Up With Pixar

So what's next for Pixar after the critical and financial success of WALL-E? Well, things are looking Up.

The computer animation giant was at Comic-Con today to preview their next feature (directed by Monsters, Inc.'s Pete Doctor) and it sounds like they have another winner on their hands.

Click here for a charming sneak peek of the film, in theaters May 29, 2009.

I Wanna Be a Cowboy

Yippee-ki-yay! Today is National Cowboy Day, and to celebrate, Entertainment Weekly is counting down the top cowpokes in pop culture history, including a very familiar pair (pictured above) and a certain village person. Yee-hah!

That Galaxy Far, Far Away Will Now Be Really, Really Close

Leave it to George Lucas to figure out a way to get Star Wars fans to pay to see his movies all over again ... again. Plans are underway to re-release not one, not two, but all six Star Wars movies using state-of-the-art 3-D technology. So now moviegoers will get to experience the thrill of dodging light sabres, laser beams and Jabba the Hut drool sometime in the future, as no exact schedule has been set at this time.

Lucas had mentioned his intentions for this 3-D bonanza at least three years ago, where the plan was to re-release one movie a year. I have to imagine that interest would die down about half way through that scenario though. I remember when the much-ballyhooed "special editions" of the original trilogy came out back in 1997 and everyone was pretty much over it by the time Return of the Jedi (I refuse to call it Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi) came out.

Sleeping Beauty Castle to Reawaken

Just in time for the release of Sleeping Beauty as a two-disc Platinum Edition DVD and Blu-ray(ah, that infamous Disney synergy at work), Disneyland will reopen one of its lower-key attractions, the Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough.

Longtime Disneyphiles will remember this A-ticket as a self-guided walking tour up inside the park's central icon, where they could view nifty little dioramas of Barbie-esque dolls depicting scenes from the 1959 animated fairy tale (here's a video retrospective). It was definitely low-tech stuff, mostly appealing to little girls and window display designers. (I remember as a kid we would always do this one last because if we missed it, no big loss; why we waited to do the one attraction that required a lot of walking -- up flights of stairs, no less -- after a full day at the park, I don't know.)

However, for the 2008 version (planned to open sometime this fall), Imagineers are promising a little more bells and whistles, including a virtual walkthrough for park guests who aren't able to walk up all those stairs.

UPDATE: The attraction has re-opened to guests, and LaughingPlace.com has a full report, including pictures and video.

The Sleeping Beauty Platinum Edition DVD and Blu-ray will be available October 7. Click hereto pre-order it from Amazon.com.

Thoms Pays the Rent

Tracie Thoms, who played lesbian lawyer Joanne in the movie version of Rent, will take to the Broadway stage tonight in that role in the long-running Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winning musical hit.

Thoms, who was one of the two film Renters who wasn't in the original cast of the show, will stay with the production through its closing date, September 7.

In the News: Way to Burst Their Bubble

Hilarious but true headline (from Broadway.com):

"Gazillion Bubble Show Robbed; 3.4 Tons of Bubble Solution Missing".

Reel Thoughts: ABBA-cadabra!

If you don’t like ABBA, you have Australia to blame for their resurgent popularity. Would the Swedish pop group have had such a comeback without Toni Collette’s marriage-obsessed Muriel’s Wedding and the ABBA-riffic Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert? Why, even the Broadway posters for Mamma Mia! were a direct rip-off of Muriel's.

Of course, once it opened, Mamma Mia! became a worldwide sensation, easily one of the best “jukebox musicals” of all time. The reason it succeeds onstage, even in fickle Las Vegas where it has outlived about a half dozen other Broadway imports, is that the wafer-thin story is just framework enough to hang ABBA’s infectious hits. On the other hand, it doesn’t feel like a tired retread of what it’s celebrating, like All Shook Up did.

