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Scenes (Songs) We Love: Ain't Nobody From 'Breakin'
Filed under: Music & Musicals, Fandom, Trailers and Clips, Scenes We Love
My love of dance movies, especially crappy dance movies, could probably all be traced back to Breakin'. In 1984 I wasn't exactly the hippest girl on the block (after all it isn't easy to be hip when you're nine years old), but when my dad took me to see Breakin' I thought this was the beginning of a long and industrious career as a B-girl. So, as you can probably guess, it didn't quite work out that way, but thanks to Breakin' I still listen to Rufus' Ain't Nobody featuring R&B legend Chaka Khan (which first appeared on Rufus' album Stompin' at The Savoy) .
Breakin' was directed by Joel Silberg and centered on the dancing duo of Turbo (Michael Chambers) and Ozone (Adolfo Quinones), who team up with Kelly, a pampered jazz dancer (played by Lucinda Dickey) in a battle with a rival dance crew by the name of Electro Rock -- and if you remember your 80s movies then you know that most disputes can be solved with a dance off. Rufus' #1 R&B hit accompanied the all-important musical montage where we see white-bread Kelly learning to pop and lock...badly.
Breakin' wasn't the first break dancing movie to come along, and if I had to choose, Beat Street would go down as my personal favorite. But, for better or for worse, Breakin' is still one of the best remembered movies of that brief fad of b-boys on the big screen, and it may not be a great movie -- as a matter of fact it's kind of a terrible movie, but this is definitely a great song.
After the jump: Kelly gets down and some cross promotion with Turbo and Ozone...
Gabe Sunday's John Lennon 'Yellow Submarine' Audition Tape
Filed under: Music & Musicals, Casting, RumorMonger, Fandom
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In the past couple days some news reports have surfaced that would make it seem as if Robert Zemeckis has begun the casting process for his Yellow Submarine remake, which is apparently going under the name of The Fab Four Project or The Untitled Fab Four Project for reasons we do not know (perhaps to either mask the real production or perhaps they've decided to go in a different direction and are between titles). Jim Hill noted that they're holding open auditions at a Beatles convention in Stamford, Connecticut this weekend, and The Sun already claims actor Stephen Graham has landed the part of Ringo in the mo-capped feature (though I'd take that piece of news with a huge grain of salt).
It also looks like Zemeckis is considering a wide range of folks for the role of John Lennon, including one of our favorite up-and-coming actors, Gabe Sunday. I first saw Sunday in the buzzed-about indie flick My Suicide and instantly knew he was heading in the right direction. The guy isn't just another wannabee actor -- he's a true artist and collaborator who likes to be involved in the entire filmmaking process. Not only is he working on a narrative film about the great Daniel Johnston, but he apparently threw together a John Lennon audition tape for Zemeckis that's pretty spot-on in terms of becoming the young, experimental Lennon who pals around with buddies and enjoys impromptu jam sessions. No doubt Sunday's usual cronies are behind the look and feel of this audition tape since it squarely belongs in their wheelhouse, and I hate to say it but I'd rather see more of this than whatever colorful mo-capped version Zemeckis has planned.
Either way I truly hope he gives Sunday a shot. The guy is ready to explode onto the scene; he just needs more opportunities to do just that. Watch the video after the jump. Good luck Gabe!
Exclusive 'Nine' Poster Premiere!
Filed under: Music & Musicals, Movie Marketing, Images, Trailers and Clips, Posters
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Cinematical has just received this sexy new poster for the upcoming movie-musical Nine, directed by Rob Marshall (Chicago), and starring ... well, who isn't starring in this film? We've got the sensational, bound-to-be-nominated-for-Best-Actor-again Daniel Day-Lewis, followed by a plethora of gorgeous female co-stars like Nicole Kidman, Penélope Cruz, Kate Hudson, Marion Cotillard, Judi Dench and Sophia Loren.
Based on the popular Broadway show, Nine follows a famous film director named Guido Contini (Day-Lewis) who's struggling to juggle all of the different dysfunctional personal and professional relationships in his life. You'd be hard-pressed to find an Oscar-related list that doesn't already include Nine as a shoe-in for multiple nominations, including Best Picture. Early reviews are already touting it as a must-see, and I can kinda see why -- this poster alone gives us at least five reasons right off the bat.
Nine is set to roll out into theaters in limited release on December 18th and nationwide on December 25th. Click on the image below to view the full poster, then head after the jump to watch the film's trailers.
