Larry Ratliff

Clooney vs. Clooney again is just loony

 George Clooney and adversary in "The Men Who Stare at Goats."  (Overture Films)

 

It's  déjà vu all over George Clooney again.

For the second time in a couple of years, the popular leading man, man-about-town, Oscar-nominated director and screenwriter ("Good Night and Good Luck"), Academy Award-winning actor ("Syriana") and pet pig lover has two major movies bumping heads in the fall movie schedule.

 

"Up in the Air" is one of two George Clooney movies  up in the air.  (Paramount Pictures)

In 2007, the dilemma involved the law firm drama "Michael Clayton" and the goofball professional football romantic-comedy "Leatherheads," which Clooney also directed.

Fast-forward to this fall and dueling Clooney star vehicles are vying for the same early November debut parking space.

According to an article posted on the Hollywood Reporter Web site, "The always-crowded holiday movie season has its first controversy, with rival studios each slotting a George Clooney movie within a week of one another."

Overture's dark war-themed comedy "The Men Who Stare at Goats" is set for wide release on Nov. 6, according to the Hollywood Reporter article.

Meanwhile, it seems Paramount Pictures has a limited opening planned for its Clooney-starring "Up in the Air" a week later on Nov. 13.  A dramatic comedy, "Up in the Air" ignited positive buzz at the recent Toronto Film Festival, according to the folks over at The Hollywood Reporter.

From this aisle seat, two plans of action are called for:

One of the studios needs to back off the date, of course.  Look for that to happen.

Also, maybe some of those guys staring at goats should spend a little time staring at the fall movie release calendar.

Austin Film Fest gets 'Serious'

Meg Ryan and Timothy Hutton play husband and wife in "Serious Moonlight."  (Magnolia Pictures)

 

"Serious Moonlight," a dark relationship comedy starring Meg Ryan, Timothy Hutton, Justin Long and Kristen Bell will ring in the 16th annual Austin Film Festival on Oct. 22.

Director Cheryl Hines, who co-starred with late "Serious Moonlight" screenwriter Adrienne Shelly in "Waitress," is expected to be in attendance for the opening night screening at Austin's luxurious Paramount Theater.

Jason Reitman's "Up in the Air," which an on-line article posted by the Hollywood Reporter says "has been soaring through the fall festival circuit," will close Austin's showcase of screenwriters on Oct. 29.  Reitman, like Hines, is expected to be in attendance.

Twenty-four world and U.S. premieres will unspool at this year's event.

"'Serious Moonlight' became Shelly's final screenplay before she died, and Hines ('Curb Your Enthusiasm'), who starred with Shelly in 'Waitress,' has made it her directorial debut," according to the Hollywood Reporter article.  Click here to read the entire article.

When legal options aren't quite enough

Roman Polanski on the set of "The Pianist" in 2002.  (Focus Features)

 

The Variety Web site sports an interesting -- and, to me, aggravating -- headline this morning:

"Polanski weighs legal options"

This, of course, in reaction to news over the weekend that Oscar-winning director Roman Polanski ("The Pianist," 2002) had been arrested Saturday at the Zurich Airport.

Polanski traveled to Switzerland, which he apparently has done several times in the past without incident, to receive the Zurich Film Festival's Golden Eye award for "lifetime achievement."

There's just something about Variety's headline ("Polanski weighs legal options") that rubs me the wrong way; sort of like when a dentist or doctor says, "This won't hurt, but you might feel a little pressure."

When someone has been on the run for 32 years to prevent justice from being served after being charged with having sex with a 13-year-old girl, I'm thinking a more correct headline would read something like:

"Polanski out of illegal options."

Click here to read the entire Variety article.

Guerrilla filmmaking; no, not 'King Kong'

 

Werner Herzog, left, and Christian Bale on location for "Rescue Dawn." (Courtesy:  MGM)

If I had a little over 1400 bucks to spare and a free weekend, I'd sign up right now for Werner Herzog's Rogue Film School.

According to a story by Dave McNary posted on the Variety Web site, Herzog, whose recent credits include "Grizzly Man" and "Rescue Dawn," will teach guerrilla filmmaking Jan. 8-10 in Los Angeles.  The cost:  $1,450.  No laptops, please.

In fact, the German-born filmmaker is cautioning the faint-of-heart to not even bother to sign up.

"'Censorship will be enforced,'" he says. 'There will be no talk of shamans, of yoga classes, nutritional values, herbal teas, discovering your Boundaries, and Inner Growth,'" the article states.

Herzog does have a soft side, however, even if he won't be showing it during his Rogue Film School weekend.  He wept on the telephone when I interviewed the versatile filmmaker about the chilling documentary "Grizzly Man" in 2005.

