Another week in the books, more splendid one sheets delivered to you in this week’s edition of the web’s Original Movie Poster Round-Up. The brand new The Ministers poster is here, with a cool twist on the cross. The final one-sheet for the animated Astro Boy is up as well. The House of the Devil poster is courtesy of STYD. Here is Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut Whip Itmovie poster. Alternatively titled, “Selling Ellen Page.” The release date has been moved up to October 2nd as well. When did Ellen become Brad Pitt? Speaking of Mr. Pitt, the rejected Inglourious Basterds movie poster below gives you sort of a noirish, Indiana Jones feel, no? Then the other, designed by artist Tyler Stout (courtesy of GATW) gives a better rep of the movie IMO.
Michael Sheen’s The Damned Unitedfollows. We also give you a new one sheet for Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant. I only give you the poster for I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell, not because it is a particularly cool poster, its not bad though, or because it will be a big film, I suspect not, but rather because I hope they do – serve beer down there that is. IMP Awards serving us the cold ones to keep us all in the know. Finally, there is the lovely Carla Gugino, going blonde for the sexy new comedy Women In Trouble. I do believe Carla would be trouble. So the ad is presumed accurate. Michael Moore’s Capitalism: A Love Story is near the bottom of this post (I still can’t get enough of that trailer!).
You want the poster for George Clooney’s The Men Who Stare At Goats? Thought so; you got it! Three new disastrous posters for 2012 are here. While disaster flicks may be old news, these are pretty wild. I give you Agora, you add the phobia, for Rachel Weisz’s new poster. And since so many of you clearly want Jennifer’s Body (Megan Fox’s in this case), regardless of the language, I couldn’t help but oblige. Enjoy!
The Inglourious Basterds hype machine hasn’t died down yet. After spending opening weekend in the number one spot, Quentin Tarantino is continuing to make appearances in order to ensure a strong second weekend (watch his Charlie Rose interview here), as well. I haven’t had the opportunity to see it, so I’ll be one of those second weekend contributors.
I was listening to Power 106, the preeminent hip-hop station here in L.A., this morning and actually heard something relevant. Q.T. was on Big Boy’s Neighborhood and the host asked him a series of “Forbidden Questions.” I’d never heard the segment before (I listen to the radio very rarely), but apparently it’s a continuing segment with different personalities. The questions are basically designed to burn bridges and I couldn’t think of anything more brilliant. Boy Boy stressed that if Q.T. “tapped out” of any question, he’d be letting down basically every person in the history of the world. Tarantino taps out of one question, which if he answered would have made for probably the greatest moment in radio history.
I’ll spare you any more spoilers. It’s a little over six-minute audio interview. He burns a couple of people, but most of the answers would hardly get him into any type of trouble. Either way, I think it’s a genius concept and couldn’t wait to share it with you. Please tell us what you thought.
After winning the weekend handily against practically no competition, Quentin Tarantino and his promotion of Inglourious Basterds did the trick. Above all the magazine articles and late night interviews, the part of the hype-machine for any big release I look forward to the most is the Charlie Rose interview on PBS. These interviews have been a staple of smart DVD extras, like Rushmore (Wes Anderson and Bill Murray) and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (David Fincher and Brad Pitt), which turned me onto them in the first place. Now, the show has a dedicated place on my DVR.
The fascinating thing about the interviews is Rose asks questions that can actually challenge the filmmakers’ and audience’s intellect, as opposed to gushing like a teenage fangirl like James Lipton on “Inside the Actor’s Studio.” Today, I just finished watching Rose’s interview with Tarantino about Inglourious Basterds, with the topic at hand being that particular film, but covering far more subjects, as well. Certainly nobody can discuss Tarantino better than himself and Rose is content to wind him up and let him go (as any good interviewer should) and I was never less than captivated.
A wide range of topics are discussed and I think the hour-long video is as “must watch” as an interview can be, but if you don’t take the time, there are two key pieces of info that might be of interest.
