B.I.G Mistake???

The trailer for a biopic on the life of notorious (pardon the pun) rapper Biggie Smalls hit the world wide web today and, to my surprise, actually looks quite good. Newcomer Jamal Woolard is playing Biggie also known as the Notorious B.I.G and you can view the trailer here at yahoo movies http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1810008210/video/9861799
It will be interesting to see the effect this film has on the hip hop community upon its 2009 release especially since some of the central characters in the film are still alive today e.g Puff Daddy and Snoop Dogg. Until then, here’s a brief list of films I recommend to wet you appetite on the gangster rapper sub-genre-

Biggie and Tupac (2002)

This is an awesome documentary and a Herculean effort on behalf of white director Nick Broomfield who ploughed through the neighbourhoods of Tupac and Biggie in attempt to uncover the truth behind their deaths. There’s some brilliant and rare footage of the two rappers in their youth hustling and freestyling on the streets of Brooklyn. More than just the back-story, Broomfield literally risks his life to document the events that led to the untimely deaths of two promising artists.
Get Rich or Die Tryin (2006)
From six time Oscar nominated director Jim Sheridan this film is based on the youth of Curtis `50 cent’ Jackson. Sheridan’s film exceeds the gangster genre by refusing to skimp on the details. He shows his protagonist for what he is; a criminal who leads a dangerous and empty life. Critically this was extremely well received and praised for working as a gritty crime thriller. A must see.

Fear of a Black Hat (1994)

A true diamond in the rough, this is one of the funniest films I have seen to date. A spoof on the hip hop culture of the nineties this mockumentary follows the journey of fictional rap group Niggaz With Hats as they try to conquer the international music scene. Along with an awesome response on Rotten Tomatoes, the parodies in the film are way ahead of its time.

A bone to pick . . .

I said I’d keep you updated on the filming of The Lovely Bones but unfortunately since my last post there hasn’t been much to report. The only recent snippet from the Peter Jackson camp was shooting has been progressing ahead of schedule. THIS JUST IN! Clearly enough of the movie has been filmed to throw together a trailer and the press in London were treated to an exclusive screening last week. A contributor from online movie and video games bible Ain’t It Cool News had this to say:
“Finally we got to see the trailer for lovely bones – have not read the book myself but my girlfriend ensures me that from the footage I described the film should be a massive hit. Trailer is very upsetting but in my mind give away WAY too much of the plot.”
Hmmm. . . well the subject of the entire book is quite upsetting so I’ll overlook that comment. I mean, honestly, a novel about a 14-year-old girl who is raped and murdered isn’t exactly going to draw fans from the The Devil Wears Prada and Memoirs of a Geisha crowd. Frankly, if the film wasn’t upsetting then I’d be calling Jackson a sell out for steering away from Alice Sebold’s original material. I hope not too much of the plot is revealed because although audiences will want to know in detail what the movie is about (in 2 to 3 minutes mind you) they still need to want to know more to go and see it.

I just hope they post the trailer on YouTube soon.

New Bond theme song

Forget 007, it’s 00-heaven baby! I’m totally loving the new Bond theme song which hit the net late last night. White Stripes frontman Jack White wrote, produced, sang and drummed on the track backed up by the always awesome Alicia Keys. The song is called `Another Way To Die’ and you can listen to it here: http://stereogum.com/archives/new-jack-white-alicia-keys-another-way-to-die_022371.html. Personally I’m diggin’ the new theme and the vocals are amazing. However, there’s been a lot of negative feedback online. What do you think? I can’t wait to see what they do with the opening credits as the song plays in the background. The new Bond film, Quantum of Solace, is out November 27 in Australia.

Six on the beach

For no other reason besides the fact I can, I’ve complied a list of my top six favourite directors. If I provided explanations behind my choices this post would probably end up three times the size of `The Power of Levitt-ation’ and nobody wants to go through that. The following are in no particularly order and I’ve also included a few notable mentions of directors I love but not as much as those featured in the top six. Some, like Ben Affleck and Rian Johnson still have to prove themselves but from their debut directorial offerings I’m a fan.

