In order to lend Plus Trailers some much needed credibility, every Friday I am going to be writing a little about the week’s film news. I will only be reporting on things that interest me – fans of Twilight will have to go elsewhere. In fact, if you want comprehensive or unbiased news coverage you’re probably looking in the wrong place. But if you can stand my poor grammar and nerdish rants about whatever it is that Hollywood is screwing up this week then by all means read on. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you.
In a piece of news I’m filing in the “stupendously awesome” category, Ben Lyons will no longer be hosting At The Movies (the American version, not the Australian one). Lyons and his co-host Ben Mankiewicz will be replaced this September by two legitimate film critics, Michael Phillips and A.O. Scott, both of whom repeatedly appeared as guests on the show during the Ebert & Roeper phase. This means that viewers will no longer have to put up with Lyons' celebrity ass kissing and shallow, poorly articulated reviews – this is the man who called I Am Legend “one of the greatest movies ever made”. Good riddance. For more information on this story, visit www.stopbenlyons.com
Above is the first poster for James Cameron’s Avatar and…it’s a big blue guy! I believe this is one of the Na’vi, the alien protagonists in the film. Interesting to note that Cameron is listed as “the director of Titanic” – you would think this film would appeal more to the Aliens/Terminator crowd.
A few weeks ago, I reported the rumour that Robert De Niro had joined the cast of Robert Rodriguez's upcoming film Machete. Well not only has De Niro's involvement been confirmed, several other huge names have signed on, including Steven Seagal, Lindsey Lohan and Jessica Alba. Now I'm not a fan of any of these three, but I think they're all kind of perfect for this project, a sleazy Mex-ploitation film. Additionally, the film will feature Cheech Marin, Jeff Fahey, Michelle Rodriguez and, of course, Danny Trejo as the eponymous character. You can watch the Machete Trailer (originally attached to the Tarantino/Rodriguez double feature Grindhouse) here.
Eli Roth has posted on his myspace page a minigame for Inglourious Basterds, the Quentin Tarantino WWII film in which Roth stars alongside Brad Pitt. The game is simple - use a baseball bat to bash in the skulls of Nazi's. Kill enough Nazi's, proceed to the next level. Best of all, if you make it to level 15, you can get a copy of the Inglourious Basterds soundtrack (when it is released) absolutely free. So click here for the link and start walloping!
James McTeigue, the director of V for Vendetta and the upcoming Ninja Assassin will reportedly be making a film based on the Edgar Allen Poe poem The Raven. Well, kind of. According to McTeigue, "it’s like the poem, The Raven, itself, crossed with Se7en", and will tell the story of Poe himself, who joins forces with police to catch a serial killer who's murders are inspired by Poe's stories. This sounds pretty cool, but the definitive version of The Raven will always be from The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror.
The above photo is from A Couple of Dicks, the new buddy cop action comedy starring Bruce Willis (pictured...obviously) and Tracey Morgan. It was posted by the films director, Kevin Smith, on his twitter page, alongside the words "This is my Bruce-Willis-holding-a-gun picture. There are many like it but this one is mine". For those who don't know, I am a huge fan of Smith's and can't wait for this movie, scheduled for a February 2010 release in the US. However, the films name will probably change due to problems with advertisers; might I suggest "A Couple of Arseholes"?
We saw four very different trailers premiere this week. The first one was for Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones, based on the best selling novel of the same name. The second was the red-band for Zombieland, the horror comedy starring Woody Harrelson and Jesse Eisenberg. Third was the trailer for Good Hair, the Chris Rock documentary that explores the obsession African-American women seem to have with hair. And finally we have the trailer for Nations Pride, the Nazi propoganda film from Alois von Eichberg. Ok, not really! Nations Pride is a film featured in Inglourious Basterds, and this fake trailer (directed in reality by Eli Roth) is part of the movies viral marketing campaign.
Finally, in what is either the most awesome or the most depressing piece of viral marketing ever, societyargirls.com will allow you to recieve a virtual lap dance in the comfort of your own home. A promotion for the upcoming film Gamer (click here to see the surprising kickass trailer), the way this works is simple: you print out a piece of paper and put it on the floor in front of your chair. Point your webcam at the paper and voila - projected on your computer screen will be a video of you recieving a lap dance from either "Candy" or "Aiko". All things considered, I'm glad I don't own a webcam, because if I did I know I would try this out and then feel like a total jackass afterwards. Still, it's amazing what we can do with technology these days!
