Robert Downey Jr.

Blu-Ray Review: ‘Natural Born Killers’ Still Resonates Years Later

BrianTT — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 20:59:37 -0600

CHICAGO – Oliver Stone’s “Natural Born Killers” is easily one of the best films of the ’90s, an experimental, daring, visually mesmerizing study of not just violence but America’s obsession with it. At the peak of his directorial abilities, one of the best filmmakers of the ’80s and ’90s turned his lens on the way we turn evil people into tabloid heroes and he did it with such vibrant style that “NBK” has just as much resonance as it did fifteen years ago.

Blu-Ray Rating: 4.5/5.0

Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis star as Mickey and Mallory Knox, a pair of love-crossed serial killers who have upgraded the exploits of Bonnie and Clyde for a new generation. Their dark pasts of fire and gasoline have exploded into the kind of story that journalists and TV shows dream about. Robert Downey Jr. co-stars as a journalist whose attention feed the murders of Mickey and Mallory as much as anything and Tommy Lee Jones arrives late as a lunatic warden.

Natural Born Killers was released on Blu-Ray on October 13th, 2009.
Photo credit: Warner Brothers Home Video

The performances in “NBK” are uniformly good but, watching the film again on Blu-Ray, one is struck by the technical accomplishments of the film. Stone’s regular collaborator Robert Richardson shoots the film with so many different styles and stocks that it feels timeless. The elements that are missing from “NBK” - cell phones, the internet - are the only things that date the film at all. Otherwise, it feels like it could have come out this year, something that cannot be said about most 1994 releases.

Natural Born Killers was released on Blu-Ray on October 13th, 2009.
Photo credit: Warner Brothers Home Video

And it’s not just Richardson’s decisions. Stone’s incredible use of music, Quentin Tarantino’s original story and the screenplay it was adapted into by Stone and his co-writers, the perfectly paced editing - “Natural Born Killers” is even better than you remember.

And it may be different than you remember in this version. The recently released Blu-Ray version is the “Original Uncut” one. This cut has been floating around for years and is pretty widely known as the definitive version of the film but if you haven’t seen it since the theaters, it’s about four minutes different. Of course, with the amount of quick cuts and shots in “NBK,” four minutes amounts to dozens of changes, beautifully chronicled here if you’re curious.

Fans often make the mistake of thinking that some of the more notorious deleted scenes have been reinserted into this director’s cut version of the film, including material with Ashley Judd and Denis Leary. Of course, that’s not the case, but they are included in interesting deleted scenes, most interesting because every single piece of cut footage deserved to be on the cutting room floor. They’re all worth watching, but correctly cut.

As for new supporting material, the Blu-Ray edition of “Natural Born Killers” includes a new featurette called “NBK Evolution: How Would It All Go Down Now?”. The mini-doc features interviews with Harrelson, Lewis, Stone, and many more personalities discussing how Mickey and Mallory Knox might be different in 2009. One word - internet. Facebook and Twitter executives appear to ponder how the pair might use their sites and even tabloid personalities like Tila Tequila and Joey Buttafuoco contemplate the intriguing what if of “NBK” in an era even more obsessed with instant celebrity. It’s an interesting featurette.

Even more interesting is a great commentary track from Stone and a 44-page booklet included in the case for the Blu-Ray. Other special features include the trailer and a vintage Charlie Rose interview with Stone.

As for the film itself, it looks absolutely remarkable in HD with a perfect 1080P transfer from Warner Bros. The audio matches the video in Dolby TrueHD 5.1. The film has never looked or sounded better.

‘Natural Born Killers’ is released by Warner Brothers Home Video and stars Woody Harrelson, Juliette Lewis, Robert Downey Jr., Tom Sizemore, and Tommy Lee Jones. It was written by David Veloz & Richard Rutowski & Oliver Stone from a story by Quentin Tarantino and directed by Stone. The film was released on Blu-ray on October 13th, 2009. It is not rated.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

Blu-Ray Review: ‘The Soloist’ Wastes Powerful Story, Great Actors

BrianTT — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 11:22:32 -0600

CHICAGO – Stars Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey Jr. do absolutely nothing wrong in Joe Wright’s “The Soloist,” now on Blu-Ray and DVD, and there’s more than enough inherent power in the story of a musical genius lost to mental illness and the horrible way we treat the homeless in this country for a quality drama, but this cinematic solo misses too many notes to have the impact that it should have with this much talent involved.

