How [not] to make a great movie

From a Chicagoist.com interview with Audrey Niffenegger, author of Time Traveler's Wife:

C: Even without the knowledge of the impending film, Time Traveler is a very cinematic book. Did you have anything in mind about how it’d look on a screen while you were writing it?

AN: I was thinking very much about what it would look like if I made a movie out of it, but the movie that I would make is not the movie that’s going to be made.

There's a saying that goes "If it isn't broken, don't fix it." Let's hope it's still a half decent movie. It's a pretty damn good book, especially considering the intricate time travel out-of-sequence storytelling.

Another great time/sci-fi/drama book is Flashforward by Robert Sawyer. That would also make an excellent movie.

There aren't any guarantees. Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park turned out okay. But other stories of his like Timeline, Sphere and Congo turned out to be disappointing crap.

Go Speed Racer!

From Zap2it.com

Richard Roundtree has been added to the cast of Andy and Larry Wachowski's adaptation of "Speed Racer."

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Roundtree will play racing icon Ben Burns, one of Speed's (Emile Hirsch) heroes and a current racing commentator.

"Speed Racer" was created by Tatsuo Yoshida and premiered as an anime series in Japan in 1967. The story centers on a teenaged Speed Racer (Hirsch) who encounters intrigue and danger on his road to racing glory. He is aided by parents Mom (Susan Sarandon) and Pops Racer (John Goodman), girlfriend Trixie (Christina Ricci), little brother Spritle, his monkey Chim Chim and the mechanic Sparky (Kirk Gurry). Lurking in the background is the mysterious Racer X (Matthew Fox).

The Wachowskis have already begun shooting "Speed Racer" in Berlin and Warner Bros. has set a May 2008 release date for the long-awaited project.

Although he'll always be best known as John Shaft, Roundtree attracted a new generation of fans with his recurring role on "Heroes" this season and with guest appearances on "Close to Home," "The Closer" and "Grey's Anatomy."

What it Means to be Cyclon?

From SciFi.com

Cast members of SCI FI Channel's original series Battlestar Galactica told reporters that they weren't happy at first to discover that their characters were Cylons, but they have come to terms with the revelation in their own ways—and hinted the Cylons may not be what they appear.

"Untitled JJ Abrams Movie"

Yeah, that's what it should be called.

You can read more speculation and clues here.

The Trailer Before Transformers

Before Transformers started, we saw a cool trailer for a movie that appears to take place in NYC. It look like a home video of a "going away" party, when suddenly the city comes under attack. Buildings are blowing up, the head of the Statue of Liberty gets tossed into the street... all shot from a consumer video camera.

It's some new thing by JJ Abrams (creator of Alias & Lost)-- that was given away by the Bad Robot logo credit. But there's no title, and not much else to go by. There are some cryptic websites, but I wouldn't bother with them just yet. There doesn't seem to be anything worthwhile yet. It's a sort of web-marketing scheme where the websites will magically grow more content as the movie gets nearer (Jan 08-08).

I hope that this project doesn't distract from the "other" project he's working on. That would be the next Star Trek movie. I got the impression that the point he went off to do Lost, Alias started to go down the drain. I'd rather have one great movie than two half-good ones.

Transformers

To counter their old slogan, There's NOT more than meets the eye in the new Transformers movie. It's ALL about the eye! You never want to blink, and you wish you had a rewind button.

The effects in this movie are over the top. And they're complemented by great action and a pace that keeps you interested despite the fact it's a longer than average movie. Currently my benchmark for action/pace/effects is Spiderman 2. It has the perfect balance of story, character and one of the best fight/action scenes since the Matrix- the train fight between Spidey and Doc Oc.

There's also a lot of humor, which I prefer over typical long drawn out philosophical speeches that usually end up in action/sci-fi movies to fill in the gaps between fight/chase/escape scenes. I've noticed this as well in superhero movies like Spiderman and Fantastic Four. Superman Returns didn't have enough humor, and suffered for that lacking.

If there's anything that's hidden beneath the surface, it's that Transformers is a well-crafted commercial for GM cars, iPods, XBox 360, Nokia, and probably a few more products I didn't notice consciously but will want to buy some time soon for no apparent reason.

Also, there are the typical Michael Bay trademark scenes:

• Big things happening at sunrise or sunset. Nothing important ever seems to take place at noon.
• A little dog.
• Lots and lots and lots of military planes, tanks, ships, etc.

Steven Speilberg is credited as Producer. There's a scene with a transformer coming out of a swimming pool while a little girl watches... I wonder if that was his idea.

This movie definitely fits in the "Big Screen" category. DO NOT wait to see this in a theater when it's been moved to the smaller screen.