From EW.com, a handy flowchart guide to Christopher Nolan movies. My favorite is the very first question: "Does it feature a well-dressed, morally ambiguous protagonist?" NO--->"Christopher Nolan did not direct this movie." HA! --Ellen
According to Alien director Ridley Scott, Ripley, the iconic
character embodied (and how!) by Sigourney Weaver, was originally a man.
"During casting," he told an interviewer, "we thought, 'Why
don''t we make it a woman?'" Why not indeed? So when Tom Cruise passed
on playing Edwin Salt, a CIA agent on the run after being accused of being a Russian spy, cooler
heads prevailed in casting a kick-ass Angelina Jolie. We'll never know what the Cruise version would have
been like, but probably different as, well, Knight and Day.
Cast changes are nothing new. Harrison Ford
replaced Tom Selleck as Indiana Jones and Michael J. Fox replaced Eric Stoltz as Marty McFly, to name two famous instances. But
as in the case of Salt, some cast changes are more dramatic (or comedic) than others.
Take The Beaver, which last year was named Hollywood's best unproduced script. The odd progression of A-list names attached to star befits this black comedy about a man whose life is gradually taken over by a beaver hand puppet. The most prominent names reported were Steve Carrell, then Jim Carrey, and finally, lethal phoner Mel Gibson. Whatever The Beaver's marketing and PR team are being paid to try and salvage the film's fortunes in the wake of Mel's anvil parachute-like plummet from grace, it can't be nearly enough. In the immortal words of June Cleaver, I'm worried about The Beaver.
While one can picture Steve, Jim,
or especially Mel losing it to a puppet, can you imagine anyone but Eddie
Murphy in Beverly Hills Cop? How about Sly Stallone? He got the script first,
but as he told the fanboy Ain't It Cool News website, even he thought it had been sent
to the wrong house. "I re-wrote the script to suit what I do best and by
the time I was done, it looked like the opening scene from Saving Private
Ryan," he said. "Believe it or not, the finale was me in a stolen
Lamborghini playing chicken with an oncoming freight train being driven by the
ultra-slimy bad guy." Actually, that sounds kinda cool.
Or how about Cheech and Chong in Stripes? That's the fact, Jack. Ivan Reitman originally pitched the classic '80s comedy as a vehicle for the iconic comedy team. Reportedly, they demanded complete creative control (sounds like a wasted opportunity), and so Bill Murray and Harold Ramis were enlisted. And speaking of classic comedy teams, did you know that The Road to Singapore, the first of the classic Road comedies, was originally a vehicle for Jack Oakie and...Fred MacMurray? They turned it down, paving the way for the inspired casting of Bing Crosby and Bob Hope.
Does Angelina's name above the title instead of Tom's make you more or less excited to see Salt? What are your favorite movies that benefited from fortuitous casting changes? --Donald Liebenson
From collegehumor.com, a handy-dandy guide to this summer's movies, by mathematical equation with past movies. --Ellen
With the release of Universal's Despicable Me this week, here, in alphabetical order, are 10 of the most interesting and/or significant animated features NOT made by Disney, Pixar (or anime/Japanese studios like Ghibli), It's still difficult to find some important films: Jiri Trnka's balletic retelling of A Midsummer Night's Dream was only issued on Japanese laser disc, and Marcell Jankovics' brilliant adaptation of a Scythian legend, The Son of the White Mare is out of print in its European DVD release.
The Adventures of Prince Achmed
The oldest extant animated feature (1926) and for decades the only animated feature directed by a woman. Lotte Reiniger manipulated cut-outs made from cardboard and thin sheets of lead to create an Arabian Nights world of delicate, filigree backgrounds and intricately jointed figures.
Although the live action interstitials have not aged gracefully, the animated sequences in Bruno Bozzetto's outrageous spoof of <I>Fantasia</I> retain their appeal. Highlights include an abandoned alley cat's memories of its lost home ("Valse Triste"), a nutty spoof of militarism ("Slavonic Dance #7") and a wonderfully skewed vision of evolution, with lines of lumpy beasts plodding in time to Ravel's "Bolero."
A winning mixture of adventure, slapstick comedy and friendship, How to Train Your Dragon may well rank as DreamWorks' most satisfying film. The unlikely bond between Viking manqué Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) and the baby dragon Toothless offers warm interaction and vertiginous flying sequences. Many DreamWorks films get laughs from sitcom one-liners and topical references, Dragon feels timeless, rather than timely.
One of the best and best-loved animated films of recent decades, Brad Bird's directorial debut received rave reviews but did poorly at the box office due to bad marketing. The adventures of the very likable Hogarth and a 40-foot robot that falls from outer space remain as compelling and genuinely heartwarming as it did the day it was released. A classic, by any definition.
