In all likelihood, a new documentary about Robert Pattinson titled Robsessed is a total cash grab and a waste of time. But let’s not completely toss aside the potential of this film, which UK-based distributor Revolver Entertainment has acquired and will release to DVD in the U.S. around the time that The Twilight Saga: New Moon opens in theaters.

I’m reminded of all the late night commercials I used to see for Biggie & Tupac years ago. The way the film was being sold sure made it seem at the time to be as cheap and disregardable as any of those compilation CD sets advertised in the same late hours. I never would have guessed the film was made by such an interesting filmmaker as Nick Broomfield, who I now place within my top five favorite documentarians. If only I’d been a bigger hip hop enthusiast I might have discovered Broomfield earlier than I did.

Likewise, if I’d been a greater Nirvana fan I might have been turned onto the filmmaker through his prior doc Kurt and Courtney (it wasn’t until years later when I wrote a paper on first-person documentaries that I acquainted myself with Broomfield’s films). And speaking of Kurt Cobain, I’m sure some of his young fans rented Kurt Cobain About a Son only to wind up interested in non-traditional documentary and the further work of director A.J. Schnack.

Could Robsessed really have been directed by a true talent like Broomfield and Schnack? It’s hard to imagine, especially since neither the news release nor Revolver’s website reveals the filmmaker behind this documentary. But since the film may concentrate primarily on Pattinson’s obsessed fanbase, it could at least be as interesting as docs like Trekkies and We Are Wizards, which deal with devout followers of the Star Trek and Harry Potter franchises, respectively.

I wouldn’t write Robsessed off so much as I’d say to ignore the film’s DVD-set companion, a pre-Twilight RPattz movie titled The Haunted Airmen.

Check out what other film bloggers are saying about the documentary after the jump:

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While most water cooler discussions today focused completely on the Kanye West VMA controversy, the playground likely had room for another topic related to MTV’s award show: the new trailer for The Twilight Saga: New Moon. But were the boys participating in that talk? Summit probably hopes so given that the spot seems to be trying harder to appeal to that young male demographic.

I don’t think the attempt will work, however. For the first Twilight film, after reaching out to the true, female-dominated fanbase, Summit released a trailer that admirably sold the thing as if it were a superhero movie. It came really close to getting me in the theater. This time they’ve got another more action-heavy trailer, which at times makes New Moon seem like The Matrix as directed by Stephen Sommers. Which I guess might seem cool to teenage boys. But there’s still enough obligatory beefcake shots and romantic fluff to overpower that idea.

Male moviegoers, feel free to prove me wrong. First, though, let’s see where the other film blogs stand on the issue after the jump:

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How else to explain the fact that the new New Moon trailer has debuted in France before America than to assume French Twilighters are considered better and more deserving than those in the U.S.? Or, is this just part of the continued teaserific marketing strategy from Summit? After yesterday’s trailer teaser ridiculousness, I wouldn’t put it past them, even if the thing was unofficial, recorded on video cam inside a theater and removed for copyright reasons later today. If Summit is really into teasing and whetting appetites, it was likely enough, considering any true Twilight fan would have been attentive enough to see the thing on any number of websites posting it this morning.

Anyway, since the trailer isn’t accessible anymore*, I’ve got nothing else to say about it — not that I know enough about the franchise to comment adequately anyway. I can at least share a screen capture of some bits that I found on a blog called My Twilife. So enjoy that little tease on the right there.

Let’s see what the film blogs are saying about this latest nibble for the impatient fans after the jump:
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I would title this Bloggery “Comic-Con 2009 Day 2,” but I’m going to reach back a little to the second half of Day 1 since yesterday’s post went up before the Avatar panel, plus people are still talking about that New Moon presentation more than 24 hours later. Unfortunately, there’s so much news and hype coming out of the Con today (Gary Oldman spills Batman 3 beans! Saw VII is greenlit!) that I may ignore some the stuff I care less about, like all the “awesome!!” responses to movies that will more than likely be commercial failures (like the ten listed here). Unless they’re really hilarious or profound.

Without further ado (I have little to say in this intro because I’m not at the Con), check out my favorite coverage from San Diego from the last 24 hours after the jump:
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SpoutBlog is sitting out this year’s San Diego Comic-Con International, but that doesn’t mean we’re not paying attention to the geek mecca from afar. In a way, we get to have a more sane perspective without all the screaming and crowdedness (between Twilight and Johnny Depp, it’s apparently madness). Plus, we’re checking out all of the direct coverage, and I do believe we’re getting a more comprehensive experience this way.

