SEPTEMBER, 24
ASSASSIN’S CREED II
Action Adventure
The Cast: Colin Farrell, Anne Hathaway, Ralph Fiennes, Jim Sturgess, Shannyn Sosamon. Cameos by Anthony Hopkins, Tilda Swinton, Gabriel Byrne.
The Director and Producer: Peter Jackson
The Screenwriter: Steve Connors
The Plot:
After running away from Abstergo Industries, Lucy Stillman (A.Hathaway) takes Desmond (C.Farrell) to a secret hideout of the modern-day Assassins. There, Desmond meets two other Assassins, historian Shaun Hastings (J.Sturgess) and computer expert Rebecca Crane (S.Sossamon). Shaun and Rebecca have got to create their own version of the Animus, dubbed the ‘Animus 2.0’, the device that allows to live the memories of the user’s ancestors.
Desmond accepts to use again the Animus so they can find new Pieces of Eden. He then becomes his ancestor Ezio Auditore da Firenze, residing in Italy during the Renaissance in the 15th Century. Desmond recovers Ezio’s memories in the very right moment that his father and two brothers are being hung. Ezio’s uncle Mario tells him that his father and brothers were members of the Assassins Brotherhood. He offers Ezio to shelter in his countryside villa, where Mario trains Ezio in the art of combat. Mario also explains Ezio that his father and brothers were victims of a conspiracy leaded by Rodrigo Borgia (R.Fiennes), enemy of the Assassins Brotherhood.
After all the training, Ezio decides to travel to Venice to meet – and kill – Rodrigo Borgia. Mario tells Ezio the names of some members of the Brotherhood he can ask for help if needed. During his trip, Ezio is attacked by Borgia’s men and he will go through several combats and will kill some of his enemies. Also, he will meet some of the people his uncle mentioned. People like Leonardo Da Vinci (A.Hopkins), who will help him to decode some pages from the Altair’s Codex, creating new weapons for him. Once in Venice, Ezio will also meet Niccolo Machiavelli (G.Byrne). To his surprise, Machiavelli tells Ezio that the Brotherhood believes he is ‘The Prophet’, the new leader of the Assassins that will lead the Brotherhood to the discovery of ‘The Vault’, supposedly containing more Pieces Of Eden and other knowledge the Templars seek.
Ezio gets into the Borgia Palace in Venice and spies Rodrigo Borgia. He discovers Borgia has the ‘Apple’, the Piece of Eden originally found by Altair. But before he can do anything, Borgia’s men discover him. He barely escapes alive from the Palace after killing several men in a desperate run that ends up with Ezio jumping from a roof. As he falls, the Animus session is interrupted and Desmond wakes up.
Before going on with another Animus’ session, Desmond spends some time with Lucy. And Lucy reveals him a secret. She has used the Animus too. And she lived the memories of an ancestor of her too: Maria, a decoy for Robert de Sable, the Templar Knight Altair killed. Lucy also tells Desmond that Maria and Altair became lovers. Then, Desmond kisses Lucy… ‘just like our ancestors did’, he tells her.
Another session of the Animus takes place. But for some unknown reason, when Desmond returns to Ezio’s memory, several years have gone by. Rodrigo Borgia has now become Pope Alexander VI and he is at Vatican City. Ezio gets to know that Borgia has completed the Codez and discovered that ‘The Vault’ lies in Rome and realize that the Papal Staff is another Piece Of Eden. So, being the Pope, Borgia has now access to the staff and the Vault.
Ezio decides to enter discretely the Vatican planning to assassinate Borgia. He reaches the Pope’s private rooms and finally faces him but when he is about to kill him, the Vatican guards capture Ezio. In presence of Ezio, Pope Borgia uses the Apple and Staff to open the Vault. An holographic figure comes out of it.
The figure, calling herself ‘Minerva’ (T.Swinton), tells a strange story. She and others were part of a more advanced society that settled on Earth after a celestial catastrophe resulted in most life on Earth diminishing. Minerva and the others like her created a community known as Eden and also created the Pieces of Eden and let them in temples all over the world. But when the remaining humans discovered the powers of it all they killed all the members of Minerva’s race. Only a few members of the Eden’s community survived. And they decided then to create the Assassins Brotherhood. The mission of the Brotherhood would be to avoid humans using the Pieces of Eden with evil purposes. So the Brotherhood has been since the times of Eden responsible of avoiding a bad use of the Pieces Of Eden. All the members of the Brotherhood, like Ezio, are descendants of that advanced race that arrived to Earth.
Once the figure vanishes, Ezio reacts. He frees from his guardians and kills them and then faces off Pope Borgia. After a tough fight, Ezio is about to kill the Pope with a knife when he tells him: ‘Will you kill a Pope?’ Ezio doubts. Finally, he takes with him the Vault and the Apple and runs away without killing Pope Borgia. At that point, Desmond wakes up again.
He tells his friends that now he knows where Ezio hide the Apple and a map with the location of all the temples. So the group decides to go for that search.
But before that, they make one last thing. Desmond, Lucy, Shaun and Rebecca return one night at Abstergo Industries. With the help of Rebecca’s skills hacking the Industries alarms systems, Desmond and Lucy get in. They place explosives in some strategic places, including the room with the Animus. Once they are out, Rebecca press a bottom and the whole building explodes.
‘Now, the world is a safer place and we can go on with our search’, says Desmond before the four of them leave behind the Abstergo’s building turned into smoking ruins.
Stark’s Comment:
‘Assassin’s Creed’ made an only correct box office of 89 millions in Season 13. It was one of those big productions that do not meet the Studio’s expectations. Of course, numbers were good enough to green light this sequel. But I still have the hope that this second movie will become the big blockbuster I always thought this franchise should be.
Behind The Scenes:
-Farrell and Hathaway are the only stars that return from the first movie of the saga.
-Steve Connors is planning to make a third movie of the saga. Peter Jackson isn’t. (See the ‘Innercicle’ below for more information).
-Shannyn Sosamon makes her CMP’s debut with this movie.
-Anthony Hopkins is almost unrecognizable as Leonardo Da Vinci, bald and with a long white beard.
VIXEN
Action / Exploitation
The Cast: Michelle Rodriguez, Danny Trejo, Christopher Walken, Antonio Banderas, John Leguizamo
The Director: Rob Cohen
The Screenwriter: Joey Stark
The Producer: Midnight Movies
The Plot:
Tanya (M.Rodriguez) has been finally released of the Reform School.
First thing we know about her, she’s back to her hometown, New York. Out of money and with no job, she becomes the girl of Victor (J.Leguizamo), a nasty small time drug dealer and also addicted to crack. Tanya accepts to be her lover just to have a place to live. But when one day Victor arrives home too high on drugs and beats her, Tanya does not hesitate for a single second: she holds a gun and shoots him in the forehead.
Things are going really bad for her… Homeless, with no friends, no money, no future… One night, she is sleeping at a dirty back alley when she sees three men attacking another one. Mad just because they have interrupted her sleep, Tanya gets into the fight. With her karate skills, she quickly beats the three men, while the fourth one runs way. Once the fight is over, a man comes out of the shadows. It’s the sinister and very impressive looking Alterio Vargas (D.Trejo). Vargas tells her that he is impressed by her fighting skills. ‘Do you want a job?’, he asks her. ‘Do I look like I need one?’, answers her with irony.
Tanya begins to work for Vargas. Vargas rules a band of contract killers and Tanya becomes one of them. In fact, the best one. We follow Tanya as she climbs the ladder of Vargas’ organization. We see her killing people in different situations: at the entrance of a Vegas’ casino, in the middle of a family barbecue, in an airport’s toilet… She does her job without hesitating, showing an extreme cold blood and feeling no remorse at all. She doesn’t make questions: Vargas gives her a name and a place and she makes her job and gets paid. That’s all.
Also, we see how Tanya is transforming. As money comes in, she looks more sophisticated, she drives a fancy tuned car, she uses stylish guns… and she changes her name: she’s not Tanya anymore. Now, everybody knows her as Vixen.
She doesn’t really have a private life. Vixen lives in a discrete apartment always messy. She feeds with cereals and beer. She is very active sexually but never makes love with the same man twice. We even see how she makes love wildly with one of his victims before killing him. Vargas tells her that he admires her as much as he’s scared of her incredible coldness.
And Vargas will have a reason to be scared… One day, Vixen is assaulted and captured after a brutal fight by a group of men that get into her apartment. She is taken to the presence of Mr. M.A. (C.Walken, see ‘Tracks Of Blood’), the eccentric mobster. Mr.M.A. tells her that he’s heard of her efficiency as killer and that he wants her to work for him. He shows Vixen a suitcase full of 1000 dollars notes. That will be her pay for her first job…
Vixen visits Vargas at his home.
‘I was worried about you’, he tells her, ‘You disappeared without a trace…’
‘Never worry about me’, answers Vixen, ‘I can take care of myself.’
Vargas looks at her with cold eyes and, after a deep silence, he suddenly says: ‘You are here to kill me, right?’
‘It’s not personal. It’s just business.’, says Vixen.
‘It always is…’, says Vargas before closing his eyes and being shot in the head by Vixen.
Vargas had killed a man from Mr.M.A.’s band. That was Mr.M.A.’s revenge.
Vixen is now working for Mr.M.A. And he has a very special mission for her. He tells her she has to find and kill Negro (A.Banderas, see ‘Tracks Of Blood’), an old partner of him in the drug business. Negro is now living in Costa Rica. Mr.M.A. does not trust him anymore after some of their latest joint operations failed and wants to get rid of him.
