Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Creepiest. Thing. Ever... imho

As a general rule, I'm not much of a "girly-girl."

I don't really like chick flicks, clothes shopping bores me, pulp romance novels leave a bad taste in my mouth, and I actually don't mind playing airsoft in a swampy forest.

Even so, there are a few things "girly-girl" things that I get excited about.  Glitter, for instance, as well as puppies and unicorns.  But the biggest thing I get all "girly-girl" about are novels written by Jane Austen and the companion movie adaptions.

True, Austen's books are kind of old fashioned (being written in the early nineteenth century kinda does that), but they're so witty and deal with issues that we still face in our modern twenty-first century.  There are still social classes, there's still a desire for wealth and power, there are still conniving no-goods who will do anything to get their way, and there are still many people (both young and old) falling in love.  Language may always change, but social issues transcend time.

Now that Miss Austen's books are now public domain, the market's practically flooded with spin-offs of all of her books.  Modern retellings of Mansfield Park, murder mysteries, all sorts of interesting stuff.

And then along the way, a certain Seth Grahame-Smith decided to add zombies.

And that just made everything a whole lot weirder.

Even those of you who aren't fans of Jane Austen have probably heard of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies or Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, which is Grahame-Smith's take on two of Austen's classics.  What you might not have known was that the zombie rendition is so popular that it's being made into a movie.

Produced by an ensemble of production companies (1821 Pictures, Panorama Media, Handsomecharlie Films, and Darko Entertainment), Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is a weird twist on Austen's original work, the story of "A young woman [who] makes [a] quest for love and independence amid the outbreak of a deadly virus that turns the undead into vicious killers."  Read: "the classic 'Pride and Prejudice' story with zombies'" (Movie Insider).

Apparently its a horror romantic comedy, though I'm honestly not sure how the "comedy" aspect is gonna come in.  Last time I checked, watching a zombie chewing on some hapless guy's brain wasn't exactly "funny," but whatever.  I'm not getting on my soapbox at the moment.  =)

Anyway, the proposed film just got out of the Concept phase and (as of March 3rd) is now in the Development phase.  That means that casting, budgeting, and general crew hiring is already in the works.

So far, a director has not been attached to the project, though a lot were formerly going to be part of it: David O. Russel, Mike White, David Slade, David Katzenberg, even Grahame-Smith himself.

There isn't a cast, either, though Scarlett Johansson, Emma Stone, Bradley Cooper, and Natalie Portman were formerly rumored to be included.  An interesting side note is that even though she's not in the cast, Portman is still one of the film's producers.  That kinda makes me think that they'll reconsider her for a part, but it'll probably be a while before we know for sure.

Writing the script is the author himself along with David O. Russel (The Silver Linings Playbook, The Fighter, I Heart Huckabees) and Marti Noxon (Fright Night, I Am Number Four).

An official release date has not been created yet, but those are usually nailed down during the Production phase and this particular film has a little ways to go until then.

So what do you guys think of this new Austen adaption?  Do you think it'll be Good, Bad, or Ugly?  And for those of you who have read the book Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, do you think you'll go see this movie when it releases?

Personally, I'm not going to see it.  Part of that reason is because I really don't like vampires, but the other is that I much prefer Austen's original work to anybody's spin-off (I'm kind of a traditionalist like that).  Still, I think it'll do well in theaters.  I mean, how many people went to see the movie adaption of Grahame-Smith's other novel, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Slayer?

Yeah.  A lot.

But at this point, there's really no way to know how the populace will respond to it.  I suppose we'll just have to wait and see.

 - Edessa, signing off

The Starving Games



Katniss and "The Hunger Games" are fair game in this new spoof

Is The Hunger Games not exactly your thing for one reason or another?

Then maybe The Starving Games will be just up your alley.


This satire comedy is from Safran Company, the company that also produced the 2009 Renee Zellweger comedy New in Town. The basic plotline (if you could even call it a plot): "A spoof of The Hunger Games with jokes about The Avengers, Sherlock Holmes and Harry Potter" (Movie Insider). Sounds just like 20th Century's 2007 spoof Epic Movie, which made fun of such blockbusters as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Chronicles of Narnia, and Pirates of the Carribean.

Jason Friedberg (Vampires Suck, Disaster Movie, Epic Movie) and Aaron Seltzer (the same) are partnering up again as co-directors and screenwriters for The Starving Games. Peter Safran of Safran Company is producing. No actors have yet been cast and a distributor has not been chosen yet, though right now I'm thinking that it will likely be 20th Century Fox.

Currenly, The Starving Games is in the Development phase (when the script and the budget are written), and has been since May 10, 2012. The Starving Games does not have an official theatrical release date, though it will probably be sometime in 2014.


Do you think that The Starving Games will be Good, Bad, or Ugly? Do you like spoof films?




