Florida Film Festival 2009 to kick off today

The Florida Film Festival 2009 (Mar 27-April 5, 2009) will kick off today. The Florida Film Festival is a core program of ENZIAN, a nonprofit organization which exists to entertain, educate, inspire, and connect the community through film. 2009 marks the 18th year of the Festival and Enzian’s 24th anniversary. Combined, Enzian and the Florida Film Festival have served more than 1.5 million guests, premiered thousands of films and hosted hundreds of celebrities.

The movies will be screened at the Enzian Theatre and the Regal Winter Park Village 20. Management, directed by first-time feature director, Stephen Belber and starring Jennifer Aniston will open the film festival.

This year’s film program is comprised of 160 films from 1,400 submissions by American and international filmmakers. This selection includes works represented from 19 countries including 40 world premieres, five North American premieres and four U.S. premieres. Highlights include the following:

Pardon Us For Living, But The Graveyard Is Full  (Geoffray Barbier)
The Attic Door (Danny Daneau)
We Are The Mods (E. E. Cassidy)
Where You From  (Sabrina Lee)
Neil Young: Don’t Be Denied  (Ben Whalley)

Click here to see the list of movies being screened at Florida Film Festival 2009.

Chris Rock’s Funeral

Nope, he’s not dead, at least not at the time of this article.

Chris Rock is slated to redo the 2007 British film, Death at a Funeral. The story centres around a dysfunctional family gathered for the patriarch’s funeral. Just when tensions are rising and old conflicts are being brought to light, a man arrives stating that he’s the dead man’s gay lover and threatens the family with blackmail.

I feel like it’s going to a little Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins… but that’s not the worst news ever. It’s like the expression, “Know your audience’. Prepare yourself for the style of movie that you’re going to see. If you don’t enjoy black comedy, then don’t expect to get the inside jokes, or enjoy it half as much as the person sitting two rows in front of you laughing their butts off who does.

To date Rock’s “Funeral” has signed, Martin Lawrence, Tracy Morgan, Danny Glover, Regina Hall, James Marsden, Zoe Saldana, Columbus Short, Loretta Devine and Ron Glass.

People’s Choice Awards: The Reel Deal

I couldn’t have said it better myself, so I won’t bother. I’ll leave you to Whitney Pastorek’s article from Entertainment Weekly. This article does not disappoint, with whit, sarcasm and honest to goodness real opinion, it’s like a slap in the face, waking you from the mundane. Enjoy!

” This is not the blog post my editors asked for. In this space, you are supposed to be reading a Best and Worst of last night’s People’s Choice Awards, one of those snarky little fiestas where I run down all the highlights of the ceremony, crack some jokes, get worked up when Sugarland doesn’t win, whatever. But PopWatchers, I can’t do it this time.

I know what you’re thinking: “Yeah, it’s hard to make a list of ‘bests’ when there weren’t any.” But even if I faked it by saluting Christina Applegate‘s classy speech or the emotional fortitude it must take for Ellen DeGeneres to keep getting up there and smiling at the nice people who cheer for her when she dances her funny dance but refuse to give her the civil rights necessary to marry her “roommate,” I would be doing you, the intelligent and savvy readers of EW.com, a disservice. Because the People’s Choice Awards, by any reasonable standard, are the worst kind of pandering, artificial hooey. And we, the alleged people, deserve better.

I intend no disrespect to the winners of the “awards,” nor to enthusiastic hostess Queen Latifah (pictured), nor to the hardworking men and women who labored behind the scenes to produce these two hours of televised pap and circumstance. But with the exception of The Dark Knight — victorious in so many categories they had to shove them all into a montage at the end — do I think for a second that these “winners” are, indeed, the “people’s” choice? No. Let’s be honest: As the very clear post-show disclaimer explained, a complex system of “E-Polls” and market research and extravagant math went into choosing the nominees you saw upon your screen. And that system led to a telecast in which praise was lavished on a crassly commercial cross-section of demographically advantageous properties starring celebrities who were willing to show up.

Even as mindless distraction, this awards show was a failure. There was no suspense; every category could be easily predicted by remembering who you’d already spotted in the audience. Would the “Favorite Rock Song” be “All Summer Long” by Kid Rock, or those other two thingies performed by people who were not currently located inside the Shrine Auditorium? To quote “winner” Rock: What a surprise. Chris Brown accepted his “Favorite Combined Forces” award (for “No Air” with Jordin Sparks) “live via satellite” from Dublin, Ireland — where by my calculations it would have been approximately 3:30 in the morning. Rascal Flatts were handed a statue immediately after completing their unconvincing Rascal Flatts impersonation, and like 200 people rose as one from the good seats to collect the “Favorite TV Drama” award for House. Yes, tipping the winners off ahead of time has become pretty much de rigeur at this sort of thing, but when those “winners” stretch the limits of plausibility or common sense, I start sawing at my wrists with Twizzlers.

Examples: We were told early in the broadcast that voting was still open in the “Favorite New TV Comedy/Drama” categories. And yet when the time came, the casts of Gary Unmarried and The Mentalist — which, oh wow, just happen to air on the network we’re watching! — were in the house and ready to go. The cast members of the losing shows? Conspicuously absent. (Okay, there were 90210 people milling about, but I’m willing to believe they, like Paris Hilton, have nothing better to do.) But wait, there’s more: Britney Spears losing to Robin Williams for “Favorite Scene Stealing Guest Star” — in an Internet-based voting competition? Kate Hudson (movie to promote) and Latifah (host) going head-to-head for “Favorite Leading Lady”? The Secret Life of Bees winning “Favorite Movie Drama”?? People. Bees made $37 million at the box office. That is just slightly more money than Marley and Me made opening weekend.” Full article here.