Movie Mazzupial’s Top Six Favourite Directors

Robert Rodriguez

Tim Burton
Hayao Miyazaki Terrence Malick Quentin Tarantino
Ang Lee

Honourable mentions: Guillermo del Toro, Clint Eastwood, Brad Bird, Wes Craven, Chris Nolan, Alfred Hitchcock, Peter Jackson, Rian Johnson, Tim Robbins and Ben Affleck.

It's school horror-days again . . .

It Thursday again but this week it’s school holiday season (shudder).Yes, that means every time you go to the movies in the next two weeks little brats are going to be throwing popcorn at the back of your head while you try to enjoy a movie. Regardless, school holiday Thursday usually means more movies are released to take advantage of school-aged audiences and such is the case this week. Here’s a quick run down on today’s releases:
Wall-E-

This has been hailed a masterpiece by pretty much every critic who has seen it and needless to say box office takings have been blockbuster ($220million in the US to date). With no human voices until the second third of the film Wall-E seems to draw from the great silent films of our time such as A Trip to the Moon and The Great Train Robbery . Once again, Pixar animation studios have outdone themselves smashing previous animation benchmarks. Directed by Andrew Stanton of Finding Nemo fame, people are pipping this to be the first animated film to win a best picture Oscar since 1989. FYI this baby scored a whopping 97% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Son of a Lion-
A complete change of pace from breathtaking animation, this art house film is made by young Aussie director Ben Gilmour. Shot in the depths of Pakistan it’s about an Islamic boy who wants to go to school instead of becoming a weapon maker like his father. Subtitles ensue.
Space Chimps-
Shoty animation from Dreamworks who have clearly tried to throw together another movie to roll off the success of Kung Fu Panda. My thoughts? The title tells you everything you need to know: there are chimps and they’re in space.
Wild Child-
Julia Roberts’ niece proves she certainly won’t be following in the footsteps of her Oscar winning auntie in this tween comedy about a spoilt American girl (yes, another one) sent to an English school to get her act together. You know what would be better? If Emma Roberts’ got her shit acting skills together.
Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging-
Another film aimed directly at the tween market but unlike Wild Child, this British offering seems do have some substance. Touted as a Bridget Jones for teenage girls it will be interesting to see if it can find an Australian market.
Step Brothers-
Wahoo. Another decent looking comedy from the Frat Pack. Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly team up again to play two unemployed, middle-aged men who end up as stepbrothers when their parents marry. Unlikely to be as good as Pineapple Express or Tropic Thunder, but from the gags shown in the trailer this still looks highly amusing.

The Power of Levitt-ation

Upon request last month I compiled a tribute to the always fabulous Rose McGowan, which received plenty of feedback from you faithful readers out there. So this time I’m going to pay tribute to my favourite up and coming actor, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and his cinematic career so far. Odds are you’ll probably recognise him as the kid from the tv shows Third Rock From The Sun and Roseanne . Since then he’s appeared in several films and worked as a camera operator. The 27-year-old’s first big break came playing one of four leads in the teenage comedy 10 Things I Hate About You alongside Heath Ledger. Since then he has progressed to bigger and better things by dodging the nerdy, white kid role he could have so easily been type cast in after 10 Things. Below is a list of my top three favourite Joseph Gordon-Levitt performances and some notable mentions.

3. Mysterious Skin (2005)

Absolutely haunting. That’s the description I would use to describe his portrayal of a teenager still scarred from being molested by his baseball coach at the age of eight. Gordon-Levitt plays Neil McCormick in this spine-tingling drama which stays with you long after the credits have rolled. The fact anyone would have felt comfortable enough with their own sexuality and acting ability to take on a role like this is amazing. What’s more, this film is very explicit showing and talking about homosexuality, rape, molestation, nudity, AIDS and so forth. There’s a saying in Hollywood which goes something along the lines of if you play a gay or mentally handicapped person you win an Oscar, as long as you don’t go too far. Gordon-Levitt goes far, waaaaay far. This film and his portrayal of Neil is so powerful, Mysterious Skin is now screened to paedophiles in American prisons and rehabilitation clinics to show them how the victims are affected years after the incident. A must see.
Best line:
Wendy: "Where normal people have a heart, Neil McCormick has a bottomless black hole. And if you don't watch out, you can fall in and get lost forever."

