NOVEMBER, 6


THE HOUSE OF SPIRITS
(THE SONJA BLUE CHRONICLES 2)

Action / Horror

The Cast: Selma Blair, Helena Bonham-Carter, Michael Clarke Duncan, Holly Hunter

The Director: David Cronenberg
The Screenwriter: Richard Franzwa

The Plot:

After defeating the Goblin King, Sonja Blue (Selma Blair) demands that the demon D’Amato (Michael Clarke Duncan) give her the location of the vampire who raped and nearly killed her years ago, an attack that allowed a demon spirit (Helena Bonham Carter) to enter her body. D’Amato gives her the location of the man but tells her he has no idea how to kill him but that he knows of a witch named Sarah Winchester who does.

Sonja travels to the Winchester mansion which was built by the wife of the man who invented the Winchester rifle. Sarah Winchester (Holly Hunter) was afraid that the spirits of those who where killed by her husbands gun would find out where he lived and haunt him so she had her mansion built to certain specifications. Among many other tricks she employed to befuddle the spirits where hallways that would suddenly end, stairways that didn’t lead anywhere and doors that would open only to reveal a wall. Sarah hoped in this way to confuse the angry spirits and keep them from entering the family quarters in the center of the mansion.

Upon entering the mansion, Sonja’s demon spirit becomes agitated and frightened by not being able to find her way around going so far as to threaten to kill whomever built the house. Sonja tells her if the demon spirit doesn’t like where they are, it can always leave. While wandering the mansion looking for the family quarters, Sonja runs into many lost spirits who ask her to help them carry out their vengeance on the Sarah Winchester. She says she needs some information from Sarah but once she learns what she can for the spirits can do what they want will Sarah.

Sonja finally enters the family quarters and finds Sarah in a room lit with hundred of candles sitting at a long table holding a tea party for a number of dolls that are placed in the other chairs. Without warning, the demon spirit takes control of Sonja and attacks Sarah for building such a devilish house. The fight knocks over a number of candles that start a large fire. This causes Sonja to enter into psychic battle with the demon which she wins by casting the demon spirit into one of the dolls. After explaining to the frightened and injured woman what just happened and the information she needs, Sarah tells Sonja how to kill the vampire lord and Sonja agrees to lead Sarah to safety.

Sonja tries to carry Sarah out of the house but discovers that she is just an ordinary human without the demon spirit. In order to save herself Sonja agrees to let the demon spirit back into her body which it gladly does. With the demon in control Sonja picks up Sarah and leaves the family quarters and the burning building. Soon they are confronted with the lost spirits who demand that Sonja uphold her end of the bargain. Reluctantly, Sonja gives Sarah to the spirits and escapes just as the building collapses.

Now armed with the information of not only where the vampire lord is but how to kill him, Sonja hits the road and leaves the Winchester mansion burning behind her.

Stark’s Comment:
‘The Sonja Blue Chronicles’ got a nice critical reception back in Season 9. It also got two GMA’s nominations (Best Adasptation and Most Wanted Sequel). Franzwa already announced there that it was the beginning of a saga. Now, here is the second installment of it. Same as the first movie, I presume this one won’t be a major box office hit but it looks as another disturbing story to satisfy an specific target audience that looks for something different and darker than action and superheroes flicks.

Behind The Scenes:
-The filming of the movie suffered a slight delay as it had to wait for Holly Hunter to finish her work in ‘The Miracle Men’.
-Although they are completely different kind of movies, some settings used to shoot interior sequences of ‘The Fantastic Mansion’ in CMP’s Studios were redesigned and used for this movie.

YOGI BEAR

Live Action / Animation / Comedy / Family

The Cast: Robin Williams (V.O.), Seth Rogen, Elle Fanning, Jaden Smith (V.O.), Jason Lee, Rebecca Romijn, Amy Adams (V.O.), John C. McGinley, Bill Murray (V.O.)

The Director: Harold Ramis
The Screenwriter: Chad Taylor

The Plot:

Arnold Sampson (Jason Lee) works nights at a nearby power plant. He isn’t satisfied with working all night and sleeping all day…but neither is his wife Lori (Rebecca Romijn). But it’s not his health she cares about. She thinks he should spend more time with his daughter Jane (Elle Fanning), who he gets to see in the morning and before he goes to work. So as Saturday comes he decides to take his wife and daughter to Jellystone Park, for a nice picnic.

As they arrive, they set up and prepare for the nice meal. Arnold feels an urge to go to the bathroom, so he gets up and looks for one. Lori receives a phone call from her work, and stands up to talk. Jane looks up at the beautiful sky and listens to soft, clean wind. Then she hears footsteps approaching. She turns her back and sees a sign reading “Do Not Feed The Bears”. She turns back around and the food basket is gone.We then see Yogi Bear (voiced by Robin Williams) and Boo Boo Bear (voiced by Jaden Smith) running off with the food in hand. Jane tells her mom about it, who tells Arnold as soon as he returns. He is furious and goes to report it to the park officials. He walks into the offices and finds a man sitting in a chair, behind a desk, with his hat turned down. Arnold looks down at the desk and the nameplate reads “Ranger Smith”. The ranger (Seth Rogen) lifts his head up from the papers he was reading and asks what Arnold needs help with. He tells him that a bear stole his food. Ranger Smith’s smile changes to scowl.

