by Cortney Zamm, Oct 5 2009 // 3:15 PM
Hot on the heels of his summer blockbuster Inglourious Basterds, Quentin Tarantino announced recently that he is planning on making a third Kill Bill film. According to Variety, Tarantino announced the sequel Saturday at the Morelia Film Festival, where he was promoting Basterds.
There, he said that there would be a ten year gap between Kill Bill Vol. 2 and Kill Bill Vol. 3 to give Uma Thurman’s character, “The Bride” and her daughter Beebe some well-deserved peace. This would slate the project for a 2014 release.
Before he turns bloody with the next Kill Bill film, Tarantino said he was “wide open” to what his next project would be. At a conference alongside Eli Roth, Tarantino talked about “re-imagining” of a number of film genres, including a Western or a 1920s “Pretty Boy Floyd” kind of gangster movie. Inglorious Basterds continues to perform at the box office, earning $1.4 million in its 7th weekend in theaters.
We’ll be sure to keep you posted here at The Flickcast on Tarantino’s upcoming projects and any other exciting movie news.
Posted in: Action · Drama · Movies · News · Prequels and Sequels
Tagged: Eli Roth, Kill Bill, Morelia Film Festival, Quentin Tarantino, Sequels, Uma Thurman
by Cortney Zamm, Oct 5 2009 // 2:15 PM
It’s been three long, sad years since the Emmy-winning Fox TV show Arrested Development was canceled, and after months of rumor and speculation it looks like the Bluth family will be making it to the big screen after all. The Hollywood Reporter just reported that show creator Mitchell Hurwitz and show co-executive producer James Vallely are working on a script for the hugely anticipated big screen adaptation of the show. Imagine and Fox Searchlight will produce the film.
Debuting in 2003, Arrested Development focused in on the Bluths, a crazy family whose business goes sour and are left with nothing but each other. According to Hurwitz, the biggest holdup of the script being penned was getting the entire cast, including Jason Bateman, Michael Cera, David Cross, Will Arnett, Alia Shawkat, Portia de Rossi and Jeffrey Tambor, committed to the film.
Scheduling conflicts are certain, as cast members Cera, Arnett, and Bateman have had incredibly successful careers since the show ended. In the meantime, Hurwitz and Vallely are working together on a new animated show on Fox titled Sit Down, Shut Up, also starring Will Arnett and Jason Bateman.
Posted in: Movies · News · Scripts · TV · TV to Movies
Tagged: Alia Shawkat, Arrested Development, David Cross, Jason Bateman, Jeffrey Tambor, Michael Cera, Portia de Rossi, Will Arnett
by Chris Ullrich, Oct 5 2009 // 1:15 PM
Over the last few weeks we’ve had the first looks at the The A-Team’s brand new van, the assembled team and Bradley Cooper’s “Faceman” showing his skills with automatic weapons. But until now, there was one other piece of the casting puzzle that was missing: Jesssica Biel’s character. Now, thanks to the fine folks at Geek Tyrant, we’ve got the fist pics of her as well.
As Biel’s character wasn’t in the original series, I’m not as interested to see what she looks like in the movie — other than the more obvious reasons. It was more important to find out how closely the film’s new team, which includes Liam Neeson, Sharlito Copley, “Rampage” Jackson and the aforementioned Bradley Cooper, would stack up to their series originals. Fortunately, they stack up very well.
With all the great pics coming out showing how much director Joe Carnahan seems to be both paying homage and modernizing the look of The A-Team, really only one other question remains about the cast: Does “Rampage” Jackson’s character sport a Mohawk like Mt. T did in the original series? As they say, inquiring minds want to know.
With all the info starting to come out now about the film, its just a matter of time before we find out the truth behind this very important piece of info. My guess right now? He does.
The A-Team hits theaters on June 11, 2010. Check out a larger pic of Biel’s character after the jump.
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Posted in: 20th Century Fox · Action · Drama · Movies · News · Photos · TV to Movies
Tagged: "Rampage" Jackson, Bradley Cooper, Jessica Biel, Joe Carnahan, Liam Neeson, Sharlito Copley, The A-Team
by Matt Raub, Oct 5 2009 // 12:15 PM
Those who caught last week’s season premiere of Showtime’s original series Californication can give themselves a congratulatory pat on the back. Thanks to the astounding viewership, the show has already been picked up for another season. The episode had 821,000 viewers, which is more than twice as many as the first season initially got.
For those who aren’t on the bandwagon, the series stars David Duchovny as Hank Moody, an at-one-time successful writer, who has hit a bit of writer’s block and relies on vices like booze and women to help him cope. Being on Showtime, this becomes one of the bigger appeals to some watchers as an “adult show.”
