DECEMBER, 10


THE DARK TOWER

Action / Mystery

The Cast: Russell Crowe, Jake Gyllenhaal, Angela Bassett, William Moseley, Diego Luna, Lukas Haas

The Director and Producer: Sam Raimi
The Screenwriter: Matt Kubrick

The Plot:

As the battle inside the dixie pig rages on, our katet make a daring last minute escape. The survivors are Susannah (A.Bassett), Eddie (J.Gyllenhaal), Jake (W.Moseley) and Roland (R.Crowe) and Oy. They battle their way out of the Dixie Pig onto the mountain Thunderclap. It's a mountainous area where it is constantly thundering a lightning. But they are not alone.

They have one last big battle with Mordred before they escape from it into the night. It takes them almost a full month before they return to the Calla and tell everyone about Father Callahan's death. They all hold a quick funeral for him. Soon they discover that all is not well in the world. The Manni warn warns Roland that the Crimson King has been rounding up psychics and forcing them to do his bidding, but what is he doing with them they don't know. They will have to travel to the small town of Devar-troi to find out more. But they can't go in with nothing. The Crimson King and his minions have taken the town over. Everyone has been killed. They will need supplies and guns for the trip which the town is all too happy to give them. With their supplies, they make the trip.

In the cover of night Roland and his katet silently make their way inside the town, they are dressed like the psychics are so they can blend in with everyone. Eventually they learn from questioning captives that the Crimson King is using the psychics abilities to break away the powerful magic beams that support the tower, the beams that link all the different dimensions together.

After a prolonged battle with The Crimson Kings minions, Roland and his katet manage to free the psychics and drive off most of the Crimson Kings forces. Eddie though is mortally wounded by some hell hounds. Roland and Susannah carry him off to safety but he eventually dies from his wounds which can't be fixed. They bury him and they all mourn his loss, while they plan their next course of action.

Finally Roland decides that they have to travel to the remote town of Mejis to recruit his old friend Sheemie Ruiz (D.Luna). He can help them on the last leg of their quest. He is a jokester and sometimes a prankster but is quick with a gun and is smart in his own way. Their is another fight with Mordred who has been tracking their progress but once again they manage to escape his wraith.

Along the way they find Patrick Danville (L.Haas), a young man imprisoned by someone who calls himself Joe Collins but is really a psychic vampire named Dandelo. Patrick promises that he can help the katet if they can kill the vampire he promises that his talents will come in handy. He is a powerfull warlock and artist. He wants to help them on their quest. Finally Roland agrees and after they track down the vampire and fight with him. Dandelo is beheaded by Roland awith an axe. Patrick promises that when the time is right he will show them what his power can do. Roland promises everyone that when they reach the tower he will cry for everyone that has been lost.

With the help of the information the psychics they follow the path of the beam that leads them into the territory of the dark tower. It's a long trek through forests and mountainous paths. They finally reach a secret hidden doorway which can't be opened. Eventually Roland starts to sense why. Somehow locked within his katet each of them holds the key. Patrick helps Jake and Susannah and Roland unlock the power within themself to force the door open and they make their way through.

They find themself at the dark tower, the center of all the dimensions. Each plane of existence is linked to this place. They can all feel the magic and the power. But there is a problem. The Crimson King is already here. He is bent on taking over all the planes of existence. He is trying to use the power to collapse the beams himself. The group have one final battle with Mordred who shows up. Oy the bumbler is killed defending Roland. Patrick unleashes his magic and erases Mordred from existence, but now before Sheemie is killed.

Roland tells Susannah and Jake that their path has ended and they don't have to stay. Patrick opens a door back to their world which they leave through. The movie shifts to an alternate New York city. It's a time where all is well for Susannah and Jake. Their adventures in midworld have been erased from their memory. Eddie is also here and in this world Jake is his younger brother. Susannah lives across from them in a hall and has been dating Eddie for years. Back in Rolands world Patrick has left. Roland must take the end of the journey himself. He battles with the Crimson King's minions as he battles and shoots his way to the top. Roland and the Crimson king battle for the tower. He's been corrupting it with his evil and must be stopped. At long last the Crimson King is dead. All is well.....

As the screen goes black these words pop up on screen: 'The producers and writers want anyone who wants the movie to end happy to leave now. For everyone that wants to see the true ending stay till after the credits.'

