Monday, October 26

• Uma Thurman Says Kill Bill: Vol. 3 Is "Going To Be Awesome"

  With nearly 40 feature films on her resume, actress Uma Thurman is at a point in her career where she can pick and choose her movie projects. In a recent interview with Parade, Thurman said that choosing roles is a very different process for her now that she is a mother.

  You feel much more conflicted. I think I really struggled with that conflict. Sort of like, "What's worthy enough to interrupt my kid's life to take them on the road with me while I do a movie?" Now, I just try to balance it. I probably overthink things, but I try to do the right thing. I just do my best. Any working mother will tell you it's the same. I think every working mom is kind of a superhero. I think we all are.

  Thurman also confirmed that she has been in talks with Quentin Tarantino about reprising the role of The Bride in a third volume in the Kill Bill saga.

  Quentin has talked to me about Kill Bill: Vol. 3 and shared some of his ideas. I think it's going to be awesome. It will be fun to get back into fighting mode even though I'm not much of a meanie. But I now have a physical confidence that I've probably never had in my life. You don't know what you would do until you're attacked. That's the truth. But I think conflict should be avoided. I think conflict is a loss. I totally feel that there is no winnable war.

  As far as we — and Thurman's career — are concerned, Kill Bill: Vol. 3 can't come fast enough!

  
  
  

  Motherhood - Trailer

  Uma Thurman stars, in theaters now

  Posted 10/26/2009 by BrentJS

  Related: Quentin Tarantino | Uma Thurman | Motherhood | Kill Bill Vol. 3

Sunday, October 18

• Eli Roth Returns to Horror and Tries His Hand at Sci-Fi

  It's been two years since Eli Roth directed a feature, but he's kept busy on the side with writing, producing, and acting. After his recent appearance as Sgt. Donny Donowitz in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds, Roth is returning to horror, the genre that made him famous with his Cabin Fever and Hostel movies. He's also readying himself to take on science fiction.

  At the Morelia International Film Festival in Mexico, Roth announced that he is finishing a script for a new sci-fi movie called Endangered Species, which he also plans to direct. He also mentioned that he's writing and directing a feature-length version of his Thanksgiving mock-horror trailer that appeared in Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez's Grindhouse double-feature. Roth said that he needed the time away from directing to revive his creativity.

  I haven't been this excited since the first Hostel. I had to divorce myself from the [Hostel] project 100% to free up my brain for other things.

  
  

  Posted 10/18/2009 by BrentJS

  Related: Quentin Tarantino | Robert Rodriguez | Eli Roth | Inglourious Basterds

Friday, October 16

• Uma Thurman Confirms Talks with Tarantino about Kill Bill 3

  A few weeks ago, Quentin Tarantino excited fans everywhere when he promised a sequel to Kill Bill: Vol. 2.

  "The Bride will fight again!" he said.

  Uma Thurman has now followed that up with confirmation that she has spoken with Tarantino about the project, which many speculate may involve a showdown between The Bride's daughter and the daughter of Vernita Green (played by Vivica Fox), one of The Bride's victims in Kill Bill: Vol. 1.

  Speaking with MTV, Thurman said:

  We did chat, we did chat. He has not yet finished the script. I don't even really know if he's really started it, although I got a taste of some of his ideas and they are really good.... He has started to share with me what he was thinking, and it's awesome.

  So, it sounds as if we can definitely expect a third Kill Bill ... at some point. Remember how long it took Tarantino to finish the script for Inglourious Basterds. So although we're excited about these announcements, we're not holding out hope that we'll see a finished product anytime soon.

  And, of course, we have to wonder: Now that Bill is dead (c'mon, is it really a spoiler given the movie names), will the Kill Bill name still apply, simply for consistency? Or will Tarantino come up with a different name, possible starting a whole new series?

  MTV tried to prod Thurman for further details, finally leading her to cry out, "I can't tell you! I'm sorry!"

  
  

  Posted 10/16/2009 by Rich Z

  Related: Quentin Tarantino | Uma Thurman | Kill Bill: Vol. 2 | Kill Bill: Vol. 1 | Kill Bill Vol. 3

Thursday, October 1

• Tarantino Says He'll Do Kill Bill 3

  During an interview on Italian TV, director Quentin Tarantino surprised everyone, including the interviewer, by spontaneously promising that he would make Kill Bill Volume 3.

  The interviewer wasn't even asking about it. She was just asking about a prequel to Inglourious Basterds ("maybe") and a sequel to Pulp Fiction ("never"), when Tarantino prompted her to ask about Kill Bill. He then delivered the surprisingly positive response ("yes"). And in the follow-up he said, "The Bride will fight again."

  Tarantino has teased projects before that never saw the light of day, and the Bride (Uma Thurman) hasn't weighed in on the possibility, so the news should probably be taken with a grain of salt. Still, since he brought it up himself ... hmm.

  
  

  Posted 10/01/2009 by Bill

  Related: Quentin Tarantino | Uma Thurman

Thursday, August 20

• Christoph Waltz Is the One to Watch in Inglourious Basterds

  

  Despite having one of the most famous actors in the history of America cinema fronting the movie, a lot of the early buzz about Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds isn't about Brad Pitt's performance, but rather that of Austrian actor Christoph Waltz, who plays "Jew Hunter" to Pitt's "Nazi-scalping basterd."

  Waltz, a veteran actor in Europe with a career spanning three decades, won the best actor award at the Cannes Film Festival for his portrayal of Col. Hans Landa of the SS in Basterds. He calls his character "one of the great villains in dramatic literature" and gives much of the credit to Tarantino.

  It's what Quentin has written, and let me tell you, that's plenty. Because I could still be sitting there trying to figure out what else is in there. And it's bottomless.

  

  Waltz said that Tarantino discouraged him from chumming around with the other cast members and that he insisted on numerous rehearsals, which helped Waltz delve even deeper into the mind of Hans Landa.

  Films tend to break up scenes, but Quentin insisted that we rehearse and play them in real time. Without all that stop and start, you really get the opportunity to play, to really get things going, to establish the rhythm.

  Quentin didn't want to establish a form of security. He didn't want us too comfortable. He wanted to keep everyone on our toes.

  
  
  

  Inglourious Basterds Premiere

  Brad Pitt and cast hit the red carpet

  Posted 08/20/2009 by BrentJS

  Related: Quentin Tarantino | Christoph Waltz | Inglourious Basterds

Wednesday, August 19

• Inglourious Basterds Stars Talk About Tarantino's Quirks

  Did you know about Quentin Tarantino's supposed foot fetish? Well, you can learn more in a report from MTV Movies in which cast members reflect upon the director's idiosyncrasies.

  Regarding the foot fixation, the article cites Tarantino's many uses of foot close-ups in his movies, as well as his appearance on The Tyra Banks Show as a foot judge. Basterds cast member Diane Kruger recalled one conversation she had.

