If you were thrilled by Independence Day… if you were terrified by The Day After Tomorrow… then you will be scared shitless by… 2012!

Did Roland just take out the White House again? I’m pretty sure the USS John F. Kennedy takes out the Oval Office in the closing moments of this apparent feature-film adaptation of “That’s Armageddon!“. This is a rare trailer that is almost completely composed of ‘money shots’. From the narrative, I’m willing to guess that most of the worldwide carnage takes place in the first half, with the bulk of the second half comprised of whatever airplane John Cusack and his family find themselves in and/or the would-be survivors trying not to drown after said airplane crashes into the sea.

Amanda Peet appears along for the ride, and it’s nice to see a Martian Child reunion with her, Cusack, and favored character actor Oliver Platt. Heck, Mr. Cusack apparently again plays a science-fiction novelist in this one too. Also onboard are Woody Harrelson, Thandie Newton, George Segaland, another beloved character actor, the unpronounceable Chiwetel Ejiofor (he apparently plays the ‘empathetic minority in middle management’). Last but not least, we have Danny Glover as The President. Between The Fifth Element, Deep Impact, and now this, must the president be black every time the world is about to end? On a related note, is it too much to ask to hope that Mr. Glover delivers his grim speeches and platitudes with the same ill-fitting dentures that he apparently used in Shooter?

I will admit that the onscreen destruction on display is quite impressive, so I suppose this is worth seeing once on a big screen (if Sony has a brain, they would have already secured at least a limited IMAX release for this). Despite that, I’m not particularly thrilled to see this sure-to-be epically stupid Irwin Allen throwback (I love Independence Day, but I’ve been burned by Godzilla, The Day After Tomorrow, and the unwatchable 10,000 BC). But, if you’ve read my blog or know me well enough by now, you know darn well that I’ll be there opening night regardless. Because, of course, this is the movie that my wife most wants to see this fall. Sigh… I’m sure ‘it’ll be great!’

Scott Mendelson

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Apparently this was a big secret on the fan sites, but Variety’s review just let it out of the bag.  Tony Todd, long ago cast as ‘the voice of a robot’ in Transformers 2, will actually be voicing the main villain of the piece.  Not a major deal, but I’ve always been a fan of his and am always happy when he’s able to snag mainstream work (I actually started watching Chuck because I saw him in commercials for the pilot).  Anyway, I suppose it was either going to be him or Keith David.  Gosh how I’d love to see the two of them in some kind of dueling-banjos-type Dr. Seuss reading contest…   And, on that note, I’d love to see some kind of (possibly horror-centric) variation on Grumpy Old Men, with Tony Todd costarring with Robert Englund.  Both are better actors than their filmography suggests and both are almost old enough to try such an offbeat concept (Englund just turned 62 and Todd is 54).

Scott Mendelson

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This week’s Sound on Sight podcasts include a look at heist flicks inspired by the release of the Taking of Pelham 123 remake and a memorial retrospective on the career of David Carradine.

Episode 126 - Taking Pelham 123, Then and Now: Taking of Pelham 123 [1974], Taking of Pelham 123 [2009] , plus Lee Marvin in Point Blank

Episode 127 - David Carradine Special: Scorcese’s Boxcar Bertha & 2 films by Paul Bartel: Cannonball! & Death Race 2000

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Has anyone else noticed that pretty much every piece about Transformers 2 is basically about Megan Fox?  The film premiered in various places around the world.  People have seen it and only a token amount of reviews have just today popped up on Rotten Tomatoes.  We’ve had a bit from Michael Bay himself discussing the IMAX version of the picture, as well as a feature interview of Shia Lebouf in Parade Magazine.  Pretty much everything else is Megan Fox-related.

We get vague stories about the red-carpet events, which are all basically excuses to show a picture of whatever outfit Ms. Fox is wearing.  We get stories about her bouts with depression over her looks, and we get articles that are both creepy and stupid concerning the hormonal urges of the actor playing her father in the second film (I’m pretty sure that’s a normal reaction of many actors who play fathers to attractive young women).  While she certainly is a worthwhile interview, as she’s remarkably blunt about her career and the role of the actress in Hollywood, it’s fascinating that the public relations push for a $200 million+ summer tentpole film is centered around the token love interest.

Could it be that the main variable of interest for the young-male demographic is not the whole ‘giant robots beating each other up’?  Could we have one of the, if not the, biggest movies of the summer where the main draw is the lure of oogling a particular actress for 145 minutes?  I’ve always said that women will see a mainstream film just because a guy in it is cute, but that men rarely did the same for actresses.  Ms. Fox, in the right project, could be the exception that proves the rule.  And if indeed she ends up being one of the main draws for this second film, how much does she dare ask for to appear in the inevitable third picture?

