Spencer Martin, Author at The Playlist

Infant Sorrow Release Entire Album; Is This The ‘Get Him to the Greek’ Soundtrack?

Spencer Martin — Wed, 19 May 2010 13:45:00 +0000

Infant Sorrow, the fictional band headlined by Russell Brand’s outrageous rock star character Aldous Snow, who first appeared in the 2008 comedy “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and is set to return in a few weeks in the spin-off “Get Him to the Greek,” look to be releasing a full album, according to a listing on Amazon. It’s possible that it’s a merely a promotional tool (like this site for the fictional record label that Jonah Hill’s character works for) but it seems more likely that it’s the film’s official soundtrack.

Continue reading Infant Sorrow Release Entire Album; Is This The ‘Get Him to the Greek’ Soundtrack? at The Playlist.

Marina Zenovich To Make Documentary Based On ‘Pictures At A Revolution’

Spencer Martin — Mon, 17 May 2010 17:40:00 +0000

Documentary filmmaker Marina Zenovich, who is best known for her now-controversial 2008 film, “Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired,” is set to direct a feature documentary based on the 2008 Mark Harris book “Pictures at a Revolution: Five Movies and the Birth of the New Hollywood.”

“Pictures” looks back nostalgically at the inception period of the so-called second golden age of Hollywood and chronicles the production and release of the five best picture nominees for the 1967 Oscar: “Bonnie and Clyde,” “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,” “In the Heat of the Night,” “The Graduate” and “Dr.

Continue reading Marina Zenovich To Make Documentary Based On ‘Pictures At A Revolution’ at The Playlist.

‘Teen Wolf’ To Be Ridiculously Remade In TV Form

Spencer Martin — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 16:59:00 +0000

MTV has decided to attempt to make werewolves the new vampires by reviving the Michael J. Fox 80’s high school drama, “Teen Wolf,” as a series that will center around a teenager who discovers he is a hairier-than-usual high school student. It will draw from the horror genre to explore werewolf mythology and will, of course, include a romantic plot line between a human that is kind of slow but makes up for it in looks and tolerance towards body hair and a supernatural being.

Continue reading ‘Teen Wolf’ To Be Ridiculously Remade In TV Form at The Playlist.

‘Adam’: An Intimate Look At A Tortured Soul

Spencer Martin — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 17:41:00 +0000

After toiling in the world of theater and television for years, writer/director Max Meyer has finally come onto the film scene with his feature debut, “Adam,” which is a simple story about a lonely electrical engineer with Asperger Syndrome who, for the first time, experiences a romantic connection with his neighbor.

The tone of the film came as somewhat of a surprise to us, since the small marketing campaign seemed to sell the film as a romantic comedy set around a series of tragic events, a la “Garden State.” Though it is true that the film does carry some semblance of a romantic comedy, as the Asperger Syndrome inflicted protagonist, Adam, struggles to interact with his new neighbor Beth, who happens to be a beautiful, aspiring child literature author (played by Rose Byrne), the film does initially result in a good amount of awkward-moment humor, but as a whole is a somewhat depressing look into the daily hardships of those with Asperger syndrome and those that love them.

Continue reading ‘Adam’: An Intimate Look At A Tortured Soul at The Playlist.

‘Flame & Citron’: A Stylish Yet Somber View Of Two Rebels In Wartime Copenhagen

Spencer Martin — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 16:34:00 +0000

Danish director Ole Christian Madsen certainly threw subtlety to the wind in making his World War II revenge epic,”Flame & Citron.” The film, which chronicles the murderous exploits of two famous Danish resistance fighters, boldly walks the line between historical period piece and a action-packed graphic-novel.

Danish actors Thure Lindhardt (“Into the Wild“) and Mads Mikkelsen (“Casino Royal“) play the fabled citizens turned assassin team of Bent Faurschou-Hivid and Jorgen Haagen Schmith, known simply as Flame and Citron, while actress Stine Stengade plays the seductive double-agent Ketty Selmer.