2. The Lookout (2007)

One of my favourite films of last year. It’s truly a shame this only ever a got a straight to DVD release in Australia. Gordon-Levitt is enthralling as a once promising high school athlete Chris Pratt who is now handicapped in a devastating car accident. He is truly brilliant as this young man struggling to live with brain damage similar to that of Guy Pearce’s character in Memento. Working as a janitor at a local bank he finds himself caught up in a planned heist. It’s hard to pigeon hole the genre of this film. I guess crime, thriller, noir, drama would suffice and undoubtedly Gordon-Levitt is the glue which holds this complicated web of a movie together. With a weaker lead actor this could have spiralled in to a B-grade slosh of a film. Instead, his sincerity and fragility makes this character truly believable and, quite simply, captivating to watch.
Best line:
Lewis: "You know, here I am, sitting at home alone every night while you're out getting blown and God knows what else by Luvlee something, who probably has a friend, and what, you don't introduce me?"
Chris: "Lemons. That's what it is."
Lewis: "That's what what is?"
Chris: "That's her last name."
Lewis: "Luvlee Lemons? That's her name?"
Chris: "Well, it's her stage name. She's a performer. Or she was."
Lewis: "Ah, and by stage I'm assuming you mean the kind with a pole?"
Chirs: "What do you mean?"

Lewis: "Let's move on."

1. Brick (2006)

Perhaps I’m a little biased because yet again this another one of my favourite movies (I realise that’s a long list). Brick tells the tale of high school outsider Brendan Frye, Gordon-Levitt, as he investigates the death of his ex-girlfriend played by Aussie actress Emile De Ravin who also appeared in The Hills Have Eyes. Essentially this is a noir, detective story reminiscent of a Humphrey Boggart film or The Maltese Falcon but in a high school setting. The script is superb, the dialogue is sharp and the performances from the young cast are excellent. However, it’s Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the lead who not only steals the show but carries the whole the film. His portrayal of this intelligent outsider who deals with the death of the women he still loves by taking on the local drug ring is to date one of my favourite performances of all time. How he manages to pull of the quiet strength of Brendan’s character and put up with getting beaten (literally) again and again is worth the 110 minute running time and then some. If you can only ever see one of Gordon-Levitt’s movies then this is it.
Best line: This movie is built on incredibly good lines and I have to say it’s too hard to pick just one. However, two favourites would be:
Brendan: "Come on at me, if you want, Hash-head. I've got all five senses and I slept last night, that puts me six up against the lot of you."
Assistant VP Gary: "You've helped this office out before."
Brendan: "No, I gave you Jerr to see him eaten, not to see you fed." Assistant VP Gary: "Fine. And very well put."
Brendan: "Accelerated English, with Mrs. Kasprzyk."Assistant VP Gary: "Tough teacher?" Brendan: "Tough but fair."

Notable Mentions

In 2005 Gordon-Levitt proved he can not only play a raging queer and male prostitute in Mysterious Skin, but he can also hold his own amongst a star studded cast of veteran Oscar winners in Shadowboxer. The film stars Helen Mirren as a female assassin with terminal cancer, Cuba Gooding Jnr, Macy Gray, Vanessa Ferlito and our Gordon-Levitt as Dr. Don. In 2006 he had a supporting role in Havoc alongside Anne Hathaway, Bijou Phillips, Channing Tatum and Freddy Rodriguez. Although he doesn’t get as much camera time as the other films mentioned here, his interpretation of Sam, a wannabe nigga or wigga (white-nigga) is completely new ground for him. More recently he played Tommy Burgess who’s emotionally scared after serving with the American army in the critically acclaimed Stop-Loss. He stars alongside Channing Tatum again in this movie too.

