Movieline's Week in Review: Goodnight Irene

Well, folks, it’s time for you to clean up our canned goods and canned water, inflate our rafts, and row row row our motorboats lightly lower the center of the road towards the safe place of Movieline’s Week in Review. Our West Coast bureau is going to be back along with you dads and moms ahead with box-office news along with other occurrences in the cinema front the New England bureau is going to be back along with you no matter where Hurricane Irene selects to decrease us. Hopefully you will find movies there! More in the future then — possess a safe and dry weekend! · Ryan Gosling prepared for hurricane save duty with brave street intervention. · We cast Christian Bale. You can now, too. · Thank you for this week’s illustrious interviewees, including Guillermo del Toro and Katie Holmes, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, Mike Riley, Andrea Riseborough and Verge designee Bailee Madison. · Explanation was the dying of Jim Carrey’s joke. · Tom Sturdy and Al Pacino were the foci of the week’s large facts. · We learned how flop sausage is created. · Bad Movies We Like tingled.

Watch Johnny Depp Breathe Fire and Undress Amber Heard in the Rum Diary Trailer

Hunter S. Thompson fans have been patiently waiting over a decade for The Rum Diary to reach the big screen. (In fact, the adaptation process, which began in 2000, was so frustrating that the author himself coined the phrase “waterhead fuckaround” to describe the slow studio proceedings.) But The Rum Diary is finally in the can with a fall release date thanks to English writer and director Bruce Robinson, Thompson’s long-time friend Johnny Depp and Depp’s production company Infinitum Nihil. Let’s take a look at the trailer! Supplanting Thompson for the second time onscreen (the first time was in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas), Depp plays Paul Kemp, a booze-loving journalist who travels to Puerto Rico on assignment. As in the novel, movie Kemp becomes involved with a beautiful young woman (Amber Heard), squabbles with his editor (Richard Jenkins) and enjoys copious drunken, sometimes drug-induced and violent, revelry. Unlike the novel though, Robinson seems to have given Kemp a hero-making journey. Instead of a directionless writer soaking up the Puerto Rican rays and rum, Depp’s Kemp is on a mission to take down a corrupt businessman (Aaron Eckhart). This seems a little like gonzo sacrilege but I’m excited to see The Rum Diary either way. The Rum Diary finally reaches theaters October 28. VERDICT: Hunter S. Thompson + Depp + a Bejeweled Tortoise = A Must See.

Check Out These Creepy Stanley Kubrick Cinemagraphs

Stanley Kubrick is behind some of the most thought-provoking -- and downright terrifying -- films in history. And now a few of his biggest movies have been made into cinemagraphs. What is a cinemagraph you ask? According to Filmmaker.com, they are "still photographs in which a minor and repeated movement action occurs." As you can see below (and from the 'Clockwork Orange' one above), whoever made these decided to pick some of the most unsettling moments in Kubrick film history. Head on over to Filmmaker.com to see the entire collection.

A Glorious Mess (Messies: Ein schoenes Chaos)

A Reasonable & Ugly presentation in colaboration with SRF, 3Sat. (Worldwide sales: Fair & Ugly, Bern.) Created, directed by Ulrich Grossenbacher. Compiled by Thomas Moll, Grossenbacher, Nadia Costs.With: Arthur Santschi, Trudi, Karl, Elmira, Thomas, Gerhard. (German dialogue)Four individuals who can't stop themselves from gathering stuff are observed with empathy and amusement in Swiss-made "A Glorious Mess," helmer Ulrich Grossenbacher's second feature docu. Topically like the American reality series "Hoarders" however with less focus on therapy, this slow-burning but rewarding study involves a quartet of packrats who go swimming doggedly from the current inside a nation frequently indicated, some might say stereotyped, by its dependence on neatness and order. This crowdpleaser should carve a tidy niche by itself on upmarket cable stations. Player Arthur Santschi's unwieldy assortment of rusting equipment has disseminate over his estate, lowering the wrath of his neighbors as well as an especially persnickety bureaucrat named Gerhard, who's going to cleanup the eyesore. Karl's stuff generally is pushing his wife Trudi from him. Elmira needs to pick her way around a condo stacked with tapes she's made from radio programs. Apparently probably the most practical, Thomas recycles stuff he finds to create interesting inventions. Helmer/lenser/co-author Grossenbacher consistently coaxes revealing findings and significant moments, just like a near-final shot of Gerhard thoroughly moving up a thrown away lead tube.Camera (color, HD), Grossenbacher editor, Maya Schmid music, Resil Burrl. Examined on DVD, London, August. 23, 2011. (In Locarno Film Festival -- Critics' Week.) Running time: 117 MIN. Contact the range newsroom at news@variety.com