Scott Mendelson

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Just a quick note, I’ve read countless film sites that refer to the title of Sandra Bullock’s upcoming comedy as ‘The Proposition’. It’s actually called ‘The Proposal‘. The Proposition was a terrific, although incredibly bleak, dirty, and violent little western that came out back in 2005. If the Sandra Bullock/Ryan Reynolds rom-com has anything at all in common with The Proposition, it will be one of the strangest romantic comedies ever.

So, for the record, it’s not PROPOSITION, it’s PROPOSAL.

Scott Mendelson

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I’ve heard good things about the novel, which is apparently written by Simpsons/Beavis & Butthead scribe Larry Doyle (he also wrote the screenplay to the vastly underrated Looney Tunes: Back In Action). I glanced over at Amazon and one of the reviewers had several brief passages from the book, a few of which made me chuckle (alas, much of the best bits are the sort of offhand authors’ asides that can’t possibly be translated to film). But, judging by this trailer… wow. This looks absolutely dreadful. Again, it’s a trailer and thus may simply be an attempt to pull in the lowest-common denominator teen audience. But this looks absolutely rancid in every imaginable way. Every teen-comedy cliche is in here, and everything is played as broadly and cartoonishly as possible. Plus the lead character looks so insufferably dorky that I can’t imagine that anyone would really root for him.

This seems, on the surface, like a huge comedown for Chris Columbus (and Larry Doyle, who wrote the screenplay adaptation of his own novel). Columbus gets lots of grief for garbage like Stepmom and Bicentennial Man, as well as watchable but worthless hits like Mrs. Doubtfire and Nine Months. But Only The Lonely was probably John Candy’s best starring vehicle, and Rent was a surprisingly effective adaptation of the admittedly dated broadway sensation (had Columbus not cut several key act-two songs, it would have been a near-perfect time capsule). And his first two Harry Potter films, while not as exciting as the later sequels, perfectly set up what would be a remarkably vibrant franchise. He should have received some kind of award for his casting acumen in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone alone.

It seems his attempt to return to his Adventures In Babysitting roots may be a new low. But then, I’m merely judging the trailer, and I’ll happily eat my words if the movie is better.

Scott Mendelson

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It’s early Saturday morning as I bring you this report from the 11^th annual CineVegas film festival. Wait. What’s that you say? It’s way past noon?? Well, you’ll have to excuse me as I’m on day four of the festival and anyone who’s been here knows nights melt with days, films give way to parties, parties give way to bowling and karaoke and the next thing you know you’re wolfing down a Rueben as the sun rises outside the casino. But such is life in what’s become probably the best film festival in terms of movies, networking and flat out fun, CineVegas.

This is the third year I’ve attended the festival and each year is better than the last. I’m not trying to be a suck up or oversell the fest, but there are certain things that happen here that need to happen at more film festivals. Firstly, there’s a real sense of camaraderie here that I haven’t felt at a festival since Sundance in the early 1990’s. Filmmakers are hanging out together and with journalists. Everyone is easily approachable. This is not only great for writers as we get access to filmmakers and producers whose work we admire, but it’s absolutely essential for filmmakers with undistributed films. Through all the insanity going on around us here, everyone seems to have five minutes to talk and network.

CineVegas is also the perfect spot for fellow journalists to hang out and talk. And get lap dances. But seriously, each year I find myself gathered with my fellow writers and we can have these kind of, impromptu state of the union discussions. With the industry becoming more and more surreal each day, this too is a very important aspect to the festival. It’s good to meet fellow writers in person who you may have bitched at on a blog and clear the air. You can talk to writers whose work you’ve admired and share stories of films gone good and bad. Plus, I don’t have many real-life everyday friends I can geek out with on movies, so although there’s nary a girl in sight when we all get together, it’s fun to talk movies with fellow movie lovers.

The other important aspect to CineVegas is obviously the films. They’re all rally pretty great. While there’s yet to be a breakout hit from CineVegas, it feels like the program is put together around good films rather than bullshit politics or celebrity vanity projects. Sure, not every film is a home run, but everything is kind of different on this program and that’s exciting. While other festivals have sort of designed a niche for what they bring to the table, CineVegas is all over the board in terms of programming and that’s refreshing.

Speaking of the films, I should go see some. I’m also attending a red carpet event where a couple is going to get married. Then later, some films and a screening of The Beatles “Yellow Submarine” poolside at Mandalay Bay. That is, unless this isn’t Saturday and to be honest, I can’t really remember,.

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