Smith assembles his rangers, and tells them to find Yogi and Boo Boo. Arnold, Lori and Jane look on, surprised by the seriousness of the situation. Jane remarks “Mommy, what will they do to him?”. Lori replies “Not sure honey, but it might not be good.” This gives Jane a change of heart. She tells her parents about how they need to capture the two bears and take them into the city with them. They disapprove at first, but then find Boo Boo all alone. The sad, helpless look on his face is enough to convince them. And so they find Yogi,and to the disapproval to the rangers, leave the park.

Yogi and Boo Boo respond wildly at first, because they’re not used to city life. But Jane soon helps them cope. Meanwhile back at the park, Ranger Smith sits in a interrogation room with Cindy Bear (voiced by Amy Adams), Yogi’s girlfriend. She tells him how she disapproves of Yogi’s antics, but will not give up his location. The lights then go out in the room. Yogi sneaks in and grabs Cindy, then leaves and locks the doors. Ranger Smith turns on his flashlight, to find himself locked in an empty, dark room.”Yogggiiiiiiiiii!!!!!”

The movie then follows Yogi, Boo Boo and Cindy’s adventures within the city, with all of the funny gags along the way. And also Ranger Smith, as he snoops around, trying to catch them. He teams up with Zoo owner, Dan Reynolds (John C McGinley), to capture Yogi, Boo Boo, and Cindy and take them to the zoo. Lori becomes aware of this and comes to Dan to convince him to stop. Arnold then figures out that Lori dated Dan, early in their relationship. This gets him furious and forces him to change his mind. Lori is gone, meeting with Dan,and Jane is at school, so Arnold gets Boo Boo,Yogi and Cindy into the car and makes his way to park.

He approaches the front gate, and is stopped. In his way, is a little blue dog with a southern accent (voice of Bill Murray). “Hi, my name is Huckleberry Hound, and I’m afraid I can’t let you do that.” At the same time, Lori arrives in her car, gets out and approaches the driver’s window. She tells Arnold about how she loves him and the mistakes she made when she was young are long past her. He is hesitant, but then accepts her apology. Everyone rejoices, Arnold kisses Lori, Yogi kisses Cindy, and Boo Boo looks at Huck, awkwardly, then gives him a hi-five. The sound of tires screeching is heard. Everyone looks back, and sitting in his car is Ranger Smith. “Oh no” says Arnold. “Uh Oh” says Huck. Yogi smiles…”Hello, Mr. Ranger, sir!”

Stark’s Comment:
This movie mixes live action and animation in a superb way. I think that we have not produced a live action / animation show since the Game Boy’s movies. This one has it all to be a blockbuster: a well known character loved by all the family, an efficient comedy director, a great cast… I expect it to be a big success.

Behind The Scenes:
-Yogi and the rest of digital characters were created using a similar digital technique than the one in Scooby-Doo’s movies. But CMP’s Special Effects Department has even improved that technique.
-Tom Hanks was the first one who was offered to play Yogi’s voice. He rejected the offer cause he wants to concentrate in a new movie he will star soon for the Studio (see below).
-Two times GMA Winner Robin Williams already did a voice only work for CMP in ‘Lieutenant USA and the Warm Steel Gang 2’.
-GMA Winner Amy Adams doubted to be in the movie playing Cindy Bear’s voice. After playing a fox in ‘Woodland Creatures’ (and winning a Best Supporting Actress GMA for it), she was afraid to be typecast in what she has defined as ‘funny animals roles’.
-Bill Murray keeps specializing in voice only works. He has put his voice before in CMP’s movies like ‘Alice In Wonderland’ and ‘Borgel’.

THE HEIGHTS

Suspense / Thriller

The Cast: Kevin Bacon, Demi Moore, Dakota Blue Richards, Chase Ellison

The Director: James Wan
The Screenwriter: Matt Kubrick

The Plot:

September 9th 2001. Meet the Cunningham family: the parents are Christopher (K.Bacon), Pamela (D.Moore) and the two teenage children are Samantha (D.B.Richards) who is 14 and her brother Jordan who is 12 (C.Ellison). They live in a small mountain town normally a peacefull quiet community. They are the richest people in the neighborhood and own multiple businesses throughout america.

Their happy existence won't last for long, when two hijacked planes crash into the twin towers, the world watches in horror as they fall. Soon that night the peaceful town is thrust into chaos when a power generator explodes and the power goes out throughout the town leaving the Cunningham's the only people with power because of their back up generator. As the panic mounts and paranoia grows among the residents, fear of another terrorist attack looms. Soon the residents take up arms against the rich family. It will be a long horrible night as the family is forced to protect themselves from a violent mob. They believe the family knew about the attack and was prepared for it happening.

When Pamela is shot in cold blood then Christopher does everything he can for his wife but she dies soon after. Christopher is forced to do the only thing he can to protect his children. As the mob eventually breaks their way into the home Christopher begins gunning everyone down with a shotgun. Finally morning begins to arrive and Christopher and his children walk outside they had survived the night.

This isn't the end for the Cunningham family, after the funeral they will be in the media spotlight for weeks to come, a family that survived the nightmare and Christopher will be labeled as a heroic father that did what he had to do to protect those he loved. The family moves from their once peaceful community forever scarred by the events of a terrible day but all wounds can be healed.

The movie ends with Christopher, Samantha and Jordan standing at Pamela's grave.

Stark’s Comment:
The word ‘Thriller’ is in the genre of this movie? Oh, my God, you know what that means: hard time at box office. We’ll see… I’m not completely confident about how this one will work. I just hope it can break Kubrick’s unlucky strike in box office.

