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Sex Sequel and Emily the Strange. Trade Roughage 05/30/08

Karina Longworth
By Karina Longworth posted 3 months ago
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  • Hellboy producer Mike Richardson is bringing the saga of Emily the Strange––the sad little black haired cat girl who you might remember from t-shirts and stickers with you were a teenager in the 90s––to the big screen. Terrible timing––this is the role Christina Ricci was born to play, but not only is she probably too old by now, but after Speed Racer she probably wouldn’t be able to get the job.
  • David Gordon Green will direct Your Highness, a fantasy comedy written y Danny McBride and Ben Best, the stars/co-writers of The Foot Fist Way.
  • “Best-case scenario would be for Sex and the City to wind up with same kind of numbers as The Devil Wears Prada, with $200 million internationally,” predicts Variety. The trade doesn’t mention that tracking currently has the film pegged at a $30 million opening weekend, far below the $50 million that Variety claims the Indiana Jones sequel could take in in its second week.
  • Would a second place opening weekend dim SatC director Michael Patrick King’s confidence? Upon landing a first-lookdeal with Dreamworks on the eve of his directorial debut’s release, he coyly hinted at the possibility of a sequel. “The actresses are great, and if the gods smile and people are still interested, why not?” he told Variety. Sex, excess, and pantheism––it’s ancient Rome all over again.

Summer Time is Here

Christopher Campbell
By Christopher Campbell posted 4 months ago
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Never mind the fact that my school just let out for spring break. It’s a beautiful 77 degrees in New York City today, the outdoor bars are open and I’m wearing shorts for the first time this year. Plus, the Entertainment Weekly Summer Movie Preview just arrived in my mailbox, giving me the signal that it is officially the blockbuster season. Sure, May 2nd isn’t for two more weeks, when technically Iron Man begins the summer movie stretch (can’t we just pretend The Forbidden Kingdom is the first summer action flick?), but nothing says, “break out the beach ball,” like the bible of blockbuster buzz.

Yet there’s something strange about this year’s issue. There’s a little less marketing-agency-fueled promotion and a little more reality checking. Maybe it’s because these days, thanks to the web, most moviegoers have already heard about the big releases. That would explain why EW devotes most of its two-page spread on The Incredible Hulk to describing its troubles:

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The Foot Fist Way Trailer

Christopher Campbell
By Christopher Campbell posted 6 months ago
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I don’t know what I’m happier about, the fact that “Bust-Ass” from All the Real Girls has been getting a lot of supporting roles in big comedies (Hot Rod, The Heartbreak Kid, Pineapple Express, Drillbit Taylor, Tropic Thunder) or that he’s got the starring role in this little comedy, which ought to receive a decent theatrical run courtesy of Paramount Vantage. I’ll tell the truth, though; I hadn’t heard of The Foot Fist Way until I was directed [via ComingSoon.net] to the movie’s new “restricted” trailer. Apparently it was quite popular when it screened at Sundance in 2007, and it so far has a rating of 9.7 stars out of 10 on its IMDb page (though only 29 people have rated it so far).

This trailer does something interesting that isn’t seen much in the world of movie marketing. It employs a sort of peer-recommendation that we’re used to seeing on book jackets. The trailer mentions the fact that it has been watched by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay at least 20 times, that it has been quoted by them and that they obsess over it. The only thing it’s missing is an actual appearance from the pair, or at least a direct statement from them. I feel like something less second-hand would be more effective.

The Foot Fist Way is scheduled to open April 11.