Coming Up

His latest film is a project called Killshot which is to be released later this year. It’s about a couple placed in the Federal Witness Protection program after witnessing a mob hit. They’re then targeted by an experienced hitman played by Mickey Rourke and a psychopathic young upstart killer played by Gordon Levitt. Diane Lane and Rosario Dawson also star and just quietly this film looks awesome! My heart was pumping overtime just watching the trailer which you can view here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=By23zDhB_-8: In 2009 he will once again appear alongside buddy-ol-pal Channing Tatum in the film adaptation of G.I Joe titled G.I Joe: Rise of the Cobra. He’s also set to try his hand at romantic comedies in 500 Days of Summer where he plays a man who falls for a woman who doesn’t believe in love, played by the always kooky Zooey Deschanel.

After Wednesday, but before Friday

What day is it? Can I get a T-H-U-R-S-D-A-Y! For us civilians it’s new movie day and while I was having a good ol flick through the new releases I noticed there’s not much opening today. Okay, you got me. The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor opens but frankly, as much as I like Brendan Fraser, even he can save the film from being a complete disaster. I think the producers have gone ‘hmmm . . .what can we do to make this deteriorating franchise better than the last two and just as appealing to audiences as recent blockbusters?’ And some fag as said `hey guys! I know what to do! Let’s put every mythical creature known to man in the film for Fraser and the gang to battle and for good measure we’ll chuck Jet Li in there too.’ This last comment must have generated a round of high fives in the producer bunker because going off the trailers I’ve seen, literally every magical being EVER is feature in the movie. Minus the unicorn but I’m sure it has a brief cameo too (Charlieeeeeee). The always boring Norah Jones makes her cinematic debut alongside Jude Law, Natalie Portman, James Spader and Rachel Weisz in My Blueberry Nights which is also out today. The film has had mixed reviews and is targeted somewhere between the film festival and sentimental romance crowd. Given the relatively slow opening Thursday I’m going to take the opportunity to catch up on some movies I’ve wanted to see for a while, namely In Bruges, The Visitor, Funny Games and Son of Rambow. I’ve heard only good things. Besides that I’ve literally seen everything else screening at the momento (i.e. Hellboy II: The Golden Army, The Dark Knight, Pineapple Express, Baby Mama, Tropic Thunder, Mamma Mia, Not Quite Hollywood, Wanted, The Strangers, Taken, Make It Happen, The Bank Job). I wouldn’t mind squeezing in The Edge of Heaven either because I’m a Cillian Murphy and Keira Knightley fan. Notably I’m neglecting Bonneville and Harold and Kumar escape from Guantanamo which are strictly DVD affairs. FYI Make It Happen is one of the top five worst movies I’ve seen. I’m actually amazed at how the makers could stuff up SO many things. I mean, if not by pure fluke, at least one thing should go right. But no, the acting, the soundtrack, the dancing, the costumes, the plot, the direction, the editing are appalling. I’m sensing a front runner at this year’s Razzie awards.

Useless fact: This day marks the seventh anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre. It also marks the day Mariah Carey’s film Glitter debuted in cinemas. Like two of the most iconic buildings in New York, Glitter also crashed and burned.

Hayao's in da house!

Well, this is awkward. Rewind to last week and I was all “blah blah blah go watch Laputa: Castle in the Sky on SBS as part of their Hayao Miyazaki tribute it should be great blah blah blah I’m so excited”. For those wishing to imitate me in the future that is exactly how I speak. Exactly. Cut a long story short I was not a fan of good ol’ Laputa and (just quietly) it barley holds a candle, let alone a flame, to its awesome predecessor Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. The problem is it crossed the fine line between mind blowing fantasy and ridiculous nonsense. And what was with the sexual subtext? The two lead characters are, like, 8-years old! A friend happened to point out various parts of the dialogue which are unintentional hilarious due to the said subtext.. In its defense, the animation was still incredible and repeatedly took my breath away to the point where a ventil puffer was my companion on the couch. James Van Der Beek did a sturdy job vocally in his role as the male lead BUT who would Anna Paquin still can’t act, even when she’s not on the screen! So, after enduring two hours of Laputa action I wondered . . . can I ever trust Miyazaki again?
HELL YES! The next night I rented Howl’s Moving Castle and fell in love with the beautiful plot, animation and characters.

