are mash-ups of songs that ruled the airwaves in the `80s, including Foreigner’s “Juke Box Hero” / Joan Jett’s “I Love Rock N Roll”; Extreme’s “More Than Words” / Warrant’s “Heaven”; Pat Benatar’s “Shadows Of The Night” / Quarterflash’s “Harden My Heart”; and Starship’s “We Built This City” woven into Twisted Sister’s “We’re Not Gonna Take It,” all performed by the film’s cast.

The full track list for the album is as follows:

1. “Paradise City” - Tom Cruise

2. “Sister Christian” / “Just Like Paradise” / “Nothin’ But A Good Time” - Julianne Hough, Diego Boneta, Russell Brand, Alec Baldwin

3. “Juke Box Hero” / “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll” - Diego Boneta, Alec Baldwin, Russell Brand, Julianne Hough

4. “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” - Catherine Zeta-Jones

5. “Waiting For A Girl Like You” - Diego Boneta, Julianne Hough

6. “More Than Words” / “Heaven” - Julianne Hough, Diego Boneta

7. “Wanted Dead Or Alive” - Tom Cruise, Julianne Hough

8. “I Want To Know What Love Is” - Tom Cruise, Malin Akerman

9. “I Wanna Rock” - Diego Boneta

10. “Pour Some Sugar On Me” - Tom Cruise

11. “Harden My Heart” - Julianne Hough, Mary J. Blige

12. “Shadows of the Night” / “Harden My Heart” - Mary J. Blige, Julianne Hough

13. “Here I Go Again” - Diego Boneta, Paul Giamatti, Julianne Hough, Mary J. Blige, Tom Cruise,

14. “Can’t Fight This Feeling” - Russell Brand, Alec Baldwin

15. “Any Way You Want It” - Mary J. Blige, Constantine Maroulis, Julianne Hough

16. “Undercover Love” - Diego Boneta

17. “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” - Julianne Hough, Diego Boneta, Tom Cruise, Mary J. Blige

18. “Rock You Like A Hurricane” - Julianne Hough, Tom Cruise

19. “We Built This City” / “We’re Not Gonna Take It” - Russell Brand / Catherine Zeta-Jones

20. “Don’t Stop Believin’”- Julianne Hough, Diego Boneta, Tom Cruise, Alec Baldwin, Russell Brand, Mary J. Blige

To learn more about the film and soundtrack visit http://www.rockofagesmovie.com/

Review: "A Sound of Thunder" isn't Too Bad

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 95 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux


A Sound of Thunder (2005)
Running time: 102 minutes (1 hour, 42 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for sci-fi violence, partial nudity, and language
CINEMATOGRAPHER/DIRECTOR: Peter Hyams
WRITERS: Thomas Dean Donnelly & Joshua Oppenheimer and Gregory Poirier; screen story by Thomas Dean Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer (based upon the short story by Ray Bradbury)
PRODUCERS: Moshe Diamant and Karen Baldwin
EDITORS: Sylvia Landra
COMPOSER: Nick Glennie-Smith

SCI-FI/FANTASY/ACTION/THRILLER with elements of horror

Starring: Edward Burns, Catherine McCormack, Ben Kingsley, Jemima Rooper, David Oyelowo, William Armstrong, and Corey Johnson

The subject of this movie review is A Sound of Thunder, a 2005 science fiction and time travel movie from director Peter Hyams. The film is based upon a Ray Bradbury short story of the same title that was first published in 1952 (in Collier’s magazine). The film follows the efforts of a scientist who tries to save his world after a group of “time tourists” accidentally change the present by interfering with the past.

In the year 2055, a company based in downtown, Chicago, Time Safari, Inc., is an elite time travel agency. The corporation’s owner, Charles Hatton (Ben Kingsley), has cornered the lucrative time-travel market with something called a “prehistoric hunting package.” For a very high price, rich adventurers can travel back to the Prehistoric age and hunt a real life dinosaur. The trip has only three essential rules: (1) Don’t change anything in the past; (2) Don’t leave anything behind; and most of all (3) Don’t bring anything back – because the slightest alteration of anything that existed in the past could alter the existing course of evolution in unimaginable ways. But someone breaks the rules…

Before long, a series of time waves is rippling across the world. The change is slow at first – just the climate and weather. Within 24 hours, the major changes begin. Plant life grows to monstrous proportions, busting through concrete and pavement, overturning cars, engulfing entire building inside and out, and covering the city. Soon voracious insects are running amok in the city, and then come the hostile new creatures – primates in reptilian form that can move with blazing speed and that feed on humans.

The two people who have an idea of what is happening are Dr. Travis Ryer (Edward Burns), a scientist who leads the Time Safari expeditions so that he can further his genetic research, and Dr. Sonia Rand (Catherine McCormack), the brilliant physicist who developed much of the technology that Time Safari, Inc. uses to make its expeditions into the past possible. Now, Ryer needs Rand’s help if he is going to figure out exactly what went wrong on one of his expeditions that is causing the time waves. With the world collapsing into pandemonium around them, as deadly plants and monstrous new animal life forms attack humans, Ryer and Rand have to figure out a way to go back into the past and correct the error that will save themselves and the human race from extinction.