He had footage of the savage bear attack on grizzly bear activists Timothy Treadwell and Amie Huguenard.  Herzog refused to include it in his film, however, and had trouble even speaking of the horrific footage.

His film school weekend is designed, according to the Variety Web post, "for those who are willing to learn about lock-picking or forging shooting permits in countries not favoring their projects."

He's inviting "those who have a fire burning within.  For those who have a dream."

Any takers?

Got your 'New Moon' tickets yet? That bites

 

Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson reunite as ill-fated mortal and vampire in "New Moon." 

 (Summit Entertainment)

"The Twilight Saga:  New Moon" doesn't hit movie houses until Nov. 20.  So there's no hurry to grab tickets, right?

Wrong.

The "Twilight" sequel is already a boon to advance ticket sellers, even though rushing to buy ducats this far in advance for a sequel to a vampire flick might be a pain in the neck for some.

The Hollywood Reporter is reporting on the Web this morning that "New Moon" is, uh, rising early.

"Advance tickets sales for Summit Entertainment's sequel vampire romance 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon' are going so well that on-line tickers are starting to report sellouts of the earliest show-times at many locations.

"Nine weeks prior to the film's Nov. 20 release, MovieTickets is reporting more than a dozen 'New Moon' performances as complete sellouts," the Hollywood Reporter article states.

Meanwhile, according to the Hollywood Reporter, a Fandango ticket outlet spokesperson says "New Moon" represents 57 percent of its ticket sales recently. 

More importantly, especially for those hoping to fall under the romantic vampire spell once again on opening night, Fandango is already reporting sellouts at 50 locations. 

Taming the wild stallion within

 

(Courtesy:  Zeitgeist Films)

We've all seen a parent struggling with an unruly child throwing an ear-piercing tantrum out in public.

If you see the engrossing, nothing-held-back documentary "The Horse Boy," however, you might just react a little differently next time.

"The Horse Boy," opening Friday in San Antonio at the Santikos Bijou @ Crossroads Theater, is the heart-moving true story of Rowan, a little Elgin, TX boy diagnosed with autism.

Rowan's parents, journalist and former horse trainer Rupert Isaacson and psychology professor Kristin Neff, don't stop with a diagnosis and traditional therapies, however.  Rowan developed a soothing bond with a mare named Betsy next door.

"The Horse Boy," directed and shot by Michel Orion Scott, chronicles an odyssey to a foreign land to soothe the savage beast within a deeply troubled young boy.

Isaacson, who authored the book "The Horse Boy" and narrates the film, will answer questions following the 7 p.m. screening of the documentary Sunday (Sept. 20) at San Antonio's Santikos Bijou Theater.  He'll also sign copies of the book beginning at 6 p.m.  The question and answer session is scheduled to begin about 8:30.

Copies of "The Horse Boy" book will be available for purchase ($24.99) at the theater.  Also, you must purchase a ticket to the 7 p.m. screening to attend the Q&A session.  

Isaacson, who's been traveling the U.S. to talk about his personal family saga, will also appear in Austin Friday and Saturday (Sept. 18-19) at the Regal Arbor Cinemas @ Great Hills 8.  Click here for info.

R.I.P.: Patrick Swayze -- actor, cancer fighter

 

Patrick Swayze in "Ghost." (Paramount Pictures)

Actor Patrick Swayze, a Houston native, died Monday night after a long battle with "The Beast."

And I don't mean the A&E drama series titled "The Beast" that ran for 13 episodes last winter but was not picked up for a second season.

The beast in Swayze's case was pancreatic cancer.  According to all reports, the 57-year-old Swayze battled the disease that slowly claimed him with all the fight he brought to a bar brawl in "Road House" (1989) and with as much will as it took on screen to kiss his true love after death in "Ghost" (1990).

"'Patrick Swayze passed away peacefully today with family at his side after facing the challenges of his illness for the last 20 months,' said a statement released Monday evening by his publicist Annett Wolf," according to a Hollywood Reporter Web post written by Duane Byrge.

"Swayze, whose work on 'The Beast' was singled out as being particularly compelling, said he opted not to use painkilling drugs while making the show because they would have taken the edge off his performance. He acknowledged that time might be running out given the grim nature of the disease," the Hollywood Reporter article states.

Jay walking casually into prime time

 

(Courtesy:  Time Magazine/NBC-TV)

Beginning tonight, gutsy Jay Leno makes television history by allowing TV viewers to get to sleep a little earlier.  Sorry about that Conan, Dave and . . . what's that other guy's name?

Leno strolls into prime time with "The Jay Leno Show" and a casual attitude ("So what if it doesn't work.  I'm already rich.  What do I care?").