I thought Howl’s brilliance even exceeded Nausicaa which is saying a lot because I’m a big, big fan of that film. Tonight SBS are again screening the next Miyazaki film called Kiki’s Delivery Service which I’m very curious about. Released in 1989 it’s a coming of age story about 13-year-old witch-in-training Kiki (FYI that’s cutting a long story short but I’m trying to keep this semi-brief). Miyazaki’s films seem to centre around a teenage female heroine and he handles this character type extremley well. You could say it’s what he’s at home doing, like Scorcese and bio-pics or Michael Bay and shit-house films.Anyway, I’m interested to see what Kiki is like and am keen to hear your thoughts. It’s on tonight, SBS, 10.05pm.

Nausicaa of the valley of the wind

Last Wednesday night I happened to be feeling a bit under the weather around approximately 10pm and was having a good old flick through the stations. I happened to come across an anime movie on SBS. So I started watching and within five minutes I was blown away by the sheer creativity, scope and quality of animation. Not to mention the absolutely brilliant concept and environmental message. When the credits came on it turned out Uma Thurman. Mark Hamill and Spielberg whore Shia LeBouef had voiced the main characters. Needless to say my interest was well and truly sparked by this gem of a film and the next day I sought out to discover what it was called. The movie was called Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind or Kaze no tani no Naushika in Japanese which is the language it first appeared in 1984. WTF? 1984! It’s been a week since then and I still can’t believe a film of this standard was made in the early eighties. It is brilliant, brilliant, brilliant!

Nausicaa was made by a lad called Hayao Miyazaki a Japanese director, screenwriter, character designer and legend. The story is too complex to explain but in a nutshell (help, I’m a giant nutshell) it’s about pacifist, warrior princess Nausicaa who leaves in the post apocalyptic Valley of the Wind. The rest of the world has sort of been taken over by giant insects and a toxic jungle with only a handful of human colonies surving. Obviously the film has strong environmentalist undertones which, considering its release date, are well before its time. As it turns out SBS are screening Hayao Miyazaki’s films every Wednesday night at 10.05pm. If you’re a night owl then I suggest you tune in to these because they are fan-freaking-tastic. Tonight his 1986 creation Laputa: Castle in the Sky is on. Anna Paquin and James Van Der Beek (aka Dawson) voice the two main characters. If you want to know more about the plot before you commit yourself to viewing read up on it here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_in_the_Sky
Be sure to check out these movies. Personally, I found them so incredible my tiny brain nearly imploded. Alas, I survived and am now preaching to you. Go young grass hoppers, worship at the altar of Miyazaki.

FYI this fella is also behind the more well known creations Howl’s Moving Castle, Porco Rosso and the Academy Award winning Spirited Away.

I want transcript-ual healing, transcript-ual (healing baby)

Today is Wednesday (please hold your surprise to the end of the sentence) and it was one of the funniest days I've had in the office in a long time. Mainly thanks to the hilarity of Man B. And schnauzers, but I'll save that story for another time. Anyway, here are my favourite transcripts from the day. Enjoy mes amis.

Transcript 1
Me: If I start the story on the Mini Cooper with `they say it’s not the size that counts, it’s how you use it’, do you think that’s too crude?
Man A: Definitely not. You could back it up with something about the shift stick too.
Me: Well no, I think that might be going too far. I don’t want to say `his shift stick was long, hard and ready to race`.
Man B: Or you could say she had a five gear box.
Me: When we started talking dirty Man B I saw your eyes light up and I just knew this was your type of conversation.
Man B: Hey, someone has to keep the standards in this office.
Me: Or lack thereof.
Man B: Exactly. Wanna come share a honeymoon suite with me?

Transcript 2
Man B: Oh no! I’m going to the mental health clinic now for a job and I’ve spilled water down the front of my pants. They’ll never let me out of the place now.
Man A: You might be able to pick up some of the ladies there.
Me: Yeah, they’ll totally go in the honey moon suite with you.
Man B: Awesome. I’ve always wanted to be tied up.
Me: Oh my god.