QT says he’ll never (although “never say never” is the mantra) adapt somebody else’s work again, ala Jackie Brown (adapted from Elmore Leonard’s “Rum Punch”). Therefore, the rumor of a couple weeks ago that he’d consider adapting Len Deighton books can be quickly dismissed.
When the subject of covering all genres over his career is brought up, he says he hates biopics. He doesn’t believe anyone’s life span equates to a good story on film. However, he adds one caveat, noting he’d like to direct a film based on John Brown (his “favorite American of all-time”), the man who essentially freed the slaves. He says it wouldn’t come until the end of his career, though.
One thing stood out to me throughout the interview and it seems Tarantino is especially charged up right now and appears to want to go on a filmmaking rampage. I admire the hell out of the guy and can only hope he continues on this hot streak. He’s a fascinating individual and the world would be a better place with additions to his oeuvre. I was very happy he was the only interview subject, as opposed to sharing time with one of his actors. Please let us know what you think of the interview in the comments section.
I’m having a little trouble with that video file, myself, so if it doesn’t work for you, click here.
Fan-boy favorite writer-director Quentin Tarantino, who has made what is arguably one of the greatest films of all-time in Pulp Fiction, reveals his passion project to the world with Inglourious Basterds; a WWII fantasy revenge movie that is several years in the making. This is a world where a man nicknamed the “Jew Hunter” seeks to instill fear in any Jew (or those aiding them, as the first scene coolly reveals), during the war. But this is a Tarantino work, so a polarizing opposition has to be evident to present obstacles to the Nazi Reign. That opposition is found in a group of rag-tag hooligans called the “Inglourious Basterds.”
The plot, fairly straight forward in theory, though it gets a bit more convoluted in execution, is about a group of Nazi hunters who seek to assassinate Hitler (not unlike Valkyrie) and his chief men in charge in order to bring an end to the war. Heading up this underground operation, much to Hitler’s consternation (a great performance from Martin Wuttke) is Brad Pitt’s Lt. Aldo Raine, leader of the titular “Basterds.” Aldo and his band of renegades have made a name for themselves becoming Nazi bulletin-board fodder, with tales of murder by any cruel means necessary hoping to make any Nazi sleep with one eye open in fear at night. Their success in this endeavor has been enough to cause heighten anxiety for the Fuhrer and his crew. Truthfully, getting too much deeper into the plot might be fruitless at this juncture but I’ll give a bit more.
If you want to kill him, you too can be a "Basterd."
Diane Kruger makes her mark as Bridget von Hammersmark, a German actress of the highest order, who with her own crew of troops (including a strong Michael Fassbender) is trying to also get to Hitler during a film screening. That screening is to be held at the cinema of a former escaped Jew (hunted by the aforementioned “Jew Hunter,” Col. Hans Landa), who is the object of desire of the film’s star, a Nazi war-hero who gunned down nearly 300 men from a sniper tower, Private Fredrick Zoller. Eventually, various teams of Nazi haters and hunters are all individually hatching their own schemes to get at Adolf. Which team is able to survive and succeed becomes the fun of the film.
Tarantino virtually acknowledges that his characters are participating in a film, as some of the film takes place within a cinema with a packed house watching along on the big screen. Irony drips. Several of Quentin’s elements translate this as well. Eli Roth’s Sgt. Donny Donowitz, “The Jew Bear” that bludgeons Nazi’s to death with his baseball bat, is the man who Aldo claims “watching him work is the closest thing we ever get to seeing a movie in a theater.” There are graphic close-ups of Nazi’s being scalped, since Aldo “wants his scalps!” Overall, QT places a great deal of trust in his actors and creates tension in the deception of the story throughout.
The scene-stealer in the film is Christoph Waltz as Landa and make no mistake, while Pitt gets the marquee, it is Waltz’ Landa that is the real star in the film. He exhibits all sorts of range here, clearly embracing the devilish delight with which he has the opportunity to portray. His storyline is the one that singularly resonates throughout. This will undoubtedly garner him a Best Supporting Actor nomination at the Oscars (unless he receives a push in the Best Actor category).
