‘Oldboy’ Trailer: Spot The Digitally-Covered Butt Shot

I got a press release earlier today that describes the new Spike Lee film, Oldboy, as “a unique reinterpretation of the 2003 Korean film,” with that ’03 movie being the Park Chan-wook effort that turned the director into a globally-popular filmmaker. That’s a slightly new way to position a remake.
We’ve seen so many clips, violent glimpses, and featurettes for the film that a new trailer feels like it is coming in very late. And, in fact, this “new” trailer is basically the red-band one that landed over the summer, with a few changes to make it suitable for all audiences.  A couple bits of explicit violence are gone, as are two or three butt shots. In fact, one butt shot from the original trailer has been digitally altered for this one. Look for it below! Read More »

‘RoboCop’ Trailer: “Why Is America So Robo-Phobic?”

Director Jose Padilha seems to know that some people are looking at his remake of RoboCop with a jaundiced eye, and so he introduces the new trailer for the film with some of the same explanation that he offered at Comic Con.
In fact, this is a version of the reel that was shown at Comic Con this past summer, starting with drones patrolling the Middle East and Samuel L. Jackson‘s character railing against the fact that similar tactics are not being used to police the streets at home. That’s where OCP chairman Michael Keaton steps in, with a plan to “put a man inside a machine.” And thus, the new RoboCop is born. Of all the remakes we’ve seen of well-known properties, this one looks like it has the most potential to blend the original ideas with new concepts that give it a unique personality.

Rumor: Jason Schwartzman Could Join ‘Jurassic World’

Briefly: Colin Trevorrow has been very busy prepping Jurassic World for release June 12, 2015. He’s assembled a solid young cast (Nick Robinson, Ty Simpkins) with a few recognizable names (Josh Brolin, Bryce Dallas Howard) and now he might be adding another.
Hypable is reporting Jason Schwartzman, star of Rushmore and next month’s Saving Mr. Banks, is in talks to join the film in an yet-to-be-revealed role. His representation had no comment, which is generally a good thing (Idris Elba’s reps said he was not in the film when he was rumored). When there’s more to report, we’ll let you know, but for now lets just imagine how Schwartzman could fit into this sequel.
Bryce Dallas Howard, meanwhile, just said to USA Today, “they’re relaunching the Jurassic Park franchise, so I’ll be chasing dinosaurs. That’s going to happen next year.” [Hypable]

Andrew Garfield and Michael Shannon Star in ’99 Homes’

Briefly: We’ve seen a lot of “economic crisis” films, but the state of the US economy since 2008 continues to reverberate in film and entertainment. And while you might be weary of the announcement of more films that use the crisis as a backdrop, what about one in which Andrew Garfield plays a guy who goes to work for a shady real-estate broker played by Michael Shannon?
Deadline announces 99 Homes, in which “an unemployed contractor (Garfield) who gets evicted from his family home with his mother and his nine?year old son. Desperate to get his home back, he strikes a deal to work for the powerful, greedy, charming, gun?toting real estate broker (Shannon) who evicted him.” But there are moral complications to the situation that has Garfield’s character jumping the line from economically disenfranchised to the one helping out with the disenfranchising. Could be a great pairing for the two, and it’s easy to imagine Shannon being brilliantly skeevy.
Ramin Bahrani (Chop Shop, Goodbye Solo) will direct.