Hollywood's Lost Its Grasp on 'Quirky'

High prices and few choices don't help: Roger Ebert

(NEWSER) - News that movie theaters had lackluster revenue in 2011 didn’t surprise Roger Ebert. He ticks off a list of the reasons why at his blog , including the lack of an Avatar-like blockbuster and usual suspects like too-high prices for tickets and refreshments. But also:

• Distractions: Loud talkers and people using their cell phones (with their bright screens) to text are getting out of hand.

Just don't call it a remake...

(NEWSER) - Say hello to my little friend ... again. Sort of. Universal Pictures is preparing to make (but not remake) a third Scarface, which it says will not be a rehashing of or sequel to either the 1932 or 1983 films, but a new version, reports Deadline . It'll share the same premise (outsider busts his way into the criminal underworld in a bid to achieve the, ahem, American dream; violence is involved). No word on ethnicity or geography (Italian/Chicago, Cuban/Miami played big in the first two versions, Deadline reminds us). Former Universal head Marc Shmuger will produce, along with Martin Bregman, who produced the Al Pacino version. More»

Bad guys in 'Red Dawn' are now from North Korea

(NEWSER) - Here's a sign of how much Hollywood is salivating over the potential money to be made in China: MGM is digitally editing the Chinese bad guys in an upcoming movie to make them look like they're from North Korea instead, reports the Los Angeles Times . The move came not because China raised objections but because distributors got worried Beijing might take offense and shut the film out of its lucrative market. More»

Movies disappoint, but rarely go the way of Ishtar

(NEWSER) - It's rare these days to see a big-studio movie truly bomb, and that's a shame, laments Tom Shone of Slate . Sure, we get our share of misfires like Jonah Hex or The A-Team , but few reach the depths of those glorious financial busts of yesteryear like Ishtar, Waterworld, and Cutthroat Island—"the swashbuckler that derailed the careers of Renny Harlin, Geena Davis, and Matthew Modine—and the last film to actually force a movie studio to close, Heaven's Gate-style." More»

The answering machine, the broken cell phone, the lack of GPS...

(NEWSER) - Ever notice that movie trailers are constantly employing the record scratch sound effect—even though today’s youth have no clue what that sound actually is? "Pop culture has shown no inclination to discard obsolete tropes simply because they are obsolete," writes Adam Sternbergh, who points out five other cinematic offenders in New York :

• Answering machines: Hey, if the protagonist were to use voicemail, how ever would the audience hear the serial killer’s scary message?
• X-rays: Nowadays, X-rays are displayed digitally, on a screen. But hanging a big, floppy piece of film on a light board is so much more dramatic!