New York Mayor Touts Record 23 Primetime TV Shows Filming in Big Apple

NEW YORK - Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Monday once again emphasized the importance of entertainment productions to New York City, highlighting a record 23 primetime TV shows filming in the city's five boroughs now.Giving his daily press briefing from the set of ABC fall season show "Pan Am" at Steiner Studios in Brooklyn, Bloomberg said the entertainment industry supports 4,000 local businesses and contributes $5 billion to the local economy. Out of the 23 primetime projects filming now, at least eight are shows picked up out of this year's 20 pilots shot in the Big Apple. The mayor highlighted that the city is also the home to 140 news programs, talk shows and reality series, while 200 films were shot here last year."During a time of financial distress, more TV shows are shooting in our city than ever before," Bloomberg said, according to a copy of his prepared remarks. "These shows are providing a great boost to our local economy and creating jobs at a time when we really need them. In fact, new growth in our production and entertainment industries is one of the reasons we're creating jobs at a faster clip than the rest of the nation."Citing federal and state labor statistics, the mayor said that since the recession began, "the U.S. has lost 5.6 percent of its private sector jobs. New York City, on the other hand, has lost only 0.3 percent." Bloomberg and Katherine Oliver, commissioner of the New York City Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment, were joined by executive director of the State Office for Motion Picture & Television Development Pat Kaufman, Brooklyn borough president Marty Markowitz, other politicians, Steiner Studios chairman Douglas Steiner and "Pan Am" executive producers Nancy Hult Ganis and Thomas Schlamme, as well as show crew members."Thousands of New Yorkers are hard at work building sets, making costumes and scouting locations for the record 23 new and returning TV shows that film here," said Bloomberg, according to a statement. "A show like 'Pan Am' employs 400 people behind the scenes and generates activity for our local economy at places like lumberyards, fabric stores and coffee shops. We're working to strengthen and diversify New York City's economy and create jobs and our thriving entertainment industry is a prime example of those efforts paying off."This year, New York City-based shows earned a record 110 Primetime Emmy nominations, he also highlighted."This fall, our televisions screens will once again be filled with a host of shows that are made right here in the Big Apple," said Oliver. "We wish all the new and returning shows all the best during this upcoming season and at the Primetime Emmys."Steiner thanked the Bloomberg administration for its support of the entertainment industry."This onslaught of film and television production here is a direct result of the mayor and other elected officials working together to make New York City competitive and hassle-free," he said.Steiner Studios, at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, is in the midst of an expansion that will "double what is already the largest soundstage and production facility on the East Coast," Bloomberg said. "The Navy Yard has added 2,200 jobs since 2001, and thanks to the Steiner expansion and other developments, it will add over 2,000 more in the next two years." The Hollywood Reporter

It's Time to Meet the Muppets! In Music Form, That Is

By the Editors of AOL Music It's only natural that the Muppets and the band OK Go hang out. Both Jim Henson's beloved puppets and Chicago's premier power-pop foursome make smart, tuneful pop music with a whimsical edge, and as the exclusive video below makes clear, both have a fondness for rocking bright colors. (Not that Kermit -- au natural, as always -- has much of a choice.) OK Go has the honor of opening 'The Green Album,' a new collection of classic Muppet tunes reinterpreted by indie-rock admirers. The disc -- which you can hear in full on AOL's Listening Party -- also features My Morning Jacket, the Airborne Toxic Event, Sondre Lerche and Weezer, who previously worked with Kermit and company on the 2002 'Keep Fishin' video. OK Go's funky version of the 'Muppet Show Theme,' like the other 11 tracks, arrives three months in advance of 'The Muppets,' a new film starring Amy Adams, Chris Cooper, Rashida Jones and Jason Segel, who co-wrote the script. While 'The Green Album' is by and large a fun listen, bonus points go to any Gen-Xer who can make it through 'Rainbow Connection' -- performed here by Weezer and Paramore lead singer Hayley Williams -- or Andrew Bird's 'Bein' Green' without blubbering like a little baby. *Image courtesy of Amazon

