Whip It

WHIP IT Blu-ray Review

by Aaron Roxby    Posted: February 25th, 2010 at 12:31 pm

Roller Derby is a sport primed for cinematic treatment. A fast paced game of passion and pageantry played by colorful and attractive women, chock full of good-natured violence and brimming with personality. It is a rowdy, populist sport, reborn screaming from the heart of Texas in a deluge of Lone Star beer and fishnets where the leagues are owned by the players and the players are doing it for the love. From inspirational to exploitational, there are a thousand potential Roller Derby movies just waiting to be made. Whip It, despite its potential, is not a great Roller Derby movie. However, in focusing on what it isn’t (a great Roller Derby movie), one runs the risk of missing what it is (an empowering and potentially great movie for teen girls).  More after the jump:

Matt’s Top Performers, Director, Quotes, and Kills of 2009

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: December 30th, 2009 at 6:38 pm

The joy of list-making continues today as I’m running down who I thought gave the best performances of the year plus what I thought were the best quotes and kills of 2009.  Please keep in mind that regarding the performances, I haven’t seen a few key films that could have very well changed the winners and runners-up: Crazy Heart (Best Actor), The Last Station and Bright Star (Best Actress), and a few others.  If you think there was someone who clearly should’ve won or been nominated, shout out in the comments section and I’ll let you know whether I saw the film or not.

With this disclaimer out of the way, I present to you my picks for the best performers, directors, quotes, and kills of 2009.  Hit the jump to check them all out.

Weekend Box Office – ZOMBIELAND Reaps a $25 Million Opening

by Nicole Pedersen    Posted: October 4th, 2009 at 11:00 am

“Zombieland” is already a financial hit for Sony.  After opening up a big lead on Friday, Ruben Fleischer’s $24 million directorial debut continued to dominate a crowded weekend session, closing Sunday with an estimated $25 million from 3,036 engagements.  And because, lately, the box office has room for only one hit per weekend, new releases like Drew Barrymore’s “Whip It” suffered by comparison.

	Title	Weekend	Total
1	Zombieland	$25,000,000	$25,000,000
2	Cloudy w/a Chance	$16,700,000	$82,392,000
3	Toy Story 1 & 2	$12,500,000	$12,500,000
4	The Invention of Lying	$7,350,000	$7,350,000
5	Surrogates	$7,344,000	$26,387,000
6	Whip It	$4,850,000	$4,850,000
7	Capitalism: A Love Story	$4,850,000	$5,252,000
8	Fame	$4,754,000	$16,634,000
9	The Informant!	$3,800,000	$26,580,000
10	Love Happens	$2,777,000	$18,910,000

Friday Box Office – ZOMBIELAND On Top with a $9.4 Million Debut

by Nicole Pedersen    Posted: October 3rd, 2009 at 10:07 am

October is off to a strong start for at least one studio. Sony saw “Zombieland” take number one on Friday with a $9.4 million debut in 3,036 theatres. The horror/comedy hybrid knocked another Sony release, “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs”, into second place after two weeks at number one. In other 3D news, the debut of Pixar’s “Toy Story 1 & 2″ was not far behind “Meatballs” with $3.2 million. Disney’s double bill should take a bite out of Sony’s weekend-matinee monopoly but, playing in only 1,745 locations, it may be hard for the retooled toys to catch up.  Sony was not the only studio that had something to smile about on Friday. Warner Brothers’ new comedy “The Invention of Lying” surprised even the studio by coming in fourth with a $2.5 million debut in 1,707 theatres.  Fox Searchlight’s “Whip It”, playing in the same number of venues, was also a surprise.  The Drew Barrymore/Ellen Page vehicle fell short of the top five despite those ‘sneak peaks’ the studio hosted last Saturday.  Check back tomorrow for full weekend box office results.

