Hollywood scrapes the bottom of the barrel and comes away with “Asteroids: The Movie.” PEW, PEW, PEW
02nd July 2009
Aintitcool – Ahoy, squirts! Quint here. Methinks someone high up at Universal is having a bit of Peter Pan complex. There are worse things for an executive to have, for sure… But this is the studio that’s working to bring us Candyland and Battleship and now they’ve jumped from the board game to the classic arcade game.
Think Hollywood is out of ideas? Michael Eisner is now planning to make a movie based on the inside of a gum wrapper.
22nd May 2009
TotalFilm – Yes, the man who used to be in charge at Disney has nabbed newcomer Mark Hammer to write a script based on the Bazooka Joe character (below), which is used to advertise the gum.
The character, who wears a mysterious eye patch (who wants to bet they try to forge an origin story around it?) gets into various scrapes assisted by a group of friends.
There’s the likes of Pesty, Mort, Toughie, Hungry Herman, Jane and a dog called Walkie Talkie. We’re not making this up.
Interesting News as the economic crisis in California sends Television ‘Pilot’ Productions fleeing out-of-state for greener pastures.
18th March 2009
Variety – The pilot flight comes just as the Golden State has approved a $500 million, five-year production tax credit incentive program (Daily Variety, Feb. 20). But that program is seen by many in the TV biz as too little too late, and with too many strings attached.
David Chase to develop HBO miniseries about the dawn of Hollywood. Or the time when Hollywood actually had ideas
16th March 2009
EW.com – Sopranos creator David Chase is set to write and executive produce a new HBO miniseries about the creation of Hollywood, called A Ribbon of Dreams. Chase will also direct several episodes of Dreams, which will focus on two men in 1913 Hollywood who cross paths with a number of legends who shaped the entertainment industry, like D.W. Griffith and John Wayne. The title of the project stems from an Orson Welles quote, “A film is a ribbon of dreams.”
List of Best Loved screenplays that yet to see the light of day.
13th December 2008
The Black List as it’s called is an index of the year’s best-liked, not-yet-produced screenplays compiled from a survey of more than 250 film executives. Below are the top 5.
THE BEAVER by Kyle Killen
“A depressed man finds hope in a beaver puppet that he wears on his hand.”
THE ORANGES by Jay Reiss & Ian Helfer
“A man has a romantic relationship with the daughter of a family friend, which turns their lives upside down.”
BUTTER by Jason Micallef
“A small town becomes a center for controversy and jealousy as its annual butter
carving contest begins.”
BIG HOLE by Michael Gilio
“An old cowboy goes on a mission to recover his money after a million dollar
sweepstakes scam cleans out his entire bank account.”
THE LOW DWELLER by Brad Ingelsby
“A man trying to assimilate into society after being released from jail discovers that someone from his past is out to settle a score.”
So next year we can look forward to seeing A Low Dwellin Beaver Buttering his Oranges to fit in a Big Hole. I’m stoked!
SAG to Movie Studios… “Show me the Money!”
22nd November 2008
The Screen Actors Guild will ask its members to authorise a strike, after the first discussion with movie studios in four months failed to produce a result.
According to reports the Actors Guild is pushing for more money for actors when their work is released on DVD, plus a greater say in the endorsement of products on-air.
No word on what broke off current discussions with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) but on Saturday morning talks were halted after they were unable to reach a compromise.
In a statement put out by SAG, “We have already made difficult decisions and sacrifices in an attempt to reach agreement. Now it’s time for SAG members to stand united and empower the national negotiating committee to bargain with the strength of a possible work stoppage behind them.”
A vote by members must reach 75% for a strike to go forth.