Daily Loaf

Just a quick update to the Watchmen DVD giveaway.  The winners have been chosen, and I’d like to congratulate Leah Bell and Sandra Uriostegui! Leah nabbed a copy of Watchmen: The Complete Motion Comic and Sandra took home Watchmen: Tales of the Black Freighter.

There’s lots more over on the Fun & Free site right now, including passes for an advance screening of Obsessed on April 23. Don’t you want to see Beyonce’s new movie before everyone else? Well then, go and register already.

And keep checking back to The Daily Loaf (and keep up with cl_tampa on Twitter), as we’ll be giving away movie passes and related gear all summer long.

No, not the feature film, which doesn’t have a DVD release date yet. Instead, we’re giving away both the Tales of the Black Freighter and Watchmen: The Complete Motion Comic DVDs. All you have to do is go to our Fun and Free page and sign up. A winner will be selected on Wed., April 15, so get over there and get signed up before it’s too late!

Check out trailers for both DVD’s after the jump. Good luck, fanboys …

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MOSI presents Beetle Collection, a series of images featuring beetles from the Florida Department of Agriculture’s Entomology Museum by renowned photographer Steven Katzman (pictured, a millipede, through April 30). Also on display is BODY WORLDS: The Story of the Heart, Dr. Gunther von Hagens’ traveling exhibit on the human body and disease, with a special focus on the heart and how it nourishes, regulates and sustains life (through June 28). This week’s IMAX Dome Theatre films selections are Extreme, Animalopolis, Under the Sea, Watchmen and Van Gogh: Brush with Genius. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily,  Museum of Science & Industry (MOSI), Tampa, $25.95 adults (13-59)/$22.95 seniors (60-plus)/$19.95 ages 2-12 (includes IMAX film and entry to all exhibits), 813-987-6300. mosi.org.

Also tonight:

Comedian Joe Piscopo performs at Show Palace Dinner Theatre as part of the “Ruth Eckerd Hall on the Road” series. 8 p.m., Show Palace Dinner Theatre, Hudson, $49.

Award-winning Phoenix-based architect Will Bruder gives a talk as part of USF’s “Building into [Place]: Spring 2009 Architecture Lecture Series.” 7 p.m., ULH 101, USF Tampa, free admission.

Singer-songwriter Matt Wertz brings his warm, Top 40-friendly acoustic rock to town. 7 p.m., Orpheum, Ybor City, $13.

About 90 minutes into seeing Watchmen at my local IMAX theater, the character Rorschach had his mask removed. The actor playing Rorschach looked really familiar — an unmistakable face from the past, but I couldn’t figure out who he was. Then it hit me: He was a child star. I was sure of it.

Resisting the urge to look up the answer in the theater, I checked out our star on IMDB when I returned home. His name: Jackie Earle Haley. Born 1961. Scanning through dozens of film appearances through the past four decades, I found this:

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Today’s poll is a simple one:

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Don’t forget to check out CL’s comprehensive guide to Watchmen, including reviews, trailers and an interview with co-creator Dave Gibbons.

YouTube has reached an historic milestone, according to TV Week:

For the first time, YouTube has surpassed 100 million U.S. monthly viewers, according to new comScore information.

The Web video giant logged 100.9 million U.S. viewers during the month of January. Viewers averaged 62.6 clips each, bringing the site’s total to 6.3 billion video streams for the month among U.S. Internet users.

One reason? Videos like this:

After a long break, the Reel Projections podcast is back! In this week’s installment, host Joe (that’s me) talks to Brian Ries about Watchmen. Brian’s seen it and I pick his brain for information about the most anticipated movie of 2009. (FYI: We keep it mostly spoiler free. Mostly.)

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If you dig the show, or just have general comments, send us an e-mail at reelprojections@creativeloafing.com and let us know. Thanks for keeping it Reel.

There are two ways you can go when filming a comic book movie these days: adaptation or recreation. For the big franchise heroes with an immense amount of history behind them, adaptation has worked well at re-introducing the movie-going public to iconic characters. You open yourself up to lots of bitching by comic fanboys when you condense or expand too much outside of accepted continuity, but directors like Sam Raimi (Spider-Man) and Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight) have done a fine job of re-introducing the classics to a new, and huge, audience.

Start recreating movies from stand-alone graphic novels — like 2007’s muscle-bound 300 — and directors are faced with both a simpler and more difficult path. In many cases, the dialogue can be pulled straight from word boxes and the scenes are already story-boarded by the original artist. All that’s left is making it look consistent with the original, and making tough choices about what to change.