Vixen flies to Costa Rica. There, she pretends to be a wealthy tourist. She gets to contact Negro in a luxurious beach resort. She flirts with him until he invites her for a sail in his yacht. Negro is always surrounded by bodyguards. He is a charming man and Vixen feels so comfortable by his side.
She spends some days with Negro: intimate dinners at his yacht, riding Negro’s horses, enjoying his manor… and, of course, making love. She has to kill him but, for the first time, she is enjoying life and delays what has to be done. The problem is that she delays it too much…
Negro and Vixen are sharing a romantic dinner at Negro’s mansion when he tells her he has bad news. ‘My people has been trying to find out who you really are. I like to know who I am having sex with, my dear.’, he tells her, ‘And, definitely, you are not a rich tourist…’ Vixen realizes Negro has discovered everything. So she reacts quickly.
There’s a karate fight and then a violent gunshot between Vixen and Negro’s bodyguards all over the mansion. Vixen kills a few of them but always seems to be more. Finally, she’s captured and taken to the mansion’s basement. There, chained, Vixen is tortured by Negro personally. ‘Who do you work for?’ he asks her repeatedly. And Vixen always answers: ‘As soon as I tell you, you’ll kill me, so I won’t.’ ‘I hate to do this, my love…’, whispers Negro while he beats her once and again.
That night, when Negro goes away for a moment, one of his men is watching over her. The man does not notice that Vixen has got to free one of his arms from the chains. When the man is close to her, Vixen wraps the chain around his neck and kills him. Then she runs away from the basement.
She walks through the mansion’s corridors until she finds Negro at the kitchen. There, she takes a knife and tells him: ‘I hate to do this, my love’. Then, she stabs him at the throat and watches him as Negro slowly dies.
Negro’s men have found out she has escaped. Vixen is discovered running through the gardens. They chase her and shoot her and she is wounded at an arm. But she reaches Negro’s private helicopter and finally flies away.
We see her at Mr.M.A.’s office. He looks happy. ‘You did a wonderful job’, he says. ‘No, I didn’t’, answers Vixen, ‘I let emotions interfere in my job’. Mr.M.A. laughs: ‘Oh, come on, Vixen. You may not like it, but you are human after all…’
Then, Mr.M.A. tells Vixen that she has another mission for her. ‘Find her and kill her’, he tells her as he shows Vixen a picture. Vixen is shocked when she sees the woman in the picture. It’s no other than her old rival at the Reform School: Jessica (Eliza Dushku, see ‘Reform School Girls’).
‘It’ll be my pleasure’, says Vixen, smiling for the first time in the whole movie.
Stark’s Comment:
Third installment of a saga that has never taken off at box office. ‘Reform School Girls’ made 21 millions in box office in Season 9 (1 million of net losses). ‘Tracks Of Blood’ made a box office of 41 millions (net gains of 9 millions) in Season 11. But what can I do? Joey and Matt love this saga so much that I just can’t tell them not to go on with it…
Behind The Scenes:
-Matt Kubrick and Robert Rodriguez were the directors of the two previous installments of this saga. Quentin Tarantino produced both.
-Rob Cohen directed two of the movies of Kubrick’s ‘Syndrome’ trilogy.
-Michelle Rodriguez didn’t work in ‘Tracks Of Blood’ but only in ‘Reform School Girls’.
-Christopher Walken and Antonio Banderas already worked in ‘Tracks Of Blood’.
-In this third installment, there are not lesbian sex sequences as in the two previous ones.
-Joey Stark has confirmed (see ‘The 5 Questions’ below) that there will be a fourth movie of the saga.
DANIEL
Drama
The Cast: Benjamin Green, Edward Norton, Keri Russell, Michael K. Williams, Taraji P. Henson, Djimon Hounsou, James Cromwell
The Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
The Screenwriter: Chad Taylor
The Plot:
Abaga (M.K.Williams) and Kuma (T.P.Henson) are a romantically-linked couple, living in Nigeria. At the start of the film, Kuma is in the last stage of her pregnancy. She has the kid, named Nwoye (from their favorite novel Things Fall Apart),and on the same day Abaga loses his job. The couple is in financial trouble, while taking care of the kid the first few months. Then the unthinkable happens. A group of Anti-Establishment rebels raid their village, killing half of the population, and seperating Nwoye from his parents. However, a missionary couple, Arnold (E.Norton) and Sheila (K.Russell), hiding from the attacks find him, and take him in. Unable to find his parents, they take him back to the United States. Not knowing his name, they decide to call him "Daniel".
We come back 6 years later, and Daniel (B.Green) is a growing boy, who is unusually quiet and not very interactive. At school, he is not treated well for his poor performance in grades and his skill at speaking English. The couple, worried, takes him to see a doctor (J.Cromwell),who diagnoses him with Down Syndrome. This sends them reeling, trying to help him in everything he does. We watch as the couple attempts to care for him, and as he gets the most he can out of life. Then one day he sits down at a piano, and starts to play, near perfect. The couple is amazed by this natural talent, and help develop his skills. They notice that they can help him create a skill in life, that could take him far.
One night, while asleep, Arnold hears a loud knock on the door. He gets out of bed, finds two men standing at his doorstep. They are nicely-dressed African men, but their faces imply the opposite of nice. They inform him that they need to take Daniel, a direct order from Nigerian government. They are seeking to gain information on the raids of 6 years ago, which is currently under investigation. Arnold calls this absurd, as Daniel was only a young child at the time. They tell him that he was still a witness, and they must take him. Arnold continues to fight back, telling them about his mental disability. He is obviously very defensive, because he has strong admiration for Daniel's future, and wants to keep helping him develop it. Regardless, they physically remove him out of the way and take the kid.
The film concludes with turmoil, as Arnold and Sheila attempt to regain possession of Daniel. Arnold fights through Nigerian forces to get to Daniel, but once he gets to him, he finds that he is not alone. It is him, Sheila, Daniel, and Head Investigator Nelson (D.Honsou). They fight back and forth, until Arnold gains control, and takes Daniel. They are about to leave, when the door opens. It is Abaga and Kuma. They are in tears and yell Nwoye, and attempt to take the kid from Arnold, who is defensive. He assumed that Daniel's parents were dead, and never thought it over. He then realizes his greediness in wanting to bank on Daniel's talent, and gives him back to his true parents. "You'll go far kid." he says, with a tear drop rolling down from his eye.
Stark’s Comment:
Let’s face it: it’s going to be very difficult to make this movie work in box office. But you never know with dramas… Maybe it will be a nice surprise.
Behind The Scenes:
-Benjamin Green makes his debut as professional actor with this movie. Chad Taylor found him in a company that provides extras to movies productions.
-Paul Thomas Anderson makes his debut in CMP with this movie.
-‘Daniel’ was originally planned to be released past Season. Finally, CMP decided to postpone its release due to its strong similarities with Dawson Edwards’ ‘Rebel’.
-Among those similarities, Taraji P. Henson and Djimon Hounsou already were seen in ‘Rebel’.
FANTASY WORLD: David Zucker is one of those talents that has become more successful and prestigious in CMP than out of it. Zucker has directed three comedies for CMP and the three of
them have made great box office’s numbers: ‘Lieutenant USA and his Warm Steel Gang’, ‘Q*Bert’ and ‘Bond Scum’. All of them had a strong parodic spirit. And parody is back with this new project. ‘Fantasy World’, written by Steve Connors, will laugh at all the clichés of the ‘fantasy worlds’ movies. Zucker has chosen a starring couple he already worked with in ‘Lieutenant USA’: Steve Carell and Jack Black. Carell will play an ordinary man that suddenly becomes a hero in a fantasy world while Black will be digitally manipulated to play a dwarf that travels with him.
THE FANTASTIC ISLAND: This new adventure movie has been presented by its writer, Josh Collins, as a kind of sequel of the blockbuster ‘The Fantastic Mansion’. But the truth is that this movie has nothing to do with the story told there. The only thing in common is that Alfonso Cuaron, who directed ‘The Fantastic Mansion’, is directing this one too and the starring couple of this one, Jeff Goldblum and Jennifer Garner, were also in ‘The Fantastic Mansion’. Anyway, this one promises to be another piece of entertainment for all the family. And it will be released in 3D. So it will be the second CMP’s movie using 3D after the animated feature ‘He-Man and Masters of the Universe’.
AMEDIA: This drama co-written by Chad Taylor, Dawson Edwards and Matt
Kubrick and directed by Taylor has a long allstars cast. Some of the talents are going to make here their debut in CMP, like Olga Kurylenko, Bradley Cooper or Jeremy Renner. Others are familiar names in CMP’s world: Shia LaBeouf, who plays here George Clooney’s son, and Nicholas Cage, playing a drug addict. But there are more names to come.
PACKING UP LONDON: Orlando Bloom returns to CMP to play the rival of Joshua Jackson in Diane Kruger’s heart in this dramedy written by Dawson Edwards and being directed by Danny Boyle. Also in the movie, playing Kruger’s mother, we’ll see Vanessa Redgrave, returning to CMP after winning the Best Supporting Actress GMA with ‘The Lovers Stages’.
TRAIL OF THE LOST EMPIRE: Green light for this adventure movie written by Joey Stark. The
movie has been conceived as a vehicle for Tom Cruise to return to CMP after a long time away. Cruise has only worked in two CMP’s movies before: ‘Chevrolet’ and ‘The Guardians’. Gore Verbinski, director of the first three Avengers’ movies, returns to CMP to direct this top budget production. The movie - that will have a strong comedic touch - tells the adventures of three treasure hunters used to compete with each other.
