The Flickcast

’30 Minutes or Less’ Favors Fiction over Fact

Posted on July 27, 2011

I’m by no means a fan of reality television. That being said, I have stuck with some of the traditional shows that gave birth (in a Rosemary’s Baby kind of way) to the current reality programming genre. Those shows are COPS and America’s Most Wanted. I even remember when both shows premiered on Fox, a newbie network at the time…and I probably just dated myself with that comment given they’ve been on for over twenty years respectively.

It was because of my loyalty to America’s Most Wanted that had me shiver a little when I saw the trailer for the upcoming Jesse Eisenberg film, 30 Minutes or Less. Here’s the premise care of IMDB:

Two fledgling criminals kidnap a pizza delivery guy, strap a bomb to his chest, and inform him that he has mere hours to rob a bank or else…

Sounds pretty funny, right? Pizza delivery guy gets a bomb strapped to him and he’s forced to rob a bank. I’d be laughing had this not unfolded in real life with far less comedic repercussions.

On August 28, 2003 Brian Wells arrived for work at 11:00 am. His occupation: pizza delivery driver. At 1:30 pm Brian was asked to deliver two cheese and pepperoni pizzas to a remote location near the woods. About an hour after that Brian entered a bank with a bomb strapped to him (around his neck in this case) and handed the teller a note demanding money.

It’s an eerie tale to be sure and when I first saw the segment on America’s Most Wanted I thought, who’s going to be the first to make a movie about that. At the time I imagined some type of Michael Mann crime drama in the same vein as Collateral. Apparently I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Instead, this real life, horrifying event has been wrapped in what I’m sure critics will call a “laugh-out-loud” buddy comedy. I have no way to confirm if writers Matthew Sullivan and Michael Diliberti knew anything about what has been dubbed “the collar bomb” case, but according to Wikipedia (take it with a grain of salt) that was the basis for 30 Minutes or Less.

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First Trailer for ‘Battleship’ with Taylor Kitsch and Liam Neeson Arrives

Posted on July 27, 2011

If toys make an effective inspiration for movie franchises, why not games? After all, regardless of its relative creative merits, the Transformers franchise has managed to make a metric crapload of money.

So, why not try to do the same with a movie based on a classic game? It could work. That’s just what director Peter Berg and his team have done with the upcoming Battleship. To prove it, we’ve got the first trailer for the film for you right now.

In it we get a lot of the film’s story of a young, upstart naval officer (Taylor Kitsch) in love with his Admiral’s daughter (Brooklyn Decker) who needs to put aside his personal feelings and learn to be a man when an alien invasion threatens his fleet of ships. The movie is, of course, based on the classic board game Battleship and from the trailer, it actually looks like director Berg gets that he’s making a movie based on a game, is in on the joke and doing his best to make it a fun and exciting film.

When I first heard they were making a movie based on Battleship, I was, to say the least, skeptical. After watching the trailer I’m now intrigued, especially as to how Berg and company are going to pull it off. Who knows, maybe they can?

Check out the trailer after the jump. Battleship, which stars Taylor Kitsch, Liam Neeson, Alexander Skarsgard, Brooklyn Decker and Rihanna, arrives in theaters on May 18th, 2012.

Freddy Krueger Joining ‘Mortal Kombat’ As Playable DLC Character

Posted on July 27, 2011

While we were away at Comic-Con last week, a few interesting things seemed to happen. Not only did we get word that Frank Darabont would be leaving Walking Dead, but in gaming news, it looks like Freddy Krueger will be returning to the consoles for the first time since the mid 1980s as the final DLC character for Mortal Kombat.

The news comes as bit of a surprise at first, because not many people think of the Nightmare on Elm Street killer when they think about fun playable fighting characters, but then it makes some sense when you realize that this is Warner Bros’ way of cross pollinating between brands.

The character will be available in a few weeks, and will be fully loaded with tons of claw-slashing and hellfire-based moves and combos. Note that this is also the most recent version of Freddy, and not the original Robert Englund version of the character we’ve loved for decades.

It is a shame that this is the alleged “final” DLC character for the game, as Warner has some pretty cool other franchises that they could dip into, as long as they stay away from any of the territory that was covered in Mortal Kombat Vs. DC Universe.

Who wouldn’t want to see Scorpion take on Voldemort or watch Sub Zero get pummeled by Zach Galifiniakis from The Hangover or even watch Sherlock Holmes slap the hell out of Shang Tsung? Let’s hope that the DLC does well enough for WB to look into a few more options down the road.

In the meantime, check out the full DLC trailer after the jump.

John Goodman To Join ‘Community’ Next Season

Posted on July 27, 2011

Just when you thought NBC’s breakout show Community couldn’t get any better after such guest stars as LeVar Burton, Betty White, Josh Holloway, and Malcolm-Jamal Warner, but it looks like the ante is about to get upped.

Word is now coming in that John Goodman will have a whopping 6-episode stint on the upcoming third season of the show. Here’s the scoop from TV Line.

Goodman will recur in at least six episodes of NBC’s quirky comedy as Vice Dean Laybourne, the head of Greendale’s air conditioning repair school, and he will become a major foe for both Dean Pelton (played by newly promoted series regular Jim Rash) and our favorite study group.