Blu-Ray Rating: 3.0/5.0

The cast & crew list for “The Soloist” is remarkable enough that the film almost opened the AFI Film Festival last year based on pedigree alone. Then someone saw the movie and Joe Wright’s third drama (after “Pride & Prejudice” and “Atonement”) was pushed from Oscar season to April. We should have known something was wrong then.

The Soloist was released on Blu-Ray on August 4th, 2009.
Photo credit: Paramount

But back to that list of cast and crew that had most awards season pundits drooling - Oscar nominee Robert Downey Jr., Oscar winner Jamie Foxx, Oscar nominee Catherine Keener, director Joe Wright (who helmed the Best Picture-nominated “Atonement), Oscar-nominated writer Susannah Grant (“Erin Brockovich”), and a crew of some of the most talented people in Hollywood (composer Dario Marianelli, cinematography Seamus McGarvey, and more).

The Soloist was released on Blu-Ray on August 4th, 2009.
Photo credit: Paramount

Downey Jr. stars in “The Soloist” as LA Times journalist Steve Lopez, a reporter who stumbled across the story of his life when he heard a homeless man playing a two-string violin in a Los Angeles park. The man turned out to be Nathaniel Ayers (Jamie Foxx), a former Juilliard student whose pschizophrenia sent him all the way to skid row. Lopez wrote a series of stories about Ayers that touched an emotional chord with his readers, giving a face to the homeless problem in the city of angels.

Nathaniel Ayers had a gift. He also had a curse. His gift allowed him to both hear and play music in ways that most of us will never understand. His curse forced him to hear voices and have hallucinations that made living on the street his only option.

There is so much dramatic potential in the life of Nathaniel Ayers that it’s easy to see why a screenwriter thought it would make an interesting film. And it could have if Joe Wright and Susannah Grant had trusted Jamie Foxx to deliver what he’s clearly capable of delivering. The only way that “The Soloist” works is as realism, but Grant and Wright clutter the portrayal of Ayers by audibly portraying the voices that Ayers reportedly heard and trying to visually represent the way that he heard music. Big mistakes. When you have an actor as talented as Foxx, you should trust him to deliver the complexities of a character like Ayers without being so on-the-nose that we actually hear his auditory hallucinations. It takes the viewer out of the film and reminds them that they’re watching a movie.

Foxx, Downey, Keener, and the production values of “The Soloist” warrant a rental, but, ultimately, this is just a decent movie that should have been great.

Except for a slightly mediocre audio track when one considers the subject matter of the film, the Paramount Blu-Ray release for “The Soloist” delivers exactly what renters or buyers would expect from it.

The film is presented in 1080p High Definition and the transfer is pretty flawless but the English 5.1 Dolby TrueHD track is a bit average for a film about the passion of music.

The special features are well-divided between the true story of Lopez and Ayers and the fictional recounting of it. Lopez, Ayers, Downey, Foxx, Wright, and more are included on the featurettes, the most detailed of which is called “An Unlikely Friendship: Making The Soloist”. Deleted scenes and a commentary by Wright round out a quality package for an interesting film that just misses the power of its true story.

‘The Soloist’ is released by Paramount Home Video and stars Jamie Foxx, Robert Downey Jr., Catherine Keener, Tom Hollander, Lisa Gay Hamilton, and Nelsan Ellis. It was written by Susannah Grant and directed by Joe Wright. The Blu-Ray and DVD were released on August 4th, 2009. It is rated PG-13.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

The 10 Best Blu-Ray, DVD Releases of 2008

BrianTT — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 14:43:37 -0700

CHICAGO – For audiences increasingly accustomed to watching movies at home instead of at the multiplex, it was an interesting year for DVDs and Blu-rays.

