Teaser Poster for Michael Bay's "Pain and Gain" Revealed

Paramount Pictures is proud to announce the release of PAIN & GAIN on April 26, 2013.

PAIN AND GAIN is directed by Michael Bay and stars Mark Wahlberg and Dwayne Johnson.

Review: "Just Looking" Can Be Just Fun (Happy B'day, Jason Alexander)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 71 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux

Just Looking (1999)
Running time: 97 minutes (1 hour, 37 minutes)
MPAA – R for sexual content and language
DIRECTOR: Jason Alexander
WRITER: Marshall Karp
PRODUCER: Jean Doumanian
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Fred Schuler
EDITOR: Norman Hollyn
COMPOSER: Michael Skloff

COMEDY with elements of drama

Starring: Ryan Merriman, Gretchen Mol, Richard V. Licata, Peter Onorati, Patti LuPone, Ilana Levine, Joseph Franquinha, Amy Braverman, and Allie Spiro-Winn

The subject of this movie review is Just Looking, a 1999 independent film about a teen boy obsessed with seeing two people make love. A comedy and drama, the film is directed by comic actor, Jason Alexander.

Most know Jason Alexander as the irascible “George Costanza” of the classic television series, Seinfeld. In Just Looking, a coming-of-age story set in Queens, circa summer 1955, he is a film director.

It’s June 1955 in the Bronx. Our intrepid hero is a fifteen year-old boy named Lenny Levine (Ryan Merriman), and he has a rabid case of sex-on-the-brain. It’s been a year since his father passed away, and he doesn’t really get along with his new stepfather Polinksy (Richard V. Licata), an associate of his late father. His mother Sylvia (Patti LuPone) plans for Lenny to spend the summer in Queens with her sister Norma (Ilana Levine) and her Italian stud husband Phil (Peter Onorati). Once there, he makes a few friends who he believes can help him to achieve his goal of catching some couple in the act of lovemaking. He has his first big crush in the form of a nurse/part-time model Hedy (Gretchen Mol), and it is in her that he receives his first real education in the politics of relationships and sex.

No, Lenny doesn’t have sex with Hedy, although he does want to catch her in the act with someone more than he wants to catch anyone else. Just Looking is nothing spectacular; at times, it seems more like a television movie. Although movie audiences have come to expect such visually intense experiences from their films, a soft curve ball like Just Looking barely gets a look. While not a dramatic bombshell, it is a pleasant film with a nice story. The sexual content is plain, matter-of-fact, and clumsy enough to seem real, so the sexual issues have a more natural, unforced feel and mean more to the film than most boot-knocking scenes mean in other, more tawdry movies “about” sex.

Alexander and screenwriter Marshall Karp move the film from beginning to end towards an important life lesson. Now, this might make it sound like an afternoon special or a TV movie, but the film is really a good movie with a good point. While watching it, I was pleasantly entertained, and by the end, I had decided that I’d really liked it. In its own quite way, Just Looking resonated with me.

The performances are honest and good, being only a tad stereotypical and familiar at times. This is good honest work by a group of skilled filmmakers, and I can pretty much guarantee that anyone who watches it will find the story oddly familiar and identify with some of what it has to say.

6 of 10
B

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2012 Primetime Emmy Nominations in Major Categories

The Emmy Award is a television production award that is considered the television equivalent of the Academy Awards in film and the Grammy Awards in music. My focus is usually on the Primetime Emmy Awards.

The Primetime Emmys awards show airs Sept. 23. The list below is not a complete list of the 2012 Emmy nominees. The winners in some Primetime Emmy categories have already been announced as part of the Creative Arts Emmy Awards.

2012 Primetime Emmy nominees in categories to be showcased Sunday, September 23, 2012:

COMEDY SERIES
"The Big Bang Theory" (CBS)
"Curb Your Enthusiasm" (HBO)
"Girls" (HBO)
"Modern Family" (ABC)
"30 Rock" (NBC)
"Veep" (HBO)

COMEDY ACTOR
Jim Parsons as Sheldon Cooper in "The Big Bang Theory"
Larry David as Himself in "Curb Your Enthusiasm"
Don Cheadle as Marty Kaan in "House of Lies"
Louis C.K. as Louie in "Louie"
Alec Baldwin as Jack Donaghy in "30 Rock"
Jon Cryer as Alan Harper in "Two and a Half Men"