We find Roland exploring the many rooms of the Tower, He encounters various rooms with sigils or signs of his past life. When he reaches the top of the Tower, he finds a door marked "ROLAND" and to his horror, he realizes he has reached the Tower countless times before. As well as saving the multiverse, Roland must also save himself, something he never considered important. The sins that Roland committed in order to get to the Tower (both physical and spiritual), damn him to repeat the past until he learns that it is not the most important thing in all existence.

He is sucked through the door only to be teleported back in time to the Mohaine desert, with no memories of what has just occurred, ending the series where it began in the first movie "The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed." The only difference is that Roland now possesses the Horn of Eld, gifted back to him for partially realizing the value of love and life (such as not seeing people as tools to be expended on his quest) on this pilgrimage to the Tower.

It's implied that every time Roland reaches the Tower, something has changed from the last, and his humanity is regained piece by piece. With the Horn it is now possible (but still not certain) for Roland to finally end his quest once and for all. And so, Roland sets out to catch the Man in Black once again.


Stark’s Comment:
We begin Season 16 with a major event: the release of the final episode of ‘The Dark Tower’ saga! All the previous movies have worked wonderfully well at box office. Although the previous installment, ‘Song Of Susannah’, showed a little exhaustion in moviegoers, as this is the final showdown of the story, I think audiences will respond massively to this release. So a great box office is expected!

Behind The Scenes:
-Sam Raimi directs again the movie – as he did with the three first movies of the series - after being only the producer of the two previous installments of the franchise. They were directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Goro Miyazaki.
-Some characters of the story have been digitally generated, increasing noticeably the budget of the movie.

THE COOL

Action / Drama

The Cast: Derek Luke, Denzel Washington, Marion Cotillard, Sanaa Lathan, Mos Def, Taraji P. Henson, Tyler James Williams, Kyla Pratt

The Director: Spike Lee
The Screenwriter: Dawson Edwards

The Plot:

A hand of nothing but bones taps against the street.

"Come, these are the tales of The Cool. Guaranteed to go and make you fail from your school, and seek unholy grails like a fool. keep your faith, as we chase...The Cool"

On the South-side of Chicago, born was a boy who would grow to be king. This is his story. The story of THE COOL...

We hear the cries of a newborn baby, and the screams of an exhausted mother. The mother screams for her husband to hold her hand, but the nurse informs Ms. History (T.P.Henson) that her husband walked out of the room 20 minutes ago. The scowl on the mother is mixed of deep sadness and pure anger.

18 YEARS LATER:

A young nerdy kid (T.J.Williams) is walking home from school one day when he sees his girlfriend, Sunshine (K.Pratt). As he runs to catch up with her, we see the sun shining down causing the screen to go white. The boy shields his eyes until he hears the girl speak: "Well if it isn't the superstar, Michael Young History." The young couple kiss and begin walking together. Michael walks her to her house and kisses her after they make plans to hang out tomorrow. In order for Michael to get home, he has to walk through the worst part of the ghetto. The corners are filled with hustlers, dealers, pimps and hoes, but everyday Michael makes it home without succumbing to the temptation of that lifestyle.

One day, just as Michael pokes out his lips to kiss Sunshine goodbye for the day, she stops him and informs him that she's moving away for school. Michael feels betrayed, and the bright light that usually gleams over Sunshine becomes dim as he storms off towards home. The temptation of the Chicago ghetto has finally locked its jaws on Michael Young. He walks over to buy some drugs, but just as he's about to pay, a tall dark man grabs his hand. The dealer runs off screaming, and Michael slowly looks up in fear. His hearts is beating through his chest as he sees a tall bald man with completely red eyes (D.Washington) standing before him.

(Put You On GAME)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znQQ0uzwufg

The man asks Michael what his name is, and he says "Michael Young History." As the man chuckles, smoke blows out of his mouth and he tells Michael to follow him. As the man steps, marijuana plants grow underneath his feet and rise through the concrete. "You're troubled Michael but you're also COOL. From now on, you are Cool." The two walk down the street, and the hustlers,dealers and everyone else scatters. The man introduces himself as "THE GAME". Michael asks just who is he, and Game laughs, releasing smoke that fills the screen. As the smoke clears the screen is split in two. On top we see The Game and Cool walking through neighborhoods showing kids being beaten by parents, homeless people starving, a dog eating a cat, and much worse things. Game explains "I am the blood of this city! I am everything! I'm the American dream,The rape of Africa! The overpriced medicine, and the murderous regime. The tough guy's front,and the one behind the scenes! I am the safe haven for the rebel runaway and the resistor! The trusted misleader, but the number one defender! And from a throne of their bones I rule...These fools are my fuel, so I make them Cool."

