Random Stuff #30

Trailer: Stoker

Oldboy director Park Chan-wook's English language debut Stoker couldn't look more beautiful and enticing in this trailer. The film is a bit of an oddball collaboration in that the script, said to be inspired by the Hitchcock classic Shadow of a Doubt, comes from the pen of Wentworth Miller, writing under the pseudonym Ted Foulke. Now "nuanced screenwriter" doesn't come to mind when thinking of Miller, or more so his acting (Prison Break, the voice of EDI in Stealth) - but perhaps he's a much better scribe than thespian (the script made 2010's Black List of unproduced screenplays). Anywho this Gothic-looking chiller, starring Nicole Kidman, Matthew Goode and Mia Wasikowska, could be an early highlight in 2013.

Alternate Ending: Toy Story 3

SPOILER WARNING: Do not read or watch any further if you have not seen Toy Story 3!! But if you have you'll probably find this prank pretty funny (well at least those of you with a dark sense of humour). The guy who made this video re-edited the film so it would end in that super-intense furnace scene where Woody and friends almost meet their death, then gave it to his mum as a christmas present. See what happens... (before Pixar takes this video down).

End-of-Week News Round-up

It's been another too-busy-to-blog week so here are a few items and news of interest:

GENERAL NEWS

• Way back in April when I last did this round-up, I featured the first look of Anthony Hopkins as Alfred Hitchcock. Now's here the first look of the poster for the film. Looks fantastic.
• Resident Fatso film geek Steve is currently in the US enjoying the glorious feast-of-film that is the Fantastic Fest, and he'll covering his experience over at Flicks - here's the first entry with his cinema-hopping-partner-in-crime Andrew Todd.
• There won't be a NZ Film Awards this year, but The Moas will be happening, a "Sorta Unofficial" celebration of the year in NZ film. More details here.
• James Gunn, director of Slither and Super, has been hired to write and direct Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy. I'm not at all familiar with these characters (superhero raccoons?) but it'll definitely be interesting to see Gunn's transition from his dark indie roots to something more blockbuster-y.

CLIPS

• Cinema Ninjas - One of the odder developments in cinema-going recently, London's Prince Charles Cinema have hired to people to dress up in bodysuits to go round shhhing punters who're being noisy etc. It looks like a prank or something, but it doesn't seem to be. Watch the vid below:

• P.T. Anderson's new flick The Master is getting a lot of coverage around the place lately, here's a brief clip of him talking about it and shooting on 65mm film:
 

• This movie looks kinda embarrassing and cringe but if you're a fan of late singer-songwriter Jeff Buckley, you might to want to check this trailer for Greetings from Tim Buckley:

Knowles on Kane

When Sight and Sound published their latest Top 10 a month or so ago, naming Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo as the #1, and knocking off Orson Welles' Citizen Kane off the throne, no doubt a lot of people were incensed (I have no qualms myself!). One of them was Ain't It Cool News' head Harry Knowles, who's now created a video professing his love for Welles' film and explaining why it should still be the greatest film of all time. Depending on how you feel about Knowles' style, his fanboy gushing can either be grating or infectious, but in this vid, he does make valid points about Kane's massive influence on cinema, particularly in the technical aspects. The only problem is when he starts off on a weird tangent about The Cabin in the Woods (Welles and Drew Goddard should not even be mentioned in the same sentence!) - he strains for credibility, and I kinda tuned out. It's worth a watch anyway, it works as an easy-to-digest primer on Kane (note: SPOILERS ABOUND!). P.S.: Kane is coming to Blu-ray end of October. Reserve your copy here.

Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon Googlefied

The party game known as "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon" has now been built into Google's search. Although not perfect, it's nevertheless fun to be able to find out how Kevin Bacon is associated with Alfred Hitchcock just via a quick search as per below:

Just type in "bacon number" followed by the star or filmmaker etc, and Google will throw up the results. More about it here. Good job, Google!

Trailer: The Girl

Of the two movies coming out on Alfred Hitchcock, I'm more excited about Sacha Gervasi's Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho than this HBO film, mainly for Anthony Hopkins - his make-up looks more convincingly like Hitchcock. But that's not to discount the performance of Toby Jones, who in this trailer looks like he's doing a fine job of inhabiting Hitch. Directed by Julian Jarrold (Becoming Jane), The Girl focuses on Hitch's relationship with actress Tippi Hedren (played by Sienna Miller), who most famously starred in The Birds... here's a sneak peek at what to expect:

For the Star Wars Fan with Everything #21

Perfect early Christmas gift idea for parents who want to foist their geekiness onto their kids?

Get your R2D2 lunch bag here!

"Edward and Bella" - A Bad Lip Reading of Twilight

I must admit I still haven't seen any Twilight movies - but this made my insides hurt.

Ocean's Eleven-Style Doco to Save the Ocean

Nat Geographic photographer Louie Psihoyos made an amazing documentary a few years ago called The Cove, which brought to the world's attention the ghastly dolphin massacres that were occurring in Japan. Now he's back with a new project, and it sounds like another ambitious, eco-conscious undertaking that's bound to enrage and educate. But he needs your help to complete it - here's the Kickstarter campaign to raise $50,000 for the film. As pitched by Psihoyos, the description of the doco is enough to pique one's interest: "Think Ocean’s Eleven, The Avengers, but this time it’s real." Can't wait to see what he comes up with.