Continue reading ‘Flame & Citron’: A Stylish Yet Somber View Of Two Rebels In Wartime Copenhagen at The Playlist.

Judd Apatow And Tom Cruise: A Possible Collaboration?

Spencer Martin — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 20:49:00 +0000

In a recent interview with Movieline about “Funny People” Judd Apatow mentioned that in-between projects he likes to meet up with talent he would someday like to work with, and one of those recent meetings just happened to be with Tom Cruise.

“I had a meeting with Tom Cruise, because I think he’s just unbelievable, and I’ve been a fan since the very beginning. And one of the great parts of this business is that when you’re in between projects and trying to figure out what you’re going to do next, you meet with people that you hope one day to collaborate with, and see if anything bubbles up.”

Cruise has collaborated with Paul Thomas Anderson, a good friend of Apatow (he hearts “Punch Drunk Love”) and Cruise does kinda fancy himself a comedy star after his cameo as the over-the-top studio exec in “Tropic Thunder.” Could Cruise end up spewing dick jokes and participating in immature banter with the likes of Seth Rogen and Jonah Hill in the near future?

Continue reading Judd Apatow And Tom Cruise: A Possible Collaboration? at The Playlist.

Rumor: Italian Press Believes That ‘Tree Of Life’ May Actually Get A 2009 Release

Spencer Martin — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 20:59:00 +0000

Terrence Malick’s latest drama, “Tree of Life,” which stars Brad Pitt, Sean Penn and Jessica Chastain has been in production for forty five years now,* and was originally set for a 2009 release date but due to the notorious slow pace of Malick, the film seemed doomed for 2010, or beyond. Or at least, 2010 seems to be where it was pushed. Let’s be honest, know one knows a thing about this film (including Malick).

Continue reading Rumor: Italian Press Believes That ‘Tree Of Life’ May Actually Get A 2009 Release at The Playlist.

Did The Twitter Effect Kill ‘Brüno’?

Spencer Martin — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 15:45:00 +0000

Patrick Goldstein of the LA Times’ recently pondered the unprecedented drop off that Sacha Baron Cohen‘s latest attempt to expose the absurd behavior in everyday American life, “Brüno” experienced during its second week at the box-office. Its 73% fall in its second week is the steepest drop for a movie this year, and certainly something the suits over at Universal were not expecting from one of their more heavily marketed features.

Continue reading Did The Twitter Effect Kill ‘Brüno’? at The Playlist.

Oddly Enough, Lars Von Trier Was Not Having Fun On The Set Of ‘Anti-Christ’

Spencer Martin — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 19:06:00 +0000

“There was no pleasure in doing this film, I made myself write 10 pages of script every day. The only way to get out of bed was to make this decision and stick to it. When it came to filming, I was not mentally capable to hold the camera and shoot. I was helpless like an old man in a wheelchair. It was a humiliating way to work.” -The always cheery Lars Von Trier says working on his latest, slightly darker film “Antichrist” was similar to birthday parties at Chucky Cheese and fond childhood memories of Disney World.

Continue reading Oddly Enough, Lars Von Trier Was Not Having Fun On The Set Of ‘Anti-Christ’ at The Playlist.

Will The ‘Inglourious Basterds’ UFC Bait & Switch Marketing Strategy Backfire?

Spencer Martin — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 20:55:00 +0000

Something that’s been on the brain…

All this “Inglourious Basterds” news has hit and it’s good news for the fans of Quentin Tarantino (no major cuts to the film, some soundtrack notes) but we haven’t even got to the iffy partnership announced late last week.

The Weinstein Company’s dubious attempt to cross-market their film, “Inglourious Basterds” to young, meat-headed Ultimate Fighting Championship fans is just a very peculiar, perhaps desperate proposition for a picture that has already suffered luke-warm Cannes reviews, a campy trailer and pre-release prequel talk that most likely exists just to hold the public’s interest.

Continue reading Will The ‘Inglourious Basterds’ UFC Bait & Switch Marketing Strategy Backfire? at The Playlist.