Zack Snyder’s Watchmen is a competent — if not inspired — recreation of Alan Moore’s seminal piece of superhero deconstruction. When problems do show up, it’s usually the result of Snyder’s choices outside of the source material. Read the rest of this entry »

In the first major review of Watchmen, Variety’s Justin Chang has mixed feelings about the much anticipated superhero flick. An excerpt:

Yet the movie is ultimately undone by its own reverence; there’s simply no room for these characters and stories to breathe of their own accord, and even the most fastidiously replicated scenes can feel glib and truncated. As “Watchmen” lurches toward its apocalyptic (and slightly altered) finale, something happens that didn’t happen in the novel: Wavering in tone between seriousness and camp, and absent the cerebral tone that gave weight to some of the book’s headier ideas, the film seems to yield to the very superhero cliches it purports to subvert.

Uh oh, Watchmen fans. Did Snyder just fuck up your baby? You’ll have to wait until March 6 to find out.

Watchmen trailer after the jump …

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Was yesterday a slow news day or what? Guess that explains how video of a woman screaming in the Hong Kong airport because she missed her flight was the biggest story of the day.

• Florida tourism numbers fall for the first time in 7 years.
• Now that the stimulus plan is done, what’s next?

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Come on, Warner Bros.! How many of these Watchmen sneaks are you going to put together? We get it. There’s lots of brooding in slow-mo. Things explode. Glass shatters. Just release the frickin’ movie already!

In any event, if your appetite still needs whetting, check out the latest Watchmen trailer after the jump …

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Rumors have been kicking around for some time that Quentin Tarantino is planning to recombine the excellent Kill Bill: Vol. 1 & 2 into one complete film on DVD. Of course, that was before the director ditched the continental 48 for Europe to shoot this summer’s Inglourious Basterds starring Brad Jolie. Fortunately, QT has gone on the record again, stating that Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair will be a reality, and that the filmmakers have even gone back and added a brand-spankin’ new, 7 minute anime sequence to the film. Though there’s still no release date (Amazon has a link to product they claim has been “discontinued by the manufacturer”), expect to see this package drop sometime right before the release of Basterds. It’s called corporate cynergy, yo!

Click below for more of today’s news from Tinseltown…

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With history going on in D.C., the movie biz took time out from partying at Sundance to watch Obama’s inauguration speech. Speaking of Sundance, would you believe a documentary about Mike Tyson from director James Tolback was an early highlight of the festival? Only in America. As Nathan points out in the comments, I screwed this up and got an article from the Cannes film fest mixed in with my Sundance reading. I feel stupid and regret the error. This really ruins my use of that Tyson photo, huh?

Sony has decided to postpone the opening of 2012, the latest disaster mess from Independence Day director Roland Emmerich, from July 10 to Nov. 13. Sony claims the delay is due to an already rock-solid summer schedule, but I suspect there are problems with film that can’t be fixed by July …

Looking for previews? Read more of Reel Projections by clicking below…

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* Picking up our Watchmen coverage, the above is Warner Bros.’ newish clip for the superhero spectacular that has been airing during the NFL Playoffs. Meanwhile, rumors leaking out of the negotiations between Warner and Fox hint that the sides are close to settling, meaning we might get to see the movie on March 6 after all. (Here’s the NY Times take on the wrangling.) You didn’t really believe the studio weasels were going to kill this one, did you?

* Will Linda Hamilton reprise her role as Sarah Connor in the upcoming Terminator Salvation? Better start hitting the weights, Linda.

Read more Reel Projections after the jump …

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The wait is over. Joe and I return to the studio for our fourth Reel Projections podcast, 20 minutes of windbagging about the best films of the year (most of which we didn’t see), the biggest moneymakers and my utter lack of preparation for the show. Special Listener Bonus: another appearance by singer/songwriter Clint Eastwood.

Don’t call it a comeback: Tired of hearing about Mickey Rourke’s return to form in critics’ darling The Wrestler? Well, you’ve got company, ’cause apparently so is Mickey.

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The New York Times is reporting that 20th Century Fox will try to delay the release of Watchmen. Deadline Hollywood Daily has a statement from Warner Bros. on the lawsuit.

This week’s DVD releases: Rope of Silicon runs down Paramount’s new Blu-Ray titles, including the Patrick Swayze stupid-face fest, Ghost; Tom Cruise going vroom vroom with Nicole Kidman in Days of Thunder; Event Horizon and The Truman Show.

