Writer Unboxed

Those of us hoping New Line’s movie version of The Hobbit would proceed now that its dispute with filmmaker Peter Jackson is resolved have taken another blow. New Line is now being sued by JRR Tolkien’s heirs (NYT, free subscription required): Following in the footsteps of Peter Jackson, the director of the Oscar-winning “Lord of the [...]

1 Comment »

“A bird may love a fish, signore, but where will they live?” -from the movie Ever After I was unsure what to write about this week until I stumbled upon a fun article titled “15 Nominees for Worst Movie Dialogue Ever.” You know I had to read it. Sure, I cringed remembering some of the [...]

7 Comments »

From IMDb News: Filmmaker Peter Jackson has signed on to produce two movies based on author J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, after resolving his legal feud with studio bosses over unpaid royalties. Jackson has been involved in a long and bitter despite with bosses at New Line Cinema after claiming he had not been properly paid [...]

Comments Off

I saw The Golden Compass over the weekend, and mostly I enjoyed it. As many of you know, it’s a film rendering of the first book in Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy. Lyra Belaqua, the poster child for Victorian naughtiness, is at the center of the battle between those who wish conformity at all [...]

10 Comments »

Hmm, I’m not sure I believe this one. Check out THIS SITE and chime in on your thoughts after viewing. Is this a Warner Bros. flick in the making? A prequel? A sequel? Or is this “secret test marketing” all a hoax? An interesting article on the site is also HERE.

4 Comments »

Halloween is over, but here at my house we’re still working off our Snickers high while images of this year’s vivid costumes linger. (My son went as an evil jester, and not even I would want to meet up with anyone wearing that thing on a non-Halloween eve.) Created characters can be whatever we want [...]

6 Comments »

Occasionally, a genre film comes along which stays firmly rooted in the conventions of the genre while messing with the viewers preconceptions and expectations. Usually the attempts are clumsy and self-indulgent. Paul Verhoeven’s Zwartboek, or Black Book, is anything but. I’m a sucker for good war movies, and Black Book leaped off the shelf at [...]

3 Comments »

Last weekend I took my daughter to see the animated movie Ratatouille, and I was blown away. I’d expected a light PG romp about Disneyfied animals who have crazy adventures in Paris. I didn’t realize I was going to be treated to a meditation on creativity and artistic expression in a subtle and highly mature [...]

2 Comments »

Yesterday, Therese and I dished about the newest Harry Potter flick. While we both gave it the thumbs up, we did have a few nits. Mostly we were pleased with the way the filmmakers managed to streamline an unwieldy story into a swift two-hour movie while retaining plot coherence. Today, we continue our analysis. Kathleen: [...]

Comments Off

We’ve neglected them, but no longer. Movie Analyses are back! This time, Therese and I managed to go see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and being the screenplay buffs that we are, we’ve dissected the movie for its storytelling aspects and overall merits. If you’re sick of Pottermania, we can’t help you this [...]

4 Comments »

I’d decided to take a break from television following the climax of all my favorite reality TV shows. But when I needed some couch time the other night, I flipped on the tube to find–surprise–another reality TV show, one I’d heard a little about: On The Lot. Haven’t heard of it? Here’s a blip about [...]

7 Comments »

You missed me, admit it. But I’ve been busy digging out from a snowstorm that stole our power for 12 hours and recovering from some blasted croupy-cough thing. When the lights finally came back, I learned about the tragedy at Virginia Tech. Ironically, the feeling foremost in my mind and today’s blog post focus are [...]

6 Comments »