Might I be able to exchange my phone - for an Oscar?
Inglourious Basterds is a slow paced, dialogue heavy film, with spurts of violence mixed in. This is what has become typical of Tarantino’s works of late as he seems more enamored with the dialogue that his characters regurgitate than telling the story in a timely manner. It is interspersed with Quentin’s trademark humor, most of it coming in the form awkward silences in situations of trepidation (for all the characters). While the film is solid and above average, it fails to wow you. I was entertained but not moved. I was interested but never blown away at any point.
Still, you can’t deny QT as an auteur. He clearly made the movie that he wanted to make. It’s deliberate pace and prosaic dialogue allows his actors (primarily Pitt and Waltz) to chew their scenery to the hilt. The movie itself though doesn’t really result in much. It’s fun but not overly so; it doesn’t have the cool cache of his best films, nor does it have an incredibly layered story. In the end, you watch rather than deeply experience, and move on. In that regard, I don’t think Quentin achieved the ultimate result that he was hoping for. However, all of that being said, Basterds is one of the best movies I have seen so far this year, which feels more of an indictment on the movies that I have seen thus far though, rather than the greatness of this film.
Because this isn’t a trailer for a real film and it probably deserves and explanation, I didn’t want to relegate this post to our patented trailer window at the bottom of our homepage.
In Quentin Tarantino’s upcoming men-on-a-mission WWII film, Inglourious Basterds, Adolf Hitler’s right-hand man and the Third Reich’s Minister of Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels, plays a key role. He is the Nazi David O. Selznick, who commissions a film based on German war “hero” Fredrick Zoller, to promote the Nazi movement.
One of the key scenes in the film takes place at the premier of Nation’s Pride. Tarantino enlisted director Eli Roth (who plays Sgt. Donny Donowitz in the movie) to direct this film-within-a-film.
The Weinstein Company has released a trailer for Nation’s Pride and we bring it to you below in its full glory.
I love the idea of fake trailers, which is a big reason for my enjoyment of the Tarantino/Robert Rodriguez-directed Grindhouse and I liked the idea of them in front of Tropic Thunder (though the execution didn’t blow me away). I can’t wait to see the snippet’s of Roth’s propaganda film in Inglourious Basterds and I have to imagine the full piece will be available on the DVD/Blu-ray.
What did you think of the Nation’s Pride trailer and fake trailers in general?
Another Friday is here, so thank you for joining us in the “Original” Movie Poster Round-Up, where we give you the best in new one sheets from around the web. We already gave you some re-imagined posters for Classic Movies airing on TV this summer so with that out of the way, let’s begin shall we?
A month ago, the Zombielandtrailer dropped and now the full size movie poster. Interesting, old-time aesthetic. If there was ever a more redundant title than Teenage Dirtbag, I’d like to know what it is. Seriously. That is followed by what we hope are about the last character posters for Inglourious Basterds that will come along. I can’t take it anymore. An Education is up next, we gave you the trailer earlier this week. Irreversi, A Woman In Berlin and Lion’s Den are a triumvirate of indies that are next in line. A bizarre eye puzzle for 9 is that neon green one you see. The Spanish version shows all the characters for that film as well. Official Rejection has a brilliant tagline for anyone who has tried to maneuver the film festival circuit.
We have a Korean character poster for G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra. I decided to throw in an international poster for The Soloist, just because I like it. I think it kicked ass on the poster that we had here in the US. Run a search for it on our site, to see what I mean. Taxidermia has Michaelangelo’s sculpture dissected it appears. The new final poster for The Box is courtesy of the director Richard Kelly himself. Last but not least, the UK poster for Ricky Gervais’ The Invention of Lying (here’s the trailer). Thanks to IMP Awards for the hits you see. Big ups!!
