Exclusive Offer if You Pre-order Harry Potter Page to Screen!
Attention Harry Potter fans! You already know that we’ll be publishing a brand new book Harry Potter Page to Screen, which tells the complete story of how all eight films were made. It goes on sale October 25, but right now we have a special perk for anyone who’s already pre-ordered the book: through the link below, enter your proof of purchase from the store, and you’ll get exclusive access to never-before-seen 20 pages from the book. In addition, once you’re on the entry site, there’s one more bonus for you (maybe this?), so get going, already!
Click here to get access to the brand-new set of 20 pages:
I pre-ordered Harry Potter Page to Screen, now show me the exclusive excerpt!
And we don’t want to leave out anyone who may be waiting to get Page to Screen as a gift, so feast your eyes on and enjoy these additional 2 excerpts:
The Making of Harry Potter & The Goblet of Fire
The Art of Harry Potter
Enjoy these sneak peeks, and we promise you, the full book is worth the wait!
Casting !t: Just Kids
It was announced yesterday via MediaBistro that rock goddess and National Book Award winning author Patti Smith with be helping adapt her amazing memoir Just Kids (my Favor!te book of 2010) for the screen alongside screenwriter and Tony Award winning playwright John Logan.
If you haven’t heard (I can’t see how you haven’t), Just Kids is Smith’s memoir of arriving in New York in 1967 and the then 20 year old’s chance encounter with Robert Mapplethorpe, another 20 year old aspiring artist. It’s her story of their love, their friendship, their art and a New York few would recognize today.
So the question goes out… who would you cast as Smith and Mapplethorpe?
Kristen Stewart (age: 21) and Robert Pattison (age: 25)
Surely these two will be at the top of studio exec’s wish list. Stewart, proved that she could rock in her transformation into Joan Jett in the film biopic The Runaways and the resemblance between the two [rumored] real-life couple to the originals is uncanny. But the fit and the two megastars’ ties to the mega-Twilight-franchise may not hit audiences (or Ms. Smith) the right way.
Frances Bean Cobain (age: 19) and Ezra Miller (age: 18)
The Princess of Grunge as the Godmother of Punk? Can Miss Cobain act? Who knows? But if she can – and would want to step up into the Hollywood world, the photos by Hedi Slimane that recently were released prove she has the look – and the balls – to play Smith. I’d cast the currently almost famous Ezra Miller as Mapplethorpe against Cobain’s Smith. He has the East Village circa 1967 thing down already – and if his performance in the upcoming We Need to Talk About Kevin is as amazing as is being predicted, this could be the massive follow-up he will be looking for.
Emma Watson (age: 21) and Nicholas Hout (age: 21)
Former Harry Potter student Emma Watson seems poised for an image-crashing turn in to catapult her out of Hogwarts. I’d pair her with fellow Brit Nicholas Hout, who came to fame years ago in About a Boy and crashed his own child-star image in the amazing British take on Gossip Girl (but dirtier and better) Skins. His follow-up to that, playing the lovelorn college boy pining for a night with professor Colin Firth in Tom Ford’s A Single Man.
Jennifer Damiano (age: 20) and Eddie Redmayne (age: 29)
Perhaps the modern day Smith and Mapplethorpe might be found forty blocks north of The Village and on Broadway. Jennifer Damiano got amazing attention for her originating role in Spring Awakening. Followed by her Tony-nominated role in Next to Normal. Currently she’s starring in Spider Man. So she should be looking for a new job soon. The Mapplethorpe to Damiano’s Smith? Eddie Redmayne, the Tony award-winning star of Red and the upcoming film My Week with Marilyn.
So who do you think should be cast as Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe in Just Kids?
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
I’m a fan of the revenge movies such as V for Vendetta (all time favorite), Count of Monte Cristo, Memento, and Man on Fire; just to name a few. However, after reading The Millennium trilogy and watching the 2009 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo starring Noomi Rapace as the epic Lisbeth Salander and Michael Nyqvist as Mikael Blomkvist, I was hooked on this series and finished with The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest.
Mind you these movies were written and produced in Swedish, but when I heard that they were bringing it to America to re-make, I didn’t know if I should rejoice or be scared out of my mind.
