Last night Cinematical's James Rocchi was a guest on G4's Attack of the Show, where he and Chris Hardwick spoke about all those crazy Batman rumors spreading like wildfire across the internet. Ya know, how Angelina Jolie supposedly wants to play Catwoman, Philip Seymour Hoffman as the Penguin and/or Johnny Depp as Riddler.
As James points out, these are all "just rumors" right now and there's no way of telling which characters Christopher Nolan and his screenwriter brother Jonathan Nolan have in mind without actually speaking to them. It should be noted that Cinematical has also confirmed that Chris Nolan currently does not have a deal to direct a third film, and if he does hop onboard, they'll have to negotiate something first. But enough of my babbling, check out James above, and much thanks to Attack of the Show for inviting us on.
Above: Cinematical's Scott Weinberg with his celebrity stalker Jennifer Connelly.
Whenever there's an editorial change here at Cinematical headquarters, it's our tradition to announce it live on the site. That said (gets up on his tiny stool with a glass of sparkling apple cider), it is my pleasure to congratulate the new Managing Editor of Cinematical.com! You know him as "That guy who's always making fun of Jewish people", however his official birth certificate reads: Scary Spooky Spice Scott Weinberg (aka Scott Weinberg).
(Waits for loud roars from the crowd to subside ...)
Our former Managing Editor, Kim Voynar (whom we love, cherish, honor, adore, obsess over, crush on, etc ...) will remain with Cinematical, but segue into a Festival Editor role. That's right, our festival coverage kicks so much ass, we need someone with sharp skills and plenty of wit to run the entire show. In all seriousness, both Scott and Kim are tremendous assets to our team and have taken a huge part in our growth over the past three years. I'm ecstatic to be working with each so closely from here on out, and you should be happy because, with their help, this little movie site will become that much more enjoyable to read in the coming weeks and months.
We here at Cinematical wish you a wonderful, sun-drenched weekend, and, as always, we thank you for your continued support.
Cheers! Mazel Tov!
(Now who the hell brought the sparkling apple cider -- this stuff sucks!)
Fans of documentary film should be happy to hear that there's a new force on the block: SnagFilms has just opened their internet doors, and in the process they've brought (and bought) our good friends over at indieWIRE with them. Founded by three former top AOL executives (Ted Leonsis, Steve Case and Miles Gilburne), SnagFilms is a unique site in that it showcases entire documentary films for you watch online for free, but then also makes those same films available to snag like, say, YouTube does, and then embed the entire film anywhere you'd like. Check out the widget below ...
Pretty cool, huh? Fans of indieWIRE will still get to read all the same, great content, as well as a new blog called Docsider, which comes to us from iLine and indieWIRE co-founder, Mark Rabinowitz. To read more about the SnagFilms/indieWIRE deal, check out this letter to readers from Eugene Hernandez. Definitely head on over to play with the site a bit; with over 225 documentaries available now (and about 750 available by the end of 2008), I'm sure there's plenty of content to keep you busy for awhile. Let us know what you think!
We're big fans of the work they do over on AMCTV.com, and so we were pleasantly surprised to hear they wanted to feature Cinematical as their site of the week. AMCTV writer Christine Fall asked us a whole bunch of questions in preparation for her piece and I feel she definitely nailed the vibe around here -- one that mixes both mainstream and indie, and attempts to introduce you, the reader, to an entire world full of film. And I like to think we have a little fun now and then, too.
This quote from Cinematical's Kim Voynar summed things up quite well, when Christine asked what it's like to work on a website that reaches so many and covers so much: "Picture us as a gang of wildly diverse people all chained together through our computers, like a bunch of geeks playing World of Warcraft 24/7, only we're film geeks writing about film." Check out the entire article over here, and make sure to stick around and scope out the rest of what AMCTV.com has to offer.
"As far back as I can remember, I've always wanted to have a widget" -- Erik Davis in a scene from the upcoming Widgetfellas.
For those times when you really need to catch up on your Cinematical without doing much of anything. Yes, everyone has a widget these days, so it was only a matter of time before we here at Cinematical made life just a tad easier for you. As you can see, this widget houses a number of our most current stories, it's pretty to look at, and if you're nice to it, the thing might even sing you to bed at night (your choice of movie soundtrack not included). Additionally, feel free to snag this sucker and throw it up on your own website, or blog or whatever. Give your readers a little bit of the Cinematical ... and make sure you tell them the first taste is free. Enjoy!
We're a little late to the party on this, but I wanted to share with you news that Cinematical was listed among 14 other sites in a PC Magazine article titled: The Best Web Sites for Movie Fans. This, along with our recent Vanity Fair mention, means Cinematical is well on its way to taking over the world. (Now we're just waiting for a mention in Taking Over the World Magazine, and it's off to the races from there! Woohoo!)
PC Mag gives Cinematical a mention in the movie blogs section of the piece, where we're featured alongside friends from FEARnet, io9 and Slashfilm. Here's the description they give: "Operated by the Weblogs Network, Cinematical is jam-packed with interviews, reviews, news, photo galleries, movie clips, and more." (Personally, I would've added something along the lines of ... "And we've heard everyone who writes for Cinematical is, like, totally hot and brilliant" ... but what they have is just fine.)
