The Hitlist Movies Blog

Hey, Want to Live Out 'Hostel'?

Then get your sick self to Halloween Horror Nights

By William Goss Jul 28, 2011 4:07PM

When one lives in Orlando, Florida (as I used to), it's hard to ignore the attractions. The shine of going to any of these amusement parks all the time does admittedly wear off after a while, but the convenience ratio usually outweighs the irritation of tourists bumbling around as they support our local economy.

As such, Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios becomes something of a tradition, even if it's almost always hot and crowded with drunken college kids. Franchise staples were trotted out -- the Universal classics of Frankenstein's monster, Dracula, the Mummy and the Wolfman, eventually followed by Freddy, Chucky and Leatherface -- and given their own haunted houses within which to terrify skittish girls and boisterous frat boys.

This year, Universal appears to be upping the ante with a "Hostel"-themed attraction at their Hollywood event, a gore-laden maze that should take you exactly where you'd rather not be. That's not to mention that, according to Variety, "The Thing" is getting its own haunted-house reboot at both Hollywood and Florida to go with the big-budget prequel; an attraction based on John Carpenter's classic film already appeared back in 2007 and was among that year's most effective and immersive efforts. The 2011 house should be totally different, in that it's based on the 2011 film, which actually doesn't look all that different from the original film and thus might not end up all that different from the original house after all.

But hey! Nothing succeeds like success, so you can look forward to getting your first second shot at the "Thing" house and your first first shot at the "Hostel" house starting September 23rd.

(That is, unless you happen to live anywhere that's not Orange County, California or Orange County, Florida.)

Terry Gilliam Calls Dibs on 'Mr. Vertigo'

Adapting Paul Auster's novel joins the auteur's long line of potential projects

By William Goss Jul 28, 2011 1:41PM

Few filmmakers have the coulda-woulda-shoulda streak of Terry Gilliam's career. The Monty Python alum often swings big and can't always get backing for his projects, and even when he does, other forces seemingly conspire to prevent him from accomplishing his goals (see: "Lost in La Mancha," all about his doomed production of "Don Quixote," which he may still attempt to make).

Still, the man who almost made "Don Quixote" and almost made "Watchmen" and almost made "Harry Potter" has still actually made a number of wondrous motion pictures, and even his misfires are overflowing with imagination. After all, would anyone else have invented a plot device to excuse the absence of the late Heath Ledger in "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus," or would they simply have cut and written around it?

According to The Playlist, the latest of balls currently being juggled by Gilliam would be an adaptation of Paul Auster's 1994 novel, "Mr. Vertigo," about a young orphan in the 1920s who is trained to levitate and then toured across America in a sideshow. He admits that just because he's working on a script doesn't mean it will ultimately be a film, but he is adapting it all the same. For now at least, it seems like a good fit; whether it will actually come to fruition is a whole other story...

Eddie Murphy is Funny Again in 'Tower Heist'

Teams up with Ben Stiller to make caper comedy

By Corwin Neuse Jul 28, 2011 12:33PM

Isn't the ongoing economic crisis hilarious?

What about Bernie Madoff, with all his hysterical billion-dollar Ponzi schemes? Wasn't he a joker!?

I miss Eddie Murphy.

If you agreed with any of the above sentiments, "Tower Heist" may be the movie for you.

The film marks the first feature directed by Brett Ratner since the double whammy of "Rush Hour 3" and "X-Men: The Last Stand" temporarily derailed his career. Encouragingly, Ratner has lined up a litany of notable actors for the film. Besides the aforementioned Ben Stiller and Murphy, "Tower Heist" will star Matthew Broderick, Téa Leoni, Casey Affleck, Michael Peña, and Gabourey Sidibe, as a group of bankrupted everymen banding together to rob the Trump Tower and Alan Alda's evil financier.

While we won't hold out hope that this will be Sidibe's post-"Precious" breakout role, it's still refreshing to see the preternaturally gifted and effervescent actress in something that isn't so serious. Or outright depressing. However, the real draw here is Eddie Murphy's long-overdue return to live-action comedy. Like a glass of (soy) milk and a (vegan) chocolate chip cookie, a funny Eddie Murphy is a treat for all occasions. And he doesn't even wear a fat suit!

Check out the trailer over at Yahoo! Movies, then tell us what you think in the comments.

'Jackass' Films Now Streaming on Facebook

In unrelated news, the Mayan apocalypse is only 17 months away

By Corwin Neuse Jul 28, 2011 11:33AM

Great news, everybody!

Paramount has announced that they have made the entire catalog of "Jackass" films available for streaming on Facebook, making the popular social networking site just that much more addictive and time-consuming.

Although Warner Brothers has long offered its films on the site, that can now be seen as merely a trial run for this, perhaps the seminal achievement in human history. The move brings together everything we hold dear: masochism, little people, rocket ships, rocket ship port-a-potties, and baby pictures from those people we talked to once in high school. Let the celebrating commence!

