It’s not too surprising to learn many movie bloggers aren’t fans of Mad Men. They’re movie geeks, not TV viewers, and they probably spend their Sunday nights re-watching favorite horror flicks and Dark Knight DVD extras. That’s why a lot of sites commenting on the news that Jon Hamm is joining Zack Snyder’s Sucker Punch focus on the movie and the Watchmen director more than on the actor. Which is fine for now, even if it makes the casting decision seem questionable, because ultimately this career move is going to help Hamm acquire fanboy fans, and that’s one thing he needs in order to truly become the next George Clooney.
After all, Clooney’s first major film role after becoming a star on TV’s ER was Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez’s vampire picture From Dusk Till Dawn. And Snyder’s movie isn’t too far off, regardless of the fact none of us really know what Sucker Punch is going to be like other than maybe a Return to Oz knockoff. That movie will bring Hamm to Comic-Con, which will potentially gain him more followers who think he’d be perfect for a Superman movie (Clooney played Batman soon after FDTD). And so on.
Many Mad Men fans might prefer for Hamm to concentrate on dramatic roles as he segues into a movie career, but like Clooney, Hamm is likely better suited for genre films and silly comedies first. He certainly has shown he enjoys and can do comedic acting via 30 Rock, SNL and a FunnyorDie sketch that already got the geeks’ attention with his portrayal of Lex Luthor. Might he try being cast in a Coen Brothers film next? Or should he reconnect with the makers of The Ten and make David Wain & co. his goofball collaborators instead?
The only Clooney career step I’d like Hamm to avoid is the big budget, non-geek-centric action movie. He doesn’t need a Peacemaker or a Perfect Storm, and we kinda hope he got that sort of thing out of his system with The Day the Earth Stood Still. Plus, Hamm is already entering the film biz later than Clooney. When he was Hamm’s age, Clooney’d already made two of his best films, Out of Sight and Three Kings.
Let me know what kind of films you’d like to see Hamm do and what you think would be good for him to do. Before commenting, though, check out what some other film bloggers are saying about his latest film choice after the jump:
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The Day The Earth Stood Still managed to pull in $30 million dollars this past weekend, which you can mostly attribute to clever marketing, but it’s not a promising number for the much-loathed movie, which is sitting at 21% on Rotten Tomatoes right now. Beyond the wooden acting and the eviscerating of a beloved sci fi classic that most people are talking about, there are some moments in this movie that just make my teeth clench. Moments that are so poorly written, thought out, filmed, and constructed that I just can’t keep myself from venting. Read on to see all five, and just in case it’s not clear enough from the header: there are spoilers below.
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One of the biggest travesties about the remake of The Day The Earth Stood Still is that Jon Hamm only has a bit part in it. Frankly, if he’d played Klaatu, this might have been a movie worth watching. He’s spent the last two years winning our hearts and wardrobes over as Don Draper on AMC’s Mad Men, and he’s worth a lot more than a small part in a science fiction remake.
WIth that in mind, here are five classic science fiction remakes that we’d like to see Jon Hamm take the helm in. If he brings along any of his television co-stars, that would bring some bonus points. But his slicked-back hair and calm demeanor don’t need any assistance. Check out the list after the break and hope that someone at a studio somewhere is paying attention.
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Keanu Reeves tells Kevin Buist–in very inhuman terms–what it’s like to be an alien getting in touch with his “humanness,” just before Kevin gets melted by a cosmic glare for being near Keanu at Comic-Con. So, what’s up with all these A-list Hollywood types going to a comic book convention? Kevin tells the story of his first Comic-Con visit.
Eureka! One of the great documentaries to slip through the cracks in 2004 was released this week through new DVD label, Carnivalesque FIlms. Mardi Gras: Made in China deftly examines globalization by stringing together life in a Chinese bead factory with the drunken, breast-baring party life of New Orleans during Mardi Gras.
Plus, a listener emails us two movies about female vigilantes. Can you guess what they are?
FilmCouch 81 [30:14m]:
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The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008)
FOX Studio really does it up at Comic-Con 2008 with Keanu, Jennifer Connelly (The Day the Earth Stood Still) Mark Wahlberg, Ludacris (Max Payne) and a surprise appearance by Hugh Jackman with footage “from his bag” of Wolverine.
Highlights:
- Surprise preview reel of Wolverine joins previews of The Day the Earth Stood Still and Max Payne.
- TDESS should really piss of conservatives with it’s heavy human vs. environment condemnation.
- Mark Wahlberg speaks Russian? (Of course, girls love it)
- Max Payne looks like “The Departed with 1,000 times more violence.”
- Wolverine will cut Liev Schreiber’s “goddam head off.”
Read the full liveblogging transcript below.
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So, it’s only the Thursday schedule they’re leaking over at the San Diego headquarters for Comic-Con, but it looks packed.
Start the day with a coffee and Click & Clack, The Tappit Brothers (only PBS would cash in on primetime Family Guy territory with an animated NPR talk show), then head over for a sneak peak at Keanu Reeves and Jennifer Connelly in a remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still, more campy source material to convert into a money maker. (Check back, we’ll be liveblogging Comic-Con 2008 when it starts, July 24.)
Read the full Thursday schedule for Comic-Con 2008 after the jump.
UPDATE: At the request of a WB publicist, we made a correction to the information below on the Dark Castle Entertainment panel.
UPDATE 2: David Glanzer from Comic-Con has left a comment below. David says: “Just a heads up that the schedule was for internal use and isn’t the “official” schedule. There are still changes to be made, so this isn’t a final.”
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Fox may frustrate fanboys once again. Though not as sharp a jab as the studio’s Watchmen lawsuit, an option Fox holds on Emily Blunt could potentially keep her from playing Black Widow in Marvel/Paramount’s Iron Man 2 (a role she’s perfect for). Instead, she’ll have to settle on starring opposite Jack Black in Fox’s reimagined adaptation of Gulliver’s Travels.