That’s right, the man who has The Flintsontes, Speed Racer and The Big Lebowski on his resume will be coming to one of the best written and funniest shows currently on TV this season, predictivaly making this another stellar season for creator Dan Harmon and his cast.

Frank Darabont Stepping Down as Showrunner of ‘The Walking Dead’

Posted on July 26, 2011

In what has to be pretty shocking news, especially considering he was just at Comic-Con last week to do publicity for the show, Frank Darabont has reportedly stepped down from his role as showrunner of AMC’s The Walking Dead.

According to the report, it is unclear if Darabont will end up staying with the show in some other capacity or will be off the show completely. It is also unclear at this time if recent hire and The Shield alumni Glen Mazzarra will take over as showrunner on the show, which is currently filming its second season.

If you recall, Darabont wrote and directed the pilot for AMC’s breakout zombie apocalypse hit and served as Exec. Producer and showrunner for the show’s first season and into the second.

If this turns out to be true and Darabont leaves the show completely, it isn’t that hard to understand why. Darabont is a feature film writer, director and producer. That’s a world where you often have months, if not years, to craft a screenplay, cast, shoot, edit and deliver a finished product.

Series television is a grind. Turning out work day in and day out and moving so quickly is not something that’s for everyone. Having worked in TV and features I can tell you the pacing of producing a weekly TV series can be killer. Maybe he just got tired? Or, tired of having to compromise so much?

SDCC11 Exclusive: John Barrowman Talks Bringing ‘Torchwood’ To The US, Auditioning To Play Superman

Posted on July 26, 2011

This past year has marked a pretty big time for shows on the BBC, as US network TV finally started paying attention to how good some of the programming was and decided to jump on the bandwagon. In some cases, such as Syfy’s Being Human, the network took the idea but none of the original folks that worked on it. That’s not what happened, however, with Torchwood.

Originally starting on a little BBC offshoot, the Doctor Who spinoff grew in popularity and has now been brought over to the States by STARZ in a whole new, updated version. The show while still stays in canon with the earlier version and keeps the show’s main stars John Barrowman and Eve Myles.

We got a chance to speak with Barrowman about playing his favorite superhero, Captain Jack Harkness, for so many years, as well as what it’s like bringing the show from the UK to the US.

Also, John mentioned that Captain Jack wasn’t the only hero he’s had the honor of trying out for. He’s been a huge Captain America fan for years, but back in 2004, he even auditioned to play the lead in Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns before they inevitably went with Brandon Routh.

Check out what John Barrowman had to say about all these things and more in our interview after the jump. Catch Torchwood: Miracle Day airing Friday nights at 10/9C on STARZ.

Check Out This New Clip from ‘Killer Joe’ with Matthew McConaughey

Posted on July 26, 2011

Let’s get this out of the way in advance: I’m a fan of actor, personality and bongo player Matthew McConaughey. Even though he’s been dipping in the romantic comedy well too much for the last several years, I’ve always thought he had an edge that needed to be explored.

Looks like I’m getting my wish with his upcoming film Killer Joe. In fact, not only does McConaughey look like he’s continuing to return to better, more challenging, roles the film also marks another directing effort for one of my favorites, William Friedkin. So, win win.

The film, written by Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award writer Tracy Letts, tells the story of a Dallas detective who is also a hired killer. Talk about conflicted. Check out the synopsis below and a cool clip for the film after the jump:

When 22 year-old drug dealer Chris (Emile Hirsch) has his stash of drugs stolen from him by his mother, he has to come up with six-thousand dollars quick, or he’s dead. Desperate, he goes to the trailer-park to see his father, Ansel (Thomas Hayden Church), and he lays out the plan. Chris’s mother, who everyone hates, has a life insurance policy that would clear up his debt and make them all rich. The problem is that Chris’ mother is very much alive.

Enter Detective “Killer” Joe Cooper, a hired hit man with the manners of a Southern gentleman, who will do the job – for an upfront fee, that Chris and Ansel can’t pay. Just as Joe is about to leave, he spots Dottie (Juno Temple), Chris’ innocent younger sister. Joe makes Chris an offer, he’ll keep Dottie as sexual collateral until the money is collected and his fee can be paid. Chris reluctantly puts his debt ahead of his sister and agrees to Joe’s demand.

First Trailer for ‘Drive’ with Ryan Gosling Looks Pretty Damn Good

Posted on July 26, 2011

In spite of its surface similarities to another recent series of movies about a guy who drives for a living and doesn’t ask questions, the upcoming Drive from director Nicolas Winding Refn looks pretty damn good. So good, in fact, we feel compelled to bring you a trailer for it right now

In case you’re not familiar with Drive, it stars Ryan Gosling as “Driver,” a Hollywood stunt performer who moonlights as a wheelman that will take any job and not ask questions. However, as is sometimes the case, he discovers that a contract has been put on him after a heist goes wrong.

The film also features a great supporting cast including Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, Christina Hendricks, Ron Perlman, Oscar isaac, and Albert Brooks. Oh, forgot to mention that Winding Refn also won the Best Director award at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. That, the cast and the trailer should be enough to sell you on Drive. If not, I’ve got nothing more for you.

Check out the video below. Drive hits theaters September 16, 2011.

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