The 2011 Girl with the Dragon Tattoo teaser trailer…was nothing less than epic. Can’t get over the Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song” reproduced by Trent Reznor (NIN) and Karen O (Yeah, Yeah, Yeah’s). I am still nervous about Rooney Mara portraying the damaged Lisbeth Salander and I hope Daniel Craig can do Mikael Blomkvist justice as well. Very happy to see Christopher Plummer in the cast list though. The teaser trailer gives me hope for the movies and I am very excited and a little impatient for December to roll around.
If you have not already looked into this trilogy via movie or books (the books are ALWAYS better), you need to. I’m being very serious…you really need to step away from the computer or better yet hit up amazon that way you never have to leave your seat, and purchase the books.
Fair warning, these are very dark and twisted books with heavy rape, violence, and language; but we are all big kids here right?
You will enjoy it all the same because Lisbeth is just so badass.
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. Coming Soon
From our guest blogger Leanne Miller from playittoday.org
One of the most eagerly anticipated film trailers of 2011 hit the web recently in the form of the fourth entry in Tom Cruise’s Mission Impossible franchise – and it seems there are plenty of new reasons to get excited about its release.
Five reasons to get excited about the Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol film trailer
Overall, it looks like Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, to give its full title, promises the same high octane action we’ve come to expect from the series.
A brand new director – in more ways than one…
The film news websites and blogs went crazy with excitement last May when it was confirmed that Brad Bird had been selected to direct the fourth Mission Impossible movie. But questions were raised as to what fans could expect. Ghost Protocol won’t be Bird’s directorial debut, but with only animated features like The Iron Giant, The Incredibles and Ratatouille to his name, everyone is looking forward to seeing what he can do with a live action feature.
A brand new Tom Cruise?
In addition to starring as Hawkeye in Marvel’s upcoming superhero-athon The Avengers, Jeremy Renner has been added to the Mission Impossible 4 cast and many have suggested he could return as the replacement for Cruise as lead character Ethan Hawke if the series continues. Speaking to Collider.com, co-star Simon Pegg even commented: “[Mission Impossible 4] certainly sets up a new IMF agent who can return and who is an Ethan-level player.”
Two brand new – but familiar – faces
Fans of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and its two made-for-TV sequels will already know the face of Michael Nyqvist. As Mikael Blomkvist (the role being taken on by Daniel Craig in the upcoming remake), he was the investigative journalist who partnered with the trilogy’s eponymous female, but here he’s playing the bad guy. Another familiar name that has been added to the Mission Impossible cast is Lost star Josh Holloway. Although not too much is known about his part, it seems he’ll be on the side of the good guys.
A brand new love interest?
Special Agent Ethan Hawke hasn’t had much luck with his female co-stars in the previous films. But following in the footsteps of femmes fatales and love interests like Emmanuelle Beart, Thandie Newton and Michelle Monaghan, Paula Patton (Precious) and Lea Seydoux (Inglourious Basterds) will be the ladies we’ll be watching in Mission Impossible 4. Will there be romance? Will there be double-crossing? Well, only time will tell – but my guess is yes!
Cowboys & Aliens Sweepstakes
Enter for your chance to win:
Cowboys & Aliens Prize Pack
Set in The Old West: an era when all a man could depend on was his horse and his six-gun, and settlers and Indians fought it out for territory on the last American frontier. Invaders from another planet have crash-landed, and cowboys and Indians alike must put aside their differences to drive the aliens off the sovereign soil of planet Earth.
Cowboys & Aliens: Read It Before You See It!
There are only a few days until the official US release of Cowboys & Aliens on July 29! The 2,000 lucky ducks who find Cowboys & Aliens gold bricks in San Diego this week for Comic-Con will have a first crack at the film’s world premiere on Saturday, but for the rest of us regular folk, here’s some pre-movie homework: check out the inspiration for the movie, the original Cowboys & Aliens graphic novel so you can compare how the project evolved from page to screen! [/end shameless plug]
The graphic novel was created by Scott Mitchell Rosenberg of Platinum Studios and published this year by us at It Books. Browse the first few pages here:
Then check out the movie trailer below, and showtimes in your local theater:
Bonus: director Jon Favreau conducted a bunch of interviews with his stars, posted on the CowboysAliensIntrvws YouTube channel. Here’s a clip with Harrison Ford talking about his character Colonel Dolarhyde’s cowboy hat, and how he vetoed the whip originally written in the script (no Indy redux!). Wow, he sounds like a cowboy even when he’s just chatting with his direction!
