All Articles by John de Perczel

Fox Sues Writer for $15M Over Scripts Shared Online

Posted: November 28th, 2010 at 8:30 pm

Christmas is the season of giving, but it looks like Fox is looking to get a little back this holiday. The studio is suing P.J. McIlvaine, along with ten unnamed defendants, for allegedly sharing some seventy-nine Fox scripts. McIlvaine, who has two screenwriting credits to her name, assembled the scripts as .pdf files in a MediaFire cache, purportedly for the purpose of educating other screenwriters. While the vast majority of these films are older, the sore point for Fox appears to be the script for Deadpool, which is still in production and not scheduled to be released until 2012. More after the jump:

Previously Unseen TAXI DRIVER Stills Collected in Limited Taschen Book

Posted: October 5th, 2010 at 7:28 am

Director Martin Scorcese’s 1976 film Taxi Driver is beyond iconic: its groundbreaking visuals are instantly recognizable by anyone, even those who haven’t seen the film. Later this month, publisher Taschen is scheduled to release a collection of stills from the film snapped by set photographer Steven Shapiro, touted as ‘previously unseen.’ The book is edited by Paul Duncan, and Scorcese himself penned the forward. Judging by the preview photos, the book looks gorgeous, even by Taschen standards. The Deluxe Edition, including a protective case, is limited to 1,000 copies. If you’d like this tome to adorn your coffee table, Amazon has it up for pre-order now for a hefty $700 (link here: Steve Schapiro, Taxi Driver). Hit the jump for some images from the book and more info:

THE SOCIAL NETWORK and THE TOWN to Bookend 23rd Tokyo International Film Festival

Posted: September 21st, 2010 at 7:49 am

More announcements today from Tokyo: two Hollywood films will bookend the festival, which will open with director David Fincher’s The Social Network and close with Ben Affleck’s The Town. Both films are slated for a Japanese release in 2011. Ten films have also been announced for the World Cinema segment of the festival, including Philip Seymour Hoffman’s directorial debut Jack Goes Boating, and Roman Polanski’s Ghost Writer. Visionary French director Claude Chabrol, who passed away earlier this month, will be honored posthumously with a screening of his 2009 film Inspector Bellamy. Look for more news as the Tokyo International Film Festival swings into high gear in advance of its October 23rd opening. Full press release after the jump.

Films Announced for Tokyo International Film Festival

Posted: September 17th, 2010 at 11:32 pm

As Toronto winds down, that other TIFF, the Tokyo International Film Festival, is prepping for its trip down the red carpet next month. Today, they announced eight new films for the competition section of the festival, including films from Romania, Iran, and Israel. Stand-outs include Beautiful Boy by American first-time writer-director Shawn Ku, which also screened at Toronto, and Rowan Joffe’s UK crime-thriller Brighton Rock. This brings the total to 12 of 15 films for the competition section of the fest; the full list is slated to be announced at the end of the month. The Tokyo International Film Festival kicks off October 23rd. Hit the jump for the full press release and Beautiful Boy trailer.

IFC Films Picks Up Werner Herzog’s 3D Documentary CAVES OF FORGOTTEN DREAMS

Posted: September 15th, 2010 at 7:39 pm

In their second major deal at Toronto, IFC Films has purchased the theatrical rights to Werner Herzog’s 3D documentary Caves of Forgotten Dreams. The deal is reportedly in the six-figure range and is set to close today. The History Channel had previously picked up television rights to the film. IFC made headlines earlier with the purchase of superhero actioner Super for seven figures. Caves documents the 35,000-year-old paintings at the Chauvet Pont d’Arc Caves in southern France, which are the oldest known example of human artistic expression. Clips of Herzog talking about the caves and the film, plus the full press release, after the jump.

Werner Herzog Rescues Cartoon Joaquin Phoenix in WHEN HERZOG RESCUED PHOENIX

Posted: September 15th, 2010 at 7:09 pm

During the social media Q&A for his film My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done?, director Werner Herzog fielded a question from fellow director David Lynch. Lynch asked Herzog via Twitter to tell the story about the time he saved the life of actor Joaquin Phoenix near the director’s home. First Look Studios, who hosted the event, was later approached by animator Sascha Ciezata about producing an animated short  using audio from the interview. When Herzog Rescued Phoenix was posted to Youtube this past Monday, September 13th. The short relates in cutesy style what surely must have been a harrowing experience for everyone involved, a feeling that is reinforced by Herzog’s matter-of-fact voiceover. I do wonder if it was really a Prius that Joaquin creamed with his Camaro, though. Hit the jump to see the clip, as well as the original Herzog interview.