COMEDY ACTRESS
Lena Dunham as Hannah Horvath in "Girls"
Melissa McCarthy as Molly Flynn in "Mike & Molly"
Zooey Deschanel as Jess Day in "New Girl"
Edie Falco as Jackie Peyton in "Nurse Jackie"
Amy Poehler as Leslie Knope in "Parks and Recreation"
Tina Fey as Liz Lemon in "30 Rock"
Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Selina Meyer in "Veep"

SUPPORTING COMEDY ACTOR
Ed O'Neill as Jay Pritchett in "Modern Family"
Jesse Tyler Ferguson as Mitchell Pritchett in "Modern Family"
Ty Burrell as Phil Dunphy in "Modern Family"
Eric Stonestreet as Cameron Tucker in "Modern Family"
Max Greenfield as Schmidt in "New Girl"
Bill Hader as various characters in "Saturday Night Live"

SUPPORTING COMEDY ACTRESS
Mayim Bialik as Amy Farrah Fowler in "The Big Bang Theory"
Kathryn Joosten as Karen McCluskey in "Desperate Housewives"
Julie Bowen as Claire Dunphy in "Modern Family"
Sofia Vergara as Gloria Delgado-Pritchett in "Modern Family"
Merritt Wever as Zoey Barkow in "Nurse Jackie"
Kristen Wiig as various characters in "Saturday Night Live"

DRAMA SERIES
"Boardwalk Empire" (HBO)
"Breaking Bad" (AMC)
"Downton Abbey" (PBS)
"Game of Thrones" (HBO)
"Homeland" (Showtime)
"Mad Men" (AMC)

DRAMA ACTRESS
Glenn Close as Patty Hewes in "Damages"
Michelle Dockery as Lady Mary Crawley in "Downton Abbey"
Julianna Margulies as Alicia Florrick in "The Good Wife"
Kathy Bates as Harriet Korn in "Harry's Law"
Claire Danes as Carrie Mathison in "Homeland"
Elisabeth Moss as Peggy Olson in "Mad Men"
DRAMA ACTOR
Steve Buscemi as Nucky Thompson in "Boardwalk Empire"
Bryan Cranston as Walter White in "Breaking Bad"
Michael C. Hall as Dexter Morgan in "Dexter"
Hugh Bonneville as Robert, Earl of Grantham in "Downton Abbey"
Damian Lewis as Nicholas Brody in "Homeland"
Jon Hamm as Don Draper in "Mad Men"

SUPPORTING DRAMA ACTRESS
Anna Gunn as Skyler White in "Breaking Bad"
Maggie Smith as Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham in "Downton Abbey"
Joanne Froggatt as Anna in "Downton Abbey"
Archie Panjabi as Kalinda Sharma in "The Good Wife"
Christine Baranski as Diane Lockhart in "The Good Wife"
Christina Hendricks as Joan Holloway Harris in "Mad Men"

SUPPORTING DRAMA ACTOR
Aaron Paul as Jesse Pinkman in "Breaking Bad"
Giancarlo Esposito as Gustavo 'Gus' Fring in "Breaking Bad"
Brendan Coyle as John Bates in "Downton Abbey"
Jim Carter as Mr. Carson in "Downton Abbey"
Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister in "Game of Thrones"
Jared Harris as Lane Pryce "Mad Men"

MINISERIES OR TV MOVIE
"American Horror Story" (FX)
"Game Change" (HBO)
"Hatfields & McCoys" (History)
"Hemingway & Gellhorn" (HBO)
"Luther" (BBC America)
"Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia" (PBS)

LEAD ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES OR MOVIE
Connie Britton as Vivien Harmon in "American Horror Story"
Julianne Moore as Sarah Palin in "Game Change"
Nicole Kidman as Martha Gellhorn in "Hemingway & Gellhorn"
Ashley Judd as Rebecca Winstone in "Missing"
Emma Thompson as She in "The Song of Lunch"

LEAD ACTOR IN A MINISERIES OR MOVIE
Woody Harrelson as Steve Schmidt in "Game Change"
Kevin Costner as 'Devil' Anse Hatfield in "Hatfields & McCoys"
Bill Paxton as Randall McCoy in "Hatfields & McCoys"
Clive Owen as Ernest Hemingway in "Hemingway & Gellhorn"
Idris Elba as John Luther in "Luther"
Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes in "Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia"