  You know what? A journalist told me about the foot thing, and it's funny, I didn't know about it. And then he said, "You didn't know? Don't you have a foot scene in the movie?" And I said, "I actually do, that's so weird."

  There's also a vague account of "Big Jerry," an "NC-17 toy" that Tarantino photographs with actors who fall asleep during production.

  And Eli Roth, star in Basterds and director of the Hostel movies, talks about the director's "thoughtful precision."

  Quentin — he's so careful about everything he does.... For Kill Bill, he spent a year and a half writing one fight scene! And with Inglourious Basterds, he had written it over the course of eight years. He thinks about every character, and he thinks about every detail in the universe — there are very few directors that do that.

  This Friday, we'll all be able to see Tarantino's nearly decade-long labor of love.

  
  

  Posted 08/19/2009 by Rich Z

  Related: Quentin Tarantino | Eli Roth | Diane Kruger | Inglourious Basterds

Tuesday, August 18

• Quentin Tarantino Defends Inglourious Basterds

  

  With the opening of Inglourious Basterds only a few days away, Quentin Tarantino fans will once again be able to get their fix of excessive violence and snappy dialogue, this time in the form of Nazi-hunting Jewish "scalp hunters." While Tarantino recently said that he plans to retire at 60 to become "a man of letters," as of right now he's still a filmmaker and one of his own best promoters.

  In a recent interview, Tarantino said that "revenge" is the essential ingredient that earns Inglourious Basterds a special place among WWII movies.

  Revenge isn't usually an element of World War II films — there may be a hint of it, but it's not usually what they are about. I think that's what makes this movie rather unique.

  It's the fun of the Jews getting revenge against Nazis — I've seen the other story ad nauseum.

  Tarantino defended his extensive use of subtitles and dismissed other movies (Tom Cruise's WWII action movie, Valkyrie, comes to mind) in which foreign characters speak English.

  I think the other style — with everybody either speaking English, or Germans speaking English with a German accent — those are the things that made World War II movies for the last couple of generations old-fashioned.

  

  Often criticized in the past for the amount of excessive violence in his movies, Tarantino refused to apologize for it and said that he likes to "squirm" in movies.

  I will never feel squeamish about my own movies, because I know them and I know how we achieved the effects.

  As for the scalping — those guys are already dead, it's about taking mementoes.

  When asked about working with Brad Pitt, who stars in the movie as Lt. Aldo Raine, the Nazi-hunter recruiter, Tarantino said, "It was kind of a love affair." Tarantino explained that Pitt remained in character there entire time he was on set, so it was like being around one of his own creations all day.

  
  
  

  Inglourious Basterds - Trailer

  Written & Directed by Quentin Tarantino - Releasing Aug. 21, 2009

  Posted 08/18/2009 by BrentJS

  Related: Brad Pitt | Quentin Tarantino | Valkyrie | Inglourious Basterds

Monday, August 17

• Eli Roth Calls Inglourious Basterds "Kosher Porn"

  

  When the final credits roll on Inglourious Basterds, expect to see the name Eli Roth pop up more than once. That's because in addition to playing Donny "The Bear Jew" Donowitz, Roth directed the short movie-within-a-movie Nation's Pride that is a central feature of the Basterd's plot.

  Roth said that he was Tarantino's de facto "Jewish fact-checker" on the film and that he invited his mentor to his house for Passover Seder in 2007, at which the two engaged in many philosophical questions about WWII. In one exchange, Roth told Tarantino that he could "never" forgive the Nazis for what they had done to his people.

  It's not that we don't forgive; we don't forget. Being Jewish is to remember. If I had the chance, I would kill every one of those (Nazis).

  In Inglourious Basterds, Adolf Hitler and many of his elite officers gather together to watch Nation's Pride, a propaganda movie about Germany's best sniper. Tarantino normally directs everything himself but he allowed Roth to shoot the short movie, giving him a much larger second unit than he had planned for himself. Roth said that he learned a lot by working with Tarantino, but barely survived the process.

  I almost died shooting it. But it's one of the most satisfying, orgasmic things I've done in my life. It's kosher porn.

  
  
  

  Inglourious Basterds - Trailer

  Written & Directed by Quentin Tarantino - Releasing Aug. 21, 2009

  Posted 08/17/2009 by BrentJS

  Related: Quentin Tarantino | Eli Roth | Inglourious Basterds

Friday, August 14

• What a Bunch of Basterds: Top 10 Tarantino Character Types

  

  For cinephiles (pronounced “movie nerds”), the works of Quentin Tarantino aren’t just fun on their own terms: They’re packed with nods, winks, and say-no-mores to other movies, genre clichés, and Tarantino’s own conventions. His characters are no exception, though some of them may pop us for saying so.

  When Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds rides a pile of Nazi corpses into a theater near you, it’s a pretty safe bet that some of the writer-director’s favorite stock characters will be along for the genoride. And yes, many of them will be movie buffs. Here are the ones to watch for with your one good eye through a hail of bullets, sleet of blood, and freezing rain of gore.

  Check out the Top 10 Tarantino Character Types.

  
  

  Posted 08/14/2009 by reelz

  Related: Brad Pitt | Christopher Walken | Harvey Keitel | John Travolta | Quentin Tarantino | Steve Buscemi | Uma Thurman | Samuel L. Jackson | Michael Madsen | Kill Bill: Vol. 2 | Kill Bill: Vol. 1 | Reservoir Dogs | Inglourious Basterds | Pulp Fiction | Four Rooms | Jackie Brown | From Dusk Till Dawn

• Inglourious Basterds Director Quentin Tarantino to Become a Novelist

  

  Quentin Tarantino's fans are counting down the days to the opening of Inglourious Basterds, now just one week away, but the famous director has a different timeline on his mind: the countdown to his retirement from filmmaking . While in Toronto for the Canadian premiere of his newest feature, Tarantino mentioned that he wants to slow things down in his old age.

  I don't really want to make "old men" movies. I don't want to be worried about making my day and getting up and going through all the stuff to make movies. This is my time to get into it now. When I'm 60 will be my time to be a man of letters. I would like to write novels, but you can't do that and make movies, too, not with the same passion.

  However, just because Tarantino's planning his Hollywood exit strategy doesn't mean that he feels any less passionately about his current project, Inglourious Basterds, about a WWII "revenge squad" of Jewish soldiers looking to dish out some retribution to the Nazis.

  I want it to be a big deal. I want to count down the days until it opens. I want you to be fighting for seats at that first screening and all that stuff.

  
  
  

  Inglourious Basterds - Trailer

  Inglourious Basterds debuts August 21

  Posted 08/14/2009 by BrentJS

  Related: Quentin Tarantino | Inglourious Basterds

Thursday, August 13

• Hannah Montana Inspired Eli Roth's Inglourious Basterds Fury

  Eli Roth is not as well known in front of the camera as he is behind it, but that will likely change once Quentin Tarantino's WWII revenge movie, Inglourious Basterds, opens next week. Roth wrote and directed the horror film Hostel, but steps into the spotlight in Basterds as Sgt. Donny Donowitz, a fierce Jewish Nazi hunter.