Bronfman shifts to chairman at WMG

Warner Music Group is shuffling a pair of top executive roles, as former CEO Edgar Bronfman, Jr., has been named chairman of the board of directors and ex-chairman Stephen F. Cooper has been elected as WMG's CEO.Flip in duties comes in the wake of Access Industries' acquisition of WMG for $3.3 billion (Daily Variety, July 21).Bronfman explained in a statement, "Given my desire to focus on growth opportunities and Steve's extensive background in management across a wide array of companies and industries, I am grateful that Steve accepted the offer to change roles and to serve as our CEO.I look forward to continuing our successful partnership."Cooper is also a member of the supervisory board of Lyondell/Basell Industries, the Dutch petrochemical firm owned by Access Industries, and a managing partner of equity firm Cooper Investment Partners.Additionally, Thomas H. Lee, previously a WMG board member, has been elected as a new director of the company, increasing the board's size from nine to 10 members. Lee's private equity firm, Thomas H. Lee Capital, was a partner in the 2004 purchase of WMG from Time Warner.The music firm also announced Friday that Lyor Cohen and Cameron Strang would remain in place as chairman-CEO of recorded music and chairman-CEO of Warner/Chappell Music. Both men will report directly to Cooper. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

Why Disney Will Never Spend $250 Million on The Lone Ranger

As you may have heard, Disney shockingly put the brakes on the planned big-screen adaptation of The Lone Ranger that star Johnny Depp, producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Gore Verbinski were aiming to bring into theaters next Christmas. The reasons were budgetary — the cost of Ranger had reportedly ballooned to $250 million — but it appears that a mere (“mere”) $20-30 million is all that separates the studio from the filmmakers. Provided some cuts can be made — a task easier said than done, as backend deals and three large-scale action scenes revolving around trains reportedly threaten the compromise — The Lone Ranger could conceivably hit theaters at some point. Unless, of course, Disney realizes it might not be the best idea anyway. Ahead, five reasons why Disney will never spend $250 million on The Lone Ranger. The December release date Per THR, even at the $220 million budget that Disney wants for The Lone Ranger, the film would have to earn $800 million worldwide to hit the black when backend deals and marketing are taken into account. Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln! Of the 30 films that have grossed more than $800 million worldwide in Hollywood history, only five have been released in December: Titanic, the three installments of Lord of the Rings and Avatar. Unless The Lone Ranger is a cultural phenomenon on the level of those films (early guess: it won’t be), pushing ticket sales into that tax bracket seems like an impossible task from a Dec. 23 launch. Speaking of which… Brad Pitt, Peter Jackson and Leonardo DiCaprio Even taking that imposing box office history into account, The Lone Ranger could flirt with $800 million worldwide, provided it was lone; after all, the last two Johnny Deep-led live-action blockbusters — Alice in Wonderland and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides — reached $1 billion in sales around the globe. Unfortunately, it’s not. The Dec. 23 bow for The Lone Ranger places it against the second weekend of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and — just announced last week before the news of Ranger’s budgetary dirty laundry hit — World War Z with Brad Pitt. Oh, and Django Unchained, with Leonardo DiCaprio and Jamie Foxx, which arrives two days later. Johnny Depp is one of the biggest stars on the globe, but even he could have a hard time cutting through against competition like that. It’s a non-sequel There’s an obvious reason why multiplexes are littered with Final Destination 5s, Transformers 3s and Harry Potter 7s: Hollywood loves a sequel. It’s often a real risk to launch something that isn’t part of a larger storyline. (For reference, see Cowboys & Aliens.) Granted, The Lone Ranger is a known property — and a veteran one, which might actually work in its advantage if you believe the success of The Smurfs — but it’s still not an easy sell to audiences, even with Depp’s background launching franchises. Perhaps Disney would be a little more open to spending between $210 and $250 million on The Lone Ranger if there was a number after its title. And sure, we could always go back to Titanic and Avatar, but those were fairly unique cases that actually underscore one critical Lone Ranger hurdle… It’s a Western When True Grit became a surprise box office smash in the winter, Hollywood was ready to love Westerns again; when Cowboys & Aliens become a (not) surprise box office wash-out in July, Hollywood was ready to toss the genre back into the dust bin. Which goes to show that Hollywood is finicky like a house cat with Westerns, you never know whether the audience will show up or not. It’s an older-skewing genre, and Hollywood blockbusters aren’t built for older patrons. Will millennials (especially female millennials) pay money to see The Lone Ranger when Johnny Depp isn’t even playing the titular hero — and the titular hero is a cowboy? It’s too risky Real talk: Even if Verbinski and Bruckheimer can get this film in under budget, and even if Disney threads the needle on the marketing campaign, and even if they find a perfect release date for the film (perhaps late spring 2013), The Lone Ranger still might wash out. When the stakes are this high, why bother taking such a risk? “It’s our intention to take a careful look at what films cost,” Disney CEO Robert Iger said recently, “and if we can’t get them to a level that we’re comfortable with, we think that we’re better off actually reducing the size of our slate than making films that are bigger and increasingly more risky.” Translation: Hi ho, Silver! Go away! · ‘Lone Ranger’: Director, Producer Offer to Trim Fees as Budget Battle Rages [THR] [Photo: Getty Images]