Cowboys & Aliens opens on Friday, July 29, 2011 from Universal Pictures. The graphic novel is in stores now; click below to buy, or stop by your favorite store. Also available as an e-book.
The Hunger Games
If you don’t know what The Hunger Games is then you should know that this is definitely a bandwagon worth hopping on. Those dealing with “P.P.D.” (Post Potter Depression) can look forward to a new series that could be the next Harry Potter. Though these two series are vastly different, the underground fan following of Suzanne Collins’ book trilogy The Hunger Games is much larger than anyone has yet to see.
In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.
Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister’s place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before—and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that will weigh survival against humanity and life against love.
Now that Lionsgate has announced the movie to be released March 23, 2012 it has sent the fans into a frenzy and thirsting for more. Jennifer Lawrence, who recently played Raven/Mystique on the big screens X-Men: First Class, has been announced as the beloved heroine, Katniss Everdeen, for the Hunger Games movie. Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth have also been added to the casting list as the fans favorites Peeta (Hutcherson) and Gale (Hemsworth).
Lawrence has my vote!
As we await the 200+ days until the movie arrives, check out the Official Hunger Games movie website to grab their HOT poster widget and movie countdown.
Things are going to start heating up really quick.
Enter to Win a Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 Prize Pack
Enter for your chance to win:
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2
Prize Pack
Your It List and IMAX have teamed up to offer you the chance to enjoy a spectacular Harry Potter film experience. 10 lucky winners will be chosen to receive a pair of tickets to watch Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 in IMAX 3D; a Deathly Hallows – Part 2 IMAX movie poster; and a copy of the book Harry Potter Film Wizardry, which takes readers behind the scenes of the most successful film franchise of all time.
To enter the sweepstakes just head right over to the Your It List fan page on Facebook, click “enter sweepstakes” and follow the instructions.
About Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2:
Opening Date: July 15, 2011. Rated: PG-13. The end begins as Harry, Ron, and Hermione go back to Hogwarts to find and destroy Voldemort’s final horcruxes, but when Voldemort finds out about their mission, the biggest battle begins and life as they know it will never be the same again.
Catch Up on Summer’s Movies So Far
Robots, smoke, and explosions, oh my!
It’s nearly the July 4th holiday! Yes, summer is in full swing–and you may not have noticed that a ton of blockbusters have already hit theaters, with even more to come. In anticipation of some much-appreciated time off, here’s a movie guide to help you spend a few hours in air-conditioned bliss:
Today, June 29: Transformers: Dark of the Moon (official site), 3rd in the series. Shia LaBeouf and a girl who isn’t Megan Fox run around with lots of CGI-robots and loud explosions.
Friday, July 1: Larry Crowne (official site), with American treasures Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts. The cute “grown-ups” romantic drama for people who don’t want to watch robots.
Friday, July 8: Horrible Bosses (official site). The star power of Jason Bateman, Kevin Spacey, Jennifer Aniston, Jamie Foxx, Colin Farrell, and Colin Farrell’s horrific combover makes this one look like a winner.
These movies have already been released–better hurry up if you still want to catch them on the big screen. Click to go to the trailers.
Thor, Bridesmaids, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, The Hangover 2, Kung Fu Panda 2, X-Men: First Class, Super 8, Green Lantern, Cars 2, and Bad Teacher.
It’s a lot to keep up with, but may you find a comfy seat at your favorite theater and make it through. (Or you could just spend more time outside and Netflix everything in the fall.)
HarperCollins to Publish The Art of the Adventures of Tintin
HarperCollins Publishers is excited to announce the upcoming release of the new book:
The Art of The Adventures of Tintin
with forewords by Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson
NEW YORK, NY (June 22, 2011) – The Art of The Adventures of Tintin is the beautifully presented book that will accompany the new film from Paramount Pictures and Columbia Pictures, The Adventures of Tintin, due for release in late 2011. This 3D performance-capture film, based on the universally popular series of books The Adventures of Tintin by Hergé, is directed by Steven Spielberg, and produced by Peter Jackson and Kathleen Kennedy.
