Who Ya Gonna Call? Bill Murray… But he probably won’t answer

matt

Part of me is annoyed at Bill Murray, and part of me sympathizes with why he’s turned his back on the long-gestating “Ghostbusters 3.”

The latest news, as reported by IGN.com, is that production for the long-talked-about sequel will begin summer 2013 and will do so without Murray.

My inner fanboy is crying out, “Why not do this for the fans, Bill?! We all are dyeing to see you back as Dr. Peter Venkman. We love you, and we love you in this unforgettable role. We are the ones who put all that money in your pocket. We’re the ones who waited in line and spent our hard-earned money to see your movies. We made you who you are, and you owe us — even if you’re not crazy about doing it.”

But  the truth is, we paid our money to see Bill Murray because he’s an incredible talent. I’m a huge fan of his, and I trust him. I believe when he makes a movie, it’s going to be a good one. I’m looking forward to his next movie, “Hyde Park on the Hudson,” in which he plays Franklin D. Roosevelt. There’s already early Oscar buzz surrounding his name. This is a man whose made some amazing movies, has incredible range, and always delivers a good performance — even if the movie isn’t great.

So I have to trust that he’s making the right choice to not take part in Ghostbusters 3. There have been so many prequels, sequels and spin-offs that I’m confident to say I could have lived without a third installment in the franchise. I’m sure it would be much better with Murray back in the cast, but it’s not going to ruin my day.

As a public, we often get the feeling that we’re entitled to the work of an artist. We feel that authors, artists and movie makers owe us their work, but it’s really not true. The greatest creations are those born naturally. It goes back to the old saying that sequels are never as good as the original, and it’s true for the most part. The reason being is that great original works are organic. When a spin-off is born out of request by the public or the demand for more dollars by a studio, it’s usually watered down, forced, and not fresh.

All great artists produce work that satisfies them. Stanley Kubrick never set out to please studios with his films. Pablo Picasso didn’t paint more or pursue surrealism because people demanded it. They created because they were artists, and people enjoyed their work because they were great at it. Bill Murray’s his own man, and I can’t help but respect him for it.

I look forward to the rest of Bill Murray’s career much more than I long for a third Ghostbusters movie.

The Hobbit set to start production

The Guardian newspaper out of the U.K. is reporting that filming of Peter Jackson’s “The Hobbit” will start next month in New Zealand — a report that follows years of setbacks for the production.

In the four years since Peter Jackson announced that his production company had agreed to make “The Hobbit,” the project has been hit by fire, a union boycott, finance concerns connected to MGM studios, a lawsuit Jackson filed against the company, the departure of original director Guillermo del Toro, and finally Jackson’s own hospitalization last month for a stomach ulcer. The film, based on the much shorter book before JRR Tolkien’s fantasy epic The Lord of the Rings, will start production March 21 in New Zealand, according to The Guardian. It’s scheduled for a December 2012 release.

“Despite some delays we are fully back on track and very excited to get started,” Jackson, now the film’s director, said in a statement issued by his production company, 3Foot7 Ltd. “This date has been chosen following practical considerations of the filming schedule requirements, actor availability and the NZ seasons. Shooting will take place at Stone Street Studios in Miramar and on location around New Zealand.”

Personally, I don’t really care. I hate the LOTR films. Never been so bored in my life. They were epic, yes, but epically boring. I enjoyed the books, and enjoyed the films when I saw them in the theater, but when I watched them at home on DVD, I couldn’t get through any of them. I don’t know how I ever liked them.

I’ll check this two-part series out, for sure, just because I know the production will be great — maybe even better than LOTR — and I loved the book from childhood.

Ghostbusters 3 update

Matt

We’ve been following the story for a pontetial third installment of the Ghostbusters franchise, and it finally looks like things are moving ahead. Filming is expected to begin in the spring, according to a report by The Guardian.

Productions Weekly, a reliable source, also tweeted: “Hearing that @SonyPictures is planning to put Ivan Reitman’s “Ghostbusters 3” into production in May 2011.”

Clearly, the wheels are turning. And to add interest, Bill Murray appeared at Spike TV’s Scream Awards to accept the best picture award for “Zombieland” and donned a Ghostbusters uniform, complete with proton pack.

