 

  
<rss version="2.0">
    <channel>
        <title><![CDATA[Hollywood Rants]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.metronews.ca/blog/139466]]></link>
        <language>en-us</language>         

        
                  <item>
                      <title><![CDATA[More Despicable with Jason Segel]]></title>
                      <description><![CDATA[If you read my article in today’s copy of Metro on Despicable Me , first of all – thanks.&nbsp; But second, you’ll have some notion of what a nice down-to-earth dude Jason Segel actually seems to be – sort of a novelty when it comes to talking to celebrities in Tinseltown. At least when you’re part of the press anyhow. In fact, in the new animated comedy, Segel plays a villain – a role that most of us luckily won’t recognize him in.&nbsp; Thanks to good guy roles in such feel-good comedies as I Love You, Man and Forgetting Sarah Marshall (which he also wrote), but he’s more known as one of Hollywood’s most likeable stars. Now, having just voiced the nemesis character in Despicable Me (which could be this summer’s biggest sleeper hit) and just finished penning the script for the The Greatest Muppet Movie Ever Made (he actually is into puppetry after all!), I thought I’d give readers a little more of our conversation that what could be weened from a 350 word article.&nbsp; So, here’s most of my transcript from my interview with Jason Segel over a crackling phone line moments after his recent appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. * Jason Segel: Hey Steve, it’s Jason Segel! Steve Gow: Hey Jason, what’s going on? JS: I just finished the Tonight Show. SG: Oh yeah, how was it? JS: Great.&nbsp; Dude, I married this couple on the show tonight. SG: You’re kidding. JS: No, I got ordained on Friday and I married this couple who had put an ad on Craigslist that was asking if I would officiate their wedding. It was pretty fun I must say. SG: Wow, you can legally do that? JS: I can.&nbsp; I can also, according to the website, absolve you of your sins as well. SG: That might come in handy – I might have to call you up on that by the end of this interview. JS: It’s certainly a good pick up line if nothing else. SG: Absolutely.&nbsp; Listen, I don’t want to take up too much of your time because I know it has been a long day, but congrats on Despicable Me – this is a very funny movie. JS: Yeah, I must tell you, this is the least involved I’ve been from the ground up on a movie in a long time and you know, you go in (recording voice tracks) on this process for three hours - maybe four times over the course of two years - and then next thing you know you’re presented with this beautiful gem of a movie so it was like Christmas for me to see the movie; it was such a surprise. SG:&nbsp; I read in an interview that you said that you are more proud of this than anything else that you’ve done – is that serious? JS: Well, it certainly is the most positive thing I’ve ever done. Most of what I’ve done has been R-rated comedies and, to some extent, raunchy or subversive - and I love that stuff too - but the idea of doing a movie that a whole family can see and enjoy together is really a special thing. It’s actually why I wanted to do Muppets as well. SG: Yeah, you seem to be finding some stride in the family-themed arena. Lets talk about the Muppet movie for a second – are you taking that in a different direction or keeping the same spirit with that? JS: I’m trying to bring it back to the late-70’s/early-80’s Muppet movies. The holy trinity to me was the Muppet Movie, The Great Muppet Caper and Muppets Take Manhattan and I’m trying to bring it back to that tone and that spirit. SG: That must be surreal, knowing that puppetry has been a hobby of yours, to actually see it come to this? JS: The nicest thing about it is, when you’re just a dude playing with puppets, you’re a weirdo. Now that it’s my profession, its like super cool (laughs). But literally, five years ago I was like a weirdo with puppets. SG: Is there anything that you learned from Despicable Me that you may have taken to the Muppets? JS: It was something I knew going in and been very aware of writing the Muppets but there’s no reason that a family movie has to be condescending to children or can’t be something that legitimately the whole family is enjoying. You don’t have to pander to the children and have the parents rolling their eyes like its Barney the dinosaur or something like that. You can do something that everyone is enjoying on every level. It’s something The Simpsons did really well and certainly The Muppets did beautifully and I think the script that we did does – where you come out and everyone in the family has had a great time and everyone has this bonding experience. You know, it’s tough to get in this day and age. SG: Well, having done the voice work, you’ve had a taste of how – I don’t want to say easy - but maybe how unencumbered that is.&nbsp; Can you understand why a lot of celebrities get into it? JS: Oh man, absolutely! Not to burst anyone’s bubble but it’s like the cushiest job of all time. You literally go in once in a while and get to be as funny or off-the-wall or as broad as you want to be which you’d never get to do if it was live-action.&nbsp; And then, you know, these brilliant animators and directors and editors take the best of your stuff so it’s sort of an excuse to go nuts in a recording studio for a few hours which, I don’t know, is what I do in my house when I’m alone and now it’s a profession. SG: Listen, last question for you here. Of all the things you’ve got your hands in – the acting, the writing, puppetry – of all these, is there anything you can single out as your biggest passion? JS: Well, it sort of involves them all but what I think is my favorite thing is coming up with an idea alone in my house and then two years later - sometimes five years later – sitting at the premiere and knowing that this thing that you’re seeing came from you alone in your house at eleven at night. It’s a pretty empowering thing. You kind of feel like you can accomplish anything. &nbsp; &nbsp;]]></description>
                      