The animation, visual effects and conceptual design for the movie are being created by Weta, the multi-Academy Award-winning company based in New Zealand that helped create global blockbusters such as The Lord of the Rings, King Kong and Avatar. The Art of The Adventures of Tintin was created by the actual Weta artists who brought Hergé’s wonderful Tintin characters to the big screen.
From early concept illustrations to final shots from the film and everything in between, this book gives fans a rare glimpse of the creativity that goes into making a film like this a reality. The book even includes special pieces of artwork produced exclusively for this book.
The Art of The Adventures of Tintin features forewords from Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson. Oscar winners Joe Letteri and Richard Taylor also share their insights into the film-making experience in their introductions for this outstanding book.
Moulinsart, the official organization that looks after the world of Tintin, has contributed an introductory chapter on the comic’s creator Georges Remi, aka Hergé, and has kindly provided examples of his inspirational artwork for reproduction in the book.
Chris Guise, the author of The Art of The Adventures of Tintin, provides a unique perspective on the film, both as a lifelong Tintin fan and as the lead conceptual designer on the film. Guise interviewed many of his colleagues about the production of the movie and lets them tell their stories and inspiration behind their work in their own words.
The Art of The Adventures of Tintin will be published by HarperCollins Publishers in the US, UK, Australia and New Zealand simultaneously on 13 October in two exciting formats: a visually dynamic 200-page hardcover book and a ground-breaking digital e-book. The e-book will include wonderful additional imagery, special audio commentary from the film makers, character animations and extra content.
Here is the movie trailor for The Adventures of Tintin:
About Weta: Weta provides a wide range of creative services to the global entertainment community and has a reputation for unsurpassed creativity and dedication to craft. The recipient of multiple Academy Awards, Weta continues to be in high demand by the top studios and content creators around the globe. Weta is based in Wellington, New Zealand. More information about Weta can be found at www.wetaNZ.com.
About HarperCollins Publishers: HarperCollins, one of the largest English-language publishers in the world, is a subsidiary of News Corporation. Headquartered in New York, HarperCollins has publishing groups around the world including the HarperCollins General Books Group, HarperCollins Children’s Books Group, Zondervan, HarperCollins UK, HarperCollins Canada, HarperCollins Australia and New Zealand and HarperCollins India. HarperCollins is a broad-based publisher with strengths in literary and commercial fiction, business books, children’s books, cookbooks, mystery, romance, reference, religious and spiritual books. With nearly 200 years of history, HarperCollins has published some of the world’s foremost authors and has won numerous awards including the Nobel Prize, the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award, the Newbery Medal and the Caldecott. You can visit HarperCollins Publishers on the Internet at www.harpercollins.com, www.harpercollins.co.uk, www.harpercollins.com.au and www.harpercollins.co.nz.
#1thingIcantstand – Footloose Remake
Yesterday I saw the trailer for the upcoming MTV remake of Footloose and I am some what at a loss as to what to say.
Mind you, I love the original; I can’t help but shake my tail feather when Never by Moving Pictures turns up and Kevin Bacon starts his five minute dance-athon in that grungy factory.
However, is this a classic they should mess with? After seeing the trailer, I’m not so sure.
Exact story line, modern time, and throw in a mixture of “Step-Up” who knows what is going to happen. I guess they ran out of good “Step-Up” story plots and have moved on to someone elses work.
But I digress.
Who knows, MTV could blow us all out of the water with these newcomers Kenny Wormald, playing Ren MacCormack, and Julianne Hough, cast as Ariel Moore.
Time will tell.
For now check out the trailer below and tell us what you think! Can Kenny rock that awesome maroon blazer like our beloved Kevin Bacon?
Tags: Movie Trailers, Movies Blog
Everything I need to know, I learned from Indy
This past Sunday, one of my favorite movies of all time turned the big 3-0: Raiders of the Lost Ark,* aka the first movie starring my dream guy, Indiana Jones.** In addition to breaking my heart by not being real, Indy also taught me many valuable lessons about life.
The top ten twelve, in no particular order:
1. Making good choices is important.
You never want to choose…poorly.
2. If the ancients, say, buried a box somewhere exceedingly difficult to locate and surrounded it with snakes, you might not want to open it.
3. If you are fighting the Nazis, and a hot blonde
with a German accent hits on you,
be suspicious.