In this list of top Blu-rays and DVDs of 2008, we cover “Tropic Thunder,” “Dirty Harry,” “The Last Emperor,” “Iron Man,” “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” “Dark City,” “Mad Men,” “Spaced,” “Sleeping Beauty,” “The Godfather” and others including “Band of Brothers,” “Firefly,” “Star Trek,” “Transformers,” “The Wire,” “The Sopranos,” “Dexter,” “24,” “Lost,” “Deadwood” and “Casablanca”.

Of course, the biggest event was the end of the format war between HD-DVD and Blu-ray, but the impact of that Blu-ray victory has yet to fully be realized considering the incredibly small market share still being occupied by the next-gen format. With Blu-Ray players dropping in price by the day and the increasing popularity of HD TVs, it seems like only a matter of time before Blu-Ray supplants DVD in the same way the previous format took over for VHS.

Besides the horrendous economy and the notion that Blu-Ray isn’t significantly superior to DVD to force the change on a technological level, it seems to me that the next hurdle for Blu-Ray is that there just haven’t been enough must-own titles to spur buyers to make the upgrade. Imagine if Blu-Ray had deleted scenes or special features unavailable on the standard version. Imagine the impact that would’ve had on a lot of people’s decision to trade up to HD.

And Blu-Ray wouldn't necessarily even have to resort to format-exclusive features. The more titles that hit the format that truly utilize its potential, the more people will go out and pick up a player. There were a few of those discs this year. "Game-changers,” if you will. They're in the top ten.

But, before we get to that, some honorable mentions. In the world of TV on DVD, the well went considerably dry in 2008. Not only have most of the classic shows already hit the market, but the strike-shortened season of '07-'08 made nearly every new release more lackluster than the season before.

Some of the most notable TV on DVD releases were re-issues of already available material. "Band of Brothers" and "Firefly" both hit Blu-Ray in sparkling sets, while fans of "Star Trek: The Original Series" can now own seasons two and three with remastered video and special effects on standard DVD.

One of the most consistent producers of quality TV on DVD this year was BBC Home Video, releasing excellent season sets for the first and second installments of the brilliant "Torchwood,” a great package for the first volume of "Primeval,” and one of the best mini-series in the history of the form, "State of Play.” HBO didn't lag too far behind with series sets for "Extras,” "The Wire", "Deadwood", and "The Sopranos" all warranting acclaim alongside 2008 gems like "John Adams" and "Generation Kill.”

The first season of "24" was finally given the special edition treatment (the initial release of the first bad day in Jack Bauer's life had been relatively bare-bones) and a few current shows - "Weeds,” "Dexter,” "Lost" - did release above-average season sets. Finally, "Family Guy: Blue Harvest" is a must-own for any fan of the Griffin family, "Frisky Dingo: Season One" was the best Adult Swim title of the year and everyone worth knowing would smile at the third season of "The Muppet Show.”

As for classic movies released on DVD or Blu-Ray, early-year highlights included a great 40th Anniversary Collector's Edition of "In the Heat of the Night" and a Platinum Edition of "101 Dalmatians” and this month's collector's set for "Casablanca" is a beauty. And, while the box set market was underwhelming compared to years past, "The Stanley Kramer Collection,” "The Frank Sinatra Collection,” "Rambo: The Complete Collector's Set,” "5 Films by Dario Argento,” and "The Peanuts Deluxe Holiday Collection" were all notable.

When it comes to current films, the stand-outs were few and far between. There are a couple in the top ten, but lackluster presentations and a dearth of interesting special features were more common complaints this year than in many past. Stand-outs include one of the best transfers in the history of home theaters for "The Transformers" on Blu-Ray, a sparkling gift set release of "Batman Begins" on the new format, and gorgeous sets for the two most successful animated films of the year, "Wall-E" and "Kung Fu Panda.”