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES OR MOVIE
Frances Conroy as Moira in "American Horror Story"
Jessica Lange as Constance Langdon in "American Horror Story"
Sarah Paulson as Nicolle Wallace "Game Change"
Mare Winningham as Sally McCoy in "Hatfields & McCoys"
Judy Davis as Jill Tankard in "Page Eight"

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MINISERIES OR MOVIE
Denis O'Hare as Larry Harvey in "American Horror Story"
Ed Harris as John McCain in "Game Change"
Tom Berenger as Jim Vance in "Hatfields & McCoys"
David Strathairn as John Dos Passos in "Hemingway & Gellhorn"
Martin Freeman as Dr. John Watson in "Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia"

VARIETY SERIES
"The Colbert Report" (Comedy Central)
"The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" (Comedy Central)
"Jimmy Kimmel Live" (ABC)
"Late Night With Jimmy Fallon" (NBC)
"Real Time With Bill Maher" (HBO)
"Saturday Night Live" (NBC)

REALITY-COMPETITION PROGRAM
"The Amazing Race" (CBS)
"Dancing With the Stars" (ABC)
"Project Runway" (Lifetime)
"So You Think You Can Dance" (Fox)
"Top Chef" (Bravo)
"The Voice" (NBC)

HOST FOR A REALITY OR REALITY-COMPETITION PROGRAM
Phil Keoghan, "The Amazing Race"
Ryan Seacrest, "American Idol"
Betty White, "Betty White's Off Their Rockers"
Tom Bergeron, "Dancing With the Stars"
Cat Deeley, "So You Think You Can Dance"

DIRECTING FOR A COMEDY SERIES
Robert B. Weide, "Curb Your Enthusiasm "
Lena Dunham, "Girls"
Louis C.K., "Duckling"
Jason Winer, "Modern Family"
Steven Levitan, "Modern Family"
Jake Kasdan, "New Girl"

WRITING FOR A COMEDY SERIES
Chris McKenna, "Community"
Lena Dunham, "Girls"
Louis C.K., "Louie"
Amy Poehler, "Parks and Recreation"
Michael Schur, "Parks and Recreation"

DIRECTING FOR A DRAMA SERIES
Tim Van Patten, "Boardwalk Empire"
Vince Gilligan, "Breaking Bad"
Brian Percival, "Downton Abbey"
Michael Cuesta, "Homeland"
Phil Abraham, "Mad Men"

WRITING FOR A DRAMA SERIES
Julian Fellowes, "Downton Abbey"
Alex Gansa, Howard Gordon & Gideon Raff, "Homeland"
Semi Chellas & Matthew Weiner, "Mad Men"
Andre Jacquemetton & Maria Jacquemetton, "Mad Men"
Erin Levy & Matthew Weiner, "Mad Men"

DIRECTING FOR A MINISERIES, MOVIE OR DRAMATIC SPECIAL
Jay Roach, "Game Change"
Kevin Reynolds, "Hatfields & McCoys"
Philip Kaufman, "Hemingway & Gellhorn"
Sam Miller, "Luther"
Paul McGuigan, "Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia"

WRITING FOR A MINISERIES, MOVIE OR DRAMATIC SPECIAL
Danny Strong, "Game Change"
Ted Mann, Ronald Parker & Bill Kerby, "Hatfields & McCoys"
Abi Morgan, "The Hour"
Neil Cross, "Luther"
Steven Moffat, "Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia"

SPECIAL-CLASS PROGRAMS
"84th Annual Academy Awards" (ABC)
"The 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards" (NBC)
"The 54th Annual Grammy Awards" (CBS)
"Herbie Hancock, Gustavo Dudamel and the LA Phil Celebrate Gershwin" (PBS)
"Louis C.K. Live at the Beacon Theatre" (FX)
"65th Annual Tony Awards" (CBS)

DIRECTING FOR A VARIETY SERIES
James Hoskinson, "The Colbert Report"
Chuck O'Neil, "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart"
Jerry Foley, "Late Show With David Letterman"
Jonathan Krisel, "Portlandia"
Don Roy King, "Saturday Night Live"