GAME OF TRUTH: James McAvoy, seen in CMP’s movies like ‘The Legend Of Zelda I & II’, ‘Misplaced Affection’ or ‘The Gunpowder Plot’, has joined the cast of this espionage thriller being directed by Marc Forster to play Olivia Wilde’s boyfriend.
SUPERMAN: LAST SON: Ciaran Hinds and the beautiful Ali Larter are going to make their debut
in CMP with this James Mangold’s revamp of the iconic superhero. Josh Hutcherson, still remembered in CMP for his success with ‘The Land Of Nod’, and Michael Fassbender, seen in ‘Game Boy 3: Game Over’, are also in the cast. But one of the surprises of the movie will be a cameo made by no other then Nicholas Cage, who has played Superman in CMP’s movies like ‘Captain America vs Superman’ and ‘Justice League’ (see more information about it below at the ‘Innercircle’ section).
THE DARK TOWER: SONG OF SUSANNAH: Two stars seen before playing minor roles in this saga return with this fifth installment: Chazz Palminteri, already seen in ‘The Drawing Of The Three’, and Brian Cox, who could be seen in the previous installment of the franchise, ‘Wolves Of The Calla’.
TOONS: The cast of voices of this sexy animated feature being directed by Ralph Bakshi keeps
growing with Ian McShane (who has worked with Matt Kubrick before in ‘Silent Night, Deadly Night’ and ‘Legends Of The West’), Robert Forster (‘Aquaman’), Vince Vaughn (who has worked before for Kubrick in another voice-only work, ‘Calvin and Hobbes’, and also in ‘Being Ben Stiller’ and ‘Comedy Wars’), Mickey Rourke and the specialist in voice-only works Masasa Moyo, in her first work for the Studio.
BASED IN REAL LIFE: Olivia Thirlby, seen two Seasons ago in ‘Suicide Squad’, returns to CMP with this Marc Webb’s comedy starred by Topher Grace. And the movie will also include a few cameos: Joseph Gordon-Levitt (good friend of Webb after ‘(500) days Of Summer’) has accepted to make a cameo playing himself. And, as it usually happens in CMP’s movies that take a look at the insides of the movie industry, some CMP’s writers will also be seen on screen. This time it’s the turn for Chad Taylor, already seen on screen in ‘Sam & Twitch 2’, and the screenwriter of the movie, Trent Nielsen, who makes his debut in front of the cameras.
JOEY STARK – VIXEN
The latest Best Screenplay GMA winner Joey Stark is behind this third installment of the ‘Reform School Girls’ franchise. This saga was initiated by Matt Kubrick with ‘Reform School Girls’ and it already had a sequel, ‘Tracks Of Blood’, written by Star. This third installment, following the character played by Michelle Rodriguez in the first movie, has also been produced by Midnight Movies and Rob Cohen has directed it. We have talked with Stark about the film.
Why did you decide to get involved in this saga?
I love to interfere in Matt Kubrick’s franchises… *laugh* I did it before with Wild Cards and I could not help doing it again with Reform School Girls… I liked the first movie so much. It was so wild… So I just asked Matt to let me write a sequel. I had a lot of fun writing ‘Tracks Of Blood’ so I decided to write another story and I thank Matt for letting me do it.
What’s new in this movie?
‘Vixen’ is mainly an action movie. It follows the rules of the saga:
violent action sequences, a tough and sexy main character, a hyper-realistic way of filming action… I have left aside some elements of the previous movies, like the lesbian sex sequences, to focus only in action. Vixen is one of those characters with no moral rules, a survivor, unable to feel any kind of remorse… You don’t get to like her but you cannot help feeling a disturbing attraction for her. Those kinds of characters are usually male characters so I wanted to apply the classic characteristics of a tough action male character to a woman.
Quentin Tarantino produced the two first movies of this saga. Why has he stayed away of this one?
In some way, ‘Vixen’ is a more routine action movie than the two previous ones. ‘Reform School Girls’ and ‘Tracks Of Blood’ had many tarantin-esque elements. ‘Vixen’ is closer to the non-stop action pace and aesthetic of movies like ‘xXx’ or ‘The Fast and the Furious’, so we thought Rob Cohen was enough to handle the situation and there was no reason to pay Quentin a salary… *laughs*
The two first movies did not succeed in box office. Do you expect this third one will?
Well, who knows? I think that the followers of this saga have kept
growing and maybe we could have a nice surprise… Anyway, I think this is more a cult saga than a blockbusters franchise. You can see at the internet that the saga has a loyal crowd of followers that just adore it. Probably, dysfunctional freaks… *laughs* We have made this movie for them.
There will be a fourth installment?
Obviously, yes. ‘Tracks Of Blood’ followed Jessica, the character played by Eliza Dushku in ‘Reform School Girls’. Now ‘Vixen’ follows Michelle Rodriguez’s character. And you can tell by the end of the movie that there will be a fourth movie telling the final duel between Eliza and Michelle.
METROID
Every time that a CMP’s release becomes a record breaker, we take a look at the insides of the movie. Past week, ‘Metroid’ made outstanding numbers: 279 millions at box office and 406 millions of net gains for the Studio. So it very much deserves an inside look at it.
THE ORIGINAL MATERIAL
‘Metroid’ is a series of science fiction action-adventure video games conceived by designer Makoto Kano and artist Hiroji Kiyotake and primarily produced by Nintendo. The Metroid series consists of eleven games spanning most Nintendo consoles, from the Nintendo Entertainment System to the Wii. It is one of Nintendo's most successful franchises with 16 million games sold, and all of the Metroid games have received some level of critical acclaim.
THE MOVIE
‘Metroid’ is the first game adaptation written by Josh Collins. The screenplay has been waiting for green light for quite some time but it was written way before some other CMP’s authors like Dawson Edwards begun to mention at the CMP’s board that an adaptation of ‘Metroid’ should be made.
Here is how Collins explained why he decided to write the adaptation: ‘The reason I wanted to adapt a Metroid film was because I always thought it had a great cinematic storyline than what you get in most video games, particularly speaking of the older ones. We also don't see very many heroines in the video game universe. They might be part of an ensemble, but there are more female badasses than Lara Croft. And could we stop with the Resident Evil films now? They aren't even part of the games anymore and we're tired of seeing the same. At least I am. Metroid was just one of those games I've always loved since I was a child. It was also interesting to step into yet again the science fiction world, a world I don't really dip my fingers into that often here at CMP.’
THE TALENTS
ZACK SNYDER
He has directed four movies for CMP before ‘Metroid’: ‘Preacher’, ‘Wild Cards: Battle Of The Rox’, ‘Kingdom’ and its sequel ‘Kingdom: The Dark and the Light’. None of them had been remarkable box office’s hits. His best box office before ‘Metroid’ was ‘Wild Cards: Battle Of The Rox’, last installment of the legendary Wild Cards saga, that made 78 millions in box office. The sequel of ‘Kingdom’ flopped in box office and CMP decided not to go on with this Matt Kubrick’s saga. So ‘Metroid’ is in fact his first box office’s hit in CMP.
CHARLIZE THERON
In Season 2, Charlize won the Best Supporting Actress GMA with Peter Weir’s ‘Cathedral’. After that, she could be seen playing minor roles in ‘The Heirs – Part 3’ and ‘Lieutenant USA and the Warm Steel Gang’. In Season 7, she played the lead role in the cult exploitation Matt Kubrick’s movie ‘Damnation Road’. She played there ultraviolent and sex sequences and her work made a big impact on critics and audiences. Since then, she had only been seen in CMP making a cameo in Season 12 in the flopped ‘Nathan Zachary and the Pilfered Prototype’ before her return with ‘Metroid’.
LAURENCE FISHBURNE
Best known in CMP for his extraordinary acting work playing Martin Luther King Jr. in the classic ‘Dream Of A King’. He won the Best Actor GMA in Season 6 for that work. Before that, he had only made ‘alimentary jobs’ in movies like ‘Bullitt’, ‘Deep Silence’ and ‘The Cure’. After ‘Dream Of A King’, he disappeared from the CMP’s scene, making only a voice-only work in Season 10’s ‘Aquaman’.
RYAN SIMPKINS
Member of the Josh Collins’ Young Stars Squad – although not on top of it -, sweet Ryan made her debut in CMP with a short appearance in Matt Kubrick’s ‘Bedtime Stories’. After that, it’s been Collins who has taken care of her CMP’s career casting her in ‘Married To The Supervillain’, ‘The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon’ and now ‘Metroid’.
UMA THURMAN (Voice-Only)
She is a regular at CMP. In Season 8, she won the Best Supporting Actress GMA for her work of a murderous robot in ‘The Naked Sun’. She has alternated big budget productions with more artsy movies in CMP: ‘Hot Iron’, ‘Outer Eye’, ‘Legend Of The Last Lawman’, ‘Life and Facts Of A Dirty Mind’ (Best Actress nomination), ‘Robots Of Dawn’ and ‘Dragonlance’ complete her CMP’s filmography. ‘Robots Of Dawn’ also broke the 200 millions’ barrier at box office.