                      <link>http://www.metronews.ca/ottawa/blog/post/574104</link>
                      <author><![CDATA[]]></author>
                      <category><![CDATA[/Blog]]></category>
                      <keywords><![CDATA[jason segel, segel, jason segal, despicable me, despicable, despicable me, movies, films, new releases, hollywood, interview, clip, steve carell, steve gow, muppets, the muppet movie,]]></keywords>
                      <pubDate>Thu, 08 Jul 2010 14:27:15 -0400</pubDate>
                      <author>Steve Gow</author>
                      <guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.metronews.ca/ottawa/blog/post/574104</guid>
                   </item>
             
                  <item>
                      <title><![CDATA[Airplane! (I mean Zero Hour!) is 30 Years Old!]]></title>
                      <description><![CDATA[If, like me, you grew up on multiple viewings of Airplane!, then chances are you celebrated the 30th anniversary release of the zany 1980 comedy this past weekend. That’s right, it’s been three decades since Jim Abrahams, David Zucker and Jerry Zucker made the seminal disaster satire that has since launched its own genre of spoof films that now include everything from Hot Shots! to the Naked Gun trilogy to a more recent (and much less funny) series of spin-offs that includes the Scary Movie franchise, Date Movie and Meet the Spartans . Still, even 30 years later, one cannot deny how clever and ridiculously entertaining the original Airplane! was – even if it does come as a slight shock that it actually wasn’t that original at all. For those unaware, Airplane! was actually based on a 1957 film called Zero Hour! which is largely considered one of the first “disaster” films ever produced.&nbsp; In light of such a milestone year, I watched Zero Hour! to see just how close the source was to the successor and believe me, it’s VERY close…right down to the exclamation mark at the end of the title. For instance, it is remarkable that the comedy trio didn’t change many of the lines even.&nbsp; As Jim Abrahams remarked in a recent New York Times article: “There is one line in ‘Zero Hour!’ where a stewardess says, completely seriously, ‘The life of everyone on board depends upon just one thing: finding someone back there who can not only fly this plane, but who didn’t have fish for dinner…we just repeated the line. We didn’t have to change a thing.” It wasn’t plagiarism per se.&nbsp; The Zuckers’ and Abrahams always credited the old B-movie for being the inspiration behind their magnum opus.&nbsp; In fact, at the time, the trio had already made the cult-hit comedy Kentucky Fried Movie and upon seeing Zero Hour! during a late-night television broadcast, the threesome instantly saw the potential in satirizing the melodrama. In truth, Zero Hour! isn’t even a terrible movie.&nbsp; Considering its release in 1957, its execution is entertaining enough, but in hindsight, to understand how a comedy trio from Los Angeles saw something greater only gives the old flick a greater weight.&nbsp; Honestly, if you really want to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of Airplane!, give Zero Hour! a glance.]]></description>
                      