About 7-8 years ago, a friend told me that Quentin Taratino had ambitions to do a war movie, particularly about World War II. I like war films a lot and to have a notion that Tarantino would be directing one, I couldn’t dream of a better scenario. Tarantino would easily make my top 5 list of greatest directors of all-time and he certainly has earned that mark with others as well. Since time started to pass after hearing the news of the war film, I started to forget and even wondered if it ever was coming out. During that time, Tarantino has worked on other projects and has succeeded well with the Kill Bills, guest directing on Sin City, a couple of episodes of “CSI” and Death Proof from Grindhouse. Finally, after a long wait, Tarantino has finished his war movie called Inglourious Basterds and this is easily one of the most anticipated movies for me personally and I’m sure for a lot of other people as well. There is an Italian war movie called Inglorious Bastards from 1978, but it’s not related to the current one.
Some people never move on from tee ball.
Brad Pitt (The Curious Case ofBenjamin Button) stars as Lieutenant Aldo Raine, an officer in charge of recruiting eight Jewish-American soldiers to go undercover behind enemy lines in German-occupied France. Their main orders are to “kill Nazis” and for each soldier to get “100 Nazi scalps.” One of the soldiers, Donny Donowitz, will be played by Eli Roth (director of Hostel). This will be one of his biggest acting performances, as he has only done small cameos in the past. The other part of the story will focus on a young Jewish girl named Shosanna Dreyfus (Melanie Laurent, Paris). She is bent on revenge since the Nazis killed her family and is looking for Secret Service colonel Standartenfuhrer Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz, Ordinary Decent Criminal) aka “The Jew Hunter,” the man responsible for her families’ death. With the combination of Shosanna’s personal vendetta and the American’s German hunting, the Nazi’s world is about to be turned upside down.
Other actors appearing in the film will be Diane Kruger (National Treasure), Samuel L. Jackson (Snakes on a Plane) and Mike Myers (The Love Guru). Tarantino, who wrote and directed the film, developed the story into five main chapters chronicling different perspectives and also heavily barrowing themes from spaghetti westerns. Tarantino once said the spaghetti western epic, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, was the best-directed movie he has ever seen, so expect major influences from that.
If you were a Nazi, where would this rank on the "Worst Things to Wake Up To" list?
I can’t wait to see to this and I’m hoping Tarantino continues his colossal streak of great movies since he hasn’t had a bad one yet (his segment from Four Rooms doesn’t count). Since Tarantino’s last movie, Death Proof, didn’t do so hot in the box office, I’m not sure how this will turn out with audiences, but I’m hoping it will be huge.
Here’s a post that is unlikely to have Michael Mann-related content in the wake of our special week focusing on the famous director’s works. Our weekly and world renowned Movie Poster Round-Up makes its usually appearance in the Friday slot. It’s kinda like batting clean-up in baseball, always there to produce some runs for us. This week, a number of big name actors pop up n various posters from around the web. Like MC Hammer said, “Let’s get it started!”
Johnny Depp is The Mad Hatter on the new Alice In Wonderland one-sheet. Kinda scary to kids I would think. Bruce Willis meanwhile, is featured in his film Surrogates. A sci-fi actioner it appears. We have one more poster in a long line fo them for G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra. Good lookin’ gal, still doesn’t make me want to see the film. Five Minutes of Heaven features the half faces of stars Liam Neeson, fresh from Taken fame, and James Nesbitt. Vince Vaughn and Malin Akerman play lead couple on the star studded cast of Couples Retreat. I hope its better than the trailer which doesnt look incredibly promising to me.
We have a new one sheet for the film Precious, a Sundance hit, but a kind of lame poster. Also, we give you the movie poster for Matt Damons The Informant!. We have the full review on that up as well as the trailer if you fancy. Four new character posters for Inglourious Basterds have surfaced. I don’t like these as much as the originals with the darker theme and knife, gun, etc. but they are okay. We also have a Sorority Row poster for you. Thanks to IMP Awards for the drops. Enjoy the 4th of July weekend!!
