Blu-ray to Attend a Grindhouse Double-Feature
A new listing at Walmart.com has confirmed an ongoing rumor regarding a reissue of Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez's Grindhouse films on Blu-ray Disc August 11.
Per the listing, the set is titled simply "Grindhouse" and will include the unrated versions of Planet Terror and Death Proof totaling 218 minutes in length.
There are two ways Genius Products could approach this two-disc set. They could simple bundle the previously released single versions of Death Proof and Planet Terror into a single package. Or preferably they could combine the two films with intermission onto a single disc leaving the second disc entirely for supplemental features.
We'll have more on this upcoming release as information is offered by the studio.
TWENTY YEARS AFTER 'DO THE RIGHT THING,' LEE AND HIS CO-STARS REFLECT ON HOW THEIR MOVIE MADE HISTORY
On Christmas Day, 1987, 30-year-old Brooklyn-based filmmaker Spike Lee started working on the script for his third feature, "Do the Right Thing." The film would examine the racial tension that enveloped New York City at the time, most of which was due to an incident that occurred in the predominantly white section of Howard Beach in Queens a year earlier: A group of white youths attacked three black men outside a pizza place for simply being the wrong color in the wrong neighborhood. One of the black men, 23-year-old Michael Griffith, was chased onto the Belt Parkway, where he was struck by a car and killed.
The movie wound up detailing how a single block in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant -- one with the white-owned Sal's Famous Pizzeria at its heart -- erupted in racial violence on the hottest day of the year. It featured a striking visual style, an idiosyncratic blend of comedy and tragedy, and an extraordinary ensemble cast including Danny Aiello as Sal, the pizzeria owner; Lee as Mookie, an unambitious deliveryman; and Ossie Davis as Da Mayor, the local drunk. It also instantly established Lee as a major talent who couldn't be ignored or dismissed.
When the film was released, audiences and critics were divided. Vincent Canby hailed it in the New York Times as "a remarkable piece of work," and Roger Ebert, in his four-star Chicago Sun-Times review, added that it came "closer to reflecting the current state of race relations in America than any other movie of our time."
On the flip side, Lee was criticized for presenting a crack-ravaged neighborhood as drug-free, and for being recklessly incendiary. In his review in the June 26, 1989, issue of New York magazine, David Denby said, "The end of this movie is a shambles, and if some audiences go wild, [Lee's] partly responsible." Jack Kroll in Newsweek called the film "dynamite under every seat." The critics' fears underestimated the audience -- no riots resulted.
The movie received two Oscar nominations (Supporting Actor for Danny Aiello and Original Screenplay), but no awards. The motion picture academy's political timidity was reflected in its choice for best picture, "Driving Miss Daisy," which featured Morgan Freeman as a Southern chauffeur. Lee, however, would have the last laugh. When the American Film Institute unveiled its list of the 100 greatest American movies of all time, neither "Driving Miss Daisy" nor "sex, lies, and videotape," which beat out Lee's film for the Palme d'Or at Cannes, were anywhere to be found. "Do the Right Thing" came in at No. 96.
On June 30, the film celebrates its 20th anniversary. To mark the occasion, Universal is releasing a two-disc special-edition DVD with hours of extras, including a never-before-seen documentary and new commentary from Lee. Since making "Do the Right Thing," Lee has averaged nearly a film a year -- his latest is the basketball documentary "Kobe: Doin' Work." But "Do the Right Thing" continues to be his most celebrated movie.
In this oral history, key members of the cast and crew, including Lee, who sat down for two lengthy interviews, were eager to discuss the controversy that accompanied the film, the tensions on the set and how the movie played a role in bringing our president and first lady together.
'It's gonna be a scorcher'
Spike Lee [Mookie], actor, writer, producer and director: The Howard Beach incident had happened, and I wanted to explore the love-hate relationship between African-Americans and Italian-Americans. I also wanted to do something that took place on the hottest day of the summer.