KIEFER SUTHERLAND (Voice-Only)
He used to be an almost indispensable star during the first CMP’s Seasons. Kiefer not only starred the ‘Space Quest’ trilogy but was also seen in movies like ‘The Crusades’, ‘The Passion Beneath’, ‘Cursed Neverland’ (Best Villain nomination), ‘The Grotto’ (together with his father, Donald), James Cameron’s ‘Planetside’, ‘No More Bush!’ or ‘Hitman: Shadow Of A Legend’. Then, after Season 8, he completely disappeared of CMP’s world, not returning until this voice-only work in ‘Metroid’.
VIN DIESEL (Voice-Only)
Diesel has a discrete career in CMP so far. He made his debut for the Studio starring the Ben Tyler and Matt Kubrick’s adaptation of the peculiar comic character Lobo in Robert Rodriguez’s ‘Lobo’ and ‘Lobo’s Back’. The flop of the sequel – in which Vin Diesel showed up transformed into a female version of the character – meant the end of this franchise. After that, we saw him together with Will Smith in one of the most legendary CMP’s disasters, Michael Bay’s ‘Gears Of War’. Diesel resurrected being part, together with Uma Thurman, of the cast of Richard Franzwa’s ‘Dragonlance’.
THE CRITICS RECEPTION
‘Metroid’ didn't get too negative critics but it didn't get an enthusiastic critical reception either. Here are some quotes from the main reviews of the movie:
‘As it usually happens with Snyder’s movies, the plotline is downgraded to the background as the visual strength of the movie eats it all.’
-Charlie Kiggs
‘A breath-taking, astonishing but also a bit excessive show’
-Roy Winslow
‘It is curious how the two most profitable movies ever developed by CMP – ‘Silver Sable and the Wild Pack’ and this one – are pretty poor movies, far away from the quality of many other CMP’s productions.’
-Vic Carter
THE ACHIEVEMENTS
‘Metroid’ has made 279 millions in box office. Together with the incomes from merchandising, DVD sales and rentals, TV rights and other concepts, the movie has generated 406 millions of net gains for CMP. That turns ‘Metroid’ into the following:
-Top 4 Best Box Office ever.
-Top 2 Highest Net Gains ever.
-Second movie in CMP’s history to make net gains superiors to 400 million after ‘Silver Sable and the Wild Pack’.
ROBERT DOWNEY JR.
At current, he is the most demanded actor in CMP. He's worked in at least one film every season since the birth of CMP(except Season 1) and his versatility shows equality between his Hollywood works and his CMP works. A man known as the anti-Johnny Depp: Roles you may think Depp would get but end up in Robert's hands. He managed to successfully pick himself up out of the rut he was in during the 1990s and has definitely proven that mistakes can be forgiven, so much as long as you can learn from them. He is an inspiration to all those famous people and average joes who may find themselves in the same situation. Mr. Robert Downey Jr, this week we praise you in the highest regards. Let's take a look at your best films you've made here at Crazy Moon Pictures!
10: The Avengers Series: Tony Stark will always be known as the role Robert Downey Jr. was meant for. There may never be another Tony for a long time.
9: Silent Hill: The CMP adaptation managed to receive better box office and better critical reception than its Hollywood counterpart; even managed to score a GMA win! Robert's part was slightly smaller here, but he made great with what he got in a surprisingly very well done film.
8: Hot Iron: The role that started it all for Robert in his debut all the way back to Season 2. He played here a police detective alongside Brad Pitt: But they weren't necessarily 'Boston's Finest' and Robert's fate in the film landed him dead within the first half. The film was a flop and isn't looked upon often as a Downey Jr film; which is why I'm bringing it up to remind his fans this was the very start of his rather late blooming career.
7: Silver Sable: By the time Sable came around, Robert had already done an Iron Man movie and two of CMP's Avengers series. You'd think he would have been tired of superhero films, but he stuck it out; donning the Iron Man costume one more time. Silver Sable wasn't necessarily a Robert film, but it earned a huge box office and really helped paved the way for more females to put on costumes and kick butt like Wonder Woman and even the recently released Metroid film. Before it, there weren't many 'women kicking butt' films: We had Bullet Witch, Damnation Road and that was just about it. To be a part of this revolutionary moment in CMP history is certainly worthy of mentioning as part of Robert's career.
6: Command and Conquer: Say what you want about Michael Bay, but he is great with action films. It may not have been a well received critical success, but this list is about an actor's work, not so much the film. If you notice a theme in a lot of Robert's roles, you'll see he usually plays a nice human being, the good friend, the hero. Command and Conquer gave him the chance at being a villain. Now hopefully writers will stop casting him in roles where you could have coffee with him all the time and put him in roles where you just wanna smack him.
5: No Evil: Another Trax/Depp/Mamet film that includes this splendid GMA nominated performance. Robert played brilliantly a lawyer helping a suffering family against a fierce neighbor. The film itself: depressing and will leave you to tears no matter how often you see it. It was yet again, a supporting role that showed exactly what supporting roles should be like.
4: The Forgotten: Chad Taylor and Joey Stark's prequel to the Heirs series had a lot to live up to, and they had to have just the right cast to include. Robert made the cut as a double crossing detective. Another chance to be a bad guy! This was a film that made decent box office for its type of film, and earned a few GMAs, unfortunately no nominations for Robert's splendid work. Robert said in interviews that it didn't matter that he hasn't gotten nominations in a long time, but he is proud of the work he's done and will continue to hold his head high and just work in good movies like The Forgotten.
3: Drawing Dreams: Speaking of Mr. Depp, both versatile character actors starred in this GMA nominated film written by the now retired Marcus Trax as part of his Mamet/Depp/Trax series of films. Robert played Johnny's agent; struggling with pulling his client back on his feet. It was a role that should have seen a third acting award for Robert, but it didn't happen that way. What it did do however was solidify Downey Jr's status as a respectable actor, deserving of more fine roles.
2: Jack Vance: A True Hollywood Story: Most often associated with Matt Kubrick reprising his Iron Man role, Robert found himself a much more interesting film and role playing a character with a not-so-trustworthy name, but ends up being the hero's savior. The film got an A for creativity and originality and Robert is still on as being CMP's most sought out star at this moment. It seems like all of CMP's writers have worked or want to work with him.
1: Home: A challenging role to be a mentally unbalanced sergeant. CMP voters saw this challenge and awarded him with his first GMA nomination. It takes many actors years to be recognized as award-worthy, but it only took Robert his second film. To this day, Home is recognized as being one of the best CMP war movies; and of all the supporting actor nods in GMA history, it's still near the top of being the best.
Here's to you, Robert. May you always know you have a home here at CMP!
Although she does not have a long filmography in CMP, Michelle Rodriguez is a star hard to forget. We have enjoyed her powerful screen presence in CMP’s movies like ‘Reform School Girls’, ‘Nick Fury’, ‘West Flashman’ or ‘The Secret Of Monkey Island’. This week, Michelle releases ‘Vixen’, where she will be a very tough girl you better not mess around with. But to remind us that she can also be a sophisticated and sexy lady, here it is this picture of the week.
Unexpected change of mind. Do you remember the war between Chad Taylor and Nicholas Cage
about who should play Superman in ‘Justice League 2’? Cage almost started a revolution when Taylor considered replacing him by Henry Cavill to play Clark Kent. Finally, Cage won the battle and kept the job. Until now. After all the fight, Cage has surprisingly announced that he has decided not playing Superman in ‘Justice League 2’. His cameo in the upcoming ‘Superman: Last Son’ will mean his farewell to the character he has already played in ‘Captain America vs. Superman’ and ‘Justice League’. Now, Cage will concentrate in his work in the drama ‘Amedia’ – also written by Chad Taylor – and Henry Cavill will replace him in ‘Justice League 2’.
Will there be an ‘Assassin’s Creed III’? According to Steve Connors, yes. During the promotion of this week’s release of the second movie of the saga, Steve Connors has confirmed that he will adapt the new game of the saga, ‘Assassins: Brotherhood’, as soon as it is released (probably, next month). He has also confirmed that, as I already wrote here, Peter Jackson will not direct and produce again the new movie of the franchise. Jackson wants to focus in other projects better that keep attached to this saga.
Following this news, the rumor is that Peter Jackson could be the director of another game
adaptation being now written by Connors: the serial killer story ‘Heavy Rain’. Jackson wants to try something different from the fantasy movies he has already made for CMP and try luck with other genres. A movie about a mysterious serial killer could be a chance for Jackson to prove that he can work with other genres besides fantasy and sci-fi. Anyway, the name of David Fincher has also been mentioned by Connors as a possible director for ‘Heavy Rain’.
Past week, Joey Stark announced at this blog that Matt Kubrick has got involved in the pre-production of the new Silver Sable’s movies. And according to my confidential sources in CMP, Kubrick could be collaborating with Stark in the screenplay of this new movie. What Stark and Kubrick are planning is to turn this ‘Silver Sable 4’ in the introduction of a new superheroes saga ala ‘The Avengers’. Yes, I have written about it before: the group would be called the ‘Ultimate Alliance’ – like the console games – and it would become the new Marvel’s competitor to DC Comics’ Justice League. ‘Silver Sable 4’ would become that way Silver’s farewell but also the Ultimate Alliance’s presentation at the same time.
Which is the most famous creation of the ‘Saturday Night Live’ comedian Tina Fey? Right: no other
than the peculiar American politician Sarah Palin. Her parody of Palin became so popular a couple of years ago, during the last US Presidential campaign. And Josh Collins decided then to take Fey’s parody to the big screen. Collins’ screenplay has stayed two long years at the CMP’s waiting list. But it seems that it could be greenlighted at last soon. Palin still is a pretty active character at the political scene, so CMP considers that Collins’ story still can work at box office now that there are rumors of Palin running for President in the future.