Behind The Scenes:
-It is the third time that CMP tells a story related to the September 11th attacks. The previous ones were ‘September’s Gone’ and ‘If Tomorrow Never Comes’.
-Kevin Bacon refused to be in ‘Gaspipe’ to star this movie.
-GMA nominee Demi Moore returns to CMP after five Seasons away.


AMERICAN TABLOID: This movie is expected to be another one of the big events coming up in Season 12. James Bradley has adapted the complex novel by James Ellroy that delivers a theory about JFK’s assassination together with a whole picture of how politics and mob world interacted back in the 60s. This enthralling story will be directed by no other than Martin Scorsese, who teams up again with Bradley after their successful collaboration in ‘Tender Is The Night’. And the movie will have an allstars cast leaded by a fascinating starring trio: Tom Hanks, playing an ex FBI agent and now a mafia lawyer; Bruce Willis and Christian Bale, both playing CIA agents with an arguable moral and methods. Wow.

BEING BEN STILLER: And here is another appealing pitch. Matt Kubrick has written this comedy about a Hollywood star and a kid exchanging their bodies… and lives. A story ala Tom Hanks’ ‘Big’ and some other existing movies with similar premises. Now with a peculiarity: the movie star will be a real one. Yes, you guess it right (it was hard considering the title): Ben Stiller will play himself in the comedy. And the boy he exchanges his body with will be the young talent from the Disney’s tv series ‘The Wizards of Waverly Place’, Jake T. Austin. Stiller, a powerful star in CMP after starring quite a few blockbusters for the Studio, is personally choosing the people to be with him working in this movie. His first decision has been hiring the director: Shawn Levy. Levy has directed Stiller before in the ‘Night In The Museum’ movies and also in the CMP’s hit from Season 6 ‘The Lollipop Man’.

EDGE OF HUMAN: Evan Rachel Wood, who has succeeded this Season with ‘Robots Of Dawn’, will work again with Steve Connors in this sequel of ‘Blade Runner’ being directed by Jonathan Kasdan and produced by Ridley Scott. Wood will play two characters in the movie: a replicant that happens to be Ethan Hawke’s new girlfriend, and a woman used as template to create that replicant and that is also the heir of Tyrrell Corporation, the company where replicants are created.

24 HOURS TO LIVE: Anthony McKie completes the starring trio of this drama directed by Spike Lee and written by Dawson Edwards together with Derek Luke and Don Cheadle. McKie will make his debut in CMP with this movie playing one of the guys whose last 24 hours of life we will watch on screen.

THE BLACKSMITH’S SWORD: Britsh star Colin Firth makes his debut in CMP with this pirates adventure movie. Firth plays the uncle of the starring character played by Thomas Sangster. Gaspard Ulliel, seen this Season in ‘More Tales Of The Unexpected’, plays Sangster’s friend. And Rosamund Pike debuts in CMP too playing Eric Bana’s wife.

UNDER THE GUN: Ray Stevenson will make his first work for CMP in this Quentin Tarantino’s movie. Stevenson plays a mid-level mobster who gets involved in the war between the triad leaded by Chow Yun Fat and the mafia family leaded by Robert De Niro about the famous Chinese Dragon.

DAUGHTERS OF THE DRAGON: A few Asian talents will complete the cast of this superheroines movie leaded by Cameron Diaz and Halle Berry. Gong Li, not seen in CMP since Season 7’s ‘Chrysalis: Pennies From Hell’, returns as a mysterious and evil woman who works for no other than the main villain of the function, a samurai master played by Ken Watanabe, whose last work for CMP was in ‘Flashman and the Mountain of Light’. As a curiosity, Gong Li and Watanabe have worked together before for CMP in the awarded ‘Nagasaki Daydreams’.

THE MISTAKEN: Timothy Olyphant is becoming step by step a regular in CMP. This Season we saw him in ‘Command & Conquer’. Now, he is back as the murderer whose name is the same than Brad Pitt’s, creating the mistake mentioned in the title. Also in the movie, we’ll see Val Kilmer, who has already worked this Season with Brad’s wife in ‘Goldmine Killers’.

RIDERS ON THE STORM: Guy Pearce won the Best Villain GMA back in Season 9 with ‘Killer On The Road’. Three Seasons later he returns to CMP playing a supporting role in this drama written by Chad Taylor and directed by Darren Aronofsky. Together with him in the cast we’ll see Ellen Barkin, making her debut in CMP, and Kristen Stewart, whose only previous work for the Studio was the acclaimed ‘Lyra’. Barkin and Stewart play the ex wife and daughter of Will Patton.

THE PRINCESS AND THE CAPTAIN: Stephen Frears (‘Flashman’s Travels’) directed in 2006 the acclaimed movie ‘The Queen’. The movie focused on the reaction of Queen Elizabeth to the death of Lady Diana Spencer. Now, Frears looks back again to the British Royal Family in this movie, that could even be considered as a prequel of ‘The Queen’. In it, Frears tells the real story of the romance between Princess Margaret, sister of Queen Elizabeth, and the handsome Captain Peter Townsend back in the 1940s. Princess Margaret will be played by one of the biggest stars in CMP: GMA Winner Keira Knightley, whose last work for the Studio was the latest Best Picture GMA Winner ‘The Gunpowder Plot’. Trent Nielsen is the author of the screenplay.