So thanks PC Magazine for being our friend! And thanks to all of you out there for reading, listening and sharing your thoughts.
(Now here's where we all high-five each other, turn and point at the camera with a "we mean business" stare.)
Were you in The Shawshank Redemption? Did you work on set? Were you otherwise involved in the production? If so, you're invited to a 15-year reunion this August in Ohio. Someone having something to do with the 1994 Oscar-nominated film has put together a weekend-long event and a really snazzy website providing details. Oh, and if you're merely a fan of the movie but had nothing at all to do with its making, you can attend as well. A few of the things on the itinerary do cost an admission fee, but only because there are prison and museum tours involved, plus a concert featuring a southern rock band.
Many people consider The Shawshank Redemption one of the best films of the '90s, maybe even of all time, so there are likely plenty of people who'd be interested in a little trip to see the film's shooting locations and meet with extras and crew members who helped create the film. Apparently there aren't many people on board just yet, but if the word gets out to enough people, there's a chance of making this a huge deal. Maybe principal talent like Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Stephen King and/or Frank Darabont could even make room in their schedules to make an appearance. And then, perhaps this can be a yearly thing, like Star Wars conventions and Lebowski Fest.
Cinematical is often mentioned in a lot of places; on a lot of different sites, in movie advertisements, on DVD boxes and in trailers. But one place we've never been mentioned (I don't think) is Vanity Fair. Thus, we thought you'd be interested to know that VF has listed Cinematical in its Blogopticon, as one of "the most influential or amusing blogs about politics, gossip, Hollywood, media, and miscellany ..." It's pretty cool stuff, and we're joined by our fellow film fanatic friends over at Slashfilm and AICN. Yay!
When I sent this around to the team earlier, my favorite response came from Cinematical's James Rocchi, who said: "I've always wanted to have something I've been a part of mentioned in Vanity Fair; until this week, I thought it was going to be my planned string of cat burglaries in Monaco, or my probable death at the hands of the new Russian Oil Oligarchs. This is way better, and congratulations to all."
Indeed, sir. Congrats to all -- especially you, our readers, because we wouldn't be anywhere without your continued support, wisdom, humor, feedback and, of course, love.
Yesterday we learned that a bunch of Disney movies will be available for free online, each for a limited time, this summer. Now, because everyone wants in on the streaming video game, Fox Searchlight has also put up three of its own films for free. Sideways, 28 Days Laterand Quillscan now be watched in full on the studio's website or on Hulu, which is hosting the videos. Hulu, known best as one of the premier streaming sites to watch TV episodes, is also hosting some movies from Searchlight parent Twentieth Century Fox, as well as from Lionsgate, Universal, MGM, Salient Media and FEARnet.
To me, the interesting thing about Searchlight's three available titles is that they're each R-rated, yet neither Fox nor Hulu requires proof of age to view the videos. The same goes for a few other titles offered on Hulu, but Searchlight's crop seems particularly adult in content. When I first saw the press release, I immediately thought of it as the antithesis to Disney's offerings. Of course, I don't mind who sees these movies. I'm having more difficulty getting over the idea of watching R-rated material with "limited commercial interruption." The ads make me feel like I'm watching a movie on network television, which of course would only broadcast films reedited or a general audience. But then suddenly I realize I'm not watching network-friendly versions when suddenly I'm seeing full-frontal male nudity in Quills. It's a little disorienting.
What do you think? Should Hulu have the same kind of censored cuts that the networks have to show? Or should these videos at least come with age-restrictive blockers?
It's not that we didn't like the old Cinematical, it's just we thought it was time for the sequel.
We've worked hard here for the past three and a half years bringing you tons of inventive, passionate writing from a bunch of folks who probably watch more movies than they should. We've made many friends, slew many dragons and rescued more princesses than any prince in all the land of New Jersey. It's been rough. We're tired. But we love it. Thus, I'm honored to introduce all of you to the brand new Cinematical! We've made a lot of changes around here, and I suggest you take some time to look over everything.
See the brand new totally awesome Watchmen trailer to the right? Kidding! But over to the right we do have a bunch of headlines, where you'll be able to see what we feel are the hottest and most interesting stories of the day. Above those headlines we have quick links to some of our more lively categories. Over to the right, we also have our new gallery feature where we'll highlight some of the cooler galleries we're currently hosting. (Basically, these are images you want to check out.) Additionally, we have a brand new video box which we'll use to house, well, new trailers, clips, or home videos of Weinberg watching Aliens all giddy and whatnot.
Our coolest new feature has to go to the carousel up there at the top. It rotates automatically, or you can click those orange arrow buttons to advance and back up. Definitely check those out every day as the site's most important features (reviews, interviews, poster premieres, festival coverage, etc) will live inside those boxes. Of course, you have our reviews, interviews and popular categories to the right as well. Oh, and did I mention the new box office window? How cool, right? I swear, it's like the Spider-Man 2 of re-designs!