  Roth's character, nicknamed "The Bear Jew" by the Nazis, specializes in bashing his enemies to a pulp with a baseball bat. To prepare to film such emotionally charged scenes, Roth said that he called on the memories of his deceased Jewish relatives and an unlikely source of inspiration: Miley Cyrus and the music of Hannah Montana.

  I went back and forth thinking about my relatives being killed in concentration camps to listening to Hannah Montana.

  You couldn't ever put me in a Hannah Montana concert with a baseball bat or I would wipe the place out.

  Inglourious Basterds stars Brad Pitt, Mike Myers, Diane Kruger, B.J. Novak, and Julie Dreyfus.

  
  
  Next Showing: Inglourious Basterds opens August 21
  

  Inglourious Basterds - Trailer

  Brad Pitt stars in this Quentin Tarantino film

  Posted 08/13/2009 by BrentJS

  Related: Quentin Tarantino | Eli Roth | Miley Cyrus | Inglourious Basterds | Hostel

Monday, August 10

• Lots of New Footage from Inglourious Basterds

  A huge new batch of clips from Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds fills in the gaps around the scenes teased in the trailers and TV spots, and gives a better sense of pacing and atmosphere of the movie. Overall, not so much staccato action, but a lot more clever dialogue.

  Two of the real standout scenes involve Christoph Waltz as SS Colonel Hans Landa, "The Jew Hunter." No big surprise here, since his performance in the movie won him plaudits as "the best villain ever" as well as the prize for best actor at Cannes.

  
  

  Posted 08/10/2009 by Bill

  Related: Quentin Tarantino | Christoph Waltz | Inglourious Basterds

• Tarantino Joins Weinstein in Stifling the Inglourious Basterds Rumors

  Director Quentin Tarantino's latest film Inglourious Basterds, about a WWII "revenge squad" hell-bent on delivering some much-needed retribution to the Nazis for their many atrocities, has been long mired in rumor and speculation. Producer Harvey Weinstein and Tarantino have had enough. Following a showing of the film at Cannes that garnered mixed reviews, rumors started spreading that the 2:28 film was "too long for American audiences" and as much as 40 minutes might be cut for the theatrical release.

  In response to the rumors, which only continued to germinate once the news hit the blogosphere, Weinstein told GQ a few weeks ago that the rumors were utterly fabricated. Now in an interview with Variety, Tarantino revealed the run-time for the final cut, stating:

  I've heard these rumors that the studios told me to cut out 40 minutes. These are complete lies. The movie is actually a minute longer, in running time, than it was in Cannes. It was 2:28, without end credits, and now it's 2:29, or 2:32 with end credits.

  It might sound weird that I added a minute, but you can add little things and actually quicken the pace, and we were very aware of keeping the pace up. To add the one scene, I reduced a couple scenes by a line here, a line there.

  Inglorious Basterds stars Brad Pitt, Mike Myers, Diane Kruger, B.J. Novak, Julie Dreyfus, and Eli Roth.

  
  
  

  Inglourious Basterds - Trailer

  Releasing Aug. 21, 2009

  Posted 08/10/2009 by BrentJS

  Related: Harvey Weinstein | Quentin Tarantino | Inglourious Basterds

Friday, August 7

• Inglourious Basterds on the Joy of Scalping

  Esquire talked about character and scalping in a series of interviews with various members of Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds. When it comes to revenge, the band of Jewish Nazi-hunters takes a page from the Apache. But this just isn't a skill that comes naturally. It takes practice, so of course Tarantino organized a contest. B.J. Novak, who plays Private First Class Smithson Utivitch, explains:

  It all started when we were all having drinks at a bar in Berlin called Tarantino's, which, believe it or not, is actually a Quentin Tarantino — themed bar. Anyway, over drinks Quentin told us, "You guys are going to have scalping training tomorrow, and as motivation, I'm gonna give close-ups to the top three scalpers." I went home and stayed up late looking up "scalping" on Wikipedia, and the next day, I was one the best. I was the best, if I may say.

  Other than reading up about it online, how exactly do you go about honing your scalping skills? By working on live people, of course. It's just a matter of technique, Omar Doom (Private First Class Omar Ulmer) adds:

  We all learned to scalp by working with live people who had some prostheses on top of their heads. Basically, if you insert the knife along the top of their head and cut along the edge, the rest of the skin peels off like a banana.

  All in all, it was lot easier than learning to slit a throat, Gedeon Burkhard (Corporal Wilhelm Wicki) concludes.

  
  

  Posted 08/07/2009 by Bill

  Related: Quentin Tarantino | Gedeon Burkhard | B.J. Novak | Omar Doom | Inglourious Basterds

Wednesday, August 5

• Trailer for the Nazi Propaganda Movie Inside Inglourious Basterds

  A new trailer has appeared for a movie that never really was. It's billed as a promo for the Nazi propaganda flick Stolz der Nation (The Nation's Pride). In actuality, though, it's Inglorious Basterds' movie-within-a-movie, which features a gala premiere that draws all the Nazi bigwigs into the theater for their final immolation. Ironically, Basterds director Quentin Tarantino handed responsibility for this project over to Jewish director and revved-up Nazi-killing Basterd Eli Roth, who was both pleased and appalled at how well it turned out.

  The trailer is just as over-the-top as you would expect, and in English to boot. It purports to be the work of Reichsminister Dr. Joseph Goebbels, and recounts the story of the heroic Nazi soldier Fredrick Zoller, whose name, we are told, will be "crowned in gloury." Looks like the Nazis hired the same spell-checker as the Americans for this one.

  
  

  Posted 08/05/2009 by Bill

  Related: Quentin Tarantino | Eli Roth | Inglourious Basterds

Friday, July 17

• Robert Rodriguez's Machete Adds Robert DeNiro to Cast

  Machete started out as a "fake" trailer Robert Rodriguez shot for the double-feature Grindhouse — one that looked arguably better than the Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino movies put together. Production on a feature-length Machete starts July 29, and co-directors Rodriguez and Ethan Maniquis have put together a star-filled cast. Danny Trejo will return as Machete, alongside Michele Rodriguez, Jonah Hill, and surprisingly Robert DeNiro. Make up artist-actor Tom Savini will also appear in the movie.

  According to a Bloody-Disgusting source, DeNiro will be playing Senator McLaughlin, a corrupt civil servant who double-crosses Machete. DeNiro's casting seems a little unusual, as does Hill's, so this may simply be rumor. But it would help stabilize Trejo's claim that Machete is intended to be a trilogy.

  
  
  

  Grindhouse - Trailer

  The double feature is back!

