WTF!: Local movie theater robbed.

From The News & Record:

GREENSBORO — Police are looking for someone who broke into a safe at the Carmike Cinemas 14 early Sunday morning.

Greensboro police said the cinema manager closed the theater at 4822 Koger Blvd. and left, but returned shortly before 2 a.m. The manager discovered that someone had broken into the theater's office and safe room and took an undisclosed amount of money, police said.

Police have no suspects and have made no arrests. Anyone who knows more about this break-in can call Crime Stoppers at 373-1000.

--

As if running a Carmike Cinemas could get any worse. Then again, I've worked at a Carmike before, and it sounds like an inside job to me. I'm certain that a former employee will be arrested shortly.

NEW PODCAST!!!! (Southland Tales Special)

After a two week hiatus, The Movie Show's podcast has returned.

On this week’s episode of we celebrate Southland Tales, the Richard Kelly film that was sadly dissed at Cannes ’06. Mike reviews the film positively, and I play four songs from the movie’s soundtrack. And if that wasn't post-apacalyptic enough for you, I perform the ultimate fatality on Neil Marshal's sadly disappointing Mad Max knock-off, Doomsday.

Listeners can also hear intense discussion of the movies Robocop and Lady Vengeance (since both of those are about to get remade), plus Mike and I remember Anthony Minghella and contemplate a world without Pat Swayze.

Soundtrack Selections include:

“Never Far Away” by Jack White from Cold Mountain,
“Wave of Mutilation” (UK surf rock version) by The Pixies,
-and-
Howl (extended version) by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club from Southland Tales.

Check it out here! Or if you would rather get technological, you can click on the purple icon on the top right corner of this page to subscribe via iTunes.

Holy crap, it's Snake Eyes! (PICS!!!!)

I know I said I was going to wait until Saturday to post anything on the show last night, but these pics were too cool to sit on.

Was cruising the web real quick, and caught this pair of awesome images featuring Ray 'Darth Maul' Park as Snake Eyes for the upcoming G.I. Joe film.





A nice literal translation of the character's look from the cartoon. I'm so glad they didn't feel the need to pull a Transformers on him by changing his look entirely. And since Snake Eyes is a ninja, there was really no need.



See what I mean?

Now we just have to wait for a glimpse of Cobra Commander. I wouldn't mind if they went literal on him as well, dinky suit and all. But something tells me he'll at least trade in his navy blue head rag or Darth Vader helmet for something a little more chic.

My Trip to L.A.: The Debriefening

Am back from L.A., and feel jet-lagged as all hell. The flights home were delayed because of rainy weather and almost everything I bought was expensive. But in the end, it was worth it.

It's all so funny - George Clooney shot his movie in Greensboro and Winston-Salem, including one scene which he filmed at the high school across the street from my house. Clooney couldn't speak with the press at the time because, understandably, he was extremely busy directing and starring in it. So I hooked up with the publicity reps at Universal hoping I could score a 7-10 minute phoner with George before the movie came out. After much hemming and hawing regarding how I would be able to see the movie before the interview, the studio decided it would be best if they just simply put me on a plane, let me stay in the Four Seasons near Beverly Hills, drive me to see the film at Grauman's Chinese Theatre, and then interview not only Clooney, but his co-stars John Krasinski and Renée Zellweger as well...

In person.

Talk about asking for a piggy back ride only to get the keys to a Ferrarri instead. It was almost obscene in a way.

Krasinski was very cool, a rapid fire dude who came up with hilarious replies even before some people had finished asking their questions.

Clooney was, well, Clooney. By that, I mean that he's the biggest American movie star today, and when you sit in a room with him, it's easy to see why. If he were a D&D character, he would have at least a 20-level charisma rating, which he effortlessly used to turn the press into a room of prom dates on Rohypnol.

But for my money, the real star of the whole junket was Zellweger. It was just an amazing and intense interview. She didn't joke around, but she wasn't angry either. She sat there, concentrating on every question she received and gave real responses regarding her craft as an artist. The most interesting thing she said is that she loves it when people are having a bad enough day to forget who she is and be mean to her. Zellweger believes those rare moments of reality are vital to her craft, because if her last 'real experiences' in life happened before she was famous, she would be useless as an actress as she continues to get older and has nothing relevant to draw upon in future roles.

And when a reporter from Detroit tried to bait her for some details regarding her years-old break up with Jack White, she ever so casually blew him off by telling him to say hi to the employees of her favorite Starbucks in the downtown area.

Just way cool.

Non-celebrity wise, I got to meet up with an old high school buddy of mine named Ben. He lives in L.A. where he works as an actor. Ben and I hung out for a few hours. He gave me sort of a crash course on L.A. living, and drove me to see David Gordon Green's Snow Angels. It's nice to see that he's out there in Hollywood, trying to kick some ass (at acting and Rock Band on XBox 360) while still being Ben for the most part.

I also met Ben's friend, Racheal, who was his girlfriend at one time. She was supposed to videotape George Clooney, but got held up in all the hellish traffic that they never show in movies about L.A. Kind of a blessing in disguise though, since apparently any photography during the press events was verboten. I gave her a Leatherheads t-shirt, and she got to see Zellweger, so I hope she doesn't think she wasted her time. She invited me to a midnight screening of Jurassic Park, which was nice. However, by the time the movie was going to end, it would have been past 6 A.M. Greensboro time, and as an early bird, I don't do late nights regardless of how many DTS-enhanced lizards roar into my ears.

Three things I've learned since arriving in L.A.

