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'Escape From New York' Remake Writer Allan Loeb Sees Franchise Potential

Posted 2/12/10 4:00 pm EST by in News


The Internet has been buzzing this week with news of an "Escape From New York" remake. In the original, Kurt Russell starred as an eyepatch-wearing ex-military man-turned-criminal charged with rescuing the U.S. President from the confines of a post-World War III Manhattan, which has been turned into a maximum security prison. It holds up as a fun action flick, but the idea of a reboot remains an intriguing possibility, and one of the more inspiring selections in this ever-growing trend of revisiting Hollywood classics.

Sadly, we don't know much just yet. New Line is moving forward, based on a script written by "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps" scribe Allan Loeb. Creator John Carpenter stipulated that the lead character of Snake Plissken must wear an eyepatch and be portrayed as "a badass," but little is known beyond that. We got Loeb on the phone to talk about the project, and while he couldn't say much given its current 'in-development' status, he did drop a few hints to whet our collective appetites. Read More...

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'Valentine's Day' Leads The Weekend Releases In #NowPlaying

Posted 2/12/10 3:30 pm EST by in #NowPlaying


Welcome to #NowPlaying, a new weekly video feature highlighting the week's big movie releases... as seen through the lens of Twitter. We're always looking for ways to include you readers in the ongoing dialogue here at MTV.com. So each week, tweet us with some thoughts on your most-anticipated weekend releases; just make sure to include #nowplaying in each tweet. We'll go through them all and pick out a select few to shout to every Friday. Enjoy the video, and let us know what you think in the comments below or via e-mail at tips@mtvmoviesblog.com!

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'My Name Is Khan' Star Shah Rukh Khan Takes A Ride With MTV In New York City

Posted 2/12/10 3:00 pm EST by in News


by Akshay Bhansali

Hollywood has in the past teetered with the idea of taking a stake in Bollywood (the Indian film industry based out of Mumbai, formerly called Bombay). The past five years has seen Warner Bros. and Sony Pictures take a vested interest in "Chandni Chowk to China" and "Saawariya," respectively. Then a little flick came along that you may have heard of called "Slumdog Millionaire." Now, the distributor of the Oscar winning film, Fox Searchlight, is kicking up their ‘Desi’ (South-Asian) game a notch.

They are betting on my "My Name Is Khan," a film featuring one of the more celebrated pairings in Indian cinema, Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol Devgan. The twosome has been featured in five highly acclaimed Indian films together, and I guess you could compare it to Richard Gere and Julia Roberts or Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet doing another film together. Except you should think of Khan as someone on the level of a Tom Cruise or a George Clooney.

Khan is one of, if not the, biggest star in the Indian film industry. If one were speaking to just sheer recognition, one could say he is the most popular actor on the planet (though India does have more than a billion people living there). The film stars SRK (as he’s sometimes abbreviated) as a Muslim man afflicted with Asperger syndrome, a form of Autism, and it is a love story set against the backdrop of 9/11. At the helm of "My Name is Khan" is famed Bollywood director Karan Johar, one of India’s more commercial big budget film directors.

MTV Iggy gained unprecedented access to the films stars, and even had a cabbie drive them around the streets of New York to talk about "My Name is Khan," their chemistry, and being Muslim in the Post 9-11 era, among other things.

MTV IggyShah Rukh Khan & Kajol in the Backseat: My Name Is Khan
Shah Rukh Khan

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'House Of Wax' Kicks Off Saturday Night Horror Tomorrow On MTV!

Posted 2/12/10 2:30 pm EST by in Video


Tomorrow night at 10pm, a new weekly programming block launches on MTV. The purpose: to scare the crap out of you. Each Saturday, tune in for another horror flick. Tomorrow's pick is "House of Wax," starring Elisha Cuthbert, Chad Michael Murray, Brian Van Holt, Paris Hilton, Jared Padalecki, Jon Abrahams and Robert Ri'chard and director by "Orphan" helmer Jaume Collet-Serra.

To get you excited, we've brought out this vintage clip from MTV series "The Movie Life," which documented the production of "Wax." In the segment below (broken into two parts -- the second plays right after the first) you can watch as the cast deals with a true-life horror story as one of the sets catches fire and brings down an entire soundstage... in the midst of a shoot! Scary stuff... hit play to see for yourself.

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Eli Roth To Produce Horror Faux Documentary 'The Last Exorcism'

Posted 2/12/10 2:00 pm EST by in News


Will audiences ever tire of the documentary-style horror film? The success of "Paranormal Activity" proved that ten years after "The Blair Witch Project," people are still into the format, which employs a false sense of authenticity that makes the events appear more real and seem more plausible -- and are therefore scarier. But no film can ever be more frightening than "The Exorcist," right? Well, how about a film that's like "The Exorcist" shot in the style of "Paranormal Activity"?

That's one way of describing "The Last Exorcism," a new horror film produced by Eli Roth ("Hostel") that has just been picked up for distribution by Lionsgate, according to Variety. Formerly titled "Cotton," the film, which premieres at SXSW next month, brings the faux-doc method to a story of an Evengelical priest (Patrick Fabian) who invites a film crew to document his final exorcism. According to a Lionsgate executive, "audiences are going to find this movie scary as, well, hell." Read More...