What do you think, Hitlisters? Will you check out "Jackass," "Jackass 2.0," "Jackass 2.5," "Jackass 3," and "Jackass 3.5" on Facebook? Or do you consider such trifles inane, vulgar, and utterly beneath your contempt? Alternately, were you even aware that there were five "Jackass" movies? We weren't, and are now vaguely horrified.

[via Deadline]

Ryan Gosling: 'Crazy, Stupid' Funny

From Tragedy to Comedy, with Stops for Gummy Bears

By James Rocchi Jul 28, 2011 11:20AM

With his capability to flip-flop from role to role with incredible ease -- playing a Jewish skinhead and then a soulful Nicholas Sparks hero, a warm-hearted doll fetishist and then a broken-hearted hipster -- watching what Ryan Gosling will do next has become almost as much of a pleasure as watching Ryan Gosling. In "Crazy, Stupid, Love." Gosling is Jacob -- a swaggering pick-up artist whose relationship with Emma Stone's Hannah makes him realize all the ways he's picking girls up is in fact letting them, and him, down. We spoke with Gosling in New York.

This is a different kind of you that we've seen before: You're a type-A womanizer. It's interesting to see you in that role. That must have been the fun of taking it on, am I correct?

Gosling: Yeah, although I just did it to work with Steve Carell.

That was the number one appeal?

Gosling: I love him. He is my hero.

Film marks his first post-Twilight starring role

By Corwin Neuse Jul 28, 2011 10:56AM

Now that he's (nearly) done playing a brooding, motorcycle-riding Native American werewolf, what's next for "Twilight" heartthrob Taylor Lautner? Apparently, playing a brooding, motorcycle-riding Native American teenaged Jason Bourne in this fall's "Abduction."

Clooney will co-star with Ryan Gosling in the political morality tale

By Kate Erbland Jul 28, 2011 10:43AM

Based on Beau Willimon’s play “Farragut North,” multi-hyphenate George Clooney is bringing the political morality tale to the screen, starring himself and a fantastic cast, including Ryan Gosling, Paul Giamatti, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Evan Rachel Wood, Marissa Tomei, and Max Minghella. Clooney’s take on the play will be released under the title “The Ides of March,” and is already set to premiere on August 31 at the Venice International Film Festival.

The first trailer for the film has been released, and it serves as a solid first look, especially in terms of introducing the major players of the film’s story. Though Clooney is getting top billing here as Mike Morris, a governor campaigning for the presidency, the plot of “Ides” truly belongs to Gosling’s character, Stephen Myers. Stephen’s official title within Morris’ campaign is press secretary, but he’s much, much more than just that – he’s the brains behind Morris’ entire operation. Within the first ten seconds of this first trailer, Stephen’s philosophy is laid bare – he believes in doing the “right thing” (sometimes). The film plots some of the most important days on the campaign trail, as Stephen finds his loyalty called into question by a number of outside influences – other staffers, a sexy intern, a reporter out for a big story, and another campaign.

Willimon’s play is loosely based on the 2004 campaign of Howard Dean, but some of the biggest similarities that are fairly obvious in the play seem to have been sloughed off in this new version. I saw the play (twice, it was just that good) back in 2009. Gosling’s role was played by Chris Pine (whose theatrical experience is rarely discussed, which is a shame, because he’s magnetic on the small stage), with Chris Noth playing the character Hoffman will portray in the film. It’s a dynamic, engaging work, and it really toys with the ideas of hubris, pride, ambition, and loyalty to heart-stopping effect. I hope that the pounding sense of urgency and involvement that runs through the play translates to the screen in Clooney’s version.

Watch the trailer after the break, thanks to Yahoo! Movies.

How do you make a gripping sci-fi film with no money?

By DannyMiller Jul 27, 2011 6:03PM

When they were shooting their new indie flick “Another Earth,” director Mike Cahill and co-writer/star Brit Marling clearly had no budget to speak of. They used Cahill’s mother’s home in Connecticut, they borrowed cars from family and friends, and they engaged in guerilla filmmaking techniques to get the shots they needed.

Marling described some of their tricks on a recent interview on NPR’s “All Things Considered.” When the film’s main character, Rhoda Williams (Marling) is seen leaving the prison where she’d been incarcerated for a drunk driving episode that killed a little boy and his pregnant mother, they did not have the financial means to secure a prison location for the scene. What to do? Go to an actual prison building…and shoot fast! With cameras trained on the front of the facility, Brit grabbed a yoga mat and waltzed through the main entrance, cheerfully announcing that she was there to give the prisoners a yoga lesson. After a few blank stares from puzzled prison officials, Marling simply dropped the yoga mat and walked out of the building as Cahill’s cameras turned. The required shot was in the can!

In some cases, the lack of an adequate budget might sink a fledgling film, but for “Another Earth,” a brooding, introspective look at how individuals with once-promising futures grapple with sadness, guilt, and redemption, the budget challenges may have helped create the tone that gave the film such a buzz at Sundance and sparked a bidding war for the rights (Fox Searchlight is distributing the film).