Rumor: Nimrod Antal In Line To Direct Rodriquez’s ‘Predators’ Sequel?

Spencer Martin — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 18:48:00 +0000

A rumor that started over at Latino Review yesterday has relatively unknown director Nimrod Antal is in line to direct the Alex Livtak penned, Robert Rodriquez produced “Predators” sequel. Or at least at the top of a list of potential contenders.

The Hungarian Antal is not someone we’re totally familiar with, but kudos to Slashfilm with the context, describing his debut feature “Kontroll” as “a solid, weird thriller about ticket takers in the Budapest subway system.

Continue reading Rumor: Nimrod Antal In Line To Direct Rodriquez’s ‘Predators’ Sequel? at The Playlist.

Could ‘The Hangover’ Sequel Go Abroad?

Spencer Martin — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 17:49:00 +0000

Talks of a sequel for Todd Phillips’ “The Hangover” have been brewing for awhile, some even taking place two months before the film was released. But now with its surprising opening weekend, taking the number one spot away from family-friendly “Up,” the suits at WB are ostensibly putting the project into high gear.

While talking to Hollywood.com, ‘Hangover’ star Zach Galifianakis said that director Todd Phillips is co-writing the sequel’s script with “Old School” partner Scot Armstrong and that the duo may take the group of friends and awkward brother-in-law abroad.

Continue reading Could ‘The Hangover’ Sequel Go Abroad? at The Playlist.

Cheap Trick Hilariously Update The Original Transformers Theme From The Cartoon For ‘Transformers 2’

Spencer Martin — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 16:32:00 +0000

Cheap Trick has updated the theme from the original “Transformers” cartoon for the end credits of the latest Transformers movie, “Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen.” The Hilariously cheesy remix is billed as the last song on the soundtrack, which most-likely means it will end up playing over the end credits. “Transformers 2” is due out on June 24th. Compare and contrast. It makes us lol.

Cheap Trick’s ‘Remix’

Original Theme

Continue reading Cheap Trick Hilariously Update The Original Transformers Theme From The Cartoon For ‘Transformers 2’ at The Playlist.

Tony Kaye Possibly Directing Mickey Rourke-Penned Drama ‘Wild Horses’

Spencer Martin — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 22:47:00 +0000

In an interview with the L.A. Times‘ Patrick Goldstein, notoriously overly-eccentric British filmmaker Tony Kaye revealed that when he is not randomly distributing his paintings around L.A — which, he’s uhhh, currently doing now — he is working with Mickey Rourke on the actor’s self-penned drama “Wild Horses.”

The “American History X” director has been out of the mainstream film game since the he famously feuded with Edward Norton on the set and eventually attempted to have his name removed from the credits and replaced with the pseudonym “Humpty Dumpty” (suffice to say that didn’t go over well in Hollywood).

Continue reading Tony Kaye Possibly Directing Mickey Rourke-Penned Drama ‘Wild Horses’ at The Playlist.

Jaime King To Star As French Icon Brigitte Bardot?

Spencer Martin — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 21:55:00 +0000

“Fanboys” director Kyle Newman says he is getting ready to direct a biopic on the French model, Brigitte Bardot, and has conveniently picked his wife Jaime King to star as the iconic fashion model. King’s resume is stacked with huge stinkers, consisting of “My Bloody Valentine,” “Fanboys,” “Pearl Harbor ” and “The Spirit” of late, with her only decent film being 2005’s “Sin City.”

Early in her career Bardot’s sublime body launched her to sex-symbol status, and later supplied her a film career, though later in her life she has become notorious for being fucking crazy, a hardcore animal rights activist and outspoken against interracial marriages, Islam in France and immigration, even going so far as to be convicted five times for “inciting racial hatred.”

This possibly interesting story will most likely fall on its face as King is not the type to carry a film of such scope and Newman has yet to produce anything of notice (he hasn’t really done any features outside of “Fanboys”), though it might be something worth keeping an eye on, as both could end up rising to the occasion.

