INTERNET OF INTEREST #9

Some more thought-provoking or humorous stories from the world of showbiz:

The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time: does what it says on the tin!

Latest Charlie Kaufmann Script: someone has read the latest Kaufman script (the genius behind Being John Malkovich, Adaptation and Eternal Sunshine). Not many spoilers, just the total belief that this could be one of the greatest scripts ever, ever written...

5 Comedians Who Have Lost It: an interesting assessment of 5 comedians whose careers have hit the skids. Not sure I agree with some of these choices, or the reasoning behind their inclusion, but interesting stuff...

The 25 Most Controversial Movies Ever: any idea which movies caused the most outrage?

EXTRAS 2.1 - "Episode 1"

14 Sep 06. BBC 2, 9.00 pm
WRITERS & DIRECTORS: Ricky Gervais & Stephen Merchant
CAST: Ricky Gervais (Andy Millman), Ashley Jensen (Maggie), Stephen Merchant (Agent), Orlando Bloom (Himself), Keith Chegwin (Himself), Shaun Williamson (Himself) & Sophia Myles (Lawyer)

While Maggie attracts the attention of Orlando Bloom on the set of a courtroom drama, Andy's dreams of creating a hit BBC sitcom are slowly unravelling when compromises have to be made with the Head Of Comedy...

Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant return with a second series of their hit comedy Extras, itself hot-on-the-heels of their global phenomenon The Office.

Events in the life of fortysomething "supporting actor" Andy (Gervais) have taken a surprising turn, with his sitcom script When The Whistle Blows currently being filmed at the BBC, with him in the lead role. Best friend Maggie (the superbly natural Ashley Jensen) is still eeking out a living as an extra, belittled by a friend who has become "proper" actor and spurning the advances of a preening Orlando Bloom...

Ah yes, Bloom. As usual, each episode features a big name guest star, in this instance the boyishly good-looking Orlando (star of Lord Of The Rings and Pirates Of The Caribbean). Bloom plays himself as a narcissistic celeb-mag reading egomaniac who detests Johnny Depp and finds pleasure in winning frivolous magazine polls. Bloom isn't known for comedy, but he handles the self-mocking material quite well and his nonplussed reactions whenever Maggie shoots down his ego are excellent.

Poignancy is never far away from an episode of Extras, as each character is stuck in a world hovering between stardom and insignificance. Gervais' Andy finds that his climb up the ladder of importance means sacrificing his artistic vision and compromising his writing.

There are some good moments throughout the episode, particularly with cult irritant Keith Chegwin struggling to perform a simple dramatic moment without grinning or standing in the right place. Gervais is a great performer of understated pathos, simmering anger, and crushing disappointment. As with The Office's David Brent, Andy Millman gives him the opportunity to play to his strengths. Andy is more "normal" than Brent, so the comic punch comes through watching a decent man struggle with the facile world around him, and sacrifice dignity and principles for the promise of success and fame.

Extras retains the natural style perfected last year. This is a show that lets scenes unfold slowly, clearly designed to mimic the mundanity of filmmaking. However, Extras is never boring... there is always a smart quip, or amusing subversion of recognised personalities (Keith Chegwin enquires if the BBC is still run by "Jews and queers"), while there is a smattering of laugh-out-loud gags. One highlight for me was when Andy is asked to name a single funny British black man... and a poster of Lenny Henry looms into view... but Andy continues to ruminate...

That said, there were some misjudged moments (Cheggers' homophobic outburst; childish, obvious and unfunny) and a creeping sense of apathy in the writing. Episode 1 was quite formulaic and didn't offer as many barbed jokes as you'd expect from a show created to puncture celebrity culture.

Stephen Merchant's Agent and Shaun Williamson's "Barrie from EastEnders" seemed shoehorned into the script more prominently, given their success as peripheral characters last year. Williamson in particular was a highlight last time, but here he was given too much limelight. Both characters work much better as near-cameos...

The more serious moments in Episode 1 worked better than the comedy, particularly when Andy is forced to play his sitcom character as a hideous blend of Brent and Coronation Street's Reg Holdsworth (complete with trite catchphrase "Are you 'avin' a laff?"), and exits the stage to contemplate his indignity behind the scenes...

It's human moments like this that sweep Extras up from the doldrums and give the show its added weight and significance. But there were serious problems in Episode 1 with believability: Keith Chegwin as a racist isn't a clever "twisting" of his perceived personality, it was just a flase slurr on his character I'm amazed he agreed to, while Bloom's infatuation with Maggie just didn't ring true.