Transcript 3
Man B: Would you like a MilkyWay bar?
Me: Nah the chocolate on those things isn’t hardcore enough for me.
Man B: Okay, suit yourself.
Me: Actually I will have one.
Man B: Super.
Me: Whoa, 40% less fat! That means I have to eat like six to get my usual daily fat intake.
Man B: More like eight.
Me: Touche.
Man B: Look at that, it’s a sneak peak of the uniforms for the opening ceremony.
Me: Hmmm.
Man B: They’re blue! BLUE!
Me: I see that.
Man B: It’s so un-Australian!
Me: No it isn’t. (Sings) True blue.
Man B: I guess. Plus our home is girt by sea.

Transcript 4
Me: Man B what are you doing?
Man B: Hmmm I don't know. I don't really have anything left to do.
Me: Oh.
Man B: I might go next-door to the Warehouse and look at the home wares.
Me: You're so exciting.
Man B: Well, you never know I might pick out some new things for my bathroom. A new shower curtain. New soap even.
Me: For all the ladies that pop round eh? Who feel dirrty.
Man B: If ladies come to my house then it's to get dirty not because they are dirty.
Me: Ew.

Latest In The Bin poster

Oh, the Twilight years . . .

Are you sick of Twilight updates yet? No? You will be soon because as promised I'll be giving you as many updates about the movie and cast as possible. Author of the Twilight novel’s Stephenie Meyer is down to direct the video clip for the new Jack's Mannequin song. The track is called `The Resolution' and you can listen to it here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEu4ilHVTNU.
I’m really digging the song. In fact, I plan to make it one of my many anthems for Spring 2008. It's the first song of their brand spanking new album `The Glass Passenger' which is in stores September 30. Meyer is also pegged to write the script for the video. Personally I’m SO stoked to see Meyer involved in directing/writing music videos because anyone who reads her books knows all about her acknowledgment page. At the start of every novel she has at least two paragraphs dedicated to the latest bands she is totally digging and has added to her `writing play list’. Muse is the predominantly featured every time but other groups that inspire her and help her get through `writers block’ are Placebo, Spoon, Panic at the Disco, Tegan and Sara, Jack’s Mannequin, Gomez, Ok Go and Blue October. The ones I listed above are just a few of those she has mentioned in the past but they happen to be some of my personal favourites. The thing I really like about her mentioning these bands at the start of her books is they’re all quite low-fi, indie bands who need as much support and publicity as they can get. Go the Meyer playlist I say!

Wanna meet my friend Payne?

It’s a day ending in Y and that means another Max Payne trailer has hit the net. Not that I’m complaining, I mean, how could I? Any movie with Mark Wahlberg has got me bouncing up and down on my seat and squealing like a banshee. This trailer is likely to be the one screening in cinemas at a full length of 2 minutes 33 seconds unlike the teaser trailer I posted last month which was only 1 minute 13 seconds. Max Payne has a late October 2008 release date in Oz. What do you think of the new trailer? Thoughts? It shows a lot more of Mila Kunis which will have Family Guy fans excited. Check it out at http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1810007086/video/9486308
Looks angsty.

Oh, and here's some fresh promo images too. If these don't satisfy your Max Payne movie appetite than no bullet ridden, noir poster will.

Bin there, done that

Guess what Gold Coast film buffs? It’s that time of year again! No I don’t mean Hanukkah. It’s In The Bin Short Film Festival time wahoooooo!
Saturday, September 13 is the opening night of the week long festival and will feature 14 short films from around the world. Included in the mix is short film ‘Spider’ by renowned producer and stuntman Nash Edgerton (brother of actor Joel). Nash’s highly acclaimed feature release ‘The Square’ opened with rave reviews and is currently screening in cinemas around the country. The high caliber of films selected also includes a Spanish drama ‘Prque Hay Cosas Que Nunca Se Olvida’. There were more than 200 entries in this year’s festival but only 14 exceptional films are named as finalists and screened on the night. Unfortunately Gold Coast director Stuart Freeman’s short film `Red Ribbon’ wasn’t selected as a finalist. The judging panel includes Triple J movie presenter Mark Fennell, casting agent Tom McSweeney and producer Tom Hoffie and the winner will be selected from short films with subject matter such as tooth fairies, brotherly love and a light hearted take on Hitchcock’s ‘The Birds’ titled ‘Prams’. This years line up is set to be huge so if you want to support the local film industry make sure you come along.
In The Bin was first started in 2000 by Currumbin local Jed Cahill and has since become one of Australia's most prestigious short film events. Film makers from throughout Australia are eligible to submit in the festival with the chosen films shown on two large outdoor screens at Currumbin Parklands during a week in September. Entrants can submit in several categories including best short film, board shorts extreme sports, animated and family orientated short film. Mr Cahill also takes the festival on a national tour visiting around 70 communities across Australia and conducts film education programs. For more info on In The Bin and when the festival is screening I suggest you visit the website at www.inthebin.net.au