4. Stealing does in fact have consequences. (Alternate lesson: If you are going to steal, know exactly how much the bag of sand should weigh.)
5. Don’t pick up hot objects.
6. The penitent man kneels…and rolls.
7. If you need to escape from a crowd,
there’s always the window.
8. Always have a ticket.
9. It’s rude not to eat whatever your hosts serve you, even when it’s really, really, really nasty.
10. Shia LaBeouf is no Harrison Ford.
11. The pen is mightier than the sword….
and so is the gun.
12. Indiana…Let it go.
*Many people feel that Raiders is the best or second best of the trilogy.*** It is actually my third favorite, with Last Crusade as the clear winner and Temple of Doom coming in second. A daring choice, I know. But how can you resist this movie poster, an original of which may or may not be hanging in my apartment?
**Dream Guy Caveat: I want to clarify that 40-Year-Old Harrison Ford is distinct from Present Day Harrison Ford, who is also wonderful, but pushing 70.
***Why yes, I am ignoring the 4th movie right there.
The Final Countdown – Deathly Hallows – Part 2
Movie tickets are now available for the final segment of the Harry Potter series. This is the movie fans have been waiting for, for over 13 years and it is officially a month away today. The excitement has been buzzing on Facebook and Twitter as more movie posters are revealed baring the date known around the world; 7/15.
With this being the last movie, fans who have been around since its birth in 1997 (or 1998 for the US), seem to find this a bitter sweet moment. For so many years there has always been “the next movie” to look forward to but after this, that is it. Will the franchise continue to live on or will the fans move on to the next “big thing”?
These are the books that I grew up with; literally, I was 11 years old when I first started reading them. I would like to think that fans would keep a warm place for this amazing series in their hearts as we all move on with our lives.
Let the countdown begin:
The Harry Potter Trio’s First Screen Test!
I’ve called the upcoming Harry Potter finale “epic,” but this new clip from Warner Bros. starts off just plain cute! It’s the first screen test of the main trio–Daniel Radcliffe as Harry, Emma Watson as Hermione, and Rupert Grint as Ron–circa early 2000 by my estimates, followed by promotional and behind-the-scenes footage (Voldemort/Ralph Fiennes with a nose!). Check it out below (there’s better quality video on Apple):
As the movies wrap up, hopefully we’ll continue to see more fan-created projects that spin off from J.K. Rowling’s world, like the Battle of Hogwarts faux documentary that “sets out to interview Former Students of the legendary school about the fateful battle that occurred there 20 years ago.” It’ll be released on YouTube in the next few weeks. Check out the Facebook page and the trailer below:
37 more days til July 15!
Movies We Love: Men in Black
Men in Black is among my all-time favorite New York movies. Yeah, it’s a sci-fi comedy about a secret order of g-men/interstellar immigration officials in charge of safeguarding the Earth—but it’s also a bit of a love letter to the five boroughs, as evidenced by its wide-ranging, non Manhattan-centric set pieces and attention to detail: Shea Stadium! The Unisphere! Crown air fresheners! (Remember those?) I often wondered how much of the movie’s winky humor about the Big Apple really played in Topeka.
Very little has been revealed about the plot of the upcoming Men in Black III (though true to its B-movie roots, it will be released in glorious 3D), however we do know that there’s a time travel element that involves Agent J (Will Smith) having to go back in time to the 1960s to visit a young Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones as interpreted by Josh Brolin).
Filming has already been done in Morris Park in the Bronx and on Coney Island, and several blocks of Court Street in Downtown Brooklyn were clearly the staging area for one of the time travel portions, as is evidenced by this row of awesome vintage cars, which I totally wanted to hijack.
Let's hope they can take the Game Stop out in post.
My kingdom for 1960s cab fares.
A car after !t Books author Brian Johnson's heart, I'm sure.
Sadly we have to wait a full year to see how Agent J and Agent K will save the Earth this time, so for now I leave you with a little vintage Will Smith (sampling Patrice Rushen’s 1982 R&B classic “Forget Me Nots”). You know, to help you to remember . . . Send In the Men in Black
There will never be another you
I’ve been asked a lot recently in interviews that I’ve done for my book who (if anyone) should play Elizabeth Taylor if there were going to be a movie about her life. It’s a fair questions and a game I love to play. I’m a fan of casting my friends as this or that actor in imaginary or actual movies. I, for instance, would have to be played by a young James Spader – sans the chest hair.