However, while Episode 1 certainly stretches credibility (the lynchpin of the series, essentially), on the evidence of this opener I'm sure there will be plenty of laughs in this new series, and hopefully some better episodes overall. But, a small part of me already suspects Gervais and Merchant will be wise to end the show soon before it gets too stale...

EXTRAS - Series 2

I'm a huge fan of Ricky Gervais. I think The Office is almost a perfect sitcom, immediately destined for classic status alongside Fawlty Towers and Blackadder. I think Ricky and Steve Merchant are brilliant writers that totally understand their craft, and both are fine performers. Yes, they don't have much range... Ricky essentially riffs on his David Brent character to varying degrees, while Steve just plays mild-mannered stupid friends... but it works. Most comic actors don't fly too far from their comfort zone -- just look at John Cleese.

Extras last year was a superb show, different to The Office but with a similar vibe in many ways. It's not as good (how could it be?) but it's a suitable and commendable follow-up with some wonderful moments.

The second series is due to start tomorrow, and I can't wait! As before, there's a great list of famous faces due to make appearances, such as Orlando Bloom, Sir Ian McKellen, David Bowie, Daniel Radcliffe and, er, Jonathan Ross.

I'll be reviewing each episode here on DMDB...

TERMINATOR 4 - He's Back?

James Cameron's original The Terminator (1984) was one of the first "adult" films I ever saw and is therefore burned into my memory. It was such a gritty and nightmarish film with a perfect tone and sense of gloom.

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) hit when I was at the perfect age to appreciate it (again, technically too young to see it at 12, but us kids have ways of seeing these 18-certificate films...) Again, a brilliant film bursting with imagination and amazing special effects. I remember everyone imitating the T-1000 in the playground for months afterwards...

And then came Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines (2003). The 12-year gap between T2 and T3 worked in the third film's favour, I think. Yes, Arnie wasn't as muscular or youthful as before (which was a shame), but the anticipation for T3 helped the movie coast along on goodwill. Yes, it's the worst Terminator film and has lots of problems... but it wasn't the total disaster many expected without Cameron in charge, and it actually contained some good moments (eg, the finale is beautiful). It was just a shame the hardcore adult nature of the previous films was replaced with something more humorous and watered-down.

Terminator 4. Hmmm. Well, the script is apparently written and rumour has it that the filmmakers are just waiting for Arnie to finish his term as Governor of California. I still can't see the Austrian Oak having as much input as before, though. He only just carried off the role in T3, and it's now three years later. It will probably be a few years before T4 becomes a reality, so Arnie will be even older. I hope he's involved, but I can actually imagine someone replacing him as the Terminator (same model, different face...)

The Rock is a name often mentioned as replacing Arnie in his most iconic role, and the pair are good friends. So it's possible. I think The Rock could pull it off... but Arnie will have to be in the mix somewhere. The plot will apparently focus on the time-travel aspect of the Terminator mythology, so we should see the Future War only glimpsed in flashforwards previously, and hopefully T4 will bring the saga full circle by letting us see John Connor send his own father back in time to 1984. That would be cool, and a fitting end.

Mind you, I haven't mentioned The Sarah Connor Chronicles. This is a TV series that looks set to become reality very soon, and will follow the adventures of Sarah Connor. Linda Hamilton will not reprise her movie role, and clearly the series will have to be set either between T1 and T2, or T2 and T3 (er, because Sarah is dead by the time T3 happens).

Could be interesting, could be terrible. It's difficult to see what the ongoing plot will be! Will a Terminator be chasing Sarah across America while she's pregnant with John? Will we see her on the run while John is with his foster parents (before being captured at the end of the series and put in T2's asylum? Who knows.

THE £1 MILLION INTERNET FILM

I stumbled upon an interesting website recently called A Swarm Of Angels. They're a company looking for people to join them (for a £25 membership fee) that will go towards raising a film budget of £1 million. Once they reach this target, The Swarm aim to create and distribute a film over the internet. Well, that's the idea.

It all sounds a bit vague, I know... but there's a handy FAQ to mull over, though. Personally I think it's an interesting idea, but not unique. I still remember the Legionnaire's debacle back in 1997. Legionnaire's was a sci-fi film that aimed to raise its money through donations (and give each donor a small role in the film and a credit). But... erm... the film never got made. I'm not sure if anyone got their money back... maybe it had been spent and was non-refundable? Not sure.