Continue reading Jaime King To Star As French Icon Brigitte Bardot? at The Playlist.

‘Synecdoche’ Producer Anthony Bregman Picks Up Rights to ‘Too Cool To Be Forgotten’

Spencer Martin — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 21:22:00 +0000

Anthony Bregman, who has served as a producer on such mind-bending films “Synecdoche, New York,” “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” and more straight-up depressing ones such as “The Savages” has picked up the motion-picture rights to Alex Robinson’s existential graphic-novel “Too Cool To Be Forgotten.”

Robinson’s Graphic novel was released last July and tells the story of a 40-year-old man who undergoes hypnosis therapy to quit smoking, only to wake up in the body of his 15-year-old self.

Continue reading ‘Synecdoche’ Producer Anthony Bregman Picks Up Rights to ‘Too Cool To Be Forgotten’ at The Playlist.

Lars Von Trier Declares Himself “The Worlds’ Greatest Director,” Then Drops Polarizing ‘Antichrist,’ A Sign He’s Finally Gone Bat-Shit Crazy?

Spencer Martin — Mon, 18 May 2009 19:43:00 +0000

Danish director Lars von Trier screened his latest film “Antichrist,” which apparently was conceived during the director’s two-year struggle with severe depression, to less than enthusiastic responses from a few critics. Roger Ebert called the film “the most despairing film I’ve ever have seen,” and Tom McCarthy of Variety started off his review of the film with “Lars von Trier cuts a big fat art-film fart with ‘Antichrist.’…”

The negative response has been such that Von Trier was even booed at his press conference this afternoon prompting him to responded with over-the-top provacative statements.

Continue reading Lars Von Trier Declares Himself “The Worlds’ Greatest Director,” Then Drops Polarizing ‘Antichrist,’ A Sign He’s Finally Gone Bat-Shit Crazy? at The Playlist.

Scorsese & Editor Gear Up For A Cinematic British Invasion: Their Long-Gestating U.K. Cinema Doc

Spencer Martin — Mon, 18 May 2009 15:42:00 +0000

Academy-Award winning editor and long-time collaborator of Martin Scorsese, Thelma Schoonmaker (the two met way back in their NYU film school days) is finally getting back to work with Scorsese on the two’s long-gestating documentary which focuses on British cinema.

In an interview, which appeared in Screendaily Magazine, but is not available online, Scorsese is quoted as saying “As soon as we finish mixing ‘Shutter Island,’ which will be in August, Thelma and I are going to go back and take up where we were in the British documentary and hopefully construct a rough cut by the time i shoot my next picture.”

Scorsese has a long-standing love for British cinema and in the Screendaily mag interview also said it has influenced him greatly.

Continue reading Scorsese & Editor Gear Up For A Cinematic British Invasion: Their Long-Gestating U.K. Cinema Doc at The Playlist.

Robert Rodriquez Changing His Mind About ‘Sin City 2’?

Spencer Martin — Thu, 07 May 2009 19:20:00 +0000

Since Robert Rodriquez released “Sin City” four years ago, fans have been laying awake at night wondering when the Texican director will finally get around to making a sequel. Well, it seemed for a while that it wasn’t going to happen anytime soon, or at all since the director kept quipping comments like “I always say ‘Sin City 2 right’ around the corner, because that’s what everybody wants to hear and I like pleasing the audience…but it might be a long corner.”

However, when recently discussing the project with IGN, the director hinted that he might be caving under fan pressure and changing his mind about the possibility of a sequel, “Next week we’re going to talk about it some more and get a timing on when we’d be doing it.

Continue reading Robert Rodriquez Changing His Mind About ‘Sin City 2’? at The Playlist.

Third ‘Harold & Kumar’ Gets A 2010 Release Date

Spencer Martin — Thu, 07 May 2009 18:34:00 +0000

While everyone assumed the ‘Harold & Kumar’ series was dead when Kal Penn gave up his glamorous acting career to be a meager associate director in the White House’s Public Liaison Office, a recent press release says otherwise, confirming that the series will indeed be back for a third installment.