DVDs
New DVD releases in Australia this week include Let The Right One In, Inkheart, Paul Blart: Mall Cop and Boston Legal season 5
Sources: /Film, First Showing, Hey U Guys, Movie Buzz, EzyDVD
In a piece of news I’m filing in the “stupendously awesome” category, Ben Lyons will no longer be hosting At The Movies (the American version, not the Australian one). Lyons and his co-host Ben Mankiewicz will be replaced this September by two legitimate film critics, Michael Phillips and A.O. Scott, both of whom repeatedly appeared as guests on the show during the Ebert & Roeper phase. This means that viewers will no longer have to put up with Lyons' celebrity ass kissing and shallow, poorly articulated reviews – this is the man who called I Am Legend “one of the greatest movies ever made”. Good riddance. For more information on this story, visit www.stopbenlyons.com 
Above is the first poster for James Cameron’s Avatar and…it’s a big blue guy! I believe this is one of the Na’vi, the alien protagonists in the film. Interesting to note that Cameron is listed as “the director of Titanic” – you would think this film would appeal more to the Aliens/Terminator crowd.A few weeks ago, I reported the rumour that Robert De Niro had joined the cast of Robert Rodriguez's upcoming film Machete. Well not only has De Niro's involvement been confirmed, several other huge names have signed on, including Steven Seagal, Lindsey Lohan and Jessica Alba. Now I'm not a fan of any of these three, but I think they're all kind of perfect for this project, a sleazy Mex-ploitation film. Additionally, the film will feature Cheech Marin, Jeff Fahey, Michelle Rodriguez and, of course, Danny Trejo as the eponymous character. You can watch the Machete Trailer (originally attached to the Tarantino/Rodriguez double feature Grindhouse) here.
Eli Roth has posted on his myspace page a minigame for Inglourious Basterds, the Quentin Tarantino WWII film in which Roth stars alongside Brad Pitt. The game is simple - use a baseball bat to bash in the skulls of Nazi's. Kill enough Nazi's, proceed to the next level. Best of all, if you make it to level 15, you can get a copy of the Inglourious Basterds soundtrack (when it is released) absolutely free. So click here for the link and start walloping!James McTeigue, the director of V for Vendetta and the upcoming Ninja Assassin will reportedly be making a film based on the Edgar Allen Poe poem The Raven. Well, kind of. According to McTeigue, "it’s like the poem, The Raven, itself, crossed with Se7en", and will tell the story of Poe himself, who joins forces with police to catch a serial killer who's murders are inspired by Poe's stories. This sounds pretty cool, but the definitive version of The Raven will always be from The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror.
The above photo is from A Couple of Dicks, the new buddy cop action comedy starring Bruce Willis (pictured...obviously) and Tracey Morgan. It was posted by the films director, Kevin Smith, on his twitter page, alongside the words "This is my Bruce-Willis-holding-a-gun picture. There are many like it but this one is mine". For those who don't know, I am a huge fan of Smith's and can't wait for this movie, scheduled for a February 2010 release in the US. However, the films name will probably change due to problems with advertisers; might I suggest "A Couple of Arseholes"?We saw four very different trailers premiere this week. The first one was for Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones, based on the best selling novel of the same name. The second was the red-band for Zombieland, the horror comedy starring Woody Harrelson and Jesse Eisenberg. Third was the trailer for Good Hair, the Chris Rock documentary that explores the obsession African-American women seem to have with hair. And finally we have the trailer for Nations Pride, the Nazi propoganda film from Alois von Eichberg. Ok, not really! Nations Pride is a film featured in Inglourious Basterds, and this fake trailer (directed in reality by Eli Roth) is part of the movies viral marketing campaign.
Finally, in what is either the most awesome or the most depressing piece of viral marketing ever, societyargirls.com will allow you to recieve a virtual lap dance in the comfort of your own home. A promotion for the upcoming film Gamer (click here to see the surprising kickass trailer), the way this works is simple: you print out a piece of paper and put it on the floor in front of your chair. Point your webcam at the paper and voila - projected on your computer screen will be a video of you recieving a lap dance from either "Candy" or "Aiko". All things considered, I'm glad I don't own a webcam, because if I did I know I would try this out and then feel like a total jackass afterwards. Still, it's amazing what we can do with technology these days!DVDs
New DVD releases in Australia this week include Let The Right One In, Inkheart, Paul Blart: Mall Cop and Boston Legal season 5
Sources: /Film, First Showing, Hey U Guys, Movie Buzz, EzyDVD