Anyway, Swarm might be different. I'll have to re-read the site more carefully. They say they have the support of some celebrity writers, like comic-book scribe Warren Ellis. It looks like The Swarm know what they're doing, and have all angles covered, so if you think you'd like to get involved... check out their site!

Knight Rider Returns?

As a kid I used to love the Knight Rider TV series with David Hasselhoff. Back in those days, watching through child eyes, The Hoff didn't seem particularly cheesy or kitsch (I'm sure he didn't become a cult icon until mid-way through the 90s Baywatch series). Anyway, Knight Rider was a great show for kids –- a talking car equipped with gadgets that fights crime is just about as good as it gets when you're young!

The success of the show was primarily K.I.T.T the car (a vehicle still dripping with cool over 20 years later), but I also think the chemistry between Michael Knight (Hoff) and K.I.T.T (William Daniels' voice) was also a big draw. I sometimes catch repeats of the show on TV and can see the weakness of the actual plots, but the Hoff/KITT dynamic is still pretty strong.

A film version of Knight Rider has been in development hell since the 90s (and, indeed, there have been a few attempts at revamping the concept in failed TV pilots and TV-Movies), but it's the big-budget Hollywood adaptation fans are after. David Hassellhoff has recently stated he'd like to star in the film with Orlando Bloom as his son, but I don't think that's likely to happen! I'm sure The Hoff will be involved, though (a great cameo surely beckons), and I'll be very disappointed if they re-voice KITT!

Ain't It Cool News recently released some concept art for the movie-version KITT (see above), but it could just be some fan art. Either way, it looks pretty decent and is certainly a redesign I could live with. Yes, I know... this is another remake of a TV show... and they almost always fail... but sometimes nostalgia clouds your thinking... so I'm really hoping they pull this off!

"V FOR VENDETTA" (2-DISC SPECIAL EDITION) – DVD REVIEW

Director: James McTiege WRITERS: The Wachowski Brothers (based on the novel by Alan Moore & David Lloyd)CAST: Natalie Portman (Evey Hammond), Hugo Weaving (V), John Hurt (Sutler), Stephen Fry (Dietrich),

In a British dystopia, citizens are controlled by a fascist regime, but an enigmatic freedom fighter known only as V has plans to bring down the tyrannical government through terrorist acts...

It's common courtesy to begin any review of V For Vendetta by extolling the virtues of the original graphic novel. Indeed, Alan Moore's source material is an intelligent, gritty and exciting read, touching on British Thatcher-era politics while simultaneously finding inspiration from The Phantom Of The Opera and The Count Of Monte Cristo, amongst others.

In many ways Moore is the comic-book equivalent to Quentin Tarantino; a talented writer able to take old concepts, styles and characters and write them in original and refreshing ways.

The sad fact permeating Moore's literary genius is that every movie adaptation has been a disappointment, despite his work's inherent cinematic quality. The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen squandered the massive potential offered in Moore's books and became a bloated, incoherent, CGI mess... Jack The Ripper thriller From Hell was handsomely staged but took silly liberties with the story (opium-influenced visions?), while Constantine took Moore's character away from his British working class roots...

So how has V For Vendetta fared? The novel was an early work from Moore that, personally, always connected with me more than his celebrated masterpiece Watchmen. The man with the unenviable task of translating this hard-edge political terrorist thriller is Australian James McTiege -- protégé of Andy and Larry Wachowski (creators of The Matrix, where McTiege helmed the Second Unit). The Wachowski's script has been around for a few years now, and their producer influence certainly extends into the finished product. The film has the same glossy sheen and classy coldness of The Matrix, together with similar themes of imprisonment and repression.

Hugo Weaving (The Matrix's Agent Smith) plays the eponymous anti-hero, famously replacing actor James Purefoy (who had difficulty acting behind an expressionless mask), and he does a tremendous job. His body language and lilting vocals are perfect for the role (despite occasionally sounding like Rowan Atkinson!) and he manages to create an engaging character despite the difficult conditions.

Natalie Portman gives a solid performance as heroine Evey, only occasionally over-enunciating her English accent and becoming stilted. Generally, she's always beguiling and occasionally impressive –- particularly in the central torture sequence that required the shaving of her head. However, I think she's a little too impassive to events a lot of the time, often drifting through the movie relying on her saucer-eyed naivety. It would have been nice to have seen some passion, but even after her "transformation" into V's cohort... she remains a bit too aloof to be really effective in the latter third of the film.