RICHARD FRANZWA
‘THE HOUSE OF SPIRITS’

‘The Sonja Blue Chronicles’ was released in Season 9 with a box office of 79 millions and net gains of 53 millions. Although not a major success, this adaptation of the dark saga of books from Nancy A. Collins quickly became a cult movie for fans of vampires’ stories. ‘The House Of Spirits’ is the first sequel of that movie. Richard Franzwa, not a very active but always a surprising CMP’s author, signs again the screenplay. We have talked with him this week about this awaited release and also his previous movie for the Studio, the interesting remake of ‘Altered States’.

1.I am so happy Sonja Blue is back. She is a much more interesting character than all those super heroines coming from CMP lately... Sonja Blue had a great reception from critics and moviegoers. Do you think there's still room for the dark and tormented Sonja Blue in an industry ruled by Silver Sable or Wonder Woman?

I have nothing against the current crop of Super Hero movies and the majority of them have been very enjoyable if you happen to be in that kind of mood. Sometimes, though, I'm in the mood for something darker and more violent. It's the same for novels, and the books by Nancy Collins certainly delivered dark and violent. I hope the movies have as well.

2.What's new in this sequel in relation from the first movie of this saga?

Like all origin stories, the first movie spent a lot of time explaining the rules of the universe Sonja Blue inhabits, how the spirit world and the undead coexist with humanity as we know it. This second movie picks up where the first one left off and doesn't waste much time on the back story. I'm afraid that if you are new to the franchise, your going to be a little lost in trying to follow the plot. This movie was made primarily for the fans of the first movie and that fact might hurt the box office a bit.

3.How many Sonja Blue's movies do you plan to write?

When I first pitched Sonja to Mr. Stark I had planned for a trilogy which told the whole revenge story. The first one dealing with the rape of Sonja and how she was left to die which fueled her desire to find and kill the vampire responsible. This second movie tells of her visiting the Winchester Mansion and discovering how to kill the vampire and the as yet to be written third film will conclude the trilogy with the final showdown. I had planned to stop there, but I'm beginning to see the possibility of one off movies in which the whole plot can be told in 2 hours. I'm not necessarily talking about another trilogy with unrelated story lines, but I might get a few more scripts out of the character.

4.By the way, 'Altered States' was such a peculiar and risky bet. What made you want to write a remake of that movie?

The original came out in 1980 and it contained a number of vivid hallucination sequences which made it stand out in my mind. But it also had a few scenes which where, quite frankly, silly. This remake boils the plot down to it most simple form and does away with unnecessary plot lines. The remake is shorted by a good twenty minutes and removes a main character. It really is the movie I would have liked to see. I'm not saying it's better, mind you, just more to my tastes.

5.You are not a very 'mainstream' author. I mean, you like to bet for alternative and independent products like 'The Manor', 'The Awful Truth' or more recently 'Altered States'. That has turned you into one of the more respected writers in CMP and every new movie coming from you is waited as a main event by movies fans. What new surprises can we expect from you in the near future?

I'm in the process of adapting the original Dragonlance novels into filmable scripts, and a third Fallout movie is in the works. I'm also figuring out a way to bring the Chose Your Own Adventures books to the big screen. Plus, I have plans to bring an iconic character from the seventies back to theaters, but I think I'll let you ponder who it could be.


THE MOST AWARDED MOVIES AT THE GMA

Is there a pattern at the GMA? Are box office’s hits usually the winners or voters prefer low budget artsy pictures? Do critics have any influence in voters? Is there a genre more likeable to win? Winning Best Screenplay or Best Director automatically means winning Best Picture? Is the Best Picture winner or the most nominated production what becomes too the most awarded one every edition?

The question to these or any other possible questions looking for a pattern is no. One of the best things of the Golden Moon Awards is that they are so unpredictable. All kind of movies have succeeded across the GMA’s history: top budget and low budget films, hits and flops, sci-fi or drama movies… At the GMA, anything is possible.

And to prove it, we take a look this week at the most awarded movies in the GMA’s history.

CAROUSEL
Sam Mendes / Ted Froats
Season 4 – Comedy / Musical
B.O.: 84 mill. / N.G.: 62 mill.
5 Awards: Actress, Screenplay, Starring Couple, Cast, Supporting Actress
The first surprising thing is that the most awarded movie ever in CMP is the remake of a classic musical. ‘Carousel’ got 5 nominations and 5 wins, an amazing success at the awards of a 100%. And the most surprising thing is that this movie didn’t win neither the Best Director nor the Best Picture awards! Both went to ‘The Great War Series: Darkening Skies’.

POMPEII
James Cameron / James Bradley
Season 6 – Adventure / Historical
B.O.: 132 mill. / N.G.: 105 mill.
4 Awards: Picture, Director, Villain, Starring Couple
One of the very few historical movies that have succeeded in CMP (remember the flop of movies like ‘The Bridge’, ‘The Library’ or ‘1066’). This movie is also, together with the dramedy ‘Lyra’ and ‘Sherlock Holmes’, one the most nominated movies ever at the GMA with 7 nominations.

THE CRUSADES
Paul Verhoeven / Joey Stark
Season 1 – Action / Epic
B.O.: 199 mill. / N.G.: 170 mill.
3 Awards: Picture, Supporting Actor, Most Wanted Sequel
It was the first Best Picture winner. The movie got 6 nominations. It was a pretty predictable victory, although ‘The Heirs’ and specially ‘Deadly Sins’ were tough contenders. In fact, ‘The Heirs’ stole it the Best Director award.

