Thursday, November 25, 2004

Joss Whedon's "Serenity" Pushed Back From April 22nd to September 30th!

Serenity

Serenity

This was just posted on Whedonesque.net by Joss:

Are you guys starting to hear that fanfare? Those distant drums? Are you slapping on your side-arms, pulling on your long brownish-colored coats and thumbing your crisp new bills in anticipation of the cinematic event of the year? Well, it's official: on April 22nd you, the true the blue the loyal, can step right up with the rest of America and WAIT FIVE MORE MONTHS.

Heh. See, sometimes studios shuffle around release dates...

Okay. Don't panic. right now you're panicking. you're thinking, "how could they do this to me?" But what you SHOULD be thinking is: "How could they do this to JOSS?". Seriously. That pity is mine and I want it back.

So what happened? Well, nothing terribly original. April got crowded with a lot of titles aimed at a similar demographic, and the studio decided September was a clearer corridor for the film to make the kind of impact it should. This isn't about a lack of confidence in the film -- in fact, they told me this before they even saw it. And now they have seen it, and unless they're way better liars than I'm used to, they dug it. Actually, they dug it pretty large, which is a good sign since there's not a single finished effect in the film. There's no reworking the end, no reshoots, no "does it have to be in space?". It's just a marketing issue. Now you'll get to watch lots of trailers in the summer. And hopefully, by the time it comes out, other people, people who ain't us, will get a whiff of what we're up to, and come along too.

I love this movie. I HATE waiting to show it too you. I felt pretty much the way I imagine you're feeling right now when they told me. But these guys know what they're doing, and they're trying to protect their investment, not bury it. So I gotta be a grown-up. The release date is September 30th. Hopefully it won't change again.

Spread the word. Keep the faith. And gleam the damn cube already.

-j.


-------

My thoughts?

Wow

Oh well. We'll just have more time to promote the hell out of our BDM. Truth be told, I was worried that XXX: State Of The Union and the next Star Wars movie would come along and deposit our BDM underneath them both, and the media analysts would have a field day with the overbooked spring release schedule and take it out on Serenity (i.e. "Whedon's Firefly movie fails to soar"). So September 30th sounds good. According to Yahoo! Movies, it's a week after The Legend Of Zorro and Serenity will be opening up against Curious George. I'd rather there be no competition, but maybe Serenity can battle for a premium chunk of box-office gold. Onward, Browncoats!

And now here's further proof that Universal is making sure that they don't shoot themselves in the foot by releasing Serenity at too crowded a time in the box office marketplace.

U shuffles '05 release sked

From Yahoo! News

U shuffles '05 release sked

Mon Nov 22, 8:22 PM ET

Claude Brodesser, STAFF

(Variety) — Universal Pictures has confirmed it has moved back the release date for upcoming Nicole Kidman starrer The Interpreter causing a chain reaction of changes to its release sked over the next 12 months.

The Sydney Pollack-helmed pic has been moved from Feb. 18 to April 22.


This, in turn, means that Serenity -- based on the now-canceled Fox skein Firefly created by Joss Whedon -- has been moved from April 22 to Sept. 30. However, that displaces Jarhead, the Sam Mendes-helmed pic based on Anthony Swofford's memoir as a Marine sniper in the first Gulf War (news - web sites).


"Release dates and the distribution calendar are fluid documents," said Paul Pflug, a U spokesman. "As a distributor, we're always looking for the best dates available."


Meanwhile, U has dated two other pics on the release calendar. Kate Hudson starrer The Skeleton Key -- a thriller helmed by Iain Softley and penned by Ehren Kruger -- has been set for July 8; Judd Apatow's The 40-Year-Old Virgin a coming-of-age pic by the helmer and Steve Carell, has been slated for Nov. 23.


Wednesday, November 24, 2004

...i'll teach you how to swim...if you turn the bad in me into good again...

Rilo Kiley


Rilo Kiley


As I've grown older, I've tired of the chord-verse nature of most music. While I was weaned on the grunge and alternative aspects that the late '80s and early nineties offered, it seems that sans original, creative bands like The Yeah Yeah Yeahs and The White Stripes, most musical acts now have a throaty yell, unintelligible lyrics, and nothing to offer but faux rage and lame bass riffs. These bands think these attributes are tantamount to aural brilliance when nothing could be further from the truth.