                      <link>http://www.metronews.ca/ottawa/blog/post/571171</link>
                      <author><![CDATA[]]></author>
                      <category><![CDATA[/Blog]]></category>
                      <keywords><![CDATA[airplane, airplane!, zero hour!, zero hour, movies, cinema, hollywood, anniversary, film, comedy, zucker, abrahams, spoof, movies, ]]></keywords>
                      <pubDate>Mon, 05 Jul 2010 15:03:32 -0400</pubDate>
                      <author>Steve Gow</author>
                      <guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.metronews.ca/ottawa/blog/post/571171</guid>
                   </item>
             
                  <item>
                      <title><![CDATA[The Dogs of Summer]]></title>
                      <description><![CDATA[Well, it’s about a month into the summer movie season (if you consider Iron Man 2 the official inauguration anyhow) and so far, we’ve been relatively lucky in the arena of cinematic beasts. Oh sure, no one really expects critical masterpieces at this time of year but quite often, we’re more vulnerable to see something like Battlefield Earth than Citizen Kane . Well, until now perhaps. With this weekend’s release of both Marmaduke (which I feel comfortable calling “Marma-doo-doo” instead) and the Ashton Kutcher/Katherine Heigl comedy Killers , this could be the start of the slide.&nbsp; Not that the rest of the summer will be filled with junk mind you.&nbsp; On the contrary, there will be plenty of exciting and slick movies out there for deserving audiences.&nbsp; In fact, Killers and Marmaduke’s weekend competition, Get Him to the Greek and Splice , are both quite excellent movies and well worth your attention.&nbsp; Believe me though, not every film will be worth your dime this summer. Most notable is Killers probably because the studio has even decided to avoid screening this one in advance for critics and press – always the sign of a pretty stinky pile. Well, I’ll reserve my judgment.&nbsp; I won’t say anything bad about Killers until it’s been given its due diligence.&nbsp; BUT, that won’t keep me from lifting some comments from IMDB’s message board and reprinting them here.&nbsp; After all, if the people can’t get the critics’ quotes brought to them, perhaps the people’s quotes should be brought to the critics: “I don't understand all the backlash already for a movie that hasn't even come out yet! Sheesh!” – vins_gurl18 “Neither of these two are good actors and I would never pay to see a film they are in unless it was FREE on cable!!” – ZorbaTheGreek224 “I hope this bombs, so the studios never make another movie like this ever again.” – TheMovieGenius &nbsp;]]></description>
                      
                      <link>http://www.metronews.ca/ottawa/blog/post/541704</link>
                      <author><![CDATA[]]></author>
                      <category><![CDATA[/Blog]]></category>
                      <keywords><![CDATA[marmaduke, killers, ashton kutcher, katherine heigl, owen wilson, bombs, bomb, flop, dog, movie, film, hollywood, new releases, new release, trailer, splice, get him to the greek, bad movies, summer, preview, quotes, critics, review, reviews,]]></keywords>
                      <pubDate>Thu, 03 Jun 2010 14:16:41 -0400</pubDate>
                      <author>Steve Gow</author>
                      <guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.metronews.ca/ottawa/blog/post/541704</guid>
                   </item>
             