The former host of NBC's "Tonight Show" will also be trying mightily to avoid word association with a popular NBC "reality" show, "The Biggest Loser."

So what if Time magazine is correct and Jay Leno is the future of television?  The vast electronic wasteland has never been more ripe for picking.  So-called "reality" shows have lowered the standard to a level I never imagined possible:

"So You Think You Can Dance?" -- No I don't.  Let's move on. 

"Dancing With the Stars" -- This one does offer one revelation.  These people are -- or ever were -- stars? 

"The Biggest Loser" -- While the title might almost apply during my lowest ebbs of self-esteem, I'm just not fat enough to compete.  Maybe I could appreciate those who do without an acid reflux episode if the men would keep their shirts on.

"Fear Factor" -- If I want to eat bugs I'll pull around to the fast food order window and take my chances.

So here comes Jay with a bold move and, I might add, inspiration for anyone forced out of their job in the name of job-cutting, streamlining or getting the hell out of the way for the faster, younger gun.  (Remind me, how's that working out for NBC?)

I say give Leno a chance.  After all, no one ever worked harder to be funny.  And he is.  So what's the big deal?

It's just an old friend we don't really know showing up a little earlier to send us off to bed with a botched headline and a giggle or two.

Why not give Letterman the same golden ticket to prime time?  What do we have to lose besides a few grisly episodes of "CSI: Miami," "CSI: NY" and "CSI: Shreveport"?

What really scares the girls of 'Sorority Row'?

 

The "Girls," from left to right, are Audrina Patridge (on bed), Leah Pipes, Jamie Chung, Briana Evigan, Rumer Willis and Margo Harshman.  (Summit Entertainment)

The actresses of "Sorority Row," including "Hollywood royalty" Rumer Willis, endure -- or don't -- endless mayhem at the hands of a tire-tool wielding killer in the loose remake of the 1983 horror-thriller "House on Sorority Row."

During interviews with the spirited young ensemble cast in Hollywood recently, each of the key female characters revealed the thing that spooks them most in real life. 

"Sorority Row" opens Friday (Sept. 11) at a cinematic house of horror near you.

RUMER WILLIS (She plays Ellie, the bookish, easy-to-spook, screamer sister).  The acting daughter of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore recently appeared in "The House Bunny" --  "I'm honestly not a girly-girl about a lot of things.  But I see bugs and I flip out.  I hate bugs so much.  I don't know why.

"Anything for me where I have to be trapped under water.  That's one of my worst fears.  Not of drowning, but being trapped in something underwater."

AUDRINA PATRIDGE (Megan, the cheated-on sorority sister), star of the MTV "reality" series "The Hills" -- "The supernatural."

MARGO HARSHMAN (Chugs, the party-'til-she-drops sister), TV actress, "College Road Trip") -- "I have one thing that scares me.  I'm going to say it and you guys can't talk about it anymore.  I'll start crying and run out of the room. . . . Clowns.  OK, that's the end of that."

JAMIE CHUNG (Claire, the crazy/beautiful one), a budding TV actress ("Samurai Girl," "Castle") -- "Other than death and being under a flock of birds, it's (being in) labor, labor pains.  Or, being a bone marrow donor."

BRIANA EVIGAN (Cassidy, the confident, thoughtful sorority sister), Andie in "Step Up 2:  The Streets" -- "Insects."

LEAH PIPES (Jessica, the queen bee who'll let nothing stand in the way of success).  Pipes played Jody on TV's "Terminator:  The Sarah Connor Chronicles" -- "For me, it's squirrels.  How funny is that? I just don't like them."

Summer B.O. 'Up,' up and away

 

(Courtesy:  Walt Disney Pictures)

The final tally is in and 2009 is turning out to be a very good year to be in the movie business.

Not in this end, of course.  It can get pretty cold and lonely out in the cinematic blogosphere.

I'm talking about the movie studios that crank out the mainstream blockbusters.  According to Dave McNary's post on the Variety Web site, a record-setting summer resulted in $4.35 billion spent at the box office in '09.

"The presence of a trio of 3-D pics -- Disney's 'Up' and 'G-Force' and Fox's 'Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs' -- helped put the 2009 summer into the record book as each generated about half their revenues from 3-D venues, which charged premium ticket prices," the article states.

The concession stand vendors must be whistling while they work as well.  Based on my investigative sipping, a 32-ounce movie house soft drink costs around $4.25.  That, in case anyone's interested, tallies out to $17 a gallon.

If gasoline prices rose to $17 per gallon, there would be rioting in the streets. 

It's time we develop our own soft drinks in this country.  That way we can cease paying such outrageous prices relying on foreign imports.

Oh, I forgot.  We do.