Greene Machine

I promised I’d keep you peeps updated on all the latest Twilight movie action and although this tasty piece of news is not directly off set it’s interesting none the less. American actress Ashley Greene who plays vampire Alice Cullen in the Twilight movie adaptation has been cast as the lead role in the dark thriller `Summer’. The film has been shooting for several weeks and Greene stars as a girl searching for the father she has never met. Turns out her character is related to a family of psychopaths led by Stephen McHattie who is set to play Hollis Mason, the original Nite Owl, in the forthcoming Watchmen.
Sounds like an interesting idea similar to that covered by Rob Zombie in House of 1000 corpses and its sequel The Devil’s Rejects. Hopefully they can make a better attempt at the concept than Zombie’s horrific efforts which probably spawned the next generation of serial killers. Horror filmmaker Lee De Marbre is directing and Sean Hogan and Christine Conradt are behind the script. (above) Promo shot of the Cullen family from the Twilight set. Ashley Greene is Alice Cullen aka gal with the short brown hair and blue jacket.

Scared? Yes. Yes I am.

Hmmm . . . although I've never questioned the sanity of the people in my office (everyone is crazy) I'm just A LOT concerned.
A woman in advertising just yelled out "if I don’t get out of the office by 5.30 I’m going to slash my wrists and bleed all over the floor!"
My thoughts? The cleaners are going to be pissed.

Urban Street Survivor

Okay, so the title may sound a bit like a spin-off video game from the Street Fighter series but this low budget film has got my attention. Mainly because I got to go on set while they were shooting the promo on the Gold Coast yesterday but still . . .
Here’s the low down on Urban Street Survivor:
The film centres around a 15-year-old street kid called Mouth who ran away from an orphanage at the age of 11. Using his cunning Mouth manages to survive on the rough streets and avoid attention from several of the racial gangs which rule the surrounding area. Eventually he’s taken in by a reformed gang leader who offers him and other street kids an alternative to the violent gang life through channelling their anger in to self defence classes. But a music concert on the border of several rival gang territories brings tensions to a head and threatens the future of the boys. Brisbane lad Hamish Irvin plays Mouth and was discovered by the writer/director/producer Stuart Freeman at the Australian Academy of Acting when he was working there last month. Freeman has got Hamish to do a cockney accent for the role (just because he can) and apparently the young up and comer is so good, he’s going to be a ‘massive international star in the future’. Freeman and long time writing buddy Nick Pendragon penned the script for Urban Street Survivor which is one of five they are presenting to studio executives in America later this month. For those of you who are not familiar with Freeman’s work he was the first assistant director on Aussie films The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and Mad Max III. Originally hailing from the UK, he now lives on the Gold Coast and has been busy trying to boost the profile of the local film industry. Freeman just finished shooting a short film for the annual In The Bin Short Film Festival about the devastating affects land mines can have on communities long after a war is over. The film is called `Red Ribbon’ and was shot at the West Burleigh quarry in a bid to make the set look like somewhere in Iraq or Afghanistan. If any where on the Gold Coast could look like a dusty, war ravaged, deserty hole then it’s West Burleigh quarry so mission accomplished. Freeman is also shooting majority of Urban Street Survivor on the Gold Coast too like yesterday, for example, when he used Benowa skater Max Morphett to shoot some of the skate board scenes at Pizzey Park. Miami state primary school also let Freeman use the grounds to film eight leather-clad women on Harley’s fangin' it through the school. Meow. Stay posted for more Urban Street Survivor updates and news on what Stuart Freeman and the gang are up to next.

Director Stuart Freeman shooting scenes for Urban Street Survivor at Pizzey Park skate park, Miami yesterday.