                  <item>
                      <title><![CDATA[The End for James Bond?]]></title>
                      <description><![CDATA[Attention!! Ernst Blofeld may have finally beat his long-time nemesis! The newest James Bond flick has been indefinitely put on hold! That’s right!&nbsp; The studio behind 007 – MGM (you know, the one with the yawning lion at the beginning of their movies – hey, you’d be bored too if you had to sit behind a placard with a trainer poking your arse with a sharp stick to roar on cue for a century)…ya, well anyway, that MGM is in some money trouble. Big trouble. So who’s to pay?&nbsp; Well naturally,&nbsp;Bond…James Bond. According to the Hollywood Reporter , the latest production has halted due to the fact that MGM (up for grabs) isn’t selling any faster than if McDonald’s put out an experimental McSteak and Kidney Pie. Now of course, fans of 007 won’t have to worry much I’m sure. This will not be the last of the British spy who’s been making films since 1962.&nbsp; After all, the last Bond flick was a huge success () so its really just a matter of time before another studio buys out the storied franchise – or MGM goes bust and it goes for a damned steal – whichever comes first. The real tragedy here is that MGM itself is coming to the end of a long and historical run.&nbsp; I mean, this is the studio that launched such iconic stars as Clark Gable, Elizabeth Taylor, Jean Harlow, Jimmy Stewart, Greta Garbo and Joan Crawford; it brought us such films as 12 Angry Men, Mrs. Miniver, The Mutiny on the Bounty (1935 version), The Wizard of Oz, Doctor Zhivago, Network, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, North by Northwest, Mata Hari and many, many other classics; to see that brand come to a close should be bittersweet at best. Then again, a closer look at some of MGM’s more recent offerings might suggest this is one book that is best closed and put on the dusty shelf.&nbsp; After all, I somehow doubt that, outside of this sentence anyway, a film like&nbsp; Hot Tub Time Machine will&nbsp;ever&nbsp;grace the same&nbsp;stratosphere&nbsp;as&nbsp;MGM's golden oldie,&nbsp; Gone with the Wind . I could be wrong but I’m just saying.]]></description>
                      
                      <link>http://www.metronews.ca/ottawa/blog/post/507221</link>
                      <author><![CDATA[]]></author>
                      <category><![CDATA[/Blog]]></category>
                      <keywords><![CDATA[james bond, bond, 007, ian fleming, mgm, mgm studios, bankrupt, bankruptcy, hollywood, hollywood reporter, bond halted, movie, film, celebrity, blofeld, hot tub time machine]]></keywords>
                      <pubDate>Tue, 20 Apr 2010 10:05:38 -0400</pubDate>
                      <author>Steve Gow</author>
                      <guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.metronews.ca/ottawa/blog/post/507221</guid>
                   </item>
             
                  <item>
                      <title><![CDATA[Britain Crowns Hollywood's Latest Flop]]></title>
                      <description><![CDATA[By now you may or may not have heard about what is perhaps Hollywood’s biggest flops of recent memory.&nbsp; And it has mostly Britain to thank for it. Motherhood (starring&nbsp; Uma Thurman who is apparently unappetizing to the English) may not have had the buzz of say, Avatar upon its release but the comedy about a single mom in Manhattan could only muster up about $130 US during its opening weekend box office.&nbsp; Yikes.&nbsp; Reported to have cost about $5 million to make, I wouldn’t advise the producers to rush out and buy a brand new yacht right away. Still, surprisingly enough, it is the biggest opening weekend flop to date (presumably because $5 million nowadays is a pittance in the cinema world).&nbsp; And in fact, its not even the biggest flop in the UK.&nbsp; Apparently that title goes to little 2007 film called My Nikifor which only raked in about $10 US.&nbsp; For the record, that’s one ticket. So, in celebration of such a milestone, who wouldn’t want to go back down memory lane and revisit some of Movieland’s biggest money flops?&nbsp; After all, isn’t there something nostalgic about giggling a little when you recall titles like Gigli ($66 million loss) or Battlefield Earth ($43 million loss)? Then of course there’s the biggest money-loser Hollywood has ever produced.&nbsp; Although it should’ve killed Matthew McConaughey’s career (he produced it too after all), Sahara is reportedly the biggest bomb in La La Land taking on an incredible $121 million hit.&nbsp; Hell, you could’ve bought the Sahara desert for that kind of cash. Apparently however, according to the Guardian , the biggest flop of all-time wasn’t a big-budget Hollywood flick but a small indie film called Zyzzyx Road .&nbsp; It only brought in $30 at the box office total. With that kind of result, I’m going to suggest that no one ever puts three Z’s in there movie title ever again.&nbsp; Apparently, three Z’s just puts potential audiences to sleep.]]></description>
                      
                      <link>http://www.metronews.ca/ottawa/blog/post/490996</link>
                      <author><![CDATA[]]></author>
                      <category><![CDATA[/Blog]]></category>
                      <keywords><![CDATA[motherhood, uk, britain, movie, hollywood, film, new release, cinema, bomb, box-office, box office, flop, guardian, uma thurman, england, stinker, biggest flops, sahara, battlefield earth, gigli, zyzzyx road]]></keywords>
                      <pubDate>Tue, 30 Mar 2010 13:30:37 -0400</pubDate>
                      <author>Steve Gow</author>
                      <guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.metronews.ca/ottawa/blog/post/490996</guid>
                   </item>
             