Anyway, stick around for awhile -- take the tour, make yourself at home. Whaddya think?
Other than a half-hearted attempt at a little viral marketing, the comic book thriller Wanted is sticking to the advertising basics until their release in just a couple of weeks -- probably for the best if you ask me, because that weaving site wasn't cutting it. Cinematical has received a slew of additional photos from the action flick, giving us more shots of Angelina Jolie hanging out of cars, and co-star James McAvoy wandering around without his shirt off (which earns Universal a personal thanks from me). When the official site was launched, there wasn't much to start with, but Universal has since added character bios, a couple of flash games and an invite into the 'fraternity'.
By now there probably isn't much we don't know about the movie --but for those who might have missed it, the story centers on an office drone that discovers he is the heir to an ancient society of assassins. Russian director Timur Bekmambetov is at the helm, and rounding out the cast are Morgan Freeman, Common, and Terrence Stamp.
Wanted may not be at the top of my list of must-see summer flicks, but I feel like I have a personal stake in the success of this movie. Let me explain: ever since Tomb Raider, I've been quietly hoping that Jolie was going to be the action heroine that's missing from movies today. But, it hasn't quite worked out that way. Instead, I have walked out of each flick more disappointed than the last. So for me, Wanted is Jolie's last chance to be the badass I've always wanted her to be -- and this time I mean it. Check out the new photos in the gallery below.
If I wasn't already sold on Ricky Gervais' comedy, This Side of The Truth, then this picture alone would convince me to shell out my hard earned dollars -- and keep in mind, I don't normally say that kind of thing about a film starring Jennifer Garner and Rob Lowe. Over at Gervais' production blog, the comedian has posted some new photos from his film about a writer who invents the art of lying. Gervais has always been a big fan of all things web-related, including his massively successful podcast series, and various blogging endeavors. So to be expected, Gervais has been pretty consistent with updates, with only a few of his trademark diversions here and there.
Truth was written by Matthew Robinson and Gervais, and the cast includes a nice helping of comedic heavyweights. Monika already brought us the news about Christopher Guest and Tina Fey signing on. The two will be joining Jonah Hill, Jeffrey Tambor, John Hodgman, and Louis C.K. in what is shaping up to be what I would call a comedy 'dream team'. This is Gervais' first attempt at directing a feature film, and according to reports coming off the set, everyone is having a fine old time. Filming will wrap in the next couple of weeks, and then Gervais is off to England to put the final touches on the film.
This Side of the Truth will arrive in theaters in 2009.
I guess whether we like it or not, viral campaigns are hot, hip and here to stay. Universal pictures has launched the viral site for Timur Bekmambetov's Wanted, and it all revolves around a shadowy group known as the Fraternity of Weavers. Now for the tricky part: to crack the code on the website you must enter five secret words to earn a peek at the handbook for the fraternity -- plus you get a little bit more info behind Angelina's bad-ass hand tattoo. So if you're the kind of person who likes puzzles, then feel free to figure it out on your own. But, if you're like me and a little impatient, you can click over to Coming Soon and they have the solution -- I won't spoil it here.
Wanted is based on Mark Millar's graphic novel about an everyday schmo (as played by James McAvoy) who turns out to be the heir to a secret society of assassins. Angelina Jolie stars as Fox, the second in command and mentor to McAvoy. Morgan Freeman plays the elder statesman and co-founder of the group, while hip-hop artist Common stars as the weapons expert, The Gunsmith.
The viral site provides plenty of background info on the history of the ancient fraternity, but for the most part it's a bunch of spiritual mumbo-jumbo about fate, destiny, the Cathars, and ancient weaving cults -- oh, and plenty of Wikipedia links. There's also a sign up page if you're interested in becoming a member of the fraternity (hazing optional?). One imagines more viral goodies will most likely show up at some point before Wanted opens in theaters on June 27th.
It's taken some time to pull together, but now you can finally learn a little bit more about all of your favorite Cinematical writers! With a special thanks to our own Kim Voynar for taking the time to compile this unbelievably awesome list of never-before-seen facts on people the world is just dying to know more about. Oh yes, just click the image up top or the banner to the right of your screen to check out profiles for all 18 of our beloved writers. Find out things you've always wanted to know (like what James Rocchi's favorite movies are!), as well as which rumors are indeed true (is Scott Weinberg really sleeping with Christina Ricci?!). And if you head on over to read their profiles within the next ten minutes, we'll throw in a special Cinematical: When Our Writers Were Barely Legal post ... for free! That's right. You get Meet the Teamand Cinematical: When Our Writers Were Barely Legal for the low, low cost of nothing. (Actually, we were just informed that the Cinematical: When Our Writers Were Barely Legal post just sold out. Sorry folks. We expect a new shipment in soon.)
Once again, feel free to click the image up top or the banner to the right of your screen to read all about our amazing staff here at Cinematical. Without them, well, where would we get our drugs?
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