James Spader
While casting myself is easy, I am no Elizabeth Taylor. She was successful, while alive, at preventing a movie being made of her life. When rumors that movies were being made of her life would pop up, she often said (most recently via her twitter account), “No one is going to play Elizabeth Taylor, but Elizabeth Taylor herself.” Well, that was while she was still with us. Since her death on March 23, 2011 of congestive heart failure there have been talks of a possible biopic. It has been widely reported this week that the excellent biography Furious Love –which chronicles Taylor and her 5th and 6th husband, Richard Burton’s love affair– has been optioned for a film by Paramount Pictures as a future directing project for Martin Scorsese.
While I want everyone to know about the life of Liz, the thought of a movie being made of her life makes me cringe a bit. Her life is easy to sensationalize – not that it wasn’t sensational. My fear would be that filmakers would choose to focus only the many marriages and the somewhat odd behavior in her last few decades rather that the work and life of a truly gifted actress, a tireless philanthropist and a caring mother.
Casting the role of Elizabeth Taylor will be no small feat. I feel that the biggest mistake would be to choose someone solely based on looks. Elizabeth Taylor never acted sexy … she was, plain and simply, sex personified. I’m reticent to offer suggestions, but here they are:
1. Angelina Jolie. Jolie is already on deck to star in director David Fincher’s Cleopatra remake. And she knows a thing or two about scandal having been part of the break-up of a famous Hollywood marriage just as Elizabeth Taylor was with Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds.
Angie and Liz ... they both like horses.
Latest posters for Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows Pt II
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part II, the eighth and final movie of the series, promises to be something EPIC. Check out some of the new posters below–I’m especially pleased to see some previously unsung heroes getting their solo poster due. Like Neville! In the books, he’s such a great character: it’s a shame that the movies had to gloss over his story, but here’s to hoping that he gets his props in this last movie. Check out the trailer here, and thanks to MuggleNet.com for the images.
July 15 can’t come quickly enough.
Harry Potter, man of the summer.
Time to step up, Neville Longbottom.
Severus Snape. <3
Draco Malfoy: wicked or just scared?
Feel the Heat
Memorial Day weekend is almost upon us and with it the unofficial start of summer, which also brings the unofficial start of summer movie season. Looking forward to this year’s big blockbusters has also gotten me nostalgic for favorite summer films of the past. What follows is a highly idiosyncratic list of movies to watch during the coming lazy days:
The—ahem—Coming of Age Movie
The Graduate: A young Dustin Hoffman and a smokin’ hot Anne Bancroft demonstrate the sexy side of angst.
Wet Hot American Summer: Amy Poehler, Paul Rudd, David Hyde Pierce, Janeane Garofalo, Michael Ian Black, and a renegade piece of Skylab add up to comedy genius. Plus it’s yet another movie to look back on and go, “Really? Bradley Cooper was in that?” He’s quickly replacing Kevin Bacon as everyone’s favorite parlor game.
American Pie: Two words—band camp.
The Scary Movie
Jaws: Arguably the grandfather of all summer blockbusters, not to mention of giant shark movies.
Friday the 13th: It might have been created to cash in on the success of Halloween, but it quickly became one of the great slasher films of all time.
The Goofy Movie (not this Goofy Movie)
Meatballs: Say it with me, “It Just Doesn’t Matter. It Just Doesn’t Matter . . . ”
Dazed and Confused: Schools out for summer…
The Requisite Surf Movie
Blue Crush: Did you know this was based on an article by Susan Orlean? Yeah, me neither. Somehow I don’t think my boyfriend cares…
Point Break: Surfing! Sky diving! Bank Robbing! How can you go wrong?
And, The Classic
Breakfast at Tiffany’s: Not technically a summer film per se but when I was young and broke and couldn’t afford an air conditioner the only way I could deal with the heat was to make the largest pitcher of frozen daiquiris I could and bask in Audrey Hepburn’s effortless cool.
So, what are your favorite films to beat the heat?
Reality HUNGER GAMES: Meet Your Gamemaker
Hello Katniss Everdeen! This week’s Entertainment Weekly revealed our first look at Oscar-nominee Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss, the beloved heroine of Suzanne Collins’s bestselling book The Hunger Games.