Finally, Criterion had another impressive year, moving seamlessly into Blu-Ray at the end of the year with new releases for "Bottle Rocket" and "Chungking Express" along with reissues of some of their best work like "The Third Man" and "The Last Emperor.” Must-add Criterion titles of 2008 included "Blast of Silence,” "The Lovers,” "Before the Rain,” "Mafioso,” and "Europa.”

THE TEN BEST DVD/BLU-RAY RELEASES OF 2008

10. "Tropic Thunder: Director's Cut"

The comedy Blu-Ray release of the year included not only a director's cut worth seeing but also special features nearly as funny as the movie itself. There are a few too many bite-sized featurettes (5-10 minutes before getting thrown back to a menu screen is just annoying), but they were more than balanced out by commentaries, perfect picture and sound, and the fantastic spoof documentary, "Rain of Madness.” Including a satire of a pretentious behind-the-scenes documentary on the release for a satire of pretentious war movies and their obnoxious actors was a stroke of genius.

9. “Dirty Harry: Ultimate Collector’s Edition”

The best DVD box set of the year includes hours of special features, a gorgeous collection of physical collectibles, and fantastic video and audio. What’s most unusual about “Dirty Harry” is that it may be the last time you ever read these words - pick it up on standard DVD, not Blu-Ray. The HD picture makes “Dirty Harry” look a little too plastic and clean. Harry needs to be a little dirtier. But the DVD gift set is remarkable. With new featurettes and interviews with the major players along with some previously available material, it’s a definitive set.

Family of Heath Ledger Responds to ‘The Dark Knight’ Golden Globe Nomination

BrianTT — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 11:11:00 -0700

CHICAGO – Heath Ledger’s searing performance as The Joker in “The Dark Knight” has been earning acclaim all year and the late actor landed a posthumous Golden Globe nomination this morning when the Hollywood Foreign Press Association revealed their choices for the best of 2008.

The family of Ledger responded this morning with a statement republished by People Magazine. The father of the nominee for best performance by an actor in a supporting role said, “We thank the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for honoring Heath’s performance in The Dark Knight.”

Kim Ledger went on to say, “This nomination is deeply appreciated and is not lost on those of us who continue to love and miss him. We are so proud our boy’s work is being recognized in this way.”

Heath Ledger stars as the Joker in “The Dark Knight”.
Photo credit: Warner Bros., copyright DC Comics

To win the posthumous Golden Globe award, Heath Ledger will have to beat both Tom Cruise and Robert Downey Jr. from “Tropic Thunder”, Ralph Fiennes from “The Duchess”, and Philip Seymour Hoffman for “Doubt”. The 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards will be broadcast live on NBC at 8 p.m. EST on January 11th from the Beverly Hilton.

Heath Ledger passed away on January 22nd from an accidental overdoe of prescription drugs in his New York apartment.

Heath Ledger has already been nominated for best actor for “The Dark Knight” from The Australian Film Institute and supporting actor from the Golden Satellite Awards. This morning’s Golden Globe nomination is the second for Ledger with the HFPA choosing him for his work in “Brokeback Mountain” in 2005, a nomination echoed by the Academy Awards that year.

Read about all of the Golden Globe nominees.

Get the details on the Dark Knight Blu-Ray release.

Check out Adam Fendelman’s Five-Star Review of The Dark Knight.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

Interview: Brandon T. Jackson of ‘Tropic Thunder’ Breaks Out With ‘Booty Sweat’ Calling Card

HollywoodChicago.com — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 22:30:45 -0600

CHICAGO – For “Tropic Thunder” star and Chris Tucker protégé Brandon T. Jackson, the fictional Booty Sweat literally is his Hollywood calling card.

The Red Bull-like energy drink is a scripted creation of writer, director, producer and star actor Ben Stiller in the new comedy. The film’s talent list, which includes both “A”-list actors and up-and-coming actors, is longer than two or three typical films today combined.