According to EW, Warner Brothers has confirmed a November 5th, 2010 release date for “A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas,” which will star Neil Patrick Harris, Kal Penn and John Cho.

Continue reading Third ‘Harold & Kumar’ Gets A 2010 Release Date at The Playlist.

Warner Brother’s Financing Partner, ‘Village Roadshow’ Feels Credit Crunch

Spencer Martin — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 21:27:00 +0000

Australian production company and Warner Brothers financing partner, Village Roadshow Productions has recently been unable to pony up funds on the last four films it has partnered in with WB (two of them being upcoming films called “Sherlock Holmes” and “Where the Wild Things Are”). Time Warner released the information in its quarterly earnings report. Warners basically now has to cover the $120 million in costs themselves.

Roadshow has been co-financing with Warners since 1998.

Continue reading Warner Brother’s Financing Partner, ‘Village Roadshow’ Feels Credit Crunch at The Playlist.

Swineflu, Other Wrath Of God Obstacle Cannot Stop ‘Wolverine’ At The Box-Office?

Spencer Martin — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 20:54:00 +0000

20th Century Fox’s May tentpole, “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” despite being spread all over the Internet via pirating less than a month before its release and the postponement of its Mexican opening due to the outbreak of swine-flu stands to do a healthy amount of business on its opening this weekend.

According to THR,“”X-Men Origins: Wolverine” looks likely to open with at least $80 million domestically — though Fox execs insist even a $70 million bow would be acceptable on the pic.” Holy shit.

Continue reading Swineflu, Other Wrath Of God Obstacle Cannot Stop ‘Wolverine’ At The Box-Office? at The Playlist.

J.J. Abrams’ Excuse For All The Lens Flares In ‘Star Trek,’ “The Future Is That Bright”

Spencer Martin — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 01:04:00 +0000

J.J. Abram’s latest project, the “Star Trek” reboot, apparently has Lens Flares in almost every scene. According to Firstshowing, Abrams and cinematographer Daniel Mindel “use them a lot, we’re talking about in almost every scene, and multiple times in every scene.”

Lens Flares are usually an unwarranted by-product of a source of light off-camera causing a reflection in the shot, but can sometimes be used to enhance the realism of a scene. Abrams contends that they were not a product of sloppy photography but were used to add an incredibly overstated level of drama to the scenes.

Continue reading J.J. Abrams’ Excuse For All The Lens Flares In ‘Star Trek,’ “The Future Is That Bright” at The Playlist.

Fox Exec Hints At Ridley Scott’s Involvement In ‘Alien’ Prequel?

Spencer Martin — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 22:08:00 +0000

Just after news of the recent “reboot” of the “Predator” series at the hands of Robert Rodriguez, Fox may be toying with the idea of bringing back another big sci-fi franchise long past its prime and sullied by silly Vs films in “Aliens.”

While speaking with IESB.com, Fox co-chairman, Tom Rothman, commented that they may be attempting to bait original “Alien” director Ridley Scott back into the director’s chair for another ‘Aliens’ installment.

Continue reading Fox Exec Hints At Ridley Scott’s Involvement In ‘Alien’ Prequel? at The Playlist.

Alexandre Desplat To Score Twilight Sequel, ‘New Moon’

Spencer Martin — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 17:19:00 +0000

New “Twilight” director Chris Weitz is already shaking things up with the replacement of original composer Cartel Burwell for Frenchie Alexandre Desplat for the sequel “New Moon.” Desplat and Weitz have a pre-existenting working relationship, with Desplat scoring Weitz’s “Golden Compass.”

Most recently Desplat did the fantastic score to David Fincher’s “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.” He has also composed scores for Ang Lee’s “Lust: Caution,” “The Queen,” and “Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium.” Additionally, he’s reportedly working on the music to Wes Anderson’s “Fantastic Mr.

Continue reading Alexandre Desplat To Score Twilight Sequel, ‘New Moon’ at The Playlist.