On the bottom half of the screen, we see young Michael grow into "THE COOL." (D.Luke) He is no longer the innocent young student with love in his heart, but now the cocaine selling protege of The Game. The Game introduces him to another young hustler named T.D. (Mos Def) and the two quickly become friends. He asks T.D. what his initials stand for, but T.D. just tells him that he'll find out later.

(THE COOL MEETS THE STREETS)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ll9c1S3d_v4

At a nightclub, Cool and TD sit behind a table with dozens of champagne and liquor resting on it. The great night turns a bit sour when The Game shows up. The Game just stops by to wish them a great evening, but Cool thinks he's just talking down on them, making sure that the two are in their places. The Game laughs and his red eyes glow like fire before he walks away. TD calms Cool down and tells him to find a woman. Just then the most beautiful woman any man had ever seen approached their VIP table. Without hesitation, she (M.Cotillard) says "I am The Streets",and TD responds "Streets is on fire, tonight." She says she would give The Cool greatness, status, and placement above the others. That his face will grace covers of magazines of the hustlers, and money, the likes of which that he had never seen. Her eyes began to glow green and dollar signs were now in the place of pupils. The green glow covers the screen and we hear her voice:

"I would make you cool, and we would both rule, forever. And you would never feel pain, never be without pleasure, EVER, again!"

As it fades, we see them having wild sex. She screams for him to go harder and as he does so we slowly see the background of his apartment change. She screams for him to go faster, and as he does we see that the apartment is becoming an deluxe home. There are stacks of money laid on the bed, and even taller stacks of money on the floor. As she climaxes she puts a solid gold key in his hand. "Its the key to my heart." she says as she kisses him while grasping the heart shaped locket around her neck.

Later on, The Game is talking with Cool and Streets. He says that he has notices that he is earning more but spending a lot more time with The Streets. The Cool gets upset saying "Who are you to care?!" The Game responds by saying the The Streets have been around...for a long time. "Death is on the tip of her tongue, semen on her breath and danger is at the tip of her fingers." The Cool tries to punch him, but Streets holds him back. Cool calls him a jealous old bastard, but The Game just laughs and snaps his fingers.

Then a familiar bright light shines throughout the room, and in walks an older Sunshine (S.Lathan), still as beautiful as before. Only now, she is hand in hand with a little boy. The Streets sees the look in his eyes and steps forward with anger. She places her hand on his shoulder, her fingertips digging into his skin. The Cool then says "My new lady gave me a Mercedes and a necklace with a solid gold key, like the starter of a car. You gave me a baby, but what about lately? THE STREETS WOULD KILL FOR ME!" he shouted. "And if the rain stops, and everything's dry, she would cry, just so I could drink the tears from her eyes!" The couple begin to walk out, but Sunshine finally speaks. Her voice is still as sweet as he remembers it. "Hey Superstar, his name is Felix Younger." He turns around, laughs in her face and says "There's more fish in the sea, I'm on my mission to be...The COOLEST"

(The Cool & THE DIE)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UA93qIdqDyI

Its a beautiful night, The Cool and T.D. drive around the city. T.D. says that Cool really pissed off The Game, and that he wants him dead. The Cool laughs and says that he isn't worried. "I'm the Coolest nigga out here!" "Everyone sees you out there with 'The pretty green eyed lady',and they comin for your head, and its a bounty on that chain thats hangin from your neck" The very same chain that holds the locket/heart of The Streets. T.D. tries to change subject. "How's Sunshine? Can you feel it again?" The Cool exhales and every word he says echoes..."Do I love her? I don't know. Streets got my heart, Game got my soul...What's left to give to the mother of my yolk?"

