Starks

In the last 15 minutes Virginia has gone from McCain up by 11 points to up by 5.

Well this comes as a pleasant surprise: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/conten...5ee915648d4cab3

True Blood was renewed for another season weeks ago, along with Entourage.

It has a very under-rated cast IMO, Guy Pearce, Ray Winstone, Noah Taylor, Emily Watson, David Wenham, Danny Huston and John Hurt is a terrific ensemble. Pearce is probably the only member that a regular Joe walking down the street could name however. The Proposition's release was very limited - 200 theatres according to boxofficemojo. It almost made more money in Australia ($1.56m) than the US ($1.9m). People may have thought it was direct-to-video, and the fact it's a foreign film probably makes it less appealing for a blind buy/rental. It came out on Blu-ray two weeks ago (with a RRP of $19!), and is well worth hunting down on that format given the awesome cinematography. Hopefully John Hillcoat's adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's The Road will lead people to track down his earlier works and The Proposition will get the recognition it deserves.

Agreed. The Proposition is probably the best Australian film of the past 10-20 years (since the Ozploitation films such as Mad Max and Road Warrior in the 1980's). The director John Hillcoat has just finished filming an adaptation of the Cormac McCarthy (No Country for Old Men) post-apocalyptic novel The Road. It stars Viggo Mortensen, Charlize Theron, Guy Pearce, Robert Duvall, Garret Dillahunt and Michael K. Williams (Omar!). It's the film I'm most hyped about seeing this awards season. As for Western's, while not a big fan (I usually avoid them), of the 3 western themed movies of the past year (3:10 To Yuma remake, There Will Be Blood and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford) I favoured TAoJJbTCRF (another Aussie director). Mainly for its' cast, gorgeous cinematography (does anyone know of a more beautifully shot film?) and it's willingness to break new ground within the genre by approaching it as a tale of celebrity. Casting Brad Pitt as Jesse James was genius.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/30/arts/30a...F.html?ref=arts Gotta give the man respect, such a dedicated performer that he goes method for his most recent TV role.

No. The original order for season 2 was 13 episodes. They have finished filming the first 6 of those 13, and they were strong enough for NBC to commit to an additional 9 episodes. 13 + 9 = 22 episodes.

While I usually don't care for fan made posters, this mock up for The Dark Knight Returns keeps the tone set by The Dark Knight, particularly the final poster with the playing cards. I'd hang it on my wall.

Time magazine has coped a lot of deserved criticism over the past few years for their selection of Person of the Year (winners such as The Whistle-blowers, The American Soldier, The Good Samaritans, You (!?!) and Rudy Giuliani over Osama Bin Laden?). The award was quickly losing it's lofty status. But they absolutely nailed the selection of 2007's Person of the Year. http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/per...1696150,00.html A long article, but one of the best to grace the pages of Time Magazine in a long time.

12:01am Friday numbers are in and The Dark Knight made $18.4m off the midnight screenings (not counting 3am or 6am shows). This beats previous record holder Revenge of the Sith's $16.9m. http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/firs...s-sith-numbers/

Well you'll be very pleased by TDK. While the action is a step up from Begins, and the acting all top notch, it's the script that elevates this movie. Simple conversations steal this movie, the spectacle of the chase and fight scenes are secondary to watching the character's battle of wits as they banter with one another.

Well I stated my love for The Long Halloween a few days ago, so it looks like I'll love this movie. I thought the Killing Joke was good, though I don't like that the book seems to make the Joker a somewhat sympathetic character with the flashbacks, although he is still an extreme psychopath in that book. It kind of worries me that you said Bale doesn't have enough to do. Does this mean Batman is ignored in his own movie again? Thats the thing I hated about the previous series. Bale isn't ignored and is still the definitive live action Bruce Wayne/Batman. It's just that compared to Begins which was 90% Batman, there is far more happening with other characters in TDK. Batman and Harvey Dent get equal screen time and the movie is all the stronger for it as their story arcs are closely linked. Gordon has a considerably expanded role, and the Joker, while onscreen less then Batman is absolutly mesmerising. TDK is a true ensemble piece. Part of the reason why Batman get a lack of attention in reviews also has to do with the way Bale plays him. His Bruce Wayne (who has equal screen time with the Batman persona) really comes across as a joyless damaged man that is a mere embodiment for his overwhelming drive for justice. He plays it cocky when putting on the Playboy persona, and you see his intelligence when conversing with Fox and Alfred, but there is always a hint of sadness underneath. It's not as flashy as the work done by Ledger or Eckhardt, but at the same time it shouldn't be as it would detract from the film.

They have recast The Role of the T-800 with Austrian body builder Roland Kickinger, who actually played Schwarzenegger in the 2005 A&E biopic See Arnold Run. His filmography also includes includes Lethal Weapon 4 and Son of the Beach http://www.clintonnewsrecord.com/ArticleDi....aspx?e=1117058 Besides cloning Arnie I don't see how they could do a better job of casting this role.

Here are the opening day results for Australia: So The Dark Knight opened 50% up on Spiderman 3, which is quite impressive as SM3 opened on a typical Thursday, while TDK opened on a Wednesday. The all time Australian box office record is current held by Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull with $28.6m, yet all the industry people here expect it to go very close to that (school holidays ended last week so that is working against TDK).

I considered that, but I believe it would come under "Best Screenplay" due to the movie credits. If a story is taken from another source (eg. No Country for Old Men) it will be credited as "Based on the novel No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy", "Adapted screenplay by Joel and Ethan Coen". The Dark Knight is credited as "Story by David S. Goyer and Christopher Nolan", "Screenplay by Christopher and Jonathan Nolan".