DIRECTING FOR A VARIETY SPECIAL
Don Mischer, "84th Annual Academy Awards"
Louis J. Horvitz, "The 54th Annual Grammy Awards"
Louis C.K, "Louis C.K. Live at the Beacon Theatre"
Alan Skog, "New York City Ballet George Balanchine's The Nutcracker (Live From Lincoln Center)"
Glenn Weiss, "65th Annual Tony Awards"

WRITING FOR A VARIETY SERIES
1. "The Colbert Report," Barry Julien (head writer), Stephen Colbert, Tom Purcell, Richard Dahm, Michael Brumm, Rob Dubbin, Opus Moreschi, Peter Gwinn, Jay Katsir, Frank Lesser, Glenn Eichler, Meredith Scardino, Max Werner, Eric Drysdale, Scott Sherman, Dan Guterman & Paul Dinello

2. "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart," Tim Carvell (head writer), Rory Albanese, Kevin Bleyer, Rich Blomquist, Steve Bodow, Wyatt Cenac, Hallie Haglund, JR Havlan, Elliott Kalan, Dan McCoy, Jo Miller, John Oliver, Zhubin Parang, Daniel Radosh, Jason Ross, & Jon Stewart

3. "Portlandia," Fred Armisen, Carrie Brownstein, Jonathan Krisel & Karey Dornetto

4. "Real Time With Bill Maher," Adam Felber, Matt Gunn, Brian Jacobsmeyer, Jay Jaroch, Chris Kelly, Mike Larsen, Bill Maher, Billy Martin & Scott Carter

5. "Saturday Night Live," James Anderson, Alex Baze, Jessica Conrad, James Downey, Shelly Gossman, Steve Higgins, Zach Kanin, Chris Kelly, Colin Jost, Erik Kenward, Rob Klein, Seth Meyers, Lorne Michaels, John Mulaney, Christine Nangle, Michael Patrick O'Brien, Paula Pell, Marika Sawyer, Sarah Schneider, Pete Schultz, John Solomon, Kent Sublette, Bryan Tucker & Emily Spivey

WRITING FOR A VARIETY SPECIAL
1. "84th Annual Academy Awards," Jon Macks, Dave Boone & Carol Leifer, with Tim Carvell, Jeff Cesario, Billy Crystal, Ed Driscoll, Billy Martin, Ben Schwartz, Marc Shaiman, Eric Stangel, Justin Stangel, David Steinberg, Mason Steinberg & Colleen Werthmann

2. "Betty White's 90th Birthday: A Tribute to America's Golden Girl," Jon Macks, Steve Ridgeway, Mason Steinberg & Brad Lachman

3. "The Kennedy Center Honors," George Stevens, Michael M. Stevens, Sara Lukinson & Lewis Friedman

4. "Louis C.K. Live at the Beacon Theatre," Louis C.K.

5. "65th Annual Tony Awards," Dave Boone with Paul Greenberg

Tom Hanks to Portray Walt Disney in "Saving Mr. Banks"

“Saving Mr. Banks” Begins Production in Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Disney began production today on “Saving Mr. Banks,” the account of Walt Disney’s twenty-year pursuit of the film rights to P.L. Travers’ popular novel, Mary Poppins, and the testy partnership the upbeat filmmaker develops with the uptight author during the project’s pre-production in 1961.

Two-time Academy Award®-winner Tom Hanks (“Philadelphia,” “Forrest Gump”) will essay the role of the legendary Disney (the first time the entrepreneur has ever been depicted in a dramatic film) alongside fellow double Oscar®-winner Emma Thompson (“Howard’s End,” “Sense and Sensibility”) in the role of the prickly novelist. Before actually signing away the book’s rights, Travers’ demands for contractual script and character control circumvent not only Disney’s vision for the film adaptation, but also those of the creative team of screenwriter Don DaGradi and sibling composers Richard and Robert Sherman, whose original score and song (Chim-Chim-Cher-ee) would go on to win Oscars® at the 1965 ceremonies (the film won five awards of its thirteen nominations).

When Travers travels from London to Hollywood in 1961 to finally discuss Disney’s desire to bring her beloved character to the motion picture screen (a quest he began in the 1940s as a promise to his two daughters), Disney meets a prim, uncompromising sexagenarian not only suspect of the impresario’s concept for the film, but a woman struggling with her own past. During her stay in California, Travers’ reflects back on her childhood in 1906 Australia, a trying time for her family which not only molded her aspirations to write, but one that also inspired the characters in her 1934 book.