The show has some great supporting characters to play alongside Duchovny as well, including Natasha McElhone (Ronin), Pamela Adlon (King of the Hill), Madeline Zima (The Nanny) and Evan Handler (Sex and the City). Also, there are enough celebrity cameos to make any Entourage watcher turn their head.
Keep this season going strong by catching episode 3 of Californication’s third season this Sunday on Showtime at 10pm ET/PT.
Posted in: Announcements · Comedy · Drama · News · Showtime · TV
Tagged: Californiacation, David Duchovny, Evan Handler, Madeline Zima, Natasha McElhone, Showtime
by Shannon Hood, Oct 5 2009 // 11:15 AM
Overall, it was not a particularly impressive weekend at the box office, with the top films boasting relatively modest numbers. Sony Pictures should be smiling, though, because their studio nabbed the top two spots. According to Box Office Mojo, Zombieland lurched over the competition, raking in an estimated $25 million in its opening weekend. The horror comedy has already recouped its budget, and will likely be a big success story this year, buoyed by positive reviews and good word of mouth.
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs continues to impress and took in another $16.7 million for a cumulative gross of $82 million. The unusual move to release Toy Story and Toy Story 2 in 3D drummed up some impressive interest, netting $12.5 million. Disney is no doubt salivating over this, because Toy Story 3 is set to be released next summer.
The Invention of Lying from comedian Ricky Gervais had a unimpressive opening of $7.3 million. Its budget was only $18 million, so it should be profitable anyway. In contrast, last week’s Surrogates also made $7.3 million this weekend. Its cumulative total is only $26.3, nowhere close to its reported $80 million budget.
Capitalism: A Love Story, and Whip It both earned $4.8 million, but Whip It played in almost twice as many theaters. Whip It is probably the biggest surprise of the weekend. It had good reviews, a likable and recognizable cast, and was highly promoted. It had to be a big disappointment to Drew Barrymore, who directed the movie, her first.
Recent holdovers Fame ($4.7), The Informant ($3.8) and Love Happens ($2.7) rounded out the top ten.
Posted in: Box Office · Movies · News · Sony
Tagged: Capitalism: A Love Story, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Fame, Love Happens, Surrogates, The Informant!, The Invention of Lying, Toy Story, Toy Story 3, Whip It, Zombieland
by Chris Ullrich, Oct 5 2009 // 10:15 AM
As we may have mentioned before, we’re pretty excited here at The Flickcast for this game to hit store shelves. Modern Warfare 2 represents the ultimate in first-person-shooter action and from what we’ve seen so far, looks to be able to take its place among the elite of games in that space. Prior to today, we’ve been able to bring you some info about the game including an earlier trailer and a look at the awesome, customized XBox 360 console dedicated to it.
Today, we’ve got another brand new trailer for you from the game, courtesy of our friends at Activision. This time around, the trailer shows a lot more of the exciting gameplay you can expect from this game. It also gives you some insight into the story and talks about the cost of war. Plus, did I mention that quite a bit of stuff blows up? Well, it does and its awesome. All in all, a very cinematic trailer which makes me even more anxious to play the fully completed game.
Modern Warfare 2 is for all next-gen consoles like XBox 360 and PS3. Look for it to hit store shelves on November 10th. Meantime, check out the brand new trailer and see for yourself after the jump.
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Posted in: Activision · Games · News · Trailers · Video · Video Games
Tagged: Call of Duty, COD, First Person Shooter, Infinity Ward, Modern Warfare 2, PS3, Xbox 360
by Shannon Hood, Oct 5 2009 // 9:15 AM

Drew Barrymore makes an impressive directorial debut with this coming of age story set in the world of Roller Derby. This is a sports movie for women, by women, starring women. I suspect men will have little trouble enjoying it as well. Adorable Ellen Page (Juno) plays Bliss, a socially awkward teenager from Bodeen, Texas, who is thrust into the world of pageants by her mother (Marcia Gay Harden). One day while shopping in a thrift store, she sees three women skate into the store and leave some fliers about an upcoming Roller Derby.
Intrigued, she recruits her best friend Pash (Alia Shawkat of Arrested Development) to venture into Austin for the event. She is immediately captivated by the sport. She dusts off her old Barbie skates and tries out for the team. After making the team, she becomes an unlikely hero, using her small stature to weave in, out, and around her competitors. The title refers to a move the team uses when they grab her by the hand and catapult her ahead of the pack “whipping” her into position.
