The Filmmakers

RON HOWARD

1 March 1954, Duncan, Oklahoma, USA

Most television fans learned about Ron Howard via Happy Days, but those of us who are movie fan know he has move on to filmmaking. Ron Howard is an underdog director; he should make the top ten or twenty best directors of all time but he just misses the mark. I think it that way because he puts out films like A Beautiful Mind, which is arguably his best work. Then on the other hand, a crappy film comes down the pipeline. He may have some pretty crappy movies but he always fines away to redeem himself, sometimes these redemptions lead to Oscar nominations. Ron Howard will rank in my favorites director even thought to the world see him as a “above average” director.

Biography

Filmography

They Shoot Pictures, Don’t They?

STUDIOS: WB

Time Warner INC.

Location:

Hollywood, Los Angeles,
California, USA

Founder: The Four Warner Brothers: Harry Warner, Albert Warner, Sam Warner, and Jack L. Warner

Major Film Studio (Parent Division): Warner Bros. Entertainment (WB) (Wiki)
Major Studio Subsidiary: Castle Rock Entertainment (Wiki), Legendary Pictures (Wiki)
Animation Studio: Warner Bros. Animation (Wiki): Looney Tunes (Wiki)
Independent Film Companies: Warner Independent Pictures (Wiki)
Arthouse/"Indie" Subsidiaries: New Line Cinema (Wiki), Picturehouse (Wiki)

History (Wiki)

Filmography

REVIEW: Sex Drive

The Synopsis

IMDb: A high school senior drives cross-country with his best friends to hook up with a babe he met online.

Other Reviews

Critics:

Roger Ebert: 2 Stars
Michael Phillips: NA
EW: Owen Gleiberman: B-
A. O. Scott: NA

Other Sites:

At The Movies: Ben Mankiewicz: Skip It, Ben Lyons: Skip It
Fandango: 25 Oh No, 14 No, 28 So-So, 52 Go, 84 Must Go
Rotten Tomatoes: T-Meter: 43% (Rotten), Top Critics: 57% (Rotten), RT Community: 85% (Fresh)
Metacritic: Critics: 48 out of 100, Users: 7.6 out of 10
Yahoo Movies: Critics: C+ Users: B+

My Review

Source Material: Based on book All The Way, by Andy Behrens

Action: Common: Some funny slapstick.

Acting and Dialogue: Common: Mainly gay jokes. Best scene were with Seth Green

Cinematography: Common: It did a good job faking the Midwest

Direction: Common: Okay for first film but as a sex comedy it sucks Suberbad was way better.

Sound: Common: Maybe it was good, I really don’t remember it

Special and Visual FX: Common: Little to no FX

Overall: C, The only people I recommend this to is die heart sex comedy fans.

AWARD SEASON: Oscar Buzz: Appaloosa

Possible Nominations:

Best Supporting Actor: Viggo Mortensen

Best Director: # 5 pick Long Shot: Ed Harris

STUDIO NEWS: The Weinstein Company

MGM and Weinstein Co. Call It Quits!

Less than a week since DreamWorks announced that they would be going it on their own without their distribution partner Paramount, The Weinstein Co. and MGM have cut short their distribution deal three months earlier than the original three-year contract, which was scheduled to expire on December 31. Harvey and Bob Weinstein's company will take back seven movies to release between now and the end of the year including Kevin Smith's upcoming Zack and Miri Make a Porno (October 31) and the anticipated adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's The Road (November 14). MGM will still distribute the two planned Dimension Films releases, the comedy Soul Men (November 7) with Samuel L. Jackson and the late Bernie Mac and Forest Whitaker's sports drama Hurricane Season (December 25).

The two companies decided to exit the distribution agreement after The Weinstein Company (TWC) signed its own TV deal with Showtime, bypassing MGM's Showtime deal, which was the main reason for the pairing initially. Under the distribution deal, TWC paid for marketing and prints, with MGM taking a distribution fee for booking theaters.

The two companies made the following statements:

The Weinstein Company: "This transition was always anticipated and now it has been amicably executed."

MGM: "When it became clear that the deal wouldn't be re-upped, TWC asked for its films back, minus the two Dimension titles, and we agreed."

Original Source: Variety

STUDIOS: Sony

Sony Corporation

Location:

Culver City
California, USA

Founder: Harry Cohn

Major Film Studio (Parent Division): Sony Pictures (Wiki)
Major Studio Subsidiary: Columbia Tristar Motion Picture Group (Wiki), Metro-Goldwyn Mayer (MGM) (Wiki)
Animation Studio: Sony Pictures Animation (Wiki), Imageworks (Wiki)
Independent Film Companies: Sony Pictures Classics (Wiki)
Arthouse/"Indie" Subsidiaries: Destination Films (Wiki), Screen Gems (Wiki), Triumph Films (Wiki)

History (Wiki)

Filmography

The Filmmakers

TERRY GILLIAM

22 November 1940, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

Terry Gilliam entered my life the same way he probably did for everyone else, through Monty Python. Even though Monty Python is a major part of Terry Gilliam’s career it’s not the only thing he has done. He has done some small fantasy like the box office failure The Brothers Grimm. Even thought Terry Gilliam will always be known as the king of British humor via Monty Python, I hope he can make a name for himself in the fantasy genre. He might have failed big time with The Brothers Grimm but I think the future could bring greatness. To tell you the truth, I am kind of looking forward to see Terry Gilliam’s new movie The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, but that might be because it’s Heath Ledger last movie; either way Terry Gilliam will always make my list of favorite directors even if it just for his work on Monty Python.

Biography

Filmography

They Shoot Pictures, Don’t They?