None more so than the one person whom she loved and admired more than any other — her caring father, Travers Goff, a tormented banker who, before his untimely death that same year, instills the youngster with both affection and enlightenment (and would be the muse for the story’s patriarch, Mr. Banks, the sole character that the famous nanny comes to aid). While reluctant to grant Disney the film rights, Travers comes to realize that the acclaimed Hollywood storyteller has his own motives for wanting to make the film — which, like the author, hints at the relationship he shared with his own father in the early 20th Century Midwest.

Colin Farrell (“Minority Report,” “Total Recall”) co-stars as Travers’ doting dad, Goff, along with British actress Ruth Wilson (the forthcoming films “The Lone Ranger” and “Anna Karenina”) as his long-suffering wife, Margaret; Oscar® and Emmy® nominee Rachel Griffiths (“Six Feet Under,” “Hilary and Jackie,” “The Rookie”) as Margaret’s sister, Aunt Ellie (who inspired the title character of Travers’ novel); and a screen newcomer — 11-year-old Aussie native Annie Buckley as the young, blossoming writer, nicknamed “Ginty” in the flashback sequences.

The cast also includes Emmy® winner Bradley Whitford (“The West Wing,” “The Cabin in the Woods”) as screenwriter Don DaGradi; Jason Schwartzman (“Rushmore,” “Moonrise Kingdom”) and B.J. Novak (“NBC’s “The Office,” “Inglourious Basterds”) as the songwriting Sherman Brothers (Richard and Robert, respectively); Oscar® nominee and Emmy winner Paul Giamatti (“Sideways,” “Cinderella Man,” HBO’s “John Adams”) as Ralph, the kindly limousine driver who escorts Travers during her two-week stay in Hollywood; and multi-Emmy winner Kathy Baker (“Picket Fences,” “Edward Scissorhands”) as Tommie, one of Disney’s trusted studio associates.

“Saving Mr. Banks” will be directed by John Lee Hancock (“The Blind Side,” “The Rookie”) based on a screenplay by Kelly Marcel (creator of FOX-TV’s “Terra Nova”), from a story by Sue Smith (“Brides of Christ,” “Bastard Boys”) and Kelly Marcel. The film is being produced by Alison Owen of Ruby Films (the Oscar®-nominated “Elizabeth,” HBO’s Emmy®-winning “Temple Grandin”), Ian Collie of Essential Media (the Aussie TV documentary “The Shadow of Mary Poppins,” DirecTV’s “Rake”) and longtime Hancock collaborator Philip Steuer (“The Rookie,” “The Chronicles of Narnia” trilogy). The film’s executive producers are Ruby Films’ Paul Trijbits (“Lay the Favorite,” “Jane Eyre”), Hopscotch Features’ Andrew Mason (“The Matrix” trilogy, “Dark City”) and Troy Lum (“Mao’s Last Dancer,” “I, Frankenstein”) and BBC Films’ Christine Langan (Oscar® nominee for “The Queen,” “We Need to Talk About Kevin”).

Hancock’s filmmaking team includes a trio of artists with whom he worked on his 2009 Best Picture Oscar® nominee, “The Blind Side” — two-time Oscar® nominated production designer Michael Corenblith (“How The Grinch Stole Christmas,” “Apollo 13”), Emmy®-winning costume designer Daniel Orlandi (HBO’s “Game Change,” “Frost/Nixon”) and film editor Mark Livolsi, A.C.E. (“Wedding Crashers” “The Devil Wears Prada”). Hancock also reunites with Academy Award®-nominated cinematographer John Schwartzman (“Seabiscuit,” “Pearl Harbor”), with whom he first worked on his inspiring 2002 sports drama, “The Rookie.”

“Saving Mr. Banks” will film entirely in the Los Angeles area, with key locations to include Disneyland in Anaheim and the Disney Studios in Burbank. Filming will conclude around Thanksgiving, 2012, with no specific 2013 release date yet set.

Baz Luhrmann's "The Great Gatsby" Out May 10, 2013

“The Great Gatsby” to Open in May 2013

Baz Luhrmann’s much-anticipated film receives a May 10 date in North America and will roll out internationally beginning the following week.