DEADLY SINS
Sidney Pollack / Brian Kelley
Season 1 - Courtroom
B.O.: 143 mill / N.G.: 103 mill.
3 Awards: Actor, Supporting Actress, Screenplay
This courtroom drama was the surprise of the night, becoming the main contender for ‘The Crusades’ with 6 nominations also. In fact, besides the Best Picture category, it can be considered as if this one won in more important categories than ‘The Crusades’.

UNCOMMON VALOUR: THE FRIGATE CAPTAIN
Ridley Scott / Jack Hammer
Season 2 – Adventure / Romance
B.O.: 55 mill. / Net Gains: 30 mill.
3 Awards: Picture, Director, Villain
The first episode of the Uncommon Valour trilogy won 3 out of its 4 nominations although it had not been the box office’s hit that the Studio expected.

FOOLS GAME
Wes Anderson / James Bradley
Season 2 – Comedy / Adult
B.O.: 68 mill. / N.G.: 50 mill.
3 Awards: Actress, Screenplay, Starring Couple
This comedy was the underdog of the second edition. Also won 3 out of its 4 nominations. But it wasn’t nominated for the considered big ones (Picture and Director).

STAR WARS: NEW ORDER
Steven Spielberg / Marcus Trax
Season 3 – Sci-Fi / Action
B.O.: 229 mill. / N.G.: 250 mill.
3 Awards: Picture, Villain. Most Wanted Sequel
A Star Wars movie winning major awards? One of the surprises that differences the GMA from the Oscars. Yes, this mega-hit won the Best Picture award.

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS
Peter Jackson / Marcus Trax
Season 4 – Fantasy / Adventure
B.O.: 194 mill. / N.G.: 231 mill.
3 Awards: Villain, Most Wanted Sequel, Marketing
It won 3 GMA but all in minor categories. ‘Carousel’ and its 5 GMAs and ‘The Great War Series: Darkening Skies’ winning Picture and Director were the real winners of the night, but this one entered in the most awarded movies History anyway.

NAGASAKI DAYDREAMS
Clint Eastwood / Marcus Trax
Season 5 – Drama / Human Spirit
B.O.: 2 mill. / N.L.: 33 mill.
3 Awards: Picture, Director, Actress
Here is the most amazing case in GMA’s history. This movie is one of the biggest flops in CMP’s history. An absolute financial disaster. But GMA’s voters didn’t care. 6 nominations and 3 wins including Picture and Director. So the paradox is that this movie is member of both the Most Awarded Club and the Biggest Flops Club of CMP’s movies.

ONLY IN AMERICA
Cameron Crowe / Ted Froats
Season 7 – Comedy / Musical
B.O.: 153 mill. / N.G.: 132 mill.
3 Awards: Picture, Director, Cast
The initial surprise of the 7th Edition was ‘Lyra’ picking up 7 nominations. But, at the end, ‘Lyra’ only got 2 awards and ‘Only In America’ became the surprising winner of the night. As it has happened often, the most nominated does not become finally the most awarded one. It was the second musical to win the Best Picture award after ‘Carousel’.

LIFE AND FACTS OF A DIRTY MIND
Bill Murray / Joey Stark
Season 7 – Drama / Comedy
B.O.: 23 mill. / N.L.: 10 mill.
3 Awards: Actor, Supporting Actor, Villain
This peculiar movie didn’t work in box office but critics and GMA’s voters liked it so much. The movie got 6 nominations, even more than the final winner ‘Only In America’ and only one less than the defeated ‘Lyra’. The curiosity here is that Bill Murray took home two of the statues, winning both Villain and Supporting Actor for his work.

THE FUNERAL DRUM
Michael Mann / James Bradley & Joey Stark
Season 8 – Cop / Action
B.O.: 70 mill. / N.G.: 45 mill.
3 Awards: Actor, Screenplay, Cast
It had 6 nominations and it looked as the favorite of the night. But it was a night of surprises. Best Director went to Sofia Coppola for ‘Maleficarum’ (Michael Mann wasn’t even nominated) and Best Picture went to ‘The 6th Avenue Castaways’ that became the second box office’s flop to win Best Picture after ‘Nagasaki Daydreams’.

SHERLOCK HOLMES
Tim Burton / Matt Kubrick
Season 9 – Adventure / Mystery
B.O.: 190 mill. / N.G.: 179 mill.
3 Awards: Picture, Starring Couple, Most Wanted Sequel
One of the three most nominated movies ever with 7 nominations. It only won in one major category but, all in all, it was considered the big winner of the 9th edition. The funny thing is that, right after winning the Most Wanted Sequel award, Kubrick announced that he had no intention of writing a sequel.

THINGS I FORGOT TO TELL YOU
Steven Soderbergh / James Bradley
Season 9 – Drama / Comedy
B.O.: 58 mill. / N.G.: 37 mill.
3 Awards: Director, Original Concept, Supporting Actress
This experimental movie was first a surprise at box office and then another surprise getting 5 nominations. And it also starred one of the most controversial and argued wins in GMA’s history: the award for Soderbergh as Best Director. Soderbergh had only shot five monologues of five different actresses in front of a camera.

DEVIL TRIGGER
Larry & Andy Wachowski / David Makalaster
Season 10 – Action / Supernatural
B.O.: 248 mill. / 382 mill.
3 Awards: Director, Screenplay, Production Design
The amazing success of this modern action movie was followed by its success at the GMA with 6 nominations. But, once more, the Best Picture winner was not the most awarded one: ‘The Gunpowder Plot’ was the first movie in GMA’s History to win the Best Picture category alone.