They nailed it. Stunning good 
looks. Awesome warrior braid. A sense of longing behind her scary death eyes. All check.
For the uninitiated, The Hunger Games is the story of a not-too-distant dystopian future where children (called tributes) are forced to compete in a yearly, nationally televised arena death match. In publishing speak it is a little The Giver meets The Most Dangerous Game meets Gladiator.
But maybe a major blockbuster film is just the wrong way to go here. Call me a little morbid [sick? unbalanced? ], but I know what would speed up the production timeline AND bump up the entertainment factor…turning The Hunger Games into the greatest REALITY TELEVISION show ever. (A reality show based on a book with a death match reality show at its core—so meta, right?)
So move over Lenny Kravitz and Stanley Tucci, here’s my all-star reality cast. Remember, in the end there can be only one victor.
Let The Reaping begin.
Tribute: Padma Lakshmi
District: Top Chef
Mentor: Katniss Everdeen
Training Notes: She can pretty it up for the cameras, but this fire starter will destroy you for undercooking that scallop. She eats brains, ears, and livers for breakfast…who’s to say she won’t eat yours? Weapon/Skill: Knife throwing
Tribute: Richard Hatch
District: Survivor
Mentor: Haymitch Abernathy
Training Notes: This guy basically invented alliances. While your mom was cheering for that plucky runner-up chick, Richard was playing all sides and was doing it naked. Weapon/Skill: Manipulation
Tribute: Richard Blais
District: Top Chef
Mentor: Peeta Mellark
Training Notes: Dude looks like a lump of bread dough (tears, always second guessing his choice of protein?!) but deep down he’s got what it takes to send the competition to the garbage disposal of life. (Plus he clearly hearts Padma and alliances help in the arena.) Weapon/Skill: Knowledge of edible plants and liquid nitrogen
Tribute: Nigel Barker
District: America’s Next Top Model
Mentor: Gale Hawthorne
Training Notes: First he’s telling you to “smile with your eyes” then BAM your cast out like Tyra’s old extensions. Don’t let the tall, handsome, British act fool you—world-renowned photographer Nigel Barker is a killer lone wolf. Weapon/Skill: Charm and general badassedness
Tribute: Mondo Guerra
District: Project Runway
Mentor: Prim Everdeen
Training Notes: Lovable, kind, funny—Mondo seems like a bit of an underdog here in a dystopian death match. But don’t count him out. This scissor-wielding crowd favorite has an ax to grind after losing Project Runway. Speaking of…has anyone seen Gretchen lately? Weapon/skill: Camouflage
Tributes: Snookie and The Situation, Speidi, the Kardashian sisters
District: The Jersey Shore, The Hills, Keeping Up with the Kardashians
Mentors: The Career Pack
Training Notes: These tributes have been groomed since birth for this, their finest televised moment. Reality veterans, this pack of “career tributes” will roam the arena shrieking, tanning, eating, and posing as a team. But when food supplies are gone watch the fake nails come out. Weapon/Skill: Sheer determination. Good skin.
In the words of Effie Trinket, may the odds be ever in your favor!
Cannes Film Festival Draws to a Close
The 12-day Cannes Film Festival drew to a close Sunday, with a surprising number of American winners — perhaps because the jury was headed by Robert De Niro.
Terrence Malick’s drama The Tree of Life, starring Brad Pitt, Sean Penn and Jessica Chastain won the Palme d’Or, the festival’s top prize. This is only Malick’s fifth film during is 40-year career. Malick was hesitant to have the film screened during the competition, but his producers convinced him otherwise. The trailer for the film already has over 2 million views. The film is an impressionistic story of a 1950’s Midwestern family. It follows Jack, who ends up with a troubled and confused adulthood due to his parents’ opposite personalities and techniques. Audience members at the festival had mixed views of the film – some even booed. The reviews from film buffs on the Huffington Post show mostly positive reviews. Go see for yourself on May 27.
Kirsten Dunst won best actress for her work in the film, Melancholia. The film is a science fiction drama also starring Charlotte Gainsbourg and Kiefer Sutherland. Aside from the grandeur of Dunst’s performance in the film, director Lars Von Trier stole the show at the festival by declaring himself a Nazi and expressing sympathy for Adolf Hitler at a Cannes press conference on May 18, resulting in his banishment from the festival.