ASSASSIN’S CREED II
Action Adventure
The Cast: Colin Farrell, Anne Hathaway, Ralph Fiennes, Jim Sturgess, Shannyn Sosamon. Cameos by Anthony Hopkins, Tilda Swinton, Gabriel Byrne.
The Director and Producer: Peter Jackson
The Screenwriter: Steve Connors
The Plot:
After running away from Abstergo Industries, Lucy Stillman (A.Hathaway) takes Desmond (C.Farrell) to a secret hideout of the modern-day Assassins. There, Desmond meets two other Assassins, historian Shaun Hastings (J.Sturgess) and computer expert Rebecca Crane (S.Sossamon). Shaun and Rebecca have got to create their own version of the Animus, dubbed the ‘Animus 2.0’, the device that allows to live the memories of the user’s ancestors.
Desmond accepts to use again the Animus so they can find new Pieces of Eden. He then becomes his ancestor Ezio Auditore da Firenze, residing in Italy during the Renaissance in the 15th Century. Desmond recovers Ezio’s memories in the very right moment that his father and two brothers are being hung. Ezio’s uncle Mario tells him that his father and brothers were members of the Assassins Brotherhood. He offers Ezio to shelter in his countryside villa, where Mario trains Ezio in the art of combat. Mario also explains Ezio that his father and brothers were victims of a conspiracy leaded by Rodrigo Borgia (R.Fiennes), enemy of the Assassins Brotherhood.
After all the training, Ezio decides to travel to Venice to meet – and kill – Rodrigo Borgia. Mario tells Ezio the names of some members of the Brotherhood he can ask for help if needed. During his trip, Ezio is attacked by Borgia’s men and he will go through several combats and will kill some of his enemies. Also, he will meet some of the people his uncle mentioned. People like Leonardo Da Vinci (A.Hopkins), who will help him to decode some pages from the Altair’s Codex, creating new weapons for him. Once in Venice, Ezio will also meet Niccolo Machiavelli (G.Byrne). To his surprise, Machiavelli tells Ezio that the Brotherhood believes he is ‘The Prophet’, the new leader of the Assassins that will lead the Brotherhood to the discovery of ‘The Vault’, supposedly containing more Pieces Of Eden and other knowledge the Templars seek.
Ezio gets into the Borgia Palace in Venice and spies Rodrigo Borgia. He discovers Borgia has the ‘Apple’, the Piece of Eden originally found by Altair. But before he can do anything, Borgia’s men discover him. He barely escapes alive from the Palace after killing several men in a desperate run that ends up with Ezio jumping from a roof. As he falls, the Animus session is interrupted and Desmond wakes up.
Before going on with another Animus’ session, Desmond spends some time with Lucy. And Lucy reveals him a secret. She has used the Animus too. And she lived the memories of an ancestor of her too: Maria, a decoy for Robert de Sable, the Templar Knight Altair killed. Lucy also tells Desmond that Maria and Altair became lovers. Then, Desmond kisses Lucy… ‘just like our ancestors did’, he tells her.
Another session of the Animus takes place. But for some unknown reason, when Desmond returns to Ezio’s memory, several years have gone by. Rodrigo Borgia has now become Pope Alexander VI and he is at Vatican City. Ezio gets to know that Borgia has completed the Codez and discovered that ‘The Vault’ lies in Rome and realize that the Papal Staff is another Piece Of Eden. So, being the Pope, Borgia has now access to the staff and the Vault.
Ezio decides to enter discretely the Vatican planning to assassinate Borgia. He reaches the Pope’s private rooms and finally faces him but when he is about to kill him, the Vatican guards capture Ezio. In presence of Ezio, Pope Borgia uses the Apple and Staff to open the Vault. An holographic figure comes out of it.
The figure, calling herself ‘Minerva’ (T.Swinton), tells a strange story. She and others were part of a more advanced society that settled on Earth after a celestial catastrophe resulted in most life on Earth diminishing. Minerva and the others like her created a community known as Eden and also created the Pieces of Eden and let them in temples all over the world. But when the remaining humans discovered the powers of it all they killed all the members of Minerva’s race. Only a few members of the Eden’s community survived. And they decided then to create the Assassins Brotherhood. The mission of the Brotherhood would be to avoid humans using the Pieces of Eden with evil purposes. So the Brotherhood has been since the times of Eden responsible of avoiding a bad use of the Pieces Of Eden. All the members of the Brotherhood, like Ezio, are descendants of that advanced race that arrived to Earth.
Once the figure vanishes, Ezio reacts. He frees from his guardians and kills them and then faces off Pope Borgia. After a tough fight, Ezio is about to kill the Pope with a knife when he tells him: ‘Will you kill a Pope?’ Ezio doubts. Finally, he takes with him the Vault and the Apple and runs away without killing Pope Borgia. At that point, Desmond wakes up again.
He tells his friends that now he knows where Ezio hide the Apple and a map with the location of all the temples. So the group decides to go for that search.
But before that, they make one last thing. Desmond, Lucy, Shaun and Rebecca return one night at Abstergo Industries. With the help of Rebecca’s skills hacking the Industries alarms systems, Desmond and Lucy get in. They place explosives in some strategic places, including the room with the Animus. Once they are out, Rebecca press a bottom and the whole building explodes.
‘Now, the world is a safer place and we can go on with our search’, says Desmond before the four of them leave behind the Abstergo’s building turned into smoking ruins.
Stark’s Comment:
‘Assassin’s Creed’ made an only correct box office of 89 millions in Season 13. It was one of those big productions that do not meet the Studio’s expectations. Of course, numbers were good enough to green light this sequel. But I still have the hope that this second movie will become the big blockbuster I always thought this franchise should be.
Behind The Scenes:
-Farrell and Hathaway are the only stars that return from the first movie of the saga.
-Steve Connors is planning to make a third movie of the saga. Peter Jackson isn’t. (See the ‘Innercicle’ below for more information).
-Shannyn Sosamon makes her CMP’s debut with this movie.
-Anthony Hopkins is almost unrecognizable as Leonardo Da Vinci, bald and with a long white beard.
VIXEN
Action / Exploitation
The Cast: Michelle Rodriguez, Danny Trejo, Christopher Walken, Antonio Banderas, John Leguizamo
The Director: Rob Cohen
The Screenwriter: Joey Stark
The Producer: Midnight Movies
The Plot:
Tanya (M.Rodriguez) has been finally released of the Reform School.
First thing we know about her, she’s back to her hometown, New York. Out of money and with no job, she becomes the girl of Victor (J.Leguizamo), a nasty small time drug dealer and also addicted to crack. Tanya accepts to be her lover just to have a place to live. But when one day Victor arrives home too high on drugs and beats her, Tanya does not hesitate for a single second: she holds a gun and shoots him in the forehead.
Things are going really bad for her… Homeless, with no friends, no money, no future… One night, she is sleeping at a dirty back alley when she sees three men attacking another one. Mad just because they have interrupted her sleep, Tanya gets into the fight. With her karate skills, she quickly beats the three men, while the fourth one runs way. Once the fight is over, a man comes out of the shadows. It’s the sinister and very impressive looking Alterio Vargas (D.Trejo). Vargas tells her that he is impressed by her fighting skills. ‘Do you want a job?’, he asks her. ‘Do I look like I need one?’, answers her with irony.
Tanya begins to work for Vargas. Vargas rules a band of contract killers and Tanya becomes one of them. In fact, the best one. We follow Tanya as she climbs the ladder of Vargas’ organization. We see her killing people in different situations: at the entrance of a Vegas’ casino, in the middle of a family barbecue, in an airport’s toilet… She does her job without hesitating, showing an extreme cold blood and feeling no remorse at all. She doesn’t make questions: Vargas gives her a name and a place and she makes her job and gets paid. That’s all.
Also, we see how Tanya is transforming. As money comes in, she looks more sophisticated, she drives a fancy tuned car, she uses stylish guns… and she changes her name: she’s not Tanya anymore. Now, everybody knows her as Vixen.
She doesn’t really have a private life. Vixen lives in a discrete apartment always messy. She feeds with cereals and beer. She is very active sexually but never makes love with the same man twice. We even see how she makes love wildly with one of his victims before killing him. Vargas tells her that he admires her as much as he’s scared of her incredible coldness.
And Vargas will have a reason to be scared… One day, Vixen is assaulted and captured after a brutal fight by a group of men that get into her apartment. She is taken to the presence of Mr. M.A. (C.Walken, see ‘Tracks Of Blood’), the eccentric mobster. Mr.M.A. tells her that he’s heard of her efficiency as killer and that he wants her to work for him. He shows Vixen a suitcase full of 1000 dollars notes. That will be her pay for her first job…
Vixen visits Vargas at his home.
‘I was worried about you’, he tells her, ‘You disappeared without a trace…’
‘Never worry about me’, answers Vixen, ‘I can take care of myself.’
Vargas looks at her with cold eyes and, after a deep silence, he suddenly says: ‘You are here to kill me, right?’
‘It’s not personal. It’s just business.’, says Vixen.
‘It always is…’, says Vargas before closing his eyes and being shot in the head by Vixen.
Vargas had killed a man from Mr.M.A.’s band. That was Mr.M.A.’s revenge.
Vixen is now working for Mr.M.A. And he has a very special mission for her. He tells her she has to find and kill Negro (A.Banderas, see ‘Tracks Of Blood’), an old partner of him in the drug business. Negro is now living in Costa Rica. Mr.M.A. does not trust him anymore after some of their latest joint operations failed and wants to get rid of him.