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Kurt Loder Reviews 'Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief'

Posted 2/12/10 1:30 pm EST by in Reviews


FROM MTV.COM: Knowing that Chris Columbus directed the first two Harry Potter films, you may find his new movie — "Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief," to give it its full, galumphing title — to be jarringly familiar. It concerns three kids — one stalwart boy, one feisty girl, one comical sidekick — who have special powers and are sent to a special place (Camp Half-Blood!) for training under the mentorship of a wise older protector; there's a secretly fiendish teacher and also a quest on which our heroes are guided by a magical map. Too bad there's no Voldemort figure, although we do get Steve Coogan in fiery demon drag — which unfortunately is nowhere near the same thing.

Like the book on which it's based — the first in Rick Riordan's best-selling series of young-adult novels — the movie is heavily infested with the gods of ancient Greek mythology, which may prove confusing to those who've forgotten their Olympian arcana. The story begins with two of the top gods, Zeus (Sean Bean) and Poseidon (Kevin McKidd), meeting on the top deck of the Empire State Building. Zeus is angry that someone has stolen his trademark lightning bolt, and he suspects it was Poseidon's half-human son, Perseus, who lives down below in New York with his all-human mother, Sally (Catherine Keener). Poseidon's been out of touch, but says he'll see what he can do.

Continue reading 'Percy Jackson & The Olympians': Demigod Squad, By Kurt Loder

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Olympics Opening Ceremony On MTV: Honoring Hollywood's Fictional Olympians

Posted 2/12/10 1:00 pm EST by in Commentary


As you may or may not know -- you really should if you don't -- today marks the start of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada. The best athletes in the world (for winter sports, at least) will converge on the city to compete for Gold, Silver and Bronze honors to determine who the best in the world is. For the next four years at least, until the next Winter Olympics. Personally, I expect the Canadian team to dominate in curling.

Movie buffs know that Hollywood has a long, rich history of Olympics-pegged movies. From Cinderella story tales of underdog hockey teams to far-fetched (but true!) stories of the first Jamaican bobsled team, there is no shortage of based-on-truth features built around this holiest of sporting events. So in honor of the 2010 Winter Olympics, we've decided to bestow medals upon the best, the worst and whatever falls in between. Hit the jump to see what the judges decided. Read More...

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Kurt Loder Reviews 'Valentine's Day'

Posted 2/12/10 12:30 pm EST by in Reviews


FROM MTV.COM: Looking for a rom-com fix this Valentine's weekend? Rather than fall for the calculated come-on of "Valentine's Day," you might want to revisit some much better films instead. For example:

» "Jerry Maguire"
» "Moonstruck"
» "Knocked Up"
» "House of 1000 Corpses"

Okay, I exaggerate. "Valentine's Day" does have a few good lines, and a couple of lively performances. But the movie is overstuffed with plot and characters; they're confusing to keep up with, and not all that interesting even when you're able to figure them out.

The story takes place on ... well, you know what day it takes place on. Ashton Kutcher is a love-struck Los Angeles florist who's just proposed to his sleep-over girlfriend, Jessica Alba. "I can be a sappy moron all day," he crows, with unwarranted presumption, "because it's Valentine's Day." His best friend, Jennifer Garner, is happy for him, in part because she's finally found Mr. Right — a doctor played by Patrick Dempsey, whose many endearing qualities include a talent for juggling fruit (among other things, if you get my meaning).

Continue reading 'Valentine's Day': Heart-Shaped Schlock, By Kurt Loder

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'Revolutionary Road' Writer In Talks To Take On 'The Lone Ranger'

Posted 2/12/10 12:00 pm EST by in News


"The Lone Ranger" is one of those planned adaptations that just hasn't seemed to build up much momentum. First, we had producer Jerry Bruckheimer asking us at the beginning of last year to solicit fans for casting advice. Later, he said that the next "Pirates of the Caribbean" -- which we now know is "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" -- would happen before "Ranger" (that movie is due in May 2011). Even after Johnny Depp was cast as Tonto, the excitement failed to build.

Maybe today's news, that a prominent writer will pen the "Ranger" script, will convince people to care more. Justin Haythe is the writer, the guy behind the screenplay for "Revolutionary Road," according to The Hollywood Reporter. He also wrote "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Captain Nemo," for Disney as well, though that project was put on indefinite hold last November. Read More...

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Kurt Loder Reviews 'The Wolfman'

Posted 2/12/10 11:30 am EST by in Reviews


FROM MTV.COM: "The Wolfman," here at last, is sadly lacking in snarl. There are plenty of bared fangs and flesh-rending claws, of course, and there's much howling at the moon, too. But the movie is essentially an exercise in Gothic atmosphere. It's lavishly produced, sumptuously scored (by Danny Elfman), and beautiful to look at. It's just not very scary.

But how could it be? Is there anyone who doesn't know the simple story, at least in outline? Or who needs to have it told once again? Given the film's troubled production — the last-minute director switch, the re-shoots and re-editing, the year-long release-date delays — it's probably turned out better than anyone might have hoped. But it still feels redundant.

Continue reading 'The Wolfman': Furball, By Kurt Loder

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