“There’s no King of Pop, like Michael Jackson, in the punk world.”
– Julien Temple
What would early punk be without its incestuous bickering? It was the initial refusal of Joe Strummer to allow a young Julien Temple into his inner circle in the mid-70s that first pushed the budding filmmaker towards the other great punk originators of the day, The Sex Pistols. That led to the creation of Temple’s two seminal Pistols documentaries, The Great Rock and Roll Swindle (which John Lydon loudly denounced for getting everything wrong) and The Filth and the Fury (made with his involvement and blessing).
When a movie was to be made in the mid-80s about the doomed affair of Sid and Nancy, director Alex Cox chose Strummer to write the film’s theme, much to the shock and chagrin of Lydon. Temple would then go on to record a commentary track for that film, in which he points out everything Cox gets wrong about the Pistols.
“There’ll always be something new. It’s like whack-a-mole.”
– Leigh Whannell
I first met Leigh Whannell as the writer and costar of Saw. I thought it was a really cool indie movie that came out of nowhere. It had a mind-blowing surprise at the end and a theme that really spoke to me. When Whannell wrote two sequels in two years, I really got into depth with him on Jigsaw’s morality. Seven Saws later, and Whannell has written another script for his directing buddy James Wan .
Insidious again deals with themes that are bigger than the immediate story. In the film, parents Josh (Patrick Wilson) and Renai (Rose Byrne) find their homes (that’s plural) haunted by spirits. So it’s a ghost story.
Details are starting to emerge on the follow up to 2009’s J.J. Abrams-directed Star Trek reboot. Screenwriter Robert Orci recently took some time at WonderCon to talk about what direction the franchise will likely boldly go, while promoting his upcoming movie Cowboys vs. Aliens.
“It’s rare that you see the daughter killing the mother.”
– Joe Wright
Hanna is the first action movie from director Joe Wright, whose previous credits include Pride & Prejudice, Atonement, and The Soloist.
The film stars Saoirse Ronan (The Lovely Bones) in the title role of a teenage assassin, who was raised in isolation and given a military-style training by her mysterious ex-CIA father Erik (Eric Bana). When she re-enters society at 16, secret agents, led by Marissa (Cate Blanchett), come looking for her, and a thrilling cat and mouse chase of sorts ensues. On the road, Hanna meets a traveling family and befriends their daughter Sophie (Jessica Barden). With their help, while in pursuit of her mission, Hanna finds a conscience and comes to question her very being.
“Oh, it can be done. I just didn’t do it. That will be on my tombstone.”
– Bill Corbett
Rifftrax is perfect for fans of Mystery Science Theater 3000, the beloved cult cable TV series about a man stranded in space with two robots who is forced to watch terrible sci-fi movies. Created by former MST3K writer and star Michael J. Nelson, Rifftrax continues his earlier show’s tradition of riffing movie commentary to go along with cinematic turds and classics alike. What Rifftrax misses from MST3K in its lack of skits and puppetry, it makes up for in its ability – freed from the legal wrangling that constrained MST3K – to riff on literally any movie Mike and his crew can stand to watch.
“You could say this is a mainstream film if an alien’s saying it”
– Greg Mottola
Our favorite Simon Pegg and Nick Frost projects were directed by Edgar Wright. That’s Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and the BBC series Spaced. While Wright made Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, Pegg and Frost wrote a script for the comedy Paul, and Greg Mottola got to direct them.
In Paul, Frost and Pegg play aspiring sci-fi authors and fans who begin a road trip at San Diego Comic-Con. After a montage of Comic-Con adventures, they take to the road again to visit America’s alien sites. Soon they meet a real alien, Paul (Seth Rogen), and have to help him get home.
Fellow distinguished SG members and readers, I have some most excellent news. In a bodacious turn of events, it seems the totally awesome Bill S. Preston Esq. and Ted Theodore Logan (a.k.a. Bill and Ted) will be coming back to a future on a big screen near you – with the aid of their time-traveling phone booth. (No way! Way!!!)