A Full List of the Cannes winners:
Palme d’Or: The Tree Of Life (dir: Terrence Malick)
Grand Prix (Runner-up to main award): (tie) Kid With A Bike (dir: Dardenne brothers), Once Upon A Time In Anatolia (Nuri Bilge Ceylan)
Best Actor: Jean Dujardin (The Artist)
Mise en Scene (Best Director): Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive)
Best Actress: Kirsten Dunst (Melancholia)
Prix du Scenario (Screenplay): Joseph Cedar, Footnote (Israel)
Prix Du Jury: Poliss (dir: Maiwenn)
Also:
Palme d’Or Court Metrage: Cross Country (dir: Maryna Vroda)
Camera d’Or (Best First Film): Las Acacias (dir: Pablo Giorgelli)
Bridesmaids have more fun.
Source: http://a-red-lipstick.blogspot.com/
Ruth Hussey was nominated for an Academy Award for her portrayal of “last-minute” bridesmaid Elizabeth Imbrie to Katharine Hepburn’s Tracy Lord in The Philadelphia Story.
- Source: http://twoweddingbelles.blogspot.com/
Cameron Diaz could have picked a better choice of bridesmaid than Julia Roberts in My Best Friend’s Wedding.
Molly Ringwald’s List of Best Iconic Hairstyles in Film
The fantastic Molly Ringwald, one of the most recognizable stars out there, as much for her movies as for her fiery red hair, tells us the best iconic hairstyles in film.
Jean Seberg in Breathless: What else is there to say about this look that hasn’t been said. An eternal classic.
Catherine Deneuve in Belle de Jour: In a lot of ways, Deneuve is the French version of Hitchcock’s classic blond ice queen. Hair back in a twist until she’s ravished, and then it’s down. Hard to argue with this one.
Brigitte Bardot in And God Created Woman: Best example of boyfriend hair there is. Almost impossible to achieve this look without hair extensions.
Pam Grier in Foxy Brown: There is no statement quite like Pam’s hot powerful Afro. White people tried to jump on the bandwagon in the seventies, but if you don’t have the hair or the attitude, don’t bother.
Faye Dunaway in Bonnie and Clyde: Long sleek bob, beret optional.
Rita Hayworth in Gilda: Even in black and white you can tell this lady is a redhead. She sports the same peekaboo hairstyle that Veronica Lake made famous, but Rita’s looks undone and far sexier.
Yvonne Elliman in Jesus Christ Superstar: Sexy, long-layered, hippie, windswept, razor cut.
Louise Brooks in everything: The inspiration for everything from Something Wild to Pulp Fiction.
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All images from Google
To learn more about Molly Ringwald, check out her book Getting the Pretty Back, now in paperback.
Remembering Elizabeth Taylor
As of today, with the passing of Elizabeth Taylor, we are left without one of Hollywood’s greatest actresses. We can look back to some of her most memorable movies, like Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and A Place in the Sun, to really know why she was so legendary. And did we mention what a knockout she was? Check out these 100 jaw-dropping photos of Taylor on Buzzfeed.
Here is a scene from Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf–some of the best acting ever in just 1 minute 41 seconds. Dont you think so?
Your It List Holiday Giveaway – Avatar Prize Pack!
As 2010 comes to a close all of us at Your It List are looking back at an amazing year and want to say thank you to you. Over the next few weeks we’ll be offering up some prize packs for you to enter to win. First one up… Avatar Prize Pack! It’s hard to believe that a full year has gone by since the film that has forever changed the way movies are made was released in theaters. Now you can relive the experience of seeing Avatar for the first time with the Your It List / Avatar Prize Pack.
What you’ll win: 1 Avatar DVD, 1 Avatar Blu Ray + DVD and 1 copy of the New York Times bestseller Avatar: An Activist Survival Guide.
What you have to do: Follow us on Twitter! Head over to www.Twitter.com/ItBooks and follow us. Then tweet a link to this post (http://bit.ly/AvatarYIL) and add the hashtag #AvatarYIL. We’ll select 5 winners at random at 7:00 pm est on Friday, December 17 and DM you for your mailing address.