Tugg Speedman (Ben Stiller, left) and Kirk Lazarus (Robert Downey Jr., right) are shooting an epic war movie and wind up in a real battle in the action-comedy “Tropic Thunder”.
Photo credit: Merie Weismiller Wallace

Rapper Alpa Chino (Brandon T. Jackson) tackles his first serious acting role in “Tropic Thunder”.
Photo credit: Merie Weismiller Wallace

Along with recognized actors Robert Downey Jr. (who plays the memorable role of an actor who surgically blackens his skin), Ben Stiller, Tom Cruise, Matthew McConaughey, Jack Black, Nick Nolte and rising actors Danny McBride, Bill Hader and Steve Coogan, director Stiller takes a chance on newcomers Brandon T. Jackson and Jay Baruchel.

“Tropic Thunder” serves as the first major roles for both Jackson and Baruchel. The film also features cameos from Jason Bateman, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Alicia Silverstone, Jon Voight and Tyra Banks.

While the film is an offensively complicated picture that certainly has figured out how to whirl about a laugh around every corner, so does its complication sometimes force the story to tug about in many different directions.

“Tropic Thunder” sometimes feels like it clearly knows where it’s going and at other times is completely lost in the black hole of Stiller’s uniquely melodramatic brain.

Along with Justin Theroux and Stiller, the film also lists Etan Cohen as a co-writer of the film’s screenplay. This Cohen is not to be confused with Oscar-winning phenomenon Ethan Coen (the brother of Joel Coen) of “No Country for Old Men,” “The Big Lebowski” and “Fargo” fame.

Left to right: Alpa Chino (Brandon T. Jackson), Tugg Speedman (Ben Stiller) and Kirk Lazarus (Robert Downey Jr.) are actors shooting a war movie who get caught up in a real battle in the action-comedy “Tropic Thunder”.
Photo credit: Merie Weismiller Wallace

Rating: 4.0/5.0

While the drink Booty Sweat is a smash hit in the film and merely serves as one of its comedic asides, in real life the liquid isn’t nearly as renowned. It’s currently selling at novelty stores such as Spencer’s Gifts (as well as Amazon.com) and is one of many ways the movie is drumming up buzz.

Still, it’s trying to explode virally for the film at BootySweat.com and Alpa-Chino.com. Clearly borrowed from actor Al Pacino, Alpa Chino is Jackson’s character name in the film. In addition to Chris Tucker, Jackson names Jim Carrey as another comic inspiration.

HollywoodChicago.com recently interviewed the 24-year-old Jackson about his breakout role, today’s struggle to best the masses competing for Hollywood work and why he’s trying to build his own “star brand” that’s nothing like Kanye West.

“I know how to be funny to black audiences,” Jackson told HollywoodChicago.com, “but the challenge in ‘Tropic Thunder’ was having universal appeal.” He added: “It’s very difficult getting work in Hollywood right now especially for a young black comic. I’m trying to build a brand. I’m not just doing one-off projects. I’m always doing comedy and will never hit up a 9-to-5 desk job.”

Cody (Danny McBride) is a trigger-happy explosions expert on an epic war film that goes awry in the action-comedy “Tropic Thunder”.
Photo credit: Merie Weismiller Wallace

The Detroit born and bred Jackson makes the clear differentiation between how he’s crafting his nascent “star brand” as a “young black comic” in stark contrast to “all that hip-hop stuff” in which people like Kanye West are rolling in fat rolls of dough.

Jackson also says he’s continuing to use the concept of a “class clown” in his branding that he just hasn’t been able to shake since high school.

In 2005, Jackson was also seen in the lesser-known, coming-of-age comedy “Roll Bounce” about rollerskating, which was filmed in Chicago and also starred Mike Epps, Bow Wow and Meagan Good.

The young comic describes his first role of prime Hollywood prominence in “Tropic Thunder” as his “most proud and challenging role” thus far. As for working for director Stiller (who also directed 2001’s “Zoolander,” “Reality Bites” and a few others), Jackson said: “Ben knows what he wants. You’d better be funny or go home.”

RELATED IMAGE GALLERY
View our full, high-resolution “Tropic Thunder” image gallery.

RELATED READING
More film reviews from critic Adam Fendelman.