In conclusion, lot of surprises and unpredictable wins in GMA’s History. So the last question is: what will happen in the upcoming 11th Edition of the CMP’s awards?


We put an end to this Season’s pictures of the week with a sexy one. Here is the splendorous star of ‘The House Of Spirits’, Selma Blair. Enjoy it!



John Daws reappears. Although he has not released any movie this Season, John Daws stays attached to CMP. My anonymous CMP’s sources have told me that he was seen recently at Harry Stark’s office having a tense meeting with the Studio’s President. Daws not only was there to talk about future projects with Stark. He also visited him to express him how discontent he is for the making of ‘The Revengers’. Daws wasn’t asked by the Studio about the use of his character, Lieutenant USA, in this movie. I have been told that Daws has even considered to bring a lawsuit against the Studio and Steve Connors, writer of ‘The Revengers’, for using his character without his consent. My personal opinion? Of course, John Daws is right. Who owns the rights for a character, the Studio or the screenwriter? Maybe that’s arguable from an exclusively legal point of view. But Harry Stark showed again his lack of ethics accepting to develop ‘The Revengers’ without asking Daws for his consent. A mistake? A lapse? Oh, no. I know very well Harry Stark: he does not respect anything – not even CMP’s authors – if he smells a cent of benefits. Come on, Mr. Daws, do not hesitate: take him to court!

While Harry Stark mistreats his team of screenwriters (forgetting that it is them and their talent what have made him so rich), some of them keep giving the best of them to CMP. From time to time, CMP’s authors get sentimental and decide to show a bit of themselves in their movies. First, it was David Makalaster, who wrote the love story ‘Together Apart’ based on his own personal experiences. Soon, it will be Matt Kubrick, who will be directing a movie based on his own teen years. And now Josh Collins joins the group. He has also written a dramedy based on his own younger years. We all know adolescence years leave an indelible mark in every one and it seems like some CMP’s writers want to share theirs with all of us.

It wasn’t an autobiographical pitch. In fact, it was so funny to read Trent Nielsen’s blog when he made clear that although he likes romantic movies he is ‘absolutely hetero’. Needless to say, man! I cry like a baby with love stories and I am absolutely hetero too. Hey, there’s nothing to be ashamed of for enjoying romance! In fact, CMP needs some more romance and not only superheroes! Well, the question is that Trent Nielsen submitted to CMP a pitch about a gay love story titled ‘One Rule’. And the Studio has not accepted it. The reason is not that Harry Stark may be a homophobic (although you can expect anything from that mean guy). The reason is that the story was so similar to ‘Brokeback Mountain’ that the Studio’s Executive Board rejected to make a clone movie of that hit.

Brad Pitt and George Clooney might lead an innovative experience in CMP. They are considering to create their own production company ala ‘Midnight Movies’ or ‘Grand Island Movies’. The company would work as an affiliate of CMP, as those companies do. Pitt and Clooney – who have produced several movies for CMP before - would not only produce movies they work in but also other pitches. They would like to focus their company mainly on low budget dramas and indie-spirit movies. It would be the first Production Company in CMP's world not ruled by a CMP’s screenwriter but by actors. Harry Stark is still considering their proposal. But you know how he is: if it looks profitable for him, he will probably accept it.

Ok, and the Golden Moon Awards are already here. The ceremony flies to London for its second time. For what I know, Stark has already chosen the stars to appear in the Gala. But he stated one rule some time ago: no talent nominee will present any award. So each new Edition he has to make a blind prediction of who might be nominated or not just to make the list of stars to be presenting categories in the ceremony. Some last minutes changes had to be made in past editions when someone unexpected got a nomination. Anyway, the guys at CMP are already working hard setting everything up for this big CMP’s party (although Stark pays them a poor salary).

Amazing… I have not written anything about superheroes or Avengers’ controversies this week!


The 11th Edition of the Golden Moon Awards will take place in London on November, the 20th. Today is the starting day to vote for the nominees in all the 14 categories. The time to vote for the nominees will end up next Wednesday, 11th and the nominations will be announced next Friday, 13th (oh, scary date, by the way...).

As usual, let’s remember the categories, the voting rules and the complete list of the movies included in this edition. And be aware that this Edition a slight change in the voting rules has been introduced!

VOTING RULES

You can start voting for the nominees today.

Vote before next Wednesday, November 11th.

Everybody is invited to vote. No matter if you have not released any movie this Season.

1-VOTING FOR THE NOMINEES:

-For nominations, you can vote TWO candidates per category. The first one you vote will get 2 points and the second will get 1 point. If you vote for only one candidate, it will get 2 points.

-Screenwriters cannot vote for their own movies in Nominations phase.

2-VOTING FOR THE WINNERS

(Important! New rules!)

-When voting for the Winners, you can only vote ONE candidate per category.

-Everybody is invited to vote for the winners, even if you did not vote for the nominations:

A) If you voted for the nominations, now you are allowed to vote for your own movies.
B) If you did not vote for the nominations, you are also allowed to vote for the winners. But, in this case, you cannot vote for your own movies (in those categories where a movie from you is nominated, you can choose between abstention or voting for the other nominees).

-Vote via email or private message at the CMP’s Forum. Nominees will be announced next Friday.To make your work easier, you can see below a list of this Season’s releases.