This movie is a blast, despite having all the sport movie clichés. Shauna Cross’s screenplay is not exactly brimming with originality. Underdog, check. Disapproving parents, check. First love, check. Climatic final match, check. However, the dynamic cast and the unusual sporting event breathe new life into the genre. Ellen Page is fantastic, and captures the insecurities of her character perfectly. A scene where she gets her heart broken takes your breath away. I actually felt like someone had punched me in the gut. You see her character harden a bit with steely resolve as she climbs the next rung on the ladder of life. The mother/daughter scenes hold a lot of emotional resonance, and were very believable.
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Posted in: Action · Comedy · Drama · Fox Searchlight · Movies · Reviews
Tagged: Alia Shawkat, Andrew Wilson, Daniel Stern, Drew Barrymore, Ellen Page, Jimmy Fallon, Juliette Lewis, Kristen Wiig, Marcia Gay Harden, Whip It, Zoe Bell
by Matt Raub, Oct 5 2009 // 8:15 AM
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has had quite an interesting career in a pretty short amount of time. He’s covered just about all of the prerequisites that his Action Movie forefathers set for him: Sci-Fi franchise, art-house picture, buddy movie, and family film. Those accolades took stars like Schwartzenegger and Stallone 15 years to accomplish, and Johnson has managed to do them in 5. He’s now coming off of the success of Race to Witch Mountain and The Game Plan for another family-friendly film in The Tooth Fairy.
In the film, Johnson plays tough guy Derek Thompson, known to his friends as “The Tooth Fairy” due to his aggressive sportsmanship on the hockey rink. Thompson is kind of an S.O.B. to fans, friends, and even his kid, until things get turned around and he is sentenced to serve as an actual tooth fairy.
The cast is pretty heavy, throwing in names like Ashley Judd and Julie Andrews, but the most interesting is the addition of Billy Crystal to the cast. This is Crystal’s first on-screen role since 2002′s Analyze That (with brief voice role in 2006′s Cars). It’s interesting that Crystal would come out of the woodwork for this film, but it could have something to do with the film’s screenwriters. The script was done by the writing team of Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel, who worked with Crystal on films like City Slickers, Forget Paris and Mr. Saturday Night.
Check out the first trailer for the film after the jump. Enjoy Dwayne, Billy, and the rest of the cast when The Tooth Fairy hits theaters January 22 of next year.
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Posted in: 20th Century Fox · Action · Casting · Disney · Filmmaking · Kids · Movies · News · Trailers
Tagged: 20th Century Fox, Ashley Judd, Babaloo Mandel, Billy Crystal, Dwayne Johnson, Julie Andrews, Lowel Ganz, The Tooth Fairy
by Bob Starr, Oct 5 2009 // 7:15 AM
Zombieland opened this week and let me tell you it is, in my opinion, one of the best films of 2009. Only a day into its release Hollywood insiders were predicting the movie could go onto make $30 million in its opening weekend. If that happens it means Zombieland will have made back the $26 million and change it cost to make. While those numbers may not carry the weight of the billion dollars The Dark Knight made Zombieland’s rapid return on investment cannot be overlooked. Hollywood, take note, Zombieland should be the new standard of success.
All that said, I’m not writing a review of Zombieland by any means (Chris already wrote a great one), nor am I looking to talk about the merits of the film, of which there are many. No, I’m casting all the business stuff aside for the moment to speak about one thing: inspiration. You see, immediately after watching Zombieland I got home and was compelled to write (in this case a novel I’m working on). I had in me a burning desire to create. Therein lies the true success of Zombieland. For this writer, it spurred the creative forces that drive cinema.
How did it do this? Simply put, the film was honest. There was no allusion to a grand design or twist ending. The characters were endearing and story practically A to B simple. Moreover, it defied stock conventions of the genre. The girls weren’t running away screaming and guys not always the most heroic. These were characters anyone in the theater could relate to personally or through friends they probably know. Being able to create that rapport with the audience was the secret weapon of Zombieland. It connected with viewers (trust me on that, I saw the response from the packed theater first hand) and even if only for a few moments at a time they could see themselves in that world of zombies and loved it. Those are the moments writers, specifically, aspire to.
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Posted in: Columbia Pictures · DVD · Editorial and Opinion · Filmmaking · Horror · Movies · Writers
Tagged: abigail breslin, emma stone, jesse eisenberg, Paul Wernick, Rhett Reese, Ruben Fleischer, The Dark Knight, woody harrelson, Writing, Zombieland
by Bob Starr, Oct 3 2009 // 9:00 AM
As more and more news comes out about Joe Carnahan’s upcoming remake of The A-Team I’ve grown very interested, and anxious. When I first heard about the film I was skeptical. Was this to be another comedic derivitive of a somewhat serious show much like the Starsky and Hutch movie starring Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson?
