Posts Tagged ‘Quentin Tarantino’

Veteran filmmaker and director Kevin Smith is shaking things up in Hollywood with his new movie, Red State. The film, a fast-paced suspense/horror film about a Christian church that takes drastic action against those it deems sinners, recently wrapped a 15-city American tour that was a smashing success, as well as a one week only Oscar run at Quentin Tarantino’s New Beverly Theatre in Los Angeles.

Though Red State is slated for an October release, Smith took the movie across the country on a sneak preview/Q&A tour in order to raise funds for distribution, as the movie is being released without the help of any major motion picture company.

The tour, which ended on April 9th at the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles, raised a staggering amount of money in it’s showings and has shown that Smith’s wild experiment was a great one, bringing the film into profit on a very limited run.

Red State has been in the works for years. A sharp detour from Smith’s usual films (mostly comedies with a touch of drama), Red State was passed on by the Weinstein brothers (Smith’s usual backers), as well as many other movie studios. Having what Smith himself deemed a great movie on his hands but without his usual support, the filmmaker decided to make it himself, and shoot the film on a shoestring budget of only $4,000,000, which represented the smallest budget he had worked with since “Chasing Amy” (one of my favorite films ever).

Somehow, Smith was able to put together a phenomenal movie in “Red State”, with a cast that includes John Goodman, Oscar winner Melissa Leo, comedian Kevin Pollack, Steven Root, the stunningly beautiful Kerry Bishé and more. The star that steals the movie though, is veteran actor Michael Parks, who brings five decades of acting experience to the part of Abin Cooper, patriarch and preacher.

Parks is a larger than life figure who absolutely dominates every frame that he is in, and makes the audience completely buy in to his characters fervor and beliefs. It would be shocking to see his name missing from this year’s Oscar nominees for Best Actor.

Though time and time again Smith was told “Red State” was not a film Hollywood studios could sell, repeated sold out showings throughout the country have proven otherwise. With the success of “Red State”, Smith may be able to turn things in Hollywood on their head, and show that if a filmmaker has enough passion, drive and determination, they can succeed when every other person in the room believes that they will fail. Smith marketed the film himself through his own Smodcast team and steadfastly has believed in “Red State”, and not only has he proven himself right, but also he has made one of the best films of his career in the process.

All of here at Positively Celebrity laud Kevin Smith’s example of “Red State” as a project that he believed in when no one else would, and are looking forward to it’s successful run in theaters throughout the world, as well as on DVD/Blu-Ray and VOD (releasing on September 1). You can learn more about Red State by going to it’s website – www.CoopersDell.com.

And, as always, be sure to check back for all things celebrity from Richard Munassi right here at Positively Celebrity!

One of the greatest times of the year for top notch movies is the summer! Movie execs even change the dates their movies debut in order to take part in this sweltering time of year. Here are six films we can’t wait to see during the Summer 2009 movie season…

June

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen – Summer is an infamous time of year for sequels and 2009 is no exception.  The trailer alone for “Transformers 2” promises amazing action, explosive destruction, CG-palooza and there’s even a plot thrown in there too. Sam Witwicky (LaBeouf) discovers the back story of the giant robots that are causing demolition worldwide – Egypt, Paris and the US. The cherry on this sundae – IMAX footage, which is sure to enhance the already exciting special effects. June 24th.

Away We Go – “Go’s” trailer caught my eye when I saw “Adventureland.” The odd couple of John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph (two hugely funny actors not frequently seen on the large screen) had me scribbling down the release date in the dark theater so I wouldn’t forget. “Go” is a “road trip” film for adults as Krasinski and Rudolph travel to see family and friends to find a place that feels like home before they become parents for the first time. Maggie Gyllenhaal, Allison Janney, Jeff Daniels, and Catherine O’Hara are just a couple of the odd ball friends and family members visited by the pregnant couple. June 5th.

July

Public Enemies – Johnny Depp and Christian Bale – that’s all you need to be sold on this summer semi bio-pic. Directed by the successful Michael Mann (“Collateral,” “Ali,” “The Insider,” “Heat,” and “The Last of the Mohicans”) this film is already being talked about as the only summer film that will be remembered at Oscar time.  “Enemies” is a depression era crime drama about infamous bank robber John Dillinger (Depp) and the clean cut FBI agent determined to bring him in, Melvin Purvis (Bale).  Two stories from behind the scenes recount that Bale was in character 24/7 and that Depp was actually giddy at the opportunity to handle Dillinger’s actual brief case. This is going to be a real box office melter. July 1st.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince – “Prince” should have been on the Fall ’08 list, but the higher ups who made the movie moved it to summer ’09 for financial reasons. The 2nd to last book in the JK Rowling series has a darker story that revolves around the origins of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Through multiple memory type flashback sequences the audience and Harry will learn a lot more about Voldemort’s history. There’s also the prospect of love for some of our favorite Hogwarts’ students (but I won’t tell you who in case you haven’t read the book). July 15th.