T.D. takes The Cool to a club, as usual and the two enjoy themselves. As they walk out back towards their car, we see a shadowy figure following behind them. The two get in the car, and drive off. We then get a split screen of T.D. and Cool in the car talking, and the shadowy killer in his own car following them. The Cool has become more nervous about someone killing him. T.D. says "Don't pay them niggas no mind, ain't nobody out there with a shotty waiting on you!" As he says that we see the shadowy figure load his shotgun and toss it in the back seat. The split screen ends as the gun falls to the cushion.

T.D. says "Pull over right here, i gotta take a pee. And don't go nowhere nigga wait for me. And if some niggas do kill you in the next few minutes, just remember, there's a heaven for a G!" The Cool pulls his car over so T.D. can pee. He drunkenly says to himself, "I'm tha coolest muthafucka in the world man! I run these muthafuckin streets, and these niggas out here lookin for me. Man i wish a muthafucka would..." we then see the shadowy figure walk up to the car, cock his gun and fire 5 shots into the chest of The Cool. "Ain't too cool now, are you?"

Fade to BLACK. "A Spike Lee Joint"


Stark’s Comment:
I am fascinated by this very peculiar movie. It’s daring, innovative, creative… but, to be honest, I am not completely sure if audiences will be interested in it. An added problem: it has been rated ‘R’. So I fear troubles at box office…

Behind The Scenes:
-Fourth movie together for Dawson Edwards and Spike Lee after ‘Fallen Kings’, ’24 Hours To Live’ and ‘Get Down’.
-The cast is full of regulars in Edwards’ movies…
-Derek Luke works for Edwards for the eighth time (the last one was past Season’s ‘The Pledges’).
-Denzel Washington worked with Edwards and Lee in ‘Fallen Kings’.
-Marion Cotillard worked for Edwards in ‘Wonder Woman: The Hiketeia’. She got her job in this movie fighting for it against Angelina Jolie and Helena Bonham-Carter.
-Mos Def already worked with Edwards and Lee in ‘Fallen Kings’ and ‘Get Down’.
-Kyla Pratt was in ‘Get Down’ while Taraji P. Henson was in ‘Daniel’.

MALCOLM MANBOOBS

Comedy

The Cast: Spencer Breslin, Emily Osment, Toni Collette, Tyler James Williams, Miranda Cosgrove, Owen Wilson

The Director: Jared Hess
The Screenwriter: Josh Collins

The Plot:

Malcolm Blaszczyk (S.Breslin) is a high school student living with manboobs, aka bitchtits. It's not easy going to school everyday with students grabbing at Malcolm's breasts and saying things like 'You have bigger tits than my girlfriend!' but he still manages to wake up each day and hang his head high. Why? Because he seriously doesn't care what the rest of his peers think of him. They try to be mean and pick on him and he'll strike back with an even harder and colder punch like telling a kid after being insulted, 'Now I see why your mom was going to get that abortion.' he happens to have an ability to dig up dirt on his peers on the fly if they are rude to him, telling a girl who turns him down from a date, "You're just mad because you lost your virginity to a boy who tricked you into thinking he loved you just to get in bed with you." In other words, Malcolm may have somethings that make him an outcast and his peers tend to hate him, but he knows he's never going to see them again after graduation so there's no point in caring.

Malcolm has a senior sister (E.Osment), Denise who isn't the typical popular polar opposite of Malcolm. She is ugly, even if she took off her glasses and let her hair down she'd be uglier(something pointed out by one of the teachers, Mr. Deebee (O.Wilson), who crushes on her thinking she'd be stunning hot if she shed the librarian look.) Unlike Malcolm she cares what others think and struggles to fit in. She doesn't get a date for the prom, so Malcolm and Denise's mother (T.Collette) asks Malcolm to take her to the prom. After lots of protest, the mother wins and he takes his sis to the prom, the peers are also disgusted thinking they're into incest and asking which one is the girl.

Malcolm only takes her to the prom, doesn't dance around with her or hang out with her "Denise, you're so ugly even your own brother wouldn't want to sleep with you." a dance-goer girl says just before Denise slugs her in the face.

But the main focus of Malcolm lies on his desires to win the heart of a girl, Justine (M.Cosgrove), he creepily admires who he hardly ever gets to talk to but watches her from afar and spies on her(one part he goes to her house at night and watches her sleeping through her window.) He is proud of his manboobs, even if they may seem a little embarrassing at times(in one scene when he's getting ready for the prom his mother asks him to try out this new man-bra she bought for men with..developed chests) and he says, "I look like I belong in a RuPaul video"

Malcolm does happen to have one friend, Alec (T.J.Williams), who would be considered by mainstream standards as 'a white black guy' or a black guy who many people say broken from racial stereotypes. Alec is there as Malcolm's right hand man, offers his insights and loyalty.