Q: Who’s the most reviled movie critic? A: Ben Lyons. He’s so hated (and with good reason), that CriticWatch’s Erik Childress has a blog dedicated to using Lyons’s own words against him:

Is it possible that New York publicists have a poster of Ben Lyons in their office with the slogan that reads “Put critics in a theater full of people laughing with free tickets and one of them may laugh too?” What if the Bedtime Stories crowd was laughing at Ben Lyons laughing? Or just Ben Lyons? I guarantee he’s produced more unintentional laugh lines than Sandler & Co. did this year. Take for example:

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The New York Times is reporting that a federal judge in Los Angeles has ruled in favor of 20th Century Fox’s claim to the rights to Watchmen, which is a Warner Bros. production.

This is big news, as Watchmen has been one of the most eagerly awaited movies of 2009. With the film scheduled to arrive in theaters March 6, it seems the two studios will now have to work out a deal fairly quickly.

Austin Film Critics have picked their best of 2008, and guess who cleaned up in the Best Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay and Supporting Actor categories? JUST TAKE A WILD GUESS. That’s right. The Dark Knight. Fellow Texans the Dallas-Ft. Worth Film Critics Association gave Best Picture to Slumdog Millionaire, as well as Best Director to Danny Boyle for the same flick. Oh, and they also rewarded Heath Ledger with Best Supporting Actor. Read the rest of the winners here.

Meanwhile, the Toronto Film Critics Association, in an obvious cry for attention, have bestowed their Best Picture honor on Wendy and Lucy, which I wrote about in the Dec. 16 Reel Projections. They also gave that film’s Michelle Williams the nod for Best Actress and rewarded Jonathan Demme with Best Director for Rachel Getting Married. And Best Supporting Actor went to Williams’ former boyfriend, and father of her daughter, Heath Ledger. Here’s the rest of the TFCA winners.

Disney has released the first photo of an upcoming Bruce Willis sci-fi film. Behold this mysterious production still from Surrogates. What’s he looking at so intensely off-screen? Could it be one of the surrogate robots? A couch where he can sit down and watch those monitors in comfort? HANS FUCKING GRUBER???!!!

It’s the “I don’t care but somebody out there must” link of the day: Twilight sequel New Moon has a release date. Hoo. Rah.

SPOILER ALERT! Some guy at Chud.com saw the first 22 minutes of Watchmen in Austin, and now he’s spilling his guts all over the interwebs. You’ve been warned. And remember that lawsuit Fox brought against Warner Bros.? An L.A. federal judge has set a Watchmen trial date of January 20, 2009.

First things first: Pinup girl Bettie Page dies at 85.

Just imagine how good the movie will be: Feast your sore eyes on the ass-tastic poster for the upcoming The Unborn, which was written and directed by David S. Goyer, whose writing credits include The Dark Knight, Batman Begins, the Blade trilogy and Jumper. I could say a few dissertation-worthy things about this poster as an example of our culture’s ambivalent feelings toward female sexuality and evil. But why get all serious on a flick that features Gary Oldman as a Rabbi performing an exorcism and a character whose last name is Hardigan, which, if you ask me, is truth in advertising right there. “Evil will do anything to live.” And I want to be bad. So very, very bad.

Sounds great! Majel Barrett-Roddenberry, widow of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, will voice the computer of the Enterprise in the upcoming Star Trek film. Which I found of interest only because it permits me to include a Star Trek update in this post.

How did the Hollywood glitterati react to the Golden Globes nominations? Variety has their thoughts here.

ScreenRant rants about the Dark Knight snub at the Golden Globes and Cinema Blend chides awards givers about overlooking the Batman. (Money quote: The Golden Globes are “a vague entity run by a strange and mysterious European shadow organization.”)

Speaking of Dark Knight: It’s breaking more records.

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In episode #2 of the Reel Projections podcast, Joe and Sal continue their talk with Dave Gibbons, co-creator of the grapic novel Watchmen.

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No time to bask in the afterglow of my film feature on Watchmen artist Dave Gibbons or the inaugural Reel Projections podcast. But before we get back down to business, let me give a hearty “Hello, how are you?” to all the fine people at the Regions bank on West Kennedy. No less than three (might have been four) employees greeted me the moment I walked through the door this morning. This wasn’t a new experience; they’ve done this to me at least the past half dozen times I’ve come in to make a deposit, and it never fails to both please and unnerve me.

You’re gonna learn how to fly (again): Producers of Fame remake have signed Debbie Allen, Kelsey Grammer, Charles Dutton and sex kitten Bebe Neuwirth. Noteworthy if only for the curious and distracting decision to reunite Frasier Crane with Dr. Lilith Sternin).