Ernest Dickerson, cinematographer: Spike and I were sitting together on a plane to Los Angeles and he was writing a script on a legal pad. The title at that point was "Heat Wave." He then asked me, "How do you portray heat on film? How do you get the audience to really feel it?" I remember we talked about having car radiators boiling over, hot asphalt and steam.
Lee: Paramount was on track to make the film. Then, at the last moment, out of nowhere, they didn't like the ending. They wanted Mookie and Sal to hug, all happy and upbeat. I wasn't doing that, so I called up Universal executive Sam Kitt, who I had known from my independent days, and he gave it to Tom Pollock.
Tom Pollock, then-chairman, Universal Pictures: I liked "She's Gotta Have It." I thought, "Wow, this guy's really talented." So when Spike submitted the script for "Do the Right Thing," I felt it had the potential of being great. I also had never before seen a movie that dealt explicitly with race and what was then called a race riot from a black director.
Lee: Tom said, "Make the film the way you want to, but you're not getting a penny more than $6.5 million."
'My people, my people'
Danny Aiello [Sal]: I was in New York at a party for Madonna and as I was leaving, this little guy runs after me and says, "I have this script." So we started a dialogue, which led to our meeting in restaurants, going to a Yankees game, going to a Knicks game. We became close.
Lee: I was in a Los Angeles club called Funky Reggae at a party for my birthday. This young lady was dancing on top of a speaker, and since it was my party, if she fell and broke her neck, I was going to get sued. So I told her to please get off, and she jumped down and cursed me out. I had never heard a voice like that before.
Rosie Perez [Tina]: That's fiction. There was a bunch of African-American girls on the stage bending over. It was a contest to see who had the biggest butt. I jumped on the speaker and started screaming for the women not to degrade themselves. I wasn't dancing.
Lee: I love Rosie, but she was not on top of the speaker saying, "Women, we must rise against this!" She was the choreographer for "In Living Color," and all the Fly Girls did were shake their asses. That story is bull.
Giancarlo Esposito [Buggin Out]: I'm half-Italian and half-black, so I understood both sides on a deep level. And a hard part of growing up for me was that I didn't want to take sides. But for this character, I had to.
Roger Guenveur Smith [Smiley]: All of my work throughout the film was improvised. There's no Smiley in any script.
Lee: Matt Dillon turned down the role of Pino. His agent told him not to do it. Then I saw the film "Five Corners," in which John Turturro beats a penguin to death and throws his mother out a window. I was like, "That's the guy I want to play Pino."
John Turturro [Pino]: When I read the script, I thought, "This is what's happening." I grew up in Hollis, Queens, which was basically more black than white. So I knew both sides.
'Bed-Stuy -- do or die'
Turturro: The neighborhood had a lot of energy, but it was dangerous to drive through at night. You definitely didn't want to have a flat tire at 4 o'clock in the morning. There were a lot of hungry dogs out on some streets.
Lee: There were crack houses in the neighborhood. The NYPD was not thought of that highly in most black communities, especially Bed-Stuy, so we got the Fruit of Islam [Minister Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam's security force] to watch the set.
Dickerson: It became the safest block in Brooklyn!
Richard Edson [Vito]: I tried to get through to the Fruit of Islam guys. It was kind of a challenge because I knew they had very strong racial feelings. So every morning, I would say hello and try to engage them. I don't think they ever even acknowledged me. I finally gave up after about four weeks.
Esposito: Those guys were hard-core. They just didn't like or hang out with white people.
Turturro: They talked to me all the time. They called me Brother John. I guess Richard is not as black as I am.
'Burn it down, burn it down!'
Aiello: It was sad to watch Sal's burn down. I thought it should have been preserved, almost like a landmark or tourist attraction.
Lee: I wanted to use three Frank Sinatra songs in "Jungle Fever," so I approached Tina Sinatra, who handled that stuff. She said, "Spike, I don't know. My father wasn't happy about his picture being burned in the pizzeria." It's funny -- Pacino never said anything, De Niro never said anything. I had to do some serious smoothing over with Frank.
'Always do the right thing'
Lee: To this day, no person of color has ever asked me why Mookie threw the can through the window. The only people who ask are white.