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Village Roadshow Pictures’ “The Great Gatsby” will open early in the Summer 2013 season, hitting theaters on May 10 in the U.S. and Canada, with an international rollout beginning the following week. The 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 have been looking forward to Baz Luhrmann’s film adaptation of one of the most beloved books of all time, and we felt this beautifully extravagant and dramatic film would be a perfect way for us to kick off our Summer slate.”

Kwan Vandenberg added, “Baz’s unique take on ‘Gatsby’ is glitzy and glamorous, with his juxtaposition of the classic tale and contemporary themes hitting just the right note. This film should really add heat to the competitive Summer season.”

From the uniquely imaginative mind of writer/producer/director Baz Luhrmann comes the new big screen adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby. The filmmaker has created his own distinctive visual interpretation of the classic story, bringing the period to life in a way that has never been seen before, in a film starring Leonardo DiCaprio in the title role.

“The Great Gatsby” follows Fitzgerald-like, would-be writer Nick Carraway as he leaves the Midwest and comes to New York City in the spring of 1922, an era of loosening morals, glittering jazz, bootleg kings, and sky-rocketing stocks. Chasing his own American Dream, Nick lands next door to a mysterious, party-giving millionaire, Jay Gatsby, and across the bay from his cousin, Daisy, and her philandering, blue-blooded husband, Tom Buchanan. It is thus that Nick is drawn into the captivating world of the super rich, their illusions, loves and deceits. As Nick bears witness, within and without of the world he inhabits, he pens a tale of impossible love, incorruptible dreams and high-octane tragedy, and holds a mirror to our own modern times and struggles.

Academy Award® nominee DiCaprio (“J. Edgar,” “Aviator”) plays Jay Gatsby, with Tobey Maguire starring as Nick Carraway; Oscar® nominee Carey Mulligan (“An Education”) and Joel Edgerton as Daisy and Tom Buchanan; Isla Fisher and Jason Clarke as Myrtle and George Wilson; and newcomer Elizabeth Debicki as Jordan Baker. Indian film legend Amitabh Bachchan will play the role of Meyer Wolfsheim.

Oscar® nominee Luhrmann (“Moulin Rouge!”) directs the film in 3D from a screenplay co-written with frequent collaborator Craig Pearce, based on Fitzgerald’s book. Luhrmann produces, along with Catherine Martin, Academy Award® winner Douglas Wick (“Gladiator”), Lucy Fisher and Catherine Knapman. The executive producers are Academy Award® winner Barrie M. Osborne (“Lord of the Rings – Return of the King”) and Bruce Berman.

Two-time Academy Award®-winning production and costume designer Catherine Martin (“Moulin Rouge!”) designs as well as produces. The editors are Matt Villa, Jason Ballantine and Jonathan Redmond, and the director of photography is Simon Duggan. The music is by Craig Armstrong.

Warner Bros. Pictures presents, in association with Village Roadshow Pictures, in association with A&E Television, a Bazmark/Red Wagon Entertainment Production, a Film by Baz Luhrmann, “The Great Gatsby.” In theaters May 10, 2013, the film will be distributed in 3D and 2D by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, and in select territories by Village Roadshow Pictures.

Review: "Silver Bullet" is Like a Scary Bedtime Story (Happy B'day, Stephen King)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 238 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux

Stephen King’s Silver Bullet (1985)
Running time: 95 minutes (1 hour, 35 minutes)
MPAA – R
DIRECTOR: Daniel Attias
WRITER: Stephen King (based upon his novella Cycle of the Werewolf)
PRODUCER: Dino De Laurentiis and Martha Schumacher
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Armando Nannuzzi
EDITOR: Daniel Loewenthal

HORROR with an element of mystery

Starring: Corey Haim, Megan Follows, Gary Busey, Everett McGill, Robin Groves, Leon Russom, and Terry O’Quinn

The subject of this movie review is Silver Bullet, a 1985 werewolf horror movie. The film is based upon the 1985 short novel, Cycle of the Werewolf, from famed horror author, Stephen King.

Famed best-selling novelist Stephen King spent a lot of the 80’s whining about the film adaptation of his novels. Given a chance to prove how good he’d be at filmmaking, he took it. Stephen King’s Silver Bullet (the film’s complete USA title) was his effort as a screenwriter, and while it isn’t ugly, the script isn’t the prettiest girl in screen town. The film flopped, not making a return on its production budget (reportedly 7 million) at the box office (around $5.5 million). Still, Silver Bullet would certainly make my top 25 list of best horror films, as it’s a delightful little scary campfire tale.