The Guardian reports that Dan Aykroyd has been revising a screenplay by Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg, who worked on the American television hit “The Office.” Aykroyd said that there was a “comic role of a lifetime” for Murray in the new movie, and confirmed it would concern handing over ghostbusting duties from the old team to a new generation. 

“My character’s eyesight is shot, I got a bad knee, a bad hip – I can’t drive that caddy any more or lift that psychotron accelerator any more, it’s too heavy,” Aykroyd told the U.K. paper. “We need young legs, new minds – new Ghostbusters; so I’m in essence passing the torch to the new regime, and you know what? That’s totally OK with me.”

There have been plenty of reasons to feel skeptical this film would ever make it to the cinema. Murray and others expressed concern that the original screenplay was written by the team responsible for “Year One,” a dopy comedy with Jack Black and Michael Cera — whom I can’t stand.  In a rare interview, Murray told GQ: “Harold Ramis said, ‘Oh, I’ve got these guys, they write on The Office, and they’re really funny. They’re going to write the next Ghostbusters.’ And they had just written this movie that he had directed. Well, I never went to see ‘Year One,’ but people who did, including other Ghostbusters, said it was one of the worst things they had ever seen in their lives. So that dream just vaporised.” 

Since then, Aykroyd has been very involved in make the screenplay. He also worked on the video game screenplay, which was very good and starred the original cast. 

The Hobbit may hit scrap heap

Matt

My prediction: The Hobbit will blow

News broke today that Peter Jackson, director of the incredibly overrated “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, may scrap “The Hobbit” — a film based on the original book by fantasy writing legend and nerd demigod, J.R.R Tolkien.

This movie’s had more issues than my ex-girlfriend, from trouble getting the film greenlit by the studio because of a lawsuit with Jackson to original director Guillermo del Toro leaving the project.

Jackson is now facing union troubles, and is threatening to shut the film down in New Zealand and head for Eastern Europe, according to the New York Times.

We liked Peter Jackson better when he was a fat nerd rather than a skinny.... nerd?

There’s been debate about about when the film will begin shooting. The last we knew, Ian McKellen, who would reprise his Academy Award-nominated role as the wizard Gandalf, said filming would start in January. This labor debate is sure to slow things up.

I am not a fan, at all, of the LOTR films. I read all the books and enjoyed them. I went to all of the films in the theater and at the time enjoyed them. They looked incredible on the big screen and I got caught up in the excitement of the story unfolding and seeing the special effects and Jackson’s take on the story.

But when they came out on DVD, I couldn’t believe how boring, corny and lame they were. The dialogue was so cheesy. I had a little bit of faith when Del Toro was directing. The world’s he’s created in “Hellboy” and “Hellboy 2” were amazing, as was “Pan’s Labyrinth.” Now that Jackson is behind the camera, someone pass me a pillow. I’m going to need a nap.

If these two films don’t get made, it won’t keep me awake at night. I’d rather see Ghostbusters 3 made.

Ghostbusters 3 latest update

I’ve been holding off on updates to this movie because there are so many rumors flying around the Interwebs these days. But there was an interesting report that came out yesterday.

Sigourney Weaver told the Toronto Sun at the Toronto Film Festival that Ghostbuster 3 is happening. This is the first time any of the cast have come out and said the film will happen. Bill Murray has been a wild card, because there have been times where he sounds less than thrilled about doing a third installment of the beloved franchise — even asking to be killed off in the opening minutes. Ernie Hudson, who played fourth Ghostubuster Winston Zeddemore, has shown a lot of interest.  Rick Moranis, who has been retired from acting and making country music, said he’d reprise his role as the nerdy Louis Tully. Director Ivan Reitman will return and television’s “The Office” writers Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg will write.

We at The Movie Brothers are in the group that wants to see the film made. We know there are a million sequels, dumb ass adaptations to film, video games, throw-back TV shows and rehashed material of rehashed material.

But this is a chance for a core group of very talented people who care about the quality of the film to bring a third film into the franchise and ensure high quality comedy with great special effects, acting, direction and, of course, music. Let’s just get this thing going already!

