Category: Movies

‘Casablanca’ Tops List of Movie Romances
When it comes to movies and romance, they don’t make them like they used to.
At least, that is what directors, writers, actors and other filmmakers polled by the American Film Institute think. They chose 1942’s “Casablanca,” starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, as the best U.S. love story ever told on film.
In the No. 2 spot was 1939 classic “Gone with the Wind” with Clark Gable and Vivian Leigh as the rakish Rhett Butler and determined southern belle Scarlett O’Hara, and behind those two on-again, off-again lovers were the impossibly compatible Tony and Maria of 1961 musical “West Side Story” in No. 3.
In fact, no movie made in the last 40 years could crack the top five, and only two films from the 1970s, “The Way We Were” at No. 6 and “Love Story” at No. 9 were among the top 10.
Los Angeles-based American Film Institute is a national group dedicated to film and television, and it trains filmmakers, writers and others interested in making movies and TV shows.
Five years ago, it began a series of programs naming the top American films in the industry’s first 100 years, starting with the favorite 100 films of all-time and including the top stars, best comedies and last year’s biggest thrills.
“This year, AFI … celebrates matters of the heart in a whole different way — more heartbreaks, heartaches and hearts bursting with love, rather than heart attacks and hearts in the throat,” said AFI chief Jean Picker Firstenberg.
Rounding out the top five on the list of favorite American romances were No. 4 “Roman Holiday,” a 1952 comedy that paired Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck, followed by 1957’s “An Affair to Remember” with Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr.
Completing the top 10 were No. 7, “Doctor Zhivago” (1965), No. 8 “It’s A Wonderful Life” (1946) and No. 10, “City Lights” (1931).
Curiously, seven of the top 10 films have couples that, in the end, do not stay together, and AFI counts 187 fights in the movies compared to 260 kissing scenes.
Cary Grant stars in more of the top 100 films than any actor, and Katharine Hepburn is the most prevalent actress on the romance list, appearing in films like “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” and “On Golden Pond.”
Of the modern love stories, 1990’s “Pretty Woman” starring Julia Roberts and Richard Gere landed in position No. 21. “Titanic,” with Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, was No. 37. “Titanic” is the highest grossing movie of all time with $1.8 billion in global box office receipts.

X-MEN Teaser Already?
This is just a rumour so far, but it sounds like there might be a teaser for X2 tagged to MINORITY REPORT. So far, it sounds like it’ll just be a morphing logo. This is, by the way, in addition to the DAREDEVIL trailer already attached to the movie.

Bugs is coming back, doc.
Warner Bros. announced plans Monday to produce a new feature film starring Bugs Bunny and fellow Looney Tunes cohorts Daffy Duck, Tweety Bird and the scenery-chewing Tasmanian Devil.
“Looney Tunes: Back in Action” will combine those animated characters and others with live-action backgrounds and performers, much like the 1988 Disney comedy “Who Framed Roger Rabbit.”
It’s the first feature film for Bugs and the gang since 1996’s “Space Jam” with basketball star Michael Jordan.
Brendan Fraser, best known for “The Mummy” and its sequel, will star in the new film as a man who encounters the cartoon creatures in Hollywood, Las Vegas and Africa while searching for his missing father and an ancient treasure.
“Gremlins” filmmaker Joe Dante has signed to direct the comedy.
In addition, several new Looney Tunes cartoon shorts will be created to run before other feature movies, said Lorenzo di Bonaventura, president of worldwide production for Warner Bros.
The studio started in the animated-short business in 1930, when it released the first Looney Tunes short, a parody of Disney’s Silly Symphonies titles, but in recent years the cartoons have been limited mainly to television.
“Looney Tunes: Back in Action” begins filming in late July with a planned theatrical debut in November 2003.

Weekend Box Office Results
Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at North American theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. Final figures will be released Monday.
1. “The Sum of All Fears,” $18.7 million.
2. “Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood,” $16.35 million
3. “Star Wars: Episode II ó Attack of the Clones,” $13.9 million.
4. “Bad Company,” $10.5 million.
5. “Spider-Man,” $10 million.
6. “Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron,” $9.4 million.
7. “Undercover Brother,” $7.3 million.
8. “Insomnia,” $5.9 million.
9. “Enough,” $3.6 million.
10. “About a Boy,” $2.7 million.
The industry rebounded after last weekend, when the overall box office slumped for the first time in nearly four months. The top 12 movies this weekend grossed $101.7 million, up about 8 percent from the same weekend last year.

