Kyle Buchanan

The Two-Minute Verdict

The trailer is out for Nicole Holofcener’s guilty comedy Please Give, and for the most part it really feels like film itself: There’s a lot of sharply observed, awkward funnytimes involving Catherine Kenner, Oliver Platt, and Rebecca Hall, and then it kind of just ends! Alas, there is one notable scene the trailer simply couldn’t include, and that’s the delightful opening montage of breasts being placed in a mammography tray, set to “No Shoes” by The Roches. Trust Movieline when we tell you that you have not seen this many bare boobs in a movie in the last decade. (Hey, Sony Pictures Classics, let’s put that on the poster!)

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Returns

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Daytime soap operas may be on their way out as a tenable format, but if they’re going down, they’re going to go down swinging. The almost 54-year-old soap As the World Turns will shut its doors this fall, but before then, producers have taken a page from the James Franco playbook by reenlisting Julianne Moore, who got her start on the show playing twins Frannie and Sabina Hughes. Still, now that the first still has been released from her one-day return to the series, we can’t help but wonder where all the Franco-esque flourishes and double meanings are. Don’t be afraid to channel your inner Wiseau, Julianne. A Washington Post op-ed could be yours for the taking! [Soap Opera Digest]

Transitions

paulschneiderleaves.jpgThe Amy Poehler vehicle Parks and Recreation has really come into its own this season, and wouldn’t you know, that’s when all the fiddling begins. Rob Lowe and Adam Scott were both added to the sitcom’s cast in recent weeks, spooking fans who wondered if that might mean less screen time for the current regulars. Now, the LAT has confirmed that train of thought: Paul Schneider will be exiting the show.

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Written by Kyle Buchanan | 15 Mar 2010, 8:45 AM | Comment

Green Lantern Goes Kiwi Crazy: 169666.jpgProduction is about to begin on the Ryan Reynolds superhero movie Green Lantern, and director Martin Campbell has filled the last two important roles in the cast. New Zealand filmmaker/actor Taika Waititi (Eagle vs. Shark, Boy) will play the hero’s best friend, while fellow Kiwi Temuera Morrison (Once Were Warriors, Attack of the Clones) has been cast as the pivotal, ring-bestowing Abin Sur. All this, and it’s not even shooting in New Zealand or anything! (The tax break-granting New Orleans has the honors.) [THR]

The Verge

The Verge: Badge Dale

Written by Kyle Buchanan | 15 Mar 2010, 7:00 AM | Comment

badgedale-main.jpgAs the lead in HBO’s megabudget miniseries The Pacific, Badge Dale finally gets to rise to the front of an ensemble. The 31-year-old actor first appeared as the ill-fated Simon in the 1990 adaptation of Lord of the Flies, then resumed acting as an adult, landing a high-profile arc as Jack Bauer’s partner during the third season of 24. Since then, he’s been busy with a multitude of projects: In addition to his role as Robert Leckie in The Pacific, he’ll appear in Robert Redford’s The Conspirator and topline AMC’s next drama, Rubicon.

Dale called Movieline last week to chat about all three upcoming projects, but before we began our conversation, I had a little bit of bad news for him.

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Friday Box Office

Friday Box Office: Go Ask Alice

Written by Kyle Buchanan | 13 Mar 2010, 11:30 AM | 1 comment

aliceinwonder_mia.jpgMoviegoers had a wealth of new options to choose from at the box office yesterday, and they responded with a resounding “Meh.” Alice in Wonderland yet again took the top spot, and the returns in the next three slots were positively brutal: Green Zone at $5 million, Remember Me at $3.5 million, and She’s Out of My League at $3.4 million. Matt Damon and Robert Pattinson, you’re on notice.

The full figures:

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Written by Kyle Buchanan | 12 Mar 2010, 3:40 PM | 1 comment

The House that A Christmas Carol Dismantled: robert_zemeckis-movers.jpgHow badly did A Christmas Carol’s underperformance hurt? This badly: It’s brought down Robert Zemeckis’s ImageMovers Digital studio. Disney announced today that the studio will shutter its doors after completing the upcoming Mars Needs Moms; it’s been around since 1997, but Carol is the only film the studio made after its 2007 acquisition. Disney is now crossing yet another demographic off its character list: terrifying CG old people. [Deadline]

The Two-Minute Verdict

boogieamanda.jpgA snappy U.S. trailer is making the rounds today for the upcoming film Boogie Woogie, which makes the ensemble satire look like, as Vulture notes, “Valentine’s Day but about art.” You know what doesn’t make the movie look like that? The original international trailer, which is just one hot lesbian sex scene after another, with the occasional shot of Heather Graham, Gillian Anderson, and Amanda Seyfried. (There’s just something about Seyfried, international trailers, and girl-on-girl action, isn’t there?) Movieline’s got both trailers for you. Go ahead and pick your favorite — the verdict is yours.

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Buzz Break

Buzz Break: Not to Be Confused With Knight & Day

Written by Kyle Buchanan | 12 Mar 2010, 12:10 PM | Comment

· Coming Soon has the first look at Pixar’s upcoming, Toy Story 3-attached short film, Day & Night.

· After Howard Stern’s post-Oscar criticism, Jessica Simpson has come to Gabourey Sidibe’s defense: “It’s unfortunate because she walked the red carpet at the Oscars and she owned it.”

· Quentin Tarantino’s rep says he will not be providing a voice to the Smurfs movie, though if they want to send over any barefoot Smurfette footage, he’s totally fine with that.

· Disneyland is planning a Tron monorail! A Tronorail?

· The Princess and the Frog may have inspired little girls to kiss amphibians and catch salmonella. This imitative behavior never would have happened if they’d called it The Gender-Neutral Monarch Who Might Even Be a Boy and the Frog.

Written by Kyle Buchanan | 12 Mar 2010, 9:20 AM | 1 comment

James Cameron, Heavy Metal Fan: thinkbig.jpgWe’ve known for a while that most of James Cameron’s cultural references still date back to the 80’s, and new news just confirms it. According to Mike Fleming, Cameron has been brought on board the remake of the 1981 animated anthology Heavy Metal, and he, David Fincher, and Zack Snyder will all be directing separate segments. Just imagine the Martini Ranch video in fully animated 3D, starring Amazonian space cowboys. I’m salivating already. [Deadline]