Rilo Kiley

Los Angeles's Rilo Kiley have been recording since 1998. The band's new album More Adventurous is their first on their own brute/beaute records, a Warner Brothers imprint. I have not heard their last album, The Execution Of All Things, but the new one makes me eager to learn more. Singer/songwriter Jenny Lewis conveys a wide swath of emotions over eleven tracks, each one different from the next. The disc starts out with "It's A Hit", an anti-Bush tome that shifts into an attack on suburban platitudes. "Does He Love You?" is told as a girl lost in a loveless marriage and her friend on the sidelines, hoping to have the other's man. Lewis's voice is all ache, anger and anticipation, resonant and finite towards the end of the track. "Portions For Foxes" sounds like it should be on the radio, a sunny call of admiration and warning ("The talking leads to touching/And the touching leads to sex/And then there is no mystery left") to a lover. It's one of the album's highlights. "I Never" could be a b-side for a '70s Top 40 soul artist. It marries Lewis's powerful voice with a classic jazz backing. "Ripchord" is the sole track written and sung by guitarist Blake Sennett and it's a stirring acoustic piece. "Love and War (11/11/46)" relates a tale of Jenny's resentment of a past lover and then brings us her grandfather's final days and the themes combine in front of a buzzy, guitar-laced riff. "A Man/Me/Then Jim" is just what it sounds like, stories of various people and their daily discomforts. The album closes with "It Just Is", a small number that seems to borrow a bit from an old John Lennon track, complete with what sounds like an electric piano at the very beginning. A bright yet compact burst of energy at the apex of a brilliantly smart album.

Rilo Kiley offers a disconnect from the mindless neanderthals that populate the playlists of every modern rock station in every city across the country. More Adventurous is a sparkling love letter to life, good and bad, and it provides the listener with a taste of all the great things smart songwriting and competent musicianship can offer. It's an album that's alive and magical and worth every dime spent on it.

Friday, November 19, 2004

Fucking genius band...

I just picked up Rilo Kiley's new CD More Adventurous. It's the L.A. band's first release on their own Brute/Beaute Records, a Warner Brothers imprint. The album is a masterpiece and I'll post a review sometime tomorrow. Go pick this up immediately.

Rilo Kiley


http://www.rilokiley.net
http://www.rilokiley.com


Monday, November 15, 2004

A truly great show...

Last night I finished a marathon of all of the episodes of Jack & Bobby so far...thank you TiVo!

Jack & Bobby

This series is about the President Of The United States in 2040, Robert McCallister. Jack & Bobby follows high school students Bobby, his older brother Jack, and their liberal college professor mother, Grace. Into the mix is the daughter of the college president, Courtney. She has feelings for Jack, who's dating the daughter, Missy, of a local reverend. Throughout the show, interspersed if you will, are interviews with various members of Bobby's future administration and other politicians. I'm making the show sound vapid and uninvolving, but nothing could be further from the truth. It consistently portrays its characters with real and vivid motions. Christine Lahti is amazing as the vibrant and quite opinionated mother of the two boys. Another facet of the show that differs is the relationship between Courtney and the reverend's daughter. This isn't The O.C. and it depicts Missy reaching out to Courtney as a friend because all of her own are gossip queens.

Jack & Bobby

The other crucial piece of this dramatic puzzle is the testimony of various politicians. How Bobby was a Republican who ran as an Independent and won. How his campaign managed to avoid smearing a girl accusing him of sexual assault. Allegations of adultery with his female Vice President. The way he managed to avoid a second Cold War with China through a simple game of chess. Jack & Bobby presents a truly fascinating and intimate portrait of America, how one boy's dreams and aspirations lead him to the White House. If you enjoy compelling drama, then please watch this show. It airs Wednesday nights at 9PM on The WB.

Jack & Bobby Official Website

http://www.thewb.com/Shows/Show/0,7353,1985~1,00.html

Sunday, November 14, 2004

Fucking cocksucker...

Deadwood

Oh. Sorry. I'm currently watching Deadwood, HBO's Western drama series on HBO On Demand. Check it out if you can. It's fucking wonderful, fucker. Wake the kids, it's a really fucking good show.

Friday, November 12, 2004

The killer doll is back...and this time he's got a family!

Seed Of Chucky

Well I'm off to go see Rogue Pictures (Focus Features horror genre arm) sophomore release, Seed Of Chucky . All of the reviews from horror fans online state that this is an excellent horror comedy and I look forward to it. The review is forthcoming. Below you'll find the websites for all three ventures.

Focus Features - http://www.focusfeatures.com
Rogue Pictures - http://www.focusfeatures.com/rogue/index.php
Seed Of Chucky Official Movie Website - http://www.seed-of-chucky.com

Thursday, November 04, 2004

Tuesday, November 02, 2004

Today's The Day...

Kerry/Edwards


I'm going to bed. Please go out there and vote. The election hangs in the balance and we desperately need change. Four more years of hateful, right-wing warmongering is not what the nation deserves. The United States of America is a wonderful country and we need a new president who will lead us into a stronger, more prosperous twenty-first century. Please go out there and vote today. I don't care how long it takes...VOTE! 20 million people between the ages of 18-25 did not vote in 2000. We need all of those 20 million and more! So vote! Take ten friends! Get out there and VOTE! We deserve a change in the occupancy at 1600 Pennslyvania Avenue. Let's make that change happen today!