RT25 to Celebrate 25 Years of ROBOTECH

Posted: September 15th, 2010 at 6:30 am

2010 marks 25 years since the American release of Robotech, the localized version of Japanese anime classic Macross. To celebrate, the Van Nuys Airtel Plaza will play host this weekend to RT25: The Celebration [via Mania.com], a two-night fete featuring an impressive number of the original voice cast and US production team. Highlights include Tony Oliver (voice of Rick Hunter), Melanie MacQueen (voice of Lisa Hayes), and Rebecca Forstadt (voice of Lynn Minmei). It’s not clear from the site who exactly is sponsoring the event, though it certainly doesn’t appear to be Harmony Gold, the series’ original producer, or Manga Entertainment, its current rights-holder. I have to admit: the purist in me wants to scorn this Americanized version of a truly great series. But, having watched it on TV as a kid I suspect I’ll always have a soft spot in my heart for the sometimes-campy dub. Registration for RT25 is closed as of September 1st, but diehard fans in the LA area always have the option to crash. Hit the jump for some classic Robotech clips.

CITY SLICKERS Writers Re-Teaming with Billy Crystal on New Comedy US & THEM

Posted: August 31st, 2010 at 6:50 pm

Fans of Billy Crystal and his comedy classic City Slickers have some news to be cheerful about. According to Deadline, Writers Lowell Gantz and Babaloo Mandel, who worked with Crystal on Slickers as well as Forget Paris and Father’s Day, with the actor again for upcoming film Us & Them. The film will be Crystal’s first lead role in nearly ten years, and is slated to be directed by Andy Fickman, of this Fall’s upcoming You Again. Crystal is also producing the film, which had been in development at Paramount for several years before being dropped. Fox picked it up in turnaround, and it is currently on fast-track as a co-production with Walden Media.

Crystal plays a grandfather charged with caring for his grandchildren for a week, who is confronted by the generational shift in parenting and the need to reconcile with his daughter. The plot seems like fertile ground for the kind of warm comedy Crystal does best, though Fickman’s family-friendly reputation seems likely to dull any edge it might have. As a huge fan of City Slickers, I’m hoping that Us & Them will have at least some of that film’s magic.

Blockbuster Video to File for Bankruptcy

Posted: August 27th, 2010 at 7:38 am

Remember the last time you went down to your local Blockbuster to pick up a movie? Yeah, me either. Neither, it seems, can a lot of other people, which may explain why the rental chain is closing in on bankruptcy. The LA Times reports that Blockbuster execs have been in talks with six Hollywood studios about entering a “planned bankruptcy” sometime in September. The company is struggling under a staggering $1.1 billion in debt, but, rather than throw in the towel completely, still hopes to use their time under Chapter 11 to restructure. To do that, they need studio support to keep the shelves stocked during that time. I have fond memories of my local Blockbuster, where I first rented a Sega Saturn to play Panzer Dragoon and spent the summer of 1999 trying to watch all of the AFI’s 100 greatest films of the 20th century (unfortunately, I still haven’t seen them all). However, its plans to try to stay solvent by moving into both kiosk-based rentals and digital distribution seem overly ambitious for a company in its financial state. The question is: if Blockbuster went away, would it really be missed? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Movie Ticket Prices Near Breaking Point?

Posted: August 26th, 2010 at 9:30 am

Anyone who’s been to a movie theater in the past year has, at one time or another, undoubtedly thought “When did tickets get to be so expensive?” While ticket prices have risen steadily over the years, audience attendance has failed to react. However, The Wrap thinks that we may be close to a breaking point. They point to diminishing opening weekend box office returns for 3D films as evidence that audiences have already grown tired of paying up for the 3D experience. And with ticket prices in some markets clearing $19, they speculate that $20 will be the price point at which moviegoers finally rebel en masse. I’d personally throw a brick through the window if the local megaplex started asking $20 a pop for tickets, but what do you think? What price would finally keep you out of the theater? Or are you already feeling the pinch? Sound off in the comments.

Anime Writer/Director Satoshi Kon Dead at 47

Posted: August 24th, 2010 at 8:25 pm

Veteran anime writer/director Satoshi Kon has passed away in Tokyo at the age of 47. The news first spread via a Twitter post from industry fellow Yasuhiro Takeda of Studio Gainax, but has since been confirmed by Kon’s co-workers at Studio Madhouse. Details of his death have yet to be made public. Kon helmed half a dozen films, many of which found success at home and abroad. He first gained international recognition for his film Perfect Blue, a taut, psychological thriller released in 1998. Kon followed up this success in 2001 with Millennium Actress — an ode to the Japanese film industry — and Tokyo Godfathers in 2003. Kon next dabbled in television, writing and directing the 26-episode series Paranoia Agent. His most recent film to make waves was 2007’s Paprika, a fantastical, sci-fi journey through the world of dreams bearing striking similarities to Christopher Nolan’s 2010 film Inception. Kon was working on a new sci-fi robot project titled The Dreaming Machine. Early art from the film reveals a much more cartoon-y look, similar to Fox’ 2005 Robots. No word yet on the future of this project. After the jump, check out some of the trailers to his movies.

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