Edson: I don't think Mookie did the right thing. He did what he felt he had to at that moment. But then did Sal do the right thing by smashing the radio? I think there were a lot of wrong things.
Bill Nunn [Radio Raheem]: I didn't really understand why Mookie did what he did. Sal was doing the neighborhood kids a favor by staying open late. He was trying to do a good thing.
Esposito: Mookie did the right thing for Mookie. But I think he definitely made a mistake.
'Together, are we gonna live?'
Barry Alexander Brown, editor: I showed a filmmaker friend of mine the movie. And afterward, he said, "You and Spike are irresponsible. There are going to be riots and people are going to get killed."
Lee: People actually thought that young black Americans would riot across the country because of this film. That's how crazy it was. It was the furthest thing from my mind because I had faith in my people. But I still feel that some white moviegoers were scared to see it in theaters because they might be filled with crazy black people.
Edson: It incited discussion, that's what it incited.
Perez: The Latin community just blew a gasket over my depiction. They were bothered that I was a single mom, that I was -- whether they would admit it or not -- impregnated by a black man, that my accent was heavy. I would say, "If you don't believe that there is truth to my character, walk into a welfare office." And that pissed them off even more.
Lee: It disturbed me how some critics would talk about the loss of property -- which is really saying white-owned property -- but not the loss of life. "Do the Right Thing" was a litmus test. If in a review, a critic discussed how Sal's Famous was burned down but didn't mention anything about Radio Raheem getting killed, it seemed obvious that he or she valued white-owned property more than the life of this young black hoodlum. To me, loss of life outweighs loss of property. You can rebuild a building. I mean, they're rebuilding New Orleans now but the people that died there are never coming back.
Aiello: Spike brought attention to the film and that is, of course, good. But he was quite controversial in his press conferences, talking about Malcolm X and so forth. If it wasn't for that, I feel the film had a chance to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.
Dickerson: ["Driving Miss Daisy" winning Best Picture] still hurts. It definitely does.
Lee: I let it go. But let's be honest. If you look at the Academy voters 20 years ago, which movie are they going to like? One with characters named Buggin Out and Radio Raheem? Or one with a subservient, obedient, yassah-massa character?
Aiello: I love Denzel [Washington, who beat Aiello in the supporting actor category, for "Glory"], but that film was a joke. I look at it today and laugh.
'We had a great, great day'
Turturro: They don't make movies like that anymore, man.
Aiello: We made something special.
Lee: There was a benefit for Barack Obama on Martha's Vineyard when he was running for the Senate. I didn't really know who he was. He came over and said, "You're responsible for me and my wife getting together." Then he told me how they saw "Do the Right Thing" on their first date, and then went to Baskin-Robbins for ice cream and talked about it.
Smith: We're actually responsible for a whole new era in American political achievement.
Lee: I think he is a very smart man, because if he had taken Michelle to see "Driving Miss Daisy," things would have turned out a whole lot different.
Academy may silence original-song Oscar
Trophy will only be awarded if at least one song rates above new threshhold
Another shakeup in the Oscar rules makes it possible there will be no original song category in any given Academy Awards year.
The new rules, announced by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences in a news release Friday, stipulate that at least one of the songs nominated for an Oscar in the original song category achieve a minimum score of 8.25 on a scale of six to 10 in nominations voting.
If no song ranks at least an 8.25, no Oscar will be presented in the category that year. If only one song scores that high, it and the next-highest-rated tune will be the finalists in the category. If two or more songs score above the threshhold, they will all receive nominations, up to a maximum of five tunes.
Bruce Broughton, head of the academy's music branch, said it is trying to improve the quality of songs that receive the award.
"There's been a lot of talk about the songs in films, the lack of memorability compared to songs in the past," he said. "This is an attempt to really make the songs as good as possible."
Last year, the academy limited Oscar song nominations to two per film.
The academy will also move its honorary Oscars, such as the Thalberg and Humanitarian awards, out the Academy Award ceremony and present them at a separate event.
Earlier in the week, the academy announced it will double the number of nominees for the best picture category to 10.