I'll keep this review spoiler free. I went in as spoiler free as possible, not having seeked out all the TV spots or having watched the trailers ad-nauseum, and to ruin this film would be a crime. Finished watching the film ~ 5hrs ago so I'm still processing what I've seen. This isn't a superhero film. It's a crime drama (that can stand aside films such as Heat or LA Confidential) of the superhero subtype. It's a tragedy. It's about dealing with the unforeseen consequences of actions undertaken with the best of intentions, it's about making difficult choices when presented equally terrible options. And it's very very good. Perhaps even great. I really need to see the film a few more times to appreciate it's subtleties, as it's an enjoyably layered story. Compared to Batman Begins this film is on a whole nother level. The action scenes flow much better with the camera pulled back and the editing far less rapid, the stand out being a chase scene in the middle of the film. The FX work is top notch, much like Iron Man nothing screams "This is CGI". The script is where the real magic happens however. Simple conversations between characters steal this movie, the actors obviously relishing with working with such quality material. All the shitty one liners from Begins have been jettisoned, although the movie is humorous in places. Heath Ledger's depiction of the Joker is every bit as good as the press is reporting. He is walking contradiction ("Let me tell you how I get these scars..."), a mad man, an enigma, an anarchist, an unstoppable force who can't be reasoned or negotiated with, and in the blink of an eye switches from a darkly humorous weirdo to manic violent sociopath. And while he initially presents as a man who indulges in his every whim, he is also an absolute mastermind in the paradox he presents to Gotham City and it's inhabitants. The scope and genius of his plan cannot be fully appreciated until the final moments of the film. Sometimes an interpretation of a character will resonate with an audience to such an extent that it will influence all future interpretations of the character. Just as Frank Miller's run on Batman in the 80's redefined the characters, or the Blade movie introduced Whistler to the characters mythos, Ledger's interpretation is so definitive that it will influence the character in comics and animated form for decades. Just wait until you see The Joker's "Magic Trick" (20 seconds of character shorthand that tells you everything you need to know). And because Ledger is so damn good people are going to miss the other brilliant performance in this movie. Aaron Eckhart is superb, deserving all the accolades that Ledger's performance has received. His story arc is the centre of the movie and is what drives it. He gives the best performance in the film IMO. Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman provide solid support. Maggie Gyllenhaal replaces Katie Holmes without missing beat. Gary Oldman's Lt. James Gordon gains the most of the characters returning from the first film however. Dependant on other films to be released this year, I'd expect TDK award nominations for Heath Ledger (Best Supporting Actor), Wally Pfister (Cinematography), Christopher & Jonathan Nolan (Best Screenplay), along with a swag of nominations in various technical and production categories (Best FX, Sound Mixing, Design etc etc). If their is any justice (which there isn't when it comes to acting nominations, too often nominations are given for an actors body of work rather than their single performance) Aaron Eckhart would be a lock for Best Supporting Actor Along with Ledger. Addition nominations for Best Film and Best Director may be a stretch, but not out of reach. Highly Recommended. 4.5/5 Stars.

No, but they disappeared 100's of millions of $$$ from theatre, DVD and merchandising profits so they didn't have to pay the cast and crew the residuals and profit sharing they earned. Multiple Lawsuits were filed by many parties, with New Line claiming they were innocent yet refusing to show their accounting to an independent auditor. A judge even fined them for not producing the books which would clear New Line from any damages if they were telling the truth. Eventually they settled out of court with Peter Jackson and his WETA studios coming on board the Hobbit films. Google Peter Jackson, Bob Shaye, New Line, and lawsuit for all the info. edit... or read EW.com's summary here: The Hobbit: Peace in Middle Earth?

The deal would work out for him if the movie studios were honest in their accounting practices, but they have a history of writing off anything they can against the profits (including the budgets of other unrelated films). It's one of the reasons that The Hobbit took so long to organise, New Line did some creative accounting which disappeared 100's of millions of $$$ off the earning of the films so they didn't have to pay Jackson or the cast their rightfully earned cut of the profits. Jackson was pissed, to point of threatening a lawsuit if he couldn't get an independent evaluation of the books (which his contract specified he could do, yet still was denied by New Line). Any movie star or director looking for a big payday makes sure they get a cut of the gross to avoid that kind of headache.

I believe it is simply a by product of an increasingly networked world. Back in the early 90's you had your movie reviewer in the local paper to give his verdict on any new film, so many people would simply see films their favourite actors featured in. These days with mobile phones, websites, email and social networking sites, if a movie sucks you'll hear about it sooner, with a greater frequency, and the source of this information will be someone know, or trust (eg. a favourite reviewer). Hence many studios focus on a big opening weekend - if the movie sucks everyone will know within a few days and subsequent weeks at the box office will plunge. Perhaps it is the time of acclaimed Character Actor, or a Director with a respected body of work (Nolan, Jackson, Scorsese, the Scott bothers, Michael Mann etc. ) to open movies. And to reference the opening article, Jim Carey's current studio deal is said to be one of the dumbest ever made by an A-List Actor, even though it's partly his own fault given his supposed difficulty onset. Read about his deal here: The Worst Talent Deal Ever: Jim Carrey succumbs to voodoo economics If Hollywood studio's can make movies like Lord Of Rings show a loss on the budget books, he won't see a dollar more than his base fee.

Some worrying news regarding the direction upper management at Marvel Movie Studio's seems to be taking. Looks like they are subscribing to Fox's method of property management. http://www.iesb.net/index.php?option=com_c...2&Itemid=99 http://www.aintitcool.com/node/37037 http://chud.com/articles/articles/15083/1/...DOWN/Page1.html Hopefully the bad press that is beginning to break will make the execs at Marvel Movie Studio pull their heads in. Keeping their properties in-house was meant to prevent this sort of rubbish from happening.