Shia LaBeouf to star in John Grisham’s The Associate. Kudos to I Watch Stuff for doing justice to this casting coup:

Be it cell phone, alien skull, AllSpark, or the modest briefcase, there is nothing Shia LaBeouf can’t run around holding while shouting. He’s truly our most versatile holding things and yelling young actor. When he steps into a legal thriller courtroom, the jury is going to be so awed at how he holds his briefcase and shouts objections, all with the charisma of a young Tom Hanks.

Kristen Stewart (the sleepy-eyed temptress from vampire flick Twilight) will play Joan Jett in rock ‘n’ roll biopic The Runaways.

Watchmen gets shorter running time: However, two director’s cuts are significantly longer.

Way beyond Thunderdome: Mel Gibson says “no” to Mad Max 4 script.

It’s the trophy that says “Bad Motherfucker”: Samuel L. Jackson honored with American Cinematheque Award.

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Today marks the inaugural episode of the Reel Projections podcast, hosted by yours truly and fellow movie lover/CL Associate Editor Joe Bardi. Featured is the first part of my recent interview with comic-book artist Dave Gibbons, who talks about his new book, Watching the Watchmen, as well as the upcoming film based on his seminal graphic novel he helped to create with writer Alan Moore, Watchmen.

First things first: Today marks the inaugural episode of the Reel Projections podcast, hosted by yours truly and fellow movie lover/CL Associate Editor Joe Bardi. Featured is the first part of my recent interview with comic-book artist Dave Gibbons, who talks about his new book, Watching the Watchmen, as well as the upcoming film based on his seminal graphic novel he helped to create with writer Alan Moore, Watchmen.

You can also read my feature story about Gibbons, his book and the upcoming Watchmen film here.

New info on the plot for Tron 2 (confess, 30-somethings — you know you’re geeked for this one).

Brian Grazer explains Russell Crowe’s dual roles in Ridley Scott’s Nottingham.

Just in case you give a damn (I know I don’t), Latino Review has plot details for Beverly Hills Cop 4.

MST3K fans rejoice: Cinematic Titanic.

Out on DVD today: The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian; Wanted; Step Brothers

Emerald City Comics has been in business almost 20 years, so the shop has weathered its share of economic storms (like the big comic bust of the mid-’90s). Now it’s bigger and more colorful than ever, loaded with all the necessities for a properly geeked life: racks and racks of comic-book back-issues, loaded with everything from near-mint, early Amazing Spider-Man to a less well-preserved Ewoks #1; shelves of new comics, graphic novels, D&D books and other role-playing games; war-gaming miniatures and the latest trading card games; and action figures covering every available space.

Emerald’s friendly staff will pull your favorite comics every week, suggest titles you may have missed, demo the latest games and remember your name when you hit the counter, all without ever letting their guts spill over their belts. It’s a classy joint. (Don’t even bring up the Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons.)

Gift this: Watchmen, Absolute Edition, $59.99.

9249 Seminole Blvd., Seminole, 727-398-2665 and 2475 McMullen Booth Road, Clearwater, 727-797-0664 or emeraldcitycomics.com.

For more stops on the Indie Holiday Shopping Spree, click here.

First things first: I have an interview scheduled with Watchmen artist Dave Gibbons this Wednesday at 11 a.m. He’s promoting his book Watching the Watchmen, which recounts the making of the outstanding graphic novel he created with writer Alan Moore. Wish me luck, and let me know if there are any questions you’d like to have answered. (You can be sure we’ll be talking about the upcoming movie adaptation.)

The sweet Hereafter? Maybe, since two movie titans are teaming up for this thriller, which has been penned by British screenwriter Peter Morgan. It will be directed by Clint Eastwood and produced by Steven Spielberg’s Dreamworks studio.

Bond is gold: Quantum of Solace posts the best opening ever for 007 in the U.S.

This film goes to 11: Rockers Jimmy Page and Jack White to be featured in a documentary about the electric guitar. No word on whether Nigel Tufnel has been asked to participate.

No-strings-attached deal: Guillermo del Toro (Hellboy, Pan’s Labyrinth) teaming up with the Jim Henson Co. to produce a stop-motion Pinocchio.

You’ll have a gay old time: Sacha Baron Cohen, better known to most as Borat, has hired gay porn stars for his new movie, Bruno.

Here’s the first official trailer to JJ Abrams’ Star Trek. I’m not terribly impressed by it, as it reminds me of a host of other action-movie trailers, but judge for yourself.

