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Wednesday, November 11
Earlier today, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences announced the list of 20 animated movies that will be considered for nomination at the Oscars, which air March 7, 2010.
The Best Animated Feature category traditionally consists of three nominees. (We should add that the use of the "traditionally" is kind of funny, considering the category is less than 10 years old). But according to Academy rules, if at least 16 movies are submitted for consideration, then the number of nominees increases to five.
Among the potential contenders already released are Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Coraline, Disney's A Christmas Carol, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Monsters vs Aliens, Ponyo, and Up. Also being considered are several titles yet to be released, such as Fantastic Mr. Fox, Planet 51, and The Princess and the Frog.
Although it's not likely, there is a slight chance the whole five-nominee thing might not happen. Variety cites the fact that for a title to qualify, a print of the movie must first be submitted to the Academy by this coming Monday. In addition, a movie can be disqualified simply on the basis of bad quality. The nominating committee has to confirm each of the 20 entries by awarding each a score of at least 7.5 (on a scale of 6 to 10). Titles falling below that range will not be eligible for competition.
Posted 11/11/2009 by Rich Z
Related: The Princess and the Frog | Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs | Planet 51 | Up | Monsters vs. Aliens | Coraline | Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs | A Christmas Carol | Ponyo | Fantastic Mr. Fox
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Wednesday, March 25
On the face of it, TopSecretConspiracy.com is none too pleased by this weekend's release of Monsters vs. Aliens. The site is posting videos and articles designed to debunk the movie, which it calls "the big Hollywood cover-up." To quote:
Once again the media is working hard to distort, disavow, and destroy the truth about extraterrestrials, monsters, and government conspiracies.... And now they want you to believe that the events and incidents portrayed in this new "family" science "fiction" film is just popcorn entertainment. Well don't swallow this popcorn people, because you'll choke when you realize there's not a kernel of truth to this "fiction."
TopSecretConspiracy.com has even posted a screenshot from the trailer that "several readers noticed during the Super Bowl" that "looks suspiciously" like the site's logo. Prompting them to ask: Is Dreamworks trying to convince you that this site is somehow as fictional as their film!?
But before disgruntled X-Files fans start a mass web migration, or organize a hate mail campaign to the studio, we feel compelled to tell you that the site UPS'd a release to us this morning. Hmmmm... Whose ginormous pockets are funding this publicity stunt?
Posted 3/25/2009 by reelz
Related: Monsters vs. Aliens | Monsters vs. Aliens: An IMAX 3D Experience
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Sunday, February 1
With seconds left till the half, Pittsburg has intercepted the ball and run it back for a 100 yard return touchdown--the longest in history! With the extra point, it is now 17-7 for the Steelers.
Now that we're going into the half, I'm getting to play a little trailer catch-up for a couple previews that I haven't blogged about yet.
First off, I just saw a trailer and 3-D promo for Monsters vs. Aliens -- the next computer animated offering from Dreamworks. This has the looks of a fun family favorite. When hostile aliens invade, only Earth's monsters can save us from annihilation. If it looks a little blurry, it's because you need 3-D glasses.
For those of you with the 3-D glasses, here also is the SoBe promo featuring the Monsters.
May I say, that as always, the commercials and trailers are way better than the half-time show. I'm re-living the 80's watching Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band, and praying that there isn't going to be another wardrobe malfunction this time.
Another animation that I didn't get to blog about earlier is the Pixar picture Up. While Pixar movies are never bad, this one, about an old man (named Carl Fredrickson) who ties a bunch of balloons to his house and floats away, just doesn't do it for me. Maybe I'm getting jaded in my old age, but does this storyline sound interesting to anybody? The trailer was cute, as they all are, but when I want to see funny old people, I visit the local rest home. But hey, I didn't think Wall-E sounded particularly interesting, and yet it has turned out to be one of my favorite Pixar flicks. So what do I know, huh?
Finally, one I missed mentioning right at the beginning was The Year One, a comedy from Harold Ramis starring Jack Black and uber-nerd Michael Cera. You can't go wrong with this one. The trailer had a funny stoning scene that I couldn't find for you, but the below clip makes up for not finding the actual trailer
Posted 2/1/2009 by Jim
Related: Harold Ramis | Jack Black | Michael Cera | Up | Monsters vs. Aliens | Year One
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Tuesday, January 13
3-D Movies are about to make a comeback in a big way in 2009. This Friday, My Bloody Valentine: 3-D hits screens, the first of a series of 3-D releases in 2009 that includes Final Destination 4, Monsters vs. Aliens, and, of course, James Cameron's hugely anticipated Avatar.
