Next week, Vin Diesel returns (along with Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez and Jordanna Brewster) to the Fast and the Furious franchise, which he’d abandoned after the first movie (he did have a cameo in part 3). When news first hit that he’d be reprising the role of Dominic Toretto for the fourth installment, simply titled Fast & Furious, most of us saw the actor as returning under a veil of shame. Because he initially departed the series with an inflated ego — and with it unrealistic salary demands — it does seem obvious that Diesel is now only desperately crawling back because his career failed to take off the way he’d hoped it would.
This is quite sad considering not even Steve Guttenberg ever crawled back to the Police Academy movies, nor did Burt Reynolds ever get dragged back for a fourth Smokey and the Bandit. But there have been other shameful returns by stars to franchises they’d previously sat out of (whether the hiatus was of their own choosing or not). Only one of these may have been as desperate as Diesel now appears, but it’s worth looking at four additional actors and actresses who should be very embarrassed of their delayed reprisals. …Read more
The song “Star Wars” by a capella group Moosebutter is nearly a decade old, but it’s suddenly becoming a hit thanks to the popular YouTube video “Star Wars - an a capella tribute to John Williams,” which has been showcased everywhere from StarWars.com to an NBC affiliate in Atlanta. The problem with the new video is that it makes its star, paid YouTuber Corey Vidal, seem like he’s the one responsible for both the song and its performance. He does give credit to Moosebutter, whose permission he received prior to making his clip, but it doesn’t seem to be enough. How many viewers actually read the info about the videos they watch on YouTube?
Okay, so Vidal’s lip-syncing is entertaining, but I also thought it was him singing — all four parts — and so initially was impressed by that. Otherwise his talent is merely good memorization skills and simple composite editing. And for that he’s gotten 1.4 million views. In response, the guys from Moosebutter have put up a video of themselves, minus one member, performing the song live in 2005. That’s the clip I’m featuring instead of Vidal’s, and here’s hoping that it gets at least half the views as the clip that’s getting all the fame.
When I was a kid, I assumed all third installments in a horror series had to capitalize on the ability to turn the “3″ in the title into “3-D.” Now, looking back, I only really remember (and can only find proof of) Jaws 3-D, Friday the 13th 3-Dand Amityville 3-D. But that isn’t stopping me from assuming Hollywood will once again abuse the gimmick. And judging by today’s news from Disney that the third installment of Step Up will be in 3D (and is tentatively titled simply, appropriately and marketably Step Up 3-D), the integrity of digital 3D — as the hope for the future of exhibition rather than as another passing fad — is on its way down.
Of course, we’re in a big 3D trend right now, whether it continues as something more than that or not, and it at least makes sense for Hollywood to make decisions like this, and obviously it’s more logical as far as the title is concerned. I know that Toy Story 3will be appropriately in 3D, too. Others will likely follow, and it’s better than the confusing mis-step that has been occurring lately with non-threequel sequels (and non-sequels).
Upcoming sequels Shrek 4 and Final Destination 4will also be released in digital 3D, but titularly that’s confusing (especially because of DreamWorks’ direct-to-video release Shrek 4-D, aka Shrek 3-D). Fortunately for the former, it currently has a less-confusing title of Shrek Goes Fourth. As for Final Destination, New Line had once intended for the third installment to be appropriately a 3D film and be titled Final Destination 3-D. So it is fair that the studio had previously had the idea. But what will it be called?
Two of this year’s Oscar winning films were sequels. And only two Oscar-nominated films are officially slated for sequels. But only one film fits both of these truths. The Bourne Ultimatum, which was a bit of an upset in its winning of three Academy Awards, including the shocker of Best Editing (which Christopher Rouse certainly deserved), will definitely be getting a follow-up, if this Variety article from Friday is correct (via Cinematicaland Empire). The possibility of a fourth Bourne installment has been floating around for awhile now, despite the fact that Ultimatum so nicely tied up the series’ storyline and despite implications from Matt Damon and Paul Greengrass that continuing the franchise is unnecessary. But considering Ultimatum was a box office hit, and a critical favorite (it was one of the best mainstream films of the year) and has now won three Oscars, it seems like a no-brainer that Universal should want to keep Jason Bourne running.
The same can’t be said for that other Oscar-winning sequel, Elizabeth: The Golden Age. Although director Shekhar Kapur has said he wants Elizabeth to be a trilogy, it’s unlikely that the third film will be greenlit anytime soon. Of course, the plan is to revisit the story after another decade and things could well be different in ten years. Even if it weren’t likely to be a box office or critical success, it could be worth making just for the Oscar glory. I know that Alexandra Byrne wasn’t the first costume designer to receive Oscar nominations for work on two different films in the same series (Ngila Dickson and Richard Taylor were both nominated for two LOTRfilms), but if she suited Cate up again for a third film, she might be the first to have that honor of making it three. Meanwhile, Cate could also be the first actor or actress to be nominated three times for playing the same character.
We’ve had a bit of trouble getting this episode to go through the iTunes feed, so we hope this re-post will fix the problem. The original post, with episode description and embedded player, is here.
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Two of this year’s Oscar winning films were sequels. And only two Oscar-nominated films are officially slated for sequels. But only one film fits both of these truths. 