We spoke with Jackson at a time in his career where he describes being in “mystery mode”. He’s attempting to delicately navigate a balance between “taking any work I can just to get paid” and “being selective” with the roles like in “Tropic Thunder” that’d get him the biggest bang for Hollywood’s buck.

While 2008 still has many more performances left to see, in Jackson’s view the two he’d pick for an Oscar would be Robert Downey Jr.’s role in “Tropic Thunder” (yes, he’s biased) and Heath Ledger’s role as the Joker in the epic film “The Dark Knight”.

While Jackson was mostly business in our Chicago interview, he also enjoyed lounging about in the hotel room’s plush couches. He left us with the following line in describing his favorite aspect of being in film as compared to stand-up comedy: “The best thing about doing film is the food. It’s just magical.”

“Tropic Thunder,” which is directed by Ben Stiller, stars Stiller, Robert Downey Jr., Tom Cruise, Matthew McConaughey, Jack Black, Nick Nolte, Danny McBride, Bill Hader, Steve Coogan, Brandon T. Jackson and Jay Baruchel with cameos from Jason Bateman, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Alicia Silverstone, Jon Voight and Tyra Banks. The film opened everywhere on Aug. 13, 2008.

By ADAM FENDELMAN
Editor-in-Chief
HollywoodChicago.com
adam@hollywoodchicago.com

Robert Downey Jr. Confirms Sherlock Holmes Role With Guy Ritchie Directing For Warner Bros.

HollywoodChicago.com — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 23:04:34 -0600

CHICAGO – While the leap from 2008 blockbuster film “Iron Man” to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s titular mega sleuth wouldn’t seem the most logical next move for “A”-lister Robert Downey Jr., he will indeed play perhaps the most famed detective in literary history: Sherlock Holmes.

Guy Ritchie (“Revolver,” “Snatch,” “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels”) will direct the film for Warner Bros. Early reaction to the announcement worries some film pundits.

Robert Downey Jr. stars as Tony Stark and Iron Man in 2008’s “Iron Man” (left) and Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes (right) in 1939’s “The Hound of the Baskervilles”.
Image credits: Paramount Pictures (left image) and BBC (right image)

Josh Horowitz at MTV wrote moments ago: “[Robert Downey Jr.] will surely make something arresting and innovative out of the part, but … does it have to be helmed by Guy? Does anything on his resume give you hope he has a Sherlock tale in him? I worry.”

The Hollywood Reporter adds: “The movie, which will shoot in the fall, takes its cue from a forthcoming comic book that producer Lionel Wigram wrote as a selling tool for a new take on the classic character. The concept sees Holmes as more adventurous and less stuffy than previous screen incarnations and mines more obscure character traits.”

E! Online reminds us: “This is not to be confused with the other awesome-sounding Arthur Conan Doyle-inspired film Judd Apatow is producing for Columbia Pictures with Sacha Baron Cohen and Will Ferrell set to star as [Sherlock] Holmes and Dr. Watson.”

The Robert Downey Jr.-starring and Guy Ritchie-directed Sherlock Holmes film is slated to begin filming in Oct. 2008 with a release date in 2010.

By ADAM FENDELMAN
Editor-in-Chief
HollywoodChicago.com
adam@hollywoodchicago.com

Chicago’s ‘August: Osage County’ Shines at Tony Awards; ‘Cowboys & Aliens’ Gets Green Light

HollywoodChicago.com — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 11:56:01 -0600

CHICAGO – The 62nd-annual Tony Awards, which were held on Sunday night, reflect a diverse but weak year for original theatre. Revivals bested originals nine to two.

Taking home the most awards that night with seven was Bartlett Sher’s revival of the Oscar Hammerstein classic “South Pacific”. The original musical “In the Heights” and the Pulitzer Prize-winning play “August: Osage County” got three and four awards respectively.

“August: Osage County” got its start at the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago. Company member Rondi Reed took home the Tony for best actress in a play.

Though the Tony Awards were one night celebrating American theatre, sources point to the stagehand strike and a lack of runaway hits like “Spring Awakening” or “Jersey Boys” this year as the foundation for Broadway failing to set new box-office records as it has done the past three years. The full list of the 2008 Tony Awards follows.