THE AWARDS CATEGORIES

-Best Production Design: very simple, vote for your favourite movie poster of the Season.
-Most Wanted Sequel: what movie from this Season would you like to watch a sequel of? The winner of this category gets automatic green light from CMP to develop a sequel if its author wants to.
-Best Adaptation: Vote for the concept and premises of a movie production that better adapts or translate to the big screen a previously existing material (comics, books, remakes, whatever...). You can evaluate all the elements of the adaptation (storyline, production design, cast, whatever…) to vote.
-Best Original Concept: Vote for the best or most original idea for a movie. It is just the concept or the idea you are voting for here. The quality of the screenplay developing it has its own category!
-Best Starring Couple: not necessarily a romantic couple or a man/woman couple. It can be, but it can also be any kind of starring couple with special appeal or charisma or chemistry or screen presence or whatever.
-Best Cast: the best cast as a whole, the most fitted to the characters, the plot, the genre… whatever reason the group as a whole impressed you.
-Best Screenplay: doesn’t matter if its original or an adaptation, you just liked the way the story was written and developed so much to vote it.
-Best Villain
-Best Supporting Actress
-Best Supporting Actor
-Best Actress
-Best Actor
-Best Director
-Best Picture

DON’T FORGET TO VOTE FOR THE NOMINATIONS BEFORE NEXT WEDNESDAY!

THE MOVIES

(O = Original / A = Adaptation)

KINGDOM

Fantasy / Action – O
Cast: Megan Fox, Chris Evans, Naomi Watts, Michelle Pfeiffer, Jeremy Irons, Susan Sarandon, Aaron Eckhart, Chris Cooper.
Director: Zack Snyder
Screenwriter: Matt Kubrick
Box Office: 55 mill.
Net Gains: 33 mill.

CROSSOVERS

Romantic Comedy - O
Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Paz Vega, Kate Bosworth, Dane Cook, Sienna Miller, Ben Affleck, Ellen Page, Steve Martin
Director, Producer and Screenwriter: James Bradley
Box Office: 64 mill.
Net Gains: 54 mill.

TRACKS OF BLOOD

Action / Exploitation – O
Cast: Eliza Dushku, Deann Russo, Mickey Rourke, Jessica Biel, Jason Statham, Christopher Walken, Antonio Banderas
Director: Robert Rodriguez
Producer: Quentin Tarantino / Midnight Movies
Screenwriter: Joey Stark
Box Office: 41 mill.
Net Gains: 9 mill.

BULLET WITCH 0

Action / War – A
Cast: Eric Bana, Kate Hudson, Cillian Murphy, Brad Dourif, Ice Cube, Kieran Culkin, Ben Kingsley
Director: Renny Harlin
Screenwriter: David Makalaster
Box Office: 223 mill.
Net Gains: 249 mill.

DEADLY FORCE

Action / Cops – O
Cast: Brad Pitt, Paul Walker, Ray Liotta, Emilio Estevez, James Franco. Cameo by Elijah Wood.
Director and Screenwriter: Jack Hammer
Producer: Brad Pitt
Box Office: 197 mill.
Net Gains: 224 mill.

SILENT HILL

Horror – A
Cast: Rupert Everett, Lindsay Lohan, Susan Sarandon, Robert Downey Jr., Amanda Bynes, Ariel Gade
Director: Brad Anderson
Screenwriter: Max Arilius
Box Office: 141 mill.
Net Gains: 106 mill.

SILVER SABLE AND THE WILD PACK

Action / Superhero – A
Cast: Katherine Heigl, Tobey Maguire, Gerard Butler, Edgar Ramirez, Eric Balfour, Dominic Monaghan, AnnaSophia Robb, Bo Hoskins
Director and Producer: Bryan Singer
Screenwriter: Joey Stark
Box Office: 352 mill.
Net Gains: 420 mill.

MORE TALES OF THE UNEXPECTED

Suspense / Drama – A
Cast: Daniel Radcliff, Tilda Swinton, Emma Thompson, John Cleese, Gerard Depardieu, Eva Green, Gaspard Ulliel, Cyril Descours, Jean-Pierre Léaud
Directors: David Fincher, Matt Kubrick, Gus Van Sant
Screenwriter: Ben Tyler
Box Office: 116 mill.
Net Gains: 94 mill.

CRIME STOPPERS

Comedy – O
Cast: Steve Carrell, Owen Wilson, Mike Meyers, Jason Mewes, Zach Braff, Leslie Mann, Jeremy Sumpter, Kevin Smith
Director: Kevin Smith
Screenwriter and Producer: Chad Taylor
Box Office: 4 mill.
Net Losses: 32 mill.

WONDER WOMAN

Action / Superhero / Epic – A
Cast: Colbie Smulders, Josh Lucas, Catherine Z. Jones, Josh Brolin, Carrie-Ann Moss, Michelle Williams
Director: Jon Favreau
Screenwriter: Dawson Edwards
Box Office: 146 mill.
Net Gains: 130 mill.

THE DARK TOWER: WASTE LANDS

Action / Mystery – A
Cast: Russell Crowe, Jake Gyllenhaal, Angela Bassett, William Mosely, Ian Holm, Arnold Vosloo
Director and Producer: Sam Raimi
Screenwriter: Matt Kubrick
Box Office: 212 mill.
Net Gains: 228 mill.

FIREFLIES IN THE JELLY-JARS

Drama – O
Cast: Abigail Breslin, Daniel Day Lewis, Robin Wright-Penn, Logan Lerman, Jeffrey Wright
Director: James Mangold
Screenwriter: Josh Collins
Producer: Grand Island Movies
Box Office: 30 mill.
Net Gains: 8 mill.

