Showbiz Sandbox 20: Judging Ellen DeGeneres and 3D TV
September 14, 2009
Getting everyone’s schedules in sync was a challenge this week given that all of our hosts were in different cities. It certainly didn’t help the audio quality either. Michael Giltz reports in from Toronto where he is covering the Toronto Film Festival.
If you’re following Michael on Twitter then you already know what movies he’s seen and what he thought of them (he loved “Up In The Air” and “A Serious Man” and wasn’t so keen on “Men Who Stare At Goats”). Michael tells us all about the Coen Brothers latest movie and the start of George Clooney’s run for another Oscar.
On the other side of the world in J. Sperling Reich was in Amsterdam, Holland speaking at the International Broadcaster’s Convention. The big news from the trade show is all the buzz about 3D content in the home. Karen Woodward and Michael agree, the world isn’t ready for 3D television. . . or is it? Read more
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Showbiz Sandbox 18: It’s All Fun And Games Until Celebrities Start Dyin’
September 3, 2009
Landing at the top of the North American box office this weekend was “The Final Destination” with “Halloween 2,” directed by Rob Zombie, coming in third. Zombie may not be part of that Old White Male club of directors that the New York Times highlighted this week, but apparently he can make a successful film. After reviving the “Halloween” franchise, Rob Zombie will continue to advance the horror porn genre with a remake of the 1958 classic, “The Blob.”
The biggest story of the week was Disney’s purchase of Marvel Comics. What will this mean for “Iron Man”, “Spider-Man”, the “X-Men”, and “Fantastic Four”? Maybe we’ll find out when Disney continues its takeover of the world with their own version of Comic-Con; the D23 Expo in Anaheim. The four day event will celebrate — and sell — all things Disney with celebrity appearances and slick sneak previews of upcoming films, television shows and theme park attractions.
Speaking of theme park attractions, Michael Jackson’s death was ruled a homicide. (Okay it only feels like it’s becoming a theme park attraction.) Read more
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Showbiz Sandbox 16: Hollywood Thinks Outside The Redbox
August 17, 2009
David Poland of Movie City News joins us this week. You might know Poland from his days at the Chicago Tribune, Entertainment Weekly or Roughcut, but he is most known as the columnist behind The Hot Button which has morphed into his blog, The Hot Blog. He can also be seen on DP30 or his new video podcast Super Movie Friends. You can follow Poland on Twitter by visiting twitter.com/davidpoland.
“District 9” topped the box office in North America over the weekend with $37 million, but will it have legs? Warner Bros saved a New Line movie once again with “The Time Traveler’s Wife,” which had been sitting on the shelf since last year. It made a respectable showing with $19.2 million.
Some interesting/baffling/exciting movie news this week. Aaron Sorkin uh, is writing, uh, a draft of the Facebook movie, which, um, is a movie about social networking. (Listen to the episode to, ah, get the joke). And if you think that’s crazy, Warner Bros is putting together a movie based on the Legos toys, and Bryan Singer is directing a big screen version of “Battlestar Gallactica.” Will Starbuck still be dead? Does anyone care? Read more
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