Random Movie News....

I've been meaning to post about about some of these things...I believe I know about a lot of them before you read them elsewhere, but it's starting to look as if I'm constantly on the late train. I will do my best to do some timely posting, maybe some one-offs instead of waiting and putting everything in one post.

You know Ms. Invisible is not a hater by any means, but there are some people that really and truly grate my nerves, and seem to be doing nothing to alleviate it. So when I hear that Beyonce says she wants to star as the comic book heroine Wonder Woman in a movie, I am beginning to feel that she might secretly be torturing me and laughing. Oh, Ms. Sasha Fierce...I mean really, WTF? You can read the story HERE.

This next person doesn't get on my nerves, but his movies sure do.

Chris Rock is remaking the British film "Death At A Funeral" and it's described as this:

'The ensemble comedy will take place in an urban American setting and centers on a funeral ceremony that devolves into a debacle of misplaced cadavers, indecent exposure and family secrets. The cast will be primarily black, supplanting the earlier, England-set version's British cast.'

and one of the quotes in the Hollywood Reporter story was this:

"Chris, who was an unabashed fan of the film, came to us with a hysterical, completely new reimagining of the original concept," said SKE's Jim Tauber, who is serving as an executive producer along with scribe Craig.

Whatev! Sergio and I both agreed that Rock hasn't made a decent or funny film since "CB4" in 1992, and I really didn't even think that one was all that great.

One more nerve grating entry, if you can stand it; this one is a doozy. From MTV:

'Hitherto known simply as “The Untitled Wayans Brothers Project,” the upcoming film from Marlon, Shawn, Keenen Ivory and nephew Damien will be appropriately called “Dance Flick” and spoof movies like “Save the Last Dance,” “Hairspray,” “You Got Served” and, yes, “High School Musical.” '

From IW: **crickets**

Let's move on to something less depressing, shall we? My beloved filmloving comrade Tambay Obenson is having a wonderful screening of "A Good Day To Be Black And Sexy". Here are the details--please support him and this movie!

When:Wednesday Nov 12, 2008at 7:00 PM

Where:Cobble Hill Cinema 265 Court Street Brooklyn, New York

Admission: S10.00

RSVP: RSVP@actnowproduction.org /ActNow is a Not-For-Profit Theater & Film Co /Take F or G train to Bergen St
http://theblackandsexymovie.com/

From IW: I haven't seen the film yet, but judging by this trailer, apparently it involves lots of Black people and lots of sex, haha:




Sergio emailed me a story about a Will Smith collaboration with Steven Spielberg to do a remake of a Korean film called "Old Boy". He thought that it was a huge mistake for the two of them to be involved with this film. I had never heard of the movie, but was curious, so I watched it over the weekend.

I must say, it was really dark, with things like incest involved, and some very heavy duty sex and violence scenes--very non-Smith to say the least. I agree with Sergio; the beauty of this film is it's intensity, and if Smith and Spielberg don't roll with it to the fullest, then why even bother remaking it? If they do roll with it, it will be positively groundbreaking for Will, but I wouldn't place any bets that it will happen. Here is the trailer from the original movie:





And last but not least, the Black Hollywood Film Festival is calling for entries, heads up to my filmmaking and screenwriting fam that read this blog:

The Hollywood Black Film Festival (HBFF) has announced its Call for Entries for the 10th Anniversary of its annual competitive festival for Black filmmakers. HBFF 2009 will be held June 2-7, 2009 in Beverly Hills, California. The festival will feature narrative and documentary features, short and student films, music videos and animation in its competitive program. HBFF also presents a separate Storyteller Competition for screenwriters.

The festival will be accepting submissions through February 15, 2009. Films must have been completed since September 2007 and one of the film’s creative principals (director, writer or producer) must be Black or of African heritage. The early-bird deadline for film and screenplay submissions was January 15, 2009, the final deadline is February 15, 2009. Submission forms and guidelines can be obtained by visiting the official festival website at http://www.hbff.org.