Book (musical): “Passing Strange” (Stew)
Original score (music and/or lyrics): “In the Heights” (music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda)
Revival (play): “Boeing-Boeing”
Revival (musical): “South Pacific”
Actor (play): Mark Rylance, “Boeing-Boeing”
Actress (play): Deanna Dunagan, “August: Osage County”
Actor (musical): Paulo Szot, “South Pacific”
Actress (musical): Patti LuPone, “Gypsy”
Featured actor (play): Jim Norton, “The Seafarer”
Featured actress (play): Rondi Reed, “August: Osage County”
Featured actor (musical): Boyd Gaines, “Gypsy”
Featured actress (musical): Laura Benanti, “Gypsy”
Direction (play): Anna D. Shapiro, “August: Osage County”
Direction (musical): Bartlett Sher, “South Pacific”
Choreography: Andy Blankenbuehler, “In the Heights”
Orchestrations: Alex Lacamoire and Bill Sherman, “In the Heights”
Scenic design (play): Todd Rosenthal, “August: Osage County”
Scenic design (musical): Michael Yeargen, “South Pacific”
Costume design (play): Katrina Lindsay, “Les Liaisons Dangereuses”
Costume design (musical): Catherine Zuber, “South Pacific”
Lighting design (play): Kevin Adams, “The 39 Steps”
Lighting design (musical): Donald Holder, “South Pacific”
Sound design (play): Mic Pool, “The 39 Steps”
Sound design (musical): Scott Lehrer, “South Pacific”

Previously Announced:
Regional Theater Tony Award: Chicago Shakespeare Theater
Special Tony Award: Robert Russell Bennett
Lifetime Achievement Award: Stephen Sondheim

In other news, the graphic novel “Cowboys & Aliens” is coming to the big screen. Robert Downey Jr. is currently in talks for the starring role as a former Union Army gunslinger named Zeke Jackson. Even though the comic book has only been out a few years, the film has been in development for the last decade.

The comic cover for “Cowboys & Aliens”.
Image credit: Platinum Studios Comics

The latest draft of the screenplay was written by Hawk Ostby and Mark Fergus (“Iron Man,” “Children of Men”). DreamWorks and Universal are currently seeking a 2010 release for the film. The story conceived by Fred Van Lente and Andrew Foley follows the adventures of Old West settlers, Native Americans and – of course – aliens from space.

Finally, the big green brought the green into the movie theaters this weekend. “The Incredible Hulk” took the No. 1 spot at the box office with Jack Black’s “Kung Fu Panda” coming in second. M. Night Shamalyan’s “The Happening” performed better than expected.

Weekend Box-Office Estimates:
1) “The Incredible Hulk”: $54.5 million (gross), $54.5 million (cume)
2) “Kung Fu Panda”: $34.3 million (gross), $118.0 million (cume)
3) “The Happening”: $30.5 million (cume), $30.5 million (cume)
4) “You Don’t Mess with the Zohan”: $16.4 million (gross), $68.8 million (cume)
5) “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”: $13.5 million (gross), $275.3 million (cume)

By DUSTIN LEVELL
Senior Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
dustin@hollywoodchicago.com

‘The Incredible Hulk’ Jacked Up on CGI Roids, But Medusa’s in His Face

HollywoodChicago.com — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 23:01:00 -0600

CHICAGO – Technology has done double-edged service and disservice to the legendary Hulk superhero character from Stan Lee’s Marvel Comics.

In peering at the CGI-created ripped body of nothing remotely reminiscent of Edward Norton, the 2008 film iteration of “The Incredible Hulk” has a leg light years up on Lou Ferrigno’s character in the 1978 television series of the “The Incredible Hulk”.

Rating: 4.0/5.0

Then, Ferrigno only had the luxury of makeup. The rest was the real deal. On the other hand, Ferrigno – who treats 2008 audiences in a gasping reveal when he appears in a brief cameo in the new Louis Leterrier-directed feature film – is still the soul, spirit and most critically the face of the green-skinned behemoth.