  Posted 07/17/2009 by Ryan

  Related: Danny Trejo | Jonah Hill | Quentin Tarantino | Tom Savini | Michelle Rodriguez | Robert Rodriguez | Robert DeNiro | Machete

• Inglourious Basterds TV Spots Bring on the Action — and the Humor

  The most striking thing about the two new TV spots for Quentin Tarantino's WWII-era revenge flick Inglourious Basterds is how fast paced they are. This could create the somewhat misleading impression that it will be a non-stop action movie. Early reviews suggest otherwise and Inglourious Basterds is, after all, set for a final run time of two hours and 29 minutes.

  The pacing of the spots is likely an over-reaction to some criticism the movie received at Cannes for favoring narrative over action a bit too much. In any case, the spots are a lot of fun, providing a kind of kaleidoscopic tour of the Basterds' enthusiastic approach to the Nazi-killing business, and the comic aspects of grand plans gone awry.

  
  

  Posted 07/17/2009 by Bill

  Related: Quentin Tarantino | Inglourious Basterds

Monday, July 13

• New Inglourious Basterds Poster

  

  The Weinstein Co. has released yet another poster for Quentin Tarantino's upcoming World War II revenge movie, Inglourious Basterds. This one marks the 14th poster released for the movie, which some might call unnecessary but has, frankly, been a pretty cool campaign. If all your posters are this good, you earn the right to do that — otherwise please refrain (we're looking in your direction, G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra).

  The image is similar to earlier posters and stills of Brad Pitt as Lt. Aldo Raine, but composed in a manner stolen from reminiscent of works by master fantasy artist Frank Frazetta.

  Inglorious Basterds also stars Mike Myers, Diane Kruger, B.J. Novak, Julie Dreyfus, and Eli Roth.

  
  
  

  Inglourious Basterds - Trailer

  Written and directed by Quentin Tarantino - Releasing Aug. 21

  Posted 07/13/2009 by BrentJS

  Related: Brad Pitt | Quentin Tarantino | Inglourious Basterds

Thursday, July 2

• Inglourious Basterds Primed for Sequel

  

  The latest movie from director Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds, hasn't even hit theaters yet and there's already talk of a sequel – or a prequel – on its way. Harvey Weinstein, co-chairman of The Weinstein Co. and longtime producer of Tarantino's films, said that Tarantino has enough Basterds backstory for a whole series of movies:

  We could do two movies, three movies. I was begging for the movies, but Quentin wanted to do the TV series, Bob wanted to do the TV series, so it was like two against one, you know?

  And then Quentin turns it into one movie. Go figure.

  When asked if superstar actor Brad Pitt would be interested in reprising the role of Lt. Aldo Raine, Weinstein said:

  Brad wants to do Inglourious II. We all want to do it. And the movie hasn't even come out yet!

  Inglourious Basterds also stars Mike Myers, Diane Kruger, B.J. Novak, Julie Dreyfus and Eli Roth.

  
  
  Next Showing: Inglourious Basterds debuts August 21, 2009
  

  Inglourious Basterds - Trailer

  Written and directed by Quentin Tarantino.

  Posted 07/02/2009 by BrentJS

  Related: Brad Pitt | Harvey Weinstein | Quentin Tarantino | Eli Roth | Pulp Fiction

Thursday, June 25

• Inglourious Basterds Cuts Denied, Prequel Teased

  There was a rumor floating around the Internet a few weeks ago that the financially troubled Weinstein Company was going to cut as much as 40 minutes from the theatrical release of Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds in order to make it more marketable. Tarantino fans were up in arms, to put it mildly.

  Now, Harvey Weinstein fires back, denying that any cuts were ever planned, in an entertaining and profanity-laced tirade against bloggers in GQ:

  Those stories are all untrue. There's no ****king way. Here, read my lips: That is nuts. Please don't even write that, it's insanity. There's not even a question of that. Whatever you're reading, it's like some insane blogger... There's no truth to any of this. He's not gonna cut. What he's doing is just reorganizing some scenes.... Come on, there's s*** on that cutting-room floor that'll blow your brains out.... Listen — this movie will be between two hours and twenty minutes and two hours and twenty-seven minutes. I don't think it's going to be shorter — it's just a question of rearranging. I know he's putting footage back into the movie. I know he's got some cool s*** that he didn't get time to address.

  In passing, he also address the possibility of a Basterds prequel. He won't talk plot details (unless you are a 27-year old Jacqueline Bisset), and It would obviously depend on how the original Basterds makes out at the box office. Still, he suggests that the ideas are in place, and Brad Pitt and others connected to project are interested in doing it.

  
  

  Posted 06/25/2009 by Bill

  Related: Brad Pitt | Harvey Weinstein | Quentin Tarantino | Inglourious Basterds

Monday, June 22

• Second Inglourious Basterds Trailer Online

  With all the ballyhoo about the Weinstein Company being in dire financial straits, we were starting to worry that Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds might not see the light of day. But thankfully, after several months, a second full-length trailer is out.

  It includes more moments from a confrontational scene in which American officers Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) and Donny Donowitz (Eli Roth) try to extract information from a Nazi captive, Sgt. Werner Rachtman (Richard Sammel). There are also some shots from the much talked-about movie premiere attended by several Nazi leaders. And of course, things wraps up with a rapid-fire montage of gun clips snapping, faces contorted in warcries, and fire ... lots and lots of fire.

  
  

  Posted 06/22/2009 by Rich Z

  Related: Brad Pitt | Quentin Tarantino | Richard Sammel | Eli Roth | Inglourious Basterds

Sunday, June 21

• New Footage from Inglourious Basterds Unveils the Ultimate Target

  Some critics at Cannes complained that there was too much talk and not enough action in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds. While Tarantino brushed off the complaints, it is not too surprising that the latest new bit of footage puts the action front and center and offers a first look at the Basterds' ultimate target.

  
  

  Posted 06/21/2009 by Bill

  Related: Quentin Tarantino | Inglourious Basterds

Wednesday, June 10

• Bob Weinstein's Duplex for Sale: More Weinstein Company Financial Woes?

  Over the past month, several sources -- including The New York Times -- have reported that the financial situation of The Weinstein Company, headed by Harvey Weinstein and Bob Weinstein, is in less-than-ideal shape.

  Earlier today, Gawker reported on another possible sign of desperation from the Weinsteins: Bob Weinstein is apparently trying to sell his Central Park West duplex for $34 million.

  Gawker also chronicled the events over the past year that indicate dire financial straits for the Weinsteins: The company laid off 11 percent of its staff, lost the rights to Sin City 2, possibly due to lack of capital, and may not even be able to afford the distribution and promotion costs for Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds.

  The company will likely put its hopes behind three movies this summer and fall, and it needs a hit soon to ease its troubles. Those three movies are Basterds, Rob Zombie's H2, and Rob Marshall's Nine.