ROBOTS OF DAWN

Sci-fi / Crime – A
Cast: Bruce Willis, Paul Bettany, Uma Thurman, Dustin Hoffman, Kevin Spacey, Evan Rachel Wood
Director: Brett Ratner
Screenwriter: Steve Connors
Box Office: 219 mill.
Net Gains: 207 mill.

ZANN

Horror / Evil – A
Cast: Luke Wilson, Jack Nicholson, James Cromwell
Director and Screenwriter: David Makalaster
Box Office: 41 mill.
Net Gains: 9 mill.

MARRIED TO THE SUPERVILLAIN

Action / Comedy – O
Cast: Brendan Fraser, Ashley Judd, Jeff Bridges, Cameron Bright, Ryan Simpkins
Director: Adam McKay
Screenwriter: Josh Collins
Box Office: 122 mill.
Net Gains: 145 mill.

ZOIDS

Action / Sci-Fi – A
Cast: Jeremy Sumpter, Hayden Pannettiere, Jamie Bell, Jason Patric, Cole Hauser, Megan Good
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Screenwriter: Dawson Edwards
Box Office: 147 mill.
Net Gains: 182 mill.

GOLDMINE KILLERS

Thriller – O
Cast: Angelina Jolie, Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Ruffalo, Djimon Hounsou, Val Kilmer, Alan Arkin, Adrien Brody, Emily Blunt
Director: Paul Verhoeven
Producer: Angelina Jolie
Screenwriter: Josh Collins
Box Office: 33 mill.
Net Losses: 0.6 mill.

SUSPICIONS AND DISHONORS

Comedy – O
Cast: Woody Allen, Annette Bening, Billy Crystal, Scarlett Johansson, Zach Braff, Justin Long
Director: Woody Allen
Screenwriter: Matt Kubrick
Box Office: 35 mill.
Net Losses: 1 mill.

COMMAND & CONQUER

Action / Sci-Fi / War – A
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Robert Downey Jr., Jamie Foxx, Joseph D. Kucan, Michael Pena, Thomas Jane, Timothy Olyphant, Robert Patrick, Bill Murray
Director and Producer: Michael Bay
Screenwriter: Ben Tyler
Box Office: 75 mill.
Net Gains: 82 mill.

RAISE OF THE DARKMAN

Horror / Evil – O
Cast: Matt Kubrick, Benicio Del Toro, Dakota Fanning, Harry Stark, Wes Craven, Dennis Quaid, Laura Linney, Danielle Harris.
Director: Wes Craven
Screenwriter: Matt Kubrick
Box Office: 29 mill.
Net Losses: 20 mill.

THE MIRACLE MEN

Comedy / Adventure – O
Cast: Will Ferrell, Paul Giamatti, Holly Hunter, Emma Stone.
Director: Paul Giamatti
Screenwriter: James Bradley
Box Office: 60 mill.
Net Gains: 79 mill.

EARTH 3K

Sci-Fi / Action – O
Cast: Ewan McGregor, Jennifer Garner, Willem Dafoe, Javier Bardem
Director: J.J.Abrams
Screenwriter: Josh Collins
Box Office: 93 mill.
Net Gains: 34 mill.

THE REVENGERS

Action / Superhero / Comedy – O
Cast: Eddie Murphy, Steve Carrell, Burt Reynolds, Debra Messing. Cameos by Tyler Mane, Bob Hoskins.
Director: Tim Story
Screenwriter: Steve Connors
Box Office: 130 mill.
Net Gains: 236 mill.

ALTERED STATES

Sci-Fi / Drama – A
Cast: George Clooney, Julianne Moore, Bob Balaban
Director: Marc Forster
Screenwriter: Richard Franzwa
Box Office: 55 mill.
Net Gains: 20 mill.

MAGIC – THE GATHERING: INNOCENT WHITE

Action / Fantasy – A
Cast: Jude Law, Claire Danes, Kevin Costner, Judi Dench, Geoffrey Rush. Voices of Ron Perlman, Jason Statham
Director: Martin Campbell
Screenwriter: David Makalaster
Box Office: 138 mill.
Net Gains: 105 mill.

GASPIPE

Gangster / Drama – A
Cast: Andy Garcia, Carla Gugino, Ray Liotta, Michael Madsen, James Gandolfini, Jeff Goldblum, Matt O’Leary, Chazz Palminteri
Director: Ridley Scott
Screenwriter: Dawson Edwards
Box Office: 55 mill.
Net Gains: 20 mill.

THE ROCK STAR

Drama - O
Cast: Jeff Bridges, Kate Beckinsale, Josh Hartnett, Allison Collins
Director: Sam Mendes
Screenwriter: Josh Collins
Producer: Grand Island Movies
Box Office: 12 mill.
Net Losses: 17 mill.

THE HOUSE OF SPIRITS

Action / Horror – A
Cast: Selma Blair, Helena Bonham-Carter, Michael Clarke Duncan, Holly Hunter
Director: David Cronenberg
Screenwriter: Richard Franzwa
Awaiting release

YOGI BEAR

Family / Comedy - A
Cast: Seth Rogen, Elle Fanning, Jason Lee, Rebecca Romijn, John C. McGinley. Voices of Robin Williams, Amy Adams, Jaden Smith, Bill Murray.
Director: Harold Ramis
Screenwriter: Chad Taylor
Awaiting release

THE HEIGHTS

Suspense / Thriller – O
Cast: Kevin Bacon, Demi Moore, Dakota Blue Richards, Chase Ellison
Director: James Wan
Screenwriter: Matt Kubrick
Awaiting release