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'Winter's Bone' Director Debra Granik Making 'Pippi Longstocking' Reminds Us Of Other Unlikely Follow-Ups

Posted 1/11/11 3:25 pm EST by in Commentary, News


Pippi LongstockingThe two feature films director Debra Granik has made are markedly similar in many ways. There's "Winter's Bone," a likely Oscar contender this year, that follows a 17-year-old Ozark Mountain girl who has to track down her meth-dealing father to protect the lives of her depressed mother and her siblings. And then there's "Down to the Bone," released in 2004, that follows a working class, cocaine-using mother of two who checks into rehab and has to try to resist the temptations of drugs and deal with an affair she's having with her nurse.

So when The Los Angeles Times reported that Granik's next planned film is a reboot of "Pippi Longstocking" (pictured), were were just a wee bit surprised. But as the Times goes on to point out, the transition makes perfect sense. Longstocking is one of "fiction's original tomboys," and the choice to make a film about her continues Granik's streak of creating strong female heroines who rise above the tropes of typical Hollywood roles for women.

Still, Granik isn't the first director to follow up one film with another that's drastically different in both tone and theme. After the jump, see five other directors who've done just that -- to varying results.

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LeBron James' Split From The Cleveland Cavaliers Reminds Us Of These Five On Screen Breakups

Posted 7/9/10 4:11 pm EST by in Commentary, Humor


As all of America now knows — Miami and Cleveland especially — superstar basketball player LeBron James is joining the Heat, effectively ending his longtime relationship with the Cavaliers. Needless to say, the people of Cleveland did not take the news well. Like a jaded ex, Cavaliers majority owner Dan Gilbert publicly denounced James' decision and called his former player's choice "selfish," "heartless" and "callous." Ouch.

As heated reactions from Cavaliers fans continue to flow in, we here on the Movies Blog team can't help ourselves from viewing LeBron and Cleveland's breakup through a cinematic lens. After the jump, check out five on-screen breakups that LeBron's brutal Cleveland departure brings to mind! Read More...

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The Oscar Nomination Snubbing Of '(500) Days Of Summer'

Posted 2/2/10 1:30 pm EST by in Commentary


FROM HOLLYWOOD CRUSH: It was a pleasant surprise to wake up this morning and find that the Oscar nominations weren't a complete and total disaster. Sure, opening the best picture slot up to 10 nominees came a year too late (we will always mourn "The Dark Knight" getting shafted), but still, films like "An Education," "District 9" and "Up" were able to get the recognition they wouldn't typically receive but definitely deserve. And then there's "The Blind Side" getting a Best Picture nod, but we'll talk about that later.

There were, however, a few pleasant surprises in the mix. "In The Loop," the hysterical British political satire, got a nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay, Jeremy Renner received a well-deserved Best Actor nod and "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" earned nominations recognizing its costume design and art direction. Still, there was one break-out indie film this year we're surprised got the shaft from the Academy: "(500) Days of Summer."

Continue reading Oscar Nominations 2010: Why Wasn't '500 Days Of Summer' Included On List?!?

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Josh's Top Ten Movies Of The Year--Or How The King Of The World Reclaimed His Throne

Posted 12/24/09 3:20 pm EST by in Commentary, Reviews


DESC2009 was a year of delights at the movies. The list below testifies to that. It doesn't rival '07 when two examples of virtual moviemaking perfection were released--namely "No Country for Old Men" and "There Will Be Blood" but '09 may have been filled with as many unexpectedly joyful film going experiences as I can remember in a single calendar year.

From sitting in the first public screening of what should have been a forgetful and frivolous romantic comedy on a frigid night in Park City (see #8) to being flabbergasted by the inventiveness of a would-be sci-fi auteur (whose name I couldn't spell or pronounce at the time, see #7) for 112 riveting minutes. Franchises were reborn. Genres were injected with new life. Stephen Sommers made a watchable film called "G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra." Young filmmakers came of age. And one mad genius with the heart of a pussycat and 300 million at his disposal opened our eyes once more to how a night at the movies can make us feel.

THE TOP TEN (er ELEVEN) Read More...

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Marc Webb In The 2009 MTV Video Music Awards Director Spotlight

Posted 9/11/09 3:30 pm EST by in Video Music Awards


Next up in our 2009 VMA director spotlight is Marc Webb, who is also up for a Moonman in the Best Direction category. Webb has been in the game since the late '90s, though he only recently made the jump into feature film directing. His "(500) Days of Summer," starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel, scored a lot of buzz at Sundance earlier this year and has continued to score well with critics since its August 7 release.