Gallery: 'Nine' Movie Poster
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Exclusive: Title Track for 'The Road' Soundtrack
Filed under: Drama, Music & Musicals, New Releases, Fandom, Home Entertainment
Cinematical has just received the following title track for Nick Cave and Warren Ellis' original and haunting film score for The Road. It's simple and chilling -- just as any accompaniment to a post-apocalyptic world should be -- full of violin and piano tunes, some wind instruments and sound loops. The soundtrack is being released digitally today over at Amazon, with further digital retailers tomorrow and a CD release to follow on January 12, 2010.We first alerted you to the score back in March, and then to the duo's Soundtrack Collection in September. As you might have gathered, some of us are big Cave & Ellis fans. And rightly so. They provided an award-winning score for John Hillcoat's earlier feature The Proposition (which Cave also wrote), and also scored The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. And of course, that's besides their work in Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, which has memorable cinematic ties to Wings of Desire (before Ellis teamed up with Cave).
Too often these days it's easy to get pulled out of movies due to overly imposing and grandoise film scores desperately trying to yank at emotions, rather than just lightly coaxing the right feel for a particular scene, and Cave and Ellis definitely know how to let simplicity reign. Check out the clip and track list after the jump and grab it over here at Amazon.
Serious Scores: 'Aguirre: The Wrath of God'
Filed under: Music & Musicals, Fandom
We're doing something crazy, and launching another little series here on Cinematical: Serious Scores. You're a smart bunch, so I imagine you've already figured out that the goal isn't to highlight our favorite bank heists, but to praise the creme de la creme of cinema's soundtracks. Hopefully, you'll find something new for your iPod, rediscover a lost favorite, or appreciate a piece along with us. Technically, Werner Herzog's Aguirre: The Wrath of God doesn't have an official soundtrack. The entire score was recorded by the German progressive band Popol Vuh (the first of many collaborations they did with Herzog), and was released as an album in 1975, with a 2004 re-release. Only two tracks were actually used in the film: Aguirre I and Aguirre II. If you disdain the rest of their Krautrock, the magic of iTunes and Amazon allows you to buy them individually. Now you can put them on a playlist, set them to repeat, and go as mad as Aguirre himself.
Hints of madness aside, Aguirre I and II are pretty incredible pieces of music and were raved about in the 1970s. I think the music is just as powerful today, even if Moog synthesizers seem to have fallen out of favor. It's hypnotic and eerie, and so very evocative of that torpid jungle journey. Never have native panpipes sounded as frantic and terrified. I've embedded Aguirre I below the jump, but I highly recommend spending the $0.99 so you can download it to something hand-held and listen to it in the dark.
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Horror Musicals
Filed under: Horror, Music & Musicals
By Alison NastasiWith the announcement of Carrie making a return to the Broadway circuit after a short-lived disastrous first go-round, I'm left holding my head and wondering, "Why?" Horror musicals are like your socially awkward cousin. You know, the one who talks too much and quite possibly bears an uncanny resemblance to Franklin from Texas Chain Saw Massacre.
Is it fair to hold the horror musical to the same standards as the dastardly horror film remakes that seem to be happening in droves? I don't think I can help it. Few horror musicals have been born from an original idea which leaves me with the same funny feeling. I'm well aware that remakes have been happening since the dawn of time but this kind of remake is worse. When you add the word 'musical' to anything it evokes a horrible visceral reaction within many people. Adding it to the word horror just seems like a bastardized and shrieking kind of wrong.
Isn't the comical genius of Young Frankenstein and Evil Dead perfect as is? Young Frankenstein was a parody. So, is a mugging Dr. Frankenstein belting out a song called Transylvania Mania anything other than pointless and silly? The film Cannibal! The Musical, another intentional parody by beloved low-budget Troma Entertainment, has more class by comparison. Even Cronenberg's The Fly has been made into an opera, but they don't have me fooled. Adding the smooth vowel-ridden word to the title doesn't soften the blow. In fact, it's almost more cruel. However, Repo! The Genetic Opera would probably disagree with me.
Read the rest at Horror Squad!
'Nine' Buzz: Kate Hudson Music Video, Early Review
Filed under: Music & Musicals, New Releases, Nicole Kidman, Trailers and Clips
I may not be the biggest devotee of movie musicals, but I've been keeping an eye on Rob Marshall's adaptation of Nine (the Tony Award-winning musical) since the production was first announced back in 2007. The thought of some of the coolest chicks in Hollywood with Daniel Day Lewis in a musical about 8 1/2? Well, count me in. Despite early casting changes and rumblings about Lewis' singing abilities, I've held out hope for the flick, and now that the film's Christmas release date is a little over a month away the early reviews are trickling in. First up is AICN who scored an early review from a source going by the name of Tobby (You can read the entire review over there, but be warned, it's a little spoilery)
So let's start with the good news: according to this review, the film is pretty darn good. The reviewer had nothing but praise for Marion Cotillard as Lewis' wife, and even Fergie gets some love as the prostitute, Saraghina. As for Lewis in the role of the troubled director Guido Contini, it turns out those rumors of his lack of singing ability were just rumors, and he makes out pretty good in the review for the limited singing he does in the film (two songs) -- and I think we all knew his acting was never going to be the problem.