In the film, we understand that Malcolm Manboobs is a good guy in general who can be horrible to the people who are horrible to him. By the film's end, things turn out just fine. He gets that girl he's been stalking whom we discover at the end that she thinks his manboobs are sexy. At the prom, Denise does hook up with a good looking guy who can see she has inner beauty as much as anyone else does, she gives her bro a kiss on the cheek and says, "Thanks for bringing me! I gotta run though, if I don't get sex tonight I might as well join a convent tomorrow."

While the credits role, the cast dances around to music, Malcolm is shirtless to let his endowed chest dance with him.


Stark’s Comment:
A quote from Josh Collins to present this movie: ‘Despite the childish title, this is actually a sophisticated comedy like Lyra, Juno, even Napoleon Dynamite to an extent with a few strange characters’. I agree with him. I strongly recommend moviegoers to overcome any prejudice and don’t miss this very peculiar comedy.

Behind The Scenes:
-Harry Stark demanded Josh Collins to make deep changes in his initial cast for the movie: Osment replaced Misha Barton (Lindsay Lohan was only considered for the character). Cosgrove replaced Emily Blunt. And Williams replaced Rob Brown. Stark considered that Barton, Blunt and Brown would not be believable as teen agers.
-Toni Collette has worked before with Collins in ‘A Man Called Dan’ and ‘The Hellbowl’.
-Tyler James Williams makes a double debut in CMP this week as he can be seen in both this one and ‘The Cool’.
-As Spencer Breslin has insisted to remark in all the promotional interviews for the movie, his body has been altered with digital effects.


SILVER SABLE AND THE ULTIMATE ALLIANCE: Who are the members of the Ultimate Alliance? Here they are… The leader is one of the most popular superheroes lately and one of the very few members of the A-list of superheroes that had never been seen in a CMP’s movie before: Wolverine! Yes, Hugh Jackman, not seen in CMP since Season 11’s ‘Command & Conquer’, will play the character again in this movie. And his super-mates will be Cable (played by Sam Worthington, who already played the character in ‘The Avengers 4: Civil War’), Battlestar (played by Tyrese Gibson, seen past Season in ‘The Pledges’ and ‘Turn Of A Friendly Card’) and Ms. Marvel (played by the CMP’s debutante Tara Reid). Bryan Singer is directing all of them with a screenplay co-written by Joey Stark and Matt Kubrick.

FREEDOM CITY: After a very long and complex pre-production phase (including no less than five drafts of the screenplay written by Steve Connors), green light at last for the sequel of ‘Invasion’. ‘Invasion’ won the Most Wanted Sequel GMA back in Season 14 and it made a nice box office of 147 millions. Again, Brett Ratner – who got a Best Director nod at the GMA for ‘Invasion’ – directs this sequel and James Cameron teams up with him as producer. Rumors say that this movie is going to be one of the most expensive productions ever developed by CMP.

A TANGLED WEB: Scoundrels Productions, the company created by Brad Pitt and George Clooney, develops its third project after the success of ‘To Catch A Thief’ and the critical applause for ‘Asterios Polyp’. This one is going to be an adult comedy with the peculiar sense of humor of its directors: Joel and Ethan Coen. Richard Franzwa – who already worked with the Coen Brothers in ‘The Awful Truth’ – has written this story about the wife of a banker that becomes a bank robber herself. To play the lead character, the chosen one has been Gwyneth Paltrow, whose only previous work in CMP was the successful ‘The Green Children’.

NOON: Still hot their common success at the GMA with ‘A Farewell To Arms’, Chad Taylor and Martin Scorsese keep working in their second movie together. This update of the classic ‘High Noon’ starred by Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp and Cameron Diaz, will also have in its cast familiar faces in CMP like Mathew Fox and Kevin Durand (both seen past Season in Taylor’s ‘Dark They Were, And Golden Eyed’) and Tim Roth, also seen past Season in ‘Dragonlance: Dragons Of Winter Night’.