'Dark Dark night Rises': The Batwing's Many Looks

FROM SPLASH PAGE: Christian Bale's version of Batman had hardly been limited towards the gritty roads of Gotham City in "Batman Starts" and "The Dark Dark night." His Caped Crusader perched high atop highrises, spun aerial pirouettes with the evening sky with a set of retracting wings, and plucked a corrupt businessman in to the air because of some great black-operations technology along with a whitened cargo plane. But nothing you've seen prior has Bale's hero had his personal aircraft, an excellent-clever Batwing possibly to fit within the Batcave alongside his Batpod, which resides within his Batmobile. That's going to change, as photos in the Pittsburgh group of "The Dark Dark night Increases" make obvious. Director Christopher Nolan has because of the craft a completely new spin, upgrading that which was once an undeniably hokey comic-book creation in to the latest, finest method for Batman to shoot with the air and bust bad-guy butt. Here's phone aircraft's evolution. Browse the full story at MTV Splash Page!

Tom Cruise Doesn't Look at Explosions in the Latest 'Mission: Impossible' Image

From spandex and crew cuts to biker jackets and long, flowing locks, Tom Cruise has gone through some interesting fashion statements during his tenure as Ethan Hunt in the 'Mission: Impossible' movies. Now, after getting our hands on the awesome first trailer, we have our first full-on look at Cruise in all his brooding glory thanks to the latest image from 'Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol.' So go ahead and check out the pic Cruise's new duds against a backdrop of destruction. On the one hand, this tells us absolutely nothing about the movie that we haven't already seen in the trailer. On the other, that is a very cool jacket. Also looks a lot like that 'Captain America' poster if you ask us. So what do you think of Ethan Hunt's new look? Photo courtesy of Paramount.

FEARnet greenlights 'Holliston'

Skein is a half-hour multicam buddy comedy starring Adam Green and Joe Lynch. Production on the six-episode series is set to begin later this year. Green, who created the sitcom, and Lynch portray a pair of buddies who live in Holliston, Mass., and chase a dream of becoming successful horror filmmakers. While struggling to make ends meet at a Boston cable access station, they also have to endure girlfriend problems. "Adam came to us with a truly off-the-wall series that was overflowing with a supporting cast of misfits. We knew it was a perfect fit for our 'Twisted Comedy' block," said FEARnet president Peter Block. Other series in the Tuesday comedy block are "Todd & the Book of Pure Evil" and "Psychoville." Contact Stuart Levine at stuart.levine@variety.com

Sarah Michelle Gellar Plans Go back to Axed Cleaning soap

BEVERLY Hillsides, Calif. (AP) Sarah Michelle Gellar is headed for any new series about the CW network, but she states she'll find time for you to go back to "My Children."Gellar confirmed Thursday that she'll create a farewell appearance on the canceled cleaning soap, where she performed Kendall Hart from 1993 to 1995, and won a daytime Emmy award. "Children" will appear reduced from ABC on Sept. 23, ending a 4-decade run."I simply thought about being some of it,Inch Gellar told reporters collected for that Television Experts Association's press tour. She stated she has no clue what part she'll play in her own one-day guest shot.The first kind "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" star was available to go over her new series, "Ringer," where she plays a lady in danger who impersonates her twin sister. "Ringtones" premieres Sept. 13 about the CW.Copyright 2011 Connected Press. All privileges reserved. These components might not be released, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Sarah Michelle Gellar PHOTO CREDIT AP Photo/Chris Pizzello BEVERLY Hillsides, Calif. (AP) Sarah Michelle Gellar is headed for any new series about the CW network, but she states she'll find time revisit "My Children."Gellar confirmed Thursday that she'll create a farewell appearance about the canceled cleaning soap, where she performed Kendall Hart from 1993 to 1995, and won a daytime Emmy award. "Children" will appear reduced from ABC on Sept. 23, ending a 4-decade run."I simply thought about being some of it,Inch Gellar told reporters collected for that Television Experts Association's press tour. She stated she's no clue what part she'll play in her own one-day guest shot.The first kind "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" star was available to go over her new series, "Ringer," where she plays a lady in danger who impersonates her twin sister. "Ringtones" premieres Sept. 13 about the CW.Copyright 2011 Connected Press. All privileges reserved. These components might not be released, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

The Lunatic

The story of a village madman, Aloysious, who has the amazing ability to talk to anything, including trees, cows and cricket balls. Portrayed from a Jamaican prospective with an acute eye for the authentic dialect of the land. Aloysious meets Inga, a German nymphomaniac, who uses her 'pum pum power' to capture his heart.