I always liked the aspect in The Big Lebowski that the story of the Dude was a modern legend, that it somehow came upon a mysterious stranger to tell us the story. Myth is important, it keeps things interesting, and that’s why so many legends endure the ages. Craig McDonald understands this, that character should … Continue reading
Bond Girls are a phenomenon of their own devising. They come with enormous hype at casting time, but when it’s all said and done, their roles never seem to leave a mark beyond the film’s expiration date and the Bond-verse they inhabit. As such, their casting isn’t as much news as it is the Babe … Continue reading
This is Spinal Tap completely ruined the mystery of Stonehenge for me, but I’ll give the elaborately stacked group of rocks another shot if Ridley Scott’s interested in divining their purpose. The big question here is "if", since Scott has a tendency to attach himself to more projects than he actually makes. Stones, based on … Continue reading
There’s a lot of buzz around a young woman named Diablo Cody, and for good reason: her screenwriting debut, Juno, is completely fucking terrific. Cody manages to walk the line of being indie and precious and giving her characters quirky, perhaps overstylized dialogue while keeping everything emotionally real and honest. I saw the film with … Continue reading
BUY IT FROM AMAZON: CLICK HERE!MSRP: 14.95AUTHOR: Craig McDonaldPUBLISHER: Bleak House BooksPAGES: 300Author website You’ve never heard of Hector Lassiter? Pulp novelist. Screenwriter. The man who lied about his age to ride in the Pershing Expedition? Who went overseas to fight in Europe? Notorious womanizer. He had that famous falling out with Hemingway and had a … Continue reading
While John McTiernan’s remake of The Thomas Crown Affair (co-written by CHUD fave Kurt Wimmer) was one of summer 1999’s more pleasant surprises, the clamor for a sequel wasn’t exactly deafening. And, yet, Pierce Brosnan persisted, figuring that Eric Ambler’s novel The Light of Day (subsequently made as Topkapi by Jules Dassin), would be perfect … Continue reading
This morning IESB ran a story claiming to have some minor plot details for JJ Abrams’ Star Trek XI; I read it and was interested, but don’t tend to like linking to stories like this without some kind of outside confirmation. They end up being fake too often, and it’s a bummer running a retraction … Continue reading
I knew that Beowulf would be a quality bit of spectacle after seeing the 3D preview at Comic Con this summer. I was blown away by the visuals and especially by the 3D experience, but nothing I saw in that footage indicated to me that Beowulf would be anything other than a novelty thrill ride. … Continue reading
Matt Gerald looks like a cop, and in the photo to the right he looks like a cop who’s one chromosome away from being an Alaskan vampire. Consequently he’s usually cast as a law-giving type: in the upcoming Choke; in Terminator 3, S.W.A.T, Tigerland, etc. (OK, he was a military officer in Tigerland. Close enough.) … Continue reading