QUEENS: New comedy by James Bradley. This one tells the story of the longtime rivalry between two Hollywood’s stars considered as the queens of romantic comedy. The movie will mean the fifth directional job of Bradley. And the two actresses chosen to play the queens are no other than Jennifer Aniston and Sandra Bullock. In fact, Bradley has told that the idea for this movie came to him when he read at the internet a quote from Anniston saying: ‘Sandra makes me sick. She has everything I want! I hate her!’

REPLICANT REBEL: Saoirse Ronan, seen past Season in ‘Mega Man’, joins the cast of this sequel of ‘Edge Of Human’ being directed by Luc Besson and produced by Ridley Scott. Ronan plays a mysterious girl that has stayed for decades in a sleep capsule. Ethan Hawke and Evan Rachel Wood are the starring couple of the movie.

SNOW: This love story is the third directional job of Trent Nielsen after ‘Out Partyin’ and ‘Sunshine On Lonely Street’. The starring couple of the movie are Emma Watson, who worked with Nielsen before in ‘The Blacksmith’s Sword’ and could be seen past Season in ‘Packing Up London’, and Jim Sturgess, who played Paul McArtney in ‘The Beatles’ and returned past Season with ‘Assassin’s Creed II’.

THRUST FROM SKYLINE: Two more names to add to the cast of this sci-fi adventure written by Lawrence Abernathy and being directed by Duncan Jones: Emma Roberts, whose latest work for CMP was the comedy ‘Guitar Hero’, and Ben Foster, last time seen in CMP in ‘Earth 3k2’.

20 FEET UNDER THE TUB: Seth Rogen, not as active in CMP lately as he used to be (his latest work was the flopped ‘Comedy Wars’) return making a voice-only work in this animated feature being directed by Brad Bird with a Chad Taylor’s screenplay. The story includes the peculiar character of Rubber Ducky Jr., a movie star famous for playing the superhero ‘Iron Duck’. Guess who’s going to be the voice of that character? Yes, Robert Downey Jr. will have the chance to laugh at his most iconic character.

VIRAL: Two men will meet Topher Grace in a deserted Pennsylvania after a zombie attack in this movie directed by Christine Jeffs following the screenplay by Michael Banno. And they will be played by two new faces in CMP: the star from the tv series ‘Dexter’, Desmond Harrington, and Franky G, seen in movies like ‘Saw II’ or ‘Wonderland’.


DAWSON EDWARDS – ‘THE COOL’

Dawson Edwards and Spike Lee are one of those stable working teams we have in CMP. They have teamed up before ‘The Cool’ in three movies: ‘Fallen Kings’, ’24 Hours To Live’ and ‘Get Down’. The result of this association has not been extremely successful so far: only ‘Fallen Kings’ worked well in box office. ‘The Cool’ means another return of both moviemakers to another ‘streetlife story’. The peculiarity of this work is that the story – and even the dialogues – is directly based on the lyrics of songs from the rap singer Lupe Fiasco. We have talked with Edwards about this new movie.

1.You have made 'streetlife movies' before. But this one seems to be different, as it is based in the lyrics of Fiasco's rap songs...

Yeah, this is a film that doesn't focus on right or wrong. Its not just about characters relationships like 'Fallen Kings' or '24 Hours To Live'. This is a look at how deep that lifestyle is. While you'll see characters relationships to each other, you will also see just how big of an impact one character's actions have on the life of so many others. Lupe's songs are amazingly detailed but lack a fluid link, and that's what this movie is. Its that link that no one sees from the outside.

2.I have the feeling that this movie is a kind of 'musical without musical numbers'... How would you describe it?

The music is the premise. Its where the story comes from, and I was able to use that music and blend it into the film. Spike took that to another level by transitioning each chapter with the music. There won't be a huge concert, no kids dancing on tables or strippers singing with Cher. This isn't 'Chicago' or 'Rent', this is more like '8 Mile' without the battle rapping.

3.Spike Lee and you are already an stable working team... But I have the feeling that the style and conception of this movie is more Lee's than Edwards'...

Well, I've been trying really hard lately to tailor my scripts to the director's talent. So no one else could have done this movie but Spike Lee. And after we both realized that '24 Hours To Live' dropped the ball, we knew the next time we would work together, it would have to be special. We both put a lot into this movie and I think we came up with something unique.