I’ve selected some of my favorite coverage from the last 24 hours so that you may share in the appreciation as a fellow outsider (or maybe you’re there and want to see what others have seen/heard). Check out all the best comments, videos and links after the jump:

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Just as we’d prefer for Hollywood to remake bad films rather than beloved classics, we’d also like to see more TV adaptations of obscure and failed series — as long as there’s going to be such a giant void of creativity anyway, why not go for the forgotten titles and at least make it seem like you’ve got fresh ideas?

Unfortunately, Hollywood continues to ignore our logic and is instead adapting the popular 80s cop show T.J. Hooker for the big screen. It may not be the most familiar or beloved series of all time, but it has enough name recognition to make it a success, a la the S.W.A.T. and Starsky & Hutch movies before it.

We have no interest in yet another veteran/rookie team-up, though, especially a blatantly recycled one. So we decided to mine deeper into our TV Guide issues from the 80s and pick out some lesser-known high-concept shows that would make awesome movies if only they had more of a built-in, nostalgic audience to justify a green light.

Check out our pitches after the jump, and thank us when Hollywood gets wise to the ideas.
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She went from the Bible to Stephanie Meyer and now she’s finally working with a great writer’s work. Having been dumped from the Twilight franchise, Catherine Hardwicke has selected her next film project: a modernized version of Hamlet starring her Lords of Dogtown star Emile Hirsch. And, of course, everyone has jokes that this umpteenth adaptation of the Shakespeare tragedy will be filled with vampires. But clearly Hardwicke is trying to get away from the series that left her behind. Instead of moving on to a more Twilight-related play like Romeo and Juliet or A Midsummer Night’s Dream, she has gone for the great Danish prince.

Of course, having already seen Hamlet updated to modern times, I would be happier if Hardwicke was making a high school-set version (this one will supposedly take place at a college), since my favorite contemporary takes are those adapted to teenage characters (see 10 Things I Hate About You, O and even She’s the Man). Maybe nobody wants to go there since Focus Features bombed so badly last year with the high school-set Hamlet 2.

I doubt many Twilight fans care about what Hardwicke does next — unless she casts Robert Pattinson as Horatio — but the film blogs think she should cater to their needs. Check out their responses to this news after the jump:

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The first (real) trailer for the Twilight sequel New Moon debuted at the MTV Movie Awards last night, and while it appears to be receiving less attention and buzz than the Bruno/Eminem stunt, it is stirring a bit (just a bit) of noise on the Interweb today. Though I admit to not being very familiar with the franchise, I think it’s a well done spot considering the film is still shooting. I especially like the parallel action of the junkie-like lunging of the rude birthday party guest and the shapeshifting leap attack from Taylor Lautner’s werewolf character. Those in the Twilight world are apparently very quick to their feet when it comes to both cravings and savings.

Still, probably my least favorite thing ever is a CGI werewolf, whether its in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Cursed, Van Helsing or any other lycanthropic films I purposefully avoided and forgot about. The one in the New Moon trailer, however, is relatively decent-looking. But could that just be because it looks adorable?

Obviously the majority of my bloggery peers are responding with ignorance and disinterest, but surely there are a few non-Twilight-obsessed movie sites excited about this sequel. Let’s take a look after the jump:

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If these Bloggery roundup posts were truly meant to represent the hottest film news of the day, they’d always be about Twilight, or at least its star, Robert Pattinson. As I’ve learned from regularly monitoring movie sites, there’s something relative to the franchise to report on at least once every 24 hours (today we somehow got double news, with Pattinson announcing he’s committed to a fourth installment). And it will continue to be this way for the next few years. So forgive me this one time for caving in, like others, to turn the spotlight on an advertisement for a movie I know little about and likely will not see.

At least I do have an appreciation for posters, as an artform. And at least a lot of the commentary coming from the blogs regarding this new The Twilight Saga: New Moon one-sheet is humorous. Otherwise, I wouldn’t bother with it. Everyone knows we’re going to see another hundred or so marketing images for the sequel before its November release (this wasn’t even the first), so why bother talking about just one? Here’s why: to point out that between this and the official teaser poster for Where the Wild Things Are, movie marketers are really into forestry shots with background light sources.

Okay, that wasn’t very funny (honestly, it wasn’t really supposed to be, anyway), so I’ll just leave it to the film bloggers with more wit to make us laugh at this heavily airbrushed poster. Check out the Twilight jokes after the jump:

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Here’s some late breaking news today: Martin Scorsese is set to direct a biopic about Frank Sinatra, which is being scripted by Phil Alden Robinson (Field of Dreams). That’s about all that’s known so far, as the project is in early stages. Apparently Scorsese, whose past biopics include The Aviator (Howard Hughes) and Raging Bull (Jake La Motta), has been quietly developing this one for a few years and just recently secured both the life and the music rights.