Vixen flies to Costa Rica. There, she pretends to be a wealthy tourist. She gets to contact Negro in a luxurious beach resort. She flirts with him until he invites her for a sail in his yacht. Negro is always surrounded by bodyguards. He is a charming man and Vixen feels so comfortable by his side.
She spends some days with Negro: intimate dinners at his yacht, riding Negro’s horses, enjoying his manor… and, of course, making love. She has to kill him but, for the first time, she is enjoying life and delays what has to be done. The problem is that she delays it too much…
Negro and Vixen are sharing a romantic dinner at Negro’s mansion when he tells her he has bad news. ‘My people has been trying to find out who you really are. I like to know who I am having sex with, my dear.’, he tells her, ‘And, definitely, you are not a rich tourist…’ Vixen realizes Negro has discovered everything. So she reacts quickly.
There’s a karate fight and then a violent gunshot between Vixen and Negro’s bodyguards all over the mansion. Vixen kills a few of them but always seems to be more. Finally, she’s captured and taken to the mansion’s basement. There, chained, Vixen is tortured by Negro personally. ‘Who do you work for?’ he asks her repeatedly. And Vixen always answers: ‘As soon as I tell you, you’ll kill me, so I won’t.’ ‘I hate to do this, my love…’, whispers Negro while he beats her once and again.
That night, when Negro goes away for a moment, one of his men is watching over her. The man does not notice that Vixen has got to free one of his arms from the chains. When the man is close to her, Vixen wraps the chain around his neck and kills him. Then she runs away from the basement.
She walks through the mansion’s corridors until she finds Negro at the kitchen. There, she takes a knife and tells him: ‘I hate to do this, my love’. Then, she stabs him at the throat and watches him as Negro slowly dies.
Negro’s men have found out she has escaped. Vixen is discovered running through the gardens. They chase her and shoot her and she is wounded at an arm. But she reaches Negro’s private helicopter and finally flies away.
We see her at Mr.M.A.’s office. He looks happy. ‘You did a wonderful job’, he says. ‘No, I didn’t’, answers Vixen, ‘I let emotions interfere in my job’. Mr.M.A. laughs: ‘Oh, come on, Vixen. You may not like it, but you are human after all…’
Then, Mr.M.A. tells Vixen that she has another mission for her. ‘Find her and kill her’, he tells her as he shows Vixen a picture. Vixen is shocked when she sees the woman in the picture. It’s no other than her old rival at the Reform School: Jessica (Eliza Dushku, see ‘Reform School Girls’).
‘It’ll be my pleasure’, says Vixen, smiling for the first time in the whole movie.
Stark’s Comment:
Third installment of a saga that has never taken off at box office. ‘Reform School Girls’ made 21 millions in box office in Season 9 (1 million of net losses). ‘Tracks Of Blood’ made a box office of 41 millions (net gains of 9 millions) in Season 11. But what can I do? Joey and Matt love this saga so much that I just can’t tell them not to go on with it…
Behind The Scenes:
-Matt Kubrick and Robert Rodriguez were the directors of the two previous installments of this saga. Quentin Tarantino produced both.
-Rob Cohen directed two of the movies of Kubrick’s ‘Syndrome’ trilogy.
-Michelle Rodriguez didn’t work in ‘Tracks Of Blood’ but only in ‘Reform School Girls’.
-Christopher Walken and Antonio Banderas already worked in ‘Tracks Of Blood’.
-In this third installment, there are not lesbian sex sequences as in the two previous ones.
-Joey Stark has confirmed (see ‘The 5 Questions’ below) that there will be a fourth movie of the saga.
DANIEL
Drama
The Cast: Benjamin Green, Edward Norton, Keri Russell, Michael K. Williams, Taraji P. Henson, Djimon Hounsou, James Cromwell
The Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
The Screenwriter: Chad Taylor
The Plot:
Abaga (M.K.Williams) and Kuma (T.P.Henson) are a romantically-linked couple, living in Nigeria. At the start of the film, Kuma is in the last stage of her pregnancy. She has the kid, named Nwoye (from their favorite novel Things Fall Apart),and on the same day Abaga loses his job. The couple is in financial trouble, while taking care of the kid the first few months. Then the unthinkable happens. A group of Anti-Establishment rebels raid their village, killing half of the population, and seperating Nwoye from his parents. However, a missionary couple, Arnold (E.Norton) and Sheila (K.Russell), hiding from the attacks find him, and take him in. Unable to find his parents, they take him back to the United States. Not knowing his name, they decide to call him "Daniel".
We come back 6 years later, and Daniel (B.Green) is a growing boy, who is unusually quiet and not very interactive. At school, he is not treated well for his poor performance in grades and his skill at speaking English. The couple, worried, takes him to see a doctor (J.Cromwell),who diagnoses him with Down Syndrome. This sends them reeling, trying to help him in everything he does. We watch as the couple attempts to care for him, and as he gets the most he can out of life. Then one day he sits down at a piano, and starts to play, near perfect. The couple is amazed by this natural talent, and help develop his skills. They notice that they can help him create a skill in life, that could take him far.
One night, while asleep, Arnold hears a loud knock on the door. He gets out of bed, finds two men standing at his doorstep. They are nicely-dressed African men, but their faces imply the opposite of nice. They inform him that they need to take Daniel, a direct order from Nigerian government. They are seeking to gain information on the raids of 6 years ago, which is currently under investigation. Arnold calls this absurd, as Daniel was only a young child at the time. They tell him that he was still a witness, and they must take him. Arnold continues to fight back, telling them about his mental disability. He is obviously very defensive, because he has strong admiration for Daniel's future, and wants to keep helping him develop it. Regardless, they physically remove him out of the way and take the kid.
The film concludes with turmoil, as Arnold and Sheila attempt to regain possession of Daniel. Arnold fights through Nigerian forces to get to Daniel, but once he gets to him, he finds that he is not alone. It is him, Sheila, Daniel, and Head Investigator Nelson (D.Honsou). They fight back and forth, until Arnold gains control, and takes Daniel. They are about to leave, when the door opens. It is Abaga and Kuma. They are in tears and yell Nwoye, and attempt to take the kid from Arnold, who is defensive. He assumed that Daniel's parents were dead, and never thought it over. He then realizes his greediness in wanting to bank on Daniel's talent, and gives him back to his true parents. "You'll go far kid." he says, with a tear drop rolling down from his eye.
Stark’s Comment:
Let’s face it: it’s going to be very difficult to make this movie work in box office. But you never know with dramas… Maybe it will be a nice surprise.
Behind The Scenes:
-Benjamin Green makes his debut as professional actor with this movie. Chad Taylor found him in a company that provides extras to movies productions.
-Paul Thomas Anderson makes his debut in CMP with this movie.
-‘Daniel’ was originally planned to be released past Season. Finally, CMP decided to postpone its release due to its strong similarities with Dawson Edwards’ ‘Rebel’.
-Among those similarities, Taraji P. Henson and Djimon Hounsou already were seen in ‘Rebel’.
FANTASY WORLD: David Zucker is one of those talents that has become more successful and prestigious in CMP than out of it. Zucker has directed three comedies for CMP and the three of
them have made great box office’s numbers: ‘Lieutenant USA and his Warm Steel Gang’, ‘Q*Bert’ and ‘Bond Scum’. All of them had a strong parodic spirit. And parody is back with this new project. ‘Fantasy World’, written by Steve Connors, will laugh at all the clichés of the ‘fantasy worlds’ movies. Zucker has chosen a starring couple he already worked with in ‘Lieutenant USA’: Steve Carell and Jack Black. Carell will play an ordinary man that suddenly becomes a hero in a fantasy world while Black will be digitally manipulated to play a dwarf that travels with him.THE FANTASTIC ISLAND: This new adventure movie has been presented by its writer, Josh Collins, as a kind of sequel of the blockbuster ‘The Fantastic Mansion’. But the truth is that this movie has nothing to do with the story told there. The only thing in common is that Alfonso Cuaron, who directed ‘The Fantastic Mansion’, is directing this one too and the starring couple of this one, Jeff Goldblum and Jennifer Garner, were also in ‘The Fantastic Mansion’. Anyway, this one promises to be another piece of entertainment for all the family. And it will be released in 3D. So it will be the second CMP’s movie using 3D after the animated feature ‘He-Man and Masters of the Universe’.
AMEDIA: This drama co-written by Chad Taylor, Dawson Edwards and Matt
Kubrick and directed by Taylor has a long allstars cast. Some of the talents are going to make here their debut in CMP, like Olga Kurylenko, Bradley Cooper or Jeremy Renner. Others are familiar names in CMP’s world: Shia LaBeouf, who plays here George Clooney’s son, and Nicholas Cage, playing a drug addict. But there are more names to come.PACKING UP LONDON: Orlando Bloom returns to CMP to play the rival of Joshua Jackson in Diane Kruger’s heart in this dramedy written by Dawson Edwards and being directed by Danny Boyle. Also in the movie, playing Kruger’s mother, we’ll see Vanessa Redgrave, returning to CMP after winning the Best Supporting Actress GMA with ‘The Lovers Stages’.