Stephen Rea plays Chief Inspector Finch, the sombre lawman charged with finding "Codename V" at all costs. Rea does well with the thin material his character is given, but all of his scenes carry the distinct aroma of a below-par detective drama. John Hurt, in a canny piece of casting, plays High Chancellor Sutler, a "Big Brother" role given added potency because Hurt played Winston Smith in 1984. Now on the dark side of an Orwellian-style government, Hurt clearly relishes the chance to chew the scenery from behind a colossal TV screen... but again it's a shame his character is more two-dimensional than the graphic novel.

The supporting cast are fine, but only Stephen Fry impresses as a gay talk show host whose home hides material the government banned. You tend to forget just how great Fry can be on film, and his small but interesting role is a great delight. Tim Piggott-Smith is suitably slimy as Creedy (a Himmler to Sutler's Hitler, essentially), and the rest of the cast do well in the many small roles sprinkled throughout the film.

The interesting thing about V For Vendetta, from a fan's perspective, are the deviations from the original book. On the whole, I think the Wachowski Brothers did a good job in excising pointless subplots and expanding or focusing on others. In particular I liked how the script wove a deadly plague into the government's machinations, how Evey's back-story was made clearer, and how Evey seeking sanctuary with Fry's Dietrich was handled. It might sound like heresy to Moore's legion of fans, but I think the script does improve some of the looser elements of Moore's original story (the FATE computer, the flood, the L.S.D trip), but it doesn't always succeed...

The primary difference between the script and novel is the finale. In the film, the population of London are each sent V costumes to symbolically "become one" and march on the government. In the book, V masterminds a period of extreme anarchy that leaves the population in turmoil... with the belief that chaos will usher in renewed order. I can understand why the film's ending exists; it's more cinematic and palatable for audiences. I don't have a major issue with the change, although this costumed-unity is clearly symbolic of anti-individualism (surely something a fascist government agrees with?) Despite this late wobble in the film's message, the finale still packs an explosive punch (literally), although am I alone in thinking it ends too abruptly? The book left me with that thoughtful, emotionally raw feeling you get from a good story after the last page is read.. but the film seemed to cut the emotional high off too soon.

But there's really little value in nit-picking the film by comparing it to the book. Generally, the film translates the core messages well, and updates the story for a post-9/11 audience now well-versed in terrorism. V For Vendetta is a dialogue-heavy movie with a low emphasis on action spectacle, so people expecting a hardcore vigilante "superhero" movie could be disappointed, but others will be pleased to see a "popcorn movie" tackle weighty issues in its own distinct way.

In summation, this is currently the best adaptation of a Moore property yet (faint praise though it may be). There are moments in V For Vendetta that sit uneasily (indeed, the first half-hour is full of cringe-making "British-isms" and some awful TV news footage), lots of characters say "bollocks" just to confirm to foreigners the film is set in England, while Rea pronounces "lever" as the Americanized "levva". I fail to understand why these mispronunciations slip through! Anyway, I said not to nit-pick, didn't it...

As with most adaptations, I really enjoyed the moments that faithfully translated the source material: Evey's torture sequence is excellent, the Valerie letter flashback is sublime, and V's "birth" at Larkhill is fantastic. Elsewhere, even the CGI-assisted "bullet-time" daggers don't destroy the goodwill the film builds up, and there is always an interesting visual or intriguing piece of dialogue to keep you invested in the story.

1 October

24: Season 6 Box Set
300
Dark Crystal (Anniversary Edition)
Heroes: Season 1, Part 1
Hitcher
The IT Crowd: Series 1 & 2 Box Set
Labyrinth (Anniversary Edition)
The Prisoner: 40th Anniversary Special Edition Box Set
Tribe: Series 1-3 Box Set
Troy (Director's Cut)

8 October

Fantastic 4: Rise Of The Silver Surfer
Flyboys
Fonejacker: Series 1
Quantum Leap: The Complete Collection
Spider-Man 3

15 October

Bridge To Terabithia
Family Gun: Season 6
Poltergeist: 25th Anniversary Edition
Vacancy

22 October

Hostel: Part II
Lost: Season 3 Box Set
Michael Palin's New Europe
Smallville: Season 6
TMNT

29 October

Deadwood: Season 1-3 Box Set
Die Hard 4.0
Flight Of The Conchords: Complete First Season
House: Season 3
Robin Hood: Series 1
Sarah Jane Adventures

WICKER MAN BURNS!