Jack Black and Dustin Hoffman have an unexpected chemistry as Po, a chunky panda who dreams of becoming a martial arts champion/hero, and Shifu, his wily sensei. Many of the films best sequences are done in mime, revealing the growing skill of the DreamWorks artists. The opening 2D dream sequence is a visual stunner.
Set in the 8th century, The Secret of Kells recounts how 12-year-old novice Brendan (voice by Evan McGuire) conquers his fears and the monstrous Crom Cruach to become an artist creating illuminated manuscripts--with a little help from silver-haired fairy Aisling and Pangur Ban the cat. Kells reminds viewers how warm, personal, and compelling traditional drawn animation can be.
The technology of puppet animation has advanced considerably since The Nightmare Before Christmas, allowing the artists to get more subtle expressions and nuanced acting from their characters. When Victor, the timorous (voice by Johnny Depp) tries to force a smile, arches his eyebrows and regards the gril from beyond the grave through half-closed eyes, viewers are seeing something genuinely new. An oddly charming, underappreciated film.
In contrast to recent films that feel like bland committee projects, The Triplets of Belleville reflects the quirky imagination of director Sylvain Chomet. When a Tour de France cyclist is kidnapped by the French Mafia, his club-footed Portuguese grandmother goes to his rescue, aided by the title characters, a trio of over-the-hill music hall stars. Delightfully off the wall, and told almost entirely without words.
Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
Four-time Oscar winner Nick Park proves that the usually crude medium of clay animation can be as expressive as the best drawn and CG animation. The addled inventor Wallace and his intelligence canine pal Gromit tackle an infestation of rabbits, a snobby fortune hunter and a supernatural monster in this uproarious send-up of horror movies.
The Beatles songs and head-trip designs of George Dunning's Yellow Submarine reminded American audiences how exciting animation could be in the gray winter of 1968. The weakness of the storyline has become increasingly apparent over the years, but the film's flamboyant visual imagination has seldom been matched.
Despicable Me is a compelling animated comedy about an aging supervillain's falling popularity at the hands of a younger supervillain and three young orphan girls. Gru is a true, bad-to-the-core evildoer who's earned the title of the world's No. 1 supervillain. But when young upstart Vector steals the Pyramid of Giza, Gru's status suddenly sinks to No. 2. Gru counters his fall by speeding up his plan to shrink and steal the moon, enlisting the help of his army of minions and the elderly Dr. Nefario, but a lack of funding and the difficulties involved in stealing the needed shrink-ray gun threaten to derail everything. Adopting three young orphan girls is an unlikely, but seemingly effective means to further Gru's evil mission, but Gru quickly discovers that caring for three young girls is more work, and distraction, than he could ever have anticipated. What unfolds is an unexpected shift in attitude that will forever change the lives of Gru, Vector, and all three young girls. A visually appealing film produced by Chris Meledandri (Ice Age, Ice Age 2: The Meltdown, and Horton Hears a Who), Despicable Me is full of weirdly shaped characters and settings that are somehow a perfect fit for Sergio Pablos's story. What's especially refreshing is that in this film, 3-D effects are used skillfully and effectively: even when the effects are exploited for comic reasons, they don't become a distraction, as is all too common in many recent movies. The film is full of corny banter and silly antics that inspire plenty of spontaneous laughter, and the minions, while not the best-developed characters, sure are comical. Ultimately, there's also a wholesome message about following one's heart. Steve Carell is the perfect villain-gone-soft in his role as Gru, Jason Segal is quite funny as Vector, and Julie Andrews makes a surprising appearance as Gru's very un-motherly mom. The story isn't new, the humor is relatively juvenile and somewhat forgettable, and it's no Toy Story 3, but Despicable Me celebrates silliness in a way that's satisfying and highly entertaining. (Ages 6 and older) --Tami Horiuchi
Get Movie Cash to See "Despicable Me" in Theaters
Purchase at least one title from a list of 31 DVD and Blu-ray movies and receive a promotional code which you can redeem for a certificate valid for one admission to see "Despicable Me". See the full list of titles.
Stills from Despicable Me:
View the trailer for Despicable Me:
With Tom Cruise's latest, Knight and Day, opening today, I was admiring that his relaxed coif--which is not prominent on the movie's poster, then again, neither is Tom or co-star Cameron Diaz; they've been replaced by some white silhouettes--is similar to Jerry Maguire, the last time he did a lighthearted/romantic vibe.
Now, while not as awfully bad as Nicolas Cage's legendary 'dos, Tom has had his share of memorable hair 'dos and don'ts (most notably, his reprisal of Len Grossman from Tropic Thunder at the recent MTV Movie Awards. If you haven't seen him dance yet, I invite you to pause and watch now) .