 - Edessa, signing off

Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat Comes Back

Filmmakers have been adapting the wonderfully zany world of Dr. Seuss to the big screen for many years. Horton Hears a Who, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and even The Lorax are some of the stories that have been given the silver screen treatment. Considering the overall success of the Seuss-adapted films, can Universal pull off another hit with a sequel to 2003's Cat in the Hat?

The Cat in the Hat Comes Back

Distributed by Universal Pictures, The Cat in the Hat Comes Back brings back everyone's favorite black and white cat as he creates even more mischief. The synopsis (according to Movie Insider): "...the story will follow Sally and her brother, as they try to clean a stain on Mother's white dress left by the Cat, who snuck into the house to eat some cake. This time, he brings a bunch of smaller felines with him."

Mike Myers reprises his role as the titular Cat in the Hat. Kelly Preston, Spencer Breslin, Alec Baldwin, Dakota Fanning, and Sean Hayes also return to this sequel, which may just be a bad career move for all of them considering how horribly the original Cat in the Hat film fared (more on that later).

Currently the film is in the Concept stage, and no director or screenwriter has yet been hired. The release date is TBA, and I do not yet know if it will be available in 3D.


Do you think that The Cat in the Hat Comes Back will be Good, Bad, or Ugly? Did you like the original film?

I never saw the original Cat in the Hat, but from what I've read I don't really think I want to, either. Rotten Tomatoes (an online company that rates films based on critic reviews and audience reactions) gave The Cat in the Hat a very, very bad 11% Fresh rating. 149 reviews were compiled on the site, and the average rating was 3.2 out of 10 stars. Desson Thomson of the Washington Post called the film "About as creatively inspired as a giant hairball," while Rob Gonsalves of eFilmCritic.com asked, "Is Dr. Seuss rolling in his grave yet?" Probably the most harsh criticism came from Anton Bitel of Movie Gazette: "much of the film is padded out by the comic business of Mike Myers' cat, in a deeply flawed role falling somewhere between a stand-up dying on stage or an alcoholc clown harassing kids at a birthday party." Audiences didn't like the film much better. Only 41% of polled audiences liked it, giving it an average rating of 2.5 out of five stars.

If the original Cat in the Hat was that bad, I can't help but wonder what in the world Universal is thinking by wanting to make a sequel. Add to that, what in the world are stars like Dakota Fanning, Mike Myers, and Alec Baldwin doing by being part of the sequel of a very much hated earlier film?

Hollywood works in mysterious ways, but this is more baffling than anything. From my standpoint, I think The Cat in the Hat/The Cat in the Hat Comes Back is gonna be a family-film version of the Clash of the Titans/Wrath of the Titans flop.


In other film news...

...G.I. Joe: Retaliation will not be releasing June 29th as originally promised. The release has been pushed back to March 29, 2013, reportedly so Paramount can convert the film to 3D. Film critics think it's really because Paramount chickened out, thinking that their sequel would get lost among the other blockbusters releasing this summer.

...The Hunger Games will be available on DVD and Blu-Ray on August 18, 2012.

...Tickets for The Dark Knight Rises have been on sale since Monday. You can continue to pre-order your tickets for this last Christopher Nolan Batman film until the release on July 20, 2012




 - Edessa, signing off

Austin Powers 4

The 24th James Bond film, Skyfall, will be in theaters on November 9th, 2012, and fellow spy Austin Powers won't be too far behind.

Austin Powers, Mr. 70s himself

While I have seen one or two James Bond films (Goldeneye and then another one whose title I don't remember), the Austin Powers franchise has never really appealed to me. Maybe it's the 70's attire (shudder), but I'm really not sure.

But for those of you who do like this Bond-spoof series, you may be pleased to know that a new sequel is currently in the works.


Austin Powers 4 is the sequel to 2002's Goldmember, which received an overall 54% Fresh rating from Rotten Tomatoes. The other two films in the franchise (International Man of Mystery and The Spy Who Shagged Me) had similar mediocre rating from both Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic. Nevertheless, screenwriter/actor Mike Myers (the voice of Shrek in all four Shrek films) seems to greatly be looking forward to making another Austin Powers film.

Currently this film does not have an officially released plotline; however, it has been rumored that the movies will "focus on Austin's nemesis, Doctor Evil" (Movie Insider).

Jay Roach (Dinner for Schmucks, Meet the Fockers, Meet the Parents) is rumored to be directing, and Mike Myers will once again take up the jacket of the Man of Mystery himself as well as write the screenplay.

Warner Bros. Pictures will be distributing this film, which has a TBA release date of sometime in 2013, though it may be later. Austin Powers 4 has been in the Development Stage (budgeting, casting, planning, etc.) since August 13, 2011, and I really doubt that it will be available in 3D (though that is not a guarantee).


Do you think that Austin Powers 4 will be Good, Bad, or Ugly? And, while we are discussing spy movies, what do you think of the new James Bond: Skyfall? Will you go see it?




 - Edessa, signing off