The film version is extremely exciting, mostly due to its all-star cast and spectacular Greek locations. Opened up and blown up on the big screen, some of what works on stage feels flat on film. The other problem is that now, you really get the chance to hear the lyrics, and it reminds you that English wasn’t really ABBA’s first language. No amount of song selling on Christine Baranski and Julie Walters’ parts will improve the inherent silliness of “Chiquitita”; and much as I adored Meryl Streep’s heartfelt rendition of “The Winner Takes It All”, after the fourth repetition of the same lyrics, you start to feel a little bad for her -- let the poor woman finish the song, already!

The story of Mamma Mia! takes place on a magically beautiful Greek Island where Donna (Streep) is running an inn and preparing for her daughter Sophie’s wedding. Sophie, played with charming sweetness by Amanda Seyfried, is determined to have her father give her away, despite never having met him or even knowing his name. Reading her Mom’s diary, she narrows it down to three men with whom Donna “dot, dot, dotted,” and Sophie invites them all to her wedding. Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and Stellan Skarsgård play the prospective papas, while Baranski and Walters play Donna’s best friends and former back-up singers (when they were “Donna and the Dynamos”).

The film is set to every ABBA song you’ve ever heard, and a few you haven’t. Donna and Sophie bond while confronting the past, and everyone finds love in one way or another. My favorite thing about the film and show is the way it focuses on the middle-aged women and their supportive friendship. The music may not always be equal to the quality of the people singing it (especially Streep), but everyone is clearly having a ball, and you will, too.

UPDATE: Mamma Mia! is now available on DVD and Blu-rayfrom Amazon.com.

Review by Neil Cohen, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and Phoenix's Echo Magazine.

Little House on the Stage

As a kid, I was obsessed with the opening credit sequence of the wholesome TV classic Little House on the Prairie. It was always comforting to hear that familiar theme music, even though the show that followed often dealt with the harsh realities of such a life. I would always wait for little Carrie Ingalls to go tumbling down that hill, and was confused when Big Edie would tell me (seemingly every week) that Lindsay Sidney Greenbush was actually two people. Did that mean that Melissa Sue Anderson was too?

The big star of the show, of course, was Melissa Gilbert as Laura "Half Pint" Ingalls, who would grow up to write the stories the series was based upon. And now, Gilbert herself is all grown up (and glammed out) and currently starring as Caroline "Ma" Ingalls in a musical version of those same books, making its world premiere tonight at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis.

The new tuner, directed by Francesca Zambello (Broadway's The Little Mermaid) and featuring the music of Oscar winning composer Rachel Portman (Emma) with a book by Tony Award winning librettist Rachel Sheinkin (The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee), has already proven to be a big draw. Its limited engagement has been extended by two weeks. In addition to Gilbert, the cast includes familiar Broadway faces Steve Blanchard and Jenn Gambatese.

Out in Film: Del Shores & Jason Dottley

Idol worship: Del Shores, writer/director/producer and Jason Dottley, actor/producer.

- Shores is the award-winning playwright behind the cult stage hits The Trials and Tribulations of a Trailer Trash Housewife, Daddy's Dyin' (Who's Got the Will?), Sordid Lives and Southern Baptist Sissies. In addition to some of these plays, Dottley starred in an acclaimed production of Terrance McNally's The Lisbon Traviata.

- Shores also directed the film version of Sordid Lives, now a LOGO TV series co-starring Dottley as the sexually ambiguous Ty.

- On television, Shores wrote for and produced such series as Ned and Stacey, Dharma & Greg and Queer as Folk.

- After Sordid Lives: The Series, the duo are working on a film adaptation of Southern Baptist Sissies, set to star Delta Burke and Leslie Jordan.

- In the meantime, the married couple are starring in their own Sordid Lives vlog on LOGOOnline.com.

Fierstein on Getty

Harvey Fierstein pays tribute to his Torch Song Trilogy co-star and longtime friend Estelle Getty.

Men on Film: On the Other Hand, Death - A Donald Strachey Mystery

Today, we have a special double feature review for you today of On the Other Hand, Death, directed by Ron Oliver, premiering tonight on here! TV.