1) Even nuns can be suspected terrorists - Walking towards the door of LAX, I noticed a nun had been pulled aside into a check point, taken into a glass cubicle, and thoroughly examined by Homeland Security. Mind you, this wasn't a middle eastern nun or anything, she was an old as my grandma, dressed as a penguin nun. You could tell she was humiliated as all the passersby - like myself - were staring at the absurdity of it all.

2) I am the poorest guy in my hotel - I walked into my hotel and the first thing I realized was that everyone was dressed to the nines. Hair and bodies painted. Skin tucked, pulled, stretched, and stiched. Me? I was wearing a suit, but there's no way my entire ensemble cost more than the shoes of the Asian guy who opens doors.

3) The Four Seasons Hotel is in fact the 'hotel of the stars,' just not the ones I would care to meet - When I found out I would be staying at the Four Seasons Hotel off of Sunset Blvd., my travel agent called it, 'The hotel of the stars!' So far I have seen Vince Niel and Charlie Sheen. I didn't try to speak to them, shake their hands, get an autograph, or take their pictures. The reason being that while they are both major stars, I was never a big fan. They are probably going to get bothered by fans (X) times a day, so why add to that variable when I am someone who really doesn't give a damn.

Plus, I always feel so sorry for celebrities, because, thanks to the media, we know more about their lives than they could ever know about ours. For instance, I know Charlie Sheen is having a difficult time with his ex-wife because she's exploiting their three kids by putting them in a reality TV show. I didn't want to know about all that stuff, but I do, because daily updates from IMDB are part of my religion.

So when I walked out of a public bathroom and saw that Charlie Sheen had not shaved yesterday, my first thought was that he had skipped doing so, because he's worried about his kids. See what I mean? It's really not fair for these celebrities. They've got it rough - even if they do make millions of dollars.

Can you guess the movie?

I am hitting the skies, en route to L.A. to meet George Clooney.

Thought I would make a quick video update from the airport. The first person to correctly guess what movie I am referencing wins a prize.

You can see the video here.

Good luck!

Final WALL·E trailer!

So how did WALL·E become my most anticipated movie of the summer?

Watch the trailer below to find out.



Chew on that one, Batman!

The final Indy 4 poster.

Before you know it, we're gonna have a brand spanking new Indiana Jones movie in theaters. I wasn't so big on the project at first, because I was worried they might be trying to hide how old Indy really is. That was especially the feeling I got from the first poster that looked as if it were made the day after The Last Crusade.

The trailer gave me some interest as opposed to none, and now this poster is something I can clap my hands about:



The poster version of Indy is FINALLY starting to look like Harrison Ford's age. This is a good thing, people. As we learned from Charles Bronson in Death Wish 5, nothing kills a senior action franchise more than denial.

FACT: 'A lot of our founding forefathers were magical wizards.'

That's what Danny R. McBride is telling us this week. And no one really has the power or authority to disagree.

Here's a clip of him rewriting our nation's history in this weekend's Drillbit Taylor:


So throw out your history books, people. McBride has spoken!

Superior Alternate ending for I am Legend.

[MASSIVE SPOILER ALERT!!!]



To anyone who saw the film in theaters:

Wasn't that a really good ending?

In the re-shot ending, Will Smith whips out a grenade, tells the woman and child to hide in some sort of bomb shelter, and detinates the grenade which somehow has the power to blow up the entire room. Grenades don't do that!!! And even if some people might never have gotten the original ending, I have yet to meet one person who enjoyed the finale we got in theaters.

See for yourself:



It really makes you wonder what the Warner execs were thinking when they not only decided to replace that ending, but to replace it with that ridiculous 'magic grenade' finale which completely ruined an otherwise decent mainstream zombie flick.

The original ending is actually supported by clues dropped throughout the entire film. More importantly, it carries home the thematic wallop that all of the mutants Smith's character killed in his pursuit to find a cure were still people - an idea that has been simmering throughout the entire film up to that point. That wall of polaroids Smith looks at were not failed attempts to find a cure, they were victims, making Smith's character no better than the deadly mutants he was so eager to destroy.

The Warner execs had were given a choice between a halfway thoughtful statement on mankind's inability to empathize with that which they deem a terror or a threat, or a big stupid explosion that blew stuff up real good. I guess for studio heads, blowing stuff up real good beats out a thoughtful, well-meaning conclusion every time.

Now considering that these are the same people who hold the destiny of Where the Wild Things Are in the palm of their hands, it's a safe bet to say Spike Jonze is doomed.

Most of these new Watchmen photos...

...are looking pretty good.


(Jeffrey Dean Morgan as The Comedian)


(Patrick Wilson as Batma- er Night Owl)


(Mathrew Goode as Ozymandias)


(Jackie Earl Haley as Rorschach)


(Malin Akerman as Silk Spectre II)

Am little bummed that we didn't get to see Billy Crudup's Dr. Manhattan.

Also, Ozymandias' photo is cast a little too dark. He's supposed to be this bright and promising hero who wants all of mankind to unlock their hidden potential. Kinda like Tom Cruise, and neither he nor Ozymandias would approve of such a dark photo.

I'm really not that worried about how this film is going to look. If nothing else, Snyder is a pop art visualist. It's the script, the overarching themes from Alan Moore's book, and I guess we won't know how those play out until the movie comes out a year from today.

Redband trailer for Foot Fist Way.

Shot and set in Concord, NC, this movie was made by two NCSA grads, and looks set to take the comedy world by storm.



This bad boy has been sitting in acquisition over at Paramount for two years. Supposedly, it's supposed to drop on June 6th.

To quote Danny R. McBride's character Fred Simmons: "It has begun."