Test your Tom Cruise Follicle IQ here, and click on the photos to find out the answers.
1.
2.
3. 
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
How did you do? --Ellen
It's the hottest property in Hollywood right now: the U.S. film adaptation of Stieg Larsson's The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, an international best-seller with two sequels (the third book, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, was released last month). A Swedish film version has already been released, with its follow-up airing this summer, but uber-producer Scott Rudin (No Country for Old Men, The Hours), and director David Fincher (Fight Club, Se7en) are on board.
But the question is, who will star in it? Brad Pitt and Daniel Craig (as well as George Clooney and Johnny Depp) have both been mentioned to play investigative journalist Mikael Blomkvist. As for the books' title heroine, a hacker named Lisbeth Salander who's 4 foot 11, antisocial, delinquent, bisexual, genius, and can take down thugs twice her size, it's reportedly the biggest casting scramble since, well, the teen Anakin Skywalker from the Star Wars prequels. While we're hoping for an unknown to take on the role, here's the shortlist of the A-list actresses supposedy in the running: .
Keira Knightley
Advantage: She can pull off that waifish, troubled pout. Or at least a pout.
Disadvantage: She's too tall, too pretty, and is too divisive an actress for fans of the book.
Carey Mulligan
Advantage: She can act, she's not too famous to overpower the role; she's the right physical build, and it'd be fun to see her pursue her dark side after buttoned-up period movies like An Education, Pride & Prejudice, and Bleak House. (Rumor has it she's one of the actresses actively lobbying for the part).
Disadvantage: Can she pull off a character 180 degrees from anything she's played?
Ellen Page
Advantage: Proved she could pull off steely/psychotic in the indie film Hard Candy, where she tortured an older man she accuses of lewd acts--a scene straight out of Dragon Tattoo.
Disadvantage: Not enough people saw Hard Candy to believe Page as anything but the extremely verbal pregnant teen in Juno. And she looks (and is) too young.
Kristen Stewart
Advantage: She can be dark and angsty.
Disadvantage: It would be hard to do all that computer hacking when she's always touching her hair nervously. Many find her angst annoying. Plus, she's already starring in the Twilight franchise; let someone else have a piece of the pie!
Natalie Portman
Advantage: She can be dark and angsty. She's also closer to the right age--youthful looking late 20's. She also won a Swedish online poll as the ideal Lisbeth.
Disadvantage: Isn't she too famous and too beautiful?
Who's your casting pick? --Ellen
Saturday Night Live's mulleted mastermind MacGruber is bringing his brand of action to the big screen. Don't roll your eyes. It's a fact that full-length movies born from SNL skits have had their ups and downs at the box office. What constitutes a hilarious five-minute sketch on television doesn't always stretch into 90 minutes of laughs. We're hoping Will Forte and the rest of the crew (Val Kilmer, Kristin Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Ryan Phillipe) can pull a MacGyver-y move and save MacGruber from becoming another Blues Brothers 2000.
Here's a look at some highs and lows from SNL movie history:
The Blues Brothers (1980): Joliet Jake (the late John Belushi) and Elwood (Dan Aykroyd) are on a "mission from God" to raise money to save their old Chicago orphanage. With their Ray Bans and skinny ties, the brothers round up their old band while dodging Cook County cops. The Blues Brothers is one film that got better as it got older, thanks to cameo appearances by musical legends Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, James Brown and Cab Calloway. The original soundtrack is a must for music lovers. A loose sequel The Blues Brothers 2000 (1998), starring Aykroyd and John Goodman, was considered a major flop. 
Wayne's World (1992): We all know a Wayne (Mike Myers) or a Garth (Dana Carvey) and perhaps we see one in the mirror every morning. That's likely why this SNL skit based on the antics of two slacker dudes did so well at the box office. Wayne's World is pure, dumb fun. The scene where our heroes drive around in their powder-blue Pacer while rawkin' out to Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody is one of the funniest ever on film. Alas, Wayne's World 2 (1993) didn't manage to party on. 
A Night at the Roxbury (1998): Oh no, now I'm going to have that song stuck in my head. A Night at the Roxbury follows unsuccessful pick-up artists Doug and Steve (Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan) from one club to another. Singer Haddaway provides the earworm, which provokes much head-bobbing by the dancing duo (if you could call that "dancing"). What SNL skits do you think could work as feature-length movies? Or should they stay five minutes long where they belong?
– Francine Ruley
Collegehumor.com has created some great movie posters under Unnecessary Movie Sequels We'd Still Watch. (Warning: please do not keep reading if you don't want to know the ending of ANY movie, even if it's been out a few years and you've had many opportunities to watch it by now.) --Ellen