TRAIL OF THE LOST EMPIRE: Green light for this adventure movie written by Joey Stark. The
movie has been conceived as a vehicle for Tom Cruise to return to CMP after a long time away. Cruise has only worked in two CMP’s movies before: ‘Chevrolet’ and ‘The Guardians’. Gore Verbinski, director of the first three Avengers’ movies, returns to CMP to direct this top budget production. The movie - that will have a strong comedic touch - tells the adventures of three treasure hunters used to compete with each other.GAME OF TRUTH: James McAvoy, seen in CMP’s movies like ‘The Legend Of Zelda I & II’, ‘Misplaced Affection’ or ‘The Gunpowder Plot’, has joined the cast of this espionage thriller being directed by Marc Forster to play Olivia Wilde’s boyfriend.
SUPERMAN: LAST SON: Ciaran Hinds and the beautiful Ali Larter are going to make their debut
in CMP with this James Mangold’s revamp of the iconic superhero. Josh Hutcherson, still remembered in CMP for his success with ‘The Land Of Nod’, and Michael Fassbender, seen in ‘Game Boy 3: Game Over’, are also in the cast. But one of the surprises of the movie will be a cameo made by no other then Nicholas Cage, who has played Superman in CMP’s movies like ‘Captain America vs Superman’ and ‘Justice League’ (see more information about it below at the ‘Innercircle’ section).THE DARK TOWER: SONG OF SUSANNAH: Two stars seen before playing minor roles in this saga return with this fifth installment: Chazz Palminteri, already seen in ‘The Drawing Of The Three’, and Brian Cox, who could be seen in the previous installment of the franchise, ‘Wolves Of The Calla’.
TOONS: The cast of voices of this sexy animated feature being directed by Ralph Bakshi keeps
growing with Ian McShane (who has worked with Matt Kubrick before in ‘Silent Night, Deadly Night’ and ‘Legends Of The West’), Robert Forster (‘Aquaman’), Vince Vaughn (who has worked before for Kubrick in another voice-only work, ‘Calvin and Hobbes’, and also in ‘Being Ben Stiller’ and ‘Comedy Wars’), Mickey Rourke and the specialist in voice-only works Masasa Moyo, in her first work for the Studio.BASED IN REAL LIFE: Olivia Thirlby, seen two Seasons ago in ‘Suicide Squad’, returns to CMP with this Marc Webb’s comedy starred by Topher Grace. And the movie will also include a few cameos: Joseph Gordon-Levitt (good friend of Webb after ‘(500) days Of Summer’) has accepted to make a cameo playing himself. And, as it usually happens in CMP’s movies that take a look at the insides of the movie industry, some CMP’s writers will also be seen on screen. This time it’s the turn for Chad Taylor, already seen on screen in ‘Sam & Twitch 2’, and the screenwriter of the movie, Trent Nielsen, who makes his debut in front of the cameras.
JOEY STARK – VIXEN
The latest Best Screenplay GMA winner Joey Stark is behind this third installment of the ‘Reform School Girls’ franchise. This saga was initiated by Matt Kubrick with ‘Reform School Girls’ and it already had a sequel, ‘Tracks Of Blood’, written by Star. This third installment, following the character played by Michelle Rodriguez in the first movie, has also been produced by Midnight Movies and Rob Cohen has directed it. We have talked with Stark about the film.
Why did you decide to get involved in this saga?
I love to interfere in Matt Kubrick’s franchises… *laugh* I did it before with Wild Cards and I could not help doing it again with Reform School Girls… I liked the first movie so much. It was so wild… So I just asked Matt to let me write a sequel. I had a lot of fun writing ‘Tracks Of Blood’ so I decided to write another story and I thank Matt for letting me do it.
What’s new in this movie?
‘Vixen’ is mainly an action movie. It follows the rules of the saga:
violent action sequences, a tough and sexy main character, a hyper-realistic way of filming action… I have left aside some elements of the previous movies, like the lesbian sex sequences, to focus only in action. Vixen is one of those characters with no moral rules, a survivor, unable to feel any kind of remorse… You don’t get to like her but you cannot help feeling a disturbing attraction for her. Those kinds of characters are usually male characters so I wanted to apply the classic characteristics of a tough action male character to a woman.Quentin Tarantino produced the two first movies of this saga. Why has he stayed away of this one?
In some way, ‘Vixen’ is a more routine action movie than the two previous ones. ‘Reform School Girls’ and ‘Tracks Of Blood’ had many tarantin-esque elements. ‘Vixen’ is closer to the non-stop action pace and aesthetic of movies like ‘xXx’ or ‘The Fast and the Furious’, so we thought Rob Cohen was enough to handle the situation and there was no reason to pay Quentin a salary… *laughs*
The two first movies did not succeed in box office. Do you expect this third one will?
Well, who knows? I think that the followers of this saga have kept
growing and maybe we could have a nice surprise… Anyway, I think this is more a cult saga than a blockbusters franchise. You can see at the internet that the saga has a loyal crowd of followers that just adore it. Probably, dysfunctional freaks… *laughs* We have made this movie for them.There will be a fourth installment?
Obviously, yes. ‘Tracks Of Blood’ followed Jessica, the character played by Eliza Dushku in ‘Reform School Girls’. Now ‘Vixen’ follows Michelle Rodriguez’s character. And you can tell by the end of the movie that there will be a fourth movie telling the final duel between Eliza and Michelle.
METROID
Every time that a CMP’s release becomes a record breaker, we take a look at the insides of the movie. Past week, ‘Metroid’ made outstanding numbers: 279 millions at box office and 406 millions of net gains for the Studio. So it very much deserves an inside look at it.
THE ORIGINAL MATERIAL
‘Metroid’ is a series of science fiction action-adventure video games conceived by designer Makoto Kano and artist Hiroji Kiyotake and primarily produced by Nintendo. The Metroid series consists of eleven games spanning most Nintendo consoles, from the Nintendo Entertainment System to the Wii. It is one of Nintendo's most successful franchises with 16 million games sold, and all of the Metroid games have received some level of critical acclaim.
THE MOVIE
‘Metroid’ is the first game adaptation written by Josh Collins. The screenplay has been waiting for green light for quite some time but it was written way before some other CMP’s authors like Dawson Edwards begun to mention at the CMP’s board that an adaptation of ‘Metroid’ should be made.
Here is how Collins explained why he decided to write the adaptation: ‘The reason I wanted to adapt a Metroid film was because I always thought it had a great cinematic storyline than what you get in most video games, particularly speaking of the older ones. We also don't see very many heroines in the video game universe. They might be part of an ensemble, but there are more female badasses than Lara Croft. And could we stop with the Resident Evil films now? They aren't even part of the games anymore and we're tired of seeing the same. At least I am. Metroid was just one of those games I've always loved since I was a child. It was also interesting to step into yet again the science fiction world, a world I don't really dip my fingers into that often here at CMP.’
THE TALENTS
ZACK SNYDER
He has directed four movies for CMP before ‘Metroid’: ‘Preacher’, ‘Wild Cards: Battle Of The Rox’, ‘Kingdom’ and its sequel ‘Kingdom: The Dark and the Light’. None of them had been remarkable box office’s hits. His best box office before ‘Metroid’ was ‘Wild Cards: Battle Of The Rox’, last installment of the legendary Wild Cards saga, that made 78 millions in box office. The sequel of ‘Kingdom’ flopped in box office and CMP decided not to go on with this Matt Kubrick’s saga. So ‘Metroid’ is in fact his first box office’s hit in CMP.
CHARLIZE THERON
In Season 2, Charlize won the Best Supporting Actress GMA with Peter Weir’s ‘Cathedral’. After that, she could be seen playing minor roles in ‘The Heirs – Part 3’ and ‘Lieutenant USA and the Warm Steel Gang’. In Season 7, she played the lead role in the cult exploitation Matt Kubrick’s movie ‘Damnation Road’. She played there ultraviolent and sex sequences and her work made a big impact on critics and audiences. Since then, she had only been seen in CMP making a cameo in Season 12 in the flopped ‘Nathan Zachary and the Pilfered Prototype’ before her return with ‘Metroid’.
LAURENCE FISHBURNE
Best known in CMP for his extraordinary acting work playing Martin Luther King Jr. in the classic ‘Dream Of A King’. He won the Best Actor GMA in Season 6 for that work. Before that, he had only made ‘alimentary jobs’ in movies like ‘Bullitt’, ‘Deep Silence’ and ‘The Cure’. After ‘Dream Of A King’, he disappeared from the CMP’s scene, making only a voice-only work in Season 10’s ‘Aquaman’.
RYAN SIMPKINS
Member of the Josh Collins’ Young Stars Squad – although not on top of it -, sweet Ryan made her debut in CMP with a short appearance in Matt Kubrick’s ‘Bedtime Stories’. After that, it’s been Collins who has taken care of her CMP’s career casting her in ‘Married To The Supervillain’, ‘The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon’ and now ‘Metroid’.
UMA THURMAN (Voice-Only)
She is a regular at CMP. In Season 8, she won the Best Supporting Actress GMA for her work of a murderous robot in ‘The Naked Sun’. She has alternated big budget productions with more artsy movies in CMP: ‘Hot Iron’, ‘Outer Eye’, ‘Legend Of The Last Lawman’, ‘Life and Facts Of A Dirty Mind’ (Best Actress nomination), ‘Robots Of Dawn’ and ‘Dragonlance’ complete her CMP’s filmography. ‘Robots Of Dawn’ also broke the 200 millions’ barrier at box office.
KIEFER SUTHERLAND (Voice-Only)
He used to be an almost indispensable star during the first CMP’s Seasons. Kiefer not only starred the ‘Space Quest’ trilogy but was also seen in movies like ‘The Crusades’, ‘The Passion Beneath’, ‘Cursed Neverland’ (Best Villain nomination), ‘The Grotto’ (together with his father, Donald), James Cameron’s ‘Planetside’, ‘No More Bush!’ or ‘Hitman: Shadow Of A Legend’. Then, after Season 8, he completely disappeared of CMP’s world, not returning until this voice-only work in ‘Metroid’.
