I Was Right, "Role Models" Rocked.

About a month and a half ago, I saw the trailer for Role Models and loved it. Remember that?

Well, last night I got to attend one of its screening events and am happy to confirm that it was indeed awesome. And as a major bonus, Paul Rudd was actually in my theater!

I am so mad that I followed the directions on the pass and didn't bring my camera, because everyone else was snapping pictures of him (and WITH him at the end -- sigh). Be sure you check out my post that covers part of the Q&A session with Paul here.

And now, I am off to inspect the outside of my cursed condo building as we have had some contractors here over the last two days to repair our crumbling bricks and mortar (I haven't said those words together since the web days). I will be standing on a major street in Chicago, peering up at my roof with binoculars. Yes, it will be embarrassing. I KNOW someone is going to think that I'm trying to look in a neighbor's window. So I might as well do that, too, while I'm at it. Right?

- e

The Final Twilight Trailer is Online...

Here you go:

You're welcome!

Three things:

1. I was planning on seeing this movie no matter how bad it looked.
2. It looks pretty damn bad.
3. The peeps playing Edward and Bella seem to be the weakest links in the cast!

Sigh. If this movie had been in different hands, it could've been awesome. But I'm pretty sure it's going to be a huge disappointment.

- e

Where's the Buzz?

For the first time in a long time, one of the previews I saw before a movie made everyone in the theater laugh. I heard friends whispering to each other, "That's gonna be good," once it ended. Because I'm into this kind of stuff, I usually have seen all of the buzzed-about trailers online before they hit the big screen, so I was surprised that I had never heard of this one. It's called Role Models, and I think it's going to be awesome.

Judge for yourself:

I'm not usually a Seann William Scott fan, but I do like Paul Rudd and, of course, McLovin! How did they get that kid to look way younger than he did in Superbad? That's movie magic for ya, folks.

Anyway, I did a little research, and right now it looks like it's coming out on November 7 and isn't against another major release, so maybe it will do well. So I've got that on November 7, Quantum of Solace the next week, Twilight the next week, and then I'll stuff myself with turkey and mashed potatoes on Thanksgiving the next week. This fall is shaping up quite nicely!

- e

No HP6 in 2008, But We'll Always Have 'The Hills'...

Like a stake through my heart... yesterday I learned that Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince's premiere date has been pushed back until June 2009... and then this afternoon Entertainment Weekly's Fall Movie Preview issue was delivered with none other than Harry on the cover. I guess I wasn't the only one looking forward to November 21st.

It's not fair! Sniff.

The good news is that we will have Harry Potter movies to see in 2009, 2010 and 2011, as they are splitting The Deathly Hallows into two movies. I don't know how I feel about that... if you recall, I wasn't exactly wild about the final book in the HP series. The vast majority of it seemed so slow to me... and now they're going to drag it out across two movies?!?! Shouldn't they have taken out all of the boring stuff and had one rockin' action-packed send-off? Oh, but wait... then Warner Brothers wouldn't have made as much money. Silly me.

At least we have some TV premieres coming up this fall to fill the void. Here's what I plan on tuning in for (so far):

Gossip Girl: September 1

90210: September 2 (I probably won't keep watching this, but I MUST see Brenda and Kelly in the premiere!)

The Office: September 25

Dirty Sexy Money: October 1

Yes, there will be others, but those are the ones I've seen promos for lately, so they're at the top of my mind.

As is The Hills, which is returning to the airwaves this coming Monday, August 18th. I don't know why I'm going to watch it, because I'm sure that the best parts of the entire season have already been covered in this trailer:

It's the show I love to hate, and I've realized that resistance is futile. I will watch this show until the girls shoot one last confused, fleeting glance at each other. Or until it's clear that Justin Bobby will never be on again.

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Who Will Be The Hobbit?

I still smile every time I think about the fact that The Hobbit is finally being made into a movie, even though its release is three years away. Remember how I almost passed out when I saw the Entertainment Weekly issue touting the end to the battle between New Line Cinema and Peter Jackson last fall?

Things have really started moving lately, with Guillermo Del Toro being named as the movie's director (Peter Jackson is still producing). Most nerdy fans like myself are very pleased with that choice. Del Toro rocked the visual effects in Pan's Labyrinth, and while I haven't seen his other major movie, Hellboy, I have seen the trailer for Hellboy II, and it was amazing. I may go to that movie solely based on its trailer, knowing nothing else about that comic series whatsoever. That's how cool it was.