Reverend's Review by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and the Orange County and Long Beach Blade:

After being subjected to hunky but straight private investigators on TV for decades (perhaps most notably Magnum, P.I.), we finally have our own, openly gay mystery-solver! His name is Donald Strachey, and he's played by hottie Chad Allen (currently on stage opposite Valerie Harper as Tallulah Bankhead in Pasadena Playhouse's Looped). Strachey's latest adventure, On the Other Hand, Death, debuts tonight on here!, American's premium gay television network.

This is actually the third filmed Donald Strachey mystery, after Third Man Out and Shock to the System. A fourth, Ice Blues, will premiere this fall. I haven't seen the previous movies and so was unfamiliar with the character, who is featured in a series of novels by Richard Lipez, under the pen name Richard Stevenson.

The plot of On the Other Hand, Death is pretty standard stuff for the genre: someone is terrorizing homeowners in an effort to get them to sell their lucrative property as part of a big-money scheme. Even Scooby-Doo has covered this territory. What is unique here isn't only that the investigator is openly, unapologetically gay (and is married to his partner, an amusingly buttoned-up New York State Senate staffer played by Sebastian Spence), but the victims are a lesbian couple.

Margot Kidder of Superman fame plays high school guidance counselor Dorothy, and Gabrielle Rose (a veteran of numerous TV series including The L Word and Eureka) plays her longtime companion, Edith. It's always great to see Kidder, although she makes some disappointingly stereotypical choices -- including wearing all-flannel and foregoing make-up -- in playing a "butch" lesbian woman. Rose gives the best, most nuanced performance in the film as a woman hiding a secret from the past.

Consistent with the genre, there are many suspects with secret pasts and motivations. One is a teenager struggling with his sexuality, although he serves more as an opportunity to plug a real-life GLBT organization, the Trevor Project, than as a significant plot device. The Trevor Project is mentioned repeatedly, as is Dorothy's mantra "We don't pick our fights; our fights pick us." As a result, they can't help but come across as heavy-handed.

Still, On the Other Hand, Death provides a great opportunity to snuggle on the sofa with your honey for 90 minutes and realize P.I.s on TV have come a long way since The Rockford Files.



Reel Thoughts by Neil Cohen, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and Phoenix's Echo Magazine:
Out actor Chad Allen probably never expected to be the here! network’s Jessica Fletcher, but then again, the kind of scrapes he gets into would never have happened on Murder, She Wrote. Allen plays Donald Strachey, a happily partnered private eye who upends stereotypes while solving crimes having to do with outing, ex-gay therapy, and now gay hate crimes and the challenges of GLBT teens, especially in conservative small towns.

Strachey’s husband, New York State Senate staffer Tim Callahan (Sebastian Spence), is contacted by an old flame who has returned to Albany to help his old high school counselor. Dorothy, played wonderfully by the wry Margot Kidder, and her terrified partner Edith (Gabrielle Rose) have been plagued by increasingly violent attacks on their farmhouse ever since Dorothy came out.

In addition, Dorothy finds herself having to defend herself from a vicious band of parents who don’t want her advising their children. The film does a nice job of publicizing the Trevor Project, a valuable resource for gay teens who are contemplating suicide. One of the possible suspects in the latest string of hate crimes may be the father of a boy who Dorothy was helping. As Donald delves deeper, however, he finds that some people may stop at nothing if it means putting money in their pocket, even murder.

Allen plays Strachey with a cool demeanor that makes him a great gay character. He’s completely trusting in his husband’s love and fidelity, even as Andrew, the old flame, seems to be stirring the pot romantically, playing them both against each other. Kidder has grown into such a warm, comfortably gruff older woman; she really makes Dorothy both a force to be reckoned with and a person you would want to protect.

The mystery has enough twists and surprises to keep you totally engaged, while the film feels like a rich, satisfying novel brought to life. If you don’t have here!, then watch for the film to come out on DVD later this year.

UPDATE: On the Other Hand, Death is now available on DVDfrom Amazon.com.