Once A Sound of Thunder missed its release date of March 2005, it was clear to fans that the distributor, Warner Bros. Pictures, probably thought the film was a bust. Without much advertising and little fanfare, the film finally appeared in early September of 2005, and failed at the box office (grossing less than $2 million domestically). The film was beset by production delays (the great floods of Prague in 2002 damaged the set), causing the film to miss its original release date of 2003. The original director, Renny Harlin, left in 2004 to helm another film (Mindhunters), and the production company went bankrupt, and there was no money to finish the film.

Still, what finally emerges is a rather entertaining, above average, B-movie; in fact, this is a glorified B-movie, a big budget version of the sci-fi monster movies that show up on the Sci-Fi Channel on Saturday nights. Some of the special effects are poor, especially some of the street scenes, which look phony and cheap; the viewer can practically see the “seems” between where the actors and real environment end and the CGI begins. The dinosaur that is the object of Time Safari’s hunts is so poorly animated, especially when compared to the kind of CGI dinos we get in mega productions like Jurassic Park. Part of that is because when the production company went bankrupt, the filmmakers hadn’t begun such post-production work computer animation. When money was finally received to finish A Sound of Thunder, the effects had to be cheaply done.

The script also takes great liberties with its source material, a classic Ray Bradbury science fiction short story, in order to become a full-length film. In the original story, the death of an insect changed an election’s outcome. Here, so much padding had to be added to turn a short story into a feature length film.

Otherwise, I liked the execution of the film’s plot, and its visual choices in terms of set design and art direction. The film’s monsters are also enjoyable even though they look more fake and plastic than the old-time movie monsters that were handmade. And A Sound of Thunder really is a monster movie, except it is set in the milieu of science fiction rather than of horror. In many ways, A Sound of Thunder is the kind of action oriented, sci-fi/horror thriller that director Peter Hyams delivers every blue moon – The Relic being a good example of one of his enjoyable B-movie, sci-fi/horror, action flicks. In Hyams’ films, the genre, be it sci-fi or horror, is just a setting for an action movie starring a solid, macho, can-do male hero. As simple entertainment, they work if you don’t think too much about the flaws and holes.

This flick likes the audience rather than take them for stupid, and it wants to give you a good time. The ending is too abrupt, unsatisfying, and doesn’t really resolve the story. However, A Sound of Thunder is fun, meant to be enjoyable even when the mistakes are right in front of your eyes.

5 of 10
B-

Sunday, May 7, 2006

Shooting Begins on Next Jason Reitman Film "Labor Day"

PARAMOUNT PICTURES AND INDIAN PAINTBRUSH ANNOUNCE THE START OF PRINCIPAL PHOTOGRAPHY ON REITMAN’S “LABOR DAY”

Paramount Pictures, a division of Viacom, Inc., and Indian Paintbrush announced today that principal photography has begun on “LABOR DAY,” from Academy Award®-nominated filmmaker Jason Reitman, with Academy Award®-winner Kate Winslet and Academy Award®-nominated Josh Brolin starring. The film is shooting in Massachusetts.

Based on Joyce Maynard’s novel of the same name, the film is written and directed by Reitman (“Young Adult,” “Up in the Air”) who will produce with his partner Helen Estabrook through their Right of Way Films banner, along with the Academy Award®-nominated team of Lianne Halfon and Russell Smith (“Young Adult,” “Juno”) of Mr. Mudd. Steven Rales (“Young Adult,” “Like Crazy”) and Mark Roybal (“Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close,” “No Country for Old Men”) of Indian Paintbrush will serve as executive producers.

“LABOR DAY” centers on 13-year-old Henry Wheeler, who struggles to be the man of his house and care for his reclusive mother Adele while confronting all the pangs of adolescence. On a back-to-school shopping trip, Henry and his mother encounter Frank Chambers, a man both intimidating and clearly in need of help, who convinces them to take him into their home and later is revealed to be an escaped convict. The events of this long Labor Day weekend will shape them for the rest of their lives.

Winslet (“REVOLUTIONARY ROAD,” “THE READER”) stars as Adele Wheeler, the reclusive mother and Josh Brolin (“TRUE GRIT,” “NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN”) is Frank Chambers. Gattlin Griffith (“GREEN LANTERN,” “CHANGELING”) plays Adele’s son Henry. Rounding out the cast is Tom Lipinski (“SUITS”) as the young Frank; Clark Gregg (“MARVEL’S THE AVENGERS”) as Henry’s father Gerald; Alexie Gilmore (“DEFINITELY, MAYBE”) plays Marjorie, Gerald’s new wife and Henry’s stepmom; Lucas Hedges (“MOONRISE KINGDOM”) plays her son Richard; Brighid Fleming (“GAMER”) as Henry’s friend Eleanor; James Van Der Beek (“DON’T TRUST THE B---- IN APARTMENT 23”) as Officer Treadwell; Maika Monroe as young Frank’s sweetheart Mandy; Brooke Smith (“GREY’S ANATOMY,”) as Adele’s friend Evelyn and Micah Fowler as Evelyn’s son Barry.


About Paramount Pictures CorporationParamount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment, is a unit of Viacom (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), a leading content company with prominent and respected film, television and digital entertainment brands. Paramount controls a collection of some of the most powerful brands in filmed entertainment, including Paramount Pictures, Paramount Animation, Paramount Vantage, Paramount Classics, Insurge Pictures, MTV Films, and Nickelodeon Movies. PPC operations also include Paramount Famous Productions, Paramount Home Media Distribution, Paramount Pictures International, Paramount Licensing Inc., and Paramount Studio Group.