Nominees for the 82nd Academy Awards will be announced Feb. 2, with the ceremony to follow on March 7.
Michael Jackson May Be Buried At Neverland
What's the hold up with Michael Jackson funeral arrangements? I am told that there is right now a discussion going on within his family and advisors about burying him at Neverland Ranch in Los Olivos, California. Sources say that the proposal came from Tohme Tohme, Jackson's former manager, the non-doctor and special ambassador to Senegal. Tohme works with Colony Capital LLC, the firm that holds the mortgage note on Neverland. Their idea is to turn Neverland into Graceland, with Jackson's grave the central attraction.
This isn't so easy. For one thing, as lawyers have pointed out, you can't simply bury someone in your backyard. Permits are required. For another, the town of Los Olivos was sounded out about a "Graceland" idea a long time ago and rejected it. Neverland is on a two-lane country road across from a school way in the hills along the Santa Ynez Valley. The locals feel it's not equipped for that kind of traffic.
But the Graceland plan is being pushed by Colony and Tohme, as Tohme agitates for it within a split and confused family. Much discussion is going on right now, especially among Michael's brothers, about ways to maximize his estate -- in other words make money.
"Michael would be mortified to know this," one of his business associates said to me today.
'Transformers' takes to sky with $112M weekend
LOS ANGELES – Alien robots have transformed into box-office superstars with $200 million in domestic ticket sales in just five days.
"Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" took in $112 million in the sequel's first weekend and $201.2 million since opening Wednesday, according to Sunday estimates from Paramount, which is distributing the DreamWorks movie.
It was well on the way to becoming the year's top-grossing movie.
That was a few million dollars higher than other studios were expecting for the movie, and the figures could change a bit when final numbers are released Monday.
Still, it was a colossal start for the "Transformers" sequel, whose opening five days amounted to nearly two-thirds of the $319 million domestic total the franchise's first movie did over its entire run in 2007.
Now playing in almost every other country except India, the movie added $185.8 million overseas, for a worldwide total of $387 million. That's well over half the $708 million global total for the first "Transformers."
That first movie began with a $70.5 million weekend. Based on how well the sequel has done, "Revenge of the Fallen" could join the handful of movies that have topped the $400 million mark domestically.
"I'd say given the momentum it has, it's got a real shot," said Rob Moore, vice chairman at Paramount.
For the first five days, the "Transformers" sequel was second only to last summer's "The Dark Knight" with $203.8 million.
This was the biggest opening weekend of this year, surpassing the $85.1 million debut of "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" in early May.
The sequel began with $60.6 million on its opening day Wednesday. That also was second only to "The Dark Knight," which had the biggest box-office day ever with $67.2 million on opening day.
With $14.4 million at 169 IMAX theaters, "Transformers" set a record for a five-day opening in the giant-screen format, nearly doubling the previous best of $7.3 million set by "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix."
"Transformers" overcame harsh reviews from critics, who called it a visual-effects extravaganza without much story or human heart. Director Michael Bay has a history of bad reviews and big box office with "Armageddon" and "Pearl Harbor."
"Michael Bay knows how to build the perfect summer box-office beast," said Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst for Hollywood.com. "He squarely aimed right at the demographic, right at what summer movie-goers want, and he put it on the screen. And audiences can't seem to get enough of it."
The sequel broadened the franchise's fan base. Females accounted for just 40 percent of the audience for the first "Transformers" but 46 percent for the sequel, Moore said.
Much of that was due to the on-screen romance for the characters played by Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox, who were relative unknowns when the first movie came out.
With a $13 million weekend, Disney and Pixar Animation's "Up" became the year's top-grossing film domestically at $250.2 million. It surpassed Paramount's "Star Trek," which did $3.6 million over the weekend to hit a $246.2 million total.
The reign of "Up" at the top of the year's box-office chart will be short-lived, though. The "Transformers" sequel should shoot past it in a matter of days.
The Warner Bros. melodrama "My Sister's Keeper," with Cameron Diaz and Abigail Breslin, had a so-so debut, coming in at No. 5 with $12 million. Breslin plays a daughter conceived as a donor for her older sister, who has leukemia.