	Title	Friday	Total
1	Zombieland	$9,400,000	$9.4
2	Cloudy w/a Chance	$3,700,000	$69.4
3	Toy Story 1 & 2	$3,200,000	$3.2
4	Invention of Lying	$2,500,000	$2.5
5	Surrogates	$2,200,000	$21.2

Eve and Andrew Wilson Exclusive Video Interview WHIP IT

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: October 2nd, 2009 at 6:21 am

Opening today is Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut “Whip It” and it’s a coming of age story set against the world of roller derby that stars Ellen Page, Kristen Wiig, Drew Barrymore, Juliette Lewis, Jimmy Fallon, Landon Pigg, Eve, Andrew Wilson, Marcia Gay Harden, Daniel Stern and Alia Shawkat. So to help promote the film, at the Toronto Film Festival I had the chance to interview most of the cast and after the jump you can see Eve and Andrew Wilson talk about being at the Festival, working for Drew Barrymore, the sport of Roller Derby, and what they have coming up. Take a look:

WHIP IT Review

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: October 1st, 2009 at 8:27 pm

In the sport of Roller Derby, sometimes you need to “throw a hit”, which is exactly what it sounds like.  In her directorial debut, Drew Barrymore fails to throw a hit but “Whip It” scrapes out a victory on the strength of its characters, its script, and its lovely and talented lead, Ellen Page.

Shauna Cross Talks About IF I STAY – The Project She’s Writing For Director Catherine Hardwicke

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: September 29th, 2009 at 5:31 pm

Earlier today, I was at the Los Angeles press day for “Whip It” and I was able to participate in a roundtable interview with Shauna Cross.  She wrote the film’s screenplay based on her book “Derby Girl”, which recounts her real-life skating exploits with the Los Angeles Derby Dolls.  She’s currently attached to write “If I Stay” for director Catherine Hardwicke, and I was able to find out what the project is about and where it is in Catherine’s very busy schedule. Cross says, “it’s about a young woman who gets in a terrible car accident with her family and it follows the 24 hours of her outside of her body in a coma.” She also told us, “we’re just about to go to cast.” Much more on the project after the jump:

Ellen Page Says Don’t Try to Find Out About INCEPTION

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: September 29th, 2009 at 5:20 pm

I love going into a movie knowing as little about it as possible. All too often, I know almost everything whether it’s by covering a film for so long or the trailer spoiling every cool moment.  While I understand movies cost a lot of money and the studios need to make sure people come out opening weekend, for folks like me, the people that watch too many commercials and read too many interviews, that blissful ignorance is gone. With that in mind, I want to give a big thank you to director Christopher Nolan.  Because Nolan told his entire cast NOT to talk about his upcoming movie “Inception”, almost nothing has been revealed via interviews or due to random slip-ups by the cast. And that’s awesome.

Anyway, just a few hours ago, I spoke with the movie’s leading lady and “Inception” co-star Ellen Page.  She told us she’s still filming the movie and implored us to not seek out any spoilers. She said, “Just don’t try and find out more. Just love it when it comes out in July. It’s going to be really cool.” She also told us that it’s a five-month shoot which is typical for a big summer movie. Read her exact quotes after the jump:

Ellen Page Exclusive Video Interview WHIP IT – Plus INCEPTION Talk

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: September 28th, 2009 at 10:42 am

Opening this Friday is Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut “Whip It”. The film’s a coming of age story set against the world of roller derby that stars Ellen Page, Kristen Wiig, Drew Barrymore, Juliette Lewis, Jimmy Fallon, Landon Pigg, Eve, Marcia Gay Harden, Daniel Stern and Alia Shawkat. So to help promote the film, at the Toronto Film Festival I had the chance to interview most of the cast and after the jump you can watch my interview with the star of the film, Ellen Page. She talks about being at the Toronto Film Festival and what it’s like for her, social networking, and while she couldn’t talk about the story of Christopher Nolan’s “Inception”, I did get her to tell me what it’s like working for the great director. Take a look:

Alia Shawkat and Landon Pigg Exclusive Video Interview WHIP IT

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: September 27th, 2009 at 9:34 pm

Opening this Friday is Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut “Whip It”. The film’s a coming of age story set against the world of roller derby that stars Ellen Page, Kristen Wiig, Drew Barrymore, Juliette Lewis, Jimmy Fallon, Landon Pigg, Eve, Marcia Gay Harden, Daniel Stern and Alia Shawkat. So to help promote the film, at the Toronto Film Festival I had the chance to interview most of the cast and after the jump you can see Alia Shawkat and Landon Pigg talk about being at the Festival, working for Drew Barrymore, the sport of Roller Derby, Rock Band/Guitar Hero, and Alia talks about the “Arrested Development” movie and “The Runaways”. Look for more “Whip It” interviews this week:

Weekend Box Office – It’s Still CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS for Moviegoers

by Nicole Pedersen    Posted: September 27th, 2009 at 11:18 am

Despite mounting an early and aggressive advertising campaign for their high-concept sci-fi thriller “Surrogates”, Disney could not catch up to Sony’s holdover hit “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” in time to claim the number one spot on the charts.  After opening up a small lead on Friday, the 3D animated toon finished with another $24 million on its second weekend, making it easily the most-successful release of the month at $60 million in total.  September had more bad news for its new releases as both MGM’s reboot of “Fame” and Overture’s sci-fi horror flick “Pandorum” struggled to find their footing.  Ha! Get it?  The dancers of “Fame” couldn’t find their footing!  More witty bon mots after the jump.

	Title	Weekend	Total
1	Cloudy w/a Chance…	$24,600,000	$60,036,000
2	Surrogates	$15,000,000	$15,000,000
3	Fame	$10,000,000	$10,000,000
4	The Informant!	$6,915,000	$20,992,000
5	I Can Do Bad…	$4,750,000	$44,543,000
6	Pandorum	$4,408,000	$4,408,000
7	Love Happens	$4,327,000	$14,728,000
8	Jennifer’s Body	$3,500,000	$12,306,000
9	9	$2,832,000	$27,101,000
10	Inglourious Basterds	$2,732,000	$114,460,000

WHIP IT Review – TIFF ’09

by Monika Bartyzel    Posted: September 18th, 2009 at 6:53 pm

Take Drew Barrymore: Mix in some of her feel-good friend fare, her experiences and appreciation of all things 80s, some of Hollywood’s most kick-ass girls, and rollerskates, and you’ll come up with “Whip It.” An ’80s film for a new millennium, “Whip It” is rough, fun, and hip-checkingly girly. Hit the jump to learn more about Barrymore’s directorial debut.

Drew Barrymore’s WHIP IT Poster – Plus a Few Images

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: August 25th, 2009 at 12:35 pm

Fox Searchlight has released the poster for Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut “Whip It”. The film premieres at next month’s Toronto Film Festival and it’ll be released everywhere on October 2^nd. I’ll be covering TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) so you can expect a lot of coverage next month on the site. Until then, take a look at the new poster and images after the jump:

Trailer for Drew Barrymore’s WHIP IT Starring Ellen Page, Alia Shawkat, and Marcia Gay Harden

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: July 15th, 2009 at 3:17 pm

I’m rooting for Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut “Whip It” for several reasons.  First, talented female directors are in short supply so I’m hoping Barrymore is about to join their ranks.  Second, I think it’s got a great cast and now that Ellen Page had her breakthrough with “Juno”, she needs to show the mainstream (many of whom, sadly, did not see “Hard Candy”) that she’s not just a one-hit wonder but that she’s a serious actress who’s here to stay.  Third, it shows that Daniel Stern is still alive, so that’s nice.  And finally, I’ve never seen a film which features female roller derby so that will be cool.

Hit the jump to check out the new trailer “Whip It” hits theatres on October 9th.

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