VIN DIESEL (Voice-Only)
Diesel has a discrete career in CMP so far. He made his debut for the Studio starring the Ben Tyler and Matt Kubrick’s adaptation of the peculiar comic character Lobo in Robert Rodriguez’s ‘Lobo’ and ‘Lobo’s Back’. The flop of the sequel – in which Vin Diesel showed up transformed into a female version of the character – meant the end of this franchise. After that, we saw him together with Will Smith in one of the most legendary CMP’s disasters, Michael Bay’s ‘Gears Of War’. Diesel resurrected being part, together with Uma Thurman, of the cast of Richard Franzwa’s ‘Dragonlance’.
THE CRITICS RECEPTION
‘Metroid’ didn't get too negative critics but it didn't get an enthusiastic critical reception either. Here are some quotes from the main reviews of the movie:
‘As it usually happens with Snyder’s movies, the plotline is downgraded to the background as the visual strength of the movie eats it all.’
-Charlie Kiggs
‘A breath-taking, astonishing but also a bit excessive show’
-Roy Winslow
‘It is curious how the two most profitable movies ever developed by CMP – ‘Silver Sable and the Wild Pack’ and this one – are pretty poor movies, far away from the quality of many other CMP’s productions.’
-Vic Carter
THE ACHIEVEMENTS
‘Metroid’ has made 279 millions in box office. Together with the incomes from merchandising, DVD sales and rentals, TV rights and other concepts, the movie has generated 406 millions of net gains for CMP. That turns ‘Metroid’ into the following:
-Top 4 Best Box Office ever.
-Top 2 Highest Net Gains ever.
-Second movie in CMP’s history to make net gains superiors to 400 million after ‘Silver Sable and the Wild Pack’.
ROBERT DOWNEY JR.
At current, he is the most demanded actor in CMP. He's worked in at least one film every season since the birth of CMP(except Season 1) and his versatility shows equality between his Hollywood works and his CMP works. A man known as the anti-Johnny Depp: Roles you may think Depp would get but end up in Robert's hands. He managed to successfully pick himself up out of the rut he was in during the 1990s and has definitely proven that mistakes can be forgiven, so much as long as you can learn from them. He is an inspiration to all those famous people and average joes who may find themselves in the same situation. Mr. Robert Downey Jr, this week we praise you in the highest regards. Let's take a look at your best films you've made here at Crazy Moon Pictures!
10: The Avengers Series: Tony Stark will always be known as the role Robert Downey Jr. was meant for. There may never be another Tony for a long time.
9: Silent Hill: The CMP adaptation managed to receive better box office and better critical reception than its Hollywood counterpart; even managed to score a GMA win! Robert's part was slightly smaller here, but he made great with what he got in a surprisingly very well done film.
8: Hot Iron: The role that started it all for Robert in his debut all the way back to Season 2. He played here a police detective alongside Brad Pitt: But they weren't necessarily 'Boston's Finest' and Robert's fate in the film landed him dead within the first half. The film was a flop and isn't looked upon often as a Downey Jr film; which is why I'm bringing it up to remind his fans this was the very start of his rather late blooming career.
7: Silver Sable: By the time Sable came around, Robert had already done an Iron Man movie and two of CMP's Avengers series. You'd think he would have been tired of superhero films, but he stuck it out; donning the Iron Man costume one more time. Silver Sable wasn't necessarily a Robert film, but it earned a huge box office and really helped paved the way for more females to put on costumes and kick butt like Wonder Woman and even the recently released Metroid film. Before it, there weren't many 'women kicking butt' films: We had Bullet Witch, Damnation Road and that was just about it. To be a part of this revolutionary moment in CMP history is certainly worthy of mentioning as part of Robert's career.
6: Command and Conquer: Say what you want about Michael Bay, but he is great with action films. It may not have been a well received critical success, but this list is about an actor's work, not so much the film. If you notice a theme in a lot of Robert's roles, you'll see he usually plays a nice human being, the good friend, the hero. Command and Conquer gave him the chance at being a villain. Now hopefully writers will stop casting him in roles where you could have coffee with him all the time and put him in roles where you just wanna smack him.
5: No Evil: Another Trax/Depp/Mamet film that includes this splendid GMA nominated performance. Robert played brilliantly a lawyer helping a suffering family against a fierce neighbor. The film itself: depressing and will leave you to tears no matter how often you see it. It was yet again, a supporting role that showed exactly what supporting roles should be like.
4: The Forgotten: Chad Taylor and Joey Stark's prequel to the Heirs series had a lot to live up to, and they had to have just the right cast to include. Robert made the cut as a double crossing detective. Another chance to be a bad guy! This was a film that made decent box office for its type of film, and earned a few GMAs, unfortunately no nominations for Robert's splendid work. Robert said in interviews that it didn't matter that he hasn't gotten nominations in a long time, but he is proud of the work he's done and will continue to hold his head high and just work in good movies like The Forgotten.
3: Drawing Dreams: Speaking of Mr. Depp, both versatile character actors starred in this GMA nominated film written by the now retired Marcus Trax as part of his Mamet/Depp/Trax series of films. Robert played Johnny's agent; struggling with pulling his client back on his feet. It was a role that should have seen a third acting award for Robert, but it didn't happen that way. What it did do however was solidify Downey Jr's status as a respectable actor, deserving of more fine roles.
2: Jack Vance: A True Hollywood Story: Most often associated with Matt Kubrick reprising his Iron Man role, Robert found himself a much more interesting film and role playing a character with a not-so-trustworthy name, but ends up being the hero's savior. The film got an A for creativity and originality and Robert is still on as being CMP's most sought out star at this moment. It seems like all of CMP's writers have worked or want to work with him.
1: Home: A challenging role to be a mentally unbalanced sergeant. CMP voters saw this challenge and awarded him with his first GMA nomination. It takes many actors years to be recognized as award-worthy, but it only took Robert his second film. To this day, Home is recognized as being one of the best CMP war movies; and of all the supporting actor nods in GMA history, it's still near the top of being the best.
Here's to you, Robert. May you always know you have a home here at CMP!
Although she does not have a long filmography in CMP, Michelle Rodriguez is a star hard to forget. We have enjoyed her powerful screen presence in CMP’s movies like ‘Reform School Girls’, ‘Nick Fury’, ‘West Flashman’ or ‘The Secret Of Monkey Island’. This week, Michelle releases ‘Vixen’, where she will be a very tough girl you better not mess around with. But to remind us that she can also be a sophisticated and sexy lady, here it is this picture of the week.
Unexpected change of mind. Do you remember the war between Chad Taylor and Nicholas Cage
about who should play Superman in ‘Justice League 2’? Cage almost started a revolution when Taylor considered replacing him by Henry Cavill to play Clark Kent. Finally, Cage won the battle and kept the job. Until now. After all the fight, Cage has surprisingly announced that he has decided not playing Superman in ‘Justice League 2’. His cameo in the upcoming ‘Superman: Last Son’ will mean his farewell to the character he has already played in ‘Captain America vs. Superman’ and ‘Justice League’. Now, Cage will concentrate in his work in the drama ‘Amedia’ – also written by Chad Taylor – and Henry Cavill will replace him in ‘Justice League 2’.Will there be an ‘Assassin’s Creed III’? According to Steve Connors, yes. During the promotion of this week’s release of the second movie of the saga, Steve Connors has confirmed that he will adapt the new game of the saga, ‘Assassins: Brotherhood’, as soon as it is released (probably, next month). He has also confirmed that, as I already wrote here, Peter Jackson will not direct and produce again the new movie of the franchise. Jackson wants to focus in other projects better that keep attached to this saga.
Following this news, the rumor is that Peter Jackson could be the director of another game
adaptation being now written by Connors: the serial killer story ‘Heavy Rain’. Jackson wants to try something different from the fantasy movies he has already made for CMP and try luck with other genres. A movie about a mysterious serial killer could be a chance for Jackson to prove that he can work with other genres besides fantasy and sci-fi. Anyway, the name of David Fincher has also been mentioned by Connors as a possible director for ‘Heavy Rain’.Past week, Joey Stark announced at this blog that Matt Kubrick has got involved in the pre-production of the new Silver Sable’s movies. And according to my confidential sources in CMP, Kubrick could be collaborating with Stark in the screenplay of this new movie. What Stark and Kubrick are planning is to turn this ‘Silver Sable 4’ in the introduction of a new superheroes saga ala ‘The Avengers’. Yes, I have written about it before: the group would be called the ‘Ultimate Alliance’ – like the console games – and it would become the new Marvel’s competitor to DC Comics’ Justice League. ‘Silver Sable 4’ would become that way Silver’s farewell but also the Ultimate Alliance’s presentation at the same time.
Which is the most famous creation of the ‘Saturday Night Live’ comedian Tina Fey? Right: no other
than the peculiar American politician Sarah Palin. Her parody of Palin became so popular a couple of years ago, during the last US Presidential campaign. And Josh Collins decided then to take Fey’s parody to the big screen. Collins’ screenplay has stayed two long years at the CMP’s waiting list. But it seems that it could be greenlighted at last soon. Palin still is a pretty active character at the political scene, so CMP considers that Collins’ story still can work at box office now that there are rumors of Palin running for President in the future.
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