Summit Entertainment's Iraq War drama "The Hurt Locker" had a strong start in limited release, taking in $144,000 in four theaters for an average of $36,000 a cinema. That compares to an average of $26,453 in 4,234 theaters for "Transformers."
Starring Jeremy Renner and Anthony Mackie as members of a U.S. bomb squad in Baghdad, "The Hurt Locker" has a chance to become the first real commercial success among recent war-on-terror movies, which audiences generally have avoided.
"The Hurt Locker" has earned stellar reviews since debuting at film festivals last year. It rolls out to more theaters on July 10.
Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Final figures will be released Monday.
1. "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," $112 million.
2. "The Proposal," $18.5 million.
3. "The Hangover," $17.2 million.
4. "Up," $13 million.
5. "My Sister's Keeper," $12 million.
6. "Year One," $5.8 million.
7. "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3," $5.4 million.
8. "Star Trek," $3.6 million.
9. "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian," $3.5 million.
10. "Away We Go," $1.7 million.
Michael Jackson's legacy honored at BET Awards
LOS ANGELES – The BET Awards became the official Michael Jackson TV celebration on Sunday, with joyous tributes to the King of Pop from a New Edition medley of Jackson 5 songs to host Jamie Foxx's tender monologue delivered in that classic red leather zipper jacket and white glove.
Joe Jackson, the singer's father, was on hand to represent the grief-stricken family. "I just wish he could be here to celebrate himself," he said. "Sadly, he's not here, so I'm here to celebrate for him."
Already an affair of major star wattage, the night's show at the Shrine Auditorium was thrown under a white-hot spotlight in the wake of Michael Jackson's death Thursday, adding attendees and guests, doubling the number of media requests, adding an extra half-hour to the telecast and even lengthening the red carpet to accommodate all who wanted to take part.
While Jackson's incredible influenced stretched across genres, races, and cultures, he had a very unique place in the world of black entertainment. His influence is arguably most visible in urban music, seen in stars like Usher who mimic his dance moves, to Ne-Yo, whose music is marked by its Jackson-isms. But that influence went beyond music: Jackson was black America's biggest star, who broke racial barriers that allowed for so many other superstars to follow.
Foxx kicked off the show with a re-enactment of the choreography from Jackson's iconic "Beat It" video in front of the star-studded crowd, on its feet from the start of the show. Throughout the night, Foxx wore some of Jackson's signature looks, like the wide-collar black leather outfit from "Billie Jean."
"No need to be sad. We want to celebrate this black man," said Foxx.
Producers of the annual awards show — which recognizes the best in music, acting and sports — revamped the show to meet the moment. While Beyonce and T.I. were the leading award nominees with five apiece, giving out trophies was an afterthought: Honoring Jackson was became the show's main focus.
While some performed their own hits, most made sure to incorporate some of the man who influenced them in their performances. A chant of "Michael Jackson, Michael Jackson" was heard while Keri Hilson performed, and Foxx's "Blame It" incorporated some of the Jacksons' dance hit "Blame It On the Boogie."
New Edition, the 1980s teen sensations who were considered that generation's Jackson 5 with their own version of bubble-gum soul, ran through several of the Jackson 5's greatest hits, from "I Want You Back" to "ABC," mirroring their idols right down to the group's original choreography. Ne-Yo sang one of Jackson's most sensual songs, "Lady in my Life."
"He's the man who made it possible for me to be on the stage; I love you and I miss you," he said later.
And winners acknowledged Jackson when they received their awards.
"We all know none of us in this in this room wouldn't be here for Michael Jackson," said Lil Wayne, as he picked up his award for best male hip-hop star.
"My heart and prayers go out to the whole Jackson family," said basketball star LeBron James, who won best male athlete. "What they did for us, ... for the whole world was amazing."
The Shrine stage was where Jackson's hair and scalp were burned during the filming of a Pepsi commercial in 1984 and the location for several of his Grammy and American Music Award performances.