Peter Jackson

The Morning’s Top 5 Pop Culture Stories

1. French-born American artist Louise Bourgeois — known for her abstract sculptures — died yesterday at the age of 98. [via NYT]
2. Last night Apple shut down Lala, the streaming music service it acquired back in December, replacing it with nothing. [via MediaMemo]
3. Check out the trailer for This… Read More

The Lovely Bones Can’t Suck, Can It?

A few months back we pored over the trailer for Peter Jackson’s film adaptation of The Lovely Bones. The film, which stars fifteen-year-old Saoirse Ronan as Susie Salmon (the murdered main character who narrates the story from heaven), Stanley Tucci as the local pervert/murderer, and Rachel Weisz, Mark Wahlberg, Susan Sarandon as her parents and grandmother, looked promising. It was going to be scored by Brian… Read More

The Morning’s Top 5 Pop Culture Stories

1. Bob Dylan responds to the critics’ takes on his holiday album, Christmas in the Heart. [via TwentyFourBit]
2. Steven Spielberg‘s Tintin is done filming, but it will take two years for the computer animation to be completed, says producer Peter Jackson. [via BBC]
3. What does the work of Claude… Read More

Quote of the Day: Harry Potter Renounces Wizard Lifestyle

Daniel Radcliffe — now at work on films seven and eight in the Potter franchise — tells the LA Times he will not be involved with Peter Jackson’s upcoming Hobbit movie.… Read More

The Morning’s Top 5 Pop Culture Stories

1. House Majority Leader Tom Delay will be on the upcoming season of Dancing With the Stars. [via Mediaite]
2. New Yorker critic David Denby says Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds is too silly to be enjoyed, even as a joke. [via The Daily Beast]
3. Peter Jackson-produced District 9 topped the… Read More

District 9 Reaches Hype Cloud Nine

District 9 is currently sitting pretty with a nearly unprecedented 97% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It doesn’t come out until tomorrow, and as far as we can tell, the New York Times hasn’t reviewed it yet, so all of this attention is resulting in some major hype. The sci-fi film from first-time director and Peter Jackson protege Neill Blomkamp takes place in South Africa, where aliens complicate an already-tense societal racial divide. District 9 is bringing out exclamation points and hyperbole in critics, who, judging by their tone, haven’t seen a movie this good in…a long time. Check out our favorite lines from the reviews after the… Read More

What’s on at Flavorpill: Links That Made the Rounds in Our Office

Today at Flavorpill, we were glad to see Marty Scorsese sticking up for LACMA’s film program — but wondered if he’s willing to back up his open letter with some cold, hard cash. We found Christina’s Aguilera’s t-shirt funny. We went behind-the-scenes of Peter Jackson’s The Lovely Bones. We were excited to see what Shepard Fairey, Kent Twitchell, and Thierry Noir come up with for their Berlin Wall-inspired project. We learned from Molly Ringwald that John Hughes was prone to grudges. We tried to come up with a funny nickname for the upcoming release date for Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol. We learned a thing or two about steampunk. We finally, we found this article — about a six-year-old boy who was only able to communicate with him family once they gave him a felt pen — totally… Read More

Rate-a-Trailer: Peter Jackson’s The Lovely Bones

After getting a sneak preview yesterday, today the trailer for Peter Jackson’s adaptation of Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones is up and available for your viewing pleasure, with an introduction by Jackson himself. Fifteen-year-old stars at Susie Salmon, the murdered main character who narrates the story from heaven. Rachel Weisz and Mark Wahlberg play her parents, and Susan Sarandon makes what we believe is her grandmotherly debut. Will nerds turn out for a post-LOTR Peter Jackson without the draw of a giant primate? This may help: Pitchfork reports that Brian Eno scored the film. It’s set to open in December — Oscar bait, of course. Check out the full trailer after the… Read More

Pic of the Day: The Hobbiton Is Back!

We still don’t have casting information for Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro’s adaptation of The Hobbit, but we can show you this: they’re rebuilding the Hobbiton, which fans will recognize from Lord of the Rings franchise. The Hobbit will hit theaters in 2011. [via… Read More

What’s on at Flavorpill: Links That Made the Rounds at Our Office

Today at Flavorpill, we listened to seven mintues of Harold Ramis talking about Ghostbusters 3. We found out how hard  porn screenwriters work. We felt sorry for Michael Jackson’s brain. We fought over who are the greatest TV characters. We were frightened by the trailer for Peter Jackson’s District 9… Read More