YouTube’s Project:Direct Winner Announced

“In a competition designed to help discover hidden talent, YouTube, along with Sundance and Moviefone announced on Tuesday the results of this year’s online international short film competition.Blake Edwards of Charlotte, North Carolina won this year’s competition with his film ¡Perfecto!. As the grand prize winner Edwards receives $2,500 and will spend five days at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, where his winning film will screen at an event at the festival.” – Veronica Boodhan, National Post – Read the full article and watch the video here.

I think that the Reel Ninja and I will have to get our swords in gear and get ready for next years competition! What a great way to explore your creative side. Think you’ll enter?

New Moon Movie

Catherine Hardwicke is out and Chris Weitz is in! According to an interview with movies.ie, Hardwicke indicated that with the success of the Twilight movie she expected some of the budgetary restraints to be lifted for New Moon. These demands were not apparently met, enter stage right Weitz.

Weitz has posted a note for Twilight Saga fans on author Stephenie Meyer’s website.

*** Auditions in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada February 2009*** More Information Here***

Valkyrie: Tom Cruise Does The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos

Tune in and turn on, Tuesday, December 9th at 11pm EST on CBC, as Tom Cruise is interviewed by George Stroumboulopoulus, on his new WWII movie, Valkyrie.

Valkyrie is a based on true life events of the attempted assasination of Adolf Hitler lead by Cruise’s character, Col. Claus von Stauffenberg. This film has been plagued by bad press, including the controversy raised by the German Government surrounding shooting sites for the movie and Cruise’s religion.

With a Christmas release date, Valkyrie is positioned to be an Oscar contender. Check out The Hour tomorrow night to see what Tom Cruise has to say about this film, and to see if it is Old Tom Cruise who shows up, or whacky New Tom Cruise.

Heath Ledger – Australian Film Institute Award

Heath Ledger was postumously awarded a top Australian Film Institute award last night in Melbourne, Australia. The International award for Best Actor was received by Ledger’s sister and parents on behalf of his beloved daughter, Matilda, for his role as The Joker in The Dark Knight.

Ledger’s mother is quoted as saying this about the late actor:

“We are immensely proud of him, not only for his professional achievements, but in the way he truly cherished his family, friends and his precious Matilda.”

“Heath was never one to accept mediocrity, he put his heart and soul into achieving what he believed was required and followed his passions with great enthusiasm and an insatiable curiosity.”

 View a portion of the clip here on Youtube (beginning at 1:05)

Hugh Grant’s former girlfriend blames watch for their breakup

Jemima Khan has blamed an Italian Panerai watch for her break up with Hugh Grant. Hugh Grant had gifted the silver and black watch to Jemima Khan when they started seeing each other and she was rarely seen without the watch in the two years before they broke up.

Jemima Khan, in an interview with Vogue Magazine, said that the she and Hugh Grant were having a strained relationship and she admits to scouting for signs for her to break up with Hugh. The breakdown of the watch was a clear cut signal for her that the relationship had run its course.

The way I see it, if someone is out there looking for signs, they will take anything and tailor it with their imagination and manifest it into a sign. At least Hugh was not told that Jemima was breaking up with him because her neighbor’s cat broke up with her rowdy boyfriend and it was a sign that Hugh should go too. (Hey, I am just saying)

David O. Russell has a problem with another actor – James Caan

James Caan has left the movie “Nailed” after David O.Russell asked him to cough AND choke after eating a cookie in the movie. James Caan argued that it is not possible to cough and choke to death at the same time but David O. Russell would not have any of it. He told Caan to shoot the scene with coughing and without coughing and they would choose the better shot. Caan felt that his version will not be considered and he stormed off the set.

“Nailed” stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Jessica Biel, James Marsden, Catherine Keener, Tracy Morgan, Olivia Crocicchia and James Caan played role of a U.S speaker of the house who chokes on a cookie. The story of “Nailed” revolves around a woman who travels to Washington to fight for better health care after she gets a nail lodged in her head.

David O. Russell has had famous confrontations on the set before with actors like George Clooney during production of ‘3 kings‘ (they actually got into a fist fight) and with Lily Tomlin during the making of ‘I heart Huckabees‘. You can view his crazy rampage with Lily Tomlin here.

Tom Cruise Looks At Ronald D. Moore To Save His Company

Tom Cruise has hired Ronald D. Moore to write a sci-fi trilogy for his banner, United Artists. Ronald D.Moore has written for Star Trek: Generation, Star Trek: First Contact, Roswell and Carnivale. He also has 2 projects in the works at the moment – i, Robot 2 and The Thing and they both look interesting.

According to reports, Ronald D.Moore left Star Trek after he got frustrated with the way that Star Trek Voyager was handled. I don’t know how he is going to like working with Mr. Cruise and his beliefs as Tom is apparently pretty coercive on his co-workers into listening to his theories and believing them.

One thing is for sure, after the disastrous “Lions for Lambs” and the always-in-trouble “Valkyrie”, Tom Cruise and his partner Paula Wagner really need someone like Ronald D Moore.

Next Page »