“Netflix has become the savior of home entertainment for many, but recently Netflix has been in talks with major studios about delaying new release movies by a month or more. Why? The major studios are willing to drop the price of the DVDs it sells to Netflix with the understanding that all new release movies wouldn’t be accessible to its customers for up to a full month after release date—presumably in hopes that more people would buy their stupid DVDs. It would cut Netflix’s costs by almost half, but there’s no word yet on if that savings would be passed on to its loyal customers.
So we’re wondering: Would you cancel your subscription if this was the direction your trusty red envelope movie service went? Let’s here it in the comments. Photo by jc.westbrook.”
“This awesome parody of that famous scene involving Samuel L Jackson from Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction takes on society and the media’s obsession with the popular microblogging website Twitter. Available from headline shirts for $24, sized small to XXXL.”
/Film: “You knew it was bound to happen, the guys at How It Should Of Ended have finally gotten to Michael Bay’s Sci-fi action sequel Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. There are so many ways Revenge of the Fallen should have ended. After the jump you can watch a video with a handful of possibilities.”
“Media Rights Capital has committed to fund District 9 filmmaker Neill Blomkamp’s next film, an untitled science fiction movie which will be set on another planet. MRC committed to the new project after hearing Blomkamp’s pitch. Details are thin right now, but Blomkamp tells BFDealMemo that the project will “hopefully be commercial”:
“Hopefully, this will be a bit unique, very much a reflection of me. It is absolutely another science fiction film, quite different from `District 9,’ but some of the blending of genres and the tone might be within the same realm.”
I’ve got one science fiction idea that I’m absolutely in love with, which I’m pretty sure is going to be my next film. 99% sure…It’s totally original, it’s my own story…It’s set on another planet, but it’s cool. It’s violent, very violent, and very unique hopefully. We’ll see.
The few details we have does not sound like your typical Hollywood production. Blomkamp says that the film will be more of his vision (”very much a singular film, that comes directly from me”) than District 9, which was a learning experience under producer Peter Jackson, who will not be involved this time around. Bill Block will produce. The MRC deal is big because they are not only giving Blomkamp creative freedom but also an ownership stake in the finished product. That’s a HUGE deal for a filmmaker to get on only his second film.
MRC will be funding the project, which will cost somewhere north of District 9’s $30 million, but not a lot higher. Blompkamp has said that he’s “not particularly interested in massive budget films, or creating huge spectacles that some young directors might be attracted to.”
The filmmaker plans to immediately start writing and prepping the visual effects for the film, which will begin production by the middle of next year. A distributor will be found at that time. Blomkamp definitely has an option to make a District 9 sequel afterwards if that is what he wants.”
“Speaking to MTV News, Keanu Reeves has offered up a slight update on the live-action adaptation of the anime series Cowboy Bebop, in which he’ll be playing the lead role of Spike Spiegel. Reeves mentions that a draft of the script currently exists, penned by Peter Craig, but it’s apparently too elaborate to be filmed. The current script would require a budget of near-Avatar proportions—Reeves mentions that Fox thinks it would cost around $500 million.
Of course, those numbers are pretty speculative. Still, it’s heartening to know that Craig is thinking big with his adaptation of the classic anime series. I would rather he have to strip down a script with elaborate ideas instead of come up with a feeble version of Bebop from the get-go.
The world of Bebop is one dense with a variety of science fiction ideas, from hyper-space to terraforming, all mashed together with noir and Western elements to form a singular universe of cool. There’s no doubt that it’s going to be an expensive film to get off the ground (I’m thinking realistic sets for the Bebop ship, and complicated digital effects in many shots are a must), but it could probably be done for around $100 million.
Unlike many fans of the series, I think Reeves could make for a decent Spike Spiegel if he loosens up a bit (though there are certainly better choices out there). The fate of this project will rest not so much in Reeves, but in whoever they get to direct. My current dream scenario is that Brick and The Brother’s Bloom director Rian Johnson gets involved. With his previous work, he’s proven that he can tackle noir and crime-caper stories— and the fact that he’s also an anime fan certainly doesn’t hurt. Francis Lawrence, who managed to turnConstantine into a fairly fun romp (and did a great job with a good chunk of I Am Legend), is another possibility.
If they got Rachel Weisz signed on as Faye Valentine, and perhaps Terrence Howard as Jet Black, I think they’d be well on their way to a decent adaptation. A Yoko Kanno score couldn’t hurt either. Unlike Akira, Bebop is a series that could work well as a live-action English film, so I’m hoping for the best with this project.”
“Unsolicited advice: If you insist on robbing people, do so quickly. Grab everything in sight and sprint to Mexico. Because when you gradually steal $36,471 of Netflix DVDs from your day job, someone will eventually notice.
Myles Weathers, a (former) postal sorting facility employee from Springfield, Massachusetts, was busted removing DVDs from Netflix envelopes and placing them in his backpack. That’s a little dumb. What’s really dumb is that Weathers was caught on camera following a Netflix investigation as to why all these people in the area were calling in their DVDs as MIA.
Weathers pleaded guilty to the theft of 3012 DVDs (now recovered) valued at $36,471, and he may get up to five years in prison when he’s sentenced this December. Then again, it could be worse.” [The Smoking Gun via CrunchGear and image]