Top 5 underrated actresses

Matt

This list is in response to my brother’s Top 5 underrated actors he posted last week. Again, our definition isn’t limited to actresses and actors who aren’t famous. I’m putting the spotlight on five women who are often overlooked in the conversation of who the best actresses working today are.

5. Catherine Keener has been very good in a ton of supporting roles and a handful of leading roles. She was nominated for best supporting Oscars for Being John Malkovich and Capote. Her career didn’t quite take off until the late 90s, but since then she’s had a string of good movies such as Your Friends & Neighbors, Death to Smoochy, The Interpreter, The 40 Year Old Virgin, Friends with Money, Into the Wild, Where the Wild Things Are, The Soloist, An American Crime and Cyrus. Most of these movies are very good, but even when they’re not, like The Soloist, her performances are very strong. I could see her winning an Oscar while she’s in her prime.

Keener in An American Crime, where she plays a deranged woman who tortures a young girl. This is a disturbing scene:

4. Juliette Lewis is a bad ass. On top of always being great in movies — she was nominated for an Oscar for Cape Fear — she also fronts the rock band Juliette and The Licks.  I always find her enjoyable to watch, even though she can be very intense. Again, Lewis is usually in supporting roles in films like Whip It, Natural Born Killers, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, From Dusk Til Dawn, or The Basketball Diaries. But she is also excellent when she takes on a leading role in a film such as My Louisiana Sky. She a triple threat in comedy, drama and music. She’s got loads of talent and she’s not afraid to take chances. She’s my kind of gal.

Lewis from a scene from her Academy Award-nominated role in Cape Fear

3. Sigourney Weaver has been nominated for three Oscars, two Emmys, and six Golden Globes. She won Golden Globes for best supporting actress in Working Girl and best actress for Gorillas in the Myst in the same year. She was nominated for a best actress Oscar for the iconic sci-fi film Aliens, which is saying a lot because the Academy rarely nominates anything that has to do with science-fiction. If they do, it’s usually for special effects and not acting. She’s chosen a huge swath of characters to play, from an autistic woman in Snow Cake, a cellist possessed by a demon in Ghostbusters or an activist scientist in the highest grossing film of all time, Avatar. There are few actresses willing to take the chances Weaver has, and her career has shined because of it.

Weaver in a scene from Snow Cake where she plays an autistic woman

2. Catherine O’Hara is always good, even if it’s a bad movie. She’s hilarious but has proven she can take on dramatic roles in films like A Mighty Wind (she performed on the Oscar nominated song from the movie) and The Life Before This. She’s been in a ton of hilarious roles in films like Beetle Juice, Heartburn, Best in Show (for which she won an American Comedy Award), Dick Tracy, Home Alone and Waiting for Guffman. She’s also done some great television, such as HBO’s Six Feet under and won an Emmy for SCTV. Comedic actors don’t get enough love, and they should. It’s hard to be funny and O’Hara is one of the funniest actresses who gives consistently good performances and always makes me laugh.

O’Hara in Best in Show

1. Ellen Burstyn is my number one. I know it may seem silly to have her as the most underrated actress when she’s been nominated six times for an Oscar and won once for Martin Scorsese’s Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. But Burstyn’s brilliant performance in Requiem for a Dream lost to Julia Roberts, who was the darling pick for Erin Brockovich. That is the definition of underrated. When was the last time you heard someone mention her among the best actresses? Or who was the last person you heard say, “Ellen Burstyn is my favorite actress.” She’s been in more than 125 roles as an actress, including classics like The Exorcist, The Last Picture Show, The People Vs. Jean Harris, Requiem for a Dream, and has had a fantastic recurring role on the HBO series Big Love. Aside from Requiem for a Dream and Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, she was also nominated for best actress in Resurrection, Same Time, Next Year, The Exorcist, and for best supporting actress in The Last Picture Show and won an Emmy for “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” for a guest role. Burstyn has a natural strength about her with a genuine vulnerability and has a fantastic delivery of any part she plays. She never mails in a role.

Ellen Burstyn in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore

I couldn’t embed this video, but click on the link and watch this scene from Requiem for a Dream. Hard to believe she lost to Julia Roberts