Big Screen Little Screen

File this under “You’ve got to be shitting me,” or a facetious There Will Be [user defined] heading. It would be insulting to the moviegoing public and the P.T. Anderson camp if it weren’t such a daft forehead-slapper. Entitled “‘There Will Be Blood’ is about what, exactly?” - from EW:

When you hear that title, the moniker given to Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest, what images spring to mind? Gothic vampires, sure. A revenge film? Serial killer thriller, perhaps? Torture porn?

Judging by the trailer posted here, you’ll get none of the above. Based on Upton Sinclair’s Oil!, its about a greedy Texas oil prospector (Daniel Day Lewis). Now, he might (or might not) kill folks, but that’s sort of beside the point. (As is whether or not the film is any good. Which it very well might be, given Anderson’s track record.) The question is: Would you feel swindled if you showed up to see a movie called There Will Be Blood and got a period piece about crude drilling? Is this a case of smart marketing, or a shifty bait-and-switch?

Where to start?  I have to think we’re better than this, no? I understand that the Saw franchise may lay claim on the “there will be blood” line, but it stands to reason that by and large we’re exercising due diligence and checking a trailer or review before heading out to the movie house. If you’re telling me we’re at the point where people are waddling up to the ticket booth and making ad hoc selections based solely on film titles, then either a) it’s time to pack it up and shut it down, or b) look out for a big push coming down the pike for big-budgeted features under names like Strong Violence, or for the romantics: Brief Sensuality.

I feel like I’m taking crazy pills. And if this is a bait-and-switch tactic, Paul’s been scheming it a least a year or two now, minimum.

Tags: p.t. anderson, there will be blood, saw, idiocracy

Written by Superbad co-scribes Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, the Apatow-is-only-producing comedy Pineapple Express is set for a summer 08′ release. Directed by David Gordon Green, the feature stars Rogen and James Franco, as pothead and dealer, respectively. Rogen is witness to a murder committed by a cop played by none other than the Great Rosie Perez, and things take shape from there. This four-minute clip takes place during more innocent and carefree times as Saul (Franco) introduces Dale (Rogen) to the namesake miracle herb. Meandering ensues. (Click the small fast-forward button to avoid watching the intro over and over.)

Apologies in advance if the video, provided by JoBlo, is disabled as some point, meeting the same fate as a previously YouTubed version. Word is that the preview will be included in the extras for the Superbad DVD just hitting stores now.

Tags: seth rogen, james franco, pineapple express, superbad

A good friend to the site, Goldenfiddle’s Spencer Sloan sent over highlights of Shia LeBeouf’s turn in Transformers. To be truthful, I haven’t caught Shia in anything since the long defunct Project Greenlight, so consider me grateful for the opportunity to see firsthand whether the accolades were deserved. Does the kid really have serious chops? Now I know. Yes, yes, a thousand times yes.

– 5 minutes with Michel Gondry on the making of Bjork’s Declare Independence. (Row Three)

– In celebration of a new DVD transfer of Help!, a look at the original trailer. (Anne Thompson)

– “If he was alive now, making this now, he would make it now, as if he were making it then.” With a wink, Martin Scorsese remakes a film that was never made: based on an unfinished (and fictional) Alfred Hitchcock script entitled Key To Reserva. 9 minutes, paid for by champagne Freixenet. (Filmmaker)

– Hamony Korine, also making a few pounds on the side for his work on a bit of eye candy for Thorton’s. (Spout)

– When the scripts well runs dry, Hollywood will turn to adaptations of The Hills. James Franco and Mila Kunis depict the entertainment world’s version of nuclear winter in this Funny or Die short. (EW)

Tags: shia lebouf, bjork, harmony korine, the hills, scorsese, beatles