4.Changing the subject, has the huge success of 'Justice League 2' changed your plans about your own superheroes' franchises like 'Wonder Woman' or 'The Flash' in any way?

More than you'll ever know! Chad Taylor is a man with a vision, and unfortunately I am not. When I wrote the original Flash, Wonder Woman and Aquaman films I didn't think twice about the sequels. When JL was gearing up for production, I was suddenly hit with a flurry of ideas of what so many DC Comics characters could do. I missed my opportunity, so I wanted to make sure that any superhero movie I made would be excellent.

When JL2 came out, I was so happy that these characters were doing amazing things and there was none of that 'Avengers' drama to deal with. But then I realized that my plans for Wonder Woman 3 would have to be scrapped completely. It just didn't make sense anymore. So I started over, and piece by piece, day by day, I have been working on making it the best film of all time. Remind me to show you my Wonder Woman journal when the movie starts filming, its filled with the ups and downs of writing the script.

5.Past Season, you released seven of your works... Do you plan to keep so active or are you going to relax a bit?

A bit of both, I would say. Its taking me longer than expected to write these days but since I'm working on so many movies at once, they will all probably be released together like this last season. I have no idea how many of my scripts are in Mr. Stark's backlog but I know I'm working on 8 films right now. And that's not counting superheroes!


THE 15th GOLDEN MOON AWARDS
By Bob Felton

Everything went pretty smoothly at the latest GMA Edition. No big surprises… All the main candidates – Scorsese, Taylor, Franco, Strathairn, Mulligan, Bacall… - went home with a statue… The most nominated movie became the most awarded one… *Big Yawn* Everything was so predictable. For once, Charlie Kiggs’ predictions almost met 100% with what finally happened.

‘A Farewell To Arms’ enters in GMA’s History. Third movie most nominated ever: its 8 nominations stay behind the 9 nominations of ‘American Tabloid’ and the 11 nominations of ‘The Amazing Adventures Of Kavalier & Clay’. Second movie most awarded ever (together with the legendary musical ‘Carousel’): only ‘Kavalier & Clay’ with 6 awards stays ahead of the 5 statues of Scorsese’s movie. And my questions is: is ‘A Farewell To Arms’ that good to have become such an historical event at the GMA? Just a question…

Martin Scorsese is the big triumphant of the night. First and only director to have won three Best Director awards. Three nominations, three wins… If I’m not wrong, I think Johnny Depp is the only other talent (besides screenwriters) to have won three statues in GMA’s history.

The only real duel of the night was the one between James Franco and David Strathairn for Best Actor. And even that duel ended up in a nice and polite way: Strathairn won Best Actor but Franco could go home happy enough with his Best Starring Couple award. By the way, that was Franco’s second win at the GMA, which proves his rising prestige in CMP.

The triumph of Carey Mulligan wasn’t a surprise at all. Neither was Bacall’s. None of them both had really strong rivals in a Season were there was not too many interesting female characters. Only the win of Christopher Plummer surprised me a bit as I thought both Waltz and Cage had big chances.

Chad Taylor finally becomes a GMA’s winner. I am not sure if ‘A Farewell To Arms’ deserved the triumph more than ‘Amedia’ but, one way or the other, it all looked as it was going to be Taylor’s night and finally it was. Maybe ‘Otto Rahn’ should have won either Best Director or Best Picture but at least this brilliant movie was rewarded with Strathairn and Spacey’s award.

Oh, and if I am not wrong, ‘Mouse Guard’ is the first animation movie ever to have won a GMA!

And that’s all I am going to write about this too predictable GMA Edition. I love surprises. I love watching the face of expected winners when they don’t win. I love underdog candidates ruining the night to the favorite ones. But there was nothing of all that this time…


‘THE DARK TOWER’

Back in Season 7, CMP released ‘The Gunslinger’, the first movie based on Stephen Kings’ books series ‘The Dark Tower’. Matt Kubrick was the author of the screenplay and the movie was already announced as the first installment of a series of movies that would develop the complex universe created by King in his books. ‘The Gunslinger’ wasn’t a major hit at box office but then the next installments of the saga became outstanding box office’s successes one after the other. Nine Seasons later, ‘The Dark Tower’ has become one of the most successful and critically acclaimed CMP’s sagas. As this week the Studio releases the final installment of it, we take a look at the movies (and their beautiful posters!) that have turned ‘The Dark Tower’ series in a CMP’s icon.