For Sunday night's 2009 MTV Video Music Awards ceremony, Webb hopes to pick up a statue for his work directing the video for Green Day's "21 Guns." Check out that video below and hit the jump to compare it with some footage for "(500) Days."

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The Magic of 'Harry Potter' Continues In The Sunday Box Office Report

Posted 7/19/09 6:29 pm EST by in Box Office


Harry Potter1. "Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince." ($79.5 million)
2. "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" ($17.7 million)
3. "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" ($13.8 million)
4. "Bruno" ($8.4 million)
5. "The Hangover" ($8.3 million)

Box office successes! If there is such a cheesy spell, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" doesn't need it because fan devotion and critical enthusiasm has been enough this summer. The film has cast a spell over audiences, with $79.5 million earned so far this weekend, bringing the five day total to $159.7 million. For those not keeping score at home, this is the best debut yet for any Harry Potter installment yet. Read More...

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Ready For A Big 'Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince' Surprise In This Week's Box Office Poll?!

Posted 7/17/09 6:00 pm EST by in Box Office


Harry Potter and the Half-Blood PrinceWell you're not getting. As you might expect, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" dominated the poll numbers this week, picking up 95% of your votes. Poor "(500) Days of Summer" -- a great movie -- fell behind even the week's limited releases. In fairness, the "limited release" category rounds up several movies into one vote, but I feel bad that the Joseph Gordon-Levitt/Zooey Deschanel-led quirky comedy gets a raw deal in facing off against "Potter" this week.

There's not much else to say. Your votes have spoken, and loudly. "Potter" is on track to have a record-setting five-day opening. And bear in mind that it's already broken midnight opening and 24 hour records all around the world.

Remember, I want your "Harry Potter" reviews! Record yourself with a webcam -- remember that Xbox Live Vision and PlayStation Eye cameras work too -- and post the footage to Your MTV. I'll run the best of what we get with next week's box office poll. Just make sure to tag your post with "Review - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince." I intend to carry this idea forward into future weeks, so don't stress if you can't get a review up this week; there'll be plenty more to come!

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Kurt Loder Reviews '500 Days Of Summer'

Posted 7/17/09 11:30 am EST by in Reviews


(500) Days of SummerFROM MTV.COM: "(500) Days of Summer" is a sparkling first feature by former music-video director Marc Webb, and it looks nothing like what you'd dread: It's light and airy and filled with surprises. The picture was written by two hot up-and-comers, Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, who clearly know more about life than what's taught in screenwriting courses. And while what they've created is a love story, it's a love story of an unusual sort. As a voiceover tells us at the beginning of the film, "This is not a love story."

The picture could be pigeonholed as a romantic comedy, but it's not about finding the right person — it's about finding the wrong one. It's also about the pitfalls of euphoric infatuation: how it misguides us, while at the same time driving away the object of our desire, who, inexplicably, doesn't share our heart-bursting love jones.

Continue reading '(500) Days Of Summer': Crazy Love, By Kurt Loder

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Check Day One Of '(500) Days Of Summer' In This EXCLUSIVE Clip

Posted 7/15/09 5:30 pm EST by in Video


Having scored considerable praise during its run at Sundance, "500 Days of Summer" is coming to theaters and we've got an exclusive first look at the quirky romantic comedy. The film stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a young professional who falls for co-worker, Zooey Deschanel, and chronicles the journey through their relationship.

Watch the clip below to see how they first meet, and how it was love at first sight.

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'Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince' Expected To Cast A Spell On This Week's Box Office Poll

Posted 7/13/09 12:00 pm EST by in Box Office


Harry Potter and the Half-Blood PrinceIf you read the results of last week's Box Office Poll then you know that the indie offerings of "Humpday," "Blood: The Last Vampire," "Soul Power" and "Moon" just barely edged out the weeks top-line offerings: "Brüno" and "I Love You, Beth Cooper." The box office figures told a different story of course, but "Brüno"'s $30 million take isn't particularly impressive as compared to the summer blockbusters that preceded it -- like "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" -- and follow it.

Summer blockbusters like this week's all-but-guaranteed poll winner "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince." I think we all know how the majority of your votes will be cast. Really, the fun part of this week's Box Office Poll will be seeing just how badly "Potter" trounces the competition. Read More...

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