Let's Do the Time Warp Again

With a jump to the left and a step to the right, MTV has announced they are remaking the movie that defines the terms "cult film", "audience participation" and "midnight movie classic", The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Original RHPS producer Lou Adler is heading up the remake, which will use the original story and score by Richard O'Brien, plus possibly a few songs from the original stage production ("Superheroes", "Once in a While") that were cut from the final 1975 movie. No director has been attached as of yet.

As expected, die-hard Rocky fans are up in arms (there is already an online petition protesting the new film), but I'm curious to see how they would do it ... and with a budget this time. Casting would be key, most especially for the role of Dr. Frank-N-Furter, the sweet transvestite from transsexual Transylvania immortalized on stage and screen by Tim Curry.

If I were making the decisions, I'd pick Alan Cumming for Frank; anyone who has seen his Cabaret Emcee would agree. For Brad and Janet, how about the Enchanted couple themselves, James Marsden and Amy Adams. O'Brien could be Riff Raff again if he's up to it; if not, perhaps Raúl Esparza from the 2000 Broadway revival. His co-star, Dick Cavett, would return as the Criminologist, while Magenta and Columbia could be the totally Wicked pairing of Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth. As in the stage RHS, Eddie and Dr. Scott would be played by the same person: Jack Black. And as for Frank's ultimate creation, Rocky himself? Why, Cheyenne Jackson of course; he is the perfect man and, as luck would have it, he has played the role before.

Hopes are for a Halloween 2009 release, so we'll likely hear more soon.

UPDATE: In a curious development, Richard O'Brien claims no connection to -- or support of -- this remake. Additionally, although it at first appeared to be a theatrical release, new reports are indicating that it will be aired on television, which may effect the casting (in other words, strike out Marsden, Adams and Black from my dream cast ... sigh).

Costume Dramas: The Ruby Slippers

Dorothy's magical slippers in The Wizard of Oz already got a makeover once. Originally, the shoes that Judy Garland was to wear in her iconic role were going to be silver, as in the original L. Frank Baum story. However, once MGM head honcho Louis B. Mayer realized that they would look better in Technicolor, they became ruby. And a legend was born.

Now that legend is getting a new look, courtesy of the trendiest footwear designers this side of Carrie Bradshaw's shoe rack.

To commemorate the 70th anniversary of The Wizard of Oz next year, Warner Brothers is gearing up for a special promotion in honor of the occasion. Twenty different redesigns of the classic clogs will be created and tour fashion shows around the country prior to being auctioned off next fall to benefit the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. Designers working on the project include Manolo Blahnik, Jimmy Choo, Oscar de la Renta and Diane Von Furstenberg.

Calling All Spider-Men

If you can sing, look good in tights, walk on walls and be able to kiss upside down, then here's your chance of a lifetime. Tony Award-winning director Julie Taymor is holding an open casting call this Monday in New York City for her upcoming Broadway musical adaptation of the comic book superhero Spider-Man.

In addition to Peter Parker and Mary Jane (roles that apparently won't be going to Taymor's Across the Universe stars Jim Sturgess and Evan Rachel Wood after all), it sounds like that evil spider-woman character Arachne is still intact (yeah, I know, but remember: this is Julie Taymor we're talking about here).

Music for the unlikely tuner will be by U2's Bono and The Edge. As of now, no timeframe has been announced as to when Spidey will spin his first web on the Great White Way.

Doing the New Tron Dance*

In this day and age of instant information via the internet, where every minute detail of motion picture productions are broadcast worldwide in the time it takes to click a mouse, you got to give Disney props for what they pulled off yesterday at Comic-Con.

At the tail end of a presentation for the upcoming "re-imagining" of Escape to Witch Mountain titled Race to Witch Mountain, the Mouse House dropped a bomb that must have had the fanboys wetting their Underoos with glee. Not only did they confirm without a doubt that the long rumored sequel to Tron was being made, they actually showed footage from it. And not just any footage, but footage featuring The Dude himself, Jeff Bridges. Both the MTV Movies Blog and ComingSoon.net have play-by-plays of the clip, which will likely not be seen by we the masses anytime soon.