Alright, I realize there was something inherently funny about the original A-Team series, but it was the Eighties and that’s what television was like back then. Strip away the one liners and jabs and the core of the show made an effort to follow a somewhat serious vein.
To that end, it appears Carnahan is determined to make this a great action film (If you’ve seen Smokin’ Aces, you’ll know what I’m talking about) based on some more set photos. Testament to this are the shots of Bradley Cooper rehearsing on set with an assault rifle in hand. It looks pretty intense and…okay, I’ll just say it, awesome!
Fortunately, as serious as Carnhan may take the film it certainly looks as though he’s preserving the original look. Seeing the cast of Liam Neeson as John “Hannibal” Smith, Bradley Cooper as Templeton “Faceman” Peck, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson as B.A. Baracus, and Sharlto Copley as H.M. “Howling Mad” Murdock in costume instantly invokes images of the series I refused to miss each week. I can almost hear the theme song playing in my head when I see the pictures.
While it remains to be seen if Jackson actually has a Mohawk under his cap, Neeson’s grey hair, Cooper’s suit jacket, and Copley’s baseball cap make it clear to me this film will pay proper homage to the series I grew up with. Granted, it’s still hard to gauge without seeing some actual footage but so far I’m sold!
The A-Team opens in theaters June 11, 2010. Check out some bigger photos after the jump.
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Posted in: 20th Century Fox · Action · Movies · News · Photos · Reboots and Remakes · TV to Movies
Tagged: "Rampage" Jackson, Bradley Cooper, Jessica Biel, Joe Carnahan, Liam Neeson, Sharlito Copley, The A-Team
by Bob Starr, Oct 2 2009 // 5:00 PM
Since playing the leading role in Iron Man Robert Downey, Jr. has rocketed back onto the film scene and everyone it seems wants to work with him. The latest is director Todd Phillips in his new film Due Date. If you don’t recognize Phillips’ name you’ve certainly heard of his last project, The Hangover, which grossed over $400 million worldwide. With that film such a critical success, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Due Date become another hit.
Downey leads an all star cast including Zach Galifianakis (The Hangover, Bored to Death), Michelle Monaghan (Made of Honor) and Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx, who starred opposite Downey in The Soloist. Due Date also brings back much of the talent behind The Hangover and sounds like it will draw on the same elements that made that film so hilarious:
“Downey plays Peter Highman, an expectant first-time father whose wife’s due date is a mere five days away. As Peter hurries to catch a flight home from Atlanta to be at her side for the birth, his best intentions go completely awry when a chance encounter with aspiring actor Ethan Tremblay (Zach Galifianakis) forces Peter to hitch a ride with Ethan—on what turns out to be a cross-country road trip that will ultimately destroy several cars, numerous friendships and Peter’s last nerve.”
Downey and Galifianakis’ journey will be as much a road trip on film as it is in real life. Production is set to take place across the USA in Georgia, New Mexico, Arizona and Los Angeles. Due Date is scheduled for a Fall 2010 release.
Posted in: Comedy · Iron Man 2 · Movies · Warner Bros
Tagged: Due Date, Iron Man, Jaime Foxx, Michelle Monaghan, Robert Downey Jr., the hangover, Todd Philips, zack galifianakis
by Joe Gillis, Oct 2 2009 // 4:07 PM
Seeing as how October is the month of spooky and scary Halloween and its associated themed entertainments, we’ve got something here just for you. If you’re a fan of movies like Natural Born Killers and think you know the movie very well, we’ve got a website for you.
To commemorate the 15th anniversary of the film and its upcoming director’s cut release on Blu-ray and DVD on October 13th, Warner Bros has created a site and included a pretty detailed trivia game to test your knowledge of the movie. The questions range from the rather simple to the much more detailed and specific so if you are not sure of your Natural Born Killers knowledge, you may want to get the film first and then try your hand at the trivia.
You don’t win anything at the site except the right to post your score to your favorite social networking site — which allows for a certain amount of bragging rights at least. The film, which stars Woody Harrelson, Juliet Lewis, Robert Downey, Jr., Tom Sizemore and Tommy Lee Jones, is written by David Veloz and Oliver Stone and directed by Stone. Head on over to the site and test your knowledge today.
Posted in: DVD · Fandom · Movies · News · Warner Bros · Web
Tagged: Juliet Lewis, Natural Born Killers, Oliver Stone, Robert Downey Jr., Tom Sizemore, Tommy Lee Jones, woody harrelson