Success without the Stars?
Has anyone else noticed that Hollywood stars don’t seem to burn quite as brightly as they once did? Once again, this holiday season is poised to prove that big box office success does not necessarily hinge on A-List star-power and big budget cash-chucking. Need proof? Well, look no further than the ultimate sleeper-pick, Paranormal Activity. Costing only $11,000 to produce, this bare-bones horror show has scared up a frightening $100 million in box office. Need more proof? Well, how about the South African blockbuster, District 9? This foreign film grossed over $200 in North America alone – and I dare you to name even one star of that flick without the aide of internet access, or some annoying know-it-all Kiwi. Going in another direction, The Hangover is a perfect example of a talented cast of moderate renown who unexpectedly wake up to $460 million in international ticket sales. Who knows? Perhaps this is the dawn of a new breed of movie-makings Or, perhaps it isn’t. Say, have you seen 2012 yet? I heard it looks awesome.
Tim Burton the Artist Honoured
Despite being one of the busiest filmmakers in Hollywood, it’s nice to know that Tim Burton can still find the time to be honoured by east-coast liberal elites. To be specific, the New York Museum of Modern Art is set to feature a retrospective of Burton’s sketches, storyboards, paintings, puppets, and movies. But Burton is not alone, also slated for features are stop-motion giant Ray Harryhausen, as well as the landmark 1920 silent film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. But in returning to all things Burton, the aforementioned exhibit promises to chronicle over 700 eclectic pieces that encompass various aspects of the artist’s life – these include childhood creations, material from his ill-fated stint at Disney, and original character mock-ups from his feature films. The retrospective also plans to screen every movie Burton has ever produced, including his 1982 short film Vincent, narrated by none other than Tim’s boyhood idol, Vincent Price. “It’s like walking through my own personal ghost story,” said Burton, as he attended last week’s premier. But don’t take Tim’s word for it, see it yourself any time between now and April 26th.
Werewolves? – right here!
Werewolves have always howled at the box office. But nowadays, there seems to be a lot more full moons out there, especially since horror audiences appear to be tiring of the whole zombie craze. The last big year of the wolf was in 1981, which featured The Howling and An American Werewolf in London. Since then, there has always been a smattering of werewolf flicks, such as Jack Nicholson’s randy 1994 performance of Wolf, the last in the franchise of The Howling flicks, 1995’s New Moon Rising (sounds familiar?), and of course, the Underworld movies. Next year promises to continue the trend with a big budget remake of Wolfman (2010), and a Canadian independent flick called Zombie Werewolves Attack. OK, so perhaps it is not a trend. Perhaps these movies have always been around. But is it really just a coincidence that with werewolves appearing in The Twilight Saga: New Moon that there’s going to be a remake, reboot called The Howling: Reborn? The original story was of a young newswoman stalked by a serial killer that turns out to be a werewolf. But, there’s a rumour that the upcoming flick is a story of teenage angst, lust, and uncontrollable hormones. It will be directed by Joe Nimziki his first feature film- he was previously a studio marketing executive at New Line, MGM, and Sony.
War Child releases 10th anniversary album
The international charity War Child, now in its 10th year, is putting out the album War Child: 10. As you might expect from the holiday season, all of the album’s proceeds will be directed towards the fight for children’s rights, educational reform, and poverty reduction in countries like the Sudan, Sri Lanka, and Afghanistan. Featured on War Child are popular activist acts such as Coldplay and Radiohead, but it also features some surprising covers by unexpected bands, such as New Order’s version of Jimmy Cliff’s Vietnam, and Muse’s take on the folk/blues standard, House of the Rising Sun.
Kindle late aren’t you?
Amazon’s Kindle E-book Reader, which allows the wireless download up to 1,500 books onto an easy-to-read portable device, has finally arrived in Canada. Although unfortunately, it still must be ordered through the last American superpower, Amazon.com. Once shoppers factor in the necessary import fees, the Kindle Reader usually rings in at a festive tally of just over $300. Originally released over two years ago, Canadians have been excluded from purchasing this state-of-the-fine-arts gadget due to web-browsing disputes with local carriers such as Bell, Rogers, and Telus.