  
  

  Posted 06/10/2009 by Rich Z

  Related: Harvey Weinstein | Quentin Tarantino | Rob Marshall | Rob Zombie | Inglourious Basterds | Nine | Halloween II

• Is the Studio Planning to Sell Inglourious Basterds Short?

  Last we heard, Quentin Tarantino was headed back to the editing room with Inglourious Basterds to do "an audience pruning cut" and possibly even add a scene. Now comes the rumor that The Weinstein Company, convinced that American audiences won't sit still for more than two hours, is demanding that Tarantino cut as much as 40 minutes from the movie.

  Basterds premiered to mixed reactions at Cannes last month, and some critics suggested that the film contained too much talk and not enough action. Tarantino seemed pretty much mystified by that line of criticism. The fact that he is considering adding a scene suggests that he is unlikely to be happy about making such deep cuts.

  On the other hand, the studio has been under severe financial pressure lately and desperately needs Basterds to succeed at the box office. Die-hard Tarantino fans, unmoved by such considerations, have already begun to weigh in on the matter, with one journalist firing off a response titled "Don't cut Inglourious Basterds, you basterds!"

  
  

  Posted 06/10/2009 by Bill

  Related: Quentin Tarantino | Inglourious Basterds

Tuesday, May 26

• New Details on Inglourious Basterds Re-Edit

  In a post-Cannes interview with Variety columnist Anne Thompson, Quentin Tarantino sizes up the early response to Inglourious Basterds and offers details about a scene he's considering adding to the theatrical release.

  As a provocateur, he says he's used to criticism, but bristles at suggestions that he might have favored narrative over action a bit too much. "Who says a playwright has too much dialogue?" he muses. Undaunted, he predicts that Basterds "will be the biggest hit I have ever done."

  Still, he's headed back to the edit room to do "an audience-pruning cut" and possibly add a scene. What's under consideration is a sequence that was shot but never assembled featuring Michael Fassbender as a British soldier and film-critic trying to pass as a Nazi officer.

  In her blog, Thompson adds that "Fassbender pops in the movie," so this may well be an addition worth making.

  
  
  

  Inglourious Basterds - Trailer

  Written & Directed by Quentin Tarantino - Releasing Aug. 21

  Posted 05/26/2009 by Bill

  Related: Quentin Tarantino | Michael Fassbender | Inglourious Basterds

Monday, May 25

• Cannes Brings Re-Edits and a Prize for Inglourious Basterds

  Responding to the mixed feedback from the premiere showing of Inglourious Basterds at the Cannes Film Festival last week, Director Quentin Tarantino is reportedly headed back to the editing room. Despite the length of the movie, which at its current two hours and 28 minutes was a bit too long for some, the edits might include adding a scene.

  One part of his "spaghetti war movie" that drew nearly universal praise, though, was the performance of Austrian soap star Christoph Waltz, who plays the multi-lingual Nazi, SS Colonel Hans Landa. Tarantino had already suggested that he was the lynchpin of the movie. And a Huffington Post review judged him "one of the most compelling villains ever," one "who can make offering a glass of milk seem dripping with menace." Apparently the jury at Cannes agreed, awarding him the prize for best actor.

  
  
  

  Inglourious Basterds - Trailer

  Written & Directed by Quentin Tarantino - Releases Aug. 21

  Posted 05/25/2009 by Bill

  Related: Quentin Tarantino | Christoph Waltz | Inglourious Basterds

Friday, May 22

• How Brad Pitt Became a Basterd

  Although Quentin Tarantino and Brad Pitt had never worked together before, it wasn't too hard for the bad boy director to get the actor to sign up to star in Ingourious Basterds. As Pitt explains it,

  Quentin flew in to see me last summer.... In the morning there were five empty bottles of wine and a smoking apparatus of some sort on the floor and apparently I had agreed to do the movie.

  No doubt it would have been a memorable evening.

  
  
  

  Inglourious Basterds - Trailer

  Written & Directed by Quentin Tarantino - Releasing Aug. 21

  Posted 05/22/2009 by Bill

  Related: Brad Pitt | Quentin Tarantino | Inglourious Basterds

Thursday, May 21

• Tarantino Introduces a German Basterd

  In a new clip from Inglourious Basterds, introduced by Quentin Tarantino, we meet Sgt. Hugo Stiglitz (Til Schweiger), a Nazi officer and serial killer who has made quite a reputation for himself by murdering more than a dozen of his fellow officers. Setting the scene for the clip, Tarantino explains that after his capture, the Nazis have moved Stiglitz to Berlin to make a public example of him.

  Here, we see the Basterds stage a jailbreak. Then the lead basterd makes the recruiting pitch: "We're a big fan of your work," Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt), tells the impassive prisoner. "We came here to see if you want to go pro."

  
  

  Posted 05/21/2009 by Bill

  Related: Brad Pitt | Quentin Tarantino | Til Schweiger | Inglourious Basterds

Wednesday, May 20

• Three New Clips Released as Inglourious Basterds Premieres at Cannes

  It is still too early to get a complete handle on the overall reaction at Cannes, but there are some early indications that Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds just might live up to all the hype. Although most early reviews agree that this is no Pulp Fiction, it did really grab the audience's attention and feels like something new, "a spaghetti war movie," as one review calls it. Or perhaps, as cast member Eli Roth, who is featured beating down Nazis with baseball bats, put it at the post-screening press conference, "160 minutes of 'Kosher porn.'"

  One surprise highlight appears to be the standout performance of Christoph Waltz, a German TV star who plays SS officer Colonel Hans Landa. Tarantino had given hints of just how important he was to the production earlier, saying in interviews that he had considered scrapping the whole movie if he couldn't find just the right actor for the part. One BBC review is already suggesting that he may well be a contender for this year's best actor prize.

  In the clips released to coincide with the Cannes opening, there is a lot more dialogue than action, offering a spirited preview of the tone -- and accents -- of the movie. One clip even features a provocative voice-over narrative by Colonel Landa "The Jew Hunter," backed by a whistling tune in an obvious homage to Clint Eastwood's series of spaghetti westerns.

  
  
  Next Showing: Inglourious Basterds releases Aug., 21, 009

  Posted 05/20/2009 by Bill

  Related: Quentin Tarantino | Christoph Waltz | Eli Roth | Inglourious Basterds

Monday, May 18

• Real Life "Basterds" Object to the Tarantino Treatment

  To anyone who has taken a look at the trailer, it's evident that Inglourious Basterds is no historical period piece. Director Quentin Tarantino did say that, at various points, he'd considered turning the idea behind the film, which he researched intensively, into a lecture, or a 12-hour mini-series, or a documentary for the History Channel. But that plan was clearly abandoned quite a while ago.