                  <item>
                      <title><![CDATA[Rock n' Roll Movies You May Have Missed]]></title>
                      <description><![CDATA[Well, this weekend marks the release of the cinema’s latest&nbsp; rock n’ roll movie – The Runaways .&nbsp; And inasmuch as its more of a biopic on the all-girl rock outfit that formed in Los Angeles in the mid-70s, its really the music that counts here.&nbsp; And why not? After all, it was written and directed by Canadian-bred filmmaker Floria Sigismondi who is perhaps more famous for making cutting edge music videos for everyone from Our Lady Peace to Marilyn Manson to Christina Aguilera . In light of said release, it got me thinking to some other great rock n’ roll flicks that may have been overlooked over the years.&nbsp; Sure there’s been Almost Famous and Spinal tap but these are ones that may not have necessarily achieved box office glory but still had either great stories or just made great movies. Here’s a list of 5 flicks off the top of my head that you may consider checking out: &nbsp; Streets of Fire (1984) – When I was just a wee teenage cad, I stumbled upon this so-called “rock and roll fable” (mainly because I idolized Rick Moranis who has a supporting role) and instantly dug its tale about a hired gun who must rescue his ex-girlfriend rock singer after she’s kidnapped by gang members (led by Willem DeFoe).&nbsp; The film is one big piñata of pop culture iconography and, even today, is a lot of fun to watch. 24 Hour Party People (2002) – I’ve always been a fan of filmmaker Michael Winterbottom (A Mighty Heart, Welcome to Sarajevo) and this comedic biopic about Tony Wilson (played by Steve Coogan) is no exception. The man who started up Manchester, England’s Factory Records – which spawned the likes of influential 80’s acts The Happy Mondays and Joy Division – Wilson’s wild life was one of excess, drugs and of course sex.&nbsp; What else would you expect? Control (2007) – And speaking of Factory Records, here comes Control – an amazing biopic about Joy Division, the influential band that became New Order after its lead singer, Ian Curtis, killed himself.&nbsp; Directed by famous rock photographer Anton Corbijn (you may recognize some of his work ), this movie is as stunning visually as its story is heartbreaking. Gimme Shelter (1970) – Although this is a documentary, the Maysles brothers capture this Rolling Stones concert film and cut it into one of a higher order. The band’s 1969 show at Altamont Raceway was supposed to be a huge free gig to rival Woodstock but instead turned into a murder scene at the hands of bikers (who were hired as security).&nbsp; It may mark, as some argue, the end of the hippie era but its also just a harrowing film. Sid and Nancy (1986) – Written and directed by Alex Cox, this biopic about the Sex Pistols’ bass player Sid Vicious and his girlfriend Nancy Spungen not only introduced the modern world to the acting talents of Gary Oldman but as Washington Post critic Paul Attansio put it at the time , “Alex Cox has captured not simply the physical details but the mood and feeling of a peculiar way of life”.&nbsp; Now isn’t that what a good rock n’ roll flick should do?]]></description>
                      
                      <link>http://www.metronews.ca/ottawa/blog/post/481073</link>
                      <author><![CDATA[]]></author>
                      <category><![CDATA[/Blog]]></category>
                      <keywords><![CDATA[rock, rock movies, rock n roll movies, rock 'n roll movies, rock films, rock n' roll films, films, new releases, the runaways, floria sigismondi, sid and nancy, punk rock, movies, hollywood, new releases, trailers, streets of fire, music, musical movies, control, 24 hour party people, sid vicious, cinema]]></keywords>
                      <pubDate>Thu, 18 Mar 2010 09:42:39 -0400</pubDate>
                      <author>Steve Gow</author>
                      <guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.metronews.ca/ottawa/blog/post/481073</guid>
                   </item>
             
    </channel>
</rss>