Anyway, I was able to breathe a sigh of relief because Ian McKellen is definitely going to play Gandalf again, and Andy Serkis will be revisiting his turn as Gollum. Script-writing is underway, with the biggest controversy being that not only are they making The Hobbit, they are also making a "sequel" of sorts that is a NEW STORY that will bridge the 60-year-or-so gap between where The Hobbit left off and where The Fellowship of the Ring began. While I'm excited to get another Lord of the Rings movie that I wasn't expecting, I am a bit nervous about how they're going to pull it off. But I'll worry about that in 2012 when that one comes out (if the world hasn't ended by then, right?).

For now, I will stress about who they're going to choose to play the hobbit himself--Bilbo Baggins. Ian Holm, who played the role in the other three movies, is out because he's too old and The Hobbit took place when Bilbo was young. Jack Black, Daniel Radcliffe (aka Harry Potter) and James McAvoy (Atonement) are names floating around, but have also been shot down as rumors. At first I was like, "How in the heck did anyone come up with JACK BLACK?!?" because I definitely couldn't see that working, but then I remembered that he did team up with Peter Jackson for King Kong. However, I think LOTR fans would totally revolt if he were picked, as they would if Harry Potter, er, Daniel Radcliffe, got the role.

But I know I'm not the only one who thinks McAvoy would be a wise choice. He's got a young look (but not too young), he's got the accent, he played a non-human creature in Narnia, he's got a proven track record but isn't such a big star that his presence will overwhelm the film... and he's kind of short. Ding ding ding, we have a winner! At least in my book.

My other big question is--are they going to actually KEEP the Shire/Hobbiton set intact this time after filming ends in New Zealand? If so, I may have to visit again...

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It's Never Too Early to Get Hyped for HP 6...

My heart almost stopped when I saw this poster for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - due out this fall. This book was my second-favorite of the series, but I think it's going to be the best of all of the movies.


There are a whole bunch of lame fan-made trailers online, but I did manage to find this legit "sneak peek" video on the production set:

Let the count-down begin!

- e

Hope for Iron Man?

This weekend I saw 21 (I'll do my write-up on it soon...), and the new trailer for Iron Man ran beforehand. I had seen the original preview of Iron Man a few months ago, after which my husband and I looked at each other and said, "That is going to be AWFUL."

It's another movie version of a comic book series, and Robert Downey Jr., of all people, is playing the superhero. Gwyneth Paltrow (of whom I've never been a big fan) and Terrence Howard are also in it... but perhaps the worst thing about both of the trailers is the use of the "Iron Man" song... you know the one: "I... AM... IRON MAN!" It's by Black Sabbath (not like I knew that before I just googled it... I'm not exactly of fan of theirs, either), and despite the fact that it's supposed to be all scary and heavy metal, it just comes off as goofy.

But I have to say, despite its lame soundtrack, the second trailer at least showed some promise and was much better than the original version. All comic book-based movies, with the exception of the Christopher Nolan Batman series, are somewhat cheesy... they kind of have to be, right? So once I remembered that, I had a lot more patience for and interest in Iron Man.

I'm still on the fence about whether or not I'll see it when it comes out May 2nd. It would be kind of fun to wait in line on opening night with all of the geeky fan boys--they always make for the best theater audiences.

It will probably come down to how sick I am of the "Iron Man" song by that point in time... if they over-hype this movie, I'll probably have to pass. Otherwise, I may give it a shot.

Here's the newer, better trailer:

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Wherefore Art Thou, Mulder?

Last night I officially blocked July 25th off on my calendar... The X-Files Movie is less than 4 months away! While it still doesn't have an official name, the bootlegged preview below looks awesome. Here's a short article about it... to get you as hyped up as I am. Seriously, though, I'm going to need to refresh my memory before I see this movie, even though it's supposed to have a "stand-alone" plot. For instance, I totally forgot that Scully had a kid. But I didn't forget that Mulder rocks the house!

Anyway, all I know is that I'm going to have to bust out my Mulder action figure to go to the premiere with me, and that will be awesome. Everyone else in line will be very jealous. Nerd envy.

Below is the trailer filmed by someone in the audience at WonderCon (convention for nerds held last month).

The Truth is Out There!

- e