  The story, though, at least in its general outlines, does have a historical precedent. There really was a crack unit of the British Army almost entirely composed of German-speaking Jewish refugees that fought the Germans behind enemy lines. The Independent talked to some of the survivors of the team, and they insist that they're neither inglourious nor basterds, no matter how you choose to spell it. As one of the veterans explains it,

  "It wasn't all violent gore and stabbing people and scalping them -- certainly not." Laughing, he adds: "I don't know how to scalp somebody."

  Besides, he goes on, it wasn't about personal revenge. It was about trying to end the war as soon as possible and "an evil that had to be eradicated."

  So with that position as a history lecturer out, it looks like Quentin Tarantino may just have to keep his day job. And Inglourious Basterds will just have to be taken in the spirit of good, old, over-the-top, blood-splattered fun that has always been the director's signature.

  
  
  

  Inglourious Basterds - Trailer

  Written & Directed by Quentin Tarantino - Releasing Aug. 21, 2009

  Posted 05/18/2009 by Bill

  Related: Quentin Tarantino | Inglourious Basterds

Tuesday, May 12

• Tarantino Already at Work on Basterds Prequel

  Inglourious Basterds has not even made its debut at the Cannes Film Festival, but that hasn't stopped Quentin Tarantino from thinking about the future. He already has further plans for Basterds' mythology, should it perform well critically and commercially. In an interview with the New York Times, Tarantino said:

   

  I have a half-written prequel ready to go if this movie's a smash.

  As is, Basterds is the story of a group of Jewish-American soldiers during World War II who traverse Europe in a fit of revenge against the Nazis. In the interview, Tarantino also spoke a little about other possible plot expansions:

   

  Once the Basterds get through with Europe, they could go to the South and do it to the Kluxers in the '50s. That's another story you could tell.

   

  
  
  

  Inglourious Basterds - Trailer

  Written & Directed by Quentin Tarantino - Releasing Aug. 21, 2009

  Posted 05/12/2009 by Rich Z

  Related: Quentin Tarantino | Inglourious Basterds

Sunday, May 3

• The Beauty and the Beasts in Inglourious Basterds

  As part of its summer women's fashion supplement, the New York Times has posted a video interview with Diane Kruger, who will play femme fatale Bridget von Hammersmark in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds. In this "screen test" she talks about her love of Mary Poppins, how dangerous she is when her German accent starts to come out, and her initial difficulties in landing a part in Inglourious Basterds. At first, she says, Tarantino was reluctant to cast her and didn't believe that she was really German, but was ultimately won over by her authenticity and enthusiasm for the part. We can see what other charms won over the notorious bad boy auteur in the accompanying photo spread featuring Tarintino with his newest find, suggestively titled The Call Back.

  As for the less-socially-polished side of the production, a new poster for the movie has been released with the header "Brad Pitt Is a Basterd." In an effort to make the glamorous Pitt suitably unsavory and scruffy-looking, the poster plays up his nasty looking neck scar and the perfected look of a man who finds too much thinking difficult.

  
  

  Posted 05/03/2009 by Bill

  Related: Brad Pitt | Quentin Tarantino | Diane Kruger | Inglourious Basterds

Thursday, April 30

• The Nazi Mini-Movie Inside Inglourious Basterds

  In an interview with MTV, actor and filmmaker Eli Roth explains that Quentin Tarantino asked him to direct a short Nazi propaganda movie to fit into Inglourious Basterds like a film within a film. Stolz der Nation (The Nation's Pride) was supposed to be a spoof of real Nazi propaganda flicks like Leni Riefenstahl's Triumph of the Will, but Roth worries that he might have gone a little too far. At one point during the filming, the Jewish filmmaker even found himself shouting "More swastikas! More swastikas!" And one key scene involves shooting 260 Americans. He expresses some concern (or is it glee?) that he may just have gotten even more offensive here than he did in making the gruesome horror flick Hostel 2.

  These doubts were amplified when he screened the finished product for some of the other actors who, staying in character, started screaming "Heil Hitler," and "Kill the Jews" in response. "I turned to Quentin," Roth says, and exclaimed "What have I done?" Despite these doubts, he suspects he created something powerful, and his relish for the irony still continues to leak through:

  I'm going to, like, resurrect the Nazi party. They are going to make me their Sarah Palin. They will be like, 'We love his movie. But he's a Jew! But it's such a good movie. But a Jew made it!'

  All in all, it sounds like just the right over-the-top complement to a Quentin Tarantino production.

  
  

  Posted 04/30/2009 by Bill

  Related: Quentin Tarantino | Eli Roth | Inglourious Basterds

Thursday, April 23

• Eli Roth Gets into the Vengeance in Inglourious Basterds

  A Jewish filmmaker with a serious taste for the horror genre, Eli Roth has his first major role in Inglourious Basterds -- and he does it with gusto, wielding a bloody baseball bat. The movie is basically a Jewish revenge fantasy with an Apache twist, Roth explains in an interview with MTV.

  He plays Donnie Donowitz, a Red Sox fan whose plan is to "take a baseball bat and get all the Jews in the neighborhood to sign it, and then ... beat every Nazi to death with it." Originally he expected to be the littlest basterd, but instead, Roth says,

  [Director Quentin Tarantino] basically cast my Hebrew school class. I looked around, and I was like, 'These are the kids who were in my bunk at Camp Cedar Lake.' It's them going on a killing spree -- and that's what makes it so much fun.

  Roth goes on to explain how Basterds takes inspiration from the Apaches:

  He's not going to skimp on the scalping, let me tell you. Quentin based what the Basterds do on what the Apache Indians did. They would do what's known now as the Apache Resistance, where they would capture people and horribly mutilate them, scalp them, torture them, cut them up, and leave one person alive. Then, [the survivor] would go back to the cavalry and describe what happened.

  As the leader of the Basterds, Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) drives this angle home with his orders to bring home hair and his nickname "Aldo the Apache."

  
  

  Posted 04/23/2009 by Bill

  Related: Brad Pitt | Quentin Tarantino | Eli Roth | Inglourious Basterds

Sunday, February 22

• New Art for Inglourious Basterds

  There are three new posters making the rounds for Quentin's Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds, one of the most anticipated film's of the summer (at least for us). The IMPA site says the posters are "apparently international," though all the type is in English (maybe for Britain?). Whatever they are, they're probably a bit bloody to make it in U.S. movie theatres; they definitely have a (pseudo) guerilla marketing/horror porn thing happening. They make you hungry for blood, if not the film's release.

  
  
  Next Showing: Inglourious Basterds opens August 21

  Posted 02/22/2009 by Hailey

  Related: Quentin Tarantino | Inglourious Basterds

Thursday, February 12

• Better Inglourious Basterds Trailer

  Yesterday we linked to a bootleg trailer for Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds, and it came down quicker than the Dow Jones. Let's try this one:

  What do you think? Looks different and very Tarantino. In any case, the trailer explains why Brad Pitt has been sporting the pornstache.