I was sad to see all the negative reviews of Neil LaBute's Wicker Man remake. I thought the trailer looked quite classy and interesting, but it seems the movie is a bit of a mess. I liked the idea of altering the original's "Pagan vs Christianity" allegory, to a "Man vs Woman" device, with a sinister matriarchy headed by the wonderful Ellen Burstyn. It seemed this would be enough of a change to make for an interesting revival of the story for a new generation.

But it seems Neil LaBute seriously dropped the ball. I haven't seen the film myself so I'll reserve judgment for now, but I'm interested to see how bad it apparently is. Mark Kermode said the filmmakers seemed to realize just how slow and mood-setting the story actually is, so decided to shoehorn in some pointless action set-pieces all over the place. If true, it's a classic case of studio interference, I think.

In the age of the "MTV fast-edit", there are less films that just take their time to build their characters, premise and atmosphere. I dread to think what a Shining remake would look like these days, but I think there'd be psychic visions every ten minutes, multiple spooky ghosts and probably a finale involving the Overlook blowing up in Michael Bay-esque slo-mo.

The original 1973 Wicker Man is now a recognized cult classic, but it's certainly a product of its time. It's often very slow and ponderous, but with a suffocating air of uneasiness throughout. The finale regularly graces Top 100 Scary Moments polls, and it's definitely the main reason the film is held in such high esteem over 30 years later. It had a devastating ending, and we don't get many downbeat endings in cinema (particularly these days).

A remake could have worked brilliantly. Enough time has passed, and the original isn't common knowledge to most moviegoers. By relocating to America and altering the islander's modus operandi, I though the filmmakers had cleverly managed to tweak the concept just enough to be a worthwhile venture. Nobody wants an exact duplicate of the original with better visuals and production design (even Dawn Of The Dead's remake made the zombies faster and completely rewrote the characters). No, we want something fresh, but recognizable and in-keeping with its predecessor. Basically, something that doesn't devalue the original.

The best example of a remake is a toss-up between Cronenberg's The Fly (1986) and Carpenter's The Thing (1982). Both took silly 50's sci-fi hokum and transformed it into startling cinema just by treating the premise seriously. Those directors recognized the greatness within these old films, and saw a potential the original filmmakers couldn't realize. So maybe that's where Wicker Man 06 went wrong: the original was already great to begin with, so it didn't need a remake. It may be considered an "old film" now, but it never squandered its potential like the first Ocean's Eleven, for example.

Maybe lessons will be learned from Wicker Man's failure? Ha! I doubt it. More and more remakes are being made each year it seems. We've already had Poseidon and The Omen in cinemas, with both proving to be pointless retreads. Still, I'm sure both were profitable for the studios, or will be once the DVD sales figures come in.

INTERNET OF INTEREST #8

Some more goodies from the wonderful worldwide web:

Female Troopers: every wondered what feminine Star Wars Stormtroopers would look like? No. Well, some people do... and the results are amusing..

Idiocracy Limited: the upcoming Mike Judge comedy (he created Beavis & Butthead and Office Space) has been unceremoniously put into "limited release" in the US. Read all about it here.

MTV + YouTube + MySpace: that's the formula for MTV's new concept... users uploading videos to be shown on TV!

Music Videos: years ago music videos were seen as the beginning of the end for audio music consumption... so how have they succeeded beyond everyone's expectations 25 years later?

Sacha Baron Cohen: the creator of Ali G and Borat is going down a storm in the US these days. The Borat movie has been getting rave reviews at test screenings, and Sacha's appearance on the Conan O'Brien show just illustrates how funny the guy is.

Kevin Spacey - Impersonations: did you know Spacey was such a great mimic? Neither did I!!

STAR TREK - REVISITED

There has been quite a significant shift in Star Trek in recent years, by harking back to the past. Star Trek Enterprise became the first prequel series to the Original Series with William Shatner, although it struggled in the ratings and was cancelled after season 4.

The much-derided Star Trek The Motion Picture was released on DVD with specially recreated sequences and crisper special-effects... and won some acclaim from fans... and recently Lost co-creator J.J Abrams has been tasked with creating a Star Trek movie featuring younger versions of Kirk and Spock.

And now... it's just been announced that the Original Series is getting a CGI overhaul! Yes, that's right, Paramount are keen to update TOS for the HD era, by redoing all the optical effects with brand new CGI. That way, the series can be shown in HD and the visual effects won't suffer under the high-definition scrutiny.

The effects company undertaking this revamp are EdenFX, who recently worked on the Star Trek Enterprise episode "In A Mirror Darkly", where they created a quite superb original U.S.S Enterprise in CGI. For a good report on this interesting project, read more here.