Now it’s up to us bloggers to fill in the rest with speculation about what it will be called, what it will include and, most importantly, who will play the lead. Most writers are guessing that Leonardo DiCaprio will land the part, but I’m hoping Scorsese concentrates on the later years so that Dennis Hopper can reprise his portrayal from the Australian film The Night We Called It a Day. After all, isn’t it about time Scorsese directed Hopper? They were both in the Scorsese-produced Search and Destroy, but that’s just not enough. At least let Hopper play the old Sinatra after DiCaprio (or Robert Pattinson) plays the young version. And obviously Kate Beckinsale gets to reprise her role as Ava Gardner from The Aviator, right?

Also: if the title is anything other than The Chairman of the Board, I’m not going to see it. So what if it’s too close to a movie starring Carrot Top? It’s time to take the name back for Ol’ Blue Eyes!

Okay, let’s see what the rest of the net is saying about this exciting project:
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There will be sequels to both Star Trek and X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Not only are these now officially greenlit, but they’re also what we call “likely sequels” prior to their certainty — meaning we all saw them coming way before Paramount and Fox, respectively, announced them. However, it’s not necessarily a given that a successful movie will always spawn a follow-up. For example, box office record-holder Titanic could never become a franchise.

Of course, people will always joke about the possibilities for a Titanic sequel, and that kind of humor is what makes the Twitter meme #unlikelysequels so entertaining. Unfortunately, 140 characters allows for little more than a proposed sequel title (and yes, “Titanic 2: Jack’s Back” is among them), so we have decided to expand on ten favorites by providing the synopsis and, for some, casting suggestions.
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Many critics will no doubt rip apart Robert Pattinson’s performance as Salvador Dali in Little Ashes this weekend, but the truth is that it’s a surprisingly good portrayal of the artist. That is to say that given our expectations, combined with Pattinson’s own celebrity, added to the fact that anyone would look ridiculous sporting Dali’s signature mustache (even Dali), the Twilight actor does as well in the role as is possible. Is the performance Oscar-worthy? Certainly not, but it is deserving of some level of praise.

Pattinson’s Dali follows a long tradition of surprisingly good portrayals of iconic figures. Movie stars are constantly cast as famous persons they barely resemble, and often it’s difficult to shake off our identification with the player in order to accept him/her as the depicted individual. Some of these performances are better than others, and most have been honored by the Academy, but each actor and actress listed below either initially seemed like a wrong choice for the respective part or he/she was at least understood to be taking on a difficult task in attempting to portray such a familiar personality.
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Never mind all those Oscar predictions posts out there. If you really want to make some money in the office pool, look no further than a random blog created specifically to leak the winners of this year’s Academy Awards. Think it’s a hoax? I guess we just won’t know until Sunday, will we? And by then you’ll be out hundreds of dollars because you didn’t bet on The Reader for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Okay, so who cares if it’s real or not, particularly in this predictable a year, anyway? The real betting should be on who the telecast producers have wrangled to be those “top secret” presenters. Oh wait, it seems the big names, those that obviously should be revealed in order to attract their audiences, have also come out.

Ah, but what are they saying about either leak on the interweb, you ask? As usual, check out the quotes/links after the jump.

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It’s probably a good thing I’m not head of Summit Entertainment, because I’d replace departed Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke with “SpookyDan,” a YouTube user who shot a three-minute remake of the first movie using puppets. Fans of Twilight probably wouldn’t appreciate having Robert Pattinson replace with a silent, plush version of Edward Cullen, although their ability to project their fantasy of the vampire heartthrob onto anyone or anything (Pattinson himself admits he needed to be a blank canvas) is probably powerful enough to get over the switcheroo.

Having not seen or read Twilight, I can’t say if this video is a faithful or sufficient representation of the story, but I’m going to admit that it’s good enough for me. But then, I’ll watch anything in which puppets replace human characters. Yes, even The Muppet Christmas Carol (actually, especially The Muppet Christmas Carol). As far as parody goes, I’d have loved to see Count von Count from Sesame Street make an appearance (I know I’ve seen Count puppets in toy stores). Judging by the dedication in the credits, though, I don’t think this is meant to be as much of a joke as it is intended to pay tribute.

Check out the sparkling puppet Edward after the jump.

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