I’m Looney, Are You?
Have you ever wondered what happened to some of the long forgotten Looney Tunes characters? Wonder no more! These pages showcase the short-lived careers of Looney Tunes characters which have been forgotten in recent years.
T-t-t-t-t-hat’s all folks!

Oh, I Can Help You Out!
This weekend’s new films are exactly what the doctor ordered. A big budget action film and a chick flick. Let’s start with the latter.
The chick flick!
Sorry, haven’t seen Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood. I’m a guy!
But someone who did see it told me that it, and I quote:
“…you should enjoy The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood if you are old and you have a vagina (though one could make a point that people from the South and those who wear big, floppy hats might also be in this film’s target demographic).† I am not old, nor do I have a vagina.† I live north of the Mason-Dixon line and do not own any floppy hats.†
The film’s humor is base and juvenile (complete with fart and puke jokes), and appeals to the lowest common denominator as much as, say, Sorority Boys did. Aside from two or three funny bits, the only other thing worth mentioning is the music.”
So there. Now I must admit that if a beautiful woman asked me to take her to this film, I would probably go. Otherwise…
It didn’t take a beautiful woman, or any woman for that matter, to make me want to go and see Bad Company, even though it was directed by Joel Schumacher, the man who single handedly ruined the BATMAN movie franchise.
I went because the flick was produced by action uber- producer Jerry Bruckheimer, who likes to blow things up real good in his films.
And blow this movie does! It blows up real good! And luckily Bad Company isn’t all that bad. Sure, it panders to the dumbest guy in the theater, but there is some bang for your ten bucks. Chris Rock is very funny, and surprisingly, a solid leading man when needed. Now Anthony Hopkins, on the other hand, couldn’t look more bored if he tried.
So check your brain at the door and you will enjoy the popcorn/Summer movie fluff that is Bad Company.
Or go and see Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood. It’s your time and money!
Either way, enjoy the popcorn and I’ll see you at the movies.

News That Saddens Dan
For the time being, Jodie Foster is planning on staying behind the camera.
I am not happy about this!

Top 20 Hottest Upcoming Sequels
From Star Wars to StarTrek, film franchise fans already are feverishly foreseeing the future. Here’s a list of the movies that inquiring sequel devotees are most curious about, according to Internet Movie Database. Sequels, in fact, dominate the list of films moviegoers want to see. (Opening dates are subject to change.)
1. Star Wars: Episode III (May 25, 2005)
2. The Matrix Reloaded (May 2003)
3. Spider-Man 2 (May 7, 2004)
4. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Dec. 18)
5. X-Men 2 (May 2, 2003)
6. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Nov. 15)
7. Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (July 2, 2003)
8. Austin Powers in Goldmember (July 26)
9. Star Trek: Nemesis (Dec. 13)
10. Men in Black 2 (July 3)
11. Die Another Day (20th MGM/UA James Bond movie; Nov. 22)
12. Indiana Jones (third sequel)
13. The Matrix Revolutions (2003)
14. Halloween: Resurrection (July 12)
15. Red Dragon (a remake of original prequel Manhunte, it’s the third Hannibal Lecter sequel; Oct. 4)
16. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (Dec. 17, 2003)
17. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
18. Batman: Year One (No date set)
19. True Lies 2 (sequel not certain, but fans are clamoring)
20. Once Upon a Time in Mexico (second sequel to El Mariachi; March 2003)

Spielberg confirms ‘Indy 4’ details
Never fear, Indiana Jones fans. Harrison Ford is more than up to the task of starring in a fourth film in the series, according to Steven Spielberg.
Spielberg told Cinescape that despite the almost 25 years that have passed since “Raiders Of The Lost Ark,” he has no doubt that Ford can handle the physical demands of the action role.
“Harrison Ford can still kick the shit out of most people half his age,” Spielberg told Cinescape.
“I think he’s in great condition to put the fedora and the hat and the leather jacket back on and crack that bullwhip a few more times.”
The screenplay for the as-yet-untitled “Indiana Jones 4” is being written by Frank Darabont, the writer-director of “The Green Mile” and “The Shawshank Redemption.”
“We just made Frank’s deal two weeks ago. We have the story, which is a story George Lucas wrote. It’s a wonderful story. We have Harrison Ford, who’s approved the story. He’s ready to perform in the movie,” Spielberg told Cinescape.
He also confirmed that the movie will likely be shot in May 2004. The movie is being targeted for release during the July 4 weekend of 2005, so as not to conflict with Lucas’s final “Star Wars” film, which is due during the U.S. Memorial Day weekend in May 2005.

Here’s A Look At Elektra
Step inside for a great pic of Jennifer Garner as Elektra in DAREDEVIL.