Of course, the film is far from perfect and there are some rough patches according to this reviewier. Most of the scorn was directed towards Nicole Kidman's performance as Contini's muse, and unfortunately one of the other problems with the film is Kate Hudson (who plays an American Vogue reporter) in what was described as a throwaway role. Bad timing, perhaps, now that Hudson's musical number, Cinema Italiano, is the bulk of the latest trailer for the film.
After the jump: Hudson's Go-Go debut and a musical layman's review of Cinema Italiano...
'Young@Heart' Sings Its Way to Narrative Film
Filed under: Documentary, Music & Musicals, Deals, Scripts
Remember that super-cute and super-rocking senior documentary Young@Heart, which hit screens last year? It's becoming a feature film, and The Hollywood Reporter posts that Working Title has found a new scribe in Will Reiser (I'm With Cancer). The rights had originally been bought back in 2007, and writer Bob Nelson had written a draft, but now, much like their senior subjects, the project is getting a new jolt of life.As I hope you know by now, the film follows a chorus of senior citizens (average age of 80) who came together and toured -- not singing "old folks" songs for retirement homes, but all-out mainstream concerts featuring modern hits and classics from the likes of The Clash, Coldplay, and James Brown. The documentary dipped into their performances and their lives (some passed away during production).
Can you think of any movie that could be more fun on the big screen? Think about the senior-aged talent and Hollywood, and then imagine them rocking out. It would make that scene in The Wedding Singer look like nothin'. Betty White. Cloris Leachman (and New York, I Love You co-star Eli Wallach). Andy Griffith. Adam West. Anne Meara. The list goes on and on. This could be epic, and of course, I'm probably getting my hopes up way too high, but just think of the possibilities. What older stars would you like to see on the big screen, belting out rock tunes? Rock out to this clip and weigh in below.
Rejoice! 'Stomp the Yard 2' is Shooting Right Now!
Filed under: Music & Musicals, Remakes and Sequels
This is what we call a slow news day. Even for a Sunday. But then a casual glance through The Hollywood Reporter yielded some huge sequel news! The sequel to Stomp the Yard has begun shooting in Atlanta! Since I don't think I've ever seen the first Stomp the Yard, I'm going to assume it's the tragic story of an ill-fated cement technician who is killed while paving a new schoolyard, thereby prompting the local dance team to "stomp" that beloved yard and win the fancy cheerleading trophy.And get a load of these funky names! "Collins Pennie ... Pooch Hall, Terrence J, Lil Duval, Tika Sumpter, Kiely Alexis Williams, Keith David, rapper David Banner and music artist Teyena Taylor join "So You Think You Can Dance" runner-up Stephen "tWitch" Boss in the cast." (I love that the rapper has the plainest moniker.) Rob Hardy will direct (he probably is at this very moment, actually) from a script by the guy who penned Feel the Noise. Hey, writing feature-length rock videos is a specific skill.
The title for the upcoming sequel is (spoiler alert) Stomp the Yard 2: Homecoming. And yes, I think they're shooting for a theatrical release on this one. For more on what's sure to be the biggest sequel since Return of the King, stomp your mouse right here.
Review: Pirate Radio
Filed under: Comedy, Music & Musicals, New Releases, Theatrical Reviews, Focus Features
Tethered to reality by only a slender thread, Pirate Radio quickly cuts loose and floats off into its own imaginary layer of the Earth's atmosphere, where only good-hearted, pleasant-thinking, die-hard romantics can survive. Welcome home, Richard Curtis, where have you been?
Writer/director Curtis rose to fame on the basis of his screenplay for Four Weddings and a Funeral, featuring an ensemble of quirky yet appealing men and women chasing love and happiness, followed, notably, by his script for Notting Hill, but he's been writing off-kilter comedy sketches and episodic television for many years. Pirate Radio proves that his gift for writing witty one-liners and creating funny situations remains intact. His skills as a film director and shaper of material are a little more fuzzy and undefined, however.
As with Love, Actually, his previous directorial effort, Pirate Radio (AKA The Boat That Rocked) is filled with episodes that feel randomly assembled, knit together by proximity and happenstance more than narrative necessity. For all the laughter and positive feelings that Pirate Radio generates, it's a lightweight treatment of a potentially heavyweight subject.
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