No other details of Tron 2 (or, annoyingly, Tr2n) were given, but Imdb lists a 2010 release date.

* Anyone else remember when the Pointer Sisters performed their hit "The Neutron Dance" on some Disney TV special back in the early 80's? There were actually dancers, clad in the familiar Tron costumes, dancing the, well, neutron dance. I tried in vain to find a video of it online, to no avail. So much for the internet ...

UPDATE: See it while you can: cam footage of the Comic-Con trailer.

There Will Be Blood

With all the booty that the Pirates of the Caribbean movies hauled in, it's a wonder that we aren't knee deep in pirate movies by now. That's about to change though with an upcoming remake of the classic swashbuckler Captain Blood. Apparently, this redo has been in the works for over a decade, but the ship will now set sail shortly with director Phillip Noyce (The Quiet American) at the helm.

As for who will play the good captain and his lady fair, perhaps they'll go for a pair of unknowns like they did the first time: the 1935 Academy Award nominated original (itself a remake of a 1924 silent) did make stars out of Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland after all. On second thought, take a look at Flynny above, and maybe you'll agree with me that Christian Bale could fill his shoes.

Attention Losties:

Feeling a little, well, lost without your favorite show? Well, this may satisfy your Lost fix a little bit as we await the next season (which is -- gasp -- still about six months away): G4 TV will be airing a new special tonight (at 10 PM EST) that promises to explore some of the secrets of the island, including various theories from Lost experts such as Entertainment Weekly's Doc Jensen.

And speaking of Lost secrets, here's a good one: the original script for the pilot episode. Seems things weren't always so mysterious for the survivors of the crash of Oceanic Flight 815.

The Latest in Theaters: Truth and Deception

This week's new releases include a sci-fi sequel, a classy remake and a pair of critically acclaimed documentaries. Oh yeah, and Will Ferrell too.

• The X-Files: I Want to Believe: David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson are back as Mulder and Scully in this big screen spook show that not only promises some old school scares (reminiscent of the cult classic TV show), but a little romance between the two as well.
• Brideshead Revisited: Emma Thompson leads a cast of rising talent (Matthew Goode, Ben Whishaw and Hayley Atwell) in this feature adaptation of the Evelyn Waugh literary classic, which was also the basis for a revered television mini-series in 1981. Reportedly, the gay angle hinted at in the novel and mini is amped up this go round.
• American Teen: High school life in the real world (in this case, Warsaw, Indiana) is explored in this fest fave doc.
• Man on Wire: A look back at "the artistic crime of the century", when a death-defying tight rope walker took his act to the Twin Towers circa 1974.
• Boy A: A BAFTA Award winning drama about a juvie trying to reform on the outside.
• Baghead and No Regret: Read Chris Carpenter's reviews right here at Movie Dearest to find out about these two widely different films, opening in limited release this weekend; the first is a horror comedy, the second a gay romance.
• And finally: Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly team up once more as child men (big surprise) forced to grow up when they become Step Brothers.

To find out what films are playing in your area, visit Fandango - Search movie showtimes and buy tickets!

Say Hello to Ciao

On the heels of its Best Feature win at this year's Philadelphia International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, the critically acclaimed Ciao has been picked up for distribution by here! Films/Regent Releasing.

Dubbed the "best gay movie of the year" by AfterElton.com, Ciao will be released in select theaters this fall.

As If ...

Add this one to the pile of head-scratching merchandising ideas: Paramount is releasing video games based on the teen chick flick classics Clueless, Mean Girls and Pretty in Pink later this year. Apparently, these will serve the previously untapped market of gamers who want to shop, sew and humiliate their classmates via digital technology.

Actually, these would be "so fetch" if you could hook them to each other and play them together. Just imagine: you're Cher, teaming up with Duckie to defeat The Plastics. Game on.