  
  
  Next Showing: Basterds opens August 21, 2009

  Posted 02/12/2009 by reelz

  Related: Brad Pitt | Quentin Tarantino | Inglourious Basterds

Wednesday, February 11

• Inglorious Basterds Trailer Debuts

  The trailer for Quentin Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds premiered on Entertainment Tonight last night, and is now available via YouTube and some guy who videotaped his television. Even in this digital age, that's the best we can do right now.

  The Basterds trailer will be available this weekend, playing before showings of Friday the 13th, proving that fans of Jason also love World War II movies. Let's just hope a better version turns up then.

  
  

  Posted 02/11/2009 by Ryan

  Related: Quentin Tarantino | Inglourious Basterds

Thursday, February 5

• When Actors Attack: Top 10 Celebrity Outbursts

  This week, Christian Bale's outburst on the set of Terminator: Salvation has taken the Internet by storm. But where does it rank among the all-time celebrity meltdowns?

  We offer a list of our favorites -- from the naked contempt Quentin Tarantino displays an entertainment reporter to director David O. Russell's return attack on Lily Tomlin on the overheated set of I Heart Huckabees to a classy, monumentally devastating takedown by Orson Welles.

  To hear them all, see When Actors Attack: Top 10 Celebrity Outbursts.

  
  

  Posted 02/05/2009 by reelz

  Related: Christian Bale | Lily Tomlin | Orson Welles | Quentin Tarantino | David O. Russell | Terminator Salvation | I Heart Huckabees

Tuesday, October 14

• Tarantino's Basterds Begins Production in Germany

  Quentin Tarantino's war epic Inglourious Basterds (yep, that's the correct spelling) recently started production in Germany. The pic features a gigantic cast that now officially includes Brad Pitt, Mike Myers, Diane Kruger, Melanie Laurent, Christoph Waltz, Daniel Bruhl, Samm Levine, B.J. Novak, Til Schweiger, Gedeon Burkhard, Paul Rust, Michael Bacall, Omar Doom, Sylvester Groth, Julie Dreyfus, Jacky Ido, August Diehl, Martin Wuttke, Richard Sammel, Christian Berkel, Sonke Mohring, Michael Fassbender, Rod Taylor, Denis Menochet, and Cloris Leachman.

  According to the release from Weinstein, Basterds starts out in a German-occupied France. Shosanna Dreyfus (Laurent) witnesses the execution of her family by Nazis. She manages to escape to Paris where she forges a new identity as the owner of a cinema.

  Meanwhile, Lt. Aldo Raines (Pitt) organizes a series of retribution attacks by Jewish soldiers known as "The Basterds." They join German actress and undercover agent Bridget Von Hammersmark (Kruger) on a mission to take down the leaders of The Third Reich.

  A specific release on Inglourious Basterds has not been set, but Weinstein confirms that it will release in 2009.

  
  

  Posted 10/14/2008 by reelz

  Related: Brad Pitt | Mike Myers | Quentin Tarantino | Diane Kruger | Inglourious Basterds

Tuesday, September 2

• Inglorious Casting Continues: Kruger, Schweiger Cast
  

  Casting news continues to surface on Quentin Tarantino's war epic Inglorious Bastards. Today The Hollywood Reporter announced Diane Kruger has been cast in the role of Bridget Von Hammersmark, a role for which Nastassja Kinski had originally been rumored. Kruger will portray a German actress who aids the Nazis in their infiltration of a movie premiere.

  Also joining the cast is German star Til Schweiger as a member of the Nazi killer team under Brad Pitt's Lt. Aldo Raine.

  Shooting of Inglorious Bastards kicks off October 13th in Germany.

  
  

  Posted 09/02/2008 by reelz

  Related: Quentin Tarantino | Diane Kruger | Inglourious Basterds

Friday, August 15

• Love Guru Joins Bastards
  

  Variety reports that Mike Myers has joined the cast of Quentin Tarantino's Inglorious Bastards as British General Ed Fenech.

  Myers has to hope the role will lend a bit of credibility to his live action acting after this summer's Love Guru debacle.

  Myers joins fellow castmates Brad Pitt and Eli Roth. Simon Pegg, Nastassja Kinski, David Krumholtz and B.J. Novak are also in talks with Tarantino.

  Shooting begins October 13th in Germany.

  Source: Variety
  

   

  
  
  
  

  Posted 08/15/2008 by reelz

  Related: Mike Myers | Quentin Tarantino | Inglourious Basterds

Friday, August 8

• Pegg, Novak Joining Tarantino's Bad News Bastards

  Ok, the title of Quentin Tarantino's upcoming World War II flick hasn't actually been changed, but the Kill Bill director is assembling such an odd and seemingly incongruous collection of actors for Inglorious Bastards that his remake of Enzo Castellari's cult classic is starting to look a little more like The Bad News Bears than The Dirty Dozen (Castellari's original inspiration). Today, the trades are reporting that Simon Pegg (Hot Fuzz), B.J. Novak (TV's The Office), David Krumholtz (TV's Numb3rs) and Nastassja Kinski (a bunch of German flicks) are all in talks to join confirmed castmembers Eli Roth and Brad Pitt -- thus giving us a few more head-scratchers to ponder.

  Of course, Tarantino is known for audacious casting choices (Pulp Fiction's John Travolta being the most famous -- and most successful -- example) and certainly no one is expecting Saving Private Ryan from the guy, but this is a period flick set against the backdrop of a war that actually took place. Getting a little too ridiculous with the cast risks stretching the bounds of believability beyond even his own admittedly loose standards.

  Can't wait to see how this one turns out.

  
  

  Posted 08/08/2008 by reelz

  Related: Quentin Tarantino | Simon Pegg | Inglourious Basterds

Thursday, August 7

• Pitt Joins Tarantino's Inglorious Bastards
  

  Quentin Tarantino has been telling anyone who would listen about Inglorious Bastards for more than a decade. Well, it seems that the project is finally coming to fruition. He's got a start date for shooting (Oct. 13) and now he's got dreamy Brad Pitt.

  The project will be a join venture for Weinstein Co. and Universal. Shooting will start in Germany and Tarantino hopes to have a cut ready for next year's Cannes Film Festival.

  After yesterday's announcement of Hostel director and noted Hollywood cheeseball Eli Roth joining the project as an "actor" in Bastards, Tarantino fans should feel a bit of relief at the Pitt casting news. Let's just hope Brad can give Eli a crash course in acting before Oct. 13.

  Source: Variety

  
  

  Posted 08/07/2008 by reelz

  Related: Brad Pitt | Quentin Tarantino | Inglourious Basterds

Wednesday, August 6

• Eli Roth Adds Stamp of Legitimacy to Tarantino's Inglorious Bastards

  Leonardo DiCaprio may not be starring in Inglorious Bastards, but don't weep for director Quentin Tarantino, because he went out and got someone even better. Variety reports today that none other than Hostel director Eli Roth has signed on to play a "baseball bat-swinging Nazi hunter" in Tarantino's remake of Enzo Castellari's cult World War II flick. Casting an actor of Roth's caliber will no doubt come as welcome news to Brad Pitt, who's reportedly in negotiations to star in the flick. This bit of news should almost certainly seal the deal for the Assassination of Jesse James star.

