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Saturday, May 1, 2010

“'Ghostbusters 3': A sequel that will happen over Bill Murray's dead ... - Boulder Clarion” plus 3 more

“'Ghostbusters 3': A sequel that will happen over Bill Murray's dead ... - Boulder Clarion” plus 3 more


'Ghostbusters 3': A sequel that will happen over Bill Murray's dead ... - Boulder Clarion

Posted: 30 Apr 2010 08:33 PM PDT

LOS ANGELES — You could argue that Hollywood's sequel mania really began in earnest in 1989, when the box-office grosses started piling up for both "Ghostbusters 2" and "Lethal Weapon 2," proving that there was no good reason — from the business end of the equation — why you had to come up with an original idea for a blockbuster movie when you could just milk something that had already worked. "Lethal Weapon" went on to a long and happy sequel life.

But Sony has never been able to mount another installment in the "Ghostbusters" franchise — though you can't say it hasn't been for lack of trying. It feels as if every time I turn around, I read a story about how sequel efforts are moving ahead with another round of screenwriters at work, trying to figure out how to spin something off from the landmark 1984 comedy that ushered in an entire era of "Men in Black"-style comic special-effects films.

If there's always one fly in the ointment, it's Bill Murray . Even though pretty much everyone else involved with the project seems to have a vested interest in making a "Ghostbusters 3," Murray, who is nothing if not an iconoclastic free spirit, keeps saying "no way, Jose."

That doesn't mean that Sony couldn't just write him out of the movie, although some recent stories have argued that Murray, along with his fellow original stars, Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis , have veto power over any new project moving ahead.

But everyone seems to want his blessing. Bless his heart, Murray seems to feel the same way about sequels that I do: that with rare exception (and yes, I'm willing to admit that "The Dark Knight" is a worthy exception), studio sequels are almost always more dutiful than inspired. In New York , promoting his new film, "Get Low," Murray laid it on the line. Asked if "Ghostbusters 3" was ever going to happen, he replied:

"No, it's ridiculous. That's an absolutely — that's just a horrible rumor. It's like illegitimate children in Antarctica , it's ridiculous .... Mind you, we only made two, and the first one was still the better one, so another one wouldn't seem to be any better. The studio wants to make it because they can re-create the franchise and put new Ghostbusters in it. That's what it's about."

If you're laying odds, I'd say the odds of Murray giving his blessing to a new "Ghostbusters" sequel are about as good as the odds of Sandra Bullock getting back together with Jesse James .

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(c) 2010, Los Angeles Times.

Visit the Los Angeles Times on the Internet at http://www.latimes.com/

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

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Auditions Being Held For Moriah Mine Movie - WPTZ.com

Posted: 30 Apr 2010 07:47 AM PDT

POSTED: 10:51 am EDT April 30, 2010
UPDATED: 2:17 pm EDT April 30, 2010

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This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

"Glee" star Agron cast in sci-fi movie "Four" - YAHOO!

Posted: 30 Apr 2010 04:08 PM PDT

Movie Review: 'Furry Vengeance' - Delaware County Daily Times

Posted: 01 May 2010 01:12 AM PDT

Click to enlarge

In this film publicity image released by Summit Entertainment, Brendan Fraser is shown in a scene from "Furry Vengeance." (AP Photo/Summit Entertainment, Alan Markfield)

NEW YORK (AP) --- It's getting difficult to tell Brendan Fraser's hammy comedies apart. Asked to explain the difference between "Monkey Bone," ''Bedazzled," ''Journey to the Center of the Earth" and his latest, "Furry Vengeance," I might plead for my mummy.

Fraser has built a small, dorky industry by being an exceptionally smiley fellow. He is cheery, positive and always gives himself fully to the movie at hand — which is more than can be said for many.

In "Furry Vengeance," he plays a father, Dan Sanders, who has moved his family from Chicago to the Oregon woods, where he hopes to please his demanding boss (Ken Jeong) by overseeing a new suburban housing development. His wife (Brooke Shields) and his mopey teenage son (Matt Prokop) miss the city, and regard Dan's obsessive loyalty to his boss increasingly skeptically.

As Dan supervises the "Rocky Springs" development, an uprising takes form. Their habitat threatened, the wilderness' animals seek to frighten off the intruders. Led by a raccoon, the tiny insurgents outwit and bedevil Dan until his sanity begins to slip.

It's a bit like if Alfred Hitchcock had made "The Birds" as a 5-year-old.

The cleverest thing about "Furry Vengeance" is that the company Dan works for touts itself as a "green company." In truth, it's nothing of the sort. They happily explode beaver dams and trample through pristine forest to lay down pavement and a shopping mall.

Eventually, the forest animals are locked up in a Guantanamo Bay-like prison. Thankfully, the movie doesn't extend this metaphor.

Dan's own money-hungry boss curses the pseudo environmentalists who live green "only when convenient." Dan, who drives an SUV hybrid, very much falls into that category. He barely survives before learning that it's not always easy to be eco-friendly.

The lesson is no coincidence: "Furry Vengeance" is produced by Participant Media, whose earlier films include the Oscar-winning documentary "The Cove" and "Food Inc.," neither of which is exactly shy about its respective message.

The animals here, thankfully, aren't talking cartoons, though they're close. The film uses a mixture of CGI and real-life, trained animals — which is surely a tad hypocritical, too, for a film about letting nature be. (After all, "The Cove" centers on Ric O'Barry, who became an activist after rebelling against the treatment of a dolphin for a TV show: "Flipper.")

No animals may have been hurt in this production, but Brendan Fraser was. That he bothers with films like this is dispiriting because of his talent, as evidenced by movies like "The Quiet American" and "Crash." Those films made use of his smiley demeanor for a superficial cover, not just vacant broad comedy.

"Furry Vengeance," a Summit Entertainment release, is rated PG for some rude humor, mild language and brief smoking. Running time: 91 minutes. One star out of four.

 

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