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Cool Russ Meyer-Inspired ‘Star Wars’ Figures, Commissioned by Patton Oswalt

By Jason Bailey on

It’s not every day that you hear about a project that brings together (psychically, at least) George Lucas, Roger Ebert, Russ Meyer, and Patton Oswalt, but here goes: when Oswalt was acting in Young Adult, he became interested in Jamie Follis (aka “Sillof”), an “action figure customizer” with a specialty in physical reimaginings of the Star Wars universe. Oswalt liked Sillof’s work so much that he commissioned him to create a series of figures that mashed up the world of Lucas with that of exploitation movie legend Russ Meyer, resulting in the artist’s latest series, Faster, Empire! Strike! Strike! … Read More

Film

Everything We Know About ‘Star Wars: Episode VII’ So Far

By Alison Herman on

News dropped yesterday that Man of Steel director Zack Snyder will be directing a new Star Wars movie, but it’ll be a stand-alone film based on the Seven Samurai, not the first in Disney’s planned trilogy of sequels. A few hours later his spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter that it simply wasn’t so: “While he is super-flattered because he is a huge fan, Zack is not involved in any way with the new Star Wars. He is currently in post on his two films, Man of Steel and 300: Battle of Artemisia.”

Confusing right? If you’re like us, then you’re having trouble keeping track of all of the recent Star Wars news. If Zack Snyder isn’t directing Episode VII — or the standalone film, for that matter — then who is? When’s it coming out? Will Carrie Fisher come back? And most importantly, will it at least be better than Phantom Menace? Here’s everything George Lucas, Disney, and others have let slip about what could be the most hotly anticipated movie since, well, the last Star Wars. … Read More

Film

10 Random Acts of Kindness That Will Restore Your Faith in Hollywood

By Alison Nastasi on

It’s easy to see Hollywood as a detestable machine. Between the unnecessary remakes, sequels, prequels, talking heads, and the advertising onslaught, it’s enough to make a true cinephile scream. There are great things about Hollywood, though. Sometimes we’re treated to a tale that thrills us to the edge of our seat or touches us profoundly — and sometimes those stories happen off screen. The Internet is abuzz with a report about a terminally ill Trekkie. Director J.J. Abrams — who is normally extremely secretive about his projects — granted the man’s dying wish: to see the upcoming film, Star Trek Into Darkness. Abrams screened the unfinished movie for a fan named Daniel who has been diagnosed with cancer and only has weeks to live. According to Dan’s family, they “enjoyed it immensely as a film and as a gesture.” We rounded up other heartwarming stories that restored our faith in Hollywood. Grab a tissue or two, and meet us after the jump. … Read More

Film

10 Suggested New Year’s Resolutions for Filmmakers

By Jason Bailey on

Happy New Year’s Eve, everybody! Yes, it’s one of those wonderful days where we can get a little bit of comfort out of knowing we’re all doing many of the same things: picking out our best-looking outfit, grousing about how holiday snacking means we can no longer fit into our best-looking outfit, preparing to get out and have an amazing New Year’s Eve, preparing for the inevitable disappointment of another lame New Year’s Eve, and, of course, working up our New Year’s resolutions. But here’s what’s great about working at a pop culture blog: we can put off making our own resolutions by making them for others. It’s fun! Thus, after the jump, we’ve got some 2013 resolutions for a few of our favorite (and some of our least favorite) filmmakers. Check them out after the jump. … Read More

Film

Awesome Photos of Filmmakers Hanging Out Together

By Jason Bailey on

In honor of the launch of the purty new Flavorwire 2.0, we decided to return to one of our most popular features: images of your favorite people together. We’ve previously rounded up pictures of great comedians, musicians, and writers killing some leisure time in each other’s company; today, we’ve assembled 25 shots of filmmakers chewing the fat. Again, some of the match-ups are surprising (Warhol and Hitchcock? Get outta here), some less so (spoiler: Lucas and Spielberg hang out a lot off-set too). There are even some special guest stars (BOWIE ALERT). With our thanks to the tons of Tumblrs and blogs that collect such things — especially the heroes over at Awesome People Hanging Out Together — we present this latest gallery; check it out after the jump. … Read More

Film

Awesome Storyboards from 15 of Your Favorite Films

By Jason Bailey on

With storyboards on our mind lately thanks to their use in both the opening sequence and the climax of Argo, we decided to put together a gallery of our favorites from iconic… Read More

Film

‘Star Wars: Episode VII’ Already Has a Writer

By Caroline Stanley on

Well, that was fast. Just last week we were telling you that Star Wars: Episode VII, the film that will mark the beginning of a new trilogy, would feature an original story. Today, according to an exclusive report from Vulture, Oscar-winning screenwriter Michael Arndt — who most recently penned The Hunger… Read More

News

The Morning’s Top 5 Pop Culture Stories

By Caroline Stanley on

1. You know that $4.05 billion that George Lucas made in his deal with Disney? Apparently he plans to donate “the majority of the proceeds” to his philanthropic endeavors. [via Collider]

2. Wes Anderson says that Grand Budapest Hotel “mostly takes place about 85 years ago… And it’s kind of European … a… Read More

Film

How the Disney Deal Could Save ‘Star Wars’

By Jason Bailey on

It would’ve taken a seismic shock to get Twitter and the blogosphere to stop chattering about Frankenmummystorm Sandy yesterday afternoon — and that’s exactly what happened (okay, maybe just metaphorically). Late in the day, Disney announced that they’d closed a $4.05 billion deal to purchase George Lucas’ LucasFilm production company; the same announcement also included news that a new Star Wars feature film will be released in 2015, an Episode VII that will mark the beginning of a new trilogy. Movie geeks across the Internet went, shall we say, ape-shit. And so did we, initially — how on earth can anyone in their right mind expect anything but the worst from another Star Wars trilogy? Didn’t the last one sully our beloved childhood memories enough? But the more we’ve thought about it, the more we’ve come to the conclusion that this whole Disney/LucasFilm business could, ultimately, be a very good thing. … Read More

Film

10 Once-Great Directors Who’ve Lost Their Touch

By Jason Bailey on

Rob Reiner has a new movie in theaters this Friday; it’s called The Magic of Belle Isle, it stars Morgan Freeman and Virginia Madsen, and it is just plain terrible. This shouldn’t come as a surprise at this point in the Reiner filmography; after a hot streak that included the likes of This Is Spinal Tap, The Princess Bride, and Stand By Me, Reiner went cold after 1995′s The American President and hasn’t made a great movie since. It happens — for every Scorsese that maintains a consistent quality for decades on end, there are plenty of filmmakers who don’t (even such greats as Hitchcock, Wilder, Chaplin, and Hawks were turning out clunkers at the end of their distinguished careers). In fact, we took an inventory, and dug up 10 more contemporary filmmakers who have gone cold; check them out after the jump, and add your own in the comments. … Read More