  
  

  Posted 08/06/2008 by reelz

  Related: Quentin Tarantino | Eli Roth | Inglourious Basterds

Wednesday, July 9

• Brad Pitt, Inglorious Bastard?

  Buried in the fourth paragraph of The Hollywood Reporter's update on Quentin Tarantino's long-delayed Inglorious Bastards is the news that "Brad Pitt's name has surfaced" in talks regarding the World War II flick's ensemble cast. Decide for yourself just exactly what that means; I imagine that it indicates the globe-trotting serial adopter is interested in joining the project. Sounds cool -- let's just hope he doesn't invite pals George Clooney and Matt Damon along and turn it into Ocean's Seventeen.

  According to DeadlineHollywoodDaily, Tarantino is shopping the project, a remake of Enzo Castellari's 1978 cult hit of the same name (re-releasing on DVD on July 29th) around to several major studios, much to the chagrin of longtime backer Harvey Weinstein. Stay tuned -- this one could get interesting.

  
  

  Posted 07/09/2008 by reelz

  Related: Brad Pitt | Quentin Tarantino | Inglourious Basterds

Monday, July 7

• Tarantino's Inglorious Bastards Actually Moving Forward

  Rarely is it considered newsworthy when a writer finishes a draft of a screenplay, but when the writer is perpetually distracted Quentin Tarantino and the screenplay is for his long planned Inglorious Bastards, ears instantly perk up. Last week Tarantino triumphantly declared to the BBC that he'd put the finishing touches on the script  for the World War II flick, a remake of Italian director Enzo Castellari's 1978 cult favorite (which itself was inspired by The Dirty Dozen). He's now working at casting for the project, which he calls a "modern, in-your-face movie," and "not a TV movie period piece that you can put in a box." He's hoping to have Inglorious Bastards ready in time for next year's Cannes Film Festival. Good luck with that one, Quentin.

  Tarantino talks in greater depth about his remake plans on the upcoming DVD re-release of Castellari's original Inglorious Bastards. The special three-disc set arrives in stores on July 29th.

  
  

  Posted 07/07/2008 by reelz

  Related: Quentin Tarantino | Counterfeit Commandos | Inglourious Basterds

Thursday, April 5

• Tom Leupp tells it like it is in his Grindhouse review

  Tom's review of Grindhouse is now live on the site and, as of yet, it's certainly not the popular opinion. The reviews are looking pretty strong so far, but you have to wonder who's doing the praising? Rottentomatoes shows an 87 % so far, but... I have a question. Would anyone give a !%# about this movie if it were directed by anyone other than fanboy figureheads Tarantino and Rodriguez?

  

  I didn't like the movie, as I expressed the other day. Now, before you call me a naysayer, understand that I loved Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill, Sin City, El Mariachi, etc. I was really looking forward to this movie. Unfortunately, Grindhouse just a BIG FAT LETDOWN.

  
  
  Next Showing: Grindhouse opens nationwide on April 6th
  

  The director discusses Grindhouse

  Tarantino and Rodriguez talk Grindhouse!!!

  Posted 04/05/2007 by reelz

  Related: Quentin Tarantino | Robert Rodriguez | Planet Terror | Sin City | Pulp Fiction

• Will the ADD generation embrace Grindhouse?

  Producers of Grindhouse are rolling the dice big-time, betting that fans of Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez, demographics not known for their long attention spans, will be able to sit still for the entirety of the three-hour-plus double feature.

  It's interesting to note that the individual films, Planet Terror and Death Proof, will be released separately abroad and will contain additional footage not seen in the U.S. version.

  Check out our review of Grindhouse.

  
  
  

  Long Run Time

  Can Grindhouse keep an audience seated for 3 hours plus?

  Posted 04/05/2007 by reelz

  Related: Quentin Tarantino | Robert Rodriguez | Planet Terror

Tuesday, April 3

• Hide your children

  While promoting his latest flick, the uber-violent Grindhouse, director Quentin Tarantino mentioned something that that would give pause to even the most open-minded parents:

  "I’ve actually always wanted to come up with a story that I wanted to do as a kid’s movie," Tarantino said. "I remember from working at Video Archives that if a kid likes a movie, like say Mighty Ducks, they see that movie 20 times, 30 times. They know the names of all the kids in the Mighty Ducks and it’s like, that’s an audience member I want on my side! I just have to come up with the right storyline."

  A Tarantino kid's movie would be mighty disturbing, but not nearly as disturbing as H.R. Pufnstuf.

  Check out our interview with Tarantino here.

  
  
  

  Grindhouse trailer

  Tarantino and Rodriguez bring back the double feature

  Posted 04/03/2007 by reelz

  Related: Quentin Tarantino | Planet Terror

Saturday, March 31

• I just saw Grindhouse...

  And it sucked. And and I don't mean that it was one of those "good in a bad way" movies that Tarantino and Rodriguez claim to be going for. Nope, this movie is just plain lousy.
  
  Rodriguez's Planet Terror is a passable enough genre flick. It's entirely too long, but it's got some clever moments. Still, stacked against similar recent zombie flicks such as 28 Days Later and Zack Snyder's Dawn of the Dead, it pales in comparison.
  
  Tarantino's Death Proof is a terrible movie. Yes, it's true that there are a few brief cool car chase moments thrown in, but those briefly pleasurable moments in the middle and the end (the last 15 minutes are great)are sandwiched between some of the most painstakingly boring footage you could ever imagine. It's basically girls sitting around talking about cars and relationships. Tarantino's trademark dialogue is wooden and ridiculous. Death Proof is Tarantino's fantasy movie of the girls he wish existed. Well Quentin, they don't and no one actually talks like this. He actually re-uses dialogue from his other movies. Death Proof is the worst thing he's ever done. And yes, I saw Four Rooms.
  
  And finally, Quentin, look, we've been saying it for more than a decade now.... STOP ACTING!!! Tarantino appears in BOTH of the Grindhouse movies, as cheesy and distracting as ever.
  
  Tom used the word "excruciating" to describe Grindhouse when he saw it a week ago. I wanted him to be wrong, but he was dead on.
  
  Check back for a more complete review of this highly anticipated and extremely disappointing flick.
  
  
  
  Next Showing: Grindhouse opens in theaters nationwide on April 6th
  

  Grindhouse Trailer

  The double feature is back!!!
  

  Grindhouse Premiere

  Quentin Tarantino talks about his exploitation movie.

  Posted 03/31/2007 by reelz

  Related: Kurt Russell | Quentin Tarantino | Robert Rodriguez | Planet Terror