Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Will Quentin Tarantino ever really make another movie?

It appears he indeed might, but by the time he finally does, the more important question might be: Will anyone still care?

Well, despite his rather amazing ego, I think I still will. Though "Grindhouse" was a ton of fun, it was only his half, "Deathproof," that got my DVD bucks (though I would have gladly sprung for the whole bag if I could have), and I thought the second half of "Kill Bill," at least, was QT in nearly top form.

But what in the world has he been doing for the past couple of years or so? Well, the BBC has the answer, and it's apparently "Inglorious Bastards," his take on the World War II epic genre. There's only a script so far, but with the rate at which this guy works I guess we should at least be happy for that.

QT told the BBC it will be a "modern, in-your-face" World War II flick (if that doesn't make you cringe at least a little bit, think about it some more.) What it's more accurately been described as is his version of "The Dirty Dozen," which I actually think could work (if he ever really does get around to it.)

By the way, brace yourself for an onslaught of World War II flicks. I'm extremely confident that Spike Lee will come up with the best one with "Miracle at St. Anna," but sometime early next year we'll also finally (maybe!) get Bryan Singer's "Valkyrie."

And, if QT is still to be believed (and I obviously have my doubts), we might even have "Inglorious Bastards" in time for next year's Cannes Film Festival. Given his track record, I expect he'll show up with maybe half the movie done, but even for that I'd still have to say welcome back.

A "School of Rock 2"? Bring it on

This is only just slightly beyond a rumor (hence its appearance on Defamer), but I'm ready to embrace it and hope this actually happens.

Even after his falling out with the Apatow crew (and he had some legitimate points to make about "40-Year-Old Virgin"), Mike White might be just about the funniest guy on the planet, so every time I hear of him getting work it just makes me smile.

He's already apparently sold a script to Edgar Wright for something to be called "Them." Joining Wright's stable of solid spoofs (not to be confused with anything that has "Movie" in its title), this one focuses on a woman who's convinced that she's unearthed the true force that governs the Earth. In my mind, I'm already there.

But, in possibly even better news, White has also apparently also just finished a script for a "School of Rock 2." It hasn't gotten any farther than that, and I'm not sure if this is a good sign or not, but he told an L.A. Film Festival panel that finishing it made him cry:

"I actually just completed a draft of what's potentially the sequel, and I'm still, like, crying as I'm writing the script," he said. "I try to come at it from a personal place."

No matter how he managed to approach it, I'll definitely be there if this ever comes to fruition. "School of Rock" has found a home on my shelf with those silly little flicks (like "Office Space" and "Super Troopers") that are just the definition of cinematic comfort food.

Roman Polanski's next flick taking shape

Among the many victims of the Screen Actor Guild's strike, the most depressing just might have been Roman Polanski's "Pompeii," which could have made an intriguing thriller set against the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. But now, thankfully, it seems he's finally hard at work on what would be his first feature film since 2005's "Oliver Twist," which I must confess I haven't seen.

The news now from MTV (a shockingly good source of movie info) is that Pierce Brosnan and Nicolas Cage have been cast in "The Ghost," Polanski's flick to be based on the Robert Harris novel about a ghostwriter who uncovers more than he planned on when he's hired to write the memoirs of a former British prime minister (Harris also wrote "Pompeii.")

Now, I can certainly buy Brosnan as the PM, but Cage will have some convincing to do to make me believe he's the writer. I'm not in the camp that just hates Cage across the board, but I'm always at least a bit wary. Even so, it's just good to hear that Roman's back at work on something that sounds this promising.

A secret Chris Carter movie?

Coming in the immediate wake of "The Dark Knight," I still think Chris Carter's second "X-Files" flick could be the sleeper hit of the summer when it opens on July 25 (I've seen that tag applied to the monster haul so far for "Sex and the City," but anyone who didn't expect that to be a huge hit simply doesn't understand the power of women.)

And, as he wrapped up "X-Files: I Want to Believe,"
the Hollywood Reporter reports, Carter was already secretly at work on another flick to be called "Fencewalker." All we know so far is that it stars "I Want to Believe" co-star and sometime rapper Xzibit along with "The Tudors" star Natalie Dormer, Katie Cassidy, Derek Magyar and Meckah Brooks. All's I know beyond that is that it will be "essentially a coming-of-age semiautobiographical character piece with no supernatural elements," so I'll just say cool and leave it that. Besides, when you've got Hayden Panettiere in tight leather, it's really time to just get to it!

Claire-Bear's all grown up!

Remember "Heroes"? To be honest, I'm having a little trouble doing so, partly because it's just been off the air for so long and partly because Vol. 2 was just so uneven. Even so, it ended on a high note, so I'm amped for the show's return when it finally comes this fall, especially (and to be as piggish as possible) if it means seeing Hayden Panettiere's Claire go from her cheerleader's outfit to this leather ensemble. And, in the interest of fair play for the ladies, I've included a shot of "Gilmore Girls" (not "Golden Girls" as I somehow managed to type before being thankfully corrected by an alert reader!) alum Milo Ventamiglia as Peter too from the great celebrity gossip site Gossip Girls, where you can see more of these shots. Enjoy, and have a perfectly bearable Wednesday. Peace out.



6 comments:

Terence Towles Canote said...

I do think a WWII movie from Tarantino could be interesting.

That having been said, I am not sure Sex in the City has been all that big. As for yesterday, its estimated take is only $134,385,474. Respectable, but hardly qualifying it as a mega-hit.

Reel Fanatic said...

I suppose you're right, there, Mercurie, but after the comments that have been made by studio executives about the inability of women to carry movies as leads, I'm hoping it gets well north of $150M domestic before it leaves the theaters

Jim Marquis said...

I was somewhat underwhelmed by the X-Files preview I saw in a theatre recently. Hopefully the movie itself will be much better.

Reel Fanatic said...

I was left similarly cold by the trailer i saw, Mr. Marquis, even though Billy Connolly's bleeding eyes certainly were creepy! .. I'm still confident the resulting movie will turn out to be much better, though

Hillarie said...

"Golden Girls" alum Milo Ventamiglia? I think you meant "Gilmore Girls". ;)

Reel Fanatic said...

Wow ... that was a serious blunder on my part, Hillarie, so thanks for the correx ... I'm not sure I ever watched an entire episode of the "Golden Girls," but remain a devoted fan of all things Gilmore, so I'm gonna repost it now!