In the town of Tarker’s Mill, a series of sadistic murders begins in the late spring of 1976. A wheel chair bound boy named Marty Coslaw (Corey Haim) discovers that the killer is not maniac, but a werewolf. He convinces his sister, Jane (Megan Follows), that there really is a killer werewolf in town, but Marty and Jane (who narrates the story) can’t make their Uncle Red (Gary Busey), with whom Marty is very close, believe them. However, Uncle Red does build a motorized wheel chair/motor cycle, christened the “Silver Bullet,” that comes in handy when Marty needs to avoid both the werewolf and its human form, a prominent and highly respected member of the Tarker’s Mill. Eventually, the siblings convince Uncle Red enough to get him to join them in an attempt to destroy the werewolf.

While not a great film, Silver Bullet is an excellent mystery horror film that is teen friendly in it’s edited-for-TV version. Actually, the R-rated, theatrical version seems to have gore and violence strictly for titillation. The performances are passable and the production values are of made-for-TV quality, but the film’s small town setting feels authentic, enough to make the atmosphere of a small town under siege feel real. Stephen King’s Silver Bullet isn’t great, but it’s a quaint little horror film worth watching with some genuinely good scary movie moments.

6 of 10
B

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Patrick Stewart, Eliza Dushku at Wizard World New Orleans

Patrick Stewart, Stan Lee, Eliza Dushku, Michael Madsen, WWE® Superstar CM Punk® Lead Wizard World New Orleans Comic Con Celebrity Roster, Nov. 30 - Dec. 2

Also To Feature Dean Cain, Michael Rooker, Jon Bernthal, Superstar Artists Greg Capullo, Neal Adams, Many Others At New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center

“Star Trek: The Next Generation” actor Sir Patrick Stewart, comics legend Stan Lee, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” star Eliza Dushku, Reservoir Dogs headliner Michael Madsen and WWE® Superstar CM Punk® top the standout lineup of celebrities scheduled to attend Wizard World New Orleans Comic Con, Nov. 30 – Dec. 2, 2012, at New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. They will be joined by an All-Star collection of well-known artists and a variety of activities, exhibitors and special attractions in the final event on Wizard World's 2012 calendar.

Stewart and Lee will appear on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 1-2, while Dushku and Punk are scheduled to attend on Saturday and Madsen all three days.

Other headliners on the Wizard World New Orleans roster include Dean Cain (“Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman,” “90210”), Michael Rooker (“The Walking Dead,” Henry), Jon Bernthal (“The Walking Dead,” Night at the Museum), Kevin Sorbo (“Hercules, The Legendary Journeys,” “Andromeda”) and the Boondock Saints trio of Norman Reedus, Sean Patrick Flanery and David Della Rocco.

The lineup of superstar comic creators in New Orleans is also impressive, with Eisner Award Hall of Famer Neal Adams (“Batman,” “Green Lantern”), Eisner nominees J.G. Jones (“Final Crisis,” “Wanted”), Ethan Van Sciver (“Firestorm,” “Green Lantern”) and Ron Garney (“Captain America,” “Wolverine”), Phil Jimenez (“Spider-Man,” “X-Men”) and Michael Golden (“Hulk,” “Daredevil”) leading the way.

Wizard World New Orleans Comic Con, produced by Wizard World, Inc. (WIZD.PK), will bring together thousands of fans of all ages to celebrate the best in pop-fi, pop culture, movies, graphic novels, comics, toys, video gaming, television, sci-fi, gaming, original art, collectibles, contests and more. Admission is free for kids 10 and under, and Sunday, December 2, is “Kids Day,” an array of programming specially designed for children.

For more on the 2012 Wizard World New Orleans Comic Con, visit http://www.wizardworld.com/home-neworleans.html.


About Wizard World:
Wizard World produces Comic Cons and pop culture conventions across North America that celebrate graphic novels, comic books, movies, TV shows, gaming, technology, toys and social networking. The events often feature celebrities from movies and TV, artists and writers, and events such as premieres, gaming tournaments, panels, and costume contests.

The full event schedule can be found at www.wizardworld.com.