Here on planet Earth, today’s big election pits Obama v. McCain. But the stakes are much higher in a galaxy far, far away: Calrissian v. Palpatine

Farrelly Brothers to direct Three Stooges film

New pics from Transporter 3 and Frank Miller’s The Spirit.

Screen Rant has parts 2 and 3 of an interview with Watchmen co-creator Dave Gibbons. Plus, you can buy the Owl ship!

Superman on Superman: Brandon Routh says he’s quite dark enough, thank you.

Feast your eyes: The latest Watchmen teaser poster and a new, awesome-looking trailer.

Oldie but a goodie: A look at the poster for Clint Eastwood’s upcoming Gran Torino.

Nowhere fast: DC’s The Flash at a standstill

Kick-Ass review: Firstshowing has a script review of Matthew Vaughn’s Kick-Ass. Vaughn made the stylish Layer Cake with Daniel Craig, and is now helming this comic-book adaptation, costarring Nicolas Cage.

A glimpse into the future: Director McG blogs about post-production work on Terminator Salvation.

From Tropic to Trial? Ben Stiller in talks to direct the Spielberg/Dreamworks project, Trial of the Chicago 7.

Spoilers alert! io9 has the latest scoop on Watchmen, Star Trek and Transformers 2.

Nazi-killer looks: Brad Pitt as the rugged lead in Quentin Tarantino’s WWII flick, Inglourious Basterds (yes, it’s really spelled that way).

Bond doesn’t do Norse code: Daniel Craig says he turned down the lead in the upcoming Marvel Comics flick, Thor.

Samuel L. Jackson gets more Fury-ous: Jackson’s character Nick Fury, who appeared at the end of Iron Man, will reportedly have a larger role in Iron Man 2.

More bucks for Chuck: Chuck Palahniuk’s novel Haunted is heading to the big screen; gets a director.

First things first: Fanboys, prepare to salivate. Roughly 30 minutes of comic-book opus Watchmen was officially shown to the press in Hollywood, and according to at least one report, which I’ve linked to below, the film is destined to cure cancer, solve our economic crisis and ensure that McCain/Palin never get within a hockey mom’s slapshot of the White House.

Bobby and Marty, together again: This news just warms my Italian heart. Robert De Niro and Martin Scorcese to reunite for another mob flick, a screen adaptation of I Heard You Paint Houses.

Hey, Jude: Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes set to begin filming, with Dr. Watson played by Jude Law.

A big-screen pic-a-nic basket: Yogi Bear and Boo Boo are coming to a multiplex near you.

And the comic-book movies just keep on coming: Green Lantern gets green lit

Nearly a half hour of Watchmen footage released to press

Pirates of the Lone Ranger: Johnny Depp is back as Jack Sparrow and — Tonto?!

Child’s play: Spielberg to direct another kid’s sci-fi flick.

License to thrill: The Sun reviews Quantum of Solace.

Keeping watch: The latest on the Watchmen lawsuit between Fox and Warner Bros.

Rachel McAdams to cozy up to Sherlock Holmes?

It’s baaack! MGM working on a Poltergeist remake.

Todd Solondz is penning a sequel to Happiness.

Meanwhile, West Wing scribe Aaron Sorkin is conducting research for a film about Facebook.

Coens get burned: Burn After Reading fails to impress at the Venice Film Fest.

In a world without The Voice: Don LaFontaine passes on to the great movie trailer in the sky.

Pop quiz, hotshot: It’s your birthday, Keanu Reeves. What do you do? What DO YOU DO?!

Elementary, Dr. Watson? Crowe may join Downey Jr. for Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes.

The battle over Watchmen continues

It’s been a few weeks since I was sitting bewildered in the Baywalk Muvico as I viewed the trailer for Watchmen. Since then, I’ve been reading a co-worker’s copy of Alan Moore’s graphic novel, and my interest in the movie has gone up considerably. But recent legal squabbles have given the film’s ubiquitous tagline a rather somber twist. Who watches the Watchmen? Possibly none of us.

Sam Raimi may be bringing Jack Ryan back to the big screen. Could James Franco follow in the footsteps of Harrison Ford, Alec Baldwin and Ben Affleck as the intrepid CIA analyst?

Robert Downey Jr. prepares for his turn as Sherlock Holmes.

Lord of the Hellboy: Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro to cowrite The Hobbit.

Russell Crowe may portray legendary comedian Bill Hicks.

Here’s a crossover with potential: Iron Man tells the Dark Knight to go fuck himself.