THE GUNSLINGERSeason 7
Directed and Produced by Sam Raimi
Cast: Russell Crowe, Sharon Stone, Christopher Lee, William Moseley
Box Office: 79 mill.
Net Gains: 87 mill.
GMA’s Wins: 1, Production Design

THE DRAWING OF THE THREE Season 9
Directed and Produced by Sam Raimi
Cast: Russell Crowe, Jake Gyllenhaal, Angela Bassett, Ray Winstone, Chazz Palminteri, William Moseley
Box Office: 285 mill. (Top 4 - Best Box Office Ever)
Net Gains: 349 mill. (Top 5 – Highest Net Gains Ever)
GMA’s Nods: 1, Production Design

WASTE LANDSSeason 11
Directed and Produced by Sam Raimi
Cast: Russell Crowe, Jake Gyllenhaal, Angela Bassett, William Moseley, Ian Holm, Arnold Vosloo
Box Office: 212 mill.
Net Gains: 228 mill.
GMA’s Wins: 1, Adaptation

WOLVES OF THE CALLA Season 13
Directed by Jean Pierre Jeunet
Produced by Sam Raimi
Cast: Russell Crowe, Jake Gyllenhaal, Angela Bassett, William Moseley, Brian Cox, Chase Ellison, John Turturro
Box Office: 215 mill.
Net Gains: 249 mill.
GMA’s Wins: 1, Production Design

SONG OF SUSANNAH Season 15
Directed by Goro Miyazaki
Produced by Sam Raimi
Cast: Russell Crowe, Angela Bassett, Jake Gyllenhaal, William Moseley, Brian Cox, Chazz Palminteri, Timothy Olyphant, Tom Waits
Box Office: 159 mill.
Net Gains: 126 mill.
GMA’s Nods: 2, Production Design, Adaptation


Two beauties and the beast? Well, maybe Derek Luke is a cool guy but not a beast. But Sanaa Lathan and Marion Cotillard are for sure a couple of beauties. Here are the three of them at the premiere of this week’s release ‘The Cool’.



Pitches needed! For the first time in CMP’s history, Harry Stark has stated that the waiting list of movies to develop is not as long as usual. In fact, right now there are not pitches enough to complete Season 17’s 30 releases. It seems like, while some screenwriters keep being very active, others have lowered down a bit their writing activity. So although red alert is not on yet, Stark hopes that the list of pitches increases during the upcoming weeks to have a comfortable margin of pitches as CMP has always had.

Are Abernathy and Banno here to stay? Next weeks, we’ll see the debut of both Lawrence Abernathy and Michael Banno as CMP’s screenwriters with ‘Thrust From Skyline’ and ‘Viral’ respectively. But that does not mean by now that they have decided to become regular authors for CMP. Since they presented their first pitches, Harry Stark has never heard from them again. So right now, nobody at CMP’s offices know if they will keep writing for the Studio or not in the future.

Carey Mulligan won’t have to wait long to return in another CMP’s movie. Right after his success at the Golden Moon Awards, James Bradley urgently informed Harry Stark that he wants Mulligan in one of his upcoming movies: the movie version of the novel ‘Pride and Prejudice and Zombies’. According to this news, right after watching Mulligan at the GMA’s ceremony Bradley decided that she should replace the talent he initially considered to play Natalie Portman’s sister: the also GMA Winner Claire Danes.

It also seems like Sam Raimi won’t stay unemployed long in CMP after finishing his work with ‘The Dark Tower’ saga. CMP’s sources have confirmed that Raimi has already accepted to direct and produce an action movie written by Josh Collins that would probably be released in Season 17. The story takes place in such a peculiar place: Hell itself. The movie is planned to be an action pack with plenty of digital effects, something Raimi is already familiar with after his work in the six movies of ‘The Dark Tower’ series.

Comedian Leslie Nielsen passed away past week. He only worked in one CMP’s movie: Richard Franzwa and David Zucker’s successful parody of James Bond’s movies ‘Bond Scum’. But I always loved Leslie so I wanted to end this week’s article paying tribute to a man that made me laugh since I was a kid with all those silly and wonderful spoof comedies he made. Leslie, wherever you are, keep doing what you do best: making people happy!