For a look at how far the process has come, see A Tour Through the History of 3-D Movies, which recaps the highlights -- and lowlights -- of 3-D flicks.
Posted 1/13/2009 by reelz
Related: James Cameron | Avatar | My Bloody Valentine 3-D | Monsters vs. Aliens
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Friday, January 9
A report at Variety lists which movie trailers we'll be seeing at this year's Superbowl.
Confirmed for this year's roster are high-profile titles like Paramount's Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Star Trek and G.I. Joe; Sony's Angels & Demons; DreamWorks Animation's Monsters vs. Aliens; and Universal's Land of the Lost and its fourth installment in The Fast and the Furious franchise. Disney is also planning to use the game to raise the profile for Pixar's next toon, Up, while a Wolverine spot is likely from Fox.
As of this report, warring studios Fox and Warner Bros. haven yet bought space. This is an interesting development since both have some big titles being produced in 2009 such as Watchmen, Wolverine, Night at the Museum 2, Terminator Salvation, and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince to name but a few.
One has to wonder if the much-publicized legal dispute between the studios is having some effect on their ability to buy advertising.
Keep it right here, where we'll have the Superbowl trailers and highlights when available.
Posted 1/9/2009 by Jim
Related: Star Trek | X-Men Origins: Wolverine | G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra | Land of the Lost | Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince | Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian | Watchmen | Terminator Salvation | Up | Angels & Demons | Monsters vs. Aliens | Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
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Monday, January 5
Dreamworks Animation is going to be giving away 150 million pairs of 3D glasses to Super Bowl viewers, so they can enjoy a 90-second trailer for Monsters vs. Aliens, the upcoming animation epic in which a handful of adorably ugly mutant beings save Earth from an army of less adorable space invaders. The glasses can be obtained at Pepsi displays at 28,000 retailers around the country; Dreamworks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg tells the Associated Press that the costly promotion "involves tens of millions of dollars" and may be the "biggest media-advertising event in history." No truth to the rumors that the glasses will also work on Victoria's Secret ads or unplanned wardrobe malfunctions; that will likely have to wait until 2010 or so.
Posted 1/5/2009 by reelz
Related: Monsters vs. Aliens
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Tuesday, November 4
The trailer for Dreamworks/Paramount's Monsters vs. Aliens doesn't officially release until Thursday, but it has popped up a few days early on numerous sites around the web. Many have already been taken down, but if you head over to movie-list quickly, you might still catch it before it's gone.
The campy sci-fi animated flick looks pretty amusing, opening with a man going through a series of invasive scans before being admitted into a high security government war room. The scan locations include both elbows and even his bum.
MVA pays homage to the sci-fi movies of the '50s and '60s, from aliens and mad scientists to The Blob and Loch Ness monster . The voice cast includes Reese Witherspoon, Seth Rogen, Will Arnett and Paul Rudd. It will release in late March 2009 in both 3-D IMAX and standard theaters.
Posted 11/4/2008 by reelz
Related: Reese Witherspoon | Seth Rogen | Monsters vs. Aliens
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Thursday, July 19
The adaptation of the 2003 bestselling roman a clef The Nanny Diaries has had its opening date changed--again.
The Scarlett Johansson comedy, which was originally slated to open months ago was originally moved to September 7. But now, thanks to a desire not to open against the potential Oscar-contender 3:10 to Yuma (a Western with Christian Bale and Russell Crowe), the opening date for The Nanny Diaries has been moved up to August 24.
Juggling dates is traditionally not a good sign for a movie, but The Weinstein Company stands behind its product.
Elsewhere in Hollywood, the opening date for the 3-D Dreamworks cartoon Monsters vs. Aliens has been changed to May 15--2009-- to avoid going up against Avatar, the first James Cameron feature project since Titanic.
Monsters vs. Aliens is a remake of the 1950s movie, and will be directed by Conrad Vernon (Shrek 2) and Rob Letterman (Shark Tale). Avatar will feature CGI and live action.
Source: Variety.
Posted 7/19/2007 by reelz
Related: Conrad Vernon | James Cameron | Rob Letterman | Scarlett Johansson | The Nanny Diaries | Avatar | Monsters vs. Aliens