Read Adam Fendelman’s full review of “The Incredible Hulk” in our reviews section.

View our huge, high-resolution “The Incredible Hulk” image gallery.

Aside from Ferrigno’s brief face time, he also lurks notably in the background as Norton’s voice when he gets royally pissed and transforms into the Hulk. When Norton fumes past his human limit, honing in on the Hulk character’s technologically enhanced face is awkwardly unrealistic and utterly painful.

It’s like gazing into the eyes of the sea nymph Medusa whose monstrous face could threateningly turn onlookers to stone.

While Hollywood’s big-budget technology department both strikes out and smashes a homerun with its revamped and roided-up Hulk character, Tim Roth’s altered ego gets the just-right royal treatment.

When Roth becomes the Abomination to rival the Hulk, the abominable baddie is so disgustingly repulsive and out of such reality whack that his CGI renovation plays perfectly.

The unbridled force of rage known as The Hulk on the streets of New York in an all-new, explosive and action-packed epic of one of the most popular superheroes of all time in “The Incredible Hulk”.
Photo credit: Rhythm & Hues

A monstrous new adversary known as The Abomination faces off with The Hulk in an all-new, explosive and action-packed epic of one of the most popular superheroes of all time in “The Incredible Hulk”.
Photo credit: Rhythm & Hues

Read Adam Fendelman’s full “The Incredible Hulk” review.

‘Iron Man’ Sits Indisputably in Club of Highest-Rated Superhero Movies Ever

HollywoodChicago.com — Fri, 02 May 2008 10:53:58 -0600

CHICAGO – Move over, Superman. This lush, high-octane playboy never tasted so good.

Robert Downey Jr. fittingly opens “Iron Man” with a cocktail in hand and all the arrogance in the world. As the story goes, his conceit is indeed respected as Earth is his oyster both for the playing and for the taking. With the American marketing machine in full effect for 2008’s first summer blockbuster, the inaugural one lives up to the buildup.

“Iron Man” has already not only etched itself the mark of the first indisputable blockbuster of 2008 and one of the best-reviewed films so far in 2008 but also one of the highest-rated superhero movies of all time – yes, of all time. The film deserves every million it makes.

Read Adam Fendelman’s full review of “Iron Man” in our reviews section.

View our massive, high-resolution “Iron Man” image gallery.

Even before he’s Iron Man, Downey Jr. is authentically transformative as the lush, cash-flushed, comedic, all-powerful and all-knowing Tony Stark.

Even those who aren’t fans of the comic series and just enjoy quality entertainment with fall prey to his allure as well as the blockbuster power of the film in general.

Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts – Stark’s assistant who keeps him functioning and even remembers his social security number for him – is indeed the subservient, selfless character she’s written to be. Hollywood gives her great hair, too. Paltrow took the role only after Rachel McAdams turned it down.

Iron Man is in the throes of a pitched battle with a determined nemesis in “Iron Man”.
Photo credit: Industrial Light & Magic

Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) in his battle-scarred Mark III armor in “Iron Man”.
Photo credit: Zade Rosenthal

Read Adam Fendelman’s full “Iron Man” review…

Paramount Pictures Releases Flood of New Production Stills For ‘Iron Man’

HollywoodChicago.com — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 12:40:08 -0600

CHICAGO – Paramount Pictures on Monday released a flood of new production stills for the highly anticipated film “Iron Man” with Robert Downey Jr., Terrence Howard, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges, Samuel L. Jackson, Hilary Swank, Leslie Bibb and Stan Lee. Directed by Jon Favreau, the film opens on May 2, 2008.

While we have several of the new, high-quality production stills below, you can view our massive new photo gallery here in full. Click “Original” on each photo for high-quality versions. In our updated gallery, photos 19 through 40 are all new from Monday. We last published the release of new “Iron Man” production stills on Feb. 4, 2008.

View our massive, high-quality “Iron Man” photo gallery.

By ADAM FENDELMAN
Editor-in-Chief
HollywoodChicago.com
adam@hollywoodchicago.com