Sunday, November 15

• First 20 Minutes of Scott Pilgrim Are, Apparently, Awesome

  Edgar Wright's upcoming adaptation of Bryan Lee O'Malley's comic book Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is reportedly a pretty amazing flick. Or at least the first twenty minutes are amazing. Jason Schwartzman, who appears in the movie, told MTV after watching only twenty minutes of the movie that it's "unlike anything I've seen in my entire life. ... It's really funny, it's really emotional,"said Schwartmzan. "There's a lot of romance — but the action sequences, I've never seen scenes quite like these. They're really beautiful."

  Scott Pilgrim tells the of Scott (Michael Cera), who must defeat the seven evil ex-boyfriends of his new girlfriend to win her heart. Schwartzman was only too happy to continually praise the movie, even if he only saw a small portion that he wasn't even in.

  I was so excited. I hope — and I'm pretty confident —that that's the way people will feel when they see the movie, because I'm a fan of the comics and a fan of Edgar and Michael, and watching the first 20 minutes it was like, "Oh! There's that, and that, and that, and I've always wondered what that would [look like]..."

  Schwartzman isn't alone in his adoration for the movie. Director Jason Reitman (the upcoming Up in the Air) saw the first thirty minutes last month, then used his Twitter account to announce his enthusiasm.

  It is a game changer for Edgar and the genre. It moves the speed of light and carries more unadulterated joy than Ive seen in recent cinema.

  I'm in awe of the sheer control in the filmmaking. It feels like a Matrix for love and how willing we are to fight for it.

  If I had a movie coming out next year, I wouldn't want to be anywhere near it. Hats off my friend. Can't get it out of my head.

  We just hope the rest of the movie doesn't completely fall flat after the first 20-30 minutes!

  
  

  Posted 11/15/2009 by Ryan

  Related: Jason Reitman | Jason Schwartzman | Edgar Wright

Thursday, August 27

• A Fear of Girls Gave Birth to Jennifer's Body

  In an interview with IESB, Diablo Cody explains that after penning the sweet, life-affirming Juno, she was ready for darker territory — and more than a bit of horror. In coming up with the script for Jennifer's Body, she was searching around for what really frightened her and found it surprisingly close to home.

  I wanted to write something that was about my fears, something that was a little edgy and eerie, but also funny. So I started thinking about what's scary to me, and I decided that girls are scary!

  The script didn't end up being about any specific girl she knew, but about taking some of the fear and loathing of everyday teenage life, and making it a bit more graphic — and humorous and entertaining.

  I think back-biting is a very accurate term, and in this case, it's literal. This movie is a commentary on girl-on-girl hatred, sexuality, the death of innocence, and also politics in the way the town responds to the tragedies [of the bloody deaths of several young men]. Any person who dares to respond in an unconventional way is branded a traitor. It's also just about fun — I wanted to write a really entertaining popcorn movie.

  But Cody wasn't just thinking about girls, Juno director and Jennifer's Body producer Jason Reitman interjected during the interview.

  At some point in the process I realized that every type of boy gets it in this film. The jock gets it. The sweet nerd gets it. The Goth kid gets it. This may just be Diablo's revenge on every type of boy she's ever met. If Juno is the film that speaks to her need for love, Jennifer's Body is the film that speaks to her need for revenge.

  For another look at how Cody (and Jennifer) satisfied that need, check out the gallery of new photos accompanying the interview.

  
  

  Posted 08/27/2009 by Bill

  Related: Jason Reitman | Diablo Cody | Juno | Jennifer's Body

Friday, July 24

• Jennifer's Body Aims For "Delightfully Exploitative" Feminism

  

  The first 15 minutes of Jennifer's Body got screened at Comic-Con, followed by a press conference with star Megan Fox, director Karyn Kusama, writer Diablo Cody, and producer Jason Reitman. Sadly, the footage has not made its way onto the net, but all sorts of interesting details about the plot and direction of the movie were revealed.

  From the red-band trailer, it was quite evident that however hot Jennifer might be on the outside, she was harboring a demon under her skin. Now we know why. It was a virgin sacrifice gone awry, not least because she didn't exactly meet the job requirements. After that, it's a not-so-straight-up combination of a woman-done-wrong revenge flick and sexy, bloody horror.

  Megan Fox seemed to particularly relish the contrast from her role in Transformers, and was dropping f-bombs left and right. About her new role she says:

  This movie gets so sexy! You better put on your f***in' sexy shoes for this one. Before every kill, there is a seduction because these boys have to get close enough to this dead girl for her to devour them. And I think I'm pretty sexy in it.

  With the male body count piling higher and higher, filmmakers insist that the movie has a feminist message. Of course, it manages to be, as they put it, "delightfully exploitative" along the way.

  
  

  Posted 07/24/2009 by Bill

  Related: Jason Reitman | Megan Fox | Karyn Kusama | Diablo Cody | Jennifer's Body

Thursday, August 28

• Clooney May Be Up in the Air
  

  Variety reports that George Clooney is in talks to star in Jason Reitman's Juno follow-up, Up in the Air, based on Walter Kirn's novel.

  Clooney would play the role of a corporate downsizer obsessed with collecting airline miles.

  Reitman is a longtime fan of the 2002 book and has been working on his own take for the past five years. After the back-to-back successes of Juno and Thank You for Smoking, Reitman is finally getting the chance to translate the work to the big screen.

  
  

  Posted 08/28/2008 by reelz

  Related: George Clooney | Jason Reitman

Wednesday, December 5

• Exclusive Clip From Juno!

  Everyone is buzzing about the new movie Juno from director Jason Reitman (Thank You For Smoking) and with good reason - It's a great movie.

  Today we've got an exclusive clip from Juno hosted by it's star Ellen Page and stripper-turned-screenwriter Diablo Cody.

  Juno is out today and we highly recommend you check it out!

   

  
  
  

  Juno Clip

  Diablo Cody Ellen Page host an exclusive clip!

  Posted 12/05/2007 by reelz

  Related: Ellen Page | Jason Bateman | Jason Reitman | Diablo Cody | Juno

Wednesday, November 7

• Keep up with Juno news via director blog

  Jason Reitman, the director of the upcoming movie, Juno has taken to the Interweb. The comedy, about a pregnant teen (which we all know is hilarious), is absolutely bursting with buzz after making the film festival circuit.

  Juno isn't coming out for us plebes for another month. But in the meantime, you can keep tabs and get your fix on Reitman's blog. It's pretty funny.

  
  
  

  Juno trailer

  A woman is faced with an unplanned pregnancy.

  Posted 11/07/2007 by reelz

  Related: Jason Reitman | Juno