August

The Boat That Rocked – Haven’t heard of this movie yet? That’s ok – you’ll be dying to see it because of the cast alone: Philip Seymour Hoffman (“Doubt”), Emma Thompson (“Stranger Than Fiction’), Gemma Arterton (“Quantum of Solace”), Bill Nighy (“Love Actually”), Kenneth Branagh (“Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets”), January Jones (“Mad Men”), Rhys Darby (“Yes Man”), Jack Davenport (the “Pirates” movies), Nick Frost (“Hot Fuzz”), Rhys Ifans (“Elizabeth: The Golden Age”), Kirsty Mather (“Mamma Mia”), and Tom Wisdom (“300”). What a line up! And it’s directed by Richard Curtis who did “Love Actually.” August 28th.

Inglourious Basterds – Yes, the movie title is spelled correctly. Leave it director Quentin Tarantino to find the craziest spelling for his latest film starring Brad Pitt, Mike Myers, B.J. Novak, Samuel L. Jackson and Cloris Leachman. “Inglourious” is two stories in one – the first is about a Jewish girl whose family is killed by Nazis, she leaves and ends up working at a movie theatre, and infatuated with a German war hero and plotting revenge for her family’s deaths. The second story – a group of Jewish-American soldiers who are working behind enemy lines plot their own scheme against the Nazis. How do the two stories relate? The movie theater is the key (how ironic). August 21st.

Inspired by Quentin Tarantino’s “Kill Bill”, AFI’s music video “Love Like Winter” is set in a deserted, cold, icy landscape. It may feel like DecemberUnderground for AFI, but to fans, their latest album is heating up the charts. I caught up with the band on the red carpet at last year’s Spike TV’s Video Game Awards, where they were performing later that night.

Kristen Aldridge: Fans new and old are saying your album DecemberUnderground is a really great progression in sound for you guys. What sets this one apart from the rest?

Jade Puget: It’s a result of over two years of work, we spent a long time writing it. We took our time, we didn’t rush it.

Davey Havok: I think fans recognize our honesty in our music and that this is the only way we can express ourselves.

Jade Puget: And our fans expect and embrace that we do change with every record.

Adam Carson: We never like to cover the same thing we’ve done before, we get bored!

Kristen Aldridge: Since we’re here at the Spike TV Video Game Awards, if you could be any video game character, who would you be and why?

Jade Puget: I’d like to be one of the Paddles in Pong.

Adam Carson: Mr. Doo!

Jade Puget: Or that chick from Metro!

Hunter: The guy from Burger Time –

Davey Havok: Oh yeah, but vegan!

Kristen Aldridge: How does it feel to be honored with a Breakthrough of the Year Award tonight?

Mary Elizabeth Winstead: It feels great, it’s really surreal because I’m still kind of breaking through, I guess, and this award is about the possibilities in one’s future, so I’m really honored someone is honoring me and pointing me out as that.

Kristen Aldridge: What was it like working with such an all-star cast on Bobby?

Mary Elizabeth Winstead: Unbelievable! Every day was like a dream. I couldn’t believe I was actually there and getting to see Anthony Hopkins on one end, Sharon Stone on the other, and William H. Macy. It didn’t feel real, that’s not the way the world works to see all these people in one room! It was really strange but such an honor.

Kristen Aldridge: Who would you like to work with next? You’ve already worked with some of the best.

Mary Elizabeth Winstead: I know, there are so many people. I think Meryl Streep is the ultimate person to work with for any actor, also Uma Thurman I love. I just finished working with Quentin Tarantino who’s like my idol and Uma Thurman is the actress equivalent of that to me so that would be really cool.

Kristen Aldridge: What would you say has been the best moment of this year for you?

Mary Elizabeth Winstead: Just getting to work back to back. I haven’t stopped working, and that’s the best thing in my life after trying to work for 10 years as an actress. It’s the first time that I’ve been extremely busy and I couldn’t be happier than that.

Kristen Aldridge: You’ve got some more great films coming up too!

Mary Elizabeth Winstead: I’ve got “Grindhouse” with Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino, it’s a really great movie. Also “Live Free or Die Hard” with Bruce Willis. It’s going to be a good year!